Post by Kamale on Nov 21, 2005 21:34:57 GMT 3
As I was queueing this morning waiting for my chance to vote YES, I reflected on some of the comments by the people on the queue regarding what they want and expect. Being a predominantly cosmopolitan area of Nairobi, I was intrigued that a lot of the people there were banana supporters, and they did not even seem to hide it! The occassional Orange supporter provided sufficient cheer to the otherwise peaceful crowd waiting their chance to vote.
It is with this in mind that I reflect on the rallies on Saturday which I decided to give a wide berth and concentrate on some unfinished work at my office. On my way home I passed by Uhuru Park and was actually surprised at the crowd the banana group manage to get considering all the gloom that has been spread about a movement that has virtually no support! But what about their counterparts at the Nyayo Stadium. Whilst certain erroneous reports suggest a crowd of over 30,000 (REUTERS), I can confirm that the crowd was big but certainly no where near that figure (for argument sake, the capacity of the stadium is only 25,000 and there were swathes of empty terraces).
According to Oloo, this was an indication of the support Orange commands. But the million dollar question is whether this translates to actual votes.
At the polling station where I went, none of the people I spoke to actually attended any of the rallies on Saturday, but they were at the queues at 7.15 a.m. when I got there! Obviosly there is a pointer to the fact that rally attendance is not equal to actually voting.
So when Oloo actually is on the ground and wants to repeat what the media writes without any counter-check, then he does his readers a lot of injustice - especially those that hang onto his every word! To suggest that The Standard was the most balanced report is grossly misleading. Any sensible person knows that instructions have been given to the editors to ensure that the No camp is given prmoninence by the Moi family. So if you are looking for objectivity, seriously KBC is perhaps an even better offering.
But in this political heat, we all choose to beleive what we think is favouring our point of view. Unfortunately, this is not very clever as we have absolutely no control in the decision Kenyans make today. Tomorrow morning, we shall all still be Kenyans - whichever way the vote goes!!
Kamale
Nairobi
It is with this in mind that I reflect on the rallies on Saturday which I decided to give a wide berth and concentrate on some unfinished work at my office. On my way home I passed by Uhuru Park and was actually surprised at the crowd the banana group manage to get considering all the gloom that has been spread about a movement that has virtually no support! But what about their counterparts at the Nyayo Stadium. Whilst certain erroneous reports suggest a crowd of over 30,000 (REUTERS), I can confirm that the crowd was big but certainly no where near that figure (for argument sake, the capacity of the stadium is only 25,000 and there were swathes of empty terraces).
According to Oloo, this was an indication of the support Orange commands. But the million dollar question is whether this translates to actual votes.
At the polling station where I went, none of the people I spoke to actually attended any of the rallies on Saturday, but they were at the queues at 7.15 a.m. when I got there! Obviosly there is a pointer to the fact that rally attendance is not equal to actually voting.
So when Oloo actually is on the ground and wants to repeat what the media writes without any counter-check, then he does his readers a lot of injustice - especially those that hang onto his every word! To suggest that The Standard was the most balanced report is grossly misleading. Any sensible person knows that instructions have been given to the editors to ensure that the No camp is given prmoninence by the Moi family. So if you are looking for objectivity, seriously KBC is perhaps an even better offering.
But in this political heat, we all choose to beleive what we think is favouring our point of view. Unfortunately, this is not very clever as we have absolutely no control in the decision Kenyans make today. Tomorrow morning, we shall all still be Kenyans - whichever way the vote goes!!
Kamale
Nairobi