Kenyans Head to Polls for Presidential Vote

27 December 2007 CNN

Election Day: Polls open to elect new president, with President Mwai Kibaki seeking second 5 year term. Kibaki faces his toughest challenge from opposition party leader Raila Odinga, a flamboyant politician who for weeks has accused the president of corruption. Despite fears of violence, voting appears calm; voters show up to the polls hours before opening. Harun Owade, a 30-year-old mechanic, had been waiting in line to vote since 3:30 a.m. Many Kenyans credit Kibaki with keeping the country's economy strong, one of the strongest in Africa. Many other Kenyans accuse the president and the Government of corruption.

 

Kenya Counts Millions of Ballot

28 December 2007 CNN

Kenyan election officials were counting millions of ballots Friday in the country's closest-ever presidential race after an election praised as orderly and peaceful despite sporadic violence. Lines at polling stations stretched for miles in some areas. Diplomats have expressed concern that a narrow victory could lead to rioting. Each ballot is hand written and hand counted. Early results have Odinga ahead.

Kenya President Narrows Poll Gap

29 December 2007 CNN

Kenya's electoral commission said that incumbent president Mwai Kibaki was closing the gap on opposition leader Raila Odinga. Opposition leader Raila Odinga had earlier claimed victory. Violence breaks out as frustration mounts at the slow pace of vote counting. If Kibaki were to lose the election it will be the first time an incumbent leader has been unseated at the ballot box in the country's history.

Roaming gangs armed with machetes burned shops and broke into the homes of their political opponents 29 Dec. in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya's capital of Nairobi. Odinga has accused President Kibaki of favoring members of his own Kikuya tribe, which has dominated Kenyan politics since independence. Odinga, who hails from the minority Luo tribe, has won support from the rural and urban after promising to share the wealth among all the people.

This is the first time we hear reports of "tribal divides" The Country received its independence in 1963 from England and a 2 party system of government have been in place for only 15 years.

Kenyan President Sworn In

30 December 2007 Time (excerpts from Time 31 Dec 07)

Opposition supporters march at the entrance to the Mathare slum in Nairobi

President Kibaki was sworn today in a hasty ceremony attended by party loyalists, less than an hour after the electoral Commission of Kenya pronounced he had beaten Odinga, by just 230,000 votes. (Odinga had led most pre-election polls in the weeks leading up to the election.) Kibaki's first act in office was to ban live television and radio broadcasts. The vote last 27 Dec 2007 was initially portrayed as a success. But the mood soured as the counting went on. And when Odinga jumped to a lead of nearly 1 million votes, results were delayed from several of Kibaki's strongholds. Election officials either disappeared with ballot boxes or refused to answer their phones when the final result was announced. That prompted several observer groups to scrap assessments that the vote was free and fair. The European Union said it had evidence that the vote may have been rigged. On 31 Dec, the U.S., whose State Department at first congratulated Kibaki on his victory, issued a statement saying it was concerned by "serious problems experienced during the vote counting process." "These included various anomalies with respect to unrealistically high voter turnout rates, close to 100% in some polling places

Kenya's Vote Lead to Tribal War

31 December 2007 TIME

Looter carries clothes he stole past a burning shack in the Kibera slum of Nairob

Opposition supporters taunt police during riots in the Nairobi slum of Kibera

Police detain a man in the Nairobi slums.

Tribal violence erupted across Kenya Monday, claiming the lives of at least 124 people, after widespread accusations that President Mwai Kibaki rigged an election to defeat opposition candidate Raili Odinga.

Odinga supporters in his western stronghold, Kisumu, torched gas stations and more violence erupted in towns across the country. In Nairobi, walls of flame 20 feet high consumed homes in the slums. Crowds chanted "No Raila, no peace!" The opposition Orange Democratic Movement has scheduled rallies for 31 Dec, raising fears of more violence. Widespread violence in the Nairobi slum of Kibera as angry Odinga supporters set fire to buildings.

President Kibaki is a member of the largest of the country's 42 tribes in Kenya, the Kikuyu, who comprise roughly 22 percent of the country's population and have dominated politics nad business since independence in 1963. Raila Odinga belongs to the Luo tribe, the 3rd largest which makes up about 13 percent of population and has been the most vocal in their criticism of the Kikuyu dominance. Odinga spent nine years in the jails of autocratic President Daniel Arap Moi. Fueling particular anger is how corruption reserves much of Kenya's riches for the Kikuyu elite, and condemns millions to poverty. Despite an economy that grew at 6.2% last year, 55% of Kenya's 36 million people on less than $2 a day.

In the western port city of Kisumu -- the capital of Odinga's home province -- at least 19 people were shot dead by police, according to the Kenyan newspaper the Daily Nation.

30 Dec ember's result was immediately called into question, Analysts said, however, that it was probable that both of the main parties had been involved in electoral fraud.

Mob Burns Kenyans Seeking Refuge in Church 50 Killed

1 January 2008 CNN

A woman stands in front of the burnt church. BBC

A man wipes his face in front of the remains of a church where 50 people were burned alive in Eldoret. Reuters

A mob appears to have burned an Assembly of God Church filled with Kenyans, from the Kikuyu tribe, seeking refuge from the violence in the city of Eldoret. The Red Cross said that at least 50 were burned to death at the church, some of them children. As many as 200 people were at the church. Tensions could worsen Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga plans a huge protest rally in Nairobi. The government has banned all rallies. Kenyan government officials said at least 209 people had so far been killed and around 75,000 forced to flee their homes as gangs of machete-wielding young men roamed the streets. The Associated Press said more than 300 people were dead amid reports of horrific attacks, including the torching of a church where people who had sought refuge were burned alive. The ethnic violence is reminiscent of the strife that led to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Meanwhile the head of the country's electoral commission, Samuel Kivuitu, was quoted as saying he did not know who had won the election. Kivuitu said he had been pressured to announce the results. Ghanaian President John Kufuor, the head of the African Union, was due to arrive in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, to act as a mediator. Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju said the government was committed to taking control. "If the tear gas doesn't work then unfortunately they have to use live bullets," he said. "The president has been sworn in, the elections are over, the Kenyans have to accept the results, and the opposition has to accept the results."

Tribal Bonds Color Kenyan Politics

2 January 2008 CNN

 Tribal bonds remain stronger than national identity in Kenya, with the country's 36 million people claiming allegiance to 42 different tribes.

President Kibaki is a member of the largest of the country's 42 tribes in Kenya, the Kikuyu, who mostly originating from Kenya's central highlands comprise roughly 22 percent of the country's population and have dominated politics nad business since independence in 1963.

Raila Odinga belongs to the Luo tribe, mostly in the west of the country. They also form a sizable community in some of Nairobi's most notorious slums, such as the vast Kibera shantytown. The Luos are 3rd largest which makes up about 13 percent of population and has been the most vocal in their criticism of the Kikuyu dominance. Odinga spent nine years in the jails of autocratic President Daniel Arap Moi. Fueling particular anger is how corruption reserves much of Kenya's riches for the Kikuyu elite, and condemns millions to poverty. Despite an economy that grew at 6.2% last year, 55% of Kenya's 36 million people on less than $2 a day. Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement is also backed by many members of the Luhya tribe, Kenya's second largest ethnic group, after Odinga promised to make a leading Luhya his deputy if elected.

Update from Dr. Joe Mamlin Indiana University Medical Staff in Eldoret (Nobel Peace Prize Nominee) Working With AMPATH and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Moi University School of Medicine

2 January 2008

The following are excerpts from his experiences in Eldoret, Kenya after the elections:

As far as I know we have not lost single AMPATH staff member or patient. Unfortunately, it is impossible to run clinics since there are no matatus (van-taxi) running. It took almost 3 hours for one of our pharmacist to walk by foot to give us access to drugs. I took heart in an ER this morning when I no longer needed to step over a body Eldoret is quiet today but all roads in and out remain blocked by unpredictable gangs. Many residential areas of Eldoret are insecure and many of our friends are simply scared to death. We are doing all we can to help with the many needs of our Kenyan friends seeking safety. We can find food as of today since a few markets reopened. And we have our farms. Can't get the food out to patients so will harvest food to help feed our compound and the many refugee centers that have popped up in churches and jails. We have seen some things over the last few days that cannot be described in this note.

Kenya Braces for Banned March… Death Toll Reaches 300+

3 January 2008 CNN

Member of Kenyan security forces patrols as fire guts a slum dwelling in Mathare, NairobiArial view of burnt homes outside of town of Burnt Forest near Eldoret 4 Jan 08

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Ondinga vowed to go ahead with a banned "million man" protest rally in Nairobi

The political and ethnic violence sweeping Kenya has already left as many as 300 people dead and displaced 100,000, according to humanitarian groups.

Odinga Calls Off Protest… Tutu Visits Region

3 January 2008 Time

Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Kenyan police and opposition protesters fought running battles across the capital Nairobi as riot police blocked the opposition from holding a mass demonstration in the city center Uhuru Park

The Orange Democratic Movement (O.D.M.) called off plans for tens of thousands of its activists to march to Uhuru Park in the center of Nairobi to "inaugurate" their leader, Raila Odinga, as the "people's president."

Kenya's Attorney General Amos Wako called for an independent investigation into the election.

South African archbishop Desmond Tutu arrived in Nairobi overnight. Tutu's efforts to broker a compromise between the two sides had little immediate success. While he met Odinga, Tutu was unable to make an appointment with Kibaki. Prospects of a resolution are distant, not least because the rivalry between the two leaders is personal. Kibaki and Odinga were once political allies and Odinga backed Kibaki in the 2002 election, in return for a promise that Kibaki would change the constitution to create the position of Prime Minister — which he would then hand over to Odinga. That never happened.

We Finally Hear from a Friend of Discipleship Ministries, Amani

4 Jan 2008  

Amani is from the Luo tribe, he writes:
People are killing each other due to the just ended general elections. We are fine by the mercies of God. Our homes were burnt to ashes and we have nowhere to go to. We are just hiding in the bush with my children. The little food that we had, we shared with other families and we don't have anything left with us. We are starving with the children. The food stores are open but we don't have the money to buy it.

Photos from Amani This is Amani's home in Picture 1 and 2

Peacemaker Tutu Slams Kenya Elite

4 Jan 2008 CNN

Archbishop Desmond Tutu rounded on Kenya's ruling elite Friday, saying its people are sick of the corruption that has plagued the nation. "People have been incensed by the level of corruption." He spoke as an uneasy calm hung over the Kenyan capital, as violence has left at least 300 people dead and up to 75,000 people internally displaced. Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, added he was still hopeful a diplomatic solution could be found to ending the violence that accompanied the disputed election result.

Kenyan Opposition Seeks New Vote… Cities Calming

4 Jan 2008 Time

An Odinga supporter displays a sign during a march in Kisumu, Kenya

 

Kenya's ODM party called for a new presidential election to settle a dispute over the vote.

Anyang Nyongo, secretary-general of the Orange Democratic Movement, said the country should ready "for a new election of the president." "This is about a democracy and justice," Nyongo said. "We shall continue to defend and promote the right of Kenyans so that the democratic process should be fulfilled."

In Mombasa, police scattered 1,500 protesters who were shouting "Kibaki has stolen our vote!" There were no immediate reports of injuries.

In Nairobi, supporters of opposition candidate Raila Odinga vowed that street protests that shook Nairobi a day earlier would continue, but by midday there no signs of a mass protest brewing. Small groups of protesters were gathering on street corners in the slums, though, saying they were preparing for a rally.

 

Opposition Plans Rally in Nairobi

 

4 January 2008 CNN 

Opposition supporters taunt police during riots in the Nairobi slum of Kibera

 A massive rally in protest of President Mwai Kibaki's re-election was planned, one day after the nation's attorney general called for a recount and an independent investigation into the country's disputed election.

The level and nature of the violent protest has never before been witnessed in our country and is quickly degenerating into a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions," said Kenyan Attorney General Amos Wako

Police blocked a march into Nairobi in support of Odinga's party with tear gas and water cannons.

"I am ready to have dialogue with concerned parties once the nation is calm and the political temperatures are lowered enough for constructive and productive engagement," President Kibaki said.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu met with Odinga and other opposition officials Thursday and was scheduled to meet with Kibaki Friday morning. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also has sent diplomat Jendayi Frazer, who was to arrive in Kenya and meet with Kibaki, Odinga and other political leaders.

A local reporter witnessed youths from minority tribal groups manning checkpoints outside Eldoret, refusing entry to members of the Kikuyu tribe. Kenyans are required to carry identification cards and a person's name often indicates what tribe they are from. 

 

Where Kenya is on Fire

 

4 Jan 2008 Time 

 

A good firsthand account of the situation in Eldoret by Time correspondent Alex Perry

 

Opposition supporters brandish their bows at a roadblock on the route to Eldoret. Tim Cocks Reuters. Ethnic gangs have set up checkpoints in the Rift Valley.

The first sign of trouble comes around two hours from Eldoret in the hills of Kenya's Rift Valley. Several pine trees have been felled across the road, forcing a detour through the forest. A few minutes later, we come across a road-sign barrier bent across the highway. "You cannot imagine that this is Kenya," mutters Preston, my driver. We come to several more roadblocks manned by men sitting by the side of the road. Their breath smells of banana beer, and they want money and news of Nairobi. Some of them check Preston's tribe. I congratulate myself for swapping my usual Kikuyu driver for Preston, a Luo, at the last minute. By now the road has deteriorated to a heavily potholed gravel track. "Look at this road," says Preston. "Look how bad it is around here. This is why they are fighting." At the next roadblock, a telegraph pole laid across the road, a man leans into the car and drunkenly slurs, "We do not like Kikuyu this side."

Preston, an American colleague, and I are driving to Eldoret, the vortex of the tribal violence that has swept Kenya. Four days ago, a mob surrounded Kyamba church just outside Eldoret where hundreds of Kikuyu villagers had sought shelter. The mob barricaded the church doors with mattresses and set them afire. The flames spread through the building and, according to reports at the time, between 30 and 50 people were burned alive before the fire burst through the doors and the rest were able to escape. The Kikuyu became targets after the Kikuyu President Mwai Kibaki was sworn in for a second term in what overwhelming evidence suggests was a rigged election. For Kenya's other tribes, angry at what they regard as corrupt Kikuyu dominance of the country's politics and business, this was an outrage. Particularly angered were the Luo — the third largest in this east African nation of 36 million, whose populist candidate, Raila Odinga, was denied the presidency. Violence erupted across the country. Kyamba church burned the next day.

As we travel up the Rift Valley, the scale and fury of Kenya's southern division becomes ever more apparent. We enter a village called Kamosong, and 15 men surround the car. One is carrying a foot-long knife, another a hockey stick, a third a bow and arrow, a fourth a wooden club. A man who introduces himself as Thomas tells us the men are from the Kalenjin tribe of former President Daniel Arap Moi. "Have you got anyone in the back?" they ask Preston. "What's your name? Are you Kikuyu?" A few minutes further on, there is another roadblock and more men with bows and arrows. Then another, at which they check the trunk and Preston's identity card, which shows he is a Luo. We have passed around 10 more when we come to Kangasif. There is a minibus burning by the side of the road. A mob of 30 surround us. They bang their fists on the window. They are carrying machetes, heavy car wrenches, and more bows and arrows. One reaches into Preston's window and opens his door. Another man, smashing on my window with his fists, shouts, "We don't want you. We want your driver." Preston flashes his identity card. The men relax for a second, and we drive off.

On the outskirts of Eldoret, we come to a different kind of checkpoint, manned by the Kenyan military police. Inside it along the road into town, thousands of people are dragging suitcases and huddling in groups. Families are camped by the roadside, hanging their washing on fences. At the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral, Nickson Oira, 28, an assistant coordinator for the diocese says up to 9,000 people have sought shelter on the grounds. A further 50,000 are scattered at other refugee points across the town. Up to 20 Kikuyu villages around Eldoret are now deserted, says Oira. All the refugees are living in the open; many have brought whatever belongings they could carry — beds, mattresses, cheap armchairs, cockerels and, under a pile of wooden benches, a sewing machine. A two-man team from Medecins Sans Frontieres is distributing blankets. "Our challenge is food" says Oira. "Because of the looting, all the shops are closed and because of the roadblocks, there is no food coming."

Among the crowd is Josephine Wairimi, 45. She was inside Kyamba church when it was burned. She escaped with her husband and five children. A relative was less fortunate and lost three children in the flames. "These people were our neighbors," she said. "We knew them. They came to our shops. They talked to us." I ask her if she can return to Kyamba. "No," she says. "We can never live there. We can never talk to them. They are our enemies now." 

 

Discipleship Ministries Friend, Amani, Contacts Us Again.

 

5 Jan 2008

We ask if he has seen any one hurt or murdered he responds:

Brother, I may admit that many people were killed before me during the time of escape. Some were hacked to death using crude weapons including arrows and machetes. There was no single time to spare since everyone was busy trying to save his or her life and that of his her children.

We ask for him first hand account of how and what made you decide to flee your home when the violence started... His response was:

We ask of It was on a Saturday (29 Dec 2007) last week just before the general elections results were about to be announced. I was in my place of work as usual. Then all over a sudden, a group of young men struck a matatu (a van-taxi) that was going to town and started pelting stones to that matatu and thereafter there was war everywhere. My wife and I were caught in the violent but we managed to escape to our home. So it was during the night that we heard whistles of danger that a large group was coming towards our homes, torching houses and hacking people to death and we got scared and decided to flee from our homes carrying only blankets and some foodstuffs for the children. It was a scary ordeal, I tell you brother.

 

Machete-Attacked Survivor: "I Thought I Was Dead" Death Toll Reaches 500

 

7 Jan 2008 CNN

Witnesses say attackers are living by the rules of tribalism, often using the machete to inflict punishment.

Lying in a hospital bed in this rural hub of Kenya's Rift Valley, a man describes surviving two machete wounds to his head and multiple slashes to his hands. He says he was attacked by people who now live by the rules of tribalism. "They have to be stopped," he said. "It is the work of the devil." Nearby, another machete-attack survivor, John Machana, said he thought he was a dead man when he was attacked. "I was sure they would kill me," he said, nursing slashes and still lying in his bloodstained clothes.

"They told me the blood in Kenya now had to be pure and clean, and they accused me of being of mixed tribal blood."

Both men are among the hundreds of thousands of Kenyans victimized by a week-long spate of violence that has left nearly 500 people dead after the nation's disputed presidential election. Witnesses and victims have said in some regions gangs of men are terrorizing people with machetes.

The Kenyan Red Cross says it is trying to meet the needs of more than a half-million affected Kenyans, including more than 250,000 people who have been driven from their homes. Thousands are escaping ethnic violence and, while they are lucky to leave with their lives, they now have little else.

Squatting on the grass, a mother of eight cried quietly as she explained that she needs food, water, medicine and clothing for her children, including her youngest, who is just 2 weeks old. She and her family are among an estimated 40,000 people to flee to Molo, a town on the edge of Kenya's desolate Rift Valley. Officials in Molo say the victims just keep coming by the hundreds. Especially at night, they are on the move, escaping the killing, raping, burning and looting, a consequence of tribal clashes.

Pastor George Keliuki presides over the Baptist church in Molo. Thousands have taken refuge in the church's back yard. But Keliuki said he has nothing more than beans and blankets to give them for the moment.

"We just entrust our lives to God because we have no aid assistance right now unless the international community intervenes," he said.

President Kibaki on Saturday appeared to offer a way out of the stalemate with the opposition over the disputed elections, announcing he was ready to form a government of national unity.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga said he and his Orange Democratic Movement were ready to negotiate with the president without preconditions. Odinga's party had earlier insisted Kibaki must resign before talks could take place.

U.S. Envoy Jendayi Frazer on Monday said she was able to get Kibaki and Odinga to agree to talk under the mediation of the African Union's chairman by relaying the concerns of the Kenyan people.

Ghanaian President John Kufuor, the AU chairman, is expected to arrive in Kenya Tuesday evening to mediate the talks between the two, Frazer said, which has led Odinga's party to cancel a planned rally earlier that day. 

Obama Gets Involved in Kenya Crisis. Kenya Leaders Agree to Talk

 

7 Jan 2008 Time

African Union chairman John Kufuor will try to mediate between Kenya's warring factions.

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama phoned Kenya's opposition leader as diplomatic attempts to end Kenya's political crisis intensified.

The top American envoy to Africa said that the vote count at the heart of the dispute was tampered with but that both sides could have been involved.

"Yes, there was rigging," said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Jendayi Frazer, Jendayi Frazer "I mean there were problems with the vote counting process." She added: "Both the parties could have rigged." She said she did not want to blame either Kibaki or Odinga.

Kenya's electoral commission chairman Samuel Kivuiti has himself said he is not sure Kibaki won, though the chairman officially declared

President, Kibaki invited Odinga to his official residence for a meeting on 11 Jan. to discuss how to end the political and ethnic turmoil, Just hours earlier, Odinga called off nationwide rallies amid fears they would spark new bloodshed.

Odinga will meet with Kibaki, as long as the meeting is part of the mediation process with African Union chairman John Kufuor, the Ghanaian president who is expected to arrive in Kenya the evening of 9 Jan. Kufuor's trip to Kenya had been delayed repeatedly as the government rejected outside mediation in the disputed vote, but was to begin talks in the capital as early as Wednesday.

U.S. envoy, Jendayi Frazer had won an offer from Kibaki to form a unity government over the weekend. Odinga then said he was willing to drop demands that Kibaki resign and was willing to discuss sharing power, but only through a mediator empowered to negotiate an agreement that the international community would guarantee. It would be nearly impossible for Kibaki to govern without opposition support. In parliamentary elections held the same day as the presidential vote, Odinga's party won 95 of 210 legislative seats, and half of Kibaki's Cabinet lost their seats. It was a sign of people's anger over pervasive corruption and nepotism that favored Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.

"Kenya is going to (have) a long future of instability if, in fact, they don't address the fundamental questions," Frazer said, "Getting the politicians to dialogue is not just about the past election -- it's about the future of this country and owning up to the real crises that we are all seeing the evidence of over the past week." 

 

Kenya Opposition Said: Death Toll 1,000

 

8 Jan 2008 CNN

The feet of the dead are shown in a Nairobi morgue.

The opposition, claimed violence, much of it fueled by tribal rivalries, has killed up to 1,000 people. A statement from the Government's Ministry of Special Programs put the death toll at 486 with some 255,000 people displaced from their homes.

An official in neighboring Uganda said 30 fleeing Kenyans were thrown into the border river by Kenyan attackers, and were presumed drowned.

Two Ugandan truck drivers carrying the group said they were stopped at a roadblock mounted by vigilantes who identified the refugees as Kikuyus and threw them into the deep, swift-flowing Kipkaren River, said Himbaza Hashaka, a Ugandan border official. The drivers said none survived, Hashaka said.

 

Discipleship Ministries Friend, Amani, Contacts Us a Third Time.

 

9 Jan 2008

We ask how his living situation is:

Well, my living situation has been coupled with many problems. As for now I am not working and owing to the fact that I am a father, I have to fend for my family which makes me sick sometimes. The children have to eat but they don't want to know whether you are working or not.

Pastor in Eldoret. A Kikuyu by tribe. He is pondering on what to do next after his small hotel has burnt down 6 Jan 08. Photo by Amani

We ask about about the Pastor Friend of his:

Pastor is a kikuyu by tribe. He pastors a church in Eldoret. He lives with his family in a place called Yamumbi. Yamumbi is the boarder between the Gikuyu tribe and the Nandis who are fighting them. His small hotel was burnt down by the Nandis who were fighting them. He is asking for help to help him buy food for his extended family

 

Kenya Faces Further Violent Clashes

11 Jan 2008 CNN

Kenya's opposition party has called for mass protests and rallies next week. The Orange Democratic Movement is planning rallies in more than 20 locations on Jan. 16, 17 and 18. "Kenyans are entitled to protest peacefully " said ODM secretary-general Anyang Nyongo. Police Commissioner Mohamed Hussein Ali said the protests would not be allowed

Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan would take over mediation efforts in the dispute as African Union chairman John Kufuor, Ghana's president, had left Kenya without a resolution to the dispute. 

Kenya Tourism, Economy Devastated by Violence

 

11 Jan 2008 CNN

Elephants graze in Kenya's Masai Mara Game Reserve

Kenya, one of the most prosperous and tourist-friendly countries in Africa, has seen up to $1 billion in losses linked to the bloody turmoil following President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election.

In the days after the December 27 vote, riots and ethnic violence erupted from the coast to the rural highlands, killing some 500 Kenyans, displacing thousands, and prompting the Nairobi stock exchange to close and shops and restaurants to padlock their doors. Ships docking at the port of Mombasa could not offload their goods destined for Kenya and elsewhere in the region because transporters feared being attacked by militias who had set up roadblocks on some of Kenya's main roads.

The effects stretch far beyond tourism. The turmoil also has driven up prices of staple foods such as bread, maize flour and some vegetables because of roadblocks along main roads. The transport problems also led to temporary fuel shortages in the region because supplies got stuck at the port in Mombasa. Kenya is the transit point for a quarter of the gross domestic product of Uganda and Rwanda, and one-third of Burundi's GDP, according to the World Bank.

Kenyan business owners, many of whom saw their shops looted or burned in the chaos, said they will try to rebuild.

"They've paralyzed me," said Francis Maina, whose three-year-old furniture shop was looted and burned He says he he is not optimistic about getting a loan from the bank. "When they see this," he said, pointing at the ashes from burned timber, "they will not give me anything."

Conservationists in parks such as the Masai Mara say they rely on tourism to keep the parks up and running. But even though no violence has been reported in the parks, and no tourists have been killed in the violence, tourists are still too scared to come to Kenya, officials say. "It is hard to comprehend how quickly things went wrong," said Brian Heath, chief executive of the Mara Conservancy. "One day we had full occupancy in a couple of days there is hardly anyone." 

 

Discipleship Ministries Friend, Amani, Contacts Us A Fourth Time.

14 Jan 2008

We had heard school starts the 14 Jan and ask if his children be returning?

This is the BIG question now. I am afraid to take my children to school and already things are out of hand. That is there in no enough security in the region and what is worse is that 9 schools were burnt down just within the city of Eldoret. Just imagine brother!

We ask if he was going to be able to go back to his old home:

Will try to get them for you when things calm down. But for now, let me not dare to go there. These people can lynch me since they know me as Luo man. 

Kenyan Protests Provoke Violence

 

17 Jan 2008 CNN 

Police officers fire tear gas to chase Orange Democratic Movement supporters in Nairobi.

Running battles erupted across Kenya after opposition leader Raila Odinga called for three days of nationwide protests. Police shot three protesters in Kibera, a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, and other officers fired tear gas to try to thwart thousands of protesters.

Police and paramilitary forces encircled Uhuru park, and held the protest marchers at bay with the tear gas.

Opposition party candidate Kenneth Marende was elected speaker in the third round of voting, over the government's candidate, Francis Ole Kaparo, who had been speaker since 1993. Another opposition lawmaker, Farah Maalim, was later elected deputy speaker. The votes marked a significant win for opposition leader Raila Odinga, It was the first session of parliament since the disputed presidential and parliamentary elections.

The opposition said it wants to use peaceful street protests to pressure the government to come to some sort of genuine power-sharing deal with Odinga. It accuses Kenyan police of provoking the violence, but police say they must keep control of the crowds so that they don't become unruly and lead to further unrest.

Odinga said that, despite the violence, he would be prepared in a new government to work with, but not under, Kibaki. He called on the president to negotiate on power-sharing and to set a date for new elections.

Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan had planned to arrive in Kenya on 15 Jan to mediate the dispute, but postponed the effort for a couple of days because of the flu,. Annan will try to make the trip as soon as possible.

Opposition party supporters gather around a burning barricade in Kisumu, western Kenya.There have also been many reports of police shooting and killing protesters.

 

Kenya's Protests: A Moment of Truth?

 

17 Jan 2008 Time

Supporter of Kenya's Opposition taunts a Kenyan policeman during a demonstration in the street of Kisumu, Kenya.

Protesters clashed with police on the second day of what Kenya's opposition leaders had billed as three days of mass action over Kenya's flawed election. The turnout across the country, however, was limited to poor areas and far below what the organizers sought. ODM leader Raila Odinga, said that at least seven people had been killed on 17 Jan in the western city of Kisumu,

During a news conference in which he showed television footage of a policeman shooting two protesters, Odinga called President Mwai Kibaki's government "a fanatical, crazed group of people who, in their lust for power at any cost, have taken leave of their senses."

Across the country, people seemed weary of a crisis that has now lasted for more than two weeks without face-to-face negotiations between Kibaki and Odinga. When Odinga announced the three days of protests, he called on supporters to meet him for a mass rally in Nairobi's Uhuru (Freedom) Park. On the first day of protests, Odinga's chief advisers, known as "The Pentagon," got as far as a few of Nairobi's finer hotels before police with truncheons and shields barred their way to the park. Eventually, they gave up and went home. While many Kenyans clearly do want to get on with their lives, there are signs that suggest the police are also using firepower to intimidate and harass Odinga's supporters. Odinga, the police allowed only women to leave the Kibera slum, and any man who came too close was threatened with four-foot-long wooden sticks. Many were beaten.

Like Odinga, government spokesman Alfred Mutua insists that the government is open to dialogue, and the world will see how far both sides are willing to commit when former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrives in the coming days.

In a clear sign of international displeasure, the United States has said that it will not allow "business as usual" in the East African nation, the U.S. have threatened to suspend development aid if Kenya does not address the political crisis. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack criticized both sides for the violence "Both sides bear responsibility for the fact that there is still violence.

 

New Clashes in Nairobi Slum

 

18 Jan 2008 CNN

Supporter of Kenya's Opposition Party

Young men armed with machetes hurled stones at police who fired back tear gas in a slum in Kenya's capital, but most of the country was quiet as opposition protests over a disputed presidential election appeared to lose steam.

Police firing tear gas and bullets halted protests the violence appeared to have been worst in Kisumu, Kenya's third-largest city, where opposition officials said police killed protesters. One such shooting was captured by local television crews, but it was unclear if the wounded man died.

At least four corpses lay in a morgue in Kisumu, all adult males. Each had been shot. The government has banned the demonstrations, but the opposition and Kenyan human rights groups say the government has no authority to do so.

This week, 13 nations, including the United States and Britain, increased pressure on rival politicians to find a solution, threatening to cut aid to the Kenyan government. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the $270 million budgeted in the current fiscal year for humanitarian programs would not be affected.

A few dozen miles outside the western town of Eldoret, 12 empty trucks and buses blocked a main road. The drivers, milling nearby, said they had been stopped overnight by around 150 young men armed with machetes who robbed them, flattened their tires and stole fuel. One bus was filled with aid supplies from the U.N. World Food Program.

The United Nations launched an appeal for nearly $42 million to help half a million Kenyans affected by the violence. U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said the money was needed to provide food, shelter, health care and other services for the next six months. 

 

Rival Tribes Clash with Machetes. Opposition Announce New Strategy.

 

18 Jan 2008 CNN

Anti-Kibaki demonstrators in Nairobi face fire tear rounds.

Clashes between rival tribes armed with machetes and bows and arrows on 18 Jan marked the third successive day of opposition protests over Kenya's disputed presidential election. With more than 22 people killed since the 16 Jan, the opposition announced a new strategy of economic boycotts and strikes to ratchet up pressure. ODM Opposition spokesman Salim Lone said Odinga would call for a "boycott of companies owned by hard-liners who are around Mr. Kibaki," including one of Kenya's biggest banks, a prominent bus company and a major dairy producer. Lone also said they would work with unions "to organize strikes in selected industries."

Presidents Kibaki's power has become more entrenched and he appears unlikely to accept demands he step down. The opposition's best hope may rest in wrangling a power-sharing agreement that might make Odinga prime minister or vice president.

A few dozen miles from Kenya's famed Masai Mara game reserve in Narok, Masai fighters and men from Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe battled for hours with machetes, clubs, swords and bows and arrows. Five people were killed and 25 wounded and homes and shops were set ablaze.

Police opened fire on protesters in Nairobi's Kibera slum, killing six people and wounding at least 10. A blood-smeared pickup truck carried the bodies of a 15-year-old girl and a young man killed there, along with wailing relatives. "They killed my daughter. Kibaki must die," a woman screamed. She said her daughter was washing utensils on her doorstep when police opened fire and she was hit.

Skirmishes between police and thousands of demonstrators left one person dead in Mombasa. Kenya Red Cross official Abdallah Athman said the young man killed "was running away from the police when he was shot in the back and the bullet went through his chest."

 

Renewed Ethnic Clashes Hit Kenya

 

19 Jan 2008 CNN 

Louis Michel EU Development Commissioner

Diplomatic efforts to solve the violent fallout from Kenya's disputed elections continued over the weekend with a visit from the European Union's development commissioner Louis Michel, who met with President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Michel's visit was not an attempt to broker a deal between the two sides, but to "collect first-hand information" about the situation on the ground and to stress to both sides the need to cooperate with the African Union delegation. Michel's trip came ahead of the arrival of an African Union delegation led by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan expected Tuesday.

Kenyan media reported that roving youths armed with spears, bows and arrows and machetes were destroying homes around the town of Eldoret. Eldoret's district commissioner Abdi Halake, who said that six people were killed and 50 houses were burned to the ground in the weekend violence. The Rift Valley town of Eldoret has been the scene of much of the post-election violence. 

 

More Lives Lost

 

21 Jan 2008 The Standard (Kenya Newspaper)

Police pursue rival groups who fought in Huruma Estate in Nairobi

Raila Odinga spoke of peace "returning soon" as the Government made an important concession by allowing today's mass funeral service in the first ever sign of softening up.

The Catholic Church's John Cardinal Njue sent out a passionate plea to President Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga: Swallow your pride, sit down and talk so that you save this country before it is too late.

Odinga told a congregation at the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Holy Trinity Parish in Kibera "Peace will soon prevail even if it means that we negotiate with a thief if that is what it will take to bring it,"

 

15 Killed, Homes Set On Fire As Violence Escalates

21 Jan 2008 The Standard (Kenyan Newspaper)

About 15 people were killed in Kipkelion and Londiani, bringing to 22 the people who have died in the past two days. Police shot some of the victims on Saturday night, while others died in gang attacks.More than 2,000 residents have sought refuge in schools and churches following the burning of 969 houses. Police shot dead four people in Nairobi village and another three at Londiani. They claimed the victims were arsonists. Earlier, seven people died after they were shot with arrows or hacked to death as three communities fought. Some 266 houses were torched at Mutarakwa, 298 in villages surrounding the monastery, 237 at Lelu and at Kipkelion trading center they burnt 168 houses. More security personnel were deployed at the Kipkelion Catholic Monastery after raiders threatened 600 people camping there.

More Killed Rivals Differ Over Peace Talks

21 Jan 2008 The Daily Nation (Kenyan Newspaper)

Ten more people were killed in different parts of the country as the Government and ODM continued to differ over the way forward in the search for a peaceful settlement to the current political crisis. The Government insisted that the committee led by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka would lead the peace negotiations. ODM leader Raila Odinga repeated that his group would not work with the Kalonzo committee. The team was named by President Kibaki to negotiate peace and reconciliation. 

Annan Set for Kenyan Crisis Talks

 

21 Jan 2008 CNN

Riot police patrol the streets of Nairobi.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetang'ula said hopes were high that former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan can start a dialogue to help resolve Kenya's political crisis. "I am… optimistic, I have no doubt that we are going to talk and we are going to yield positive outcome form the talks." Wetang'ula pointed out that only Kenya's courts can decide if President Mwai Kibaki's government is legitimate. Annan, is expected to arrive in Nairobi 22 Jan.

Kenyan media reported Sunday that marauding youths armed with spears, bows and arrows and machetes were destroying homes around the town of Eldoret, near the border with Uganda. The local district commissioner Abdi Halake, said that six people were killed and 50 houses were burned to the ground in the weekend violence. The Rift Valley town of Eldoret has been the scene of much of the post-election violence, which has resulted in at hundreds of deaths and driven thousands from their homes.

 

Annan Arrives in Capital

 

22 Jan 2008 BBC

ODM leader Raila Odinga with former United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan and former South Africa First Lady, Mrs Graca Machel at a Nairobi Hotel

Kofi Annan arrived in the Kenyan capital called for dialogue. "This is a challenge," he said, flanked by Graca Michel, the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa. "We are here to listen, learn and work with the concerned parties." President Yoweri Museveni of Kenya's neighbor Uganda is also in the country and has held talks with President Mwai Kibaki.

 

Annan Looks for Kenya Peace Deal

 

22 Jan 2008 CNN

Kofi Annan in Nairobi for Peace talks.

Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will try to bring President Mwai Kibaki and his main challenger, Raila Odinga, together after the December 27 election that foreign observers say was deeply flawed.

Odinga has called for another "peaceful protest" saying "let them bring their guns and we will face them." The protest will take place in defiance of a ban and despite the deaths of at least 24 people in protests last week. Odinga also has urged supporters to boycott companies owned by Kibaki allies. The government has condemned the economic boycott.

 

ODM Sues Kibaki in the Hague

 

23 January 2008 The Standard (Kenyan newspaper)

The International Criminal Court in The Hague

ODM has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague against President Kibaki and several key Government officials. The complaint states that crimes against humanity and State-sponsored terrorism were being committed to selected population. Party Secretary-General, Prof Anyang' Nyong'o, alleged that more than 1,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured. Nyong'o added that most of them were victims of excessive force used by security forces.

Those named as respondents include all Cabinet ministers, Commissioner of Police, Police Commandant, The ODM has now asked the court's Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to respond urgently to their complaint since the crimes are continuing. "We believe a quick response by the court will deter individuals and the State from continuing with their crimes," he said.

 

Kenya's Reality Check as Annan Jets in

23 Jan 2008 The Standard (Kenyan Newspaper)

Expectations that former UN chief, Mr Kofi Annan will bring together the two warring groups and chart a path out of a crippling post-election impasse were quite high last night. But the bloodletting continued unabated.

Youths suspected to be members of the outlawed Mungiki sect overran and took over Elburgon. They attacked a motorist and burnt him to death in his car. They barricaded all roads leading in and out of Molo. In Kipkelion, seven more people were killed, bringing the death toll of those who have died in the district to 29. Four bodies were discovered by villagers in the bush at Mutaragon. "The bodies, which have been taken away by the police, had deep cuts while others seem to have been hit with blunt objects," said a provincial administrator. Rival groups battled it out most of the day in Nairobi's Korogocho, Huruma and Mathare slums. Four people were killed in the skirmishes.

And another internationally renowned marathoner, Wesley Ngetich, 34, was shot in the chest with an arrow during fighting in his hometown of Trans Mara. Three weeks ago, former Olympian Lucas Sang met his death in the hands of a marauding crowd on a night that another top athlete, world marathon champion Luke Kibet, narrowly escaped death. Official Government figures released on Tuesday put the number of those killed so far at 685.

ODM Calls off Protest… Memorial Service Interrupted

 

24 Jan 2008 BBC

Kofi Annan and ODM Raila Odinga in Niarobi

The leader of Kenya's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has said he has called off a mass protest planned for Nairobi. Raila Odinga said he was responding to a request by ex-UN chief Kofi Annan. "On the request of the mediation team, we have called off the activities that we had planned to give this mediation the best chance," said ODM MP William Ruto

ODM youths were outraged by a police presence at the Memorial Service

Earlier yesterday , wooden coffins of those killed in last week's crackdown on opposition protests had been taken and laid out on the ground for a memorial service and for people to pay their respects. Hundreds of mourners attend to listen to prayers and speeches and Mr Odinga was finishing his speech when tear gas canisters started to fly. Reports say a group of ODM youths were angered by the presence of police at the venue and started pelting their cars with stones and the meeting then descended into chaos. 

 

Editors Give State 24-Hour Ultimatum

 

24 Jan 2008 the Standard (Kenyan Newspaper)

Editors have given the Government a 24-hour ultimatum to lift the ban on live TV and radio coverage.

The editors said they had many options, including court action and silent protest, to pressurize Government to withdraw the ban. The editors said the former Minister for Internal Security, Mr John Michuki, exceeded his powers by prohibiting live broadcasting on radio and television. 

 

Inter-Ethnic Scores Settled in Nakuru

 

26 January 2008 BBC

Some of the latest violence seems to be revenge attacks by Kikuyus

Terrifying mobs of young men armed with panga (machetes), rungus (wooden clubs) and bows and arrows stormed through the streets of Nakuru the market town, the capital of Kenya's Rift Valley. More than a dozen people have been killed in a frenzy of violence in the town, and dozens of properties have been torched and destroyed. Many Kikuyus, driven from their homes in other parts of the Rift Valley, have come to Nakuru in the past three weeks seeking shelter. They accuse mobs of Kalenjins, another tribal group, of launching attacks.

The fighting has now taken on a different complexity old inter-ethnic scores, some going back generations are being settled. Many relate to disputes over land which different communities claim was stolen from them.

 

We Hear from Another Friend of Discipleship Ministries Aaron

27 Jan 2008 The following are excerpts from an Email we received from Aaron

Glory to God let us praise Him together because He has performed a Miracle to my wife Miriam. On 27th Jan 08 at 3:30 pm My wife Miriam was coming back to Homa-Bay from Eldoret when they met with the killers who had pangas, arrows & weapons of any kind. They were beating people mercilessly & taking everything from them. My wife continued shouting the name of Jesus until the ring leader said leave that Jesus woman & let her alone. I tell you our GOD knows His people. Thank you so much for your prayers it has been a covering blanket to my family. It was by the Divine intervention of God that my wife escaped from those merciless killers. Please continue praying for us.

We at Discipleship Ministries thank and praise God that Miriam is safe!!! Hopefully she was a witness to the devil's agent.

Kenya's Geographic and Political Rift

28 January 2008 BBC

Good article about the historical Whys of the tribal conflicts

A Nairobi-based academic said The Rift Valley is also the center of a political and ethnic divide in Kenya. So it is no coincidence, historians and academics say that Rift Valley towns like Nakuru and Naivasha have exploded in the wake of Kenya's disputed elections. They say that while the dispute over the elections is clearly political the root cause of some of the violence is hunger for fertile land. And that land hunger is expressed, in poor communities, through ethnicity or tribe. The Rift Valley was dominated, before the advent of large scale commercial farming by ethnic Masaai herders and Kalenjin people.

Historic Resentment

"The Masaai were displaced in late 19th Century by British settlers. The cooler and more fertile parts of the Rift Valley were part of what became known as the "White Highlands" of Kenya. "When independence came," "the departing white farmers were replaced not by Masaai, but to a large extent by politically well-connected Kikuyus." This displacement and historic resentment is part of the root of today's violence.

The Kikuyu are the largest and most economically-dominant ethnic group in Kenya. They organized most successfully against the British in the Mau Mau rebellion and later through elections so they won the first fruits of independence. They have been at the heart of the violence in Rift Valley towns like Naivasha and Nakuru - as both perpetrators and victims.

But the Nairobi-based academic said it was far from being a simple matter of ethnicity. "Focussing on the Kikuyu is easy," he said "but it's really about deep, long-running income inequalities in Kenya" - and a rapidly growing population which sees land ownership as a means of survival. Rich and politically well-connected members of the Masaai community, had benefited from land ownership in the Rift Valley as well as Kikuyus. 

 

 

Ethnic Hatred Fuels More Kenya Violence

28 Jan 2008 CNN

Police attempt to secure a street in Naivasha

Ethnic fighting once again engulfed Kenya's western Rift Valley town of Naivasha Red Cross officials reported brutal attacks by members of the Kikuyu tribe on other ethnic groups. There were reports of people being burned alive in their homes. The Red Cross said as many as 30 people were killed. Ethnic killings continued in the nearby town of Nakuru, where another 47 people have died since the latest wave of violence began, according to the ODM officials

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki, left, shakes hands with opposition leader Raila Odinga on 25 Jan 2008

It is a dramatic turn of events, considering Odinga was shaking Kibaki's hand three days ago after the two met under the auspices of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Many had hoped Thursday's meeting, would bring an end to the outbreak of bloody ethnic battles. But it seems to have had the opposite effect. Odinga blamed Kibaki's government for orchestrating the Rift Valley violence "to try to influence mediation efforts" and "to divert (attention) from election malpractice to security and violence." "After stealing the elections from Kenyans, Kibaki now wishes to deny them justice and peace," Odinga said.

Television footage showed a man in the back of a police vehicle covered in blood with a large machete wound on the side of his head. Kenyan police dispersed large gangs and cleared rocks littering the streets of Naivasha, which is dominated by Kikuyu. Tree branches, heavy boulders and oil drums littered the streets of Naivasha's town center as the Kikuyu gangs erected temporary road blocks, CNN correspondent Zain Verjee reported. She said the atmosphere was tense as the gangs checked cars to identify rival tribes.

 

A New Burst of Killings in Kenya… ODM MP Assassinated

 

29 Jan. 2008 CNN

Luo tribe members armed with machetes and rocks enforce a makeshift roadblock, searching passing vehicles for Kikuyus trying to flee the town in order to kill them in Kisumu.

Even as Kenya's President and main opposition leader launched negotiations aimed breaking their violent political impasse, the crisis reached a troubling new low with news that a recently elected member of parliament had been gunned down outside his home.

Mugabe Were, a MP from the ODM party was slain as he drove up to his home in Nairobi. Odinga told reporters "We have witnessed five bullets that were shot into his body, two of them into his eyes. These were people who had planned an assassination." The Kenyan police said they had arrested three people in Were's killing.

Annan predicted that Kenya would only need a month to resolve the immediate political crisis and a year to solve the larger issues that have lingered . Yet while Odinga and Kibaki have both said they want to negotiate, neither has shown any real commitment to resolving the crisis. Kibaki insists his election as President is non-negotiable, while Odinga says he will accept nothing but a new vote. 

 

US Denounces Kenya "Cleansing" Peace Negations Continue

 

30 January 2008 BBC

Kenyans, mainly from the Luo tribe, one armed with a machete, enforce a roadblock in Kisumu

Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Jendayi Frazer stated the forced removal of people from Kenya's Rift Valley poll was ethnic cleansing and also denounced the continuing violence which has since forced thousands to flee their homes. "The aim originally was not to kill, it was to cleanse, it was to push them out of the region." "I met with the individuals who were victims of the violence - they all said that they were being pushed out of the area, that organized groups came to them and said: 'You must leave your house by a certain time'."

Frazer called on Kenyan political leaders to focus on ending their country's political crisis, and urged them to publicly call for an end to the violence.

The former UN secretary general Kofi Annan has given the two sides four weeks to resolve immediate political issues, and up to a year to sort out details. Launching the formal mediation process Annan warned that the crisis was having a "profound and negative impact" and urged both sides to take the talks seriously or risk losing international aid.

 

Talks Continue "Shoot To Kill Order Given"

 

31 January 2008 The Standard (Kenyan newspaper)

The Standard learned that the items top the agenda at the Annan talks between President Kibaki and Raila Odinga include immediate action to stop violence and restore fundamental rights and liberties, measures to be taken to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis and promotion of reconciliation and healing as well as discussions on the political crisis would include power sharing, constitutional review and reform of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK). With a political settlement for the disputed presidential election still far off and with a breakdown of law and order threatening the nation, police issued a shoot-to-kill order.

The shoot-to-kill order outlined the categories of law-breakers the police will target. "There are four categories of people who will face tough police action: 

•     Those looting property
•     Burning houses
•     Carrying offensive weapons
•     Barricading roads

"We have orders to shoot to kill these categories of people if they are caught in the act." Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, said police were now under instructions to "enforce the full force of the law". "Any person found engaging in these crimes (as categorised above) must be prepared to face the full force of the law. Police will take robust action at all times to protect the lives and property of Kenyans in accordance with the law

The shoot-to-kill order followed an announcement by President Kibaki that officers would "firmly" deal with criminals who destroy property or breach the peace. Earlier, Raila had expressed concern over what he described as an shoot-to-kill order being "applied selectively".

The crisis that has claimed more than 800 lives and displaced at least 500,000 people.

On Tuesday, military helicopters swooped on marauding gangs in Naivasha, which witnessed perhaps the worst flare after Nakuru at the weekend.

The order was conveyed to all police commanders a day after Annan launched crisis talks between President Kibaki and Raila.

The main highway to western Kenya remained unsafe, with armed gangs taking over sections of it. Internal Security minister, Prof George Saitoti, gave an assurance that police would intensify highway patrols and provide armed escort to convoys heading to Uganda. 

 

African Union head warns African Summit of genocide in Kenya

31 January 2008 CNN

 

Alpha Konare, head of the African Union

Africa is facing a genocide in Kenya and must make resolving the crisis a priority, the head of the African Union told the continent's leaders -- among them the Kenyan president -- at the opening of a three-day summit. Alpha Konare, head of the African Union, talks at the AU summit Thursday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Kenya Talks to Resume 2nd ODM MP Killed

1 Feb 2008 CNN/ Huffington Post

Talks to mediate an end to Kenya's political crisis were to resume Friday morning after being suspended in the wake of a second opposition lawmaker's killing a day earlier, according to a U.N. spokesman.

Ainamoi MP David Kimutai Too was killed in what authorities say was a crime of passion over a woman. Police said David Too was shot by a police officer who discovered the lawmaker was having an affair with his girlfriend. The woman was shot in the same attack also died.

Too was the second anti-government legislator killed in a week; opposition politicians said both were victims of assassination plots. Julius Langat, the Too family spokesman accused the police of a cover-up, saying the lawmaker was not involved with the woman and had feared for his safety the woman was a police officer and that Too had gone to her to seek protection for his family. Odinga has called the killings part of a plan to reduce the number of opposition parliament members.

U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger said Washington is "deeply concerned" about Too's and Were's killing and offered the FBI's assistance in the investigation.

The two men met face-to-face on Wednesday in a meeting Annan facilitated. Nonetheless, the bloodletting has shown no sign of abating, said Anthony Mwangi of the Kenyan Red Cross. "The violence is not stopping," he said. "It could reach a point where it is difficult to reverse."

The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced a travel alert for Kenya, advising U.S. citizens to avoid travel to "the cities of Kisumu, Nakuru and Naivasha, and defer all non-essential travel to the remaining portions of Nyanza, Western, and Rift Valley provinces" due to the post-election violence.

"Road travel in western Kenya remains unsafe," the travel alert says. "Sporadic illegal road blocks by gangs or criminal elements may make travel possible only with police-escorted convoys. American citizens are strongly reminded that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can become violent. Americans should therefore avoid all demonstrations, protests and large public gatherings."

The State Department also announced that it had authorized the relocation of all non-emergency U.S. personnel and diplomats' family members from Kisumu to Nairobi.

Kenya Sides Reach Peace Deal

2 Feb 2008 CNN

The Kenyan government and its main opposition group have reached a four-point plan to end violence that has wracked the country for more than a month, Kofi Annan announced at a news conference .

His successor, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has also been involved in the mediation, said he was ""reasonably encouraged" by the political leaders' commitment to resolving the crisis. He said he told both Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Orange Democratic Movement Leder Raila that the violence "has to stop."

The peace plan's first three items, to be completed within a 15-day period, are: stopping the violence and restoring fundamental rights; taking measures to address the humanitarian crisis; and promoting "reconciliation, healing and restoration," The fourth item, which could take up to a year, aims for a resolution to the political crisis, said Annan,

The two sides also signed an 18-point plan to implement the promise to end the violence, Annan said.

The plan includes an agreement to disband illegal armed groups, to refrain from making "irresponsible and provocative" statements, and to hold joint meetings to promote peace and reconciliation. It also calls on police to end "brutality" and "excessive force."

"We expect to be able to conclude our work in a year," Annan said, adding that the negotiations' current pace could allow the sides to complete their work in a shorter time frame. "But the timetable is one year."

Meetings between the two sides will resume Monday and continue through the week, Annan said.

After Annan's announcement of the deal, Odinga urged his supporters to turn away from violence.

At least 863 people have been killed and 261,000 driven from their homes since the turmoil began, according to the Kenyan Red Cross.

Violence Follows Kenya Peace Plan

2 February 2008 BBC

Firemen work to extinguish a fire at a Pentecostal church which was set ablaze in Eldoret, Kenya

More than 20 people have died in fresh violence in western Kenya, since Friday's agreement by government and opposition on a framework peace plan.

Some were killed by police, others were hacked to death by gangs or shot with poisoned arrows.

A Pentecostal Church was burnt down by youths near the Rift Valley town of Eldoret.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the rival parties had agreed a four-point framework for talks which should end the violence within the next two weeks. But so far there is little sign that Mr Annan's optimism is having much effect in the streets. Further clashes were reported in the western Nyanza province and in Anaimoi. In Kericho itself, mobs set fire to slum dwellings inhabited by members of the Kikuyu tribe. Near Eldoret, youths set fire to the Great Harvest Evangelical Church. Two people inside at the time are thought to have escaped.

 

World Watches Every Step Kenya Makes

3 Feb 2008 The Standard (Kenya newspaper)

Peace talks enter the make-or-break stage on Monday even as international pressure for a quick end of destruction, deaths and displacement, intensifies. It will also be race against time as the parties involved have committed themselves to a program of action that could end the skirmishes in the next seven and 15 days. The crucial day could be Wednesday when the negotiators are expected to discuss ODM's stand that Kibaki is in office through an act of electoral fraud.

President Kibaki noted that the solution does not lie in power sharing, but in a long-term solution addressing the underlying problems. 

Kenya's Children Scarred by Violence

 

3 February 2008 BBC

Van is 13-years-old and comes from the town of Eldoret - one of the flash-points of Kenya's recent ethnic violence. As he talks about the events that befell his family a fortnight ago, his voice drops to a whisper. "My mother was attacked by men with machetes. I didn't see it - when I arrived, there was only blood on the floor." I went to the neighbor's house - his leg was broken. I was so very scared. He told me to run for my life." It is a story that could have been told by any one of thousands of Kenya's displaced children.

More than 60 of them are here in the SOS Children's Home - an orphanage on the outskirts of Nairobi. For the lucky ones, there is a chance their parents may be missing, but still alive. The rest of them already know that the events of recent weeks have left them orphans. 

 

Kenya Opposition: We Need Help

 

3 Feb 2008 CNN

African Union Peacekeepers

Two days after reaching a plan with the Kenyan government to end violence that has wracked the country for more than a month, the opposition party asked both the United Nations and the African Union to send in peacekeepers. "The level of violence in Kenya is on a terrifying scale and it has not really diminished," said Salim Lone, spokesman for the Orange Democratic Movement. "The security forces seem incapable of stopping this carnage, and in some cases, they actually stand by while the killing goes on," Lone said. The killing continued over the weekend, as machete-wielding tribal gangs roamed the western part of the country, torching homes and hunting each other down. At least 863 people have died and another 261,000 driven from their homes, the Kenyan Red Cross said.

 

Call For Kenyan Truth Commission

 

5 February 2008 BBC

Houses in western Kenya are still being torched

Former UN chief Kofi Annan has called on Kenya to establish a truth and reconciliation commission to help end the crisis following disputed polls. A similar body in South Africa helped shed light on apartheid-era crimes and ease tensions.

Scores more were killed despite a signed peace agreement signed

Kenyan authorities have lifted the live broadcast restrictions imposed after the election.

 

US, Canada Ban Threat As Talks Register Gains

5 February 2008 The Standard (Kenyan Nespaper)

The US and Canada gave the first hints of a plan to ban top leaders considered to be subverting democracy from travelling to their countries.

The United Nations also sent a warning: Sort out this crisis or risk the relocation of the global body's office from Nairobi.

the Kofi Annan-led talks made progress and concluded Agenda Three on the humanitarian crisis. This set the stage for the team to zero-in on the sensitive Agenda Four — the disputed re-election of President Kibaki and the crisis that it plunged the country into killings and massive destruction of property. 

Red Cross Death Toll Reaches 1000

5 February 2008 CNN

The violence has left more than 1,000 people dead, according to Red Cross figures and at least 140 people have died since the peace deal has been signed as many as 350,000 people have been driven from their homes 

Kenyan Economy Reels From Crisis

 

5 & 7 February 2008 BBC

Prices in Kenyan markets have increased sharply

Michael Joseph, the head of the mobile phone company, Safaricom, organised a meeting of more than 300 heads of industry in the capital, Nairobi, whose businesses together account for about 80% of the country's GDP. They gathered to draw up a list of proposals for the politicians. Calculating that the chaos of the past few weeks would cost $3.6bn by the end of the year, and as many as half a million people could lose their jobs. "Soon there will be no country to govern; and no people to tax. Every day of delay in sorting out the election crisis plunges Kenya deeper into trouble ", he says.

Agriculture

The chaos in Kenya has increased the prices of people's staple needs. Transport costs have soared, crops are rotting in the fields and the dislocation of agricultural workers has cut farm output.

Tourism

Heads of the tourist business have gathered in the capital, Nairobi to devise a strategy to minimize the damage to their industry. Revenue has been cut by an estimated $80m. But experts say the tourist business could recover quite quickly if there is a political solution which ends the violence and unrest affecting the Rift Valley and Western Kenya. Streets in these areas - scene of much of the recent violence - appeared calm today.

It was the country's top foreign revenue earner and brought in about $1bn last year. There should be more than 30,000 visitors at the height of the season. But the hotels lie empty. The industry used to employ a quarter of a million Kenyans directly and about 3m indirectly. But over the last month, 20,000 people working in tourism have lost their jobs.

Transportation

Public transport is operating at 40% of its usual levels - costing operators over $7m a day - and 20,000 employees in the sector have been laid off.

 

What Annan Team Discussed

7 February 2008 The Standard (Kenyan Newspaper)

Talks dwelt on the possibility of establishing a committee of inquiry into the presidential election debacle, vote recount, re-tallying and re-run of the presidential elections. But little progress was reported in this direction. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) put on the table a seven-point proposal whose key points are a re-run and the installation of a transitional government. Party of National Unity (PNU) swiftly rejected all except one of the suggestions in the draft.

PNU only found common ground with ODM on one account — the need to disband and reconstitute the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK). Both sides are also said to have generally agreed on the need for constitutional and other legal reforms in future elections. ODM listed a presidential re-run as "absolutely necessary to restore the confidence of the Kenyan people in democratic elections".

ODM is also calling for the immediate installation of a transitional government comprising both ODM and PNU parties based on their parliamentary strengths. This would prepare the country for a presidential re-run within three to six months under a newly constituted ECK and a cleaned-up voter register.

There will also be the essential constitutional and legal reforms to anchor the transitional government and pave way for the re-run. Importantly, this government will be premised upon joint exercise of the executive authority.

But the PNU mediation team, which had just emerged from briefing President Kibaki on the progress of the talks, is said to have rejected the ODM proposals, with PNU reiterating its earlier position on that ODM should have gone to court.

Teenage Girls Targeted For Sexual Exploitation

7 February 2008 The Standard (Kenyan Newspaper)

Teenage girls fleeing their homes to escape post-election skirmishes and finding temporary shelter at the Nakuru Showground now face another threat. They have become prey to men who exploit them sexually as well as those seeking cheap labor. The girls, aged between 12 and 18 said they had become victims of child labor and sexual abuse. Some people were posing as volunteers from non-governmental organizations only for them to sneak girls out of the camps to take them to brothels said a member of a humanitarian group. In one case, it was alleged that a man who has been making donations at the camp was behind the scam. It was also alleged that some of the fake volunteers remain in the camp after 6pm only to lure girls to have sex with them in exchange for cash. The co-coordinator in charge of the camps in the district, Mr. Jesse Njoroge said cases of child labor were alarming.

Murder Charges For Kenya Police… Talks Continue

7 February 2008 BBC

Outrage at police tactics

A Kenyan policeman is to be charged with murder after being filmed shooting at two men who were later found dead during election protests, police say. The shooting in the western city of Kisumu shocked the country and led to an official enquiry. Kenya's KTN television, reports that Constable Edward Kirui has been arrested and transferred to Nairobi, where he is to appear in court. He was seen firing his gun as protesters taunted police during protests at alleged election fraud in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu on 16 January. He then went over to one of them as he lay on the ground and kicked him in the back. George William Onyango and Ishmael Chacha were later found dead with bullet wounds.

Kofi Annan (l) has brought the rivals together but they can't agree

Former UN chief Kofi Annan, who is mediating peace talks, says it is too dangerous to hold new polls for a year. The talks between the government and opposition are on the brink of collapse, He says the two sides could not agree on a proposal to share power while fresh presidential elections were organized.

The United States has put a travel ban on 10 MPs from both sides for allegedly being involved in the violence since dispute elections.

 

ODM May Back Down, Says Raila

8 February 2008 The Standard (Kenyan Newspaper)

ODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga, has said the party was ready to yield some ground to ensure a solution to the political crisis. "Initially, our stand was that we won the elections and Kibaki did not, hence he should resign and we be sworn in. But we are not static on that point. We are willing to yield so that an acceptable position can be found between us and the other side," Raila said. 

Deal Will Create Joint Government In Kenya

8 February 2008 CNN

Kenya's ruling party and opposition have agreed to form a power-sharing government. 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."

ODM To Seek Supporters Consent

10 February 2008 Daily Nation (Kenyan Newspaper)

ODM leaders have said they would seek the consent of their supporters countrywide before committing their party to resolutions of the National Dialogue and Reconciliation Committee headed by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.

Party leaders Raila Odinga were categorical that ODM would not accept a solution to the current political impasse which did not address the controversial outcome of the General Election. "We will not accept a solution that betrays trust bestowed upon us. Part of the solution would be to address past injustices including the stolen elections," Odinga also called for the resignation of the Police Commissioner, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, over the manner in which he handled the violence and killings that followed the disputed presidential election results.

On The Threshold Of A Breakthrough

 

11 February 2008 The Standard (Kenyan Newspaper)

ODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga, meets PNU team.

It will be a unique political solution for Kenya that will be unveiled if both sides agree to final details of a deal already on the table. The deal is tailored to bring both parties into a Government power-sharing arrangement, Thisfollows last week's announcement by Annan of an impending political solution, but details of how it would look like remained sketchy.

Four leading political analysts were of the view that given the delicate background the expected power-sharing formula may not have to stick to internationally established models but would be one made uniquely for the Kenyan crisis. The analysts were agreed that the most expected outcome of the talks by Kenyans and politicians is a Government that leaves Mr Mwai Kibaki as the President while creating another top respectable executive position — like the Prime Minister — for Mr Raila Odinga.

They said for a fair deal to be seen to be struck, several ODM members would have to be absorbed into the Cabinet, some as assistant ministers, while Kibaki would have to cede some executive authority to Raila.

Some of the agreements that may emerge in the talks would call for constitutional amendments to accommodate positions that may be created.

 

Talks To Focus On Two Key Proposals

10 February 2008 Daily Nation (Kenya Newspaper)

Two proposals that could resolve the political crisis will be at the centre of the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation process. One proposal before the committee calls for a strong ODM opposition in Parliament; the other favors the president-prime minister type of government contained in the Bomas draft constitution.

The government dropped its demands for a re-count and a new tally of the presidential votes, while the ODM leadership gave up pushing for the resignation of President Kibaki, a re-run of the elections, or a new election in a year's time.

It was agreed that the only option was a political settlement that would bring together the government and ODM sides in a regime whose task would be to enact far-reaching constitutional, legal and institutional reforms over a three-year period.

Kofi Annan cautioned the media over their interpretation of the status of the mediation talks, stating that the deal was not yet done. The two sides, had only made progress and had not arrived at a definite conclusion