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Kenya: Planners of Violence Must Face Justice
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The East African Standard (Nairobi)
EDITORIAL
28 March 2008
Posted to the web 28 March 2008
Nairobi
A progress report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) on investigations into post-election violence suggests both Government and Opposition share blame for the chaos in the wake of the disputed presidential election.
This conclusion comes in the wake of a Human Rights Watch report revealing three main patterns of violence, namely the use of excessive force by police against protestors, as well as ethnic-based killings and reprisals by supporters aligned to both the ruling and opposition parties.
Much of the violence - especially initial and retaliatory attacks in the Rift Valley - was organised and some of it was even premeditated. Excessive force, extrajudicial killings and apathy were sometimes witnessed as police dealt with protestors in Kisumu and Nairobi.
Following a negotiated political settlement, investigations into the different patterns of violence are under way. The search for justice must identify the different types of aggressors involved and mete out suitable punishment for the atrocities they committed. Politicians implicated in organising violence - often since the 1990s - cannot continue to operate with impunity.
In our haste to pin down those responsible for criminal acts, we must not forget those who bear moral responsibility for the carnage. The naked manipulation of ethnic tensions for political power has been pointed out as a major driver of the violence. As KNCHR argues, violence must not be rewarded. If perpetrators are not held to account, we sow the seeds for future bloodshed.
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