Thursday, February 07, 2008
PNU accepts inquiry into Poll
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802070958.html
Tabu Butagira, Mercy Nalugo & Agnes Nandutu
Kampala
THE Kenyan government has invited international bodies to independently investigate the ongoing bloodletting in the country and ensure the perpetrators are prosecuted for “crimes against humanity”.
MoreODM alarmed over alleged order of Chinese arms
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=116357
Story by PATRICK NZIOKA
Publication Date: 2/8/2008
The Orange Democratic Movement has expressed concern that the Government has placed a tender with a Chinese company for the supply of an unspecified number of firearms, ammunition and spares, saying the timing was not right.
The party’s secretary general Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o alleged that some of the firearms might fall in the wrong hands and be used to kill Kenyans engaged in protests over the disputed presidential poll.
MoreHistory looms behind crisis
Although they are from different tribes, Peter and Sospeter have much in common: they do the same job, are roughly the same age and practically share the same first name. Now Kenya’s ethnic clashes have landed the two men—one a Kikuyu of the tribe of President Mwai Kibaki, the other a Luo like opposition leader Raila Odinga—in hospital. There, thanks to a shortage of space in the midst of a flood of violent injuries, they share the same bed. Sospeter Odipo, a Luo, said he doesn’t mind sharing a bed with fellow flower-farmer Peter Ndungu, a Kikuyu, but he says he can no longer live alongside Kikuyus. He plans to return to Kisumu in his western tribal homeland. Outside the hospital gates, their communities fire arrows and chuck rocks at each other in the latest post-poll clash.
MoreStrategic highway to west reopens
Normal transportation of goods and people to the west of Kenya resumed last week after days of disruption along the highway from Nairobi to west of the country and Uganda. Armed police cleared the highway of barricades erected by marauding youths in the ongoing post election violence that many people say has now taken a life of it’s own. Cargo trucks and buses destined for the region and neighbouring countries of Uganda and Rwanda could be seen moving in lengthy convoys, Thursday evening and Friday morning.
European Parliament resolution of 17 January 2008 on 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,
Teenage girls targeted for sexual exploitation
Teenage girls fleeing their homes to escape post-election skirmishes and finding temporary shelter at the Nakuru Showground now face another threat. They have become prey to men who exploit them sexually as well as those seeking cheap labour. In a shocking revelation this week, the girls, aged between 12 and 18 said they had become victims of child labour and sexual abuse. Humanitarian organisations, whose hands are full in providing food and shelter, now have another situation in their hands — to protect the vulnerable groups from exploitation.
Turmoil throws higher education into disarray
Higher education is facing one of its worst crisis ever following a delay in re-opening public universities and tertiary colleges in the wake of post-election violence. The delay is expected to put the institutions on condensed programme modules similar to those of the late 1980s, which could compromise the quality of education. In the wake of the prolonged post-election mayhem, a month of the semester has been lost, bringing closer the reality of a syllabus crisis.
Of the seven public universities, only Kenyatta and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology have resumed normal operations. Higher education sector regulator —the Commission for Higher Education — said some universities would have to deal with bigger challenges once they re-open, the biggest of which would be how to handle the supply of essential commodities as well as staff and student transfers.
US slaps travel ban on MPs
Ten MPs are among prominent people facing an imminent travel ban to the United States following the country’s post-election political crisis. The US accuses these people of being behind the violence in which nearly 1,000 people have been killed and more than 350,000 others have been displaced. And Wednesday, America’s northern neighbour, Canada, followed suit by stating that it would also write demand letters to the same individuals with a view to blocking them from stepping on its soil. US ambassador Michael Ranneberger Wednesday confirmed the drastic step, stating his country “decided to apply our travel restrictions on individuals who we believe participated in the instigation of violence, violation of human rights and breaking of democratic practices”.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Human rights defenders victims of death threats and intimidation
The human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists named herein have received a number of anonymous threats, including death threats, in the last two weeks. As a result, they have had to take precautions for their safety such as moving from their house, or not making public statements, after receiving anonymous SMS messages, telephone calls and emails threatening them.
These threats are in response to statements or actions by those named above about the results of the Kenyan General Election held on 27 December 2007, or about human rights abuses that have occurred during the violence that has followed the elections. The results of the election are contested, and have resulted in significant political conflict in Kenya that has become divided on ethnic lines. The Kikuyu ethnic group are largely perceived to have supported President Kibaki while the Luo and Kalenjin ethnic groups in Kenya, are thought to have supported the opposition candidate, Raila Odinga.
Annan’s hotel room ‘bugged’
The Kenyan peace talks are in tatters after it was discovered that Kofi Annan’s hotel room in Nairobi has been bugged. Independent Newspapers has learnt from multiple reliable, impartial sources - both in Kenya and abroad - that the former UN Secretary General’s business and personal conversations were being intercepted during the ongoing negotiations after a thorough search was carried out on his Serena Hotel room on Tuesday evening. For how long the room has been planted or by whom is unclear. “Kofi’s security aides found the device yesterday,” one source explained, while the talks were in session. Annan is said to be “livid”, but it is not yet known how he intends to act on Tuesday night’s revelations or whether he will walk away from the already troubled negotiations.
UN chief to send top UN humanitarian official to Kenya
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced plans to dispatch his top humanitarian official to Kenya, where more than 300,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to violence which has torn through the East African nation following last December’s disputed elections.
“With our partners, we have been able to meet the initial basic needs of displaced populations, totalling around 310,000 IDPs [internally displaced persons] spread over 192 sites in the western and central provinces,” Mr. Ban told reporters after briefing a closed meeting of the Security Council today on his recent visit to Africa. “I am going to dispatch Mr. John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to look after these issues.”
Annan calls for new laws
Parliament will be required to legislate some proposals from the ongoing negotiation, former UN secretary-general, Mr Kofi Annan, has said. Annan, who is the lead mediator, said Parliament would be called upon to debate and entrench some of the recommendations into the Constitution once the negotiations are complete. Annan also challenged the private sector to join hands and ensure the proposals are implemented to create strong national institutions. “The issues cannot be tackled by political leaders alone. You must keep your voices high and loud,” Annan told over 200 chief executive officers during a forum at a city hotel, in Nairobi. “We have only one Kenya and we should come together and straighten it,” he said.
Disputed election too hot for rivals to handle
Finally, the hotly disputed presidential votes tally, responsible for the post-election falling out which touched off mayhem on a scale never witnessed before in independent Kenya, found its way to the mediation talks table. “It was too hot,” Mr Kofi Annan, the former UN chief tasked with brokering a deal out of the crippling impasse, declared soon after adjourning the afternoon session.
So high strung was the afternoon sitting that the respected Ghanaian mediator conceded that he could not proceed without the assistance of former South African First Lady Mrs Graca Machel and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa — both of who were unavailable. They began on the presidential election dispute by looking at the state of affairs now and how to resolve the problem. Proper talks, however, begin today.
Militia behind post-poll violence, say Police
A well-organised militia is behind the violence in which more than 20 people have been killed along the Borabu-Bureti border, Nyanza police chief has said. Mr Anthony Kibuchi said the police were investigating the militia to find out who funded it. The PPO said it was “unusual” for the militia to stage sporadic raids along the border despite heavy presence of security officers. “The militia seems undeterred and causes mayhem with impunity. We are investigating who is behind them and stern measures will be taken as we dismantle fighters,” said the PPO.
He said although normalcy was returning along the border, the raiders struck at Chebilat trading centre at dawn, attacked residents and burnt business premises and homes yesterday. The attackers also drove away herds of cattle. The PPO said an operation mounted by Rift Valley and Nyanza provincial security teams was investigating those financing the skirmishes.
Keep the army off, regional bloc pleads
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region has warned that the military should not intervene in the political crisis. Ms Liberata Mulamula, the conference executive secretary, on Tuesday opposed last week’s proposal by Rwandan President Paul Kagame that the army be used to quell the unrest. Mulamula, who is in the country to support peace efforts, said dialogue among rival parties was the best way to finding a solution. She said: “Anything can be achieved through dialogue. The military is not a solution.”
The military had been called in to help the police to bring order, especially on roads. Mulamula met ODM leaders at the party headquarters in Nairobi. She is expected to visit State House, Nairobi, today. Mulamula said the conference was concerned about the political crisis in Kenya. She will also meet the negotiators in the Kofi Annan-led talks. She urged the Government to adhere to the 11-member States’ 2006 Nairobi Pact on security and accountability.
The conflict, she said, was not just a Kenyan affair, but would also affect the Great Lakes region. “When Kenya sneezes, its neigbours catch flu. In my own house, we have been unable to cook in the past one week because we can’t get gas,” she said. The conference, which was established in 2004 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, deals with peace and stability in the region. It was formed after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which claimed about a million lives.
East African Standard