Other than the 2002 poll, every election in Kenya since the introduction of multi-party politics in 1991 has been marred by unrest.

After weeks of rising tension, people stocking up on food and water in case of post-election violence, followed by deserted streets after the 8 August voting day, protests erupted in parts of Nairobi and Kisumu, especially in the informal settlements. The protests broke out on the night of 11 August when the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, was declared the winner of the presidential election, which the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, immediately rejected.
In many opposition areas, Kenyan authorities deployed large numbers of paramilitary units. These heavy deployments fuelled political tensions and exacerbated unrest that followed the announcement of the results. Security forces sometimes used unlawful, excessive force to disperse protests, shooting and beating to death people on the street and in house-to-house searches. They used live ammunition, tear gas and pepper spray and beat residents with batons, often under the cover of darkness. However, in some areas, local police commanders chose not to deploy paramilitary reinforcements, opting instead for community policing methods and dialogue with protesters. Here, prior relationship-building efforts between police chiefs and community leaders proved successful and there were no deaths and few injuries.

SILAS LEBO: Too young to vote, but not to die in police attack
Silas Lebo was only 17 years old. He was in his final year in Barding High School, Siaya County. Too young to vote, his focus was studying for his exams on 31 October 2017. His mother, Christine Lebo, and his teachers had high expectations of him doing well in exams. Silas wanted to study medicine in university.
On 12 August at 10:00 am, just after Silas had his breakfast, four police officers broke down the door to his house in Mathare where he was studying, and pulled him out onto the street. They forced him to lie in a ditch outside his house and started beating him on his back with batons. They said to him, “Sisi hatukuiiba kura za Raila, tumechoka na nyinyi”, [we did not steal Raila’s votes, we are tired of you].
Upon hearing his cries, Christine stepped out to see what was happening. She asked the police officers why they were beating her son, adding that if they wanted someone to beat then they should beat her. They ignored her, but stopped beating Silas and left.
Christine called Silas’s brother who took him to the Kenyatta National Hospital for treatment. He was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit with a spinal injury. Silas succumbed to his injuries and died the following night.
Silas’s death was devastating for Christine.

NELVIN AMAKOVE: Killed while fending for her family
On 11 August, hours before the declaration of Uhuru Kenyatta as winner, Nelvin Amakove, a 30-year-old woman from Kawangware, was shot dead upon returning from shopping for food during a lull in the protests, a relative said. A relative found her body, along that of another woman. “[I]t had a small bullet hole at the back – right side,” and a huge exit wound at the front, he recalled.

FESTO KIVOGO: Shot close to home on his way from work.
Festo Kivogo, a 27-year-old father of three, was shot dead in Kawangware while in the vicinity of violent protesters throwing rocks at police at around 7 p.m. on 9 August, when a bullet hit him behind the left ear and exited through his eye, according to one of the men who tried to help take him to hospital. Witnesses were not sure if police fired the bullet; some said a Kikuyu businessman shot a handgun from an adjoining alley.
On 12 August, Fredrick was returning home from his sister’s house around 10:00 am, which is about 20 minutes away from his home, when he was informed by his friend that the police were beating young men randomly in Mathare. He decided to use a different route to his house to avoid the police. He got home safely, however, 30 minutes later, at around 11:00 am, he heard a heavy knocks on his door.
People unknown to him, outside, taunted him, “toka turushe mawe!” [Come out, let’s throw stones].

My job requires me to use both hands, and now I cannot do that now. I have difficulty in using my hands.