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14:29
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
 Kofi Annan appears to have waved his MAGIC wand and viola all Kenyans are ululating with bliss. But just wait a minute? Was the Kibaki-Raila handshake the lull before the deadly storm that will make the present 1000 graves accommodating poor Kenyans look like a beautification parade? You guess right we are back to square one ala IPPG of 1997 and 2002 where deals were hammered with the sole intention of trashing them immediately thereafter. Kibaki DOES NOT mean any good for Kenya and any motion from him is meant to generate no meaningful movement. Annan has already reprimanded him for poisoning his mediation by a belligerent and careful reference to himself as ‘your duly elected President’. You don’t STEAL an election to hand it back, or do you? Kenyans must be aliens from Mars to accept that fallacy. Make no mistake. No everybody who goes against the current should be cheaply labelled a hardliner. By the way pessimists are not what they are demonized to be but in retrospection they are REALISTS. We cannot and will never solve our problems by sweeping them under the carpet. We must squarely address the genesis of the present turmoil. Cheating ourselves that we are looking at the bigger picture is to engage in self-deception. No forest exists without trees and the former is trivially the sum total of the later. Short-termism may help cool political temperatures yes but failing to confront our problems head on is to latently and unwitting incubate our national problems which will surely explode sooner rather than later. Justice has no synonym and can attempt to decapitate it only to have it mutate to its original form and demand redress. False confidence All the talk of power sharing may look rosy in between textbook pages but not for Kenya. The level of hatred has reached irreconcilable proportions. The supremacists will shout themselves hoarse urging all and sundry to move on. Common try another one. We know the hindsight and your eyes are singularly trained on the price: status quo and subjugation. You don’t negotiate with a serial promise broker beholden to a small clique of entrepreneurs who see Kenyans as the providers of a collective back to ride on for their selfish economic enterprises. No more and enough is enough. Raila and co have two choices: either to fight the war to its bitter and logical end or detour and win the ‘winnable’ battle with all the attendant BETRAYAL and loss of goodwill amongst majority of Kenyans. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to decipher why a section of Kenyans demonize devolution of any shade – political and economic. Simple, devolution slashes profits and wipes away domination. Once bitten severally shy. Power games The Kibaki-Raila handshake was nothing but a smokescreen meant to mean nothing absolutely. The only point of convergence was a hollow mention of the word peace. Otherwise while speaks of JUSTICE and TRUTH, Kibaki take is RECONCILIATION and HEALING. Who is fooling who here? Granted, whoever is right or wrong is spurious in times of war. If we were to be honest with ourselves we would see all this for what it is: POWER GAMES with a predictable outcome. If Raila by any chance succumbs to pressure and betrays the majority he will be simply repeating history before it is even written. The NARC-LDP betrayals are still raw wounds inflicted by the same players. I wonder whether Rails is ready to jump into that cesspool of MISTRUST and BAD FAITH again. Time will tell and the time of judgment is here. Rails finds himself between the rock and the dark blue sea. Raila has to prove that his shoulders are large enough for the troubles of his many supporters and NOT just big enough for his ego and political expediency. I don’t envy the man any little bit. But the bottom line remains Raila's position is not meant for the politically faint hearted. Good luck in the interim.
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13:58
From: Kenya Imagine
Read This Entry & More At Kenya Imagine
Human Rights Watch investigations indicate that, after Kenya's disputed elections, opposition party officials and local elders planned and organized ethnic-based violence in the Rift Valley, Human Rights Watch said today. The attacks, targeting mostly Kikuyu and Kisii people in and around the town of Eldoret, could continue unless the government and opposition act to stop the violence, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch called on the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leadership to take immediate steps to stop its supporters from committing further attacks. At the same time, Human Rights Watch said the Kenyan police should urgently deploy extra officers to the region to protect displaced people and resident Kikuyu communities. Read more from the Human Rights Watch here.
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13:05
From: Me, Life & Everything
Read This Entry & More At Me, Life & Everything
Rendezvous: 2205hrs
Prolixity: Medium
Mood: Dare YOU ask!
Whereabouts: Home
Track: You, Monifah
I managed to download Kubuntu 7.10 with the brand new flashy KDE 4 which i had been awaiting with bated breath for its release in the Ubuntu line. Well, i downloaded, burnt the CD in a flash and had it booted up from the Live CD and [...]
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10:34
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
I used to admire Anyang Nyongo, but ever since he decided to become Raila’s houseboy his independent thoughts have been pushed aside in favor of Raila’s flip flopping radicalism and recklessness. I’m watching this video (fast forward to minute 1:00) and I can’t believe what I’m hearing coming out of Nyongo’s mouth - that the [...]
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9:52
From: Eyes on Kenya
Read This Entry & More At Eyes on Kenya
Human Rights watch accuses local ODM leaders in the Rift valley region of organising atrocities
“Human Rights Watch investigations indicate that, after Kenya’s disputed elections, opposition party officials and local elders planned and organized ethnic-based violence in the Rift Valley, Human Rights Watch said today. (Read and comment here)
We are waiting for an official statement from ODM. They have to take actions now.
Number of reported rapes have doubled
Violence against women seems to explode. According to reuters , reported cases of rape and sexual attacks against women have doubled in areas of Kenya hit by political violence amid a climate of impunity for gangs carrying them out, a senior U.N. official said on Tuesday. In an interview with Reuters, Kathleen Cravero, director of the world body’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, called for aid programs in the East African nation to make sure that vulnerable women and girls were protected from attack. “In Nairobi hospital and in the medical centers and hospitals around the areas of greatest violence, the number of rapes and sexual attacks being reported by women and being handled by medical personnel has doubled,” Cravero said. “What that tells us is that we have a very serious problem indeed because only a small percentage of rapes and sexual attacks are ever reported in Kenya or in many other countries.”Cravero stopped short of directly accusing the Kenyan government of ignoring the problem but said the political violence had led to “an environment that is tolerating very high levels of rape and sexual attack against women”. She said she was sure there was targeting of women for political or ethnic reasons although there was no evidence that either side was particularly responsible. But much of the sexual violence was opportunistic, she said.”Gangs find a woman who’s searching for firewood, gangs find a couple of young girls that are fetching water,” Cravero said. “There’s nothing to stop them, there’s a climate of impunity, they’re sure there will be no consequences, so it happens, and this is what we have to stop.”
We ask for support for setting up Rape crisis centers. For those wishing to contribute to the appeal for rape crisis centres, the bank details are available from vicky@urgentactionfund-africa.or.ke
War media
The film-maker and member of the Coalition of Concerned Kenyan Writers Simiyu Barasa brings the discussion about the role of local and international media forward with the powerful essay “War journalism: Kenya’s newest tourist attraction” published on the kwani blog.
Barasa picks up the concept of “peace journalism” by the Norwegian Scholar John Galtun and showed how the local media tried to use their influence to promote peace and failed due to an international “war journalism”. He gives examples how cameras create stories and media attention is only drawn by violence. This is done by the very same media cooperation which thought it was their responsibility not to show any cruel pictures after 9/11 and during the Iraq war.
Charity event in Boston
People on the other side of the ocean will have the chance to raise money at a benefit concert in “The Roxy” in Boston, Ma on Feb. 2nd. Numerous Kenyan artist will preform. The money will go to the Kenyan Red Cross. It is organized by “Vuma Kenya”. For more information look up the Joseph Karoki blog.
Tribe
Because the words “tribe” and “tribal” have had a great recurrence of no less than once in each media reporting about Kenya, Pambazuka Editors try to give a very detailed and lengthy definition that fits. What’s in a word? What does the word “tribe” carry? Here below Pambazuka Editors give you a few snippets of what is a long struggle to get US Mainstream media to stop using a racist and stereotypical lens in its coverage of Africa. One can find the fascinating discussion at www.h-net.org/~africa. They end with an excerpt from an Africa Action essay on the word.
A way forward?
Do we see a way forward in the Kenya’s stale-mate? Nation Media reports the news that the rivals Kibaki and Odinga are actually slated to meet together today at Harambee House.
President Kibaki and the Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga have both arrived at Nairobi’s Harambee House for the first face-to-face talks over the political crisis out of disputed election results. No agenda has been given for the talks brokered by a team of international mediators led by former UN chief Kofi Annan. Mr Odinga was accompanied by one of his party’s top officials, Mr William Ruto. President Kibaki arrived with five members of his Cabinet, including Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Ministers George Saitoti (Security), Martha Karua (Justice), Samuel Poghisio (Information) and Ali Mwakwere (Transport).
We eagerly await results of the talks, and cross our fingers for an end to the violence.
The second part of our article Eyes on the International Community concerning elections in Africa about Ethiopia is out now. The next part will be about the election in in the Democratic Republic of Congo and and will be published in the following days.
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9:33
From: Eyes on Kenya
Read This Entry & More At Eyes on Kenya
The 2005 general elections in Ethiopia showed the ambivalent reactions by the International Community concerning Democratic elections in Africa. Two factors are of importance in understanding the relations between the “Industrial States” and Ethiopia. One is the “geo-strategic” role of Ethiopia at the Horn of Africa. Even though the invasion of Somalia came after the election, it has been the key ally of the US in the region. The second factor is the great involvement of the International community in aid relief. No other African country has received the amount of financial and food aid in the last 25 years than Ethiopia. One might presume that the total dependency on foreign aid of Ethiopia makes it easier for the International community to insist on democratic elections. But some say that the Ethiopian government blackmails the international community. While Ethiopia has enough money to fight several wars at the same time, it can not afford to feed their own people. Applying aid sanctions would essentially mean to directly kill people.
The European Union used their pressure on the Ethiopian government to proceed with fair and free multi-party elections (the third elections in Ethiopia’s 3000 year history). The International community expressed its interest in the election by sending observers, including an EU delegation and the independent Carter Center. Fomer US President Jimmy Carter who personally led the team of observers pointed out that the opposition was granted access to the state owned electronic media. Some reports of intimidation and harassment were collected by the Carter Center.
Early results showed the opposition with a big lead, sweeping all of the contested seats in the capital Addis both in the race for parliamentary as well as local government seats. By the afternoon of the 16th of May, the opposition claimed it was halfway towards winning a majority in the national parliament with only about a third of the constituencies reporting complete results. By Late May 16, trailing badly in the preliminary report covering just under 200 seats released by the National Election Board, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) announced that it had won more than 317 seats out of 547, while conceding that opposition parties won all 23 seats in the capital city Addis Ababa. The two major opposition parties, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) claimed on that same day that they had won 185 of the approximately 200 seats for which the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) had released preliminary results. The CUD lodged complaints in 139 constituencies, the UEDF lodged 89 complaints, while the EPRDF has raised concerns over irregularities in more than 50 seats. Including the complaints lodged by small parties, complaints concerning the results in 299 parliamentary seats were lodged.
By law, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) was required to announce the official results on June 8. However, the vote tallying process was jeopardized when the opposition claimed that the Addis Ababa vote was rigged and during the evening of May 16, the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency, outlawed any public gathering, assumed direct command of the security forces, and replaced the capital city police with federal police and special forces drawn from elite army units. The NEBE, simultaneously, ordered the vote tallying process to stop, an order which was not rescinded for nearly a week, yet another action against which the opposition and the independent election monitors strongly objected.
On July 8, the NEBE released the first official results for 307 of the 547 national parliamentary seats. Of the 307 seats, the EPRDF had won 139, while CUD and UEDF won 93 and 42, respectively. Smaller parties and independent candidates won the remaining 33 seats. However, Berhanu Nega, vice-chairman of the CUD criticized the process on July 20, claiming that “The investigation process was a complete failure. “Our representatives and witnesses have been harassed, threatened, barred and killed upon their return from the hearings.”
On August 9, official results were released, acknowledging that the ruling EPRDF had won 296 of the total 524 seats — about 56 % — enabling it to form a government, while its allied parties won 22 seats. The UEDF won 52 seats. Berhanu said his party, which had officially won 109 seats, was debating whether they would challenge the results in court. Repeat elections were scheduled for August 21 in 31 areas where either irregularities were reported or results were challenged.
Opposition parties decided to boycott the related August 21 elections in the Somali Region. The CUD withdrew 10 of the 17 candidates it was fielding in Somali region, but the Western Somali Democratic Party, the Somali Democratic Alliance Forces and Del Wabe People’s Democratic Movement who had planned to field 43 candidates for the Federal Parliamentary Assembly and 273 candidates for the regional parliament in the regional capital of Jijiga, also announced that they would boycott this election.
On September 5, the NEBE released its final results, in which the EPRDF retained its control of the government with 327 seats, or 59 % of the vote. Opposition parties won 174 seats, or 32 % of the vote. The CUD alone won 20 % of the vote.
Protests against the results, led by Coalition for Democracy and Unity, began on November 1, 2005, and prompted more than 60,000 arrests. On October 18, 2006, the draft report of a 10-member public inquiry into election-related unrests was released to Associated Press (AP). It concluded that a total of 199 people (193 civilians and six policemen) were killed and 763 injured. The European Union’s chief observer during the elections, Ana Maria Gomes, stated that the draft report “only confirms what we have said in our report on the elections,” and “that indeed there were
massive human rights violations.”
University students Protesting against the election fraud
According to Amnesty International, opposition party activists, leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), journalists and civil society activists were brought to trial . They faced charges including treason, outrage against the Constitution and other capital charges. The 76 defendants included Hailu Shawel, the CUD president, Berhanu Negga, an economics professor, and Mesfin Woldemariam, a retired geography professor. In addition, 34 prominent Ethiopians in exile were charged in their absence. Five Voice of America radio journalists who were US citizens were among nine defendants discharged before the trial started.
All but three defendants refused to defend themselves on the ground that they did not expect a fair trial. All considered they were prisoners of conscience and sent a trial observer.
In the trial of Kifle Tigeneh, an elected member of parliament 32 other people and some defendants complained in court that they had been tortured to make false confessions. Berhane Mogese, a lawyer, was on trial with 22 others.
Despite the knowledge of election fraud and serious human rights violations the US Department of State immediately acknowledged the results which fuelled the anger of the opposition and led to more violence.
Ethiopia remains one of the main recepient of European aid, despite their tremendous military budget. Some improvements have been made in the development aid sector and it seems that behind the curtain, diplomatic pressure has been used to reduce corruption and improve infrastructure.
The democratic aspect of the election was sacrificed by the International community, at the altar of good partnership and influence in the region.
Hopefully there are some conclusions drawn out of the fiasco and the tremendous loss of credibility by the European Union and the US. The German Prof. Rolf Hofmeier, interprets the US State Departments U-turn towards Kibaki as an acknowledgement of the mistakes made in Ethiopia in 2005.
To read Part I please go to: Eyes on the International Community concerning elections in Africa - Part I: Malawi
Part III will deal with the role with the Internatioal Community and the elections in the DR Congo and will be posted in the following days
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9:25
From: Kikuyumoja's realm
Read This Entry & More At Kikuyumoja's realm
Sorry for posting yet another video (pole to those who aren’t on broadband), but we just got this forwarded from a colleague at work and I think it’s a nice video to share - especially since I really dig the Arabic…
YouTube directvideo link
“Awareness video on water scarcity with nice animations and effects produced for Yemen and the National Water Resources Authority NWRA..”
Do we need a similar version on water conservation in Kenya? Hmm. Maybe for the protection of surface water and groundwater tables in urban areas…
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8:04
From: Cock And Bull
Read This Entry & More At Cock And Bull
JANUARY 25TH 2008,
DAY OF PRAYER FOR KENYA
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, I will hear from heaven, I will hear and I will come and HEAL THEIR LAND.”
God, 2 Chronicles 7:14
On January 25th 2008, we are asking Every Kenyan, Everywhere to take time to make a concerted prayer for Kenya.
We want EVERY Kenyan in EVERY CONTINENT on the face of the earth to be praying together on this one day on behalf of our country.
How to participate:
* Spread the word: send this message to Every Kenyan you know, Everywhere – txt, SMS, e-mail, phone call
* On January 25th, make a point of setting aside time to pray for Kenya, it does not have to be a long time but it must be a deliberate effort to pray for specific things about Kenya
* You can pray individually, or get together with a friend or friends, workmates, someone on the street, your priest, pastor, congregation, youth group
What to pray for:
• AMANI, AMANI, AMANI. PEACE, PEACE, PEACE
• Whatever else you feel in your heart to pray for concerning Kenya
‘Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; when there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.’
St Francis 1915
‘Maombi ya mtu mwenye haki yana nguvu na huleta matokeo.’
Bible James 5:16
If you have any questions/suggestions please send an e-mail to:
AmaniKenyaMilele@hotmail.com
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8:03
From: Cock And Bull
Read This Entry & More At Cock And Bull
“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”
- Unknown
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7:50
From: Eyes on Kenya
Read This Entry & More At Eyes on Kenya
From the Human Rights Watch Internet-Page:
“Human Rights Watch investigations indicate that, after Kenya’s disputed elections, opposition party officials and local elders planned and organized ethnic-based violence in the Rift Valley, Human Rights Watch said today. […]
A Kalenjin preacher in a village in Eldoret North constituency told Human Rights Watch that on the morning of December 29, 2007, a local ODM party mobilizer “called a meeting and said that war had broken in Eldoret town, so the elders organized the youth into groups of not less than 15, and they went to loot [Kikuyu] homes and burn them down.” […]
Human Rights Watch spoke to numerous members of Kalenjin commmunities around Eldoret who provided similar accounts. In many communities, local leaders and ODM mobilizers arranged frequent meetings following the election to organize, direct and facilitate the violence unleashed by gangs of local youth. […]
Many Kalenjin community leaders told Human Rights Watch that if the area’s ODM leadership or the local Kalenjin radio station KASS FM told people unequivocally to stop attacks on Kikuyu homes, then they believe the violence would stop. “If the leaders say stop, it will stop immediately,” said one Kalenjin elder.
[…] Human Rights Watch also collected accounts from several Kalenjin men present at community meetings where local elders and ODM mobilizers urged Kalenjin residents to contribute money toward the purchase of automatic weapons. […]”
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7:19
From: Cock And Bull
Read This Entry & More At Cock And Bull
“Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut, that held its ground.”
Anonymous
Do you have an idea that you would want to try, yet are afraid that it will make you look like a nut? Well, Henry Ford was past middle age when the idea of the Ford car came to him. His friends thought it was a crazy idea. He had great difficulty in raising the money and his father said to him, tearfully, “Henry, why do you give up a good twenty-five dollar a week job in order to chase a crazy idea?”
Can you be today’s nut?
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7:17
From: Black Looks
Read This Entry & More At Black Looks
Santa Anastacia, Anastácia Escrava, an Angolian princess, kidnapped and forced to become the mistress of her white master in Brazil. Anastacia resisted her capture, her rape and abuse and for that she was forced to wear a metal muzzle - common practice in Brazil and the Caribbean. Muzzles were used to prevent [...]
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5:56
From: RIBA CAPITAL
Read This Entry & More At RIBA CAPITAL
The Kenya Airways website has been hacked by a group from Turkey, or so they claim to be, if you visit their link www.kenya-airways.com , you will see that the group has taken over the website and defaced the homepage to reflect their messages. Please be warned also that there is a virus that will try and install itself into your computer once the page is open, so update your antivirus before opening the website. This adds to the problems Kenya airways is facing, who will book online if you risk your credit card information falling into the wrong hands?
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3:38
From: What An African Woman Thinks
Read This Entry & More At What An African Woman Thinks
I’m back to my 8 to whenever the work is done gig which means that, most of the time, I am preoccupied with any number of things.
This is both a good thing and a bad thing.
It is a good thing because, at least some of the time, I’m distracted by things other than the crisis in Kenya. Deadlines and reports and operating plans and bills to be paid at the end of the month have a way of distracting one. (And yet, in an odd sort of way, I see even my bills as a blessing now. They indicate to me that I have a roof over my head and access to basic amenities.)
But it is a bad thing because not keeping up with the news breeds in me a false sense of calm.
The truth is, there are still a good number of trouble spots all over this country. People are fleeing for their lives from Kipkelion, Molo and Kuresoi where the carnage persists. There was a news item on NTV tonight about a mob of stick-wielding youth attacking the Bata Shoe factory in Limuru demanding that people from particular ethnic communities be surrendered to them.
In Nairobi’s low-income eastlands estates, Huruma, Dandora and Kariobangi North, gory killings are reported every night. On KTN, the camera sweeps cautiously over the lower body of a man who was beheaded in Kariobangi North. There’s a critical mass of evidence to support the persistent rumours that ethnic based militia that have reigned terror on Kenyans in the past have been revived, in particular Mungiki and Taliban. It is they that are now reigning terror on the residents of these densely populated estates each in their turn.
At best our security forces are overwhelmed with the task at hand. At worst, they are culpable in at least some of the trouble spots. Mostly, they are on edge, in control, but barely.
David Makali of the Media Institute, speaking at a press conference called by editors to address the government’s ban on live coverage, claims that there’s “a virtual breakdown of the rule of law on a scale never witnessed before.” I’m very afraid that we’ve let our “inner monster” out of its cage and that now that it’s out, we do not have an appreciation of how very difficult it will be to round it back in again.
A political solution is only the beginning of the road to healing. We have deep social wounds that will need tending to. We may effectively have scarred the conscience of a generation. Can all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, put us back together again?
There was a feature on NTV news this evening called Voices of Children.
Anne is fourteen years old and she’s from Eldoret. She has nightmares every night. As she was fleeing from her home with her family, she saw a mob slashing an old woman and her grandchild to death. She cannot get this image out of her head.
John is sixteen. He saw his father hacked to death by his neighbour. His life was spared because he was a friend to the neighbour’s son, but he had to flee for his life nonetheless.
What is most striking about many of the stories that you hear is the common refrain: “It is people we know. It is people we lived with.”
It is true, what many have argued: this is not so much an ethnic as a class war. It is, in the end, a battle between the haves and the have-nots. But, we cannot deny that it has had ethnic manifestations. The scars born of this displaced aggression are evident all over this nation. In the end, none of us is exempt. We are all the victims. We are all the perpetrators.
But, credit where credit is due: twice this week, first in his address in Kisumu and then when he spoke at the Ligi Ndogo grounds, Raila appealed to his supporters not to attack their neighbours, explaining that, this is not a fight about ethnicity, it is a fight for justice.It's my window, but I don't own the view.
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3:34
From: Kenyan Pundit
Read This Entry & More At Kenyan Pundit
DIARY WRITTEN BY A MUDACHI
Part of the Kenya I want is a Kenya where politicians will
not run rough shod over the law & the will of the people to serve
their own ends. Part of the Kenya I want is a Kenya where my
consititutional RIGHT to elect my representatives in the Government is
not stolen away from [...]
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3:30
From: Kenyan Pundit
Read This Entry & More At Kenyan Pundit
DIARY WRITTEN BY RAY N.
I refuse to fight for so-called leaders who clearly care nothing about me, the common mwananchi. As we speak, they’ve already been sworn into parliament, which guarantees that they are on their way to becoming Kenyan millionaires (at our expense). In effect, we the voters, put them in [...]
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1:24
From: You Missed This
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 The first day of Koffi Annan led mediation talks indicates that there is light at end of the dark political tunnel, we can authoritatively reveal. It looks like Kenya is headed for a power sharing deal that may also see the country establish a truth, justice and reconciliation committee. The grand coalition will operate on consensus and will see significant decentralization of executive power by the president. As a matter of priority, the current Electoral Commission of Kenya will be disbanded and a new representative one constituted to oversee preparation for future (general) elections. Whereas the ODM was initially pushing for a short term transitional government that would prepare for a re-run of the presidential polls, the party has significantly thawed and is ready to accept a power sharing deal with its bitter rival PNU. On the other hand, the PNU camp feels its candidate won the presidential polls 'fairly' and that a re-run is not an option. The ruling party prefers to incorporate members of the ODM into Kibaki’s vacant cabinet positions as a way of appeasing them and their supporters. The PNU is also open to the coalition idea but are reluctant to see presidential powers devolved. It would appear that ODM/NARC are seeking permanent and independent share of political power for their parties as opposed to being mere appointees of PNU’s President Kibaki. In other words, ODM/NARC are avoiding the same treatment the LDP received during the initial days of Kibaki’s first term as a NARC president. It is significant that both Museveni and Annan have adopted a straight shooting one-on-one approach with the key protagonist whom many believed are driven to their hardline positions by allies surrounding them. It is widely feared by the international community that the collapse of Kenya will be catastrophic and have far reaching implications on the entire African continent. Going by the closely contested results of the presidential and parliamentary polls; political observers foresee the formation of a balanced grand coalition government which will be facilitated by constitutional amendments when parliament reconvenes. Each of the two major partners will be allocated top positions in government and each will have some degree of executive power which will enable them draw their own line-up of select members of cabinet. This proposed grand coalition, having a total of 34 members of cabinet, will be structured along this forecast: Mwai Kibaki (PNU) – President & Head of State Kalonzo Musyoka (ODM-K) - Vice President & Deputy Head of State 15 Cabinet Positions - PNU/ODM-K/KANU/A.N. OTHER Raila Odinga – Prime Minister & Leader of Parliamentary Business Musalia Mudavadi – Deputy Prime Minister 15 Cabinet Positions - ODM/NARC/A.N. OTHER (Sounds to me like the Bomas Draft) But then, what does such an arrangement mean for multi-party democracy? Is this an introduction of a new constitution through the back-door? This is apparently the cost of achieving lasting peace and moving on after the highly controversial and violent 27 December general elections. What is your take?
Read the complete article at
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