The Olympian

Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Pan-African News Wire Help, I need somebody. Protestors and riots fill the streets of Kenya after the Dec. 27 presidential elections. Koi Trimia watched chaos sweep across her peaceful homeland.

Media Credit: George Mulala There's something happening here. The streets of Kenya were consumed by chaos in late December, causing more than 600 casualties. [Click to enlarge]

Fire, machetes and bloodshed litter the streets of Kenya in a retaliation following what appeared to be a rigged election in late December.
On Dec. 4, Olympic College professor Dr. Koi Tirima traveled home to a festive Kenya. By Jan. 13 however, she flew out of a country distressed by ashes and riots.
Home for the holidays, Tirima found herself amidst the chaos and violence of her once peaceful country.
On Dec. 27, incumbent Mwai Kibaki and opposition Ralia Odinga were both accused of altering votes in the last minutes of the voting day.
In response, an estimated 250,000 people have been displaced and about 7,000 Kenyans have taken refuge in bordering Ugandan towns.
The number of casualties has risen to more than 600 and continues to grow as the streets fill with protestors, gangs and tribes.
"We are such a hospitable, loving, beautiful people," Tirima said, "How did we become this other thing?"
In a previous issue of The Olympian, Tirima described the "tolerance" and "respect" exhibited by the tribes within Kenya.
In the eruption following the elections this tribal acceptance turned to chaos.
Malnourished families, desperate refugees and peaceful protests gone violent became frequent elements in cities across Kenya, including Tirima's hometown, Meru.
While it is the individual tribes that fight, it is the political, social and economic systems that have divided Kenya.
In the past it is the tribe of a current leader that tends to receive land or status privileges more so than others.
"The media seems to just think it's a tribal thing, it's way more complex than that," Tirima said.
"A lot of what we're seeing now has to do with real political planning," Tirima said.
Both the incumbent Kibaki and the opposition Odinga allegedly "rigged" the election, but it was also previous broken promises that sparked retaliations.
While in office, President Kibaki improved the education system and spent tax dollars effectively.
But Kibaki failed to keep his word in previous constitutional reforms.
In the past, Kenyans have been denied human rights, subject to government sponsored violence, restricted in speech and prohibited from making public assemblies.
"Everyone was waiting for those reforms despite the party they were in," Tirima said.
When asked if leaving her home was hard, Tirima paused, overcome and described it in a word, "abandoning."
"I feel like I have to be a part of the solution," Tirima said.
Tirima is selling shirts to raise money for the Red Cross that read, "Kenya Ni Yetu Jo," meaning "Kenya is ours."
Although this may be all she can do, Tirima said, "It seems so small."
"We have to know in our hearts as Kenyans there isn't going to be a perfect solution," Tirima said.
The number of refugees is dropping but the turmoil and violence continues to grow.
International assistance organizations such as the United Nations have been present for those displaced in bordering countries but, for Tirima, it is the Kenyan's who will make the change.
"I'm hoping Kenyans can find a way to that space where we strive for the justice of all," Tirima said, "but not at the cost of life and bloodshed."

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