Charred: Nelly Chepchumba (l.) inspected the remains of her school last week after it was burned down in ethnic violence that has now claimed more than 850 lives. Ben Curtis/AP

On the run: Two Kikuyu men fled Sunday with their livestock from an area under attack near Nakuru. Recent clashes in western Kenya have pushed the postelection death toll up past 850. Ben Curtis/AP

Progress: Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki (c.) shook hands with opposition leader Raila Odinga (r.) last week during an ongoing peace effort by former UN chief Kofi Annan (l.). Riccardo Gangale/AP

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How can Kenya avoid ethnic war?

Former UN chief Kofi Annan launched formal peace talks Tuesday as a fresh round of reprisal killings swept the country.

from the January 30, 2008 edition

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Reporter Scott Baldauf describes the Kenyan refugee camp he visited.

	How Kenya came undone Kenya's infamous Mungiki sect gears up for reprisals
	How can Kenya avoid ethnic war? One man helps moderates tackle the roots of Kenya's ethnic rifts

"But even if these guys make up today, it will not address the problems in Burnt Forest," he says, referring to one of the towns most affected by ethnic violence in Kenya. If violence crops up every time that Kenya holds an election, he says, then "it would be better to postpone it" until tempers have cooled.

But elections are crucial, Kamotho says. "How do you give hope to the 70 percent of Kenyans who are young and who can't see their stake in Kenya's future? These are the fellows who burn buildings. If we can take that opportunity, this election will be a blip. If we don't, then the government will have lost the moment."

Considering a new Constitution

The next step, human rights activists say, is for the newly elected government to rewrite the Constitution. Human rights and the freedom of expression need to be strengthened, and the power of the presidency – a legacy of the 24-year dictatorship of President Moi – must be reduced.

"We can't afford a winner-take-all mentality; it's not healthy," says Kamotho. "We need to reduce the power of the presidency. If that is the only position that matters, people will be ready to kill for it."

The new Constitution, experts say, must also address Kenya's most contentious issue: land.

"We need new laws to deal with the distribution of wealth – and in an agricultural society like Kenya, wealth is primarily locked up in land," says Njeri Kabeberi, director of the Center for Multiparty Democracy. "If the people of Kibera [a Nairobi slum] were in the middle class, they wouldn't be fighting each other. If they have their own house, they know the pain of losing a house and therefore they won't burn yours."

Ms. Kabeberi and others say that the only way to tackle tribalism is by creating a Constitution that gives a place to each community. Ethnic identity has always been a factor in Kenya's culture – and indeed in developed countries of the West. But the influence of ethnicity will diminish over time, they argue, when Kenyans see that their nation's laws are more fair, that economic opportunities are evenly distributed, that their government is more even-handed and responsive, and that those who commit crimes at election time are prosecuted, no matter what tribe they belong to.

As ethnic attacks continue across Kenya – signs of the pent-up anger over issues of land, and ethnic favoritism, irresponsible hate speech, and the abuse of power – it is clear that Kenyans have a long way to go before reconciliation between ethnic communities and economic classes can begin.

"Some people have created these problems for Kenya in just a matter of days," says Kabeberi. "We Kenyans have to take the next two to five years to clean up. And we must force our leaders to listen."

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