Thinking of Kenya

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no peace.jpg Outside, it is 15 degrees (that is what it feels like, according to Yahoo Weather) and though I thought I had bundled up successfully and strategically, walking towards the metro felt like lurching through a freezer.

I made it three doors down from my building before a cab pulled over; he mistook my violent shivering as a gesture for his attention.

I gratefully dove in to both the back seat and the dulcet, erudite tones of the BBC world service, which was emerging from several speakers at a volume that was on the wrong side of my comfort levels. If it hadn’t been the Beeb, it would’ve been unbearable.

While we waited for the light to change on Connecticut Avenue NW, I noticed how he was peering at me via the rear-view mirror. I was frantically trying to remember if I had my security badge at the bottom of my boat ‘n’ tote.

We sailed forward, in that smooth, sinking-in-to-pudding way which is unique to Town cars and he made mirror-eye-contact with me again. He smiled slightly.

“Are you from Nairobi?”

How odd. I am forever getting confused for the other kind of Sheba. “No, my parents are from India.”

He looked at me like I was daft.

“You’re Indian.”

It was a declaration, and an odd, exasperated one at that, not a question. I didn’t feel like playing this variation of the “Where are you from?” game on an empty and caffeine-free stomach so I tried to deflect.

“Um, are you from…Nairobi?”, I asked.“No! I am Ethiopian!”

I nodded and looked down. As I’ve mentioned occasionally, there is a reason why I will never play poker; I can’t hide anything. My emotions display in high-def. I was confused.

“There are a lot of Indians in Nairobi,” he said, quietly, staring straight ahead. “You looked sad, I thought you were worried about your family. I was going to say, I hope they are safe.”

The news correspondent wrapped up their report at that moment…on Kenya.

I felt mortified, that I was so out of it I had not connected Kenya’s capital and current events. My embarrassment vanished when I realized how incredibly thoughtful and sensitive this stranger had been. The moment I entered the taxi, the BBC had commenced discussing the worrisome crisis in Nairobi, which erupted over last week’s questionable election process and results. He thought the news was what was affecting me.

He was reaching out to this American-born, momentarily confused, non-Kenyandesi. It’s not like he had to, but he did. It was a kind and sobering way to start my day.

::

Via the NYT:

Nairobi degenerated deeper into violence on Thursday as riot police used tear gas, batons and water cannons to turn back thousands of opposition supporters who tried to rally in the Kenyan capital. Protesters burned tires, smashed store windows and fought with the police across the city.
Some demonstrators showed restraint, yelling to the rowdier members in their ranks, “Weka mawe! Weka mawe!” which means, “Put down the stones.”
Other protesters torched businesses as police officers in padded suits chased them away from the downtown area.
“We will burn this country down!” screamed Abdullah Mohammed, a young protester. He promptly set fire to a mountain of tires.
One band of opposition supporters tore through a Nairobi slum, attacking residents and raping several women, residents said. The residents caught one of the thugs and hacked him to death. The man’s body lay on the street for some time because police officers said it was too dangerous to wade into the slum to retrieve it.
He lay on a dirt path between shanties with his face covered by plastic bags. Someone had stolen his shoes.

Turmoil came to Kenya after Mwai Kibaki narrowly and suspiciously won a highly-contested election. Observers and his opposition allege that it was rigged.

Frustration over this has begat violence, which has devastated the regularly “stable” and popular tourist destination. Inter-tribal enmity has exploded to the point where frightened people who were seeking refuge in a church were burned alive. The majority of those within were women and children, fifty of them perished.

More than 300 people have been killed in the violence and thousands of homes, shops and farms have been burned to the ground.

::

Previous coverage of Kenya on SM: Moja, Mbili, Tatu, Nne, Tano, Sita

37 thoughts on “Thinking of Kenya”

  1. My heart sank when I read an today’s LA Times article about that church full of people burned by their village neighbors in the “political turmoil.” Though I’ve never been to East Africa, having lived in West Africa I feel I know that type of village and can imagine the details. Echoes of Rwanda. Echoes of a novel I just finished reading about the Biafran/Nigerian Civil War (“Half of a Yellow Sun” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie).

    My heart breaks, and I feel like just saying a prayer. For all of us.

  2. i know that in the town of kisumu a lot of indians are/were hiding out in the swami narayan temple due to the utter chaos.. i don’t know what the massive protests in nairobi will bring…we still have family in that city..

  3. Turmoil came to Kenya after Mwai Kibaki narrowly and suspiciously won a highly-contested election. Observers and his opposition allege that it was rigged.

    Such incidents, however sad, highlight the maturity of the fledgeling electorate in Indian democracy, despite the fact that rigging, fraudulent voter lists and booth capturing are prevalent (even though they have reduced significantly in the last decade). There is enough institutional support to ensure that once the election results are declared, people accept the verdict. When Congress won in 2004 despite all forecasts, BJP accepted it without question and moved into the opposition. Last month, when “Chak De Modi” won in Gujarat, Congress accepted it and it was business as usual from the next day.

    For democracy to prevail, much more than voting lists are needed.

    M. Nam

  5. My dad was caught up in the riots in Kisumu. He is normally a very calm level-headed person, but having to be moved/having to move people in armoured cars from house to house was terrifying for him. He says the looting and burning has set the city back 50 years. He’s back in the US safe, but shaken by what he saw.

    I’m angry and horrified.

  7. I would strongly caution AGAINST proclamations that this violence is somehow endemic to Kenya or that it indicates a greater failure of Kenyan civil society.

    There is enough institutional support to ensure that once the election results are declared, people accept the verdict.

    Also, I think the gross backlash now does not show a lack of institutional support; this kind of violence is not common in Kenya, and given how blatantly problematic these elections were, it is a very valid position for people to refuse the elections results.

    The violence is awful — I don’t think anyone expected this would be the result of the elections; people were hopeful for change, and voters turned out in record high numbers. This election was seen as one of the best opportunities to have a true election (i.e. with real competition/contention over seats) after years of “democratic opening” after the despotic years of Daniel Moi.

    The current situation is disheartening and horrible. I’ve been terrified for days — I had heard from friends (in Kenya) right after the polls closed that tensions were high and violence likely. The blogosophere was covering this way before it broke across western media outlets (and it took some time to clear into the Kenyan press — Kibaki declared victory and then declared a media blackout), and to be honest I think their coverage is generally better. I think the violence reflects frustration — this (the right to free, non-corrupt elections) has been an issue for over 40 years. Despite the (in my opinion irresponsible) comments of the NYT to the contrary, this is NOT comparable to the violence in Rwanda before the 1994 genocide, nor is it indicative of deep-rooted ancestral tribal tensions.

    Conspiracy theories abound. Suspicion is high that the entire thing was a sham. Top officials in the ECK (Elections Council of Kenya) have resigned over alleged vote-tampering/stuffing and Kibaki is claiming votes way higher than the number of voters on the rolls in some districts. I think this situation can be overcome, but not without addressing the larger issues that have folks out on the streets right now. Whether or not Kibaki won, we’ll never know, and his government holds NO legitimacy anymore.

    There’s good information out there. See: The East African Standard Kenyan Pundit Kenyan Jurist Thinker’s Room Chris Blattman’s Blog Kumekucha And others… All Africa also has relatively good coverage.

  8. Moornam – regarding maturity of the fledgling electorate in Indian democracy, I wonder if that is because of the vast diversity of India. It seems like India has more that its share of political issues as well, but most political disturbances are localized and don’t tend to spread all over the country. I attribute this to the fact that people in one part of the country don’t care too much about what happens in another (UP and Tamil Nadu for example).

  9. Camille: I agree that we’re unlikely to see the situation blow up anywhere near the proportions of Rwanda, but is it responsible to say that the riots and unrest — even if “somewhat short lived” (how temporary is temporary?) — don’t indicate at least some breakdown or “failure” of civil society? Dispute of elections is fairly commonplace in many nations these days, but even in Africa lately, there aren’t often eruptions of this magnitude and level of carnage.

    I definitely don’t want to be an alarmist, but it seems very unclear how this will turn out in the coming days and weeks. Ghana’s Kufuor (as head of the African Union) and Desmond Tutu were meant to arrive in Kenya to assist in cooling the situation, but their mediation mission has been rebuked by Kibaki’s government. I would classify current Kenyan events as the most serious electoral/civil unrest situation in subsaharan Africa since the (I’ve lost count) most recent shenanigans precipitated by Mugabe and his thugs.

  10. is it responsible to say that the riots and unrest — even if “somewhat short lived” (how temporary is temporary?) — don’t indicate at least some breakdown or “failure” of civil society?

    I’m not arguing that this violence doesn’t indicate a fracturing of civil society, I am just reacting to speculation and “analysis” (not in this comment thread) around the “total failure” of the Kenyan state or the “total failure” of Kenyan civil society. I think this is a huge failure, but not because people won’t “accept the results and move on.” I think the irresponsibility cuts both ways.

  11. Yes, this is truly horrifying. That church incident knocked the breath out of me. I can’t think about anything else. What a heartbreaking start to the new year.

    Democracy is not society’s natural tendency, and it’s not an easy thing to introduce or to sustain, which is why I want to slap Bush when he urges Pakistan to “honor Bhutto with democracy.” It’s not a Hallmark card or a bloody wreath, you fool. People don’t just up and decide to be democratic. Democracy is fragile and complex and, arguably, costly for everyone involved, even when it works.

    Kusala (#1) — glad you read Half of a Yellow Sun. You should all also read Say You’re One of Them, an incredible collection of short stories forthcoming in June. The author, Uwem Akpan, is a Jesuit priest from Nigeria — some of you may have read his stories in the New Yorker. One about street children in Kenya; another set in Rwanda during the genocide. Intensely empathetic, beautiful work.

  12. Camille, I think the burning of the church really signified a new level of violence/hate. Esp. the news that mattresses were pushed against the windows to block them.

    It seems (according to an NPR interview with a missionary) about 10k people are camped in another church compound in Eldoret.

    But, it does seem the big march was called off and the Guardan say the the PM is ready for talks with the opp.

  14. It is sad and frustrating to see so many innocent lives being hurt and killed. Wonder if Indian consulate in Kenya gives any sort of help to Indians trapped there.

  15. Not to be inflamamtory, but is there a Muslim v. infidel angle to this violence? Times of London reports “all non-Muslim” shops burned in Mombasa (is that some kind of code for desi shops?). And Kenyan Pundit blog reports “forced circumcisions.” WTF?

  18. is there a Muslim v. infidel angle to this violence? Times of London reports “all non-Muslim” shops burned in Mombasa (is that some kind of code for desi shops?).

    just a primer – kibaki is from the kikuyu tribe and odinga is from the luo tribe. tribal rivalry is at the heart of this. the religious issue you alluded to should not be a factor. it’s more symptomatic of the anarchy the country is descending into. probably the muslim shopkeepers are banding together to protect their areas and the stragglers or the indies are getting the drubbing.

  20. 15 · rob said

    all non-Muslim” shops burned in Mombasa (is that some kind of code for desi shops?)

    Rob, I don’t think that’s any kind of “code”, since AFAIK, there’s a fair sized Indian Ismaili community, especially in coastal areas such as Mombasa. The majority population of Kenya is not Muslim, though I don’t know the demographic breakdown of Mombasa and vicinity. I haven’t read the accounts you’ve seen yet, so I can’t really speak to the Muslim vs. Non angle… though I can’t imagine why there would be, except that mob behavior in situations like this certainly tends to not be rational. From what I’ve read, the main ethnic tension has been Kikuyus (the ethnicity of the president whose reelection is being derided as invalid) and non-Kikuyu groups.

  21. rob, I don’t think it’s an anti-Muslim angle. The coast of Kenya (Mombasa included) is very Muslim, but the rest of the country is largely Christian, pastoralist or animist.

    ODM (i.e. opposition) supporters were largely a coalition of groups who have not been able to leverage their power at the national level. This included the Luo, the Luhya, the Kalenjin, Kisii, and the coastal tribes (all along the Indian Ocean coast, which includes Mombasa). In terms of territories, this would translate into Western, Rift Valley, Nyanza, Coast, and North Eastern. Kibaki supporters are thought to be mostly Kikuyu, thus based in Central and Nairobi.

    The violence falls very much along political lines — ODM vs. Kibaki supporters. While these are certainly influenced by other affinities/identities, desis would be a likely target if they were Kibaki supporters, not because they are non-Muslim. [also, there is a relatively robust desi Ismaili population in the western part of the country… I would doubt that “non-Muslim” is code for desi].

    Neale, I understand. Again, I am not trying to minimize the violence; I am just cautioning against inaccurate/inflammatory classifications (e.g., genocide, which the NYT keeps conjuring) or to reductionist arguments (e.g. “ancient tribal hostilities”).

  22. Kusala, Thanks–I’d read about the tribal angle, but was a bit taken aback by the Times of London’s description of whose shops got looted in Mombasa. As Khoofia points out, though, lots of things can happen during anarchy.

  23. Thanks, Camille, and thanks for those links on your earlier post–I learned a lot looking through them.

  24. One of the unfortunate aspects of being elected to power in some of the developing countries is the reluctance of those in power to pass the baton to other leaders. I don’t know that this is necessarily confined to African countries through they seem to be in the news more often than other nations – whether it is Mugabe or, now, Kibaki. It is a mark of the greatness of Mandela that despite his popularity he saw his role as being one that transitioned South Africa to majority rule after which he stepped down voluntarily. How many leaders around the world would willingly do this?

    Perhaps it is the strongest argument for having strictly enforced term limits – similar to the US – where the decision to run for another terms is an option that is not available after two terms.

  25. rob, no problem — Kenya is a country that is really close to my heart (I used to live/work there), so anything that helps demystify what’s happening is a plus.

    To add to the “primer” re: the background on Kenya, there are a few historic issues at play here [aside: this is a very quick and dirty overview, so please forgive me — I’m trying to be as accurate as possible].

    Prior to Kibaki, neither Jomo Kenyatta nor Daniel Moi (the two previous presidents) served as democratic presidents — they both ruled as quasi-dictators despite Kenya’s 40 years of “democratic” rule. Kenyatta was a Kikuyu, and Moi was a Kalenjin. Under British rule, the Kikuyu benefitted heavily from British institutions (access to English language schools, etc.), in part because Nairobi is in the heart of “Kikuyu territory.”

    There is definitely a sentiment, particularly among the western tribes (predominantly the Luhya and Luo), that they have been unfairly kept from power and that the Kikuyu have promised them political representation in exchange for votes but have reneged on those promises. For example, Oginga Odinga, Kenya’s first VP and a prominent figure in the independence movement (also a Luo) was sought out by Kenyatta to help unite the tribes against the British with the understanding that Odinga would later become President. Instead, he became a key opposition leader and was put under house arrest and imprisoned (and freed, again) as a political dissident by both Kenyatta and Moi 9they both also appointed him to positions of political leadership, so this is a double-edged sword). Raila Odinga is his son. When Raila Odinga ran for office, a core component of his strategy was certainly drumming up this sense of ethnic disadvantage.

    Also, to clarify, the Luo are a Nilotic tribe, the Luhya and Kikuyu are Bantu tribes, the Kalenjin are thought to be originally from Sudan, and the coast tribes are Swahili. If you take a look at where they’re located on a map and transpose that with colonial infrastructure, I think it explains a bit more than a simple “tribe vs. tribe” argument.

  26. Also, to clarify, the Luo are a Nilotic tribe, the Luhya and Kikuyu are Bantu tribes, the Kalenjin are thought to be originally from Sudan, and the coast tribes are Swahili. If you take a look at where they’re located on a map and transpose that with colonial infrastructure, I think it explains a bit more than a simple “tribe vs. tribe” argument.

    Thanks Camille, and eat your heart out Lazy NYT.

  27. 3 · MoorNam said

    Such incidents, however sad, highlight the maturity of the fledgeling electorate in Indian democracy, despite the fact that rigging, fraudulent voter lists and booth capturing are prevalent (even though they have reduced significantly in the last decade). There is enough institutional support to ensure that once the election results are declared, people accept the verdict. When Congress won in 2004 despite all forecasts, BJP accepted it without question and moved into the opposition. Last month, when “Chak De Modi” won in Gujarat, Congress accepted it and it was business as usual from the next day.

    You think something like this can’t happen in India. Scarily, I think this could very well happen in India. We have all the ingredients. You just need the right powderkeg situation.

  28. I gratefully dove in to both the back seat and the dulcet, erudite tones of the BBC world service, which was emerging from several speakers at a volume that was on the wrong side of my comfort levels. If it hadn’t been the Beeb, it would’ve been unbearable. While we waited for the light to change on Connecticut Avenue NW, I noticed how he was peering at me via the rear-view mirror. I was frantically trying to remember if I had my security badge at the bottom of my boat ‘n’ tote. We sailed forward, in that smooth, sinking-in-to-pudding way which is unique to Town cars and he made mirror-eye-contact with me again. He smiled slightly.

    Some nice writing there, Anna!

  29. I had no idea that it was this bad. I am really worried about my friend (Emily) who lives in Nairobi. I have tried leaving a message on her facebook but i got no response. I really hope she is ok.

  30. Anna, How sensitive you are to feel sorrow for people from different parts of the world, whose lives don’t really affect yours. It is an honor to know you.

  31. Anna, How sensitive you are to feel sorrow for people from different parts of the world, whose lives don’t really affect yours. It is an honor to know you.

    ?

  32. It is so horrible to hear about these crimes against humanity taking place in Nairobi, and other parts of Kenya (not to mention Darfur).

    I don’t know if this is a such a feasible or great idea, but should US troops go to those places to restore some peace and order as a humanitarian mission? Or we don’t send money and troops there because those are poverty striken areas and don’t have any oil under their land?

  33. comment-8 :”I attribute this to the fact that people in one part of the country don’t care too much about what happens in another (UP and Tamil Nadu for example).”

    India is a union of States ,which implies that there must be a union of people,cultures and traditions.Anyone living in Bangalore,chennai or Hyderabad and looking at local television and newspapers will rarely see the coverage about neighbouring states.the distant north-east region could well be on another planet or not exist at all.

    There could be many reasons .Perhaps it is the absence of a common language .there are 24 languages and numerous dialects that are mutually unintelligible.

  35. Fotoblog from Kenya – covering the elections and the rigging and the aftermath.

    DAGORETTI, KENYA—With the pre-event riggings complete and the ballots all in place, the stage was now set for widespread cheating and looting. Our crime site was Kirigu primary school, a square compound with an open-aired courtyard in the centre and a brown soccer field outside.

  36. I just spoke to my parents and brother, in Nairobi and they have told me that there is a ghostly calm. Raila’s people are looking towards another rally on Tuesday so monday afternoon will be a good time to get an idea about whats going on. Arbishop Tutu is there now and Kibaki says that he might be convinced into some kind of power sharing deal. My family is not holding its breath..

    Camille, thanks for your well researched post.