Pray for Peace in Kenya

As we, the Maryknoll Sisters Peacebuilding Team, sit safely in our fourth floor apartment in Nairobi, Kenya rises to another day of yet unknown events. This is Thursday, Jan 3, Raila Odinga has called for millions to gather at Uhuru Park, to protest the claiming of victory by Mwai Kabaki in the Dec 27th presidential election. In the past week, over 300 people have died in the aftermath of election voting, disputed tallying, announcements, and the swearing in of the acclaimed winner.

Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya, on the shores of Lake Victoria, has been in chaos since Mwai Kibaki was announced as the victor on Sunday. For five days, mobs have run amok, protesting, looting businesses, burning shops and homes, and the police have responded forcefully with bullets. The result is over 100 people dead, countless displaced, and a city, once thriving, now without water, food supplies, and fuel. When peace comes, they will have a long road of healing, rebuilding, and reconciliation ahead of them.

In Eldoret, over 50 people have died, some burned in a church where they had sought refuge. Again thousands are displaced by the violence and the burning of homes.

Here in Nairobi, the slums of Kibera, Mathare, Kawangare, and others, have been ravaged with fires set ablaze with the swearing in of Kibaki Sunday evening. We watched from our windows as smoke billowed into the sky from nearby Kibera. Monday afternoon, riot police pushed people back towards the slums, “shooting at people who were running away from people running away from the mob” where many had converged on a local grocery store, seeking food and supplies, as heard from a witness who had ventured out for a loaf of bread. Nearly 100 people have been killed in these neighborhoods.

Many Kenyans, Africans and other world citizens thought the days of election violence were in the past for this booming economy and stabilized nation. Corruption is what the people were speaking out against, and clearly voting against, as they voted out most of the cabinet members of Kibaki’s past government. There was fear of retaliation, fear of unrest, but no one could know how this would play out. December 27th was a day for the Kenyan to be proud, a peaceful, free voting day, marked with only a few incidents of violence and poll rigging. There are so many things that point to a fraudulent tallying process, an incumbent government using its power to claim victory although the results were not clear, then rushing the swearing in to make it legitimate.

We have been here in Kenya for over a year now, meeting with and working with many of the peacemakers seeking a better future for their country. We have heard and come face to face with the tribalism that lies just beneath the skin of many Kenyans. It is a sense of identity that defies the logic of doctorates, international business relations, and even desires for peacebuilding and reconciliation. But still we sense the effort to move beyond that entrenchment, seeking more unity.

Our hearts go out to our friends in Kisumu with whom we have worked with in the past year, a group of novices and postulants with their formators from five religious communities. They are safe, yet witnessing and absorbing the violence of the area, with deep concern for family members in other parts of Kenya. We were scheduled to be with them next week for a workshop on conflict analyses and intervention. If and when we are able to go, our work will be about healing and reconciliation.

With Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu in town, we wait to see what the afternoon will bring. The people of Kenya want peace, but not without justice. It is not clear who can best fill the role of president and lead this country in efforts to achieve a just peace. We believe, along with 70% of registered Kenyan voters who spent long hours in voting queues on December 27th to exercise their right, that the democratic process, if credible and trustworthy, can serve the people of Kenya. We support and pray for al the people of Kenya, and want to accompany them in their quest for a peaceful, sustainable life. Join us in prayer that this situation may find some resolution, the violence may subside, and we can all do what we can to work towards justice.

We welcomed into this situation Anastasia Lee, who has joined as us the fourth member of our team. She will go to Tanzania shortly to study Kiswahili. We also are in communication frequently and gather when possible with our Maryknoll sisters Bernice Rigney and Katie Erisman, here in Nairobi, and Paula Kuntz in Kitale. Thank God we are all safe, but saddened by the situation of Kenya.