Update for Wednesday, Jan. 9th

Greetings from Kenya. Things are pretty much at a stalemate as far as politics are concerned here. The African Union chairman has arrived, but he has yet to get the two parties to actually meet one another. He is shuttling back and forth between them for now. Things seemed to be going smoothly until the President decided to name his cabinet. Seen as a provocative move by the opposition, their leader said he would not attend face-to-face talks. This will most certainly be a long, drawn out process. No one ever heard of a short negotiation in Africa, and this certainly will fit that bill. However, it is my personal opinion that a large majority of people see the violence as senseless and futile and will keep up the pressure to force some sort of agreement between the two.

I rode into the country-side today to visit the farmer group in Mang’u. If I only stayed in the rural areas, I would probably never have known there was a problem. Life seemed quite normal for everyone, and no one seemed disturbed by anything. This is quite a stark contrast to western Kenya and the slums of Nairobi, where sporadic violence is making life tense for everyone.

Life in Nairobi is certainly getting back to normal. Most of the businesses are open. However, the business community is still nervous. The Nairobi Stock Exchange has taken a real beating, losing $581 million in several hours last week. One economist puts the country’s losses at nearly $1 billion in domestic output so far. This is a tremendous amount of money anywhere, let alone Kenya.

What this situation will do to the economy long-term could be devastating. Kenya had been considered one of the bright spots on the continent, with a GDP growing at a rate of about 5% over the last few years and recording a 7% growth last year. This is all turning around quickly, as investors are finding new places for their money. It all depends on resolving the political crisis. When the people are feeling optimistic about peace, the shilling gains some, and when they aren’t, it falls.

The Tipton family is certainly trying to get back to normal, even though the kids have an extended vacation. I’m certainly ready for them to get back to school, but I don’t think Mary Shea or Horace would agree with me. Shopping is still a bit problematic, however, especially for non-durable products, as the distribution lines have been disrupted all over the country, but this is merely an inconvenience for us, however. We truly have not been affected, as so many others have.

This is all for now. We will keep you posted.

All God’s Blessings,
Horace