Synopsis
A human rights ‘reality film’ on how a Kenyan presidential candidate and his running mate, both charged with crimes against humanity, succeed in cornering the 2013 general election. It left the country deeply divided: was the election used to push back the charges and destroy the International Criminal Court? The film artfully deconstructs a controversial election that had extraordinary consequences, and left thousands of victims without justice.
Narrator Maina Kiai – Kenyan human rights defender and UN Special Rapporteur – uses his own on-the-ground experience as voter, observer and activist, to tell a gripping international story of power and impunity. From casting his vote, to sitting in on the courtroom drama, Kiai presents an eloquent expose of ‘a modern day civilian coup’.
It is a Kenyan look at a universal theme: how authoritarian regimes make use of ‘democratic’ elections, and how the rest of the world goes along with it. Also important to the structure and theme of the film is the use of the actual video evidence submitted in the Supreme Court. This ‘play within a play’ technique illustrates a critical human rights development – the reluctance of courts worldwide to handle the growing availability of powerful video evidence.
