Sword Silence and the Naivasha Apocalypse

In November/December 2007, a violent eruption of hatred and crime burst out in Kenya. Many, especially the international community claimed it had been set off by the elections which had been held that December. The International community then brought the combatants together in the names of the contending presidential candidates in that election. Finally, a coalition government was established. It went on to rule for five years. A prosecutor from the International Criminal Court at The Hague was sent to Kenys to investigate the violence. He enhded up prosecuting the executioner and his victim so that no one really found out what had happened. It was not clear who had started the violence or with what intent. Those who had attacked others were accused together with those who had defended themselves. To date, none of the real victims of the violence especially those who had been evicted from their farms got justice. Some were relocated to tiny holding bought for them by successive governments, but his tended to justify their dispossion. Indeed, some of the people who evicted others unjustly still enjoys the fruits of their criminal activities. Most of the victims have never recieved justice. It is clear that the violence had started many years before that - at least the real causes of that violence could be traced as far back as the colonial settlement of the British in the Rift Valley. But none of that was ever said or examined. This story tries to examine some of the cause of that violence, giving genuine roots. It also exemplifies, through its characters, the effect of that violence on many innocent people, especially women and children. It tries to burst the myth of 'post-election violence' that was so avidly built by the international community to justify the dispossession of people and to forcibly change the government - or at least force the sharing of it.