February 19, 2008
Text messages used as tool of hate in Kenya
"If your neighbor is a Kikuyu, just kick him or her out of that house. No one is going to ask you anything," the hate message read on 27-year old Kenyan Joyce Mandela's mobile phone.
"You don't know who is sending them, you don't know how they got your number," said Mandela.
Since December's disputed elections, ethnic clashes involving the Kikuyu, Luo, Luhya and Kalenjin tribes -- among others -- have rocked Kenya, claiming about 1,000 lives and displacing another 300,000 people.
... The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights charged that text messages were among the means used to encourage Kenyans to participate in tribal attacks, along with inflammatory statements and songs broadcast on radio stations and at party rallies, leaflets and even bribes.
The Kenyan government recently said it was working with leading mobile operators to monitor voice and text messages on mobile phones - and potentially catch offenders.
Many in Mathare Chief Camp, huddled in tents with wool blankets, said they have been too afraid to pass on any of the SMS messages."
[via AFP]
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