Foreign Policy Blogs

The Noose Tightens

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has been cleared to release its report, "On the Brink of the Precipice: A Human Rights Account of Kenya's Post-2007 Election." In this account a number of members of government and other public officials, including cabinet ministers, are fingered for their role in fomenting violence. Given that there are no provisions for amnesty for politicians involved in the post-election chaos, prepare for some instability within Kenyan politics, and perhaps for even more violence, though nothing that will match that which took place in the wake of the polling.

There is no guarantee that the commission report will be published, as the KNCHR's does not enjoy the same level of protection as the commission of inquiry, meaning that those named could file defamation suits if they believe they are wrongly accused. Nonetheless the noose is tightening around the necks of some people who once thought themselves invulnerable. The names of those responsible for some of the worst of the violence are known. The actual publication of the report is almost a moot point.

 

Author

Derek Catsam

Derek Catsam is a Professor of history and Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He is also Senior Research Associate at Rhodes University. Derek writes about race and politics in the United States and Africa, sports, and terrorism. He is currently working on books on bus boycotts in the United States and South Africa in the 1940s and 1950s and on the 1981 South African Springbok rugby team's tour to the US. He is the author of three books, dozens of scholarly articles and reviews, and has published widely on current affairs in African, American, and European publications. He has lived, worked, and travelled extensively throughout southern Africa. He writes about politics, sports, travel, pop culture, and just about anything else that comes to mind.

Areas of Focus:
Africa; Zimbabwe; South Africa; Apartheid

Contact