Our Kenya

Election Violence as Political Crime

4 min read

Violence as Political Transaction

Election violence in Kenya has been systematic, organized, and often funded by politicians. This violence is a form of corruption: politicians are essentially buying violence as a tool for electoral advantage. When a politician pays youths to engage in violence against opposition areas, the politician is corrupting the electoral process through violence. When violence is used to suppress voter turnout in opposition strongholds, it is an illegitimate exercise of political power.

The 2007-2008 Post-Election Violence

The disputed 2007 presidential election led to widespread post-election violence. Over 1,000 people were killed, hundreds of thousands were displaced, and widespread destruction occurred.

The violence had several forms:

  • Organized violence: Violence organized by political actors
  • Ethnic dimension: Violence that took on ethnic character
  • Spontaneous violence: Some violence that erupted from anger at election results

However, significant evidence suggests that much of the violence was organized and funded by politicians seeking to overturn the election result or to consolidate power.

The Mechanisms of Political Violence

Politicians have used violence in Kenyans elections through:

  • Funding youth gangs: Providing money to organized youth groups to engage in violence
  • Arming supporters: Distributing weapons to supporters
  • Directing violence: Organizing violence to occur in specific areas
  • Covering up violence: Using government resources to prevent investigation of violence

The 2007 Election Dispute

The 2007 election was disputed. The incumbent Mwai Kibaki claimed victory; the opposition Raila Odinga claimed he had won but was cheated.

The dispute over the election result triggered violence, much of it organized by political actors on both sides seeking advantage. This represented broader patterns of impunity in Kenya's political system.

The ICC Cases

The violence led to International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutions. Several Kenyan political figures were charged with crimes against humanity for their role in organizing the 2007-2008 violence.

William Ruto (then a politician, later president) and others faced ICC charges alleging that they organized violence.

However, the ICC cases faced challenges:

  • Witness intimidation: Witnesses were threatened or tampered with
  • Evidence loss: Critical evidence was lost
  • Political pressure: Kenyan government pressured the ICC

Eventually, the ICC withdrew cases against Ruto and others, not because the allegations were false, but because the prosecution could not overcome political obstacles.

The Subsequent Elections

Election violence has recurred in subsequent Kenyan elections:

  • 2013 elections: Violence, though less severe than 2007-2008
  • 2017 elections: Post-election violence following disputed results
  • 2022 elections: Election violence, though relatively contained

The pattern suggests that election violence is a recurring feature of Kenyan politics.

The Incentives

Election violence persists because politicians have incentives to use it:

  • Electoral advantage: Violence can suppress opposition turnout
  • Impunity: Those responsible are rarely prosecuted
  • Low cost: Youths can be paid relatively small amounts to engage in violence
  • Political effect: Violence demonstrates power and commitment to supporters

Given these incentives, rational politicians will use violence unless deterred by enforcement.

The Development Cost

Election violence has enormous development costs:

  • Destruction: Violence destroys property, businesses, and infrastructure
  • Displacement: Violence causes mass displacement and refugee flows
  • Economic disruption: Violence disrupts economic activity
  • Psychological trauma: Violence traumatizes populations
  • Institutional damage: Violence undermines trust in institutions

A country experiencing major election violence experiences setbacks in development and institutional consolidation.

The Distinction: Violence as Corruption

Election violence is not typically analyzed as corruption, but it is: it is the use of illicit means (violence) to achieve political ends (winning elections) through corruption of the electoral process.

The analysis of election violence as corruption highlights that corruption extends beyond financial theft to include use of violence and coercion for political power.

See Also

Sources

  1. Human Rights Watch. "Kenya: Post-Election Violence." 2008. https://www.hrw.org
  2. International Criminal Court. "The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto." Case documents, 2011-2022. https://www.icc-cpi.int
  3. Mueller, Susanne D. "The Political Economy of Kenya's Post-Election Violence." Journal of Eastern African Studies, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2014.942306
  4. Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. "Report on Post-Election Violence." KNCHR, 2008. https://www.knchr.org
  5. Daily Nation. "Election Violence: A Recurring Feature of Kenyan Politics." News archives. https://www.nation.co.ke

Backlinks