Thursday, January 31, 2008
Senate passes measure supporting peaceful resolution to Kenyan electoral crisis
The U.S. Senate has passed a resolution authored by U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John Sununu (R-NH), condemning the recent violence in Kenya following the country’s December 2007 elections and calling on both of Kenya’s leading presidential candidates to support a peaceful resolution to the electoral crisis. The bipartisan resolution introduced by Feingold and Sununu, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs respectively, also calls for an international audit of the election results.
Leading journalists threatened with same fate as murdered opposition MP
Reporters Without Borders urges the Kenyan authorities to use all necessary means to quickly identify and punish those responsible for the death threats sent to leading journalists in Nairobi yesterday, hours after an opposition Orange Democratic Movement parliamentarian was murdered. “These threats must be taken seriously because the killers have already followed through on their threats once with an opposition legislator,” the press freedom organisation said. “Kenya’s journalists have behaved very responsibly since the start of the unrest and we will not stand for their being treated like this. We express our solidarity with those who have been threatened and their fellow journalists.”
Prominent human rights defenders threatened with death as “traitors” to their ethnicity
Amnesty International has issued an urgent action calling for the protection of several Kenyan human rights defenders and activists who have received serious death threats. The group, which includes six men and three women—some of whom are prominent members of human rights organizations—have received a number of anonymous threats in the form of SMS messages, phone calls and emails. They are now taking precautions for their safety, such as moving house and not making any public statements.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Health experts fear HIV crisis for uprooted Kenyans
Thousands of uprooted Kenyans are not getting the HIV medicines they need to survive, and rising sexual attacks in camps stand to further spread the disease, public health experts say. About 15,000 of the more than 250,000 people who have fled political, ethnic and revenge attacks in the month since Kenya’s disputed presidential election are HIV-positive, according to Kenyan Health Ministry figures cited by UNAIDS. Of that group, 2,550 were taking anti-retroviral therapy to suppress the virus that causes AIDS before escalating violence forced them out of their homes and cut off their access to the drugs that must be taken continuously to work.
Dubious aid handed to Kenya
Just one day after Kenya’s bitterly disputed presidential election took place in December, Nairobi received an aid payment worth nearly 41 million euros (60.5 million dollars) from the European Union. In their defence, EU officials have said the money was dispatched before they saw any evidence that the poll had been rigged in favour of incumbent president Mwai Kibaki. Now that the Union’s own electoral monitors have confirmed that major questions surround the conduct of the election, should the Brussels institutions suspend direct aid to the Kenyan authorities? Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) think they should.
MoreInstability’s ominous call
Kenya’s slide into political disarray following its disputed presidential election has plunged the east African nation into a near humanitarian crisis and anarchy, beginning with the wanton killing and mass displacement of pro-government supporters in the country’s west. The 27 December presidential election, which it was hoped would solidify political stability in Kenya, instead heralded a disturbing new era. President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the poll by only a slim margin against his opposition challenger, Raila Odinga - results that have led to events threatening the delicate balance of the country’s various ethnic groups, severely impacting the economy and laying the groundwork for national instability.
US Senate Resolution on Kenya
Introduced on Friday, to be tabled this week, the resolution sets out terms for a viable, sustainable peace process. Among other things, it calls for the US to apply sanctions, including a travel ban and asset freeze on leaders of PNU and ODM, until the crisis is resolved. The resolution is expected to pass unanimously, but this can be ensured by generating a critical volume of calls and emails to senators.
Shailja Patel’s Blog
Helicopters bomb Kenya protesters
Kenyan military helicopters opened fire Tuesday above feuding gangs in a western town of Naivasha, and 13 died in fresh clashes elsewhere as the murder of an opposition Member of Parliament sparked new chaos. Nine people died in tribal fighting in western Kenya and four were killed in a Nairobi slum, police and medical sources said, as riots and ethnic clashes flared across the country. Gunmen killed the newly elected ODM legislator, Melitus Were, at his home in the early hours and ethnic violence continued to spread. He was shot twice in the head as he reached the gate of his house shortly after midnight. The police called it ‘murder’.
Tensions high as Annan-brokered talks begin
The “official dialogue process” began on 29 January between Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), even as violence that has ravaged the country since late December continued to spread, with the latest casualty a Member of Parliament who was shot dead outside his home in Nairobi, the capital. Pledging his commitment to the process of national healing and reconciliation, Kibaki announced that 32 fully-equipped police stations would be built in parts of the country affected by the violence. He said Ksh700 million (US$10 million) had already been committed to this project.
UN reports sharp deterioration in security, humanitarian situation
The post-electoral crisis in Kenya has taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent days with violence claiming many more lives and hampering relief efforts by United Nations agencies and their partners, further worsening an already dire situation. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 19 people had been killed in Naivasha on Sunday and 12 people had been killed in Nakuru yesterday, following violent massacres and the torching of houses.
Rivals given roadmap to peaceful end
Mediation efforts to end the political crisis in which hundreds of people have been killed entered a crucial stage when President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga were handed proposals of a roadmap to a peaceful solution. On Sunday evening, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan sent the feuding sides documents specifying the terms of reference, the agenda and options of reaching a solution that is agreeable to both sides. Mr Annan met Mr Odinga and his team at Serena Hotel to inform them of the new stage in the dialogue, having passed on the same message to President Kibaki at State House on Saturday afternoon.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Halt return of killer gangs
The revelation by the executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission that apart from the dreaded mungiki, other militias such as chinkororo and warriors from one community in Rift Valley are regrouping and training, while not shocking at this point of time in our country’s history, is a grim reminder that this country should quickly get back to its senses and stop the influx of gangs. Vigilante groups normally come to the fore when law and order has broken down entirely in a country. When civilians increasingly become victims of armed robbery, harassment, theft, thuggery, rape and other unspeakable offences, vigilante groups step in to fill the vacuum.
Britain states its stand on Kenya
The British Government has denied claims that it does not recognise President Kibaki and his Government. British Minister for African Affairs, Mr Mark Malloch-Brown, said his Government respects Kenya and has never at any one time said it does not recognise Kibaki and his Government, adding that Britain remains a great friend of Kenya.
MoreKibaki and Raila launch negotiations
President Kibaki and ODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga, witnessed the launch of face-to-face negotiations spearheaded by former UN chief, Mr Kofi Annan. Meeting for the second time in a week, Kibaki and Raila reiterated their commitment to ending the current political impasse. The leaders spoke at the Annan-led ceremony held at the County Hall."We are here to join hands with our international friends led by His Excellency Kofi Annan to begin what I believe is a critical step in the path of national healing and reconciliation,” said Raila.
MoreIDP children falling through protection cracks
Violence in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru has seen the numbers of displaced at the town’s largest camp skyrocket, but camp officials say it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide security for the IDPs, and children are being particularly affected. “At the moment we have more than 5,900 IDPs in the camp, and more than 2,800 of these are children,” Jesse Njoroge, coordinator of the camp at the Nakuru showground, told IRIN. “Many children come in alone because of the haste with which these families have to leave their homes.”