Kenya Elections

Me and Him: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Our Home: Nairobi, Kenya

Distance: 822.7km

Like many people at the moment, I absorb much of my news through comedians. John Oliver makes Trump's latest antics are slightly less scary, and whatever is or is not going on with Brexit is easier to digest via Mock the Week. However, there are sinister undertones that even comedians cannot fully disguise. I have heard multiple shows claiming 'And this could be the last one before the apocalypse!', or 'She is currently Prime Minister, but if you are listening via catch-up all bets are off!', or 'World War Three... *insert something witty about nuclear warfare*!'. The bottom line is that the times they are a changing and in ways that cannot be expected or understood.

The changing times in Kenya are unlikely to make it to John Oliver or Mock the Week, but really should. The political situation is unprecedented, and the rest of Africa and the world are watching to see what happens next. I am writing this post completely unsure about what next week holds for the country, and whether or not I will be returning on Friday as planned. I hope and pray that I will.

I am not going to spend time in this blog post trying to explain the current political situation in any depth. There are plenty of news articles doing this - I would recommend Reuter's for the most up-to-date (at time of writing). However, to give the briefest summary as context, Kenya held national elections in August that were nullified in September, due to constitutional irregularities and as a result of campaigning from the opposition leader. New elections were set for October 19th, a date that was then changed to October 26th as the country realised it could not get everything ready in time. The opposition leader boycotted the election, meaning that the current President was the only viable option for voters. In the original August election, turnout was almost 80%. In the re-run last week turnout was lower than 35% as the opposition leader pressed his supporters to remain at home and in certain areas of opposition stronghold, supporters threatened the polling stations and potential voters and the polling stations did not open. There was supposed to be a new vote in areas this happened today, but it has been called off indefinitely due to threats of violence. In parts of the country supporters are clashing in the streets, and there have been incidents of police shooting and teargas.

The topic seems both too big not to talk about and too big to talk about. So to address this paradox I thought I would share a few things that I know only from living in Nairobi, and might add some flavour to anything you are reading on BBC, Al Jazeera, or CNN:

• The expat world is divided into those whose companies have advised them to be out of the country for the elections and those who have bought enough water and dried goods to camp out for a few days if needed. We are in the former category and have come to neighbouring Tanzania, watching from a distance as chaos unfurls: checking in with friends still in the city on WhatsApp to confirm/deny news reports.

• Taxi drivers are my best source of information. They report that the country is exhausted and frustrated, politics interfering with business opportunities and no end in sight. My regular driver is extremely vocal in his disapproval of the opposition party, who he sees as stirring up chaos. Their leader, he argues, has demonstrated no leadership skills and has been so busy trying to boycott the second election that he did not do any campaigning.

• On my way from Kitale to Eldoret (two towns in Western Kenya) a few weeks ago we hit a traffic jam. I was on the way to the airport and we had to drive off road and through a few fields to make sure I didn't miss my flight. A helicopter landed and the driver realised that it must be the current President on the campaign trail. His party had shut down the only road between the two towns in rush hour and was giving a speech from the top of a lorry whilst vehicles queued up in both directions. As we joined the road and continued on our way, we saw hundreds of people lining either side of the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of their President.

• Kenya is extremely tribal. Previous election violence has fallen down tribal lines, and the fear is that this will happen again. Offices all across the country are uncomfortable as different tribes sit alongside each other, the election as a taboo, off-limits subject between them.

If I were John Oliver or Dara O'Brien I would no doubt bring this blog post to a conclusion with something that would make you laugh. However, as I am not, I am concluding with a photo that I feel sums up the utter confusion of the times. This is a cement animal tea party in an abandoned field in Tanzania... because, you know, why not?