Video: Kenyans flee to the countryside in anticipation of election violence

Source: France 24::

August 4, 2017 at 13:40

Thousands of Kenyans are retreating to rural areas in anticipation of next week’s vote because they fear a reprise of the election-related unrest a decade ago in which 1,200 people were killed.

Voters in Kenya take to the polls on August 8 to elect a president, members of parliament and regional authorities. President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is running against long-time rival Raila Odinga, was charged by the International Criminal Court with orchestrating the 2007 unrest, but the case against him collapsed.

The government plans to deploy more than 150,000 officers from various agencies to secure the nearly 41,000 polling stations, but residents of the Kibera slum in Nairobi are among those who are still anxious.

Frederick Ohieng is one of the Kibera residents heading out of town, despite hikes in bus fares because of the high demand.

“At the moment it is very expensive because so many people are traveling home, traveling to the rural area,” he told FRANCE 24.

Ohieng paid 45 euros for tickets for him and his family, twice the normal cost.