Kenya yesterday was stuck in a dangerous limbo as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta took an unassailable lead in a disputed poll that has sparked violent protests, leaving nine dead.
Kenyatta was leading with 97 percent of votes compared with less than 1 percent for his rival, Raila Odinga, who boycotted the repeat election, according to a tally by the Daily Nation of unofficial results from 80 percent of constituencies.
However, turnout appears headed for a record low of about 35 percent, tarnishing the credibility of an election that has deeply polarized the nation.
Photo: EPA
Violent protests have rocked Odinga’s strongholds in the west of the country and flashpoint Nairobi slums, with the death of a man in Homa Bay late on Friday taking the death toll since election day to nine. Scores have also been wounded, many by police bullets.
Local police chief Mauris Tum said that a group of young people had stormed the home of a local ruling party lawmaker and police responded, leaving one “fatally wounded.”
One man was on Friday night also shot dead by police in Nairobi’s Kawangware slum as clashes broke out between ethnic groups over the election, police said.
Photo: EPA
A witness said the violence started when a group of people “started attacking people and questioning why people never voted.”
Elsewhere, opposition supporters torched shops belonging to members of Kenyatta’s Kikuyu tribe and a group of young men wielding machetes could also be seen roaming the streets.
The presidential rerun was ordered by the Supreme Court after it overturned Kenyatta’s Aug. 8 victory over “irregularities” in the transmission of votes.
However, two weeks before the new elections, Odinga pulled out, calling for a boycott on the grounds that the electoral commission had not made the necessary changes to ensure a free and fair vote in a call that was widely observed.
Observers expect further legal challenges over the rerun.
In some areas, mostly in the western Nyanza region where the majority of deaths have occurred, the election could not take place as opposition supporters on Thursday blocked hundreds of polling stations from opening.
Plans to restage elections in the region yesterday were again delayed after election chief Wafula Chebukati said he feared for the safety of his staff.
A future date would be announced “in the coming days,” Chebukati said.
According to the Supreme Court, the election rerun must be completed by Tuesday.
In Kisumu, opposition supporters were still on alert to block plans to deploy election material, although shops opened and transport was circulating.
At a main roundabout in the city, someone had hung up a dead cat — Odinga has promised to announce his next moves on how to “slay the cat.”
Richard Ogilo, 24, pointed to the carcass and said: “Look, there is a member of IEBC [Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission] at this roundabout. This is Wafula Chebukati. Let him know that we do not want elections.”
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