It's hard to believe how all things Trump have consumed the American media, to the extent that it is difficult to find out what is going on in the rest of the world. However, this article https://epeak.in/2017/07/31/why-kenyas-presidential-election-on-august-8-matters-kenya/
discusses the upcoming presidential election in Kenya, and how it is important to the region and the rest of the world. It is the 6th presidential election since the country embraced a democratic system in 1996. The ethnic violence which followed the 2007 election is not that far in the rear-view mirror; the International Criminal Court in the Hague is following things closely. Uhuru Kenyatta, the present president, defended himself and a deputy from criminal charges in the matter. The charges were later dropped. He is opposed by Raila Odinga.
Kenya is home to several UN and humanitarian aid agencies, and the 2007 violence hampered efforts in neighboring war zones. The country is also home to the world's largest refugee camp, most of whose residents are from Somalia. Since 2011, Kenya has sent more than 3600 soldiers into Somalia to fight the group Al-Shahab.
Nairobi is East Africa's economic hub, and Kenya is the second largest economy in this area. South Sudan will pay the heaviest price if the Kenyan elections are not trouble-free, in terms of its banking and imports.
So a great deal depends on peaceful elections on August 8, of course for east Africa, but also through the ripple effect, for the rest of the world.
Interesting that Kenya is mostly Christian, but one of the countries in Africa that is pretty homophobic.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Somalia, I'm now reading a non-fiction book set there = Black Hawk Down by journalist Mark Bowden.
Africa is expected to see the largest increase in population. Due to their very low carbon footprint, population increase averaged worldwide is not considered a significant climate change factor.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am getting from this article, and others to do with African politics, is the fragility of democracy there, and how quickly things could devolve into chaos. Of course we don't have reason here to indulge in smugness.
ReplyDeleteDemocracy. Russia tried it under Yeltsin' now it is happy (the polls say) with Putin. There the the obvious anagram Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. Venezuela is going to get a new constitution that will make it a lot less democratic. Don't look too closely at the the Polish regime, where the courts and the media serve the state. The prognosis for democracy hasn't been this bad since about 1935, even before we get to the boy child who is now making New Jersey less attractive.
ReplyDeletePretty depressing!
DeleteI might also have mentioned the oppositionless leader of Israel, who is now under investigation, with a special prosecutor who might want to cross the red line and look at Bibi's finances.
ReplyDeleteAnd, lest we forget, the Philippines, where Americans taught their "little brown brothers" about democracy -- and where Tim Tebow converts Catholics to Christianity, btw -- where they read the footnote about not having vigilantes but want to try it for themselves. I could go on. I'll stop.
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