According to Citizen Sunday Live the Uhuru Park NO rally blast has claimed 3 lives and left 79 hospitalized at Kenyatta National Hospital and Nairobi Hospital. The NO Rally was led by various church leaders and MP and minister for higher education William Ruto. The rally was attended by thousands of faithfuls who have vowed to oppose the passing of the new constitution citing contentious issues like Kadhi Courts, Abortion and international law adoption clauses.
As the rally was ending in the evening, two blasts went off. The blasts are said to have been caused by grenades or other explosive devices that went off just near the front row where the audience was gathered. The front row is usually packed as it is nearer to the main dais. At the time of the blast a number of faithfuls had stepped forward for prayers and a number had already started streaming out of the rally. A stampede followed that added the number of injuries. The injured were rushed to Kenyatta National hospital.
The church leaders blamed the proponents of YES campaign as the ones behind the blasts. The NO campaign has been gaining ground in the past weeks and today's rally was a show of numbers and might by the church-led NO campaign.
The blast brings to the fore the issues of insecurity in Kenya, religious intolerance and political violence. It shows how fragile Kenya is irregardless of the post election violence that rocked the country after the disputed 2007 election. The referendum campaigns are bringing out pent up emotions in the Kenya populace that shows that Kenya as a country is still not far from the precipice that it slid into in 2008 despite the smokescreen that the grand coalition government is.
This comes 3 days after American vice president, Joe Biden, visit to Kenya. Biden pushed for the passage of the constitution in order for Kenya to enjoy profitable relationship with America and investment funding by Americans. It also comes after it was reported last week in the daily papers that USA president Barack Obama has warned NO proponents of American sanctions for being anti-reformists.
The NO campaign by the Kenyan clergy on the issue of Kadhi courts inclusion in the new constitution has angered the Muslim population. The church leaders cite such inclusion as discriminatory and an elevation of one religion by the state over other religions.
This is the second security incident this year in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. In January this year, Nairobi was the scene of demonstrations organized to push the government to release radical Jamaican Islamic preacher Abdulla al-Faisal. Scores were injured and several people died. A General Service Unit police officer was shot and injured by demonstrators who were armed. Demonstrators shouted slogans and donned flags associated with contraversial Somali Islamist al-shabaab militia.
Blast leaves 3 dead, 79 injured at a NO rally in Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kenya
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6 Responses to Blast leaves 3 dead, 79 injured at a NO rally in Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kenya
This was a religious meeting. The bombing was obviously religiously motivated. Your guess is as good as mine who is behind it.
why dont ya enligten all of us MWENYEWE?? It appears you know who they were..
Have you seen Muslims demonstrating on the streets for Kadhis Courts? Muslims are not insecure about their Kadhis Courts at all. So Kenyans stop being Stupid and refrain from religious rhetorics. Whether the constitution fails or passes, Kadhis Courts are not affected. To the contrary, Kadhis Courts have been diluted in the draft constitution. Again, this is not a religious matter. So BLOG writers, it is still early to tone down your rubbish and think of KENYA. Its bigger than your stumped up egos..
ROHO SAFI WE ALL KNOW THIS WAS NOT A YES OR NO MOTIVATED BOMING. COZ IF IT WAS YES OR NO WHY DIDNT THEY BOMB ANY OTHER OF THE NO MEETINGS.
TRUTH BE TOLD THIS BOMING WAS RELIGIOUSLY MOTIVATED.
AND UR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE.
BUT WHATEVER HAPPENS CHRIST JESUS IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL.
The Star has a story that the blast has a military connection
Poleni Wakenya. Mungu Atawasaidia na uchaguzi utakwenda salama!
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