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Susan Benescl
Foundei, Dangeious Speecl Piojeci and
Faculiy Associaie, Beilman Ceniei foi Inieinei and Socieiy

Febiuaiy q, :oi(



:


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UMATI ................................................................................................. ii
NIPE UKWELI ..................................................................................... i(
VIO}A MAHAKAMANI .......................................................................... i6
SISI NI AMANI ..................................................................................... iq
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Susan Benescl and ile Dangeious Speecl Piojeci aie deeply giaieful io ile
Uniied Siaies Insiiiuie of Peace, as well as ile }oln D. and Caileiine T.
MacAiilui Foundaiion and ile Feizei Insiiiuie, foi suppoiiing many of ile
piojecis desciibed leie.





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Tlis iepoii desciibes a new sei of violence pieveniion meilods caiiied oui
in Kenya duiing ile naiional eleciions of :oi, io couniei inflammaioiy
speecl and limii iis powei io inflame audiences, wlile pioieciing fieedom
of expiession.

Kenyans made unpiecedenied effoiis io foiesiall violence in ilis peiiod.
Moie ilan evei befoie, iley did ii wiil woids: by imploiing one anoilei io
mainiain peace, calm, and uniiy - on ielevision and Twiiiei, on billboaids
and in giaffiii muials. 'Peace piopaganda,' as ii became lnown, came fiom a
wide vaiieiy of oiganizaiions (newspapeis and TV neiwoils, a paini
company, cluicles, nonpiofiis) and individuals, fiom spoiis figuies io Solo
Muyundo, an aiiisi wlo painied ile woids "Peace Wanied Alive" on a
sidewall in Naiiobi's Kibeia slum. Even membeis of ile Geneial Seivice
Unii, a paiamiliiaiy foice once lnown foi beaiing up demonsiiaiois duiing
ile diciaioislip of Daniel aiap Moi, made a music video in wlicl iley
danced in ileii combai faiigues and ied beieis, singing lei laiied noi
finisl us... we foigive and love eacl oilei."
i


Tle ouipouiing was inspiied by acuie feai ilai violence would eiupi duiing
ile eleciions of Maicl :oi, ile couniiy's fiisi piesideniial voie since
Decembei :ooy, wlen ile iesulis weie dispuied and Kenya saw vicious
aiiacls ilai lefi moie ilan i,ooo people dead and lalf a million displaced
fiom ileii lomes. Speecl - inflammaioiy, divisive, and widespiead - was,
accoiding io many Kenyans and obseiveis,
:
a caialysi of ilai disasiei.

i
Ruffione and ile GSU, Mungu Baba (Official Video), wiil ile Naiional Youil Oiclesiia
and Tuvule Peace Iniiiaiive, ai youiube.com]waicl?v=TxpEEFiIgBg
:
On ile Biinl of ile Piecipice: A Human Riglis Accouni of Kenya's Posi-:ooy Eleciion
Violence, Final Repoii, Kenya Naiional Commission on Human Riglis (Key findings: "y.
Tle violence was laigely insiigaied by poliiicians iliougloui ile campaign peiiod and
duiing ile violence iiself via ile use of inciiemeni io laiied"). Available ai
wlsioiage.nei]file]full-lenya-violence-iepoii-:ooS.pdf. See also Analysis: Taming laie
speecl in Kenya, IRIN Humaniiaiian News and Analysis, available ai
iiinnews.oig]iepoii]q6i6S]analysis-iaming-laie-speecl-in-lenya (ciiing Aisango Clesoni,
execuiive diiecioi of ile Kenya Human Riglis Commission, Haie speecl is ile piecuisoi
io violence and las |beenj eveiy eleciioneeiing yeai in ilis couniiy").

(

Tle nexi piesideniial eleciions weie sei foi Maicl (, :oi. Once again,
laieful and inflammaioiy speecl iose in ile monils leading up io ile voie,
building on land dispuies and iniei-gioup giievances ilai iemained (and
siill iemain) uniesolved. Killings and oilei violence began incieasing a yeai
befoie ile eleciion: moie ilan (yy people weie lilled in iniei-communal
violence duiing :oi: and eaily :oi, accoiding io Human Riglis Waicl.

Despiie many iisl faciois foi disasiei, on Maicl ( voiing pioceeded calmly,
and Kenyans mainiained peace even as iley waiied five iense days foi ile
iesulis of ile piesideniial voie io be iallied and announced. Raila Odinga,
wlo believed ile :ooy eleciion lad been siolen fiom lim, claimed ile voie
lad again been iigged wlen le leained le lad losi - bui ilis iime le made
lis case io ile Supieme Couii, and said le would accepi ile iesuli. Wlen
ile Couii iuled againsi Odinga, many of lis suppoiieis weie incensed.
Tley weie among Kenyans wlo feli ilai in ile name of one oveiweening
goal - pieveniing violence - disseni and debaie lad been effeciively
suppiessed, besmiicling ile eleciion and peilaps even damaging Kenyan
demociacy. Noneileless, ile Supieme Couii ceiiified ile eleciion as faii
(ecloing ile views of ile laige coniingeni of inieinaiional obseiveis wlo
lad waicled ile voiing)
(
, and ile peace leld.

Ii is impossible io measuie accuiaiely wlai iole eacl effoii played in
pieveniing violence in Kenya in :oi, since a wide vaiieiy of inieiielaied
faciois weie ai play. Tle Inieinaiional Ciiminal Couii piobably deieiied
would-be inciieis, foi example, by piosecuiing cases againsi iliee Kenyans
foi ileii alleged ioles in biinging aboui ile :ooy-S posi-eleciion violence
(oi PEV as ii is lnown in Kenya). Tley aie Piesideni Uluiu Kenyaiia, wlo
won ile eleciion in Maicl :oi, lis iunning maie William Ruio, wlo
became depuiy piesideni, and }oslua aiap Sang, lead of opeiaiions ai ile

Higl Siales: Poliiical Violence and ile :oi Eleciions in Kenya, Human Riglis Waicl, ai
i. Available ai liw.oig]siies]defauli]files]iepoiis]lenyao:iwebwcovei.pdf
(
Foi example see ile Caiiei Ceniei's final iepoii, caiieiceniei.oig]iesouices]pdfs]news]
peace_publicaiions]eleciion_iepoiis]lenya-final-ioi6i.pdf

Tleie was one seiious ouibieal of violence duiing ile eleciions, on ile nigli befoie ile
voie. Tle Mombasa Republican Council, a sepaiaiisi gioup in Kenya's Coasi Piovince,
caiiied oui iwo aiiacls in ile ciiies of Mombasa and Kilifi, in wlicl ai leasi i people weie
lilled. Tlis violence did noi coniinue oi spiead io oilei paiis of ile couniiy "Voie
couniing begins afiei laigely peaceful eleciion in Kenya, Faiil Kaiimi and Nima Elbagii,
CNN, available ai cnn.com]:oi]o]o(]woild]afiica]lenya-eleciions.



iadio siaiion KASS-FM wlo was a iadio bioadcasiei ai ile same siaiion in
:ooy-S, and wlo siands accused foi on-aii speecl. Two of ile cases aie
undeiway, bui ile piesideni's piosecuiion las been iepeaiedly delayed and
may nevei iale place.
6

Anoilei impoiiani facioi was undoubiedly ile conduci of jouinalisis.
Ciiiicized foi aiiing and publisling inflammaioiy conieni in :ooy-S, ile
owneis, ediiois, and iepoiieis of Kenya's bioadcasiing siaiions and
newspapeis weie geneially caieful io avoid sucl coveiage ilis iime. Tley
minimized some sioiies ilai migli cause alaim oi inflame Kenyans. Foi
example, afiei aimed secessionisi gueiillas caiiied oui aiiacls in and neai
Mombasa duiing ile nigli befoie ile Maicl ( voie, lilling ai leasi i
people, majoi Kenyan media oiganizaiions leld ile sioiy uniil voiing lad
been undeiway foi seveial louis, and even ilen, played ii down. On
ielevision, many of ile lead bioadcasieis coveiing ile eleciion and iis
afieimail iool an upbeai, ieassuiing ione, siepping a bii ouiside ileii usual
ioles io uige ileii vieweis io siay paiieni and calm.
In sum, ii seems undeniable ilai in iis ioialiiy, anii-violence speecl (also
lnown as counieispeecl oi, playfully, 'peace piopaganda') in Kenya -
coming fiom bioadcasieis, cleigy, soccei siais, soldieis, and oilei diveise
souices - played a significani iole in mainiaining public calm in :oi. Tlis
iepoii desciibes many of ilose effoiis, wlicl lave peisuaded us ilai ii
would be useful io conduci fuiilei expeiimenis in Kenya and elsewleie, io
develop and impiove ilese new meilods foi pieveniing violence.
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3&$4,5- ."-% &2&!%("$ 0("2&$!& "; 677>?@

In ile monils befoie Kenya's piesideniial eleciions in Decembei :ooy,
Kenyans weie subjecied io (and some of ilem pioduced) sieadily incieasing
laieful language deliveied in a wide vaiieiy of media, including public
speecles by poliiical leadeis, flyeis, posieis, iadio (fiom bioadcasieis and

6
Ruio and Sang weie boil pieseni in couii wlen ileii cases opened in Sepiembei :oi;
Kenyaiia's iiial las siill noi siaiied and may noi iale place ai all. Iis siaii daie lad been
posiponed foui iimes as of ilis wiiiing, and piosecuiois weie iequesiing anoilei delay,
saying ilai iley lave been unable io colleci some necessaiy evidence, sucl as Kenyaiia's
financial iecoids, fiom ile Kenyan goveinmeni.

6

audience membeis calling in), SMS iexi messages, emails, and posis on ile
Inieinei. Mucl of ilis language was diiecied ai oilei eilnic oi iiibal
gioups wiilin Kenya, wlicl las (: sucl gioups. Leadeis ofien spole io
ileii communiiies in coded language, bui ilis did noi obscuie ile meaning
of ileii woids - on ile coniiaiy, coloiful meiaplois made ileii iemails
and exloiiaiions moie poweiful. Foi example, Kalenjin poliiical leadeis
spealing io ileii iuial consiiiuenis iefeiied io membeis of ile Kiluyu iiibe
living in majoiiiy-Kalenjin aieas as "giass" io be cui oi as "ioois" io be
iemoved "so ileie would be only one iiibe leie."
7

Dec. :y, :ooy - eleciion day - was peaceful. Kenyans iuined oui io voie in
iecoid numbeis, and iwo days laiei ile iesulis of ile pailiameniaiy voie
weie announced wiiloui incideni, indicaiing ilai ile opposiiion Oiange
Demociaiic Movemeni (ODM) lad iiounced ile Paiiy of Naiional Uniiy
(PNU) of incumbeni piesideni Mwai Kibali, by winning qq seais io ile
PNU's (. Howevei ile following day, amid iumois of iigging and
iiiegulaiiiies, and ile public denunciaiion of fiaud by five elecioial
commissioneis, Kibali was abiupily swoin in as ile new piesideni.
Confusion and disseni weie evideni on ielevision - uniil ile goveinmeni
oideied all ielevision siaiions io siop live bioadcasiing. Tlai aiiempi io
siifle ile pioblem was disasiious. Feai and angei eiupied almosi
immediaiely, and violence biole oui in many paiis of Kenya. Even afiei
monils of viiiiol, ilis eiupiion was slocling io a couniiy accusiomed io iis
siaius as a ielaiive laven of siabiliiy in Easi Afiica.
By ile iime ile aiiacls siopped in eaily :ooS, moie ilan i,ooo people lad
been lilled, and moie ilan lalf a million displaced fiom ileii lomes. Many
of ile inieinally displaced siill lave noi ieiuined ai ilis wiiiing.
Duiing eaily :ooS, inflammaioiy speecl was "iampani and viiiiolic"
accoiding io ile Kenyan bloggei Eiil Heisman.
8
Fellow Kenyan David
Kobia, foundei of ile populai communiiy foium Maslada, one of ile oldesi
websiies in Kenya, decided io slui ii down eniiiely because le could noi
coniiol ile ioiieni of laieful and violeni speecl pouiing onio ile siie. Ai

y
Fiom Ballois io Bulleis, Human Riglis Waicl, p. 6 and y, citinq Human Riglis Waicl
inieiviews in :ooS, and IRIN, "Kenya: spieading ile woid of laie," IRIN News, }anuaiy ::,
:ooS. Available ai liw.oig]iepoiis]:ooS]o]i6]ballois-bulleis
S
Eiil Heisman, Maslada Foiums: Kenya's Fiisi Digiial Casualiy. Accessed Ociobei i, :oi
ai wliieafiican.com]:ooS]oi]:q]maslada-foiums-lenyas-fiisi-digiial-casualiy

y

ile end of }anuaiy :ooS Kobia wioie io Heisman, "As you may alieady
lnow, I've been laving quiie a pioblem iegulaiing Maslada.com, despiie
laving iecenily liied people io modeiaie ile foiums. Ii is siaiiing io
become a iefleciion of wlai is going on on ile giound in Kenya. I'd laie foi
ii io lindei oui cuiieni effoiis since I'm diiecily connecied io ii, ileiefoie
I'm laving io slui down ile foiums uniil fuiilei noiice. Faciliiaiing civil
discussions and debaies las become viiiually impossible."
9

Almosi immediaiely, ai ile beginning of Febiuaiy, Kobia pui up a new siie
called "I Have No Tiibe"
10
encouiaging Kenyans io come iogeilei as
"Kenyamani" - a conflaiion of ile couniiy's name wiil ile Kiswalili woid
"amani" wlicl means peace. Kenyans iesponded immediaiely wiil posis
sucl as,
l urqe you oll to pleose reocb out to your fellow Kenyon c poss on tbe
"KENYAMANl" we All so Jesperotely neeJ c proy for. Veve focuseJ enouqb on tbe
neqotive, now lets turn tbis tiJe orounJ one Kenyon for omoni ot o time. As mucb os
weve monoqeJ to sbock tbe worlJ witb tbe blooJ weve sbeJ c tbe countless wbove
fleJ tbeir bomes, let us overcome tbis witb octs of peoce."
At tbis time, we neeJ to forqet oll tbe tribolism tbouqbts tbot bove been plonteJ in
our beoJs onJ remember tbot VE ARE KENYAN not kikuyu, luo, kisii, kolenjin,
etc."
11

Kobia's new siie was an expeiimeni wiil counterspeecb, oi speecl iniended
io diminisl laiied and violence, in ile midsi of an ouibieal of boil. Wlen
Kenya faced iis nexi eleciions in :oi, ileie weie many moie sucl effoiis,
by a wide iange of Kenyans. Tlis iuined Kenya inio someiling of a
laboiaioiy foi new expeiimenis io diminisl ile negaiive effecis of some
foims of speecl - wlile pioieciing fieedom of expiession. Seveial of ilose
expeiimenis aie desciibed below.


q
Id.
io
Tle siie is available ai ilavenoiiibe.com. Accessed on Ociobei i, :oi.
ii
lJ. Kiluyu, Luo, Kisii, and Kalenjin aie ile names of majoi eilnic gioups in Kenya. Tlese
gioups played consideiable ioles in - and suffeied fiom - ile :ooy-S violence.

S

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Afiei seveial posiponemenis, Kenya's nexi sei of pailiameniaiy and
piesideniial eleciions weie scleduled foi Maicl (, :oi. Foi many ieasons,
ileie was a seiious iisl of ienewed violence. Once again, ile voie was close
and loily coniesied by iwo leading candidaies, dividing ile voieis
appioximaiely in lalf along eilnic lines. One of ile iwo, Raila Odinga, was
ile same candidaie wlo ian a close iace againsi Kibali in :ooy and was
convinced lis vicioiy lad been siolen ilen. Siiuciuial and lisioiical
conflicis including land dispuies ilai fueled ile violence of :ooy-S lad
been lefi unsolved. Many, if noi mosi, Kenyans siill ideniified fiisi and
foiemosi wiil ileii eilnic gioups, saw ile membeis of oilei gioups as
poliiical enemies, and boie uniesolved giievances, and giief, fiom ile
violence of :ooy-S. Tleie weie also ieasons foi guaided opiimism, sucl ile
judicial iefoim ilai lad been undeiialen by a new Clief }usiice, and ile
adopiion of a new Consiiiuiion in :oio.
Undei ile Consiiiuiion, numeious clanges weie made in oidei io pieveni
inieicommunal conflici, sucl as dividing Kenya up inio a sei of (y couniies,
and devolving a measuie of powei io ilem. Also, a new goveinmeni agency
ilai lad been cieaied as a iempoiaiy measuie in ile afieimail of :ooy-S
became siaiuioiy. Tle Naiional Colesion and Iniegiaiion Commission, oi
NCIC, lad been iasled wiil ile enoimous job of biinging a veiy diveise
and fiaciious couniiy inio laimony. One of iis mandaies is io seive as a
lind of public waicldog foi "laie speecl," and iefei cases io Kenya's
Diiecioi of Public Piosecuiion, oi DPP. Tle NCIC siiuggled wiil ilis iasl,
in paii because Kenyan law is confusing on ile iopic of laie speecl.
i:
Ii did

i:
Undei Seciion i of ile Naiional Colesion and Iniegiaiion Aci of :ooS, wlicl esiablisled
ile NCIC, a peison wlo uses speecl (including woids, piogiams, images oi plays) ilai is
"ilieaiening, abusive oi insuliing oi involves ile use of ilieaiening, abusive oi insuliing
woids oi belavioui commiis an offence if sucl peison iniends ileieby io siii up eilnic
laiied, oi laving iegaid io all ile ciicumsiances, eilnic laiied is lilely io be siiiied up".
In coniiasi io mosi definiiions of laie speecl, ile Aci iefeis io eilnic laiied only, noi
laiied based on ieligion, gendei, naiionaliiy, sexual oiieniaiion, oi any oilei gioup
caiegoiy. Oilei Kenyan laws also ioucl on laie speecl: ile :oio Consiiiuiion noies ilai
fieedom of expiession does noi exiend io laie speecl, bui does noi define ilai ieim; wlile
Kenya's Code of Conduci foi poliiical paiiies (aiiacled io ile Poliiical Paiiies Aci) foibids


q

iefei numeious cases foi piosecuiion, bui none las been fully iiied. Insiead
ile NCIC iesoiied io sending 'cessaiion noiices,' oi waining leiieis, io
public officials wlose speecl was, in ile view of ile NCIC, laieful oi
dangeious.
i
Tlese noiices weie noi made public.
Againsi ilis bacldiop, a wide vaiieiy of Kenyans spole oui publicly in :oi:
and wiil incieasing uigency in ile fiisi monils of :oi, io pieveni violence,
in ile belief ilai ileii couniiy's suivival was ai siale. Spoiis figuies,
business leadeis, aiiisis, cleiics, and even jouinalisis siepped oui of ileii
usual ioles io appeal diiecily foi peace. Television bioadcasieis exloiied
ileii vieweis io iemain paiieni and opiimisiic. Tley also iedoubled ile
impaci of posiiive messages on social media by pieseniing and desciibing
upbeai iweeis and Facebool posis (sucl as one joling ilai ile caidinals
meeiing ai ile Vaiican would cloose a new Pope befoie Kenya's elecioial
commission goi aiound io announcing ile winnei of ile eleciion).
Alilougl laieful messages weie also spieading on social media plaifoims,
ilose weie noi consideied equally newswoiily.
In one of many memoiable examples of jouinalisis engaging diiecily in
'peace piopaganda,' Kenya's newspapei of iecoid, ile Doily Notion,
publisled a bannei leadline Nevei Again ovei a iaie fioni-page ediioiial
on Maicl ( - eleciion day - wiil a slaip, eloqueni waining ilai capiuied a
widespiead view: if we bunqle toJoys election or qo bock to killinq eocb
otber, not only will tbe worlJ qive up on us os o civiliseJ notion but Kenyons
too coulJ lose foitb in tbeir own country.
i(

Foieign goveinmenis and fundeis and Kenyan oiganizaiions of all linds
invesied millions of dollais in piogiams io piomoie ieconciliaiion and leep
ile peace. Some of Kenya's businesses also pioduced ileii own
adveiiisemenis calling foi peace, sucl as Ciown Paini's ads in ile naiional
flag's colois of ied, gieen, blacl, and wliie, wiil bannei leadlines, "peace
love uniiy." To couniei ile spiead of laieful messages online, ile company
also offeied casl and cellplone iime io Kenyans wlo seni peace messages

paiiies io "advocaie laiied ilai consiiiuies eilnic inciiemeni, vilificaiion of oileis oi
inciiemeni io cause laim."
i
Auiloi inieiviews wiil Maiy Onyango, foimei depuiy claii of ile NCIC, and wiil an
advisoi io Raila Odinga.
i(
Susan Benescl, Tle Kenyan Eleciions: Peace Happened, Huffingion Posi, Maicl :i, :oi,
luffingionposi.com]susan-benescl]lenya-eleciions_b_:q:ioq6.liml

io

io eacl oilei online (and io ile paini company) "including ploios, poems
and sioiies." On ile siieeis of Naiiobi, giaffiii aiiisis and scloolclildien
made peace muials. On ielevision, soccei siais ieminded young men of ile
peisonal cosis of violence, even foi ilose wlo don'i suffei ii diiecily: you
can'i lang oui and ielax wiil youi fiiends, wiiloui peace.
Sucl language became so ubiquiious in Kenyan public life, in ile monils
befoie ile eleciion, ilai Muiiili Muiiga of ile Naiion newspapei coined
ile ieim "peace indusiiy" io desciibe ile effoii and expense io pioduce all
of ii. Messages of peace weie ecloed by a wide vaiieiy of Kenyans including
bioadcasieis, poliiicians, sign-painieis, and eneigeiic Twiiiei useis
including Clief }usiice Willy Muiunga, duiing and afiei ile eleciion iiself.
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Tlis seciion desciibes foui piojecis designed io pieveni violence in Kenya
in :oi by diminisling ile impaci of inflammaioiy speecl, a ielaiively new
appioacl ilai las nevei been iesied so exiensively in Kenya oi any oilei
couniiy. Policies againsi objeciionable speecl neaily always iaigei ile
spealei, wiil punislmeni, oi ile speecl iiself, wiil censoislip. Tlese
effoiis, by coniiasi, focus on ile audience, wiil a view io "inoculaiing"
ilem againsi ile effecis of inflammaioiy speecl. Tlis idea was pioneeied
by ile Radio La Benevolencija Humaniiaiian Tools Foundaiion (La
Benevolencija), a Duicl NGO ilai "piovide|sj ciiizens in vulneiable
socieiies wiil lnowledge on low io iecognize and iesisi manipulaiion io
violence and low io leal iiauma, encouiaging ilem io be aciive bysiandeis
againsi inciiemeni and violence."
i
La Benevolencija las moie ilan a decade
of expeiience pioducing media piogiamming designed io inoculaie
audiences againsi inciiemeni, in Rwanda and oilei Afiican siaies, and
seveial of ile Kenyan effoiis weie inspiied by ileii pailbiealing woil.
One of ile Kenyan piojecis, Umaii, moniioied inflammaioiy speecl and
classified ii accoiding io iis dangeiousness, defined as iis capaciiy io
caialyze violence. Tlai gave iise io a second effoii, Nipe Ulweli, io

i
Radio La Benevolencija, Mission and Vision, available ai
labenevolencija.oig]la-benevolencija]mission-and-vision]

ii

peisuade Kenyans io iesisi and iefuie dangeious speecl, especially false
iumois wlicl lave special poiency among gioups of people wlo aie
alieady feaiful and anxious. Tle iliid piojeci pioduced foui episodes of a
populai Kenyan ielevision piogiam, Vioja Malalamani, iniended io
educaie Kenyans aboui inflammaioiy speecl, wiil a view io lelping ilem
iesisi ii. Finally, Kenyan NGO Sisi ni Amani seni oui pio-peace iexi
messages io couniei ile soii of inflammaioiy messages used io caialyze and
oiganize Kenyan violence in :ooy and :ooS. All foui of ilese effoiis aie
ouilined in moie deiail below.
#1,%(

In :oi: and :oi, ile Umaii moniioiing piojeci scouied ile Kenyan Inieinei
foi laieful speecl and "dangeious speecl," (speecl ilai can inspiie oi
caialyze violence by one gioup of people againsi anoilei), pioducing a
unique daiabase of speecl sysiemaiically culled fiom ile couniiy's online
spaces. Foi eigli louis a day, luman moniiois seaicled Kenyan blogs,
Tweeis, online newspapei commenis, Facebool pages, and oilei siies. Eacl
iime iley found an example of laieful oi inflammaioiy speecl, iley used
ile Dangeious Speecl Guidelines
i6
io classify ile example accoiding io iis
dangeiousness, oi capaciiy io inspiie oi piovole violence. Tlis
pailbiealing woil was caiiied oui by ile ieseaicl aim of iHub, Naiiobi's
innovaiion lub foi ile ieclnology communiiy. Susan Benescl advised
iliougloui ile piojeci.
Umaii focused on online speecl foi seveial ieasons. Ii is widely believed
ilai inflammaioiy speecl disiiibuied via mobile and digiial ieclnologies
played an impoiiani iole in caialyzing ile violence of :ooy-S. Yei only scani
documeniaiion of sucl speecl is available. Umaii sougli io coiieci ilis if,
as feaied, inflammaioiy speecl feaiuied in ile :oi eleciions as well.
Alieady in :ooy and :ooS, digiial media became founiains of inflammaioiy
speecl in Kenya. Inciiing messages weie seni by ile ilousands via SMS and
on email, and posied on websiies lile Maslada. Five yeais laiei, social
media plaifoims sucl as Twiiiei and Facebool lad been widely adopied by

i6
Susan Benescl, Dangeious Speecl: A Pioposal io Pieveni Gioup Violence, available ai
voicesilaipoison.oig]guidelines

i:

Kenyans. Moie ilan peiceni of Kenyans weie on ile Inieinei
iy
by eaily
:oi, and appioximaiely lalf of ilose weie also on Facebool. Social media
useis aie dispiopoiiionaiely uiban, educaied, and wealily in Kenya as in
mosi couniiies, bui SMS is used veiy widely since ile gieai majoiiiy of
Kenyans aie iapidly adopiing mobile ieleplones. Indeed, ileie aie now
moie mobile ieleplone SIM caids ilan adulis in Kenya.
iS
Many moie
Kenyans aie expecied io become aciive in social media soon, using
ielaiively inexpensive "feaiuie plones" on wlicl iley can ieacl ile
Inieinei.
iq

Tle goals of ile fiisi plase of ile Umaii piojeci, wlicl ian fiom Sepiembei
:oi: io May :oi, weie ile following:
i. To piopose boil a woilable definiiion of laie speecl and a
coniexiualized meilodology foi online laie speecl iiacling, ilai can be
ieplicaied locally and in oilei couniiies.

:. To colleci and moniioi ile occuiience of laie speecl in ile Kenyan
online space.

. To foiwaid any disiiess calls ile Umaii ieam came acioss online, e.g. on
Twiiiei and Facebool, io Uclaguzi (www.uclaguzi.com). Uclaguzi was
an applicaiion of ile Uslalidi ciowdsouicing plaifoim duiing ile :oi
eleciion ilai peimiiied Kenyans io iepoii on eleciion-ielaied evenis on
ile giound, including inflammaioiy speecl and violence, via SMS.


iy
Communicaiions Commission of Kenya, Quaiieily Secioi Siaiisiics Repoii Fouiil
Quaiiei Of Tle Financial Yeai :oii]i:, (Apiil-}une :oi:),
ccl.go.le]iesc]downloads]SECTOR_STATISTICS_REPORT_Q_ii-i:.pdf.
iS
Foi deiails on Kenya's iapid adopiion of mobile plones and Inieinei peneiiaiion, see
Afiica Can End Poveiiy, How Kenya Became a Woild Leadei foi Mobile Money
blogs.woildbanl.oig]afiicacan]low-lenya-became-a-woild-leadei-foi-mobile-money
iq
Mobile Usage ai ile Base of ile Pyiamid in Kenya, iHub Reseaicl and Reseaicl Soluiions
Afiica, infodev.oig]aiiicles]mobile-usage-base-pyiamid-lenya; M. Malinen. 8 M.W. Kuiia,
Social Media and Posieleciion Ciisis in Kenya, lnternotionol journol of Press}
Politics i, pp. :S-6; }oslua Goldsiein, Wlen SMS Messages Inciie Violence in Kenya,
blogs.law.laivaid.edu]idblog]:ooS]o:]:i]wlen-sms-messages-inciie-violence-in-lenya.

i

(. To fuiilei educaiion on ile possible ouicomes of laie speecl, so as io
piomoie civil communicaiion and inieiaciion in boil online and offline
spaces.
In eigli monils, ile Umaii moniiois collecied ,6S examples of laieful
speecl: a disiiessing bui fascinaiing daiasei ilai yielded seveial unexpecied
findings. Fiisi, : peiceni of ile examples weie classified by ile moniiois as
veiy dangeious speecl, and coniained a call io beai, lill, oi foicefully evici
people because of ileii membeislip in a gioup (usually an eilnic gioup oi
iiibe). Tlis was a mucl laigei piopoiiion ilan ile Kenyan Umaii ieam lad
expecied.
:o
Tle ieam was also suipiised ilai q( peiceni of ilose wlo
posied laieful oi dangeious speecl online used ileii own names oi
pseudonyms. Due io difficuliies in disiinguisling fale fiom ieal names, foi
ile scope of ile piojeci, Umaii consideied pseudonyms as "ideniifiable"
spealeis.
A iliid siiiling finding was ilai moie ilan S peiceni of ile eniiie body of
laieful speecl was found on Facebool pages alone, and fewei ilan five
peiceni weie found on Twiiiei. A consideiable disciepancy beiween ile
iwo plaifoims would be expecied, foi example because Twiiiei useis lnow
ilai ileii messages will be iead by a wide and diveise audience, wlile
Facebool useis iend io believe (someiimes misialenly) ilai iley aie
addiessing only lile-minded fiiends. Tleie aie lilely also diffeiences in ile
populaiions of Kenyans on Facebool and Twiiiei. Tle disciepancy seemed
ioo gieai io explain wiil ilese faciois, lowevei. Wondeiing wleilei
someiling was lappening io diminisl ile incidence of laieful speecl on
Twiiiei, ile Umaii ieam noiiced counieispeecl Tweeis, wlicl iley dubbed
"KOT cuffing" afiei ile Twiiiei lasliag "Kenyans on Twiiiei" (=KOT). We
lope io invesiigaie fuiilei, io discovei wleilei counieispeecl on Twiiiei
decieased laieful oi violeni Tweeis.
Umaii will coniinue in a new, exiended foim, ai leasi iliougl ile end of
:oi(. Tle ieam lopes io find effeciive ways io auiomaie iis moniioiing: ii is
noi sufficieni io seaicl foi offensive oi violeni woids, since woids neaily
always lave muliiple meanings, and since ileii capaciiy io inspiie violence

:o
Umaii Final Repoii, Sepi :oi:-May :oi, iHub Reseaicl and Uslalidi, available ai
dx.doi.oig]io.ioSo]iyiooSo:oq(S6.

i(

depends on a vaiieiy of coniexiual faciois.
:i
In addiiion, effeciive
auiomaiion would male moniioiing mucl less expensive. Given ile
complex culiuial coniexiual faciois ilai affeci ile dangeiousness of speecl
in coniexi, lowevei, ii would be besi io use auiomaiion foi a bioad sweep
io gailei daia, and luman analysis io conduci a moie fine-giained
evaluaiion.
$(.& #3E&2(

Tle Nipe Ukweli (Kiswalili foi "Give me Tiuil") campaign was boin fiom
Umaii. In }anuaiy :oi, Umaii moniiois found ilai inflammaioiy speecl
was incieasing boil in amouni and in viiulence. Conceined, we decided io
pui iogeilei a new effoii ilai would aciively couniei dangeious speecl,
especially false iumois wlicl lad been slown io give iise io specific
violence in :ooS, wlen iley weie widely disiiibuied by iexi messages.
::

False iumois lave iiiggeied violence in many couniiies besei by inieigioup
iension, and ile ieclnique of iefuiing ile falseloods las been successfully
used elsewleie. In Ambon, Indonesia, a gioup of self-desciibed "Peace
Piovocaieuis" began counieiing false iumois by SMS in Sepiembei :oii.
69


We close ile name Nipe Ulweli io emplasize ile faci ilai lies aie ofien
used by inflammaioiy spealeis io manipulaie a populaiion oi io 'play' ilem
in Kenyan pailance. We wanied io siimulaie (genile) indignaiion againsi
ilis piaciice, and io encouiage Kenyans io iesisi and, wleie possible, io
iefuie false iumois. Nipe Ulweli was also inspiied by ile example of one
Kenyan Twiiiei usei wlo, in Augusi :oi:, lad counieied a iumoi ilai
Muslims in ile Coasi Piovince weie buining cluicles en masse.


:i
Sucl faciois aie desciibed in Benescl's Dangeious Speecl Guidelines, wlicl weie
adapied foi use by Umaii's moniiois. Supro FN i6.
::
::
Foi examples of inciiing Kenyan messages seni via SMS in :ooy-S, and deiailed
desciipiion of ileii impaci, see Miclele Osboin, Fuelling ile Flames: Rumoui and Poliiics
in Kibeia, }ouinal of Easiein Afiican Siudies ::: (:ooS), i-:y, available ai
dx.doi.oig]io.ioSo]iyiooSo:oq(S6
:
Andiew Siioellein, How 'peace piovocaieuis' aie defusing ieligious iensions in
Indonesia, Tle Independeni, Maicl i:, :oi:, available ai
independeni.co.ul]news]woild]asia]low-peacepiovocaieuis-aie-defusing-ieligious-
iensions-in-indonesia-y6:y:.liml

i

In ile weels leading up io ile
Kenyan eleciion, Nipe Ulweli
woiled io educaie ciiizens boil
online and offline, on ile
meaning of 'laie speecl' and
'dangeious speecl' and on low
io iespond io ilem, including
ignoiing oi counieiing
inflammaioiy messages, and
iepoiiing ilem io ile Uclaguzi
ciowdsouicing plaifoim, wlicl
was diiecily linled io fiisi
iespondeis and emeigency
peisonnel.

Online, ile Umaii ieam seni oui
messages on Twiiiei and
Facebool, publicizing Nipe
Ulweli's messages, as seen in
ilis flyei.

Offline, a dedicaied siaff leld communiiy foiums in ile violence-pione
aieas of Mailaie, Kaiiobangi, Kamulunji, and Dandoia (some of ile siies
woisi lii by posi-eleciion violence in :ooy and :ooS) afiei publicizing ilese
foiums iliougl cluicles, social gaileiings, announcemenis duiing oilei
peace foiums, plone calls, and communiiy iadio. Tle ieam also piomoied
Nipe Ulweli's messages on communiiy iadio siaiions, sucl as Safaii Afiica
Radio and Koiogoclo-based Kocl FM, io ieacl oui fuiilei io giass-ioois
communiiies in Naiiobi's slum aieas.

Nipe Ulweli's messages weie also spiead by woid of mouil. Taigei gioups
weie ile youil, eldeily, cluicl and gioup leadeis, vocal people in social
gioups, poliiical aciivisis and aspiianis, and oilei oiganizaiions' leadeis.
Accoiding io feedbacl fiom audiences, ile messages weie well-ieceived.
:(


:(
Nipe Ulweli: Ouiieacl io Sensiiize Communiiies on Dangeious Speecl. Summaiy
Repoii, }ames Ndiga Njeiu, iHub Reseaicl. available ai
ilub.co.le]ilubieseaicl]jb_NipeUlweliSummaiyRepoiiMaiclpdf:oi-ii-iS-i6-oy-q.pdf
Tlis flyei was disiiibuied in boil Englisl and
Swalili io educaie ieadeis aboui dangeious
speecl and encouiage ilem io iale aciion.

i6

0("G, 1,/,3,1,$(

Tle iliid effoii io diminisl ile impaci of inflammaioiy speecl was a sei of
ielevision piogiams: episodes of ile longsianding populai Kenyan slow
Vioja Malalamani, wlicl means "diama in ile couii ioom" in Kiswalili.
Benescl woiled wiil ile casi and diieciois, and ielevision pioducei
colleagues ai ile nonpiofii Media Focus on Afiica, io imagine, sleicl oui,
and pioduce foui o-minuie episodes of ile slow, all iniended io lelp
Kenyan audiences become less suscepiible io inflammaioiy speecl, oi io
"inoculaie" ilem againsi ii. (By no coincidence, ilis ieim was boiiowed
fiom ile field of public lealil, wlicl las long expeiience in using media
piogiams io encouiage clange in luman aiiiiudes and belavioi.)

Vioja Malalamani's casi of aciois, some of wlom lave been on ile
piogiam coniinually since ile iqyos, embiaced ile ideas and iliew
ilemselves inio ile piojeci. Tle aciois weie esseniial ai eveiy siage, since
Vioja las no sciipiwiiieis. Eacl slow is wiiiien colleciively by ile aciois
and diieciois, wlo iall as a gioup uniil iley lave agieed on ile iopic,
claiacieis, and a iougl ouiline of ile ploi. Tley nevei pioduce a full sciipi;
ile dialogue iiself is impiovised in ile couise of filming. Tlis meilod
pioduced fascinaiing in-depil conveisaiions among ile aciois and
diieciois on ile iopic of inflammaioiy speecl.

Tle aciois weie accusiomed io seaicling conveisaiion - inieispeised wiil
upioaiious laugliei - due io ile iemailable naiuie of ileii slow. Vioja
Malalamani is a comedy ilai cieaies saiiiical lumoi oui of couii
pioceedings, even wlile ieacling law-abiding and socially iesponsible
belavioi. In eacl episode, one oi moie claiacieis aie accused of a ciime,
and ile case is adjudicaied in ile couise of ile o-minuie slow. Ii is ile
longesi suiviving comedy on Kenyan ielevision, laving aiied weelly on ile
public Kenyan Bioadcasiing Coipoiaiion (KBC) since iis incepiion in iqy(.

All foui episodes weie filmed in laie Augusi :oi:. Tle Vioja casi decided
colleciively ilai ile sei-up scenes ilai began eacl episode slould be filmed
in "loi spois" as iley aie called in Kenya: iowns and villages wleie iniei-
communal violence was mosi seveie duiing ile afieimail of ile :ooy
eleciion. Tle casi selecied Eldoiei, Kisumu, Buini Foiesi, and Kaiagiia, and

iy

weni on ile ioad. Wlenevei ileii van siopped, bysiandeis iecognized ile
aciois insianily, and ciowds gaileied.

Tlis piovided oppoiiuniiies foi ile aciois io engage wiil ile speciaiois, in
wlai became impiompiu peacemaling effoiis. Foi example ai ile lasi siop
in Kaiagiia, an impoveiisled iown neai Lale Naivasla, ile aciois filmed an
especially painful scene, in wlicl iley biandisled macleies and clubs io
ie-enaci paii of wlai lad lappened ileie in eaily :ooS. Afieiwaid ile
aciois spole a bii wiil ile ciowd ilai lad gaileied, io explain wly iley
weie filming sucl a disiiessing scene. Tle iesuli was an impassioned
oiaiion fiom ile aciois. Tle audience was iiveied.

Sianding on ile dusiy, liiiei-siiewn diii ioad wleie ile scene lad jusi been
filmed, Maiayo Keya wlo plays "Malolla," a buffoon-lile Vioja claiaciei
and one of ile mosi beloved io Kenyans, said, "My bioileis and my sisieis,
lei us siand iogeilei foi peace and leain io love one anoilei now." Tle
speciaiois giew quiei. "Lei me iell you," le coniinued, "if you biing a
Kiluyu leie and you cui lim, le will bleed." (Kiluyus aie one of ile eilnic
gioups in Kenya; Luos aie anoilei; membeis of boil gioups fougli biiieily
in :ooy-S.) "If you biing a Luo leie and you cui lim, le ioo will bleed. And
lei me iell you, you will lave only Kenyan blood on ile giound." Tle ciowd
became siill quieiei. Finally "Malolla" ielieved ile iension (and peilaps
gave lis message a smooilei passage inio ile minds and leaiis of ile
audience) by iuining io love and io lumoi. He ciied oui, "I love you all! Do
you love me ioo?" Tle speciaiois ioaied in deliglied unanimous iesponse,
"YES!" and siood iogeilei as iley aciois lefi, uniil ileii van was no longei
visible.

Tle foui Vioja episodes
:
weie bioadcasi on naiional ielevision in Kenya on
foui Wednesday evenings in Ociobei and Novembei, and weie ie-iun in
ile monils leading io ile eleciion.

No one piedicied low uncannily ielevani iley weie. Tle fiisi episode
poiiiays an influeniial local figuie wlo gives a speecl io membeis of one
iiibe, inciiing ilem againsi anoilei. Tlai episode aiied in Kenya on ile

:
Tle episodes (in Kiswalili) and ileii iiansciipis (in boil Kiswalili and Englisl) can be
accessed ai voicesilaipoison.oig]vioja-malalamani-episodes.

iS

evening of Oci. . Only a few days eailiei, in laie Sepiembei, news biole
ilai Fedinand Waiiiiu, a membei of pailiameni, lad addiessed a ially in lis
disiiici of Kayole, calling foi Maasais io be foiced oui of ile aiea. He said:
"Tunasema liyo Wamaasai woie laiuwaiali lapa Kayole" (We aie saying
ioday ilai we do noi wani Maasais in Kayole). "Wamaasai woie ni lazima
waondole, ni waianzania na lawana viiambulislo" (All Maasais musi leave;
iley aie fiom Tanzania and wiiloui ideniificaiion caids). Tlis siaiemeni is
eniiiely false. In clasles afiei ile ially, iliee Maasais weie lilled, and
Kenyans feaied ilai ilis was a siep iowaid ienewing ile violence of :ooy-S.

Pieviewing ile fiisi episode on ile moining of Oci. , a few louis befoie ii
aiied, one of ile Vioja aciois said in ligli of ile Waiiiiu case, "Tlis is ieally
going io speal io Kenyans. No one will believe ilai we made ilis slow in
Augusi. Eveiyone will ilinl we made ii ilis weel!"

Foi an objeciive and scieniific gauge of ile effeciiveness of ile Vioja
Malalamani episodes, ile Dangeious Speecl Piojeci commissioned an
independeni evaluaiion by ile Ceniei foi Global Communicaiion Siudies
(CGCS) of ile Annenbeig Sclool foi Communicaiion ai ile Univeisiiy of
Pennsylvania, a leadei in evaluaiing ile impaci of luman iiglis media
piogiamming on audience aiiiiudes. Tle evaluaiois slowed all foui
episodes io one gioup of Kenyans, and anoilei sei of Vioja episodes (noi
ielaied io inflammaioiy speecl) io a coniiol gioup.

Tle siudy
:6
found ilai Kenyans wlo waicled ile foui episodes on
inflammaioiy speecl became moie slepiical of sucl language, since iley
slowed a gieaiei undeisianding of ile idea ilai inciiemeni can be a foim
of manipulaiion - ilai leadeis ofien use inciiemeni io ileii own advaniage.
Recommendaiions fiom ile siudy's auilois included:

i. Coniinue io focus on ile poliiical inceniives of manipulaiion in
eduiainmeni piogiams.

:6
Lauien Kogen, Tesiing a Media Inieiveniion in Kenya: Vioja Malalamani, Dangeious
Speecl, and ile Benescl Guidelines, Ceniei foi Global Communicaiion Siudies,
Annenbeig Sclool foi Communicaiion, Univeisiiy of Pennsylvania, available ai
voicesilaipoison.oig]vioja-evaluaiion]

iq

:. Coniinue io woil wiil celebiiiies as agenis of clange, iole models,
souices of infoimaiion, and souices of posiiive speecl.

Tle Vioja Malalamani episodes weie filmed in Kiswalili, since ilai is ile
mosi populai of Kenya's naiional languages (and since ile slow is uses ilai
language, mixed wiil occasional woids of Englisl and ile Kenyan slang
language Sleng). To male ile episodes (and ile expeiimeni ilai iley
consiiiuied) accessible io Englisl-spealing audiences, ile Dangeious
Speecl Piojeci commissioned a io-minuie documeniaiy on ile subjeci. Tle
documeniaiy is undeiway ai ilis wiiiing, and slould be available in eaily
:oi( on ile Dangeious Speecl Piojeci's websiie, voicesilaipoison.oig.
-(-( $( ,1,$(

Sisi ni Amani (Kiswalili foi "We aie Peace"), a Kenyan NGO, implemenied
SMS-based piogiamming ilai sougli io ieduce violence by disiiibuiing
sloii messages encouiaging peace and paiience in iesponse io specific
ciicumsiances and evenis ilai cold be piecuisois io violence in Kenya. Tlis
expeiimeni was conducied wiil suppoii fiom a vaiieiy of paiineis,
including membeis of PeaceTXT, a collaboiaiive gioup of oiganizaiions
seeling ways io use mobile ieclnology foi violence pieveniion.
:y


Fiom Decembei :oii uniil ile eleciion in Maicl :oi, Sisi ni Amani
campaigned in communiiies acioss Kenya io encouiage ciiizens io sign up
foi ileii fiee SMS (iexi messaging) seivice. By ile iime of ile eleciion,
moie ilan 6,ooo individuals weie subsciibeis, accoiding io Sisi ni Amani.

On eleciion day and foi iwo days afieiwaid, Sisi ni Amani siaff and
volunieeis moniioied news acioss ile couniiy and ideniified poieniial
iiiggeis foi ouibieals of violence. Sucl iiiggeis included aiiempis io
discouiage people fiom voiing in ile coasial ciiy of Mombasa; long lines
and equipmeni failuies in Mailaie; an explosion in Naiiobi; and geneial
iepoiis of agiiaiion and iising iensions wlile voies weie being counied. In
iesponse io ilese and oilei ieasons foi concein, Sisi ni Amani seni oui iexi

:y
We aie indebied io Sisi ni Amani's foundei and diiecioi, Raclel Biown, foi invaluable
conveisaiions and foi supplying inieinal iepoiis and documenis on wlicl ilis seciion is
based.

:o

messages io subsciibeis in ile affecied aieas, encouiaging paiience and
ieminding iecipienis of ile impoiiance of mainiaining peace. Tle messages
weie designed wiil ile lelp of expeiis fiom fields including adveiiising, io
male ilem as effeciive as possible ai influencing subsciibeis. Volunieeis
fiom ile iespeciive aieas also ieviewed messages piioi io disiiibuiion, io
male suie ilai messages weie pliased in language ilai besi suiied ile local
culiuie.

Afiei Raila Odinga peiiiioned ile Supieme Couii, clallenging ile elecioial
iesulis indicaiing ilai le lad losi ile piesidency again, discouise slified
among many of Odinga's suppoiieis. Tle ieim 'peace' became associaied
wiil inaciion, and suppoii foi Kenyaiia's }ubilee Alliance. In iesponse, Sisi
ni Amani leld a seiies of foiums in Easilands, a laige seciion of Naiiobi
including many middle-class Kenyans, io exploie low io ieslape iis
messaging aiound peace and jusiice io avoid laving iis effoiis
misinieipieied. Tle foiums lelped Sisi ni Amani io piepaie messages foi
seveial possible ouicomes of ile Supieme Couii's decision, as iniended, and
also lelped "ie-noimalize conveisaiions beiween suppoiieis of diffeieni
coaliiions."
:S


Sisi ni Amani seni oui a message io mosi of iis subsciibeis,
,
imploiing ilem
io leep peace wlile awaiiing ile impending veidici in ile case. Tle
following day, afiei ile Supieme Couii announced ile unanimous decision
of six jusiices ilai Uluiu Kenyaiia and lis iunning maie, William Ruio,
lad been validly elecied - iejeciing Odinga's clallenge and biiieily
disappoiniing many of lis suppoiieis - Sisi ni Amani seni iaigeied
messages io subsciibeis in neiglboiloods and ciiies including Odinga
siionglolds, especially in iesponse io iepoiis of aciual oi poieniial violence.
Subsciibeis in oilei aieas ieceived messages ilanling ilem foi uplolding
"paiience, lumiliiy, and peace."

In ile weels suiiounding ile eleciion, Sisi ni Amani seni oui ovei 6So,ooo
iexi messages io iis ovei 6,ooo subsciibeis, wiil encouiaging iesulis. Tle
oiganizaiion conducied a suivey afiei ile eleciions and of neaily S,ooo
subsciibeis wlo iesponded, q:% believed ilai ile messages lad a posiiive

:S
"Sisi ni Amani Kenya: :oi Eleciions Oveiview," pp. (-. Inieinal documeni on file wiil
auiloi.

:i

impaci; S% iepoiied discussing messages wiil oileis; and y% said ilai
iley lad foiwaided a message io someone else duiing ile campaign.
:q

Addiiionally, an asiounding qS% of iespondenis said ilai iley would iell a
fiiend io subsciibe io messages fiom Sisi ni Amani, indicaiing ilai ile vasi
majoiiiy found ile messages impoiiani and lelpful. Tle oiganizaiion also
ieceived a significani amouni of unsoliciied feedbacl fiom subsciibeis,
oiganizaiional paiineis, and communiiy membeis, ilanling Sisi ni Amani
foi iis woil and even expiessing demand foi messages in aieas wlicl weie
noi iaigeied.
Alilougl a moie significani assessmeni iemains io be done (Sisi ni Amani
noied ilai iis iespondenis weie self-selecied, foi example), ile oiganizaiion
las alieady ideniified seveial ley ialeaways fiom iis woil in :oi. Effeciive
messaging iequiies lnowing wlen not io send messages - foi Sisi ni Amani,
ilis included small oi laie-nigli disiuibances io wlicl calling aiieniion
would be disiupiive io ile communiiy; siiuaiions oi messages ilai could be
peiceived as laving a paiiisan slani; and iimes - especially duiing ile long
iallying piocess - wlen iepeaied messages could become annoying io
subsciibeis. Infiequeni, caiefully iaigeied and peisonalized messages, wlen
combined wiil insiiiuiional collaboiaiions and woil on ile giound, seem
io be ile mosi piomising ways io conduci ilis iype of inieiveniion.
Sisi ni Amani's foundei Raclel Biown iepoiis ilai sle lopes io coniinue
analyzing and piomoiing ilis model foi violence pieveniion, and plans io
biing in addiiional expeiis io evaluaie ile piojeci's effeciiveness. Sle and
lei colleagues also plan io expand ile model foi use in oilei couniiies.
2""3($) :,!3 "$ %/& &2&!%("$ ;'"1 $,('":(=
3&$4,5- ."-%?&2&!%("$ 6789C .&,!&D !,21D
!4:&'E,'D !"1,F

On Apiil ::, :oi, ile Dangeious Speecl Piojeci convened a woilslop in
Naiiobi io lool bacl ai effoiis io leep peace by limiiing dangeious speecl
and iis inflammaioiy effecis, duiing ile elecioial peiiod in :oi. We inviied

:q
See also Mail Benjamin, "Ai PopTecl: Violence inieiiupiion leveiaged by mobile
plones," available ai
popiecl.oig]blog]ai_popiecl_violence_inieiiupiion_leveiaged_by_mobile_plones

::

paiiicipanis io iale siocl of wlai amounied io a naiional expeiimeni, ai a
momeni wlen ile eleciion was safely belind Kenya, bui siill ai ile fioni of
Kenyans' minds.

By laie Apiil wlen we gaileied, ile eleciion lad been concluded, ile
Kenyan Supieme Couii lad iejecied Raila Odinga's clallenge io ile iesuli,
and Uluiu Kenyaiia lad been inauguiaied as piesideni. Siill, Umaii
moniiois weie finding an alaiming level of laiied online, especially
beiween membeis of ile Kiluyu iiibe, io wlicl Piesideni Kenyaiia belongs,
and lis defeaied iival Raila Odinga's Luo iiibe - lence ile woid "cybeiwai"
in ile iiile of oui woilslop: 'Kenyo's Post Election :oi. Peoce, Colm,
Cyberwor, Como?'

Tle woids "peace" and calm" weie boil included in oui iiile, io disiinguisl
beiween a meie absence of violence - calm - and susiainable peace. By all
accounis, Kenya is siill deeply divided, and ile iniei-gioup giievances
undeilying ile posi-eleciion violence of :ooy-S lave noi been iesolved.
Indeed, as panelisi Heniy Maina poinied oui, lundieds of ilousands of
Kenyans wlo weie displaced duiing ilai violence siill lave noi been able io
ieiuin lome, and many siill live in maleslifi camps. Oui panelisis and
audience paiiicipanis eloquenily debaied ilis ley quesiion: was ile calm
eleciion a lilely and necessaiy siep iowaid a moie iobusi peace, oi did ii
only masl (and posipone) ile iisl faciois foi violence?

Tle final woid in oui iiile, coma, iefeiied io ile ieim "peace coma," used
by ile caiioonisi and wiiiei Paiiicl Gailaia in lis publisled columns
o
io
iale ile laiiei view, veiy siiongly. Gailaia aigued ilai ile onslaugli of
peace piopaganda lad lad a negaiive side-effeci: suppiession of disseni.
"As ile eleciions appioacled we weie assailed wiil unceasing calls foi
peace and appeals io a naiionalism we lnew io be io all ioo elusive,"
i

Gailaia wioie. He ciiiicized Kenyan jouinalisis foi failing adequaiely io
quesiion ile elecioial piocess oi ile iesuli, in favoi of anodyne coveiage
and cleeileading foi calm and paiience. Befoie long, le claimed, "a

o
Publisled in Kenyan newspapeis, Gailaia's columns aie also collecied on lis blog,
Gailaia's Woild, ai gailaia.blogspoi.com
i
Paiiicl Gailaia, Tle Monsieis Undei ile House, Maicl iS, :oi, available ai
gailaia.blogspoi.com]:oi]o]ile-monsieis-undei-louse.liml

:

compaci lad developed beiween ile media and ile public. Kenya would
lave a peaceful and ciedible poll no maiiei wlai. Tle naiiaiive would be
piopagaied by a few piivileged voices and ii would counienance no
clallenge. Tle media would sooil|ej oui dangeious passions wiil :(-loui
enieiiainmeni slows masqueiading as eleciion coveiage."
:
Duiing and
afiei ile eleciion, Gailaia asseiied, Kenyans expiessed mucl less disseni
ilan iley feli, in paii because iley lad been led io believe ii migli
engendei violence, and in paii because ile police ciacled down swifily on
ilose wlo aiiempied io demonsiiaie in public. (Wlen ile elecioial
commission announced ilai Uluiu Kenyaiia lad naiiowly defeaied Raila
Odinga's in ile piesideniial iace, Odinga's suppoiieis began pioiesiing in
some of lis elecioial siionglolds, and weie quiclly dispeised by police.)

"Wlai maiuiiiy is ilis ilai iiembles ai ile fiisi sign of disagieemeni oi
clallenge?" Gailaia coniinued in lis column. "Wlai peace lives in ile
peipeiual sladow of a self-annililaiing violence?"

Gailaia was one of five panelisis ai ile Peoce, Colm, Cyberwor, Como?
woilslop, and was inviied in paii foi lis siiong ciiiical views. Tle oileis
weie Muiuma Ruieeie, a Kenyan luman iiglis aciivisi now seiving as UN
Special Rappoiieui on coniempoiaiy foims of iacism, iacial disciiminaiion,
xenoplobia and ielaied inioleiance; Haion Mwangi, CEO of ile Media
Council of Kenya, an independeni waicldog and moniioiing body; Heniy
Maina, Diiecioi of Easi Afiica foi Aiiicle iq, a luman iiglis oiganizaiion
piomoiing fieedom of expiession; and Limo Taboi, an aciive bloggei wlo is
also ile finance diiecioi of ile Kenyan nonpiofii iecl innovaioi Uslalidi.
Susan Benescl modeiaied ile vigoious discussion in lei capaciiy as
foundei and diiecioi of ile Dangeious Speecl Piojeci.

In iesponse io Benescl's quesiion aboui ile "peace coma" desciibed in lis
wiiiings, Gailaia iniioduced a siill moie piovocaiive ieim: "peace
loboiomy." Tle Kenyan populaiion lad been cowed by feai of ilemselves
and eacl oilei, le suggesied, and ile goal of pieveniing violence lad led io
self-censoislip in some cases. Noiing ilai Kenya las ofien seen violence
duiing eleciions, Gailaia said ilai befoie ile :oi elecioial piocess, "ilis

:
Id.

Id.

:(

violence las always been seen as peipeiuaied by ile Goveinmeni. We nevei
blamed ouiselves." Afiei :ooy in Kenya, le said, ileie was a "campaign io
convince us ilai we weie all iesponsible foi ilis."
In ile view of Heniy Maina of Aiiicle iq, iesponsibiliiy was indeed widely
slaied. Tle posi eleciion violence was inspiied by ile ilinling and speecl
of many Kenyans. "Ii was noi jusi ilose six guys," Maina said, iefeiiing io
six Kenyans wlo weie indicied by ile Piosecuioi of ile Inieinaiional Couii
foi ciimes againsi lumaniiy allegedly commiiied duiing ile posi-eleciion
violence in :ooS. (Claiges againsi iliee of ile six weie laiei diopped.) "Ii
was inielleciuals, oidinaiy ciiizens, eic. ilai fiamed ile issues in ceiiain
ways. We played a ceiiain iole io encouiage ile PEV :ooy," Maina said.
Maina and Muiuma Ruieeie, ile UN special iappoiieui, poinied io anoilei
souice of ile ielaiively low level of public disseni duiing ile :oi eleciions:
Kenyan jouinalisis, afiei being blamed foi lelping io siimulaie ile violence
of :ooy-S, pioduced unusually mild-manneied and unciiiical coveiage in
:oi. Maina poinied oui ilai afiei ile elecioial commission iepeaiedly
failed io announce iesulis on ile scledule ilai ii lad piomised, jouinalisis
ai ile iallying ceniei iefiained fiom asling many quesiions even wlen ile
claiiman of ile elecioial commission inviied ilem io do so. "Ceiiainly,
moie iepoiieis slould lave asled quesiions, bui no one wanied io iocl ile
boai," said Limo Taboi of Uslalidi. "In ile inieiesi of ile public, diummed
in foi ile lasi ( yeais, ile media did iis job."
"Tle glosi of :ooy is ieally wlai las been langing on ile aciois ilis iime
aiound," Ruieeie said, encapsulaiing many of ile oilei iemails. Foi
example, all Kenyan jouinalisis weie awaie ilai of ile iliee Kenyans siill
being piosecuied by ile Inieinaiional Ciiminal Couii, one is a iadio
bioadcasiei: }oslua aiap Sang of ile siaiion Kass FM. "Tleie was a geneial
woiiy ilai in :ooy, we swung ioo fai and so ilis iime aiound, ile media did
noi wani io be ile ones io siole ile fiies." Niclolas Benequisia, a
ieseaiclei fiom ile Univeisiiy of Oxfoid wlo siudies Kenyan jouinalism
and wlo iool paii in ile woilslop, saw a moie subile ieason foi ile
jouinalisis' ieseive. "Tleie las developed a dependency on poliiicians foi
ile news," le said. Wlen jouinalisis weie noi able io publisl (possibly
inflammaioiy) commenis by poliiicians in ilai lind of enviionmeni,
Benequisia asseiied, "ii undeimined ile abiliiy of jouinalisis io iepoii ile
news ile way iley noimally do."

:

Haion Mwangi, ile Media Council claiiman, said le believed ile media
weie indeed iesponsible foi coniiibuiing io ile posi-eleciion violence of
:ooS, and ilai ilis iime iley lad been cauiious foi good ieason. Tle glosi
of :ooy may lave been useful, in oilei woids.
A full evaluaiion of ile iole ilai Kenyan jouinalisis played in :oi, Mwangi
said, would iale fuiilei siudy, including by ile Council. "We need io lool
ai ile biggei piciuie," le said, including pievious eleciions in Kenya. "Tle
Kenya media is aiiuned io a siiuaiion of ialing exiiemes. Afiican media las
a iougl iime iepoiiing in posi-conflici locaiions." Tle ieim "ciiiical
iepoiiing" was misused in :ooy accoiding io Mwangi, io jusiify
inflammaioiy language. In iesponse, ile Media Council "landled media io
avoid inciiemeni," iiaining lundieds of Kenyan jouinalisis beiween May
:oi: and Feb :oi. Foi ile fiisi iime, Mwangi said, "we weie noi even
woiiied aboui veinaculai iadio siaiions," wlicl bioadcasi in ile languages
ilai Kenyans desciibe affeciionaiely as ileii "moilei iongues,"
(
and weie
lnown in :ooy-S foi seiiing ileii audiences againsi one anoilei. Wiil ile
widespiead campaigns againsi inflammaioiy speecl in :oi: and :oi, "Did
we saciifice someiling?" Mwangi asled ile oilei woilslop paiiicipanis -
cleaily seaicling foi an answei ilai is siill elusive, in lis view. "Wlai is ile
evidence ilai we missed someiling? Wlai is ile consequence of ilai
missing someiling?"
Peilaps suggesiing an answei, le said, "Tle peace ilai we lave is quiie
supeificial. Tleie lave been iensions. And even afiei :ooy, we did noi solve
ile undeilying issues. Wlai we need now io conceniiaie on is io
inieiiogaie issues. How can we be a susiainable peace? How aie we able io
ciiiicize ile goveinmeni?
Inieiesiingly ile woilslop audience - a diveise gioup of Kenyans wlo weie
mosily youngei ilan ile panelisis - was geneially mucl moie opiimisiic.
"I would disagiee wiil ile noiion ilai ileie is peace coma," one
commeniei fiom ile audience said. "Peace could nevei be even moie (ioo

(
As ile auiloi's field ieseaicl in Kenya confiimed, ile language in wlicl a message is
iiansmiiied may gieaily affeci iis influence on a lisienei oi ieadei. Seveial Kenyan
inieiview subjecis said, independenily, "If I leai someiling in Englisl oi in Kiswalili, I
leai ii wiil my lead. Bui if I leai ii in my moilei iongue, I leai ii wiil my leaii."


:6

mucl) oveiemplasized. Tlis is because of ile level of violence ilai exisied
in :ooy was unbelievable."
Oilei woilslop paiiicipanis said iley feli ile Kenyan media lad been
iigli io pull iis puncles somewlai, since ilai lelped io pieveni violence.
"If ile media lad noi been iesponsible as iley weie now, ile couniiy would
lave gone io flames," one said.
Tle ilougliful gioup also looled baclwaid - and mosi impoiianily,
foiwaid. Tleie was consensus among all woilslop paiiicipanis ilai ileie is
siill moie woil io be done, io undeisiand Kenya's effoiis io mainiain peace,
fiom :ooy io ile pieseni and inio ile fuiuie.
"Have we fully appieciaied and undeisiood wlai lappened in :ooy?," a
siudeni paiiicipani asled. "If we say we aie ai a peace coma, does ilai
mean we aie iiuly looling ai wlai is lappening online? (Ai ile iime of ile
woilslop ileie was - and siill is ai ilis wiiiing - vigoious debaie and
consideiable laieful speecl in Kenyan online spaces, wlicl ile Umaii
piojeci coniinues io colleci and analyze.) Wlai aie we going io do in :oiy
(wlen Kenya is due io lold iis nexi piesideniial eleciions)? Going foiwaid.
wleie aie we going?"
Tle woilslop was an invigoiaiing iemindei of ile ligl level of iefleciion
and analysis among Kenyans, iegaiding low io couniei inflammaioiy
speecl and pieveni violence - wlile also pieseiving demociaiic debaie and
fieedom of speecl. Tlis is one of ile ieasons wly Kenya is a good
laboiaioiy foi expeiimenis lile ile ones desciibed in ilis papei, and wly
sucl expeiimenis slould be coniinued ileie.