Blog #2 Kenya Ensuring violence free elections

The topic for this week’s blog will be safe, violence free elections in Kenya, Africa. The government there has done little to change their ways. Kenyans do not trust the government to provide a safe election on March 4^th 2013. The article reports that the Election Day violence has been going on since 1992. It saddens me that Election Day violence has been going on in Kenya for 21 years.

Kenyans do not trust the police. In the 58 page report, “High Stakes: Political Violence and the 2013 Elections in Kenya,” it says “Although identified repeatedly as a problem, the police remain understaffed and ill-equipped, Human Rights Watch said. During violent clashes in 2012 and early 2013 the police frequently failed to intervene. When they did, they often used excessive and indiscriminate force. Kenyans across the country told Human Rights Watch that they view the police as ineffective and corrupt.” Police should be following the laws and they should be helpful and prevent violence.

I concede that Kenya has a long history of Human Rights violations, but I would say it does not always have to be this way. I hope that in the future, the Kenya government will realize its errors and be open to change and implement reforms faster than they are currently doing right now. Hopefully the Kenyan government will work with the United Nations and other governing organizations to provide a safe and violence free election on March 4^th 2013. The future is  murky, like a cloud in which we cannot see very clearly.

Nathan Baker

3:58pm

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/07/kenya-ensure-violence-free-polls  http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/07/kenya-ensure-violence-free-polls