Pray: My Country is in Flames

Kenya is in the midst of violent turmoil and upheaval following the recent presidential elections. The violence erupted when it was announced that the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, a member of the Kikuyu tribe (the largest ethnic group in Kenya), had narrowly defeated challenger Raila Odinga of the Luo tribe in the Dec. 27 polls. Supporters of Odinga claimed widespread voter rigging by the electoral commission in favor of Kibaki and, as a result, have aimed their anger and frustration at the members of Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.

John Maina is the Director for Lutheran Hour Ministries in Kenya and related his first-hand experiences via e-mail.

"Our country is slowly grinding to a standstill. Within a week, a nation that was so hopeful as it went to the polls after the most open and democratic campaign period this country had ever seen, is now covered with a cloud of despair. It is surprising how quickly a country can collapse.

My eyes have seen sights in the last week that I had only read about in other countries or watched on CNN. I have watched a mob hack someone to death 10 meters from where I was standing. Three days ago, 10 bodies were collected on the street where I live - victimized for belonging to the "wrong" tribe.

Church services that were scheduled for New Year's weekend were cancelled. I had been asked to lead the service at the main Lutheran Church downtown on New Year's Day, but instead we were frantically calling everybody we knew telling them not to even attempt to step into town.

Criminal gangs from both sides (of the conflict) are taking over the city posing as demonstrators, looting and burning. I have spent almost the whole week holed up in my house and was only able to come out yesterday [Jan. 3]. Two sections of my residential area are populated by people from the tribe of the opposition leader and they are attacking, indiscriminately, anybody perceived to not have voted for their leader. Gang rapes have been reported in the rift valley and even in the city.

The most frightening thing is the lack of food in some sections of the city, since mobs have broken into shopping centers and there is nothing left to buy. The desperation is now causing mobs to break into peoples' homes.

I would like to ask for prayers for the members of our staff. Most of the staff lives close to, and in, the Kawangware and Kibera areas that have seen the worst outbreaks of violence in the city. Yesterday the Lutheran Church in Kibera, along with the school, was burned down.

The city is not even the worst hit area. The rift valley's beautiful town of Eldoret, where we were planning an outreach event for February, has more than 700 people in the hospital with machete wounds and 84 bodies in the mortuary. This is the town where women and children who had sought refuge in a church were burnt to death.

If the tension is not broken within the week it will be extremely difficult to salvage the situation. I am afraid it could turn into a civil war, particularly if the big Kikuyu tribe starts to revenge the killing of their people in other regions. This is something that has not happened in the 40 years of Kenya's independence.

The opposition is encouraging demonstrations with the intent of putting pressure on the government and there is a plan to march to State House (the Presidential home). In response, the state has cancelled meetings, explaining that the protestors cannot be controlled because every time the mobs assemble for a demonstration they also burn and loot.

The two leaders, both the incumbent President and Raila Odinga, are not showing any signs of reaching out to each other. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is in the country to mediate and we are hoping for a breakthrough. Please pray for that.

I have managed to move my family outside the city and I am in a place close to the LHM office. But I cannot go into the office since its location is a center of mayhem. Please pray for our caretaker who lives in the building, which is very near where three gas stations have been burnt down.

We were planning to re-open the office (after being closed for the holidays) on Jan. 4, but I have changed that to the 8th, if the situation allows. There is very little available public transportation and people are being pulled out of vehicles and beaten if they are identified as being from the "wrong" tribe.

At this point I have advised the Global Work & Witness team that was scheduled to come to Kenya next week to definitely postpone their visit until further notice. We cannot guarantee their safety at this time."

Click here to financially support the Kenyan ministry or call us at 1-800-944-3450, ext. 4275. Thank you for your prayers and your gift. May the Holy Spirit use them, as well as our staff in Kenya, to share the Savior with all of those who are struggling to find hope during these difficult times in Kenya.