|
Kenya: Violence Paralyses
Western Towns As Political Crisis Deepens
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - IRIN
28 January 2008
Nairobi
Increasing violence and tension in several towns in western Kenya
continue to hinder the provision of basic services such as health,
education and transport, in addition to causing untold suffering
to thousands of people displaced since the unrest began in late
December.
Since 26 January, violence has paralysed Nakuru, the Rift Valley
provincial capital, and Naivasha, in the same province. The
violence spread on 28 January to Kisumu, Kakamega and Turbo,
paralysing public transport and disrupting schools.
Jeanine Cooper, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Kenya, said: "I think we have hit a
higher level of uncertainty in terms of humanitarian action and
ability to respond," adding that Nakuru and Naivasha had been
considered "safe areas" and that the clashes there "raised the
question of which other areas are really safe.
"We are working to improve the sharing of information so we are
not left with situations we've seen such as a hospital running out
of supplies or a camp that empties overnight.," she told IRIN.
"A solution in the political arena [between President Mwai Kibaki
and opposition leader Raila Odinga] is not necessarily going to
address all the underlying issues, resolve the humanitarian crisis
or end the violence."
Thousands displaced
Anthony Mwangi, the public relations manager of the Kenya Red
Cross Society (KRCS), said on 28 January that the organisation was
conducting an assessment of the situation in Naivasha, where tens
of deaths have been reported.
"The number of those displaced is running into thousands; we can't
give a figure because the displacement is still going on as
Naivasha is still volatile today," Mwangi said.
He said KRCS was helping in the retrieval of bodies, ferrying the
injured to hospitals and providing aid to the displaced, who have
sought refuge at police stations and at the town's prison.
KRCS had reports of a resurgence in violence in Kakamega and
Kisumu but the organisation had yet to establish the extent of the
humanitarian fallout.
Hezron Makobewa, director of a Kisumu medical organisation, the
OGRA Foundation, said on 28 January: "Kisumu is at a complete
standstill today, all roads are barricaded and no-one can enter or
leave the city. The events in Naivasha and Nakuru at the weekend
seem to have ignited violence afresh here."
He said gangs of youth had barricaded roads, checking the
identities of passers-by. "People are leaving their homes in
droves but it is difficult to get out of town," Makobewa said.
He added that the gangs were using the barricading of the roads as
a diversionary tactic. "While they engage the police at the road
blocks, other gangs are moving door to door flushing out people
who they beat up or even kill," he said.
Makobewa said the number of displaced in Kisumu had gone down to a
few hundred but he feared the figure would rise drastically after
the resurgence of the latest violence.
He added that parents were getting their children out of schools
in fear.
A resident of Kisumu, who requested anonymity, said a gang had
raided a local secondary school and a watchman was killed after
the police were called in. He added that another man had been
lynched at the local bus station.
Roads blocked
Near Turbo, a town on the Eldoret-Webuye road, residents said a
trench measuring 1m deep and 1m wide had been dug on the road near
a shopping centre known as Jua Kali. The road links the country to
neighbouring Uganda.
"We are now cut off from Eldoret, and this has pushed up the price
of most goods as no vehicle can get across the trench," a resident
said.
In Kakamega town, the capital of Western Province, sources said 10
houses had been burnt and hundreds of displaced people had sought
refuge in police stations. A hostel that used to cater for
students at the nearby Western University was among the buildings
razed to the ground.
According to government figures, the post-election violence has
claimed the lives of at least 680 people and displaced another
255,000. However, the local media estimates that more than 1,000
people have died.
Violence erupted in parts of the country soon after the Electoral
Commission of Kenya announced President Mwai Kibaki as winner of
presidential elections held on 27 December 2007.
African Union-mandated mediation efforts, led by former UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, are ongoing, with the team meeting
various stakeholders.
The mediation team visited a number of sites for the displaced at
the weekend in the Rift Valley province, most affected by the
violence.
|
