Arriving in Eldoret

The following post was written by UUSC President Charlie Clements. Clements writes from Kenya, where he is leading an emergency delegation to assess the political and humanitarian crisis that has engulfed the country in the wake of the flawed presidential elections of December 2007.

Today, Friday, January 25, our fifth and final day in Kenya, we had to split the mission because too many tasks remained unaccomplished. We are in the city of Eldoret, which has been hit hard by the violence.

We began the day with some optimism as the "president elect" Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga (or Raila, as he is referred to here) agreed to a joint appearance late yesterday afternoon with Kofi Annan, where they shook hands and affirmed their commitment to dialogue. Their speeches and images were on all Kenyan television stations last night and on the front pages of all papers today. Both made sincere pleas to stop the violence, but, sadly, there were code phrases or words in each of their speeches intended to stiffen the resolve of their bases.

There was another ominous headline in another paper yesterday: “DEATH THREATS – Ten Civil Society Leaders Go Underground.” Some of the targets were from organizations we met with earlier in the week. In the Kibera slum, where we were earlier in the week, youth have mounted roadblocks and charged motorists 20 Ks to pass. One bus line cancelled its services, making it harder for residents to get to work. Another blamed the “road toll” of 50 to 100 Ks. As I looked at a photo of the large rocks and bonfires blocking the road, I didn’t anticipate we would be seeing the very same thing later that day. Newspapers also reported that residents of Kisumu, where we were yesterday, angry that “mass actions” (or demonstrations/protests) had been called off, built large bonfires on many corners, blocking traffic.