Stopping a Conflagration: The Response of Kenyan Civil Society to the Post-2007 Election Violence

Abstract

Kenya experienced unprecedented political violence following the flawed and disputed presidential election result in December 2007. Over 1,100 people were killed and another 600,000 displaced. The violence spread rapidly and threatened Kenya as a nation-state. Following international mediation by the African Union's Panel of Eminent African Personalities under the chairmanship of Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary General, the two main protagonists agreed to end violence and to share political power. Although much has been written about the Kenya post-election violence, little has been said about the role the country's indigenous civil society groups played in the mediation process, and to end the violence. This article discusses the role they played in ending the crisis by responding to two questions: ‘How did civil society put out the fire?’ and ‘What lessons can other African civil society organizations learn from the experience?’