State-sponsored violence

Friday, August 21st, 2009

A radical proposal to deal with our prejudices

posted by Dr. Lukoye Atwoli

The truth about the beliefs and perceptions of the majority of Kenyans is not to be found in erudite forums and debates such as this one. To really understand the Kenyan mind, one needs to visit the marketplaces and the pubs in ethnically homogenous regions of this beautiful country.

Read the rest of A radical proposal to deal with our prejudices.
Friday, July 17th, 2009

The Normalisation of Violence

posted by Daniel Branch

Writing more than twenty years ago about Idi Amin’s Uganda, Ali Mazrui observed that

Everyone was talking about the tyrant. I suggested that more people had died in the second half of the Amin years as a result of anarchy than as a result of tyranny. Many of the killings were not orchestrated orders from the top. Soldiers perpetrated them in night clubs, at road-blocks, in the villages. Yet the cases due to anarchy were not conspicuous political significance. They were cases of a basic moral collapse among those who wielded weapons.

Read the rest of The Normalisation of Violence.
Friday, July 17th, 2009

Introduction-The politics of violence and accountability in Kenya

posted by Lydiah Kemunto Bosire

This forum offers a space where concerned Kenyans can come together with a range of experts, scholars, practitioners, and commentators to discuss fundamental questions about how Kenya got here, and the strategies necessary to move the country forward. This essay provides an overview of recent debates on violence and accountability in Kenya and summarizes the first set of contributions to this forum.

Read the rest of Introduction-The politics of violence and accountability in Kenya.