Transition and reform

People’s Peacemaking Perspectives on Kenya’s post-2008 political crisis and lessons for the future

The date of the next Kenyan presidential and parliamentary elections has now been set for 4 March 2013. These will be the first polls since December 2007, when revelations of voting irregularities triggered waves of inter-ethnic violence, resulting in 1,300 deaths and the displacement of half a million people.

This report draws on extensive local consultations undertaken in different parts of the country between February and September 2011 in order to identify the issues of concern to ordinary Kenyans in the run up to the next elections. It suggests a number of recommendations for the European Union to consider in its engagement with the Kenyan authorities and in its efforts to maximise opportunities to build peace and prevent further conflict.

Click here to read the full report or the policy brief

This research is part of the EU-funded People’s Peacemaking Perspectives project.

“In order to continue being in power, they [politicians] antagonise one community against another, sometimes falsely justifying why certain communities are not fit to lead… Since many people are either illiterate and or lack awareness on their civic rights, they always take these divisive statements for truth.”

Focus group participant, Uasin Gishu County