* * *
An eager young democrat sharpens his voting credentials.
* * *
News that a Kikuyu – the tribe to which Kibaki belongs – had been lynched by one of Raila’s Luo tribesmen brought hundreds of angry youths into the streets of Dagoretti.
* * *
As we drove slowly through the crowd, our vehicle was hijacked for a joyride by rioters looking for a victim.
* * *
On Sunday, scores of exhausted reporters gathered at the Kenya International Conference Center to hear what Electoral Commission chairman Samuel Kivuitu finally had to say.
* * *
Rumours had flown all day that Mr. Kivuitu, smiling in the middle, would announce Kibaki’s victory. By now it was clear that this would produce a violent reaction, and journalists conjectured that his announcement would immediately be followed by a declaration of emergency rule.
* * *
But Raila Odinga, closest to the camera, interrupted the press conference by producing an electoral official who declared he’d witnessed fraud on a grand scale. Thus discredited, Mr. Kivuitu retired to a private room to announce Kibaki’s victory in peace and quiet. The announcement was broadcast on the state TV station, KBC, which had already been widely condemned for its pro-Kibaki bias.
* * *
By the time Kibaki was being sworn in at State House, fireballs were erupting over the slums as furious residents torched homes, businesses, gas stations, and anything else they could put a match to. Here in Kibera, some of them were having a conspicuously good time.
* * *
“No Raila, no peace,” was the universal chant.
* * *
At this point I was regretting my decision to gauge the mood of the people.
* * *
Deeper into Kibera where the fires hadn’t yet reached, wary residents armed themselves and prepared for the worst.
* * *
Chris Ojow, a colleague who grew up in Kibera, was my guide throughout the night. When gunshots started crackling in the direction we’d come from, he found us a safe route out of Kibera that ended at Whispers Pub.
* * *
The following day, the extent of the damage became visible. Reports started pouring in that every city, town and village in the country had been torn apart by violence.
* * *
Raila Odinga tried to hold a rally in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park, at which he intended to declare himself president. But riot police sealed off not just the park, but the entire downtown core, frustrating the attempt.
