Post-Election Crisis in Kenya and Internally Displaced Persons: A Critical Appraisal

Abstract

The announcement of the disputed 2007 presidential election results in Kenya on December 27th, 2007 led to what could be described as the worst political crisis in Kenyan post-colonial history. This massacre claimed over 1000 lives of children, men, and women, and left about 600,000 Kenyans internally displaced. The immediate and remote causes of the crisis have been analyzed by different experts. Thus, it is pertinent to note that remote causes of the violence are traceable to the advent of multi-party politics in the 1990s and it was manifested in different forms in different parts of the country. Although exacerbated by political feuds, the violence had its roots in ethnic rivalries and struggle for ancestral lands. The internal feud had been brewing for decades and the election results were the catalyst and immediate cause that finally ignited the conflict. This essay undertakes a cause-effect analysis of the conflict with focus on the internal and global responses to Internally Displaced Persons.

Rethinking Protection of Those Displaced by Humanitarian Crises

“…They are unable to return or to find permanent solutions in other locations. In addition, hundreds of thousands have been displaced by gang and cartel violence (e.g., the estimated 566,700 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras (IDMC 2015b)) as well as election and communal violence that does not rise to the level of armed conflict (e.g., the more than 600,000 estimated to have been displaced after the 2007 Kenyan elections (Adeagbo and Iyi 2011).…”

New Models of International Agreement for Refugee Protection

“…Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by gang and cartel violence (e.g., the estimated 566,700 IDPs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras [IDMC 2015b]). Similarly, election and communal violence that does not rise to the level of armed conflict causes displacement (e.g., the more than 600,000 estimated to have been displaced after the 2007 Kenyan elections [Adeagbo and Iyi 2011]). Although triggered by natural events (earthquake and tsunami), the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan displaced more than 150,000 people, many of whom remain displaced (IOM 2015).…”

Lifting the Veil of Silence: Exploring Academic Experiences of Male Refugee Learners at a High School in Johannesburg, South Africa

“…A recent report by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) (2012) stated that 46% of refugees are children under the age of 18. Political instability (Ong'ayo, 2008), climatic changes (Afifi, Govil, Sakdapolrak & Warner, 2012), ethnic cleansing and civil wars (De Jong, 2002), post-election violence (Adeagbo & Iyi, 2011), and socio-economic challenges (Adepoju, 2002) in Africa have forced many of these young people to leave their communities and countries to search for a better life, safety and security in other countries. It is apparent that being resettled as a refugee in another country does not in itself ensure stability or achievement of a sense of belonging, or that those psycho-emotional wounds will automatically disappear (Gomez & Christensen, 2011;Kimi & Mwaruvie, 2012).…”