Vision of Humanity"

On March 4, 2013, Kenyan citizens will go to the polls to vote. In the 2007-08 election Kenya erupted in the worst violence the country had experienced in decades. It shocked Kenyans and the world. Two months of bloodshed left over 1,500 killed and up to 600,000 internally displaced. In the lead up to the 2013 presidential election, a large number of NGOs, grassroots initiatives and inspired individuals are taking measures to ensure a safe and peaceful election.

Key Statistics

Global Peace Index
Kenya is ranked 120th out of 158 countries on the 2012 Global Peace Index. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya is ranked 30 out of 43 countries. Kenya has a dangerously high level of access to weapons, and performs poorly on GPI indicators including organised conflict, violent crime and perceived criminality.

Global Terrorism Index
Kenya is ranked 18th out of 158 countries on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI). It is one of five African countries in the top 20 countries on the GTI. Kenya performs poorly on Corruption Perceptions, a factor that associated with terrorism.

Pillars of Peace Index
The Pillars of Peace Index (‘Other Factors’ on GPI map) measures the attitudes, institutions and structures that are associated with peace. Kenya performs relatively well on a number of indicators including Freedom of the Press and Adult Literacy Rate.

Peace Resources

Politicisation of Ethnicity in Kenya, Relief Web

A Validation Report of the National Conflict Mapping and Analysis Recommendations for Actors, (PDF), Nairobi Peace Initiative-Africa, UNDP, NSC

I AM KENYAN, Petition to Stand Up For Peace during Kenya’s 2013 General Election

Kenyan Elections 2013, Peaceful Prevention and Community Reporting Project

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, continues with its efforts in ensuring free and fair elections that adhere to human rights standards.

Quote

“The March 2013 elections should bring Kenyans together in a celebration of diversity. The elections will be an opportunity for Kenyans to own their peace and take a huge step towards decentralizing power and devolving resources to the newly created counties. Kenya needs friends to do this. It is said that if you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk with friends. Let us walk far, friends of Kenya.”

Alice Nderitu, Kenya – Woman PeaceMaker 2012, Joan B Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice (Source: Avaaz)

Peace Initiatives

Picha Mtaani
Picha Mtaani, Swahili for ‘street exhibition’, is a youth-led peace initiative that primarily seeks to create space for young people to reconcile and become agents of reconciliation to their respective communities. Four years after Kenya’s worst election violence, Picha Mtaani aims to provide a platform for national reflection and building local reconstruction consensus through photo exhibitions and conversation.

Boniface Mwangi, Photo activist in Nairobi

Uchaguzi – Ushahidi
The Uchaguzi project aims to contribute to stability in Kenya, by increasing transparency and accountability through active citizen participation in the electoral cycles. Rather than introducing a new concept or organisation, the project seeks to leverage on existing (traditional) activities around electoral observation, such as those carried out by the Elections Observer Group (ELOG) in Kenya. Uchaguzi will assist in the creation of a more rapid reporting and alert system in traditional electoral monitoring, as well as bring in the voice of citizens as a new dimension in electoral monitoring through crowd sourcing of data.

Musicians sing for peace
This BBC article reports on a peace concert held in Nairobi on the fifth anniversary of the accord that ended post-poll violence.