Orange Democratic Movement supporters taking part in the election process before the results were announced
(Photo: John Padwick/CMS)
A CMS mission partner in Kenya has sent us this balanced analysis of the fall-out from the elective process.
The elections in Kenya initially passed off very well with peaceful voting and a high voter turn-out across the country.
As Parliamentary results came in, there was resounding support for the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, led by Raila Odinga, while President Kibaki saw half his cabinet voted out of office.
The Presidential race however was much closer, with Raila maintaining a lead that grew narrower as the count went on.
Some constituencies, particularly in Central and the northern part of Eastern Province, were excessively slow in handing in results of the presidential election and there are reported to be anomalies in the tallying of votes, and differences in the numbers of votes declared at the constituency and the tally declared at the Electoral Commission of Kenya.
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The delays (2½ days) in declaring results in some constituencies - which then came out strongly in favour of the president - created much doubt, suspicion and tension.
As you are doubtless aware, the final official result was declared on Sunday afternoon with President Kibaki being returned as President by a narrow margin of 200,000 votes.
The announcement was made in an atmosphere of some chaos with international and local observers pressing the electoral Commission Chairman not to make the announcement.
The chairman has since spoken publicly of being put under great pressure by politicians close to the President and this has further confirmed suspicions of vote rigging.
The President was hastily sworn in at the State House but chaos began to descend the moment the announcement was made.
There has been a widespread feeling that the presidential election was rigged and that Raila Odinga was cheated of victory.
The run-up to the election saw an opening up of historic divisions between tribes, particularly the two largest tribes: the Kikuyu, represented by Mwai Kibaki, and the Luo, to which Raila Odinga belongs.
Those divisions were largely reflected in voting patterns but have now descended into something much more worrying.
Since the election, there has been massive unrest across the country as people have protested against what is believed to be a rigged election.
Sadly, this has descended into violence and bloodshed with tens of thousands being displaced and over 300 people losing their lives.
The worst incident involved people being burnt to death while they were sheltering in a church - something that has deeply shocked the nation.
The worst-hit areas are on the Western side of Kenya, but there has also been widespread violence and looting in Nairobi, particularly focused on the slums.
Kibera was in flames on Sunday night with the homes and businesses of Kikuyus being burnt and destroyed.
Kikuyus and those living in Kukiyu-owned property have had to flee for their lives, often smuggled out of Kibera by sympathetic Luo neighbours.
Our home is reasonably secure as the violence is largely confined to the slums. However, we had shooting right outside our gate on Monday as police pursued protestors heading for the city centre.
It was just police shooting in the air but it was very close. A colleague and I were just returning and got in through our gates 30 seconds ahead of it.
It has been moments like that when we are deeply thankful for God's protection upon our lives but also mindful that for others the experience has been very different.
Supplies of basic commodities are running low in the city as people move from shop to shop in search of them and prices are soaring, which massively affects people in the slums.
Many live on daily wages and have not been able to earn anything for over a week so their situation is becoming desperate.
When supermarkets open, people sometimes queue for hours - for bread, milk, flour, etc.
All of this happens with a tremendous amount of patience and good grace which seems to typify Kenya much more than the violence in some parts of the city.
At the moment the city is just very quiet and empty and, as much as possible, people are getting on with life or just staying indoors.
The main prayer at the moment is that the two leaders will come together and jointly appeal for peace and an end to the violence. Beyond that, efforts are being made to work towards a political settlement to the crisis.
Do please continue to pray for Kenya at this time. We would also value your prayers for us in the coming days.
Update
The government has banned the rally or "march of a million men" all due to descend on the city centre to hear Raila Odinga the head of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement speak, and the venue - Uhuru Park - was surrounded by the elite GSU troops.
Similarly, there was heavy police and military presence surrounding Kibera.
In the event, the rally didn't take place as even Raila was unable to get through the police blockades.
Instead, the day has been marked by skirmishes with youths blocking roads and destroying property before being dispersed by the police with water cannon, tear gas and shooting - most of which appears to have been in the air.
In Kibera, those unable to get past the police cordon have wreaked further havoc. The African Independent, Lutheran and Presbyterian Churches have all been destroyed by fire along with many businesses.
On the political level, there seems to be little movement with President Kibaki appearing unwilling to be open to question the legitimacy of his election and Raila appearing to want to maintain the pressure of mass action.
In the meantime, lives are being lost - over 300 to date - around the country and untold tens of thousands have been displaced.
In some communities, people who have lived as friends and neighbours appear to have become enemies overnight.
Desmond Tutu is attempting to broker an agreement, which would de-escalate and end the conflict, but his efforts do not appear to have had much impact as yet.
The Church has spoken out to some degree but perhaps not as decisively as some might wish.
We are taking things a day at a time.
Do please pray particularly for the leaders to come together to speak out jointly to end the violence and to agree on a path to address the irregularities and uncertainties of the presidential election.
A message from CMS
As you will have heard and read, there has been considerable civil unrest during the fall-out from the recent presidential elections in Kenya.
CMS wants to inform you that we have been in regular contact with all our mission partners in the region and can report that they are all safe and well.
We will continue to be in regular contact with them and will keep you updated, should there be any new developments.
We would ask for your prayers and ongoing support, and partnership in the Gospel through CMS’ work in Africa.
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