Naivasha Tensions High Once Again

Memories of last year’s post election violence came back to haunt us again today when the Mungiki (an outlawed sect from the Kikuyu tribe) decided to hold the town of Naivasha at ransom with their threats. They had announced that they were going to hold protests and had warned the matatu (taxi) drivers to stay off the roads. The matatu drivers are always obedient to such calls because they don’t want to lose their vehicles. Matatus are often attacked and burned in times of unrest.



The first we heard of the situation was a call from friends wondering how the situation was in Naivasha town. They’d had a report from the American embassy warning people about the possibility of unrest. It surprised me as we hadn’t heard a thing. All the matatus had been pulled off the road. Nobody was able to get to Nairobi or back.



As the morning progressed we started hearing more and more reports that the tension in town was increasing. There was a high police visibility in town. They were clearly taking the threat seriously.



We had to go to a meeting past the village of Karagita on South Lake road. That’s when we saw the first signs of a threat. There were many young men on the road and they had set a number of tyres on fire. That made it impossible for us to drive on the road so we had to make our own way on the dirt track that ran alongside the main road. On the one side were all the youth, on the other the riot police. Someone came up and said that it would be okay for us to drive through. But as we drove through the mass of humanity the police must have detected a threat and they suddenly charged the young men with their riot sticks at the ready. For a moment we feared we’d get caught in the middle, but we put our foot down and managed to get out of there. We were worried about the return journey but by then someone had removed the burning tyres and the police had left. Crowds of young men were just milling around by the road.



In town nobody was making any money today. All the shops were closed, the kiosks along the side of the road were empty, and there were no taxis waiting for passengers. The normal bustle in town was missing. People were about but I noticed you only heard Kikuyu being spoken. It was strange to see Naivasha so empty. Even the main taxi stand for passengers heading to Nairobi was devoid of activity. There was just a large lorry standing there filled with riot police waiting in case they were needed.

Downtown Naivasha without the taxis

In the morning the tension in the town was palpable. Parents were ringing us up and asking what we were doing about the children in the school. They worried about what would happen if the situation suddenly blew up. We were worried as well since we have to drive through areas of Naivasha which were particularly hard hit during the post election violence last year. If something happens while you’re in those areas, things could become very dangerous.



A police friend contacted us and advised us to get the children home earlier. The police had been on high alert all day. The situation was particularly difficult in the morning but there was a risk that things could blow up again in the evening. We therefore started to take some of the children home who live the furthest from school. Other schools had also excused their children early so that they could get home quickly while things were calm. I drove along in the school van just in case there was trouble but the neighbourhoods were quiet.

Local water boy with his donkeys in Site, Naivasha

It is hard to imagine that one group can have such an impact on the country. How many people will struggle because they were unable to go to work today, because the matatus were not driving, because the shops were all closed? The only people who were doing a brisk trade were the piki-piki (motorcycle) taxis. The donkey drivers were also still out and about, providing water to their customers.