Media round up on Kenya election crisis 5 January 2008
Kenya press: 6 Jan
The Nation reports that at least 80 people have been killed and 180 others injured in Nakuru and the surrounding areas since the announcement of the election results:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=56&newsid=114039
According to the Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, 5400 Kenyans have sought refuge in Uganda. ...
According to the Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, 5400 Kenyans have sought refuge in Uganda. Others have crossed into Tanzania, although their numbers are not yet known:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=114058
Protests continued in Mombasa for a second day as ODM leaders were reportedly frustrated in their efforts to secure permission for a planned rally on Monday:
http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979991&cid=159
Associated Press reports accusations of police violence against unarmed civilians. Doctors at Makina clinic in Kibera stated that half those they treated said that they were injured by the police. A mortuary attendant in Kisumu said that the mortuary contained 46 bodies with bullet wounds after protests where the only firearms seen were those held by police officers:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/05/africa/AF-GEN-Kenya-Police-Violence.php
On 4 January a statement by 14 UN human rights investigators condemned the violence in Kenya, expressing concerns about excessive force used by the security forces and the rise in gang rapes:
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL04694231
The East Africa Law Society has called on President Kibaki to delay announcing a new cabinet until the mediation process is complete:
http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979997
Officials from eight of the smaller political parties have stated that nomination of their members into government should not take place without their written permission. The Smaller Parties Parliamentary Group has a total of 35 MPs, the third largest political grouping after ODM and PNU:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=114036
In a television interview with the BBC on 6 January Raila Odinga has said that he is prepared to hold talks with President Kibaki to end the crisis:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7170000/newsid_7173700/7173708.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&nol_storyid=7173708&bbcws=1
The executive director of the International Commission of Jurists has called on Kenya’s political leaders to negotiate an end to the violence. George Kegoro also criticised the Electoral Commission of Kenya, and said that a new commission should be appointed to re-tally the presidential votes:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=114033
The Catholic Church has added its voice to the calls for peace, and for an audit of the tallying of the presidential and parliamentary results:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=114030
The British Foreign Secretary issued another statement about Kenya on 4 January, referring to ‘well-documented concerns about irregularities in the election process’. He called on Kenya’s political leaders to accept the Ghanaian President’s offer to lead the mediation process:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1199197605770
Police in Tanzania banned demonstrations in Dar es Salaam on 5 January by opposition parties protesting electoral irregularities in Kenya:
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/newz.php?id=2370
David Anderson writes that the violence in Kenya has been driven not by tribal animosity but by a corrupt political system and unscrupulous leaders on all sides. Wholesale reform of the political process is required:
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9983
Compiled by Izzy Birch, Fahamu
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