Kenya’s capital has been paralyzed after protests on the part of students at the University of Nairobi in the wake of a police shooting of one of their colleagues, Godwin Otago, last Thursday. It is easy to associate any kind of upheaval in Kenya with the violence that followed the elections at the end of 2007. But these protests actually provide a sign of hope inasmuch as they represent a functioning civic culture. The key will be with how these disputes are resolved.
