Tension as we wait – Kenyan Election 2007

Nairobi is calm but tension is high as everyone waits with baited breath for the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) to announce the results of the presidential poll. There were reports of street battles in central Nairobi along Tom Mboya and Moi Avenues but by the time I got there the streets were empty.

After five days of public holidays covering the Christmas and election period I expected to find downtown Nairobi full of people trying to conduct some business (banking, dry cleaning, household shopping etc.) Instead this is what I got:

Empty streets, boarded up businesses, closed shops. The tension in central Nairobi is unbelievable. People are even talking in whispers. Kenyatta International Conference Centre which is acting as the nerve centre for the ECK is still a fortress.

I have been receiving txt messages all morning which state the ECK is planning on rigging the election. The txts end with the plea that “We need 1 million patriotic Kenyans to march to KICC NOW!” These messages have started to irritate me. I am dealing with them by immediately calling the person who sent it and asking them, “which route are you using into town? I want to join you in the protest.” Of course you will find that the clown is sat at home probably still in their pyjamas. I then give them a quick lecture telling them NOT to send me txt messages imploring me to attend a protest they are not willing to attend themselves and to contact me only when they have reached town. I doubt I will be hearing from them again!

Let me state right now that anyone thinking of marching on KICC better have a plan B. The security forces out there are not in the mood for anything. (It is telling that today’s small protest happened all the way on Tom Mboya and not near KICC, clearly even rowdy people have a sense of self preservation.)

There is so much to talk about this election and I will do that once all the results have come in. The two big stories now are:
The Kenyan public have rejected Kibaki’s cabinet emphatically.

The Kenyan electorate has a habit of kicking out the occasional cabinet minister. What is different this time is that it is big names the so called regional “kings” who can gurantee you a block of seats in parliament that have been sent packing. Roads minister Nyachae who has been in politics for over 40 years and politicsl King of Kisii is out. Kombo, Minister of Local Government and political King of the Bukusu, has also been overthrown. Vice President Moody Awori who has been MP for 25 years was beaten. Education Minister Saitot,i a former minister of Finance and Vice President ,was also sent packing. Even in central province, Kibaki’s stronghold, the electorate had no respect for this cabinet. Defence minister Karume, Kibaki’s closest political ally, was kicked out. Information and Communication minister Mutahi Kagwe was also shown the door. In all at least 20 cabinet members have been rejected by the electorate.

The second big story is that former President Moi is increasingly the angel of political death. The self proclaimed Professor of Politics is now a political disaster as anyone he campaigns for ends up soundly beaten. In 2002 his project was Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential bid which ended in disaster. This time round he tried to set up a little fiefdom with three of his sons running in adjacent constituencies, all three lost! Including Gideon who was the incumbent in his father’s old seat. On top of that men who used to hold the fate of the nation in their slimly hands, former powerful figures such as Biwott were destroyed at the ballot box. The biggest causality of Moi’s kiss of death looks like it will be Kibaki as Ralia takes the lead in the presidential polls. Moi had tears in his eyes in 2002 when his project failed, I hope he is weeping wherever he is sitting now.

Meanwhile Kenyans wait to hear of the man who will be president.

More pictures on my Flickr page

Check out AfroMusing’s and Kenyan Pundit’s coverage for the latest.

kenyaelection07