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