Today's Headlines
- Lessons and Implications of the Confirmation of Charges Against Kenya's 'Ocampo Four'
- Finance Minister Quits Over ICC Charges
- Shortage of HIV Test Kits Raises Concerns
- Living On the Edge in Turkana Region
- Ali Breaks Silence, Describes Delight At Acquittal
- Uhuru, Ruto Eligible for Presidency - CIC
- Tea Sector Posts Record Earnings in 2011
- Resettle IDPs, Urges Annan
- Uhuru, Muthaura Have Done the Right Thing
- All Displaced People Should Return Home
- Concern Raised As Parents Shun Schools in Poll Violence Hotspots
- Ruling On IEBC Hiring in February
- Country Working Towards Conditions Needed for Direct Flights to U.S.
- How ICC Claimed Kibaki's Lieutenants
- Geothermal Project to Receive Sh10 Billion Funding Boost
- Five Million to Get IDs Before Elections
- Speed Up Building Port
- Uhuru and Muthaura Did Well to Quit Posts
- A Full Plate Awaits Githae
- Clashes Continue in Moyale
- Baraza Case to Be Heard Monday
- Two Firms in Joint Venture to Drill for Oil Near Lodwar
- Exit Uhuru, Muthaura
- ICC Charges Hound Uhuru Out of Treasury
- Consumers Grow Despite Inflation
- Poor Relations Between Banks Blamed for Cash Shortages
- Fish Prices Up As Vegetable Supply Dwindles
- Consumers to Pay More for Milk and Bread As Prices Rise
- Kibaki Tasks Ex-Dar CJ to Lead Probe in Kenya
- Mombasa Port Cargo Congestion Forces Three-Month Fees Waiver
Joy Wanja
3 August 2010
Nairobi — The concluding lines in the second verse of Kenya's National Anthem read: "And our homeland of Kenya/ Heritage of splendour/ Firm may we stand to defend."
These words acquire a more nationalistic ring today in the one building that will be home to our collective anxiety ahead of the referendum results.
The hut-shaped auditorium at the Bomas of Kenya will, once again, shed its cultural tag and acquire a political one as Kenya takes a historic step towards defining its future.
Ordinarily associated with cultural fetes, Bomas will be the national tallying centre for the results of Wednesday's referendum.
It takes over that role from the city's architectural landmark, the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, as the Interim Independent Electoral Commission seeks to distance itself from the image of its infamous predecessor, the Electoral Commission of Kenya.
The now-disbanded commission used the KICC as a tallying centre for the 2007 General Election, whose results were hotly disputed.
With two large halls capable of accommodating 2,500 and 4,000 people, picnic sites and a children's playground, Bomas has more than enough capacity to host the IIEC.
But the main attraction is the 4,000-capacity hall that will serve as the national tallying centre.
The choice of Bomas at a time when the quest for a new constitution seems more definite rekindles the heated debate of the 2004 national constitutional conference from which a lot of the contents in the proposed constitution were born.
The process culminated in the 2005 referendum, at which 'No' won.
Bomas is derived from the Kiswahili word boma, for homestead. This is the identity that Bomas offers in the form of round-shaped huts, each built according to the original traditional architecture of the African house.
The electoral commission's chief executive, Major (rtd) James Oswago, says the venue was chosen because of its facilities and historical association with the law review process.
Located in Lang'ata, near the main gate to the Nairobi National Park, Bomas of Kenya has been a beehive of activity as local and international media houses set up camp in preparation for the referendum.
Business for motorcycle taxis at the junction has been brisk.
