At the entrance of one of Ghana’s hippest tea bars in Osu, a guest held a candle in the hand and chanted “uhuru, uhuru, uhuru†repeatedly. “Uhuru†means freedom in Swahili. It also the name of current Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is seeking re-election in next week Tuesday’s elections.
Thomas Adotey, a Kenyan based Ghanaian graffiti artist, is back home to take part at this year’s Chale Wote festival, arguably one of the biggest and vibrant street art festivals to take place at Jamestown, but reports of tension ahead of the elections have left him pondering if another violence awaits the country.
“It is sickening what is happening back there,†he told a friend while sipping a glass of iced, adding “a beautiful country is being destroyed by greedy politicians and their cohorts.â€
Seven candidates are desperately hoping to unseat President Uhuru Kenyatta, whose father, Jomo Kenyatta, led the country into independence in the 1960s. The country is highly polarized on tribal lines and despite the existence of 42 tribes, two tribes have so far ruled the country, namely the Kikuyu, the largest of them, and Kalenjin, whose tribesmen run high profile offices in the country. The other tribe is the Luo who feel cheated by the two.
So the election is more of a tribal contest and reports say the Luo candidate, Raila Odinga,71, is not prepared to allow power slip through his fingers this time around, especially having lost a nail biting election in 2007, which resulted in a nationwide bloodbath in 2007.
Mr Odinga, who served as a Prime Minister in a unity government with President Mwai Kibaki, felt he was robbed of victory. Mr Kibaki, according to the electoral commission, won by 230,000 votes, despite admitting he was unsure of who won. His rival refused to concede defeat and the subsequent days resulted in nationwide violence, living thousands of people displaced and hundreds more murdered.
Media reports say as many as 1,400 people died in the span of 59 days, while 600,000 people were displaced from their homes, as Kenya slipped dangerously close to outright civil war.
Current President Uhuru Kenyatta was accused of ordering an armed gang known as the Mungiki to go after Luo communities. Martha Karua, a 2013 presidential candidate, also accused Odinga of executing an "ethnic cleansing" agenda against rival tribes.
This year’s election is Mr Odinga’s last shot at the presidency and indications are that, he may not concede defeat, should the ballot be taken from him. He is reported to have support from other tribes who have been agitating for change in leadership for several decades.
There are concerns from the camp of the opposition the outcome would be rigged in favour of President Kenyatta, whose leadership most Kenyans believe has exacerbated existing looting of the country’s wealth.
“ Raila has been robbed twice, At 71, he can’t accept,†a Kenyan journalist who wants to remain anonymous told PrimenewsGhana. “That is a recipe for murder and the polls show a close call.â€
The two main candidates have since 2013 been going head to head against each other. The outcome of the elections ended up in court in 2013 but was “dubiously dismissed,†the journalist said.
“ So this year is a repeat and it is a close call. It is a charged election, if whoever loses concede, then there is [a] chance for peace. But Raila’s (Odinga) voters are a bit anxious.
President Kenyatta and Odinga’s blood lines have a history dating back to the country’s breakaway from the British. Jomo Kenyatta, Uhuru’s father, was the president and his vice was Raila’s father vice president. The two fell out.
Both tribes are said to control enormous wealth in the country and have built strong businesses.
There are reports people are fleeing the cities back to the rural communities in anticipation of violence breaking out.
Adotey, who has been leaving in Kenya for almost a decade, cannot wait to be back in a country he now calls home, but “worried†about the elections.
The best thing we can do, he explained, is to just pray
Photo credit: Aljazeera
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