So it seems that there was violence in Nairobi and Kisumu the day before yesterday. It came out in yesterday's paper but not from the BBC or the US Embassy. The paper says that the opposition has vowed to block off all the roads to Nairobi if they try to have a rerun on Oct 26th. We don't need threats like this...and maybe it is fake news. Some friends have told me that the opposition demos are infiltrated by government supporters who then cause chaos which gets blamed on the opposition. Someone filmed a police officer breaking the window to his vehicle which he was going to claim was broken by the demonstrators. Take home point is verify the reports and use trusted sources...like me! I can tell you for sure what is happening here in my little corner of Mombasa.
So, the Acting Interior Cabinet Secretary, Matiang'i, has outlawed demonstrations by the opposition in Nairobi, Kisuma and Mombasa. The hospital in Kisumu is overwhelmed with sick patients since the nurses are still on strike. The businesses in Nairobi have lost millions due to the protests. Today there was a demonstration in Mombasa but it was dispersed by tear gas and didn't disrupt much down town. I was down there an hour later and you wouldn't have known anything happened. However, there was a big truck full of soldiers passing by the Cathedral. There have also been many planes flying over head since the middle of the night. Wonder what they are bringing in. I doubt it is tourists.
Talking to some friends I found out that when the President came to Mombasa on Monday he fed the people with a rice dish, biryani, that has a lot of spices and oil. Many of the people who where bused in gorged themselves and then got sick afterwards with diarrhea because they aren't used to such heavy food. Money was also distributed. People got anywhere from $20-60 which for them makes the trip worth it for sure!
Meanwhile, 3.5 million Kenyans in the semi arid northern areas face starvation due to drought. That's almost 10% of the population.
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