All of this kind of makes our ‘hanging chads’ look silly, doesn’t it?

Hey folks….I do not know if this has garnered much attention back home, but I wanted to let you all know about the current situation ongoing in Kenya as you are reading this. Kenya is currently experiencing some pretty bad violence associated with their presidential election. As of this writing, (according to the AP) approximately 135 people have been killed in post election fighting between rival supporters of the two candidates. The cause of the initial violence was the disputed victory of the incumbent president. Apparently he had been trailing in all the Election Day polls, but when the official results were declared, he had retaken the lead, and the government declared him the winner. However, the opposition refused to accept this outcome, and declared their candidate the winner.

I have been told the actual policy differences between the two politicians is quite minor, but there supporters are split down ethnic and tribal lines. Tribal and ethnic affiliations play a large role in African affairs, and it is difficult for me as a westerner to understand why this election has sparked so much unrest.

At any event I feel for Kenya…especially the innocent victims of the clashing tribes. Kenya is a fantastic nation, and a strong ally of the United States. They have probably the fastest growing economy in Africa, with a nation rich in natural resources and rich in human resources as well. Kenya is a spectacularly beautiful place-a vast hilly green land, with everything from tropical savannahs to desert in the north.

Please keep Kenya in your prayers and thoughts as her people struggle to come to grips with this election. The people of Kenya have always treated us well, and I can only hope that those folks have managed to avoid the current trouble down there. On a positive note, I have heard from people in the know (sorry I cannot reveal more about who told me this) that despite the violence there is a sense among the people there that this will pass relatively quickly and things will return back to normal. One can only hope so.
All of this kind of makes our ‘hanging chads’ look silly, doesn’t it?