Rumours sent by text add to violence

While signs of electoral fraud accumulate, the country responds to the results and the death count creeps up (250 on Tuesday morning). Our Observer Fredrick Onyango, who was pleased with election procedures on Friday, reassesses the situation today. He is particularly concerned about the amount of rumours circulating, apparently by text message.

The reaction of our Observer Fredrick Onyango, photo-journalist in Nairobi

I was there at the electoral commission in Nairobi watching the vote counting. When the last batches came in there was some confusion. The opposition requested a recount, and the tallies didn't seem to add up. There were loads more votes than there should have been. I don't think it is fair now.

People are still rampaging in the country, looting shops and houses. In Nairobi there are people walking in the streets. But In other parts everyone is trapped indoors. There's a curfew from 6pm to 6am in Kisumu [east Kanya], where it's the worse. They were rampaging all night long. All the shops and petrol stations were burnt down. The whole town is at a standstill. In total, 140 have been killed.

There have been loads of rumours, especially about the arrest of Raila Odinga [who came second in the election]. But I don't think they're true."

Photo of a burning shack, Nairobi, 31 December 2007

The shack earlier that day

 Photos : Thinker's room

Rumours by text

Things were not helped with the flurry of irresponsible txt messages flying from phone to phone. One alleged that PNU bigwigs (Kibaki's party) had mobilized Administration Police across the city with orders to torch slums, another one alleged that ODM (Odinga's party) had bussed it battle harden troops from South Sudan ready to cause chaos across Nairobi. And on and on it went. Strangely with everyone assured that "their side" had made contingency plans for violence everyone was slightly reassured. Now I know what it must have felt like at the height of the cold war when both sides had the ability to completely destroy each other so no one made a move. A weird illusion of peace as violence is balanced."

Commentary by Daudi Were 

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