The Slap Heard Round the World

Rachel Shebesh, the Nairobi Women’s Representative, as in a Member of Parliament, as in a highly respected public official, was among council workers who stormed Governor Kidero's office on September 6, 2013, in a demonstration over the ongoing county employees strike. The Governor emerged from his office and was surprised to find Shebesh and an estimated 30 people. There is a general consensus on these facts in regards to the incident termed by one newsite as “the slap heard across the nation” (http://allafrica.com/).

Video footage depicts a heated exchange between Kidero and Shebesh, followed quickly by a now famous slap. Shebesh can be heard sputtering “You have slapped me? You have slapped me?” as she is being led away by aides.

This is where the general consensus ends, with contrasting opinions heating up social media. Contradictory statements from the Governor’s office have caused yet more confusion. Kidero’s initial response denied slapping anyone, "I was in my office but I don't remember or have any recollection of slapping anyone. All I know is that a group of people about 30-40 tried to force themselves into my office led by an Honourable Member of Parliament,” said Kidero.

The honorable mayor later recanted this statement, claiming instead that Shebesh provoked the incident by assaulting him. While the Kenya Police Medical Examination report corroborates his account of soreness to the groin, the video does not depict any evidence Shebesh attacking him, leading to yet more confusion. Both Shebesh and Kidero have filed police reports.

All in all, this exchange has irrevocably impacted the images of both parties. Shebesh, no stranger to conflict, has been defamed further, with individuals expressing sentiments that “she had it coming,” or focusing on her approach. The Nairobi county assembly heard a motion calling for the impeachment of Governor Kidero, a decision that has currently been tabled. Several civil and women’s groups have condemned the incident and his behavior.

While the details of the incident remain clouded and controversial, the fact remains that both Kidero and Shebesh are publically elected officials in offices that demand a level of decorum and respect. So, why is Shebesh making a ruckus, and why is Kidero behaving like a violent criminal, or a batterer?

S.N.L Kenya has developed a music track labeled “Slap Them Like Kidero,” further solidifying the issue in social media. Slap them Like Kidero This entire incident has had widely felt implications, both for Kenyan politics, and for the greater discourse on gender.

What is my take? I always tell my five year old and three year old that it is not right to slap, punch, or hit anyone (some few exceptions apply). I do NOT believe that Kidero should have slapped his colleague, whether male or female. The video indicates to me that the slap was not prefaced by a squeeze or any assault on Kidero. Shebesh could have demonstrated more decorum in her visit to Kidero’s office, but two wrongs do not make a right. Following as it does on the Sonko imbroglio, I think that it is fair to use this moment to focus on the mis-treatment of women in Kenya. Dr. Kidero, did you receive your doctorate at the school of violence against women?

On a lighter note, this post made me laugh! Did Kidero Allegedly Slap Shebesh, or Did He Certainly Do It? 

Stressed OUT!

Raila Odinga flanked by CORD party members. Photo Credit, Nation Media.

Just finished chatting with a Masai friend and a Luo friend, and both are in an uproar. Good grief. Can this election just stop turning from sweet to sour?

My Luo friend says that if the Supreme Court does not rule correctly, the Luo may secede from Kenya!

My Masai friend says "the CEO and Chairman of IEBC got bribed and were threatened if they refused to take the bribe."

I am really struggling with their version.  I am struggling because if it is true, everything I thought I saw is a sham. I am also struggling because I just do not want to believe things can go this wrong, this fast.


I am not going to rely on rumours. Going back to a technical level, here is my logic.

1. Lets assume that the vote was valid at the polling station level. I think it was, because at the five polling stations I was at all political party agents had to agree on the vote.
2. Let's assume the vote was valid at the constituency level. I think it was, because agents and politicians were there, and scores of observers, and it is quite a trick to get 10 presiding officers to tamper with the vote in full view of the media, observers, political party agents (hundreds) and the candidates themselves.
3. Then, at that point, you have to demonstrate that a sufficient number of votes were tampered between the constituency level and Bomas to really turn the election. Remember that there were 290 constituencies.

I want to hear from the following sources 1) the Carter Center 2) the European Union and then . . . . .

Here is the preliminary EU report EU election observer mission to Kenya

Here is the ELOG report Elections Observer Group

I am just going to hang tight and see what the Kenyan Supreme Court has to say.

~WMB 

Days pass as we wait for the Kenyan Presidential Results

 
Dear readers

I am back in the US now. I feel that my experience watching the Kenyan elections was exhilarating and overwhelmingly positive. Personally, from what I saw, I have a high level of confidence in the IEBC process from what I saw. We still are praying for peace.

When I left Nairobi, over 24 hours ago, people were getting tense waiting for the presidential results. I noticed that the news media were not reporting total percentages for the presidential race anymore. Instead they were reporting official results constituency by constituency. I SPECULATE that this was done to keep things calm both inside and outside of Bomas.

I cannot even get onto the Daily Nation, which is my preferred paper (owned by the Aga Khan). Perhaps the Internet load is too high. The standard is up, and the IEBC is up, although I hear they are updating results to their website manually. I am going to use the East African, which is owned by Nation Media group, as a proxy for the Nation.

I just want to note that, as a matter of logic, the votes from the presidential election must be in and tallied at Bomas. They have already announced the MPs for all 47 counties. Because I watched the votes being counted I know that they counted the presidential race first, before the MP race. Thus, logically, it stands to reason that the numbers of the presidential race are known. I SPECULATE that the delay is being caused by friction between CORD and Jubilee about the final vote count.

The IEBC is reporting results from 14176/31981 of polling stations, in other words, about one half of the votes have been officially verified. The IEBC website, which you can find here  is showing TNA candidate Uhuru Kenyatta leading with 53% with 2,900,198 votes, at the time I am writing this. Conversely, Raila Odinga of the CORD coalition has 2,278,602 votes, for 42% of the total presidential vote. Mudavadi has 3% with 156, 296 votes, Peter Kenneth has 1% with 32,391 votes, and Martha Wangari Karua of Narc Kenya with 20,002 votes or less than 1 percent.

So, the Standard Newspaper is generally considered to be a bit more pro-CORD, whereas the Nation is considered to be a bit more pro-TNA. Nonetheless, the Standard is a reputable media house, so lets see what they say. They are reporting that with results from 153/290 constituencies by 10.20 p.m. Kenya time, Uhuru Kenyatta maintained a lead of  318, 610 votes. The Standard writes that

"Mr Raila Odinga’s Coalition for Reforms and Democracy protested over the incoming results, questioned the process at which they were arrived at, and called for cancellation and fresh start of totaling."

Based on what I saw, I think that the technical failures in the election were dissapointing. However, I think the integrity of the election was very sound, and that the manual process was nearly impossible to rig. I observed tallying at the polling station level, and at the constituency level. I also went to Bomas. It is my view that the only way to rig this election was to steal trucks with ballot boxes (which did actually occur in Mombasa) or to somehow agree at the constituency level among all presiding officers. This would be enormously difficult to pull off, given that at the constituency I went to the POs worked in full view of an audience of 300 political party agents, candidates, and swarms of media and observers. 

The East African (Nation Media Group) is reporting 237 of 290 constituencies reporting. Uhuru Kenyatta has 49.7 percent votes, (5115704) and that Raila Odinga has 43.9 votes (4513233). Under the Kenyan constitution, to win in the first round, a candidate must have 51 percent of the vote, as well as at least 25 Percent of the vote in half of the counties (24). Uhuru has reached this threshold in 31 counties, and Raila has reached this threshold in at least 29 counties. The issue then will be whether Uhuru makes it to 51 percent. 

I ran into Muthoni Wanyeki at Bomas of Kenya thsi week. Writing before the election in the East African, she said Let's hope for the best, prepare for the worst. 

Another issue that was raised is whether the 51 percent should be out of all ballots cast, or out of valid ballots. I will address that in a different post. 

My reporters in the field tell me that people think "Uhuru might win this thing." They tell me that tension in Nairobi is not bad and that "guys jus' want this thing over & done with."

Signing off now to deal with my jet lag. 

~WMB