There was a prayer meeting organised this morning by ODM that was very official and was even granted a licence by the police in order to go ahead.
When I went by there this morning it was still fairly quiet. This picture is of the boys at the entrance in their 'Prayer for Peace' t-shirts and they all seemed very polite and offered to show us somewhere to park our car and were very welcoming.
We actually decided against going in as none of the big boys were there and it could be a good 2 hours before they got going and we had stuff to do. So we thanked them and moved on, but I had a good feeling about this one that at last perhaps something could finally go ahead in peace as I saw no recognisable thugs about.
Sadly, as usual for the moment, 2 hours later I had this message;
Earlier ODM prayer rally turned violent and was dispersed by police.
And then another hour later this;
Rally regrouped at Ngong Rd. Two cars and TelCom building burned.
Dispersed again by police.
So that was that then for peaceful prayers !
Sent from my BlackBerry®
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Raila for peace?
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8 comments:
there were such meetings in kakamega and kisumu earlier in the week and they were indeed peaceful. nothing was touched but again, from the pictures i've seen on the web, it seems there is nothing left to burn in kisumu anyway lol. i'm sure the police were at kisumu or kakamega events. so i'm abit surprised this one turned ugly. after all you say the youths weren't looking like they wanted trouble. we know tho' that all it takes to invite a kenyan policeman to plant a bullet into somebody's spine is something as incredibly dangerous as pulling faces and a few bad dance moves in front of him.
the gov't set precendence to what is happening now when they presupposed violence and went on to ban rallies. now that there have been deaths and property destroyed the people are angry, odm it seems can not control their supporters and the police are too blood-thirsty and trigger happy. it is too late to have peaceful rallies even if they've been licensed. not in the current atmosphere. and i say that as an odm sympathiser. we don't need more deaths, maimings and destruction property when it can be avioded. we might not be that developed, which is exactly why we need to protect the little we have. we need less broken hearts, spirits, lives, less people needing crutches,prosthetic legs and care coz they've been maimed. and we certainly don't want to be dragging ourselves back to the stone age by destroying buildings and infrastructure. i hope the building you say was burnt is not that one opposite nyayo house. we simply can't afford this.
there are a million and one ways thro' which odm can deal with m.k.m junta and seek redress. violence only serves to lose them sympathy and sidetrack their cause to fighting costly irrevant battles
how did the annan talks go? any positive signs?nothing on the web so far.
Hi Zed, you're right that we certainly don't need any more death and destruction, but it seems neither side are willing to listen to that.
With regards to the telkom building burnt down - it was the one on Ngong Road next to the RFUEA ground.
So far we have no word on what exactly is going on with Annan. The only report I have had so far is that he had a meeting with the speaker of the house - Marende, and then not sure what happened.
Will update you as soon as i find out any info.
hi mzungu-chick, still no info about the talks on the web which prob means no movement. thanks for your updates btw. there are times when your site has beaten bbc(they're head and shoulders above the rest i think) to publishing significant news from home. so keep it up.
can't place the telkom building on ngong' road. my knowledge of nairobi is getting rusty.
lets hope the talks address the fundamental issues as to why we have almost an entire generation of nihilistic youth in kenya- bent on causing death and destruction at the slightest excuse and not listen to politicians/'leaders'. so far it seems they are only interested in squabbling over who should be in state house. let's hope for the best.
I agree with Zed - you have had information I've not been able to find elsewhere. Please keep up the good work!
I don't usually leave comments but I thought i'd pipe up in support of Zed with regard to your updates. I've been following the whole thing on your blog(being far from home) and it's been much better than most news sources on the web, especially as (i'm assuming) they have a bigger budget than you. Thank you
Gosh, thanks all for your very complimentary comments - Excuse me whilst I blush ......
Anon - don't suppose you know where I could apply for budget?
maybe apply for a job at the office of (mis)communication...you could definitely do a better job than Baghdad Bob a.k.a Half read M'tour
Like the idea Anon - perhaps I shall just set up my own office here of (mis) communication ....
Oh, it seems that position is already filled by Alfred Mutua - resident Oompaa Lumpaa, sorry, government spokesman. :-)
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