Read our recent letters from Kenya from filmmaker and conservationist Saba Douglas-Hamilton and from her mother Oria Douglas-Hamilton, author of Among the Elephants, about their peace project.

In response to the recent unrest in Kenya, Dennis Pinto of Micato Safaris shared with us a letter from Luca Belpietro, the owner and founder of Campi ya Kanzi and Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Below, you can read an excerpt that provides personal perspective on the situation.

Dear Friends,

It is quite important for us to address what is really happening in Kenya.

Many of you have contacted us with concerns: you have no reasons to worry. Here is our side of the story and how we perceive events. First of all, there is no civil war in Kenya and there is no sort of tribal confrontation.

What is really happening then and how did it all start?

The two main candidates, Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki, in the polls were at 2% distance from each other. We all knew it was going to be a very close election. The Electoral Commission of Kenya was releasing the results very slowly, as they wanted to make sure there were no mistakes in the counting. For the first 36 hours Raila Odinga, the challenger to the President Kibaki, was quite ahead. His supporters were already in the streets celebrating. When all results from the Central Province, which is highly populated and strongly in support of Kibaki, were accounted for, Kibaki pulled ahead and was declared the winner. The losers felt victory was stolen from them.

Final counting and the declaration of the winner could have been handled much better by the Electoral Commission. Were the elections rigged? Yes, but not just from Kibaki side, also from Odinga side. In certain constituencies votes counted were higher than actual voters, for both candidates.

What has been ignored by the media to date is that Raila Odinga (a Jaluo by tribe) and Mwai Kibaki (a Kikuyu by tribe) five years ago were peacefully celebrating together their victory over Uhuru Kenyatta (a Kikuyu and the son of the first President of Kenya). Odinga and Kibaki were in the same party for more than 2 years, but 2 years ago Odinga decided to create his own political alliance with key members of the government.

This is to explain you that there is no tribal issue in Kenya, but simply an issue about who wants to be in power.

Where I live in the Chyulu Hills, the votes were split in half for Kibaki and Odinga. The Maasai, as the rest of the Kenyans, were likewise split 50/50, yet there is no confrontation among them and there is a total absence of animosity. As in all electoral campaigns, both candidates have been making huge promises. Kibaki had on his side a 7% economic growth in 2007 and promised further growth, whereas Odinga has been offering jobless people with silly, unachievable promises.

The ones who were reacting on the streets are precisely those desperate jobless people Odinga was appealing to. They have nothing to lose and they are more interested in looting than in anything else. They are looted small businesses, normally run by Kikuyu. Stating that this is a tribal confrontation is just plain wrong.

Those who are comparing the current Kenya situation to Rwanda are, in our minds, doing all Kenyans more of a disservice than anything else that has transpired thus far. The consequences of such sensationalistic reporting can be devastating to say the least.

Yes, a few jobless desperates are instigating violence, while 99% of the population is fed up with the clashes and this nonsense. Kenyan TV stations are broadcasting interviews of hundreds of Kenyans, from different tribes, all with different social status, but all speaking with one voice saying, “this violence has nothing to do with us and it must be finished now.” But this is not what the rest of the world is seeing… Much better to show the looting and the violence.

Simply put, Kenya has a record of four decades peaceful independence that one tight election will not destroy. All Kenyans are very responsible and are all waiting for their leaders to show the necessary sense of responsibility. 14 millions Kenyans went to vote in an extremely peaceful and democratic way. 13 million 990 thousand of them are very concerned and are only interested in having their country peacefully lead.

Odinga has lost the Presidency, but he has Parliament majority. We all expect him and Kibaki, the reconfirmed President, to find an agreement as the Government will need a majority in the Parliament in order to govern. We believe the agreement will be found and relatively soon. This country admittedly deserves better leaders, but so do many other countries (including Italy and the USA, if you ask me!).

Tourists are totally not affected by the confrontations which have happened in urban areas. Our logistics have not been affected in any way. Of course the main concern is the impact on tourism, thanks to the exaggerated reports most people are receiving. An example to help you understand better.

Naples is one of the most attractive Italian cities, for its people, its art, its Mediterranean hospitality. Yes there are people shooting each other on a daily basis and organized crime has a tight grip on the entire city. Yet you are not told to not travel to Naples and the newspapers and television do not report the violence that happens there. Why? As it is no longer newsworthy. Much better to portray Kenya as a place where a Rwanda type genocide is about to take place. This has nothing to do with the truth, however

Are we worried about the current situation? Of course we are, but not for our own safety or the safety of travellers to Kenya, which are not at stake. We are very concerned that the current unrest and the way it is portrayed will have terrible consequences for the people we employ, for the wildlife and wilderness we are commit to preserve.

At the moment there is, in our opinion, no reason to reconsider travelling to Kenya in the months to come. We feel that common sense will soon prevail and this nonsense will soon be forgotten in just few weeks.

Kind regards to all.

Sincerely, Luca Belpietro Owner and founder, Campi ya Kanzi and Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust

~Posted January 8, 2008

To read a letter from Dennis Pinto with another on-the-ground perspective, as well as a piece from the New York Times, click here.