Kenya Troubles -- A View From Kapsowar

If the mob was willing to demand that the police hand over a Gikuyu police captain, then things must have been pretty bad. These are the words of a doctor in Kaspowar the seat of Marakwet District. I found this here.

Monday, December 31, 2007

I wanted to update you on what has been going on here in Kenya since the elections. On Sunday (Dec 30th), it was announced that President Kibaki had won the presidential election. Within minutes of this announcement, he was sworn in at the State House to begin a second term. Almost immediately, riots broke out everywhere as people felt that the election was rigged in Kibaki's favor.

In the past twenty four hours, throughout Kenya the Kikuyu who are living in other ethic regions are being hunted down and chased out of their communities or even killed. Roadblocks are set up by the local people all around Kapsowar, and passengers are required to show their national ID cards. If they are found to be Kikuyu, they are being taken out of the vehicles and killed.

A mob has formed here in Kapsowar and are demanding that the police captain (who is a Kikuyu) be handed over to them so that they can kill him. The police refused, and gunfire began to erupt all around Kapsowar town. The fighting spilled over into the hospital, as police sought refuge from the mob within our compound. One man in the mob was shot by the police and he is currently undergoing surgery at our hospital. The police managed to disburse the crowd with gunfire, but we are afraid that an even larger mob that is angry about the shooting will soon start reforming. A military police unit was brought in to offer further support.

Right now things are very tense, and no one is sure what the outcome of all this is going to be. The community leaders are trying to talk with the mob to calm them down, but some are refusing to listen. Currently, we feel that the safest place is to remain within our homes. Please pray for our local situation as well as the larger problems that face Kenya. Our prayer is that a peaceful resolution can be found, and that the nation can begin healing from this horrible tragedy that is ongoing. Pray that God would change the hearts of the people and that the peacemakers will prevail.