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Kenya, until late 2007 one of the more promising nations in sub-Saharan Africa, has become a volatile mix of tribalism and political discontent. The re-election of president Mwai Kibaki in late December led to accusations of ballot-rigging; opposition leader Raila Odinga, pictured on this voter’s necklace, claims he won the ballot. The political dispute has bled into the streets and countryside, instigating ethnic violence against Kibaki’s tribe, the Kikuyu, and more than 600 people have died. Some three weeks after the election, demonstrations by Odinga’s supporters sparked lethal clashes with the police. Here, a photo gallery explores Nairobi’s combustible streets.

Kenya, until late 2007 one of the more promising nations in sub-Saharan Africa, has become a volatile mix of tribalism and political discontent. The re-election of president Mwai Kibaki in late December led to accusations of ballot-rigging; opposition leader Raila Odinga, pictured on this voter's necklace, claims he won the ballot. The political dispute has bled into the streets and countryside, instigating ethnic violence against Kibaki's tribe, the Kikuyu, and more than 600 people have died. Some three weeks after the election, demonstrations by Odinga's supporters sparked lethal clashes with the police. Here, a photo gallery explores Nairobi's combustible streets.

 
 
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Member Comments

  • Posted By: famulla @ 02/05/2008 10:10:45 PM

    Sir
    Kenya has many problems from the independence in 1963. The Mau Mau movement has totally been removed form the current news. This brought forward may make many think that the tribe that was in the forefront of the independence. Then we had a serene period. Why? If we look back, we will study the graft, the tribalism the inception of the East African Community, Uganda???s departure with Idi Amin's reign, only language Kiswahili in Tanzania, the Moi era of reining the Rift Valley (The Kelenjines area as Mr. Moi). The rulers have it all is the African politics. Sad .Bad. Yes but there it is.
    Firozali A Mulla P.O.Box 421 Dar-Es-Salam Tanzania

  • Posted By: AshToday @ 02/03/2008 12:16:39 PM

    Violence intimidates, destroys those who disagree with the power that is doing the violence. Legal institutions are formed in order to preserve the human rights of others. Violence is immoral except in self-defense. The idea that this violence should be ignored by the rest of the world is the same as ignoring the public rape of your neighbor. Shame on the rest of the world.

  • Posted By: kadz @ 01/31/2008 7:56:54 AM

    this is a case of mass action gone sour! the elites in kenya are fighting for power and the poor slaughter each other in the name of the elites. it is sad as the rich wil enjoy the news of watching the poor massacre each other, and then exploit them with inflated goods to make up for their lost income. the only way out is to put in place social development programmes to uplift the standards of living of the poor, creaet jobs or otherwise this will be a recurring phenomenon every election time. a new constitution will also go far in creating an equitable environment. measures hould be put in place to ensure economic growth trickles down to the massess. however, the ethnic cleansing was planned to take place irrespective of the election outcome, and that is why the fighting was intense as some had planned to evict "outsiders" especially in rift valley.

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