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Dubai: The post-poll violence raging in Kenya is tribal in nature and is the direct outcome of the presidential poll being "flawed", said several Kenyan expatriates living in the UAE.
They were reacting to the widespread violence across the country after allegations that the vote count after the presidential elections on December 27 were rigged by President Mwai Kibaki.
Kibaki's Party of National Unity and his opponent Ralia Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement are accusing each other of rigging. Many Western countries have issued travel warnings to their citizens who plan a trip to Kenya.
Chief European Union monitor Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said the vote tallying process "lacked credibility".
"If we have to uphold democracy in Kenya, the elections should be re-held," said Anthony, who works in the hospitality sector in Dubai.
He along with his friends in the community is keeping a close watch on the violence spiralling out of control in their country.
"It is very sad to see the country burning," said Paul Gacheru, who works in information technology industry. Gacheru, who belongs to the Kikuyu tribe as Kibaki, said: "Of the two rivals, I prefer Kibaki as president but I disagree to the manner in which the elections are being held. He wants the Kikuyu to benefit."
"I am not surprised on the violence that is raging in Kenya. It is expected during elections time," said Charllote Baker a freelance photographer based in Dubai. She too was of the opinion that between Odinga and Kibaki, the latter is more suitable to lead the country.
She said: "He got some good things done for the country. The roads are improved. Whenever I go back to Kenya I hear good things about him. We expected Kibaki to be the winner but it surprised me to see it was a close fight. Odinga is racist against the Indians and the Caucasians."
"Kibabi came to power because he promised democracy and today he is being accused of poll rigging. It is quite ironical," said John from Mombasa who works as a pizza boy in Sharjah.
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