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First to address some of the questions asked in the comments:
– The missing names situation in Kibera was a result of a split register. This means that voters were reallocated to different areas within the polling station depending on their last name – this is done in areas where there is a high number of voters to prevent overcrowding in one classroom / voting both – so e.g. in Kibera where there are lots of As, Os etc guys with names starting with O are split and some people moved to where the people with the last name B are voting…hope this makes sense, kind of hard to explain in writing. So guys were going by the last names and when they get to the voting booth/classrom there names are not on that particular list but in the list where e.g. the B guys are. Problem is that no one bothered to explain this to guys beforehand and by the time they were trying to explain guys thought it was a plot to rig and rejected the plan to make voting more efficient. Voting was suspended until the original (non-split) list was obtain from Anniversary towers.
– Haven’t heard anything about Asians fleeing the country.
– The appointment of judges was definitely a case of stacking, but with all the attention focused on the election is barely registered with guys – the unfortunate result of an uber-strong President.
Provisional results from Nation TV – Note only 1% of the vote has been counted.
Kibaki leading with 51.% while Raila has 45.3% (KTN reporting a Raila lead – 53,911 vs 41,266)
Breakdown by Province
1. Western – 74% Raila, 25% Kibaki
2. Nairobi – no results in yet
3. North Eastern – no results yet
4. Nyanza – 99% Raila
5. Eastern – 63% Kibaki, 35% Kalonzo, 3% Raila
6. Central – 98% Kibaki, 2% Raila
7. Rift Valley – 65% Raila, 34% Kibaki
8. Coast – 56% Raila, 39% Kibaki
Some interesting MP results:
– Biwott and Moody Awori trailing.
AOB: You can watch updated results from this website.
I voted this morning at Madaraka Primary School.
It was my first time voting in a national election, having been out of the country in 1997 and 2002. It was a very empowering process – especially in this election that is going to be a tight one.
Despite turning up at 6:15 am turnout was already crazy. I’m really curious to see what the turnout will be overall because the few polling stations I visited in Lang’ata had an incredible turnout. When talking to guys in the line in Mada, they said they’ve never seen anything like this.
Observations from the day:
– Ballot papers were not on site like they are supposed to be. They only got delivered at 8:00 am, leading to lots of agitation among the crowd that had turned up early to vote. The crowd finally broke the gate into the school and rushed in (me included otherwise I’d still be in the line) after getting tired of waiting. Once that happened temperatures came down. Apparently many stations in Nairobi and especially Lang’ata did not start voting until around 9:00 am.
– Once inside the school, things were very chaotic. There was no one directing you on where to go and since you voted according to your last name’s initials it was a unneccessarily maddening process trying to figure out which classroom you should go to and then you have to line up again.
– There was lots of camaraderie and good humor in the line. Something very social about voting, which I didn’t expect. People also expressed their determination to vote no matter how long they had to stand in line. No one was wearing any party insignia or logos. There was also heavy tension in the air – any hint of something shady and the crowd could have lynched guys.
– Turnout. Turnout. Turnout. This election will come down to that. Several people told me that this was the first time they had voted since the 90s – this is definitely an election of high stakes.
– Youth – I’d say about 80% of the line were guys who were 40 years old and younger (very impressed by the number of guys in their 20s that I saw). 2012 will be about this demographic, there’s no two ways about that. Especially if they turnout in big numbers.
– Something else that is not getting a lot of play, especially in the international media, which is focused on the ethnicity issue is the parliamentary elections. Voters really want to send a message to MPs – we are watching you , we are tired of your antics and we are going to use our vote to let you know how we feel. A number of guys told me that they are there to vote because if they don’t vote then they have nothing to complain about when the leaders mess up. It’s great to see a culture of accountability developing.
– Quote of the morning: “Nimelewa lakini nikona kura kwa mfuko.” Boozed guy coming to vote straight from the bar.
First a response to the comments on my previous posts.
Thanks to everyone who appreciates the election posts. As a rule I don’t feel compelled to defend what I write about on my blog, but I think it is necessary to reiterate (for those who don’t get it for whatever reason) that I’m not interested in repeating news that you can find elsewhere with minimal effort, my focus is on capturing the sentiments of people on the ground (and in the bars).
If you are not interested in “lowly gossip”…eh, si you stop reading? And the fact of the matter is that most of the conversations that people are having have little substance behind them. It’s the nature of the campaign…campaigners on both sides will admit that they have fought hard and the fact that it is going to be a tight race has both camps focusing on anything that will grab the swing voters. Perhaps this is more informative.
Which side I’m voting for is between me and the ECK (I’m voting in Lang’ata). As a cab driver said to me today, “tutakutana na hao-mapoliticians on Dec 27th.” Strange that this is now an ODM blog, because all the “anti-PNU” stories have come from PNU campaign insiders, in fact I made a point of seeking out hardcore ODM guys today to get a different perspective. The fact is the PNU campaign was a mess, and even the most solid Kibaki guy will admit that. I’m just reflecting what’s going on.
OK, done with the disclaimers. I won’t be explaining the content of this blog again anytime soon. That’s why it’s MINE 
I probably won’t have time to blog again before Dec 27 so I’ll try and include a pre-vote overview.
So today I went to the ODM rally at Nyayo Stadium. Before I’m picked on again, I’d have loved to be in two places at the same time and attend the PNU rally as well, but since I couldn’t I decided to attend the rally that I thought would be the most interesting. It didn’t disappoint. I got there at about noon and left when it was over. I managed to get hooked up with the a guest pass so I was in the main stand and had a great view. I walked to the stadium from Nairobi West and had no issues at all. The atmosphere was exciting and colorful with a positively giddy crowd – no wonder politicians get hooked on power. Security was tight, though it collapsed towards the end when crowds rushed the dais after Raila spoke. There was no police presence in the stadium though I’m sure there were some plain clothes policemen around. There was lots of entertainment / music and two hilarious guys who imitated Pastor Muiru and Kalonzo stepping down for Raila. There’s a thesis waiting to be done about the role of music in this year’s campaigns it was a very central element of the rally. Even the mugithi song had been changed into an ODM song. And the sukuti guys must be on speed, there’s a ka-group that danced around the stadium the WHOLE time. Oh, before I forget, two poor marabou storks (those big birds around Nyayo) fell victim to the crowd. I don’t even want to know how they were captured but the birds became live mascots for some overzealous guys. It was actually painful to watch the poor things being paraded around.
Other observations – youth are very key in this campaign. Every speaker greeted “vijana” specifically and their role in this campaign is reflected in how engaged people in my peer group are…very very different from when I was here for the referendum. I hope that the youth take on this power beyond the election and keep these politicians on their toes. As I’m writing it’s occurred to me that there’s a whole generation (our parents) that never got to experience real choice as far as politics. Anyway, before I get sidetracked, voter turnout was the main theme of the rally. They even made special announcements for guys who had lost their IDs during the rally.
The rally was mainly a pep rally so there was very little substance discussed. Raila read a long speech that bored guys…people had even started streaming out…the speech outlined how he plans to govern and I think was mainly for the media and undecideds. He is really not good at reading speeches, somebody should work with him on this. At the end of the speech he broke into Swahili and the rhetoric that drives his supporters wild. He announced that the ECK had just authorized 6 new polling stations in Lang’ata (very strange) and urged his supporters to be vigilant about what was going on at the new stations. He spoke in Luo at the end of the rally (pal translated) and reminded the Luos that he has supporters from all over the country and that this election was not just about Luos so they must unite with other Kenyans. He also asked them to remain peaceful and vote for 3-piece in Nairobi even though he was not asking for 3-piece elsewhere in the country.
It was interesting to see who got a lukewarm response from the crowd and who was popular. Ndolo is definitely not popular, neither is Henry Kosgey. Gumo also got a lukewarm response (I hear Betty Tett is leading the polls in Westlands). The crowd went wild for John Kiarie – the young aspirant for Dagoretti. He is a really really good speaker and is going to go far. It was fantastic to see a young articulate person running and working the crowd – I want this to be the norm in 2012. I’m still trying to figure out how Ruto repackaged himself to be a reformer (he should be in jail), but I must admit he’s a good speaker. The women who spoke also got a great response from the crowd – especially Ngilu and Bishop Wanjiru.
All in all it was a good time – my first real campaign rally. I wish I had time to attend more.
Out of time – will try and include some last thoughts before the vote.
Merry Xmas.
AOB: Kikuyumoja’s cool mashup of election symbols.
– I attended an election observer training yesterday at KNCHR. It was very interesting. This election has the potential to be controversial so everyone is on the alert for irregularities, especially with the persistent rumors that the government is going to engage in rigging. Key concerns are whether poll stations will be closed early before everyone has a chance to vote, provision of adequate security, and voters being brought into constituencies where they don’t belong so. I must say that the ECK is doing a really good job as far as managing the process – I’ve had the opportunity to look at their manuals, etc. and their stuff is very detailed and on point. They are also running very good ads on TV encouraging Kenyans to focus on issues when they are voting. I have a handbook of the approved political party symbols. They are over 200! It’s like a clip art book….hehehe. Among the strangest symbols – a mobile phone (Growth and Development Party), a Syringe (Forum for Orange Democratic Change Party); a helicopter (New Sisi kwa Sisi Party), and a guitar (National Integration Party of Kenya).
I have to say that I am also very impressed by the debate shows/townhall shows on TV (like Louis Otieno’s series, and CMD’s series on KBC). Kenyans must be tired of them, but I’m enjoying them. It’s been really good to see the growing level of political maturity among Kenyan voters, and also to see some politicians who are able to engage articulately with voters.
Latest from the grapevine:
– Kalonzo has been offered 10bn kshs to step down by PNU, but he is setting himself up for 2012 so he’s not interested in doing anything that will sully his reputation. Rumor also has it that Kibaki offered to step down for him a few days ago, but Kalonzo said it’s too late.
– Guys are being paid between 5 -10 million kshs to step down in constituencies with lots of candidates in order to boost the number of MPs PNU will have in govt.
– There’s still a strategy to try and rig Odinga out in Lang’ata.
– Raila’s loose talk about guys not paying rent has had a terrible effect on Luo renters. Guys are not renting to them straight out. Talked to a guy yesterday who had to use a front to get a SQ.
– Nation TV is carrying a really great series produced by Hilary Ng’weno called Making of a Nation. It traces Kenya’s political history since independence. I’ve only caught 2 episodes, but what I’ve seen so far has been fascinating and enlightening – it does a really good job of stringing together various events in Kenya’s political history and the footage is great. You really get to see that politics in Kenya is all about the ruling class maintaining power – lots of deja vu. I understand that it will be available as a DVD, I highly recommend it.
– Lots of intimidation going on in Central Province with regards to turnout on election day. Supposedly business owners who dare to open shops etc. on Dec 27th have been told that the businesses will be burnt.
– Moi is PNU’s most effective point person in Rift Valley, he has a lot of sway with older voters (none with the youth) and is really working that segment of the population. He’s supposedly meeting with 2,000 elders every single day.
– Jonathan Mueke is claiming that guys are being paid money to dip their fingers in voters ink before the election thereby disqualifying themselves from voting on election day.
– Raila was on KTN tonight for a Q&A session. Only caught a few minutes of the show but was disappointed with his answers. The first question was about the lack of female representation within the upper echelons of ODM despite their avowed commitment towards representing marginalized segments of Kenyan society including women. The questioner (a woman) also asked why Nyanza (Raila’s stronghold) had no female nominees, why only 12 women made it through the nominations process out of 200 and something nominees, and why he hasn’t done more to address this issue as ODM’s leader. Raila basically ducked, and claimed that he represents Langata and not Nyanza so he has no influence over who is nominated in Nyanza. And I’m the Queen of Sheba. The second question was about the rigging of the ODM nominations process, specifically Orengo’s appointment (rather than election) in Ugenya. Raila was pissed with this question. You could just see it in his face especially when the questioner kept pushing. Raila claimed that Orengo’s opponent was dismissed because he partook in violence during his campaigns and emphasized the fact that if ODM wasn’t democratic 21 sitting MPs in Nyanza would not have been voted out during the nominations process. Mwalimu Mati was up next with a question about grand corruption, but I had to leave for the airport to go get our bags…finally.
– Quote of the day: “This is not Columbia Pictures, this is real life bwana.” (Boozed guy at Tamasha).
AOB: Thanks for all the comments on the Zuma post and the BBC panel post…I’ll do follow up posts soon instead of responding individually.
In Nairobi…without luggage. Again! With a baby to boot! Talk about nightmare. So instead of catching up on politics gossip been busy scouting supermarkets for the infrastructure that is part of travel with a baby from bottle brushes to wipes etc. It sucks, especially when you don’t know where to find stuff. Luckily I have a healthy stash of diapers in Nairobi. Nothing worse than walking into Nakumatt and seeing only strange brands with Arabic writing.
Anyway, I did manage to drop by the Hood for some well-deserved chicken. Here’s the latest political gossip from the grapevine.
– PNU campaign strategy is a mess (ok that’s not news but this has been confirmed by an insider). Guys outside Central are not getting chums for campaigns and t-shirts that should be distributed for free are being sold for 20-50kshs to aspirants. Apparently some PNU guys are conceding that the campaign is lost, but say they are planning to rig. The campaign money is said to be tightly controlled by Kibaki’s kids (apparently they are also the ones who brought in t-shirts from China). Nothing moves without their OK. The Kibaki Foundation is said to have been holding about 2.4 bn Kshs for the elections.
– ODM meanwhile is said to be running a very well-oiled machine. They supposedly have moles in PNU hq and Raila gets updates of decisions made within 15 minutes. The campaign is organized and on-point, aspirants have no issues getting support, and the campaign is being admired even by opponents.
– Raila is officially being addressed as Mr. President within his campaign. Word is they are already preparing for the inauguration and refurbishing State House. 24th Dec will be Orange Day where millions of t-shirts will be distributed to wananchi.
– ODM is supposedly promising guys deals for campaign contributions from high rollers.
– Ethnic tension is very high. Guys were beaten up for wearing ODM shirts at Njungunas.
– Steadman polls released today are saying 45% vs 43%, but the real numbers supposedly from the intelligence service say Raila will win with a 60-62% margin.
I can’t remember the rest of the stories, hopefully will get more this evening.
This is something that I would generally have kept off-record for a number of reasons including the fact that I don’t want to come across as having a big ego and I’d like to give the BBC panel organizers the benefit of the doubt. However, I’m have been pretty outspoken about the fact that I’m tired of the Bono’s and Sach’s of this world articulating my views as an African. It’s one of the reasons I’m very quick to respond to media requests for interviews, profiles, etc. (I really could be a media slut) – I think it’s important for Africans to get our views out there. So while I understand that the BBC panel organizers had other considerations to worry about, I’m miffed that the panel turned out to be just another debate of “experts” with the same sound-bites and superficial views of what the issues are.
But first, some context.
A couple of days ago, Hash wrote an interesting post about the OLPC debate and the fact that the debate has generally been conducted by a variety of white men who feel strongly about whether African children would be better off with food in their stomachs or with laptops (OK, I’m being facetious, but most of the debates really boil down to some variation of this).
I was thrilled when I read the post, because the following day I was going to be part of a panel that would address issues around the OLPC debate – my presence on the panel (being that I was not the typical technology, development, or education expert) suggested to me that at least the BBC was trying to get some different perspectives.
The other panelists were:
Abdul Waheed Khan – Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris.
Matt Keller – One Laptop per child project. Director for Europe, Middle East and Asia.
Martha Stone Wiske- Lecturer on Education Technology, Innovation, and Education Programme at Harvard.
John Dada – He is Programs Director, Fantsuam Foundation, Nigeria. The Fantsuam Foundation is sharing and building information for rural development, facilitating the achieving of MDGs in rural Nigeria through ICT-enabled community development.
I was planning to respond to Hash’s post with my experience on the panel. I was going to speak from the perspective of-an-African-parent-who-would-love-to-see-this-in-schools-flaws-in-the-program-notwithstanding and boy-most-African-students-are-sorely-deprived-off-the-opportunity-to-tinker-and-be-creative -and-anything-that-can-change-that-is-a-good-thing (and yes you can work on feeding them at the same time, I don’t see how one negates the other).
But as I said in my previous post, I didn’t get the chance to ruffle feathers and all because I was replaced about 2 hours before the panel was about to be filmed. This after “urgent” emails requesting my participation, and suffering through a bad phone connection to “prep” for the interview. And me stressing about what I would wear since my luggage was still in
Dubai. Who replaced me? A Malaysian professor of medical education who apparently had experience with learning and technology.
Couldn’t they just have had 6 panelists?
Anyway, they offered me the opportunity to ask a question at the end of the debate so that I can at least “get in my perspective.” In 30 seconds? What the hell?
I almost said no. But then I figured I might as well learn to master the art of the subversive sound-bite. I thought I did a pretty good job. Hopefully it doesn’t make it to the cutting floor. Especially after this post.
It could just be a fluke, or bad timing, or the fact that I wasn’t an “expert” or some other really convincing explanation, but my experience got me thinking about just how screwed up things are when it comes to getting in an alternative view of Africa.
Was this a microcosm of what happens with the media all the time? Am I overreacting?
Yes we have blogs, and Global Voices, and progressive media – but lets not kid ourselves – that’s nowhere near the reach of the likes of BBC World.
Hash asks “Will No One Speak for Africa?”
I am wondering “Will No One Let Africa Speak for Itself?”
I’m in transit in Doha on the way back to Joburg. I haven’t had a chance to blog about my panel (for those who asked), so I’ll instead link to Nancy White from Full Circle who did a great job of liveblogging the session.
I was kicked off the BBC World debate on the One Lap Per Child Program at the last minute (literally like 2 hours before), because of “politics.” The organizer of the panel was very apologetic, especially since them asking me to participate involved a bit of process, but there’s definitely a post (rant) about that coming up once I’m back in Joburg…especially in light of Hash’s very very pertinent post on who gets to speak about Africa when the topic is Africa.
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