Thursday, January 17, 2013

Nomination Day, Some Water, a Bird, and a School

It’s nearly 8 AM on Thursday as I begin this account.  We awoke to the news that a building collapsed in Kisumu yesterday, killing 7.  As I see large buildings going up here I’m always surprised that more have not collapsed.

Today is the day on which the various parties and coalitions nominate their candidates for elected government office.  The candidates for President and Vice President have been established for each of the three major coalitions already.  Their names will be officially submitted to the election commission soon.  The nominees for the 50 county representatives who will reside and represent locally, the nominees for the 50 Governor positions (also residing and governing within the 50 counties), the mandatory “women” representatives whose number and position are not clear to me, and the nominees for the 50 Senators who will govern from Nairobi will be determined by popular vote today.  The process is quite confusing and it’s new under the new constitution.

So far, things are pretty calm.  We heard that there has been some strife in the small town of Sigalagala in the last two days, requiring increased police presence.  Sigalagala is about 6 miles south of Kakamega and we pass through it at least twice daily on matatus, but we have seen nothing out of the ordinary.  There has been some rioting in Homa Bay (on Lake Victoria) in regard to the contest in the ODM (Orange Democratic Movement) party and the other parties in the CORD coalition to which ODM belongs.  Homa Bay is far removed from here, south of Kisumu.  Kakamega has been very peaceful and laid back.  We hope it stays that way.

March 4 is the date of the final national elections, pitting those candidates who emerge today against each other for real.  We hope all stays calm throughout the campaigns and election/post-election cycle but the chances of that are slim in most people’s opinions.

David Ashimosi and I got water from the stream today. When David was seen by one of the village women (pictured) as he approached the water hole with empty bucket in hand, she said, “David, I have never seen you carry water”.    It's still empty on his head but not hers.  As the saying goes David – a woman’s work is never done.

We just got back from the village (2:00 PM) and have turned on the TV in our room.  There have been many instances of ballot papers not being delivered to various polling places.

For Don Mullen – here’s another bird, tiny though it be.  A peid something-or-other.

Finally, would you send your children to a school with this name?