<p>For Juliana Rotich, like so many Kenyans, the last election at the end of 2007 evokes painful memories.</p><p>Having returned from her studies in the US to vote in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret she was stranded for days as her compatriots fought and died over the disputed results. She remembers feeling helpless and has no intention of repeating the experience. As Kenya goes to the polls again tomorrow, the young technologist is among a small army of Kenyan geeks who have been leading efforts to prevent violence.</p><p>During the post-election crisis text messages were used to spread rumours, incite violence between different communities and even coordinate attacks. But mobile phones could also be put to positive use as Ms Rotich proved when she helped to found Ushahidi (Swahili for Witness), a platform that allows text messages to be used to map crises.</p><p>The tech initiative was one of the few positives to emerge from a crisis that left 1,300 people dead and 600,000 more homeless. The Kenyan startup has since been used all over the world from mapping temporary office locations during superstorm Sandy in the US to improving public transport systems in Beijing. Now the crowd-sourcing and crisis mapping venture returns home for possibly its greatest test.</p><p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/kenyans-put-messaging-to-work-to-head-off-poll-violence-8518413.html">Keep reading...</a></p>