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As a comprehensive response to the political and ethnic violence following the 2007 elections, Kenya has embarked on a profound reform process. That violence left more than a thousand people dead and over 350,000 displaced. Various institutions and commissions were formed to investigate the conflicts, undertaking painstaking and thorough analyses of those events.
By undergoing comprehensive constitutional and institutional reforms, the country has striven to steer socio-political changes and break the vicious circles of violence. Beyond all the political and self-serving infighting, the new constitution allows for participatory governance and leadership. However, censorship and neglect of recommendations made, lopsided judicial interpretations of its provisions, lack of institutional capacities, weak implementation processes as well as long term systemic injustices have led to the occurrence and continuation of similar conflict patterns over time. The major objective of this research study, therefore, is to analyze the role that the government has been playing in conflict prevention, resolution and management in general and how its actions (or inaction) form part of the underlying factors and dynamics of conflicts.
