Sunday, January 20, 2008
News Roundup 20 January
What lies ahead for Kibaki Presidency? (Posted 1/20/2008): “With the transformation of inter-ethnic relations, and the hardened positions adopted by Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement, the break-up of the political alliance between Kenya’s largest two communities has happened again. Will the President have the authority and international recognition to do what he plans?”
(Via AfricaFiles InfoServ: Recent Postings.)
National Park’s Income Declines Due to Violence Over Elections: “The Lake Nakuru National park has recorded reduced revenue due to the post-election violence that has seen the number of visitors decline.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
Businesses Feel the Impact of Poll Protests: “The collective impact of the post-election violence was felt this week as businesses in major towns remained shut in the afternoons while police battled demonstrators protesting the presidential election results.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
Polls Groups Lift the Lid On Tallying Mess: “The Electoral Commission could not have determined the winner of the Presidential election from the flawed results received from different constituencies, one of the biggest group of poll observers in the Kenyan General Election said Friday.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
PNU Bags Mt Kenya Civic Seats: “President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity dominated the civic seats in the December 27 General Election in Mt Kenya region.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
Why PNU And Allies Lost House Election to Their ODM Rivals: “After losing to the Opposition in the election of the National Assembly Speaker and his deputy, questions are being raised about the Government’s preparedness to chart the business of the House.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
New Speaker Must Offer the Country a Lifeline: “The country was enthralled by the recent election of Mr Kenneth Marende as Speaker of the National Assembly, and the subsequent swearing in of MPs.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
Kenya: Businesses Feel the Impact of Poll Protests: “The collective impact of the post-election violence was felt this week as businesses in major towns remained shut in the afternoons while police battled demonstrators protesting the presidential election results.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Latest.)
Kenya: Polls Groups Lift the Lid On Tallying Mess: “The Electoral Commission could not have determined the winner of the Presidential election from the flawed results received from different constituencies, one of the biggest group of poll observers in the Kenyan General Election said Friday.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Latest.)
Court Shut Over Bomb Threats By Mob: “Activities at the Kibera Law courts were Friday suspended at noon after word went round that the premises would be petrol-bombed.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
Despite Many Odds, Sky’s the Limit for Young Artist: “Huge portraits on the rusty iron-sheet walls of a tiny shack behind United Mall in Kisumu town scream for attention. A peek into the structure reveals more portraits and landscape paintings.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
What If Local Leaders Practised the Religious Faith They Profess?: “An item in Tuesday’s edition of the Daily Nation’s Cutting Edge made interesting reading.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
Orange Group And PNU to Fight for Control of Civic Authorities: “The next political fight between the Orange Democratic Movement and the Party of National Unity will be over control of close to 200 local authorities countrywide.”
(Via AllAfrica News: Kenya.)
Several dead in Kenya slum clashes: “At least three people killed as Nairobi faces a fifth day of confrontations.”
Kenya: Towns Slowly Pick Up From Ruins: “Most parts of the country experienced calm after ODM called off its countrywide demonstrations. Shop owners opened their businesses as traffic jams returned to haunt residents.”
Kenya: EU’s Mediation Efforts Now Offer Hope: “A flicker of hope that negotiations could start despite the standoff between the Government and ODM came with the arrival of European Union commissioner for Development, Mr Louis Michel.”
Uganda: Roles Change As Kenyans Seek Refuge: “Roles have drastically reversed along the Kenya-Ugandan border. The traditionally peaceable Kenyans are no longer walking tall. Instead, it is the Ugandans -who have perpetually been at war-now playing host.”
Kenya: Rustling Rises in Post-Poll Violence: “Livestock owners in parts of Eastern and North Eastern provinces have lost their animals as rustling soars due to post-election violence.”
Living in fear in Kenyan town: ”Source: Reuters By Nick Tattersall
NAROK, Kenya, Jan 20 (Reuters) - In the burnt-out market place, a youth appears swinging a machete, its blade glinting in the late afternoon sun.
Opposition Calls Fresh Round of Protests: “The Orange Democratic Party has retreated from a promise made only hours before and announced a new round of mass action to protest against the disputed presidential election results.”
Kibaki Willing to Meet Opposition, Says European Union: “The standoff between the Government and ODM could ease and then end.”
Uganda Maintains It Has Not Deployed Troops in Country: “Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kuteesa has said he will resign his job if accusations that Uganda has sent soldiers to politically troubled Kenya are proved true.”
Kibaki Ready to Meet With Opposition, Says Vice President: “Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has said that President Kibaki is ready to meet and discuss t
Kenya: Kibaki Willing to Meet Opposition, Says European Union: “The standoff between the Government and ODM could ease and then end the he present political situation with the opposition.”
Armed Youths Besiege Monastery, Kill Six: “Six people were killed near a monastery in Kipkelion District that was last night besieged by armed youths.”
Kenya: Opposition Calls Fresh Round of Protests: “The Orange Democratic Party has retreated from a promise made only hours before and announced a new round of mass action to protest against the disputed presidential election results.”
Kenya: Uganda Maintains It Has Not Deployed Troops in Country: “Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kuteesa has said he will resign his job if accusations that Uganda has sent soldiers to politically troubled Kenya are proved true.”
Kenya: Kibaki Ready to Meet With Opposition, Says Vice President: “Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has said that President Kibaki is ready to meet and discuss the present political situation with the opposition.”
Kenya: Armed Youths Besiege Monastery, Kill Six: “Six people were killed near a monastery in Kipkelion District that was last night besieged by armed youths.”
Kenya opposition to resume protests: “Five more people killled in Rift Valley as ODM vows to return to the streets.”
Saturday, January 19, 2008
to live is to work
to live is to work
....and the only thing which lasts
is the work; start then, turn to the work.
Throw yourself like seed as you walk, and into your own field,
don’t turn your face for that would be to turn it to death,
and do not let the past weigh down your motion.
Leave what’s alive in the furrow, what’s dead in yourself,
for life does not move in the same way as a group of clouds;
from your work you will be able one day to gather yourself.
from Throw Yourself Like Seed, Miguel De Unamuno
(translated by Robert Bly)
This poem grounded me today, as I grapple with the strangeness of dropping back into Planet Bay Area, where nothing appears to have changed since I left 8 months ago. How is it possible that one of my worlds, Kenya, has been ripped apart, lies in bleeding fragments, while another is still lush, tranquil, and unmoved? How to even begin to answer, when a checkout clerk says cheerfully: “New Year going well for you?”
Work is the constant I orient myself around. What am I here to do, in the next 6 weeks before I return to Kenya?
Kahlil Gibran’s phrase runs through my mind a lot: Work is love made visible.
My ritual, since I landed, is to set my alarm for 10 minutes before sunrise each morning. I propel myself from bed before my first waking thought. Fumble on clothes, socks, gloves, woolly hat, with chilled fingers, to get outdoors under the sky by the time it lightens. Everything is so sharply etched in the knife-edge cold of dawn - leaves, magnolia buds, the Marin headlands over the pale waters of the Bay. In that stinging silent clarity, I can contain all the contradictions. Stretch my lungs to the icy air, stretch my mind and body to the privilege of being alive, of throwing myself like seed into what I can do.
http://shailja.com/news/newsletterblog/2008/01/to-live-is-to-work.html
News Roundup 19 January
VP says Kibaki ready to meet with opposition
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has said that President Kibaki is ready to meet and discuss the present political situation with the opposition.
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=114983
Kibera women in campaign to restore peace
Some residents of Kibera, the Nairobi slum hit hard by violence since the announcement of the controversial presidential election,
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=114984
It’s relief as calm is restored
The country seemed to sigh with relief as calm returned to major towns yesterday after ODM suspended country-wide protests.
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=114985
Raiders kill six as they besiege monastery
Six people were killed near a monastery in Kipkelion District that was last night besieged by armed youths.
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=114986
More on how the Kenyan election was stolen
Four Kenyan election observers who witnessed the last phase of the presidential vote tallying, when political parties were verifying the results that had been announced, have recorded their observations in an hour-by-hour log. Their testimonies expose what can only be termed a resolve among electoral officials—including Commissioners and staff—to obtain a pre-determined outcome, whether supported by fact or not. Kenyans for Peace with Justice have released a series of documents that record how the election was stolen. This is a minute by minute account of what happened over those two fateful days.
http://kenyanemergency.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/more-on-how-the-election-was-stolen/
Friday, January 18, 2008
News Roundup 18 January
ODM Insists On International Mediator
ODM has insisted it would only negotiate with President Kibaki’s team through an international mediator.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180911.html
Kibaki Appoints Committee to Lead Crisis Talks
President Kibaki has appointed a high-level committee to spearhead national political dialogue and end the current crisis.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180925.html
Police Call Kisumu Shooting ‘Unfortunate’
Police headquarters has termed as ‘unfortunate’ an incident in which a police officer was shown shooting two unarmed protestors in Kisumu, killing one.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180904.html
Four Shot Dead As Protesters Defy Police
Four people were shot dead in Kibera slums as police dispersed demonstrators who had destroyed about two kilometres of the railway line.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180928.html
‘Standard’ Makes Plea On Live Coverage
The Standard Group Deputy Chairman, Mr Paul Melly, has requested the Ministry of Information to give journalists guidelines on live coverage.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180923.html
NGOs Say Poll Winner Uncertain
A new report by 50 civil society organisations details how the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) bungled the presidential poll.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180908.html
One Killed in Mombasa Riots
At least one person was shot dead by police in Mombasa as ODM supporters staged a demonstration.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180907.html
Aid Freeze May Hurt Economy
THE threat of a freeze on aid by Western donors and opposition plans to boycott companies owned by President Kibaki’s allies will delay the country’s economic recovery, analysts say.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180909.html
Country Counts Losses
About two kilometres of Kenya-Uganda Railway line was uprooted in Nairobi’s Kibera’s slums on the final day of mass action as more deaths and violent confrontations took place.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180906.html
Kibaki Appoints Committee to Lead Crisis Talks
President Kibaki has appointed a high-level committee to spearhead national political dialogue and end the current crisis.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801180925.html
Count Down to Deception: 30 Hours that Destroyed Kenya - KPTJ
“Kenya is today on the brink of disintegration. At least 500 people have been killed, 6,100 have fled into exile in Uganda and another 250,000 plus are living as internally displaced persons in their own country. Again, we reiterate that the electoral anomalies, malpractices and illegalities noted were sufficient to alter the outcomes of the Presidential election. To this extent, the counting and tallying process for the Presidential election cannot be called free and fair. And the incumbent cannot be said to be in office legitimately or legally. An independent investigation into this process is necessary to bring the country to closure on this issue. Such an investigation must be a priority for the mediation process.”
For the full statement and supporting documents, click on ‘more’ below.
MoreEuropean Parliament resolution of 17 January 2008 on Kenya
P6_TA-PROV(2008)0018
Kenya
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the preliminary statement of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Kenya of 1 January 2008,
– having regard to the Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union concerning the African Union mediation efforts in Kenya of 11 January 2008,
– having regard to the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights, 1981, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, 2007,
– having regard to the African Union Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, 2002,
– having regard to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, commemorated at the United Nations on 27 October 2005,
– having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (the Cotonou Agreement) and amended in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005, in particular Articles 8 and 9 thereof,
– having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
Avaaz.org petition
Kenya still teeters on the brink of disaster – today bullets are flying on the streets, with over 600 killed and 250,000 made homeless as government and opposition dispute the presidency. There’s hope yet, as Kenyan civil society groups stand up for peace and justice—but only dialogue and an independent review of the tainted election can end this crisis and prevent escalating violence.
The world can play a crucial role: by reinforcing the efforts of mediators like Kofi Annan, and refusing to recognize any government until it is legitimately established. 50,000 Avaaz members have already sent this message to our foreign ministers, and almost all have listened so far. But inside Kenya, hardline leaders are sowing conflict.
President Kibaki and opposition leader Odinga need to hear that international legitimacy will only come after a mediated resolution. To send this message, we’re taking out a full page ad in The East African Standard, an influential Kenyan newspaper. The ad will list the number of messages we’ve sent to our governments - can we double its strength by sending 100,000 messages this week before the ad runs Click below to see the ad, send your message and spread the word:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/kenya_free_and_fair/5.php
Kenya depends on international tourism, aid and trade. With both Odinga and Kibaki accepting Kofi Annan’s mediation mission, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. It’s not too late to help Kenya back from the brink—send your message, spread the word today.
Human Rights Activist to be charged in court
Okoiti Omtatah a Kenyan human rights defender has been arrested for chaining himself to the gates of Kenya Police Headquarters this morning (17.01.2008) in protest against police shoot to kill orders and the killing of scores of unarmed and peaceful protesters during the post-election crisis in Kenya. Mr. Okoiti has been detained solely for his peaceful activities. In a text message to his lawyer from Nairobi\’s Central Police Station Mr. Okoiti said he expects to be charged tomorrow morning with \"attempted suicide and causing a disturbance.\” In July 2007, Okoiti and 4 fellow human rights defenders were unconditionally discharged from police custody by the High Court of Kenya following their illegal detention for alleged public order offences. http://www.marsgroupkenya.org/pages/clipsdb/page.php?id=1974 http://www.marsgroupkenya.org
I would have gone to the streets today IF:
In parliament on the 15th January 08,
1. My leader looted from another leader
2. My leader hacked another leader with a machete (is that the spelling)
3. My leader refused to talk to another leader
4. My leader burnt cars belonging to other leaders and later torched their houses at night
5. My leader, together with others of his ethnic background, drove other leaders out of parliament simply because of their tribal difference.
A TRIBUTE TO THE MAN IN BLACK
This is a tribute to the “Man In Black T Shirt”
His name we may or may not know
But that’s how he was referred to by the KTN Television network
The date was Wednesday 16th January 2008
I spent an hour sitting alone last night replaying the KTN clip in my mind
Did you see it?
The Man in Black was dancing in Nyanza, Kenya – was it in Kisumu?
He was Dancing and also Protesting with his friends
He was exercising one of his basic Human Rights – The Right to Free Speech and Assembly
He had no stone to hurl and no panga in his hand to hurt
He was just Dancing and Protesting
He was not looting either
Just Dancing and Protesting
Then came the grand finale
He was running away… he was not fighting
He was not dancing or protesting either
The Man in Green was only a few feet away
Two rapid shots from an automatic rifle
and the dance was over ….
The Man in Black lay on the floor together with his friend
He tried to get up one more time – he was only dancing!!
But the shot had done its job
As he tumbled down yet again the brute in Green had to kick him
Probably to kick the Man in Black’s last breath out
That was the sudden end to the Dance
Farewell Man in Black – a friend I never got to meet
A friend who gave up his life for Kenyans’ freedom
As I sat I realized that The Man in Black was probably a ‘poor man’
No riches and no bank account either to his name
All I can offer his Soul are my Prayers for His Soul’s Peaceful Journey
And May My Prayers and those of Many Others enrich your Soul
And May that Enrichment of your Soul be our reward and thanks for your Sacrifice
May that Enrichment Power your Journey
And your Soul be Blessed with Riches not seen
I take Solace in that the Nature of the Soul is
WEAPONS CUT IT NOT, FIRE BURNS IT NOT, WATER WETS IT NOT, WIND DRIES IT NOT
After this thought propped up in my Being
Yet another Powerful thought Burst thru
This was the one that surprised me, my friend
May the World of Justice Notice this Brutal Crime against Humanity
In the Meantime May Peace and Justice Prevail in Kenya
When will we see sense in this beautiful Land and Country called Kenya?
By Vivek Mehta Jan 17th 2008, Mombasa
Power-sharing should be the way forward: Kintu
Kintu Nyago, Ex.Director, Forum for Promoting Democratic Constitutionalism, Kampala, Uganda, writes that there is need to tame the Kenyan executive, whereby some of its powers are diffused into the other pillars of state, notably the legislature and judiciary. There is also need to reformulate the Kenyan electoral system to allow for more inclusivity, based on proportional representation, rather than its current clearly ill suited ‘The First-Past the Post’, “Winner-Takes All” model. Constitutional provisions for power sharing require to be adopted, he argues.
More
Kenya Opposition Turns to Boycott
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN, New York Times
NAIROBI, Kenya — Protests cooled in Kenya on Friday as opposition leaders, still furious about last month’s presidential election, announced that they were switching tactics from street demonstrations to boycotts.
After three days of nationwide rallies that degenerated into battles with police officers, the country was mostly calm, save for a few flash points. Witnesses said that police officers shot and killed at least two people in Kibera, a huge slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, the capital. Earlier in the day, vandals uprooted a length of train tracks that run through Kibera, where a freight train had been looted on Thursday.
More
Annan due in Kenya on Tuesday
GENEVA (Reuters) - Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recovered from flu and will travel to Nairobi on Tuesday to help mediate a political crisis in Kenya, his office said on Friday.
In a statement issued in Geneva, Annan said the purpose of his mission was to help the Kenyan people find a “peaceful and just solution” to their post-election crisis.
In the three weeks since the East African country’s Dec. 27 vote, about 650 people have been killed in attacks targeting members of President Mwai Kibaki’s Kikuyu ethnic group, and in clashes between police and protesters.
The death toll rose on Friday, with at least 10 people killed when opposition rallies against Kibaki’s disputed victory turned violence, according to witnesses and a senior Kenyan official.
Annan, a Ghanaian who was named head of a panel of “Eminent Africans”, was originally scheduled to go to Kenya earlier this week to try to mediate between Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
But he was struck with flu just before departing Geneva on Tuesday, and delayed his trip.
He will be joined in Kenya next week by Graca Machel, wife of former South African leader Nelson Mandela, and former Tanzanian president, Benjamin Mkapa, who is already in Nairobi, according to the statement.
International observers said last month’s polls fell short of democratic standards. Both Kibaki and Odinga have accused each other of rigging the vote
3 Days of Kenya Protests Leave 22 Dead
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Masai fighters battled rival tribesman loyal to President Mwai Kibaki on Friday, with both sides using machetes, swords, bows and arrows on the final and bloodiest day of protests this week over Kenya’s disputed election.
In Nairobi’s Kibera slum and the coastal tourist town of Mombasa, police and demonstrators fought in the streets.
Three days of protests called by Kenya’s opposition have dwindled in strength, but at least 22 people have been killed, including five who died in the ethnic fighting less than a dozen miles from the premier Masai Mara game reserve in Narok, police chief Patrick Wambani told The Associated Press.
MoreThe Rift Valley’s deadly land rows
NAIROBI, 18 January 2008 (IRIN) - Kenya’s breadbasket Rift Valley Province has experienced some of the worst ethnic clashes since December’s disputed polls. But there is nothing new to the violence in this volatile region.
More than 220 people have been killed in the province since the elections, according to police figures, including at least 30, many of them children, who died when the church in which they had sought refuge was torched on 1 January in a village near Eldoret. Hundreds of homes and farms have been set on fire and recently harvested crops stolen.
The violence has prompted almost 170,000 people to flee to makeshift camps and, for those able to do so, to friends and relatives elsewhere in the country. Others have nowhere to go.
Most of those affected are Kikuyu, the country’s largest and most powerful ethnic group, and that of the controversially re-elected president, Mwai Kibaki.
Long-unresolved issues related to the shifting ownership and tenure of (and large-scale evictions from) the province’s more fertile land tend to erupt into violence around the time of elections as campaigning candidates pledge to correct past “injustices” to win support.
More