On 30 December 2007, following announcement of the presidential election results,
violence broke out in several places across Kenya amid claims that the Electoral
Commission of Kenya (ECK) had rigged the presidential election. Sporadic eruptions
continued for many weeks, bringing death and destruction to thousands of Kenyans. An
African Union-sponsored Panel of Eminent African Personalities led by former United
Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan brokered a settlement which heralded a
government of national unity between the main political parties and a common
commitment to urgent constitutional reform. The settlement included the appointment of
two commissions, one to examine the violence and the other, the Independent Review
Commission (IREC), to examine the December 2007 Kenyan elections from various
perspectives.