Greater Things Ministries International

THE CLASHES - POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE IN KENYA

Although there was a hiatus in the fighting I could still feel the tension as I settled into Nakuru Kenya. People looked over their shoulders as they spoke to see if anyone was listening. Eyes were more vigilant as they walked down the street. An approaching bicycle or taxi was given extra room to pass with a glance behind to make sure it kept going. Even the young were viewed with suspicion since many of the Kikuyu attackers who burned Nakuru had been teens and pre-teens looking to make their mark in the outlawed Mungiki sect.

Kenyans refer to the post-election violence as “the clashes,” a collision of political ambition, tribal enmity, and historical exasperation. The Luo supporters of the ODM rose up in protest against an election victory stolen by the Kikuyu dominated PNU. During the British colonization, the Kalenjins had their fertile land seized only to have the Kikuyus replace the British when Jomo Kenyatta came to power forty-five years ago. Now, facing another five years of Kikuyu rule, they set out to drive the Kikuyu from their ancestral land. The Kikuyus, left homeless, tried to make Nakuru a Kikuyu city. In the end it came down to Kenyans killing Kenyans.

The Kenyan Red Cross set the official death toll somewhere around 1200 but, at the height of the clashes, they buried nearly 900 a day in Nakuru alone. In all, 600,000 were driven from lands and home. One refugee said to me, “Why should I return to the land where the blood of my family still wets the ground?”

On the first full day after I arrived I hired a taxi and began to assess the situation. No time to rest. On the west side, homes and businesses were burned to the ground as Kikuyu killed or drove out anyone of another tribe. We visited what had once been the home of my friend, Joseph Mambo. What remains of his home is pictured here. There was ash, glass and debris in the sitting room where Sarah and I had once had tea with Joseph and his wife. Thankfully, when the attacks came they were able to flee to safety and eventually made their way back to Mombasa. Others sought shelter in local churches but, even there, no sanctuary was guaranteed. Churches and orphanages were burned while those inside fled again or perished.

On the east side of town you could barely tell there had been a conflict. The homes were in tact but the lives were just as devastated. Since most of the homes on the east side are owned by Kikuyu, the attackers were careful not to cause property damage. Instead, non-Kikuyus were dragged from their homes and killed in the street or fled as the gangs burned their life’s possessions.

For ten days I traveled up the corridor from Nakuru to Bungoma through the heart of the violence to bring a message of hope to the churches. Everywhere the devastation was the same.

There are two IDP camps in Nakuru. The show ground camp houses 3000 Kikuyu in 800 tents. Afraha Stadium camp houses nearly 1600 Luo, Luhya, and Kisii in 205 tents.

I had to ask myself, “Who is in the greatest need and what can we do to meet that need?”

My first walk through the camps was met with skepticism. Who is this mazungu (white man)… just another tourist looking for a photo op with the refugees? But, I didn’t carry a camera on my first visits. Instead of walking around the edge of the camp I went in among the tents, met with the people and took time to listen to their stories. I came back the next day and did the same, and the day after that. I prayed for the sick and wounded, held dying children and watched God heal them. The man pictured to the right was a bicycle repairman. He was ambushed on his way to work. The cuts on his head, arms and back and the multiple fractures in both arms are evidence of the unfeeling brutality. I mourned with those who had to bury their spouses, children and parents. I listened as many vented their anger and frustration over being forgotten by their government.

Finding the greatest need was not hard. Fighting the urge to try and fix everything is hard. By the end of the second week we identified 101 families that were being neglected in the daily distribution – the poorest of the poor. In addition, there are fifteen children who were orphaned because of the clashes and had no support. These were the ones. Three people emerged as spokesmen for the rest. Joash Juma, a big man with a bigger heart, Robert Chenane who came to Nakuru to start a church and make a better life for his family, and Annah Wanyonyi, mother of nine. As we sat together I made them this pledge:

As God provides, we will do everything we can to meet your needs.

Then I asked them for a list of the things they needed in order of importance.

• Mattresses for the children
• Blankets
• Food
• Clothing and shoes for the children
• Cooking utensils, pots and pans
• Umbrellas
• School fees
• Reconstruction costs

Through the generosity of our friends we were able to buy food for hundreds of people who had no other means - people with disabilities or who could not work because of illness or age.

We distributed mattresses to the mothers. Imagine, four months of sleeping on the ground. The nights get down into the 40s and there is no buffer between the cold and your baby. We started with the mothers who had the youngest children and worked our way up.

We took on a great challenge in our commitment to the displaced but God has provided. Every dollar that Greater Things Ministries has received has been sent directly to aid the displaced. Through the compassionate support of people like you we have been able to provide clothing for 253 children, 40 families have received mattresses, and 23 families have received blankets. We thank God that, today, all of the fifteen orphans we committed to care for have been placed with extended or foster families and will have a chance at a normal life.

Of all the hardship and adversity, the greatest need was not that of the flesh but of the spirit. Young and old were suffering from depression, fear, and anxiety leaving them without the will to go on. I spent time with the local schools and with the early childhood class at the camps. After teaching on fear I asked the children to draw a picture of themselves and something they were afraid of. Then we talked about how sometimes Jesus takes us out of those scary situations and sometimes he takes us through them but he’s always with us. This child drew a picture of herself in the protective arms of Jesus as a monstrous looking man wants to cut her. A fire is burning and the sky is filled with smoke.

On the final day before I left Kenya I went through the camp one last time. I thought I would just take a few pictures and leave but that was impossible. Joash met me at the gate. “Pastor, will you pray for a few before you leave?” He led me to one tent where a little girl of three or four had her arms bandaged, barely covering the skin that was peeling off her body. She had fallen into a pot of scalding water and burned both arms. The clinic had no ointment and the family could not afford a private doctor. I left some money for salve and prayed over the child. We went to another tent where a toddler was suffering from malaria. I prayed for him while his big sister tugged at my trousers wanting to have her picture taken. After a few more stops we ended at Joash’s tent and he asked me to pray for him and his family one last time before I left.

I spoke several times to a man known to me only as “the oldest man in the camp.” He was attacked early one morning by a gang outside his home. They slashed him in the back and left him to bleed to death. He was able to crawl to the street and find someone who would help. Now, in the camp, he talked to me about the wife and children he lost in the clashes. He is both angry and hopeful. Things are bad now, he says, but they will get better. I encouraged him that God has not allowed him to live without a reason. He has become a father to many in the camp who have lost everything.

On the last day he greeted me on the track and we spoke one final time. I will leave you with the same words he left me:

“When you go back to the USA ask the churches to pray that Kenyans will stop acting like animals and start behaving like human beings.”