The violence currently sweeping through Kenya following the disputed election results has left me wondering. Why do we hold elections in Africa if they will end in violence all the time? Has violence ever solved any dispute? Why do most African elections always end in dispute and the subsequent violence that seems to be expected if not accepted by Africans everywhere? 

I have no problem with anyone disputing election results which, in most cases, are obviously rigged in favor of the status quo. Especially since the government has the means, resources and the might to do so. What I disagree with is the language that those crying foul of the elections always choose to use; violence.

In the Kenyan scenario, like in other countries, whom do you blame for the violence? Is it the government or the opposition? Certainly a fair share of the blame lies squarely with the opposition. In this case, Raila Odinga’s party started the violence. They should be held responsible for it. I am not saying they should have accepted the obviously rigged election, but they should, like in any other democracy, choose the legal way to have their dispute heard. A process they never attempted. By choosing violence, one then wonders how they expect the government to respond. If the Kenyan government responds by letting the opposition run rampage killing and maiming anyone on the streets, they would have acted irresponsibly. Any responsible government needs to effectively respond to national threats and civil disobedience by protecting people and property. The same infrastructure the opposition is gleefully tearing up, and the tribal hatred they are sowing, will make Kenya ungovernable and set it back ten years in terms of development and democracy. Thus far Mwai Kibaki has shown some statesmanship by calling for face to face dialogue with the opposition, and possibly offering a government of national unity. How else would Kenya go back to normalcy? Does the opposition or anyone who sympathizes with them expect Mwai Kibaki and the status quo to just vanish into thin air because they have burned old tires on the streets in their neighborhoods? Not in Africa, and I bet not anywhere else.

Dialogue is a fundamental principle of a democratic process; thus we urge the opposition to get to that negotiating table and save the lives of the people they purport to be fighting for.  The refusal by the opposition leader to talk with the ruling party is the same undemocratic style of most political parties in Africa. Parties who ironically, call themselves democratic. For them it is all or nothing. In most cases this leads to  behavior worse than  that of the evil regimes they are trying to get rid of. Kenya was a beacon for democracy for all of Africa. What is happening there now however, is a cause for serious concern. With other African nations like Zimbabwe facing elections this year, it makes me shudder to see what will happen there. Will the same pattern will replay itself? If Mugabe wins the elections, and the people go on the streets in protest and the army, police and government paid hoodlums will come out in full force and hack the heads of 300 to 500 bodies. The opposition will do its fair share in retaliation and the cycle will continue. Does democracy equal violence in Africa? 

For more on the violence in Kenya or to report an incident visit Ushalhidi 

Note from the Editor: Please join us in welcoming our newest guest contributor Norman Madawo. We are very excited that he is joining us here at Project Diaspora! So stop on in and say hi!  –Tracy