Thursday, January 17, 2008
News Roundup 17 January and Commentary
‘Killing fields’ is how ODM characterised the day. Mounting evidence grew of widespread extrajudicial killing of civilians. Far from seeing their duties as protecting citizens in their exercise of their basic democratic rights, the armed police took sides with the state against the people. Further evidence also emerges of the use of politically motivated militia, and armed gangs trying to prevent shackdwellers from reaching town. There are graphic images and video evidence of extrajudicial killings (see the links shown below).
It is interesting that when civilians are shot at, the press merely reports. But when the fire is turned upoon the press, they are immediate in issuing protests that they should not be fired upon. Fair enough. But why is that worse that the ruthless killing of civilians?
And the so-called ‘donor-community’ are wringing their hands with idle threats about cutting funding.
Scores of people have been killed today. There is widespread anger over the results of the elections and the continued political impasse. The refusal of those who have illegally formed a government and presidency to negotiate a solution means that blood in on their hands. But there is also blood on the hands of the leadership of ODM who call for mass action without making specific, achievable demands: instead, the people are led like sheep to the slaughter.
The shocking thing is that neither side show themselves fit for government. If either of the parties believed they represent the people, then it is incumbent upon them to offer political direction that is in the interest of ALL Kenyans, irrespective of their affilliation or who they voted for. But the demands made on both sides are partisan. And neither should be trusted to take power.
Is this the end of the first republic? Has the constitution that was inherited from British rule, moulded and bent to the particular wills of successive presidents - is that constititution now dead?
Can the second republic arise out of the cinders of the current crisis? If those many lives (and who knows how many - surely more than 1000 by now) are not to be lost in vain, is it not time to provide them with a fitting tribute by calling for the formation of a national convention - recalling and expanding the delegates from the Bomas, and forging the way for the Second Republic?
WIshful thinking, perhaps. But if none of those vying for power today show themselves fit for power, then is it not time for citizens to take over? The alternative is to spiral down into revenge and counter-revenge and a retreat into ethnic identity.
This evening’s round up of news follows.
Blame game as death toll in protests rise
PNU MPs and those from affiliate parties that support President Kibakis re-election said ODM leaders were to blame for the crisis
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=114846
News Roundup 17 January
Police teargas protesters in Nairobi
Source: Reuters NAIROBI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Riot police fired teargas at hundreds of protesters blocking a road near Nairobi’s Mathare slum as a second day of demonstrations against President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed ...
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17680685.htm
UN Appeals for $42 Million to Help 500,000 Crisis-Affected Citizens
In the aftermath of the violence that tore through Kenya following last month’s elections, the United Nations has asked for $42 million to provide some 500,000 people with food, water, shelter and other priority needs over the next six months.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801170015.html
Our country at a crossroad
Allow me to to give mars kenya a five for the good work you are doing keep up!!!! This is a cry to my brothers and sisters in kenya,let’s change how we gorvern ourselves and embrace this passage of turmoil that we are going through i might be wrong in saying this but this is what i believe, the time for accountable leadership is ripe the world over and kenya is no exception so democracy must prevail at all costs we will die,we will lose our pricely possessions,we will lose our jobs,but change must come so until the minority know that they can’t rule the majority and by this i mean the rich and the poor,cause i believe the turmoil is between a few 10% just want to have their way and protect their interest’s and continue to loot us, for it is not about tribes.We are a peace loving nation and will continue to be so if we reject what we are being subjected to at the moment by the minority if you know what i mean.
Let’s stand up peacefully and keep vigil for our nation is at stake.
“LONG LIVE KENYA”
http://www.marsgroupkenya.org/user/?p=82
Another Death in Latest Protests
A man was shot dead and two others injured as police battled demonstrators during Day One of marches called by ODM to protest against the outcome of the December presidential election.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801170003.html
Huairou Commission calls for immediate and long-term action
The Huairou Commission and its Member Networks call for urgent action and on-going support for the many grassroots women and communities that have been affected by the violence in Kenya in the wake of last months’ presidential elections. We express our solidarity and support for all women in Kenya, and particularly for the many members of GROOTS Kenya - amazing grassroots leaders working in communities across the country, and especially those women in the Mathare slum who we have met and befriended over the last 13 years of work together. We encourage everyone to read the report from GROOTS Kenya on the situation in Mathare
http://www.huairou.org/
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Health workers grappling with conflict-related sexual violence
NAIROBI, 15 January 2008 (PLUSNEWS) - As Kenya counts the human and material
cost of the political violence, hospitals are reporting an increase in
reported rapes during the immediate post-election period, spurring the
government and health organisations to find ways to treat these cases as well
as protect the displaced from further incidents of sexual violence.
“In the first two days of the violence, 56 people were treated for rape and
admitted; there are so many other victims back in the slums who have not
received any medical attention,” Lucy Kiama, chief nurse at the Nairobi
Women’s Hospital, which specialises in sexual violence, told IRIN.
She added that the number of rape survivors seeking treatment at the facility
had doubled during the violence. Many women who came to the hospital, she
added, reported that there were many more in the slums who had failed to seek
treatment because of security reasons or fear of stigmatisation.
News Roundup 16 January (2)
Violent clashes at Kenya protests
Kenyan police fire tear gas and bullets at opposition activists defying a ban on election protests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7190777.stm
Polls Turned Neighbours Into Enemies
Amid the usual piles of fetid rubbish on the streets of Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum, there was clear evidence of the recent political violence in the blackened buildings and boarded-up shops. A row of kiosks was reduced to a pile of rubble and cinders; several larger buildings were now mere charred shells.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801160667.html
Kenyan opposition protests flop in capital
Source: Reuters By Tim Cocks NAIROBI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Just a few hundred tired-looking demonstrators marched in Kenya’s capital on Wednesday before being chased back into their slums by police firing teargas. ...
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16824740.htm
Protests Bring New Violence in Kenya
Police clashed with demonstrators, shooting several, according to witnesses, while opposition leaders vowed to press ahead with their protests.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/world/africa/17kenya.html
Opposition Vows to Go On With Protests
ODM leader Raila Odinga has today said that they will continue peaceful demonstrations across the country until they get “justice” over the disputed presidential election.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801160662.html
KENYA: Polls turned neighbours into enemies
NAIROBI AND NAKURU Wednesday, January 16, 2008 (IRIN) - Amid the usual piles of fetid rubbish on the streets of Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum, there was clear evidence of the recent political violence in the blackened buildings and boarded-up shops. A row of kiosks was reduced to a pile of rubble and cinders; several larger buildings were now mere charred shells.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=76269
GROOTS Kenya issues report on violence in Mathare
“The 2007 post election skirmishes is just a culmination of sustained tension in the community but the extent and impact of damage, looting, raping, sodomy, eviction and killing has never been witnessed before. The country was hosting three presidential candidates from three ethnic tribes Luo, Kamba and Kikuyu. Political tension and envisioned ethnic conflicts was certainly predicted as this was the most hotly contested election in the history of Kenya. A section of the civil society organizations had indeed proactively compelled the presidential candidates and other high level politicians to sign peace agreements in the hope that each of them would restrain their supporters from fighting. As early as February 2007, some parts of the country were witnessing ethnic conflicts with killings and evictions.”
News Roundup 16 January
Alarming reports of gangs preventing people attending rallies - KPTJ
Kenyans for Peace, Truth, Justice have received alarming reports from human rights monitors in Nairobi’s low-income areas, who have reported that local political leaders are mobilising gangs of youth to deter attendance to the rallies called by the Orange Democratic Movement on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
see http://www.pambazuka.org/actionalerts/comments/753/
Some protests start in Kenya, U.S. doubts poll
Source: Reuters (Adds Mombasa, Kisumu unrest, government advert) By Andrew Cawthorne and Tim Cocks NAIROBI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Kenyan police used teargas on Wednesday to disperse youths in the coastal city of Mombasa who were heeding a call for nationwide protests against President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election, witness said. ... Fuelling doubt over Kibaki’s win—officially by 230,000 of 10 million votes cast—a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday it was impossible to know who won the presidency. “We have done our own analysis. What it shows is that the result was extremely close and that whoever won probably won with no more than 100,000 votes at the most,” Washington’s ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, told the Daily Nation. “It is really not possible to say with certainty who won because the process was not transparent.” But he called for power-sharing rather than a fresh vote or re-count.
http://www.alertnet.org/
UN Continues Providing Assistance in Wake of Post-Election Violence
As the death toll from deadly wave of post-election violence in Kenya continues to climb, the United Nations is continuing its relief efforts ahead of three days of nationwide rallies next week called for by the opposition.
http://allafrica.com/kenya/
MPs debate over oath but the Speaker rules to obey the law
Ugenyas James Orengo stood first to oppose the wording of the oath, arguing that it undermined the constitution. He said the sovereignty of the Republic of Kenya was in the people but not the president.
http://www.nationmedia.com/
Kenya braces for nationwide opposition protests
Youths erected roadblocks, shopkeepers nailed up windows and Kenyan riot police guarded streets before opposition protests planned for Wednesday against President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election. Police have banned the rallies, scheduled for midday (9am GMT), and many Kenyans were staying at home for fear of trouble.
http://www.mg.co.za/
Alarming reports of gangs preventing people attending rallies - KPTJ
Kenyans for Peace, Truth, Justice have received alarming reports from human rights monitors in Nairobi’s low-income areas, who have reported that local political leaders are mobilising gangs of youth to deter attendance to the rallies called by the Orange Democratic Movement on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
These leaders are taking advantage of the police ban on the said rallies to incite youth along tribal lines with calls to rise up and ‘defend their government’. This information is already causing great anxiety amongst residents of the affected areas, causing further displacements of families as they seek to flee the threat of violence. KPTJ is concerned that these insidious activities are confined to low income, high population areas, and that police protection for the poorest sections of society is sadly wanting, allowing such militia to rein havoc.
KPTJ is concerned that the continued ban on public rallies, is creating an environment for the criminal element to breed fear and perpetrate acts of violence against innocent Kenyans. The ban creates the impression that the government is at war with its citizens, and that citizens need to take sides-perhaps even through violence. This situation is untenable, and unless addressed we fear it will degenerate into a catastrophic cycle of ethnic hate and violence.
Full statement from KPTJ
MoreTuesday, January 15, 2008
ODM’s Marende is Speaker
Orange Democratic Party’s Kenneth Marende is the new Speaker.
http://allafrica.com/kenya/
Kenya’s parliament elects opposition speaker
Source: Reuters NAIROBI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Kenya’s opposition won the post of speaker of parliament on Tuesday, confirming its supremacy in the house and spelling legislative problems for President Mwai Kibaki
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15184329.htm
Church Leaders Insist on Mediated Solution, Not Mass Protests
As a showdown looms between the opposition and police over banned protest rallies around the country starting Wednesday, Catholic and Anglican leaders have insisted that dialogue, not mass action, is the best way out of the current crisis.
http://allafrica.com/kenya/
Kofi Annan delays Kenya mission due to severe flu
Source: Reuters GENEVA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has severe flu and will not immediately travel to Kenya, where he was due to help mediate a political crisis, his office ...
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/rss/index.xml
Faith Leaders See No Easy Solution to the Political Impasse
There is no easy way out of Kenya’s current political crisis, a coalition of religious leaders said after meeting President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga last week.
http://allafrica.com/kenya/
Nairobi’s Kiss FM radio station
Nairobi’s Kiss FM radio station is the one station that has most consistently challenged Kibaki’s illegal ban on live broadcasts. And continued to bring voices for Peace With Truth and Justice to Kenyans. So I was delighted to be invited onto their Big Breakfast show yesterday, to share excerpts and talk about my Letter to Kivuitu. I also recorded a reading of the full letter for them. If their lawyers give the go-ahead, Kiss FM will lay down a musical soundtrack under the words, and play the piece as often as they can, on all their shows.
http://www.shailja.com
EU and Belgian views on crisis
Two quotes from http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=114647:
· EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel, talking to a meeting of the European Parliament’s development committee: “I have attempted to contact [Kibaki] in vain for days on end. I get to his front office but am never transferred to the president - either the line goes dead or he does not pick up the phone.”
· Kenya’s ambassador to Belgium, speaking to the same meeting: “We remain optimistic that ongoing efforts, including the engagement by Kofi Annan ... will yield an acceptable solution to all parties… Democracy can’t be built in a void ... Maybe NATO forces are required, I don’t know.”