The 2007 Election in Kenya

the 2007 election in Kenya was bitterly contested but it was the events following the election that caused the most concern. In an election campaign that took place over an entire year, incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, was re-elected to be President. His re-election, however, required the intervention of the United Nations secretary Kofi Annan and the brokering of a deal in which Kibaki's election challenger, Raila Odinga, was appointed prime minister. The deal ended a long period of violence that broke out following the December 2007 election.

Entering the period of the election Kenya had been considered by political experts to be the most stable government in Africa but this claim was belied by the fact that bitter fighting broke out subsequent to the election. Incumbent Kibaki was declared the winner by the country's election commission but Odinga supporters were unconvinced and charged that the commission had rigged the tallying of the votes (Ongiri). In the severe violence that followed the election more than 1,000 people were killed and thousands more fled what had been ethnically mixed areas.

In a nation where segregation had never been an issue it suddenly became one (Amnesty International). The primary issue in the election and the reason for the subsequent violence was related to alleged corruption in the Kenyan economy. Kibaki's government had some successes in the area of education and had been able to bring some growth to the Kenyan economy but Odinga and his followers questioned Kibaki's methods. Kibaki had entered office in 2002 on the coattails of promising that he would address corruption in the Kenyan government.

Corruption in Kenya, based on old tribal connections, had been a problem for some time prior to Kibaki's election and, in the view of Odinga and his supporters; it had not improved in Kibaki's tenure in office. For Odinga and his supporters, Kibaki's re-election was further proof of this corruption. Political corruption in Kenya is based upon the century old tribal alliances. Tribal members take care of their own by providing jobs and overlooking the criminal and unethical activities of their members.

For many years the Kikuyu tribe, the largest in Kenya, has dominated politics and economic life in Kenya. Other smaller tribes have attempted to make in-roads into the Kikuyu tribe's dominance but have met with little success. With the rise in popularity of Raila Odinga, who is a member of the Luo tribe, it was felt that a more populist government might be in Kenya's future. Thus, when Kibaki was declared the winner under what many considered suspicious circumstances the frustrations of many years percolated into mass violence.

The violence that erupted was the result of a lack of ethnical pluralism within Kenya. As pointed out earlier, Kenya has been ruled essentially by members of the Kikuyu tribe since Kenya's declaring of independence in 1963. The other tribes inside Kenya have been anxiously awaiting to take part in the Kenyan government and with the rise of Odinga it was felt that this would occur. Unfortunately when it did not years of frustration led to violence.

In order for this to be avoided in the future efforts must be made to increase ethnic pluralism, that is, an increase in respect for and fair treatment of all tribes within Kenya. There must also be increased communication between leaders of all tribal units and a movement toward developing a commitment of a common good. Tribal loyalties must be put aside and developing a Kenya.