While analysts have predicted that as long as the judiciary in Kenya remains independent investment might be possible in the country’s property market in the near future, the events seem to be contradicting that line of thought.
It appears that the divisions in Kenya that are sparking the violence do not only have tribal connotations to them.
Interviews with many of the people that were witness to violence in the country has shown that while tribal issues do have a lot to do with what is going on in Kenya right now, a lot of it also has to do with class struggle. Apparently, many Kenyans are fed up with the lot they have in life and are using the violence as an excuse to make a political statement.
This is a shift in the outlook on the area that should be very troubling to property investors in the country. The class struggle often lends itself to destruction of property as part of the political statement being made. Property represents the essence of class struggle to many and therefore it is quite possible that a number of Kenyans involved in the violence are specifically targeting middle-class and foreign-owned property as part of the destruction they wreak.
According to an upper class resident Maina, many of the people conducting the violence came from the lower classes in the country and were more interested in taking over businesses and destroying property than in bringing some sort of reconciliation to the fighting that continues to this very day within the country.
As reported by The Associated Press, Maina said that "People were expecting to take over property. Instead of saying why don't we create more of that wealth, they want to grab it and distribute it".
It is apparent that destruction is a secondary option when distribution is not possible. This shift in knowledge about the violence in the country should cause all property investors currently invested in Kenya to pay far closer attention to their investments not only in that country, but also within the surrounding regions.
