Healing the Wound. Personal Narratives about the 2007 Post-Election Violence in Kenya

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Description

The narratives collected by Twaweza Communications in this volume tell yet another side of the story about the violence that engulfed Kenya towards the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008. The narratives are part of a Daraja Initiative involving media monitoring, reflections and documentation of the traumatic post-election violence period often associated with the contested presidential results of 2007. The goal of the project is to contribute to the protection of constitutional rights of all Kenyans and to the development of a just and democratic country. Because violent conflicts constitute ruptures and continuities and are often preceded by tensions over the uncomfortable co-existence of political, economic, social and cultural systems and relations of power as well as what is perceived as valuable, mobilisation for violence is driven by narratives of the legality and correctness of action such that notions of history, justice and memory are functions of narrative construction, power and authority. Narratives of violent conflict, such as happened in Kenya, are not absolute: they are contested, contradictory and incomplete. But they must be told so that the multiple voices from the citizens are heard.

Informations

• Publié par: Twaweza Communications
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789966028143
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

HEALING THE WOUND

HEALINGTHE WOUND

PERSONAL NARRATIVESABOUT THE 2007 POST-ELECTIONVIOLENCEIN KENYA

Editedby kimani njogu

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

© Copyright Twaweza Communications, 2009

Published in 2009 by: Twaweza Communications Ltd. P.O. Box 66872 - 00800 Westlands Twaweza House, Parklands Road Mpesi Lane, Nairobi Kenya website: www.twawezacommunications.org Tel: +(254) 020 375 2009 Fax: +(254) 020 375 3941

Design and Layout by Catherine Bosire Cover design by Kolbe Press

With the support of The Ford Foundation, Office of Eastern Africa

ISBN:9966-7244-5-1

Printed by Kolbe Press, P.O. Box 468 - 00217 Limuru, Kenya

DEDICATION

TO ALL THOSE WHO SHOWED MERCY AND GAVE

HOPE TO FELLOW KENYANS

Dedication Acknowledgments

CONTENTS

List of Acronyms & Abbreviations

INTRODUCTION

SECTION I: Narratives of Pain

SECTION II: Narratives of Mercy

SECTION III: Narratives of Aggression

v ix x

1

13

153

271

acknowledgements

This publication brings together personal narratives of Kenyans who went through suffering, Kenyans who showed mercy and gave hope to fellow Kenyans at their moment of need and those who caused pain to fellow citizens. The narratives provide yet another account of what happened before and after the 2007 general elections.

We are immensely grateful to the Ford Foundation for supporting this important work and specifically to Dr. Willy Mutunga, the Regional Representative of the Ford Foundation Office of Eastern Africa and Dr. Joyce Nyairo, Program Officer in charge of Media, Arts and Culture and all the Ford Foundation staff for listening to us and supporting our work. Through their support it became possible for us to collect these narratives from around the country and preserve them for future generations. Even as we seek to reconcile and heal the country, it is imperative that the memory of the citizens be preserved.

We are also grateful to the researchers from around the country who collected the narratives on our behalf. The narrative collectors did the interviews at the community level and helped us understand some of the factors that may have contributed to the violence as well as how community members responded. The team at Twaweza Communications deserves gratitude for keying in the narratives, translating them into English, and editing them on our behalf. Catherine Bosire designed this publication and I am grateful to her.

Kimani Njogu Nairobi.