War and Conflict Journal

Post-election violence in Kenya escalated as President Mwai Kibaki
claimed victory in the presidential election. As of January 1, 208,
over 250 deaths were reported. International observers, as well as
man Kenyans, claim the election was tainted by voting irregularities
and possibly outright vote fraud.

The first deaths came as protesters took to the streets and police
and troops opened fire. The violence has since escalated into open
battles with clear ethnic divisions, as Kibaki’s Kikuyu supporters
fight against the Luo ethnic group. The losing candidate, Raila
Odinga, is a Luo.

Violence
Grows in Kenya–Wall Street Journal, Jan. 1, 2008

The president of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, is the declared victor in this year’s very tight presidential election. Kibaki is a member of the Kikuyu ethnic group, or tribe, and his opponent, Raila Odinga, is a member of the Luo tribal group. Violence has broken out, with Odinga supports, who are mostly Luo, battling police and soldiers in the streets. As of 12/31/07, at least 125 Kenyans are reported dead in post-election violence.

Unlike party politics in North American, European and East Asian democracies, electoral politics in Kenya split along ethnic/tribal lines. In a disputed election, such as this one, that makes for a very dangerous political/ethnic/regional fault line that can lead to an all-out civil war.

From the American point of view, Kenya’s new turmoil is a potential impediment to the War on Terror in Eastern Africa, as Kenya has been a solid ally in the campaign against al-Qaida and the Islamist militants battling Ethiopian and Somali government forces in neighboring Somalia.

Post-Election Turmoil Grows in Kenya, With Over 100 Dead–New York Times, Dec. 31, 2007

Scores die in Kenya election riots–Al Jazeera, Dec. 31, 2007