The Kenya Accord

The following is the text of the agreement signed Thursday by President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to end Kenya’s political crisis.

The pact was witnessed by Mr Kofi Annan, the chief mediator, and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who is also the chairman of the African Union.

Preamble

The crisis triggered by the 2007 disputed presidential election has brought to the surface deep-seated and long-standing divisions within Kenyan society. If left unaddressed, these divisions threaten the very existence of Kenya as a unified country. The Kenyan people are now looking to their leaders to ensure that their country will not be lost.

Given the current situation, neither side can realistically govern the country without the other. There must be real power-sharing to move the country forward and begin the healing and reconciliation process.

With this agreement, we are stepping forward together, as political leaders, to overcome the current crisis and to set the country on a new path. As partners in a coalition government, we commit ourselves to work together in good faith as true partners, through constant consultation and willingness to compromise.

This agreement is designed to create an environment conducive to such a partnership and to build mutual trust and confidence. It is not about creating positions that reward individuals. It seeks to enable Kenya’s political leaders to look beyond partisan considerations with a view to promoting the greater interests of the nation as a whole. It provides the means to implement a coherent and far-reaching reform agenda, to address the fundamental root causes of recurrent conflict and to create a better, secure and prosperous Kenya for all.

To resolve the political crisis, and in the spirit of coalition and partnership, we have agreed to enact the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008, whose provisions have been agreed upon in their entirety by the parties hereto and a draft copy thereof is appended hereto.

Its key points are:

There will be a prime minister of the Government of Kenya, with authority to coordinate and supervise the execution of the functions and affairs of the Government of Kenya.

The prime minister will be an elected member of the National Assembly and the parliamentary leader of the largest party in the National Assembly, or of a coalition, if the largest party does not command a majority.

Each member of the coalition shall nominate one person from the National Assembly to be appointed a deputy prime minister.

The Cabinet will consist of the President, the Vice-President, the prime minister, the two deputy prime ministers and the other ministers. The removal of any minister of the coalition will be subject to consultation and concurrence in writing by the leaders.

The prime minister and deputy prime ministers can only be removed if the National Assembly passes a motion of no confidence with a majority vote.

The composition of the coalition government will at all times take into account the principle of portfolio balance and will reflect their relative parliamentary strength.

The coalition will be dissolved if the Tenth Parliament is dissolved; or if the parties agree in writing; or if one coalition partner withdraws from the coalition.

The National Accord and Reconciliation Act shall be entrenched in the Constitution.
Having agreed on the critical issues above, we will now take this process to Parliament. It will be convened at the earliest moment to enact these agreements. This will be in the form of an Act of Parliament and the necessary amendment to the Constitution.

We believe by these steps, we can together, in the spirit of partnership bring peace and prosperity back to the people of Kenya who so richly deserve it.

Analysis: Obama continues to chip away at Clinton's base

CNN) -- If Ohio and Texas weren't already must-win states for Sen. Hillary Clinton, they certainly are now.

Sen. Barack Obama continued his winning streak since Super Tuesday two weeks ago, picking up his tenth state in a row.
But as significant as Obama's accelerating momentum is how he is increasingly swaying voters that Clinton could count on at the beginning of February.

While Obama has been solidifying his base of younger, college-educated, higher-paid voters, he has steadily been chipping away Clinton's base of blue-collar, older, working-class voters.
On Tuesday, Obama captured 53 percent of Wisconsin's white voters compared to 41 percent on Super Tuesday. He won 48 percent of women in Wisconsin compared to 41 percent on Super Tuesday.

He increased his standing with white seniors by 8 points, from 31 percent to 39 percent since Super Tuesday. He split the non-college-graduate vote 50-50 with Clinton compared to getting 42 percent of it on Super Tuesday.
Obama won almost half of the Catholic vote compared to a third of it two weeks ago, and he did the same thing with the rural vote.

He also seems to be taking the economy away from Clinton as an issue. He won 44 percent of those voters who said that was the most important issue for them on Super Tuesday, but he won 55 percent of those voters on Tuesday.
Obama also scored a projected win in the Hawaii Democratic caucuses, the state where he was born and still has family. There were 20 delegates at stake in that race.

Heading into Wisconsin, most thought the contest was a toss-up. Obama's sweeping win there Tuesday can't be encouraging for the Clinton camp heading into Ohio as there are a lot of similarities between the blue-collar, Rust Belt states.
If the demographic trends continue, it doesn't look good in Texas. Obama won the Latino vote in Maryland and Virginia last week, a segment of the electorate that was solidly in the Clinton camp at the beginning of the race.
Polls in Texas show the contest there being a dead heat, but they showed the same thing in Wisconsin.

Clinton's post-primary speech on Tuesday might be setting the tone for the next two weeks. She says Obama is offering rhetoric while she's offering solutions.
On Tuesday, she told a crowd in Ohio that the Democratic race is "about picking a president who relies not just on words, but on work."

Obama was also the focus of part of Republican Sen. John McCain's victory speech on Tuesday. While not mentioning Obama by name, he suggested the general election would be a choice between his experience and the "confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate."
McCain won the Republican primary in Wisconsin and the remaining half of Washington state's delegates in the primary. However, he still can't convince conservatives to line up behind his candidacy.
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Sources: CNN

Kenyan leaders have always ignored the people's voices

Story by WILLIAM OCHIENG' Publication Date: 2/18/2008

Macharia Gaitho was right, that by default, Kenya has attained a majimboist status (Daily Nation, February 5, 2008). This status arose from the post-December 27 General Election crisis, which some of our selfish leaders have forced onto us.

It is evidently true, as Gaitho says, that we have witnessed, on a massive scale, the forced movement of people back to their “supposedly ancestral homelands.” Usually an excellent, balanced and perceptive writer, Gaitho nevertheless proceeded to lament the implication which this unplanned majimbo status may have on Kenya’s search for modern statehood.
I think differently. I think our political crisis shows us exactly what the majority of Kenyans think and want. No Kenyan community, so far, has mentioned, or even thought of, secession. Which means that they all remain solidly Kenyan.

It now remains to us to construct a strong Kenyan federalist state from the rubble of post-election turbulence, together with modalities for interaction between the regions.
OUR PEOPLE, FROM MOUNT ELGON in the west, to the Kenya Coast, have always asked for change, from the structures and policies that we inherited from colonialism. But our leaders, starting with Jomo Kenyatta down to Mwai Kibaki, have always refused to listen. Now that the Kenyan communities have decided to take matters into their hands and to show the way, are we prepared to listen?

And what, exactly, are the angry Kenyans saying? What changes do they want? How do they want Kenya to be governed? I suspect that these questions are not new, but the majority of our leaders, particularly those who are the direct beneficiaries of the colonial legacies, have been reluctant to ponder them.

Leading amongst Kenya’s grievances is the question of land. Most Kenyan communities claim that land questions were rashly and unfairly handled by our leaders soon after independence.
Inter-ethnic borders were left vague, and the landed-estates, which the settlers had illegally occupied, were quickly acquired by the emergent African elite, instead of being returned to those who had owned them before the white settlers came.

Even more painful is that, the new occupants of former settler estates are considered to be more arrogant and selfish, than the former white settlers.
Then, there is the persistent question of the national economy. This, again, is in the hands of the emergent African elite class, who run it in collaboration with their international conspirators, as if the majority of Kenyans do not exist. Most Kenyans simply look at what is happening across the fence. The elite form companies, fix and manipulate prices, decide who to employ and are disinterested in the general welfare of the masses.

There is also the question of national leadership, which is contested and manipulated by the rich. Given that democratic leadership hinges on the majority, it means that people from small tribes and clans will be forever excluded from power. In Africa, power is used to develop the regions of the leaders.

THEN THERE IS THE QUESTION OF ethnicity — which is the ideology of the rich and educated. Ethnic chauvinists are the most annoying people, particularly when they are also the leaders. They often intimate who they do not want and who must be excluded from the resources of the State. They divert tourists from regions they hate, and sit forever on development funds for projects that do not benefit their ethnic community directly.

The above, and several other questions and issues, are at the core of Kenya’s national dilemma and instability. They are not new or un-reformable issues, but surprisingly, few Kenyan leaders have time for them. Our leaders campaign to go to Parliament not to cater for the interests or concerns of their electors, but to find ways of enriching themselves.

The Kenyan people are saying that since in the last 44 years, they have failed to find honest leaders to listen to what they want, they could as well take over the management of their ancestral regions.

___________________________________
Prof Ochieng’ teaches history at Maseno University

Let us be honest and fair

________Omar Ahmed Ali, Philadelphia, USA__

In his effort to reduce crime and murder rates in Philadelphia, the new police commissioner Mr. Charles Ramsey, who is the city of brotherly love’s top cop, recently commented that the new tactics he wishes to impose are not a departure from basic police work. He added that the tactics won’t be Batman or Robin Hood suddenly coming out of a cave somewhere to solve all the city’s problems.

This is exactly what is not going to happen in Kenya. The former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who is leading the mediation talks is not going to come up with a solution, to our country’s political stalemate, out from a hat as many Kenyans perhaps suspect. The fact of the matter is that, it is the principals of this political stalemate, namely President Mwai Kibaki and the Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga through their appointed mediation teams together with the assistance of Annan and his group are the one who combined will come up with the solution.

With due respect to the finest Ghanaian diplomat and his team of eminent persons, they know that they are not in any position to impose a long lasting solution to the Kenyan political problem. That is why this column finds it to be very unfair for a section of the press to demonize the Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Martha Karua on her firm stand when it come to the mediation talks. The way I see it is that as a team leader of the Government/PNU side, Karua has every reason and every right to defend her side. Of course this applies to the Vihiga MP Musalia Mudavadi who is leading the ODM side to do the same.

Demonizing Karua is not helping the situation but making it worse. For instance, while addressing an informal session of the National Assembly, the former UN chief, who is the lead mediator of the Kenya mediation talks, while briefing the legislators on the developments of ending the political impasse, said amongst other things that ‘the team had agreed to have a transitional government for two years after which the country shall hold presidential elections.’
Now this matter was evidently never discussed in the talks and Karua being who she is, came out and publicly stated that was not the case. That the issue of transitional government and presidential elections in two was never discussed, at least as she puts it, her team was not a part to those discussions.

The no nonsense Gichugu MP issued a statement clarifying Kofi Annan position; she was within her jurisdiction as the Government/PNU Team Leader to the mediation talks. Whether Karua is a hawk or not in the Kibaki government or a status quo-proponent or is a close confidant of President Kibaki is immaterial. What she did was she summarily, albeit correctly, described the respected Ghanaian diplomat’s briefing as "inaccurate".

The extract of the Karua’s strongly worded letter obtained by media houses read: "My team is alarmed at some serious inaccurate statement made by Your Excellency at the briefing of parliamentarians today. Namely, you stated that ‘the dialogue team had agreed to have a transitional government for two years after which we shall hold presidential elections.”

Although the press had already demonized her even before letting Annan explain his side of the story. Interestingly it has now been clarified by Mr. Annan that, the proposal of the transitional government to oversee an election in two years was his own personal proposal and or idea and not that of the mediation talks and that the matter was never discussed.
I am sure the press cannot wait to pounce on her recent comments that diplomats accredited to Nairobi are indeed very junior officers in the pecking order in their governmental organizational chart. Karua could not have been right on the mark when she made this statement.

In the United States, the department of state organization chart shows the Secretary of State is the department head, followed by the Deputy Secretary of State, under this position is that of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. Reporting to this position are eight assistant secretaries of state for specific regions, i.e East Asian & Pacific Affairs; South & Central Asian Affairs; and African Affairs to name but three. The ambassadorial positions doesn’t even surface in the “senior officials “organization chart, at least as posted in their website. Yet in Kenya both the US and UK diplomats Michael Ranneberger and Adam Woods behaves as if they are more senior than our cabinet ministers. Get this, the US President George W. Bush is visiting Benin and he will accord the Benin President Thomas Yayi Boni the respect of a head of state although Benin is slightly smaller and definitely poorer than the state of Pennsylvania.

Boldly speaking I can say with certainty that Kenya is not going to be a failed a state like Somalia as many western governments wish it should. We know better. In addition we need political leaders with no nonsense attitude such as Martha Karua; who without mincing any words remind these diplomats of the rank they truly belong to in their pecking order lest they have all but forgotten because they are serving in poor African countries.
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Decolonized minds

While in still in the subject of the diplomacy and diplomats, let’s look at the reason why the Nairobi based diplomats, i.e. ambassadors and high commissioners are playing with the issuance of their respective countries visas to our politicians and their families. It is because they know that slapping the denials of issuance of visa it touches those individuals’ nerves. It is a fact that we Africans have never been truly liberated in the truest meaning of the word. We might have been politically and physically liberated; now self-ruling our sovereign countries, but the Mzungu was and seems to continue to be very successful in decolonizing our minds.

Where I am going with this? Before I go any further, can one explain to me, how come the US ambassador Michael Ranneberger had the audacity to write a letter to one of our lawmakers, asking him to write an essay explaining his (the MP’s) effort and achievements in peace building? This MP Kabando wa Kabando representing Mukwureini claims he has not even applied for a visa and he rightly declined the US Embassy request to write the easy. My question comes, in what capacity and what criteria was Ranneberger or his junior staffers using when they wrote this letter to Hon. Kabando and nine other individuals? Isn’t this an insult to our dignity as a people?

Some of these diplomats still think they are ‘viceroys’ serving their respective countries’ African colonies and sadly we let them believe that to be the case. For instance, our media enjoys to publish banner headlines that the US, UK, Swiss and Canada all are threatening not to issue visas to certain Kenyan politicians because as they put it, considered to be subverting democracy. What would that ban to enter their respective countries really do to the displaced Kenyans or the 1,000 souls that perished in the post-lection violence? Nothing.

The problem we have in our African society is that the affluent and wealthy, plus politicians and senior government bureaucrats (although I might add that this is not restricted to Kenya) tend to like to shop in Europe or North America. They bank and invest all their money in those countries financial institutions –they buy properties in those countries et al. In addition they love to visit those countries with the slimmest of the reason to do so, for showoff.

It seems me that they always get a feeling of satisfaction when their children go to European or North American institutes of higher learning, universities and colleges. When one returns home with a college degree from a US or a UK university with a failing average, this person’s certificate (degree) will be taken and considered to be of a higher value than that of the say a passing University of Nairobi graduate. People sadly tend assume the Mzungus have the best education with the greatest of teachers and professors in the world.

These bourgeoisie societies even like to take their vacations and spend holidays in those cold weather lands, while the Wazungus themselves are looking for Africa on their vacation schedule. Now these Nairobi based embassies are not stupid; they know this mentality exist hence they continue to colonize our willing “inferior” minds.

Unless we liberate ourselves from them, they will continue to play with our minds to their advantage. I can tell you this, the only reason they cannot impose sanction on the Kibaki government is because, Kibaki’s trade policy ventured elsewhere and is now geared towards to East and not the West as has been case for many years. Something the UK is yet to get a grasp on, hence David Miliband, the UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is seen to be behaving like a school child when it comes to his government recognizing the government of President Mwai Kibaki.

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A balanced list of MPs

The twelve names presented to the Electoral Commission of Kenyan (ECK) by the four political parties, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Party of National Unity (PNU), Orange Democratic Movement Kenya (ODM—K ), and Kenya African National Union (KANU) as their choices for Nominated Members of Parliament is as a balanced a list as it can ever be.

This column lauds all the parties that presented the list of names. The column particularly praise all the respective political parties’ leadership for their bold move in presenting those names where women were given the lions’ share.
Out of the 12 nominees the group includes six women nominees. In addition the list took care of the crucial regional, ethnic and religious balance.

On the women side out of six names that were presented includes two Muslim women from two different communities and or provinces namely, Shakila Abdalla of ODM Kenya hailing from the Coast, and Amina Abdalla (no relation with Shakila) from North Eastern, re-nominated again to the National Assembly by KANU. Re nominating Ms. Amina was a bold move by KANU leadership under the stewardship of the Local Government Minister Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta considering the fact that the party had only one slot for such an appointment. And they gave it to a woman.

ODM on its part apportioned fifty percent of their six slots appointments to women named Janet Ongera, Milliy Odhiambo, and Rachel Shebesh. PNU gave one of its three slots to a woman, namely Maison Leshoono, the chairperson of Samburu District Maendeleo Ya Wanawake organization. Although it may pass unnoticed because of the post-election violence and the on going Kofi Annan-led mediation talks, but by having the majority of appointments to the National Assembly women, is unprecedented in our country.

I boldly laud the Vice President’s Kalonzo Musyoka-led ODM Kenya that went ahead to pick individuals (as the nominees) outside Musyoka’s native Eastern province as would have been expected in our ethicized politics.

Speaking boldly, notwithstanding my support of the two women earlier proposed by the PNU as their nominees, I would have thought that PNU should have nominated former Foreign Affairs minister Raphael Tuju. Although Tuju and the former Local Government Minister Musikari Kombo (whose name has since been added in the PNU list to replace a Ms. Wasike) campaigned for Kibaki in a truest sense of the word. Although shocking to many observers that Kombo lost his re-election bid in Webuye, as for Tuju it would have been a bigger shocker had he retained his Rarieda seat in an ODM and Raila Odinga zone. Kibaki needs or needed not only an Mp from Luoland but also a minister and Tuju would have been a perfect choice. _______________________

omarahmedali@gmail.com

ALLAWY AHMED BADAWY:GREAT MUSLIM SCHOLAR

The late Mzee Mwenye

________

Built up The Shiat School of Thought

Mzee Mwenye was a great 'Shiat' scholar who built up The Shiat School of Thought.

Allawy Ahmed Badawy, popularly known as 'Mzee Mwenye' passed away on 8th February at the age of ninety-one.
He established a thriving college that has attracted several youth from as far as Commoro islands to Lamu come learning the dogmas of Shiat Madh-haab.

He is the son of that great 'Sunni' scholar - Habib Swaleh Badawy who built Riyadha College about a hundred years ago which still attracts several students to Lamu.
Mzee Mwenye tremendously succeeded in having several hundreds of Lamu youths to be his staunch disciples who are spreading the teachings of Shiat Madh-haab' principles, not only at Lamu but also in many parts of the Coast.

He is a highly respected, influential reformist who deeply dedicated his life to promoting Islamic tenets of 'Shiat School of Thought and has made an indelible impact of his teaching.
He lived a simple, yet dignified life, ever surrounded by youth to whom he used to give pearls of wisdom.
He had a photographic memory that enabled him to be a great historian and Arabic grammarian.
When visiting Mombasa he would make a particular point to attend that famous evening conversational 'Baraza' - at Aswan Hotel, under his esteem and intimate friend, the late Sheikh Abdallah S. Jeneby.
He would give an impromptu lecture on the Shiat School of Thought.
He was a brilliantly articulate, eloquent public speaker whose deep knowledge of history gave very rich authentic material for his talks.

He has made history as a great scholar who brought to Lamu 'The Shia School of Thought' to which has earned several hundred young adherents.
May Allah rest his soul in Paradise.

Faraj Dumila, Mombasa.

The myth that Kenya is an island of stability

________
Published on February 15, 2008, 12:00 am

By Mwandawiro Mghanga

Post-election has shattered the myth that Kenya is an island of democracy, peace, stability and development in a conflict-ridden region. But it is now the concern of people, governments and civil society organisations in Kenya, the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes region, African Union, United Nations and the world. The anger, bitterness, hatred, violence, deaths, destruction and anarchy that erupted in many parts of the country put to question the concept of Kenya as a viable nation.

A nation is a constituted and stable community formed on the basis of a common language, common territory, common economic life and common psychological make up manifested in specific features of national culture.

Tribalism exists, but few suspected it could rear its ugly head in such brutal, primitive, vile and horrendous manner, and after elections that were generally peaceful before the presidential results were announced.
So shocking and embarrassing is the violence that Kenya and the world can hardly come to terms with it. As matters stand now, it is as if the country is controlled by anarchists the instruments of the State are unable surmount.

The security crisis created has pulled the country many years back economically, affecting all sectors of the economy — agriculture, trade, tourism, industry, transport, communication, education and health. All the gains in creating a national identity have been eroded and reversed. The physical and psychological damage it has caused in society will take many years to repair.
It is expected that the political problem over the elections will be resolved soon through mediation talks led by Dr Koffi Anan. A political agreement must be reached sooner than later to end the war and prevent killings and destruction of property.

But what is even more scaring is that the security forces are either unable or refusing to offer protection in areas affected by inter-ethnic conflict. As a result, some politicians have suggested the intervention of foreign forces. It is distressing to accept that the State is unable to defend the right of Kenyans to live safely and own property.
However, political agreements and solutions for peace can only address the immediate problem and offer top-down solutions that, though necessary, will hardly deal with the causes. Long-term solutions demand down up solutions that must involve Kenyans of all ethnic groups, classes, gender, ages and geographical regions.
They should also be based on true, real and merciless surgery of the society and give prescriptions that must be taken or the nation crumbles, falls apart and dies. Such a prescription would inevitably address short and long-term solutions and dig dipper than the solutions the mediation talks offer.

Kenyans will have to look themselves in the mirror; they must honestly and critically examine themselves, their families, ethnic groups and neighbours in relation to democracy, justice, human rights and the present and future. Every Kenyan must take responsibility and participate in searching for short and long-term solutions to the political and social crisis.

This includes, among other things, confronting stereotypes, hypocrisy and myths that have been held about themselves and one another, especially of different ethnic groups.
Self-criticism and reality of the inherent social contradictions, historical injustices and inevitable conflicts must not be ignored. Ignoring reality, as has happened in the past, leads to brutal consequences.

Accepting this could be the beginning of the search for solutions to the crisis that has escalated the instability and the refugee problem within and outside Kenya.
To attribute violence to the result of flawed elections is a myth. Now it is now clear that the election result only helped to trigger the explosion of anger, bitterness, hatred and hypocrisy that have been simmering in society for a long time. The beastly and worst side of Kenyans has finally been exposed before them and the world.
They must appreciate and confront the worst within them and stop being hypocritical. How, for example, can we expect sustainable peace without justice? How can we build the nation when we talk about peace and patriotism in public and before foreigners, but prepare for war and preach hatred and tribalism in private?

Research aimed at understanding and seeking solutions to the numerous conflicts is also needed. Conflicts can only be prevented, managed or resolved if and when they are identified, their nature understood and acted upon. If conflicts are not addressed at their infancy, they are likely to explode into war and destruction at the slightest opportunity.

It is more logical and easier to take pre-emptive measures than to deal with the effects of conflict — violence and war. The post-conflict situation will not be easy to deal with either. The task of healing the nation and preventing future conflict will be long, protracted and gargantuan.
Although a lot of work has been done on conflict and conflict resolution, it has concentrated on conflict over economic and natural resources.
Attitudes, platitudes and prejudices should be addressed, investigated and exposed.
___________________________________________________________

The writer is a former MP and chairman of the Social Democratic Party

Obama now Democratic front-runner

______________

WASHINGTON --
"The change we seek swept through Chesapeake and over the Potomac," Sen. Barack Obama told supporters Tuesday night.
Thhis is after Sen. Obama's wins in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia primaries propelled him past Sen. Hillary Clinton in the race for delegates stakes a claim as the Democratic front-runner. To clinch the Democratic nomination, a candidate must get 2,025 delegates.

According to CNN calculations, Obama has 1,215 delegates to Clinton's 1,190.
Obama had led in pledged delegates, but Sen. Clinton had held the lead when superdelegates were factored in.

Superdelegates, a group of almost 800 DP officials and leaders, are not required to make their votes public and are free to change their minds.
The Illinois senator has now won eight consecutive contests.

In the Republican Party the Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumptive nominee for the Republican party, has 812 delegates to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s 217, according to CNN estimates.

A GOP candidate needs 1,191 delegates to secure the nomination.
"We won the state of Maryland. We won the commonwealth of Virginia. And though we won in Washington, D.C., this movement won't stop until there is change in Washington, D.C., and tonight we're on our way."

_______________

Sources: CNN

President Kibaki is recieves congratulations from world leaders on his re-election

_____________

Congratulatory messages have been showered to President Mwai Kibaki following his re-election for a second term in office.

Among the world leaders who have sent congratulatory messages include

• Singapore's President Sellapan Rama Nathan,


• Djibouti's President Ismael Omar Guelleh,


• Swaziland Prime Minister Absalom Themba Dlamini,


• Botswana President Festus Gontebanye Mogae


• Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

In his message Singapore's President Nathan said he was looking forward to working with President Kibaki to further strengthen the existing relations between Kenya and Singapore.

Djibouti's President Guelleh expressed hope that the re-election of President Kibaki would boost the cordial and mutually beneficial relations between Kenya and Djibouti in the spirit of cooperation, goodwill and friendship.

Swaziland Prime Minister Dlamini expressed his firm belief that cordial relations between Kenya and Swaziland would continue to be enhanced and strengthened for the benefit of the people of the two countries.

On his part, Botswana's President Mogae said President Kibaki's re-election for a second term was an incisive demonstration of the faith and confidence the people of Kenya have in his capable and visionary leadership and his ability to build a prosperous nation.

"I note with great satisfaction that Botswana and Kenya enjoy excellent relations and I look forward to continue working with you to further strengthen the bonds of friendship and solidarity that subsist between our two countries and people and in finding solutions to the challenges facing our continent and the world at large," the President of Botswana said.

In his message the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Al-Sabah wished the President success in his immense responsibilities for the progress and prosperity of the people of Kenya.

A Deal We Can Live With

THE NEW YORK TIMES

By MAINA KIAI and L. MUTHONI WANYEKI
Published: February 12, 2008

Nairobi, Kenya

UNTIL December, Kenya was the most stable nation in East Africa. It has long been a willing partner in the Bush administration’s war on terrorism. Yet the United States has mostly stood by as our country has descended into chaos.

More than 800 people have been killed and at least 250,000 driven from their homes since rigged presidential elections on Dec. 27. Two opposition members of Parliament have been gunned down, and human rights defenders have received death threats.

Thankfully, for the first time since the election, there is a glimmer of hope. On Friday, Kofi Annan, who has led an African Union mediation effort, announced that President Mwai Kibaki and his opponent in the presidential election, Raila Odinga, have agreed to negotiate a power-sharing agreement. Levels of tension in the country have already abated.

But Kenya will not be able to take the crucial steps to stability alone. We need sustained international pressure for as long as it takes to get the country back on track. Washington must refrain from simplistic characterizations of the violence as a matter of ethnic cleansing or tribal conflict, when in fact the roots of the problem are political.

To play an effective role, the United States must maintain consistent and strong pressure to ensure that Kenya’s leaders treat the mediation with utmost seriousness. Kenyans welcome American leadership on Kenya at the United Nations Security Council. The recent decision to bar hard-line politicians and their families from entering the United States is another step in the right direction. It appears to have been a decisive factor in prompting the parties to finally sit at the table.

Washington should continue to work in concert with other strong voices, like the European Union, to push for the restoration of democracy in Kenya. Additionally, the personal assets of the hard-liners and the leaders of the violence should be traced and frozen.

Congress should call for the International Republican Institute, an elections-monitoring organization that conducted an exit poll on the presidential vote, to release its findings. Suspicions that the institute has suppressed its results not because they were flawed but because they showed that Mr. Odinga won have fueled mistrust.

Finally, the United States can use another pressure point. It must freeze the millions of dollars of military assistance Kenya receives each year, pending a successful outcome to the negotiations. Some of the security forces benefiting from this aid and equipment have been killing Kenyan civilians with impunity. The United States must not be an accessory to their brutality.
The Annan agreement presents an opportunity for Kenya to step back from the brink of disaster. Kenya can now fix the “winner take all” political system that prompted the recent election rigging, and end the impunity for human rights violations that has dogged our country since independence.

The Annan mediation effort must push the parties to agree to a one- to two-year transitional government, with both sides exercising equal powers. This government’s chief tasks, besides keeping the country running, must be to carry out badly needed constitutional reforms around presidential powers, and to create the conditions for new free and fair elections.
Restructuring the electoral commission, the police and the judiciary is also critical. The perpetrators of the election fraud and the violence must be prosecuted to restore Kenyans’ faith in the power of the vote. Only then can new presidential elections be held.

The current calm must not be mistaken for peace. A critical opportunity will be lost if the mediation effort results only in political horse-trading between Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga. Without these critical reforms, the gains made in the last few days will secure only a short-lived truce.
Above all, the United States and the world must ensure that the Kenyan people’s vote is respected. If we cannot uphold our democratic choice, the future of Kenya will be lost.

Maina Kiai is the chairman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. L. Muthoni Wanyeki is the executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, a nongovernmental organization.

Deal will create joint government in Kenya

President Mwai Kibaki (2nd Left) and Raila Odinga (2nd Right) in a group photo with H.E Koffi Annan (Centre), H.E Graca Machel (Left) and H.E Benjamin Mkapa (Right) when they held a peace mediation session at Harambee House, Nairobi.

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Kenya's ruling party and opposition have agreed to form a power-sharing government in an effort to end weeks of bloodshed that have engulfed the country since a deeply flawed election, an opposition lawmaker said Friday.

The two sides were still discussing who would lead the government and what roles each party would play, said William Ruto, a lawmaker from the opposition Orange Democractic Movement.
"We have finally agreed that there is a problem in the country and neither side can proceed on its own," Ruto said. "We have agreed to form a joint government. Details of that government, its time and how to share it are under discussions."
There was no immediate comment from the government or President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity. But former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who is heading talks aimed at resolving the crisis, was expected to make a statement later Friday.
Word of the power-sharing government came hours after Kibaki said he was "committed" to the negotiations.

Speaking at a prayer meeting in Nairobi, Kibaki said he was "encouraged" by progress in talks and reiterated "my personal support and that of my entire government to this process."
More than 1,000 people have been killed and 300,000 driven from their homes in fighting since the December 27 election that has often pitted many of the East African country's myriad ethnic groups against one another.

Hours before news of the power-sharing agreement broke, about 5,000 people fled a makeshift camp for those displaced by the violence in the western town of Kericho, fearing violence ahead of Saturday's funeral for an opposition lawmaker slain last week. Only about 1,000 people were left in the camp, said Red Cross official Susan Onyango.

Kericho's main street, meanwhile, was packed with families hastily piling furniture onto government trucks provided to take them to areas where their ethnic group was predominant.
The slain legislator was killed in what the opposition described as a political assassination but which police said was a crime of passion by a traffic policeman who believed that his girlfriend was involved with the politician. The killing had sparked attacks on the policeman's ethnic group, the Kisii.

International and domestic observers have heavily criticized the vote-tallying process, and the head of the electoral commission has publicly said that he does not know who won the election.
On Thursday, the U.S. added to the international pressure by threatening to bar Kenyan politicians and businessmen alleged to have played a role in the bloodshed from visiting the United States, a move that "hit a nerve," the U.S. ambassador said.

Politicians and businessmen are among those accused of financing or backing the violence.
"People are paying 4,000 shillings ($60) to burn down a house," U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said.

Washington sent letters to 10 politicians and businessmen suspected of supporting or inciting violence, Ranneberger said. U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the letters were sent to eight people. The discrepancy could not immediately be explained. Both declined to name the targets.

Casey said the visa reviews probably would take place over the next few days and were directed at "more regional figures" than top officials from both major political movements. Rannenberger said the U.S. could target top officials if the violence that has devastated the economy and undermined Kenya's democratic credentials continued.

Both Kibaki's government and the opposition welcomed the U.S. decision and insisted that they had nothing to do with the violence. But Kenyan human rights groups, foreign observers and diplomats say there is ample evidence that both parties helped incite and orchestrate attacks.

Mizengo Pinda is the new TZ premier

DAILY NEWS (tanzania)

President Jakaya Kikwete has appointed Hon. Mizengo Pinda as Tanzania's new prime minister, a day after his predecessor was forced to resign from the post amid allegations of graft over an energy deal.

Tanzanian head of state named outgoing cabinet member to replace Edward Lowassa. His nomination was swiftly endorsed by parliament, which is based in the administrative capital Dodoma. Pinda, 59, was minister of state for regional affairs and local government in the cabinet which was dissolved automatically when Kikwete accepted Lowassa's resignation late Thursday.
"We have a herculean task ahead. We must work together to overcome the problem of corruption and other evils in the society. It is a task that must not be left to one or a few individuals," Pinda said in his acceptance speech.

Pinda -- a seasoned politician and a trained lawyer -- is to be sworn in on Saturday and said announced that a new cabinet would be likely be unveiled on Monday.
Lowassa resigned after a parliamentary report implicated him and two other ministers in a corruption scandal over an energy deal with a firm from the United States.
Kikwete spent most of the day in consultations with Vice President Ali Mohammed Shein, Zanzibar President Amani Karume and other officials to agree on a name.
Lowassa's resignation and the scandal surrounding his departure are unprecedented in Tanzania and sent shockwaves across the country, which had enjoyed a good reputation with foreign donors in recent years.

"Because I have been linked to this scandal, I have decided to write to the president asking to be relieved of my duties," he told lawmakers gathered in the administrative capital Dodoma on Friday.
According to a probe into the energy contract, the prime minister as well as two other government ministers and several other officials allegedly meddled in the tender to favour Texas-based US firm Richmond.

The emergency power supply deal aims at providing electricity to the east African nation in case of drought. The report found the deal contravened laws and rules on procurement and costs the country 140,000 dollars (97,000 euros) a day.
The political upheaval comes a week ahead of an expected visit by US President George W. Bush.

The longest leg of Bush's continental tour is set to be in Tanzania, in what officials had described as a seal of approval for the developing nation.
Kikwete, who last week took over the rotating presidency of the African Union, is perceived as taking a tough stance against corruption.

Slippery road for Annan

Sunday Times

Omar Ahmed Ali

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Call me pessimist number one but I can say with certainty that, the mediation efforts being spear headed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the high profiled former heads of state team, to reconcile and or find a political solution in Kenya will not bear any fruit. I could easily say it is going to be it is a waste of time to say the very least.

I say so because when Orange Democratic Movement leaders Raila asserts that the only options on the table for discussion were the resignation of President Mwai Kibaki and a re-run of the presidential elections, and possibly the formation of a transitional government to take charge pending new elections. I wonder how this goping tot be possble in the current Constitutional arrangement. On the other hand, President Kibaki is unlikely to relinquish the presidency and go for a re-run of the presidential election.

And is he ready for the formation of a transitional government because he has already stated that he is the duly elected president. Here lies the big problem: Raila on his part does not recognize Kibaki as the legitimate head of state and has stated that he is not prepared to become a prime minister under President Kibaki. Where then does one expect reconciliation or political solution when the two main political protagonists have taken such extreme positions.
My question comes, where is Anan heading considering this Kibaki and Raila hard-line stands? Having made it possible for Raila and Kibaki to meet face-to-face and do a photo op show does not mean anything. Innocent lives are being lost and more people will continue to die while those seating on the high chairs on both sides of the political divide, together with their families are not affected at all.

The fact of the matter is that Kenya has more problems than what many people are prepared to admit. I also find it odd that it has taken Raila more than three weeks and after the death of estimated 600 innocent souls to tell his ODM supporters to embrace peace, exercise restraint and shun violence and destruction of property. The press quoted the Langata MP noting: “Let us not fight each other. Our war is between a small clique of bloodthirsty politicians around Kibaki who want to maintain the status quo and the large masses who are agents of change. Do not burn a poor man’s property. He never stole the election at KICC.”
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Sunday Times- kenya

http://www.kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=2&articleId=383

Updated on: Sunday, February 03, 2008 Story by: OMAR AHMED ALI

You’re off the mark, dear Prof Maathai

SUNDAY TIMES

Prof. Maathai

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When Professor Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her extraordinary tree planting efforts she was already a politician in elective politics. She was serving as a Member of Parliament and an Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources to boot. Africans in general and Kenyans in particular (and women you may add), the world over celebrated her achievement.

As a politician she was, it was accepted and seen appropriate for her to continue with her professional work as a “politician” (as majority of our politicians are). After her award many expected President Mwai Kibaki would elevate her to a full Cabinet position befitting her new international status. But because of complex regional and tribal balancing in Cabinet appointments her appointment to the full Cabinet was not to be. Her desire to want to remain in elective politics and to want to continue to represent her then Tetu constituents in the National Assembly became natural.

Despite her international fame, Prof Maathai sought and lost in the Party of National Unity, or PNU party, parliamentary nominations. Being a professional politician as she is and like others in the same mindset she gave herself a nomination ticket of her own Mazingira Party without the trouble of going through any democratic process. Thus, she went ahead to have her name in the ballot to defend her Tetu parliamentary seat. Here again she lost resoundingly. Now where is the credibility that she had earned as a Peace Laureate?

The sad thing about this African first woman laureate is that she did not only lose her parliamentary seat in the last Election but also her wider respect in the country. The way I see and many see it is that, Prof Maathai (the laureate) lost the moral authority to talk about anything political that pertains to Kenya.

But opportunists as many Kenyan politicians are, Prof Maathai now wants to remain relevant in the country and on a higher ground than her fellow professional politicians, winners or losers. As a Kenyan, she has every right to comment on issues political or otherwise. But she must recognize that she can remain as relevant as any other loser politician, or former MP, or former assistant minister and not more, not less. She cannot start using her “Nobel Peace Laureate” status and present herself above others.

For instance, when she says she is not happy with the Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka-led team appointed by President Mwai Kibaki to deal with national reconciliation, she carries no weight or much more weight as the former Lamu East MP Mohamed Hashim has pointed out the same.

The former youthful Local Government junior minister like Maathai also served as a legislator and an Assistant Minister and there many others like them. That is why I found it odd when some Kenyan columnists rushed to defend her. In one such defence one avowed gender activist columnist wrote: “Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai is back in full flow. It is good to see her break free of the captivity of elective politics. Being MP for Tetu obviously had its advantages and she fought hard and valiantly to retain the seat.” It further added: “But some of us have always believed that she should never have compromised her independence by getting into politics proper. There are many ways to serve your people, and Parliament is not necessarily the right place to do an honest job.” Boldly speaking, Prof Maathai should shut up and concentrate on the tree planting that earned her the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Keep up good job, Mr Minister

The appointment of Samuel Poghisio as the new Minister for Information and Communication is one of the best appointments in the President Kibaki partial seventeen member Cabinet. I know it has been less than one month since the Kacheliba legislator was named to the Cabinet post, but the early signs in the job are first-rate and as they say “dalili ya mvua ni mawingu”.

I say so because of the manner in which the newly appointed Information and Communication Minister has taken his job seriously is exactly what is suppose to be. I have always been an advocate of having the person who heads the Information and Communication docket be the overall government spokesperson and Poghisio fits this crucial mantle. His two predecessors Raphael Tuju and Mutahi Kagwe never became the authoritative in the ministry.

There are some instances where the Communication Secretary (a.k.a Official Government spokesperson) Alfred Mutua cannot enter into a war of words with political bigwigs in the country such as Raila Odinga, William Ruto or Anyang Nyongo et al. particularly at this moment and time in the country. Dr Mutua can and is usually dismissed as is a government bureaucrat with no political capital to talk about current political situation.

But Poghisio being a Cabinet Minister, legislator and a national chairman of a major political party in the country (ODM Kenya) is better positioned and equipped and has the political capital to respond to any government and or president criticism and square the issues for the benefit of all.

The Minister has taken charge in being the official Cabinet and or Government mouth in the on going mediation talks headed by Annan. In responding to ODM and its leaders criticism of the Government, Poghisio spoke with authority that befits a political leader and a Minister. I say kudos to Poghisio for the manner in which he started to run his new portfolio.

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Sunday Times -Kenya

Updated on: Sunday, February 03, 2008

http://www.kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=2&articleId=382

http://www.kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=2&articleId=384

Author: Omar Ahmed Ali