When Kenya’s opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) claimed that the December election was rigged in favour of President Mwai Kibaki violence erupted mainly between Luos (Raila Odinga’s Tribe) and Kikuyus (Kibaki’s Tribe) but other ethnicities in Rift Valley were also targeted. As of today more than 800 kenyans have been burnt alive and hacked to death, many have been raped and thousands have been forced to flee their homes.
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“…a house burnt down where mostly Luos were camping.
They had wanted to leave the house and run away but before they left they wanted to burn their belongings so looters could not have the opportunity to
take their things but before they got out of the house, they met a crowd waiting for them. So they decided to lock the door inside and they then got burnt alive.
It was a very, very, terrible sight. I witnessed it.
I am Kikuyu but am not getting involved. I am a school teacher and my responsibility is to keep the calm – my students at our boarding school are all combined from different ethnic groups and so I must ensure security.
Between my students, there is no animosity. I thank God for this.”
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Rift Valley, a geographical fault line that runs through Kenya, is the centre of a political and ethnic divide. It is no coincidence that towns in this area has erupted with violence after the disputed election in December, historians and academics say. The rigged election is not the only cause of the unrest occuring throughout Rift Valley. Ethnic divisions over land, wealth and power have dogged Kenyan politic’s since gaining independence in 1963. Old tensions are being uprooted and the Kikuyu-dominated government is being questioned.
Read an analysis of the ethnic divide
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Some analysts fear a cycle of ethnically-driven revenge and reprisal attacks has taken on a momentum of its own, says the
BBC’s Adam Mynott in Nairobi. The violence started with protests being interupted by police, throwing tear gas to disrupt crowds. Luos took revenge, showing their frustration of the election and not being alowed to protest, through violence directed to members of the Kikuyu and other tribes but also by taunting the police. This provoked counter attacks and violence spread through the Rift Valley area.
On Monday night an MP for Odinga’s party (ODM) was shot down by two gun men. This fueld the violence and at least nine people were killed on Tuesday and many houses tourched by angry mobs.
Read the BBC article about the MP murder
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Kofi Annan, former UN chief, has opened talks with the two rivals to try to end the terrible violence. He said, according to the BBC, short-term political issues could be solved in four weeks, but full talks could take a year. A year with violence like this, spreading throughout the country, will be more than devastating.
Although both sides agree that an end to this madness is necessary, that is about all they agree on. A frightening picture comes to my mind, not unlike the ones we have seen from the horrific Rwandan genocides of 1994. This time Kofi Annan offers a bit of comfort, but he can only do so much.
Updates on the unrest in Kenya will keep coming…
– Kajsa, Admin Twende Twende
admin.twende.twende@gmail.com
