Monday, February 18, 2008
Prosecute Kivuitu, AG told
Twenty civil societies have given the Attorney General, Amos Wako a two-week ultimatum to prosecute Electoral Commission of Kenya Chairman, Mr Samuel Kivuitu. Under the umbrella, Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice Initiative, the civil societies also want the 21 commissioners and another 21 senior staff to answer criminal charges for their conspiracy in the bungled presidential election. A charge sheet prepared by the civil societies, accuses ECK of 112 offences including forgery, conspiracy to commit a felony, and making false documents. The NGO’s spokesperson, Mr Haroun Ndubi led colleagues in presenting a petition to the AG’s office, on Friday. He said the people named in the petition allegedly committed a series of criminal offences. They said after the two-week ultimatum, they would initiate private prosecution against those who not only bungled the elections, but also those who incited people to violence.
East African Standard
1,500 flock to Uganda camps
More than 1411 Kenyans who have fled the country after the eruption of post election violence have camped at a Ugandan camp, some 60km from Busia Town. Ms Yumiko Takashima, head of the UNHCR office in Uganda, said the refugees at the Mulanda Community Polytechnic Instructor’s College came from as far as away Kibera slums in Nairobi, while others were from Eldoret, Mt Elgon, Busia, Malaba and Nakuru. Ms Takashima said those fleeing were of different ethnic backgrounds. He assured them that Mulanda was safe for all of them. “We have decided to set up temporary tents with the hope that peace will return in Kenya so that those who have been displaced can go back to their homes once negotiations that are being headed by former UN boss Kofi Annan are complete,” she said.
Government scoffs at US calls
The Government Sunday scoffed at the US and international community calls for a power-sharing formula that would end the political crisis in the country. Through Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula, the State was firm that no one would arm-twist it to reach any agreement that betrays the Constitution.
Addressing journalists a day after American President George Bush called for a power-sharing agreement between PNU and ODM to end the post-election conflict that has left more than 1,000 people dead and over 350,000 displaced, Mr Wetang’ula said the solution lay with Kenyans. “The statement should be seen within the context of opinion. The solution must be Kenyan. We will not arrive at a solution because A and B say this is the solution,” Mr Wetang’ula said.
Hygiene proves major challenge at new camp
Displaced people in Naivasha are slowly adjusting to living in tents despite numerous problems in a new camp they were moved to last week. More than 2,000 displaced people have been moved from two camps in Naivasha Town to the newly rehabilitated Kedong camp on South Lake Road, about eight kilometres from the town’s centre. Naivasha is currently holding more than 4,000 people, who were victims of post-poll violence that took an ethnic angle and saw at least 30 people hacked and burnt to death in the area. But inadequate water supply and poor sanitation are the major problems haunting the internal displaced. At Kedong, there are 25 toilets and 35 bathrooms serving more than 2,300 people.
Elders killed in arson attack
Two elderly men were Sunday hacked to death by a group of raiders who later set eight houses on fire in Kuresoi, Molo District. The incident occurred at Tegea Farm where most residents have fled their homes and sought refugee at a nearby trading centre following the post election violence. Molo police boss Achesa Litabalia said the attack occurred Sunday morning. He said the victims aged 60 and 71 had been living together in one of the deserted homes. No arrests have been made in connection with the attack.
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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.
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