Dec 30, 2007 - The Kenyan Electoral Commission declared Kibaki winner of the presidential election. He is hurriedly sworn in. Riots and looting break out. What followed after was an orgy of violence that claimed the lives of over 1000 people & displaced 500,000 people.
A THREAD
A THREAD
1. The violence started with the murder of over 50 unarmed Kikuyu women and children, some as young as a month old, who were burnt alive in a church on New Year’s day. They had barricaded themselves in a church because they felt they'll be safe. But a mob set the church ablaze.
2. To understand what happened, you need to understand the ethic make up of Kenya. The Kikuyu’s make up 20% of population. They were considered as the ruling class having dominated politics since independence. They run shops, restaurants, banks and factories. Kibaki was a Kikuyu.
3. The election controversy created a new dynamic in which many of Kenya’s other tribes (Kalenjins, Luhyas and Luos, Mr. Odinga’s tribe), furious about the ballot rigging that kept Kibaki in power, vented their frustrations against the Kikuyu’s.
4. In Mombasa, residents took to the streets to protest the electoral manipulations and support their preferred candidate, Odinga. Tensions rose as the landless indigenous Coastal communities felt this was a time to avenge the grabbing of their land by mainly up–country Kikuyu.
5. The slums of Nairobi saw some of the worst violence, some of it ethnically motivated, some expression of outrage at extreme poverty, and some the actions of criminal gangs. The violence against Kikuyus was higher at the Rift Valley, where opposition against Kibaki was strong.
6. This prompted the Kikuyu to start defending themselves. So in Nairobi, a much-feared Kikuyu street gang called the Mungiki started taking revenge. The Mungiki, who are said to take an oath in which they drink human blood swept through the slums killing Luos in revenge.
7. It didn’t matter that the Kikuyu’s and the Kalenjins, Luhyas and Luos had intermarried and coexisted for decades (before and after independence in 1963). When the violence started, old scores and misgivings was the dominant emotion.
8. In time, evidence arose suggesting that much of the violence had been pre-meditated and planned by politicians and community leaders at both the local and national levels. Kenya’s police forces were also implicated in the orgy of violence.
9. TIMELINES
Jan 2 - Kibaki accuses Odinga’s of “ethnic cleansing” as death toll from tribal violence rises
Jan 4 - Kibaki says he'll accept a re-run of the disputed election if a court orders it
Jan 5 - Kibaki says he's ready to form a govt of national unity, but Odinga rejects
Jan 2 - Kibaki accuses Odinga’s of “ethnic cleansing” as death toll from tribal violence rises
Jan 4 - Kibaki says he'll accept a re-run of the disputed election if a court orders it
Jan 5 - Kibaki says he's ready to form a govt of national unity, but Odinga rejects
10. Jan 16 – Odinga calls for more protest. Police fight protesters throughout the country, as the opposition defies a ban on rallies. Teargas & live bullets used during rallies called by the opposition. A soldier was caught on camera killing a protester.
11. Jan 22, 2008 - international reports began to appear, claiming that inflammatory statements and songs broadcast on vernacular radio stations and party rallies and text messages, emails, posters and leaflets have all contributed to post-electoral violence in Kenya.
12. Jan 28 - More than 60 people are killed in 4 days of ethnic fighting in the Rift Valley towns of Nakuru and Naivasha.
Legislator Melitus Were is gunned down outside his home in Nairobi and on Jan 31 David Kimutai is killed in the Rift Valley triggering more ethnic killings
Legislator Melitus Were is gunned down outside his home in Nairobi and on Jan 31 David Kimutai is killed in the Rift Valley triggering more ethnic killings
13. Feb 28 Kibaki and Odinga signed a power-sharing agreement called the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008, which established the office of the Prime Minister and created a coalition govt.
And on April 17, Odinga was sworn in as Prime Minister, in a power sharing govt
And on April 17, Odinga was sworn in as Prime Minister, in a power sharing govt
14. Nov, 2009, The ICC announced the opening of investigation into 6 suspects, also known as the ‘Ocampo 6’ - Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura & Mohammed Ali from govt; and William Ruto, Henry Kosgey & Joshua Sang aligned with ODM. Few years later Uhuru Kenyatta became President.
15. The post-electoral violence in Kenya, which erupted after the disputed outcome of the elections on 27 December 2007, has been the most prominent example during the last ten years of inflammatory language which incited large-scale violence.
16. As a result, more than 1000 people were killed and half a million people were displaced in early 2008. This constituted a tremendous shock for Kenya, which had been regarded as one of the most peaceful and stable countries in Africa.
17. As a result, a National Cohesion & Integration Act was introduced which made it an offense to use threatening, abusive, insulting words or actions; display, publish or distribute written material, or present, direct, provide or produce prog intending to stir up ethnic hatred.
18. At the end, over 1000 people died, many lost their homes and were forever damaged. But the politicians shook hands and continued from where they stopped. Nothing could stop them. Not even an ICC indictment.
If this doesn’t prompt u to pause & "Ronu", then nothing else will.
If this doesn’t prompt u to pause & "Ronu", then nothing else will.
