Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – Kenya continues questioning the root causes of the violence that broke out following the disputed presidential elections of December 2007. The incumbent Head of State, Kibaki, was reelected, but the victory was disputed by his main opponent, Raila Odinga. The political encounter provoked the worst episode of violence in the history of post-colonial Kenya. At least 1,200 people lost their lives, thousands were wounded. Nearly 2 million were forced to flee their homes, becoming refugees in their own country.
In an effort to understand the reasons behind this national tragedy, the Kenyan Inter-Religious Forum (IRF, of which the Catholic Church is also a member) commissioned a study entitled “The Root Causes and Implications of the Post Election Violence of 2007.”
The conclusions of the report, which was recently presented, are a serious warning to all Kenyans and especially the leaders of the country. In particular, the report affirms that Kenya will remain unstable as long as the long-term problems, such as distribution of lands and exclusion of certain groups from local political and economic affairs, are left unresolved.
On a political level, the study criticizes the approach “winner takes all,” that characterizes the local political class, and suggests, instead, taking measures to include a greater number of Kenyans, and create a system in which no group would feel excluded from political life.
The moral breakdown of the nation, a root cause of the climate of violence, comes – the report says – from the evident loss of social and moral values in the country, which is exposed therefore to the factos that threaten its very existence. In particular, “the emergence of a society of consumerism and the desire for material gratification at any cost, corruption on a vast scale, has led to a tolerance of evil management of public affairs, which has led to an increase in the social gap and a serious threat to stability and national security.”
An instability which is worsened by electoral candidates and a lack of government reform, who take advantage of ethnic and social tensions, also has to do with the Constitution.
In presenting the study, IRF's President Canon Peter Karanja said: “As religious leaders we ask Kenyans to be willing to pay the price that will be asked of each one of us, to be able to live in a stable Kenya,” and warned: “we are in a worse situation than in 2007. Many tribes are armed not only with machete, but also with firearms. If negotiation efforts for basic reform fail, we are at risk for losing our country.” (LM) (Agenzia Fides 21/9/2009)
