January 15, 2008

The parliament began its proceedings this afternoon at 2:30 PM and at 11:30 PM they still continue. The speaker and deputy-speaker of parliament were elected. Both positions were won by the ODM candidate (the opposition). The other side (the president’s) was very gracious in defeat. This was very good to see. We hope that ODM having won these elections will pursue their other goals in a peaceful manner. It gives us hope.

Once these elections were finished, and the speakers sworn in, it was the turn for the newly elected MPs to be sworn in. This ignited an hour-long debate over the wording of the oath, which includes a line swearing “loyalty to the president and the Republic of Kenya.” ODM MPs (not yet sworn in) argued that they should not give allegiance to the president, since he was not properly elected. I thought that this might be the end of what had been up to then a very peaceful affair. However, the debate proceeded in a very controlled and calm manner. Finally, the newly elected speaker, from the ODM party, ruled that the current form of the oath was the legally legislated oath and that all MPs should read it as written. In other words, the ODM speaker of parliament ruled against his party. He followed the law and precedent rather than politics. I believe that this is another sign of hope.

As the MPs began taking the oaths of office, one young, newly-elected ODM MP began by swearing allegiance to President Raila Odinga (the opposition leader who is claiming the elections were rigged). The speaker made him re-do the oath. Then the young man left out the word president. He was told to repeat once again the oath and to do it correctly, which he finally did. I thought the speaker handled it well. Another sign of hope.

The area around the Parliament Building was closed to traffic and security in the area was very heavy all day. There don’t seem to have been any incidents. We thank you for praying, and we thank God that today has passed by peacefully. We hope that the example of the MPs in parliament can have an effect on their supporters.

We have some more prayer concerns. Tomorrow and Thursday and Friday, the opposition party, ODM, has called for rallies. Jordan and Alia’s schools have been called off for these days. Please pray for wisdom and peace.

One of Kenya’s leading industries is tourism. The recent problems have reduced the number of tourists to virtually zero. Tens of thousands of people are being laid off. Farms have been burnt down. Farmers have been chased from their land. The country is set to suffer some longer term problems due to the increase in unemployment and the shortage of food staples. Please pray that peace will be restored soon. And pray for these newly unemployed people.