Pattern of the postelection violence injuries of patients attended at the accident and emergency department of the Kenyatta National Hospital and the tools of violence employed

Introduction The results of the Kenyan Presidential elections held on 28th December, 2007 were disputed leading to a serious outbreak of violence in various parts of the country. Over 1000 people were reported dead, thousands suffered various types and degree of injuries while hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes. Some of the injured were treated at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Study Objective To show the pattern of the post election violence injuries suffered by the patients treated at the KNH and to determine the tools of violence used by the perpetrators. Methodology This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients records between 28th December, 2007 and 3rd February, 2008. Results There were a total of 474 patients; 441(93%) males and 33(7%) females treated for election related violence at KNH, out of whom 190(40%) were admitted and 8(2%) died on arrival at the casualty. The youngest patients reported were a 1 year old girl who suffered from multiple cuts followed by a 3 year old who was a victim of gunshot in the head. Thirty seven percent were young adults below the age of 26 years and nine children were aged below 12 years. Fifty five (11.6%) patients suffered gunshot injuries, 7 patients had arrow injuries, 6 of cases burns and 2 cases of forced male circumcision were reported.