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18:00
From: Eyes on Kenya
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BBC News Video on Kibaki’s administration and Mungiki, part 1:
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
And Part 2:
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
According to BBC News, sources allege that meetings were hosted at the official residence of the president between the banned Mungiki militia and senior government figures.
The aim was to hire them as a defence force in the Rift Valley to protect the president’s Kikuyu community. The government denied the allegations, calling them “preposterous”.
“No such meetings took place at State House or any government office,” government spokesman Alfred Mutua told the BBC. He said the government had been cracking down on the sect for the last year, arresting their leaders. “There’s no way the president or any government official would meet openly or even in darkness with the Mungiki,” he said.
The allegations come as parliament prepares to open on Thursday, laying the ground for a new coalition government. Although parliament’s focus will be on healing ethnic divisions and creating a coalition government - allegations of state involvement with a banned Kikuyu militia, known as Mungiki, will not go ignored, the BBC’s Karen Allen in Nairobi says.
She says there is growing suspicion that some of the violence that led to 1,500 people being killed and hundreds of thousands displaced was orchestrated by both sides of the political divide.
The BBC source, who is a member of the Kikuyu tribe and who is now in hiding after receiving death threats, alleged: “Three members of the gang met at State House… and after the elections and the violence the militias were called again and they were given a duty to defend the Kikuyu in Rift Valley and we know they were there in numbers.”
On the weekend of 25 January, the Rift Valley towns of Nakuru and then Naivasha were the focus of the some of the worst post-election violence. Eyewitnesses spoke of non-Kikuyu homes being marked, then gangs with machetes - who they claim were Mungiki - attacked people who were from other ethnic groups.
Sources inside the Mungiki have told the BBC that it was a renegade branch of the outfit that was responsible for violence, not them.
A policeman who was on duty at the time, who has spoken to the BBC on condition of anonymity, has also pointed to clear signs of state complicity. He alleges that in the hours before the violence in Nakuru, police officers had orders not to stop a convoy of minibus taxis, called “matatus”, packed with men when they arrived at police checkpoints. “When we were there… I saw about 12 of them [matatus] packed with men,” he said. “There were no females… I could see they were armed. “We were ordered not to stop the vehicles to allow them to go.”
But Mr Mutua said that the government deployed the military to deal with the Kikuyu youth who had tried to take the law into their own hands. “The Kenyan government… used helicopters to drive them away, arrested them and actually got to kill quite a few of them torching houses,” he said. “The government stamped on them immediately.”
The allegations come at a time of growing concern that there was pre-planned violence on both sides of the political fence, in the aftermath of Kenya’s disputed election result.
The International Crisis Group has already raised such concerns and Human Rights Watch is expected to publish its report making similar claims shortly.
There are plans to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the coming weeks to examine claims of election violence. The allegations are likely to be among the themes investigated by a commission created to address the issue of post-election skirmishes.
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16:58
From: Eyes on Kenya
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On 4th of march 2008 Rosa Luxemburg foundation, a political foundation of the German Party “the Linke” holds a discussion about the political situation in Kenya. Speakers are the German swing musician Andrej Hermlin, who was arrested in Kenya in Janurary 2008, Dr. Claus Dieter König and Member of the German parliament for the Linke- Hüseyin Aydin. It will take place at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, at Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, Seminar room 3 (1. floor), close to the Train station “Ostbahnhof” at 18:00. The discussion will be held in German. For further information contact Jörg Schultz (schultz[at]rosalux.de).
Rosa Luxemburg: “Freedom is always the freedom of dissenters”
And here is the invitation text in German:
Kenia: Musterland am Abgrund?
Informationsveranstaltung zur aktuellen Lage, den Konfliktursachen und Auswegen aus der Krise
Es diskutieren:
♦ Hüseyin Aydin, MdB
Obmann im Ausschuss für Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, zuständig für Afrikapolitik in der Fraktion DIE LINKE.
♦ Andrej Hermlin
Musiker
♦ Dr. Claus-Dieter König
Politikwissenschaftler
Moderation: Jörg Schultz, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung
Dienstag, 4. März
18.00 Uhr – 20.30 Uhr
Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung
Seminarraum 3 (1. Etage),
Franz-Mehring-Platz 1,
10 243 Berlin
S-Bahn: Ostbahnhof
Eintritt frei
Kenia: Musterland am Abgrund?
Hintergründe zur aktuellen Lage, zu Konfliktursachen und Auswegen aus der Krise Kenia steckt in der schwersten politischen Krise seit Jahrzehnten. Seit den umstrittenen Präsidentschaftswahlen im Dezember befinden sich Teile des Landes in bürgerkriegsähnlichem Zustand. Proteste gegen die Wahlfälschungen des Amtsinhabers Mwai Kibaki eskalierten zu heftigen ethnisch instrumentalisierten Ausschreitungen militanter Anhänger Kibakis und des Herausforderers Raila Odinga. Trotz hoher Opferzahlen und ernsten ökonomischen Folgen stehen sich die Kandidaten bislang unversöhnlich gegenüber. Seit Anfang Februar verhandelt eine UNO-Delegation mit den Parteien über eine Machtteilung. Ob der Konflikt damit beigelegt werden kann, ist noch offen.
♦ Raila Odinga warb vor der Wahl mit einem politischen Neuanfang, doch sein Profil bleibt unklar. Wofür stehen Odinga und sein Bündnis ODM?
♦ Wo liegen die Gründe für die anhaltende politische Bedeutung von Ethnizität? Welche Kräfte können der Ethnisierung entgegen wirken?
♦ Kenia galt bisher als „Stabilitätsanker“ Ostafrikas. Was bedeutet eine anhaltende Instabilität Kenias für die Region? Welche Möglichkeiten haben externe Akteure, um eine Konfliktregelung zu unterstützen?
Kontakt und Informationen:
Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung: Jörg Schultz, schultz[at]rosalux.de,
(030) 44 31 01 54
MdB-Büro Hüseyin Aydin: Björn Aust,
hueseyin.aydin.lt[at]bundestag.de,
(030) 22 77 34 94
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3:17
From: Eyes on Kenya
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ACTING TOGETHER FOR KENYA: AGREEMENT ON THE PRINCIPLES OF PARTNERSHIP OF THE COALITION GOVERNMENT.
Preamble:
The crisis triggered by the 2007 disputed presidential election has brought to the surface deep-seated and long-standing divisions within Kenyan society. If left unaddressed, these divisions threaten the very existence of Kenya as a unified country. The Kenyan people are now looking to their leaders to ensure that their country will not be lost.
Given the current situation, neither side can realistically govern the country without the other. There must be real power-sharing to move the country forward and begin the healing and reconciliation process.
With this agreement, we are stepping forward together, as political leaders, to overcome the current crisis and to set the country on a new path. As partners in a coalition government, we commit ourselves to work together in good faith as true partners, through constant consultation and willingness to compromise.
This agreement is designed to create an environment conducive to such a partnership and to build mutual trust and confidence. It is not about creating positions that reward individuals. It seeks to enable Kenya’s political leaders to look beyond partisan considerations with a view to promoting the greater interests of the nation as a whole. It provides the means to implement a coherent and far-reaching reform agenda, to address the fundamental root causes of recurrent conflict, and to create a better, more secure, more prosperous Kenya for all.
To resolve the political crisis, and in the spirit of coalition and partnership, we have agreed to enact the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008, whose provisions have been agreed upon in their entirety by the parties hereto and a draft copy is appended hereto.
Its key points are:
* There will be a Prime Minister of the Government of Kenya, with authority to coordinate and supervise the execution of the functions and affairs of the Government of Kenya.
* The Prime Minister will be an elected member of the National Assembly and the parliamentary leader of the largest party in the National Assembly, or of a coalition, if the largest party does not command a majority.
* Each member of the coalition shall nominate one person from the National Assembly to be appointed a Deputy Prime Minister.
* The Cabinet will consist of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the two Deputy Prime Ministers and the other Ministers. The removal of any Minister of the coalition will be subject to consultation and concurrence in writing by the leaders.
* The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers can only be removed if the National Assembly passes a motion of no confidence with a majority vote.
* The composition of the coalition government will at all times take into account the principle of portfolio balance and will reflect their relative parliamentary strength.
* The coalition will be dissolved if the Tenth Parliament is dissolved; or if the parties agree in writing; or if one coalition partner withdraws from the coalition.
* The National Accord and Reconciliation Act shall be entrenched in the Constitution.
Having agreed on the critical issues above, we will now take this process to Parliament. It will be convened at the earliest moment to enact these agreements. This will be in the form of an Act of Parliament and the necessary amendment to the Constitution.
We believe by these steps we can together in the spirit of partnership bring peace and prosperity back to the people of Kenya who so richly deserve it.
Source: Reuters AlertNet
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17:02
From: Eyes on Kenya
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President Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga Thursday signed a deal that will see them share power through the creation of a Prime Minister position.
The deal, brokered by Africa Union chairman President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Mr Kofi Annan, will see the creation of a grand coalition sharing power according to party strength in Parliament.
The deal provides that the PM will coordinate and supervise Ministers, while Cabinet positions will be shared proportionally according to party strength in Parliament.
The President will have the authority to sack Cabinet members, but only with written agreement from leaders of the respective coalition party.
The Cabinet will comprise the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers.
The coalition will collapse at the end of the current Parliament, or if the parties so agree, or if one partner withdraws.
The signing at Nairobi’s Harambee House was witnessed by diplomats and broadcast live on national television.
President Kibaki and Mr Odinga first signed the agreement, then President Kikwete and Mr Annan appended their signatures as witnesses.
The agreement was the result of a five-hour meeting chaired by President Kikwete involving Mr Annan, President Kibaki and Raila Odinga.
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
And this is how Kofi Anan explains the deal:
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
But let us not forget, how it sounded just some days ago:
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
Still, the coalition depends on the good will of the protagonists. It is a deal between Odinga and Kibaki, but there are many more characters who want their share of the deal. As soon as there is no Kofi Anan in Kenya anymore, the Coalition will become fragile. It all depends how much issues will be dealt with in next weeks before it comes into a standstill.
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14:24
From: Eyes on Kenya
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As we previously reported, the 27th of February is an international day of of public and online action in solidarity with the people of Kenya and to call on the Kenyan government to protect people from politically-motivated and ethnic violence.
Amnesty International is organizing streets demonstrations in the following locations on 27 February. Turn up and show your support…
Africa
Kampala, Uganda, 12:30 pm, Kololo Airstrip, corner of Wampewo Rd and Upper Kololo Terrace. A joint action with Amnesty International and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project.
Americas
Washington DC, USA, 4:30-6:30pm, 27 February, - outside the Kenyan Embassy, 2249 R. Street N.W in Dupont Circle
Denver, Colorado, USA, (the sister city of Nairobi, Kenya), 6pm, 27 February, West Steps of the Capitol - Candlelight Vigil for the People of Kenya: Support Human Rights and Peace Now! [Please Bring a Flashlight or Lighter]
Los Angeles, USA, 4:30 pm, 27 February, Vigil at the Kenyan Consulate, Park Mile Plaza, Mezzanine Floor, 4801 Wilshire Boulevard
Montevideo, Uruguay, 27 February, 6.30 pm, Rambla Rep. Argentina
Mexico City, Mexico, 27 February, 18.00 - 21.00, outside Mexico City Cultural Centre [a vigil, 3 African bands and a slideshow of photos from Kenya]
Ottawa, Canada, 27 February, 4.00pm, High Commission of the Republic of Kenya, 415 Laurier Avenue East - intersection of King Edward and Laurier
Asia-Pacific
Melbourne, Australia, 6pm, Parliament House steps, East Melbourne, join us for a vigil with our message calling to: PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF KENYA
Canberra, Australia, 1pm, in front of the Kenyan Embassy, QBE Building, 33-35 Ainslie St, Civic Square. We will be writing letters to the Kenyan government in solidarity with the Kenyan people to bring an end to the violence.
Brisbane, Australia, 4pm, Reddacliffe Place, George St, Brisbane, join us for a vigil to reach out to Kenya, and have a look at our giant hand!
Europe
London, UK, 17:00 to 19:00 pm, outside the Kenyan Embassy, 45 Portland Place, W1B 1AS
Belfast, UK, 28 February, 6:30pm, Club Rooms 3 and 4, Queens University Belfast Student Union, University Road
Berlin, Germany, 27 February, 17.30 -19.30, Kenyan Embassy, MARKGRAFENSTR.63
Netherlands - events are planned in Haarlem, Rijswijk, Hoorn, Harmelen/Leidsche Rijn and Amsterdam, please contact Amnesty International’s Netherlands section for more information.
  
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7:37
From: Eyes on Kenya
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According to a press release from the International Medical Corps (IMC), Kenya could face a serious food shortage and subsequent large-scale malnutrition in the coming year if insecurity persists. International Medical Corps (IMC) is concerned that a shortage of maize production during 2008 and long-term displacement could severely affect the nutritional status, general health, and livelihood of the displaced as well as that of the general population. According to the Kenyan Red Cross almost 270,000 displaced are currently living in camps. A similar number is thought to be living with host families. Most of the forcibly displaced have not only lost their homes and belongings but also their economic base, which was destroyed in the violence.
“At the moment we are mainly concerned about the well-being of pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five years old in the camps and among the host community,” says Kristi Ladd, International Medical Corps Nutrition Specialist and advisor to the emergency response team. “These groups are most likely to be the first to show signs of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. We must have a screening and support system in place to detect malnutrition and start further interventions.”
The current situation demands continued nutritional and food security monitoring to enable aid agencies to anticipate threats and catch cases of wasting and other indications of malnutrition early on. Health providers must coordinate with agencies currently distributing food to make sure that at-risk patients are identified and are receiving supplementary food if necessary.
International Medical Corps will implement a multi-tiered approach and incorporate nutritional services into its ongoing primary health care programs. The moderately malnourished will be provided with supplemental food. Severely malnourished patients will receive ready-to-use-therapeutic-food (RUTF) either at IMC facilities or in community-based programs. International Medical Corps may also support existing facilities and government referral hospitals to ensure that malnourished patients receive the necessary care.
A Long-Term Problem
According to preliminary assessments by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Kenyan farmers are already far behind in soil preparation. In the fertile Rift Valley, post-election violence forced at least 180,000 to flee their homes — more than half of the total displaced population in the country — many of them small holdings owners or farm workers. The area, normally producing about 70 percent of Kenya’s maize crop, is still gripped in an uneasy truce between hostile communities.
With the beginning of the planting season just weeks away, many farmers will not be able to return to their plots in time. In conversations with the displaced, International Medical Corps learned that many crop growers also saw their remaining harvest stolen and their land now being farmed by members of rival groups. This development could further worsen community relations and make it unlikely that the forcibly displaced will be able to return and catch up with the planting season, which usually starts in March.
“More and more factors are emerging that threaten to prolong the humanitarian crisis in Kenya, and food insecurity is one of them,” says Edi Cosic, International Medical Corps Director of Emergency Response. “Kenyans might need our support in more sectors and for a longer period of time than initially anticipated.”
Media reports quote a joint report soon to be released by the U.N and US Agency for International Development (USAID), anticipating that 100,000 hectares may not be cultivated for the March rainy season and estimating losses of 300,000 tons of various crop harvests.
Displaced and Host Communities Affected
Most likely, increased food insecurity and malnourishment will not only affect the displaced but also the population as a whole, particularly the urban slum dwellers and households that have taken in displaced family members. The complete loss of their economic base puts significant pressure on host families, which often have to get by with a marginal amount of food while also having more mouths to feed.
The violence has also increased transport and farm supply costs, sharply raising wholesale and retail prices. The very poor and less mobile, in particular, feel the effect of rising prices.
[...]
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14:01
From: Eyes on Kenya
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On march 13th the German newspaper “die Tageszeitung”, also known as “taz” organizes an information evening in Hamburg. Those invited are the former Director of the Hamburg based “Institut für Afrikakunde” - Prof. Rolf Hofmeier, the taz journalist Ulrike Herrmann, Ralph Peters who observed the elections and Yvonne Atieno. It will be moderated by Jan Kahlcke from taz at the “Kulturhaus”, Schulterblatt 73, starting at 8 o’clock at night.
Judging from the guests, it would be worth to attend if you live in Hamburg. But the newspaper is running the even under the title: Kenia - Blutbad im Urlaubsparadies (Kenya – Bloodbath in the vacation paradise)! How can someone like Prof. Hofmeier put his respected name under such a cheap tabloid title? The title makes it impossible to recommend the event.
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7:32
From: Eyes on Kenya
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Many articles in the Kenyan “blogosphere” (see chart below), local and international media have been written about the post-election crisis. The numbers reach into their thousands. This article tries to give an overview about good articles with background information on Kenya and the current political crisis. It is just a selection and we are sure that we may have missed many good ones. It is just the beginning and we will try to keep it updated, so if you see any good ones that would fit into this page, please use the comment function to add them.
(Topics in alphabetical order)
Constitution
The Draft Constitution of Kenya, known as the Boma’s draft, was adopted by the National Constitutional Conference on 15th of march 2004.
Economy
“The potential impact of economic sanctions on the Kenyan government” takes a closer look at the Kenyan economy and delivers useful statistics and numbers.
The Reuter’s fact box gives an overview about the “Aid to Kenya”, the CIA fact book delivers more economic figures.
“Eyes on the World Bank and Kibaki’s economy” takes a closer look at the economic program of Kibaki’s government and at the World Bank’s interest in Kenya.
Ethnic Violence
Antony Otieno Ong’ayo, a researcher at the Transnational Institute, Amsterdam, gives “An overview of the underlying factors” of “The Post-election Violence in Kenya” at Pambazuka News. It is detailed and gives a great historic overview as well .
“Unearthing of the sources of tribal disagreements and ethno-politics in Kenya” takes a closer look at the historic background of tribalism in Kenya.
The US biased NGO Human Rights Watch published a report about the involvement of opposition politicians in the preparation of the Rift valley violence. “Kenya: Opposition Officials Helped Plan Rift Valley Violence” was published on January 24th 2008.
Health
The article “The effect of the Kenyan crisis on Kenya’s health system” tries to summarize the struggles to keep up the Kenyan health system in this time of crisis. It also refers to an article by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs IRIN “KENYA: Healthcare threatened by political crisis”
International Medical Corps addresses the issue “Risk of Long-Term Food Insecurity and Malnutrition” in Kenya.
Land distribution
The Africa Policy Institute published a report by Horace Njuguna Gisemba named “The Lie of the land: Evictions and Kenya’s crisis”. It takes a closer look at the history of land distribution and ownership in the Rift valley and disputes the often heard argument of “land distribution” as the underlying cause for the killings. It is controversally discussed at the Kenya imagine.
Media
Reuter’s alertnet posted an article by Joanne Tomkinson called “MEDIAWATCH: Kenyan media inciting ethnic hatred” on Februray 7th 2008. It deals with the local radio stations promoting ethnic hatred.
Humanitarian news and analysis (IRIN) also writes about “Spreading the word of hate” .
John Barbieri, an independent reporter and the founder of the US Coalition for Peace with Truth and Justice in Kenya writes about the “The poverty of international journalism”.
Simiyu Barasa, a member of the Coalition of Concerned Kenyan Writers, wrote an essay on “War journalism: Kenya’s newest tourist attraction” on the kwani blog. Barasa picks up the concept of “peace journalism” by the Norwegian Scholar John Galtun and shows how the local media tries to use their influence to promote peace and fails due to an international “war journalism”. He gives examples how cameras create stories and that 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.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Association of East Africa (FCAEA) strongly condemned the violation of press freedoms and intimidation of journalists on January 19t.
Political Parties
The Mukoma Wa Ngugi analysis on the differences within the Orange Democratic Movement and the different political approaches by its leaders. “Understanding the Kenyan Opposition” brings to light the differences between the activist-intellectual left, the Moi-ist retrogressives, and the populists within the party.
“Eyes on Kenyan Political Parties: A call for change” looks at the historic background of Kenya’s Parties and the lack of their political profiles.
In the publication “Political Succession in East Africa - In Search for a Limited Leadership” by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Dr. Katumanga Musambayi wrote the chapter: “After the floods – The Rainbow: Contextualising NARC’s election victory – Lessons learnt and the challenges ahead”. It was published in 2006 and gives an overview about the prior election in 2002.
Power-sharing
The full text of the power-sharing deal was signed by Kibaki and Odinga on February 28th 2008.
Religion
Despite the fact that the different religious communities play an important role in Kenya’s society, we have not found any deeper analysis on the role of the churches to promote peace and their role in finding a conflict solution.
United States of America
Here we are still looking for a good article, that analyses the change in the US policies towards the Kibaki government.
Our early analysis on the “The role of the US Department of State in the aftermath of Kenyan Election” sees a change in US policies as the results of a learning process due to the mistakes made in the 2005 Ethiopian election.
Patrick Mutahi asks the Question”What is America’s stake in this?” and explains their interest according to their “war on terror” policies.
Women’s rights
The “Women’s Memorandum to the Mediation Team” was published on Pambazuka News. It was written by the “Kenyan Women’s Consultation Group on the Current Crisis in Kenya” a group of women from various backgrounds who met to discuss a solution to the crisis. Among other important points it stresses the importance of women participation in the finding of conflict solutions adhereing to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.
“Violence and women in Kenya” portraits the Kenyans Prof. Wangari Maathai, Dekha Ibrahim Abdi and Gladwell Otieno and takes a closer look at violence against female candidates in the pre-election period.
Again: If you know other background articles on the current situation in Kenya, please use the comment function or the “Contact Page” to add them. If you leave a comment you have the option to be notified for any further comments.
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16:03
From: Eyes on Kenya
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Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga had a surprise visitor this week — a high-ranking politician from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s grand coalition.
Gernot Erler, Germany’s deputy foreign minister, was secretly flown into Kenya at the request of Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General who is mediating between Kenya’s warring factions to resolve a crisis sparked by Kibaki’s disputed re-election last December.
Annan had turned to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to ask for an expert to assist in talks between Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU) and Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Steinmeier entrusted the job to Erler.
Gernod Erler
Erler’s task was to explain the workings of Merkel’s grand coalition between her center-right Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, of which the minister is a member.
My visit was a surprise to all,” Erler told German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung on the last day of his mission. “But then everyone was really interested and had a lot of questions.”
Erler said his job was to explain the complicated arithmetic underlying the power-sharing model in Germany and how such a consensus-based system worked. Germany’s grand coalition came into being after federal elections in 2005, ending two months of political uncertainty after Merkel’s conservatives won a wafer-thin majority.
“My job was to present the model so that the Kenyans can see if a similar system could work for them,” Erler said. The minister had also brought along an English version of Germany’s coalition agreement with him so that the Kenyans could spend time studying it.
The German Coalition
Of course, it is hard to find similarities between the Kenyan crisis today and the post election situation in Germany in 2005. With more than 1000 lost lives lost and more than 300.000 displaced persons, the gaps to over come are tremendous.
Still, in order to look for a conflict solution it is worth to look at the concept of a “grand coalition”, when it makes sense to and whether it lasts.
A “grand coalition” is usually not the preferred model in a parliamentary democracy. The only exception for many years is the oldest democracy in the world: Switzerland. Here, government positions were distributed according to the seats in the Parliament. It worked because of a unique democratic culture, in which the will of power-sharing and consensus decisions are high valued. The position of the head of government was rotated among the ministers. The system worked only as long as Politicians respected certain rules and it failed when the eccentric right wing populist billionaire Blocher broke the political consensus by campaigning with a brutal anti-Immigrants campaign. He crossed the line and forced the other Parties to unite against him. It showed how much the system was depending on the acceptance of democratic rules by Politicians.
The 2005 German general election ended up in a Parliamentary “deadlock” situation. The ruling coalition of chancellor Schröder’s SPD and the Grüne Party lost their majority. But Merkel’s CDU/CSU did not reach more than 50% together with their preferred partner FDP. The 614 seats of Parliament were distributed as follows: SPD 222, CDU 180, CSU 46, Grüne 51, FDP 61 and the Linke 54.
Right after the election both Merkel and Schröder claimed to have the mandate to form the government. Schröder claimed to be the head of the biggest Party in Parliament. Since CDU and CSU are partners, Merkel had was head of the biggest Party group (The CSU is a Bavarian tribalist version of the CDU).
The preliminary condition for the German grand coalition to work was that one had to step down from this position. It was for sure that chancellor Schröder would not take any other position in the government than that of Chancellor and the CDU/CSU would have never accepted a non CDU/CSU chancellor. In order to start negotiations SPD had to call upon Schröder to resign.
Another factor was Angela Merkel. She was much more accepted by the SPD as a chancellor of grand coalition than some other CDU/CSU politicians. Edmund Stoiber, who ran in the previous election for CDU/CSU would have not been accepted by the SPD.
“It is a Grand Coaltion, if it does not move in any direction .” (c) suika
Both Parties are currently not happy about the situation. Every controversial issue, every local election becomes a test how much the coalition can take. Even though the government has a comfortable majority in both Parliament houses, great changes have not been made and issues like the reform of the health system have not been toughed. Both partners announced they do not want to continue the coalition after the next general election.
A German like “grand coalition” is not a good solution, but sometimes may be the only possibility. It works only if both partners step down from radical positions and verbal attacks. It cannot be a solution for a long period and most important is that the crucial changes are made immediately.
One lesson might be learned from another German “grand coalition”. In 1968 protest grew against the SPD/CDU/CSU coalition and ended up in a the formation of the “Out of Parliament opposition” and the growth of a political civil society. This is something that might help the Kenyan political development as well.
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7:37
From: Eyes on Kenya
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Amnesty International urges Kenya’s leaders to ensure the human rights of Kenyan people are protected.
An international day of public and online action this month will demonstrate solidarity with the people of Kenya and call on the Kenyan government to protect people from politically-motivated and ethnic violence.
On 27 February, people can show their outrage at the continuing human rights abuses in Kenya in a series of events organised by Amnesty International; including an online Facebook action and a series of street demonstrations.
The disputed election of 27 December 2007 sparked an outbreak of fighting and a series of grave human rights violations. At least 1,000 people have been killed so far, while more than 300,000 have been displaced.
Amnesty International’s recent visit to Kenya found evidence of unlawful killings, the ethnically targeted forced relocation and burning of homes by armed militias, excessive use of force by security officials, sexual violence against women and girls, and violations of freedom of expression and assembly. Amnesty International has also documented death threats against human rights defenders and activists.
The death toll includes hundreds shot dead by police, who were deployed to quell the post-election violence and break up mass protests against the election called by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) opposition party.
Subsequent violence has seen increasingly organised attacks by ethnic militia and youth gangs against people of Kikuyu ethnicity, which has led to retaliatory attacks by Kikuyu militias and youth gangs.
There is particular concern at the ethnic dimension to the political violence and its possible long-term implications for Kenyan society.
Amnesty International calls on the Kenyan government to protect the people of Kenya, many of whom have endured unrelenting suffering in the last two months. Kenyan leaders must end the cycle of impunity that perpetuates the politically motivated violence in Kenya.
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8:19
From: Eyes on Kenya
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In Berlin, Germany there will be two discussion and information events about the current political crisis in Kenya.
The first one is organized by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, a political foundation associated with the party “die Grünen”. Guests are the journalist Marc Engelhardt (taz, Berliner Zeitung) and Dr. Gero Erdmann from GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Institute of African Affairs, Hamburg.
It will take place at the Heinich Böll foundation, Rosenthaler Str. 40/41, Hackesche Höfe on Februrary 20th 2008. It will be held in German.
The second event will be hosted by the Society for International Development -Berlin Chapter and it will take place at the “Afrika-Haus”. It is supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, a political foundation associated with the ruling party CDU. Invited are Ralph-Michael Peters, political expert of the Core team of the EU election observing mission in Kenya 2007 and former member of the GIGA research group “Democratisation and Civil society in Kenya”, Gideon Ochanda Ogolla, Program Officer of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Kenya and National Coordinator of the Institute for Civic Affairs and Development - ICAD, Nairobi and Kerstin Müller, MP and State-Secretary of the German foreign ministry. It will be held in English on the 28th of Februrary 2008.
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5:40
From: Eyes on Kenya
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The impact of the post election crisis on the Kenyan Health system is devastating. In the past years the Kenyan Health system has made some great progress in the prevention and treatment of Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV / AIDS. Now Kenya is facing several tremendous set backs.
First of all the system has to handle the primary crises: Sever injured people needed treatment. Displaced persons have to gather in camps and challenge the local health system. In those camps people live close together and steps have to be taken to prevent the out break of epidemics.
Violence against women has always been a problem in Kenya. But in the past month the number of reported rapes has exploded. Most cases were reported in hospitals from women who needed immediate physical treatment. The real number of rapes has been much higher, since many women do not report any attacks. Women are not only left with a sever trauma, which would require experienced support. Also the risk of suffering from an STD, in the worst cases from HIV is burdening those women.
With the help of donors and a the great effort of Kenyan Health workers, Antiretroviral treamtent (ART) has been implemented even in rural areas. This is even under normal conditions a great challenge. People on ART can not stop to take the drugs, in order to prevent drug resistance. So drug supply should never run short. With the crisis all over the country it becomes a problem. And keeping up the treatment for the displaced persons seems to be almost impossible. The long term effect is an increase of drug resistance, which can lead to severe health problems, as well as it requires much more expensive drugs, which become for some patience unaffordable. The drug resistant virus can also be transmitted, causing the failure of normal treatment regimes in new patients.
The treatment of HIV/AIDS is only possible with well trained medical staff. Especially in the health professions work migration with in the country is high. With violence along ethnic lines many health works were effected and are now displaced. Other will refuse to go into certain areas in the future. With the ongoing crises well trained medical staff will look for other options abroad. People with experience in HIV /AIDS treatment are needed all over Africa, some jobs are well paid through international organisations. And it becomes more interesting to look for options in industrial nations, e.g. the United Kingdom. The “brain drain” will add to the negative long term effect on Kenya’s health system.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (IRIN) has summarized the situation:
Healthcare threatened by political crisis
NAIROBI, 7 February 2008 (IRIN) - Health officials are concerned about the long-term impact of Kenya’s political crisis on healthcare, especially in areas hardest hit by violence since the end of December 2007.
“The most worrying issue is that of drug resistance among patients of chronic diseases,” Ian van Engelgem, the medical coordinator of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), told IRIN on 5 February.
He said HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) patients who had missed out on their regular medication for up to a month due to displacement and violence could develop resistance to the drugs.
“Right now a lot of HIV patients are on first-line drugs; they could require second-line drugs, which are more expensive, if they develop resistance as a result of skipping their ARV [anti-retroviral] medication for a period of time,” Van Engelgem said.
The fact that internally displaced persons (IDPs) have better access to healthcare compared with the host community where the camps are located is another concern.
“If IDPs have access to free healthcare, the same should also apply to them [host communities] as they are equally affected by the unrest,” Van Engelgem said.
Displaced health workers
Joanne Greenfield, malaria adviser for the UN World Health Organization (WHO) in Nairobi, said displacement and ongoing violence in parts of the country could lead to a crisis in the provision of healthcare in the affected regions.
“The security situation, especially in the Rift Valley [Province], is affecting the provision of health services to the general public as a significant number of health workers are either displaced and/or cannot report to their duty stations,” Greenfield said.
WHO, the lead agency for the health cluster of humanitarian actors - comprising UN agencies, NGOs and government organisations - has also expressed concern over the health of thousands of IDPs, mostly women and children, in the Rift Valley.
On 6 February, newspaper reports indicated that chicken pox and diarrhoea had broken out in two IDP camps in Naivasha, a town in Rift Valley Province, which has been severely affected by the violence.
“The number of sites hosting IDPs appears to increase by the day,” the agency said in a statement. “Initial WHO assessment has found that these sites are very crowded, with poor shelter, water supply, sanitation (in some camps, toilet to person ratio is 1 for 500), food shortages, no cooking fuel, precarious access to healthcare and shortages of antibiotics, children’s medicines, malaria medicines and life-saving drugs for chronic illness. Nearby hospitals are also facing similar shortages of drugs and supplies.”
Sexual violence
In a worrying development, WHO said, hospitals in the region had reported dramatic increases in cases of sexual violence. The agency said counselling services in most IDP sites were not available, including for reproductive health, sexual violence or HIV/AIDS.
“In many settings, survivors have no access to even the minimum health and psychological support, leaving them vulnerable to a range of potential negative health problems, including HIV/AIDS,” WHO stated.
George Mugenya, the medical superintendent of health at the Rift Valley General Provincial Hospital in Nakuru, said services were slowly returning to normal but the displacement remained a key concern.
“When the violence was intense, we put elective cases on hold to handle only emergency cases; now that it is calmer, we are noticing that some services are still affected because of the displacement of some of the medical staff,” he said. “Some workers have not reported to duty while others come irregularly and this has affected services such as those offered in the maternity section but, overall, things are returning to normal.”
He said the challenge was in re-stocking the hospital’s medical supplies and reviving clinic services for patients of chronic diseases.
Teams led by WHO officials visited the towns of Eldoret and Nakuru to coordinate the health cluster activities. The teams visited IDP camps and hospitals to monitor disease outbreaks as well as the availability of medical supplies and health workers.
According to WHO, the biggest worry at all sites was diarrhoea in children as well as acute respiratory infections. It was also concerned about irregular access to malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB medicines, while patients with asthma, hypertension and diabetes also lacked access.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health, together with WHO, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Kenya Red Cross Society and other health NGOs, undertook a joint health assessment on 30 January of Uasin Gishu district in the Rift Valley, which is hosting 150,000 IDPs in 11 camps.
As a result, the medical officer reported that a mass immunisation against measles and polio, as well as the de-worming of children and provision of Vitamin A supplements, would begin in February.
The health officials also discussed the possibility of introducing mobile services for areas where normal services had been disrupted.
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14:54
From: Eyes on Kenya
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With an article at Reuter’s AlertNet, Joanne Tomkinson from Oxfam followed up the issue of the responsibility of local Kenyan radio stations in inciting ethnic hatred before and after the general election. We previously reported about the role of Kenya’s media in our article: Eyes on the Media in Kenya; Kenya’s Wolf in Sheep skin or her redemption?
MEDIAWATCH: Kenyan media inciting ethnic hatred
Written by: Joanne Tomkinson
Messages of hate aired on radio stations and the internet are partly to blame for the post-election bloodshed in Kenya. There are worrying echoes of the Rwandan genocide when local radio stations urging people to “kill the Inkotanyi [cockroaches]” were widely thought to have contributed to the slaughter of 800,000 people in 1994.
Kenya has been convulsed by bloodshed since President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election at the end of December. More than 1,000 people have been killed and an estimated 300,000 people have fled their homes.
Even before the election, many radio stations broadcasting in Kikuyu, Luo and Kalenjin languages were airing inflammatory comments about members of other communities, according to the Inter Press Service (IPS), a global news agency.
“The ethnic hate our radio station was propagating about those from outside the community was unbelievable,” one Kenyan journalist told the IPS.
David Ochami, a commissioner with the Media Council of Kenya, says that long before the elections radio stations were inciting ethnic consciousness “making people support leaders from their own tribe and harbour bad feelings about people from other communities“.
Call-in shows have provided a very vocal platform for “hate speech”, as callers are not always vetted before being put on air, writes the IPS.
Insults of “baboons”, “weeds” and “animals of the west” are common and though comments rarely call for violence, they do often draw on cultural differences and long-standing disputes about access to land, according to Caesar Handa of Strategic Research, an organisation monitoring the airwaves after the election.
The chilling power of these comments is very worrying in a country where many people trust their local stations and take what they broadcast as the truth, Handa says in Kenyan newspaper The Nation. The Mashada forum, an online chatroom, has been forced to close due to the large number of inflammatory messages posted on its pages.
“The majority of interaction on Mashada.com has begun to reflect the negative aspects of what is happening in Kenya,” the forum’s moderator is quoted as saying on the White African blog.
“Facilitating civil discussions and debates has become virtually impossible,” he writes.
By banning all live political broadcasts after the election, the government forced many people to turn to radio stations and internet sites to get updates, according to Eyes on Kenya, a non-governmental organisation analysing events in the country.
Such is the power of these stations, they “should be closed with immediate effect,” writes the Eyes on Kenya commentator.
But the problems with the Kenyan media go beyond call-in shows and chatrooms.
Although he praises the courage of many Kenyan journalists, Antony Otieno Ong’ayo, a researcher at political think tank Transnational Institute, says the local media is prone to partisan reporting in its news coverage.
Writing for Pambazuka, a pan African news site, Ong’ayo says that media owners, blog sites, and local newspapers have failed to be open about the other reasons for the violence - poverty, inequality, corruption and unequal distribution of resources.
“Such bias will direct attention in the wrong direction, and could be used to gang up against other communities,” Ong’ayo says.
International coverage of the violence comes in for similar criticism from Kenya expert, David Anderson, an Oxford University professor. The media’s focus on inter-tribal violence doesn’t tell the whole story, he tells Reuters.
“Describing it as ethnic violence is not quite right. This is political violence of the most classic kind. Ethnicity is how you mobilise it: that’s the modus operandi, not the rationale.“
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5:43
From: Eyes on Kenya
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5:01
From: Eyes on Kenya
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The following text is a statement by the Kenyan Women’s Consultation Group on the Current Crisis in Kenya. For more than two weeks Kenyan women from several Organizations met and discussed the current crisis and approaches to end it. Action Aid International, Vital Voices, UNIFEM, Nairobi Peace Initiative and Urgent Action Fund-Africa facilitated the consultations. The statement was presented to the international mediation team including, Kofi Annan, Graça Machel and Benjamin Mkapa at Serena Hotel Nairobi on January 25, 2008.
The statement has been published before, for example at Pambazuka News.
Since we think it is a very valuable statement, we have decided to quote it in full length:
Women’s Memorandum to the Mediation Team
Serena Hotel, Nairobi, January 25, 2008
Kenyan Women’s Consultation Group on the Current Crisis in Kenya (2008-01-29)
Your Excellency Kofi Annan
Your Excellency Graça Machel
Your Excellency Benjamin Mkapa
We thank Your Excellencies for the opportunity to address this forum. We make this presentation on behalf of Kenyan women who have been meeting in Nairobi over the last two weeks. Action Aid International, Vital Voices, UNIFEM, Nairobi Peace Initiative and Urgent Action Fund-Africa have facilitated the consultations. A committee of 11 women present here, represents the larger group.
Kenyan women assert their rights as citizens of this country to participate in all political processes and initiatives that seek to find solutions to the crisis that currently that our beloved motherland faces. We are mindful of our special responsibilities in all the spheres of nation building including truth & justice seeking, peacebuilding and reconciliation. We embrace all our diversities as we collectively seek solutions. We acknowledge that in the resolution of the current conflict, there has to be ‘give and take’ from both sides of the political divide. We assert that as citizens we must take responsibility for resolving and transforming the conflict and the inclusion and participation of civic groups, including women’s groups at the community level is critical to the success of efforts to resolve the conflict.
The important role of women’s participation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts is reaffirmed in The Constitutive Act of the African Union, The AU’s Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality, The Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of women in Africa, The African Charter on the Rights and welfare often Child, and by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. The resolution stresses the importance of women’s equal participation and involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision –making with regard to conflict prevention.
The UN Resolution 1325 further calls on all actors involved, when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to adopt a gender perspective, including, inter alia
a) The special needs of women and girls during repatriation and resettlement and for rehabilitation, reintegration and post conflict reconstruction.
b) Measures that support local women’s peace initiatives and indigenous processes for conflict resolution, and that involve women in all of the implementation mechanisms of the peace process.
c) Measures that ensure the protection of and respect for human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary;
All these instruments recognise the centrality of women to the development of democracy and democratic institutions and the importance of their participation at every level, and in every process. Women are central actors and ‘right holders’ in any process that addresses sustainable development, security and human rights. During this crisis, Kenyan women have been at the forefront in community peace building and mediation efforts in the North Rift and other areas.
(c) by Gado
Is there a conflict? What are The Facts?
A political crisis has engulfed the country following the announcement of presidential results on December 30, 2007.There are allegations of a flawed tallying process by the electoral commission , hence the dispute as to who the actual winner of the presidential vote was. As a consequence, violent conflict broke out in many parts of Kenya from December 30, 2008 and continues to this day. This conflict is expressed in the following ways:
1. Spontaneous and organised demonstrations against the ECK and the government.
2. Killings that have so far claimed the lives of over 700 Kenyans. These killings are by a) extra judicial executions by the police of targeted communities and demonstrators. b) Militia executions, torture and mutilations of civilians targeted at particular ethnic communities (these include forced circumcisions & castrations) and c) by ordinary citizens
3. Criminal conduct by citizens looting, burning and destruction of private and public property.
4. Increased sexual violence against women and children.
5. Suspension of constitutional freedoms including the freedom of conscience, assembly and worship.
6. Violation on the rights of the media and right to information by a ban on media broadcasting of live events.
7. Ethnic and politically instigated evictions of populations of certain communities from their properties resulting in large numbers of internally displaced Kenyans ( approximately 260,000)
8. Ethnically instigated employment displacement of workers in certain regions (tea peckers in Kericho) and eviction rental properties.
This situation has resulted in:
- A breakdown in the rule of law and a lack of confidence in institutions of law and order.
- Breakdown of social relationships and trust among Kenyan Communities and an exacerbation of existing ethnic tensions.
- Human insecurity (including food insecurity).
- Continued systematic and widespread violation of human rights and a lack of respect for the sanctity of life.
- Proliferation of propaganda by all parties including the state and an increase in hate media on all media (FM stations -in particular vernacular FM stations, print, electronic and new media -text messaging, email, internet) that demonises particular communities.
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7:02
From: Eyes on Kenya
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On Saturday Feb. 2nd 2008 a Charity Concert- One Kenya One Voice- in Boston, Ma, USA will take place at “The Roxy”. All proceeds will go to the Kenyan Red Cross. Headliner Artist Eric Wainaina and others will be performing. For more information see [www.vumakenya.org]
On the same day a peace rally will be held in Hamburg, Germany, organized by a Kenyan culture organisation Chawema e.V.. Meeting point is the the Hamburg Main Station (Kirchenallee-Hachmannplatz) at 2 o’clock.
At 6 o’clock there will be an discussion round at the DGB building at Besenbinderhof 57a (close to ZOB Hamburg) with Emily Imunde about the present situation back home. M. J. Obeto from Chawema e.V. will moderate in both English and German.
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6:19
From: Eyes on Kenya
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According to Reuters, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) member of parliament David Kimutai Too, was killed, along with an unidentified woman, in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret by a traffic Police officer.
“He has been shot dead, by a traffic policeman in Eldoret, we think. The circumstances are very unclear. This crisis is just getting deeper every day,” said ODM spokesman Tony Gachoka.
“He was killed by a traffic police officer,” in a suburb of Eldoret in western Kenya, a police commander told AFP in Nairobi, adding that the killing appeared to be connected to a romantic dispute.
“He was with a girl who is a police officer. He was shot by another policeman believed to be her boyfriend,” he said.
A senior police officer checks the car in which Ainamoi MP David Kimutai Too and a policewoman were driving in when they were ambushed and shot dead. Photo/ JARED NYATAYA
The policewoman is currently in ICU in at the hospital of Eldoret. Reports from Eldoret indicate that members of public have jammed the Moi Teaching and Referral mortuary following the incident. Nation reports that Police Commissioner Major General Hussein Ali assured the public that “the constable will stand charges of murder tomorrow”. He also warned the public against using the incident to incite others.
The death of Ainamoi MP, David Kimutai Too, happened only 2 days after the assassination of ODM MP Melitus Mugabe Were.
For what ever reason David Kimutai Too was killed, it demonstrates that the government is not providing protection and security for opposition politicians.Only a few days after Nobel Peace Price winner Wangari Maathai criticized the government for failing to provide security for its citizens, the Minister of Internal Security Prof George Saitoti withdrew her bodyguards on Monday.
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10:21
From: Eyes on Kenya
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Orange Democratic MP Melitus Mugabe Were was murdered by two gunmen as he drove up to the gate of his house with a shot in his eye and several shots in his chest. The gunmen gave no warning, nor did they try to cover it up as a robbery gone awry. There is little doubt that it was a political murder. He was murdered on the very day talks about how to regain peace in Kenya between his party and the government were suppose to start. It was a successful move by those who were aiming to prevent peace and power sharing.
Besides violence along ethnic lines and the street protest, most of the time, people who were threatened were outside the political arena: Human rights activists, critical journalists and just people who tried to oppose the violence, like the marathon runner Wesley Kimutai Ngetich Moderate and independent voices are often targeted first, since they often have enemies on both sides of the conflict.
Melitus Mugabe Were’s death brings the conflict to a new level. He was one of 900 (probably one of more than 1000) men, women and children who have been murdered since the flawed election on December 27th 2007. And he will not be the last one. Many more will be shot by the police, murdered by their neighbours for suddenly being from the wrong tribe or will die from other causes which will not be taken in the equation of the aftermath of the violence: People who will die from starvation when the economic crises takes its toll in the next months and years and people in remote place who are cut off from medical supply will suffer from drug resistance of HIV medication in some months or years.
Not one life lost is worth more than another, not one death deserves less to be mourned for. So what is the difference between the death of Melitus Mugabe Were and the thousand and more that died and will die? One difference between his death and many other Kenyans’ is that his name will be remembered by many. His death will lead to more violence and more anonymous numbers in the death count. There has been at lot of speculation and different opinions, whether the first wave of violence in the Rift valley was premeditated or fuelled by the opposition. A Human Rights Watch report and other Kenya’s human rights commission have raised allegations, which have been denied by ODM.
There is little doubt about the escalation of violence by the Police, an institution which most likely is still under government control. Demonstrators have been executed, journalists attacked and peaceful gatherings at funerals and at Melitus Mugabe Were’s compound were tear-gassed and turned into an angry mob.
And the new wave of violence was easy to foresee. More than 2 weeks ago Maina Kiai, chairman of the state-funded human rights body, said that in response to attacks on Kikuyu, government politicians have recruited the Mungiki. Kiai said the government has promised Mungiki immunity in return for protecting the Kikuyu. He said his information came from several sources including Mungiki members. Now we receive reports about Mungiki members recruiting by force to attack and kill members of other tribes and doing forced circumsitions on Kikuyus. There are also voices that state that the police did not respond in the way the could have.
Despite the above, Were’s party ODM did what many said they would not: They called upon their supporters to stay calm and not let the violence escalate. It may have been too late because they were not heard and a fresh wave of voilence occured. The police reacted yet again as most people expected: Mourners gathering at the Were’s compound were attacked with tear gas. But at least they called for calm, a commendable action.
Conclusion
The pressure on Kenyan’s politicians has been growing. The election of the Speaker of the Parliament was the first test of strength for the opposition which they just barely passed with 4 votes more than the government who had the support of the non-ODM MPs. The murder of an MP ensures that many will stay in line and increases the government’s marginal advantage in Parliament by one vote.
But it is hard to see who profits from the murder. Mwai Kibaki can follow any demands from the International Community and negotiate about peace and power-sharing, knowing that with the never ending violence and opposition MPs being killed that no agreement will last (What can you expect from talks about the future of Kenya, when they cannot even agree where who sits on the conference table?)
However, the uncontrolled violence might lead to a situation in which Kibaki’s authority can not be questioned from outside. He is in charge of the Police and military and therefore the only one able to do something to prevent further killings. What we already see is a totally out of control situation, moving from Molo, Nakuru, Naivasha in direction Nairobi. The militia forces unleashed here can not be calmed down on command. Support of the opposition by the international community might undermine this power Kibaki is struggling to hold on to and lead to further violence. At least this might be what the government is hoping for.
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3:11
From: Eyes on Kenya
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According to BBC news, Mugabe Were, a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was attacked outside his home, police said.
An ODM spokesman called for calm and restraint following the MP’s death. Mr Were is the first leading politician to have died amid violence that has gripped Kenya since December’s poll.
Two gunmen shot Mr Were as he drove up to the gate of his house in the capital just after midnight, Kenya police spokesman Eric Kiraithe was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying. “We are treating it as a murder but we are not ruling out anything, including political motives. We are urging everyone to remain calm,” he said.
Mr Were, who represented Nairobi’s Embakasai district, won a seat in the 27 December legislative election, which was held at the same time as the presidential vote.
ODM spokesman Tony Gachoka said: “The current situation makes one suspicious. All fingers will point at the government, and the government will have to show it is not involved.”
Another ODM spokesman, Salim Lome, called on people “to be peaceful and to only respond to this kind of violence by shunning violence”.
The appeal came amid reports of opposition supporters pouring onto the streets in several cities. In the Kibera slum in Nairobi, eyewitnesses spoke of clashes between rival ethnic groups.
Meanwhile the parties will begin formal talks on Tuesday to resolve the crisis, mediated by former UN chief Kofi Annan.
A UN spokesman said the dialogue process would start at 1600 local time (1300 GMT) at a neutral location.
We will try to provide updates on this page.
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13:06
From: Eyes on Kenya
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ODM denies involvement in the violence
ODM officials object the Human Rights Watch report about the involvement of local ODM leaders in the Rift valley violence.
“ODM leadership Friday trashed the report and said that nothing could be further from the truth.
ODM leader Raila Odinga said all communities in the area were equally affected. “That evidence is only from one person. What happened was not premeditated but spontaneous as people reacted to the injustices they suffered after the elections. In addition, the violence could not have been planned because all the communities in the Rift Valley have suffered,” said Mr Odinga.
Separately, the party’s secretary-general, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, told a Press conference that it would be surprising if any human rights violations would be linked to the party. He also challenged the authors of the report to investigate violence in other areas such as the Nairobi slums and western Kenya and give their verdict.” (Nation)
We agree that there should be independent investigations about the violence in other parts of the country, but what ever will be found out there, it will not change nor justify what happened in the Rift Valley Region.
Kenyan Army is operating in Nakuru
According to the Eastern Standard, “thirty-Two people were killed in fresh flare-up in Nakuru and Molo. And Rift Valley’s capital was put on 7pm-6am curfew. Military officers in fatigues, and armed to the teeth, were brought out of the barracks to enforce law and order. Another 5,000 people were displaced in Nakuru and adjoining areas. In Nakuru town alone, 12 people were hacked to death or shot with bows and arrows in the Thursday night terror. This followed a serious fighting in Githima and Kwa Rhonda estates next to the sprawling Kaptembwo slums. Of the 20 killed in Molo, 18 were shot with poisoned arrows.
Nakuru DC Mr Andrew Wanyagah led a security team backed by military personnel from Lanet barracks, as he toured Kaptembwa slums calling for peace.
“This problem has been fuelled by rumours circulating among local communities. We have received reports that members of the Mungiki gang and armed militiamen have been transported to the town to cause mayhem,” he said.
Following the violence, angry youths barricaded all roads leading in and out of Nakuru town for the better part of the day as police made frantic efforts to clear the highway.”
Nakuru residents made up most of the new arrivals at the town’s showground camp set up for people fleeing post-election violence in neighbouring districts, according to a local aid official. The camp holds 5,900 people, according to coordinator Jesse Njoroge who said most of the 696 new arrivals were from Nakuru itself. (Kenvironnews)
The use of military forces is a new development. It might be influenced by the presence of the international mediators. With the international Community watching, the government has to show that it can provide security
Koffi Annan termed the violence “gross and systematic human rights abuses” on a visit to western Kenya, where scores more people were killed in the flashpoint Rift Valley province.
No consequences for Colin Bruce from the World Bank
Following up on one of our previous articles, it seems that the World Bank still trust in Colin Bruce as their local representative. He still is in power and can influence the World Bank’s policy towards the Kenyan government. Colin Bruce, a tenant of Kibaki, sent a memo to the World Bank, suggesting that his Landlord had won a “fair” election.
Considering how much Paul Wolfowitz had to do to get kicked out, it is no surprise.
Sport
With the African Cup of Nations football fever, we cannot fail to have our eyes on the Kenyan football scene. East African Standard reports that suspended Kenya Football Referees Association (KFRA) chairman Wycliff Ogutu says he will appeal against the action.
Ogutu was among three officials suspended by Fifa’s ethics committee for five years after being found guilty of engaging in corrupt activities.
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9:41
From: Eyes on Kenya
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The last part of the article “Eyes on the International Community concerning elections in Africa” about Uganda and the African-EU summit.
The Ugandan general election of 2006 took place on February 23, 2006. This was the first multi-party election since Yoweri Museveni took over power in 1986. Disputes started when Museveni changed the constitution in order to run for another term. His main opponent, the leader of the opposition party Forum for Democratic Change Kizza Besigye, was arrested on November 14, 2005 on allegations of treason and rape. The treason case included his alleged links to the rebel group People’s Redemption Army, whose existence is questionable and the rape charge referred to an i | |
