Countdown to the new year looks different for 2008. As elections draw near for Americans, another election and its aftermath has captured the news this past week. Most of us rang in the new year with friends and family in anticipation of things to come in 2008 while reminiscing about 2007. In Kenya, the end of 2007 and countdown to the 2008 amassed stark differences.
The Kenya national elections for parliamentary and presidential candidates were held on December 27. Raila (Rye ee la) Odinga was the front runner in the polls over the incumbent President Kibaki going into the election. "One of the big issues is that Odinga is Luo and Kibaki is Kikuyu." Said Ed Pollasch, missionary and resident of Kenya. "The Kikiyu’s have been in power for decades and the Luo feel slighted by them. They see Raila as their ‘great hope’ so for them to give up this chance or to have it stolen away is unacceptable."
The initial unrest on the 29th was from the factions of Odinga’s party, ODM, who felt the election results were not being passed on to the public quickly enough, thus they suspected wrong doings. The following day, the 30th, people crowded the election office in Nairobi in the morning waiting for an announcement. Hours passed, people became upset and restless. By mid-afternoon, Raila held a press conference citing ‘proof’ of wrong doing at the highest level. He stated very clearly that ‘his sources’ showed he had won the election by nearly 500,000 votes.
Later that afternoon, the electoral commission moved the army in and ushered everyone out of the building except a few reporters. They went on air to announce that President Kibaki had won by 230,000 votes after nearly 10,000,000 votes had been cast. With this announcement, the government swore in President Kibaki to a second term of office in order to quell any attempts of anarchy. It was after this announcement that the riots began.
Much of the killing has been tribal in nature, but not all. The aftermath of Kenya's national elections has filled the minds of many Kenyans with doubt, angst, uncertainty, and fear. Imagine what was happening in Nairobi as I rang in the New Year at a friends house with a champagne toast, in full 80's party garb of course.
The Kenya national elections for parliamentary and presidential candidates were held on December 27. Raila (Rye ee la) Odinga was the front runner in the polls over the incumbent President Kibaki going into the election. "One of the big issues is that Odinga is Luo and Kibaki is Kikuyu." Said Ed Pollasch, missionary and resident of Kenya. "The Kikiyu’s have been in power for decades and the Luo feel slighted by them. They see Raila as their ‘great hope’ so for them to give up this chance or to have it stolen away is unacceptable."
The initial unrest on the 29th was from the factions of Odinga’s party, ODM, who felt the election results were not being passed on to the public quickly enough, thus they suspected wrong doings. The following day, the 30th, people crowded the election office in Nairobi in the morning waiting for an announcement. Hours passed, people became upset and restless. By mid-afternoon, Raila held a press conference citing ‘proof’ of wrong doing at the highest level. He stated very clearly that ‘his sources’ showed he had won the election by nearly 500,000 votes.
Later that afternoon, the electoral commission moved the army in and ushered everyone out of the building except a few reporters. They went on air to announce that President Kibaki had won by 230,000 votes after nearly 10,000,000 votes had been cast. With this announcement, the government swore in President Kibaki to a second term of office in order to quell any attempts of anarchy. It was after this announcement that the riots began.
Much of the killing has been tribal in nature, but not all. The aftermath of Kenya's national elections has filled the minds of many Kenyans with doubt, angst, uncertainty, and fear. Imagine what was happening in Nairobi as I rang in the New Year at a friends house with a champagne toast, in full 80's party garb of course.
While we were all eating our black-eyed peas for good luck on new year's day, Kikuyus were being burned alive in a church, a place known to so many as a sanctuary, a place of refuge. Rioting, looting, and killing in Nairobi and other key cities in Kenya have occurred over the past days. A compromise is needed to stop the flow of blood.
Please familiarize yourselves with the ongoings, and remember that 2008 is election year for us. It's humbling to see such a stable country fall into the same nature which characterizes so many African nations. Ir's easy to say, "That would never happen to us." I'm sure it's what the people of Kenya used to say when observing the political and civil unrest of their neighboring countries.
The opposition ODM party is called for a 1,000,000 person march today in Nairobi to protest the election results. The government stated they will not let it take place. check out http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/world/africa/04kenya.html.
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