Word: nairobi
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...tourist destination with a booming economy, is teetering on almost total collapse, and the possibility of genocidal war between Kikuyus and their allies on one side and the Luo-affiliated tribes, who supported Odinga. "We never expected the savagery to go so far," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said in Nairobi...
More trouble is looming. Odinga has appealed for a million of his supporters to join him on Thursday in downtown Nairobi to inaugurate him as the "people's President." Kibaki's government came out Tuesday to say the rally would not be allowed to take place, but Odinga's supporters appeared to be in no mood to compromise...
...vote last Thursday was initially portrayed as a success. Turnout was 70%. Nairobi's Daily Nation newspaper boasted such a peaceful and energetic political process would be the "envy of Africa." But the mood soured as the counting went on. And when Odinga jumped to a lead of nearly 1 million votes, results were delayed from several of Kibaki's strongholds. Election officials either disappeared with ballot boxes or refused to answer their phones. When the final result was announced, Kibaki had squeaked through with a victory over Odinga...
That prompted several observer groups to scrap assessments that the vote was free and fair. The European Union said it had evidence that the vote may have been rigged. On Monday, the U.S., whose State Department at first congratulated Kibaki on his victory, issued a statement through its Nairobi embassy saying it was concerned by "serious problems experienced during the vote counting process." "These included various anomalies with respect to unrealistically high voter turnout rates, close to 100% in some constituencies," it said. Koki Muli, co-chair of a domestic observer group called KEDOF, added: "The electoral process lost credibility...
Odinga canceled a Monday rally in downtown Nairobi after riot police bearing plexiglass shields and truncheons blocked the entrance. He plans another rally on Thursday, and is urging his supporters to wear black armbands in protest at the result. "If you want to do any kind of negotiations [with Kibaki]," he told journalists Monday, "that must be the starting point - that I won the election and Kibaki lost it. If Kibaki accepts that position, then we can negotiate, then we can dialogue. Without that, there is no basis for dialogue...