Kenya found itself in a dangerous limbo today after two days of violent protests sparked by a deeply divisive presidential election that left eight people dead and scores injured.
It is the country's worst crisis in a decade, raising fears for the stability of east Africa's economic powerhouse and one of its strongest democracies.
As Kenyans counted the cost of Thursday's chaotic and bloody ballot -- its second election in three months -- supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga vowed to maintain their boycott of efforts to reschedule a vote in areas where they'd managed to block it.
Plans to restage elections in the protest-hit western Nyanza region where opposition supporters managed to prevent hundreds of local polling stations from opening, were postponed yesterday after election chief Wafula Chebukati said he feared for the safety of his staff.
In Kisumu, Kenya's third largest city where three people had died and dozens were injured as protests raged on Thursday and Friday, the move was welcomed as a modest victory.
"This is not really a victory, it's just the right thing to do," nodded Wilson Ochyeng, 38, sipping a beer at a bar after officials called off plans to stage the vote on Saturday.
"Imagine the number of deaths we would have had if they had tried to hold the election."
Two people were shot dead yesterday as protests gripped western towns and clashes erupted in a Nairobi slum as officials counted votes from a ballot set to hand President Uhuru Kenyatta a landslide win due to Odinga's boycott.
Initial turnout figures suggested only about a third of registered voters turned up, tarnishing the credibility of an election boycotted by a large part of the 19.6 million registered voters.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
