I believe I have identified myself as a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in the past.
The following statement comes from members of the same faith tradition as practiced in Kenya. I have tried to eliminate those parts of the statement that are specific to our (theirs and my) common faith tradition, in hopes that what remains will provide information for those who might want to contact their political representatives with a first-hand, local point of view.
From the pastoral letter of the Nairobi Yearly Meeting of the Friends Church (Quakers), excerpted to accommodate those who do not share the specific faith but may appreciate the information and sentiment:
This letter was sent to both President Mwai Kibaki and the Honorable Amolo Odinga:
Truth is critical to the establishment of legitimacy for the political class, that is, presidency and the opposition, if they are to enjoy the loyalty and respect of all Kenyans. This can only be achieved if the objective truth is that the Elections were "Free, Fair and Transparent".
Such election requests should sound familiar to those from all points of the political spectrum.
This battle is not about ethnicity per se, rather it is about economic injustice, and the youth across the board bear the brunt of it. There is an icy gap between them and the older age. There was hope and expectation that this nation would be steered towards a more democratic, united, just and prosperous society, where development would be experienced by ALL hardworking Kenyans. That hope was rekindled, with their participation in the just ended elections and the youth in particular saw the possibility of moving forward for the betterment of their lives. They feel "cheated. They are expressing anger that the rich are getting richer, while the majority are living on less than one dollar a day. "A hungry person is an angry person". Justice is what they long for.
This wonderful quote from the Kenyan letter needs no further comment, but much contemplation - and not just for Kenya!
First world people who are convinced of our hold on the truth, note this!
In Kenya, there are gross inequalities in terms of sharing the scarce opportunities and resources. The rich are "Very Rich", while the Poor are "Very Poor" and the gap is widening. From the looting that has been witnessed across the board, it’s clear that the present up-rising is not per-se ethnic, but rather, to a greater extent, "a Class-Struggle". "Money bags" "Rich-ness". "Quick money-making" e.g. pyramid schemes, have been glorified. The affluent conspicuous consumption and obnoxious display of wealth of the upper class, in a sea of poverty, have not helped.
The hopes and opportunities for the poor (have-nots) for upward mobility have been frustrated by continuing "joblessness" and false promises by politicians. The underlying perceived injustices of our economic disparities must be urgently addressed. A genuine honest and sustainable commitment to redressing the imbalances should be made. Otherwise we warn that the class "battles" will continue in one form or other. The youth are desperate, angry and impatient. The ordinary Kenyan does not feel or see the effect of the purported 6.5% annual growth of the economy or the benefits of the foreign investors.
The unsatisfactory manner in which corruption cases (Anglo-leasing/Goldenberg scandals) have been handled are seen as unjust and discriminatory against the poor who get heavy sentences for petty theft, yet the greedy rich go scot-free. This impunity, lack of accountability and arrogance of the corrupt rich, has fostered a deep-rooted anger that has exploded and must be addressed meaningfully, openly and fairly.
It takes a village in Kenya, in the world and in our virtual community:
[W]e renounce these senseless killings and urge the government, to take responsibility and restrain the security forces from using violent means of handling the "demonstrators". We urge all parties to give a listening ear to the people. Through their violence they are communicating a serious message. Please listen respectfully.
o Politicians should avoid using youths in their schemes to create mayhem in society.
o Supporters should stop being misused and abused by politicians
o Party leaders must restrain their supporters from engaging in unlawful acts but should engage in peace building.
o The older people should be encouraged to counsel and dissuade the youth from violence.
Now, for some of the purely practical political recommendations of this group (there are others, but those are based more in a faith that may not resonate with all who may read this):
- An independent audit should be done.
a. Tallies from the polling stations for each of the 210 constituencies should be obtained and at least one agent for each candidate from each polling station be brought to Nairobi to verify the count and entries on Form 16A.
b. All Forms 16 should be verified with Forms 16A to establish accuracy of entries.
c. An independent group, possibly made of church leaders, local observers, international observers, representatives of the two parties and international leaders should be charged to verify the tallying and report their findings to the chairman of the reconstituted ECK and to the Kenyan people.
d. Whatever the outcome of the verification, the two parties should abide by the verdict under the guidance of the international arbitrators.
- Re-run
Following the gazzettement of the MPs elect, parliament should convene and elect the Speaker so that business can be conducted to facilitate a mechanism for the urgent re-run of the Presidential elections.
- Interim arrangements
• Hon. Mwai Kibaki should step down from the seat of the presidency to pave way for the interim arrangements suggested below.
• The ODM and the PNU affiliated parties must enter into meaningful dialogue for the sake of national interest.
• Establishment of an interim government comprising of all the parties proportionate to their Membership in parliament with the Speaker heading it for a period of three months.
• Electoral Commission
The interim government is advised to source expertise from recognized international institutions such as A.U, Commonwealth, European Union and others to assist in supervising the re-run. Due to the failure of ECK, the commissioners should immediately step aside to pave way for the re-constitution of the ECK, along the Principles of IPPG, to organize presidential re-run within the three months.
Commissioners of credibility with integrity should be sourced from LSK, ICJ, eminent persons from professionals, civil society and religious groups.
4. Activities during interim period and thereafter
o Peaceful rallies must be allowed and organized to facilitate the healing process
o Civil society and religious organizations should have forums to enhance reconciliation through dialogue, counseling and conflict resolution
o Losers of Parliamentary elections on both sides and former ministers should desist from giving inflammatory statements motivated by their personal vested interests.
Finally, a hope for a new system of governance going forward (please notice the beauty of the final sentence, which I have taken the liberty to highlight in bold):
All presidential candidates have affirmed the need for a new constitution. We Kenyans are in dire need of a new God-centred and people based constitution. All constitutional institutions have failed us: the presidency, parliament, ECK, Anti Corruption, Political Parties, Civil Society, Civil Service, Constitutional Commissions and especially the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The only institution that is still functioning faithfully is the people: they voted peacefully and in earnest, now they are in disarray because the existing constitution does not address the people’s needs.
I do realize the importance of our election and democratic process, but in this letter it is clear that that which we here take for granted is there a matter of life and death.
I wanted to present this to our readership in hope that anyone who may feel the need to contact legislators will have information about the situation in Kenya directly from people who are intimately involved.
In Peace, I am your Friend.