All Eyes on the Supreme Court

It was interesting last week to see all eyes on the Supreme Court both back home in the States and here in Kenya.  In the US, the Supreme Court was hearing two important cases on marriage equality and my  Facebook newsfeed was abuzz with the news.  I am ashamed to say that I have not been following that news very closely and am not up-to-date on the outcome of these cases. If someone cares to enlighten me, I would appreciate it.  Here in Kenya, the Supreme Court was reviewing 3 petitions that were filed related to the elections held on March 4th, determining whether they had been free and fair and whether or not the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president still held.  It was an exciting process to witness as the whole country seemed to be relying on the rule of justice rather than the rule of the mob as in 2007/08.  For most Kenyans, this is the first time that they could have faith in the justice system.  After the new constitution was put into place in 2010, an intensive process was undertaken to vet currently sitting judges in order to weed out those who were too corrupt to be trusted any longer.  For most of the time since independence in 1963, the sitting judges were in the pockets of the politicians who appointed them and could not be relied on to judge in a fair manner.  Though the process of vetting judges is still underway, the 6 members of the Supreme Court had been reviewed by the vetting panel and had been deemed qualified and trustworthy to uphold the law of the land.  There is a seventh member who had not been approved before these petitions came before the court and she was unable to hear the case.  And I ask you, dear reader, how can you not trust a guy who's name is "Smokin?"

During the two weeks that the Supreme Court was in action the leaders and media were urging the people of Kenya to remain peaceful, trust the courts and not repeat the violence that followed the last election 5 years ago.  I remain impressed by how well the system worked during that time and how prepared the country was for whatever might erupt during this time.  And then there was this gem of an article on pg 3 of the Sunday edition of one of the country's leading daily newspapers, The Standard.  Really?

"Virtues from Apes" indeed.  There's really no need to point out that this newspaper is not necessarily known for its stellar journalism but I'm going to do it anyway.  I mean, really?

As most of you already know, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in a shockingly brief announcement that was also, shockingly, on time.  I was at my friends' house, ready to watch the verdict televised live when their cable went out.  Apparently, this company was having problems all over the country and couldn't guarantee that service would be restored before the 5pm announcement.  We waited for a bit and finally decided to go to a local bar that has a television and a different cable provider.  We arrived 10 minutes late to discover we had missed the entire thing!!  The horror.  I have yet to attend any function that started right on time and Kenyans aren't exactly known for their laconic style when it comes to public remarks so it was just downright shocking that the verdict was delivered on time and with such brevity!  Everyone at the bar was also shocked, though their shock was mostly due to the verdict.  The court decided to uphold the results of the election stating that the process had been free and fair and Uhuru Kenyatta will be sworn in as the 4th president of Kenya on April 9th.  The region I live in was solidly in support of his main opponent and author of one of the petitions before the court, Raila Odinga, and the people in my community were very disappointed.  There was rioting in some parts of the country, which was contained, but my region remained peaceful, though a bit depressed.

For me, the main reaction I had was relief.  It's over.  It's finally over.  Since I got my invitation to serve in Kenya back in May of 2012, I have prepared myself for the possibility that my time in Kenya might be shortened by a negative and violent reaction to these elections.  I have not let myself fully arrive here in Kenya knowing that I could end up being evacuated and reassigned to another country.  Everything has been on hold until after the elections - planning trips and visits from friends in the US, decorating my house, buying furniture, starting the wildlife club at school, keeping up with this blog.  All on hold.  And now it's clear, barring any unforeseen circumstances, that I'll be here until the end of 2014.  Phew!  What a relief. I hadn't realized how heavy this was weighing on me until just now and I am grateful that there was peace in this country.

Coming soon... more details about my life here in Kenya.  Stay tuned!

And we're back...

The election in Kenya is finally, mostly over and Peace Corps Kenya finally released us to our sites at the beginning of the week.  My site is relatively far from Nairobi so I had to overnight in Webuye on Tuesday night before heading back to my site on Wednesday and then back to school on Thursday.  I'm still feeling a bit uneasy about the election results.  Raila has not conceded and his team has started their legal battle fighting the results, which you can read about here.  Yes, PC sent us back to our sites but I'm not going to unpack and really move into my house until this is all finalized.  I'm looking forward to the day when I can feel like I can settle in for the long haul.  Ever since I got to Kenya, and even before, I have held the possibility of an evacuation in the back of my mind and have not allowed myself to think too far into the future.  I feel a little more willing to accept the fact that I will be living and teaching here for two full years but am still hesitant to embrace that fully.  The Kenyan Supreme Court has two weeks to review the case that Raila's people have put before them so I'm hoping in April I can buy some furniture and paint my walls and really settle in.

Returning to site was lovely.  My students were really happy to see me and many of the teachers even hugged me, which threw me off.  Hugs from Kenyans just doesn't happen that often.  My house was still mostly intact and I only found 2 giant cockroach carcasses on the floor.  Fortunately, I don't see these beasts very often - the two I came home to were numbers 7 & 8 - but I've started thinking of them as big furry pets just to keep myself sane.  One of these days I'll post a photo of these nasties.

I realized that part of the reason I haven't been very good about updating my blog is that I didn't want to commit to it until I knew I would be here beyond the elections.  Now that it looks more likely that I'm staying, I will be posting updates on past events such as PST and swearing-in and moving to site.  Stay tuned for that. 

And the Winner Is...

Kenya has a president-elect.  Uhuru Kenyatta barely got the 50% +1 of the votes required to outright win the election (he got 50.07%) and was pronounced the president-elect on Saturday afternoon.  He is the son of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, after Kenya gained its independence from the British in 1963.  I've heard his family referred to as Kenya's royalty and he is much-loved by some and hated by others.  He and his running mate, William Ruto, are facing charges in front of the ICC for crimes against humanity related to the last elections and those trials are slated to start in July.  It will be interesting to see how that all plays out and how Western countries will react to his election.  I haven't really done any research on that area yet, so nothing to report there.

We all sat around the poolside television yesterday, witnessing this auspicious moment in Kenyan history.  The main challenger, Raila Odinga, had a press conference later in the day where he used very strong language saying that these elections had the same outcome as those in 2007.  He said things like "flawed tallying" of the votes and "massive tampering" of voter registers and has vowed to contest the outcome.  He is the same candidate who lost in 2007 but this time he has vowed to take the matter to the courts, not the streets, and is urging his supporters to keep the peace.  So far, they mostly have.  There have been a few violent outbreaks but they were quickly contained and mostly things have been peaceful.

Our security and administration staff continue to monitor the reactions and are waiting to see what happens on Monday morning when life in Kenya returns to normal.  The country has basically been on hold this past week with most public transportation shut down and people remaining at home instead of going to work.  If Monday morning returns to business as usual we will likely get the go-ahead to return to our sites, hopefully on Tuesday. They're still working out the details on that as they are going to send us back in private vehicles to avoid the transportation rush.  I get to stay in Nairobi a few extra days to have dental work done and then I'll finally get to return home.  Yes, home.  I miss my new home here and am anxious to return.  This time at "Camp Lukenya" has been fun but I'm ready to return to my students and my little house in Amagoro.  I miss it all.

Still Waiting

It looks like the election results might be announced tomorrow.  All of the ballots have arrived in Nairobi and results from 236/291 constituencies have been reported.  The more challenging ballot counting is likely still going on and will continue through the night tonight so we're hopeful there will be an announcement tomorrow or Sunday at the latest.  They continue to walk the fine line of maintaining the integrity of the ballot counting and delivering the results in a timely manner to avoid impatience, frustration and ultimately violence.  There have been numerous stories about unsealed ballot boxes, election officials tampering with results and lost ballots so who knows what will happen once the results are announced.  The last figures I heard put the leader, Kenyatta, at 49% of the vote, below the required 50% + 1 need for an outright victory so a runoff election in April is looking more and more likely, which is disappointing.  If there isn't a runoff the election will likely be taken to the courts as the Odinga camp has pledged to use every legal means necessary to contest the process.  This election has been disruptive enough, the country doesn't need to shut down for another week or two.  This week has been an unproductive one for Kenya as most people are waiting for the elections to be over before returning to their normal schedules.  Matatus aren't really running and many shops are still closed.  If we're released on Monday or Tuesday we were told that we would be transported back to site in private vehicles because we probably weren't going to find public transportation to get us back there.  It's strange to me how disruptive this process has been to the country and how disruptive it's been to our service.  The schools are supposed to resume on Monday but we won't be back there to teach until Tuesday or Wednesday.  I'm anxious to get back and feel productive again.  There's only so much lounging by the pool a gal can do.  Also, this place is making many of us sick.  Between the bed bugs and microbes in the food, many of us are suffering.  We were loaned a PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) from Benin for the week and he has been earning his keep and then some.  I had to do my birding on the grounds of the hotel this morning as I couldn't stray far from home due to some bug I picked up from dinner the day before.  Luckily, we are surrounded by many cool birds and I saw my first African Grey Hornbill so I wasn't disappointed.  Only a few days left to enjoy it.  We hope!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

We're still here at Lukenya, still waiting for the election results, and, from what we were told in our afternoon briefing, it looks like we'll be here longer than we originally thought.  The first issue is with the provisional tallying of the ballots.  Each of the polling stations was tasked with tallying the ballots and electronically providing those provisional counts to the tallying center in Nairobi.  Provisional counting was to be done to provide transparency since that was a problem in the last election.  Unfortunately, there was a breakdown in electronic transmitting of provisional counts, particularly in Odinga strongholds which is why it has been looking like Kenyatta is in the lead, and yesterday they decided that the counts must be done manually. The national tallying center in Nairobi is now waiting for ballots to arrive before counting them.  If the polling centers weren’t able to do a provisional count, they will hand count every ballot.  If there was a provisional count, they will attempt to certify it. Basically, we're now hoping that the winners will be announced on either Sunday or Monday.  The new constitution stipulates that the winners must be announced within 7 days of the election but since this is a new rule no one really knows what will happen if they can't make the announcement by Monday.

The second issue is with spoiled and rejected ballots.  These are ballots that have been rejected for various reasons.  The main reason that ballots are considered "spoiled" in this election is due to the six-part, colour-coded balloting system that they put in place for this election.  The ballots were colour-coded based on the level of the election: president, parliament, governors, senators, councillors and women's representative.  The correctly coloured ballot then had to be placed in the correctly colored ballot box.  The problem with this is that people were voting at dusk or in the dark and the ballots were coloured in pastels so many of the ballots ended up in the wrong boxes.  Here's a photo of what this looked like taken from this article:

Just yesterday, the IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission) announced that the rejected/spoilt ballots will be included in the total number of ballots when calculating the percentage of the vote that each candidate receives.  This is important because the winning candidate must receive 50% + 1 of the total vote to win in the first round and prevent a runoff.  The problem is with the number of problematic ballots.  International electoral statistics show that an acceptable number of rejected/spoilt ballots is 3.5-4% of the total count, though in Africa it's 1 % higher, so 4.5-5% of the total count.  Right now in Kenya, the problematic ballot count is at 7% and possibly growing so this is a big problem for the integrity of the election process.  I also forgot to mention that there are 22,600 election observers on the ground and 2600 of those are international observers, so this election process is being very closely monitored and scrutinized.  As is expected, the candidates are protesting this decision to include the rejected ballots in the total count, especially Kenyatta, who has a healthy lead at the moment.  By including these ballots, the percentage points for each candidate are lowered by 3% putting them below the 50% + 1 level needed to prevent a runoff.  Though it's important to note that most of the provisional tallying that has been reported has been from Kenyatta strongholds.  The problematic electronic transmission of results was mostly in Raila territory so the numbers are very likely to change.

So, what does this mean for us PCVs??  Well, best case scenario was that the tallying would go smoothly and we would have results by Thursday.  Our plan was to wait a few days to gauge the national reaction and then head back to our sites on Saturday or Sunday.  Now, due to the delay, a winner might not be announced until Sunday or Monday so we'll be hanging out at Lukenya, our consolidation point, longer than expected.  It's possible we'll be here until Tuesday or Wednesday, or maybe longer.  Or maybe we'll end up evacuating to Tanzania.  There's just no knowing at this point and I'm unbelievably sad about it all.  It may turn out just fine but I was operating in a haze of denial and this dose of reality is knocking the wind out of my sails.  They're making plans to bus us off site to a city so we can get out of here for a little bit and stock up on supplies.  PC staff has been very understanding and accommodating and have really kept our best interests in mind.  We couldn't ask for better treatment during all of this.  But I really want to get back to my students.  I really want Kenya to remain stable and secure.  These most recent events are troubling and the uncertainty they create is worrying.  Again, here's hoping for peace in Kenya.

The upside to all of this is that PC has arranged for someone to do our laundry.  Someone else gets to hand wash my clothes, a tedious task that has become my least favorite thing about this whole PC experience.  The other upside is that I get to continue my early morning birding walks.  This morning as I was chasing a pair of White Bellied Bustards:

I ran into this guy:

Here's the moment when he realizes I'm there:

Those horns freaked me out so I backed away slowly and headed home.

**UPDATE:  I wrote all of the above and then read that the IEBC predicts that they'll have results by Friday morning.  That's doubtful but we continue to repeat "Embrace Uncertainty" as our mantra.  To be continued...

Election Day

The election is now underway here in Kenya.  As is usually the case, the media outlets are reporting the bad news and very little of the good news, if there is any.  I have no doubt that there are places here in Kenya where the election is going on without a hitch, but it seems that's not true everywhere.  Already in Nairobi and Mombasa there are reports of violence and deaths.  For a really good summary of the factors at play in this year's presidential election you can read this article in the New York Times.

For those of us sheltered here in the confines of Lukenya Getaway the day is full of activity or nothing at all, depending on what you decide to do with your time.  This is one option:

Today is also the second day of Peace Corps Kenya Olympics, for the more athletically-minded.  I'm taking advantage of the unburdened internet and will probably hit the pool and watch election coverage at the poolside bar.  Peace Corps did a fine job finding a place for us to weather the election storm.  The beds are comfy, the food is plentiful and tasty (though a few people have gotten sick) and there are plenty of ways to distract oneself.  It's a dry campus but Peace Corps negotiated a deal where we can drink in our rooms.  It's true what they say about Peace Corps volunteers and a good time.  They go hand in hand.  Here's how my roommate and I prepared ourselves for this trying time:

But that's not to say that all we're doing is partying and playing games.  Our days are also filled with language trainings, information sessions and two briefings at 9am and 4:30pm on the state of the elections.

This morning I got up early, grabbed my binoculars and went for a birding walk on the savannah surrounding our resort.  There are giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and antelope lurking about.  It's a treat to be out walking around as the sun comes up over the herds of zebra.  We're not allowed to walk without an escort after dark because of the hyenas, but it's a small price to pay.  Here's a peek into the sights I encountered this morning on my walk:

I want to give a shout out to my niece Helen who turns 14 today!!!  Happy Birthday to you, my dear niece.  Hope it's a good one!!!

I'm off to go soak in the pool.  I'll have more updates as the day progresses.

Election Eve

It's the eve of the elections here in Kenya.  For those of you who don't know the history, the last elections in Kenya, held at the end of 2007, ended in rioting and violence with 1000+ people killed and 600k+ displaced.  Suspected vote-rigging was the main reason that people took to the streets and many changes have been put in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.  The 2007 election campaigning was also marked by hate speech from the candidates and ethnic tensions ran high.  This time, things are very different.  The Kenyan people adopted a new constitution in 2010 which strengthened the judicial system and laid a stronger foundation for a free and fair democratic process.  All of the Kenyans I've spoken to about the election are very hopeful that this time things will be different, and, so far, they seem to be right.  This is a full page ad from The Daily Nation, one of the major newspapers in Kenya.

The two major candidates have a long and storied, intertwined history that has its origins before Kenya's independence from the British in 1963.  In order for one of them to win, they have to get 50% + 1 of the vote and get 25% of the vote in at least half of the 47 counties.  Unfortunately, the polls show them in a statistical dead heat and the likelihood of a runoff election in April is quite high.  This is complicated by the fact that one of the major candidates and his running mate have cases before the ICC for crimes against humanity for their alleged participation in the violence that followed the last election.  Their trials are slated to start right around the time of a potential run off and there is much speculation about whether they would even show up to be tried.


The rioting and violence went on for several months after the last election and Peace Corps eventually decided to pull out in March 2008, returning in August of that same year.  The violence took everyone by surprise and no one was prepared, including the Peace Corps.  This time they're not taking any chances.  This time they chose to consolidate all 110 of us in one location just south of Nairobi, to facilitate an evacuation should it be necessary.  Peace Corps is taking every precaution to ensure our safety and I am grateful for their effort.  Here's an excerpt of a letter they wrote for us to send to family and friends:

"Peace Corps Kenya is currently planning for a country-wide consolidation event in which all volunteers will be brought together in a safe location outside of Nairobi during the time around the national elections period in March.  During this time, Peace Corps will take advantage of this opportunity to offer technical and language training, aside from providing for a full menu of basic support services to volunteers who are away from their routine and their communities.

While Kenyan elections will be held on March 4th, it is anticipated that results will not be announced for at least 72 hours, with final counts likely to take up to one week.  Given that all volunteers will be together supported by a number of staff, it will allow for PC to maintain the volunteer community informed of news and events as they unfold, with a view to moving everyone back to their communities as soon as the situation is clear."



I don't know what the next few days holds for this country.  Like many of my Kenyan counterparts, I am also hopeful that the elections will be peaceful and that the people of Kenya will respect the process and its outcome.  I love my life here and hope to return to some semblance of normal soon after these elections.  And during this time, while I'm safely tucked away in a lovely hotel/resort, I'm thinking of my students who I can only hope and pray are safe as well.  Here's hoping for peace in Kenya.

Better late then never

A couple of weekends ago I was in the border town of Malaba, a place I go often to shop for produce at the market and do my banking.  The town is right on the Kenyan/Ugandan border so there's a lot of activity there, with many large trucks waiting to carry their goods from one country to another.  I was sitting in a hotel (what they call restaurants here) having a cold soda with a teacher friend, watching the hustle and bustle of border life when I saw a very large white truck with "G Adventures" painted on the side.  The week before that I saw a similar truck that had "Intrepid Travels" painted on the side.  When I went to India in 2008/2009,  for two of my five weeks there I traveled with an organized trip through what was then Gap Adventures and is now called G Adventures.  I traveled through Rajasthan, Agra and Varanasi with some wonderful people who, thanks to Facebook, I'm still in touch with today.  In the years following that trip I often fantasized about traveling to Africa and would spend hours on the websites of these travel companies planning my next adventure.  I even put a deposit down on an Intrepid Travels trip to East Africa but when they changed the dates and offered a refund, I took it and backed out of the trip.  Now, here I am, living in Kenya as a Peace Corps volunteer.  When I saw those trucks in the border town, I was reminded of the yearning I had when I would travel, to not just be a tourist but to actually experience daily life in a foreign culture.  I imagined myself, sitting on one of those big white trucks, staring out the window at the scenery passing by and wishing I could just plant myself down somewhere for a little while to really experience the culture there.  I am so grateful that I finally followed that yearning and took a giant leap to follow my dream.  Life here in Western Kenya is not without its challenges, but I remember that feeling I had while traveling in foreign lands and I am so glad that I no longer have to wonder what it might be like.  My driving force through all of this was the fear that I might die with regret.  Regret that I didn't follow that yearning in my gut and dare to make big changes in my life.  But now here I am and though I'm really missing the Bay Area, I do not regret for a single minute that I joined the Peace Corps and moved to Kenya.

I've been terrible about updating this blog.  Writing is an effort for me and it's not something I naturally turn to in my free time.  But I am really missing all of the people I left behind and want to commit to keeping in touch more regularly.  This platform is the best way to do that, so stay tuned for further updates.