Trail blazing
Ushahidi.com is one of those mashups that make one (here in the West) re-assess the digital divide. It is also some good that has come out of the violence in post-election Kenya, as well as a testament to the progressiveness of many Kenyans and the extent of mobile penetration.
Working it out
Video of mentalacrobatic’s previous post:
NEW ELECTIONS!!
I am speechless. Amazed.
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) — Kenya’s opposition party has called for a new presidential election to settle a disputed vote that has sparked days of deadly riots, while protesters gathered on street corners in the capital’s slums to prepare for a rally on Friday.
Full story on CNN
The March
If you read one blog post about what’s going on in Kenya right now (and I’ve read plenty of them, take my word for it) read this one (from mentalacrobatics).
All the newspapers on the newsstand in Nairobi showing the same headline
Today was supposed to be the big rally at Uhuru Park, the million person march which Raila invited all Kenyans to attend. It was to be a provocation of Tiananmen Square proportions, a challenge to the Kibaki government, a gesture of political theater by the opposition to say, we voted you out, we won, now go.
But instead, the strong arm of Kenya’s elite paramilitary police, the General Service Unit (what a nice sounding name) exerted its forceful will on the city and snipped off the spectre of an angry mob. But as you will see in the post above, it was done mostly with incredible, professional restraint. It wasn’t justice, but at least it was peaceable.
From my terribly ignorant perspective, this has been poorly handled on both sides. Kibaki and his cabal have been incredibly sloppy in their rigging of the election (at least Rove and the resulting Bush Administration were careful enough to maintain media discipline, unlike Kivuitu, the Electoral Commission chairman who blurted out “I do not know if Kibaki won the election”) and the handling of its aftermath (the quickie swearing in, the terrible inauguration speech). The media blackout was, in retrospect, smart from Kibaki’s side (muzzling one of Africa’s most vibrant presses, though they are getting back on their feet and standing up), but compounded the perception of defensiveness. Odinga has been equally sloppy in calling for the rally in Uhuru today much too early, and his reckless mouthing off about genocide, his uncompromising, almost childish, terms for coming to the table for dialogue (that Kibaki admit he did not win).
It’s incredible how, in times of crisis, no amount of media handling can cover up a leader’s true character. I perceive Kibaki to be this solemn, unemotional, a highly intelligent but sad figure, probably a very competent technocrat, but difficult for people to connect with on a gut level. Raila, on the other hand, seems volatile, incendiary, leading from the gut. Which is better for this young democracy at this precarious crossroads?
This is how we do it in the States
Rigging elections, that is. I know it’s not the same as what happened in Kenya, but actually what I think it shows is how it’s actually easier to get away with murder when you rely on computers to do the counting for you.