For Uhuru and Ruto, it was all or nothing.
It was State House Nairobi or a possible prison cell in the UN section at Scheveningen prison in The Hague.
The election had to be won. By all possible means.
And so it was.
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The tale goes that Daniel arap Moi once said: ‘Democracy is not for Africans’. Though, he comfortably forgot to ask ‘The Africans’ if they agreed to that statement. From the three Kenyan elections I witnessed, -2002, 2007 and 2013-, the memory which will stay with me to my very last day, is how much effort ordinary Kenyans were making to take part in this very democracy. On the contrary, it is striking how politicians in Kenya can play with the hopes of a nation, turn dreams into nightmares and get away with it, again and again.
If the results of the Kenyan elections were ‘honest’ might remain a mystery forever. From all I witnessed myself, the Kenyan elections were not transparent at all. Too many irregularities, too much covering up of inconsistencies and too much disregard for and breaking of the very Kenyan laws by Kenyan Government officials. Kenya is a country democratic by name, but not democratic in spirit.
The civil war of 2007/2008 after Kibaki’s coup, commonly referred to as ‘Post Election Violence’, left Kenyans from all ethnic backgrounds traumatized. The majority of Kenyans did not want a repeat of the violence and murder like they experienced in those days.
In 2013, Kenyans wanted to decide between Raila and Uhuru, though were forced to chose between peace and justice. And so it came, Kenya traded in the elections of 2013 justice for peace to avoid another massacre.
Though, history of mankind teaches us that no peace can last without justice.
As a foot soldier’s wish for Kenya and the Kenyans, instil the following:
What remains are broken dreams and torn election posters.
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