eugene cho

On January 6, Pastor Eugene’s sermon was about Rejoicing, Reconciliation, and Reflection. In the wake of Kenya’s post-election chaos, these were heavy on my mind. After his message, he opened communion to the congregation. I took my pieces of Jesus’ body and blood back to my seat and prayed with deep conviction to be nearer to God so I could understand these three words with the passion that Pastor Eugene conveyed them. Kenya came fast and furious again to my mind and I cried. I cried through two praise songs, through tithes & offerings, through two benedictions (the congregation receives one and then shares it with each other), straight through to the obligatory “where are we going for dinner” discussions among the hungry fellowship.

Part 1 – Summary of Major Events (Source: Media)

The death toll is anywhere between 400 (East Standard) to 1,000 (CNN) since December 27, 2007, and more than 250,000 displaced. There were some reports of violence prior to the very suspicious election process (BBC), but “it took all of about 15 minutes on Sunday [Dec 31], after Kenya’s president was declared the winner of a deeply controversial election, for the country to explode.” (New York Times).  Probably the worst and most publicized incident was the burning down of a church in Eldoret where “as many as 50 people – many of them women and children – were reportedly killed… [and] those who escaped the building were hunted down and killed with machetes.” (Al Jazeera).

The re-elected President Mwai Kibaki, from the Kikuyu tribe, accused his rival of “well-organised acts of genocide and ethnic-cleansing” (Reuters-Africa). At the same time, Raila Odinga, from the Luo tribe, continued to blame Kibaki for the violence by rigging the elections in the first place. “The election seems to have tapped into an atavistic vein of tribal tension that always lay beneath the surface in Kenya but until now had not provoked widespread mayhem” (New York Times). “Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe was immediately targeted in the initial violence, but revenge killings by Kikuyus [on Luos were] on the rise” (Reuters-Africa). This may be because “tribal bonds remain stronger than national identity in Kenya, with the country’s 36 million people claiming allegiance to around 40 different tribes” (CNN). And according to the New York Times, Michael E. Ranneberger, the American ambassador to Kenya, had predicted it, saying “My biggest worry now is violence, which, let’s be honest, will be along tribal lines.”Odinga had called for a million people to come to a protest rally in Nairobi to support him as “the people’s president,” even though it was banned for security reasons and fears that it would incite more violence (Turkish Press). On January 3^rd, many carried branches and white cloth, symbols of peace, but others also carried signs saying “No Raila, No Peace” (Al Jazeera picture). The International Herald Tribune reported that riot police used tear gas, batons and water cannons to turn back thousands of opposition supporters who tried to take to the streets in the Kenyan capital to attend…One band of opposition supporters tore through a Nairobi slum, attacking residents and raping several women, residents said. The residents caught one of the thugs and hacked him to death. The man’s body lay on the street for some time because police officers said it was too dangerous to wade into the melee to retrieve it… By 3 p.m., Raila Odinga … officially called off the rally.

In the midst of these atrocities, a back-and-forth game between Odinga and Kibaki continued. (I assume you trust my resources now – I won’t put up any more news links.) President Kibaki did try to schedule a meeting with Odinga to discuss things at first, but Odinga said if he met with him while he is still President, it would be admitting that Kibaki is the rightful president. Therefore, Odinga would only meet with him if he steps down from power. A couple days later, Odinga dropped the preconditions he had earlier set for talks, and agreed to international mediation, through which he would negotiate with Kibaki. Odinga also said he was willing to participate in an interim government whose only purpose would be to prepare for a re-run of the presidential election. Kibaki first reacted by saying that’s not constitutional to have a re-election and that he should take things up with the court. Odinga refused, saying the courts are filled with Kibaki’s people. This wearisome battle of the egos continues even now, weeks after the chaos began.

African and Western leaders have been attempting to mediate as well, but they all agreed the solution must come from within Kenya. Recently, Odinga accepted Kibaki’s renewed invitation to discuss a power-share possibility, mediated by Ghana’s President, John Kufuor. But just before the meeting, Kibaki announced a host of new cabinet members from his own political party; Odinga promptly cancelled the meeting and more violence arose from his supporters.

Please check back tomorrow for “Part 2 – The words of Kenyans”.

For more information on what’s going on, you can try the links above (rec: BBC) but I have better suggestions in the next post. If you feel moved to act now, please consider donating to Kenya Red Cross or Village Volunteers.