The military has been deployed in various parts of the country affected by violence following President Kibaki’s re-election to avert what Government spokesman Alfred Mutua describes as a "humanitarian crisis". "This is not the first time we are undertaking this venture," said Dr. Mutua. "The military has always assisted in undertaking these assignments and this time is no exception."
But many analysts are suspicious of this latest development, especially the timing, as it coincides with Thursday's planned Million Man March by ODM. Dr Mutua added that the government is ruling out mediation as a means to resolve the skirmishes rocking parts of the country following the impasse over the controversial presidential election results.
He said the country was not at war to warrant the deployment of mediators to bridge peace in the country. "We have not yet reached a Somali like situation to allow mediators to come to our country," he told a news conference. Dr Mutua’s pronouncements appear to pour cold water in the various initiatives by the international community to find a lasting solution to the stalemate in the country.
Most of the world press is reporting that the war in Kenya is between President Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe and Raila Odinga’s Luo tribe. And that is exactly what the wise old men currently sitting comfortably inside State house would like the world to believe. But facts on the ground are different; some of he most violent protests in the country have come from Rift Valley and the tribe here are not Luos. They are Kalenjins. Most of the violence in Nairobi has been in slums where there is a smorgasbord of communities. The same can be said about Mombasa, Kenya's coastal town. In other words what we have in Kenya is a popular uprising against a rigged election where some people have taken advantage to settle scores related to ethnicity. Like the Kalenjins who have been opposed to Kikuyu settlement in their land that happened in the 60s, supervised by Kenya’s first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
It gets more complex because Kenyans now seem to be venting out their anger on Kikuyus.
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