The Post-Election Violence in Kenya The Jua Kali and the Policy Failures of the Elites

Abstract

This article investigates the reason behind the violence after the 2007 election in Kenya. Assuming that its neo-liberal policies and incapability of controlling the informal sector led to one of the world’s highest cases of inequality, this paper investigates why the Kenyan government has continuously failed in its policies concerning the informal sector, and how ethnic unrest is connected to the issue. This paper analyses Kenyan macro-economic reform and the empowerment approach, which the government has pursued in its informal sector policy. Furthermore, it examines the reasons behind political failures in connection with ethnocentrism, using social capital theories.