ASSESSMENTS

Can Kenya Stanch the Bloodshed Before It Begins?

Aug 4, 2017 | 09:00 GMT

Violence was rampant in the aftermath of Kenya's 2007 presidential election.

As the weeks before Kenya's Aug. 8 election have turned to days, anxiety over the impending popular backlash is growing.

(SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images)

Forecast Highlights

  • Though Kenya's political system has improved since the outbreak of post-electoral violence in 2007, it still has challenges left to overcome.
  • While Kenyan authorities have prepared for the possibility of unrest, disenfranchised youths could prove difficult to tamp down on, especially in shantytowns and isolated areas.
  • Even so, the decentralization of power and the popular fear of repeating the events of a decade ago make widespread violence unlikely.

Violence was rampant in the aftermath of Kenya's presidential election in 2007. That year, the opposition's anger merged with entrenched ethnic conflicts to leave over 1,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands displaced and the regional economy in tatters. Now as the East African powerhouse approaches its next presidential election on Aug. 8, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his challenger, Raila Odinga, are jockeying for the public's support. And the question on the minds of many is whether the country can prevent a repeat of the bloodshed it saw a decade ago....

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