Civil conflict, power-sharing, truth and reconciliation (2005–2013)

Abstract

This chapter reviews the events emanating from Mwai Kibaki’s first presidential term and the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government’s dissolution after failed constitutional revision in 2005. This period includes the rise of a new political opposition, which, organized around Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), contested against Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU) in the 2007 election. The dynamics and aftermath of that election are examined, including allegations by ODM of PNU rigging and the resulting post-election violence. This crisis led to a stalemate between ODM and PNU, which was only resolved after international mediation and the formation of a Government of National Unity. The unity government achieved progress on a variety of reforms, including a new constitution in 2010. However, this period was also marked by stalled progress on other fronts, and by political dynamics that Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto would leverage in their race for executive office in 2013.