Kenya: Eye of the Storm?

At the end of December an election turned Kenya into a chaotic scene. President Mwai Kibaki was elected over opposition leader Raila Odinga in what was called a rigged election by the opposition. Deadly protests broke out across the country resulting in hundreds of deaths. An article from BBC covers the event:

"At least 1,500 people have been killed since the disputed presidential election in December, police say. Mr Kibaki claimed victory in the 27 December election, but Mr Odinga said the poll was rigged. The government and opposition are stalled on securing a power-sharing deal. "The talks have not broken down," Mr Annan said. "But I am taking steps to make sure we accelerate the process and give peace to the people as soon as possible. "The leaders have to assume their responsibilities and become directly engaged in these talks."

With talks delayed and no action from either side we may see this situation becoming strained in the next few days. The populace seems to be striking out at one another causing significant damage to the internal structure of Kenya.

With a potential crisis looming should some international actors step in? What exactly are the lines to be crossed that signals a need for help? The internal conflict here is catching news interests but is it really enough to push for some international deliberation. Leaders are only expressing their "concern" over the situation. Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has been negotiating with both sides but hasn't made much head way. Maybe it is time the United Nations started to set some more specific standards. Deploy some type of force to protect civilians in Kenya but make this force composed of equal manpower, funds, and equipment from all countries involved in addressing the issue at hand.


Talks of a Prime Minister role for the opposition party may have put a cap on this for a day or two but later this week I'm thinking we may see a crisis on a larger scale. With no international actors stepping up to protect the civilian populace more death may loom just around the corner.