Monday, February 18, 2008
Displaced teachers moved to new bases
Over 1,800 teachers in Nakuru District have been temporarily moved to new schools after they were displaced from their former work stations by violence occasioned by disputed vote tallying in last year’s presidential election. The local chapter of the Kenya National Union of Teachers said Sunday that most of the displaced teachers were working in Keringet, Kuresoi, Olenguruone, Mauche and Mau Narok divisions which were hard-hit by the violence. The branch executive secretary, Mr Njau Kuria, added that other teachers were displaced in parts of Molo, Elburgon, Lare, Gilgil, Njoro and Rongai divisions.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Annan: No power-sharing deal yet in Kenya
Associated Press - February 8, 2008 11:43 AM ET
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan (KOH’-fee AN’-nan) says there’s no power-sharing agreement yet between political rivals in Kenya.
Annan is mediating talks between the government of President Mwai Kibaki (mwy kih-BAH’-kee) and the opposition.
Earlier, an opposition lawmaker said a power-sharing deal had been reached, but Annan says that was “jumping the gun.”
Annan says progress is being made, and that all sides agree that political settlement is necessary. He says details are still being discussed and that will take some time.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in violence that erupted after a disputed presidential vote in December. Critics say the election was rigged.
Yesterday, opposition leader Raila Odinga (ry-EE’-luh oh-DING’-uh) retreated from earlier calls that the president step down.
The president says he’s “encouraged” by progress in the talks.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Kenya Opposition Drops Conciliatory Tone
KATY POWNALL
CHEPKIOYO, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s opposition leader demanded Saturday that the president resign and new elections be held, dropping a conciliatory stance that had brought hope for a political settlement to end weeks of postelection violence.
Raila Odinga, who accuses President Mwai Kibaki of stealing the Dec. 27 election, spoke in his traditional power base in western Kenya before cheering supporters at the funeral of a slain opposition lawmaker.
Kibaki “must step down or there must be a re-election — in this I will not be compromised,” Odinga shouted in East Africa’s common language of Swahili.
It was a sharp turnaround from comments he made in English two days earlier in the capital, Nairobi. He indicated he would not insist on Kibaki’s resignation, saying “we are willing to give and take.”
The next day, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan struck an optimistic note after mediating negotiations between the two sides, and Odinga’s own political party said a power-sharing agreement was in the works. Annan said he hoped to complete work on a settlement early next week.
But Odinga returned Saturday to the themes that have rallied supporters, repeating a comparison of which he is fond: “You cannot steal my cow, and I catch you red-handed, and then expect me to share the milk because the cow is mine.”
More than 1,000 people have been killed and 300,000 forced from their homes since the election, which Kenyan and foreign observers say was rigged. The fighting has pitted members of Kenya’s rival ethnic groups against one another, gutted the economy and left the country’s reputation as a budding democracy and a top tourist destination in tatters.
Only 8,000 people visited Kenya in January, far short of the 100,000 officials had expected, Ong’onga Achieng, the managing director of the Kenya Tourist Board, told hotel owners and travel agents meeting in the port city of Mombasa.
Saturday’s funeral for legislator David Kimutai Too was the first mass public gathering since the government lifted a ban on rallies imposed after the election. Nearly all of Kenya’s major opposition attended.
The opposition and international community had for weeks been urging the government to lift the ban, which had been enforced by police using live bullets, tear gas and water cannons. Scores of people were killed.
In lifting the ban Friday, Internal Security Minister George Saitoti urged legislators and others to hold meetings “to promote peace and national reconciliation” and not to use rallies as “avenues to incite violence.”
But there was nothing conciliatory in statements at Too’s funeral. Police say he was killed in a crime of passion, but the opposition insists he was assassinated.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Kalonzo Meets U.S. Senators Over Crisis
By Joseph Murimi
East African Standard
Nairobi
Vice-President, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, has urged US senators and congressmen not to recommend actions that may hurt the poor in Kenya.
Kalonzo, who is in the US, assured development partners that mediation talks would resolve the political dispute.
The VP is on a tour of British and American capitals, aimed at mending the bad image Kenya has acquired lately.
MoreKenya’s crisis and challenges of democracy in Africa
Story by NYAGA MUNYI
Daily Nation
Publication Date: 2/9/2008
Africa’s democratic honeymoon is fast coming to an end, and Kenya’s sudden drift into chaos is a wake-up call across the continent for a more concerted investment in governance programmes. After a decade of democratic gains, Africa now finds itself in a marshland, and Nigeria, Kenya and even South Africa are in a defining moment. The next five years will mark a watershed in the continent’s democratic consolidation.
Kenya Close to a Power Sharing Deal
NAIROBI, Kenya–Kenya’s rival political parties moved toward an agreement to share power, the chief mediator said today, raising hopes for a breakthrough in the post-election crisis that has left more than 1,000 people dead.
In another sign tensions were easing, the internal security minister lifted the ban on public rallies imposed after violence broke out over the East African country’s disputed Dec. 27 presidential election.
Former UN chief Kofi Annan, who is mediating talks, said he expected to complete work on a settlement by early next week. “We are making progress,” Annan said.
MoreTestimony of Chris Albin-Lackey on Behalf of Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)
DOCUMENT
7 February 2008
Posted to the web 8 February 2008
Following is the testimony of Chris Albin-Lackey on Behalf of Human Rights Watch at the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on African Affairs hearing on “The Immediate and Underlying Causes and Consequences of Flawed Democracy in Kenya.”
Thank you, Chairman Feingold, and Members of the Committee, for inviting Human Rights Watch to participate in this hearing. My name is Chris Albin-Lackey and I am a senior researcher with the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. Just over a week ago I returned from a research mission that began our ongoing assessment of the human rights impact of Kenya’s post-election crisis. We will be carrying out more research on the ground in the coming weeks that will seek to document the effect of the ongoing violence on ordinary Kenyans, identify the individuals most responsible for fomenting it and contribute towards charting a way forward that addresses the underlying causes of the crisis.
MoreAnnan Sees Progress in Kenya Talks
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/world/africa/09nairobi.html?ref=world
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
NAIROBI, Kenya — Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is brokering peace talks in Kenya, said on Friday that no deal toward a durable political solution had been reached but that progress was steadily being made.
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee
UUSC condemns the mounting violence precipitated by the electoral crisis in Kenya, and we are deeply concerned about the growing humanitarian and political crisis that has affected many of Kenya’s most vulnerable citizens. We unequivocally support the right of Kenyans to free and fair elections.
UUSC understands that, far from being driven only by ethnic rivalries, as the media have been reporting, the post-election violence is rooted in deep economic injustice, a skewed distribution of political power, political manipulation of ethnic identities, and the persistent failure by government to respect civil liberties and democratic processes. Long-simmering frustrations caused by economic and political problems have finally reached the boiling point in Kenya.
Maina Kiai’s statement to US House of Representatives
Maina Kiai, Chiarman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, made a statement to the US House of Representatives on the political crisis in Kenya on 6th February 2008. Njoki Ndungu’s contribution is also included further down the page. Ms Ndungu is the CEO of the Center for Legal Information and Communication, Kenya.
MoreThursday, February 07, 2008
Shailja Patel interview
Shailja Patel interview on Africa Today with with host, Walter Turner, discussing the Kenyan election, the current crisis, the roadmap to peace, and what Americans can do. Visit:http://shailja.com/news/newsletterblog/2008/02/listen-to-me-on-africa-today.html
Museveni Didn’t Consult EAC Leaders - Kagame
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802070664.html
By Sulah Nuwamanya
Kigali
President Museveni should have consulted fellow East African Community leaders before embarking on a peace mission to Kenya recently, says Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.
President Kagame told the press during a monthly briefing in Kigali this week that such consultation among EAC leaders would have Museveni’s trip more productive as a collective approach.
MoreKenya official hails US travel ban
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_message/10935?data[source]=rss#m10935
Dennis Itumbi and Joy Kagwiria, AfricaNews reporters in Nairobi, Kenya
In a surprise move, the Kenyan government has welcomed the decision of the governments of the United States of America and Canada to impose travel bans for leaders involved in killings and has asked them to reveal their names to the public
MoreKenya: Kibaki sends advisors home
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_message/10934?data[source]=rss#m10934
Dennis Itumbi, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
President Mwai Kibaki has disbanded his entire Strategic Advisory Unit based in State House, in a move aimed at underlining his focus and interest on the dialogue talks chaired by the African Eminent persons led by former United Nations boss Kofi Annan.
MoreWe’re Not Party to IPPG Deal, Kivuitu Declares
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802070995.html
The East African Standard (Nairobi)
8 February 2008
Posted to the web 7 February 2008
Judy Ogutu
Nairobi
The Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) has disassociated itself from the Inter-Party Parliamentary Group agreement (IPPG).
Commission chairman, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, declared on Thursday that ECK was not party to the 1997 pact among parliamentary political parties.
More