Thursday, January 17, 2008
Kenya upheaval
Protests continued today in Kenya, more than two weeks after the country's president, Mwai Kibaki, claimed victory in a hotly disputed presidential election. Police fired tear gas and live rounds into the air to disperse demonstrators in Nairobi, the capital, and the western town of Kisumu, an opposition stronghold, the Reuters international news service reported. More than 600 have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by violence that has paralyzed the East African country since the election, which Western nations have characterized as flawed. An African Union mission to try to start negotiations between Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga ended in failure last week. Odinga claims Kibaki stole the Dec. 27 election. A member of Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, which holds the most seats in Kenya's parliament, was elected as speaker this week. Another mission headed by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan of Ghana is reportedly on hold. Yesterday, the European Union indicated it was reviewing its program of aid to Kenya, which was one of Africa's most stable and prosperous nations until the unrest began. The EU had planned to send $600 million in aid to Kenya through 2013, Reuters said.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I was astonished and outraged by CNN coverage of the violence in Kenya. I just flew back from spending 5 months in Nairobi yesterday and your stories and commentary have totally distorted what is going on over there and changed the way that the rest of the world in viewing Kenya and it's people. Of course in a democracy you cannot outlaw the people's right to hold a rally but these are not rallies that Mr. Odinga's fan club is trying to hold. These are riots, the same riots and the same people involved that burned 100 people alive in a church, that has burned and tortured and looted the country ever since the election stopped going there way. For two days, as Odinga was supposedly ahead in the elections, the nation sat silently, including Kibaki supporters. As soon as the election started to go the other way, Odinga made a call for his people to incite violence all across the land. And even now, as his people are still dying, is he telling them to stop? This man loves violence and conflict. And how is it that someone (Odinga) who tried to over through the Kenyan government in a failed coup back in 1982 is allowed to run for president in 2008 in a country as prosperous and successful as Kenya? Mr. Odinga and his crew are responsible for the murder of there own people, not the police, who are just doing their own jobs and trying to stop the violence. I was there; those "protesters" know that if they go out into the streets and confront the police they will be killed. They are hungry, poor people with nothing to lose and are sadden by the fact that all of Odinga's empty promises are not going to amount to anything, just as they wouldn't have if he was elected president. Mr. Odinga needs to tell his people to stop the looting and rioting and burning before more of them die. He can have all of their deaths as well as all the deaths he caused back in 1982 on his conscious, but that clearly means nothing to this man. Please have your reporters get there facts straight so that the world understand can understand what's going on over there and that this man needs to be in prison or exile.
Thanks for weighing in. Please, tell us more about what's really going on in Nairobi.
If what you say is true, why have the Americans and the British questioned the election results?
i live in nairobi ,ive got to say the fact of the matter where the truth lies is that the ODM prior to the elections had infact preplanned what to do in the event of a defeat in the general elections. their earlier claims that the AP (adminstration police) were markin ballot papers was indeed proven fales but only after odm supporters lynched 5policemen in Odingas stronghold Nyanza Province.
Mr. Odinga has time and again proved to be a VERY VIOLENT MAN capable of doing and using everything possible at his disposal to achieve his goals (even outright murder of the same citizens he claims to defend).Mr. Odinga and Mr. William Ruto (ODM leaders) planned and indeed paid for the ethnic cleansing of the "kikuyu tribe" in the rifty valley including the torching of kikuyus in a church in eldorate town promising the locals that they would inherit over the killed kikuyu properties including much valued land.
Mr.Ruto personally is to blame for all the havock done in the riftyvalley he as far as am concerned is the most ruthless african leader alive to date!
how can such people be trusted to lead this country yet what they do is evidently seen here in Kenya ,their tacktics always result in deaths ,we the people living in Kenya dread the day that they will come to power but we are a strong people believing that God IS WATCHING AND LOVES US and that GOD will always ensure that MR.ODINGA AND MR.RUTO never willl kill any more kenyans or ever rule this country.AMEN!
Post a Comment