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.
More