Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Health experts fear HIV crisis for uprooted Kenyans
Thousands of uprooted Kenyans are not getting the HIV medicines they need to survive, and rising sexual attacks in camps stand to further spread the disease, public health experts say. About 15,000 of the more than 250,000 people who have fled political, ethnic and revenge attacks in the month since Kenya’s disputed presidential election are HIV-positive, according to Kenyan Health Ministry figures cited by UNAIDS. Of that group, 2,550 were taking anti-retroviral therapy to suppress the virus that causes AIDS before escalating violence forced them out of their homes and cut off their access to the drugs that must be taken continuously to work.
Dubious aid handed to Kenya
Just one day after Kenya’s bitterly disputed presidential election took place in December, Nairobi received an aid payment worth nearly 41 million euros (60.5 million dollars) from the European Union. In their defence, EU officials have said the money was dispatched before they saw any evidence that the poll had been rigged in favour of incumbent president Mwai Kibaki. Now that the Union’s own electoral monitors have confirmed that major questions surround the conduct of the election, should the Brussels institutions suspend direct aid to the Kenyan authorities? Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) think they should.
MoreInstability’s ominous call
Kenya’s slide into political disarray following its disputed presidential election has plunged the east African nation into a near humanitarian crisis and anarchy, beginning with the wanton killing and mass displacement of pro-government supporters in the country’s west. The 27 December presidential election, which it was hoped would solidify political stability in Kenya, instead heralded a disturbing new era. President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the poll by only a slim margin against his opposition challenger, Raila Odinga - results that have led to events threatening the delicate balance of the country’s various ethnic groups, severely impacting the economy and laying the groundwork for national instability.
US Senate Resolution on Kenya
Introduced on Friday, to be tabled this week, the resolution sets out terms for a viable, sustainable peace process. Among other things, it calls for the US to apply sanctions, including a travel ban and asset freeze on leaders of PNU and ODM, until the crisis is resolved. The resolution is expected to pass unanimously, but this can be ensured by generating a critical volume of calls and emails to senators.
Shailja Patel’s Blog
Helicopters bomb Kenya protesters
Kenyan military helicopters opened fire Tuesday above feuding gangs in a western town of Naivasha, and 13 died in fresh clashes elsewhere as the murder of an opposition Member of Parliament sparked new chaos. Nine people died in tribal fighting in western Kenya and four were killed in a Nairobi slum, police and medical sources said, as riots and ethnic clashes flared across the country. Gunmen killed the newly elected ODM legislator, Melitus Were, at his home in the early hours and ethnic violence continued to spread. He was shot twice in the head as he reached the gate of his house shortly after midnight. The police called it ‘murder’.
Tensions high as Annan-brokered talks begin
The “official dialogue process” began on 29 January between Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), even as violence that has ravaged the country since late December continued to spread, with the latest casualty a Member of Parliament who was shot dead outside his home in Nairobi, the capital. Pledging his commitment to the process of national healing and reconciliation, Kibaki announced that 32 fully-equipped police stations would be built in parts of the country affected by the violence. He said Ksh700 million (US$10 million) had already been committed to this project.
UN reports sharp deterioration in security, humanitarian situation
The post-electoral crisis in Kenya has taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent days with violence claiming many more lives and hampering relief efforts by United Nations agencies and their partners, further worsening an already dire situation. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 19 people had been killed in Naivasha on Sunday and 12 people had been killed in Nakuru yesterday, following violent massacres and the torching of houses.
Rivals given roadmap to peaceful end
Mediation efforts to end the political crisis in which hundreds of people have been killed entered a crucial stage when President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga were handed proposals of a roadmap to a peaceful solution. On Sunday evening, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan sent the feuding sides documents specifying the terms of reference, the agenda and options of reaching a solution that is agreeable to both sides. Mr Annan met Mr Odinga and his team at Serena Hotel to inform them of the new stage in the dialogue, having passed on the same message to President Kibaki at State House on Saturday afternoon.