|
Kenyan opposition bastion hopes for reconciliation
2008-03-05
Kenyans in the violence-scarred opposition stronghold of Kisumu hope lawmakers will quickly push through measures to end the post-election crisis and reduce ethnic tensions. The western city of Kisumu was among the places worst hit by turmoil that killed 1,000 people across the east African country and drove 300,000 from their homes after President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election in a December 27 vote. The hometown of opposition leader Raila Odinga is also sure to be a flashpoint if a power-sharing deal between Kibaki and his rival breaks down. It goes before parliament on Thursday. Kisumu residents said it was now up to all politicians to show they could work side by side in parliament to pass the measures needed to change the constitution and reach agreement on long-standing tensions over land, equality and wealth. "We need to develop a sense of justice and cooperation between different tribes," said Pamellah Amadi, a 45-year-old displaced woman sheltering at a Kisumu church compound. "We should be able to co-exist." Most of the bloodshed pitted members of Kibaki's Kikuyu ethnic groups against Odinga's Luos and other smaller tribes that supported him. Under the power-sharing agreement, Odinga is set to become prime minister while the two sides share government posts. Signs of normality are returning to Kisumu now the bloodshed has subsided. St. Stephen's church hosted more than 1,000 people forced from their homes at the height of the troubles. Many had been uprooted from parts of central Kenya where Luos are a minority, but now only 56 remain. Most have now gone home or stay with relatives. Most Kikuyus also fled Kisumu, where an overwhelming proportion of the population back Odinga. Despite the return of calm, Kenya's ethnic militias have re-armed and many fear the slightest misstep could set them off. Around 100,000 people remain displaced and many say the wounds are too fresh and the distrust too high to decide whether they will return to homes from which they were forced. "KENYA IS YOU AND ME" Parliament is due to meet in Nairobi on Thursday to amend the constitution so that Odinga can take up his new post. A deeper constitutional review has also begun. But there are fears across the country that hardliners on both sides could undermine the agreement. And the crisis has left many Kenyans disenchanted with their leaders, whichever party they backed at the election. "You see those bumper stickers that say Kenya is You and Me'?" asked Peter Omondi, a Kisumu office worker enjoying a drink with a colleague and their wives at a plush hotel. "Well, these people have been acting as if Kenya is just about me, me, me," he said. Legislators' statements in parliament on Thursday would be crucial to cool tempers, he said. The mood in Kisumu was broadly optimistic, but bitterness over the turmoil was not far beneath the surface. Clifford Odhiambo, a 25-year-old lawyer, said the Kisumu courts had ground to a halt during the crisis, with many Kikuyu magistrates fearing to report to work. "Now I can practice law ... the courts are functioning well," he told Reuters outside the charred and looted wreck of the downtown Ukwala Supermarket. "Kikuyus can come back here now, they're safe," he said. "But first they have to reconcile with us." (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )
| 
