Nipate
Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: Kichwa on August 07, 2017, 11:50:01 PM
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Obama had a real chance to make a difference but he panted the ball.
NYTIMES 08/07/2017
Former President Barack Obama, emerging from partial seclusion more than six months after leaving office, weighed in on Monday about the tense political situation — not in the United States, but in his father’s home country, Kenya.
Mr. Obama, who has largely stayed out of the fierce debates that have consumed the United States since President Trump took over in January, opted to speak out about the hotly contested presidential election scheduled for Tuesday in Kenya, where voting in recent years has been followed by violence.
“I urge Kenyan leaders to reject violence and incitement; respect the will of the people; urge security forces to act professionally and neutrally; and work together no matter the outcome,” he said in a statement. “I urge all Kenyans to work for an election — and aftermath — that is peaceful and credible, reinforcing confidence in your new Constitution and the future of your country. Any disputes around the election should be resolved peacefully, through Kenya’s institutions and the rule of law.”
Few voices from outside Kenya could resonate more powerfully than that of Mr. Obama, whose father, Barack Obama Sr., was a Kenyan student who met and married Stanley Ann Dunham in Hawaii but left about a year after their son was born.
As president, Mr. Obama in 2015 made a high-profile visit to Kenya, where he was celebrated as the country’s most famous son even as he urged the country to fortify its fragile democracy, tackle corruption, overcome ethnic divisions and protect human rights.
Continue reading the main story
The campaign that ends on Tuesday has produced little evidence that Kenya has heeded his advice. In recent days, the campaign has been marked by a break-in at the vice president’s country estate, the killing and possible torture of a senior election official, and reports of plans to rig the vote for President Uhuru Kenyatta and stage an armed raid on one of the opposition’s tallying centers. Talk of “fake news” has flavored the campaign debate.
Mr. Obama expressed disappointment in the campaign so far.
“In Kenya’s election we have already seen too much incitement and appeals based on fear from all sides,” he said. “But I also know that the Kenyan people as a whole will be the losers if there is a descent into violence. You can make clear that you will reject those that want to deal in tribal and ethnic hatred.”
A violent reaction seems like a real possibility given Kenya’s recent history. After an election in 2007 was disputed, spasms of violence left at least 1,300 people dead and 600,000 displaced from their homes. In 2013, after Mr. Kenyatta won by a narrow margin, his opponent, Raila Odinga, claimed he had been robbed of victory.
Mr. Odinga, a former prime minister, is running again, his fourth campaign for the presidency, and he and Mr. Kenyatta were virtually tied in recent polls. In a country riven by tribal rivalries, Mr. Kenyatta has the support of many Kikuyus and Kalenjins, while Mr. Odinga is strong among the Luos, Luhyas and Kambas.
Mr. Obama, whose father was Luo, urged Kenyans to put those divisions aside. “The choices you make in the coming days can either set Kenya back or bring it together,” he said. “As a friend of the Kenyan people, I urge you to work for a future defined not by fear and division, but by unity and hope.”
The former president’s decision to speak out on Kenya’s election was a striking departure from his general approach since leaving the White House. He has remained largely out of the issues in Washington as Mr. Trump seeks to unravel much of his predecessor’s legacy. Although Mr. Obama has issued written statements at critical moments in the debate over replacing his health care program, he has for the most part left it to his former advisers and other Democrats to wage a rear-guard battle on behalf of his programs and policies.
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A clean election won't have violence, no matter who tries to incite who. What do these people who keep prophesying violence know?
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Obama trying to cash in on crop duster military planes. I thought he collected his payment.