More Kenyans fear election violence, new study shows

 

An increased number of Kenyans fear election-related violence the most, a new survey shows.

The study by the University of Nairobi's Institute of Development Studies (IDS) released Wednesday shows at least 41 per cent of Kenyans, an increase of 17 per cent two years ago, are afraid of becoming victims of election violence.

"This group also fears intimidation by politicians during campaigns," said the report, which comes as the country heads looks forward to the August elections.

In 2014, some 24 per cent of respondents said they feared being intimidated during campaigns or being victims of election violence.

"There is greater fear of violence during campaigns. Four out of 10 Kenyans (41 per cent) expressed a lot of fear of becoming victims of campaign violence," said IDS Director Winnie Mitullah.

Findings of the research that saw 1,599 people interviewed between September and October 2016 came in the wake of heightened political activity as parties mobilise supporters to register as voters.

Similarly, most Kenyans want leaders picked democratically.

"At least 77 per cent of respondents want leaders chosen through regular, open and honest elections. Another 19 per cent want other means of choosing leaders adopted since elections, at times, produce bad leaders," reads the report.

Forming coalitions

Also coming when political parties are forming coalitions in the hopes of winning, the study shows 64 per cent of Kenyans disapprove of the merging of parties.

However, 31 per cent are against the presence of many political parties, which they said only caused division and confusion.

Meanwhile, most respondents, 67 per cent, are against protests as a way of expressing dissatisfaction with the Government.

Last year, CORD coalition held massive street protests to force electoral commission bosses out, and was planning similar demonstrations after Jubilee used its numerical strength in the National Assembly to amend election laws both sides had previously negotiated.

The majority of respondents or 55 per cent are unhappy with Kenya's economy, with some saying it is "fairly bad" and others terming it "very bad".

"Almost half of Kenyans or 47 per cent went without enough food once during the past year as the proportion of citizens experiencing a repeated lack of basic necessities has increased since 2014," said the report.

The majority (76 per cent) say the Government has performed poorly in keeping prices stable while 69 per cent say it has not done well in creating jobs. Another 55 per cent feel Jubilee has mismanaged the economy.