Originally published in Church Times
Election day in Kenya passed without fears of widespread violence being realised, although, on Wednesday afternoon, a decisive result had not been delivered.
Provisional results suggested that the two front-runners for the presidency were the veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, and the outgoing Deputy President, William Ruto. It might be several days, however, before the results are official.
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On Wednesday morning, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), which includes the Anglican Church of Kenya, released a joint statement with the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), thanking people for voting peacefully in the previous day’s polls.
“We thank God that the whole process has so far been encouraging,” the statement read. “We encourage both winners and losers to accept the will of the people. . . No one should incite Kenyans to engage in violence on account of the election result.”
At the end of July, the NCCK urged religious leaders to stay impartial, and told Kenyans not to lay down their lives “on account of elections that come and go” (News, 29 July).
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Previous elections in Kenya have been mired by disputes over the validity of the election, and outbreaks of violence. The statement from the NCCK and KCCB noted that elections were “suspended in some part of the country”, and called on “voters and candidates in the affected areas to remain peaceful and patient” while logistical issues are resolved.
The New York Times reported that in the Rift Valley, a site of violent clashes after previous election, fewer people had fled their homes in expectation of violence than in previous years. BBC News, however, has reported that an MP is on the run in western Kenya after apparently shooting the bodyguard of an election rival.
Among the main issues in the election was the increased cost of living. Prices for some staple foods have risen by as much as 50 per cent since last year, and look set to continue rising as the food crisis in East Africa worsens (News, 5 August).
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