2007–2008 Kenyan crisis

Civil War in Kenya
File:2007 and 2008 Violence in Kenya.jpg Clashes in Nairobi
Date December 27, 2007 – present Location Kenya Result Ongoing
Casualties and losses
800-1,000 killed 250,000 displaced

Civil war in Kenya erupted after incumbent Mwai Kibaki was declared winner of the country's presidential elections that took place on December 27, 2007. Supporters of Kibaki's opponent, Raila Odinga, went on a rampage in several parts of the country, burning shacks, shops and cars. Simultaneously, it has been alleged that Kenyan police fatally fired upon demonstrators.

Background

Main article: Kenyan presidential election, 2007

The Civil war stems from a belief that the Kikuyu community in Kenya has dominated the country since independence. It has been said that the violence is due to the allegedly stolen election results which is up to now just an allegation. Observations prove that after every elections most areas experiencing violence have always experienced the same only that this time the leaders have actually fueled the violence thus the high rate.

Reports by international observers about manipulations and admissions by members of the electoral commission that their staff obviously provided them with incorrect figures have further fuelled this anger. The violence has been directed mainly against Kikuyus, belonging to the same ethnic group as Kibaki.

The violence against Kikuyus occurred mainly in areas like the Nairobi Slums, Nyanza Province, the Rift Valley, and the Coast, where opposition against Kibaki is particularly strong. The ethnically diverse Nairobi slums have also seen violence by Kikuyu-dominated groups—amongst them the infamous Mungiki—against neighbours hailing from western parts of Kenya.

Timeline

A BBC reporter saw 43 bodies with gunshot wounds in a mortuary in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu. A witness said armed police shot protesters at a rally. There have been running battles in the Nairobi slums. The local KTN television station says 124 died nationwide in the first two days of unrest.

On December 31, 2007, police reported that 40 people were killed in Nairobi and 53 in Kisumu, a major support base for Odinga. Four bodies were discovered in Mathare, in Nairobi, seven people were killed in Nakuru, and four people found dead in a village near Kapsabet.

On January 1, a church near Eldoret providing shelter from the violence to 200 people was set alight by rioters, burning 35 people to death.

In the Coast Province, various Kikuyu businessmen had their business premises looted and burnt down.

A large rally at which millions were expected to support Odinga, who planned to proclaim himself the "people's president", was planned for January 3 but then postponed to January 8 after police dispersed crowds with tear gas. On January 7 Odinga called off the planned protests after meeting U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer, saying the mediation process was about to begin.

On January 16, on the first of three days of anti-government protests, at least four people were killed. By January 18 at least 22 people had been killed in the three-day protests, which were considered to be substantially diminished in strength compared to those in late December.

On January 18, Odinga called for an end to demonstrations and called for economic boycott of business owned by people close to Kibaki and for trade unions to strike. The Kenyan finance ministry estimated that the violence has cost Kenya's economy $1 billion.

Serious violence broke out in Nakuru on January 24–25, apparently as a reaction to Kibaki describing himself as the "duly elected president" after meeting in person with Odinga for the first time since the crisis began. Kikuyus were attacked and a number of buildings were set on fire, along with Nakuru's only fire engine; at least 12 deaths were reported. Another town, Total Station, was half-destroyed in violence between Kiyukus and Kalenjin, with at least two deaths reported, and as many as 50,000 people fled from violence near Molo. By January 27 at least 55 people had been killed in Nakuru, along with at least five in Kaptembwa and Sewage, two slums near Nakuru, while at least nine deaths were reported in Naivasha, where Kiyukus set Luo homes on fire. By January 28, at least 64 people had been killed in Nakuru and and at least 22 in Naivasha; 19 of the deaths in Naivasha occurred when Kikuyus set fire to a place where Luos had fled for safety. ODM chairperson Henry Kosgei accused the government of facilitating the killing in Nakuru by imposing a curfew, which he said was used "to keep some groups indoors to be killed", on January 28.

On January 28, Mugabe Were, a freshman parliamentarian of the opposition party, was killed in front of his house in an apparent political assassination. Were had reportedly been actively seeking to subdue the violence and mediate ethnic tensions.

Casualties and displacement

Map of Kenya, indicating majority per province for the two leading presidential candidates according to disputed official figures

By January 28, the death toll from the violence was at around 800. 250,000 have fled, mostly to neighboring Uganda. The largest single loss of life was when a church providing shelter from the violence to 200 people was set alight by rioters, burning 35 people to death. The people who were sheltering were members of President Kibaki's native tribe, the Kikuyu.

Former Olympic athlete Lucas Sang died under unknown circumstances in a riot at Eldoret on January 1. Politician G. G. Njuguna Ngengi was hacked to death in Kuresoi, near Molo, on January 2. Marathon runner Wesley Ngetich died after he was shot with an arrow on January 19 in the Trans Mara District, becoming the second international athlete to lose his life. On January 20 Donald Odanga, former basketball international was fatally hit by a stray bullet shot by the police . Politician Mugabe Were was shot to death on his driveway.

On January 13, Human Rights Watch accused the police of having a "shoot to kill" policy, using live ammunition against protesters and looters. According to the police, they have shot looters but not protesters. On January 18, the police said that 510 people had been killed in the violence and that 82 of them were killed by police. According to a police spokesman, Eric Kiraithe, the police were acting lawfully and were showing restraint because the protesters were being "used by politicians".

Later in January, Human Rights Watch accused "ODM politicians and local leaders" of organizing, instigating and facilitating violence against Kiyukus.

Regional implications

The violence in Kenya has had serious economic ramifications throughout East Africa, particularly for the landlocked countries of the Great Lakes region (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo). [1] These countries depend upon Kenyan infrastructure links (particularly the port at Mombasa) for important imports as well as export routes. Significant shortages of gasoline were reported in Uganda as well as Zanzibar following the elections. The East African Community, despite having election observers in Kenya, has not yet issued a statement.

Reactions

• A government spokesman claimed that Odinga's supporters were "engaging in ethnic cleansing".
• Odinga said that Kibaki's camp was "guilty, directly, of genocide" as he called for international mediation.

External links

• Kenya: Review of Elections Needed to End Violence (HRW)