Kenyan victims of political violence speak out

In early February, an Amnesty International delegation travelled to Kenya, investigating human rights violations that have occurred during the post-election violence. This violence has included:

• Politically-motivated and ethnic killings by armed gangs in several parts of Kenya, targeting members of communities from which President Kibaki was perceived to have drawn his support, particularly members of the Kikuyu community; 
• Organized attacks targeting internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are seeking refuge after fleeing their homes as a result of the violence;
• Organized attacks against members of communities perceived to have supported opposition candidate Raila Odinga in the disputed December elections;
• Excessive use of force and shooting to kill by members of Kenyan police and other security forces; and
• A failure to protect and an inaction by Kenyan police during politically motivated killing, especially where police were from the same community as the attackers, or where the violence was condoned by local political leaders.

The delegation collected a number of stories from the victims. Each story is of the individual experiences of these survivors of violence, in their words and from their viewpoint.

These testimonies have been chosen because they are representative of the varying nature of the violence and are generally consistent with a number of individual testimonies that Amnesty International delegates documented in each location.

Amnesty International has called on the Kenyan government to establish an independent and impartial public inquiry into the violence. Those responsible for killings or other human rights abuses should be brought to justice in proceedings that comply with international fair trial standards. Victims and their families must benefit from the right to redress and reparation, including compensation.

Listen to the words of:

A young woman, shot during the fighting in Eldoret on 31 January, most likely by bullets fired by Kenyan police officer.


An old man from outside the town of Naivasha, who was chased from his home in retaliation attacks on 27 January 2008.


A young man who told Amnesty International of how he was shot by prison officers in Naivasha.


A woman from the town of Eldoret, who was chased from her home by hundreds of Kalenjin youths on 30 December 2007.



Read the words of:

• A 47-year-old farmer
• A 22-year-old resident of Kangemi, an informal settlement in Nairobi
• 37-year-old worker on the flower farms, Naivasha