Floodwaters in central Mozambique have displaced at least 100 families and the death toll in neighbouring Zimbabwe has risen to at least nine as heavy rains lashed the neighbouring southern African countries, according to media reports. Sergio Moiane, administrator of the district of Buzi in Sofala Province, in central Mozambique, told local media at least 100 families had been evacuated from their homes in the low-lying area of Bandua after experiencing consistently heavy rainfall since 7 December. He said floodwater had swept away about 188 hectares of crops, although water levels in the Buzi River had begun to recede.

Saico Djau is a very frustrated laboratory technician and HIV counsellor. After testing people for HIV and informing them of their status there is nothing else he can do for them if they are HIV-positive, because there is no antiretroviral (ARV) treatment available on Guinea Bissau's Bijagos Islands. He has to give them the bad news and then send them back to their villages.

Uganda's government is to buy a $48,2-million Gulfstream jet for President Yoweri Museveni, media reported on Wednesday, and critics questioned whether the poor East African country could afford it. A committee of lawmakers endorsed the proposal, moving it closer to parliamentary approval, the state-owned New Vision newspaper said.

Civilians fleeing violence in east Democratic Republic of Congo are facing a shortage of medical care as disease outbreaks begin to plague the troubled region,
the charity Médécins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Wednesday. Fighting between government troops and forces loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda have pushed civilians from their homes several times in ongoing flare-ups which have intensified since August.

This week's AU Monitor brings you updates from the African Union, whereas the Commission announces the launching of its 'Panel of the Wise', five eminent regional personalities chosen to advise the Peace and Security Council on conflict prevention and peace promotion matters in Africa. Further, the AU and the League of Arab States held their third consultative meeting to brainstorm on the Revitalization of the Afro-Arab Cooperation and devise concrete activities for the Afro-Arab Development Forum in 2008. Lastly, Participants of the recent EU-Africa Summit present the Lisbon Declaration and resolve to "build a new strategic political partnership for the future, overcoming the traditional donor-recipient relationship and building on common values and goals in our pursuit of peace and stability, democracy and rule of law, progress and development".

In economic news, African countries are succumbing to pressure from the European Commission, signing interim economic trade pacts that are said to fragment regional integration. Also, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) is expressing its criticism after the East African Community (EAC) signed an interim economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the EU, stating that the EAC is "dividing Africa and undermining the continent's integration efforts". Lastly, as criticism grows, the EAC is facing "political seclusion" , but defends itself by saying the interim agreements with the EU were signed to "avoid disruption of trade between the two blocs".

As preparations are being made to transition the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to UNAMID as the peacekeeping force in the region, the groups are attempting to clarify what the functions of various AU mechanisms will be following the shift.

In other peace and security news, the Institute for Security Studies analyses the efforts in establishing the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), highlighting the setbacks of other African peacekeeping efforts and reframing the discussion on homegrown security tactics.

In climate-related news, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) alliance expressed frustration at the lack of binding agreements arising from the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali . GCAP Campaign Manager Irfan Mufti says "The US has acted like a playground bully in these crucial negotiations" and delaying the development of an agreement on stringent binding emission targets will disproportionately affect the world's poorest people. Further, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has announced plans for its African Centre for Climate Policy Studies to provide African countries with the capacity to respond to climate-related concerns in the framework of development policies.

Lastly, EU agricultural ministers have finally adjusted their sugar pricing rules to adhere to global frameworks, abolishing subsidies that are expected to benefit African sugarcane producers.

Gender, race, colour, religion, age – there are so many reasons why people can be excluded from their society. Those who are face an uphill struggle for equality, even if they have the strength and wherewithal to take the first steps. However many do not. What, then, is the reality for these groups when disaster strikes? Hidden, ignored or simply invisible, the most vulnerable – and those potentially in the greatest need – are rarely, if ever, at the forefront of aid operations. This report turns the spotlight on these groups, examining how and why they face discrimination.

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning ( UIL) collaborates with the Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA) in launching a pilot project on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for unemployed workers from the sugar and textile sectors who will be retrained for work in the tourism industry, which in Mauritius has emerged as the fastest growing economic sector in 2006

After a protracted delay, tough new laws against sexual abuse will finally go into effect Sunday in South Africa, which is often called the "rape capital" of the world. The Justice Ministry said today that the Sexual Offenses Amendment Act would help the country "fight the scourge of sexual offenses head-on" and would at last give greater protection to victims of sexual crimes. For the first time, victims will be able to go to court to force their attackers to take AIDS tests.

Homophobic laws are still in place in many African states, violating the fundamental rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people. On the occasion of the Europe-Africa meeting in Lisbon, Pan Africa ILGA, (African region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association), ILGA-Europe and ILGA together with a number of human rights organizations call on European and African governments to clearly state that LGBT rights are human rights and to adopt the Yogyakarta Principles, which are an authoritative compilation of those fundamental rights.

One person in every 35 lives outside the country in which they were born. Many of those are migrant workers or their family members. Reasons for migration can vary between the need to escape poverty, inequality and conflict, the desire to pursue better work and educational opportunities, or even wanting to live in a cleaner environment or better climate. People often migrate for a combination of reasons and in sometimes complex circumstances.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has backed the call of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) for journalists in the country to stand in solidarity with six colleagues and a newspaper accused of libel by Ambrose Nmah, the general manager of a media group. Nmah, who also presents a news program on the radio, is suing the journalists after they published a statement calling on the PUL to investigate him for allegedly making comments on his radio program justifying physical attacks on journalists by police officers.

The Security Council has called on all sides in Somalia to use peaceful means to consolidate peace in the East African nation that has not had a functioning national government since 1991. Foreign Minister Massimo D’alema of Italy, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency this month, read out a statement urging “all Somali parties to reject violence and… to enter into substantial dialogue aimed at achieving a full and all-inclusive national reconciliation.”

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has called for an end to fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and pledged to help improve conditions in camps there for tens of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Zambia and India signed an agreement in September that will see India fund Zambian training centres to train researchers and the public in information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Zambia needed to embrace science and technology to develop economically, said Peter Daka, the Zambian Minister of Science and Technology.

The first pan-African satellite worth $380M is due for launch this week and is considered a turning point for the development of the continent is the sectors of new technologies and telecommunication. The project was co-financed by continental and regional banks.

In a predictable show of force, Kenyan voters have consigned a large number of sitting parliamentarians to political oblivion in party nominations. Attempts by Kenya’s Youth Affairs Minister Mohammed Kuti to change the legal definition of youth to include people up to 50 years old was a clear sign of political panic. But there is an easier alternative to panic, argues Calestous Juma: incumbent leaders should start to transfer power to younger generations in an orderly manner. One way to do so is to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 at most.

The interim committee of the MDC-UK is set to suspend defiant ‘rebels,’ led by former chairman Ephraim Tapa, from the party for alleged gross misconduct. The entire national executive of the MDC-UK led by the former trade unionist, was dissolved on 13th October and replaced by a co-coordinating committee led by John Nyamande.

The XYZ Show, a unique African political satire web-series created by artist Godfrey Mwapembwa (Gado) and produced by Communicating Artists Ltd in Kenya is making waves by putting a humorous spin on the upcoming general elections. Please visit to view or download episodes.

New programs and policies aimed at preventing HIV in Africa should focus on providing earlier and more comprehensive sex education and reinforcing national health care systems to better serve youth, according to important new research released last week, and published by the Guttmacher Institute and institutional partners in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Uganda.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa has published a new report defining fundamental geospatial datasets for Africa. The report is the first attempt to provide a continental common definition of what constitutes a minimally necessary core of geospatial data and information products to which policy makers can add other sectoral datasets to ensure geographic consistency in making decisions on socio-economic development issues.

Western Sahara's independence movement Polisario will vote in six months on whether to resume an armed struggle with Morocco over the desert territory, an official of the group said on Thursday. "We will have a conference in six months to decide that," Mohamed Beissat told Reuters after a policy-making congress held in the Polisario-controlled outpost of Tifariti this week.

Government troops in Niger have executed civilians and committed other abuses in reprisal for rebel raids in the Saharan country's uranium-mining north, international human rights organisations say. In separate reports, UK-based Amnesty International and U.S.-based Human Rights Watch denounced rights violations by the army as it confronts a rebellion by the Niger Justice Movement (MNJ).

A voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) project developed in Africa has the potential to be successfully translated to the UK and could help reduce the high levels of undiagnosed HIV infection in the UK’s African community, according to research published in the December edition of Sexually Transmitted Infections.

A day after the dramatic ending of the Bali climate talks, many are wondering if the result was indeed best outcome possible given the circumstances, writes Walden Bello. The US was brought back to the fold, but at the cost of excising from the final document--the so-called Bali Roadmap--any reference to the need for a 25 to 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2020 to keep the mean global temperature increase to 2.0 to 2.4 degrees Celsius in the 21st century.

Recently AWID launched a new primer series entitled "Aid Effectiveness and Women's Rights". The aim of the series is to share critical information and analysis with women's rights advocates about the new aid architecture that has emerged as a result of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness — the most recent donor-recipient countries agreement designed to increase the impact of aid.

The UN refugee agency has resumed the repatriation of Sudanese refugees from western Ethiopia after a six-month hiatus due to the rainy season and poor road conditions. A convoy of buses and trucks carrying 610 Sudanese refugees – more than half of them born in Ethiopia – left Bonga Camp on Saturday on a 820-kilometre-long journey to Sudan's Blue Nile state via the border crossing of Kurmuk.

Sierra Leone’s economy has, over the years, relied heavily on the mining sector in general and diamonds in particular. However, between 1991 and 2000 the country was comprehensively destroyed in a brutal civil war that engulfed the West African state. Seven years after the war was declared over, the country is still struggling to reactivate economic activities from yesteryear - despite praise from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for its economic progress during the post-conflict transition.

Smallholder agriculture is the dominant occupation in many sub-Saharan African nations. The influence of World Bank policies on this sector is well-doucmented, particularly with reference to Structural Adjustment policies of the 1980s and 90s. Despite wide-spread criticism of the World Bank's agriculture policy prescriptions, its major annual publication, the World Development Report (WDR), remains largely focussed on this economic sector. This paper offers a critical reflection of the WDR’s portrayal of world agriculture with respect to Africa.

Front Line; The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is seeking to recruit three experienced human rights researchers. The successful candidates will have excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to deliver accurate work in a high pressure environment dictated by the need to respond urgently to threats against human rights defenders. The closing date for applications is 8th January.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has announced that the seventh session of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent will take place at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Palais des Nations – Room XIX, from 14 to 18 January, 2008.

I propose we form a Pambazuka Support Group in as many countries as possible to raise funds and also to support the Pambuzuka initiative. I am happy to lead on this in the UK and will try to contact as many academics, intellectuals, political activists and others as possible. Many of us value what you produce enormously.

Prof David Seddon
Former member of the Editorial Board, The Review of African Political Economy

More African students are coming or planning to come to China for higher education because of the country's fast-growing economy and warmer ties with Africa. "China is becoming one of the strongest economies in the world. It will be important to know the country and its language, so I am planning to come as soon as possible," said Maurice Okande Alcula,a journalist from Kenya's National Development Radio, who is among a 100-member delegation to China.

The Women's Leadership Scholarship (WLS) program creates educational
opportunities for women who are grassroots leaders, organizers and activists
from the Global South and/or from indigenous groups. WLS invests in women's
leadership by supporting non-doctoral graduate education in human rights,
sustainable development, and public health. Pre-applications for the 2008-09 academic year will be available on the WLS website beginning January 1, 2008.

The Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET) together with the Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) and the Law of Faculty, Makerere University are carrying out a commissioned review of the Public Health Laws in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in relation to policy areas relevant to equity in health.

This study will introduce an analytic framework used across the three countries and the major global, international, regional and public health principles being reviewed. It will provide for each country and under each of the headings above, an accessible, easily understood outline of the coverage of and gaps in national law within that area, citing the relevant law or source.

This study will also provide for each country a summary of coverage, inconsistencies, contradictions, redundancies and gaps to be addressed in law and where relevant, in the enforcement mechanisms. It will give an overall summary for the three countries of coverage, inconsistencies, contradictions, redundancies and gaps to be addressed in law and where relevant, in the enforcement mechanisms; and identify areas for follow up stakeholder consultation, listing key stakeholders, for advocacy and for follow up research.

The study will be a detailed review and analysis of the public health laws of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It will thus involve collating information on Public Health Laws of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania which will be used to prepare the final paper.

The researchers are therefore requesting any organisation or individual with information that will help them in this study to contact Mulumba Moses. The contact email address is [email][email protected]

Mulumba, Moses,
Faculty of Law,
Makerere University,
Kampala - Uganda

Concerns about Climate Change were at the centre of the world's media glare last week, during the UN climate conference in Bali, Indonesia. After two weeks of negotiations, side events, and protests, things came to a dramatic stand off between the US and the rest of the world. While the EU led the demands for the next agreement (the Kyoto Protocol comes to an end in 2012), to include cuts in Carbon Dioxide emissions to 25-40% of 1990 levels, the US flatly refused to join any agreement that set specific targets or dates.

Mine Awareness International is a Non-Profit, Non-Government Organization which provides Landmine, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Improvised Explosive Device awareness training to Aid Agencies, Non-Government Organizations and Companies and Contractors who will be operating in countries or regions which have been ravaged by conflict and are contaminated by landmines and other Explosive Remnants of War. We are aware that many Organizations, Contractors and Consultants need to operate in such hostile environments, and we believe there is a demand for the kind of training we offer.

Over the past few months a lot of ink has flowed in mainstream publications about the situation in the Congo. In almost all of the articles, the underlying reason for the crisis in the Congo - the scramble for Congo’s spectacular natural wealth- has been consistently omitted or underplayed, write Maurice Carney and Carrie Crawford, of Friends of the Congo (FOTC).

Wangui Wa Goro analyses the role of the Kenyan voter in averting a betrayal of a genuinely democratic platform and those who suffered and died to make the platform possible.

When we struggled in exile against the Moi-Kanu regime, our mantra which reflected the name of our organisation was UMOJA – UNITED MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY IN KENYA which spelt out an agenda for change, long before multiparty democracy in Kenya was possible. Much has changed since then, particularly the removal of the dreaded Clause 2A of the Constitution which barred Kenyans from forming opposition political parties. Elections have since been held on two consecutive occasions but whether this represents the much vaunted “multipartism” is yet to be tested.

The fact that there are briefcase parties and several of them does not necessarily mean that the country has turned to a multiparty democracy although we can rejoice at even the ability to register these. In our vision then and in my vision now, we were determined as were many Kenyans to see an end to dictatorship and the restoration of democracy in Kenya which would end violence against fundamental freedoms such as the right to life, the right to associate, the right to conscience, the freedom from want and the freedom of expression amongst others. We hoped that the rule of law and the respect of the rights of all Kenyans would be the baseline from which a new dispensation could be built.

Key to our campaigns was the restitution of democratic rule and governance and the rule of law which protected the lives of every Kenyan no matter what their class, gender, creed or ethnicity, whether they were inside the country or out. It has been my enduring hope that Kenya can quickly get back to track because many Kenyans know what is right, they are decent and hard working people and we are blessed with a nation which is truly gifted in its natural and human resources and well located to harness these gifts for all of us and offer hope to others. I was lucky enough to grow up in a free, post independence Kenya to know from an early age that this was possible.

At the end of the second post Clause 2A election period, five years ago, however, I wrote an article entitled KENYA AT 40 which asked whether we were going to see new wine in old bottles or old wine in new bottles. Despite my misgivings, given the volatile nature of elections and the pre-election Kenyan history which had kept Kenyans repressed through the Moi-Kanu regime, I allowed myself that momentary jubilation with millions of other Kenyans that a milestone had been reached and Kenya had taken a bold and symbolic step of removing the one party-one person dictatorship which meant that the country was finally on the road to democratisation. Despite this, I remained sceptical at both the processes leading to multiparty elections which nearly returned Moi to his “two terms!” and the hurried way in which NARC was formed without much democratic process in the country and in the party. Worrying too, was the fact that the key players of the various “coalition parties” had at one time or another served in the Moi-Kanu dictatorship.

What excited me however, in the last election in 2002, was the will to change and the way in which the Kenyans embraced the ballot box to see off the dictatorship, thus heralding a new approach to the democratic processes. The key promises that were made for this to happen were firstly, the delivery of the new constitution which had been initiated during the Moi-Kanu era and for which the consultative processes had involved all Kenyans and secondly, the end to nyayoism which was synonymous with dictatorship. The referendum also gave us another peak at this will and eagerness to use the ballot box to make decisions.

Yet deep inside, despite these and other cosmetic changes, however, unlike many of my fellow Kenyans, I remain sceptical because I believe that old habits die hard and many of the new players in the new regime and others in the opposition, with the exception of a few had really not been involved in the pro-democracy struggles which led to the toppling of the single party single person dictatorship. They were unlikely to change not for want of trying but they would not know how and in some instances, preferred not to know how in their arrogance and belief in their God given right. I believed that many still do not know or care about what the desires of the Kenyans really are, nor the full extent of the price that has been paid through detentions, killings, exiling, jailing and other state led repressions nor the struggles for democracy which finally led to the momentum which saw Moi and his cronies off. I was soon proven right as old faces began reappearing around the president including, now in the final stretch, Moi himself: Old wine in an old bottle, a scenario I had not contemplated.

We had campaigned for multiparty elections as a tool to democratisation, not just for the changing of guards at the top of brief case, overnight formed parties. A vision was for a Kenya where equality, justice and freedom from fundamental needs could be shared both through the rule of law, particularly for those in the greatest need, but also engaging people in democratic decision making processes at all levels of society including their parties, and not just at election time. What lessons can be learned from the last elections?

I hoped, perhaps cynically, that explicit mechanisms, institutions and personnel would be put in place early enough after the departure of the nyayo regime which had violated the social, economic, political and human rights of the large majority of Kenyans and which all the players, now united through NARC would endeavour to reverse. At the state level, the government was buoyed by the post election feel-good factor and the overwhelming euphoria and expectation that nyayoism and all its tendencies had been shown the door. The Rainbow Coalition also bore promises in that it had activist/reformers who were elected into parliament and even to ministerial and cabinet positions. New bold blood was also engaged in some critical positions. There seemed to be real hope for the foundations for democracy. The hope was that NARC and the other parties would begin to strengthen their parties in preparation for the next elections.

In the early months of the Narc government there was promise that democratic accountability and mechanisms for democracy would come into being and would begin to deliver restorative justice, processes and outcomes which would begin to address some of the gross human, social, economic and political violations and begin to reverse the fortunes of every Kenyan. Key to this was the Constitution which would not only safeguard Kenya from dictatorship by diminishing the power of the presidency and empowering institutions and other mechanisms, but also modernise Kenya for the 21st Century.

Sadly, this was not to be and remains a major stumbling block for democratisation as a mechanism. Other mechanisms would include independent institutions of the Judiciary, Parliament and Executive and the setting up of specific offices and institutions to redress the ills of the KANU years as well as reforming the Public Services. Institutions such as the Anti-corruption Commission were formed, the office for Governance and Ethics in the office of the President and the Kenya National Commission for Rights amongst others. There were promises and attempts to reform the Judiciary, corruption at all levels would be rooted out, people would be held to account for violations of human rights, those who had embezzled public funds or employed their relatives and cronies would be dealt with etc.

In other examples, what has happened to the Permanent Secretary for Ethics and Governance in the person of John Githongo who was forced to flee the country and his job is well known world-wide. His post has not been refilled, nor his work followed up. In other instances, institutions such as the Anti-corruption Commission and the National Human Rights Commission which began with great promise do not have enough authority to carry out their duties. In their weakness, they appear to have been calculated token gestures as corruption, violence and poverty have continued unabated. In another example, the late appointments and processes for the Election Commission of Kenya do not inspire confidence. Equally, the last minute formation of political parties, the wrangling and the violence has also not helped and may predetermine the outcome for democracy even before Kenyans have a chance to get to the ballot box. The unravelling of the official opposition and the joining of the Kibaki party by the leader of the opposition Uhuru Kenya has undermined that democratic space and left the other opposition parties (which are not recognised within this parliament) without a voice.

But after a while, the whole systems began to unravel both at the state and party level, firstly with the breaking up of the Rainbow Party that was not founded on democratic, transparent unifying principals beyond the desire to rid Kenya of the Moi-Kanu regime. The breakdown of the rainbow party (which was based on a coalition of parties) was so bad that at one point, the Kenyan state was governed by an individual, the President whose party nobody knew and there were no mechanisms or checks and balances either at party or state level. President Kibaki did not belong to NARC as it had disbanded and he did not belong to any of the constituent or new parties. This had never happened even in the worst of the Nyayo-era period as Moi conducted the dictatorship under the aegis of KANU.

At the social level, racism, religious intolerance and sexism are at a rampant high including the rape and violence against women and children, attacks on specific ethnic communities and day to day vigilante activities which include violent killings and violation of the law including the killing of police officers. Further, attacks on the media, (and other gestures such as slapping of public civil servants and journalists without censure by those associated to high public office) continue to erode the right to fundamental freedoms and send out the message that there are those who are above the law.

The fact is that through such gestures which happen on a daily basis, many communities and individuals feel under siege through continued political, social, religious and ethnic pressure including vigilante activities like extrajudicial killings and corruption some of which are perpetuated by people perceived to be in position of power and authority, a far cry from what Kenyans had hoped for after what looked like the crushing of nyayoism. The law is not applied equally, thus the poorest and most vulnerable are hit the hardest and the system does not protect them from exploitation by those who purport to be in power, including small localised power linked to big power.

The civil society has also been weakened by the promises of reform from their former colleagues now in government or in parliament, but Kenyans should know by now that reform is the avoidance of change and that is why it has always been preferred by the ruling classes and their intelligentsia who have gone unusually silent or have failed to pick out the nuances that will undermine true multiparty democracy in Kenya. How much longer are Kenyans going to be expected to wait?

The impunity that the poor face in relation to access to justice, fundamental services and the inability to have a say in their day to day lives has been so normalised that paying bribes before accessing any service is a way of life still and expecting that one might be attacked or killed for not conforming makes the lives of many Kenyans miserable. Many communities also feel alienated through exclusion. The rich can pay for protection but the poor remain exposed in desperate conditions and in many instances below what can be called minimal human conditions. Failure to account and be held accountable has to be a measure by which Kenyans can articulate their desires. The delivery of these in the past and in the future are a serious indictment and barometer of democracy, equality, freedom, justice and the rule of law. As Kenyans go to the ballot, they must ask themselves whether the different parties/individuals will address these fundamental needs.

It is in fact these tenets for the road to democracy they must use to measure their promised leaders and to underpin their election decisions. At least that is what I would do if I had that promised right to vote which at present I do not have although I am a Kenyan citizen. At minimum, democracy should guard the most fundamental of needs which alleviate fear and want. This requires a vision for democratic change and rule and engagement at all levels. The institutions, mechanisms and processes which treat all Kenyans as equal before the law must be strengthened and the rights of every Kenyan protected no matter what their race, gender, class, ability or creed. Our right to multipartism must be underpinned by real parties not paper parties. Elections are only the first step and that was secured even before 2002.

The score sheet will read disappointingly if Kenyans fail yet again for a third time to seize this golden opportunity by selling their hard won rights to the class interests of the rich and therefore, they can be told again to their own faces that they are willing accomplices in their own violation.

While one can only rejoice at elections as the first step forward towards democracy and the fervour in which the Kenyans have seized this, they are only means to an end and this is what the Kenyans should bear in mind as they exercise their right on December 27, 2007. They are the best guarantee of democracy and not the leaders, whatever their party. Most Kenyans are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea in the current elections as true multipartism has not really arrived in Kenya, but token paper parties with little track record and nearly all of them tarnished by their associations with Nyayosim one way or the other. Kenya needs a clean break through a new republic and a national debate for this needs to happen urgently. Choosing leaders who will genuinely facilitate this may be the way forward.

Kenyans therefore have to fix the wider vision of a better place for themselves now and for their children tomorrow. There is much to be won beside short term, last minute token gestures, empty promises, and those who can vote must keep their eye on the ball for true development, justice, democracy, peace, unity and equality. Kenya has the promise and the potential and if those with the right to vote fail to seize it now judiciously, this may well be the last chance.

*Dr. Wangui wa Goro is a public intellectual, writer, translator and academic who has been living in the UK and campaigning for democratic rights for Kenya for the last 25 years. She is currently an Associate Fellow at the Institute of Human Rights and Social Justice at London Metropolitan University.

* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org

Dr. Penninah Ogada discusses the social, political and economic factors that impeding the full participation of Kenyan women in this year's general election.

Introduction

In the East African region Kenya is noted for having the smallest number of women holding elective positions. Statistics however, show that women’s limited participation in politics and governance is neither due to a lack of qualified women, nor their level of exposure and intellectual skills for participation. There are three issues in the public domain that may offer some explanation for women’s limited participation in politics and public life in Kenya. First is the socio-political environment in which the electioneering processes take place. Secondly, the role of political parties and their internal structures and operations in facilitating women’s participation; and, thirdly, the socio-economic environment in which the 2007 electoral processes are taking place in Kenya.

Socio-Political environment

The 2007 Kenyan General Election has the highest number of women political aspirants ever witnessed in the country's history. There are over 120 women cleared through the different political parties to run for parliamentary seats, and, many more are running for civic seats. This scenario is the result of a concerted effort by the non-governmental organizations and civil society activities that started in earnest in early 2006 in the run up to the 2007 electioneering period. Most of the sensitization and mobilization activities have been undertaken by the Gender and Governance Program partners who are funded by development agencies through the UNIFEM kitty for women, and, in furtherance of Article 3 of the Millennium Development Goals for Kenya.

Many sensitization workshops and seminars for women aspirants focused on individual skills for capacity and confidence building, including: identification of electioneering issues, development of relations with the media houses, and the packaging the ‘self’ for public space and elective position. The emphasis has been on “transformative” political leadership, undergirded by the principle that no society can hope to progress when women are locked out of political participation. In Kenya women comprise 52% of the voting population - this is too significant a proportion to be ignored in the decision making processes and public policies that affect the lives of women and those of their families. Yet a cursory observation of what happened during the party nominations in November 2007 reveal two disquieting trends:firstly, that political parties are not ready to accommodate women candidates, and secondly that the public mindset is generally so patriarchal that the female gender roles are first and foremost considered before individual woman’s leadership qualities can be acknowledged and embraced.

Presently Kenyan political parties revolve around individual founders with whom the parties are identified, and who are, to some extent, responsible for funding the party activities. This fact defines the extent of women’s involvement in the hierarchical structure of the party relative to women’s low economic capability in a patriarchal society. The lower the women’s economic capability, the further away from the center of power and decision making they are within these parties, and, the less likely it is that aspiring women would be able to negotiate and influence their chances of winning party nomination. Secondly, until the political parties’ bill comes into operation, it is virtually impossible for a woman candidate to fund her own election campaign from her own resources even if she won her party nomination. But more importantly, the cut-throat competition from the male counter parts which includes huge spending on voter bribery, character assassination, mudslinging, false promises, propaganda, and so on, make the cost of involvement in the current socio-political environment too costly in terms of social capital, especially for many career women with leadership qualities. Many career women find the social environment hostile and are not willing to play hard-ball in the political game which is played according to male-stream rules, and at the expense of family and career dignity and social running – even as role models to the girl child.

During the recent nomination exercises in November, women aspirants were subjected to physical beatings and rape, abductions, and even deliberate delay and hijacking of the nomination exercises in order to cause conflict with women’s other gender role performances. In September, Flora Igoki Tera, an ODM Kenya Parliamentary Candidate for the North Imenti constituency in Meru district of Kenya, was attacked and tortured by a gang of 5 men, near her Meru home. Ms Alice Onduto, a parliamentary aspirant for Lugari Constituency who lost in the nominations was shot dead while on her way home in Nairobi’s South C estate on 1/12/07. Her assailants have not been apprehended. All this has a two-pronged impact: the female voters are intimidated and denied opportunity to support the candidate of their choice, and secondly, the aspirants are traumatized psychologically and physically intimidated into giving up on the quest for elective positions.

Role of political parties

There is no provision for independent political candidates for elective positions in the current Kenyan constitution. This means that any aspiring candidate must be nominated by a political party in order to run for elective political office. The increased awareness of the historical social injustices to women perpetuated by patriarchal structures across the African region, has led the civil society to consistently advocate for ways to seek to redress this anomaly.

One suggestion that has been promoted is that the government should adopt affirmative action as a national policy towards the realization of greater participation by women in public affairs. This is not the first time the civil society and women groups are agitating for affirmative action in Kenya, in fact this policy was first verbalized in the 1970s by Mrs. P. Asiyo - then the only elected woman member of Parliament. In spite of the demonstrated success of this policy in bringing about the desired changes in neighboring countries, the “male-stream” Ninth Parliament did not support the Bill for enactment. Hence the political parties are not bound by any regulation to facilitate greater participation by women in both political party and national affairs. Indeed those who have vested interests in the maintenance of status quo have argued that Kenyan women are so amply qualified that attempts to implement affirmative action would slight their competitiveness and suggest that they are of such feeble mind and weak leadership ability as to require a leg up in the public sphere.

The three major political parties have been crisscrossing the country in the hunt for votes. All the parties are aware of the significance of women’s votes and consequently have been verbalizing their commitment to social justice and, for women’s concerns. We all waited with bated breath in November to see if political parties would grant, at least some women aspirants direct party nominations. This has not happened in the three main parties. Such a let-down to women party supporters given that the manifestos of the major parties contain specific clauses about party commitments to women’s concerns.

One may be forgiven for being cynical and believing that this may just be one more occasion for politicking and paying lip service for the sake of getting the women’s votes without commitment. It is also noted that no party has taken any disciplinary measures against perpetrators of violence against women - even in cases where evidence has been provided and individuals have been named. In the Kenyan electioneering process violence against women are equated with acts of “normal thuggery”. Women remain situated far from the center of power within the political parties. They do not hold positions of influence that can impact the party nominations neither do they have the financial clout to fund their own election campaigns. Therefore following the male-dominated party nominations fiasco that was witnessed in November, many women aspirants had no choice but to migrate to smaller and peripheral political parties in order to receive nomination certificates to for elections. Kenyan political parties are nothing more than vehicles to parliament, and have no ideological distinctions, for practical purposes, and in this regard women incur no ideological losses in changing parties. Women, on the on the hand, lose voter hype and attention when they move to small parties that have no impact and are not popular in their constituencies.

The socio-economic environment of the 2007 electoral processes

Becoming a Member of Parliament is the most lucrative job one can land in Kenya today. It is the kind of job that has no strict rules governing the quality of performance, it is a job where the employee becomes the unquestionable lord over the masses. The crushing levels of poverty in rural communities, and the gap between the haves and have-nots continue to disenfranchise the masses (mostly rural women) who have family responsibilities, forcing them to sell their voter's cards in exchange for small amounts of money to put food on the table. The voter's card buyers are agents of unpopular but wealthy candidates who presume to have a monopoly of parliamentary seats and the accruing privileges. Very few of women political aspirants have this kind of financial resources to disburse to the poor demanding masses among whom the culture of dependency, and financial handouts have been politically engineered and entrenched over the years. This fact makes the sizable block of women’s vote very fluid and transient, and therefore cannot be relied upon by women aspirants who do not have the required handouts to give.

Furthermore, women political aspirants suffer a lack of goodwill and family support. Whenever men aspirants are campaigning for elections, their wives and other relatives support them and are their most trusted campaign agents. This privileged support is not true for women aspirants. Even in cases where husbands and male relatives give moral support, it does not translate into active physical and financial engagement, that is, the relatives allow the women to campaign, but do not actively join in to lend their support. Women are physically more vulnerable to electoral violence; they literally require constant security against hired goons. Women are economically compromised because very few have the accumulated funds of their own for campaign expenses.

Therefore when women political aspirants have no financial support, political good will from political parties, or access to family resources, for logistical facilitation, then their chances of waging successful political campaign is seriously compromised, and their leadership potential and contribution to the nation will not be realized. These are some of the underpinnings to the low visibility and audibility of women’s participation in the highly patriarchal Kenyan political process.

In conclusion one may say that today the attainment of critical mass is occurring faster than the Kenyan political elite would care to acknowledge. Women as voters are both listening and watching the political campaign promises and trends. Many women leaders and voters are hoping to see many more women get into parliament more than before. They are hoping to hear their issues articulated and acted upon by way of public policies by the government of the day, in a manner that would impact their quality of life. The rural women are more likely to demand accountability from members of the tenth parliament than has ever been witnessed before. Most political aspirants during their campaigns are invoking issues such as: provision of clean and accessible water supply, accessible quality medical services, quality education, roads and marketing infrastructure that would enable rural women to sell their surplus agricultural produce to earn a living, and, physical security to enable them to enjoy the little that is theirs by their sweat. The rural women will be watching the performance of the Tenth parliament, and at the end will act accordingly. These are the key concerns of Kenya's women - politics, class and ethnic divisions aside.

* Dr. Penninah Ogada is a gender and human rights consultant, and a lecturer in political science at the University of Nairobi.

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Changemakers is an initiative of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. It provides solutions and resources needed to help everyone become a changemaker and presents compelling stories that explore the fundamental principles of successful social innovation around the world. The Changemakers Collaborative Competitions open new avenues for funders in their decision-making, while providing exposure for changemakers around the world.

The Cape Town Open Education Declaration:Unlocking the promise of open educational resources is a new effort to galvanize the Open Education movement to focus attention worldwide on the potential for Open Educational Resources for all learners and educators

Pambazuka is saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Norman Reynolds, erstwhile contributing author to the newsletter. He passed away on Saturday, December 15, 2007 following a hiking accident in the Drakensburg mountains. There will be a memorial service on Saturday December 22 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family at this difficult time.

Ngugi Wa Thiong'o reflects on Mwai Kibaki's presidency, the proliferation of what he terms paper parties, and the need for African democracy to speak for and to African peasants and workers - the marginalized majority.

I am not a member of any of the contesting parties. They don’t adequately embody the vision of the unity of the small farmer, the worker, the jobless and landless Kenyans across all the regions of their birth and residence. They don’t seem to recognize sufficiently that Kenya like Africa as a whole has only two tribes: the haves and the have-nots. Membership in the two camps comes from all regions and communities. But there is a misleading tendency in the haves of one community and region to point at the haves of another community as the only haves. They then set themselves as the defenders of the entire haves and have-nots of their own community against the entire haves and have-nots of another community and region, thus setting the stage for personal fiefdoms and political warlords.

A political party must take responsibility for the development of the entire country. The condition for the real development of any one region must be development of all regions throughout the country. Real development must be measured from the standpoint of those at the bottom of the mountain and not those at the top.

But even with those misgivings, I celebrate with my fellow Kenyans the present moment in our country. We can now exercise the right to form and join a political party of one’s choice, without fear of prison, detention camps, exile or death.

We must not forget that this uhuru to form and join political associations of one’s choice did not come of itself. We owe it to the Mau Mau and all other patriots who stood up to the might of British Empire and opposed the settler colonial state. Let us not forget that we also owe this uhuru to those maimed, jailed, exiled, disappeared and killed opposing the Moi dictatorship. The resistance against Moi’s dictatorship was waged inside and outside the country led by groups who believed in the unity of the have-nots of our nation and Africa.

In the years of struggle against the Moi dictatorship, Mwai Kibaki and I were on different camps. The famous statement likening those who were struggling against Kanu to a person trying to cut down a M?gumo tree with a razor blade is enshrined in a document called Struggle for Democracy in Kenya in London, copies of that document were smuggled into the country during the Moi regime. The image of the Kibaki who made that “razor blade cutting a M?gumo” statement clashed with other more positive images of him that I carried in me from three previous encounters.

My first encounter with Kibaki was in 1961 at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, where I took his classes in Economics. Shortly thereafter, he left us to join Kenya African National Union (Kanu) as its executive officer. Kanu, of course, was the party that crossed over Kenya to Independence. With the death of Achieng Oneko recently, K?baki now remains the most prominent figure living with linkage to the Nationalist Kanu of Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.

Kanu took power with a manifesto of one Kenya one people. Theirs was opposed to Kadu’s majimbo program. Kadu’s manifesto was said to have been drafted by a group of white settlers who wanted a weak central government for Kenya. The British settler colonial state had always opposed the formation of African political parties that cut across the different regions and, until the advent of Kanu and its predecessor KAU, the colonial regime would only legalize political parties based in regions, at one time restricting their formation to districts only.

Most of us students, at that time, shared Kanu’s nationalist vision and rejoiced at its victory over Kadu. The joy exuding in the famous picture of the triumphant trio, Jomo Kenyatta, Tom Mboya and Mwai Kibaki, dancing in the streets at the party’s victory was shared by millions across the whole country. It spoke hope. Years later, Kadu, the party of “uhuru pole pole” took over Kanu, the party of uhuru Sasa. Kadu then undermined Kanu’s nationalist credentials and social vision of African socialism.

My second encounter with Kibaki was in 1964 after I had published the novel, Weep not, Child. I had joined the Nation Newspapers as a reporter and feature writer. K?baki was then an assistant Minister in Kenyatta’s government. One evening he gave me a lift from Sans Chique, a restaurant and bar near the old Nation House, on what was then Government Road, to the YMCA near United Kenya Club where I was staying. Just before I stepped out of his car, Kibaki took his time and talked movingly about the vital importance of the freedom of the Press for democracy. I had not thought of the role of journalism in society in the way he put it.

The third and last encounter, but one forever engraved in my mind, was in July 1977 on the occasion of the publication of my novel, Petals of Blood. The novel was very critical of conditions in post colonial Kenya. It castigated, for instance, the close economic ties of dependence between Kenya and the West. It also castigated the chauvinism and the grab-and-eat mentality of the rising African middleclass.

Mwai Kibaki was then Finance Minister and he agreed to an invitation from the directors of Heinemann Educational Books to launch the book at Nairobi’s City Hall. He praised the novel and said he did not agree with everything in it. Nevertheless, he observed that the very publication of Petals of Blood, despite its critique, was a manifestation of democratic space in Kenya. Once again Kibaki dwelt on the importance of free exchange of ideas in a democratic society. It was really a call for tolerance, as against the intolerance then coalescing around then Attorney General Charles Njonjo who later made critical comments about Kibaki’s launch of the novel.

Five months later in December 1977, I was in Kam?t? Maximum Prison. There are some who claim that Petals of Blood as much as the play, Ngahika Ndenda, was the real reason for my incarceration. Years later, looking back to the political situation at the time, I came to realize the enormity of Kibaki’s courage in accepting to launch the book. But it was not just his courage; it is the fact that on those two occasions he had talked about democratic space he had absolutely nothing to gain from me.

The memory of those encounters influenced my belief that Kibaki meant it, when, on assuming national leadership in 2002, he talked of accountability, performance, stability of institutions, and commitment to democracy. Under the euphoria of Kibaki’s victory many people looked for social revolution from him, which I did not or even expect. But I was secretly fascinated to see whether he would keep to the democratic values that he had stated – which seemed to have come from deep conviction and commitment.

The five years of Kibaki’s presidency are known in Kenya and the world. I am optimistic Kenyans will vote on its record. I have not been in Kenya for long periods so I cannot fully assess the impact of his rule on the different classes and communities. But I can say that despite the fact that when my wife Njeeri and I returned home in 2004 after 22 years in exile we were victims of a brutal attack engineered by anti-ngugi forces and executed by hired hands, I have been very impressed by the atmosphere of free speech prevailing in the country. There is no terror in the eyes of Kenyans as it used to be. I have not seen people looking over their shoulders as they speak in support or censure of his government.

There are of course negative marks like the attack on the East African Standard newspapers; the very nationally embarrassing episode of the Armenian brothers; and the recent allegations in a report by the Kenya National Commission for Human Rights of extra-judicial killings of those suspected of being involved in crime. No crime however hideous can justify police becoming prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner. Crimes and insecurity which haunt a country undermining personal peace, production and internal investments has to be tackled vigorously but within the law. The social roots of crime must also be tackled. There have also been stories of corruption with the Anglo-Leasing episode reminding us of the endemic corruption of the Moi era. Corruption is also an economic crime against the nation.

But in the main, these are the first five years including colonial and post colonial times of Kenyatta and Moi when Kenyans have not been killed, exiled or imprisoned on the basis of their political views and political positions. No one has been imprisoned for attacking Kibaki either in Parliament, outside Parliament or from within his own Cabinet. And nobody can deny that there has been a vigorous opposition no matter what one may think of its tactics.

It gives me pride as a Kenyan and African to hear of an increased economic growth largely financed from within instead of its being brought about by a crippling and humiliating dependence on handouts from foreign sources, as in the past. It is a case of national capital asserting itself. This may not always please global financial lending institutions or those who take it that Africa cannot stand on its feet without golden crutches provided by western charities. What Africa needs are its feet firmly on its ground and not crutches however golden.

As a writer I try to get glimpses into the big picture through small things. I have seen a very improved courtesy in the Kenya embassies to which I have gone for services, especially in Los Angeles, Johannesburg and London, a far cry from the previous era. I was excited to read that Mau Mau had been declared a legal organization, an act that the previous regimes could not bring themselves to do. I was even more excited when I saw the picture of the statue of Dedan Kimathi in the heart of the city, or when I read about the Koitalel Arap Samoia museum. Our relatives from Mang’u, Limuru, and elsewhere in Kenya, have told us of their excitement for accessing electricity in their villages under the rural electrification program. Others have told us how they have started taking care of their coffee and maize because they are now certain of the market and fairer returns for their efforts. There have been similar stories from those with a cow or two to milk. We have also read of revival and rehabilitation of critical production facilities like the Kenya Meat Commission; Kenya Cooperative Creameries; Hamisi Sugar in Mombasa. The first time I heard of the popular CDF, was from a letter from the village.

But people can only speak from their own experiences and encounters. Every Kenyan has to ask and honestly respond to the question: are we better off now than we were before Kibaki took over? Does he deserve a chance to build on the positives of his rule? Are there others who can do a better job?

The advantage of having a political track record is that people have a basis for taking positions. This applies to all seeking public office. The electoral period should be the time that people scrutinize the track record of all candidates and their position on the national, regional, continental and international scene. People should be debating the economic, political and social programs of the parties. Questions of bread and butter are always important; and people, from the professional classes to the ordinary farmer and worker, will no doubt take them into account.

But there are other pertinent questions. What are the political parties’ positions on the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and imperialism in general? Where do they stand on the relationship between national and foreign capital? What about the relationship between the Kenya’s middleclass and rest of the people? What about the parties’ positions on the unity of the nation, East Africa and the African continent? What is their take on pan-Africanism especially now that Europe is uniting and the USA is building blocs all over the world? It is almost tragic that while the rest of the world is uniting to be in a better position to control their own resources and ours, Africa is not doing the same. Instead, the tendency is to retreat behind national boundaries, and worse, behind regional and clan barricades.

So while Europe and the USA will be bargaining from a unified position, we in Africa will be bargaining with these Western blocs as separate nations, regions or even clans. Now is the time to raise issues. It is the time to demand a clear answer to the big question: what are the political parties’ visions for Kenya in the world?

Unfortunately, focus on issues is often the first victim of political election fever. Instead of holding a candidate to account, some look to the candidate’s pockets. And from the supporters of the contesting parties comes demonization of their opponents with incredible distortions and downright lies.

Some want to silence others with violence. Yet others base their judgement on the ethnic origins of the leader they oppose or support. They forget that being a member of an ethnic group or gender is not a matter of political choice; it is a result of biological fact. If I tell you that I am a M?g?k?y? or Mjaluo or Mgiriama and proud of it, which of course I should be, that does not tell you where I stand on policy. Even people of the same gender, ethnicity, and faith can have different views on social issues.

We should always link the present to the past and to the future: where are we coming from; where are we now, and where are we heading to; and what are the best vehicles and drivers for taking us there? If you think of a political party as a vehicle, then you have to look at its political program and manifesto, its structures and organs of power. Then take a good look at the history and soberness of the driver. Obviously you do not want to board a vehicle, no matter how beautiful, driven by a driver, under influence.

Unfortunately, and despite the existence of several parties, there are now in Kenya no real parties - except perhaps Kanu - with a history, and a questionable one at that, to examine. They are paper parties, mostly, or like vehicles driven by drivers always poised to abandon them for new ones. Sometimes they leave the old vehicles with engine running, as a fallback position just in case things don’t work out for them in the new vehicle! The party represents the leader, not the leader representing the party. Or rather the leader is the party.

We have moved thus from a one party state to a “paper-parties” state. We have even turned these paper parties into commodities for sale. This is a very poor heritage for the Kenya of tomorrow. These paper parties may in the end negate the very democracy which enabled their birth. A country needs stable political parties with clear mechanism for change of leadership within them. Stable parties are also important for ensuring smooth change in the leadership of the nation.

In the absence of reliable parties, the choice of a leader becomes even more important. It means examining carefully the character of each contestant; what he has done in the past; and the likelihood that he will take us to the direction and destination he has promised. The choice we make could affect the very future, character and integrity of the Kenya nation.

Unfortunately, I am one of thousands of Kenyans abroad who will not be able to cast their vote in the coming elections because there are no provisions for us to vote at our embassies and consulates. Despite the fact that I am not able to cast my vote, I urge all Kenyans to do so.

Whatever the outcome of this year’s elections, the struggle continues for a prosperous Kenya, from the standpoint of those at the bottom of the mountain. Hopefully, with continued stability of institutions, there will emerge parties that, in their history, programs and practice, will embody the vision of a united self reliant Kenya, a united nation certain of its base in the people as it engages with East Africa, Africa and the World in a rapidly globalizing space.

We have to create a Kenya in which the worker and peasant can see all they have fought for in history finally placed at the center. In that sense, the struggle continues no matter who wins in the elections..

*Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o is Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature, and Director of the International Centre for Writing and Translation, at the University of California Irvine.

*A version of this article first appeared in Kenya's Sunday Nation.

*Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

For Juliana Omale-Atemi and Rosemary Okello the electoral landscape mirrors that of the Kenyan society at large, a reason therefore for the struggle of women empowerment to continue after the elections.

For those who are interested in the struggles of Kenyan women political aspirants, it is not hard these days to miss the recurrent conversations revolving around fears about these women aspirants. They face an uphill task. Not only do they have to tackle the problems of financing their campaigns, there are also the ever-changing dynamics in the main political parties, making it difficult for them to participate meaningfully in competitive politics. However, the most serious threat is the violence that may be meted out to them.

Being in the wrong place in an election is something that women candidates can readily attest to. The irony is that in 2007 the situation is no different from the 2002, 1997 election periods. In fact, it is not different from every previous election back to 1963 when Kenya became independent: women have always found themselves pushed into the political periphery.

Unlike the previous elections in the Kenyan history, this year’s General Elections looked better for women since three women, namely Hon Charity Ngilu, Hon Julia Ojiambo and Nazlin Omar had declared their interest in vying for the Presidential seat. However, this has been overtaken by events due to the political re-alignments which, just like in 2002, have become the order of the day. Many women are now wondering whether Kenya will attain the 30 percent affirmative action in political leadership.

A look at the regional statistics as far as African women in Parliament are concerned, shows Rwanda to be the highest with 48.8 per cent, Tanzania (30.4 per cent), Burundi (30.5 per cent), Mozambique (34.8 per cent), Liberia (30 per cent) and South Africa (32.8 per cent).

With the elections on the horizon, the subject of women’s participation in the 2007 general elections is dominated by concerns that history will repeat itself once more.

Speaking recently to a gathering of women’s organizations and journalists in Nairobi, Ms Violet Awori, the chair of the Federation of Women Lawyers – Kenya (FIDA-K), said the escalation of violence targeting women candidates is cause for concern and a pointer to the fact that once again women are being denied an opportunity to participate freely and fairly in the election processes. “Before Flora Tera was attacked in Imenti North, Orie Rogo Manduli, who is a candidate in Nairobi’s Kasarani constituency, was rigged out during the NARC-K party nominations and roughed up when she tried to protest,” said Ms Awori.

The Executive Director of the Caucus for Women’s Leadership, Mrs. Deborah Okumu, says women need to understand that the stakes are high in these elections – the fourth since the advent of multiparty politics in 1991 – and women are under pressure to fit into pre-determined pigeon holes, including within their political parties.

Her argument is that women’s power to mobilize and organize human and material resources for political processes has been compromised and whittled away over the years. “This is a mini-war, and the ingredients include violence,” she explained, “The women’s movement has lost its dominance in Kenya’s political agenda, we have been boxed into programmes, yet all along we were the drivers of a political process,” she says.

The Executive Director of the Centre for Multiparty Politics, Ms Njeri Kabeberi, cautions women’s organizations reliant on donor funding, that the circumstances in 2007 are not necessarily similar to 2002. New funding mechanisms originating in the donor countries mean that aspirants seeking support within women’s political organizations will face new challenges.

“Donors have warmed up to the Paris Declaration which has given a nod for aid flows to governments rather than to civil society organizations,” she explained

Mrs. Okumu is also concerned about the dominance of patriarchy within the election processes saying that it is difficult to recognize and define it: “It has no face or form because it is in the minds of people, and in the environment of an election period, it places women in a tight box,” she adds. Mrs. Okumu says women’s organizations’ programmatic approach to the elections may actually be working against candidates in the context of patriarchy. “Non-engendered institutions are a branch of patriarchy and women cannot count on the police, their parties or the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) to come to their aid,” says Mrs. Okumu.

According to Dr Josephat Ludeki Chweya, from the University of Nairobi’s Department of Political Science, this is the reason why Kenyans ought to address the condition and roles of women in Kenya. He argues that the processes and returns of Kenya’s electoral regime affect men and women differently. “The reason there are more men than women represented in Parliament, City Councils and County Councils is because the constitution and electoral laws are blind to the marginalization of women,” says Dr. Chweya, “The constitution assumes that society is homogeneous between men and women when in reality this is not the case, hence the voices demanding affirmative action in matters of representation.”

A nagging problem for women seeking electoral posts is the realization that it is extremely expensive to run an election campaign. Conservatively, candidates in urban constituencies need between Ksh. six million and Ksh. 10 million, while their rural counterparts would need between Ksh. six million and 10 million. Taking the long-standing economic subordination of Kenyan women into account, this scenario is particularly challenging.

However, Ms Njeri Kabeberi says that winning an election is not necessarily about how much money a candidate has in the bank. “I would like us not to dwell too much on finances for campaigns,” she says, “It is actually possible for a candidate to win an election in this country without money but with the right strategy.”

This is a point that Dr Chweya agrees with: “The constraints women face are not an excuse not to go for those seats,” he cautions, “We cannot wait around until the constitution is amended, laws and cultures changed and the economic situation improved.” The point being, that as they wait to get their feet under the table in 2008, the work is not quite done for women. Dr Chweya says women can use their numbers as a basis for political mobilization and work to subdue ethnicity, cultural and economic hindrances.

* Juliana Omale-Atemi and Rosemary Okello are Editorial Director and Executive Director, respectively, of the African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWC)

*This article was initially published in the WAJIBU JOURNAL Volume 22. No 4 (November - December 2007)

I am 47 years old, married with children. I have a son and two daughters age 24, 19 and 14. I got married at the age of 19. When I got married I was already working. I started to work in the age of 15. I come from a poor family. My parents drink heavily and used to fight everyday. When I grew up I looked for a job. When I married I had been working for four years. In our culture or tradition women they must bow down and worship their husband as king. I had to give him my salary even though he was working too. He earned a lower salary than me.

Thousands of civilians displaced by violence related to land disputes in Mt Elgon, western Kenya, need urgent assistance, according to local leaders. “About 50 houses were destroyed today [10 December] in three villages in Cheptais division,” Wycliffe Chongin, a local church leader, told IRIN at Kapsokwony, the Mt Elgon District headquarters, after local officials met UN representatives.

Despite Lisbon’s genuine interest to serve “once again as a bridge” between the two continents, the summit came decades too late, argues Calestous Juma. Most of Europe has not woken up to the fact there is a new Africa that is unlikely to cross a bridge built with remnants from a previous era. New design criteria are needed to reconstruct relations between Africa and Europe.