Kenya's 2017 elections
Background:
Ever since independence, Kenya’s elections have largely been determined by tribe (ethnic group), especially since the biggest five tribes help account for nearly 70% of the population. The issue in this is that during the 2007 elections, ethnic violence occurred lasting two months, killing 1,200 people. Again in 2013, the elections brought along more fighting as the opposition accused the newly appointed president Uhuru Kenyatta of rigging the votes in his favor. Urban rioting and fights erupted causing more disruptions, only slightly better than those of previous elections. In this year’s election, one of the biggest factors include the rising cost of food in the country and the nationwide distaste in governmental corruption. With more than half a million illegal arms already circulating the nation currently, the events of 2007 have a chance of making a revival. So the question posed is whether or not you think ethnic violence will once again make another resurgence, and if so, what can be done to try and hamper the tension currently rising between Kenya’s inhabitants? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39810869 http://www.newsweek.com/2017/05/19/kenya-election-season-violence-repeat-609219.html https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-29/tight-race-seen-in-kenya-s-elections-with-opposition-turnout-key Historical Background: Historically we can look at the American Civil War as an example to compare this current event. During this time, the fight over race was one of the biggest push factors in determining the infancy of this war as two different cultures clashed against one another. Through this, the country became divided between the North and the South as tensions rose, resulting in nearly 50 years of conflict. In the end, however, negotiations and compromises were able to be made in order to make peace. This benefited the nation as a whole once they were able to put aside their differences. http://study.com/academy/lesson/historical-ethnic-religious-conflicts-discussion-examples.html
7 Comments
6/16/2017 06:32:32 am
I think that Kenyans will learn from the past, and they will choose peaceful protest over violence.
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Moira Unruh
6/16/2017 06:58:15 am
I think that hopefully people will remember what happened last time there was violence, and if not, maybe it's possible to remind them of how much devastation it caused, and ask them, "do you really want this to happen again?"
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Anonymous
6/18/2017 05:03:21 am
Prior to the 2007 Kenyan Elections, the country was a little piece of hope for the the African continent as whole. Kenya's politics were seen as a little piece of wishful thinking, a little bit of hope that corruption and tribalism could leave the continent.
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Anonymous
6/18/2017 05:05:30 am
Sub-Saharan**** Paragraph 3
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Imani
6/21/2017 10:47:48 pm
I think Kenyans should be mindful and not fight at all. They should be mindful of everyone. THEY should seek for Peace and pray that all shall go well. Also they should be ready to accept the leader that wins and support leader. They should not complain about the leader because that is not supporting the government.
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Flying Dutchman
6/21/2017 10:56:53 pm
I would say that ANYONE should be mindful and not fight at all, EVERYONE should be mindful of everyone. We all know that those theories and wishes are impossible to actually come into existence, but we all hope and long for these things. Instead of thinking how people should act to create a healthy environment, we should be thinking of how people should be raised up or taught to strive for these goals in unison and in peace.
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Today, the word 'tribalism' tends to have a negative connotation, being related to political violence and interracial conflict. However, tribalism, simply meaning the state of people living together in distinct familial or ethnic groups, is an integral part of Kenyan culture. Every Kenyan knows which tribe they are from, who their people are, where they come from, and take pride in it. Each tribe has their own mother tongue that connects them to the rest of their people. The tribe is an assurance; Kenyans know where they belong.
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