Peace may not be back in Kenya but school is

By Florence Muchori and C. Bryson Hull

NAKURU, Kenya (Reuters) - Political peace may not be back in Kenya, but school is.

Whether displaced by violence triggered by a disputed election that put President Mwai Kibaki back in power, or just getting ready for the new term starting on Monday, Kenyans' focus on education has not wavered.

Riots in the streets and ethnically-motivated attacks that displaced at least 250,000 people in the east African nation prompted a one-week delay in the start of the school year.

But for the most part, people are ready to send their children back despite the unrest.

"I will definitely take my kids to school on Monday in Molo. Whoever is so evil as to hurt children in a school, let them do it," civil servant Esther Muhito said, referring to a Rift Valley town that has seen ethnic clashes since before the vote.

"Life has to go on. It cannot be that every time someone loses, they turn around and hack you to death."

At Nakuru Showgrounds, where thousands of refugees from the Kikuyu tribe have fled attacks from their Kalenjin neighbours in the Rift Valley, school will start on Monday as planned.

"We are going to give people the option to enrol in local schools or take their classes here," said Jesse Njoroge, the volunteer head of information at the makeshift refugee camp.