Happy New Year!

I started today by going to be fingerprinted. Not because of any crime committed (!) but as part of the procedure of having my alien registration card renewed. This rather messy event (called an ‘alien trip’ by our Immigration officer!) takes place every 2 years, coinciding with the now very expensive process, of work permit renewal. Driving to downtown Nairobi in what should have been the rush hour, the absence of traffic was notable, and the people who were around were in very good spirits. It seemed more like a holiday than a regular work day. On a number of occasions today, I’ve been greeted with, “Happy New Year”. With the signing yesterday by President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga, of a power-sharing deal which it is hoped will end the 2 months of political crisis in Kenya sparked by the disputed general elections at the end of 2007, it did indeed feel very much like a new and the start (finally) of a new year. The general sense has been one of palpable relief, and of hope that we can finally move forward as a nation.
One of Kenya’s main newspapers, the Daily Nation, reported the signing as:


“A Peace Deal at Last”
Under the deal brokered by chief mediator Kofi Annan and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, the leaders agreed to form a coalition government which will radically alter the way Kenya will be governed.
Mr Odinga is almost certain to become independent Kenya’s second Prime Minster after Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who held the post at Independence in 1963.
Thursday’s agreement, which came after two days of intense diplomatic activity states that the post of Prime Minister will be created to co-ordinate and supervise affairs of Government. The Premier will be leader of the largest party or coalition in Parliament.


With at least 1,000 people killed and an estimated 300,000 displaced as a result of the fighting, this is just the first step on what will be a long journey of healing, forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration for this rather battered nation. But it’s a step in the right direction, and one that looked almost out of reach even just 2 days ago.