7th January, 2008
Post-election violence in several parts of Kenya has left close to 500 people dead, thousands injured and over 300,000 displaced and homeless.
Homes have been destroyed, burnt or looted, and hundreds of families are now living in police stations, churches and schools, many of them with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Shops, markets and vehicles have also been destroyed, leaving thousands of entrepreneurs and their employees with no source of income.
The towns most affected by the conflict are Eldoret, Kisumu and Kisii in western Kenya, Mombasa on the eastern coast and Nairobi.
The insecurity has led to a breakdown in the transport sector. For days after the violence broke out following the December 27th poll, major roads linking Nairobi to the coast and to western Kenya were blockaded by gangs of armed youths, causing public bus companies and hauliers to cease operation. As a result, many towns and neighbouring countries have run short of petrol and kerosene, the major fuel source for poor urban households, causing prices to shoot up by up to 50 per cent.
Many people who had traveled upcountry for the Christmas holiday and the elections have found themselves stranded, unable to travel to Nairobi and other towns where they live and work.
Sakwa Mwangala, project officer for Kibera slum in Nairobi, which has been badly affected by the violence, is currently stranded in Kakamega. He said: “Two convoys have made it through to Nairobi now, so I hope to be able to go back to Nairobi with my family soon.”
He added: ”Out of the 15 key staff in Kibera Health Clinic, providing health care for more than 97,000 people, nine have been held up, one of them in Eldoret, which has experienced horrific violence. Fortunately she is safe and is staying at the IDP camp near the police station.”
Sakwa explained that in anticipation of post-election violence staff at the Kibera clinic made sure that patients living with HIV and TB had enough drugs to keep them going in case of closure. The clinic is now operating with minimal staff.
Police have been deployed to all the trouble spots around the country and are helping to evacuate the displaced families to safety. Many of the people who have fled their farms in the areas surrounding Eldoret have been evacuated to Nakuru town, 200 km away, where they are camping at the Nakuru agricultural showground.
In Nairobi, thousands of people have taken refuge at the Jamhuri grounds. The Kenya Red Cross is spearheading efforts to distribute food, clothing and other basic supplies to those affected. In Nairobi, churches and volunteer organisations have also been providing food and clothing to those camping at the Jamhuri grounds and church compounds.
The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) has vast experience in post-conflict health interventions, and is already in discussions with the Kenya Red Cross on how to help the affected communities. Currently, people at the camps for the internally displaced have few, unreliable and unsafe sources of water, putting them at high risk of diarrhoea and other water-borne infections, as well as dehydration.
According to the Kenya Country Director Mette Kjaer: “AMREF in Kenya is currently working with the Kenya Red Cross to ensure that our intervention will be where we are most needed and most effective. The longer the crisis continues, the greater the risk to people's health.”
Within the greater East African region, the fallout from the violence is being felt in several countries whose economies depend greatly on consumer products from Kenya. The landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan depend on Kenya for petroleum products whose entry point is the port of Mombasa. In Uganda, fuel prices have rocketed to US5 per litre, while operations of humanitarian organisations in Southern Sudan have come to a standstill due to lack of fuel.