Hate speech, ethnic cleavages and youth violence in Kenyan politics

Abstract

This study highlights the emergence of hate speech, resulting from institutionalization of ethnic cleavages, as a potential risk for the Kenyan nation that could lead to dire consequences if not urgently addressed. The study‟s analysis is located in the historical context of political violence and the language of political discourse in Kenya. The study is anchored in critical postmodernism, focusing on the primacy of discourse, and seeks to critically analyze and determine the extent to which hate speech is a dis- course, how we situate hate speech within the dynamics of violence and what should constitute the reform agenda if hate speech is to be muted. By adopting the postmodern approach, this study questions the dominant assumptions that belie the current models addressing hate speech and youth violence in Kenyan politics. The study constitutes a unique contribution to study on hate speech, providing critical insights on the extent of its influence in the Kenyan scenario. It demonstrates how political elites invoke ethnic identities to further their own agendas and argue that the power of hate speech derives from the mental concepts created through conspiracy theories spreading fear and hatred that then consequently result in violence. Using mixed methods, the study generates baseline data through quantitative methods, then further uses qualitative methods to critically engage in-depth discussions and validate varied aspects of the findings generated from the baseline data. The sample is drawn from the youth in Nairobi County. Questionnaires were administered on a sample of 150 students from the University of Nairobi, and 50 from the Technical University of Kenya. Focus group discussions were held with five university/college student leaders and five Mungiki sect members selected through snowballing. Further in-depth interviews in- volved three residents randomly selected from each of the study areas; Mathare North, Huruma and Kariobangi South and post-election violence victims numbering 18 from Kibera, 20 from Mathare North and 7 from Kariobangi South. The findings reveal that Kenyan communities co-exist in harmony except during elections when speech fomenting ethnic hatred dominates the campaign rhetoric, resulting in inter-ethnic violence. The study stresses on the incompleteness of research surrounding the hate speech discourse and its relevance to youth violence and calls for more analytical work on both their theoretical and practical aspects. It highlights the tenets of new policy imperatives to effectively augment efforts towards curbing hate speech, particularly in light of unprecedented developments in online media as an ongoing dis- course in post-conflict societies struggling with institutionalization of ethnic cleavages. The findings suggest that hate speech is to date sufficiently harmful to justify constitutional protection and points to the urgent need to develop an open discourse among the citizens, especially the „netizens‟, that is social media users, on the limitations of free speech on a seemingly „free‟ social media platform and the dangers of hate speech to the society at large.