Jan 2nd Update from Eldoret

- Where to begin?! Perhaps the basics
-Town itself was calm today.
- Fuel available today,
- uchumi and other supermarkets open. Credit also available in Uchumi though restricted to 400 shillings worth per person. MPESA/safaricom office was closed.
- Food availability is so-so, bananas being sold, some kiosks open.
- Airport operational, actually there was alot of air activity today, saw many small planes, military choppers heading to old eld airport. If you want to charter an aircraft it could cost over $7000. To leave today, you would pay Ksh 15000, next available flights probably saturday or beyond and can cost between ksh 6500 or Ksh 6800 (Jetlink and fly540) – One way to NBI. It is jam packed there.
- Convoy of cars and buses left from the police station…probably Nairobi bound. Heard that people were being airlifted, but cant confirm this for sure.
-Whatever you have to do, you do it during the day before 5pm.
- Word is if you are driving, cant get past Naivasha if you are from western (i.e not kikuyu) cant confirm this though.
- Friends (of different tribes btw) were stuck in a place called Ndalat for 2 days, not able to get through because of roadblocks at one point escaped death from machetes (gosh this is terrible). These are not conventional roadblocks, they are manned by desperate youth who ask for your id, and also for money. There is a guy who parted with ksh1500 between town and the airport.
-Friends telling a kikuyu friend pole (sorry) because his house was burned. The thing is the people doing the burning are not even known to the people in the area, they are coming in from other places. I feel sick about this whole mess, cant even get myself to type the tribes kikuyu, kalenjin etc when typing this post. people are people. Because we are supposed to be ONE KENYA, this is shocking and utterly…shit, i cant find the word.
I have to go…
more pics here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/afropicmusing/sets/72157603613781227/

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Quick update from Eldoret, Rift Valley

- hi everyone, in Eldy, lots of tension though it has eased as it is daylight now, some people sought refuge in churches and police station last night and are still there this a.m saw some people carrying their belongings, will upload pics shortly if i can.
Yesterday, saw a mob of youth >300 crossing through farms, walking in a single file line. They later walked back after a few hrs.
Later in Kapsoya there were screams and people milling around.
-Just received an SMS from Safaricom that reads
â??The ministry if Internal security urges you to please desist from sending or forwarding any SMS that may cause public unrest. This may lead to your prosecutionâ?ť
-Continued media ban on live broadcasts
-Houses were burned in the last two days, things seem calmer now, though in Langas, people are still fighting and supposedly even more killed last night. Talked to a guy who lives there, says the leaders need to come there, one rep of the following languages: Luhya, Kalenjin, Kikuyu, put up a white flag and appeal for peace. “Radio appeals do nothing to calm that particular part of Eldoret”. In addition peopleâ??s heads are supposedly lying about and it is terrible.
-Govt spokesmanâ??s words seem very hollow considering the situation on the ground. Long queues at Uchumi in Eldoret, some parts of town completely deserted.
-No fuel.
-I think Eldoret airport is still operational (as of confirmation yesterday)
-ATMâ??s still working though – Barclays on Uganda Road.

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Kenya Elections: Pictures from Eldoret, Rift Valley

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Here are some shots i took yesterday at a few polling stations around Eldoret.It was so hot, but people braved the heat and queued in order to vote. By and large it went smoothly in some stations, though in the hospital ward, it was quite inefficient with lines snaking around the corner. There was alittle tear gas in the air from fracas on the previous day but people still soldiered on.
I am a bit bleary eyed as we were camped around the radio after the fuel for the generator ran out. Cant do live updates, been checking
KenyanPundit
and
Mentalacrobatics
on my cell phone.

Twittered the elections a little and will add more periodically during the day
http://twitter.com/afromusing

Btw – Nicholas Biwott is out in Kerio south
- Peris Chepchumba elected as MP Eldoret South despite intimidation and insults from men
Other women in Rift Valley made it through and might constitute a chunk of women MPs in the next parliament.

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We speak email they speak p.o.box

It is 6 days to election day in Kenya. Kenyanpundit has been giving a glimpse of the atmosphere in Nairobi; Read more here, here and here.

I spoke with a young web designer by the name of Amanya about his thoughts on the presidential candidates and their commitment to ICT in Kenya. A few minutes into the conversation i decided to record it, and he was gracious enough to let me. In the video, Amanya points out the disconnect between the leaders and the youth. The fact that the youth have embraced technology and internet, yet the leaders are still talking about polytechnics which provide skills training but not the computer literacy needed to compete in the age of globalization and digital pervasiveness.
You might notice that while i was talking to him he had a cellphone, with which he was checking his email :)

Just to give you some context, if you send an email to the Kenyan government, business or otherwise, you will also need to send a certified business letter by dhl or messenger. Even then it takes a very long time for them to get back to you.

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Quick notes

Just a note of thanks to all the African bloggers who joined in Blog Action day. I learned so much from all the posts, and i hope you find something in the globalvoices roundup that resonates with you.

Via muti and Justin Hartman on twitter
Press freedom in South Africa is under threat:

I write this having just heard that the editor of this newspaper, Mondli Makhanya, and its head of investigations, Jocelyn Maker, will be arrested this week. Their crime is that they published a story alleging that the Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala- Msimang, screamed at hospital staff and drank huge amounts of booze while in hospital for a shoulder operation.

The minister, the custodian of our nationâ??s health, has denied none of these allegations. This newspaper also published allegations that Tshabalala- Msimang was a drunk and a thief. This story has not been refuted by the minister nor any other government official.

A Jaiku channel has been set up with updates on this developing story. You can read more about it here.

free-press-ribbon.gif

I am not that much of a politico ;) but I realize the important link between democracy and free press. Being from Kenya where there’s always a tussle between the govt and the press, I can totally empathize with our fellow Africans in SA, and truly hope this gets sorted without members of the press being thrown in jail. Plus, bloggers are an opinionated bunch just like journalists, if they arrest a journalist one day, what’s to prevent govt’s from arresting bloggers?

On a lighter note: Here is a clip from the segment ‘Bulls Eye’ on NTV (Nation TV) Kenya. Elections in Kenya can be hilarious, and weird. ‘The pentagon?!’, day of thunder? and I dont even want to relive the whole Raila driving to parliament in a hummer. Sigh*

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Zimbabwe Suffering

Most of you in the blogosphere have heard how bad things are. If not, click here to see a video of what Mr. Mugabe’s govt is doing. Our African leaders failed to persuade Mugabe to stop the madness, meanwhile Zimbabweans continue to suffer. This picture which appeared on the mg.za photo widget caught my eye. It captures a bit of that exasperation and imminent danger to those in Zim.

‘If I die, I want people to know why’
MGZaImage
This young man joined Zimbabwe’s National Youth Service in late 2005 and has related to the M&G stomach-turning details of secret prisons and torture camps. He has now been moved to an unknown location in Europe and continues to fear for his life and for the lives of his remaining relatives in Zimbabwe.
John Grobler, M&G

Read the full story about the above picture here (Title – “I was in a Zimbabwe Death Squad”).

Please visit a fellow blogger Sokwanele for more information and info on how you can help. Thanks.

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