A Goat For A Vote Documentary Shows Politics Starts Early In Kenya

By Al Jazeera English Network

A Goat For A Vote, an upcoming Al Jazeera documentary, follows three students in Kenya competing to become the next school president.

Majaoni Secondary School is gripped by election fever. Magdalene has to prove herself in a boy-dominated school which has never been led by a girl. Harry, from the poor side of town, hopes to win so he will be able to take care of his family in the future. They struggle against the popular Said, a natural born leader with a disarming smile.

The three candidates have different strategies: Magdalena wants to unite all girls in the fight for equal rights; Said has an election song and bags of candy; and Harry offers goat meat to the students to win their votes.

Director Jeroen van Velzen says, “The best way to understand our society is to look at our children,” so A Vote For A Goat is a charming, revealing glimpse into Kenyan life and politics.

A Goat For a Vote has screened at leading documentary festivals like One World and DokLeipzig.

This is Van Velzen’s second film set in Kenya, where he spent part of his childhood. The first, Wavumba, earned him Best New Director at Tribeca in 2012.

A Goat For A Vote premieres on Wednesday, 15 July 2015 at 20h00 GMT / 22h00 CAT on Witness, Al Jazeera's observational documentary strand.

Watch and embed the promo:

For more information, visit http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness / or follow @AJWitness on Twitter and Facebook.