Kenya poll violence ‘will disrupt growth and trade’
The unrest that accompanied the 2007 vote could reoccur after Tuesday’s poll, threatening investment and creating widespread business disruptions
Kenya’s consistently strong growth performance puts it squarely among top-priority markets on multinational executives’ sub-Saharan African agendas. At a roundtable event we hosted in Johannesburg earlier this year, the majority of executives we polled thought Kenya offered the largest growth opportunity for their sub-Saharan African businesses in 2017 and would receive their largest new investment in the region in 2017. Such high expectations mean Tuesday’s election — in which votes are being cast for the presidency, legislature and local county positions — will prove one of the most high-profile polls this year. As vote counting begins, however, businesses and investors are worried about what the coming days and weeks will bring. Dominating concerns is the possibility that violence akin to the unrest that accompanied the 2007 vote could reoccur, threatening investment and creating widespread business disruptions. Then, about 1,200 people were killed and 500,000 displaced in clashe...
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