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The IIJD Newsletter:
   
Kenya: Post-election Violence Continues as International Mediators Flock the Scene
By Karoliina Gröhn
January 25, 2008
Post-election violence in Kenya has not diminished; while some 250,000 people remain internally displaced, the dead toll has now risen to 650 [1]. Independent observers agree with the opposition that the December 27 election was rigged, and thus Mwai Kibaki, who supposedly won the election, has wrongfully continued his time as the President. International mediators continue the seemingly desperate attempt to bring Kibaki and opposition leader and presidential candidate Raila Odinga face to face to discuss the situation.
The three days of opposition protests, carried out by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), ended a week ago in a bloodshed during which hundreds of police officers started shooting aimlessly into the crowds of protesters. As a result, at least 11 people were killed – including a 15-year-old female bystander and a 13-year-old boy [2]. A total of 22 people were reported dead after the protests [3]. Reports of the violent shooting by police officers were met with utter dismay. Amnesty International was among the first ones to condemn the shootings, describing the gunfire as “reckless and excessive use of lethal force by the Kenyan police”. In addition, the police tried to prohibit people from traveling to the downtown areas of Nairobi where the protests were held. Amnesty International also expressed concern over the welfare and safety of journalists covering the conflict [4]. Hussein Ali, Kenya’s police commissioner said on January 19th that he would send a team to investigate the killing of two protesters in Kisumu, a town in Western Kenya. The dramatic death of the two protesters was captured on video, and shows the police not only shooting the men who were in a crowd of people, but also kicking the injured men on the ground afterwards [5]. The African Union's Peace and Security Council, along with the United Nations, also called for investigation into the police killings [6].
Both the African Union and the United Nations have condemned the use of gunfire and tear gas by the police force against protesters. On Tuesday, it was reported that the ODM had filed an official complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The complaint notified the ICC of the extensive use of force by the police, and accused the authorities of “crimes against humanity during the crackdown on demonstrations”. The government’s response to the claim was threats of a counter-suit accusing the opposition of a planned “mass genocide”. According to government spokesman Alfred Mutua, there is “overwhelming evidence against them [the opposition] for ethnic cleansing” [7].
A number of international mediators have attempted to restore peace in the country. EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel met both Kibaki and Odinga on January 19th urging both to end the killings [8]. The President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni and the President of Mozambique Graca Machel were also both in the country in order to help resolve the political disputes over the election [9]. Museveni has been one of the only African leaders to publicly congratulate Kibaki [10]. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, arrived to Nairobi on Tuesday (Jan. 22). Annan expected all parties to “enter dialogue in good faith” and told reporters that without respect for the rule of law “there can be no solution, no peace and stability” [11]. Two days later on Thursday (Jan. 24) photographs of Annan along with both Kibaki and Odinga - shaking hands - surfaced. If only briefly, this was the first time the two rivals had met face to face after the December 27 election. Very little was said as to the outcome of the meeting; Kibaki and Odinga continue to hold opposing views as to what should happen next. While Odinga demands a new election, Kibaki is only willing to give the ODM minor cabinet posts. He has already appointed all the most powerful ministers, all his allies [12]. It remains to be seen whether Thursday’s handshake was simply a trick for good publicity or an actual step toward cooperation.
All international mediators are hoping to bring Kibaki and Odinga into some sort of a power-sharing arrangement. Eventually, the goal is to organize a new election in Kenya. Many ordinary Kenyas, however, doubt such a solution will bring peace to the country. According to a Nairobi resident, every election brings “a bloodbath upon” Kenyans. “Why would we want another election?” he asks [13]. Short of hope for a better future, many Kenyans are instead preparing for a prolonged conflict, urging each other to plant vegetables so that they will “ have [their] own food [they will] be able to sell and make money [and] save [themselves] from the high prices” [14]. Food and other commodity shortages are widely expected and already being experienced in some areas.
Opposition leaders are calling for economic protests next week. Strikes and business boycotts are to be expected nationwide [15]. It is widely believed that the inner circle of Kibaki’s friends and supporters consists of the economic elite, those owning many of the major Kenyan businesses. According to political analysts, this group of people, commonly known as the “Mount Kenya Mafia”, became even wealthier during Kibaki’s five year term from 2002 to 2007 as his political power was used to protect their economic interests [16]. It is the companies owned by these powerful Kibaki allies that Odinga is now calling ordinary Kenyans to boycott.
The IIJD is alarmed by the continuing crisis situation in Kenya. There is little point in simply establishing which ethnic group is doing most of the killing when it is clear that all the violence is accounted for by the rigged election. The Kenyans are suffering because of the country’s corrupted leadership. The IIJD stresses the importance of finding the underlying causes of the crisis, namely, the need to investigate and end the dispute over December 27 election by an independent and impartial party. We recommend that a provisory government is put in place for a limited period of time. At the same time, a new election must be organized in a fair and transparent manner. The international community should help in organizing an election now instead of later, when there will be a heave cost of corruption and civil war in Kenya. At the same time, the safety and freedom of all Kenyan people must be guaranteed in order to avoid any more violence during future elections.
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