Elections in Kenya, 15 people reported dead!

[Kampfbaer]

At least 15 people are reported dead after clashes following the presidential elections.

In the German media the possibility of a civil war was mentioned.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3110692.ece

or in German

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,525921,00.html

Has somebody more insight into the ethnical groups and political factions in this region of Africa?

There also seem to be differences between EU and US officials regarding the fairness of the elections. While it was reported, that the US ambassador to Kenya seems to be confident with the conduct of the elections, EU observers voiced their doubt about the outcome of the elction.

[Rudolph]

News in South Africa pointed out that the "wrong" (good/better) side will propably win the election, and that it may spark more violence from the opposition. Not sure about the ethnic groups and such though... TIA - This is Africa.

[Rudolph]

Kenya rioting death toll at 125 (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071231/ap_on_re_af/kenya_elections)

A huge "peaceful" demonstration will be held on Friday, to protest the current president having won the election again. Let's see how the government treats them, and whether the protest is indeed peaceful...

[Kampfbaer]

I sincerely hope that the matter can be solved peacefully, Africa surely needs no more civil wars!

[Ordie]

I've heard on the BBC that the sales of provisions and machetes in Kenya peaked within the last month.

People knew what was about to happen.

[Rudolph]

I've heard on the BBC that the sales of provisions and machetes in Kenya peaked within the last month.

Jeez, sounds unreal. A civil will not help anyone and we don't need more refugees over here. Here's hoping for a peaceful Friday...


Btw. Apparently on the 7th Jan stuff is gonna start in SA too, Zuma is trying to get the president put out of office by vote of no confidence.

[DanteXavier]

Jeez, sounds unreal. A civil will not help anyone and we don't need more refugees over here. Here's hoping for a peaceful Friday...


Btw. Apparently on the 7th Jan stuff is gonna start in SA too, Zuma is trying to get the president put out of office by vote of no confidence.

The fact that a guy like Zuma has the political power to do anything of that scale and that he can realistically think of ascending to the presidency truly shows just how nonsensical the world has become.:cantbeli:

Anyway, Kenya has been on the path to improvement recently. I hope to god this doesn't result in a civil war.

[Kampfbaer]

Apparently the US withdrew it´s congratulations for Mr. Kibaki and has now doubt about the fairness of the election.

http://www.n-tv.de/898331.html (in German, sorry)


http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,525984,00.html ( English Article)


"There were areas where the voter turnout was 115 percent..."

no comment!

[IraGlacialis]

Well it looks like the death toll has increased. And it doesn't look like the fighting has abated.

Kenyan death toll near 250 (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080101/ts_nm/kenya_election_dc;_ylt=AsJmO2RcoIqklN2Mc7kkVrus0NUE)

[2Sheds_Jackson]

NAIROBI, Kenya - A mob torched a church sheltering hundreds of Kenyans fleeing election violence on Tuesday, killing as many as 50 people as the convulsion of bloodshed continued after the disputed vote that gave the president a second term. The opposition leader accused the government of "genocide."

President Mwai Kibaki said political parties should meet immediately and publicly call for calm after rioting killed at least 263 people in what had been east Africa's most stable and prosperous democracy.

The church fire in Eldoret, some 185 miles from the capital, killed at least 50 people, said a Red Cross volunteer who counted the bodies and helped the wounded. She asked that her name not be used for fear of reprisals.

more... (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22460182/)

[Rudolph]

I sometimes wonder, is Africa simply going through the same things the West went through long ago? Hell, WWI and WWII wasn't that long ago, but at least took place on a whole different level. The average African is really not a violent, bad dude at all. They are just largely a simple, uneducated people, and it seems that those who do "make" it, abuse their education to put ideas in their citizens' minds. It's so frustrating seeing this repeat itself over and over again, while we sit and shake our heads in disbelief... worlds apart.

[IraGlacialis]

So... um... happy New Year? :-(

[DanteXavier]

I sometimes wonder, is Africa simply going through the same things the West went through long ago? Hell, WWI and WWII wasn't that long ago, but at least took place on a whole different level. The average African is really not a violent, bad dude at all. They are just largely a simple, uneducated people, and it seems that those who do "make" it, abuse their education to put ideas in their citizens' minds.

I think it could be a matter of not enough of the population receiving this type of education. Those who do get it, like you say, often will put ideas into the minds of other citizens, but they're only able to do that because so few of the others are as educated.

That being said, you also can't ignore the ethnic strife. What we have in the majority of these african nations is a situation of forced(involuntary) multiculturalism, stemming from drawn borders. Most of the major conflicts and chaos we see can be traced back to ethnic strife. This whole business in Kenya right now is going on because Kibaki is a Kikuyu, and all of the other ethnic groups in Kenya(who are just as numerous-the kikuyu aren't even a majority) are angry at how he has only been placing memebers of his own ethnic group into power during his own presidency. Having talked to some Kenyans, they are fearing that this could turn into a "Kikuyu massacre" of sorts.

Without the ethnic tension, we wouldn't see even 3 quarters of the issues we're seeing now.

[IanSolo]

:( Situation gone bad really fast, and today's news spoke about etnich policy.

What I am wondering is why UNs or NATO doesn't send immediately troops to avoid further worse events.


What the f@ck...50 killed burned in a church!!!

[Rudolph]

The UN never moves quickly in Africa. I don't know why, because we all know that unless you take immediate action, thousands will die. Everyone keeps on saying "not another Holocaust", but it happens all the time and no one with power does anything to stop it!!!

I'm getting conflicting numbers, but it's believed to be over 300 dead by now, and the Church incident is sure to cause much unrest. Who burns down a Church fillied with political refugees in any case!?

Over 70,000 have been displaced in just 5 days!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080102/ap_on_re_af/kenya_elections;_ylt=Ajd1D1CzjieoIMtZyxp8RRi96Q8F

[DanteXavier]

I pray that things get better soon...this death tool could go into the thousands, unfortunately, given the rate atwhich people are responding.

[Rudolph]

Olympic athlete Lucas Sang, 1988 Seoul, was walking home last night when an angry mob chopped him to death as unrest sweeps Kenya.

[IraGlacialis]

^^^^^
HOLY $#*%!! Talk about brutal.
:-(

[DanteXavier]

Olympic athlete Lucas Sang, 1988 Seoul, was walking home last night when an angry mob chopped him to death as unrest sweeps Kenya.

Oh my goodness...

Things are in a landslide here.:-(

[Rudolph]

AU chief meets political leaders in Kenya crisis talks (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080109/wl_africa_afp/kenyavoteunrest;_ylt=AoZQuDGSfwrGsKA_NfrOcdu96Q8F)

NAIROBI (AFP) - African Union chief John Kufuor met Kenyan leaders on Wednesday to mediate an end to political turmoil following disputed presidential polls that sparked widespread violence and left at least 600 dead.

President Mwai Kibaki, whose re-election 11 days ago triggered the unrest, denied there was any national crisis in his meeting with Kufuor, an official at the president's office said.

"Kibaki insisted that the country is not in a crisis and the government is operational," the official told AFP.

Ghanaian president Kufuor faces the tough task of trying to bring together Kibaki and opposition chief Raila Odinga, who claims he was robbed of victory in the December 27 election.

Odinga refuses to recognise Kibaki's legitimacy, alleging widespread fraud in the polls including a rigged vote count.

Kufuor's mission was made that much harder after a defiant Kibaki on Tuesday unveiled a partial cabinet which Odinga rejected as a "gimmick" and opposition supporters greeted with violent protests.

Odinga was due to meet with the AU chief later Wednesday, his Orange Democratic Movement said.

"We have not changed our position on recognising the president. We do not recognise him," ODM secretary general Anyang Nyongo told AFP.

Kufuor was also scheduled to hold talks with the top US Africa envoy, Jendayi Frazer, who has been in Kenya for five days on a similar mediation mission.

Shortly after his meeting with Kufuor, Kibaki flew to the western town of Eldoret, one of the worst hit areas in the violence that followed his re-election.

Kibaki and Odinga have jousted with various proposals that might allow them to talk for the first time since the poll-related violence erupted leaving 600 dead and 250,000 displaced.

The president had extended an invitation to his rival for face-to-face talks on Friday, but Odinga rejected the offer, saying he would only meet with Kufuor's mediation.

Kibaki's cabinet announcement, which came just before Kufuor flew in on Tuesday, set off protests in the western city and ODM stronghold of Kisumu, where police said officers fired into the air to disperse up to 300 young demonstrators who had blocked a road with bonfires.

Kibaki's line-up handed most posts to members of his party, although Kalonzo Musyoka, a minor presidential candidate, was named as vice president, and another member of Kalonzo's party was named information minister.

Foreign diplomats warned that the president's move to name part of the cabinet was a blow to peace negotiations, and an alliance of leading Kenyan rights groups accused Kibaki of riding roughshod over the political process.

"We refuse to allow the man sworn in as president to continue presenting the nation with what is, in effect, a series of 'faits accomplis'," Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice said in a statement on Wednesday.

There was no slot for any member of Odinga's party, but Kibaki vowed in a statement Wednesday to form a "broad-based" government.


US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday asked her chief Africa envoy Frazer to prolong her mission in Kenya, while four former African presidents are also in the country to push diplomatic efforts.

The United States is a key Kenyan ally and donor and President George W. Bush has urged the government and opposition to hold "good faith" talks and end the violence.

Aid groups have warned of a potential health emergency in makeshift camps being used by the displaced in schools, hospitals and churches in the isolated and still tense Rift Valley region of western Kenya, as well as Nairobi's slums.
The World Food Programme said it had been able to deliver food aid to thousands of people in the western region, but its convoys still require police escorts on some stretches due to security concerns.