Massive Rally in Kenya Set Amid Fears of Bloodshed

The rioting, burning, looting and killing that has engulfed Kenya may reach its crescendo on Thursday at a massive rally planned by Opposition Leader Raila Odinga. Or, it may mark the start of Kenya’s first ever civil war.

“All Kenyans are invited to Uhuru Park,” a statement on Odinga’s campaign Web site said, and some party officials said at least a million people would attend. The government has banned all rallies and Kenya’s police commissioner sent a reminder Wednesday, telling citizens the gathering “has not been authorized and is therefore illegal.”

Meanwhile, in an article published Wednesday in The Herald, Kenya’s oldest newspaper, the head of the country’s electoral commission, Samuel Kivuitu, was quoted as saying he did not know who had won the election.

Thursday will see an unprecedented showdown between the government and the opposition in Nairobi’s city center. Odinga has called for a million of his supporters to converge on Uhuru Park and anoint him the “people’s President,” to protest an election he claims was rigged by the incumbent, President Mwai Kibaki.

“What has taken more than 40 years to build in independence has been wiped out in days,” said one journalist covering the conflict.

From gangs of men using machetes on citizens in the slums of the cities, to a church being burnt to the ground with refugees inside, the voracity of the violence is being compared with the genocide that took place a decade ago in Rwanda.

Information from bloggers and citizen journalists has been critical as the government has attempted to crackdown on media coverage of the crisis. Blogflict encourages anyone with a cell phone to email images and videos from the rally to us so we can share with our readers.