As East Africans – and the world at large – hold their breath on the current tallying of votes in the Kenyan elections, the wish is that the peace holds.The first phase – casting the ballots – went without a major hitch and the major politicians displayed a united front to reign in any rubble rousing supporters and promised to honour the outcome of the elections.That is the spirit. Five years ago, they learnt the hard way of letting loose one’s frustrations on fellow citizens at the behest of rogue politicians.As election results continue to trickle in, vultures are waiting in the wings to satisfy their appetites and these are no other than the hordes from the international media who have invaded Nairobi and other supposedly potential trouble spots.They are very idle since there is nothing negative to report, and they should remain so. The past few weeks’ reporting has been anything but positive, all pointing to inevitable mayhem as witnessed after the 2007 elections.Going by the countless tweets doing the rounds, the net is very busy with all eyes on Kenya. The mood is light, witty but very informative, pointing out that most Kenyans won’t mind whoever wins; their main worry is keeping the peace and debunking conventional wisdom that it is a simmering powder keg.Kenyans should not satisfy the international media’s thirst for gory images of violence, they should maintain the mature and democratic discipline they have exhibited so far and snub their nose at prophets of doom.
