Post Election Violence in Kenya Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Post Election Violence in Kenya - Essay Example This paper will look into the extent the rigged election brought about the Post Election Violence and also how the other factors contributed to the violence. BACKGROUND During the 2002 election, the opposition of the country which was composed of many parties like, The Democratic Party (DP), led by Mwai Kibaki, Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by Charity Ngilu, Forum for Democratic Change in Kenya (FORD Kenya), under Kijana Wamalwa and a contingent of other minority parties joined hands in an attempt to oust the dominant party Kenya National African Union (KANU) from power. The coalition that was formed by the opposition parties was called the National Alliance of Kenya (NAK) and it was making very serious progresses towards bring an end to the KANU rule, which had been in power since independence in the year 1963. KANU felt threatened and President Moi, in an attempt to win the election tried various strategies in ensuring that the party would win the elections (The Nation, 2008). There were other developments in the ruling party KANU and one of the most destructive was the move by President Moi to support Uhuru Kenyatta to take the chairmanship of the party, which constitutionally would lead Uhuru Kenyatta to become the next president of the country if the party won the elections. This did not go down well with some major party officials who deemed that Uhuru did not have the experience to take up the responsibility that would be bestowed upon him. The president was relentless in his efforts to make Uhuru the president of the country. During the 2002 party elections, Uhuru won the chairmanship and some of the party officials, who also doubled up as ministers in the KANU... During the 2002 election, the opposition of the country which was composed of many parties like, The Democratic Party (DP), led by Mwai Kibaki, Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by Charity Ngilu, Forum for Democratic Change in Kenya (FORD Kenya), under Kijana Wamalwa and a contingent of other minority parties joined hands in an attempt to oust the dominant party Kenya National African Union (KANU) from power. The coalition that was formed by the opposition parties was called the National Alliance of Kenya (NAK) and it was making very serious progresses towards bring an end to the KANU rule, which had been in power since independence in the year 1963. KANU felt threatened and President Moi, in an attempt to win the election tried various strategies in ensuring that the party would win the elections. There were other developments in the ruling party KANU and one of the most destructive was the move by President Moi to support Uhuru Kenyatta to take the chairmanship of the party, which constitutionally would lead Uhuru Kenyatta to become the next president of the country if the party won the elections. This did not go down well with some major party officials who deemed that Uhuru did not have the experience to take up the responsibility that would be bestowed upon him. The president was relentless in his efforts to make Uhuru the president of the country. During the 2002 party elections, Uhuru won the chairmanship and some of the party officials resigned and formed a political movement of their own known as the Liberal Democratic Party