JACKSON, Tenn. — Jan. 14, 2008 — Phyllis Anyango鈥檚 Jan. 2 wedding in her native Kenya was supposed to be a time of celebration.
Instead, it was a time of fear and destruction.
鈥淔or about two days I didn鈥檛 even leave the house,鈥� Anyango said. 鈥淵ou would hear gunshots going off, just right across the street. Houses were burning down. There was smoke everywhere. Nothing was functioning at all.鈥�
Anyango, a 2005 Union graduate, returned to her home in Bells, Tenn., Jan. 9 after witnessing the mayhem in Kenya following the disputed outcome of a presidential election. During her time in Kenya, she saw shootings, store closings, road barricades, destroyed bridges and nonstop commotion and disorder.
Nearly 500 people have died in the rioting and attacks following the announcement that incumbent president Mwai Kibaki was the election鈥檚 winner.
Anyango鈥檚 journey home was delayed because of the unrest, as the airport in Nairobi was closed for several hours, and all departing flights were booked solid with people fleeing the country. Her new husband Patrick remains in Kenya and is trying to secure a visa to move to the United States.
Anyango recounted watching the results of the Dec. 27 presidential election between Kibaki and rival Raila Odinga.
鈥淭he opposition was actually gaining a huge lead,鈥� Anyango said. 鈥淭here was a time they were leading by over a million votes.鈥�
The final result of the election wasn鈥檛 reported for about four or five days. The delay allowed intense emotions to simmer, as Anyango said 鈥渋t was obvious something was wrong.鈥�
The violence began when it was finally announced that Kibaki had won the election. Kibaki鈥檚 opponents believe the election was rigged, and thousands of rioters took to the streets protesting the outcome.
Justin Veneman, a 2004 Union graduate, was in Kenya as part of the International Mission Board鈥檚 journeyman program. He left the country Dec. 31 before the major outbreaks of violence started.
鈥淲hen we drove to the airport, we just had a couple of roadblocks we had to drive around, but we didn鈥檛 run into any problems,鈥� Veneman said.
He lived in a compound in Nairobi shared by the IMB and the Baptist Mission of Kenya, and says he didn鈥檛 leave the compound during his final hours in Kenya.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a slum behind our compound,鈥� Veneman said. 鈥淲e heard quite a few gunshots throughout the night.鈥�
But though Nairobi was the focal point of the civil unrest, the problems weren鈥檛 contained there.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just Nairobi,鈥� Anyango said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the whole country. It鈥檚 everywhere.鈥�
Anyango said all the stores were closed in her village, located several hours from Nairobi. Gas stations stopped selling fuel, because it was being used to burn down houses.
鈥淚 was in town and I actually saw police throw tear gas at people,鈥� Anyango said. 鈥淪omebody was actually shot, just right there.鈥�
To get out of the country, Anyango had to hire a taxi driver who had managed to secure some fuel. But that was only half the battle.
鈥淓very 50 yards there was a barricade, so we had to stop every 10 seconds to try to find a way through,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat wasn鈥檛 just in one place. It was everywhere.鈥�
Because airline tickets were hard to find, Anyango had to wait about three days before she found a woman who was tired of traveling and who sold Anyango her ticket. She flew from a small town to Nairobi, then to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and finally Memphis, Tenn.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen anything like it,鈥� Anyango said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it will ever be the same.鈥�
Through the unrest, Anyango鈥檚 wedding did proceed 鈥� albeit with some slight modifications.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even get to cut the cake,鈥� Anyango said. 鈥淚t was stuck in Nairobi. It never made it.鈥�