Kenyan Challenges for a Prophetic and Vigilant Church
Elias Opongo Wednesday, 9 June 2010
For many years, I have conducted peace and reconciliation activities within troubled regions of Eastern Africa such as Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and the refugee camps in Tanzania. In January 2008, I was confronted with violence much closer to home when political instability shook my own country, Kenya. The contested results of the December 27 presidential election plunged the country into a crisis not witnessed since independence. The opposition party, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), refused to accept election results that gave President Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity (PNU) a narrow lead over opposition leader, Raila Odinga. Immediately, sporadic protests began in many parts of the country, developing into inter-ethnic conflict that continued for two months. Even though the violence was triggered by the disputed election results and allegations of rigging, it reflected deep-seated grievances related to inequitable distribution of national resources, ethnic discrimination, economic marginalization of various regions, and lack of institutional accountability.
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