Eyes on Kenya

Abdilatif Abdalla alihojiwa kwa simu na mtangazaji wa Idhaa ya Kiswahili ya  Sauti ya Ujerumani, Mohamed Dahman. Mahojiano haya yalitangazwa katika kipindi, Dunia Yetu, baada ya matokeo ya uchaguzi mkuu wa Kenya mwaka 2002, na siku moja baada ya  Mwai Kibaki kuapishwa kuwa Rais mpya wa Kenya.

UTANGULIZI (MOHAMED DAHMAN): Mnasikiliza “Dunia Yetu” leo asubuhi kutoka Radio Deutsche Welle, Cologne. Na sasa umewadia wakati wa kuwadondolea yale yaliyoko katika safu yetu ya uchunguzi kutoka hapa na pale ulimwenguni. Asubuhi ya leo, mwanaharakati mashuhuri wa Kenya, Abdilatif Abdalla, anajiunga nasi kuzungumzia matarajio ya Wakenya kufuatia ushindi mkubwa wa kihistoria, wa muungano wa upinzani wa NARC, uliokiondoa chama cha KANU madarakani.

Abdilatif Abdalla ni mwanaharakati wa mageuzi ya Kenya tokea miaka ya 1960.  Hapo mwaka 1966 alijiunga na chama cha upinzani cha KPU cha Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, na kuja hata kutumikia kifungo cha miaka mitatu gerezani, kuanzia mwaka 1968, chini ya utawala wa rais wa kwanza wa Kenya huru, Jomo Kenyatta, kwa kuandika makala zenye kukosoa serikali. Baadaye aliendeleza harakati hizo kupitia chama cha MWAKENYA, kilichokuwa kikiendesha harakati zake chini kwa chini katika miaka ya 1980. Asubuhi hii, Abdilatif Abdalla, ambaye hivi sasa ni mhadhiri katika Chuo Kikuu cha Leipzig hapa Ujerumani, amepata fursa ya kujiunga nasi. Na kwanza kabisa anatuelezea jinsi alivyozipokea habari hizo za Wakenya kuleta mabadiliko nchini mwao kwa njia ya kidemokrasia.

ABDILATIF: Imani yangu ni kwamba Wakenya hawataona kwamba hii ni hatua ya mwisho wakaanza kulala, bali hii ni hatua mojawapo tu ya kwendea kwenye lengo ambalo Wakenya wengi wanalitaka. Lakini kwa jumla ni habari ya furaha.

Halafu kumewekewa matarajio makubwa sana kwa Kibaki na muungano wake huu wa upinzani wa NARC: kwamba ameahidi kuwa Kenya sasa itakuwa na elimu bure ya msingi, ameahidi pia kwamba ataondoa utawala wa rushwa kwa sababu Kenya imeorodheshwa kuwa ni nchi mojawapo yenye serikali iliyotopea rushwa duniani. Halafu pia kuna swala la kufufua uchumi wa nchi uliozorota mno; miundombinu ya Kenya pia iko katika hali mbaya; serikali imeambiwa kwamba siyo safi, haifanyi kazi. Kwa hiyo sasa watu wanataka serikali safi inayowajibika, inayoaminika. Kwa hiyo ukitizama, Abdilatif, mambo hayo ni mengi, makubwa, na utekelezaji wake utahitaji wakati. Huoni hapa kwamba panaweza pakazuka kishindo?

Abdilatif: Kwa upande mmoja inaeleweka – kwamba kwa sababu nchi ya Kenya imekuwa katika hali hiyo mbaya kwa muda mrefu sana, kwa hivyo itakuwa ni kazi kubwa. Hizo ahadi zilizotolewa ni ahadi ambazo, kwa hakika, maadamu kuna nia – na iwe ni nia swafi na nia thabiti – nafikiri Wakenya kwa kuwa wamechoka na hali hii (na hapa haitategemea serikali peke yake, maana serikali peke yake haiwezi kufanya kitu, wala viongozi hao watakaounda serikali, peke yao hawataweza kutimiza lolote, ikiwa Wakenya wenyewe nao hawatashiriki na kushirikishwa katika kuibadilisha hali hii). Kwa hivyo, ikiwa kutakuwa na siasa nzuri na nia – tena thabiti na swafi – nina hakika mambo yataweza kutengenea, lakini yatachukua muda mrefu. Na Wakenya yataka wasiwe na pupa na haraka ya kutaka mambo yabadilike haraka haraka, maana hayataweza kubadilika.

Na tukija kwa upande wa KANU na Moi, wengi wanasema kwamba kitu ambacho watu hawawezi kukanusha kwamba ni mchango mkubwa wa Moi kwa Kenya – au tuseme, labda, ni hazina ya maana aliyowaachia Wakenya – ni amani: kwamba wakati wa utawala wake amejitahidi sana kuhakikisha kwamba amani inadumu Kenya.

Abdilatif: Katika hizi harakati za kisiasa, kuna watu chungu nzima ambao kwa muda wote huu ambao KANU imekuwa katika utawala, wameuwawa; watu wengine wamefungwa magerezani; watu wengine wameteswa kwa sababu ya kuwa na ujasiri wa kusema tu kwamba mambo yanakwenda vibaya na ni lazima yabadilike; na mambo mengine kadha wa kadha. Kwa hivyo, ikiwa watu wenyewe (walikuwa) hawana usalama, watu wenyewe (walikuwa) hawana hakika mtu kesho akiamka atakula nini, au mtoto wake akiwa mgonjwa (alikuwa) hana pesa za kumpelekea hospitali; hiyo pia ni sehemu katika amani ya nchi (ambayo haikuwako).

Halafu imeelezwa pia kwamba huu ushindi wa NARC umetokana na vitu viwili: kura ya kuukataa utawala (yaani kuikataa KANU na Moi), na matokeo – wanachosema kwamba – kama vile ni  ya mapinduzi yaliyokuwa yakitokota kwa miezi sita iliyopita. Tukija kwa upande huo wa mapinduzi, changamoto kubwa mara nyingi inaonekana baada ya mapinduzi. Kwani ni kawaida kwa mapinduzi kuwala watoto wake wenyewe. Je, kwa upande wa NARC jambo hili halitotokea na kuja kusambaratisha chama hicho?

Abdilatif: Naam, kama ilivyo kawaida tena, wanasiasa wengi wamejiunga na NARC zaidi kwa maslahi yao ya binafsi kuliko kwa maslahi ya nchi au kwa maslahi ya wananchi wa Kenya. Kwa hivi sasa itaonekana kwamba labda wote wameshikamana. Lakini baada ya muda fulani kupita (na ikiwa serikali mpya hii kweli inataka kuleta mabadiliko, sioni vipi katika baadhi ya viongozi ambao wamo katika NARC  hivi leo wataweza  kuwa na madaraka katika serikali hii ya sasa). Maanake ni watu wale wale ambao walikuwa katika serikali ya KANU iliyopita, na wamefanya vitendo vichafu kabisa vya kuihujumu nchi na kuwahujumu wananchi, kwamba watu hawa wataweza kubadilika. Mimi hilo nina wasiwasi nalo sana. Kwa hivyo, hii ni hatua ya kwanza tu. Nina hakika kila tukiendelea mbele huko, ni lazima itabidi kuweko na mchujo mkubwa sana ikiwa kunatakikana kupatikane mabadiliko ya kweli katika nchi ya Kenya.

Abdilatif Abdalla, mwanaharakati mashuhuri wa mageuzi nchini Kenya.

- MWISHO -

Its been a while since we have written something here. Well, we too, just like you, have been waiting with bated breath to see what the face of the Kenyan cabinet in the coalition is going to look like. We have let it out now, though not in full. Concerning the cabinet, The Nation and The Standard have a comprehensive listing. What is really heartening is the 13 women that are in the cabinet, the most Kenya has ever seen. Kudos to the both sides for that.

Lets try looking forward, now that the past is being pushed aside for newer memories. Lets look at the face of the world and not forget Kenya. World Bank head Robert Zoellick warned that 100 million people in poor countries could be pushed deeper into poverty by spiraling prices. From Mexico to Pakistan, protests have turned violent. Rioters tore through three cities in the West African nation of Burkina Faso last month, burning government buildings and looting stores. Days later in Cameroon, a taxi drivers’ strike over fuel prices mutated into a massive protest about food prices, leaving around 20 people dead. Similar protests exploded in Senegal and Mauritania late last year. And Indian protesters burned hundreds of food-ration stores in West Bengal last October, accusing the owners of selling government-subsidized food on the lucrative black market.

You do not need a crystal ball to predict that Kenya is on its best way to join this list. There have been starving people in times where Kibaki’s government took the credit for being East Africa’s most successful economic-forward-moving government. But with Kenya’s economy shredded, still thousands of displaced persons and fields in Rift valley neglected during the violence, the country is facing a whole different situation, almost impossible to solve without foreign help. With 100 million people facing the crisis and only some hundred million from the international community, Kenya will find itself at the end of the list if they do not shape up now and let any bits of yields from the economic restructuring trickle down to the people. Otherwise, we are going to be one hungry, dissatisfied people very soon. I have my ears on the ground for anything they do towards this.

The BBC special report takes a look at the facts and figures behind rising food prices across the globe.

With Kenya’s wheat and maize production severely tampered with due to the unrest, one can be sure that this is going to hit Kenya harder than the rest of the world. One thing though is for sure: At least 42 cabinet members are not in fear of being hungry. Kudos to your pockets, oh ye soon-to-be-hungry Kenyan taxpayers!

Berthold Brecht wrote: “However much you twist, whatever lies you tell, Food is the first thing, morals follow on.” and Bob Marley sang: “A hungry mob is an angry mob”. Haiti prooved them both right. It is time for action now, so Kenya will not turn into a Haiti like situation. While the post election violence slowed down when the political leaders saw their chances to get their share of power, a hungry mob cannot be called to order: In the Rift valley violence pangas, spears and bows were used, in the cattle fights up north, kalashnikovs were used instead. Do get going, our dear Leaders.

The following text is a statement by the Kenyan Women’s Consultation Group on the Current Crisis in Kenya. For more than two weeks Kenyan women from several Organizations met and discussed the current crisis and approaches to end it. Action Aid International, Vital Voices, UNIFEM, Nairobi Peace Initiative and Urgent Action Fund-Africa facilitated the consultations. The statement was presented to the international mediation team including, Kofi Annan, Graça Machel and Benjamin Mkapa at Serena Hotel Nairobi on January 25, 2008.

The statement has been published before, for example at Pambazuka News.

Since we think it is a very valuable statement, we have decided to quote it in full length:

Women’s Memorandum to the Mediation Team

Serena Hotel, Nairobi, January 25, 2008

Kenyan Women’s Consultation Group on the Current Crisis in Kenya (2008-01-29)

Your Excellency Kofi Annan
Your Excellency Graça Machel
Your Excellency Benjamin Mkapa

We thank Your Excellencies for the opportunity to address this forum. We make this presentation on behalf of Kenyan women who have been meeting in Nairobi over the last two weeks. Action Aid International, Vital Voices, UNIFEM, Nairobi Peace Initiative and Urgent Action Fund-Africa have facilitated the consultations. A committee of 11 women present here, represents the larger group.

Kenyan women assert their rights as citizens of this country to participate in all political processes and initiatives that seek to find solutions to the crisis that currently that our beloved motherland faces. We are mindful of our special responsibilities in all the spheres of nation building including truth & justice seeking, peacebuilding and reconciliation. We embrace all our diversities as we collectively seek solutions. We acknowledge that in the resolution of the current conflict, there has to be ‘give and take’ from both sides of the political divide. We assert that as citizens we must take responsibility for resolving and transforming the conflict and the inclusion and participation of civic groups, including women’s groups at the community level is critical to the success of efforts to resolve the conflict.

The important role of women’s participation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts is reaffirmed in The Constitutive Act of the African Union, The AU’s Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality, The Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of women in Africa, The African Charter on the Rights and welfare often Child, and by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. The resolution stresses the importance of women’s equal participation and involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision –making with regard to conflict prevention.

The UN Resolution 1325 further calls on all actors involved, when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to adopt a gender perspective, including, inter alia

a) The special needs of women and girls during repatriation and resettlement and for rehabilitation, reintegration and post conflict reconstruction.
b) Measures that support local women’s peace initiatives and indigenous processes for conflict resolution, and that involve women in all of the implementation mechanisms of the peace process.
c) Measures that ensure the protection of and respect for human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary;
All these instruments recognise the centrality of women to the development of democracy and democratic institutions and the importance of their participation at every level, and in every process. Women are central actors and ‘right holders’ in any process that addresses sustainable development, security and human rights. During this crisis, Kenyan women have been at the forefront in community peace building and mediation efforts in the North Rift and other areas.

(c) by Gado

Is there a conflict? What are The Facts?

A political crisis has engulfed the country following the announcement of presidential results on December 30, 2007.There are allegations of a flawed tallying process by the electoral commission , hence the dispute as to who the actual winner of the presidential vote was. As a consequence, violent conflict broke out in many parts of Kenya from December 30, 2008 and continues to this day. This conflict is expressed in the following ways:
1. Spontaneous and organised demonstrations against the ECK and the government.
2. Killings that have so far claimed the lives of over 700 Kenyans. These killings are by a) extra judicial executions by the police of targeted communities and demonstrators. b) Militia executions, torture and mutilations of civilians targeted at particular ethnic communities (these include forced circumcisions & castrations) and c) by ordinary citizens
3. Criminal conduct by citizens looting, burning and destruction of private and public property.
4. Increased sexual violence against women and children.
5. Suspension of constitutional freedoms including the freedom of conscience, assembly and worship.
6. Violation on the rights of the media and right to information by a ban on media broadcasting of live events.
7. Ethnic and politically instigated evictions of populations of certain communities from their properties resulting in large numbers of internally displaced Kenyans ( approximately 260,000)
8. Ethnically instigated employment displacement of workers in certain regions (tea peckers in Kericho) and eviction rental properties.
This situation has resulted in:
- A breakdown in the rule of law and a lack of confidence in institutions of law and order.
- Breakdown of social relationships and trust among Kenyan Communities and an exacerbation of existing ethnic tensions.
- Human insecurity (including food insecurity).
- Continued systematic and widespread violation of human rights and a lack of respect for the sanctity of life.
- Proliferation of propaganda by all parties including the state and an increase in hate media on all media (FM stations -in particular vernacular FM stations, print, electronic and new media -text messaging, email, internet) that demonises particular communities.
(more…)

On Saturday Feb. 2nd 2008 a Charity Concert- One Kenya One Voice- in Boston, Ma, USA will take place at “The Roxy”. All proceeds will go to the Kenyan Red Cross. Headliner Artist Eric Wainaina and others will be performing. For more information see http://www.vumakenya.org/

On the same day a peace rally will be held in Hamburg, Germany, organized by a Kenyan culture organisation Chawema e.V.. Meeting point is the the Hamburg Main Station (Kirchenallee-Hachmannplatz) at 2 o’clock.

At 6 o’clock there will be an discussion round at the DGB building at Besenbinderhof 57a (close to ZOB Hamburg) with Emily Imunde about the present situation back home. M. J. Obeto from Chawema e.V. will moderate in both English and German.

Two German and a Dutch Journalist were arrested under the allegation of “terrorist activities” in Kenya. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe stated, they “have been conducting themselves in a suspicious manner” and photos of “vital installations” were found in their possession. Gerd Uwe Hauth and Andrej Hermlin and Fleur Van Dissel, were arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Andrej Hermlin, who is married to a Kenyan citizen, is a well known German swing musician, and also works as a journalist. He lives part time in the village of his wife in the Mt Kenya region, where he has a house. Due to his knowledge about Kenyan politics he was interviewed and quoted in many German articles and radio features before he left for Kenya earlier this month.

Get real and free Andrej, Gerd and Fleur!

Fleur Van Dissel was working on documentaries about Raila Odinga. One of his documentaries was aired shortly before the election.

There have been complaints by other international journalists, that they were harassed by Kenyan Police and Paramilitary forces, for example they were deliberately tear gassed or attacked by Police on horses. The Standard reports that the KTN journalist who took the incredible footage of the policeman killing a demonstrator in kisumu has reported to police that he has had death threats. Reuters photographer Thomas Mukhoya, who was also reporting from kisumu, has also been threatened.

After censoring live broadcast on TV in Kenya, Kibaki’s regime tries to threaten foreign journalist who they blame for the political unrest.

We call for the immediate release of all three journalists.

Kenyan riot police officers on horseback chase photographers in central Nairobi, Kenya, Jan. 16. Picture from josephkaroki

We are lacking words for what is happening.

As an initiative of several concerned Kenyan bloggers ( KenyanPundit.com, WhiteAfrican.com, MentalAcrobatics.com, AfroMusing.com, Skunkworks), the website Ushahidi (swahili for witness) was launched. It gives witnesses of violence in Kenya, which started after the election, the possiblility to report them. Ushuahidi is in contact with several NGOs in Kenya in order to confirm those reports.

Witnesses can contact Ushahidi via internet or email (tips@ushahidi.com) or via mobil and sms (+447624802635).

Truth is the first step to reconciliation and peace. Please support Ushahidi by linking to their page (Buttons are available) and spreading the news via email and phone in Kenya.

Report Acts Of Violence In Kenya

An Online-Petition by the “Coalition of Kenyans and Allies for Democracy” with the title “Kibaki must step down” was already signed by more than 10.000 people. Many Blogs are linking to the side.
The Petition backround Text gives an overview about the irregularities during the election.

Interestingly, the homepage of the initiators of the Petition, the Kenyansfordemocracy-Blog, was removed by blogspots’ owner google. Trying to access the side, this text appears:

“This blog is in violation of Blogger’s Terms of Service and is open to authors only

If you are an author of this blog, tell us who you are!”

What is happening here? Does anybody have information about it?

@ the Gedächtniskirche Berlin, Germany

For 4 days now, we have been looking for any groups politically or otherwise organized Kenyans in Berlin. We have made many calls, written to many organizations, but it seems that they are a rare breed. I have just come from a demonstration of Kenyans in Berlin seeking a way forward for the country. In total about 13 Kenyans turned up.

It got me thinking. Whenever we called/ wrote in our many inquiries, what we turned up were many politically and otherwise organized Nigerians and Camerounians but never once Kenya. Why is it so? I hypothesize that Kenyans have been much too peaceful to “warrant” organizing to raise their voices about issues. This has made them lose that important life-line of an organised voice taking on the face of tragedy/ political upheaval, or any other social or economic problems that could be addressed by that voice. Another hypothesis that scares me could be that they have adopted an ostrich attitude- head in the sand.

An analysis of the situation back in Kenya should ask of any concerned Kenyan to deliberate with others within such organizations on ways of addressing it from whichever countries they are in. Any effort that can yield albeit a little bit of fruit is worth attempting.

The first and only African leader to congratulate Mr. Kibaki on his win was Ugandan president Mr. Museveni. Later he offered himself as mediator. This is an action full of irony. As a friend of mine says, “The biggest problem that I see however, is the inaction of our own African governments. It is them that lend credibility to such regimes by not standing up for the people’s cause (may be because they too lack the moral authority to condemn one of their own).”

Should’nt African leaders join forces to condemn such acts as has been seen in the elections in Kenya. Wouldn’t it be a peer censure mechanism that is more effective than other international statements? Or is my friend right in saying they lack the credibility to do so.

BBC

Monitor