[kictanet] [Fwd: Pambazuka News 334: It is the Kenya people who have lost the election]
alice
alice at apc.org
Fri Jan 4 20:11:03 EAT 2008
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Pambazuka News 334: It is the Kenya people who have lost the
election
Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 22:45:15 +0000
From: Firoze Manji <fmanji at mac.com>
To: pambazuka-news at pambazuka.gn.apc.org
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 334: IT IS THE KENYA PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THE ELECTION
The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for
social justice in Africa
Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839
With nearly 500 contributors and an estimated 500,000 readers
Pambazuka News is the authoritative pan African electronic weekly
newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa providing
cutting edge commentary and in-depth analysis on politics and current
affairs, development, human rights, refugees, gender issues and
culture in Africa.
To view online, go to http://www.pambazuka.org/
To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE – please visit, http://www.pambazuka.org/
en/subscribe.php
CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Comment and analysis, 3. Letters, 4.
African Union Monitor
Support the struggle for social justice in Africa. Give generously!
Donate at: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/donate.php
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
1 Features
IT IS THE KENYAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THE ELECTION
Firoze Manji
Kenya is entering a protracted crisis. No one really knows who
actually won the presidential elections. Given the overwhelming
number of parliamentary seats won by the ODM adn the dismissal of
some 20 former ministers who lost their seats, it seems likely that
the presidential results probably followed suit. But it is no longer
really a matter of who won or lost. For one thing is certain: it is
the Kenyan people who have lost in these elections.
That the elections results were rigged – of that there is little
doubt. The hasty inauguration, the blanket banning on the broadcast
media, the dispersal of security forces to deal with expected
protests – all these have given the post election period the flavour
of a coup d’etat. What was not expected was the speed with which the
whole thing would unravel. The declaration of the members of the
Electoral Commission that the results were indeed rigged only added
to the growing realisation that a coup had indeed taken place.
People across the country took to the streets to protest and were met
with disproportionate use of force by the police and GSU. Emotions
ran high. And there is evidence that politicians from all sides used
the occasion to instigate violent attacks against their opponents
constituencies. There have been rapes, forced circumcision and forced
female genital mutilation. The western media has been quick to
describe these as ‘ethnic clashes’ – but then they appear only to be
able to see tribes whenever there are conflicts in Africa. What is
ignored by them is that the security forces have been responsible for
the majority of killings.
What we have in Kenya is a political crisis that could, descend into
civil war if the political crisis is not resolved soon. And therein
lies the problem.
There is no coherent political direction from the ODM. First Raila
Odinga declares he’s the ‘people’s president’ (shades of Blair’s
‘people’s princess’ speech – the first time as tragedy, the second
time as farce, some might say – and says he is going to arrange to be
inaugurated. What happened?
Then he says that he is not willing to meet with Kibaki, then says he
will meet provided there is an international mediator. He says he
will form his own government, and then takes that no further.
Then he calls for a million person march into Nairobi, and when faced
with a banning order and massive police attacks, backs down and calls
for another demonstration the following day.
But what is this demonstration seeking to achieve? Such events are
usually a means of showing the size of popular support: but ODM has
already demonstrated its popular support in the stolen elections.
There are no coherent political demands for this event that would
bring the support of the many who, though they may not have voted for
ODM, would feel that they would nevertheless want to express their
support. There is no real strategy for enabling PNU’s own political
base to be won over.
The election results were rigged, sure. But the failure to demand
that an independent judicial inquiry be established to investigate
only leads to suspicions that even the ODM were not keen to have the
results investigated. It is now probably too late to conduct a
satisfactory investigation since original records may have been
tampered with – which might explain the Attorney General’s sudden
willingness announced today to allow the ECK records to be inspected
without recourse to use of the courts.
The mass demonstrations could have been used to call for such an
investigation and to protest against the media ban imposed by Kibaki
and to challenge constitutionality of the ban. Instead, it served no
purpose other than what some see as an infantile response to the
theft of the elections.
Why has there been no public appeal to the armed forces and police –
whose families have no doubt suffered in the violent upheavals – to
refuse to fire on citizens, or to defend and protect citizens from
the violence that has been unleashe?. Kibaki can retain power only
through the use of force – and so long as the armed forces and the
police remain loyal, he will be able to retain his hold on power.
ODM has failed to challenge the existing government by encouraging
all sections of society to create a viable alternative to the present
government.
But the real tragedy of Kenya is that the political conflict is not
about alternative political programmes that could address the long
standing grievances of the majority over landlessness, low wages,
unemployment, lack of shelter, inadequate incomes, homelessness, etc.
It is not about such heady aspirations.
No, it boils down to a fight over who has access to the honey pot
that is the state. For those in control of the state machinery are
free to fill their pockets. So the battle lines are reduced to which
group of people are going to be chosen to fill their pockets – and
citizens are left to decide perhaps that a few crumbs might fall off
the table in their direction.
And the electorate – the mass of citizens who have borne the brunt of
the recent violence and decades of prolonged disenfranchisement from
accessing the fruits of independence – are reduced to being just
being fodder for the pigs fighting over the trough.
The Kibaki regime seems unlikely to concede any space – for to do so
would confirm the suspicions of election theft. And the longer that
the current impasse continues, the more likely it is that people will
seek to vent their anger and frustration in senseless violence –
energy that could so easily be turned towards organising to building
a new world.
So what is going to be the way forward? Will there be an independent
inquiry into the election results? Into the violence that has taken
place? Will the contending parties agree to the formation of an
interim government that would oversee the re-run of the elections?
Whatever happens, the present crisis has demonstrated that there is a
serious lack of any formations that can articulate a coherent
political programme for social transformation. Politics will remain
forever about who gets access to the trough so long as there is no
alternative.
This issue of Pambazuka News is dedicated to those who have paid with
their lives in this period of crisis.
* Firoze Manji is co-editor of Pambazuka News and executive director
of Fahamu.
* Please send comments to editor at pambazuka.org or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org
******
DRAMA OF THE POPULAR STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY IN KENYA
Horace Campbell
National elections were held in Kenya on December 27, 2007; the
results of the Presidential election were announced three days later.
Within minutes of the announcement that Mwai Kibaki had emerged as
the winner, there were spontaneous acts of opposition to the
government in all parts of the country. The opposition was especially
intense among the jobless youths who had voted overwhelmingly for
change. A ruling clique that had stolen billions of dollars in a
period of five years had stolen the elections. This was the verdict
of the poor. However, this verdict was obscured by ethnic alienation
and the constant refrain by local and foreign intellectuals that the
crisis and killings emanated from deep ‘tribal’ hostilities. This
tribal narrative was intensified after the burning and killings of
innocent civilians in a church, in Eldoret, in the Rift Valley region
of Kenya. But while these killings had all of the hallmarks of the
genocidal violence of Rwanda and Burundi, more importantly, they
heightened the need for Kenyan society to step back from the brink of
all out war. Violence and killings provided a feedback loop that
threatened to engulf even the political leaders of the society.
This analysis argues that the calls for peace and reconciliation by
the political and religious leaders will remain hollow until there
are efforts to break from the recursive processes of looting, extra
judicial killings, rape and violation of women, and general low
respect for African lives.
This short commentary on the elections and the aftermath seeks to
introduce a unified emancipatory approach: liberating humanity from
the mechanical, competitive, and individualistic constraints of
western philosophy, and re-unifying Kenyans with each other, the
Earth, and spirituality. This analysis draws from fractal theory and
seeks to place Africans as human beings at the center of the
analysis. Fractal theory is founded on aspects of the African
knowledge system and breaks the old tribal narratives that refer to
Africans as sub humans needing Civilization, Christianity and Commerce.
Those who condemn the post-election violence in Kenya have failed to
condemn the traditions of killings and economic terrorism in Kenya.
It should be stated clearly that using African women as guinea pigs
for western pharmaceuticals is just as outrageous as burning innocent
women and children in churches. Rape and violation of women, and
exploitation of the poor and of jobless youth have been overlooked by
the commentators who focus on one component of the matrix of
exploitation in Kenya -- ethnicity.
In tandem with much of the current discourse on fractal theory, this
commentary is addressed to progressive intellectuals from Kenya and
calls for a revolutionary paradigmatic transformation- one that is
intrinsic to African knowledge systems and can be witnessed in
practice in the everyday activities of African life. Revolutionary
transformations are necessary to break from the processes that have
been unleashed in Kenya and East Africa since British colonialism and
the British Gulag. This break requires revolutionary ideas in Kenya,
along with revolutionary leaders and new forms of political
organization. Thus far, neo-liberal capitalism and neo-liberal
democratic organizations, along with the focus on party organization
have created leaders who organize for political power. These leaders
are not even concerned about forming lasting political parties. Far
more profound transformations are required in Kenya, beyond the
winning of elections. However, until new ideas and new leaders
emerge, the current struggles will serve to educate the poor on the
limitations of the old politics and ethnic alliances that privilege
sections of the Kenyan capitalist class.
The analysis is presented as a drama of three acts. The first act was
played out in the form of the election campaign. The second act
involved the drama after the announcement of the results and the
violent reactions from all sections of the society. The third act of
this drama continues to unfold with the call for a fractal analysis
that will place revolutionary transformation as the central question
on the political agenda in Kenya and East Africa.
Act One – The Struggles over the election and the campaign for the
Presidency.
The Scene: Kenya had been the epi- center of imperial domination in
East Africa from the period of British colonialism. Caroline Elkins
in the book, Britain’s Gulag, has documented for posterity the
extreme violence and murders bequeathed to the Kenyan political
culture by the British government. At independence in December 1963,
Britain handed over power to people who, in essence, agreed to act as
junior partners with British capitalism in Eastern and Central
Africa. This partnership included an acceptance by the ruling class
in Kenya of the western European forms of land ownership that stated
that Africans had to be modernized from their “tribal” and “backward”
ways. For forty years, Kenya was presented as a success story where a
parasitic middle class and a thriving Nairobi Stock Exchange
(composed of foreign capital) sought to prove that capitalism could
take root in Africa.
Act 1 Scene Two of this drama took the form of a campaign for the
tenth Parliament of Kenya. The drama of the struggle for change in
Kenya was played out before the world in the form of an electoral
struggle that gripped the society for many months. At the end of
Scene Two one of the principal props of this drama – the local media
- reported that the results were like a “blood bath.” The headline
screamed “ energized voters sweep out Vice President, Cabinet
Ministers and seasoned politicians as wind of change blows across the
country.” But the newspapers were not yet aware of the implications
of using language like “blood bath” in their headlines. Every one
awaited the final results of the news of who would be President. The
results were being delayed while the votes were being cooked. As news
of the parliamentary routing of the incumbent President and his
allies in the Party of National Unity (PNU) splashed on the streets,
on the screens and on text messages while the principal actors and
actresses of the drama, the people of Kenya, sought spontaneous
actions to ensure that they were not silenced by the power brokers
who had placed themselves at the head of the movement for change.
These central actors and actresses (wananchi) had enthusiastically
participated in the election campaign articulating their demand for
peace, reconstruction and transformation of Kenyan society.
By the time of the third scene of this drama, those from the den of
thieves around the incumbent Mwai Kibaki sought to silence the media.
In order for this scene to be played out without an audience,
international observers and the media (both national and
international) were ejected from Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK)
election center at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The
Chairperson of the ECK went to a small room and announced the results
of the elections naming Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the election.
Three days later, the same chairperson of the ECK said in the media
that he was not sure if Kibaki won the elections.
Earlier in the drama Raila Odinga’s team of regional barons and
aspiring capitalists argued that the true results of the elections
showed that Raila Odinga had been chosen by the majority of the main
players to be the leading man on the Kenyan stage. How was it
possible for his Movement to win over one hundred seats in the
Parliament (when Kibaki’s den of thieves had won less than thirty
parliamentary seats) and still lose the Presidency? Local and foreign
observers cried foul. The elections had been rigged. Ballot boxes had
been stuffed. Results were being announced that did not correspond to
the votes from the constituencies. The integrity of the process was
flawed. These voices were soon drowned out by the might and power of
those with strategic control over the military and media sections of
the performance. Neo-liberal politics include rigging, so that the
international observers used ‘measured’ language of “irregularities,”
“anomalies” and “weighty issues” to conceal the reality of outright
theft. Raila Odinga termed the process a “civilian coup.” But
international capital became confused, because, after all the
precedent of election rigging in Florida,U.S.A in 2000 had given the
green light to electoral fraud internationally.
The Swearing in of President Kibaki
Act One Scene Three of this drama was performed within the guarded
confines of State House where parastatal executives, mostly defeated
cabinet members and a small section of the media were invited. In
this scene, Mwai Kibaki was sworn in as the Third President of the
Republic of Kenya. The stage and setting of this scene was markedly
different from the previous swearing in at the Uhuru Park (in
Nairobi) where an enthusiastic audience had cheered on the President
on December 30, 2002. The 2007 swearing in scene had to be played out
without the audience because the principal actors and actresses did
not endorse this new act. Minutes after the announcement of the
victory of Kibaki, there were spontaneous demonstrations all over the
country, especially the urban areas. Popular outrage at the theft of
the elections brought violence and the killings of innocent civilians
in Kakamega, Kisumu, Mombassa, Nairobi, Nakuru and other centers. The
police killed innocent demonstrators as the foreign media portrayed
the demonstrations in ethnic terms. The gendered, class and ethnic
dimensions of the opposition to Kibaki began to be played out in the
poor communities that were called slums, but the media focused on one
dimension, the ethnic alienation of the poor and exploited.
Hundreds of dead brought home the reality that the elections and vote
counting were simply one site of struggle in the quest to break the
old politics of exploitation and dehumanization in Kenya. However,
because so much of the old politics of exploitation had been masked
by the politicization of ethnicity, poor members of the Kikuyu
nationality were targeted in some communities, with the killings in
Eldoret bringing home the long traditions of ethnic cleaning that had
been going on in this region during the Moi regime. The same media
neglected to report that poor Kalenjin also torched the home of
former President Arap Moi.
Would there be a break from this recursive process of killing of the
poor?
Odinga and members of the Pentagon condemned the killings of members
of a particular ethnic group but the anger was too deep for the
youths to listen. Unfortunately, the ODM did not have structures to
properly mobilize the youths away from looting.
Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement
In order to avert the possible war that could emanate from this new
act of the drama there was the need for fresh if not revolutionary
ideas to harness the pent up energies of the people for change. The
radicalization of Kenyan politics had merged with the anti-
globalization forces internationally to the point where in 2007 Kenya
hosted the World Social Forum. The radical demands of the Bamako
appeal of the Africa Social Forum (for profound social, economic and
gender transformations in Africa) could not be carried forward by the
old Non Governmental Organization elements allied with international
NGO’s from Western Europe. What the World Social Forum had
demonstrated was the reality that new revolutionary ideas with new
revolutionary forms of organization were needed to realize the goals
and aspirations and appeal of the Africa social forum. Raila Odinga
and his group of regional ethnic barons had tapped into the radical
sentiments of the youth all across the ethnic divisions. Calling his
team, the Pentagon, Odinga mobilized the popular discourses about
youth, women and disabled to speak about ‘poverty eradication’ and
“corruption.”
Absent from the platform of the Orange Democratic Movement was a
clear program for reconstruction and transformation. Raila Odinga had
been a major political actor on the Kenyan stage for four decades. He
had participated in every major political party and formation since
his father, Odinga Odinga had emerged as the opponent of the Kenyan
form of neo-colonialism. The 2007 elections exposed the reality that
there were no real political parties in Kenya. Leaders on all sides
were not interested in building a lasting movement for change. They
were interested in parties as electoral vehicles to capture state
power. There were more than 300 parties registered in Kenya and over
117 participated in the elections in December 2007.
Local and international writers who earlier had been voices for the
poor enthusiastically supported the enactment of the first scene of
the drama (the election and voting). Some of these writers moaned and
groaned that the script had been changed when those who controlled
the state machinery unleashed violence against the poor. In order to
unleash state violence against the poor, the Minister of Internal
Affairs banned the broadcast of live images. The state also toyed
with the idea of banning SMS messaging in Kenya. But
Kenyans simply tuned in to the international media to confirm what
they knew, that the recursive processes of killings and revenge were
spiraling out of control.
Without enacting an official state of emergency (in the fear of
further hurting the tourist industry) the majority of poor Kenyans
lived under curfew-like conditions as the military, the police, and
General Service Units were deployed all over the country and new
forms of censorship were implemented. The political leadership that
stole the elections had to be careful with the use of the police,
military and the intelligence services in so far as the divisions
within the security forces challenged the authority of those who
stole the elections. Raila Odinga sought to tap into this division of
the coercive forces by calling a demonstration of a million Kenyans
to oppose the stolen election results.
The International media and international capital
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and other cultural voices
of imperial power were from the outset one of the props of this
drama. The British were particularly active because the interests of
British capitalism were very much an important part of narrative of
the drama. During Act 1 scenes two and three, this foreign prop had
been condemning the “irregularities’” and “anomalies” of the drama
and carried the press statements of the International Observers of
the European Union and the Commonwealth. The head of the European
Union observer mission issued a statement declaring that, “the
Presidential poll lacks credibility and an independent audit should
be instituted to rectify things.”
This clear statement led the US government to reverse its earlier
recognition of Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the Presidential
elections. There had been concern in Washington over the future of
Kenya in so far as the US authorities sought to mobilize Kenyans in
the war against terrorism. During the period of Kibaki, Kenyan
citizens were shipped out of the country to be tried as terrorists
under the US policy of kidnapping, called rendition. The ODM signed a
memorandum of understanding with the Islamic community during the
election campaign and members of the ODM condemned the rendering of
Kenyan citizens by the government. It was argued that if these
citizens acted contrary to Kenyan law, they should be tried under
Kenyan law.
The propaganda war had been virulent and since Raila Odinga held the
moral and political high ground, sections of the international media
began to retreat from endorsement of the electoral coup. However, the
occupation of the moral high ground was shaky. Would the government
and opposition be more concerned with the lives of the poor than with
political power?
In the face of the absence of resolute moral leadership to condemn
these killings, the international media had a field day portraying
the struggles for democracy in Kenya as primitive “tribal” violence.
Act Two – Stalemate and brinkmanship in politics
Raila Odinga and his team called the Pentagon had entered the drama
seeking to play on the terms of those who had seized power from the
time of colonialism. The very naming of his team as the ‘Pentagon’
had shown an insensitivity to the international revulsion against
military symbols. The five leaders of the Pentagon were, (i) Vice
Presidential running mate M Mudavadi, (ii) Charity Ngilu, (iii)
William Ruto, (iv) Bilal Najib and (v) Joseph Nyagah. These regional
ethnic barons had emerged from multiple political formations and many
had family and business linkages with capitalists inside and outside
of the government. During the campaign these regional leaders had
campaigned on a pledge to devolve power from central government. The
poor believed this would bring power closer to the village and
communities so that health care facilities, water supply systems,
road and pathways in the villages, education, sanitation and other
services could be delivered so that the conditions of exploitation
are ameliorated. These localized services were interpreted by various
local communities as job creation avenues for the jobless youths. For
the regional barons, the devolution debate was carried out to ensure
easier access to the treasury. The word ‘majimbo’ re- emerged in the
political vocabulary of Kenya to reignite the memory of the alliance
between the ‘home guards’ and settlers at the dawn of independence.
Youths all across Kenya had transcended the ethnic identification and
wanted real change in the quality of life in the society.
Entering the drama without a real party and without a real organ to
bring the majority of the actors and actresses to the center of the
drama, it was easy for the team around Mwai Kibaki to stall so that
the spontaneous anger would peter out. Would the Orange Democratic
Revolution learn the lessons of popular power in the streets of the
Ukraine Orange Revolution and shake the old power with new bases of
alternative power? This provided the setting for the central aspect
of the drama, the stand off between the forces of orange and the
forces of the defeated power. Kibaki came across as an imprisoned
leader, surrounded by politicians and financiers who argued that
Kibaki must enter any negotiation from a position of strength. Odinga
countered that negotiations could only begin when Kibaki accepted
that the elections had been stolen. The hardening of positions
ratcheted up the tensions in the country as regionally countries such
as Uganda, Rwanda and the Southern Sudan began to feel the effects of
the shutdown of the transportation system in Kenya.
Mwai Kibaki and the neo-liberal regime in Kenya
Mwai Kibaki had been associated with the ruling class in Kenya for
over fifty years. Starting his career as a representative of Shell
Oil Company in Kampala, Uganda, Kibaki moved from an academic
position at Makerere University to the top echelons of the
independent government of Kenya after independence. In the book, The
Reds and the Blacks, William Atwood, then-US ambassador, had
identified Kibaki as one of the steady ‘reformers” who would
guarantee the interests of foreign capital. Kibaki emerged as a
stable force in the ruling circles serving both Jomo Kenyatta and
Daniel Arap Moi as Minister of Finance. It was under the leadership
of Kenyatta and Moi that the forms of theft by the ruling elements in
Kenya were refined. Extra judicial killings and accidental deaths of
prominent trade union leaders and politicians were papered over by
the foreign press that labeled Kenya a ‘stable’ democracy.
Arap Moi and international capital.
After the death of Kenyatta in 1978, Daniel Arap Moi moved decisively
to cement an alliance of foreign capitalists and local political
careerists to loot the society and spread divisions and ethnic hatred
among the poor and oppressed. British capitalism had been the
dominant force in Kenya with British companies such as Unilever,
Finlays, GSK, Vodafone, Barclays and Standard Bank becoming leading
names on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Britain had made a deal with the
independence leaders and awarded a small sum to enhance this new
class of African yeoman farmers to join the British settlers in the
exploitation of Kenya and indeed, East Africa. Molo, in the Rift
Valley (one of the constituencies at the center of the row over the
rigged elections), represented one of the places where Kikuyu
settlers had been relocated after independence.
Moi during his Presidency remained at the center of the alliance
between British capitalists, Asian capitalists and Kikuyu
entrepreneurs from Central Province. By the time of the electoral
defeat of Moi in December 2002, the Moi family and cronies in the
ruling party, Kenya African National Union (KANU) had become junior
capitalists in the game of exploitation. It was under the leadership
of Moi that imperialism used Kenya as a base to subvert African
independence. A report commissioned by the Kibaki administration,
(called the Kroll Report), had named Moi and his sons as billionaires
with assets in banks in Britain, Switzerland, South Africa, Namibia,
the Cayman Islands and Brunei. The 110-page report by the
international risk consultancy Kroll alleged that relatives and
associates of former President Moi siphoned off more than £1bn of
government money. This documentation placed the Mois on a par with
Africa's other great politicians-cum-looters such as Mobutu Sese Seko
of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) and Nigeria's Sani
Abacha. The Kroll report of the levels of theft when presented to the
Kibaki government was never acted on. The alliance between Moi and
Kibaki forces became clearer during the election campaign when Moi
and his sons fiercely campaigned for the re –election of President
Kibaki. The sons of Moi were decisively defeated in the elections.
The documentation of the level of theft by Moi was exposed before the
public in what to became known as the Goldenberg scandal. This
scandal brought to the fore the alliance between Moi, KANU and Asian
capitalists in Kenya. These capitalists had looted the country with
such impunity that Kamlesh Mdami Pattni (an Asian capitalist named in
the Goldenberg scandal) took over one party Kenda to contest the 2007
elections.
Prior to the 1992 multi-party struggles, Kibaki had sought to
distance himself from this group of capitalists. These were the
capitalists involved in settler agriculture, manufacturing,
transport, services, old forms of banking, insurance, real estate,
construction and engineering and the health and education sectors.
These capitalists from inside and outside the political arena
provided cover for looters all across Eastern Africa. In the Kenyan
economy money from oil in the Sudan (especially Southern Sudan),
commercial interests in Somalia, gold and diamond dealers from
Rwanda, Burundi and the Eastern Congo circulated with the resources
from the exploited Kenyan working poor so that in the past ten years
there has been a growth of the Kenyan economy. Felicia Kabunga,
wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda (ICRT) for
crimes of genocide in Rwanda was the kind of looter and money spinner
who found safe haven among the money launderers in Kenya.
Kibaki and the rise of new capitalists.
Although Mwai Kbaki had campaigned on an anti-corruption ticket in
2002, his tenure as President of Kenya was marked by an explosion of
new schemes for accumulation. The rise of the telecommunications,
information technology and banking sectors boomed with new
enterprises such as Equity Bank and a number of communications
companies (Safaricom, Flashcom, Telecom etc) rivaling the old
capitalists. The floating of new shares n the form on an Initial
Public Offer (IPO) for the Company, Safarcom, became a central
question in the election campaign in so far as those who got access
to the shares at the time of the issuing of the IPO became instant
millionaires.
The Kibaki government was in the main dominated by elements who
formed a company called MEGA (a regrouping of the old Gema Gikuyu,
Embu, Meru Association), and through Transcentury Corporation had
elevated themselves to be the among the leading capitalists in Kenya.
This group presented a program called Vision 2030 where Kenya would
become the leading capitalist country in Africa, becoming the
Singapore of Africa. Control of the governmental apparatus was
crucial for Vision 2030.
Space does not allow for an elaboration of the individuals of this
capitalist clique and their place in the interpenetrating
directorates of the Nairobi Stock Exchange. What is significant is
that the names of the capitalists and politicians of Trancentury
figured in the scandal of corruption that rocked the government of
Mai Kibaki. This was termed the Anglo-leasing scandal which involved
awarding huge government contracts to bogus companies. One insider,
John Githongo, exposed the scandal and repaired to Britain.
No money from the Anglo leasing scandal had been recovered before the
elections and although European and US governments made noises about
corruption there were no moves to repatriate the stolen wealth back
to Kenya. These scandals were very much a part of the election
campaign. Three of the four ministers who resigned after the Anglo
Leasing scandal was exposed had been reinstated by Kibaki. These
ministers along with twenty other ministers lost their parliamentary
seats in the December 2007 elections.
The poor of Kenya had used the ballot to send a message to the
capitalists in Kenya but those who stole billions of dollars from the
Kenyan Treasury were not above stealing an election.
The real test in Kenyan politics was whether the team called the
Pentagon was serious about changing the political culture of theft,
looting and storing billions of dollars in foreign banks. The people
of Kenya had voted for change. Was the Orange Democratic Movement a
movement for change or a movement for political power? This was the
outstanding question as the cast and the writers got ready for Act
three of the drama of the struggle for democracy.
Act 3. A Revolutionary situation without revolutionary ideas and real
revolutionaries.
Because the drama is being played out it is not possible to make a
presentation of the last act of this drama. This is the act where the
peoples of Kenya are torn between two traditions. These are the
traditions of the freedom fighters for independence and the
traditions of violence, looting and the low respect for African life.
The youths of Kenya have been brought up in the period of the
aftermath of the end of apartheid and the defeat of Mobutism. These
youths have risen above the politicization of ethnicity and along
with progressive women want to end the rape and violation of women.
These youths have been heard to say that Kenya is in the midst of a
liberation war.
While the consciousness of the youth may be high with the thought of
a long term struggle, there are very few revolutionary leaders and a
poverty of revolutionary ideas in Kenya. If anything, the poorer
youths are being mobilized into counter-revolutionary violence where
poor and oppressed people burn and kill each other. This was the
lesson of the killings, burning and massacre in the Rift Valley.
Counter-revolutionary violence of the Rwanda genocidal form lay just
below the surface and the same politicians who gave refuge to
genocidaires from Rwanda are not above fomenting genocidal violence
among the poor. The media images of marauding youths with pangas
provide the necessary imagery to represent to the world another
version of African savagery. This same media will not prominently
carry the news that poor peasants from the home area of Danieal Arap
Moi burnt his house to the ground. The prospect of real class warfare
in Kenya frightens both the government and the opposition so there is
a delicate effort to manage the crisis so that the forms of capital
accumulation can return to the business pages rather than the front
pages.
Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic movement are now caught
between the aspirations of the regional capitalists of the ‘Pentagon’
and the demand for real change across Kenya. The post election mayhem
is a clear demonstration that the ODM did not sufficiently engage
their followers on new ideas transcending ethnicity and patriarchy.
This demand for democratic change in Kenya will require new forms of
organization beyond electoral politics and new ideas about the value
of African lives. This requires a break with the European ideation
systems that promote capitalism as democracy and genocide as progress.
* Horace Campbell is Professor of Political Science at Syracuse
University
* Please send comments to editor at pambazuka.org or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org
******
KIBAKI MUST BACK DOWN
Victoria Brittain
Desmond Tutu was absolutely right to fly into Kenya and throw his
moral authority behind efforts to resolve the dramatic crisis that
other outsiders are misjudging so badly. British foreign secretary
David Miliband, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, secretary
general of the Commonwealth Don McKinnon and President John Kufuor of
Ghana, president of the African Union (AU), all missed the chance to
denounce the rapid swearing-in of a man who did not win the
presidential election.
This lit the touchpaper for the appalling violence of the last few
days. All of these powerful people knew from the European and other
observers on the ground how grotesque and open was the ballot rigging
which allowed Mwai Kibaki to claim victory. The parliamentary
elections in which President Kibaki's party was trounced, getting a
mere one third of the seats obtained by Raila Odinga's Orange
Democratic Movement (ODM), and with 20 cabinet ministers losing their
seats, underlined the true balance of democratic forces in the country.
Tutu knows mass anger as a response to political humiliation. Kenyans
in the street will listen to him as South Africans did, and still do
when he speaks fearlessly to the powerful at home as well as abroad.
Perhaps Kibaki, who has rebuffed the overtures from the AU and
insists that Kenya's problem is an internal one, will meet the
Archbishop. If so, he will hear hard truths, but also, perhaps, a
face-saving way to step back from the folly encouraged by his close
advisers who dared not face his defeat and the political reckoning
that would come with it.
It is a myth that Kenya has been a haven of stability in East Africa
for decades, just as it was a myth that Ivory Coast was in the west -
until it exploded. Kenya has been a key strategic ally for the west
since independence, and the kleptocratic and repressive governments
of Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki have been supported unconditionally for
that reason.
Since the launch of the "war on terror" in late 2001, the importance
of Kenya to the Americans has increased even further. The west chose
not to see a country where more than half the population of 31
million live on $2 a day, where unemployment is rising, landlessness
is chronic and increasing. The tourist paradise for European
holidaymakers had become a bitter, lawless and cynical place for its
own citizens.
Raila Odinga made a political alliance with Kibaki in 2002,
calculating that together they could attack corruption, bring down an
elite which had been above the law for too long, and give ordinary
Kenyans the modest prosperity that had eluded too many of them since
independence. (Kibaki too had been in the wilderness during the Moi
years.)
But Kibaki was captured by the old elite once he came into power, and
since 2005 Odinga has built a new nationalist alliance across the
country, which owes as much to his own drive, as to the old magic of
his father's name - Oginga Odinga. In the years after independence,
when Kenyatta became a key British ally and froze Odinga out, as a
socialist, and as a Luo from the poor west of Kenya, Odinga's was the
name with which the Kenyan masses most identified. In the 21st
century the freeze won't work on the son. The election has to be
rerun with a credible independent electoral commission. Odinga's
offer of negotiations under international auspices must be accepted
by Kibaki.
*Victoria Brittain, a former associate foreign editor of the
Guardian, is a journalist and a research associate at the London
School of Economics.
*Please send comments to editor at pambazuka or comment online at http://
www.pambazuka.org
******
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!
Onyango Oloo
No JUSTICE, No PEACE!!
Onyango Oloo Dissects The Wrong-Headed "SAVE OUR COUNTRY" Media Blitz
During my 18 year sojourn in Ontario and Quebec, I became quite
immersed in a wide array of social justice struggles-from Indigenous
People’s rights, anti-globalization, working class struggles, anti-
apartheid to anti-racist movements.
The Canadian anti-racist movement, while different and autonomous
from its sister movement south of the 49th Parallel, has been
inspired by the African-American led struggles for civil, social,
economic, cultural and political rights.
Icons like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Sojourner
Truth, Ben Chavis, Jesse Jackson Jr., Fredrick Douglass, Harriet
Tubman, Angela Davis, George Jackson, Huey P. Newton are household
names in the African-Canadian, Caribbean Canadian and Native Canadian
communities.
As many of us know, one of the most ubiquitous rallying cries and
chants during anti-racist rallies, protests and demonstrations is the
slogan, “No Justice, No Peace!”
I remember the summer of 1989 being amidst angry protestors around
the Queen’s Park subway in Toronto, making our way up the street to
the Royal Ontario Museum chanting these and other slogans to vent our
ire about a racist exhibition at that Museum which really demeaned
continental Africans and people of African descent in general.
To some, the phrase, “No Justice, No Peace!” is just another tired
slogan, to be grouped with “A People United, Shall Never Be
Defeated!” or “An Injury To One Is An Injury to All”.
These cynics are of course obtuse, because they do not appreciate the
blood, the sacrifice and the torture which infused the historical
origins of those chants. The second phrase emanated from the anti-
imperialist and anti-fascist struggles of Latin American women and
men confronting the US backed dictatorships of Central and South
America. The third slogan is from South Africa where the militant
workers in that struggle-soaked nation were right at the frontlines
of the South African national liberation movement.
This morning I want to talk about “No Justice, No Peace!” in the
contest of the ongoing social and political turmoil in Kenya.
And I am doing it because I have been reeling with DISGUST, recoiling
in horror at a new campaign for “Peace” launched primarily by Kenya’s
media houses, principally the Nation Media Group, the Standard Group
and the folks who run Kiss 100 FM and the Nairobi Star.
Now to be fair to people like Julie Gichuru at NTV and the KTN
anchors, they appear sincere and earnest enough. It is good
intentions all through.
At least at the surface level.
When you do scratch beneath that surface however, you are confronted
with something else- a blatant attempt to restore social control and
buttress the class domination of the comprador and petit bourgeoisie
in Kenya.
Please stay with me if you are temporarily befuddled.
Most Kenyans know that the spontaneous anti-government insurrections
were sparked off by the decision of the Electoral Commission of Kenya
to steal the Presidential vote at the behest of Mwai Kibaki and his
PNU cohorts. We also realize that criminals and tribalists have
hijacked these protests to loot and plunder and attack members of
specific ethnic groups.
One would expect that ANYONE interested in a peaceful solution to the
crisis in Kenya would begin with where “rain began to beat us” to
quote Chinua Achebe for the billionth time.
One would further expect that only a transparent restitution of
justice would jump start a sustainable peace and national
reconciliation process.
At a minimum, there would have to be some kind of a public
acknowledgment that the flawed Presidential election results must be
rectified.
That seems to be the consensus in Kenya, and judging by media
reports, among the publics of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and many other
African countries.
The indictment by the EU observer mission would seem to indicate that
the capitals of capital have no doubt in their minds that Kibaki
stole the elections.
Given the above, one would expect that a "peace process" dubbed “Save
Our Country” jumpstarted last night by the main Kenyan media houses
who were in the forefront of exposing the anomalies and
irregularities would pay attention to the question of justice even as
strove to put out all the infernos raging across Kenya.
What has happened instead?
A mealy mouthed editorial piece on peace carried simultaneously
across different Nairobi media that insults the collective
intelligence of Kenyans.
Sample this:
“Political leaders on both sides must be told in no uncertain terms
that they are currently in great danger of losing their credibility
in the eyes of Kenyans and the international community because
systemic killing of the innocents sweeping Kenya, destruction of the
economy and the spread of disaffection throughout the land. No
grievance and no cause is worth the innocent blood of Kenyan
children. The orgies of looting, burning, rape and wanton, well-
orchestrated blood-letting are undermining the moral basis of the
politicians’ cause…”
-Excerpt from an editorial jointly run in the Daily Nation and
Nairobi Star (Thursday, January 03, 2008)
HELLO?
Since when did “politicians on both sides” coerce ECK to steal the
Presidential vote?
The culpability rests solely with President Kibaki. From the fascist
diktats of Michuki, Muthaura, Murage and Co. we know that the ODM
leadership has NOT had a chance to publicly address their followers
and therefore cannot be accused of “orchestrating” or “instigating”
anything.
Yes, the blood of innocents is flowing freely with mobs setting
alight a church full of women and children and targeting innocent
wananchi based on their ethnicity and regional origins.
But who is talking about the orgy of POLICE and PARA-MILITARY EXTRA-
JUDICIAL EXECUTIONS?
By yesterday, there were over ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BULLET RIDDLED
BODIES in the New Nyanza Hospital including corpses of INFANTS. Who
shot to death those innocent unarmed civilians? The police have been
executing ghetto youth in Kibera, Kawangware and elsewhere. Who
employs and commands these killers in uniform?
Reports from Kisumu insist that the Kibaki regime may be using crack
NRA troops from neighbouring Uganda to slaughter Kenyan citizens.
When I first raised this issue online twenty four hours ago, some
were quick to dismiss the very possibility. Today the Nyanza
Provincial Police Officer is on the defensive, admitting she is aware
of these widespread allegations even as she strenuously denies them.
In this regard I must state that I was somewhat disappointed by the
public statement released yesterday by Kenyan Nobel Laureate Wangari
Maathai.
While I commend her for speaking up and appealing to Kibaki to take
charge, I am disappointed that what motivated her was not so much the
reality that the whole of Kenya is burning but rather that “her
people”, the Central Kenyan communities were being targeted. Surely
one can make a very strong case that the Luo communities residing in
Kisumu, Migori, Homa Bay and elsewhere are being similarly targeted,
this time by THE STATE itself.
In fact, in the letters to editors page of the Standard there is this
letter from a Kisumu resident of South Asian heritage which says,
inter alia:
“…The recent riots are not Kisumu riots. Even the killings are State-
operated to gain political mileage to discredit ODM’s Raila Odinga
and his supporters.”
-Mahesh R, Kisumu, p.8. Letter, The Standard, Thursday, January 03, 2008
Raila Odinga has publicly stated that he is ready to meet with
international mediator and in fact as I write these lines is meeting
with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Pentagon House. Earlier this morning
Amos Kimunya was interviewed by the BBC and he was quoted as saying
that the Kibaki regime does NOT see the need for international
mediators because they (PNU) can deal with the matter internally- a
claim which is mocked by the ongoing protests. The same Kimunya has
accused the international observers as being biased towards ODM after
the EU team publicly denounced the anomalies in the tallying of the
presidential results. President Kufuor of Ghana, the current AU
Chairman was scheduled to be in Kenya today, but the Kibaki regime
BLOCKED his coming.
Are these guys SERIOUS???!
Let us go back to the editorials. This is a passage from the Standard’s:
“…Employ a reputable international arbiter, NOT to determine who won
the presidential poll, but to work out a road-map that will bring
Kenya back from the brink and a mutually acceptable proposition for
sharing power…Notwithstanding the inflation of figures in a number of
areas, both ODM and PNU garnered 4 million plus votes in the
presidential ballot, meaning the country is split right down the
middle. The position of President is not vacant. Kibaki was declared
President whether or not the presidential ballot was flawed…”
-Standard editorial, Thursday, January 03, 2008
It is right in this excerpt that the mask slips to reveal the PNU
underbelly of the much ballyhooed “Save Our Country” onslaught.
Huh?
So we should not “determine who won the presidential poll” eh? How
then, dear Standard editors, will we work out a road-map that will
bring back Kenya from the brink?
Even queasier is the cheesy full page ad by the Concerned Citizens
for Peace addressing two men-Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga- to do
something.
The very content of the ad betrays its elitist, undemocratic character.
The 2007 Kenyan civic, parliamentary and presidential polls was a
national affair involving MILLIONS of Kenyan citizens. What is
happening in Kenya is NOT a PRIVATE FIST FIGHT involving the Othaya
and Lang’ata MPs, but rather a NATIONAL CRISIS that has the future of
MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS of Kenyan women, children and men at stake.
To try and lock out the Kenyan people from an urgent democratic
impasse and reduce it to a two man tussle is a grave insult to the
Kenyan people.
By the way, WHERE is President Kibaki, the apparently “popularly,
democratically and fairly elected leader”?
>From the look of things right now one would be forgiven if they
thought that Major-General Hussein Ali is the acting Head of State
with chief government propagandist Dr. Alfred Mutua as his deputy.
In the few times I have seen Kibaki he is holed up at State House
flanked with senior military officers giving the distinct impression
that he is their hostage.
It is now approximately 12:15 as I keyboard these lines and reports
on the television indicate that there are ongoing skirmishes between
the police and pro-ODM youths along Thika Road, Mbagathi Way, Kibera,
Eastlands and the City Centre. In other words, there is a minor
uprising in Nairobi and not just the capital but also Kakamega,
Bungoma, Mombasa, Kisumu and elsewhere.
On December 30th I spoke about Kibaki’s Coup.
Four days later the presence of police, para-military and military
formations underscores my point about the overthrow of democratic rule.
What is actually laughable is the phenomenon of a horde of PNU
election losers led by Kibaki down to his deputy Awori and FORMER
cabinet ministers Tuju, Kombo, Kituyi, Shakombo etc MASQUERADING as a
legitimate “government”.
Surely, if Kibaki had the mandate that PNU hawks like George Nyamweya
claims he has, he should have formed a government by now. He should
have by now been addressing his 4.5 million supporters at heavily
attended mass rallies by now. Instead, Kibaki skulks stealthily in
State House afraid to meet the very Kenyan citizens he claims to lead.
Which brings me back to the slogan:
“No Justice, No Peace!!”
Until we resolve the simple question of who Kenyans actually elected
President on December 27, 2007, there WILL BE NO PEACE.
In my considered opinion, the SAVE OUR COUNTRY campaign is a slick,
dishonest appeal by the pro-Kibaki comprador and petit-bourgeois
business elite hoodwinking Kenyans to ACCEPT the fraudulent election
results and legitimize criminal PNU’s civilian coup.
Why should Kibaki or Raila share power?
At the December 27th elections, Kenyans overwhelming voted for a new
government:
That government is the Orange Democratic Movement led by its flag
bearer, Raila Amolo Odinga.
Once again I say:
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!
A PEOPLE UNITED, SHALL NEVER BE DEFEATED!
AN INJURY TO ONE, IS AN INJURY TO ALL!
*Onyango Oloo, a Kenyan political activist and ex political prisoner.
*Please send comments to editor at pambazuka.org or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org
******
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
2 Comment and analysis
CALL FOR URGENT RESOLUTION OF KENYA ELECTORAL CRISIS
http://www.petitiononline.com/kenya08/petition.htm
We the undersigned call on the ODM and PNU leaders to urgently seek a
resolution to the current electoral crisis in the country and restore
peace and harmony in the country through leadership.
We express our concern at the deteriorating situation in Kenya
following what has been widely acknowledged as an impressive election
turn-out. We commend the Kenyan people for their dignity and courage
but also express our condolences to the families of those who have
lost their lives and to the many who have been injured in the course
of needless violence over the last few days. This is a time for
Kenyans to be patient, dignified and to look for solutions that are
in the best interest of the majority.
We regret the chaos which has caused loss of life, destruction of
property and general unrest in the country. The contested outcome has
marred the prospects of democracy and peace not only in Kenya but
also in Africa. The cloud which hangs over the conclusion of one of
the most fiercely-fought elections in Kenya's history is regrettable.
We believe that peace should be regained as a matter of urgency so
that a free and fair outcome can be reached.
We believe that this is not the time for provocative actions, but a
time for demonstrating leadership through bringing the contending
partners to the table. This crisis can be resolved by the players in
disagreement using conciliation and arbitration mechanisms as a
matter of urgency to plan a peaceful resolution of the crisis. If
necessary, this could be done with the involvement of others such as
the African Union and others, such as those who acted as election
observers. We urge the contending leaders to act within the spirit of
democracy and seek to heal the wounds that have been opened by recent
events and to do so in transparent ways.
We are aware of the betrayal that many may feel in what they consider
to be an electoral injustice. We ask them to engage in the process by
seeking explanation and accountability and to be guided by their own
sense of civic responsibility.
We call on the PNU and ODM leaders to seek conciliation and
resolution of the current crisis for the sake of the country.
We call for mechanisms for mediation and conciliation to be put in
place urgently to give voice to all grievances that have arisen from
the present situation in which there can be no winners, only losers.
We welcome the mediation processes that have been initiated
We call for an immediate ending of violence by the security forces
and all other parties. Whilst we recognize that the security forces
have a role to play in maintaining peace and order, we condemn the
disproportionate and excessive use of force by the security forces
against unarmed civilians that has been manifest over the last few days.
We call for an independent transparent review of the whole electoral
process and its outcomes so as to resolve any differences between
contesting parties. This should include reviewing the results of the
election and all reported irregularities, especially those related to
the disparities in the tallying of the final results.
We call for a swift formation of an independent and credible Judicial
Commission of Enquiry by endorsing the call by the Electoral
Commissioners who have called for one.
We urge the international community to be patient pending the outcome
of such a proposed review process. As it is Kenyans who have to live
with the consequences of a Mwai Kibaki or Raila Odinga government,
the international community can only follow the recommendations of an
independent review before declaring the elections free and fair.
We call on those who wish to see a peaceful democratic Kenya,
especially in the African Union, to support initiatives that can
bring this crisis to a swift conclusion by facilitating dialogue and
reconciliation.
We are deeply concerned by the gagging of the media, especially as
this has only fueled suspicion and encouraged speculation in an
already highly volatile situation. Freedom of expression has been one
of our greatest democratic prizes won by Kenyans during the last few
years and we cannot afford to go backwards.
We call for an immediate and unconditional lifting of the reporting
ban so as to ensure that Kenyans are able to keep abreast of what is
happening. We commend the Kenyan press for the work they have done to
keep information flowing. It is precisely in the time of crisis that
a free and independent media is essential to ensure a democracy that
is based on information not speculation.
We urge the international media community to support the Kenyan press
during this time and continue promoting the right for a free and
independent press especially during such a period.
We call on all peace loving people to join us in calling for a swift
conclusion to the crisis so that Kenya can return to normality
andpeople can continue their lives without fear and anxiety.
The petition is now online at http://www.petitiononline.com/kenya08/
petition.html
and at the time of going to prese had nearly 800 signatures. Please
sign the petition.
******
KENYA’S DEMOCRACY ON TRIAL
Mukoma Wa Ngugi
On Thursday December 27th 2007, shortly after polling stations were
closed, Kenya was hailed as having fulfilled an African dream – to
have a free and fair closely contested democratic election. But less
than 48 hours later it was clear that the dream of democracy could
become a nightmare of ethnic violence. Most of the casualties so far
have been the poor and the marginalized – and if things continue as
they are, a bitter civil war fought along ethnic lines is certain. To
say that what is at stake is the very future of Kenya is not an
overstatement.
To answer the question of how the promise became a nightmare one must
begin with very nature of democracy and how it has been functioning
in Africa.
The first element to consider is that in the absence of strong
democratic institutions (the three pillars of legislature, executive
and judiciary), democracies in Africa are relying more and more on
the goodwill of politicians: in this case, a nation is only as
democratic as its politicians.
Added to this, African democracy is in real terms an expression of
ethnic tensions. Instead of rolling back tribalism (I use the
derisive term deliberately), African democracy serves it. One could
say that all democracies have an element of this: in the West it
generally goes under the euphemism of voter demographics. When Hilary
Clinton is courting the white, black or Latino vote, she is in fact
practicing what might, in other circumstances, be called tribal
politics.
In the Kenyan presidential election, ethnic politics were a key
factor in the close election results: the incumbent Mwai Kibaki, a
Kikuyu, received very few votes in the Luo areas, while his Luo
opponent, Raila Odinga, received only a very small percentage of the
Kikuyu vote. In this bitterly contested election where ethnicity was
the deciding factor, victory from either side was bound to spill into
violence.
As a direct result of the above, questions of what true justice means
and about the growing divide between haves and have-nots become lost
to ethnicity. Raila is a flamboyant millionaire while Kibaki is as
elite as you can get in Kenya. Lost in the fires of ethnicity is the
simple fact that Kibaki and Raila have much more in common with each
other than with their supporters. In this sense those engaged in the
violence are, to put it bluntly, proxies in a war between two elite
leaders.
Another element to consider is the extent to which the landscape of
African politics has changed. We need to stop blanket condemnations
of African leadership, and acknowledge that it varies and some
leaders are better or worse than others. Kibaki, while not a Mandela
is not a Moi or a Mobutu, or a Bokassa or an Idi Amin. By the same
token the nature of opposition has changed. Since independence and
the struggles against neo-colonial governments, opposition has been
automatically understood as the legitimate voice of the people. But
opposition no longer means the good guys. In many instances the
opposition and the sitting government are practically the same as is
indeed the case in Kenya. So while Raila is accusing Kibaki of vote-
rigging, it could just as easily be Raila trying to rig and short-
circuit the democratic process to favor himself. In other words we
have no reason to take either of their claims to be true at face-
value. In this impasse of two leaders intent on seizing power,
respect for the democratic process couldn’t be more important.
Toward a solution, Kenyans should realize that something beautiful
did happen during this election. Most of the big men of Kenyan
politics were voted out of Parliament and hence out of office. Even
the sons of former dictator Moi did not win seats in Parliament.
There seemed to be a belief that voting was a way of talking back the
Kenyan political elite, and that democracy could be made to work for
the majority poor. This is the flame that we must not let die.
To nurture this flame, a recount of the votes in a transparent manner
is necessary. This, no matter what one thinks of Raila or Kibaki, or
whether one thinks the elections were fair or not, should be the
meeting ground of all those concerned about the future, immediate and
long term, of Kenya.
If the votes can be recounted in full transparency, this election
will not then become the death of Kenyan democracy but rather a test
along the way to a democracy with real content – the content of
security, equality and justice for Kenya’s majority poor.
*Mukoma Wa Ngugi is co-editor of Pambazuka News. A version of this
article first appeared at http://blogs.independent.co.uk/openhouse/
2008/01/kenyas-nightmar.html
*Please send comments to editor at pambazuka.org or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org
******
KENYA ELECTION DOMESTIC OBSERVATION FORUM - PRESS STATEMENT
Kenya is bleeding. Kenya is bleeding from a political crisis that has
rapidly led to a social and spiritual crisis. We, the Church leaders
working together with the leadership of all faiths have been alarmed
at the speed and depth this crisis has taken over the last 24 hours.
Unless checked, this crisis will plunge Kenya into a complete state
of lawlessness, disregard for human rights and the sanctity of life.
Three actions could defuse this political crisis.
Firstly, the outcome of the recently concluded Presidential and
Parliamentary elections requires a quick and comprehensive political
resolution. The Church as part of KEDOF endorses KEDOF’s statement –
“ in our view, considering the entire process, the 2007 General
Elections were credible in as far as the voting and counting process
is concerned. The electoral process lost credibility towards the end
with regard to the tallying and announcement of presidential results”
We have considered the opinion of the Members of the Electoral
Commission and international observer groups. In our opinion, the
Government, in close consultation with all the parties who fielded
Presidential and Parliamentary candidates should immediately
establish a credible process for the establishment of an Independent
Commission. This Commission will seek the transparent verification of
tallies for the concerned constituencies. All parties must start by
committing themselves to acting on the outcome verification by the
Independent Commission.
Secondly, we urge the leaders of the three major political parties to
meet and dialogue. Their political leadership at this critical hour
is central to saving lives. Over the last 24 hours, we have lost at
least five lives every hour, with scores of other men, women and
children injured, scared, displaced and vulnerable to attacks by
fellow Kenyans.
We call upon leaders who contested Parliamentary seats – both those
that won and those that lost to jointly and urgently address their
constituencies within the next few days. We urge the mass media to
continue to support the cause of peace.
Thirdly, while we appreciate the efforts of the uniformed forces to
stop lawlessness and we acknowledge the challenge that they have to
protect all civilians we call upon them to establish corridors of
safety. Such corridors of peace are critical for restoring access to
food, shelter, crisis centres and other basic needs to which we as a
faith community are committed to assist in providing.
The ability to communicate during a period of national crisis cannot
be gainsaid. While we deplore the use of these media for ethnic hate
speech, attempting to block these avenues will be counter-productive.
It will block also the flow of information that is required for
identifying and reaching people at risk. We consequently call upon
the state to lift the ban on live broadcasts.
While calling on the Government, political parties and other non-
state actors to take these actions, we realise that the future of
Kenya is in the hands of the Kenyan people. We therefore call upon
all Kenyans to immediately cease the violence that is occurring in
our towns, villages and communities.
We commit ourselves to monitor and quickly respond to the
humanitarian needs of all Kenyans regardless of their religion,
ethnicity, gender and political affiliation.
God bless Kenya.
* Kenya Election Domestic Observation Forum (KEDOF) is a partnership
representing Kenyan Civil Society Networks (and faith-based
organisations) in establishing a common platform for domestic
election observation programme
2007.
* * Please send comments to editor at pambazuka.org or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org/
******
NEWS ROUND-UP ON RECENT EVENTS IN KENYA
Izzy Birch
This brief list of useful links is provided to help our readers keep
up to date.
LINKS FROM 3 JANUARY 2008
In this AllAfrica blog Brian Kennedy lists the wide range of those
who now question the results of Kenya’s 2007 presidential election,
including foreign governments, election monitoring missions, and the
Electoral Commission of Kenya itself. He also refers to reports that
the Kenyan police, who were deployed to guard the 36,000 polling
stations across the country, kept records of the results and that
their tally is said to differ from what the ECK announced:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801030150.html
The Economist has described the result as a meticulously planned
‘civil coup’, stating that the decision to return Mwai Kibaki to
office was made not by the Kenyan people but by a group of hardline
Kikuyu leaders. Although the report states that their instinct will
now be to use the security services to reverse basic freedoms, ‘it is
not clear that Kenya will stand for it’:
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10422157
Amos Wako, Kenya’s Attorney General, has called for an independent
and immediate investigation into the disputed presidential election
result, acknowledging that it has been widely questioned, including
by the Chair of the Electoral Commission of Kenya itself:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?
category_id=1&newsid=113857
The ECK Chair, Samuel Kivuitu, has given details of the
inconsistencies in the constituency tallies of the presidential
votes, which include altered figures from certain constituencies and
the improper submission of documentation:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801030025.html
The leader of the Pan-African Movement Observers Mission, Stephen
Othieno, also criticised the ECK at a press conference in Kampala.
The Mission sent 41 observers to Kenya who were not permitted to
observe the process in its entirety – specifically the final tally.
Mr Othieno also criticised the limited time made available for
verification of the voters’ register prior to polling day, and biased
coverage by some media houses:
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/604750
ODM leaders have called for an internationally constituted and
recognised body to examine the election results, on the grounds that
the Electoral Commission of Kenya had failed in its duties and can
not be trusted:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?
category_id=2&newsid=113845
The Kenya Human Rights Commission has called on Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, who arrived in Kenya on 3 January, to oversee a recount.
Professor Makau Mutua, chair of the KHRC, appealed for calm, dialogue
and statesmanship from Kenya’s political leaders:
http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979846&cid=159
The Law Society of Kenya has declared its intention to make a legal
challenge to Mwai Kibaki’s re-election. Lawyers and other civil
society organisations, including Kituo Cha Sheria, have also called
for the immediate resignation of Samuel Kivuitu and the ECK
Commissioners:
http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979876&cid=4
The head of the Commonwealth Observer Group, Dr Ahmad Tejan Kabbah,
has decided to stay on in Kenya to support mediation efforts. The
Group’s departure statement on 2 January noted that ‘delays in the
announcement of the results raised questions about the integrity of
the final phase of the election process’:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801030533.html
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/174034/
kenya_elections_2007___departure_statement_by_the.htm
A group of business, religious and cultural leaders delivered an open
letter to all three presidential candidates, calling for an
independent and transparent review of the whole electoral process and
its outcomes, as well as personal and collective leadership that
delivers a swift conclusion to the crisis in the best interests of
the country:
Add link
Daudi Were writes in his blog of the shocking speed with which Kenya
slid into violence. ‘The aim of this post is not to explore the
issues around the issues but to highlight that there is a
sophisticated and dedicated response to the crisis in our country’:
http://www.mentalacrobatics.com/think/
Moody Awori, the Vice-President, appealed for calm and stated that
the government was willing to enter into dialogue with the ODM
leadership. Raila Odinga reiterated his position that any dialogue
must be based on acceptance that the elections were compromised:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?
category_id=1&newsid=113833
Demonstrators who responded to the ODM’s call to attend a rally in
Nairobi’s Uhuru Park on 3 January were met with tear gas and water
cannon. ODM has now postponed the rally until 8 January. Archbishop
Desmond Tutu arrived in Kenya on 3 January to help mediate in the
crisis, while plans for the visit of the African Union President John
Kafuor have reportedly been cancelled:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7169720.stm
The Kenya Red Cross Society estimates (3 January) that at least
100,000 people require immediate assistance in the northern Rift
Valley alone. Confirmed country-wide statistics are not yet
available. John Holmes, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator,
emphasised the responsibility of Kenya’s political leaders to protect
the lives and livelihoods of innocent people, and deplored the recent
increase in gender-based violence:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-7AHNQP?
OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=ken
Another report from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs describes the situation of displaced people in
Kericho and Kisumu, many of whom lack basic supplies of water, food
and medicine:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-7AHMGT?
OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=ken
Newspaper reports from around the East African region illustrate the
impact of the crisis in Kenya on its landlocked neighbours. Fuel
prices in Uganda have soared due to the shortage of fuel and the
actions of speculators; bus fares in Kampala have in some places
doubled.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/604747
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/
Fuel_crisis_is_big_lesson_for_us.shtml
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/
155_fuel_tankers_on_the_way_to_Uganda_-_govt.shtml
Traders in Rwanda are concerned at both the shortage of fuel and the
prospect of being unable to restock from the suppliers in Kenya on
whom they rely:
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=1398&article=3293
Tanzania’s The Citizen newspaper emphasises the inter-dependence of
the East African economies and the threat posed by the violence in
Kenya to the future stability and prosperity of the East African
Community:
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/newz.php?id=2294
LINKS FROM 2 JANUARY
Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has called
on the Kenyan government to abide by its international human rights
obligations in responding to demonstrations and to allow journalists
to carry out their work freely. She also emphasised the
responsibility to use only peaceful means of protest:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/media.aspx
Humanitarian situation:
On 2 January AFP reported that 306 people had died in politically
related violence since polling day. Although the violence has been
countrywide, the area most seriously affected has been Western Kenya.
AFP reported the Director of the Kenya Red Cross Society as saying
that around 70,000 people had been displaced in the area. Aerial
video footage by the KRCS shows hundreds of houses and farms set on
fire and roadblocks every 10kms:
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/080102073900.kf169jow.html
A report from the Human Rights House Network describes the attack on
the church near Eldoret in which at least 35 people were killed.
Water and food for those displaced in churches and public buildings
are running short, and travel in the area is highly dangerous:
http://www.humanrightshouse.org/dllvis5.asp?id=6149
Reports from Kenyan religious and humanitarian organisations issued
on 2 January state that 15000 people have been displaced in Eldoret,
700 in Kitale, 1000 in Nakuru, 500 in Kakamega, 500 in Kisumu, 200 in
Siaya, 50 in Likoni, 6000 in Burnt Forest, 60 in Migori, 5000 in
Dandora, and 560 in Mumias. People are taking shelter in schools,
churches, mosques, police stations and other public buildings.
The Kenya Red Cross, in a bulletin dated 1 January, reported that
over 100,000 people had been affected or displaced countrywide, 120
reported dead, and over 1000 confirmed injured:
http://www.kenyaredcross.org/highlights.php?newsid=61&subcat=1
The Regional UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) published police figures released on 1 January of 143 people
killed across five Provinces (Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza, Nairobi,
and Coast). It adds that these are confirmed cases and that the real
number may be higher. The main obstacle to delivering assistance is
the number of roadblocks set up by vigilante groups:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MUMA-7AG3X8?OpenDocument
Reliable sources report 30 roadblocks between Eldoret and Nakuru.
The Uganda Red Cross reported on 1 January that 550 Kenyans have fled
to Uganda, although officials believe that ‘thousands more’ have
settled with friends and relatives:
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/604566
The Nation reported on 2 January that 16 people had been killed at
the Coast, while violent incidents had occurred in Taveta, Diani and
Kilifi Town:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?
category_id=1&newsid=113768
Reliable sources report that travel outside Mombasa is currently very
difficult due to numerous road blocks.
Uganda’s New Vision reports on the killings in Eldoret, and gives a
nationwide death toll closer to 300. It refers to tensions in
Garissa, North-Eastern Province, emphasising again the widespread
nature of the crisis:
http://www.newvision.co.ug/PA/8/12/604563
Dr Dan Ojwang, a Kenyan academic based in South Africa, criticises
media coverage of the crisis and argues that it has deeper and more
complex roots. ‘Let the world know the truth’, he writes, ‘that
members of almost all Kenyan ethnic communities are being killed and
not just Kikuyu supporters of President Mwai Kibaki’s illegitimate
government’.
Add url
Political situation:
A report from the Human Rights House Network on 31 December, based on
coverage in the Kenyan press as well as interviews with several human
rights defenders in Nairobi, captures the breadth and severity of the
political crisis, in terms of the heavy-handed security response, the
infringement of media freedoms, and the prospect of an even more
powerful presidency:
http://www.humanrightshouse.org/dllvis5.asp?id=6138
Ken Opalo, a Kenyan blogger, laments the failure of leadership, and
calls on both Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga to ‘act like the statesmen
they claim to be’:
http://kenopalo.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/kenya-quickly-degenerating-
into-an-african-statistic/
The BBC reported on 2 January the accusations being traded by both
sides. Asked if he would urge his supporters to calm down, Raila
Odinga reportedly refused to be asked ‘to give the Kenyan people an
anaesthetic so that they can be raped’:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7167363.stm
The preliminary report from the European Union Election Observation
Mission detailed discrepancies in the tallied results from certain
constituencies. ‘A lack of adequate transparency and security
measures in the process of relaying the results from local to
national level questioned the integrity of the final results:
http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979838
The Chair of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, Samuel Kivuitu,
admitted on 1 January that he announced the results of the
presidential election under pressure from some PNU and ODM-Kenya
leaders. According to a report in the Standard, he said that ‘We are
culprits as a Commission. We have to leave it to an independent group
to investigate what actually went wrong’:
http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979833
Four ECK commissioners on 31 December called for an independent
judicial review of the presidential tallies. The Kenya National
Commission of Human Rights regretted that the commissioners hadn’t
raised their concerns before the result was announced, but expressed
its support for an independent review:
http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979828&cid=159
Francis Atwoli, the Secretary General of the umbrella workers’ union
COTU, is quoted as saying that the crisis is politically instigated
and thus can only be solved by political means. In the same press
report the government’s spokesman, Alfred Mutua, states that the
military has been deployed to various parts of the country ‘to assist
in averting a humanitarian crisis’:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?
category_id=1&newsid=113789
The deputy managing director of Safaricom confirmed that the company
had received a request from the Ministry of Internal Security to
‘desist from sending or forwarding any SMS that may cause public
unrest’, and that this had been forwarded to its subscribers:
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200801020003.html
The head of the Commonwealth’s election observer team in Kenya,
former president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone, has now met all
three leaders (Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka).
Kenya’s Daily Nation reports that a joint statement may be imminent:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?
category_id=1&newsid=113785
Muslim, Christian and Hindu leaders at the Coast made a joint appeal
to political leaders to restore calm and seek reconciliation, and
called for the situation to be resolved through legal channels:
http://www.eastandard.net/electionplatform/index.php?id=1143979770
At the international level, the US and British foreign secretaries
issued a joint statement on 2 January urging political compromise and
noting the responsibility on all sides to maintain the political
process:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/
ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1199196127097
http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya/story/0,,2234121,00.html
******
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
3 Letters
ON THE REUTERS LEAD STORY ENTITLED “KIBAKI ACCUSES RIVALS OF ETHNIC
CLEANSING”
(Mail & Guardian Online 02 January 2008)
It is the responsibility of newspapers to report news as they see or
hear it. However, I am apprehensive that this kind of equivocal and
manipulated news-reporting (in the context of a slow media blockade)
will simply buy the regime in Kenya time to launder its image in the
midst of a crisis it has deliberately fuelled. The brewing genocide
in Kenya has got a long and complicated history. The Kenyan
government spin-doctor, Dr Alfred Mutua, has not even begun to
scratch on the surface of what is truly going on. Kenya has a long
history of internecine violence choreographed by ruling regimes that
have always tried to protect their ill-gotten wealth by using
‘tribe’, and even ‘race’ as in the case of the colonial regime, as
their alibi. As exiled Kenyan anti-corruption official John Githongo
said not too long ago, “corruption always fights back.” Having
“vomited all over our shoes” after a corruption binge and having
unleashed murder on a scale we have never seen before, they now
parade as our protectors. As the late JM Nazareth would have put it,
we raia have become “sheep delivered to the fangs of wolves by
constituting the wolves the shepherds of the sheep.”
There are many in the Kibaki cabinet and others in opposition parties
who are known to have muttered what, under the South African
constitution, would be termed hate speech. Many of them have worked
for the state at points in history when major public figures such as
Dr Robert Ouko, Bishop Alexander Kipsang Muge, Pio Gama Pinto, JM
Kariuki, Tom Mboya, Dr Odhiambo Mbai and others were killed on the
grounds of their political beliefs or ethnic roots. Others kept quiet
when state-sponsored militias spread mayhem in Western Kenya in the
early 1990s in order to stop the enactment of multi-partyism.
I know for a fact a number of public figures in the current mess who
violently speared effigies of then exiled Kenyan writer, Ngugi wa
Thiong’o, in the late 1980s. There are others who sat back, laughed
or kept quiet when state thugs were unleashed on Nobel Peace Prize
Winner, Prof Wangari Maathai and politician Paul Muite in the early
1990s. Yet others took oaths of ethnic-elite solidarity, sold to the
public as a defence of ethnic rights, when massacres and inter-party
repression rocked Kenya in the late-1960s. It would be naïve in the
extreme to expect that they have all of a sudden developed a
conscience. Beware of how many Kenyan politicians will in the coming
days make a show of appealing to universal values of liberty, human
rights, ad nauseum, when their conduct has been consistently
illiberal and complicit in crimes against humanity. Beware especially
of the diplomatic ones who will speak in pious Oxfordian tones in
order that they may seem less violent than others. Beware of the
suave, slick types who could never hurt a fly; they don’t need to for
they have snuffed many human lives. As Hannah Arendt discovered when
she did research for Eichmann in Jerusalem: The Banality of Evil, her
masterful summary of the career and trial of the Nazi operative, mass
murderers do not sport horns on their foreheads. They are often very
ordinary ‘family men’. Investigate, investigate, investigate!
Let the world know the truth that members of almost all Kenyan ethnic
communities are being killed and not just Kikuyu supporters of
President Mwai Kibaki’s illegitimate government as the news-report
insinuates. Government sponsored thugs and mercenaries cut the water
and power supply to Kisumu (an opposition stronghold) at a time when
a cholera outbreak is clearly imminent. Over 100 people have been
killed in Kisumu, many of them shot in the back by paramilitary
forces. There have been reports of cholera in greater South Nyanza
and this will spread to major urban centres on the Kenyan side of
Lake Victoria. Massive starvation is also imminent in the face of a
ban on fishing (a consequence of the cholera outbreak). All major
urban areas and rural settlements in all parts of the country are
under severe threat, from Busia to Mombasa, thanks to the purveyors
of spreadsheet democracy. A government that consorts with known
international criminals cannot presume to lecture Kenyans on human
rights.
Kenyans at home and in the diaspora have to admit that it is our
collective silence in the face of extreme repression at key moments
in our history that has led to this crisis. Giving airtime to saber-
rattlers, spin-doctors and latter-day Goebbels will not help, but a
little investigative journalism just might. The horses of the East
African apocalypse may just have been unleashed. The truth must come
out. However, our immediate duty now is not to dig in with specific
accusations against politicians, but to work out a solution. Only a
Truth and Reconciliation Commission and clear rules for power-sharing
will help us in the end. Do not fail East Africa, for the region
could implode!
Sincerely,
Dr Dan Ojwang
Head, African Literature
University of the Witwatersrand
******
RESPONSE TO NGUGI WA THIONG'O'S ANALYSIS OF KENYA
Rose Ochwada
Anyone who knows Ngugi will appreciate that Ngugi does not consider
any other Kenyan a worthy leader unless they are Kikuyu. This article
is a veiled attack on ODM and an endorsement of Kibaki leadership
(http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/45051). What is sad is
that Ngugi fails to mention the fact that Kibaki failed to make the
promised new constitution a reality, leading to the fallout with many
in his cabinet and the consequent creation of the Orange Movement. He
also surprisingly fails to condemn the new found reliance of Kibaki
on Moi for political survival and what this means to all Kenyans who
fought for the second liberation. He cannot bring himself to
acknowledge Raila Odinga's fight to demoncracy over the past 30 odd
years. He can only praise the role of 'Mau Mau' which we all know was
a tribal organisation fighting for return of land to the Kikuyu. If
not then can he tell me of a single non-Kikuyu who was a Mau-Mau?? I
personaly have nothing against the Kikuyu per se. I only get annoyed
at people like Ngugi who use their International fame to fight a
tribal cause under the guise of an intellectual discussion. When he
talks of economic progress, can he honestly quote an instance where a
resident of Mathare or Kibera slums who can testify to a real change
in their lives due to the 'economic changes' of the last 5 years? Or
is he just quoting the 'infamous' 6% growth that Kimunya and Co keep
going on about while stealing from the public through 'Anglo-Leasing?
I have never been a fan of Ngugi even in the Moi era, I am less of a
fan now with his clear hypocrisy and obviouse tribal agenda.
******
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
4 African Union Monitor
AU MONITOR WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Issue 118, 2007
http://www.aumonitor.org/
This week's AU Monitor brings you updates from the African Union,
where Cuban Vice President Estaban Lazo Hernandez recently held
discussions with Commissioner Konare. The two leaders agreed to
improve political and socioeconomic links between the African Union
and Cuba and enhance Cuban solidarity for the development of the
African continent. Further, Nadia Ahmadou provides analysis about the
African Union's commitment to human right's and governance on the
continent, encouraging the commission to match its statements with
action by creating " a consolidated and coherent institutional
approach to the standards regarding human rights, as contained within
its Constitutive Act".
A memorandum of understanding between the United Nations' Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA) and three European countries was signed
recently. The new business plan for 2007-2009 will allocate $12
million to numerous gender, trade, and governance activities.
In regional news, the South African Development Community (SADC)
reflects on 2007 and examines developments and shortcomings of its
member states activities while also highlighting the various
challenges to regional integration.
In peace and security news, the full deployment of peacekeeping
troops in the Darfur region has been delayed further still. Of the
issues contributing to the delay, amongst the largest is the Sudanese
governments' insistence that only African troops be deployed to the
region, asking that the UN and other international structures provide
control and command support.
Lastly, the final communiqué from the 42nd Ordinary Session of the
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is now available.
******
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\
Fahamu - Networks For Social Justice
http://www.fahamu.org
© Unless otherwise indicated, all materials published are licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative
Works 3.0 Unported License. For further details see: http://
www.pambazuka.org/en/about.php
Pambazuka news can be viewed online: http://www.pambazuka.org/
RSS Feeds available at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/newsfeed.php
Pambazuka News is published with the support of a number of funders,
details of which can be obtained at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/
about.php
To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE go to:
http://pambazuka.gn.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pambazuka-news
or send a message to editor at pambazuka.org with the word SUBSCRIBE or
UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line as appropriate.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not
necessarily represent those of Pambazuka News or Fahamu.
ISSN 1753-6839
More information about the KICTANet
mailing list