JR Woodward :: Blog :: Kenya Needs Our Prayers

While I have been in NYC it has been a little difficult keeping up with the news, as the apartment that I am staying in does not have a television.  But I have received calls and e-mails from a number of people about the crises in Kenya.  I have gotten emails and calls from people in the U.S., emails from Kenya and have had a chance to talk with Kenyans here in the U.S. to try and get a sense of what is happening.

Ever since Kenya's independence, while being a democracy, it has still retained a strong sense of tribalism.  There are over 70 tribal groups, and about 40 primary tribes in Kenya.  The largest tribe  is the (Kikuyu) tribe, and they have dominated during elections, because people basically vote among tribal lines. 

So what is different about this past election on December 27th?  It seems that Mr. Odinga of the Luo tribe (the second largest tribe) was able to get some other tribes to vote for him, and thus was looking forward to a victory over Mr. Kibaki, of the Kikuyu tribe.  It looked as if Mr. Odinga had the victory, but then a more than usual amount of votes came from a number of regions.  Mr. Odinga as well as the International community has cried foul when this happened, all the while Mr. Kibaki swears in again, very quickly, for a second term as President. 

Many believe there is strong evidence of a rigging of the vote, and it seems as if the European Union, Britain and the U.S. have not considered Mr. Kibaki's victory legitimate.  But one of my Kenyan friends said, "It doesn't matter what the International Community says, Kibaki will probably remain the President because this is a Kenya election, and it is something Kenya must decide."  He said this not because he agrees with the results of the election, but because this isn't the first time something like this has happened.

One of the reasons for all the unrest in Kenya is there form of government is different than that of the United States.  In the United States the President has more limited power.  In Kenya there is a strong President and a weak Parliament.  He can basically over-rule whatever the parliament says.   

All this to say that since the election, there have been over 300 deaths related to this election.  Kenya bloggers are pleading for peace as they provide eyewitness accounts of violence.  British tourists tell of what they experienced.

I will share with you later some emails I received from some Kenyan's as well as some medical missionaries serving as surgeons in Kenya.  I just wanted to ask you to pray for Kenya.  While some are pronouncing Kenya as an unstable country because of the current violence, my Kenyan friend reminds me that the same thing happened in 1992, but this doesn't make Kenya an unstable country. He says this after having talked with his family and friends living in Nairobi.