Well done Kenyans for keeping peace
The tallying of Presidential polls concluded last night and as expected, the winning camp burst into celebrations. This is natural. Coordinators of the groups celebrating around the country should however keep vigilant so as not to accord criminal elements an opportunity to infiltrate them for criminal activities.
When I drove round Nairobi's CBD at about 7am, all was calm and peaceful. Pockets of celebrating Jubilee supporters were however doing some victory road walk around town. But they maintained peace. Some foreign journalists were lucky to be at hand to capture the early development. One expects that celebrations around town will get 'louder' later today. But we urge those celebrating to observe decorum so as to keep the City space open for business. City authorities and security agencies will however need to keep good watch to avert any excesses.
The long and short of this is that the general elections in Kenya, including the presidential election which has kept the country on a high for the last one week, have now been peacefully concluded. Whereas there has been a slow down of normal social and business activities within the poll tallying week, the fact that we maintained peace all through despite our different political opinions is commendable. We owe ourselves a big cheer. Well done, fellow Kenyans.
Future general elections in Kenya should be celebrated as events to improve leadership
Let us now await the official announcement by the Electoral Commission later today. Meanwhile, congratulations to all those who won. May they assume office and move this country forward. Their magnanimity will be best manifested if they will be able to embrace and accommodate their opponents going forward. To those who lost, we appreciate you fully for helping us to grow a vibrant democracy. Please help us to demonstrate to the world community that Kenya has made good democratic progress by accepting the victors and joining hands with them at national and county level to develop this country.
Let this general election mark the beginning of a trend where general elections in Kenya are celebrated as seasons to audit and improve national and county leadership for a better future. Let us banish the anxiety and fear that has been associated with general elections in Kenya in the last two decades.
We must disabuse the young that elections results in Kenya spell the start of war
Let us disabuse our young generation of the notion that general elections must be accompanied by antagonism and fighting........I recall a colleague sharing with me yesterday how his class five son reacted when told that presidential results were to be announced today. The young guy said, "Daddy, so after they announce the results, that's when we shall start fighting?' This is of course untrue and unhealthy. But it's the psyche we may have unknowingly cultivated in young minds. It's time we gave our young children a different understanding and appreciation of general elections so that they will grow to like and improve politics in Kenya.