08.02.2008
FEATURE: Picking Up the Pieces
Kenya's Lutheran Bishops Say Injustices Must Be AddressedNAIROBI, Kenya/GENEVA, 8 February 2008 (LWI) - At the height of the violence that gripped Kenya after the December 2007 elections, Christine Musyoki, a mother of six was displaced from her home and livelihood in Kibera, a sub-urban of the capital Nairobi. For several days, the small-scale vegetable trader joined thousands of other internally displaced Kenyans seeking refuge at the city's Jamhuri Park, where humanitarian agencies provided emergency assistance through the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRSC).
Musyoki who has since returned to Kibera recalls: "They [angry mobs] stormed into our house and demanded that we leave immediately. I pleaded, but they threatened to kill me with my children, saying I had not voted for them. I left with nothing. They looted everything from my house."
She ponders the connection between a voter's right and the suffering she has been subjected to. "My children have little to eat now, and I am forced to move from place to place including churches, looking for food. I cannot leave Kibera. This is where I have lived all my life."
A short distance from Musyoki's house, Teresia Anyango, self-employed until the recent crisis, earned a living from selling beads at her make-shift stall. Today, she struggles to cope with the impact of what she describes as criminal acts perpetrated by unruly young men under the guise of political and ethnic affiliations. "Everything has turned upside down for me now," says the mother of two, currently among local residents receiving assistance through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), which has a congregation in Kibera.
Burned Churches
The destruction is glaring in the expanse Kibera, regarded as the city's largest slum area, with an estimated one million people. The ELCK's Springs of Life Lutheran Church was among several churches torched in the area. It was reduced to a shell, as was its adjoining medical clinic, refurbished just three months ago to offer free medical service to community members, and a pre-unit school.
Members of the church who witnessed its burning say they pleaded with a mob of nearly 50 young men to spare the worship place, but the rowdy group remained firm-they did not want to see any church in the area. "We were nearly ten church members, but they overpowered us," recalls Caleb Oliech. "They looted whatever they considered valuable, before setting the building on fire."
Although relative normalcy has returned to Kibera and other parts the country affected by the post-election violence, picking up the pieces from the impact of a month-long political crisis remains a major challenge. There is still tension and concern for security in some parts of the country. According to the KRSC, over 1,000 people have died and more than 300,000 have been displaced in the violence, which broke out after the 27 December presidential election. Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki (Party of National Unity - PNU) was declared the winner but opposition leader Raila Odinga (Orange Democratic Movement - ODM) says the poll was rigged. Many observers say the tallying of the votes was flawed.
In the unprecedented spate of reprisals in certain regions, community members perceived as supporters of rival ethnic and political camps were brutally killed mainly by gangs of young men wielding machetes and other objects. Homes and properties were looted and burned down, as were churches and schools. One of the most gruesome incidents was the early January burning to death of a group of nearly 50 people, mostly women and children from one ethnic community who had sought refuge in the Assemblies of God Church in Kiambaa village on the outskirts of Eldoret town in the Rift Valley province. Some of the deaths are also attributed to police shootings, which police claim were targeted at protesting perpetrators of crimes.
Hope
There are signs of hope in the ongoing PNU-ODM mediation process led by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. It incorporates a four-point approach for immediate action to end the violence; measures to address the humanitarian crisis; how to overcome the current political crisis; and long-term issues such as unemployment, poverty and land reforms.
Although Kenya had experienced proportions of inter-ethnic clashes in the past, church leaders, including leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches there, say the tensions and violence had intensified with this election. They are calling on the PNU and ODM sides to resolve the election dispute without hurting the normal life of citizens, while favoring non-violent means as the way out. They are also keen to see key issues addressed such as a new constitution, land rights, the increasing gap between the rich and poor, and unemployment.
"The current crisis is about the flawed elections results, which triggered past issues like land distribution, corruption and others. The situation has created bitterness among different groups, which have in turn attacked those seen to support Kibaki," says ELCK Bishop Walter Obare Omwanza.
Restoring Relations
Obare, whose church has congregations also in Nyanza and Western provinces says the tension that has build up at community level in the post-election period cannot be taken lightly, and a meeting of ELCK pastors in Nairobi this week is focusing on the issue. "In my church, there is a lot of tension right now," he says. "Relations among members of certain ethnic communities belonging to ELCK congregations have been seriously affected. We have pastors who are afraid to go back to work in some of these areas, and we need to do a lot of reconciliation work. But I am also encouraged because we have been very open during our current meeting," he notes.
Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC) Bishop Zachariah W. Kahuthu says although tension has subsidized in areas served by KELC mainly in the east and northern part of the city including Mathare, another big slum area, the impact of the violence is still being felt.
On the reasons for the violence, Kahuthu points out "tribes and political parties are only being used as an excuse. It is not about tribal hatred, but about who owns what. It is about resource distribution," says the KELC bishop.
Both Lutheran bishops are optimistic about the Annan-led mediation process, but as Kahuthu points out, church leaders also "have to keep pressurizing politicians to give it all their commitment."
The churches' role in reconciliation at the grassroots is equally crucial to long-term peace building, says Obare citing the different parts of the country in which the ELCK works and the ethnic diversities there. "It is clear that our people have been involved in the violence. But we are asking them not to target their neighbors since they are not the cause of the problem. We are urging them to allow it to be solved at the top [political leadership]."
The ELCK's immediate plans include redefinition of an ongoing peace initiative program to reflect the current political crisis. Its implementation will incorporate seminars at national, local church and grassroots levels, where members of the different ethnic groups will be invited. (1,176 words)
*The churches' assistance is being coordinated through the Kenya Forum of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, which includes the LWF Department for World Service program in the country.
The LWF is a founding member of ACT International, the global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
See also http://act-intl.org/ for latest news and updates on the post-election violence in Kenya.
(By Nairobi-based LWI correspondent Fredrick Nzwili.)
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