Kenyans take no chances, hoard food ahead of presidential election
The likelihood of disputed poll rises with rigging alerts
Kisumu, Kenya — Nervous Kenyans stockpiled food and water on Monday and police prepared first emergency aid kits as families headed to their ethnic heartlands on the eve of an election many fear could descend into violence. Opposition leader Raila Odinga, 72, who lost elections in 2007 and 2013, has already said President Uhuru Kenyatta, 55, can only win if his ruling Jubilee party rigs the vote, a stance that increases the chances of a disputed result and unrest. Opinion polls before Tuesday’s presidential election put the pair neck-and-neck. Kenyans will also be voting for members of parliament and local representatives. In 2007, Odinga’s call for street protests after problems with the vote count triggered a widespread campaign of ethnic violence in which 1,200 people lost their lives and 600,000 were displaced. The violence also hammered East Africa’s biggest economy as regional trade ground to a halt and tourists, the biggest source of foreign exchange, cancelled their holidays...
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