In the aftermath of the declaration of the loss of Raila Odinga in the just concluded Kenya’s presidential election, angry supporters of the candidate in his stronghold of Kisumu on Monday, streamed into the streets, hurling stones and alleging vote-rigging as police fired tear gas to disperse them.
Young fans of the 77-year-old, who affectionately call to him as ‘Baba’ or ‘father’ in Swahili, told reporters they were incensed to see Odinga lose his fifth attempt at becoming president of Kenya.
Veteran opposition politician Odinga, who is now supported by the ruling party, hasn’t made any public remarks since the results were released but has accused his rivals of sabotaging his chances of winning the presidential elections in 2007, 2013, and 2017.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that the 2007 polls to be precise — which many independent observers also considered deeply flawed — cast a long shadow over Kenyan politics, unleashing a wave of ethnic violence that pitted tribal groups against each other and cost more than 1,100 lives.
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As the sun set on Kisumu, large numbers of protesters congregated on a roundabout in the western lakeside city, throwing stones and setting tyres on fire as they blocked roads with broken rocks.
‘It was not free and fair. We were cheated,’ 26-year-old Odinga supporter Collins Odoyo told reporters as he rushed off to join the crowd, barefoot and with a vuvuzela horn strapped across his back.
Africa Today News, New York reports that many shops in Kisumu had closed early, fearing possible protests over the result, and at least one supermarket was looted as young men walked away with food and electronic goods.
‘The government must listen to us. They must redo the election,” said Isaac Onyango, 24, his eyes streaming as police tried to defuse the demonstration with tear gas.
‘You can’t steal from us!’ shouted a young man in a balaclava wielding a club.
Another protester loading a rock into a slingshot yelled: ‘We will not surrender!
Many in Kisumu had eagerly anticipated an Odinga victory, seeing it as a rightful coronation for a leader long denied the throne.
Even with the contest neck-and-neck on Monday morning, most were unable — or unwilling — to contemplate any other outcome than their man taking home the win.