Tomorrow, 7th July, will be another normal day. No right-minded Kenyan would want to get anywhere close to creating chaos. The Post-Election Violence (PEV) in 2007/08 is still too vivid and no Kenyan wants to walk that path.
We are glad for all of you who are praying; we definitely need it. Not only regarding ‘saba-saba’ rallies, but even more for issues such as corruption, insecurity (Al Shabaab threats), the high cost of living, tribalism and other national challenges.
I will explain. We voted into office (or so we thought) two gentlemen who had been charged by the International Criminal Court. Just before elections, a U.S. diplomat, farmiliar with African affairs, warned Kenyans that “choices have consequences.”
Our new leaders quickly sensed that they were not highly appreciated by western governments, including the USA. They began to warm to China. A few months ago the Kenya-China relationship was formalized as contracts worth billions of dollars were signed over to Chinese businessmen.
There were no loud complaints from the West, but what followed were harsh and frequent travel warnings that have effectively crippled the tourism industry in Kenya and caused the closure of some hotels. The USA has in the last week moved out some Embassy and US-AID staff to other regions. This is likely a retaliation for Kenya’s east-ward migration.
Locally, politicians of the opposition party are calling for dialogue to address issues facing the nation. The government reads mischief in this call, particularly since more details are coming out about how elections were rigged (revelations that are quite upsetting to the current government). But tension is not to the point of risking a repeat of another situation like the PEV.
It would be good if Kenyans could actually sit down, realistically confront the concerns, and provide action points on how to change. Dialogue is a sure road to peace. I hope this helps inform your much-coveted prayers.
~ Ibrahim
