It is official for the second time around. President Uhuru Kenyatta has been reelected with 98.2% of the vote of 38.8% (compared to 79.8% last time) of registered voters.
Mombasa is quiet including Bangladesh, which had violence during the polling.
The US Embassy has sent a message that they are limiting services, cancelling routine services and dismissing nonessential personnel indefinitely. They're afraid of violence.
Tomorrow the opposition party will announce their way forward. More uncertainty!
I heard a BBC report today about an elderly Luo man who was hacked to death by Kalenjin warriors. He worked on a sugar plantation and when the Kalenjin attacked he couldn't run fast enough to get away. The reporter saw his mutilated body and then walked over the ridge to meet about 100 Kalenjin warriors with spears and arrows with poison tips. He asked them why they killed the man. They said because the Luos prevented them from voting and they wanted to vote. But there is the issue of land and cattle that may have also been a reason. The Luos are the tribe of the opposition party and the Kalenjin are the tribe of the deputy vice president. The Kalenjin are reputed to be the best warriors in the country.
On a very sad note, Bishop Korir died this morning. He was also a Kalenjin and Bishop of Eldoret. During the post-election violence in 2008 he opened his cathedral compound to 10,000 people fleeing the kind of violence that happened above. At that time, the Kalenjin and the Kikuyus were killing each other. He was a man who tried to follow Jesus and I feel very sad that he is no longer with us. He will be known as the peacemaking Bishop and will be greatly missed. May he rest in the peace of Christ.
Monday, 30 October 2017
Saturday, 28 October 2017
28 October 2018
Mombasa was quiet all day today. The US Embassy sent a message tonight that there are violent gangs in Kawangware Nairobi. No more word from the IEBC regarding the rerun of the election.
Friday, 27 October 2017
27 October 2017
A flawed election begets a controversial rerun begets a colossal sham...Maina Kiai
Mombasa remains quiet and I was able to go to the bank today. Businesses were open but fewer people were out and about.
So far it looks like 33% of registered voters have voted (compared to 79% in the first polling) and 98% voted for the President. The rerun which was to be held tomorrow in Kisumu area has been postponed due to insecurity for the polling officials. The rerun has to be completed by Oct 31st and the result has to be announced by Nov 2nd.
Is anyone clean in this process? I can see big problems on both sides. Can they follow the rule of law and the constitution to avoid what happened in 2008?
Mombasa remains quiet and I was able to go to the bank today. Businesses were open but fewer people were out and about.
So far it looks like 33% of registered voters have voted (compared to 79% in the first polling) and 98% voted for the President. The rerun which was to be held tomorrow in Kisumu area has been postponed due to insecurity for the polling officials. The rerun has to be completed by Oct 31st and the result has to be announced by Nov 2nd.
Is anyone clean in this process? I can see big problems on both sides. Can they follow the rule of law and the constitution to avoid what happened in 2008?
Thursday, 26 October 2017
26 October 2017
It has been a quiet day in Mombasa for the rerun of the presidential elections. I got up at to go to Mass at 6:15am. It was my only choice. For those of you who know I am not a morning person, this tells you something about my concern for the day.
All the businesses downtown were closed and the streets were pretty empty. There were problems at Bangladesh where we have a dispensary in St. Patrick parish. Our clinical officer (physician assistant) slept there last night and stayed until 1pm. He did not see any patient with injury related to the voting process. He told me that the residents of the area had spread human excrement in the school which was to be the polling station and they were burning tires outside. The police brought the items for polling to the main road but were prevented from entering. Fr. Gabriel Dolan, a St. Patrick Missionary who works with the legal program in the parish, was able to calm down the residents and get the police to take the polling materials away. Apparently, the police set up a 'polling station' under a tree nearby and a few people voted. Unless all polling stations can be set up the credibility of the election will be nullified.
There was violence in Nairobi and Kisumu. There are four places in Kisumu area where they could not set up polling stations and they will try again on Saturday. The IEBC has one week to announce the results.
Some people want to think that now that the rerun has been performed they can announce that the President has been reelected and move on with their lives. The President himself has said that Kenya needs to move on. However, the opposition has announced that they are forming a resistance movement. This election will surly be contested in the court and it hardly looks credible to me. There are numerous deep seated problems that will not go away. Using the Constitution and the rule of law to govern procedures is a new path for this country. There is a long hard road ahead for all of us who live here.
All the businesses downtown were closed and the streets were pretty empty. There were problems at Bangladesh where we have a dispensary in St. Patrick parish. Our clinical officer (physician assistant) slept there last night and stayed until 1pm. He did not see any patient with injury related to the voting process. He told me that the residents of the area had spread human excrement in the school which was to be the polling station and they were burning tires outside. The police brought the items for polling to the main road but were prevented from entering. Fr. Gabriel Dolan, a St. Patrick Missionary who works with the legal program in the parish, was able to calm down the residents and get the police to take the polling materials away. Apparently, the police set up a 'polling station' under a tree nearby and a few people voted. Unless all polling stations can be set up the credibility of the election will be nullified.
There was violence in Nairobi and Kisumu. There are four places in Kisumu area where they could not set up polling stations and they will try again on Saturday. The IEBC has one week to announce the results.
Some people want to think that now that the rerun has been performed they can announce that the President has been reelected and move on with their lives. The President himself has said that Kenya needs to move on. However, the opposition has announced that they are forming a resistance movement. This election will surly be contested in the court and it hardly looks credible to me. There are numerous deep seated problems that will not go away. Using the Constitution and the rule of law to govern procedures is a new path for this country. There is a long hard road ahead for all of us who live here.
Wednesday, 25 October 2017
25 October 2017
I stayed with Coralis last night and this morning I got up early to walk on the beach near her flat. A young boy, maybe 9 years, came over, shook my hand and greeted me in English. He was a bit shy and I asked him about school and we looked at the rain on the horizon. He was from a nearby orphanage. Then he said goodbye with a smile and waved as he walked towards the man I had thought was his father, but must be a guardian. The man waved and smiled too.
I have remembered this little fellow all day long. Town was deserted and very quiet. I met the mother of a four year old boy with a rare skin disease to give her his medicine. We met up at the Cathedral and there was no one there. It is the first time I have ever seen the rectory completely closed up with no one present...not even the cook. It felt lonely.
The High Court ruled that all 290 returning officers were not legally appointed. The Supreme Court didn't have a quorum to rule on the petition to delay the rerun of the election because it won't be credible. Only two of the seven judges showed up. Two were sick, two were somewhere unknown and one claimed she couldn't get a flight back to Nairobi.
The opposition held a big rally in Nairobi and Raila told people to stay home and not vote. If everyone just stays home and refuses to participate there wouldn't be trouble. But already in Kisumu there are young people throwing stones and the police are throwing tear gas. Mombasa is quiet and there is no trouble or violence.
I was able to buy more food at the grocery store and fill up the car with fuel. People are weary and I feel concerned...not yet afraid. That little boy has had a difficult life if he is in an orphanage and he still has the courage to come up to someone he doesn't know and politely say hello. I hope that we adults can follow his example, at least myself, because there is going to be trouble ahead.
I have remembered this little fellow all day long. Town was deserted and very quiet. I met the mother of a four year old boy with a rare skin disease to give her his medicine. We met up at the Cathedral and there was no one there. It is the first time I have ever seen the rectory completely closed up with no one present...not even the cook. It felt lonely.
The High Court ruled that all 290 returning officers were not legally appointed. The Supreme Court didn't have a quorum to rule on the petition to delay the rerun of the election because it won't be credible. Only two of the seven judges showed up. Two were sick, two were somewhere unknown and one claimed she couldn't get a flight back to Nairobi.
The opposition held a big rally in Nairobi and Raila told people to stay home and not vote. If everyone just stays home and refuses to participate there wouldn't be trouble. But already in Kisumu there are young people throwing stones and the police are throwing tear gas. Mombasa is quiet and there is no trouble or violence.
I was able to buy more food at the grocery store and fill up the car with fuel. People are weary and I feel concerned...not yet afraid. That little boy has had a difficult life if he is in an orphanage and he still has the courage to come up to someone he doesn't know and politely say hello. I hope that we adults can follow his example, at least myself, because there is going to be trouble ahead.
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
24 October 2017
It is 10pm and I have changed my schedule tomorrow about five times. I had a good clinic today and taught about diabetes. For that I am grateful and felt useful. When I came to stay overnight with Coralis on north coast she told me that tomorrow is a holiday just announced by the President. So I called the clinic I have nearby tomorrow and found out that the clinic will be open but they don't have any patients scheduled for me. There is a woman coming from one hour away to get medicine for her four year old son with a rare skin disease so I arranged for her to meet me in town rather than come up to north coast to see me.
We've been watching the news and that is a merry go round. At 10am tomorrow the Chief Justice will hear an urgent petition by three citizens asking that the election be postponed because it cannot be free, fair, credible, transparent and accountable. Apparently the Chief Justice has decided to work on a holiday.
Meanwhile the driver of the deputy to the Chief Justice was shot in the shoulder at 7pm tonight while purchasing something for the deputy. His gun was stolen with 15 rounds of ammunition and he is in the hospital...alive. She was not with him. Remember, the man who was the IT expert for the IEBC was brutally murdered a week before the August elections. I keep asking who killed him and why?
Next the Chair of the IEBC has announced a deputy national returning officer, Consolata Maina, to conduct the election in his absence. The President has legislation on his desk from parliament ready for him to sign to grant the deputy national returning officer authority in the absence of the Chair.
The opposition has been holding campaign rallies during the 48 hours before the polls in defiance of the law. They will hold a rally in Uhuru park tomorrow at 2pm to announce what they will do on Thursday.
Tomorrow night Coralis, Heidi and I all plan to be at my house together while things unfold. I live across from a police station so it is relatively safe. We will try to carry on tomorrow to do something that is useful and meaningful, knowing full well that our plans will most likely change a few more times. Since it will be a holiday tomorrow I probably can't go to the bank or certain stores. I did fill up my vehicle this morning before I left and plan to fill up again tomorrow if I can. This is not fun at all.
It has been raining heavily the last two days and there have been big jams from Changamwe to Bangla but otherwise Mombasa has been quiet. I have not heard of any violence here today.
We've been watching the news and that is a merry go round. At 10am tomorrow the Chief Justice will hear an urgent petition by three citizens asking that the election be postponed because it cannot be free, fair, credible, transparent and accountable. Apparently the Chief Justice has decided to work on a holiday.
Meanwhile the driver of the deputy to the Chief Justice was shot in the shoulder at 7pm tonight while purchasing something for the deputy. His gun was stolen with 15 rounds of ammunition and he is in the hospital...alive. She was not with him. Remember, the man who was the IT expert for the IEBC was brutally murdered a week before the August elections. I keep asking who killed him and why?
Next the Chair of the IEBC has announced a deputy national returning officer, Consolata Maina, to conduct the election in his absence. The President has legislation on his desk from parliament ready for him to sign to grant the deputy national returning officer authority in the absence of the Chair.
The opposition has been holding campaign rallies during the 48 hours before the polls in defiance of the law. They will hold a rally in Uhuru park tomorrow at 2pm to announce what they will do on Thursday.
Tomorrow night Coralis, Heidi and I all plan to be at my house together while things unfold. I live across from a police station so it is relatively safe. We will try to carry on tomorrow to do something that is useful and meaningful, knowing full well that our plans will most likely change a few more times. Since it will be a holiday tomorrow I probably can't go to the bank or certain stores. I did fill up my vehicle this morning before I left and plan to fill up again tomorrow if I can. This is not fun at all.
It has been raining heavily the last two days and there have been big jams from Changamwe to Bangla but otherwise Mombasa has been quiet. I have not heard of any violence here today.
Monday, 23 October 2017
23 October 2017
Mombasa remains quiet and it rained all day. But tension is increasing. The US Embassy has sent out its usual precautions for anticipating violence...keep two weeks supply of food and drinking water, don't go out and be aware of your surroundings...etc. The BBC reported that 20 countries have warned Kenyan politicians not to incite violence. Yesterday the Pope mentioned Kenya in his Sunday Angelus prayer:
“I am paying close attention in these days to Kenya, which I visited in 2015, and for which I pray, that the whole country might be able to face the current difficulties in a climate of constructive dialogue, having at heart the search for the common good.”
Many people I've talked to will not vote. They are afraid, it's too expensive to travel to the polling station, they think it will be rigged again. So many of us remember 2008 and it brings a sick, foreboding feeling of what awful things are possible.
“I am paying close attention in these days to Kenya, which I visited in 2015, and for which I pray, that the whole country might be able to face the current difficulties in a climate of constructive dialogue, having at heart the search for the common good.”
Many people I've talked to will not vote. They are afraid, it's too expensive to travel to the polling station, they think it will be rigged again. So many of us remember 2008 and it brings a sick, foreboding feeling of what awful things are possible.
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