Ballots to Bullets

H U M A NR I G H T SW A T C H

Kenya

Ballots to Bullets

Organized Political Violence and Kenya’s Crisis of Governance

March 2008 Volume 20, No. 1 (A)

Ballots to Bullets

Organized Political Violence and Kenya's Crisis of Governance

Map of Kenya...........................................................................................................1

Summary.................................................................................................................2

Methodology...........................................................................................................7

Recommendations..................................................................................................8

On Accountability....................................................................................................8

To the Government of Kenya.........................................................................8

To Foreign Governments...............................................................................9

On Reforms to Safeguard against Human Rights Violations......................................9

To the Government of Kenya.........................................................................9

To Foreign Governments..............................................................................10

On Displaced Persons............................................................................................10

To the Government of Kenya........................................................................10

To Donor Governments, UN Agencies, and National and International NGOs10

Background: Kenya’s Long-Term Crisis of Governance...........................................11

A Century of Land Grievances.................................................................................12

Fifty Years of a Temporary Constitution...................................................................15

Political Violence and Decades of Impunity.............................................................17

Human Rights Violations in the Context of the General Election.............................21

The Hijacking of Kenya’s 2007 Presidential Poll......................................................21

Use of Excessive Force and Extrajudicial Killings by Police.....................................24

The Scale and Impact of Police Shooting................................................................26

Massacre in Kisumu...............................................................................................27

Police Shootings in Nairobi Slums..........................................................................32

Organized Violence in the Rift Valley......................................................................35

Post-Election Violence around Eldoret....................................................................35

Political Manipulation of Ethnic Tensions During the Campaign...................36

Direct Incitement and Organization..............................................................37

The Scale and Impact of Post-Election Violence...........................................39

Attempts at Self-Defense and Reprisal Attacks.............................................42

Kikuyu Reprisals and Mungiki.................................................................................43

Revenge in Naivasha..............................................................................................45

Official Response........................................................................................49

Tit for Tat in Nakuru................................................................................................49

Kalenjin Reprisals........................................................................................51

Police Response..........................................................................................52

An Endless Cycle of Violence in Molo......................................................................53

Chased from Central Province.................................................................................55

Police Response..........................................................................................56

The Potential Long-Term Impact of Violence: Ethnic Engineering.............................56

The Response of the Kenyan Government..............................................................59

The Role of the Police.............................................................................................59

Allegations of Partiality................................................................................59

Police Overstretch..................................................................................................61

Restrictions on the Media and Freedom of Assembly..............................................63

Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation...........................................................63

The Response of International Actors.....................................................................67

An Example of ‘The Responsibility to Protect’..........................................................67

Acknowledgments.................................................................................................69

Annex 1: Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation, Agreement establishing aTruth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission........................................................70

Annex 2: Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation, Agreement establishing aCommission of Inquiry on Post-Election Violence...................................................73

Annex 3: Terms of Reference for the Independent Review Committee to investigatethe General Election of 2007..................................................................................76