Kenyans leave capital Nairobi ahead of polls

Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-02 21:11:50|Editor: Song Lifang
Video PlayerClose

NAIROBI, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Kenyans are leaving the capital Nairobi in droves for their rural areas which they consider safer ahead of the Aug. 8 elections.

The exodus has left Nairobi a ghost city some five days to the polls, with hundreds of residents together with their families flocking major bus stations to travel upcountry.

Majority of those leaving are natives of western Kenya, eastern and the Coast, areas that mainly support Opposition leader Raila Odinga.

The exit is unprecedented despite assurances from political leaders, including Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta that elections would be peaceful and security has been beefed up to protect every person and their property.

"I have sent my children and wife today morning upcountry where I believe they would be safer. My wife chose not to register as a voter, so I did not see the need for her to stay in Nairobi yet she will not vote," Cosmas Ambulwa, who comes from Kakamega in western Kenya, said on Wednesday.

Ambulwa, who reside in Embakasi on the east of Nairobi, will vote in the region but noted he may also travel upcountry soon after.

"The 2007 election taught people many lessons, that you cannot trust anyone including your neighbor when it comes to elections and presidential poll outcome. People were turning against each other in a fashion never seen before. It is this fear that is making us leave Nairobi," he said.

At Machakos terminus, the main upcountry bus park in Nairobi, hundreds of people lined up with their luggage to board the few vehicles available on Wednesday.

"I will only be settled and feel safe when I reach home in Ugunja. My heart is at home, not in Nairobi. We will come back to Nairobi after elections," said a traveler.

And as expected, the fare has more than doubled with those travelling to Kisii, Kakamega, Kisumu and Busia paying between 16 U.S. dollars and 25 dollars for the four to eight hours journey.

However, in a strategy dubbed "adopt-a-bus station", some bus operators at the popular terminus grounded their services to block city residents from fleeing the city to their ancestral homes.

Others were turning away travelers who were registered voters in Nairobi, asking them to vote first before leaving Nairobi.

"From July 26 to Aug. 7, kindly show us your identity and voters cards before you book a ticket. This time round we will not allow you to leave the city if you vote here," a notice at one of the bus companies read.

At the Easy Coach offices in the central business district, an attendant informed this writer that their buses were fully booked until Aug. 8, the voting day.

"Try booking after the election because currently there is no space," said the female attendant of the bus company that plies the western Kenya route.

Things were no different at offices of buses plying the Nairobi-Mombasa route. There were dozens of travelers at the four offices visited, with the companies recording booming business for the first time since the introduction of the standard gauge railway train which had robbed them business.

Church leaders are among those who have condemned the exodus of people from various major towns.

Anglican Archbishop Jackson ole Sapit asked political leaders to assure Kenyans of their security and peace to avoid the departure to rural homes as people fear for their lives.

"We have a responsibility to quell such fears and ensure everybody continues with their businesses as usual," he said.

Various polls observers have indicated that Kenyans are migrating in droves for fear of their safety after elections.

Kenya's Aug. 8 polls are tightly contested, just as those of 2007, where Kenya was on the brink of a civil war following disputed presidential results.

Then President Mwai Kibaki was seeking re-election against his main challenger, who was Odinga.

In this year's election, opinion polls show Kenyatta and Odinga are neck-to-neck, with some pollsters noting the later would be victorious while others saying the former would.

While there has been little pre-election violence, a rise in threats spread on social media and through leaflets dropped in various towns have helped fan fear, resulting in the migration.

Kenyatta has, however, assured the country that there would be no violence in case of disputed polls.

"Let no one think there will be any violence. I am issuing a stern warning to those who imagine they have the right to displace some people, kill or to steal other people's property," he said.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100001364944341