The book review:
Thanks to Alan Johnston who forwarded this little booklet to me for a review.

After the Vote is a series of opinions, recollections and short stories written by Kenyan authors following last year’s contested election and its violent aftermath. The pieces are unsettling and paint a grim picture of Kenya’s tribal animosities and failed politics. Perhaps even more troubling, the items demonstrate Kenya’s intellectuals’ despair.

There is a piece about poverty and failed leadership by Kalundi Serumaga, a similar one by Alison Ojany Owour, and one ruminating about tribalism by Andia Kisia. Simiyu Barasa wrote his own obituary prophesizing his demise at the hands of friends on account of tribal hatred. Finally, Tony Mochama penned an intriguing short story, entitled On the Road to Eldoret, that encapsulates the themes of incomprehension of the violence in the wake of the election.

I could not find the little booklet for sale, even on the Kwani-ni? website, but the writers and many others are there and you can look up each of their pieces. Tony Mochama’s story is under his photo. Punch in “After the Vote” in the site search engine and you will get a series of other pieces written during the crisis period.

The site www.kwani.org is worth a visit in its own right. It is a window into what Kenya’s intelligentsia are up to, thinking and writing about. Check it out.