Kenya: Justice Vital to Stability

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Kenyans registered to vote in record numbers for the presidential and parliamentary elections on December 27, 2007. © 2007 Noor Khamis 385401
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As the announcement of the result was delayed crowds began demonstrating against what they saw as the rigging of the election. © 2007 Noor Khamis 385401
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Counting of votes started on the evening of December 27 and carried on throughout the following day. In the presidential race Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement took an early lead in the count, but then the counting and tallying was beset by delays and the governmental Electoral Commission of Kenya was besieged with complaints. © 2007 Noor Khamis 385401
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Burning and looting takes place across the country as news spreads of Kibaki’s victory. © 2007 Noor Khamis 385401
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People wait in front of the gates of the Kenyan Red Cross during a food distribution in the Mathare slum in Nairobi, January 9, 2008. © 2008 Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images 385401
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A riot policeman hits a woman in downtown Nairobi as supporters of Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga demonstrated in the street on January 16, 2008. © 2008 Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images 385401
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Kenyan riot police patrol downtown Nairobi on January 16, 2008. © 2008 Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images 385401
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Kenyan riot police in the Kibera slums in Nairobi kick open doors as they search for supporters of Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga during the second day of protests on January 17, 2008. © 2008 Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images 385401
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A Kenyan man and woman lay dead on the ground after they were shot during clashes in the Kibera slums on January 18, 2008 in Nairobi. © 2008 Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images 385401
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Kenyan riot police beat a resident of the Mathari slums in Nairobi during clashes with protestors on January 16, 2008. © 2008 Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images 385401
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A Luo man lies on the road in Naivasha, Rift Valley Province, in February 2008. He was left for dead after being attacked by Kikuyu using machetes and clubs. © 2008 Marcus Bleasdale/VII 385401
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Kikuyu taking away possessions of Luo residents after the latter fled from ethnic violence in Naivasha, Rift Valley Province, February 2008. © 2008 Marcus Bleasdale/VII 385401
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The bodies of dead children, victims of the ethnic violence, lie in the morgue in Naivasha, Rift Valley Province, February 2008. © 2008 Marcus Bleasdale/VII 385401
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A man walks through ruins of an area of Chepilat in the Rift Valley Province, February 2008. The burning of homes by Kalenjin men, forced residents of both the Kisii and the Kikuyu ethnic groups to flee. © 2008 Marcus Bleasdale/VII 385401
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A camp for internally displaced persons in Eldoret, Rift Valley Province, February 2008, in which over 10,000 had sought refuge. © 2008 Marcus Bleasdale/VII 385401
The new coalition government should bring to justice individuals responsible for recent and past episodes of political violence. Human Rights Watch documented how hundreds of lives were lost due to organized political and ethnic violence sparked by irregularities in the December 2007 presidential elections. Human Rights Watch also investigated unlawful killings by the Kenyan police, who used excessive force in responding to demonstrations, killing hundreds of people.
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