Kenya Media and Bloggers Fight Back Against Ban on Riot Coverage

In this case Kenya as a relatively stable growth country until now may be bartering off their future by permitting in the resettled Somalis to condition international aid for Odingo's party. This may also be one of the reasons why the recent election was defrauded and why religion and race were relevant to the outcome. We need to look for these patterns now and in the future if we're ever going to wrap our heads about the problem of Africa's poor.

There is total chaos north of Kenya and luckily the Kenyans have avoided its effects. But as the U.S.'s position in the War on/of Terror is falling like dominos in all the crucial regions that we've interfered in, we now see a terrible side-effect. The U.S. has supported the Ethiopian government in their invasion of Somalia this time last year to overthrow the Islamic Courts Union for supporting state sponsored terrorists (because we know these things -must- be the same!), and now a year later, the next country south is in riots.

Inded I think it sounds like democracy's failing all over the world's LDC's (Least/Low Developing Countries) for a clear patterned reason - international aid in response to short-term political instability doesn't work to the advantage of those who need it.

We have this here in several cases: Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. In Kenya's case, the short term effects follow a pretty frequent result of failed states: pre-election corruption, election, illegal reversal, partisan capitulation, reaction, riots. Next step, martial law will be imposed by altering existing legal codes to insure only the winning party can be guarded while losers are jailed or killed. If this doesn't happen, it will be because any one of the factions within Kenya's military or bureaucracy revolts or refuses to show up and beat their own into the dirt (a high cost of martial law).

Right now Kenya's military is too small and monocultural for that to happen, the Kibaki supporters have the upper hand despite many of the dead are likely of his ethnic group. His color represents to the attackers what is the object of their rage, and for the police, lawlessness the object of theirs. Caution is now advised and perhaps words of care should be ushered particularly to do-gooders out in wealthy countries: racism and hate exist in Kenya, too, and it tends to hang around where there's little other pressures to distract people.

International pressure may be enflaming the government's response in comparison to the public spreading of the riots. Sometimes after crucial events, it's better for the international community to hold it's criticism just for a while until domestic factors stabilize themselves according to the expected patterns. Kibaki is under tremendous pressure, he knows that what he did was risky and stupid, but larger pressures over him necessitated the failed outcome.

In this case until international pressure subsides and the Odinga opposition can reassess their options, shift leadership positions, alter strategies they may be able to reinstill a base of support in the north and west of the country until conditions change. Multicultural politics may have to subside to larger single-issue politics. They have to wash their hands of this current mess first by identifying publically the pattern of failed leadership in the Kenyan government to handle foreign and domestic affairs.

So, what needs to happen is patience, calm, and decisive action by all parties. No wobbling on what must be done. Stability first, reorganization second, and then Kenya needs to move together as a single country without outside influence.