Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN  |
| The Kenyan president and the prime Minister share a light moment during their trip to rift valley to aid in the resettlement of the IDPs in the post election crisis, Eldoret, Kenya 2008. |
Kenya suffered its worst humanitarian crisis since independence following the December 30 results of a hotly-contested presidential election. Opposition leader Raila Odinga and his supporters rejected the declared victory of incumbent Mwai Kibaki, alleging it was the result of rampant rigging. Protests degenerated into widespread violence as decades of economic frustration and ethnic rivalry spiraled out of control. In the days immediately after the results were announced, gangs of youths blocked Kenya’s main roads and set fire to hundreds of homes of perceived ‘outsiders’. In all, more than 1,200 people were killed and some 350,000 displaced into temporary camps, with an equal number seeking refuge with friends or relatives. Agricultural activity was seriously hampered as farmers moved away from their fields, posing long-terms risks for the country’s food security – already threatened by drought and soaring fertiliser prices. The education and health sectors were also compromised by the large-scale displacement of professionals.
IRIN has provided in-depth, multi-media coverage and analysis of the crisis from the outset, through the formation of a coalition government in February to the subsequent recovery phase, including the resettlement of IDPs and the reluctance of many of the displaced to return home for fear of fresh attacks.
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RELATED REPORTS
"Last year we had plans…" (multimedia) |
Around 600,000 people have been left homeless by the violence and chaos following Kenya's disputed elections in December 2007.
Damaris Mumbi fled her home town of Kapsabet in Rift Valley province, when angry neighbours burnt her house and shop, and threatened to kill her family and anyone else from tribes associated with President Kibaki.
Damaris is now sheltering with her children in a tented camp at a church compound in Runda, a suburb of the capital, Nairobi. Like many thousands of ordinary Kenyans, Damaris' life has been shattered by her ordeal. She describes her sense of utter hopelessness.
(This audio slide show is an IRIN pilot. If you experience any technical difficulties in viewing or listening, please inform us at feedback@IRINnews.org)
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Nancy Wanjiru: "Violence more out of jealousy than tribalism" (audio)
 Listen to the audio | full report
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Pastor Chased away by his own congregation (audio)
Listen to the audio | full report |
IDPS AND RESETTLEMENT
Resettlement of IDPs begins in Rift Valley
Compensation, fear of attacks keeping IDPs in Rift Valley camps
IDPs remain cautious as leaders preach peace
Reconciliation key to returns
Talks deadlock could slow IDP returns - officials
Too scared to go home
Census plans on track despite displacement
Tension high as hundreds flee clash-torn Laikipia
Reconciliation key to returning home, say IDPs
Urban displaced still looking for a home
Focus shifting to recovery, resettlement of IDPs
Friends united
Nowhere to go
CONFLICT
Security improves in Mt Elgon but fear remains
Tracing roots of conflict in Laikipia
Call for lasting solution to insecurity in western region
Armed and dangerous
Violence unabated in Mt Elgon district
Clashes, tension "routine" in troubled Molo
HUMAN RIGHTS AND GOVERNANCE
Human Rights Watch urges inquiry into post-election violence
State failed to protect citizens during unrest - UN report
"Real work" begins after political deal
ECONOMY AND AID POLICY
Making ends meet in post-election Samburu
Agencies appeal for funds as new government named
UN humanitarian envoy winds up visit as mediation talks enter "crucial" week
Kenya crisis highlights cluster approach complications
| Hear our Voices |
 | Teresia Wamwitha:"We fled our home with only the clothes we had on" |
| | Rosemary Kuria: "These children belong here, where else can I take them?" |
| | Joseph Lotaba:"I don't understand why my home was burnt" |
| | Roselyne Anyango: "If there is no peace, we Kenyans are going to die" |
| | Peter Okoth:“We are threatened by the same people we treated for their injuries” |
| | John Mbugua and David Chege-Waweru share their experiences of the post election violence |
| | Angela: "My children need to start school but we're stuck in the camp" |
| | Lucy Awino: “I pray that things will go back to how they were before” |
| | Two sides: Mary and Susan are both displaced in the same area - but with different stories |
EDUCATION, CHILDREN AND GENDER ISSUES
Displaced women “still facing threat of sexual violence”
Healing the children
Classroom crush
INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS
Spreading the word of hate
NAIROBI, 22 January 2008 (IRIN) - Inflammatory statements and songs broadcast onvernacular radio stations and at party rallies, text messages, emails, posters andleaflets have all contributed to post-electoral violence in Kenya, according toanalysts. Hundreds of homes have been burnt, more than 600 people killed and 250,000displaced.
full report
The Rift Valley’s deadly land rows
NAIROBI, 18 January 2008 (IRIN) - Kenya's breadbasket Rift Valley Province has experiencedsome of the worst ethnic clashes since December's disputed polls. But there is nothingnew to the violence in this volatile region.
full report
It’s the economy, stupid (not just “tribalism”)
09 January 2008 (IRIN), The wave of violence that engulfed Kenya after the presidential election has been widely described as tribal or ethnic in nature. But analysts in the east African country point to basic economics as the true cause of the unrest.
full report
Health workers grappling with conflict-related sexual violence
15 January 2008 (IRIN), As Kenya counts the human and material cost of the political violence, hospitals are reporting an increase in reported rapes during the immediate post-election period, spurring the government and health organisations to find ways to treat these cases as well as protect the displaced from further incidents of sexual violence.
full report