by: Jennifer Kumar
The news reports overwhelm me. People forced from their homes, or padlocking themselves inside. Leaving the house is not an option for some as leaving means their home would be looted and burned. Though that seems to happen to some even if they are staying home.
Though I don't know the particulars, the streets have been quiet and many shops closed, or open for few hours. Many shops have been looted, and so supplies are short. People are running out or have ran out of food, as one man said in the video report below, that he has not eaten for three days. I further would guess that dead roads coupled with a lack of supplies can only increase tensions. (In fact as I write this, the situation has got worse as reported in the Thinker's room, where it is stated, "Goods are being held at the port at the request of buyers for fear that they will be looted/destroyed en route." source)
This violence is not confined to Nairobi, though most reports I have read or seen originate from Nairobi. For instance, a British family living as expats in Kimusu, [Western] Kenya report they were forced to flee the home with their three week old baby, leaving everything- clothes, food, and identification papers, behind. (video)
I found a few good blogs to follow, one of which, the RSS feed is in the left column- Kenyan Pundit. The other site is Thinker's Room - there is first hand and second hand reports of what is going on enhanced with many photos. I give the author of this blog a lot of credit for taking those photos. Click here for the blog.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Chaos Continues in Kenya
Monday, December 31, 2007
Uncertainity Remains Heavy in the air in Kenya
by: Jennifer Kumar
I am open to learning and changing my mind about things. That is why I started this blog; to learn about something new and open my mind’s borders, so to speak. Kenya is a country that is foreign, exotic and leaves a lot to my imagination since I have not learned much about it before I started this blog. I say this being 32 years old.
I have lived abroad for two years in India. I was in India during several elections and political violence. Yet, somehow knowing what happened there was dangerous, I definitely downplayed what I reported from my findings so far in the Kenyan elections. Therefore, I am making it up in this post, and deleting the ending of my previous post because it is not what I think now, less than one day later.
What I experienced when I lived in India was the following:
- On election days the roads were barren, eerily silent. No stores were open, including many public telephone operators (pay phones operated by workers). No souls including wandering dogs could be seen in the road. I had to go out to the doctor on that day, and I was definitely shaken by the silence that surrounded me.
- I don’t remember the particulars; I think the local leader at the time was going to be sentenced to jail for breaking the law and her supporters did not agree. This led to busses and trains being stoned and a few busses being set on fire- during rush hours. I was out that day as this news was reported in the mid day, and we were not informed because we were doing field work in the slums, were there were few radios and televisions. I was not affected, but a few classmates had shared stories of being in trains that unexpectedly stopped on the tracks and hearing stones hitting the sides of the trains. They did reach home safely.
- The next day or two after those incidents (stoning and busses ablaze) colleges, schools, government offices and many places were closed and people were told to stay inside and only leave for emergency purposes.
After remembering this in detail, and then reading more about what is going on in Kenya, I agree that what I said in yesterday’s post was naïve and ignorant. How can that compare with election violence in U.S.? In U.S., we can go outside during elections. Election days are unlike any other, work goes on as usual without any fear at all. Though there has been election turmoil, it have never seen it result in closing of towns, cities, government offices, colleges, being unable to go to buy food and supplies, fires being lit in streets, killings, ‘gun rapes,’ looting, people being unable to return home because their houses had been burned/looted/occupied by bandits, and the many other terrors that are happening in the streets of Kenyan towns and cities since the election results were announced yesterday. These responses forced all media outlets to freeze reporting, and the majority (or all) of news is being reported by foreign news sources outside Kenyan borders. This current turn of events is in stark contrast to the image Kenya has portrayed to its African and world neighbors, as it has held the reputation of a haven of peace and stability in the region.
We all wish for peace, health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year for all. I send my sincerest wishes for this to all in the world, but especially in Kenya during these uncertain times.
More Information:
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Hon. Mwai Kibaki Accepts Second 5- Year Term as Kenyan President
by: Jennifer Kumar
Today, December 30, 2007, the results of the Kenyan presidential election were announced three days after the election commenced.
Though, Hon. Mwai Kibaki has completed his election acceptance speech, there are Kenyans not happy with the result. Our friends blogging at Wandering the World, in fact, report one hour after results were announced and Mr. Kibaki's speech, fires are being set in the city and Mr. Odinga "demanding" a recount (source).
In trying to understand the reasons for the ongoing violence throughout Nairobi city and slums and other towns in Kenya. I have formulated some ideas for why this is happening:
1. The election tallies were released very late, forcing most to assume election rigging.
2. The thought of rigging enticed violence, making going out to stores and running errands
impossible for most. (Read "Still Waiting" and "Election violence as many feel they have been
robbed ", both written by expats living in Nairobi, Kenya.) Some even have yet to celebrate
Christmas for reasons I have yet to fully understand.
3. The Winner hails from a different tribe (Kikuyu) than his challenger Raila Odinga (Luo tribe).
With the suspected rigging and voting tallies so close, this increases the tension and,
incidentally reports of looting. (Source article from UK
Telegraph.)
4. Kenya gained independence in 1963 from Great Britain. The country is a relatively young
democracy, struggling to identify themselves and also incorporated a multi-party democracy
which is only 15 years old (source), which would entice growing pains (including a rumor that
the challenger's name may have been left off some rosters - source).
I find it ironic that though this process the American government has been releasing communication (VOA is one source.), but I have not heard this information on local or cable news. I also read that during the tally process, local media [in Kenya] outlets were shut down and news intentionally not released to prevent more violence. Our expat friends on Wandering the World recently returned to Nairobi from abroad and did not know they would encounter "empty streets," closed shopping centers, and people on streets with clubs because, "...updates have been hard to come by on international news channels due to Bhutto’s assassination on Thursday. Her death has been the primary story on every news outlet, making channel surfing a necessity."
In learning about this Kenyan election, I am learning more about the world.
[Last paragraph intentionally deleted by author.]
Further sources: Kenya's Kibaki back in the lead, riots flare | BBC Focus on Africa- Listen now!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Women's Role in Kenya's Elections
by: Jennifer Kumar
December 27 was the Kenyan elections. I don't know much about Kenyan elections, so I am not sure if this date is annual or not. Since most of the population celebrates Christmas, it seems odd to me that this election date would be annual because of possible election violence. It was also stated in some reports that some have not yet celebrated Christmas and will do so once the election, hence tensions, decrease.
I became interested in this topic because of a few news articles related to women's role in elections. Violence is common against women candidates. I wonder if there is violence against women voters as well.
Sources: League of Kenya Women Voters Female Candidates in Kenya Say They Face Discrimination, Violence (with video) Kenyan General Election Voting Today