What lies behind the violence in Kenya?
The opposition Orange Democratic Movement, led by Raila Odinga, insists that the December 27 presidential election was rigged in favour of the president, Mwai Kibaki, a view shared by most western nations and all local and foreign observer groups. The subsequent violence, which has seen more than 800 people killed in ethnic attacks and protesters’ clashes with police, has brought to the surface long-held tensions over land, the economy and political power, and plunged Kenya into its biggest crisis since independence. What does Kenya stand to lose from the post-election chaos? The economy, one of Kenya’s success stories in recent years, is taking a battering. The Nairobi Stock Exchange has slipped sharply, as has the Kenyan shilling. Exports have been hit by the insecurity and blocked roads, and trade with neighbouring countries has been curtailed. Tourism, the country’s biggest single earner, worth £400m a year, has been seriously hit, with hotels and travel agents reporting up to 80%
