More on Kenya

The situation in Kenya does not seem to be improving, and signs suggest that this may be more of a pandora's box than was originally appreciated. Kenya carries that unmistakeble stamp of colonialism; it is a conglomeration of ethnic groups that were thrust together because of 19th and 20th century geo-political forces played out in tribal homelands. Until December of last year, Kenyans had been a stable and relatively successful melting pot - enough so that there was significant mixing of tribes within the country, so that everyone lives everywhere, more or less.

Mwai Kabaki - the incumbent - and Raila Odinga - the challenger - are Kikuyu and Luo, respectively. Right after the election, violence was mostly between those two tribes. Now there is much much more violence, and it seems to involve everyone. The Guardian notes that the Army has not played a major role in muting ethnic violence, and suggests that is because the Army itself has tribal tension - the majority of the leadership is Kikuyu, with a more diverse rank-and-file who may lean more towards Odinga. The Times, in its second straight article about how Kofi Annan is frustrated with the Kabaki and Odinga camps, reports on violence between the Kalenjin and Masai tribes.

This is going from bad to worse. Annan needs help - the world needs to show Kenya a united front, and demand that Kabaki and Odinga put Kenyans first and work to restore Kenya to the position of African respect and leadership that it had earned.