Saturday, February 23, 2008
The last hurdle to new prime minister
Story by SATURDAY NATION Team
Publication Date: 2/23/2008
Only a constitutional amendment seemed to stand in the way of the long-awaited settlement to the country’s post-election crisis Friday after a day of long talks and factional consultations.
Armed And Dangerous
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
NEWS
22 February 2008
Posted to the web 22 February 2008
Nairobi
Kenya is at risk of plunging into a new wave of violence, despite progress in negotiations to end a political crisis, because several armed groups are mobilising on all sides of the country’s ethno-political divisions, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank.
Firearms are much less widely available in Kenya than in neighbouring countries. In the context of this article, “armed groups” include those using machetes, spears, poison arrows and clubs.
MoreBLACK STUDENTS SET TO RALLY THIS TUESDAY
For Immediate Release
Friday February 22nd 2008
BLACK STUDENTS SET TO RALLY THIS TUESDAY
Student Group Board Set on Fire, Anti-racist Material Destroyed
Last week a bulletin board belonging to Ryerson’s East African Students group was set on fire. Material put ablaze included a series of campaigns under the slogans of “United to End Racism,” “Education not Occupation,” “No Justice No Peace,” “Boycott Israeli Apartheid,” and “De-Colonize Ryerson.” Petitions on the board calling for university-based ESL provisions and equitable access to refugee students were also put to flames. Toronto Police have launched an investigation.
AU chief urges Kenya political deal
AU chief urges Kenya political deal
Ping says negotiations to end the Kenya impasse are moving forward in the right direction [AFP]
Africa’s most senior diplomat has urged Kenya’s feuding parties to come to a deal after the government agreed to a power-sharing deal to help end a deadly post-election crisis.
Jean Ping, the newly elected African Union chairman, said in Nairobi: “The weekend will be crucial.
“We hope that next week we’ll have something which can be agreed.”
Ping, elected at an AU summit in Ethiopia in February, is the latest in a succession of high-powered visitors who have pushed Kenyan leaders towards common ground.
MoreKenya talks to resume Monday
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-23 15:27
NAIROBI - Mediators trying to resolve Kenya’s political deadlock adjourned talks on Friday night without clinching a political settlement on the post of prime minister which is one of the options for a political settlement.
Chief mediator Kofi Annan said while some progress had been made during Friday’s discussions on governance structure, the parties felt there were still some issues on which they need to consult their principals.
“I have asked them to consult over the weekend and return on Monday prepared to conclude an agreement,” the former UN chief said in a statement released last night.
He reminded the negotiators of the urgency of the talks and the high expectations of the people of Kenya, the East African region and the world.
Annan urged both President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to give their negotiators clear instructions so that talks can move swiftly to conclusion when talks resume Monday.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Africa’s top diplomat pushes Kenya rivals to agree
Africa’s top diplomat pushed Kenya’s feuding parties on Friday to reach a speedy deal after the government agreed in principle to create a prime minister’s post to help end a deadly post-election crisis. “The weekend will be crucial. We hope that next week we’ll have something which can be agreed,” newly-elected African Union chairman Jean Ping told a news conference in Nairobi. The opposition has demanded a powerful role as executive premier for their leader Raila Odinga, who accuses President Mwai Kibaki of rigging the December 27 poll. Kibaki’s team says he won fairly, and accuses the opposition of instigating riots and ethnic violence that killed 1,000 people, displaced 300,000 and wrecked Kenya’s image as a stable business, tourism and transport hub.
ODM wants parliament reopened
ODM Thursday asked President Kibaki to re-open Parliament next week so that MPs can address the key issue of growing insecurity in the country. Party secretary-general Anyang’ Nyong’o said the House was the best placed institution to deal with the issue, which was sparked by the disputed presidential elections. “Parliament is the only body that could speak on behalf of all Kenyans on the rising cases of insecurity,” Prof Nyong’o said.
The ODM official said President Kibaki should summon Parliament urgently because the situation on the ground is grave. But in case the President ignores their plea, Prof Nyong’o, who is the Kisumu Rural MP said, it would show that the Government was not concerned about the safety and lives of all Kenyans.
Cotu calls for review of Constitution
The workers umbrella body Thursday joined calls for a minimum review of the Constitution to break the political impasse in the country. Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) secretary-general Francis Atwoli warned that taking hardline positions would only plunge the country deeper into chaos. “Let them (negotiators from both sides) be told that if Kofi Annan is to leave the country without a solution, they will not be an exception this time round. No one will be safe,” he said.
Mr Atwoli urged ODM leaders to stop calling for mass action, saying Kenyans wanted to rebuild their lives. “Workers are tired, the business community is also tired. No one is interested in going to the streets.” He urged the National Dialogue and Reconciliation team to visit displaced persons and see the suffering for themselves. “After visiting these camps that they might come to terms with reality. It is then they can negotiate soberly,” he said. Mr Atwoli said 500,000 people had lost their jobs as a result of the post-election violence and warned that investors might consider moving to neighbouring countries if an agreement was not reached soon.
Daily Nation
Mass action call cited at Annan mediation
The ODM threat to call mass action was part of the agenda in the mediation talks. On Thursday, both sides agreed it was reckless to issue intimidating statements. But religious leaders and the civil society were divided on whether ODM was justified to call for mass action. Civil society said mass action was legitimate against an obstinate Government.
But Vice-President, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, asked ODM to be patient. “We urge our colleagues to let (Dr Kofi) Annan conclude the talks without calls for mass action. Let us collectively give the talks the impetus and a chance to succeed,” he said.
Kenya can’t solve it alone
By Wangari Maathai*
The post-election crisis in Kenya remains unresolved. The damage being done to the country’s economy is severe: tourism, horticulture, and other industries that depend on trade beyond the Kenyan border are reeling. Thousands of livelihoods, along with investments throughout the region, are threatened and collapsing. As the situation in Kenya escalated - with murders, rapes, burning of property, looting, and the displacement of thousands of people throughout the country - the international community was urged to help. Many countries responded, providing essential humanitarian assistance and logistical support. For this, I and many other Kenyans are very grateful.
MoreHope over PM deal
Government and ODM negotiators Thursday closed ranks and agreed on the creation of the position of a Prime Minister. It was a major step in a process that may be inching closer to a break-through in the search for a settlement to end the post-election political crisis. Details of the powers and functions of the new position in Government hierarchy were yet to be fine-tuned by the mediation team chaired by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. The step could brighten the faces of thousands of Kenyans who have borne the brunt of the post-election violence and members of the international community that has consistently exerted pressure on President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to end the political dispute.
Churches call for fresh poll
Kenyan religious leaders have called for a fresh general election as the only way out of the current political crisis. The leaders who comprised Christians, Muslims and Hindus also proposed the resignation of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) to pave way for its reconstitution. Speaking under the auspices of the Inter-Religious Forum at the Ufungamano House in Nairobi, the leaders reiterated their proposal to President Kibaki that wide consultations be made within the political parties regarding appointment of ECK commissioners to ensure the new body is credible.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Kenya in Crisis - Africa report No. 137
Since the announcement of the contested presidential election results on 30 December 2007 giving a second term to Mwai Kibaki, Kenya has been in its worst political crisis since independence. Over 1,000 people have died and 300,000 have been displaced in violence with a serious ethnic character. As former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan conducts negotiations for a political settlement, calm has partly returned, but the situation remains highly volatile. To address the causes of the crisis, it will not be enough for the Annan team to broker a deal on the mechanics of a transitional arrangement between political opponents and schedule negotiations on a reform agenda. A sustainable settlement must address in detail a program of power sharing, constitutional and legal reform and economic policies that convinces the drivers of violence to disarm. For negotiations to succeed, the international community must enhance its pressure, including aid conditionality and threats and application of targeted sanctions against spoilers.
View International Crisis Group report
Press release - National Civil Society Congress
The National Civil Society Congress
KATIBA HOUSE, NGONG ROAD
P.O BOX 10394-00100
NAIROBI, KENYA
TEL:+(254) 387 3332/4962
FAX +(254) 3871432
EMAIL-
Website: http://www.ncsckenya.org
20th February, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
This is a constitutional moment! While some parties want to negotiate the future of Kenya on a flawed foundation of the current constitution, the National Civil Society congress (the Congress) wants a new constitution to be the basis of negotiating the future.
MoreConcerns after a tour following IDPs moving from Tigoni to Kisumu/Western
Report by Lucy Hannan*
Movement of displaced populations:
Thousands of people are on the move. It continues during the ‘wait and see’ period of mediation. People are seeking safety in their ancestral homeland while there is an opportunity. In many of the towns I passed through, ethnic segregation has effectively been completed. Post ‘cleansing’-violence, there is a new phase of aggression which is less overt but bold and uncompromising. Armed gangs patrol urban and rural areas, issuing threats and maintaining segregation.
Westerners are relocating West, and displaced Kikuyus moving towards Nairobi. Trucks piled high with furniture and household possessions characterize traffic flow on all parts of the route, most concentrated around Nakuru, Kericho and Kisumu. Yet major camps for the displaced have not emptied, indicating the population shift is massive and continuous; costs and logistics are inhibiting movement of the poorest; and, fear of attack and reprisals have not reduced despite the recent calm. The Showground (Kikuyu) and Stadium (non-Kikuyu) in Nakuru were still full on Sunday evening, including new arrivals.
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