One of the most potent symbols of Kenya's spiral into lawlessness has been the erection of dozens of roadblocks manned by young gangs. Drive anywhere west of Nakuru and within a few miles one will appear. A few rocks will have been hauled into the middle of the road, perhaps a burnt-out car. The police appear unable or unwilling to do much about it.
Driving out of Eldoret in the Rift Valley the other day we came across more than a dozen in a 20-mile stretch. Most were unmanned, but at one a handful of young Kalenjin men carrying machetes and wooden sticks flagged down our car and demanded to see my driver's ID. Joshua is a Luo so we were allowed to pass - if he had been a Kikuyu we would have been in trouble. As the rusting metal girder that blocked our path was lifted one of the guys poked his head through the window. "Don't worry visitor," he said. "We are just community police." A further 200 yards up the road the real police were sat under a tree reading the newspaper.
that sounds frightening. Amazing to hear about this little moment - reminds me of the best bits of From Our Own Correspondent when you suddenly get a glimpse into a world totally unlike your own. keep telling us about it!
Posted by: kitt | Tuesday, 05 February 2008 at 09:52 PM
Kibaki has turned Kenya into a society that has no laws. First, Kibaki blatantly stole the elctions thereby giving these wayward youths a justification to flout the laws of the land. Secondly, Kibaki acts and behaves as if Kenya is the most peaceful country in Africa while innocents are killed and grotesquely maimed every single day.
Posted by: Anti-Kibaki | Wednesday, 06 February 2008 at 08:32 AM
Is it really true that Annans Hotelroom has been "Bugged" as stated in an article on http://kalenjin.net/ ?
Posted by: Odd Nesje | Friday, 08 February 2008 at 01:15 PM