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"What the research does suggest,
however, is that holding positive ideas (as important a step as
this is) is not sufficient by itself to change the world.
We still need direct communication between individuals, we need to
translate our ideas into action, and we need to recognize the
freedom of choice of those who choose alternatives different from
our own." (Elaine Myers The Hundredth Monkey
Revisited)
Short chronology of the crisis:
September to December: Ahead of the
Dec. 27 presidential election, clashes in western Kenya kill
hundreds of people, although campaigning was less violent than in
the past. Politicians are accused of stoking ethnic tensions, and
several diplomats express concern that a narrow victory on either
side could lead to rioting.
Dec 27 - Voters elect a new president and parliament.
Millions turn out in relatively peaceful balloting. Most opinion
polls put opposition leader Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic
Movement in the lead.
Dec 28 - ODM maintains its lead throughout the whole day of
counting, while first reports speak of vote rigging. Early results
indicate Odinga is likely to unseat Kibaki.
Dec 29 - First unrests after election results especially
from Rift Valley (e.g. Laikipia, Nakuru) and Eastern Province (e.g.
Meru, Embu) are obviously withheld. Thousands enraged over delays
in announcing election results burn down homes and attack
political rivals with sticks and machetes.
Dec 30 - Short after the Electoral Commission of Kenya
declares Kibaki winner of the presidential election, he is
hurriedly sworn in for a second and final five-year term.The
opposition ODM wins the biggest number of seats in the
parliamentary election and wins in 6 of 8 provinces. First riots
erupt as it becomes clear that the election results were rigged
and rage especially in slums. The government suspends live TV
coverage.
Dec 31 - The government floods the streets with security
forces and maintains a ban on live TV broadcasts after riots
convulse the nation. Protesting opposition, many from Raila's Luo
tribe, beaten back in Nairobi, many shot and killed by police.
Jan 01 - Kenya Government stands accused of mass-killings
by police. A mob in western Kenya retailiates and torches a church,
sheltering hundreds of people fleeing the violence, and killing up
to 50 people _ including children, mainly from Kibaki's Kikuyu
tribe.
Jan 02 - ODM accuses Kibaki's and the government accuses
Odinga's backers of "ethnic cleansing" as the death toll from
confined protest marches and tribal violence rises.
Jan 03 - Attorney General Amos Wako calls for an
independent investigation into the election. South Africa's Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu begins to try to
mediate. Police use tear gas, water cannons and batons to prevent
a protest by thousands in the capital of Nairobi.
Jan 04 - Kibaki says he will accept a re-run of the
disputed election if a court orders it. The opposition demands a
new election. The United Nations says the unrest has uprooted
250,000 people, and that about 100,000 displaced people in the
Northern Rift Valley could face starvation. The International Red
Cross makes an urgent appeal for aid.
Jan 05 - Kibaki says he is ready to form a government of
national unity to end the turmoil and to help resolve the dispute,
but the opposition rejects the offer, since it would be
conditional that Kibaki remains President with sole power.
Jan 06 - Opposition calls for credible international
mediator, while British envoy urges AU to step in.
Jan 07 - Odinga calls off planned protests after meeting
U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer, saying the mediation process is about
to begin.
Jan 08 - Kibaki announces 17 ministers for his new cabinet
and Musyoka Kalonzo as Vice-President. Protesters respond by
building and burning barricades in Odinga's western stronghold,
Kisumu. African Union Chairman and Ghanaian President John Kufuor
arrive in Nairobi to mediate.
Jan 09 - Hospital are overwhelmed by injured and dying
protesters.
Jan 10 - ODM declares Kibaki's cabinet illegal. Kufuor
leaves Kenya saying both sides have agreed to work together with
an African panel headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan. But Kibaki and Odinga, amid recriminations, have neither
met nor agreed how to end the crisis.
Jan 11 - The ODM calls for international sanctions against
Kibaki, while ECK chairman disowns and refutes given poll results.
Talks collaps and Kuofur leaves Kenya
Jan 12 - ODM calls for three days of mass-action. Alarm
over alledged presence of Ugandan troops in Kenya.
Jan 13 - Kenya Government rejects outside help. US and EU
warn Kenya of sanctions if peace is not established.
Jan 14 - Violence continues and the death toll in unrest
rises to 612, according to aid agencies.
Jan 15 - Parliament is convened and the opposition gets a
boost by winning all the posts of speaker and deputy speaker of
the assembly.
Jan 16 - Police fight hundreds of protesters in trouble
spots across the country, killing three, as the opposition defies
a ban on rallies.
Jan 17 - In Nairobi and the western towns of Kisumu and
Eldoret, police fire teargas and bullets during rallies called by
the opposition but banned by police. The opposition accuse police
of killing seven people.
Jan 18 - At least 13 people are killed when police open
fire in a Nairobi slum and ethnic groups clash during protests.
Jan 19 - The opposition says it will resume protests next
week, having completed 3 days of demonstrations in which at least
23 died. Government's Mr. Kibaki met a high level European Union
delegation and said he is willing to meet ODM leader, Mr Raila
Odinga, who calls for fresh mass action and announces that coming
protests would also include economic sabotage of companies whose
directors are perceived to be close allies of President Kibaki.
EAC declares it is unable to intervene.
Jan 20 - More killed as rivals differ over peace talks.
Uganda ask for help to feed Kenyan refugees.A kilometre-long
section of rails is uprooted in Kibera from the Kenya-Uganda
railway. Hundreds of residents invade tea factory demanding that
they be hired for tea picking. Ethnic fighting escalates in Rift
Valley.
Jan 21 - Kenyan marathon runner Wesley Ngetich killed by a
poisoned arrow. British envoy summoned by angry Kenya Government,
which has not been recognized by UK.
Jan 22 - Ex-UN chief Kofi Annan arrives in Kenya to attempt
mediation. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni flies into Nairobi to
try to mediate but receives a hostile reception. Kenyan police
fires teargas to disperse supporters of President Mwai Kibaki.
Nine people hacked or burned to death in new violence linked to
Kenya's political crisis. Funeral service along Ngong Road stormed
by police, which causes hourlong battles and destruction also of
government buildings.
Jan 23 - ODM files a complaint with the International
Criminal Court in The Hague against President Kibaki and several
key Government officials.The Media Council of Kenya is asking the
Minister for Information and Communication to withdraw the
suspension on live broadcasts with immediate effect. Kenya
opposition calls off protests at Annan's request.
Jan 24 - Kibaki and Odinga meet for a first time after
election in a breakthrough brokered by Annan, while Kenyan death
toll now tops 700 and half a township in Nakuru is razed by
arsonists.
Jan 25 - Annan denounces "gross and systematic" human
rights abuses in Kenya after continuing post-election violence.
Nakuru violence erupts.The Secretary of the African Union Affairs
and the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and
International Cooperation meet for the second time over Kenya
crisis.
Jan 26 - Annan calls for an investigation of human rights
abuses, while while police fires from helicopters at people in
Nakuru.
Jan 27 - Annan meets Odinga as ethnic clashes continue.
Negotiators led by Annan tell the rival camps of Kibaki, and
Odinga to select four officials each and for further talks in the
next 24 hours. At least 10 people are burnt alive and three others
are stoned to death as violence spreads to Naivasha Town. Violence
paralyses Western Kenya towns as political crisis deepens. Two
Germans murdered at Kenya Coast.
Jan 28 - At least 64 people are killed in last four days of
ethnic fighting in the Rift Valley towns of Nakuru and Naivasha
pushing up the death toll up to around 800 people. Opposition
legislator Melitus Were is shot dead outside his home in Nairobi,
triggering more rioting and ethnic killings, especially in Western
Kenya.
Jan 29 - Mediator Kofi Annan outlines the terms of
reference and agenda for the peace talks, which stop after an MP
is shot dead. Legislator Melitus Were is gunned down outside his
home in Nairobi, triggering more rioting and ethnic killings. U.N.
special adviser on preventing genocide warns politicians and
demands a stop to post-election violence in Kenya. Two
photojournalists shot by police in Kibera. Government and
opposition negotiators begin talks.
Jan 30 - Kenya police gets renewed 'shoot to kill' order
after talks are postponed and media are silenced. Ogiek People
come under attack in Rift Valley. Annan presents agenda for
mediation as roadmap to peace.
Jan 31 - Kibaki - giving renewed 'shoot-to-kill order' to
quell unrest - flies out to AU summit and meets also UN Secretary
General in Addis. Donors suspend key-funding. Crisis talks
suspended after second legislator is killed by a policeman, which
sparks fresh clashes.
Feb 01 - Kagame calls for military intervention in Kenya,
while Gadaffi says at AU summit that the Kenyan crisis could have
been dealt with much more quickly. Violence doesn't stop despite
peace talks.
Feb 02 - Kenya death toll up to 1000 despite agreement and
fresh unrest mars peace deal. Kenya's opposition leader Raila
Odinga accuses President Mwai Kibaki of undermining talks to end a
political crisis by insisting that a court in Kenya could resolve
the dispute over his Dec. 27 re-election. Fighting rages on in
Western Kenya.
Feb 03 - Raila Odinga calls for AU peacekeepers while
Amnesty International demands protection of human rights activists.
Thousand of villagers flee from police crackdown in Western Kenya,
while the SLDF militia continues their ethnic atrocities in the
Mt. Elgon areas.
Feb 04 - Peace talks resume and Annan is urged to speed up
his mediation process. Kibaki refuses Ramaphosa as mediator,
sparking international anger about Kenya Government. Kenyan
government lifts monthlong ban on live broadcasts, but continues
to caution journalists. PNU And ODM agree on formation of a Truth
Commission, while Annan declares that issues concerning the
election results are too hot to handle for him. SLDF militia
launches killing spree against Ogiek.
Feb 05 - Eight experts brought by the Kenya National
Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) begin to gather evidence on the
post-election violence. Red Cross says the death toll from Kenya's
bloodletting has risen to at least 1,000, while number of Kenyan
refugees in Uganda rises to 12,000. Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka
and HR activist Kiai meet with UK government in London during
separate talks. US Peace Corps pulls out all staff and flees from
Kenya.
Feb 06 - Spying devices found in Kofi Annan's hotel suite.
Former UK ambassodor to Kenya Sir Edward Clay declared Persona Non
Grata by Kenya Government. Mission sent by UN High Commissioner
for Human Right starts working in Kenya. Dumping ground of killed
people discovered in Ngonde forest. Imminent opposition
demonstrations called off.
Feb 07 - Ten high profile PNU and ODM personalities and
their families are banned from traveling to the United States over
alleged links to the post-poll violence, while Kenya National
Commission on Human Rights chairman Kiai urgea the US to freeze
military aid to Kenya until an interim government is formed.
Outlawed Mungiki militia launches further cleansing operations in
Rift Valley and are conscripting youth despite heavy military
patrols and night curfew. Kenya government accused of providing
automatic firearms to PNU militias, which are purchased from
China.
Feb 08 - Kofi Annan says in the morning, he is not ready
yet to admit defeat for his National Dialog and Reconciliation
Mission seconded by a panel of eminent African personalities.
United Nations relief aid coordinator John Holmes starts 3 day
mission. Ban on public rallies lifted. ODM negotiator William Ruto
declares that his party is ready for power sharing in joint
government. Annan declares that no agreement has been reached yet.
Feb 09 - ODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga, calls again for a
resolution to the political crisis and ODM leaders say they will
seek their supporters' consent before striking any deal in the
Kofi Annan led mediation talks. Kenya's opposition leaders,
gathering at the funeral of a murdered MP, demand again that
president Kibaki resigns and new elections be held, dropping a
conciliatory stance that had brought hope for a political
settlement to end weeks of postelection violence,
Feb 10 - Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka says the government
was committed to the ongoing dialogue, but warns against rushing
into a power-sharing agreement. German foreign minister pledges
support in Kenya mediation and sends envoy to support Annan team.
Feb 11 - Kenya Government announces that it will prosecute
the inciters and the culprits of the violence, launces (nearly-)free
secondary education and promises house rebuilding to IDPs, whose
homes had been destroyed. Mediation talks circle around
power-sharing, but no agreement achieved. Kofi Annan demands 48-72
h news blackout and announces that the mediation talks will be
translocated to a secret location.
Feb 12 - The mediation team brief the newly elected Kenyan
Parliament in a special session, and declares that both feuding
sides had agreed to a special commission which will have to
investigate over many coming months all issues concerning the
December 27 election. A former Assistant Commissioner of Police is
arrested on incitement to violence charges.
Feb 13 - UK, who refuses to recognize Kibaki as President,
and Switzerland issue renewed warnings against saboteurs of the
Annan-led mediation talks. Kenya Government declares it would take
"remedial measures" against the British high commissioner Adam
Wood over his remarks. Chief mediator Kofi Annan said his
statement on a grand coalition to resolve Kenya`s election crisis
was only a proposal for further discussion. Local Government
Minister Uhuru Kenyatta supports the formation of a grand
coalition government to restore unity among Kenyans. One Ogiek
leader receives a death-treath by phone, while another one, who is
persecuted, goes into hiding and seeks international protection.
Feb 14 - Kenya's feuding parties have agreed to rewrite the
constitution within a year. Government orders that unclaimed
bodies of post-election violence victims should not be buried in
mass graves. While Germany proposes a grand coalition as the best
answer to Kenya's political crisis, the European Union (EU) has
warned that it could sever trade and bilateral links with Kenya if
political leaders do not move fast to resolve the political crisis.
Britain is embroiled in a diplomatic row with Kenya after the
British high commissioner said President Mwai Kibaki's government
did not "represent the democratic will of the Kenyan people".
Feb 15 - Kenya's rival parties agree to a swathe of reforms
meant to solve the underlying causes of the crisis, but fail to
come to a political settlement. Kofi Annan, states that a new
government bringing together PNU and parties in its coalition and
the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is necessary to push through
legal, constitutional and other reforms necessary to heal the
country. Government comes under fire over its repatriation of the
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their rural homes. No
political settlement to Kenya crisis yet, Annan says. He
highlights that one has agreed to come to an agreement, but no
tangible results were presented, except for:
- The creation of an Independent
Review Committee.
- This Committee would be mandated
to investigate all aspects of the 2007 Presidential Election and
make findings and recommendations to improve the electoral
process.
- The Committee will be a
non-judicial body made up of Kenyan and non-Kenyan recognised
electoral experts of the highest professional standing and
personal integrity.
- The Committee will submit its
report within three-six months and it should be published within
14 days of submission. It should start its work not later than
15 March, 2008.
- The findings of the Independent
Review Committee must be factored into the comprehensive
electoral reforms that are envisaged.
Annan announces that, though he
would stay on as long as it takes, he will bring in a former
Nigerian minister and UN official, Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, as
co-mediator during times of Annan's absence.
Feb 16 - Riot police was
again deployed in Kenya's capital as anti-corruption protesters
took part in a banned demonstration. In Meru demonstrators burn a
British flag and demand from the Kenya Government not to give in.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has demands that a new team
be appointed at the Electoral Commission of Kenya before the
pending by-elections are held. Thousands turn out to bury a
murdered opposition lawmaker. Ten more people reported killed in
Kabolet / North-Rift during fights between alleged cattle-raiders,
local people and police. Amnesty International calls for
investigations into human rights abuses and killings perpetrated
in the post-election violence in Kenya. Panic gripped Kakamega
when hostile youths confronted police over the arrival of
displaced families returning to their rural homes.U.S. President
George W. Bush, on a visit to Africa, throws his weight behind a
power sharing deal for Kenya.
Feb 17 - The Kenyan government issues a veiled warning to
the United States not to put "a gun to anybody's head" and rejects
US pressure over power-sharing deal. Moses Wetangula, the Foreign
Affairs minister, states: "We will not be led, guided or given
conditions by foreign States on how to reach a solution to solve
the political impasse in Kenya." Two elderly men are hacked to
death by a group of raiders who later set eight houses on fire in
Kuresoi, Molo District.Thirty-seven Mungiki suspects are arrested
while taking an oath in Nairobi’s Kayole estate. More than 200
others who had taken the oath escaped.
Feb 18 - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with
both the country's political rivals and proposes real power
sharing. She warns that it will not be business as usual in Kenya,
unless a coalition government is in place and tells Kenya's
feuding parties to hurry up. Also former MP, Prof Wangari Maathai,
urges the international community to put more pressure on both
sides, to speed up the search for a political settlement.
Feb 19 - Kenya's political rivals resume talks to end the
country's bloody political crisis. Kenya Government announces,
that it will not give in to dictated power-sharing demands and
that all agreements must follow the present constitutional
framework. The Government Parliamentary Group (GPG) rules out the
creation of prime minister’s position as the key to unlocking the
political impasse. The MPs from PNU and its affiliates, including
ODM-K say their rivals in ODM should be fitted in Government
without sharing power with President Kibaki. US president George
Bush asks world leaders to pay attention to early genocide warning
signs to avoid a Rwanda-like situation happening in Kenya. EU
issues another stern warning, saying it would no longer be
business as usual, if the mediation tals fail. Police arrest 41
suspected fighters and recover a cache of weapons at the troubled
Borabu-Sotik border. Kenya Airways announces that they have
suspended all flights to Paris. Overnight heavily armed police
units raid houses in Mathare slum.
Feb 20 - Ongoing talks hit a stalemate over disagreement
about power sharing. Kenya's opposition threatens mass protests
within a week, if the government fails to start work on changing
the constitution to pave the way for any type of power-sharing
government and/or if negotiations led by Kofi Annan fail to
resolve the post-election crisis within a week. Kenya Government
calls this blackmail. 160 NGOs state that power sharing would not
be a panacea to the political impasse, and call on Parliament to
amend the Constitution. The media fraternity reacts sharply to
threats by the Government to disband the Media Council of Kenya.
Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai says she has received death
threats since urging tribal elders to help stop ethnic killings. A
prominent Uasin Gishu farmer, businessman and ODM politician, Mr
Jackson Kibor, was arrested by police and was later flown to
Nakuru, where he is held in CID cells. In a second night of raids,
causing chaos and strong protest from the population, police
arrests 80 people, who allegedly had occupied abandoned houses in
Korogosho area of Mathare slums.
Feb 21 - The government says it has agreed in principle to
creating a prime minister's post demanded by the opposition.
Kenya’s religious leaders call for fresh polls. African Union
Commission chief Jean Ping arrives for a two-day visit to Kenya
for talks with chief mediator Kofi Annan. 14 people killed when
Samburu and Pokot tribesmen clashed over cattle-raid in Laikipia
West District. ODM asks President Kibaki to re-open Parliament
next week so that MPs can address the key issue of growing
insecurity in the country.
Feb 22 - The Commonwealth and African Union (AU) continue
to pile pressure on PNU and ODM to reach an agreement.Kenya's
opposition leader, after the PNU team had not shown up for talks,
unexpectedly leaves the country on this very day for which
government negotiators and their rivals had promised to sign a
power-sharing deal. Kenyan religious leaders of Christian, Muslim
and Hindu faith have called for a fresh general election as the
only way out of the current political crisis. A Lang’ata
parliamentary loser in last year’s General Election has gone to
court seeking temporary orders to restrain the Annan team from
adopting any resolution arising from the talks. Negotiators broke
off talks on Kenya's post-election crisis, saying they would hold
consultations over the weekend and resume on Monday. ODM has
called for mass civil disobedience from Wednesday next week if the
Annan-led talks fail to achieve tangible results. Fires destroy
habitat in Nakuru National Park, in Mau Forest and Laikipia
rangelands.
Feb 23 - German Ambassador to Kenya calls on leaders to
stop commenting on the Annan led mediation process, while Kenyans
are getting impatient, since both feuding sides try to share power
without relinquishing authority - a deal that has remained elusive
despite repeated promises of an imminent agreement. The two sides
hold internal consultations. ODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga, has
taken exception to reports alleging that he went to Nigeria to ask
President Umaru Yar’Adua to join the efforts to find a political
settlement to the crisis in Kenya. He said the report was "very
malicious and aimed at creating disharmony in the mediation talks."
Police training of the first group of 5000 recruits from National
Youth Service (NYS) begins. More Kenyans flee as refugees into
Uganda.
Feb 24 - Men abducted by ‘police officers’ feared executed.
Former National Assembly Speaker, Mr Francis ole Kaparo, blames
the Kibaki presidency for post-election turmoil. Kaparo, who is
known to back militant ops of his Maa speaking ethnic groups, also
accused President Kibaki and ODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga, of
perpetuating personal and ethnic interests. The Government and ODM
differ over the number of concessions made so far in the talks
aimed at ending the post-election political crisis. Leaders from
both sides accuse each other of failing to cede the necessary
ground to pave the way for a coalition between PNU and ODM. More
than 600 lawyers urge chief mediator Kofi Annan, to wind up the
talks. PNU legislators from PNU strongholds call on foreign envoys
to stop dictating terms to Kenyans and threaten that they also
would call their supporters to counter any mass action, if ODM
makes good its threat.
Feb 25 - PNU and Kenya Government revoke all earlier
committments and the negotiations between the two sides of the
mediation team reach a standstill. Annan meets Raila and Kibaki
over this deadlock and is threatening to leave if stalling
continues. Kenya's opposition calls for mass rallies for Thursday
after negotiators admitted failing to resolve outstanding issues
on power sharing. Former parliament speaker and election loser ole
Kaparo, who now tries to establish himself as Maasai tribal leader,
hits out against the current executive presidency. More than 1,500
persons have been killed in tribal fighting, political rioting and
everything that was associated with the elections," a senior
police commander told the press on condition of anonymity.
Mayorall polls end in havoc in many locations.
Feb 26 - After another attempt in the morning the talks
come to a grinding halt. Annan refuses to continue the work with
the negotition teams and states he had concluded that the teams
were incapable of resolving the outstanding issues. Annan
therefore asks Kibaki and Raila to come together in a last attempt
to rescue the negotiations. Tanzania's president Kikwete in his
capacity as AU president arrives in Kenya, while the Kenyan
opposition prepares for Thursday's mass rallies. Amnesty
International announces worldwide protest actions on Kenya for
Wednesday. US Secretary Rice issues stern warning and announces a
wide range of measures, if talks fail, which is immediately
rebuffed by the government. 1,000 squatters invade a private ranch.
Feb 27 - Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and opposiion
leader Raila Odinga express hope that an agreement to end the
current political crisis in the country can be reached. The
European Union expresses concern over the negotiations and called
for an effective power-sharing mechanism. The EU presidency also
warned of dire consequences to individuals who obstructed the
process. ODM councillor Geoffrey Odhiambo Majiwa sworn in as the
new Nairobi mayor after a last-minute power-sharing deal with his
PNU opponent John Njoroge Chege, thereby setting example. The
Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) states that the
Attorney-General and the Commissioner of Police failed in their
duties during and after the election and should be sacked. KHCR
also stated that journalists and human rights defenders whose
lives were threatened in the wake of the political violence are
yet to get any protection from the Government - several HR
defenders have fled the country, others are preparing to flee.
Feb 28 - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader
Raila Odinga after lenghty negotiations in the presence of AU boss
and Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete, former President Mkapa and
Kofi Annan, sign an agreement on power-sharing.to end the
post-election crisis. Kibaki and Odinga agree to a power-sharing
deal that includes a post of prime minister with substantial
powers and responsibilities. Odinga is likely to occupy the post
once parliament, which was agreed will re-assemble next Thursday
passes the necessary constitutional changes. UK, US, EU and
Germany welcome the deal within hours.
The Head of the African Union and
Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete (centre)
managed to bring Raila Odinga (2nd from left)
and Mwai Kibaki (2nd from right) to
the peace and powersharing agreement after the
mediation teams of the Government and the ODM opposition under
chief mediator Kofi Annan (left) had failed. Former Tanzanian
President Mkapa (right) and Madame Machel were part of the panel.
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