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Kenya in Turmoil: Mail from East Africa |
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Jan. 24, South Nyanza. The situation in Kenya is now moving from bad to worse. Unless something is done soon to arrest the situation, it is now deteriorating to most worrying position. The worst of all is that there is more killing, houses being burned, property destroyed, families displaced, and the pain increases by day. Tension among tribes is increasing. We fear most that there will be internal tribal conflict and the police will not be in a position to contain it. We are worried and living one day after another. Up to now the family is still safe. We are now planning in case there is an evacuation what can we do. This is what is occupying our minds. Our children have not gone to the school and most schools, now three weeks into the new term, have not opened. We are all together locked in the house and running out of essentials. Thank God we have now paid for power, telephone and are somewhat safe. Many families we know of have had their houses burned. They have been displaced and are living in deplorable conditions. We are also putting together whatsoever we can to be of help to them as soon as the situation will improve. Definitely, they will need a lot of help to get settled. The major issue was politics, but it has now moved to land and long time growing hatred between tribes. Pray for us and for our country Kenya that calm may come about and a way may be found for lasting peace. If this does happen then there will be ways to develop a new constitution that will set this country safe. Right now African eminent persons are here to help led by Kofi Annan , former UN boss. They are meeting our leaders. We pray that God will use them to bring lasting peace. Peter [our rep. in South Nyanza] Feb. 11, Bungoma Kenya. Dear Henry and Ed, Hello friends. We thank God , we survived the riots. They were in Bungoma also . Last December and January was hardest period for us. However, we now see light beyond the tunnel. We are treating trauma. I was appointed by the Electoral Commission of Kenya as peace committee member in the Kanduyi Constituency. Here things went on smoothly save for the rowdy youths who were rightfully very unhappy with the election result. Personally I see Kenya emerging as a better governed country than ever before. This is a hope of majority after the experience. Enoch [our rep. in Bungoma, Kenya] March 23, South Nyanza. Dear Ed, The peace is there and things are back to normal. Power sharing is a very trying thing. Kibaki had appointed half of the cabinet in the most powerful ministries before the Annan mediation. Raila in the power sharing plan wants all ministers to resign before a new cabinet in the power sharing deal are appointed. Those who had been appointed will not be willing to relinquish their positions. This is where trouble will start again. We hear that Annan should come back for settlement. The Cabinet was supposed to be appointed on Thursday and now it has been pushed to Tuesday next week. How Raila and Kibaki will work together remains tricky. We are paying dearly for the skirmishes. Everything has doubled in price. There is no food. It is just unbearable in the tents in Eldoret. It is sad. Thank you so much for your support, solidarity, concern and overflowing kindness during the trying moment. May God bring to you warm Easter blessing. Peter April 20, Central Province, Kenya. Dear Ed, After 2007 elections Kenya will never be the same. I'm currently making plans to move from my place to another house that I hope will be safer. Mungiki, who claim to be descendants of Mau Mau, held some parts of Kenya ransom for some days. They have been a menace for some time and nobody quite knows how to handle them. What makes me sad is that politicians from the Kikuyu community have used them to make statements but they've never given anybody hints on why the group exists to date. During the campaign period we never heard of Mungiki because they were hired to cheer Kikuyu politicians and send chilling messages to rivals. Rumour has it that there is a split in this gang. Hence, increased cases of thuggery and murder. We walk by 'God's grace.' Personal security is tricky nowadays for non Kikuyus living in Central Kenya. But we hope that somehow by combined efforts from politicians and police Mungiki will have no reason to exist. [name withheld] May 17, South Nyanza. Dear Ed, Mukuyu School has greatly expanded. The student population has gone up due to the free secondary education and the political problems following the general election. Many families who were living in the Rift Valley moved to this region. However, the number of books is still almost the same. There were so many transfers of staff and the financial position of the school was too bad. The political temperature is coming down. The number of people in camps has gone down. The only solution to all these problems will be a constitution to take care of the thorny issues of land, property ownership, corruption, and leadership, power and resource sharing. Peter |