Coup in Kenya - Part I
Will Ugandans be firing on protestors in Kenia this week?
by b real
Probably the hottest topic right now for Kenyans, be they in Kenya or as part of the diaspora, is whether the reports of increased Ugandan military activities are true and just what that implies for the planned 3-day mass opposition protests across the country scheduled to begin on Wednesday this week.
Rumors have persisted, since the outbreak of spontaneous protests immediately following the civilian coup allowing Mwai Kibaki to retain that nation's executive power, of Ugandan operatives being involved in the crackdown on protestors in Kenya's western regions.
As Onyango Oloo wrote recently in a blog essay, PNU's Coup: How Can Kenyans Fight Back?, at JUKWAA:
Credible reports indicate that Ugandan troops - some of them dressed in Kenyan police uniforms, some of them in civvies - have been implicated in the extra-judicial state ordered executions of unarmed civilians in Kisumu, including many infants and minors, with some shot at close range while cowering in their own homes.
It is widely recognized that a substantial portion of the deaths ensuing in the often violent response to the blatant election theft are directly attributable to Kenyan security forces after shoot-to-kill orders were backed up with live ammunition. Even before the recent events, the Kenyan police have long held a notorious record. For instance, in a recent profile of Kenya in a report by the Center for Defense Information, the authors wrote:
"Security forces, particularly the police, commit serious human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture and rape, and prison conditions can be life threatening for detainees."
The police are understood as a corrupt institution and have continued to operate with impunity, so it has not been surprising to hear the reports that are coming out of Kenya following the coup.
Maina Kiai, chairman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, told the audience at an event at The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars last Thursday that he has 50 photos in his office of corpses shot execution style by the Kenyan police. Stories abound throughout the country of government forces firing on unarmed protestors.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the organization Human Rights Watch demanded that the Kenyan government end its use of excessive force against civilians.
Since the disputed December 27, 2007 presidential elections, Kenyan police in several cities have used live ammunition to disperse protesters and disperse looters, killing and wounding dozens. Some observers and even police have described the police response as an unofficial “shoot to kill” policy. For example, Human Rights Watch received credible reports that in Kisumu dozens of people were shot dead by police while demonstrating against the election result announced on December 31.
Even people who did not attend rallies have been affected. Human Rights Watch spoke to eyewitnesses in Nairobi who saw unarmed individuals hit by police gunfire on the fringes of protests in the Kibera and Mathare slums. One woman was hit by stray bullets that penetrated the wall of her home. Another unarmed man was shot in the leg. A boy watching a protest from the door of his house was shot in the chest. Kenyan human rights organizations reported deaths and injuries involving police in the cities of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Eldoret.
A source within the police, who was unwilling to be identified, told Human Rights Watch that “many of us are unhappy with what we are being asked to do. This ‘shoot to kill’ policy is illegal, and it is not right. We have brothers and sisters, sons and daughters out there.”
In fact, many contend that it is exactly these concerns about the loyalty of the government forces to follow though on orders to severely repress any protestors which explains the involvement of Ugandan mercenaries. As one article in Uganda's New Vision reported on January 10:
“The rumour goes that Ugandan gunmen were brought in to shoot at demonstrators after local policemen refused to fire at their own people,” says the manager.
Kisumu MP and former mayor of the town, Shabir Shakeel, confirms the rumour but says he does not believe they were Ugandan soldiers.
“A rapid deployment unit was brought in, taking orders directly from Nairobi”, he tells The New Vision team at Imperial Hotel in Kisumu.
“They followed a shoot-to-kill policy. People say among them were mamuluki (mercenaries) from Uganda because they were differently dressed.”
...
While most of the casualties were caused by the General Service Unit and the Administration Police, the mamuluki fired the first shots, people in Kisumu believe.
Whether these were Ugandans or just forces transfered in from other regions less familiar with the locale, the article goes on to describe how "Hundreds of people, mainly from Raila's Luo tribe, were shot by security forces in ten days of post-election violence in Kisumu," the majority of which were unarmed and not necessarily even participating in any protest demonstrations.
Since the coup, an opinion frequently made by experts in the region is that Kibaki will only be able to hang on to power through the use of military repression. An article from January 2nd in the Financial Times informed its readers that:
If, as many analysts in Kenya are predicting, the only way for Mr Kibaki to enforce his authority in the absence of a legitimate mandate is to crush dissent, the loyalty of the security forces would become crucial.
Maina Kiai, chairman of the Kenyan National commission on Human rights, said: "If Kibaki insists on staying, I don't see how else he'll govern this country other than with a heavy hand."
...
The Kalenjins, among other tribes that bear grievances, make up a significant proportion of the army.
For now, Mr Kibaki is relying on paramilitary units of the police who, according to security sources, have been freshly armed. But if the situation continues to deteriorate and he was forced to press the army on to the streets, the consequences could be grave, with the possibility that the troops become factionalised.
On that very same day the FT ran their story, reports broke that Kibaki started to employ the army in select regions. It would be risky deploying the Kalenjin troops, who families and friends reside primarily in the western regions, into those areas. Rather, and as reports seem to bear out, the PNU government has relied on other components of its security apparatus; the General Service Unit (GSU), the regular police, quite possibly the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), and organized militias to carry out the repression throughout these provinces. And perhaps with some assistance from Uganda, in the form of sanctioned soldiers or, for the sake of official denial, proxy mercenaries.
The stories of an Ugandan presence in Kenya began within days following the coup. For the first two weeks, the accounts coming out of Nyanza and the Rift Valley were hard to substantiate - not only on the reports of Ugandan activities, but also on the situation in general.
Since the Kibaki goverment has issued an immediate ban on political broadcasting -- including the seemingly ubiquitous technology of text messaging -- communications from region to region have been limited and decentralized, with many unfounded rumours and disinformation plants contributing to the already chaotic context and making it more difficult to find out what really was happening on the ground.
Now that more media institutions have began ignoring the ban, along with the perspectives that have evolved from the elapsed time since the immediate shock occurred, corrobative accounts are coming forth to help connect some of the dots surrounding Ugandan complicity.
It didn't help that Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni followed in the footsteps of the United States and offered official recognition of Kibaki's "re-election" victory. Just as the U.S. was the only western power to rush to congratulate Kibaki, Museveni so far has been the only African leader to formally do the same. However, while the U.S. State Department has second toughts regarding their image and then retracted their initial congratulations, Museveni has yet to apologize for it.
This behavior certainly raised the eyebrows of most, Kenyans especially, and has led to much speculation -- see, for instance, Why Museveni was quick to back Kibaki -- contributing to the impression that Uganda is backing Kibaki's coup.
Starting last week, the attention paid to the stories of an Ugandan presence in western Kenyan magnified, in large part due to the questions and concerns that ODM members have raised about foreign involvement in the killing of their supporters. Last Tuesday, opposition candidate Raila Odinga drew headlines as he made public accusations against Museveni during an interview program:
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Tuesday that he had called President Yoweri Museveni to protest what he called the presence of Ugandan gunmen in the lakeside city of Kisumu, where riots erupted in the aftermath of a disputed presidential election.
The gunmen "have killed quite a number of civilians in Kisumu", Mr Odinga said during an interview on KFM's Hot Seat show on Tuesday evening.
The opposition leader, who claims to have won the disputed December 27 presidential election, said Kisumu residents had variously reported seeing armed men driven in vehicles with Ugandan registration numbers. But the men were dressed in civilian attire, the Orange Democratic Movement party leader said.
Mr Odinga revealed that President Museveni had denied knowledge of the Ugandan military's presence in post-election Kenya.
"What happened is that there were vehicles with Ugandan registration numbers. They were seen in Kisumu and the occupants were wearing civilian clothes. They have been shooting and they have killed quite a number of civilians in Kisumu…" Mr Odinga said.
"But I had occasion to speak to President Yoweri Museveni who assured me that there are no Ugandan forces in the country, and I have reason to believe what he was saying."
It is possible that the suspected Ugandan gunmen could have been Kenyan police officers using vehicles from Uganda, he said without citing a possible motive.
That same article, in Uganda's Daily Monitor, also reported:
It was not possible to independently verify claims of the Ugandan military's participation in post-election violence in Kenya. But a reliable source who was among the security personnel deployed in Nyanza Province, which takes in Kisumu, said a curious Kenyan army officer identified two Ugandans clad in the Kenya Police uniform.
The duo communicated in Luganda, the source claimed, a language not used in Kenya's armed forces. After a brief interrogation, one of the two gunmen allegedly admitted that he was a Ugandan, before being whisked away by security.
As pointed out earlier, many of the accounts from residents in Nyanza refer to mysterious army personnel speaking a strange language.
After attempts last week at international mediation in the standoff between Kibaki, entrenched in institutional inertia surrounded by his "Mt Kenya Mafia", and Odinga, adamant that the people of Kenya's majority voice be recognized, failed to make much headway, Odinga's party, ODM - the Orange Democratic Movement, announced that it was taking its position back out in the streets in three days of orchestrated mass protests. Scheduled to begin this Wednesday, the rallies are to take place in some 16 cities throughout the country. Already, Kibaki's government has declared the rallies illegal, having banned all public assembly.
As the Human Rights Watch statement cited earlier makes clear, "Kenyan and international law prohibits a general ban on demonstrations" and recommends that "[t]he government ... defuse tension by immediately lifting the ban on public assembly ... allowing the planned demonstrations to go ahead"
If Kibaki is indeed intent on using repression to protect his power -- and every indication is that this is the case given the extra-judicial executions of civilian protestors by his state security appartus and, as Kiai and CSIS's Joel Barkan stated at the Wilson Center panel, that it is their impression that Kibaki cynically sacrificed his own Kikuyu people in the western regions by his actions -- any attempts to mobilize mass demonstrations will be met with mass murder.
Given the path he has taken, Kibaki leaves himself few alternative options. Right now he is betting that he can dissolve his opposition through tactics of divide-and-rule and the use of extreme violence to hurry and reach that point where the people decide they cannot suffer any more, and still maintain the support of his western backers.
ODM, on the other hand, is trying to leverage their popular support and keep Kibaki on the defensive and bring about regime change through a combination of mass, non-violent demonstrations and economic means so that eventually Kenya's international investors will decide that they cannot suffer any more and that Kibaki has to go. This is also a risky venture, with high potential costs.
It could be shaping up to be a very bloody week in Kenya.
From Monday's East African Standard: ODM: Govt importing troops
MPs-elect from Western and Nyanza provinces have accused the Government of importing Ugandan soldiers to cause mayhem during their peaceful mass rallies this week.
The MPs claimed they had evidence that the Ugandan troops are in Kenya with the consent of Kibaki’s Government.
The ODM leaders have demanded that all Ugandan troops in Kenya be withdrawn immediately to protect the sovereignty of the country.
"These troops have been seen landing by boat along the shores of Lake Victoria at various points from Sori to Port Victoria," stated the MPs in a statement read by Mr Chris Okemo, the Nambale MP-elect at a news conference at Orange House, Nairobi on Sunday.
They have made crossings at Malaba and Busia border posts," they added.
They cited the case in Usenge where the Ugandan troops were allegedly met on one of the beaches and escorted by local police vehicles on Saturday.
"In the last one week there has been a heavy build-up of Ugandan troops along the border. In the absence of a similar build-up of Kenyan troops our people have justification to worry," the MPs stated.
The MPs further claimed that they had filmed three busloads of Ugandan troops crossing into Kenya through the Malaba border.
"The buses had Kenyan registration numbers. The registration numbers of one of the vehicles is KAZ 803D. We are fortunate that this particular crossing was recorded on film and can be made available to the media at an appropriate time," they said.
The statement further claimed that in Nyatike, Rangwe, Mbita, Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega, Siaya, Bondo and Kisumu districts, the Ugandan troops went into villages and markets, harassed residents and caused mayhem.
"They have caused deaths in Nyatike, Mbita, Gem, Bondo and Ugenya," Okemo said.
The MPs further accused the Government of plotting to punish residents in ODM strongholds.
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The next installment will explore the roles of both Uganda and the United States in this story and offer suggestions on how the international community can play a positive role.
Posted by b on January 15, 2008 at 9:03 UTC | Permalink
"What it tells me is there was an exit poll that had one candidate with a significant lead who, at the end of the day, was not declared the victor. That seems to me to be a little surprising"
He's speaking of the New Hampshire Dem primary?
Posted by: CluelessJoe | Jan 15 2008 9:51 utc | 2
Outstanding roundup. Amazing chickenshit move to bring in foreign troops against your domestic opponents. Looks like the captain is determined to take down the whole ship down with him after being thrown overboard. What a fool.
Posted by: anna missed | Jan 15 2008 9:58 utc | 3
Great post. Stuff like this which the MSM won't touch is the reason I read blogs. Keep it up
Posted by: swio | Jan 15 2008 11:11 utc | 4
very superb installment b real.
"These troops have been seen landing by boat along the shores of Lake Victoria at various points from Sori to Port Victoria," stated the MPs in a statement read by Mr Chris Okemo, the Nambale MP-elect at a news conference at Orange House, Nairobi on Sunday.
landlocked Uganda has a navy ?
and by the way, how do you say "Blackwater" in Swahili ?
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 15 2008 12:15 utc | 5
Thanx for this most informative piece B real. How do you think this bit of news fits in?
Work on Kenya-Uganda Oil Pipeline will Begin in May
January 12, 2008 01:53 PM
Construction work on a Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline will begin in May, as Uganda seeks to end its over-reliance on road and rail for importing fuel products from Kenya, the Ugandan president said late Sunday.
According to a statement from the
Ugandan state house seen by Dow Jones Newswires, President Yoweri Museveni said the government has awarded the contract for the project to Libya-based Tumoil.
The project will initially involve a 340-kilometer pipeline from Eldoret in western Kenya to Kampala.
The pipeline would subsequently be extended to Kigali in Rwanda and Bujumbura, the Burundian capital, the statement added.
The first phase of construction will cost $110 million.
Fuel supplies to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Congo have been erratic since late December, following post-election violence in Kenya, the region's main import route for fuel products.
Museveni also said that to ensure a steady flow of petroleum products to the country, Uganda has been in contact with the authorities in Kenya and Tanzania, and Kenyan authorities have agreed to provide escorts for fuel tankers into the country....
Posted by: Juan Moment | Jan 15 2008 12:57 utc | 6
and as I was checking out some locations on a map, I noticed that Kenya is indeed the country "between Uganda and the deep blue sea"
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 15 2008 13:06 utc | 7
I just read your contribution today - thank you for this excellent analysis.
As we speak ODM is in the Kenyan parliament to secure the third highest position in the state, Speaker of the House, which requires majority vote.If ODM is able to secure this then they can go ahead and have a vote of no confidence and a new election for the President's position in 3 months time. Depending on how things go today - then we shall see the extent of the heavy hand of the Kibaki regime. If Kibaki decides to deploy state violence or if Kibaki's group "wins" the Speaker of the House position thereby curtailing any legal means of addressing the vote fraud then it would be an open season on MPs who are voting for PNU's candidate for SoH.
PNU friendly MPs have obviously been caught with their pants down by ODM MPs' move to vote publicly so as identify any traitors amongst them who may have hoped to quietly vote for Kaparo [Kibaki's candidate for Speaker of the House] in an secret ballot.
Posted by: BenIAM | Jan 15 2008 15:55 utc | 8
For those who would like to follow the live coverage of the Kenyan parliament voting on electing the SoH check out
Live">http://www.marsgroupkenya.org/">Live Coverage
Select "clips" and be patient since it is slow to upload.
There have been 2 rounds of voting where ODM seem's to be holding their tent.
Round 1: Marende (ODM 104); Kaparo (PNU 99), Ndile (2), Njoki Ndungu (0) Spoilt (2)
Round 2:Marende (ODM 104); Kaparo (PNU 102), Ndile (0), Kihoro (1)
We should expect ODM to win in round 3 by a simple majority and have their candidate Marende elected. After which swearing in of the MP's and taking the "oath" to Kibaki will begin.
Posted by: BenIAM | Jan 15 2008 18:22 utc | 9
daily nation is reporting that marende is the new speaker
Orange Democratic Party’s Kenneth Marende is the new Speaker.The opposition MP-elect bagged the coveted seat after managing 105 votes to his rival Francis ole Kaparo’s 101.
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juan moment - at one point, an ugandan military official told the press that the UPDF were escorting oil tankers, though other govt spokespersons later denied such. it is possible that this could account for some of the activity. could also be private militaries helping bring in supplies for the oil exploration going on in northern uganda.
some of this will be touched on in the next dispatch
Posted by: b real | Jan 15 2008 18:51 utc | 10
reuters is reporting that Kofi Annan, hit by flu, delays Kenya mission "for a few days." even if he is ill, it's probably a good move, as it allows ODM and PNU more freedom to sort some of this out internally.
Posted by: b real | Jan 15 2008 19:08 utc | 11
hoping this narrow defeat of Prez Kibaki & his election-stealer's will start to set Kenya back on course.
and Kibaki must not use the police. army, false-flaggers, or other organs of power (Kenyan or Ugandan), to provoke violence by or against civil-demonstrations set to start tomorrow.
if he does, the outcome will be horrific.
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 15 2008 19:59 utc | 12
@b real - 15 - well - Annan '+got the flu' because Kibaki (and the U.S.) doesn't want him to mediate
Kibaki's government again rejected international mediation of the crisis, which has also left a quarter of a million displaced."If Kofi Annan is coming, he is not coming at our invitation," Roads and Public Works Minister John Michuki, a hardline member of Kibaki's new cabinet, told reporters.
east african standard: Rallies still on despite police ban, says ODM
A showdown looms between police and ODM supporters this morning with the party insisting that the countrywide rallies are on.Party Secretary-General, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, said the rallies would be held in 41 venues and asked the Police Commissioner, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, to send officers to protect peaceful marchers.
He stressed that supporters remain peaceful as they demonstrate.
...
"There is no backing down. We postponed the rallies before to give negotiation a chance, but the Government has said it is not interested," Nyong’o said on Monday.He added: "The aim of the rallies to is to make a point to the public and the world that the presidential vote was stolen and we are ready for a re-run."
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 2:54 utc | 14
daily nation: Residents braced for chaos as mass demos kick off
Meanwhile, police in Kisumu have warned residents against taking part in the demonstrations called by ODM.Nyanza police boss Grace Kaindi reiterated Police Commissioner Mohamed Ali’s earlier stand outlawing any protests until calm in the country is restored.
“The police commissioner has clearly stated that no rallies will be licensed and we will stick to that,” she said.
ODM is to hold a public rally at Kisumu’s Jomo Kenyatta grounds in the central business district starting 10am Wednesday.
Mrs Kaindi hinted that the police may use live bullets on the protesters.
“The Constitution gives the police the right to use live ammunition in certain circumstances, especially on people attempting to commit felony or escaping from lawful arrests,” she said.
The shoot-to-kill order has been roundly criticised by both international and local human rights groups.
Speaking in Kisumu on Monday, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights chairman Maina Kiai urged Maj-Gen Ali to restrain his officers from using live bullets on protesters.
“The police commissioner should explain to Kenyans why they have had to use live bullets on protesters, including children, when tear gas would have done the job,” he challenged the police.
...
In Eldoret, security forces have vowed to be ruthless Wednesday as they seek to salvage the remaining pride of the town that was worst-hit by the post-poll violence.A contingent of General Service Personnel has already been deployed to all parts of the region to deal with demonstrators.
“The position taken by police headquarters is final. Ours is to implement the directive,” said Uasin Gishu police boss Angelus Karuru.
But Nandi North DC Mabeya Mogaka said he will not interfere with the rallies as long as they are conducted peacefully.
Police in Keiyo and Lugari are also on high alert.
The Bush Administration has built a close military relationship with the government of Mwai Kibaki and has played a central role in the creation of his internal security apparatus, now being deployed with such bloody results throughout Kenya.
U.S. Military Activities in Kenya By Daniel Volman, January 5, 2008
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 6:01 utc | 15
With the exact number of people displaced by the current wave of violence being anyone’s guess, although the minimum estimate I came across was around 200’000, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14115212.htm”>but still:
EU could cut aid to Kenya - senior officialSTRASBOURG, France, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The European Union could cut its aid to Kenya over concerns about disputed elections, the EU's top aid official said on Monday.
Another EU official said the 27-nation bloc, one of Kenya's top donors, was considering suspending all aid and imposing sanctions if mediation efforts to resolve the crisis failed.
"It's difficult to continue the same level of budgetary support if we see that the election has not been fully respected," EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel told a meeting of the European Parliament's development committee…
The county’s economy, largely centred around tourism, is suffering badly since the violence broke out, and the EU is considering cutting all aid. Leaves one speechless.
From the same article, this line from the Kenyan ambassador to Belgium:
"We remain optimistic that ongoing efforts, including the engagement by Kofi Annan ... will yield an acceptable solution to all parties," Kahende said. "Democracy can't be built in a void ... Maybe NATO forces are required, I don't know," he said.That’s it, no more aid but boots on the ground. Somehow I can feel a deja vu coming on.
Posted by: Juan Moment | Jan 16 2008 11:53 utc | 16
juan moment - the Kenyan Red Cross has estimated around 500,000 people country-wide have been uprooted by this violence. the numbers in the press, of casualties and displaced, tend to be very conservative, for obvious reasons.
the EU threat is actually helpful. there has been a rift going on between the EU and the US for how to handle the situation.
What is emerging ... is that the United States and European countries appear to be pulling in different directions in the conflict....
Washington’s overriding concern in Kenya is stability. Indeed, ODM stalwarts say US top diplomat Jendayi Frazer, who was last Friday still in the country, has been pushing them to accept Cabinet positions in Kibaki’s government and ignore the genesis of the conflict.
In contrast, the Europeans, through the European Union, are pushing for a re-tallying of the presidential vote and, finally, a re-run of the presidential election. [source]
so far, no international govt has done much of substance to criticise kibaki's regime for the coup. there has been talk of sanctions against the "hardliners" & their families, wherever dispersed, yet kibaki is still, illegitimately, holding the presidential seat.
it is interesting to hear the kenyan ambassador in that article throw out the nato ca(na)rd, but up to this point the EU has pretty much assumed a prostrate position before the US agenda. more on this in the next installment as soon as i can finish following some leads, drawing in some loose threads, and get enough time in the evenings to finish it.
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 15:42 utc | 18
@ b real 18
I await with interest, but take your time.
Posted by: Hannah K. O'Luthon | Jan 16 2008 15:57 utc | 19
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 16:00 utc | 20
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 20:03 utc | 23
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 20:06 utc | 24
continued...
afp: Two dead, several wounded in Kenya opposition demos
The worst violence took place in the western opposition stronghold of Kisumu, the country's third city, when riot police clashed with supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga."One man was shot in the back as police were trying to disperse about 1,000 youths who were trying to to gather here," a police commander told AFP, adding that several others had been wounded, one seriously.
He later said another man had died of gunshot wounds in hospital.
...
"Yesterday we celebrated because we got our speaker elected, but today they come back and fire at us for just wanting to march on the streets," said Frederick Okoth, a local resident."The struggle goes on, we will not sleep," protestors sang in Swahili, taunting gangs of armed riot police drawn up some 300 metres (yards) away on the other side of a grassy hill.
But police vehicles cleared the central business district, shouting orders through loudspeakers for everybody to leave town, beating suspects and dispersing groups with tear gas.
"The police are using strong-arm tactics, but the people are coming out. This is not an event, it is a process and the struggle continues," ODM secretary general Anyang Nyongo told reporters.
...
In the western city of Eldoret, which saw the worst violence following Kibaki's December 30 re-election, two demonstrators were slightly wounded when the 2,000-strong crowd clashed with police.
...
Police also fired tear gas at protestors in the towns of Nakuru and Mombasa but the nationwide protests were eventually thwarted or wound down.With a question mark hanging over similar protests planned for Thursday, most of the country's cities were deserted again, threatening to deepen the economic crisis that has crippled Kenya over the past three weeks.
KISUMU, Kenya (AP) - The provincial police chief in this opposition stronghold said she ordered her officers to fire on a rioting crowd, saying she was forced to because her force was overwhelmed during nationwide protests over disputed elections.The comments from Grace Kaindi, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, were the first to acknowledge police fired on crowds. Previously, police had denied shooting anyone in the turmoil.
"It was an extreme situation and there was no other way to control them", Kaindi said of the Dec. 29 clash in Kisumu. "I gave the order to open fire myself when I heard that my officers were being overwhelmed. If we had not killed them, things would have got very bad."
The toll, according to hospital records: 44 shot dead, 143 wounded. Kaindi said one police officer was hurt by a rock hurled from the crowd.
...
Kaindi's comments came Tuesday, a day before the start of a new round of protests called by Odinga, who has ignored pleas from church leaders and others to cancel the demonstrations that have fueled much of the violence.
Kaindi had promised no more bullets. "We're better prepared," she said.But Wednesday, police let loose volleys of rifle fire into the air over rock-throwing protesters. One of them, Dickson Oruk, said he saw the body of one man, apparently shot in the head, laying on the ground near three wounded men who had been shot in the chest.
Kaindi said she had no regrets about her Dec. 29 order to fire, charging all those shot were "looters and thieves".
On that day, Robert Owino, a 21-year-old mechanic, said he was walking home from work when he was shot in the chest.
"I'm very angry about what has happened because I am innocent," he said from his hospital bed. "So many people were shot and, like me, they were doing nothing wrong."Hospital records seen by the AP show 44 of 53 bodies taken to its morgue in the aftermath of the riots had bullet wounds. Another 59 people were admitted with gunshot wounds and 84 people with bullet wounds and grazes were treated as outpatients.
...
The Rev. Charles Oloo K'Ochiel, a Catholic priest who collated an independent tally of those shot from visits to the hospital and its morgue told the AP he counted 68 dead and 56 injured."When you go into a hospital ward and see that 95 percent of the patients are victims of bullet wounds, you have to wonder if the police were brought here to bring peace or to shoot every human being that comes their way," he said.
All those with bullet wounds were from Odinga's Luo tribe, he said.
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 20:06 utc | 25
I had to stick my nose in this one. I confirm that UPDF soldiers and Ugandan police forces have helped quell rioters. They were deployed under the guise that they were helping control the flow of Kenyan refugees entering Uganda. After the elections, Kibaki actually visited Museveni. What was said at the meeting is not known precisely, but it is believed that he asked for Uganda's help. Uganda agreed because they rely on Kenya for oil imports (they have only a very small amount in reserve) and most of Uganda's exports go through Mombasa. The way this phenomenon has spread to 2 (as of today) African nations up for elections this year, it reminds me of the 1990s, when the socialist African leaders were purged for neoliberal and globalist heads of state.
The tragedy in Kenya has caused a massive economic slowdown in East Africa as the Dar es Salaam port is not run as efficiently as Mombasa and there is a longer transit time from the coast, raising costs for fuel, etc. Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande has also been advising Kibaki. The RPF has had a satellite cell in Nairobi since its creation in the late 1980s.
US has interests there. There is a military base in Mombasa, and there are at least 2 secret CIA prisons in Kenya where suspects are detained and tortured in some cases. Most of these suspects are plucked from the massive influx of Somali refugees fleeing into Kenya. Mombasa is the primary port where almost all raw and refined materials from Eastern Africa leave for the Europe and the US, so there are major economic interests as well, not only for the US, but for US allies in the region as well who depend on Kenya for their export/import livlihood. Kibaki, as a pro-western business politician, is far preferred over a populist like Odinga. Viewed in this narrow political scope, Kibaki v Odinga is loosely analogous to the situation in South Africa, where the support former ANC President Thabo Mbeki recieves from the west and the Afrikaaners vs. a populist like Jacob Zuma resonates in a similar tone when the ANC presidental appointment was held recently.
Posted by: David Barouski | Jan 16 2008 20:10 utc | 26
thanks david - heard anything about the following secret mtg, which took place late dec/early jan?
US trains UPDF marines in Somalia
.. the US Central Command's Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Commander, Gen. Richard Hunt, was last week in Uganda for a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.Maj. Kulayigye said Gen. Hunt was in Kampala to bid farewell to President Museveni after completing his duty in the Horn of Africa where he has been commander in the last two years.
Neither Maj. Kulayigye nor State house could give details of the meeting. But sources privy to the meeting said President Museveni and Gen. Hunt discussed the insurgency in Somalia where the US has interests in fighting the Islamic extremists.
The duo also discussed continued cooperation between the US and Africa.
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 20:16 utc | 27
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Your experiences: Kenya marches
Cat and mouse in central Nairobi
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 16 2008 22:49 utc | 28
thanks jony_b_cool - look at image #9, from eldoret - that's alot of peeps out
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 23:04 utc | 29
youtube vid posted jan 08
Police killing Unarmed Civilian
Posted by: b real | Jan 16 2008 23:17 utc | 30
@29
and exactly what does it mean to be a nation of decency, to be a nation of faith, a nation that submits to the ideals of community if the USA will stand by its friends as they murder innocents in cold-blood.
its not as if the USA has not had enough chances to state loudly & clearly for the world to hear that it dissociates itself completely from the barbaric crimes of Kibaki.
we need to ask if the custodians of this cynical USA grand adventure have the decency to know when enough is enough.
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 17 2008 0:26 utc | 31
The UPDF has been trained by the US for a long time. This is a way around some of the 'red tape.' The US-African training program, currently called ACOTA, is billed as providing training for peacekeeping operations and anti-terrorism joint operations. If the US just told the DoD and the State Deptartment they were going to train the UPDF, they would be hard pressed to justify the training because Uganda doesn't have the religious fundamentalist terrorists to combat. That type of training is reserved for the Pan-Sahel initiative and the Magreb.
However, since the UPDF are now 'peacekeepers' in Somalia, it is easy to justify their training because one can say they are training for the AU peacekeeping mission. Then, those UPDF units will go on and train others. The Rwandan military is already contracted to train the Somali Government troops. I have no proof of this for the time being, but I am looking into connections between UPDF soldiers trained by the US and the UPDF soldiers who were deployed to Kenya as riot control police. Riot control is one of the core tactics they teach peacekeeping forces in such training programs.
You should check and see if ACOTA has Congressional oversight. Back in the day, as JCET, it did not, but I do not recall at the moment if it started getting oversight when it changed into ACRI. The JCET program got quite a bit of attention in the US Congress after it was discovered that some of the RPA units trained under JCET were involved in the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Hutu refugees in 1996-1997. Look up Kathi Austin's (of Physicians for Human Rights at the time) statement to Congress for an example.
Posted by: DB | Jan 17 2008 1:34 utc | 32
welcome DB and Thank You.
also, please if you are able to, wind back a few years so you can inform on what role if any that the Uganda military played in the events leading to the Rwanda genocide.
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 17 2008 3:58 utc | 33
Sure. A brief and inconclusive list is that the vast majority of the original RPA members, including all of the commanding officers, were members of the Ugandan National Army, then known as the National Resistence Army. Uganda also sheltered the RPA after its failed offensive in 1990. The British trained RPA soldiers in Jinja prior to the 1990 attack. Salim Saleh, Pres. Museveni's brother, acted as a covert commanding officer for the RPA from Uganda, but at the beginning of the war, he travelled with Gen. Kagame until he est. his High Command in Mulindi and started entertaining more press interviews circa 1992. Uganda passed arms to the RPA during the 1990-1993 war. During the RPA's February 1993 offensive, 3 battalions of NRA soldiers acted as a rear force for Gen. Kagame. Additionally, the RPA had the help of numerous mercenaries in their 1994 offensive to take Kigali. Reportedly among them advancing from the north was Ltc. Walter Ochora (former LC 5) and a group of his former UNLA fighters.
Posted by: DB | Jan 17 2008 4:46 utc | 34
east african standard: Four killed as police clash with ODM protesters
Members of the ODM Pentagon were tear-gassed in central Nairobi, riot police killed four people including a 10-year-old boy in Kisumu, and several others were seriously injured as the three-day countrywide mass protests began on Wednesday.In Nairobi, Bungoma, Kisumu, Migori and Eldoret, police used live bullets to break up crowds protesting against the declaration of President Kibaki as the winner of December 27 presidential elections, in rallies banned by the Government.
Journalists watched as a lone policeman pursued and shot two youths in the chest and shoulder at close range in the volatile Kondele area of Kisumu. The 10-year-old boy was shot dead at Arina Estate in Kisumu. One of the two victims died moments after being taken to the Nyanza Provincial Hospital, where his colleague was also admitted in critical condition.
The officer kicked one of his prostrate victims thrice on the ribs before casually walking away. TV footage captured the events.
Tension also reigned in Nairobi, where armed GSU personnel and riot police patrolled the streets. The armed men had sealed off Uhuru Park, the venue of ODM’s Nairobi protest rally as early as 5am, braving a chilly, rainy morning.
When the shooting began, it was again Kibera — the shattered battle-weary slum — where the first shots were fired.
Here, police shot three protesters. Three others were shot in Huruma and Mathare slums as demonstrators clashed with the law enforcers.
...
The full force of yesterday’s protests were felt in Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kakamega, Bungoma, Nakuru, Kapsabet, Mumias, Homa-Bay and Busia.
...
Where police kept off, the demonstrations went on peacefully, but violence reigned where police blocked, clobbered and tear-gassed the marchers.
...
On Wednesday, Raila said he was aware of a silent shoot-to-kill order against demonstrators but vowed that nothing would stop them from fighting for justice."They are shooting at our supporters, but this will not intimidate us from carrying on with our protests. It is an illegal government using brute force on unarmed people," said Raila.
He added: "Wasifikirie kwamba simba akinyeshewa anakuwa paka (They should not mistake a rain-drenched lion for a cat)," he warned adding that mass action and support will not dry up and will instead build up from time to time.
...
Mudavadi and Ruto termed Wednesday’s protests in Nairobi a success despite the team failing to access Uhuru Park and address a rally as planned."Yesterday’s protests were a success and we expect a large turnout today. They thought they had blocked everybody in the estates. The fact that we managed to reach town despite the police cordon means Kenyans are determined to reclaim what rightfully belongs to them," said Ruto.
He said thousands of protesters went to the streets countrywide yesterday. He predicted that the number would double today.
Posted by: b real | Jan 17 2008 5:05 utc | 35
Kenya police chief says protesters shot
The Rev. Charles Oloo K'Ochiel, a Roman Catholic priest who collated an independent tally of those shot from visits to the hospital and its morgue, told the AP he counted 68 dead and 56 wounded.
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 17 2008 11:05 utc | 36
Guardian: Kenyan police shooting opposition protesters 'indiscriminately', says witness
Violence again erupted in Kenya today on the second day of demonstrations staged by the opposition to protest against the disputed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki.
...
A resident of the town's Kondele slum accused the police of shooting "indiscriminately"."My father was shot as he stood in front of our house," Alphonse Otieno told Reuters. "The police were shooting indiscriminately, targeting anyone on sight. My father was shot in the stomach."
...
On the town's Nyalenda road, witnesses said police shot at people to disperse them and blood could be seen on the pavement.In Nairobi, riot police fired teargas at hundreds of supporters of the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, as they blocked a road near the Mathare slum, witnesses said.
still Kibaki holds on, relying on his USA/EU enablers to prop him up. The EU though seems to be getting a little nervous.
is this behavior by the USA/EU possibly opening the door a little wider for China to step in ?
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 17 2008 14:15 utc | 38
from #15 above
Mrs Kaindi hinted that the police may use live bullets on the protesters."The Constitution gives the police the right to use live ammunition in certain circumstances, especially on people attempting to commit felony or escaping from lawful arrests," she said.
from #25
The provincial police chief in this opposition stronghold said she ordered her officers to fire on a rioting crowd, saying she was forced to because her force was overwhelmed during nationwide protests over disputed elections.The comments from Grace Kaindi, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, were the first to acknowledge police fired on crowds. Previously, police had denied shooting anyone in the turmoil.
"It was an extreme situation and there was no other way to control them", Kaindi said of the Dec. 29 clash in Kisumu. "I gave the order to open fire myself when I heard that my officers were being overwhelmed. If we had not killed them, things would have got very bad."
The toll, according to hospital records: 44 shot dead, 143 wounded. Kaindi said one police officer was hurt by a rock hurled from the crowd.
today from the u.n.'s ocha publication IRIN
Police under fire over live rounds
NAIROBI, 17 January 2008 (IRIN) - Human rights activists in Kenya have dismissed as meaningless police plans to launch an inquiry into the use of live rounds during protests against December’s controversial presidential elections.On 16 January alone, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), five people were shot dead in the western city of Kisumu during attempts by supporters of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to stage a rally.
Local television footage from the city showed a policeman pursuing two unarmed protesters, shooting them at close range and then kicking one of them before walking away. One of the men reportedly died.
"We are inquiring to know why [live bullets were used]. We have opened an inquiry so the truth may come out," Grace Kaindi, the police commander of Kisumu, told IRIN.
"The instructions are very clear. They [police] are to use tear gas and batons to stop the demonstrators," she said.A few days earlier, Kaindi told Associated Press that she had ordered the police to open fire on protesters in Kisumu on 29 December, two days after the election and a day before the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, was declared to have been re-elected, amid OMD charges of fraud.
...
Asked about the likely impact of the inquiry, Maina Kiai, chair of the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, said: "It will not lead to anything. We've never had an effective investigation of the police by themselves and there's no reason to believe that it will happen in such an atmosphere.
"You can't see anything but a premeditated plan to cause as much as intimidation as possible," he added.
Kiai dismissed Kaindi's announcement of an inquiry as a public relations stunt.
"I think they're feeling the pinch now that the world is seeing them. That clip [showing police shooting at unarmed protesters] of Kenya Television Network has been shown over the world now. You can't hide these things," he said.
However, Muthoni Wanyeki, executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, an NGO, described the inquiry as "a step forward from an extremely retrogressive position" as it "indicates a recognition [that] there's a problem with shoot to kill orders".
But she too believed the use of live bullets against unarmed protesters was approved government policy.
"We can all see what is unfolding in front of our eyes. One would be hard pressed to think that it wasn't an order from the presidency down. You find situations like this when the state is under threat," said Wanyeki.
...
Large numbers of armed paramilitary General Service Unit and Administration Police (AP) have been deployed across the country alongside regular police officers.
The use of AP to control demonstrators is unusual. Their duties are normally to support the provincial administration and guard government facilities. Analysts said this shows how overstretched the police were by the scale of the unrest.
"This regime appears cornered. It is growing desperate so it has to resort to means of coercion. In such a situation, the regular police are not able to handle the magnitude of protest," said Ndungu Wainaina, a programme officer at the National Convention Executive Council, a civil society organisation at the forefront of the campaign for democratic reform in Kenya in the late-1990s.
Posted by: b real | Jan 17 2008 16:50 utc | 39
clarification on #30 - that youtube video was posted yesterday - jan 16 2008 & is the one that is eliciting worldwide outrage
Posted by: b real | Jan 17 2008 17:03 utc | 40
some of the coverage out of kenya's 2nd day of protests
east african standard: Officers tear-gas hospitals
Thick smoke billowed from wards and offices at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, choking patients and staff, after police lobbed teargas canisters.And at Homa Bay District Hospital, business was interrupted after police lobbed teargas at protesters.
General Service Unit (GSU) officers also opened fire in Eldoret, sparking panic among more than 500 patients and hospital staff.
"I’m too angry to say anything. I have talked to police headquarters in Nairobi and they have referred us to the Provincial Police Officer," said the hospital director, Prof Harun Mengich.
Among the injured were security officers, Mr Samuel Biwott Moiben, Mr Julius Chelimo, and a nurse, Mrs Joyce Akwanalo.
The officers could have mistaken the staff for rioting youths, who had blocked the road to the hospital.
But Mr Tonny Kirwa, the public relations officer, said nurses and security officers wore uniforms and identification badges.
In Homa Bay, patients were abandoned as doctors and nurses scampered for safety following the midday incident.
The officers were pursuing protesters who had taken refuge in the hospital.
from another article in the same paper
Police shoot dead more protesters in day two of demos
In Homa Bay, police chasing protesters threw teargas canisters into the district hospital while in Eldoret, a similar police attack was mounted against Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.Thick teargas smoke wafted through wards and offices at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, choking patients.
A contingent of the GSU also opened fire from G3 rifles, sending over 500 patients, nurses, doctors and members of staff into panic.
Nurses and security staff also said the invading force was in GSU uniform but they did not communicate in Kiswahili and were also asking staff to identify their tribes.
elsewhere, from the same article
The toll of those whose lives were brutally brought to an end by police rose to more than 10, on another day of mass protests coupled with a drastic international response to the post-election crisis.For the second day running, members of the ODM Pentagon protesting against the December 27 presidential election they say was rigged were dispersed with teargas and gunfire in Nairobi as police again resorted to force to subdue demonstrators.
Scenes of vicious police action were enacted in Kibera and Mathare slums in Nairobi, Kisumu, Narok, Homa Bay and Eldoret towns.
Other places rocked by demonstrations included Voi, Mwatate, Taveta, Nakuru, Molo, Keringet and Litein, while Mombasa and Kakamega were relatively calm.
...
Police barred journalists from entering Kibera where more than 100 GSU officers descended into the slum’s alleys, firing bullets and teargas.Journalists saw police officers beating up protesters with gun butts, kicking down doors and hurling teargas into houses.
Witnesses said they saw four bodies lying in the slum’s alleys.
In Mathare slums, two more people were shot dead.
The bodies were collected by police moments after the shooting, amid shouting from locals who accused them of extra-judicial killings.
Police shot dead another youth in Kisumu in a fresh flare-up, bringing the death toll in the battered lakeside town to six in under 24 hours.
Master Bernard Ochieng was shot dead next to the Kisumu Molasses Plant, where protesters used tyres and electricity poles to light bonfires barricading the Kisumu–Busia Highway.
Kiraithe also confirmed that two more people had been shot in Kisumu as they reportedly tried to set ablaze oil tankers.
at the kisumu-busia highway barricades, another article reports that
Police officers used private vehicles to disguise themselves. They lobbed tear gas canisters and shot in the air as protesters scampered for safety.
reuters: Kenya's slum residents angered by police brutality
NAIROBI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Pastor Isaac Mujete was talking with women and children from his church in Kenya's biggest slum on Thursday when police opened fire, spraying bullets as residents ran for cover among the tin-roofed shacks.One round grazed his arm, tearing his shirtsleeve before ripping into the lower back of another pastor, Francis Ivayo, as the two churchmen tried to protect children in Nairobi's Kibera shanty town, home to up to a million people.
"When they came they just started shooting any old how. They could not reason with anyone. They told us we can do anything to you, even shoot you, we don't care," Mujete said from Ivayo's bedside after bringing him to the nearby Masaba Hospital.
"Young kids were there, we could not just run away. These were members of our church. We were trying to safeguard young children," he said.
As he spoke, one of two other young men brought in with Ivayo died in the next room from a gunshot wound to the neck.
"He was shot at close range. He was shot through the front of the neck. He was facing whoever shot him," said resident surgeon Dr Eric Ataya.
...
Pastor Mujete said there was no political protest going on in the immediate area of Kibera where he and his colleague were shot and said that the police had opened fire unannounced.Whatever the political outcome of Kenya's unrest, the brutality seen in its slums is likely to leave long-lasting resentment.
"When you speak to the international community, tell them we do not need food, we need guns," said Thomas Kepha, 26, an unemployed Kibera resident.
Posted by: b real | Jan 18 2008 4:55 utc | 41
east african standard: Anger at police shooting
Television footage of a police officer shooting and kicking a demonstrator in Kisumu has infuriated religious and civil society leaders.The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) chairman, Mr Maina Kiai, said they were collecting more evidence on the Wednesday incident.
"We are viewing and reviewing the clips of the shootings as we gather more evidence before taking our next step," Kiai said.
...
The exclusive clip showed a police officer trailing two protesters before shooting them and kicking one of them twice as he lay on the ground.About 100 people have died of gunshot wounds as police fired shots to allegedly contain post-election protests in Kisumu.
The incident occurred barely two days after Kiai and three other commissioners toured Kisumu and appealed to police to stop extrajudicial killings.
Bishop Mwayi Abiero and the Reverend Kenneth Wachianga of the Anglican Church said the killings were inhuman.
"The clip aired on KTN on Wednesday night was the tip of the iceberg on the indiscriminate killing by police in Kisumu," said Abiero.
Bishop Isaac Obiero of the Future Life Church said the police actions were tyrannical and a gross abuse of democratic and human rights.
The clerics and the Western chapter of the Law Society of Kenya called on the Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, to arrest the officer captured on camera.
They urged the Government to let ODM hold mass action rallies.
Kiai took bullets removed from patients at the New Nyanza Provincial General Hospital for ballistic analysis.
"We are concerned with the force used by police to quell riots…Many have been shot from the back," Kiai said.
check and see how many have a lake city stamp on 'em
daily nation: Tale of killer bullets in Kisumu
Theatre of the absurd by police was captured by TV cameramen as a trigger-happy officer snuffed out the life of hapless Olago Junior who had joined others for a peaceful protest in Kisumu.Olago, who was killed on Wednesday, was not armed, not even with a stone. But he was never to return home alive.
Although the right to peaceful assembly is one of the cornerstones of democracy and is enshrined in Chapter Five of Kenya’s Constitution, the police bullet stood in the way for Olago Junior.
A police officer brandishing an AK-47 rifle charged at him and his friends as they danced and made faces, shooting him dead and injuring his friend on the shoulder.
Kisumu, a stronghold of ODM leader Raila Odinga, who accuses President Kibaki of stealing the December 27 poll, has suffered the worst police brutality. More than 70 people have been killed in the town, most of them shot dead by police. Six have been killed in the latest round of protests.
Rights groups have blamed this on what they call a shoot-to-kill policy by the police and use of live ammunition against protestors.
One of the casualties succumbed to bullet wounds at Bandani Estate. The woman whose name was given as Judith Namukuru was reportedly killed by a bullet that teared through her tin-walled shanty. Her eight-year- old daughter who was also in the House was unhurt.
...
Manyatta area, which served as Olago’s home, was sealed off by police Thursday.Once again, the killing has brought into sharp focus what human rights agencies have described a shoot-to-kill order being implemented by police in Kisumu and elsewhere against unarmed Kenyans.
People who knew Olago said he did menial jobs in the lakeside town to survive.
Journalists who tried to venture into the crowded Manyatta estate were threatened with dire consequences.
Beyond the horrifying pictures of perceived brutality are families counting losses of their loved ones who were also felled by bullets.
...
The perception that death could be met only in the streets is also becoming a myth as residents recount tales of women and children being hit by bullets at home.Ms Rosa Akinyi was hit by misfortune for the second time since the controversial polls. She lost her husband in circumstances that were strikingly similar to those that led to her brother’s death earlier. Both were felled by bullets in Manyatta estate during the post-election protests.
While her brother was shot dead in the first round of skirmishes that rocked Kisumu immediately after the announcement of election results, her husband died on Wednesday as the three-day mass action called by ODM kicked off.
Rosa fought back tears as she recounted her last moments with George Odunga, the father of her nine-year-old son.
After taking lunch with his family, which turned out to be their last meal together, she says Mr Odunga left home. He returned about three hours later and ventured out to visit a relative who lived nearby.
Not long after he left, gunshot fire rent the air. She would later learn that one of victims was her husband.
According to Mr Odunga’s friend, Esau Ochir, who was with him when he was shot, they had been chatting with some friends when a contingent of police officers arrived in a van.
They alighted and split in two groups of three officers each.
“They began shooting at whoever they saw in sight and so we took off,” he explained.
As they fled, he added, the officers shot at them, and as fate would have it, one of the bullets caught Mr Odunga, killing him instantly. His body was taken to the Nyanza Provincial General Hospital mortuary, where his brother-in-law’s body has been lying for the past two weeks.
...
“We voted for peace but it seems like that was our worst mistake, with police killing innocent people who know little about politics,” Mrs Ali said.
...
Apart from the two deaths, many walls bear bullets marks, a testimony of the trigger-happy nature of the police.
Posted by: b real | Jan 18 2008 5:08 utc | 42
the EU solution
EU Parliament Calls for New Vote in Kenya, Demands Aid Freeze
European lawmakers have said the result of Kenya's election was not credible and called for a fresh vote if a fair recount was not possible. They also want to temporarily freeze aid to Kenya as violence there continues.In a nonbinding resolution, adopted on Thursday, Jan. 17, the 785-member EU assembly meeting in Strasbourg called for new elections in Kenya if a "credible and fair recount" of votes cast in the disputed elections proves impossible.
...
The assembly also voted to ask the EU to stop the 383 million euros ($562 million) of EU aid to Kenya planned for 2008-2013 "until a political resolution to the present crisis has been found", the parliamentarians said in a resolution.Lawmakers criticized the EU executive for disbursing 40.6 million euros of budgetary aid to the east African nation a day after the election. EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel said the aid had been given out before doubts over the results had emerged.
the US solution
Ambassador Urges Power-Sharing in Kenya
``Both have looked us in the eye and said they are willing to have a dialogue without conditions,'' Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said by telephone from Kenya.President Mwai Kibaki's one condition is that he will not step down, Ranneberger told reporters and others attending a conference at the Center for Strategic International Studies, a Washington think tank.
...
In light of contested election results, a power-sharing arrangement was ``the only thing to do,'' Ranneberger said.``The United States has been in the center of trying to promote dialogue,'' the ambassador said. ``The U.S. is trying to rattle the cage and making it known we want a political settlement, but it is not going to be easy to get a process going.''
...
The ambassador ruled out holding a new election. ``Neither side has the money for it,'' he said.
U.S. blames Kenyan politicians for latest violence
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday blamed Kenya's opposition and the government for the latest violence and said they must end their post-election deadlock for the sake of the Kenyan people.
...
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack ... said the State Department did not plan to send back to Kenya its top diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, who returned to Washington last week after failing to get a deal."We are talking about other things we might do," he said but refused to comment further.
Asked whether the United States was considering sanctions against Kenyan politicians who were not being cooperative, as has been the strategy in other conflicts, McCormack said he was not aware that was part of the discussion.
The European Parliament recommended budgetary aid be frozen until the crisis is solved.
Speaking from Nairobi on Wednesday to a Washington think-tank, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger said he did not believe there was an appetite within the Bush administration to impose sanctions.
"Sanctions are not on the table at this point. It is not useful to speculate on that," Ranneberger told the briefing at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
from an interview w/ ranneberger in nairobi's daily nation
Q: You have listed power-sharing as a key plank to any negotiations. Is that not a quick-fix that fails to deal with the more important issues at hand? There have also been suggestions for a recount and fresh poll if anomalies are proved.A: The idea of a recount is not feasible because documents have gone missing or been altered. A fresh election is not feasible either. It’s not the best thing to put this country through this kind of trauma so soon again.
What is needed is a package that involves power-sharing and an agreed agenda to reform institutions, particularly the ECK, constitutional reform and to focus on the land reform.
Posted by: b real | Jan 18 2008 16:25 utc | 43
well, heres a couple of things dictators/tyrants always have to do in order to be "useful" to their masters:
-- suspend the constitution and disband parliament
-- ban freedom of press
-- ban political activity
-- ban freedom of association
-- hunt-down, lock-up, torture. assassinate their adversaries
-- declare a state-of-emergency / martial law
-- institute iron-fist repression via internal-security/police-state
-- root out all adversaries/sympathizers from governnment
otherwise, especially in todays world, Kibaki remains a weak & mostly useless asset as a leader stuck with a massive lack of legitimacy, no recognition from other countries (with the possible exception of Swaziland), looking at a completely collapsed economy, a very hostile parliament, massive ethnic-divisions/overwhelming-opposition, massive unemployment amongst a very young population, total reliance on Western support, no claim to being a national leader ...
to a large extent, he's now caught between deciding whether he's going to be a Karzai (Afghanistan) or whether he joins the Mobutu/Marcos/Duvalier/Ceausescu/Milosevic club
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 18 2008 17:13 utc | 44
shooting a documentary on odinga now qualifies one as a suspected 'terrorist'
ap: Kenya police arrest 3 foreigners for suspected terrorism, 2 linked to opposition leader
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Kenyan police said Friday they have arrested two Germans and a Dutch national suspected of "terrorist activities." At least two had ties to an opposition leader embroiled in a dispute over presidential elections that has sparked deadly nationwide protests.Police arrested Germans identified as Andrej Hermlin-Leder and Gerd Uwe and Dutchwoman Fleur van Dissel at Nairobi's international airport as they were preparing to leave the country on Thursday night, the chief police spokesman said.
"Although they entered the country as journalists, they have been conducting themselves in a suspicious manner," Eric Kiraithe said in a statement.
Hermlin-Leder is a jazz musician married to a Kenyan who knows opposition leader Raila Odinga, "he's a supporter of Mr. Odinga" and spends a lot of time in Kenya, said opposition party spokesman Salim Lone.
"I am astounded by the charge of terrorist activities," he added.
Asked whether the arrests were linked to their connection to Odinga, the police spokesman said it had "nothing to do with that." He said the three "had footage of security installations in the country" and were detained "purely on criminal suspicion."
...
Hermlin-Leder is the son of the late Stephan Hermlin, a well-known East German writer. A woman answering the phone at the family's home in Berlin confirmed the arrest, but urged "restraint" in covering the story and refused to be identified.
...
Lone, Odinga's spokesman, said Odinga has many German friends and close ties to Germany, since he studied engineering in East Germany in the 1970s.He also said van Dissel recently made a documentary about Odinga, which was aired on the private Kenya Television Network just days before a disputed Dec. 27 presidential election. Van Dissel also was a freelance journalist, according to reporters in Nairobi.
Nothing was immediately known about Gerd Uwe.
Posted by: b real | Jan 18 2008 19:52 utc | 45
this is most interesting
on the 16th, CSIS held an event entitled Kenya: Assessing the Political and Humanitarian Crisis which, among other panelists, featured a phone-in session from u.s. ambassador to kenya mike ranneberger, from which some of the news stories quoted him (see #43).
there is an audio link on the website linked above where one can listen to the event. problem is, they edited out the ambassador from the time he said "..umm" through the entire Q&A for his special phone-in.
it was a 2-hour event, probably ran a bit over, as these things tend to do, yet the audio track is 1hr 14min long.
there is no written transcript that i have come across yet
anyone have the missing 46 minutes?
Posted by: b real | Jan 18 2008 20:15 utc | 46
goddamn - strike #46 - they cut out a section where they lost the connection to nairobi & there was no mention of this in the archived audio. eventually they do get the ambassador on the horn. my bad. gotta remember - deep breath, stop, look & listen before i leap.
Posted by: b real | Jan 18 2008 20:20 utc | 47
b real
thank you for all your work on kenya & on africa - you offer well & clear
Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jan 18 2008 21:52 utc | 48
the coalition Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice on friday released a rpt on the election, but i've not been able to find a link to it all day.
anyway, two articles on it
east african standard: NGOs say poll winner uncertain
A new report by 50 civil society organisations details how the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) bungled the presidential poll.The report dubbed, ‘Countdown to Deception: 30 hours that destroyed Kenya’, further shows there were discrepancies in 130 out of 210 constituencies.
The report was released on Friday, amid tight security, by Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Executive Director, Mr Maina Kiai, at Panafric Hotel.
The report says 130 constituencies had a higher presidential tally than parliamentary tallies.
...
Kiai added that since it was not clear how President Kibaki was declared the winner, only a handful of countries had sent congratulatory messages.The electoral malpractices, according to the report, rendered the presidential election illegal.
...
The report gives an account of what went wrong with the December 27 poll, whose results caused widespread violence leading to the death of more than 500 people.It claims that militia groups are currently operating in parts of Rift Valley, Nyanza and Central provinces.
The report traces the genesis of the problem to attempts by some ECK commissioners and employees to close the gap between President Kibaki and ODM presidential candidate, Raila Odinga.
The report was compiled from statements collected from the five domestic election observers who were allowed to witness the verification of the process by ECK a night before it announced the results.
ap: Rts Grps:Kenya Officials Sought Predetermined Poll Result-AFP
NAIROBI (AFP)--Testimony from four Kenyan election observers who witnessed the last phase of the disputed presidential poll indicate officials sought a pre- determined outcome, a report said Friday.
The accounts "expose what can only be termed a resolve among electoral officials - including commissioners and staff - to obtain a pre-determined outcome, whether supported by fact or not," said the report by a coalition of leading Kenyan human rights, legal and non-governmental organizations.The report, entitled 'Countdown to Deception: 30 hours that destroyed Kenya,' is based on statements from four of the five domestic election observers allowed into the Electoral Commission of Kenya's verification process, and claims to document the "critical highlights of Kenya's deviation from democracy".
In a detailed hour-by-hour log of events at the ECK on Dec. 29 - the night before President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected in the contested poll - the report blasted the verification process as flawed with "anomalies, malpractices and illegalities."
...
"Some of those electoral anomalies and malpractices were, in addition, illegal - thus rendering the supposed presidential outcome not only illegitimate but also illegal," it said. "We therefore consider Mwai Kibaki to be in office on his first term."
u.s. ambassador to kenya ranneberger told the audience at that CSIS event that the u.s. position is that kibaki is prez b/c the ECK declared him the winner, no matter how flawed the election may have been.
from that daily nation interview, Kibaki and Raila must put Kenya first, linked earlier
Q: Before the elections many western diplomatic missions backed the ODM demand for re-appointment of Mr Kivuitu as ECK chairman in order to ensure integrity of the polls. In hindsight, having observed his subsequent performance, do you feel you might have made a mistake?Ranneberger: Mr Kivuitu was certainly a widely respected figure. Right now after these elections, a lot of fingers are being pointed. It is very easy to make judgements by hindsight. I, for one, am not going to judge him, but the questions set the need for total reform of the electoral system.
Posted by: b real | Jan 18 2008 23:59 utc | 49
why have Jendayi Frazier & USA Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger both publicly rejected a recount or re-run in this sham election. This is not only an insult to the democratic principle so loudly proclaimed by the USA but its is also condescending, patronizing & insulting to the people of Kenya.
if the USA were to call for a re-run, this crisis would be over in no time. But for now, it seems the Kenyan opposition is giving the USA the benefit of the doubt that the USA is about being loyal to its favored candidate -- Kibaki. Also, the opposition sensibly does not want to burn the bridge to future USA aid. In addition, the USA position may turn out to be more of a negotiating ploy than anything else.
but the creeping factor which cannot have gone un-noticed by the Kenyan opposition, especially given the intrusions by Uganda into Kenyan territory is: What if the goal of the USA is to stoke the ethnic divides in Kenya (divide & rule) with the ultimate goal of entrenching a reliable minority (the Kikuyu) in power, in much the same way the Tutsi were helped to power in Rwanda by Uganda & USA.
this is a very frightening thought and its certain that the Kenyan opposition must be very worried about this possibility given the hard-line position by the USA and the Uganda factor.
such a plan has absolutely no realistic hope of success given Kenya's characteristic. But thats not to say its not on the table.
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 19 2008 2:48 utc | 50
B real, in your response to my comment about how I find it shameful for the EU to even consider to cut all aid to Kenya, you wrote that the EU threat is actually helpful. (Update: EU parliament has approved a temporary freeze of all funding)
My knowledge about the going ons in Africa is mighty limited, and I don't know this guys connections and history, but it appears to me that Kibaki is not a man who would feel overly threatened by EU sanctions and cut in aid. Just as little as SH was faced by any aid cuts or sanctions. I fear that it will be the civilian population who will have to cop the hardships cuts would inevitably cause. Freezing payments to Kibaki himself and his enablers is one thing, but cutting all aid, at a time when there are up to half a million displaced and homeless people in the country, sounds a bit harsh.
Kenya: Aid Freeze May Hurt EconomyThe East African Standard (Nairobi)
19 January 2008THE threat of a freeze on aid by Western donors and opposition plans to boycott companies owned by President Kibaki's allies will delay the country's economic recovery, analysts say....
Provisional estimates project a 20 per cent decline in manufacturing during the first quarter of the year.
Manufacturers allay fears that consumers might pay the ultimate price of the crisis as it emerges that the unrest led to disruption in supply chain networks sparking signals of looming price hikes.
"If this continues, Kenya and its people will be the ultimate losers," said Smith.
He said the losses will trickle to the rest of the country and lead to job losses and decrease in Government revenues and funding for programmes promised campaigns.
I reckon Kenyans boycotting companies owned by Kibaki's collaborators is a great idea, loved it the moment I heard it. It doesn't reduce the money available in the country, just means its being spend with other Kenyan businesses. But cutting foreign aid to the nation as a whole will reduce the money available, a penalty which ultimately will mostly be borne by the ones who can afford it the least.
Posted by: Juan Moment | Jan 19 2008 2:52 utc | 51
Rumours persist on Ugandan soldiers
Rumours that Ugandan soldiers are in Kenya persist.On Friday, some Eldoret town residents mounted a ‘checkpoint’ following reports of aliens being transported to Burnt Forest in Molo.
The residents blocked the Eldoret –Nakuru highway and inspected all vehicles.
...
The rumours were heightened after some of the officers who raided the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the town on Thursday, reportedly could not speak Kiswahili.
that incident was mentioned in the links in #41
reuters: At least 13 killed in day of Kenya protests
NAIROBI, Jan 18 (Reuters) - At least 13 people were killed in Kenya on Friday when police opened fire in a Nairobi slum and ethnic groups clashed during protests against the disputed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki.The worst bloodshed was in the huge Kibera shanty town, an opposition stronghold, where at least seven people were killed and a dozen wounded by police automatic gunfire. International medical charity MSF called it a "massacre".
Police also opened fire and lobbed tear gas in the port of Mombasa, where one person was killed in protests after Friday Muslim prayers, and the southern town of Narok.
Friday's deaths were the worst toll from three days of protests called by opposition leader Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) against Kibaki's re-election.
At least 21 people have been killed in the demonstrations, which were due to end on Friday. About 650 people have been killed since the disputed Dec. 27 election.
...
Reuters journalists counted seven bodies from the Kibera shooting, including a man with the back of his head blown off and 15-year-old girl, Rosina Otieno. Both were carried to the nearby Masaba hospital morgue in a white pickup truck.Otieno's aunt, Martha Mtishi, told Reuters: "If they can kill a little girl let them kill us all."
At least 11 wounded people were brought to the hospital. "We need more doctors because ... we cannot handle an emergency of this magnitude," hospital administrator Joe Momanyi said.
Outside a crowd shouted: "Murderers and killers."
A Reuters reporter saw police shooting protesters in Kibera. One man in a red baseball cap and black T-shirt dropped to the ground, blood gushing from his knee.
...
In Kibera, MSF official Ian Van Engelgem told Reuters: "We have seen violence over the last two weeks but today it has really exploded. Young guys -- 13 years -- have died, young women, young men, this is unbelievable ... this is like a massacre."Odinga visited Masaba hospital and told reporters: "You have seen what we have seen, a shocking thing ... this government is determined to finish anyone who is opposed to what they have done."
Kenya's swift slide into crisis has dented its democratic credentials, horrified world powers, scared off tourists and hurt one of Africa's most promising economies. A statement by envoys from nine countries including Britain, the Netherlands and Australia, urged Kibaki and Odinga to meet for direct talks without delay or preconditions, and called on Kenya's security forces to show restraint.
"We have seen clear and disturbing footage of the use of lethal force on unarmed demonstrators," it said.
Posted by: b real | Jan 19 2008 4:34 utc | 52
juan moment - the EU threat was aimed largely at the US - who issued an empty threat of "no business as usual" earlier in the week which consisted of no specific measures or requirements for addressing a political solution to the crisis. i believe that van der linden of the EU's team in kenya stated that the EU freeze would be targeted at the govt & not at humanitarian assistance to the U.N. and NGOs, including the kenyan red cross.
the EU move helps force the issue in the international arena. by not recognizing the illegitimate regime in nairobi, it draws a line to measure other international actors against. that is how i understand it.
Posted by: b real | Jan 19 2008 4:58 utc | 53
Recently, western oil majors sold their stake in Kenya's national refinery to an Indian company. They seem to be ahead of curve methinks.
Posted by: Cloned Poster | Jan 19 2008 14:04 utc | 54
link for #54
Essar Oil to Acquire the Only Refinery in East Africa
Essar Energy Overseas, an Essar Oil subsidiary, has signed an agreement to acquire 50% stake in Mombasa-based Kenya Petroleum Refineries (KPRL), a four million metric tonne refinery.Essar will acquire the stake from Shell Petroleum, Chevron Global and BP Africa. The Kenyan government holds the remaining 50% stake in the project. The acquisition is expected to be completed in a few months, according to an Essar Oil statement.
The Mombasa-based refinery is the only refinery in Eastern Africa. It currently produces LPG, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and fuel oil. Essar Oil is planning to upgrade the project by adding secondary units at $400 million to $450 million.
that refinery is reportedly very inefficient and in need of major upgrades if it's to handle more volume. the kenyan pipeline corporation was at one time trying to get china to invest in it, though i don't think that that nation's oil explorations in kenya have produced anything and i seem to recall seeing a story several months ago that they china was giving up on a site or more.
the KPC has been working w/ southern sudan for a few years now to arrange for oil from the latter to be piped to the kenyan coast for processing, either mombassa (after completion of a new refinery or upgrades & additions to the existing one) or the town of lamu.
that shell, chevron & BP -- the current shareholder in the refinery -- did not invest in mombassa's downstream capacities is probably indicative of some important clue, but i've neither come across their reasonings nor investigated it yet.
Posted by: b real | Jan 19 2008 16:32 utc | 55
Posted by: b real | Jan 19 2008 16:47 utc | 56
Posted by: b real | Jan 19 2008 17:38 utc | 57
KPTJ@56,
Thanks for compiling these critical election-fraud documents.
Your efforts will not be in vain.
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 19 2008 17:49 utc | 58
my chronological notes from ranneberger's comments at the CSIS event on thursday: (paraphrasing unless in doublequotes)
- "we don't want to get into speculation about what 'no business as usual' means" ... our sole focus is to try to promote a political solution ... sanctions are not on the table at this time ... we've been delivering some very tough language ...
- rumours of ODM organized but don't want to get into that
- it's clear that there were organized groups in eldoret, etc
- kalenjin's wanting revenge on kikuyu landowners & taking back rift valley
- on the govt side, i wouldn't say there's been organized violence - i mean i think there's been that implicit threat that it's gonna be hard to control the kikuyu violence but so far they have controlled it
- kibaki has the power to ajourn parliament after a certain period of time and rule by executive fiat. i'm not sure what how long that period is...
- "i think he really is sick" - recovering from malaria or something
Posted by: b real | Jan 19 2008 18:00 utc | 59
@59
the role of the USA in his crisis so far is diabolical and completely irresponsible.
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 19 2008 18:36 utc | 60
two postings at radio katwe. unlike the rpts of uganda troops in kenya, the ugandan govt has not issued any denial on the rpt that kibaki quietly visited museveni after the coup.
jan 15: Confirmed: President Mwai Kibaki visited Uganda
Radio Katwe has done its cross checking and can now confirm to its readers that President Mwai Kibaki the Kenyan head of state (a title in hot dispute) paid a surprise visit to Uganda last Thursday.Rumours have been in Kampala that Kibaki visited his fellow dictator Yoweri Museveni but we could not confirm them at first. Now we have seen concrete evidence that Kibaki was in Uganda.
Many Ugandans are worried by why Kibaki chose to come to Uganda at a time when Kenya is in big problems. They are worried that Kibaki might have got to Uganda to consult a man who besides other titles like elections stealer, and serial breaker of Agreements between conflicting parties, is most well known as veteran of genocide against civilians.
Recently we saw pictures of youths in Kenya carrying machetes (pangas) and it brought back memories of the pangas used in the Rwandan Genocide. We earlier wrote about a truck full of new pangas that was taken from Uganda to Rwanda just before the terrible genocide there.
We have not got any news about what they discussed but when the most powerful and corrupt men get together to strike deals, the people of East Africa should get worried.
Foul play is being suspected between Museveni and Kibaki.
jan 18: Uganda troops in Kenya
The UPDF is still in Kenya. Some of them have been taken there by the Kenya bus services like Akamba. General Salim Saleh, rumours say, has been seen in Kenya. (If you spot him somewhere, please confirm to Radio Katwe whether this is true or not). In addition, it is well known that Ugandan troops have been ferried under dark through Port Bell cover to Kisumu in Kenya.We also know that some Ugandan soldiers have been killed in Kenyan and as a source described as "fed to the fish" in Lake Victoria in the Kisumu side. Deaths have been confirmed but we cannot be sure about the fish food part.
A source has told us that bullet cartridges or empty shells picked up in Kisumu have markings which indicate that they were produced at the Luwero army Industries in Nakasongola. Has Kenya all along been importing ammunition from Uganda, or is this further evidence of one thug coming to another dictators aid?
Local fishermen saw unidentified "military men" landing at various fishing sites including Usengi in Kenya (about 40 km south of Majanji , but on the Kenyan side of the border). Some of the UPDF soldiers who were sent to Kenya, when they got there, removed their uniforms and defected, never to come back.
There was an attack on Thursday on Moi Referral Hospital in Kisumu. The hospital staff say that the attackers spoke rather poor Kiswahili or none at all. In East Africa, you can wonder who are worst at speaking Kiswahili. In the elite forces like PGB, CMI etc, Runyankole is like the "official" language but even in the regular UPDF where Swahili is the common language, the standard is considered bad.
A source speculated to us that the "gunmen" in Kisumu are shooting at Luos, not Kikuyus. But we wonder how easy it is to tell instantly, in the heat of the battle that this one is definitely Kikuyu, or not. So readers take that with a pinch of salt.
Do we need to tell you more? Museveni is involved in the chaos across the border. When normal people are in distress, for him he sees "opportunities". Kavuyo (mayhem) is just a chance to "sort out" once and for all, what he calls enemies.
A very dangerous alliance seems to have formed in this region, where in at least three countries now, men who will do anything to remain in power and protect their loot are now on top, and two actively working together. Ugandans look anxiously at Kenya and pray that the forces of democracy win in the end.
Posted by: b real | Jan 19 2008 19:55 utc | 61
from tomorrow's east african standard
What lies ahead for Kibaki Presidency?
In British House of Commons, Mr Edward Davey, a Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton rose to "thank the Government in their various public statements for not referring to "Mr Mwai Kibaki as the President".He then asked, "Will the Foreign Secretary confirm that the Government still do not recognise Mr Kibaki as having been re-elected president? Did the Foreign Secretary share my concern when the US State Department, in the first crucial hours after the poll, rushed to accept the flawed election result? Has he raised the serious consequences of that critical error of judgement with the US Secretary of State?"
In response, Mr David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary state: "I can confirm that we have recognised no new Government in Kenya. In respect of the United States’ position, I spoke to the Secretary of State on December 30, or possibly 31."
He added: "She made it absolutely clear to me that although the United States was happy to congratulate the Kenyan people on the way they had participated in the democratic process, it had issued no congratulation to an individual "winner"; that her concerns about the irregularities identified by the EU are serious and real; and that she shares our commitment to the spirit of compromise to which we referred in our joint statement and, critically, to the sharing of power."
you're not gonna let her get away w/ that revisionism, are you?
dec 30, 2007: US congratulates Kenyan president on re-election
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US State Department Sunday congratulated Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on his re-election, and called on all sides to accept the results despite opposition allegations of ballot fraud."We obviously congratulate the president on his election," department spokesman Rob McInturff told AFP.
"Again we would call on the people of Kenya to accept the results of the election and to move forward with the democratic process," he said.
Posted by: b real | Jan 19 2008 20:47 utc | 62
AFP says Kofi Annan is "set to arrive in Kenya Tuesday to push for resolution between the feuding sides."
Elsewhere, I came across this analysis from nearly three weeks ago with a different perspective:
A past of power more than tribe in Kenya's turmoil
The ODM has similarities with Ukraine's Orange movement? If there is truth to that, this whole picture gets even more complicated than I had imagined. OTOH the Ukraine script was 150 % backed by foreign powers, and one doesn't see that here...
Posted by: Alamet | Jan 20 2008 17:17 utc | 63
This is bull shit, incitement by people who have sank so low.I regret reading it and since I dont want to sink to your standards please style up
Posted by: wafula Nick | Jan 21 2008 7:41 utc | 64
Posted by: jony_b_cool | Jan 21 2008 14:39 utc | 66
Part II of "Coup in Kenya" is now available here. To comment, please use the Part II thread.
The comments to this entry are closed.
Thanks b real:
McClatchey: Kenyan president lost election, according to U.S. exit poll
Posted by: b | Jan 15 2008 9:24 utc | 1