Sadly, violence has been a part of kenyas electoral processes since the restoration of multi party politics in 1991. Apr 23, 2017 as party primaries have kicked off in kenya in the runup to the countys general election in august, the ghost of violence past has reared its ugly head causing deep divisions along tribal lines. Kenya went to the polls on december 27th, but, in all likeliness, the elections were flawed, a fact that has since been confirmed by the election commission of kenya chairman himself as well as both local and international observers including those from the european union incumbent president mwai kibaki was assured a second term from the outset, something the electorate was not aware of. The new nonconventional roles that csos in kenya played during the postelection violence raises a need to examine how they play such roles and what lessons can be learnt from this. Methodology focus of the study was restricted on the role played by women in conflict management following the 2007 2008 post election violence. Most of these atrocities happened in the first 14 days after the 2007 kenyan general election. The international media looks at this crisis through the lenses of ethnic cleansing and a fight for tribal supremacy between the luo and the kikuyu. However, the 2007 election was unique because the political history of constitutional reform and the 2005 referendum set the scene for conlict and because the visibility of apparent election fraud triggered widespread public anger. Preventing postelection violence based on the kenyan experience. In this paper, i perform an analysis of the conflict to examine why widespread violence erupted in the wake of kibakis presidential reelection.
Causes and effects of postelection violence on agricultural. At least 24 reportedly killed in kenya postelection violence. In this paper i seek to unveil the causes of the violence in kenya after the 2007 elections by examining kenyas economic and political history. Prior to 2007, hostility surrounding politics in kenya existed on a much smaller scale. It was all a figment of our collective imagination. Commission of inquiry into the post election violence cipev final report. Aug 11, 2009 nature of the violence the majority of kenya s post election violence took place in january and february, 2008. Following the announcement of presidential election results on december 30, 2007, kenya experienced the worst electoral violence since the inception of multiparty politics in 1992, leaving more than 1,100 people dead, 650,000 displaced, and the country deeply divided.
Post election violence that took place in kenya on the year 2007, dec. High stakes political violence and the 20 elections in kenya. Below are key dates since postelection violence in kenya in 20072008 left more than 1,100 dead, the worst violence in the east african country since independence in 1963. Kenyans turn to technology to prevent election violence. Kenyas 2007 post election violence surface syracuse. Causes of electoral violence in africa written by ngah. More than 250,000 people were internally displaced, made refugees in their own country. December 2007, kenya was thrust into the worst civil unrest. The truth, justice and reconciliation commission of kenya tjrc was established in 2008.
Similar accusations were made concerning the 2005 referendum campaign. The 2007 postelection violence in kenya rooted in the interethnic resentments between the kalejins and kikuyus. The 2007 postelection violence in kenya, however, was of a different magnitude. K showground barely fifty metres from the authors home.
The african union and kenyas constitutionbuilding process post election violence kenya experienced post election violence from december 2007 to february 2008 that resulted in more than 1,500 people killed and over 500,000 internally displaced kanyinga 2012. As many as 1,400 people died in violence after kenya s last presidential elections in 2007 getty images nairobi, kenya naivasha is a small town in the rift valley, on the shores of a beautiful. Postelection violence is often associated with structural conditions including poverty and ethnicity, andor. Preventing postelection violence based on the kenyan. In light of the apparent lack of accountability for the 2007 08 post election violence, amnesty international stated in the aforementioned report that steps were taken to cover up and politically manipulate cases against security personnel. Pdf postelection crisis in kenya and internally displaced. Background on the postelection crisis in kenya center for. Triggers and characteristics of kenyan electoral violence csae. The severity of this conflict unfolded in a span of 59 days between election day, december 27th, 2007 to february 28th, 2008, when a political compromise was reached.
Post election violence has a global footprint and a global impact, and as such, it is necessary to. The fighting resulted in 1,3 casualties, at least 350,000 internally displaced persons idps, approximately 2,000 refugees, significant, but unknown, numbers of. Trade the dynamics and anticipated impact of ke references. Aug 12, 2017 at least 24 reportedly killed in kenya post election violence. Mr odinga believes he was robbed of victory in both the 2007 and 20 elections. Widespread violence associated with the 2007 election in kenya revealed the dependence of hiv patients on a stable civil society and infrastructure to access medications. However, the violence that shook kenya after the 2007 general elections was unprecedented. In the early 1960s, moi, muliro and ngala of kadu supported regionalism against kenyatta, odinga and mboya and kanus nationalism associated with the centralised system. Relations were particularly frosty between 2010 and 2014, as the international criminal court pursued cases against six prominent kenyans for their alleged role in the 2007 2008 post election violence. Kenya death toll rises in postelection violence financial.
However, the 2007 election was unique because the political history of constitutional reform and the 2005 referendum set the scene for conlict and because the visibility of apparent election fraud. The impact of the 20072008 post election violence on women. The post election violence in kenya in december 2007 through to april 2008 was reported extensively but erratically in the british media. Th e rationale of the paper is to understand how such violence can best be prevented.
The human and economic consequences of kenya s 2007 post election violence pascaline dupas jonathan robinson stanford uc santa cruz dupas and robinson 2012 kenya s election crisis. The highlevel pleading is a signal to how important annan was to the mediation talks between kibaki and raila odinga in the aftermath of the 2007 08 post election crisis. In 2007, more than 1,000 people were killed in ethnic violence in the wake of that years election. Odinga a luo, the election seems to have tapped into an atavistic vein of tribal tension that always lay beneath the surface in kenya but until. The fighting resulted in 1,3 casualties, at least 350,000 internally displaced persons idps, approximately 2,000 refugees, significant, but unknown, numbers of sexual violence victims, and the destruction of 117,216 private properties and 491 governmentowned properties including. Commission of inquiry into the post election violence. Shelters were designed to be adapted by beneficiaries into permanent homes and, except in the case of vulnerable households, were erected by the beneficiaries themselves. Post election violence has become an increasingly observable phenomenon. The role of the african union in postelection violence in kenya. Background on the postelection crisis in kenya center.
Reparations for survivors of kenyas 20072008 postelection. The post election violence pev of 2007 08 in kenya left over 1,500 people dead and. Activist shifts to film to tell story of kenyas evils school that punishes. Aug 06, 2009 background on the post election crisis in kenya. Recent happenings in kenya regarding constitutionalism sound alarm bells that the country may have taken a dangerous path.
Violence between various ethnic groups when sudden and out of context may not be about ethnicity at all. Kenya has experienced election violence since the introduction of multiparty politics. The case of 2007 8 post election violence victims in kenya shadrack kipkoech sitienei, james kiptum chumba holds ba in political science and public administration, ma in international relations and currently a phd candidate of political science and public administration. The head of the african union was traveling to kenya for crisis talks to end an explosion of post election violence that has killed more than 275 people, including dozens burned alive as they. Their restriction to manual labor and other simple routine tasks kept.
K kitiabi phd2 trade over the period 2003 to 2008, the value of exports was on an upward trend figure 2. Political violence in kenya a study of causes, responses, and a framework for discussing preventive action introduction th is paper focuses on political violence in kenya. Violence still plagues approximately 20 to 25 percent of elections in africa. Following the announcement of presidential election results on december 30, 2007, kenya ex perienced the worst electoral violence since the inception of multiparty politics in 1992, leaving more than 1,100 people dead, 650,000 displaced, and the country deeply divided. Kenya has been riddled with conflict and violence throughout its brief history as a nation. Kenya article 19 defending freedom of expression and. The post election violence pev of 2007 08 in kenya left over 1,500 people dead and 660,000 displaced. Post election violence in kenyas case was planned or spontaneous, the author carefully transcends this.
In addition, the political dynamics in the runup to the 2007 elections remained in flux. In the spirit of this road map, the author analyzes the post election violence in kenya from a legal point of view. The commission of inquiry on postelection violence 2009 that investigated kenyas 200708 postelection violence attributed the countrys history of electoral violence to a combination of longstanding conflict drivers. There was no postelection violence in kenya in 2007a. The consequences of postelection violence on antiretroviral. Elections held in kenya on the 27 december 2007, nairobi. In december 2007 general elections, kenya experienced violence arising from rigged presidential results. This paper discusses the role that civil society played in ending the violence. British media coverage of the postelection violence in. Aug 09, 2016 post election violence that took place in kenya on the year 2007, dec. Violence and armed struggle was led by the mau mau and by 1955,000 africans had lost their lives see anderson, 2007. However, when crimes against humanity were alleged to have been committed in kenya during the 2007 2008 post election violence, a promising road map for criminal accountability was agreed upon. Ethnic violence following the 2007 general election left more than. It was by far the most deadly and the most destructive violence ever experienced in kenya.
Postelection violence, internal displacement and the law. Aug 06, 2017 kenya since 20072008 postelection violence sunday august 6 2017 elizabeth wangui wails after a church in the background was burnt in kiambaa, eldoret during the 20072008 postelection violence. The african union and kenyas constitutionbuilding process. Several people were killed in clashes between demonstrators and.
The 20072008 postelection violence was also more widespread than in the past. The kenyan commission of inquiry into postelection violence background the commission of inquiry into postelection violence cipev was the outcome of the kenya national dialogue and reconciliation accord of february 28, 2008, negotiated by kofi annan and the panel of eminent african personalities, and its sister agreement of. This paper provides a critical analysis of the causes. Also see my separate pages about current travel advice, a timeline of the events, the details of the powersharing deal and the official election results. Critical analysis of the discourse formation good governance and its implementation by the world bank deals with the impact of discourses and connected power structures on kenyan national politics. Summary on january 25, 2008, during the explosion of postelection violence in kenya, four men beat and brutally gangraped apiyo p. The death toll from violent clashes in kenya has today risen to more than. Aug, 2017 kenya, one of africas most vibrant democracies, has a history of election related violence. Since the start of multiparty politics, it has experienced political violence in 1992, 1997 and in the 2007 2008 post election violence. The impact of election 20072008 violence on kenyas economy1. Okongo omogeni, chairman of the law society of kenya, said. The study causes for postelectionviolence 20072008 in kenya reconsidered. Kenyas history of election violence is threatening to repeat. Many scholars have studied the causes and effects of these post election violence, but not much has done on the area of violence effects on agriculture particularly in kesses division that bore the brunt of these conflicts.
The postelectoral violence that engulfed kenya in 2007 marked the end. The human and economic consequences of kenyas 2007 post. The severity of this conflict unfolded in a span of 59. Media, elections and political violence in eastern africa. It took me 6 year too get the gutts to show what happened in kibera kenya during the 2007 election but the world needs to see it for it self and understand what really happened. Soon afterwards, opposition politicians claimed that the election was rigged and foreign observers noted serious irregularities european union election observation mission, 2008. In kenya, the media, particularly local language radio, have been accused of being responsible for fuelling ethnic hatred and violence in the aftermath of the 2007 presidential elections. To do this, we must fi rst understand the history of political violence in kenya and what. Postelection political violence 3 2 summary of recommendations the following is a summary of article 19s recommendations for action to end the culture of impunity and disregard for human rights, including freedom of. Kenya since 20072008 postelection violence daily nation. By midjanuary, six hundred kenyans lay dead in an unprecedented orgy of post election violence. Kenyan security agencies also cooperate closely with western intelligence agencies but the ties are uneven. The importance of the kenya crisis for the african continent is not that kenya may become another rwanda, but that it reveals how fragile africas new multiparty systems may be when weak institutions, historical grievances, the normalization of violence, and a lack of elite consensus on the rules of the game, collide.
Post election violence continues in kenya, as opposition leader returns politicallyfueled violence has broken out in kenya again. The truth, justice and reconciliation commission of kenya. As part of the community, our family decided to sponsor the best kenya certificate of primary education k. The human and economic consequences of kenya s 2007 post election violence pascaline dupas jonathan robinson stanford uc santa cruz dupas and robinson 2012 kenya s election crisis cega april 27, 2012. Nov 18, 2017 post election violence continues in kenya, as opposition leader returns politicallyfueled violence has broken out in kenya again. The majority of kenya s post election violence took place in january and february, 2008. Kenya s postelection violence kills hundreds kenya s disputed presidential election triggers an explosion of violence that has killed more than 275. Triggers and characteristics of the 2007 kenyan electoral violence. At the close of 2009, in the dying embers of post election violence, an idp camp was thriving inside the nakuru agricultural society of kenya a. The kenyan post election violence after 27th december 2007 instigated by some political.
Violence erupted after the ruling president, mwai kibaki, declared himself. Kenya held its fourth multiparty election on 27 december 2007. Immediately after the announcement of the reelection of president kibaki on the evening of 30. The human and economic consequences of kenyas 2007. The kenyan commission of inquiry into postelection violence.
The 2007 elections also saw a new trend of ethnic alliances. The 2007 08 kenyan crisis was a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis that erupted in kenya after former president mwai kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election held on december 27, 2007. Ballots to bullets organized political violence and kenya s crisis of governance summary recommendations methodology. This stems from colonial times where settlers evicted natives from their ancestral land and most recently from post election violence in 1992, 1997, 2002 and 2007. Pdf explaining postelection violence in kenya and zimbabwe. Media coverage of the 2007 postelection violence in kenya. Kenya has proven to be particularly vulnerable to ethnicized political violence. Postelection violence in kenya and its aftermath center. Conflict analysis of 2007 postelection violence in kenya. The existence and destructive force of post election violence challenges political transitions, aspects of nationbuilding, and notions of democratization itself.
The kenya election violence explained kenya advisor. The impact of the 20072008 post election violence on. Kenya 2007 2008 election violence summary provision of transitional shelter kits as a pilot project in the rift valley of kenya, before upscaling to a national response. In 1991, when multiparty politics was introduced, violence became known as an election time tradition.
Mr odinga believes he was robbed of victory in both the 2007 and 20 elections through manipulation. Postelection violence continues in kenya, as opposition. Death toll nears 800 as postelection violence spirals out of. Since independence, kenya has had a difficult road to democratic consolidation, and the coalition government currently in power is fragile and stalemated on a range of key reforms. This thesis explains the postelection violence in kenya 20078 by. These periods are significant as they are the periods around the general elections. The postelection survey revisited previous respondents to find out about. Clients described fear, lack of transportation, and violence as contributing to treatment interruption. Kenya, one of africas most vibrant democracies, has a history of election related violence. Supporters of kibakis opponent, raila odinga of the orange democratic movement, alleged electoral manipulation. However, when crimes against humanity were alleged to have been committed in kenya during the 2007 2008 post election violence, a promising road map for criminal accountability was agreed upon alongside a political solution.
From december 2007 to february 2008 an estimated 1200 people were killed as a result of post election violence and over 300,000 people were displaced due to property damage and fear of returning home. In kenya, where elections can lead to violence, advocates pin their hopes on technology. First is the perception of historic marginalization by certain ethnic groups as a consequence of. However, the fighting and aggression demonstrated in december 2007 and january and february 2008 was and has been unmatched by any election related uprising. Conclusions based on an empirical analysis of post election violence conducted at the constituency level in kenya on december 27, 2007, and zimbabwe on march 29, 2008, are presented. The research interprets humanitarian response to cover the interventions promoting human welfare in the aftermath of the pev in kenya in 2007 8. This page explains the backgrounds of the kenya election violence. By midjanuary, six hundred kenyans lay dead in an unprecedented orgy of postelection violence. The magnitude of the trauma and structural violence that took place in kenya after the fourth multiparty general election took both kenyans and the. Jan 28, 2008 death toll nears 800 as postelection violence spirals out of control in kenya 19 killed in tourist town as gangs go on rampage. While bbc news online, the guardian, telegraph and independent gave regular coverage with online updates on their websites, other mass circulation media like sky, the daily mirror and daily mail were more sparing in their coverage.