Kenya in Crisis Day 23: Escalation?

There continues to be troubling and tragic violence throughout Kenya.

Masai fighters battled rival tribesman loyal to President Mwai Kibaki on Friday, with both sides using machetes, swords, bows and arrows on the final and bloodiest day of protests this week over Kenya's disputed election.

In Nairobi's Kibera slum and the coastal tourist town of Mombasa, police and demonstrators fought in the streets.

Three days of protests called by Kenya's opposition have dwindled in strength, but at least 22 people have been killed, including five who died in the ethnic fighting less than a dozen miles from the premier Masai Mara game reserve in Narok, police chief Patrick Wambani told The Associated Press.

The opposition leader Raila Odinga is pursuing a dangerous sort of scorched Earth policy. By calling on protests and boycotts as he has, he only contributes to raising the tension and ultimately the violence. I don't know what his motivation is however I hope he hasn't decided to gain power through any means necessary. The two men, Odinga and Kibaki, haven't met since the crisis started. It appears each is maneuvering and angling for power. Kibaki threw the first move by swearing himself in while there was confusion over the results of the election. Odinga may use boycotts and protests to force Kibaki's hand. Unfortunately, these maneuvers will also contribute to the violence and tension that has gripped the country.

Also, in response to my previous piece, I received this comment from an individual that identified themselves as Kenyan.

But my saddest day for Kenyans was on Tuesday during the first day of parliament. Members from both sides of the divide shook hands laughing heartily despite their vitriol-filled public statements. As we kill each other ‘fighting for our man’, our man is eating and drinking with the ‘enemy’ (with whom by they way share business interests) in his lavish mansion watching us clowns on TV.

If the politicians are perfectly happy with the results of the election while their supporters pursue bloody and violence forms of justice, then there really are big problems ahead. Keep in mind this crisis is tribal with the Kikuyus being blamed by other tribes for the election fiasco. It is already a struggle of class warfare since the Kikuyu are seen as the upper class. If it comes to pass that the commoner sees the politicians as their enemies this crisis will fall quickly into genocide.