Kenyans go to the polls to pick a new president Monday. The last election, in 2007, was followed by weeks of tribal violence in some cases orchestrated by politicians themselves. This time around, one of the presidential candidates is accused of war crimes and many are accused of land grabbing and corruption.
The XYZ Show, Kenya's version of The Daily Show, is making it all a laughing matter. The TV show uses puppets to poke relentless fun of Kenyan politicians. While fueled by the public's frustration, the show is also an example of the free speech the citizens have not always had.
In the mock XYZ Show presidential debate in February, which aired the night before the real presidential debate in Kenya, the puppet moderator asked pointed factual questions. The moderator prods the character of presidential candidate Raila Odinga about the doubling of interest rates during his time as prime minister.
But the puppet politicians never answer the questions asked. They just give speeches.
"I think you should not ask what Raila has done as prime minister of this country," the Odinga puppet replies. "But rather ask yourself what you will do for Raila when he becomes the president of this republic!"
Jon Stewart once described the writers' room at The Daily Show as "a gathering of curmudgeons expressing frustration and upset."
In the writers' room of The XYZ Show, there is a lot more frustration than humor. The week of the presidential debate, producer Julian Macharia spent a few minutes ripping the real event.
"The questions from the public, for pete's sake, 'What will you do for our teachers?' I felt like saying, what? How about ask, 'What happened to the last three promises?' " he says.
Head writer Lily Wanjiku says the greed is "out of control."