The Impact of Social Media and Digital Technology on Electoral Violence in Kenya

Electoral violence has become synonymous with Kenya’s elections. This acquired deadly proportions during the 2007 elections. However, it was also during this time that social media and digital technology was first used for political reasons including campaigning and polling. Social media and digital technology had mixed uses where it was not only used to propagate hate speech and mobilise for violence, but also to identify and map out violence hotspots. Since then, they have increasingly become an indispensable tool in Kenya’s politics and governance, used by political leaders to spread information, campaign and mobilise. However, the widespread reach of social media has also been a major challenge to security, peace and peacebuilding since it has been used to incite hatred and violence. This paper identifies the specific threats that social media and digital technology pose and opportunities they present for violence prevention. Ultimately, the paper seeks to present the opportunities that exist for partnerships between state and non-state actors to effectively prevent political and electoral violence.ESR

Tangled Ties: Al-Shabaab and Political Volatility in Kenya

In recent years, a spate of attacks has destabilised a swathe of Kenya’s peripheral counties as well as bringing terror to its capital, Nairobi. As violent insecurity spreads, it has fomented fear and stoked ethnic and regional divisions, precipitating security crackdowns and roiling the country’s infamously tumultuous politics. These developments belie sweeping constitutional reforms that have taken place to address and prevent violence in Kenya. Since Kenya stepped up its military involvement in Somalia in 2011, ostensibly to buffer the country from violence wrought by Al-Shabaab – the Somalia-based jihadi organisation – attacks have multiplied, ranging from the September 2013 siege of Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre, to village massacres, to the targeted killings of police and religious figures. Yet Kenya’s government, while widening its military engagement in Somalia, was at first slow to recognise and respond to the hand of Al-Shabaab in the country’s widening violent insecurity since the start of its Somalia military operations. This study adds to existing analyses of Kenya’s shifting political and security dynamics by examining the role of external influences on its system of violence.UK Department for International Developmen

Between Illegality and Legality: (In)security, crime and gangs in Nairobi informal settlements

This article analyses the informal security market in the Nairobi slums of Kibera and Mathare. It assesses how gangs manoeuvre between legality and illegality in the provision of security. This article argues that there is a need to move away from a traditional interpretation of crime and criminal groups so as to understand the deeper reasons for their existence, why they continue to exist, and how they operate as they tactically shift their nature to survive. This article thus advocates for a multilayered approach to security in order to identify how best Kenyans can meet their human security needs

The assessment of a method for measurements and lead quantification in air particulate matter using total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometers

This paper presents the assessment of a direct method to measure and analyse Pb in air particulate matter (PM) collected on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filtering membranes prepared by the SMART STORE® procedure. The suitability of grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence technique is verified on a set of continuous and conformal thin film samples created by atomic layer deposition. Different scans changing the angles of incidence are performed and the fluorescence intensity of thin films on PTFE substrate compared with that obtained by similar thin films deposited on Si wafer substrates. The effects of sample preparation, constraints, and limitations of the experimental setup are discussed. The results obtained by three commercial total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometers, equipped with Mo or Rh X-ray tubes, are compared. Reference samples with different Pb content are used to define the best measurement conditions, corresponding to the maximum fluorescence intensity. The precision is evaluated in terms of relative standard deviation of the net intensity, taking into account the homogeneity of the PM samples and hardware contributions to the errors. The calibration curves are built on the basis of mono- and multi-elemental Pb loaded PTFE reference samples. The analytical parameters, namely linear calibration and determination range, limits of detection, and quantification, are determined

Christianismes et démocratisation au Kenya

L'implication du christianisme dans la politique kenyane ne peut se comprendre sans étudier le rôle qu'il a joué dans la coproduction de l'État colonial, puis postcolonial. Les Églises participent à la fabrique des identités, tant ethnique que socioéconomique. Cela ne peut qu'affaiblir leur statut d'arbitre " moral " de la politique kenyane. L'apparition de nouveaux mouvements religieux et d'objets politico-religieux non identifiés transforme les règles du jeu politique du religieux. En outre, les mouvements politico-religieux néotraditionnels - synthétisant les influences du christianisme et de supposées " religions traditionnelles " - induisent une milicialisation de la vie politique, avec son cortège de violences populaires et d'abus. L'appel " liturgique " à une tradition réinventée dévoile un nouveau jeu sur les identités ethniques. On le voit, christianisme et démocratisation poursuivent au Kenya leur dangereux tango en créant de nouveaux pas.The involvement of Christianity in Kenyan politics cannot be understood without considering the role it has played in the coproduction of the colonial and postcolonial state. Churches participate in the construction of both ethnic and socio-economic identity. This can only weaken their status as 'moral referees' in Kenyan politics. The emergence of new religious movements and unidentified politico-religious objects alters the way religion plays the political game. In addition, the neotraditional politico-religious movements - a synthesis of the influences of Christianity and of supposedly 'traditional' religions - induce the milicialization of political life with its cortege of popular violence and abuse. The 'liturgical' call to a reinvented tradition reveals a new set of ethnic identities. As can be seen, Christianity and democratization in Kenya continue their dangerous tango, in which they are creating new steps