Since the beginning of a contested election crisis in December, the situation in Kenya has been dramatically intensifying and growing more deadly. Sunday's brutal burning of 19 people in a house fire highlights only the latest act of terror in a country that was once hailed as a major democratic and economic success story on the African continent. The Miami Student editorial board believes that more campus attention should be added to the growing international focus of the events and that action on behalf of the feuding leaders is necessary-before the violence spirals even further out of control.
While it may be easy to label these violent government-rebel tensions as solely ethnically based, the situation in Kenya is actually divided along socioeconomic lines that exist within the country's dominant Christian society. While post-colonial problems have arisen at times the country has established itself as an important trade hub on the eastern coast of Africa and has served as a beacon of hope on the continent for its role in promoting tourism to the area and stable governance in a traditionally turmoil-stricken region. This editorial board believes that any continued violence in the country will undermine Kenya's economic stability and will directly impact the economies of the surrounding developing states.
We believe that the many discrepancies in the December Kenyan elections are almost certainly the work of fraud from the reigning party of President Mwai Kibaki-he won the presidency over rival leader Raila Odinga, but not before Odinga's opposition party claimed a majority of seats in the national parliament. The major problem, however, is that both groups seem to have lost control over more radical elements of their supporters, leading to the current crisis. At the time of this writing, the first national troops are being deployed in an attempt to subdue the hostility, Kibaki is threatening to arrest opposition leaders, Kofi Annan is trying to meet with both leaders and the European Union has cut off financial aid to the Kibaki government. Having led to more than 750 deaths, this board does believe that the violence is still an internal Kenyan and regional matter that can be most effectively dealt with by moderated international pressure and leadership on behalf of the feuding parties. The only way for internal peace to occur is for both Kibaki and Odinga to meet for the first time and attempt to work out disputes under a national legal framework.
Arresting Odinga and his fellow leadership would be a foolish action by the government and would eliminate any chance for a mediated end to the aggression. Instead, the opposition should use its parliamentary majority-instead of rebel groups-to initiate legislative gridlock and force a legal decision on the matter of election fraud instead of allowing the violence to continue.
Assuming that both Kibaki and Odinga want what is best for their country, they should use this opportunity to utilize local solutions and be effective leaders of their corresponding parties. Successful, peaceful action by government or peacekeeping by regional African Union forces could bolster local confidence in African policy solutions and allow the true leadership of these individuals to shine under pressure. Only compromise and nonviolent action will be able to patch the electoral rift, as well as laying the framework for future policies to help the poverty stricken citizens that voted in December to use that vote for change.
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