Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Annan meets Raila and Kibaki over deadlock
Talks seeking to end Kenya’s post-election crisis ended in a stalemate on Monday after Government and ODM negotiators failed to agree on the role and powers of the proposed prime minister. And last evening, chief mediator Kofi Annan said it was now up to President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to resolve the deadlock. He said that the negotiators had done their part in the talks and were incapable “of resolving the outstanding issues”. “I am now asking party leaders Raila Odinga and President Kibaki to do theirs,” he said in a statement issued last evening after meeting both Mr Odinga and the President.
Earlier in the day, the Government and ODM negotiators declared that there was no need for more meetings and asked Mr Annan to reach out to President Kibaki and Mr Odinga before the talks can resume. The deadlock also dashed the hopes of Kenyans who had been expecting the two sides in the conflict to strike a deal this week to end the violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed and an estimated 350,000 displaced. And last evening, ODM secretary-general Anyang’ Nyong’o said the party had given the police a three-day notice for countrywide mass action to begin on Thursday if the talks do not yield results.
Lawsuit on mediation hits a snag
An attempt to stop the adoption of resolutions of Annan-led mediation talks has hit a snag. The High Court declined to issue temporary orders to that effect, pending the hearing and determination of a suit challenging the mediation talks. Justice Joseph Nyamu said Section Three of the Constitution gives the mediation team the right to assemble and express themselves. He also declined to allow the applicant, Mr Anthony Kirori, orders to inform the respondents about the suit through the media. However, he certified the case as urgent, ordered Kirori to serve the suit papers in the next seven days and fixed a hearing date for March 3. The judge also ordered that the case be heard when all parties are present.
OCHA Kenya Weekly Humanitarian Update vol. 6, 20 - 22 Feb 2008
I. General Overview
The congestion and crowded conditions in some of the IDP camps has raised concerns about lowering standards of service provision as camps such as the ASK Showground in Eldoret which was designed to hold 15,000 people is now hosting 21,000 while the showground parking lot in Nakuru that was meant for 8,000 is hosting more than 11,000. The need for additional sites to ease this congestion becomes critical as larger or additional camps which can be properly planned will allow for improved service delivery and facilities. The government.s plan to consolidate small camps into larger entities is designed, in part, to ease the process. New sites continue to be developed and laid out but tents are needed urgently to ensure that IDP families are sheltered. Tents have already been provided in the Molo site, the Nakuru Showground parking lot and two sites in Naivasha.
ODM Calls for Mass Action
ODM last night called for mass action on this Thursday following the stalling of the Kofi Annan mediation talks.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802252040.html
How to Implement Power Sharing Deal Between the President and Raila.
Wachira Maina
It is not hard to see what will happen to Kenya if a settlement is not reached between the Government and the Opposition in the ongoing political negotiations mediated by Dr Kofi Annan. Violence in the Rift Valley and Nyanza will resume and intensify; Uganda, Southern Sudan and Rwanda will be blockaded; transport, in recent years a major hard currency earner, will collapse; the current food shortages in parts of the country will deepen and urban food prices will spike. The region will be destabilised and the current economic crisis compounded. Most worrying, and as the International Crisis Group warns, militias are arming. This should give pause to all. There are between 1.9 to 3.2 million small arms in private hands in the Southern Sudan and probably twice that number in Somalia. Kenya’s borders with both countries are open spillways, allowing easy inflow of these weapons.
A deal must be reached if Kenya’s descent into what the Economist calls ‘hell’ is to be arrested. Happily, the key elements of an outline deal are on the table: power-sharing between the president and a prime-minister within a government of national unity, constitutional reform within a year, a re-run of the presidential election in two to three years and long-term measures to deal with poverty and inter-ethnic inequalities. But none of these proposals has been fully thought through and how to implement will be difficult and controversial.
Consider the power-sharing proposal first. The details are not agreed but the arguments on both sides are clear and entrenched. The Government says that any power-sharing between the president and the proposed prime-minister must be within the current Constitution.
MoreMPs Query Transfer of 135 Officers
Two ODM MPs have questioned the transfer of 135 police officers from Nyanza Province to other parts of the country.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802252167.html
Nakuru Mayoral Race Postponed
Mayoral elections in Nakuru municipal council were postponed Monday after PNU and ODM councillors failed to agree on the modalities of conducting the exercise.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802252152.html
Raila Demands Charge or Release for Arrested Politician
Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga has demanded the release or the prosecution of arrested Uasin Gishu politician Jackson Kibor.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802252133.html
Monday, February 25, 2008
Kenyan Crisis And the Neo-Liberal Fallacy
At the last African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Kenyan post-election violence came up for discussion amongst African foreign affairs ministers. But, they gave it a short shrift. The ministers preferred to await the presentation of the report by President Kuffuor of Ghana to the Assembly of Heads of States and Government before they can deliberate on the ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Kenya. Unfortunately, the Heads of States did not get to dwell much on the issue. But, former President of the African Union Commission, Professor Alpha Konare spoke passionately on the need for African leaders to take firm position on the Kenyan crisis. At the end African leaders restated confidence in the Kofi Annan panel of wise elders.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802251378.html
Displaced Have Nowhere to Go
More than 10,000 displaced people, who have moved to their “ancestral lands” in western Kenya to escape ethnic violence, face an uncertain future in what is, for many, a foreign country.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802251196.html
Kenya: No Mayor for Nairobi Yet As Candidates Tie in Poll
As widely expected, mayoral elections in Nairobi ended with no decisive winner and with one candidate forcibly taking over the mayor’s parlour.
AllAfrica News: Latest Monday, 25 February 2008 05:14 pm
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802251816.html
Kenya peace talks reach impasse
Talks seeking an end to the turmoil in Kenya break down, as police say more than 1,500 people have died.
BBC News | World | Africa | UK Edition Monday, 25 February 2008 03:49 pm Africa
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7263359.stm
Kenya opposition calls for mass protest
Kenya’s opposition calls for mass rallies after negotiators admitted failing to resolve outstanding issues on power sharing
Guardian Unlimited World Latest Monday, 25 February 2008 04:38 pm Mark Tran kenya world newshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/25/kenya
Forensic investigations into post-election violence related deaths
Following the delayed and disputed release of the general elections results of 27th December 2007 there was wide speculation of rigging. This led to nationwide protests and an outbreak of violence seemingly driven by ethnicity and perceived political affiliation. This lawlessness provided an environment conducive to torture and gross human rights violations. The violence took the form of killings, rape, and arson acts, forceful evictions and internal displacement. It is estimated that over 1,000 people have been killed, over 400,000 internally displaced/ forcefully evicted, women and girls raped and property worth millions destroyed.
Most of the internally displaced people took refuge in police stations, churches and other safe havens but remain far removed from medical and psychological services, food, sanitation, and other essentials. Most of the perpetrators of these human rights violations are either still at large or there is insufficient evidence to sustain prosecutions against them. Due to the current political stalemate in the country the situation on the ground remains tense but hopeful.
The report of hundreds of deaths across the country has shocked the world. As investigations are being carried out, IMLU, as part of the technical working group on documentation and investigations of Kenyans for Peace, truth and Justice (KPTJ) set out to conduct forensic investigations and documentation into these deaths.
This report is a compilation of the findings of the post-mortem examinations carried out on sampled cases in key violent spots nationwide. It includes a comprehensive review of the autopsy findings and medico-legal inferences and opinions. Also captured are varied challenges and limitations encountered in this investigation and documentation process. It attempts to show Kenyans and the world a representation of the magnitude and nature of the deaths occasioned by the continuing violence.
A Letter to Njeri – a Kenyan Sister Who Received Death Threats After the Election
by Philo Ikonya
Dear Njeri,
Tonight, I am unable to sleep. You see, my country - our country - is on fire. It is almost the end of February: is it the end of Kenya as we knew it? Kenya beloved and full of potential. Kenya our country. I have only heard one positive report from the BBC ever since the year began and I am not surprised; what positive things can one say at the moment? That children are not dying? They are. That many people are not being killed? They are. That our mothers are not being raped and little girls defiled? They are. That you have and are not the only one to receive death threats? You have. That houses are not burning? They are. That we have not fought these things all along? We have.
http://www.thewip.net/contributors/2008/02/a_letter_to_njeri_a_kenyan_sis.html