23 Aug It was not that serious? ‘The 2017 General Elections’
Black smoke trails, disturbing screams, gunshots were seen and heard from Kibera and other tenements in Nairobi. Kisumu was also burning but the police armed with batons and assault rifles could not blink. They were packed in their newly acquired trucks and weird looking police cars or rather teargas tankers. On the other end, angry men were shouting slogans and waving fists in the clouded air with the hope that the police would hear their voice and protect their legal right to protest.
Well, the police heard their voice, and the end result was not welcoming. The chase was ignited. People started running in all directions and the police started shooting and throwing teargas at anything that was spotted moving. The people wanted their democratic right which was allegedly thrown out of the window and the police wanted some silence…silence? The police officers who were supposed to protect the marching crowd started shooting at them. In other parts of Kisumu it’s alleged that the police were breaking people’s houses and beating them up on their doorstep. Is that legal? To add on that, in Mathare an 8 old kid was shot at the balcony on the fourth floor of a crumbling tenement watching the police and residents play hide and seek. She didn’t know what was going on in her neighborhood. “She was an innocent child,” Dennis Ojolo, the girl’s uncle told The Guardian in an interview.
When the police were asked to comment on the alleged killings and the brutalized protesters, they provided that they were using live ammunition to scare, not to target the protesting youth who were described as “looters” intent on exploiting the political situation for criminal gain.
“They are criminals, and you must expect the police to deal with them in the way that criminals are dealt with. You have a right to express your frustration. You have a right to express your opinion … but do not damage people’s property, break into people’s homes….and do not hurt your fellow Kenyans,” Fred Matiang’i said in a media briefing.
Protests supporting Kenya's opposition leader, Ralia Odinga, lead to violence in some parts of the country. #ElectionsKE2017 #KenyaDecides pic.twitter.com/egKMtAZAeh
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 10, 2017
Besides the violence and police brutality, the question of who hacked the IEBC server was raised. Apparently, NASA had access to the server as well as Jubilee. Crazy right? Although it’s not confirmed who actually hacked the system. To calm the heated debate in the middle of a chaotic drama between politicians and civilians, IEBC Commissioner Yakub Guliye, who chairs the commission’s ICT committee gave an assurance that the system is intact. “We have seen attempts by some people to hack into our system but they did not succeed because we have invested heavily in surveillance system,” Prof Guliye said. “There was attempt but there is no evidence of access. The alleged hacking is not our system. Claims the system was hacked are not true.”
NASA did not buy into the claims that the system was intact. Mr. Odinga provided that the alleged hackers came up with “errors” in the election commission’s database and he went on to describe the Tuesday’s election as a “fraud”. The election officials felt the heat from the opposition and they acknowledged their concern but defended their actions in live-streaming results online as they came in from polling stations.
“We believe that by displaying results, we have been doing well to enhance transparency and accountability in the electoral process, consistent with the commitment the commission has made to the Kenya people,” said commissioner Consalata Bucha Nkatha Maina, vice chairwoman of the election commission.
This clip will probably give a clear picture of how the IEBC super server was hacked.
A situation that took place in 2013 also unfolded in this year’s election. The systems froze and no results were streamed. But this year’s situation was kind of explained by IEBC’s CEO, Ezra Chiloba. He said that a results screen at the commission’s counting centre had frozen because too much data was being received, and that tallies would be updated later. The anxiety accelerated and everybody became impatient. Then Kenyans started waiting for Uhuru to be declared winner. Nobody knew the exact time when the president was going to be named ‘president elect’. The wait was on.
#Chilobae You can't say 7.30 and show up at 9! It's not going to work out! #IEBC #ElectionsKE2017 #KenyaDecides pic.twitter.com/1lOktIwNyy
— Lizzy Shiko (@Shiqxz) August 11, 2017
Besides the serious hacking allegations and police brutality, #Githeriman and #Chilobae disrupted the whole election narrative. Kenyans on Twitter were somehow united by the photo of a man who was eating githeri while queuing to vote. Was it funny?
#Githeriman helped Kenyans in their TL to easy election tensions, his last meal went viral which diverted the tension to something enjoyable
— Gabriel Mwang'onda (@GMwangonda) August 13, 2017
RT: If you love this man.
We are thankful that he brought life to Kenyan elections #Githeriman #Githerimanchallenge #GitherimanatBigSquare pic.twitter.com/a4mpm8h8RG
— NODEGroup (@Node_Group) August 12, 2017
Giving #Githeriman gifts is a good thing but is it sustainable? https://t.co/0b9ZgHCRKY
— HapaKenya 🇰🇪 (@HapaKenya) August 13, 2017
Kenyan women moving on from #Chilobae to #Githeribae pic.twitter.com/YHSm5xhzCj
— Aneesa (@missnisssy) August 12, 2017
#Chilobae: Flattering attention or gross objectification? – Daily Nation https://t.co/j6X5po0sxh
— Daily Nation (@dailynation) August 22, 2017
#Chilobae What I think of Chilobae happy family pic.twitter.com/JLGnxbLLOH
— Maryline Musumba👂 (@lynmusumba) August 16, 2017
After the elections, NASA filed an election petition to the Supreme Court and served President Uhuru Kenyatta, the IEBC and its chairman Wafula Chebukati. The served petition opens the ground for a battle in court over the disputed presidential results, although the head of National Super Alliance (NASA) technical committee, David Ndii the coalition was said in interview that NASA was ‘well prepared for mass action if the Supreme Court fails to consider its evidence.’
David Ndii: We are likely to call people of Kenya to mass action at the right time #Decision2017 pic.twitter.com/ekOmrPkC21
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) August 22, 2017
Ndii’s sentiments opened a room for Kenyans to engage in an online battle of wits and insults. These are some of the Tweets from Kenyans on Twitter:
Larry: You might still call for mass action
David Ndii: we WILL
Larry: NASA will call for mass action?
Ndii: That's a definite#Decision2017 pic.twitter.com/pb6gXCxKit— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) August 22, 2017
Btw where is David Ndii going after the separation? pic.twitter.com/6kQiLZz961
— Intellect Mogul (@GicheruGicheru) August 22, 2017
Is David Ndii speaking on his own or on behalf of NASA? Coz….
can those who grabbed Babu Owino come get him off NTV. Anaropokwa tu!
— Wateba 2.5 🇰🇪 (@iWateba) August 22, 2017
"If change won't come through the ballot, it will come through the bullet some day."
Dr. David Ndii #Decision2017
— Charles Mark Dienya (@MarkDienya) August 22, 2017
Larry Madowo can't handle the intelligence of David Ndii
— Pius Wambui. (@Belive_Kinuthia) August 22, 2017
David Ndii is very important person in our society, his views have lots of depth and insight to enable us rethink so many issues we let go.
— Shizze (@Shizzekenya) August 23, 2017
"David Ndii" angezaliwa tu akiwa paper bag ndio next week awe banned forever for extending tribalism in the name of #NoMovingOn
— humprey wambui (@HamWambui) August 23, 2017
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