After the disputed presidential elections in 2007 that triggered the post election violence that left more than 1000 dead and over half a million internally displaced, I was hopeful that Kenyans had learnt a lesson about the consequences of engaging in political violence.
Sadly, four years later, it seems nothing was learnt from the post election violence and some Kenyans are still engaging in political violence only less than a year to the next general election.
This was clearly witnessed on Friday last week when presidential aspirant Raphael Tuju’s convoy was stoned at Kondele estate in Kisumu simply because he wasn’t their favorite political candidate.
The behaviour of the hostile crowd clearly depicts the failure in the side of political supporters to exercise self-control and political tolerance when their favorite’s opponents campaign in their strongholds.
On the other hand it depicts the laxity in the side of security agencies at ensuring that the rule of law is adhered to so as to ensure peaceful campaigns by political candidates in different parts of the country.
Furthermore it illustrates the inability of political leaders to ask their supporters to tolerate divergent opinions from politicians and judge them not according to their tribal or political affiliations but rather their integrity and ideology.
According to Article 38 {1} of the Constitution on Political Rights, every citizen is free to make political choices, which includes the right to form, or participate in forming, a political party and to campaign for a political party or cause.So the cruel behavior by the irate youth in Kisumu completely contravenes the constitution and it calls for immediate investigations and prosecution of the individuals involved in the violence.
Prosecutions of the individuals concerned is the only way the Government will ensure that politicians and their supporters will peacefully carry out their campaigns without the fear of being stoned by hostile crowd.Lastly the politicians should call upon their supporters to welcome any political aspirant to campaign in their strongholds and critic them on the basis of their principles and policies instead of persona and ethnicity.
These are the only ways that will ensure violence will not stand in democracy’s way and in return create a new Kenya that has no space for political violence and hatred
The writer is Safari Africa Radio's Advocacy and Reforms Reporter
