Last week I escorted a couple of Journalists from the Netherlands around Nairobi & Naivasha so they could attempt to do some stories on the recent violence and problems that have been going on in here in the country.  These are a group of photos I took along the way.  We visited three camps, one without any people, a school in Limuru, a counseling center and parts of the Kibera slum here in Nairobi.  Click on the photos below to get a bigger image and a small description.

… but currently Kenya is my home.

Things seem to be getting much worse before they get better. Since last Thursday two more major towns in the Rift Valley have started burning and are experiencing running battles between different ethnic groups. Today we woke up to the news that a new MP and member of opposition had been murdered outside of his home early this morning. Some riots broke out around the town in response to this. Police went and teargassed the group of mourners gathering in his home to pay him respect. Cars were being burnt just up the road from my house.

Those in “leadership” positions have been really quiet. Havn’t heard anything from the “president” or even from the other guy that wanted to be president.

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that it felt like Kenya was on a ledge about to fall off into an abyss. What I forgot to mention was that that ledge was at the end of a gradual slope. For a while it seemed the country was slowly pulling itself back up that slope. The reality though is that it has been scrambling and slipping and not gaining much ground. After this weekend it seems that the footing has been lost, the country has fallen on its ass and it is now slipping back towards that ledge and all attempts to stop itself proving fruitless.

What we are fearing now is that the violence coming out of the rift valley is going to spread into the heart of Nairobi.  If that happens I think the country may have gone over the edge and be hanging onto it by just a few fingers.

I’m linking to some photos from other websites.  They are linked to take you to the place I got them from. They are a small representation of what is happening outside of my comfortable little hole in the ground.  Some are very graphic.

I grabbed most of these photos from The Vigilante Journalist and Insight Kenya.  Go check out their sites for detailed descriptions and more information.

The city was working today.  Traffic jammed up in all the right places. The streets were crowded with people.  That gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that the country was tittering on the brink of utter chaos subsided a bit.  Think it has managed to take a step back and steady itself somewhat, although it is not so far from that edge.  A push, gust of wind or small trip could send it back over.
Out in the rural we are still hearing reports of folks causing mayhem, death and destruction.   but they aren’t in the city, so no worries.  Except for that there are still problems with supply lines and the cost of things are going up very quickly.  but out of sight, out of consciousness…

The opposition called off planned protests tomorrow.  Looks like they might be considering talk a bit more benificial for all then more chaos and destruction.

A friend buried one of two sisters today.  Perished in a house fire in Mombasa when a mob locked the doors and set it ablaze.  Two sisters and a niece among 8 that died.

Got this from a friend and thought I would share:

“happy new year.
do hope you are ok with your family.
also hope you are in Nairobi safely and not fighting in the streets. or wherever part of the world you are now.

me ok and safe. our place here is quite and life is as usual.
schools were to open on 7th and heard that they have been extended till 14th Jan cause of the problems of elections so coming that week. will get you informed when i arrive.

me here have burned my voting card.its realy awkward to vote now in Kenya when the person you vote in is rigged out and i have never seen a corrupt elections in Kenya like this one.form the civic to the Presidentail.
imagine with our illitrare mothers and fathers who never understand the word Democracy! voting for an opponent at the last moment cause they have been bribed with Money and a bag of Maize. Imagine somebody at the last moment pouring in 21 Million for a bribe with bags purposely for bribing. he is in now and will be seen again when the elections are contacted. its painy!

otherwise will see each other in Nairobi and will talk more.
have a wonderful year.”

Driving around today one might think things are progressing back to a form of normality. I just have this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that it is not. Think it started when we walked into Nakumat, our local grocery store, and couldn’t find the majority of basic commodities such as bread, milk and fresh veg. Also didn’t help my stomach that I and my wife were talking about what our options are if things go really off. Got a little depressed after that.
I talked with two different friends today, one in Kitale, the other in Lodwar. Things are peaceful, but both places have ground to a halt because there is no fuel, food or other items flowing in. The one in Kitale was only visiting for Christmas and was supposed to come back to Nairobi with her family beginning of this week. Looks like they are going to be stuck there till things start flowing, if they start, again.

This past week we have seen massive violence and the trajic death of an estimated 300 or more people throughout the country (probably closer to or well over 500+). Unfortunately it may continue. The really sad thing is that it doesn’t seem the leaders really care. Casualties or fodder in the battle for whatever.

Today has been peaceful enough, at least in this part of town. Talked with our guard again and he said he was able to get a good nights rest for the first time in several days.

We drove out towards the airport. Had to pick a ticket for Mary’s sister so they can travel to Sudan tomorrow. The most notable thing was the lack of vehicles on the road. On one hand it was nice to be able to get somewhere without fighting loads of traffic, but it also reminded me of the fact that all is not right. At one point I even almost “missed” the traffic, not sure if that makes sense.

We passed through an estate called Jamhuri to pick a friend and while there we noticed a number of people packing things into hand carts or vehicles. We heard that many of them have been threatened and told to leave. All the people of one tribe told to go and stay somewhere else, things like that.

Found this report on the web… is extremely sad to see.

In our part of the city, things seem like they are getting a little bit back to normal. But folks are still making a run on the grocery store and stocking up on as much as possible. Vehicles are moving on the roads and people walking around, but only a trickle as compared to how it was last week before problems started.

We are still in the house. Not much else to do at the moment.

Government media reports indicate that things are calming down. The Kenyan blogs seem to point to other sentiments. It is all a little frustrating.

Here are some links with good information. Insight Kenya and Thinker’s Room have some really good photos of what is taking place on ground. Kenya Pundit seems a bit more balanced in her reporting than a few other sites I have seen.

Just saw this article in a local paper. Think BBC has picked it up too. 40+ people were burnt alive in a church in a town called Eldoret in the Rift Valley district. Mostly women and children taking refuge from violence that broke out there.

A friend of mine is stuck in Eldoret town at the moment. Please pray that she and her two kids stay safe during this time.