Muthoni Garland, who has been nominated for Africa?s premier literary award, The Caine Prize, says some people who?ve received death threats in Kenya?s post-election cauldron have already been murdered.
?So there is a sense that when you receive threats, they?re real. There are writers I know who?ve fled, but they tend to be the ones who work for the mass media,? she says.
Voicing and writing criticism of those committing atrocities in Kenya these days is a perilous occupation.
?I get a lot of hate mail. I hope it won?t blow into something else,? says Rasna Warah, a columnist with Kenya?s newspaper.
?It?s a very dangerous time to be ? not just a writer ? but to think with a clear mind. The country?s polarized. And basically all the journalists and human rights activists were the voices of moderation and balance. And it?s ironic that these voices of reason and moderation should now be the targets. I fear for freedom of expression in Kenya,? she sighs.
According to Warah, many of her compatriots who are now being targeted by elements in Kenya opposed to freedom of speech belong to the country?s majority ethnic group ? and the group to which President Kibaki belongs ? the Kikuyu.
The Kikuyu are perceived by many in Kenya as being united behind President Kibaki and therefore unwilling to condemn violence committed in the name of the government or against members of other ethnic groups.
But Warah says this ?isn?t true?. A lot of (the critics) are from the Kikuyu tribe who?ve condemned the atrocities committed by Kikuyu people. They condemned the atrocities committed by all groups, in fact.?
Observers say criminal gangs allied to the government ? such as Kenya?s notorious Mungiki group - are issuing the death threats.
?Something bad is about to crumble when so many intelligent people become thuggish?. That?s the sign of a desperate person,? comments Binyavanga Wainaina, one of Kenya?s most respected writers and a Caine Prize recipient.
He adds that the warnings issued to activists and journalists show that the state and its proxies are desperate to cling to power.
?This is a country with incredible skills. And it has always been the mediocre, the thugs ? the political thugs ? who dominate discussion about what this country can do. Now you have a population that is scared, uncertain and willing to listen to ideas. And you have another side of the population that wants to hijack the process. And the fact that they are threatened says something, about what the power of the intellectual, the writer, is in Kenya right now,? Wainaina comments.
Stan Gazemba is just one of Kenya?s commentators and writers who refuses to back away from his ?duty to expose the truth? about what?s happening in his country. But he remains ?very concerned? for his safety.
?The ruling elite is struggling to maintain power. And the organs that are supposed to keep the rulers in check, are not in place. But we need to soldier on. We cannot back away from saying what needs to be done,? Gazemba stresses.
?Freedom of speech is under assault, for sure,? Wainaina says. ?Writing the truth these days in Kenya is a risk, but one has to do it. Personally, it is my vocation, and therefore my duty. But we also have a great responsibility not to incite, not to foment fear and violence. We writers are therefore walking a thin line.?
Warah maintains that storytellers ? whether of the mainstream media, independent filmmakers or authors of fiction and poetry ? have the responsibility to ?counter lies with the truth.?
?The people who are storytellers and who can humanize the situation become incredibly powerful at this time, and their challenge to stand up becomes important,? Wainaina adds.
He?s helped to form Kenya?s Concerned Writers Group.
Warah is also a member: ?In the past few weeks, a collective of writers has gotten together, and we are putting out our work in various media around the world - but especially in Kenya - trying to stop the chaos. We hope it has an impact, and I think it has. It has also allowed writers to re-think their roles in society, and to think how they can prevent situations from deteriorating. I hope to help through my writing.?
She, however, acknowledges: ? I don?t know what power a column or a book has over events in a country.?
Wainaina says it?s ironic that Kenyan writers are seeking to combat ethnic violence with information?. When it was information itself that was originally used to inflame the conflict.