The 1% need their airports - Neighborhoods get in the way

200 Thousand

homeless 

after 

demolition

By Athman Amran

Over 200,000 people have been left homeless after six bulldozers flattened their houses at Kyang’ombe village off Mombasa Road in Nairobi under the supervision of armed Administration Police officers.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is said to have given the residents notice to vacate the area, to clear it and create space for aircrafts flying over before landing or taking-off from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

KAA corporate affairs manager Dominic Ngigi declined to comment claiming that the matter was now in the hands of the Nairobi Provincial Commissioner and the Nairobi Provincial Police Officer.

The evictions began at around 10pm on Friday catching the residents by surprise. Some residents managed to secure their household goods from the bulldozers’ path but a number of them had no time to remove their items, which were destroyed as the houses were being flattened.

Some residents managed to secure their household goods from the bulldozers’ path (PHOTO:MOSES OMUSULA/STANDARD)

By early Saturday morning, about 1000 houses were already destroyed as the bulldozers advanced towards more than 4000 other houses as desperate residents continued to remove their household goods away from the path of the bulldozers. More other houses beyond the scene of the current evictions have also been earmarked for demolition.

Most of the families evicted work as casual labourers in the nearby factories in Nairobi’s Industrial Area and had moved there for easy access. They could not go to work on Saturday, as they had to empty their houses and ponder where to go next.

Permanent houses with shops, mini-supermarkets, concrete apartments and other semi-permanent house build from corrugated iron sheets were not spared. More than ten schools, a number of churches, garages, bars, shops and other businesses were destroyed.

Some residents interviewed said they were given notice to vacate the area about three weeks ago, while others claimed they never saw any notice but just heard rumours of the impending evictions.

“I do not know where to go. I have lived here for the past four years,” Irene Nyaguke said adding that she and her family never received any notice to vacate.

She had two children who she said would not be able to go to school on Monday as the school they were going to was demolished.

“They came with armed police who stood by. There is nothing we can do. They have not told us where to go next or where we can get our next meal,”

Osogo James, who has lived at Kyang’ombe for the past five years, said he had also just heard rumours of the eviction.

“There was no written notice,” he said.

He was guarding his household goods together with his wife and a two-year old son and a three months old daughter, who was wailing.

“She is hungry. The children are hungry. The mother is trying to cook something,” he said as his wife lit a stove.

“We have nowhere to go. I will just continue to sit here with my family until we decide what to do next.  We just pray that it does not rain,” Osogo said.

Source: Kenya's Daily Standard. 

Do away with constituencies to end tribal politics

By Wangari Maathai

This country is threatened. And it is not because we have an unbearable Constitution or electoral boundaries. It is because we as citizens and micro-nations whose political, economic needs and interests are not being protected by the current Constitution and the electoral boundaries. That is why we are clamouring for a new political order.

Our politicians govern the country by mutilating and manipulating the Constitution and electoral boundaries as well as playing divisive tribal politics.

But every so often, we go through a ritual to collect and collate views from citizens even though we know eventually the constitution and electoral boundaries will have to be agreed on by tribal chiefs.

If politicians do not get the constitution or the electoral boundaries they want, they advise their ethnic communities to reject the document.

Unfortunately, we are doing the current exercise in the middle of long-standing deep ethnic divisions, suspicion and hatred. The post-election violence and the hovering ICC make the environment unfriendly. We are craving for a leadership that can provide security, equity and justice.

Some countries have created constitutions and electoral boundaries that have been protected from the greed and selfishness of politicians. Strong institutions have been put in place to prevent manipulation or mutilation of the constitution or gerrymandering the electoral boundaries.

The constitution of the US was crafted by leaders of vision. It has served them for more than 200 years.

The documents that will be crafted are not the problem. If there were selfless, committed and visionary leaders, they would have been improving on the independence constitution. Instead, the Constitution and electoral boundaries have been treated as a means to power and privilege. Therefore, they are constantly re-written to meet new aspirations, greed and selfishness.

What Kenyans have experienced is bad governance, ethnic-based politics, tribal clashes, massacres, gender violence, poverty, economic stagnation and impunity.

Legislators should compete along political party lines and parties should be forced to seek support on the basis of their agendas, not tribal affiliation. The number of MPs should reflect the capacity of the country so that MPs do not overburden citizens with taxes and debts. The party that will have the most number of MPs should form the Government and provide a Prime Minister.

Electoral commission

This will make every vote count and parties will work hard to ensure they get as many votes as they can from every part of the country. This would serve the principles of one man, one vote, and no taxes without representation. Every vote will be important to the party rather than to an individual MP.

To make representation fair and just, an independent electoral commission should look into other relevant issues such as geography, density and special needs. The number of MPs should be fixed. Parliament has already approved that constituency boundaries serve as administrative boundaries (districts) and be centres of local authorities for the devolved government. What is important here is to empower these local authorities, community leaders and interest groups by having their roles clearly defined and protected from interference. That way, they would be able to manage the day-to-day responsibility of the devolved government. The devolved government should create boundaries, guided by their capacities and resources.

Kenyans have clearly said they want to elect their President. The President should be sponsored by a political party, and like MPs, his constituency should be the Republic. Kenyans also want presidential powers devolved and to have a president who is popular and able to unite the country. The President should get 50 per cent plus one vote to be declared winner.

To eliminate transportation of votes or double voting, voters should be able to vote from any polling station as long as they have the necessary voting documents. This would also make gerrymandering of electoral boundaries an exercise in futility.

It is important to empower the three arms of Government by clearly defining their roles so there is clear balancing of power and responsibilities, and capacity to ensure they do not interfere with other organs of governance.

Eliminating electoral constituencies for MPs would put an end to tribal power bases (and warlords). Eliminating constituencies has the potential of detribalising politics and giving every vote the same respect and power.

Source

We have forgotten water and life cycles are interwoven

There is no easier and compelling way to capture the seriousness of environmental degradation around Kenya's five main water towers than through 80-year-old Mama Rebecca Mong’ina.

She is among residents of Mogoroka village in Kisii who watch with hearts gnawed, pawed and clawed by pain and nostalgia as the springs they drew water from since time immemorial dry up. It served them, just like their ancestors so well they needed no storage. You just went, collected the water, and walked back home.

The villagers grew up knowing water was sacred but free. Today they are crestfallen, the only spring in Mogoroka village which served about 1,000 people, has dried up. Vendors are doing booming business, selling water fetched from other places and sources at Sh10 per 20-litre jerrican.

In village standards, where poverty is grinding, that is an astronomical figure. Yet life without water is unthinkable. They simply have to spread the little money they raise from peasant farming to cater for their vast needs.

It is the life of want, aggravated by memories the water came free, so near, ever reliable.

Sadly, it is not just in Mogoroka village that water sources are drying up. As our national survey found out this past few weeks, we are tottering towards a catastrophe — our sources are shrinking and the five water towers are thinning out.

The shocker is that it is because of what we all along thought were fantasy stories spun by environmentalists and scholars. It is all about the human activity and environmental degradation around the five water towers. It is the same sad tale from Mt Elgon to Mt Kenya, Cherangany Hills to Mau Forest. Not even the Aberdares Forest is safe. A quick scan at the endangered water sources is a lesson we no longer just sit back and blame the dry heavens, long droughts, unfair distribution network and global warming.

That was the chilling message from the Congregation of East African Ministers of Water and Development Partners Water and Sanitation meeting yesterday in Nairobi. The red flag was up long ago, even before illegal encroachment on Mau Forest, East Africa’s prime forest cover, which is the source of 12 main rivers in the region.

The meeting discussing Lake Victoria Basin’s input to the attainment of Millennium Development Goal was just repeating what is now a common tale in our living rooms, but whose effect we all too often underestimate. Its capacity to wreck domestic incomes, destroy our social fabric and make life hellish and cruel often appears lost on us.

It is through the sobering stories in our inside pages that we walk you through the looming crisis as told by those who have seen our forest cover shrink. It is as told by those who have began feeling the effect. It exposes our poor management of limited resources. We must save the five water towers as a matter of national interest, and it must be today. Why?

They spread over one million hectares and constitute the upper catchments of all main rivers of Kenya except the Tsavo River.

The shortages currently being experienced in Nairobi may just be a harbinger of what lies ahead. As the old African proverb warns, "Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet." Yet that is exactly what we are doing.

Mt Kenya rivers disappear

By Patrick Mathangani

Ever since she settled in Mutiriri village in Laikipia East in 1984, Esther Njeri, 49, has depended on Ontulili River.

However, around 1992, the river that flows from Mt Kenya became unpredictable. Water levels would go down drastically, sometimes slowing down to a trickle.

Other times, it would flow downstream with gusto as if with a newfound will to keep going.

"At the time I was clearing bushes to build a house, it had enough water for everyone," Njeri said on the banks of the river, where she had taken family linen to wash.

Big horticultural farmers are accused of diverting river water for irrigation.

Residents say rivers started drying up in 1990s when big companies, mostly owned by white farmers, set up camp in the area.

Some rivers in Mt Kenya have been reduced to streams. PHOTO: BONIFACE MWANGI

Most of the farms are located upstream and block water. By the time the rivers reach downstream, there is barely enough left for everyone. "If they want water, they should draw a little and leave the rest for us," said Njeri.

Scores of nearby rivers — such as Timau, Nanyuki and Naromoru —have seen water levels go down to dangerous levels. Authorities have been forced to close down water projects to save those downstream.

A few kilometres from Ontulili River is a scorched valley, which once used to be Muramati River. During its heyday, the river was a vibrant source of livelihood for residents. "Now, even monkeys have nothing to drink," said Samuel Muriuki.

Muramati is one of the 20 rivers that have dried up in the past decade. Many more could be on the way to oblivion.

Scorched earth

The mountain, which is Africa’s second highest after Mt Kilimanjaro, is the source of scores of rivers that nourish large swathes of Kenya and districts hundreds of kilometres away.

Wanton destruction of the environment through encroachment, cutting down of trees and unregulated use of water from rivers now threaten to wipe out this water fountain.

Experts who spoke to The Standard on Sunday warn unless some drastic action is taken, there would be nothing but scorched earth in coming decades.

The arid districts of Laikipia and Isiolo depend on the rivers which empty into Ewaso Nyiro, while residents in districts nearby — Nyeri, larger Meru, Kirinyaga and Embu — draw their water from Mt Kenya rivers.

The Tana, where Kenya’s biggest hydro-electricity projects are located, owes its existence to the mountain.

Human encroachment and bad policies over the years have led to the destruction of the mountain’s ecosystem and made water sources to dry up. The most wanton destruction was human settlement sanctioned by the former Kanu regime in the 1990s. One of the most visible effects happened in Ontulili Forest on the Meru side, where thousands of people were settled on about 2,000 hectares.

The new residents settled at the extremely cold environment some 2,200m above see level, cleared large swathes of forest for settlement and grazing. Although the Narc Government eventually settled them in an alternative area in 2004, only large treeless plains remain of what used to be a sanctuary for various tree species and animals.

The area, which borders the moorland, was unfit for human habitation. However, political interests of a former Cabinet minister took centre stage.

"Some of the river sources in this area have dried up. All you can see are rocks," said Mr Frederick Njau of the Green Belt Movement.

The organisation, founded by Nobel Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai, is planting trees in Karuri, Kiriti and Kieni-ini.

Njau said the project aims at rehabilitating the catchment as well as restoring the natural richness of vegetation by planting indigenous trees.

Most of the area formerly settled on is now empty plain used for grazing.

Uncontrolled cutting of trees has been linked to global warming. This is a phenomenon where average global temperatures are rising, mainly due to the release of "green houses gases." The gases, which include carbon dioxide (trees help in absorbing the gas) trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere, resulting in rising temperatures.

As a result, residents and rivers from around Mt Kenya are suffering for the sins of the Government, and actions of people around the world. Due to global warming, glaciers on the mountain are melting.

This is devastating as glaciers act as reservoirs, which melt during the hot seasons to ensure rivers flow throughout the year. Experts have warned that the snow may disappear.

" The mountain used to be covered in snow, and you could not see any rocks," said Mr Godfrey Wanjohi, chairman of Nanyuki River Water Users Association. He has lived in the area for decades.

The association has secured funding for a Sh126 million dam at Secret Valley in Kahurura Forest, which would be used to hold water for use during dry seasons. However, he said an investor with powerful Government connections, who wanted to use the site to build a hotel, was resisting the move.

There are signs that recent measures to conserve rivers, including the Water Act, are not being followed. Just a few metres from where Njeri stood expressing her worries about the disappearing Ontulili River, The Standard on Sunday saw a furrow drawing water to the nearby Kenya Horticultural Exporters farm.

Using gravity, the furrow, which is several hundred metres long, runs over a "bridge" across the river before emptying its load into a pipe. At one point, it diverts water to another nearby farm.

According to the Water Act, it is illegal to use furrows to draw water since it results in wastage through seepage and evaporation.

A man who said he is the human resources manager for the firm, but declined to give his name, referred us to Water Resources Management Authority in Nanyuki.

Nanyuki sub-regional manager for Ewaso Nyiro North Catchment Area, Mr William Hamisi, confirmed it is illegal to use furrows. He said the authority has discussed the issue with the firm. "We’ve destroyed some furrows and issued temporary permits for others," said Hamisi.

However, he said individual users with small mobile pumps were difficult to regulate. For instance, Naromoru River had more than 1,000 such users, he said.

He said major rivers, including Nanyuki and Timau, have recorded a decline in water levels of up to five metres since 1990s.

"Communities downstream can barely get enough. This has caused conflicts," he said.

Hamisi added that the authority has been forced to ration water in some circumstances. About 70 per cent of the population in the affected areas — including Laikipia East and North, parts of Nyeri North and some parts of Meru — face water shortages.

Hamisi said the river now remains dry for five months instead of three.

The authority has drawn five-year plans to reverse the trend.

Kenya refuses to recognise Mugabe government

By Roselyne Obala

Kenya has joined African countries that have declined to recognise the government of President Robert Mugabe.

Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula said Kenya would not recognise Mugabe’s government as legitimate.

Wetangula said the presidential election re-run in Zimbabwe was not free and fair.

He urged Mugabe to demonstrate political maturity and look for "real solutions" to the crisis facing his country.

"Kenya is ready to help and show Mugabe how to solve the crisis," said the minister.

He said Kenyans experienced problems after last year’s disputed elections and had acquired crisis resolution experiences that Mugabe could borrow from.

Wetangula said Mugabe should opt for a coalition government to solve the political impasse. "If he accepts a power-sharing formula, Kenya is ready to offer advice and also mediate," he said.

The minister made the remarks during the weekend in Sirisia at the burial of his uncle, Francis Wabuke.

Zimbabwe’s Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has, however, rejected calls for a national unity government, saying it would not solve the crisis. He said a unity government would merely accommodate Mugabe after much of the world had labelled his regime illegitimate.

He added that such a government would not address the problems facing Zimbabweans or be the will of the people.

MPs to push for law on female genital mutilation

By Philip Mwakio And Leonard Korir

MPs will push for legislation to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM).

While right activists backed a 25-year-plan of action to eradicate the vice, the MPs are seeking to wipe it out in five years.

Speaking at the close of a two-day meeting for MPs on capacity building on FGM and gender-related legislation, Turkana Central MP Ekwe Ethuro said the move formed part of their reform agenda.

"It is a very critical problem that cuts across the entire society where it is practised by many communities. As people’s representatives in Parliament, our role is crucial in its elimination," the MP said.

Ethuro said if the Tenth Parliament achieves the feat, it would be a resounding victory for Kenyans.

He said MPs had not only laid strategies that will include passing laws in Parliament to address the problem, but would also take the lead in fighting the practice.

"Members meeting here shall lobby aggressively and seek the enlistment of the rest of the House members during debate for FGM motions," Ethuro said.

The United Nations Population Fund country representative, Dr Kemal Mustafa, said a demographic and health survey conducted showed that for the last 10 years, there has been a decrease in FGM.

In 1998, FGM cases were at 38 per cent but declined to 32 per cent in 2003.

Mustafa said in his address to participants, who included members of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association, that the Children Act had outlawed FGM on children under 18.

Kasarani MP and Nairobi Metropolitan Development Assistant minister, Ms Elizabeth Ongoro, said the goodwill in the 10th Parliament would help push through debate on FGM.

Meanwhile, FGM is still rife in the Maasai community despite efforts to eradicate it, Prof Sarone ole Sena of the University of Nairobi has said.

He said an estimated 94 per cent of schoolgirls in the community undergo circumcision and subsequently drop out of school.

Sena said girls as young as 12 are either forced by parents or peer pressure to get circumcised.

He said culture and high illiteracy are to blame for the practice.

Speaking in Kilgoris at a forum organised by the Free Fellowship Pentecostal Church of Kenya, Sena urged the community to discard the culture.

America supporting a failed state in Africa

Olympics in Addis Ababa for 2016! Ethiopia in lockstep with China in suppressing all who oppose "their will."

By Ernest Mpinganjira

A political disaster is looming in Ethiopia. The Government cracked down on opposition supporters in a desperate attempt to prevent Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s rivals from entrenching themselves at the grassroots.

One of the parties boycotted village, district and provincial elections. Another party threatened to follow suit in protest about uneven playing field and repression against opposition.

Against the backdrop of blatant human rights abuses, international organisations have raised concerns about the West’s silence over its ally’s excesses.

A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report last week accuses Addis Ababa of harassment of the opposition and independent Press. The report also questioned whether the US military aid to Addis Ababa has been used to suppress the opposition and entrench Zenawi into power.

The report noted: "The Ethiopian Government’s repression of registered opposition parties and ordinary voters has largely prevented political competition ahead of local elections that began on April 13.

"These widespread acts of violence, arbitrary detention and intimidation mirror long-term patterns of abuse designed to suppress political dissent in Ethiopia."

HRW Africa Director, Mr Georgette Gagnon, expressed dismay that while the ills persisted, the US has not raised concern over curtailment of democracy and independent media.

HRW said the repression was a preamble to national elections slated for November.

"It is too late to salvage these [grassroots] elections, which will simply be a rubber stamp on the EPRDF’s (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, Ethiopia ruling party) near-monopoly on power at the local level. Still, officials must at least allow the voters to decide how and whether to cast their ballots without intimidation," Gagnon said.

Ethiopia’s election chaos comes hot on the heels of the debacle in Kenya that resulted in 1,200 deaths and more than 350,000 people displaced. In 2005, Ethiopian forces killed 200 opposition supporters and detained dozens of others for protesting Zenawi’s poll win.

The US’s silence about Zenawi’s political mischief has elicited international concerns. The Economist magazine questioned the silence, which could encourage some African governments to ignore the rule of law and suppress democracy.

The magazine provided a glimpse of what thinking in Washington could be: The close military ties between the two countries that involve the civil strife in Somalia.

The US, it said, fears that Somalia may have already become an incubator of international terrorism, hence its reluctance to criticise Zenawi, lest he welcomes the terrorists in reaction to criticism.

"That is why America backed Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia at the end of 2006. Its own air raids on supposed terrorist targets in Somalia have relied on Ethiopian intelligence, though nearly all appear to have missed.

"American officials praise the Ethiopian troops who are still in Mogadishu, Somalia’s battered capital, as peacekeepers; most Somalis see them as occupier," writes the magazine.

Civil strife

Kenya’s political chaos after the disputed December 27 polls seem to have shielded Addis Ababa from international criticism on gross abuse of human rights.

Until last December’s disputed presidential poll in Kenya, Nairobi was the presumptive anchor of US interests in the larger East African region. Recent political turmoil have weakened this position, hence the Bush administration’s partiality to the savagery in Ethiopia.

"...The Pentagon wants to make Ethiopia a bulwark in a region where Somalia is a dangerously failed state, Sudan and Eritrea are pariahs and Kenya has troubles of its own," The Economist noted.

Some of the reasons the magazine gives for Ethiopia’s persistence in abrogation of human rights, which are largely true, are appalling.

"The African Union is based there. Its ancient Christian history stirs American evangelicals. Its poverty and population of 80 million, (Africa’s third-largest) attract development-minded foreigners," The Economist says.

But as the international community busied itself with the developments in Zimbabwe, where presidential poll results are yet to be released, Addis Ababa was clamping down on opposition during grassroots elections.

Said HRW report: "The nationwide local elections…are crucially important. It is local officials who are responsible for much of the day-to-day repression that characterises governance in Ethiopia. Many local officials in Oromia have made a routine practice of justifying their abuses by accusing law-abiding government critics of belonging to the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front."

The report said that as a result of the intimidation, candidates allied to the EPRDF are elected unopposed in the vast majority of constituencies across Ethiopia.

This was after opposition coalition, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), withdrew its candidates for fear of persecution.

"UEDF officials complained that intimidation and procedural irregularities limited registration to only 6,000 of the 20,000 candidates they attempted to put forward for various seats," the HRW report says.

Just as was the case in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria in 2006, Ethiopia’s National Elections Board (NEB) came under stinging criticism for bending the rules in favour of the governing party.

Against this pattern of abuse, HRW London Director, Mr Tom Porteous, took issue with the West for backing a brutal regime.

"If Western governments were more consistent and less selective in their reaction to human rights abuses around the world, they might be less inclined to turn a blind eye to Ethiopia’s failure to abide by international norms …" Porteous observed last week.

source: http://www.eastandard.net/columnists/?id=1143985093&cid=190

Kenya bound to face maize and wheat shortage

Story by BARNABAS BII Publication Date: 4/20/2008

The country’s strategic grain reserve is already worryingly low, and development and agricultural experts anticipate a 40 per cent reduction in grain production this season. A deserted farm in Kiambaa, Uasin Gishu District. Photo/FILE To further aggravate matters, the five million bags of strategic grain reserve at the National Cereals and Produce Board is fast being depleted because of the need to feed internally displaced persons following post-election violence. According to NCPB spokesman Kipserem Maritim, the reserve grain would have sustained the country until August when new crop is harvested. However, the increased demand for the stocks and the disruption of farming activities occasioned by post-election violence have set the Board’s projections back. Regional and interntional agricultural experts have warned of a looming food crisis, and Tanzania is already facing a maize shortfall of 300,000 tonnes. It also faces a drop in production. To plug this gap the country has to import maize, which it usually sources from Kenya’s grain basket, the North Rift region. But this season, key grain-producing districts in the region like Trans-Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and Lugari will experience a drastic decline in crop production. Erratic weather patterns In addition to the displacement of farmers and erratic weather patterns, factors affecting this decline include escalating fuel and fertilizer prices and the high cost of labour and herbicides. To counter these rising costs, farmers have begun to cut down on the acreage under cultivation of grains like maize and wheat. Trans-Nzoia is projected to harvest almost 3 million bags of maize this season, down from 6 million bags last year following reduced acreage under cultivation of the crop from 109,557 hectares to 98,000 hectares, said District Agricultural Officer Felicia Ndung’u. Uasin Gishu District should harvest 3.7 million bags of maize this season down from 4.3 million bags last year. District Agricultural Officer Grace Kirui says acreage under maize declined from 38,445 hectares to 32,293 hectares as farmers moved to other more lucrative ventures like dairy farming. But maize production in the two districts is expected to be much lower than projected since displaced farmers have been unable to till their land. More than 150,000 people were displaced in Uasin Gishu and 40,000 others in Trans-Nzoia. The announcement by Agriculture minister William Ruto that the cost of top dressing would be lowered from Sh1,800 to Sh1,650 and the release of Sh127 million for grain delivery to NCPB have been viewed by most farmers as good news that has come too late. “The government should have moved fast to cushion us from the high cost of farm inputs. The planting season is almost over and this kind of frustration will cause most farmers to abandon maize and wheat cultivation in favour of other lucrative ventures,” said Isaac Kiborgy of Sergoit in Uasin Gishu. Apart from possibly having to import maize this season, the country will also have to import tonnes of wheat to meet the anticipated shortfall. “The country should expect a drastic decline in wheat production this season. Cultivation of the crop is mechanised, and most farmers cannot afford the rising costs,” said Peter Kosgei of Moiben in Uasin Gishu. Increase in prices The shortage of wheat and maize is likely to cause an increase in staple food prices like bread, maize flour and cereals. “The increased food prices will make it difficult for most families to place food on their table unless urgent measures are put in place to address the problem,” said Joyce Chekoech, a trader at the Eldoret retail market. Protests over rising food prices have erupted in several countries, and to prevent this from happening in Kenya, farmers and industry experts have called for proper planning. “No country in the world is safe from the looming food crisis, Kenya included. Agriculturally rich countries have either switched to other lucrative ventures including making and using biofuel or are experiencing the possibility of crop failure,” said Robert Langat, an agricultural expert. To avert starvation and malnutrition due to possible food shortages, nutritionists are calling on Kenyans to change their eating habits and consume more drought-resistant foods . Farmers have also called for the revival of agricultural mechanisation through tractor hire and for the government to start an irrigation system in dry areas to improve Kenya’s food security. SOURCE: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=121548

Kenya's rigged election focus of mediation

Published on February 6, 2008, 12:00 am

By Standard Team

Finally, the hotly disputed presidential votes tally, responsible for the post-election falling out which touched off mayhem on a scale never witnessed before in independent Kenya, found its way to the mediation talks table.

"It was too hot," Mr Kofi Annan, the former UN chief tasked with brokering a deal out of the crippling impasse, declared soon after adjourning the afternoon session.

So high strung was the afternoon sitting that the respected Ghanaian mediator conceded that he could not proceed without the assistance of former South African First Lady Mrs Graca Machel and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa — both of who were unavailable.

They began on the presidential election dispute by looking at the state of affairs now and how to resolve the problem. Proper talks, however, begin today.

Like hot bricks, ODM is said to have dropped the matter of the allegedly stolen presidential election complete with alleged evidence and a raft of demands for electoral reforms.

Sources also intimated that the issue of a transitional government briefly featured, forcing an immediate stalemate.

For the first time, the two teams ate lunch separately.

Earlier in the day, The Standard reliably learnt that the delay to put the issue of the disputed presidential vote, which to a large extent is to blame for the crisis that has engulfed the country, was beginning to cause jitters within sections of the mediation circles.

The sense of unease appeared to stem from concerns — according to sources — that someone or a group of people seemed to be succeeding in bogging down the talks with the unfolding humanitarian crisis at the expense of the equally more urgent matter of what triggered it.

It was inevitable, therefore, that the matter, according to a source, "forced its way onto Annan’s table like a hot potato".

Evidence tabled

Simmering differences, mistrust and suspicion between the two warring camps — the Party of National Unity (PNU) and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) — played around the dialogue table, the re-enactment of the hardline positions each group has taken.

ODM stood its ground that President Kibaki steps down, arguing that its candidate, Mr Raila Odinga, won the election but it was stolen from him.

ODM’s clarion call has been: "Truth, Justice and Reconciliation" — which they expound to mean that though the party is for peace and reconciliation, truth and justice must first prevail.

On its part, PNU dug in with the oft-repeated call that the Orange party should take its grievances to court.

Both sides are said to have tabled proof of a stolen election. Evidence and exchanges prompted Annan to adjourn the session and said they would be examined once Machel and Mkapa rejoined the team today.

Justice minister, Ms Martha Karua, Foreign Affairs minister, Mr Moses Wetangula, Mbooni MP, Mr Mutula Kilonzo, and Education minister, Prof Sam Ongeri, make up the PNU team.

On the ODM side are MPs, Mr Musalia Mudavadi (Sabatia), Mr William Ruto (Eldoret North), Dr Sally Kosgei (Aldai) and Mr James Orengo (Ugenya). Like Orengo, Wetangula was also a belated inclusion.

Mr Gichira Kibara and Mr Karoli Omondi are the liaison persons for PNU and ODM respectively.

Annan demanded the position of a co-chair to help him, as it appeared the slow pace of the talks had began to take toll on him.

Before Annan called for a time-out to refocus and wait for reinforcement, ODM had tabled not just what they said was evidence of a rigged election, but also a raft of demands — among other things the disbandment of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), claiming its composition was skewed and that it was solely responsible for the disputed election.

ODM also demanded key reforms in the Office of the President and a review of electoral laws before a new calendar guiding the re-run of presidential elections.

But in a spirited fight-back, the Government team also presented reports allegedly implicating ODM of rigging in parts of Rift Valley and Nyanza.

Both teams, however, did find some common ground and agreed that the constitution of the ECK was not representative and needed comprehensive reforms to guard against future flaws in elections.

On this account, Annan stated: "The MPs should be able to get to work and carry on with legislative agenda for the reforms required."

Earlier, the peace teams on both sides met Internal Security Permanent Secretary, Mr Cyrus Gituai, in the morning session to address concerns over restoration of peace countrywide.

Gituai was asked to explain the circumstances in which the police used excessive force, resulting in more than 80 deaths from police gunshots.

The PS is said to have admitted that excessive force was, indeed, used, but clarified that the situation was now under control.

Gituai was asked to explain alleged skewed deployment of the police during protests, but he explained that the police were overstretched and would not cope with sporadic violence that rocked parts of the country.

He promised the team that more officers would be deployed in clash-torn areas.

The PS defended the deployment of the military, saying they were only helping with humanitarian services.

Do not leak details

Annan insisted that the parties must avoid provocative statements touching on the matters in discussion.

"We have agreed that no leakage to the media should be made on matters discussed before the mediation table," the chief mediator stated.

He also insisted that mass action be shelved to give peace talks a chance.

"Nobody has said anything that can stop us from going on with talks and I’m satisfied with the progress so far made," Annan said.

The former UN chief called for strengthening of institutions like the ECK and the Constitution in an effort to strengthen democracy and good governance.

"We must move quickly and resolve the contentious issues to overcome the political crisis," Annan added.

He also clarified that the team he chairs is the only mandated authority to negotiate and that the meeting of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) Council of Ministers had nothing to do with the talks.

He stressed the need to implement the short-term measures for peace within seven to 15 days, adding that the deadline must be strictly observed.

The mediator hinted at his temporary exit, saying: "Even if I’m out of town, I want to leave a structure that would ensure the talks go on."

He added: "I want to leave no gap in the mediation. The panel will be structured with two other co-chairs that will be named so that he or she can carry on with the mantle."

source: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143981464&cid=4

Chronology of the crisis in Kenya

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Here is a chronology of the crisis in Kenya, which has been torn by violence since a disputed presidential election late last year.

Dec 27, 2007 - Voters elect a new president and parliament.

Dec 30 - The Electoral Commission declares Kibaki winner of the presidential election. He is hurriedly sworn in. Riots and looting break out in opposition strongholds.

-- Raila Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wins the most seats in the parliamentary election.

Jan 1, 2008 - A mob sets fire to a church, killing about 30 villagers from Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.

Jan 2 - The government accuses Odinga's backers of "ethnic cleansing" as the death toll from tribal violence rises.

Jan 4 - Kibaki says he will accept a re-run of the disputed election if a court orders it. The United Nations says the unrest has uprooted 250,000 people.

Jan 5 - Kibaki says he is ready to form a government of national unity, but the opposition rejects the offer.

Jan 7 - Odinga calls off planned protests after meeting U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer.

Jan 8 - Kibaki announces 17 ministers for his new cabinet. Protesters respond by building and burning barricades in Odinga's western stronghold, Kisumu.

-- John Kufuor, African Union chairman and president of Ghana, arrives in Nairobi to mediate.

Jan 10 - Kufuor leaves Kenya saying both sides have agreed to work together with an African panel headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Kibaki and Odinga, amid recriminations, have not met or agreed how to end the crisis.

Jan 11 - The ODM calls for sanctions against Kibaki.

Jan 15 - Parliament is convened and the opposition gets a boost by winning the post of speaker.

Jan 16 - Police fight hundreds of protesters throughout the country, as the opposition defies a ban on rallies.

Jan 17 - In Nairobi and the western towns of Kisumu and Eldoret, police fire teargas and bullets during rallies called by the opposition but banned by police.

Jan 22 - Ex-U.N. chief Kofi Annan arrives in Kenya to attempt mediation. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also flies into Nairobi to try to mediate.

Jan 24 - Kibaki and Odinga meet in a breakthrough brokered by Annan.

Jan 25 - Annan denounces "gross and systematic" human rights abuses in Kenya after continuing post-election violence.

Jan 28 - At least 64 people are killed in four days of ethnic fighting in the Rift Valley towns of Nakuru and Naivasha. Legislator Melitus Were is gunned down outside his home in Nairobi, triggering more rioting and ethnic killings.

Jan 29 - Annan launches formal mediation between the government and ODM, each side represented by a team of three -- a mix of moderates and hardliners.

Jan 31 - ODM member of parliament David Kimutai Too is killed, along with a woman, in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret. Kibaki flies to Ethiopia for a summit of the 53-nation African Union. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warns the summit Kenya is threatened with catastrophe and says he will travel to Nairobi on Friday to try to help Annan.

Kenya’s reality check as Annan jets in

By Standard Team

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and bitter rival Party of National Unity (PNU) will on Wednesday be presented with another important chance to take steps that could help return the country to sanity.

Expectations that former UN chief, Mr Kofi Annan, who jetted into the country on Tuesday night, will bring together the two warring groups and chart a path out of a crippling post-election impasse — which has touched off an economic meltdown and threatens a complete social breakdown — were quite high last night.

But the bloodletting continued unabated.

The country also remained in the cross-hairs of the donor community. The World Bank (WB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) were the latest to join in the fray with a chilling proclamation.

"The current situation could drive two million Kenyans into poverty, reversing the gains made over the last few years," the two institutions said in a joint statement. "Business confidence is being undermined."

The statement added: "We wish to continue working with the people of Kenya ... but it is difficult to do so effectively in an environment of instability".

It further said that both the WB and AfDB will, accordingly, continue to monitor developments closely and keep programmes under review, while making necessary adjustments as the situation evolved.

But this did not dim the optimism.

The crisis has been occasioned by a stand-off between PNU and ODM over the outcome of the presidential vote. Orange party leader, Mr Raila Odinga, says he won the election and it was stolen from him. But PNU maintains President Kibaki, who was quickly sworn-in after the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) chairman Mr Samuel Kivuitu controversially declared the results, won fair and square.

"The ultimate objective is to have a solution that would bring peace and reconciliation," Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said ahead of the talks.

Former South African First Lady Mrs Graca Machel and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni — the only foreign leader to congratulate President Kibaki over his disputed re-election — arrived on Tuesday afternoon.

President Kibaki, Vice-President Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, Foreign minister Mr Moses Wetangula and his Internal Security counterpart, Prof George Saitoti, were at hand to receive the dignitaries

ODM mass protest

Machel, who gave her husband Nelson Mandela’s message of hope to Kenyans, said: "When I left home, he wished me all the best in the negotiation. He wishes all the best for Kenya and Africa as a whole".

She added: "I’m positive the crisis will be sorted out amicably and an end will be brought to the violence in which over 600 lives have been lost".

On Tuesday, ODM emerged from a day-long consultation session to announce it would pick its negotiation team once Annan establishes the rules of engagement.

Annan will head the team comprising former Tanzanian President Mr Benjamin Mkapa and Graca. The team will be working with the former African Presidents Mr Joachim Chissano (Mozambique), Sir Ketumile Masire (Botswana) and Mr Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia).

Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, ODM secretary-general, also said they would put their case to Ugandan leader Museveni as the chairman of the East African Community (EAC).

But the Orange party ruled out calling off mass protests.

"We don’t want to pretend that things look good here by calling off mass protests simply because mediators are around. It’s our right to enjoy peaceful assembly. So the mass protests will continue," Nyong’o said.

The Party of National Unity also assumed a new hardline position.

Kalonzo, who heads PNU’s 10-member talks team, ruled out any negotiations with ODM, saying the talks constituted a forum to dialogue on ways to bring down political tension.

The party also dismissed the possibility of power-sharing, throwing a spanner in the works ahead of the talks.

"Our friends on the other side are talking about forming a negotiating committee. There are no negotiations. This is dialogue in the spirit of Kenya,’’ Kalonzo, who spoke after chairing a Parliamentary Group meeting of the coalition government and which was attended by more than 40 legislators at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), Nairobi, said.

"It is not about powersharing. Our Constitution does not allow for losers to share power with winners. We beat them during the elections,’’ Makadara MP, Mr Dick Wathika, said.

The party also said it would not sit at the same table with Pentagon member Mr William Ruto and party chairman Mr Henry Kosgey.

Their reason was that the two are pursuing a different agenda.

But even as politicians sat in conference rooms, precious lives continued to be lost.

Youths suspected to be members of the outlawed Mungiki sect overran and took over Elburgon town. Sniffing tobacco and chanting war cries, they attacked a motorist and burnt him to death in his car. They barricaded all roads leading in and out of Molo town.

More killings continue

In Kipkelion, seven more people were killed, bringing the death toll of those who have died in the district to 29. Four bodies were discovered by villagers in the bush at Mutaragon village in Kipkelion division on Tuesday morning.

"The bodies, which have been taken away by the police, had deep cuts while others seem to have been hit with blunt objects," said a provincial administrator, who declined to be named.

Rival groups battled it out most of the day in Nairobi’s Korogocho, Huruma and Mathare slums. Four people were killed in the skirmishes.

In the border of the North Rift and Western Province, the violence took a new twist when erstwhile political allies turned on one another.

Fighting raged even as MPs Mr George Khaniri (Hamisi), Dr Sally Kosgei (Aldai) and Mr Elijah Lagat (Emgwen) tried to broker peace.

And another internationally renowned marathoner, Wesley Ngetich, 34, was shot in the chest with an arrow during fighting in his hometown of Trans Mara, not far from the world famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

Three weeks ago, former Olympian Lucas Sang met his death in the hands of a marauding crowd on a night that another top athlete, world marathon champion Luke Kibet, narrowly escaped death.

Official Government figures released on Tuesday put the number of those killed so far at 685, but the Opposition said it could be over 1,000.

Special Programmes minister Dr Naomi Shaban also said the number of those displaced had reduced from 258,836 to 222,177.

But Nobel Peace laureate, Prof Wangari Maathai, regretted that as the current political crisis persisted, President Kibaki continued to remain aloof and unreachable.

"Internationally, the conflict is presented as ‘ethnic cleansing’ and another "Rwanda’ in the making since Kibaki and Raila are from two communities," she said.

Kenyans, she noted, bury their heads in shame, anger and frustrations as they continue to plead with the President, but State House appeared out of reach.

"Why is it difficult for Kibaki to personally pick a phone, as they sometimes do, and ask Raila to talk? He is unreachable. He is near yet so far," she said.

She called for the beginning of a healing and reconciliation process among Kenyans.

She said the current political impasse would be resolved by understanding the root cause of tribal clashes.

"This time round, let Kenyans not sweep tribal clashes, demonstrations, murders, rapes and destruction of property under the carpet as they have always done. Only when the truth is known and justice is received can anxiety be reduced and wounds heal," she said.

source: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143980798&cid=4

ODM sues Kibaki in The Hague

By Standard Reporter

ODM has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague against President Kibaki and several key Government officials.

The complaint states that crimes against humanity and State-sponsored terrorism were being committed to selected population.

Party Secretary-General, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, alleged that more than 1,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured.

Nyong’o added that most of them were victims of excessive force used by security forces.

Those named as respondents include all Cabinet ministers, Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, Administration Police Commandant, Mr Kinuthia Mbugua, and his GSU colleague, Mr Mathew Iteere.

The party has now asked the court’s Chief Prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno–Ocampo, to respond urgently to their complaint since the crimes are continuing.

"Kenya is party to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court, and we have therefore today (Tuesday) filed a complaint with the court," said Nyong’o. Accompanied by the party Communication Director Mr Salim Lone, Nyong’o said the repercussions from the fraudulent election continued, as Kenyans grapple with the severest crisis since Independence.

Nyong’o said claims by the Government that police were reacting to ethnic violence by ODM supporters were untrue.

He said the ongoing security crackdown in western Kenya and Nairobi was pre-planned.

Nyong’o claimed the State agents were continuing the so-called ethnic clashes.

Nyong’o named the areas most affected as Kisii, Aldai, Emgwen, Endebess, Kipsigis, Kipkelion, Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Kasarani and Lang’ata.

ODM also condemned the police, who it said allowed armed gangs to attack other communities and then arrested the victims.

Nyong’o warned that unless checked, the situation would get out of control.

"We believe a quick response by the court will deter individuals and the State from continuing with their crimes," he said.

The party also launched an appeal for contributions to foot medical and funeral bills incurred by families of the post-poll skirmishes.

source: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143980799&cid=4

Kenya's "mafia" feel some Heat

By Noel Mwakugu BBC News, Nairobi

The plan by Kenya's opposition to boycott companies run by allies of President Mwai Kibaki in protest at the outcome of last month's presidential election is an astute political move.

For ever since President Kibaki joined the ranks of opposition politics in 1992, he has surrounded himself with a group of close confidants and friends - many going back to his days in college.

And it is they who are being blamed for influencing his hardline stance during the ongoing crisis that followed Mr Kibaki's controversial win.

They ["Mount Kenya Mafia"] have realised good profits during his rule and letting go to an individual they do not trust sends a chill down their spine Haroun Ndubi Kenyan political analyst

The wealthy old men, most in their late 70s, consider themselves to be the council of elders but ordinary Kenyans know them as the "Mount Kenya Mafia".

The circle of influential Kibaki friends include Defence Minister Njenga Karume, Nairobi university chancellor Joe Wanjui, and big time investors Nat Kangethe, Joseph Kanyago and Nick Wanjohi.

The multi-millionaires have vast business interests in commercial agriculture, real estate, tourism industry and transport industry.

Behind the scenes

And when Mr Kibaki ascended to power in 2002 after two failed attempts, the time had come to use their influence.

Tribalism debate stoked Wary of ethnic politics

Apart from a few appointed to prominent positions in his administration, most operate behind the scenes.

Analysts argue that they have taken full advantage of President Kibaki's hands-off style of administration to play a key role in deciding cabinet and top civil service appointments and well paid government contracts.

The president's inner circle has also been instrumental in ensuring who gets elected to parliament in most of central Kenya.

However, during the last elections a good number of their candidates, who ran for Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU), were defeated at the polls by candidates from smaller political parties.

This was described by political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi as a rebellion against the old order of doing things in the region.

Recent saga

During President Kibaki's five-year term, it is argued that their business interests have grown considerably.

Many of Kibaki's candidates were defeated at the polls

A key area being pointed out as their core business is the active Nairobi stock exchange.

Well-informed sources allege that the "Mount Kenya Mafia" are associated with companies that have in the past couple of years acquired large numbers of shares.

Just before last year's elections, Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga claimed that underhand tactics were allegedly used at the stock exchange to the benefit of just a few individuals.

Financial experts said this led to the recent saga where the ODM leadership went to court in an attempt to stop Finance Minister Amos Kimunya from selling the government share of the highly profitable mobile phone company Safaricom.

Simmering temperatures

Political analyst Haroun Ndubi argues that their hardline political positions are intended to protect their economic gains.

"They have realised good profits during his rule and letting go to an individual they do not trust sends a chill down their spine," argues Mr Ndubi - who is also a human rights lawyer.

When ODM spokesman Salem Lone announced last week that they would be targeting business concerns linked to the government hardliners, this moved quickly.

The ODM has listed businesses in the banking, dairy, tourism and transport sector to name but a few that will be targeted for countrywide boycotts, beginning this week.

In response, President Kibaki unexpectedly appointed a negotiating team lead by Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, who came third in the race for the presidency, to try to quell the simmering temperatures.

"I think the new tactic announced by ODM has caused some shivers among the hardliners as it would hit where it hurts most," Mr Ndubi says.

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source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7199757.stm