| | The Prime Minister of Kenya came to visit yesterday. This was, apparently, a Very Big Deal, although the missionary surgeon I'm working with, Bill, seemed less than impressed.
The Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, was one of two presidential candidates in the now-infamous December 2007 elections, the other candidate being incumbent Mwai Kibaki. The post-election violence that erupted occured not terribly far from Kapsowar. Eldoret, the city I flew into, was one of the major hotspots of violence, with dozens of people being killed. As part of the power-sharing plan brokered by, among others, Kofi Annan, a completely new post of Prime Minister was created. Raila became the PM, and Kibaki stayed on as president.
Previous to the 2007 election, the Kenyan government worked not dissimiliarly to the American system, with an exectuve branch (the president) and a legistlative branch (the Kenyan parliament). After the power-sharing deal was struck, the Kenyan government now appears to have some hybrid system of the former system and the British parlimentarily system. I've asked several Kenyans what it means to have both a president and a prime minister, and how two people can supposedly have equal powers as heads of state. Everyone I ask sort of shakes their heads and shrugs their shoulders -- nobody knows how this is going to work out.
At any rate, the PM came to visit the Marakwet district yesterday, and he capped his day-long visit with a tour of the hospital and a speech at the local boys' high school. He traveled by helicopter, but no less than a dozen large vehicles accompanied him on the small roads to Kapsowar. They were nice, expensive cars -- Land Rovers, BMWs, Mercedes, etc. Each car carried no less than five "goons," as one of my Kenyan acquaintences put it. The "goons" are large, tall Kenyans in well dressed business suits who wear sunglasses. I presume they're like the Secret Service equivalent.
As I was rounding with Bill, Raila came through the pediatric ward accompanied by the hospital administrators, several reporters, and a gaggle of intruiged hospital workers. I shook his hand, and he passed quickly on by.
Thomas, the anesthestist, took me to the boys' school later that day to hear the tail end of his speech. Several thousand men, woman, and children gathered to hear him speak on a portable grandstand with large loudspeakers powered by portable generators. Apparently he promised to build a paved road to Kapsowar and the Marakwet district, and he talked about building new modern schools and preventing deforestation. Thomas smiled, and then rolled his eyes slightly.
"A tarmac road, that would be nice. But they have been saying that for years now."
"It's easy to talk about roads when you travel by helicopter," I commented. "I guess politicians are the same no matter what country you're in."
"Yes, that's right. All full of promises. All full of lies."
A little while later the PM took off in his helicopter, quickly flying out of sight over the distant mountains. His accompanying vehicles raced out of town on the crowded dirt road, leaving a large cloud of dust in their tracks.
|
| | Posted 7/20/2009 12:04 PM - 23 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
- recommend
  - recs0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
