Violence Erupts in Kenya after Election Results
December 31, 2007
News agencies across the globe are reporting that scores of people have been killed in riots and demonstrations across Kenya in the wake of election results that re-elected Mwai Kibaki over opposition leader Raila Odinga. Supporters of Odinga accuse Kibaki of rigging the election.
Witness report police using water cannons, teargas, and live ammunition against protesters in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city. Reports of violent protests, arson, and clashes with police have also been reported in other areas of the country (BBC).
Protesters, such as 24-year-old James Onyango, claim that the election was rigged in Kibaki’s favor. Odinga himself has also accused Kibaki of “doctoring” the vote (CNN). The election was narrow; the Kenyan government has reported 4,584,721 votes in favor of Kibaki, 4,352,993 for Odinga, and 4,352,993 for Kalonzo Musyoka. However, election monitors from the European Union were not allowed access to counting centers in the Central Province, and the local announcement of results differed from that issued by the commission in Nairobi in at least one constituency. Another constituency reported a 115% voter turnout.
Some of the violence is also supposedly running on ethnic lines. The New York Times reports that “In some areas, witnesses said that mobs were stopping cars, pulling out passengers and demanding identification cards to determine whether they were Kikuyu (Mr. Kibaki’s ethnicity). If so, they were killed.”
Kenyan police claim they have been authorized to shoot to kill. Mr. Kibaki himself has said, “My government will … deal decisively with those who breach the peace by intensifying security across the country.”
Mr. Odinga has called for a million-person rally in Nairobi by Thursday, but has also reportedly urged “peaceful mass action.” “We will bring down this government by peaceful and democratic means,” he said.
