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The Response to Failed Leadership: What Can Be Learned from Rwanda in 1994 and Kenya in 2007-08
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
– Albert Einstein
Leadership will always fail at some point. Humans have allowed sin into the world and as a result humans will fail, sometimes to catastrophic levels. There is no better example of these catastrophic failures than the early 1990s in Rwanda and 2007-08 in Kenya. These African countries are rich in natural resources, have a capable labor force and bustling capital cities, yet they are also ravaged with poverty, malnutrition, and corruption even at the highest level of government. Leaders provoked and manipulated citizens, countries set up other countries to fail, global courts failed to bring justice, all of which contributed to the devastation in the eastern region of Africa. Were any of these actions preventable? What are the lessons that can be learned from these events of the past? What are the biblical implications?
After meticulously analyzing these two horrific events, the questions began to rise. What could have been done to prevent this? How do these two countries move on? What can other countries learn from these events? Which countries need to learn from these events so that they do not repeat history? And of course, how can the Bible be implemented to these situations and the healing and restoration that is needed in these countries and the world in general? Surely, there were failures in leadership that enabled these events to take place, such as the failure of the UN in Rwanda and the failure of the UN and US in Kenya. Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back, there are ways that the UN and the United States could have better addressed these crises, but no action was taken. The reason that UN did not engage in Rwanda was because of the deaths of US soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia 5 months earlier. Nonetheless, at the beginning of the Rwandan conflict, 6 Belgian soldiers were killed by Rwandan extremists.[1] The US had similar reasons for avoiding involvement. The Clinton administration was still addressing the fallout from the events in Mogadishu, so they did not want to commit any more US troops back to East Africa.[2] All these decisions beg the question, “did their end justify their means?”
Rwanda
In October 1990, Rwanda entered a civil war that would begin one of the most gruesome mass genocides in history. The conflict revolved around the two main people groups in Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis.[3] The conflict between these two people groups had lasted a long time before anyone labeled it a “civil war.” From 1884 to 1916, Germany controlled the territory that consists of today’s countries Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Burundi.[4] The Hutu and Tutsi people groups have been established in Rwanda since the 15th century, but the first real interaction that they had with one another during the colonization period was during German rule. In 1916, during World War I, Belgium took over the territory that is Rwanda. As tensions rose for the struggle of power in the 1900s, violence between the Hutus and Tutsis grew rapidly. Germany and Belgium favored the Tutsi people group and this led to acts of violence against the Tutsis by the Hutus. That all changed in 1959 when the Hutus revolted against the Tutsi-led government.[5] They displaced ~100,000 Tutsis who then became refugees in their own country for decades. These Tutsis went on to form the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). In October 1990, tensions between the RPF and the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) finally boiled over.[6]
The Rwandan civil war lasted just shy of 4 years. The war officially came to an end in July 1994, but the violence that gripped the country was more than just the Rwandan civil war itself. In July 1993, the United Nations was tasked to keep peace in Rwanda but that was far from what happened. After the war ended, Hutu powers in government were already developing plans that would result in the Rwandan genocide in 1994.[7] The “spark” of the genocide took place in October 1993, when the newly elected president (Hutu) of neighboring country Burundi was assassinated by Ugandan Tutsi extremists. This caused a massive thought pattern from the Hutus that the Tutsis were an imposing and threatening evil that needed to be eliminated. Through propaganda and persuasion, the Hutu government officials were able to convince Hutu citizens to carry out egregious acts of violence against their former countrymen.[8] On April 6, tensions were further escalated when the Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, the Hutu president of Burundi, were killed when the plane they were riding in was shot down. Many historians mark this as the exact moment when the actual genocide in Rwanda began. This was the point where the UN had told UN troops on the ground to “not engage” and the Clinton administration promptly pulled all U.S. citizens living in Rwanda out of the country.[9] The UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda) general Roméo Dallaire was assigned the difficult task of keeping peace on the ground without engaging with either the Hutus or the Tutsis.[10] The reason that this was so difficult was because Dallaire was to oversee changes in the Rwandan government where Tutsis were supposed to be given certain positions in the predominantly Hutu government.[11] The U.S. also commanded troops not to engage with either Hutus or Tutsis in fear of a similar result to that of Mogadishu. The Clinton administration was aware of the situation that was happening in Rwanda, but decided that intervening was not in the best interest of the country.[12] The conflict in Mogadishu, Somalia was just 7 months prior to what was happening in Rwanda and the battle of Mogadishu resulted in 19 U.S. killed and 2 Black Hawk helicopters shot down.[13] President Clinton did not want to intervene because of the “freshness” of the wounds to the nation.[14]
The genocide in Rwanda lasted from April 7 – July 15, 1994 and in that time, 500,000 – 1,000,000 Tutsis were murdered and 250,000 – 500,000 women were raped, which resulted in 400,000 orphans and HIV-AIDS with a firm grasp over the survivors.[15] The genocide eventually came to an end when the RPF army consisting primarily of Tutsi survivors and refugees from Burundi started taking back small parts of the capital city, Kigali, and eventually overthrew the government on July 4, 1994.[16]
Kenya
The post-election violence that took place in Nairobi in 2007-08 is on the same spectrum but not on the same scale to the events that took place in Rwanda. In 2007, President Mwai Kibaki was elected to a second term as President of the National Republic of Kenya. President Kibaki, a man from the Kikuyu (tribe), which is one of the largest ethnic groups in Kenya, comprising roughly 6.5 million people.[17] Kibaki’s opponent was Raila Odinga. A politician that held many different offices, Odinga was the son of the first vice president of the Republic of Kenya. Raila Odinga is from the Luo tribe, another people group in Kenya comprising around 4.5 million people.[18] On December 30, 2007 it was announced that Mwai Kibaki had won the very close and hotly contested election by 232,000 votes. President Kibaki was sworn in on the same day marking the beginning of his second term. Raila Odinga did not sit by and accept the results.[19] He called for action and accused Kibaki and his team of rigging the election. There was some truth to his claims. It had been reported that some of the constituencies that voted for Kibaki reported over 100%.[20] The reporting over 100% was a clear indicator that the polls had been tampered with since it should have been impossible to report over 100%. There was evidence of tampered polls from both sides of the election.[21] There was even a conspiracy that claimed a member from Odinga’s camp had been sent out to kill a popular promoter for President Kibaki. It also had also been found out later that the commissioner of the electoral committee, Samuel Kivuitu had been pressured by Kibaki’s camp to announce the results of the election hastily without Kivuitu actually knowing who won the election.
As soon as Kibaki was sworn in for his second term, violence in the streets of Nairobi erupted. Protestors were targeted, police brutality ensued, rioting and looting transpired, and chaos fell upon Nairobi, particularly the slums for weeks. Raila Odinga, the leader of the people that were inciting this violence only added fuel to the fire. There were plans set in place by Raila’s team to hold a rally to announce him as “The People’s President,” but that idea was shut down by the police immediately. However, there was still a rally held where over one million of Odinga’s supporters showed up and Raila riled them up further by saying that they would not just sit back and accept the election results.[22] Odinga said that he would not be willing to negotiate with Kibaki unless Kibaki resigned. This only “stirred the pot” further and Odinga supporters resumed their acts of violence and rioting in the streets and slums.
After about a month, the UN finally stepped in. The UN stood firm on the stance that Kibaki had won the election but because tension and violence was rising, they had to intervene. Raila Odinga and President Kibaki met with Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan on January 24, 2008 but there was no clear decision met.[23] Violence continued to break out in parts of the country and 2 members of parliament were murdered in the ensuing days after the Annan meeting. The next month was a month filled with negotiating mediated by the UN and other leaders from countries in East Africa. On February 28, 2008, President Kibaki and Raila Odinga signed an agreement that created the new post of Prime Minister, and opened up talks about re-writing the constitution (which was finally finished, voted on, and implemented in 2010).[24] This new “coalition government” did not operate smoothly initially because roles were not defined other than purely titles. People did not know who had power over who and that was a big deal in Kenya. In March and April, violence had decreased but tensions were still high as the negotiations and details of the new coalition government were being finalized. After the sides were able to come to an agreement, Raila Odinga was sworn in as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya on April 17, 2008. This marked the official beginning of the coalition government.[25] This new format of government has since come to an end as of 2013 when Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of the legendary first president of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta won the presidency in the 2013 over none other than Mr. Raila Odinga.[26] Furthermore, Uhuru recently won a second term of presidency in 2017 over Raila Odinga, again.[27] The future is not certain but chances would have it that Raila Odinga will run again in 2021 at 77 years old. Many Kenyan citizens have very strong opinions about Raila Odinga and his refusal to quit running for president. “Raila Odinga is not good for the country and is a corrupt man.”[28] “Raila Odinga has made his money. He should just take his rich a** to an tropical island and not bother Kenya for the rest of his life.”[29] The opinions of Mr. Odinga are still strong among the people and even though there are still some Raila supporters, there are a great deal of Kenyans that wish he did not exist anymore, let alone run for office again.
Kenya is still dealing with the effects of the post-election violence that amassed 1,300 casualties and over 600,000 people displaced.[30] There is still tribal tension whenever political decisions arise and though the two elections since the 2007 election have been relatively peaceful for Kenya, there have still been small acts of violence and rioting that has arisen. The country has not been able to completely set aside their differences for the good of the country, similar to the animosity seen in recent elections of the US There are a few key moments in both the situations in Rwanda and Kenya where leadership really “dropped the ball.” One of the main parallels that can be drawn from both situations is that the leadership that was in place was looking out for themselves and not for the good of the country. How often can that be seen all over the world and not just in these East African countries? It would be difficult for a person that is knowledgeable on politics to say that in most countries, “the leaders have the citizens’ interests at the top of their priorities.” So much of politics and the game surrounding politics is based on the competition and winning. The “importance” of politics has become, “Who can gain the most votes, who can be known for this landmark in a country’s history, who can spend the most amount of time in office.” These are quantitative pieces of information that too many politicians care about and they are motivated by these pieces of information which explains their true intentions. The similar kind of bad intentions also are what drove Rwanda to genocide. The whole feud between the Hutus and Tutsis was fueled in the early 1900’s because these tribes wanted to be viewed as favorable in the eyes of the “white man” (Germans).[31] This competition intensified into pure hate when the country was left up for grabs and Rwanda gained their independence. It became a real and fatal power struggle, but if the leaders of the Hutus and Tutsis could see past their selfish motives, they would see the harm that they were causing to their people and the deaths that would occur because of THEIR power struggle.
Kenya has dangerously decided to test fate again. In 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta was elected as the 4th President of the Republic of Kenya. Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of the first president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta. After the post-election violence of 2007-2008, Jomo Kenyatta was one of the six men that was charged with “crimes against humanity” by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The charges specifically, were for planning and funding violence in certain regions of Kenya.[32] The charges were not officially dropped by the ICC until 2015, one whole year after Uhuru had been elected president. It was the opinion of some Kenyans that in order to leave history in the past, Kenya should not have elected leader that had charges against him for crimes against humanity.[33] Kenyans are a very discrete and quiet people. One of the more eye-raising facts about the Uhuru ICC case is that many of the witnesses that were going to testify against Kenyatta at The Hague either disappeared or died before they had the chance to testify.[34] The decision that Kenya made as a country to elect Uhuru as president is a decision that shows the growing that Kenya has yet still to do. Electing this man dangerously comes close to the line of pardoning what he may or may not have done to contribute to the crimes that were committed in 2007 and allowing him to become leader of the country. Some that argue that he was the best option between the candidates that were running (Odinga being the main competition). There are many countries that fall into this unfortunate situation where the citizens feel like they are voting for the “lesser of the evils.” These types of elections have almost become the norm in societies all over the world.
Another level of leadership failure that goes unnoticed in East Africa in both periods of time is the failure of the bordering East African countries like Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. None of these had the resources to fully step in and demilitarize militarized zones but meetings could have been set up amongst the leaders of Kenya and Rwanda to try and work out some kind of peace deals. Theses East African countries that neighbored Kenya during the time Kenya was experiencing post-election violence should have tried to make contact with Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki because of the effect that the post-election violence was going to have on their own country. The GDP of Tanzania fell 1.5 percent because of the blockage to the main port of Mombasa, Kenya.[35] Uganda also experienced hardships during the post-election violence in Kenya because 80% of their imports pass through Mombasa.[36] The roads from Mombasa to these destination countries were blocked by more than 40 illegal roadblocks during 2008-2009.[37] As for Tanzania, tourism also fell because many people that seek to climb and explore the highest mountain in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro travel through Kenya to get there.[38]
Comparisons
Another way leadership failed in 1994 and 2007 is the UN and the United States neglectingto intervene in the atrocities that they knew were going on. There were a lot of variables at play in both scenarios but this is a section that can be related to a teaching that children are taught in schools at a young age; “If you see something, say something.” In schools, this phrase is taught in the context of bullying, suicide, or even school shootings in the world today. The way that this teaching is intended to work is that when a child that sees something that even he/she knows is wrong at a young age, they tell someone in a leadership position and that leader does something to correct or prevent a problem from occurring. The United States and the UN were in that leadership position during the crises in Kenya and Rwanda, and they were told and well-informed of the situations, yet they chose not to do anything about the bullying and shootings that were taking place across the ocean. Politics can be tricky, and they are not as simple as President Clinton and Kofi Anan getting on the phone and telling US and UN troops to go into Nairobi and Kigali and start shooting those that are shooting others. However, for Kofi Anan to tell UN troops not to engage and for the Clinton administration to not send Marines to aid in protection of government officials, many believed to be wrong.[39] One of the saddest stories from the Rwandan genocide took place when US Marines drove to the US Embassy in Kigali to collect the 13 US citizens that were left in the country. The US citizens in Rwanda had made their way to the embassy so that they could be evacuated from the country. A few of the citizens had brought some of their Rwandan friends to the embassy with them to hide because they knew that as long as they were there with the Americans, they would be safe.[40] When the Marines showed up at the embassy, they drove right past a group of Hutu rebels waiting for their chance to storm the gates and kill the Tutsis that were seeking refuge in the American embassy. As soon as the US citizens were collected and evacuated, the Hutus stormed the embassy and killed the 30 Tutsis that were inside.[41] The United States allowed that to happen. A nation that prides itself on protecting others and protecting the rights of others enabled the slaughter of 30 Rwandans and even more innocent lives by not intervening and doing something in Rwanda. Standing up for what the Bible says is always right, and a biblically-based government and world-peace organization would have stood up for the people that were being killed. What happened in Mogadishu, Somalia was a tragedy but the Clinton administration was eyeing re-election[42], and it did not want to do something that would make them unfavorable at the polls. Many innocent lives were taken because of that mindset.
The United States has built an impressive legacy over the 239 years it has been a country. The United States was a classic underdog story of patriots and revolutionary minds that had had enough of being ruled and taxed by the British Empire. They had enough, and they decided to form their own country and call it the United States of America. Since, the United States has thrived. There have been minor blemishes and even a few major ones such as the Civil War in the mid-1800’s, the attacks on Pearl Harbor, and 9/11. But the successes of the nation have outweighed the negatives. The United States became the “gold standard” for countries to try and emulate because of their GDP, its technological advances, and the strong sense of loyalty and patriotism throughout the country. The latter is starting to fail the United States and poses one of the biggest threats to tearing down the once-great nation. In sports, a team that does not have the most talent but has the most chemistry is often better than a team that has the most talent but lacks chemistry. The United States’ chemistry showed flaws leading up to, during and post the 2016 presidential election. During presidential election’s countries tend to split on who they want to become the next leader. The 2016 United States Presidential election presented two polarizing figures of the likes that had not been seen before in a presidential election: a woman running for the first time vs. a TV personality turned politician. The election was filled with name-calling, and the results of the election were not taken particularly well by the nation as a whole. With social media at everyone’s disposal, the name-calling, colorful debates, and speaking over one another continued well past the results of the election. A lot of citizens with a keyboard or a touchpad felt like they had something to say and that their voice was the one that needed to be heard. Sam Sanders from NPR weighed in on the idea of social media in an article he wrote in 2016. “So we end this campaign season with social media platforms seemingly hardwired for political argument, obfuscation and division. We are a public more concerned with scandal than policy, at least according to the social media data. And our candidates for higher office, led by Trump, seem more inclined to adopt the combative nature of social media than ever before.”[43] The parallels between what was happening in America and what happened in East Africa were eerily similar. Simply, leaders wanted power so through social media and televised debates they took shots at one another and that let the citizens feel like it was also okay for them to take shots at one another over social media and in person.
The United States obviously has the establishment and the police capacity to mitigate the targeted killings and violent rallies that can be found in third-world countries, but there were still small acts of violence and targeted hate that slipped through the cracks. Just because the United States was an established nation, does not mean that it was immune to the civil struggles that plagued Rwanda and Kenya in the 1990s and late 2000s. “In total, fifty-three electoral violence events were recorded in the study: 37 incidents, 4 acts of intimidation, and 12 threats. Forty-four of the 53 incidents occurred before Election Day, with most incidents occurring during the Primary Phase of the electoral cycle.”[46]
Another interesting undertaking where the United States seems to struggle is identity. Many, after the election felt like they did not have an identity and the nation as a whole struggled to grasp who they were and who they were going to be moving forward with this new leader. The realistic view states that each country is their own sovereign nation that should be able to operate how they want and it is not appropriate for other nations to get involved. This was the view that was held by President Clinton during the Rwandan genocide and the view that was held by Barack Obama during most of his presidency. The opposite to the realistic view is the liberalist view that wants to impose and make every country like their country. George W. Bush held this view in Iraq and Afghanistan post 9/11. The interesting thought that can be drawn from this in within the context of identity is that the US did not want to enter Rwanda, wanted to pull troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and in society wants citizens to be able to express themselves as much as possible. The problem is that during the election in 2016, there was a sharp 180-degree turn and all of a sudden, citizens wanted to convince other citizens how to think and act and if they did not conform to what was being said, bitterness and hate welled up. This is the identity struggle of the United States.
The common theme that binds what is happening in the United States to what happened in East Africa is that many people fail to heed the advice of others. The definition of behavior is, “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.”[47] Listening and processing information that the other party is conveying is part of the communication process. What tends to happen during political debates and during the political season is that people forget the listening part and try to speak the most to get their point across. The presence of social media has allowed that type of “communication” to be even easier because social media allows an individual to get what they want to say out and not listen to what the other party has to say.
The church, particularly in the United States, is also not immune to the problems that political leaders face. The congregation of a church can be a hard group of people to manage because there are so many opinions on what direction the church should go, where the church should spend its money and how the church should handle doctoral issues. Just because the church is filled with Christians does not mean that the people in the church do not have opinions that they want to have heard. The church needs to come together especially during times where the country struggles to find its identity to show the nation that the church is a place that is a safe haven for those looking to escape the name-calling and hate that exists in the world.
What This All Means for Leadership
It is clear that leadership has often failed at the international level and also in the United States. Many times, leadership even fails in churches. However, the millennial generation has a chance to set wrongs right and to “turn the ship around.” All things considered, it is clear that the millennial generation is going to be assuming senior leadership roles within the next twenty years and in order to be successful leaders, the practice has to start early. Leadership is not leadership only when an individual fills a role. Individuals are leaders and they do not even know it. Individuals can be leaders at school, in their own family, at church and in other settings. All of these lower level types of leadership are good practice for when senior leadership opportunities present themselves. Millennials are the next generation to “step up to the plate” and guide the nations moving forward.
The situation was similar in Kenya. When one party lost, the other party did not, and still does not take losing the election well. The losing party’s leaders called for rallies and called for his supporters to not accept the results but to “stand up for what they believe in.”[48] Now, there are some biblical parallels to this. Jesus did not just lay down and allow what was happening in the law and politics at the time to just run their course. He stood up for what He knew was right and He preached His word right under their noses even though He knew that they did not approve and that they would eventually put Him to death. Standing up for God’s Word is one thing. What Raila Odinga incited his supporters do in 2007 because of what he believed to be right was wrong. Not laying down for God’s Word will always be the right thing to do because it is GOD’s Word, not the thoughts and ambitions of sinful human beings. (Proverbs 3:5-6). When leaders look out for what is best for themselves, this steers the country that they are responsible for down a very dangerous path.
In addition to the selfish perspectives of leaders in the country, the selfish perspectives and evil that are rooted in Rwanda and Kenya cannot be ignored. Great Britain ruled Kenya and Germany/Belgium ruled the Rwanda for decades. When these countries were colonizing the territories, times for the aborigines were hard.[49] The Europeans came in, claimed the land as theirs, and put the aborigines to hard manual labor for their own benefit. The European settlers barely acknowledged the Kenyans and Rwandans as people, and often times sold them in the slave trade.[50] When these third-world countries finally gain their independence, the European countries dropped the trade and operations that they had going on and just left the country (for the most part), leaving the country up for grabs to the people that were just being treated poorly. How are countries like Rwanda and Kenya supposed to react when they have seen how “successful” European countries treat other people? They have seen first-hand that these Europeans didn’t have respect for people, so why should they? From their perspective, if they could snatch the power at the top, they could be the ones that are respected and can have others work for them. This selfish motive was planted by the European countries when they colonized Kenya and Rwanda. This just adds yet another level of leadership failing.
The dimensions of a good leader consist of five key elements. Two-way communication is the first. Two-way communication is the art of being able to voice an opinion and get a point across but also listen, process and internalize the opinions of another party. The other party’s opinions might even be different but the art of two-way communication is looking past the differences and trying to come to a compromise and see what can be worked out. The second key element is the element of humility. This ties directly in with 2-way communication. It takes a humble person to admit when they are wrong and admit that someone else’s ideas are better. This did not happen in Rwanda, Kenya, and it certainly has not happened in the United States during the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Mark McLoughlin, a Senior Vice President at VWR, accredits some of his success as a leader in the company to surrounding himself with others that are “smarter” than him that give him good ideas that he really listens to and takes into account.[51] The third key element is focus. There has to be a drive the motivates the leader to be a good leader. There are leaders that are thrust into the position of leadership that do not know how to cope with being a good leader. These leaders often fail the ones that they are trying to lead. The fourth key element of a good leader is integrity. A good leader has to have a good track record with people and has to be someone that can be trusted when no one is watching. Even if the leader makes a mistake, they must own up to the mistake and do what is right to fix the problem. Integrity goes a long way in solid leadership because once integrity is compromised, it becomes difficult to trust that person again and their leadership will be followed with questions. The firth key element of a good leader is a person that has a proven track record of completing goals and getting results. This individual is someone that sets goals and completes them efficiently.
The need for these kind of leaders is great. The need for these kind of leaders with one more dimension is even greater. In order to be a good leader, the person has to have a Biblical outlook. This key element can be rooted in the previous five and the previous five elements cannot exist on their own without this one for a successful leader. No leader is going to be perfect. All men have sinned and therefore no leader is going to make all of the right decisions all of the time. But for a successful leader to thrive, they must be well-rounded in the five key elements and also have a Biblical outlook in their lives which translates to their leadership decisions. Without the Biblical outlook, the leader is not leading with a good human morality. Human morality cannot be trusted so therefore there has to be some set of morals that guides effective leaders and that should be the Bible because of the only truth the Bible offers.
The chart above is a radar chart that charts the six key elements of a successful leader in Rwanda, Kenya, and the United States. Rwanda is represented by the purple color in the middle of the chart, Kenya is represented by the red shape and the United States is represented by the tan color with the black outlining. The chart shows that all of the countries’ leaders struggled with humility and integrity. These are two qualities that cannot be compromised and they definitely cannot be compromised together. The radar chart shows that the United States is not far from the problems that Kenya and Rwanda faced and depending on who plots the points on the chart, the results could be even more drastic. A perfect leader would have every point reaching the border of the hexagon and the whole hexagon would be shaded so this chart goes to show that Rwanda, Kenya and the United States have all fallen short of good leadership. The outcome in Kenya resulting from the lack of these key characteristics was a nation that was divided by the “leaders” that were promising change to the country if they were to be elected. The outcome was total and complete civil chaos that led to the country’s reputation being damaged and Kenya’s citizens killing one another. The outcome in Rwanda was genocide. One of the worst genocides in history. Another outcome was a nation that is still struggling to recover from one of the worst genocides in history. The outcome in the United States is a country that will not be humble, listen to one another and is divided where news stations constantly attack another and people go after one another on social media. A marginalized civil society of sorts.
The need for leaders with these six qualities is greatest amongst up and coming millennial leaders. The millennial generation is the generation that has the best opportunity to take hold of solid leadership and lead by example. The two-way communication is going to be a huge struggle because of social media. Listening is a lost skill amongst current politicians so it is up to the millennial generation to regain that skill. Social media is not just a negative tool however. Social media can be used for spreading positivity and can be used for a platform of sparking conversations. Another way that social media can be used positively is actually exposing evil people for their evil deeds. Social media has the capability of keeping people accountable for their actions. Many scandals are being exposed because of social media and the truth is being brought to light about individuals through social media and the media in general so the increase in technology and connectivity can be used to spread news. The one downside of that is the people behind the cellphones and the keyboards, the media. The media played a huge role in Rwanda, Kenya and the United States’ election in 2016. The media has the power to change the public’s perception of a person or an issue so in their own right, the media are leaders too which just reinforces the point that this next generation of leaders will have to be the most well-rounded yet. Unfortunately, in today’s society social media posts and reports have to be taken with “a grain of salt.” A reader simply cannot just agree and believe everything he or she reads. A tangible way to make sure that social media is used for good and not used for spreading negativity is to always think about who might be offended and really think if one post is worth offending someone over. A common excuse is “everyone is offended by everything” or “there will always be someone that is offended.” On one hand, these are true statements, but on the other hand, if the post is going to directly offend someone, it should not be posted. Jesus Christ valued conversation and meeting people face to face. There are raw emotions that can be shared when one person sits down and talks with another person face to face. These face to face conversations make it difficult to talk over one another like what happens on social media. A challenge for millennial leaders is to have more face to face conversations with one another practicing two-way communication and less posts and debate on social media.
Just because millennial leaders are the next leaders of the world does not mean that the generations before can just “take off” the rest of their lives. “Generation X” and the “Baby Boomers” have the great responsibility of training these millennial leaders and teaching them from the mistakes that they made as a generation. No generation will be perfect so there is no sense casting blame on these prior generations but these generations should admit their mistakes, own up to them and try to train the next generation of leaders on how to avoid making these mistakes and how to react when trials and tribulations arise. This process is all about continually improving and not digressing. The same responsibilities will be placed on millennials when they have the same responsibilities of training the next generation of leaders that will precede them.
John 10:11 says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (NASB) This verse has leadership parallels to the six dimensions of leadership that were shown in the radar chart. A “good shepherd” or the leader of the flock is a selfless leader. This is the kind of leader that will put their own neck on the line for their followers. In Rwanda and Kenya, it was exactly the opposite. The leaders pitted their followers against one another to cause chaos and violence. The biblical idea of leadership is the best idea of leadership because it aligns closely with the other five dimensions of leadership but adds the golden standard to lead by because human morality cannot stand on its own. The “good shepherd” is also driven by results (keeping the flock protected) and exemplifies humility to humble himself for sheep. The metaphor that Jesus is using is for Himself dying on the cross for the sins of the world. Jesus died and laid His own life down for what equivocated to be “sheep” for Himself. If Jesus had let sinful man die without opening that path to heaven, it would not have made a difference to Him but instead He humbled Himself and died for sinners that did not stand a chance without Him. “ Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8, NASB) The perfect example of a leader is Jesus Christ. A leader that is able to identify that and lead using the knowledge that Jesus has left on this earth for people to read truth is the leader that is going to be the most successful.
Another way that Jesus sets an example as a leader that differs from “leaders” today is the way that He conducted His ministry. Jesus was not a self-promoter. This is one of the true characteristics of the humility dimension of a good leader. Matthew 3:13-15 says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.” (NASB) How often are politicians today going out and doing good things so that they are recognized for those acts? Jesus gave all of His glory to God the Father and He took no credit for Himself. It is difficult, and some would argue that it is impossible for a human being to complete a completely selfless act without looking for any credit for themselves.
The outcomes of a generation that trends towards the six dimensions of leadership is a vibrant civil society that listens to one another and is slow to anger. James 1:19 says, “his you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;” (NASB). The United States has begun a downward trend violence and hate in civil society due to being quick with the tongue and slow with the ears when it should really be the other way around. It is imperative that millennials lead by example and show that they are able to co-exist with one another despite having separate opinions. There is hope that the millennial generation is trending in the right direction as well. Kimberly Fries, a contributor to Forbes released a study about millennials and how they are already changing leadership without even knowing it. One of the points that she has found is that millennials want leadership positions and that they are embracing a “flat management structure.” This “flat management structure” values opinions from all parts of an organization and focuses less on “climbing the ladder” to navigate the way to the top of the management chain. “Also, as potential leaders, they value an organization where movement within the organization does not simply go ‘up the ladder’. A flat management structure facilitates both communication and career development both upward and laterally.”[53]
Another outcome of this new six-dimensional leader is a more Biblically-based society. There are only good results from basing society off of the Bible. The Bible is the one “true” true source of truth. Christians believe that to be true but the rest of the world does not so it is an impossible task to base all of society on the Bible. Progression in small “bite-size” samples is the key. The goal should not be to progress towards this style of leadership in one big wave rather to progress individual by individual. These individual changes in leadership in their own circles (family, church, work, etc.) will progress into larger, more sweeping changes when millennials begin positions in senior leadership. God being that sixth dimension outweighs all of those other dimensions of leadership. The “God factor” is the most important factor for the long-term health of the people and the country as a whole.
Just because sinners commit sinful acts because humans have allowed sin to enter the world does not mean that other humans should just sit idly and let these acts happen. It is the responsibility of (1) humans, (2) Christians, and (3) millennials to be change in their circles and communities. Millennial Christians have the greatest responsibilities to lead their communities by the laws that God has set in the Bible bringing in that sixth dimension of leadership. The benefits that will follow from biblically based society will not ensure ease and perfect economic successes but it will ensure a nation that will be able to respond when trials and tribulations attack the country. The small changes that will start to occur in families and communities will ignite change at higher levels because millennials are the next great leaders in management and government positions. The time is coming where leadership will change over to millennials so they need to be well-equipped and trained for when that moment comes. Leadership will always fail at some point. Leadership will fail until the ultimate leader; Jesus Christ returns to earth for His followers. It is up to the human race until then, to take control of their actions and ensure that tragedies of the likes of the genocide in Rwanda, and the post-election violence in Kenya never happen again. The United States as a nation came dangerously close to that scale of civil unrest in 2016, it is up to the millennials, the Christian millennials to ensure that the United States does not come close to that line again and sets an example to other nations as it has been for so many years.
Appendix
A – Map of Rwanda[54]
B – Map of Kenya[55]
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[1] Dallaire, RomeÌo. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Da Capo Press; 1st Carroll & Graf Ed Edition, 2004.
[2] Ibid
[3] “Rwanda Profile – Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 6 Aug. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14093322.
[4] Ibid
[5] Longman, Timothy. “Placing Genocide in Context: Research Priorities for the Rwandan Genocide.” Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 6, no. 1, 2004, pp. 29–45., doi:10.1080/1462352042000194692.
[6] Ibid
[7] “Rwanda Profile – Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 6 Aug. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14093322.
[8] My father, maker of the trees: how I survived the Rwandan genocide. Eric Irivuzumugabe. PRINT. 0801013577.
[9] Revisiting Hotel Rwanda: genocide ideology, reconciliation, and rescuers. WEBSITE. (Journal of Genocide Research)
[10] Dallaire, RomeÌo. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Da Capo Press; 1st Carroll & Graf Ed Edition, 2004.
[11] Ibid
[12] Journal of Genocide Research (2010), 12(3–4), September–December 2010, 149–172
A solution from hell: The United States and the rise of humanitarian interventionism, 1991–2003 STEPHEN WERTHEIM
[13] Staff, NPR. “What A Downed Black Hawk In Somalia Taught America.” NPR, NPR, 5 Oct. 2013, www.npr.org/2013/10/05/229561805/what-a-downed-black-hawk-in-somalia-taught-america.
[14] Journal of Genocide Research (2010), 12(3–4), September–December 2010, 149–172
A solution from hell: the United States and the rise of humanitarian interventionism, 1991–2003 STEPHEN WERTHEIM
[15] Gender and genocide in Rwanda: Women as agents and objects of Genocide 1
Portions of this paper appear in my doctoral dissertation “Sexual violence as political terror.”
Lisa Sharlach Pages 387-399 | Published online: 09 Nov 2007
[16] “Rwanda Profile – Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 6 Aug. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14093322.
[17] “The World Factbook: KENYA.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 5 Feb. 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html.
[18] Ibid
[19] Healing the wound personal narratives about the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya. Kimani Njogu. PRINT. 9966724451.
[20] Ibid
[21] The cost of exposing cheating International election monitoring, fraud, and post-election violence in Africa. WEB. (Journal of Peace Research).
[22] Managing Conflict’s in Africa’s Democratic Transitions. Chapter 9: “Conflict Analysis of the 2007 Post Election Violence in Kenya. PDF.
[23] “Timeline: Kenya’s Post-Election Crisis.” Financial Times, 31 Jan. 2008, www.ft.com/content/7e70648a-d00f-11dc-9309-0000779fd2ac.
[24] Ibid
[25] The legacy of the white highlands: Land rights, ethnicity and the post-2007 election violence in Kenya. WEBSITE. (From a scholarly journal of African studies).
[26] Kimenyi, Mwangi S. “Kenya: A Country Redeemed after a Peaceful Election.” Brookings, Brookings, 28 July 2016, www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2013/04/02/kenya-a-country-redeemed-after-a-peaceful-election/.
[27] Aglionby, John. “Subscribe to the FT to Read: Financial Times Kenya Election Re-Run Puts Further Damper on Economy.” Financial Times, 4 Oct. 2017, www.ft.com/content/ebebe0bc-a213-11e7-9e4f-7f5e6a7c98a2.
[28] Personal Interview, Carl Githaka, February 19, 2018
[29] Personal Interview, Jeremy Ambicha, February 19, 2018
[30] The legacy of the white highlands: Land rights, ethnicity and the post-2007 election violence in Kenya. WEBSITE. (From a scholarly journal of African studies).
[31] Journal of Genocide Research (2010), 12(3–4), September–December 2010, 149–172
A solution from hell: The United States and the rise of humanitarian interventionism, 1991–2003 STEPHEN WERTHEIM
[32] Bowcott, Owen. “Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta Becomes First Head of State to Appear before ICC.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Oct. 2014, www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/08/kenya-uhuru-kenyatta-head-of-state-icc-hague.
[33] Simiyu, Tome Francis. “Media Ownership and Framing in Kenya: A Study of the ICC Case Against Kenyatta.” Open Science Repository, Open Science Repository, 5 Feb. 2015, www.open-science-repository.com/media-ownership-and-framing-in-kenya-study-of-the-icc-case-against-uhuru-kenyatta.html.
[34] Ibid
[35] Kimani, Mary. “East Africa Feels Blows of Kenyan Crisis | Africa Renewal Online.” United Nations, United Nations, Apr. 2008, www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2008/east-africa-feels-blows-kenyan-crisis.
[36] Ibid
[37] Ibid
[38] Akwiri, Joseph. “Fears of Election Violence to Dent Kenya Tourism.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 14 Dec. 2012, www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-tourism/fears-of-election-violence-to-dent-kenya-tourism-idUSBRE8BD0TA20121214.
[39] Journal of Genocide Research (2010), 12(3–4), September–December 2010, 149–172
A solution from hell: the United States and the rise of humanitarian interventionism, 1991–2003 STEPHEN WERTHEIM
[40] Ferroggiaro, William. “The US and the Genocide in Rwanda 1994 Evidence of Inaction.” The U.S. and the Genocide in Rwanda 1994: Evidence of Inaction, 20 Aug. 2001, nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB53/.
[41] Ibid
[42] Dallaire, RomeÌo. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Da Capo Press; 1st Carroll & Graf Ed Edition, 2004.
[43] Sanders, Sam. “Did Social Media Ruin Election 2016?” NPR, NPR, 8 Nov. 2016, www.npr.org/2016/11/08/500686320/did-social-media-ruin-election-2016.
[44] “Hillary Clinton Twitter Capture.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 9 June 2016, www.yahoo.com/news/clinton-tells-trump-delete-account-fueling-twitter-war-222819047.html.
[45] “Donald Trump Twitter Capture.” Bipartisan Report, 3 May 2016, bipartisanreport.com/2016/05/03/donald-trump-pathetically-accuses-hillary-clinton-of-male-discrimination-video/.
[46] Araida, Saki, et al. “ELECTORAL VIOLENCE A Study of the 2016 United States Presidential Election .” Georgetown University, Dec. 2016, government.georgetown.edu/sites/government/files/files/upload/georgetown_-_2016_-_electoral_violence_group_project_1_1.pdf.
[47] Merriam-Webster Dictionary
[48] Aglionby, John. “Subscribe to the FT to Read: Financial Times Kenya Election Re-Run Puts Further Damper on Economy.” Financial Times, 4 Oct. 2017, www.ft.com/content/ebebe0bc-a213-11e7-9e4f-7f5e6a7c98a2.
[49] Bates, Francesca. “Washington State University.” Spring 2015 British Rule in Kenya Comments, 19 Jan. 2015, history.libraries.wsu.edu/spring2015/2015/01/19/british-rule-in-kenya/.
[50] Ibid
[51] Mark McLouglin Lecture at VWR HQ in Radnor, July 8, 2017
[52] Radar Chart for Capstone Project. Created at https://livegap.com/charts/app.php?lan=en 3/28/2018
[53] Fries, Kimberly. “7 Ways Millennials Are Changing Traditional Leadership.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 31 Jan. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlyfries/2018/01/18/7-ways-millennials-are-changing-traditional-leadership/#ea84d797dae6.
[54] Scalzo, Kristin. “Map of Rwanda with Genocide Details.” The National Security Archive, 31 Mar. 2014, nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB464/.
[55] Hounshell, Blake. “Tribal Map of Kenya.” ForeignPolicy.com, 28 Jan. 2008, foreignpolicy.com/2008/01/28/kenyas-ethnic-cleavages/.
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