Kenya, one of africas most vibrant democracies, has a history of election related violence. In our analysis, this paper provisions give eck the in. The postelection violence was the culmination of a. Mediating postelectoral violence in kenya, 20072008. We show that the election violence in pre and post election periods are related but follow distinct logics. Wikileaks previously released the list of alleged perpetrators as kenyan election violence alleged perpetrators 2008 following a political settlement between kibaki and odinga, brokered by former united nation secretary general kofi annan, a national accord was signed on february 28th 2008 ending most of the violence. Another way violence and elections are linked in the postconflict environment is through analyses of political actors. These are the figures reported by the republic of kenya, report of the commission of inquiry into post election violence cipev, nairobi. While freedom was greeted with euphoria in many places, it could not mask the deep political instability that often accompanied independence. A woman stands behind policemen during post election clashes, in nairobis kibera slum.
More than 250,000 people were internally displaced, made refugees in their own country. However, when crimes against humanity were alleged to have been committed in kenya during the 20072008 post election violence, a promising road map for criminal accountability was agreed upon alongside a political solution. Commission of inquiry into the post election violence. Causes and effects of postelection violence on agricultural. 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. Kenyas post election incident and the international.
Election related disputes and political violence strengthening the role of the african union in preventing, managing, and resolving conflict report of the au panel of the wise. Background on the postelection crisis in kenya center. Commission of inquiry into the post election violence cipev final report. Since independence, kenya had been largely peaceful, so what caused the 2007 post election violence. Aug 12, 2017 at least 24 reportedly killed in kenya post election violence. While the kriegler report recommended that commissioners be in office at least.
Final report, commission of inquiry into the post election violence cipev, 2008. Aug 06, 2009 background on the post election crisis in kenya. 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. Victims still seeking justice for the postelection. In a brave act of defiance, posters of morgan tsvangirai hang on the wall of a hut burnt by zanu pf supporters in shamva, april 2008 solidarity peace trust 21 may 2008 johannesburg 1. They were men in uniform 2 accountable, and ensure survivors of sexual violence have access to comprehensive, quality, and timely post rape care. Review commission report ireckriegler commission government of kenya. Cipev report pdf kriegler and waki reports on elections v.
Over individuals were killed and 600,000 were displaced during post election violence pev in kenya in 2008. There was also no manual marking of voters on a paper voter register. Post election violence has become an increasingly observable phenomenon. In this report, focus is on new trends and patterns on election violence since the release of presidential election results on 2 may 2008. Jul 18, 2009 the staterun human rights agency released a report on friday naming more than 200 suspects, including several highranking ministers, as the perpetrators of the post election violence that killed. Kenyas post election violence had spawned comparisons with the 1994 genocide in rwanda. Ghosts of 2007 chaos abound, but police downplay alarm bell. Preventing postelection violence based on the kenyan. Cipev commission of inquiry into the post election violence ceo chief executive officer dfid department for international development. Free and fair elections, accompanied by smooth transitions of democraticallyelected leaders, constitute one of the key pillars of democracy but elections in africa have consistently been violent before, during and after the actual voting. This report is a followup to the zpp post election violence report no. Failures to make these distinctions in analysis and evaluation risk distorting estimations of the potential for future violence, potential triggers, and underlying conflict drivers. Aug, 2017 kenya death toll rises in post election violence.
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. Oct 28, 2018 browse kenya postelection violence news, research and analysis from the conversation. The kriegler report commissioned after the 20078 violence by the kenyan. 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. At least 24 reportedly killed in kenya postelection violence. The commission of inquiry on post election violence 2009 that investigated kenyas 200708 post election violence attributed the countrys history of electoral violence to a combination of longstanding conflict drivers. Electoral mismanagement and postelection violence in. Mapping, evolution and patterns june 2006 may 2014 executive summary an analysis of the nigeria watch database for the period between june 2006 and may 2014 revealed 915 fatal incidents related to elections. Most of the violence occurred after the election, as the results of the presidential poll began to become. Background on the postelection crisis in kenya center for.
Aug 11, 2009 nature of the violence the majority of kenyas post election violence took place in january and february, 2008. The kenyan governments continued failure to properly investigate crimes committed during the 20072008 postelection violence and to provide justice and reparation for its victims is having a devastating impact on their lives and livelihoods, amnesty international said in a new report published today. The waki report commission of inquiry into postelection. First is the perception of historic marginalization by certain ethnic groups as a consequence of. Impact of postelection violence and mobilemoney services on. The kriegler commission submitted its voluminous 401page report on 17 september. Kriegler report summarised version kriegler and waki reports on 2007 elections v list of acronyms aids acquired immune deficiency syndrome ap administration police cipev commission of inquiry into post election violence creaw centre for rights education and awareness csos civil society organizations eck electoral commission of kenya fida federation of women lawyers. The report of the commission of inquiry into the post election violence, also. The kenyan commission of inquiry into postelection violence.
Antiretroviral therapy art depends on continuous access to medications which may have been interrupted due to pev. This research seeks to examine the causes and effects of post election violence on agricultural production in kesses division, uasin gishu county. Disputed vote plunges kenya into bloodshed the new york times. Oct 15, 2008 the waki report seems to have highlighted most of the factors that led to the post election violence in kenya. On 3rd may 20, the truth, justice, and reconciliation commission tjrc presented its final report to president uhuru kenyatta. Post election violence has a global footprint and a global impact, and as such, it is necessary to. Since the constitutional referendum in 2005, political discourse in kenya had been. Violence, land, and the upcoming vote in kenyas laikipia. The postelection violence, or pev as it has come to be known, shook kenya to its core and placed it at risk of succumbing to the same fate as so many of its neighborscivil war. Violence and the vote understanding electoral violence in. Comparing theory and reality gregory wallsworth september 25, 2015 abstract various studies on election violence in africa have found violence to mar as high as eightypercent of african elections.
Figure 43 deaths associated with the 2007 election in kenya rose after declines in the previous two elections. The commission gives advice to the kenyan government on how to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights. Kenya article 19 defending freedom of expression and. Postelection violence in kenya and its aftermath center. Methodology focus of the study was restricted on the role played by women in conflict management following the 20072008 post election violence. Conflict analysis of 2007 postelection violence in kenya. Nature of the violence the majority of kenyas post election violence took place in january and february, 2008. In the spirit of this road map, the author analyzes the post election violence in kenya from a legal point of view.
The kriegler report could trace some aspects of the violence to. I am researching political and electoral violence and i need latest electoral violence theories propounded from 2011 to date because all the theories accessible to me are from 2010 and earlier and. Kenya has been riddled with conflict and violence throughout its brief history as a nation. The politics of criminal accountability for post election violence in kenya stephen brown with chandra lekha sriram 1 this is the preprint version of an article that will appear in african affairs, vol. The central isiolo region, a pastoralist dryland has been a hotspot of violence in recent years sharamo, 2014, p. Preventing postelection violence based on the kenyan experience. Violence, hate speech and vernacular radio by keith somerville, lecturer in journalism, ba honours journalism. Kriegler report summarised version kriegler and waki reports on 2007 elections v list of acronyms aids acquired immune deficiency syndrome ap administration police cipev commission of inquiry into post election violence. As i detail in this book, more than half of all elections held in africa experience some form of violence or intimidation either. Challenges and opportunities september 2011 background from the 1950s through to the 1970s, decolonization swept across africa. Origins and response the april 2011 elections were considered to be one of nigerias fairest polls. Post election violence in context as elections in africa have become more competitive, they, and their aftermath, have also become more. A gender audit of kenya s 20 election process viii minimum is observed and women make up exactly one third of such bodies not a woman more or less. The recent 2016 post election crisis in gabon12 that left scores dead seems to shows that electoral violence is an intractable phenomenon on the.
Using round 5 afrobarometer survey data from 35 african coun. The legacy of colonialism on kenyas fragile democracy. The consequences of postelection violence on antiretroviral. The violence is significant because it is representative of broader groups, and increasing instances of dissension after 2007 seem to have the potential to foment future violence. Preventing mass violence does not mean that election related violence was absent in kenya, or that elections are peaceful.
A report released on 15 october 2008 by the commission of inquiry into post election violence cipev, established to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the violence, the conduct of state security agencies in their handling of it, and to make recommendations concerning these and other matters. The announcement of the results of the 27 december 2007 general election in kenya triggered widespread violence, resulting in the deaths of over a thousand people, thousands of people being injured, and several hundreds of thousands of people being. The 20072008 post election violence, which left 1,000 dead after a brutal police response to protests and ethnic killings, shut down international road links and slowed cargo shipments at mombasa port to a trickle. Electoral mismanagement and postelection violence in kenya the kriegler and waki commissions of inquiry. Our argument is tested with crossnational evidence on elections, government use of pre and post election violence, and post election protests from 1981 to 2006, and illustrative case studies from iran and zimbabwe. Media, elections and political violence in eastern africa. Commission of inquiry into the postelection violence of 20072008. In this paper, i perform an analysis of the conflict to examine why widespread violence erupted in the wake of kibakis presidential reelection. Towards a comparative framework nicole stremlau and monroe e. November 2002 overview violence in insiza constituency reportedly continued unabated in the post election period, as zanu pf supporters and youth militia intensified their efforts to rid the area of mdc supporters. 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. By midjanuary, six hundred kenyans lay dead in an unprecedented orgy of post election violence. Compared to many other african countries, kenya was largely considered a success story up until the events of 2008, its postcolonial.
The 2007 postelection violence in kenya, however, was of a different magnitude. Jan 02, 2008 kenyas post election violence kills hundreds kenyas disputed presidential election triggers an explosion of violence that has killed more than 275 people, including dozens burned alive as they. Established in the aftermath of the harrowing events of the 20072008 post election violence, the tjrc was tasked with inquiring into gross violations of human rights and. Violence and coercion became a common means of changing. Ethics involves what is right, equitable, fair, just, dutiful andor responsible. Ethical media practice is important because of its high level of public impact. Kriegler report kenya national commission on human rights. The commission of inquiry into postelection violence, called the waki. Violence, land, and the upcoming vote in kenyas laikipia region. And, just maybe, sadc would own up to the principles that it promulgated so piously in 2005, and start to insist. Government printer, government of kenya, 17 september 2008.
Kenya postelection violence news, research and analysis. Kenya will hold general elections on 08 august where many fear the possible post election violence. Post election procedures, including swearingin and assumption of office, dispute. Kriegler and waki reports on 2007 elections 5 stitutional. The existence and destructive force of post election violence challenges political transitions, aspects of nationbuilding, and notions of democratization itself. Kenya death toll rises in postelection violence financial. The 2007 general elections in kenya were fiercely disputed and triggered widespread violence throughout the country. The post election violence report by waki commission, commonly known as the waki report, was handed over to president mwai kibaki and prime minister raila odinga on 15 october 2008. Kenyas post election incident and the international criminal court trial. Zimbabwe human rights ngo forum political violence report. In its report the kriegler commission discusses in great detail what transpired during those critical days but failed, by its own admission, to reconstruct what had happened and to put the record straight. According to the kriegler report, the electoral commission was required to outsource the selection of key temporary personnel to thirdparty.
The report however did not publicly disclose the alleged perpetrators in the report handed to the president. 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. The research did not include terrorist attacks by islamic or militant groups with. The impact of the 20072008 post election violence on women. Report on postelection violence the new york times. The iebc was forced to revert back to the manual tallying system that. What are the latest theories of political and electoral violence. Prior to the post election violence, about 800 rural households in central and western regions of kenya were interviewed twice in a panel survey yamano et al. Causes of electoral violence in africa written by ngah gabriel sous dir. To break the cycle of impunity which is at the heart of the post election violence, the report recommends the. A general update on kenyas search for accountability for the post.
Groups wielding power in the wartime environment may be threatened with potential loss of power in new an electoral political system, encouraging spoiler behavior including violence hoglund, jarstad, and kovacs 2009, 540. Full kenyan post election violence report 2008 wikileaks. Causes of electoral violence in africa written by ngah. Johann kriegler, the commissions report recommended sweeping reforms to. First is the perception of historic marginalization by certain ethnic groups as a.
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