See the chaotic scenes as Kenya elects new president, a week before a presidential term starts
“I feel like a woman in a burning house,” said Mary Poyo, of Kenya, as she stood on the edge of a police barricade. The night before, Poyo had protested against Kenya’s first all-women presidential run-off election against Raila Odinga, in which she was arrested while trying to leave her home to join her husband. “The police were saying it was because I wasn’t wearing my burka but it’s just to scare us.”
And there were still more protesters than hours after the polls closed. Kenya is one of the world’s longest running democratic transitions after its first election in 1961, when Kenya’s first woman president, Jomo Kenyatta, won the country and a new constitution. But this time, Kenya’s new leader has few allies amid divisions within its parliament and criticism of the electoral commission.
Kenyan riot police stand guard at a road block set up by supporters of President Mwai Kibaki in Nairobi on Sunday. Hide Caption 43 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya A youth cries during a protest at a bus stop in Nairobi as opposition supporters rally against Mwai Kibaki. Hide Caption 44 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya A woman wears a dress after a protest at a bus stop in Nairobi. Hide Caption 45 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya The sound of a car can be heard as opposition supporters gather in Nairobi. Hide Caption 46 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya Protesters set a barricade on fire in Nairobi on Friday. Hide Caption 47 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya Opposition supporters and supporters of President Mwai Kibaki are seen rallying in Nairobi on Friday. Hide Caption 48 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya Supporters of the opposition Kenya National Union gather in Nairobi to protest the disputed outcome of the election. Hide Caption 49 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya Supporters of President Kibaki rally at a bus stop in Nairobi on Thursday. Hide Caption 50 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya Supporters of President Kibaki rally at a bus stop in Nairobi on Thursday. Hide Caption 51 of 52 Photos: Protests in Kenya Opposition supporters set fire to burning barricades