In an article published on March 1, we may have left the incorrect impression, after editing, that Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minster, would not respect the result of a free and fair presidential election. We are happy to be able to clarify this point. We are also pleased that the prime minister’s spokesman does not dispute the accuracy of the quotes in the interview. The link to the story will update shortly to reflect this.
Katrina Manson
East Africa correspondent
Financial Times
katrina.j.manson@gmail.com
twitter: @KatrinaManson
About the Author
Katrina Manson
East Africa correspondent
Financial Times
katrina.j.manson@gmail.com
twitter: @KatrinaManson
Katerina Manson should be deported from Kenya with immediate effect and banned for life in entering Kenya . Its not hash that is how black people are treated and condemned in all Western Countries.
Havent you heard of it How Africans are deported daily from Europe and sent to countries where they dont belong, the problems of kenyans is hypocratical.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6019a998-8297-11e2-a3e3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2MTLdvvKd
March 1, 2013 7:33 pm
Kisumu gangs square up for action
By Katrina Manson in Kisumu
Leaders of a Kenyan youth group known as the American Marines say it is named solely after the members’ towering height – that and the fact tthat they have been working out in near-daily three-hour gym sessions for years.
Residents of Kisumu tell a different tale about the American Marines – and its breakaway China Squad.
“They fight each other and if they [find] you on their way they will fight you, too,” Ismael Abdala, a hawker, says of violence characterised by hijackings, looting, harassment for protection money and, late last year, fatal riots following an assassination.
Kenyan human rights groups say youth militias across the country’s bitter political divide have been training and arming themselves in advance of Monday’s general election – raising the prospect of orchestrated ethnic violence.
The gangs compete for turf dominance in this lakeside city that considers itself a bastion of opposition to the rule of Mwai Kibaki, the retiring president. In the run-up to the polls, their conflicts have taken on electoral significance that residents and observers fear could presage a violent state crackdown.
Kisumu is still reeling from some of the worst violence in Kenya’s post-election meltdown five years ago. When residents – mostly ethnic Luo supporters of the twice-defeated presidential candidate Raila Odinga – protested against the 2007 poll results amid claims they were rigged, police shot dead more than 100 people.
“Kisumu is becoming hotter and the war between ‘America’ and ‘China’ is taking a political angle,” said Ken Onyango of the political parties liaison committee, who says members of the “warring groups” are bought as rival bodyguards and thugs for “a small handout”, despite all being Luo supporters of Mr Odinga.
He says the China Squad receives funding and bodyguard jobs from supporters of Mr Odinga’s rival, Uhuru Kenyatta, a Kikuyu from central Kenya and son of the founding president, Jomo Kenyatta, who held power at a time when several prominent Luo politicians were murdered. Memories of that era are still strong in Kisumu.
“We cannot have [a] Kikuyu out and [a] Kikuyu in,” said Rashid Ondu, one of the leaders of the American Marines of the presidential race, referring to Mr Kibaki, who is leaving power, and Mr Kenyatta – both Kikuyus in a country of 42 ethnic groups.
Betty Okero, co-ordinator of a civil society organisations network, links the gangs’ rise partly to a record of economic failure and state abandonment. As Kisumu’s traditional industries of sugar cane, cash crop farming and fishing have declined, so joblessness has set in.
Tension is rising. The state has already deployed armed paramilitaries to patrol Kisumu.
Mr Odinga, who held a rally here on Friday to the sound of euphoric cheers and car hooting, says the paramilitary presence is “meant to intimidate people” into not voting.
His most ardent supporters appear determined not to lose again. “If we lose there will be that anger. We must be ready to go to the streets to protest,” said Daudi Migot, a founder of the American Marines.
This shows how the west wishes to see division in Kenya.I hope Kenyans understand who whites are….Never positive when it’s about AFRIKA…..Wazungu the old days are over to ruine our PEACE…..
Campaigns have been so peaceful n there is no sign of war on power….
Oh My God Geuka Unyolewe Vibaya Sana>
Do not Vote Adolf Hitler Idi Amin Bokasa (Uhuruto)Mussolini .King Herod ,Mobutu Zesezeko (Uhuru belongs to the Dark Forces )Satani,DevilMoney worshipper .Has a heinous case in Hague)
Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister and Jubilee Alliance Presidential candidate in the upcoming Presidential elections, Uhuru Kenyatta, (R) and running mate William Ruto wave to supporters during a plotical rally in the capital Nairobi on February 13, 2013. Two main candidates — Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga — dominate the race for the March 4 election. (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife)
“Kenya’s shilling rose the most in seven months amid speculation next week’s presidential elections will proceed without violence.”
– Reuters February 27, 2013
If there were a single country in Africa I’d offer as a microcosm of the continent’s effort to find a balance between growth and redistribution it would be Kenya. The nation of 41 million each day performs a high wire tight rope walk in between tradition and modernity; informal and formal economic activity; and collective and individual identity. As I have previously written at Forbes its dynamic approach to building a property rights regime upon the economic essence of marriage is uniquely impressive.
From that lens, Monday’s national election is less about the vision offered by colorful leading candidates – a sitting Prime Minister Raila Odinga and an opposition candidate under an International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta. As political platforms go, neither offers much policy innovation– as is always the case with a post-liberation nation where the emphasis on political ideology and survival crowds out the brutal honesty and the long-term vision required to unwind a colonial economy. That opposition and ruling parties in developing nations play little more than a game of musical chairs – where political ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ merely fight over who grants the license, obtains the franchise and controls borders in an export-driven economy, is an inglorious fact indeed. And no politician in any developing or developed nation – including Kenya’s favorite son, the current President of the United States – will ever tell the electorate how little power they actually have to change things, until they are out of office.
So I never would expect any of Kenya’s leading candidates to explain to the electorate that it is not an accident that multi-lateral assistance disbursements match the central bank’s shortfall in foreign exchange reserves regardless of who is in office. Nor do I expect them to detail that in the Summer of 2011 the Kenyan shilling was falling not because the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) was ‘independently’ targeting an inflation level or an exchange rate but rather because it was actually following a mandate contained within a Letter of Intent signed between the Government of Kenya and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The shilling fell because the central bank had to mop up dollar liquidity in order to hit a target set for it by the IMF as a condition to receive $500 million in ‘assistance.’ Elaborating on how such back-door agreements deprive elected officials of their policy space is not the kind of thing a charismatic leader runs on and certainly not Mr. Kenyatta who actually signed the agreement.
This detail, and other uncomfortable facts like: 1) it is European-based Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) who are financing efforts toward the economic integration of Kenya and East Africa 2) it is U.S. military advisers (sent by Kenya’s favorite son) coordinating potentially destabilizing military operations in the region 3) it is a Russian investment bank – Renaissance Capital – financing the largest urban development project in all of Africa right outside of Nairobi 4) a growing sense is emerging that Kenya’s high profile push into mobile technology, positioned as world-leading by Western financial media, will ultimately serve Silicon Valley more than the indigenous tech-savvy hub of app-making entrepreneurs – could all be used to paint a picture that belies the sense of empowerment and optimism which many Kenyans genuinely feel on the eve of national elections.
No, simply telling Kenyans that as they prepared to watch their presidential candidates debate on live television for the first time in history, that the IMF was in Nairobi for 10 days eroding the decision-making authority of their next President would be too easy, too pessimistic, too inappropriate and well, too 1990s.
It also would miss the underlying common thread of this election – the tense conversation Kenyans are having with one another – and not the world – about what this election means for the future of Kenya. This election, it may come to the surprise of the rest of us, is not a referendum on policy, sovereignty or any personality. It is a defining moment on whether a kinship-based society, dominated by tribal, religious and ethnic loyalty has reached a level of critical mass sufficient for national unity. And only with national unity, Kenyans have formulated, can a foundation be laid for everything else.
While the business community purchases political risk insurance and regional neighbors develop alternative trade routes to move material goods, the Kenyan electorate places its hopes in the only true foundation of economic development – the social capital of trust in one another.
To walk the streets of downtown Nairobi is riveting experience to me – not only is the energy vibrant with an almost orange-bronze to jet black mosaic of human beauty on full display – but the spectrum of opinion, characterized by a no-holds barred media which embraces taboo subjects as tightly as any loved one, lies at one’s fingertips, newsstand after newsstand. Read anything #Kenya on Twitter and you can get a sense of this hypnotizing rhythm. Whether one vicariously reads a few posts, or the comment section of a few articles in the popular Daily Nation or just tunes in to the popular Homeboyz radio station which brilliantly marries Kenya’s social culture with the energy of Black American urban music; it becomes instantly clear that this election, despite superficially being about everything, ultimately only boils down to one thing – unity or not.
As I read and listen to Kenya, it appears that the electorate is not only voting for Kenyatta or Odinga at a polling station but also having a referendum on a larger question, which could be written in Swahili as “Si Si Wakenya?” or “Us, Kenyans?”
It is not hard to understand why. The wounds of the 2007 election marred by violence are not only fresh but unhealed. A reported 600,000 persons were displaced or fled their homes temporarily and over a thousand were killed with reparative compensation packages for victims widely seen as inadequate or biased.
Although grievances have not been addressed some are confident that essential lessons have been learned.
Ibada Ahmed , a career commercial banker and microfinance expert based in Nairobi and Johannesburg, South Africa, feels the electorate has already divined the costs and benefits of the election believing the state apparatus is both incentivized to avoid and prepared for a worst case scenario, “Owing to the current lucrative economic condition not to mention the skills and manpower available, Kenya pivots heavy investments from various global heavy weights in service and manufacturing sector. So March 4th will be a great test for democracy and our international reputation as an economic hub. Our regional status as a safe haven for investment hangs in the balance. A capable Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is now in place and with Dr. Willy Mutunga at the helm of the Supreme Court, the Judiciary is prepared to resolve any dispute that may arise. The Kenyan police and all other forces of the law are also adequately equipped. This is great progress when compared to our 2007 preparations. The expectation and attitude of every Kenyan is ‘never again’ to the atrocities that were committed.”
Yet anxiety permeates the atmosphere, giving this election an aura more tied to prayer, than policy. Anyone who listens to a Kenyan who longs for cohesion and peace knows this yearning comes from a place far deeper than partisanship.
Kenya’s superstar male vocal group, Sauti Sol, known for their social consciousness as much as their talent, conveyed to me the nervous optimism, dripping with frustration that is common among many “The forthcoming elections to us are very different but still very much the same. The more stuff changes the more they remain the same. We probably now have the best system in Africa to stem election rigging and other mal practices. [But] with all the changes and positivity Kenya is [still] more tribal than it was the last election. Its like a freakin’ virus and our politicians really help in fueling this as it gives them an edge over the candidates who talk about issues. In Kenya if you campaign on issues without talking about ‘your people’ you’ll go nowhere. On the contrary Kenyans are peace loving, we’re scared of war and unrest but are very good at instilling fear. Everyone is predicting we could experience our worst unrest yet. Some people see ‘foreigners’ leaving the country and businesses closing up. Right now it’s wait and see and cross fingers. But we have pledged to keep the peace and even our politicians [have done] the same.” The latter point made, is a hopeful reference to a recent unity rally between competing candidates that featured embraces and pledges to accept post-election results.
The nightmare scenario envisioned by every Kenyan to whom I have spoken makes clear that the candidate on the margin is Uhuru Kenyatta.
He is as complex as his country – the son of Jomo Kenyatta the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya – currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister. Ironically and simultaneously he is described as both the more ‘corrupt’ and stronger of the two candidates on economic issues – whose family’s massive holdings of arable land are cause of controversy and influence. One Kenyan actually told me “I am afraid if Kenyatta wins because Kenya will fall apart but if he were victorious it would also be better for the economy.” Just as many have told me violence will erupt if he loses.
I don’t see split views of Kenyatta as confused or schizophrenic but rather a reflection of the realization of many Kenyans that their economy currently suffers from both the choices of its current leadership and unbridled external influence which may produce the most uncomfortable of 2013 scenarios for many – a sitting President Kenyatta put on trial by the ICC, charged with committing crimes against humanity during the 2007 election. Regardless to whether peace or violence accompanies a Kenyatta victory there is no way to dismiss what his enormous popularity much less electoral success represents
Why the IEBC gadgets not used in this election ?Was Kenya connened buying (Pig in the sack)old second-hand gadgets just to fool primitive and corrupt Kenya (niggers) i am reacting high hence these gadgets costed taxpayers billions only not to fuction or rigging going on as usual?voted at st Marys school Lavington. The queues are quite long with voter’s taking an average of 3 hours to get to the front of the queue. The bvr kits are not being used and when I asked the IEBC official why they are not using them they said that the 6 digit pin used to access the system did not work even after getting several new pins regenerated by the system. I observed a few other stations and noted the general confusion about which streams to go to with most voters using their last name instead of the first names. I also noted that most of the polling stations in small compounds had the longest lines because you could only be split into streams once your in the school compound which means even if your stream is empty and your at the back of the line you will still have to wait in line for longer than necessary to vote. The iebc staff I met were knowledgeable and friendly and kenyans pleasantly waiting in line.
Sometimes its difficulty to find food :One must sweat but in Africa life seems tough >forget a minute about election in kenya and enjoy this one >Looking for evening meal