Kenyan President Re-elected, Riots Ensue

When Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected by a margin of less than 3%, violent riots ensued throughout the nation and the Kenyan government immediately stopped all live television broadcasts from airing. That move was viewed by many as an undemocratic technique to suffocate the uprising.

Party members of the losing candidate, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, accused government officials of “doctoring the polls” to aid the incumbent. Rioters began setting fire to buildings and citizens are worried the region will turn into a war zone. Officials who came forward saying they witnessed vote rigging further fueled the deadly opposition.

Five years prior, Kibaki was elected on the premise that he would fight corruption and he won by a landslide victory. Today, the tables have taken a violent turn. Odinga gained support from both rural and urban voters by suggesting he would “share the wealth” across the nation and a smooth election process was seen as an important step in a volatile region. With the death count already past a dozen, the country has taken a deadly step backwards.

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