I ran into fellow-blogger
Gukira on the way home from work today and we briefly discussed the Kenyan elections. As someone who was pretty ignorant about the whole process, I was fortunate to have him explain to me some of the underlying issues. While I was simply happy that there was no serious outbreaks of violence, he countered that a lack of violence is simply too low a bar to clear. He then told me about some of his writings, which I consider to be
great posts on the topic, especially
this one:
Jomo Kenyatta’s short story, “Gentlemen of the Jungle,” ends with a
man trapping repressive animals inside a hut, setting the hut on fire,
watching them die, and then uttering, “Peace is costly, but it’s worth
the expense.” Now, I can’t read this story without thinking of the men,
women, and children set ablaze in a church in Kiambaa in 2008 during the
post-election violence. I have to think about this killing act and to
ask about the cost of “peace.”
