Uhuru Park Attacks

I post this only because I want to explain what is happening here to the best of my ability, acknowledging that I have only read some random newspaper articles. I am totally safe.

As many of you have mentioned, there were three grenade explosions in Uhuru Park in Nairobi over the weekend. This is part of an escalating situation here in Kenya, which is not immanently dangerous, but is worth paying attention to. Kenyans are very open to discussing politics, and everyone I know here loves talking about the upcoming August 4th referendum on the proposed constitution. It is fairly popular (not as popular as the World Cup), and even Joe Biden spoke about it when he was in Kenya last week. However, there are two groups campaigning around the August 4th Referendum, the "Yes Camp" and the "No Camp". This is pretty self-explanatory. The Yes Camp wants voters to vote "Yes" to approve the new constitution, and the No Camp doesn't. The no camp tends to be comprised of religious organizations, and is a considerable minority. The government has taken a lot of criticism for using government funds to embark on a "civic education" program, that is essentially a big Yes Camp campaign. There is no such funding for the No Camp, as it is understood that the government shouldn't provide fund for something that is contradictory to government policy (the proposed constitution is considered government policy because it was written by the government).

The grenade explosions took place in a major park in Nairobi, where a group of religious leaders were leading a march, which apparently also was being used to campaign against the proposed constitution. During the protest, several grenades were fired into the crowd, killing 6 people and injuring 104 people.

There is speculation that the government perpetrated the attack, and the government is under considerable pressure to turn up suspects to clear its own name, which it has yet to do. There is concern that this will spark a repeat of the 2008 election violence, when major tribal warfare broke out in Kenya. This is highly unlikely. Kenyans have learned a lot in the time since the election violence. There are still many IDPs living in camps, unable or frightened to return home. I have written about one family that is living on Steve’s farmland near Morokoshi.

The divisions between the Yes Camp and No Camp regarding the proposed constitution are not along strict tribal affiliations, and also most people don't feel incredibly passionate about the proposed constitution. There seems to be a sense that it is largely symbolic, and isn't marred by the tensions left between the ethnic groups that had a great impact on the 2008 general election.

Additionally, 3 Members of Parliament were recently arrested for hate speech and incitiment, which violates the National Cohesion and Integration Act of 2008. This is meant to deter a repeat of the post-election violence. It is unclear to me exactly what the MPs did or said, and it is worth noting that they are members of the No Camp, which is opposing the Kenyan government. There is speculation that the government is trying to keep them quiet. All the same, the memories of the 2008 violence are top of mind, and people are very upset about the explosions. However, I feel completely safe. I am always aware of my surroundings, and have a great group of friends, family and colleagues who are always looking out for me.

The cartoon in the Opinion Section of The Daily Nation Newspaper had a depiction of Bin Laden sitting in front of the TV reading The Daily Nation. The cover of the Daily Nation had the headline “Uhuru Park Attacks” and Bin Laden was saying “This time it wasn’t me! I was busy watching the World Cup!”