Kenya Update

I spoke with Michelle in Nairobi earlier today.  After a few fairly quiet days, it seems the tension is rising again and nothing has really been resolved as far as the political side of things.  The latest call is for a “mass action” this coming Wednesday through Friday.  I inquired as to what exactly a “mass action” looks like and Michelle said, “a country wide protest against the current President.”  So for the next few days leading up to Wednesday’s demonstrations, everyone will be attempting to get any kind of food or water they can, expecting the worst is to come.  All businesses in Nairobi and across the country are preparing to be closed for the 3 days of protest, as they simply cannot afford the risk of looters and the violence.

The current President is calling for Parliment to open on Tuesday.  This will no doubt call for more conflict.  The opposition party still claims that he is the President and will take that place on Tuesday.  This is interesting as there obviously cannot be 2 Presidents at the same time.  Both sides remain headstrong and at this point, there must be a miracle of intervention to come to any agreement.

As Wednesday approaches, vigilantes in Kibera and across the country are “preparing for war” once again, constructing petrol bombs and other weapons of destruction and violence.  Across the country, as tension rises, the killings between tribes continues.  The number of displaced people is on the rise as well, some reports say up to 500,000 are displaced now. 

As the political standstill remains and the number of displaced people grows, one of the major concerns remains the lack of food.  The UN has stated that “malnutrition is now a growing risk.”  They also added, “It’s anticipated that malnutrition will rapidly worsen if insecurity and lack of access to food and assistance persists, along with the destruction of farms and family livelihoods.  The UN children’s agency, Unicef, also said it was concerned about malnutrition, which already affected one in three children under the age of five before the crisis.  With hundreds of thousands of displaced people with no jobs or income, the situation for many children is quickly becoming critical.”

Thanks for your continued prayers covering Kenya during this crisis.