Can the Quiet Be Sustained? Civil Society Organizations in PreElections Peacebuilding; Insights from Kisumu’s Hotspot Zones

Abstract

The reintroduction of multi-party democracy 1992, the consequent operationalization of devolved governance and digitization of the electoral process in 2013, were all critical junctures serving as indicators of a maturing Kenyan democracy. Yet, most of the Kenya’s subsequent elections have consistently revealed that Kenya still has a long way to go insofar as electoral integrity is concerned. This study investigates the paradox of peaceful electoral outcomes in Kisumu County during the 2022 general elections, despite the region's history of conflict. It focuses on the critical interventions of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in pre-election peacebuilding efforts, particularly within historically volatile contexts – listed by Kenya’s Government before 2022 elections as “hotspots”. Employing a qualitative research design, the paper captures the lived experiences of local CSOs and other electoral stakeholders. The paper identifies threE key typologies of CSOs: ad-hoc conflict response arrangements, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs). The findings elucidate how these organizations effectively mobilized community-based strategies, fostering trust and collaboration, while also highlighting their challenges in sustaining long-term impact due to temporally limitation; top-down-based peace-building designs, resource volatility and the existence of an optimal conditions for thriving of political corruption. Importantly, the research reveals that the peaceful nature of the election results in the hotspot zones of Kisumu County was shaped by a combination of CSO efforts, evolving political consciousness, especially of the youthful voters, and the electorate’s collective memory of the repercussions of past violence. The paper therefore calls for a re-politicization of peacebuilding and an acrossthe-electoral cycle peace-building approach. It emphasizes the necessity for committed ethical and empathetic leadership, and a comprehensive, structurally-informed approach to addressing entrenched electoral conflicts in Kenya.