Eyes on Kenya

BBC News Video on Kibaki’s administration and Mungiki, part 1:

And Part 2:

According to BBC News, sources allege that meetings were hosted at the official residence of the president between the banned Mungiki militia and senior government figures.
The aim was to hire them as a defence force in the Rift Valley to protect the president’s Kikuyu community. The government denied the allegations, calling them “preposterous”.
“No such meetings took place at State House or any government office,” government spokesman Alfred Mutua told the BBC. He said the government had been cracking down on the sect for the last year, arresting their leaders. “There’s no way the president or any government official would meet openly or even in darkness with the Mungiki,” he said.
The allegations come as parliament prepares to open on Thursday, laying the ground for a new coalition government. Although parliament’s focus will be on healing ethnic divisions and creating a coalition government – allegations of state involvement with a banned Kikuyu militia, known as Mungiki, will not go ignored, the BBC’s Karen Allen in Nairobi says.
She says there is growing suspicion that some of the violence that led to 1,500 people being killed and hundreds of thousands displaced was orchestrated by both sides of the political divide.
The BBC source, who is a member of the Kikuyu tribe and who is now in hiding after receiving death threats, alleged: “Three members of the gang met at State House… and after the elections and the violence the militias were called again and they were given a duty to defend the Kikuyu in Rift Valley and we know they were there in numbers.”
On the weekend of 25 January, the Rift Valley towns of Nakuru and then Naivasha were the focus of the some of the worst post-election violence. Eyewitnesses spoke of non-Kikuyu homes being marked, then gangs with machetes – who they claim were Mungiki – attacked people who were from other ethnic groups.
Sources inside the Mungiki have told the BBC that it was a renegade branch of the outfit that was responsible for violence, not them.
A policeman who was on duty at the time, who has spoken to the BBC on condition of anonymity, has also pointed to clear signs of state complicity. He alleges that in the hours before the violence in Nakuru, police officers had orders not to stop a convoy of minibus taxis, called “matatus”, packed with men when they arrived at police checkpoints. “When we were there… I saw about 12 of them [matatus] packed with men,” he said. “There were no females… I could see they were armed. “We were ordered not to stop the vehicles to allow them to go.”
But Mr Mutua said that the government deployed the military to deal with the Kikuyu youth who had tried to take the law into their own hands. “The Kenyan government… used helicopters to drive them away, arrested them and actually got to kill quite a few of them torching houses,” he said. “The government stamped on them immediately.”
The allegations come at a time of growing concern that there was pre-planned violence on both sides of the political fence, in the aftermath of Kenya’s disputed election result.
The International Crisis Group has already raised such concerns and Human Rights Watch is expected to publish its report making similar claims shortly.
There are plans to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the coming weeks to examine claims of election violence. The allegations are likely to be among the themes investigated by a commission created to address the issue of post-election skirmishes.

Orange Democratic MP Melitus Mugabe Were was murdered by two gunmen as he drove up to the gate of his house with a shot in his eye and several shots in his chest. The gunmen gave no warning, nor did they try to cover it up as a robbery gone awry. There is little doubt that it was a political murder. He was murdered on the very day talks about how to regain peace in Kenya between his party and the government were suppose to start. It was a successful move by those who were aiming to prevent peace and power sharing.

Besides violence along ethnic lines and the street protest, most of the time, people who were threatened were outside the political arena: Human rights activists, critical journalists and just people who tried to oppose the violence, like the marathon runner Wesley Kimutai Ngetich Moderate and independent voices are often targeted first, since they often have enemies on both sides of the conflict.

Melitus Mugabe Were’s death brings the conflict to a new level. He was one of 900 (probably one of more than 1000) men, women and children who have been murdered since the flawed election on December 27th 2007. And he will not be the last one. Many more will be shot by the police, murdered by their neighbours for suddenly being from the wrong tribe or will die from other causes which will not be taken in the equation of the aftermath of the violence: People who will die from starvation when the economic crises takes its toll in the next months and years and people in remote place who are cut off from medical supply will suffer from drug resistance of HIV medication in some months or years.

Not one life lost is worth more than another, not one death deserves less to be mourned for. So what is the difference between the death of Melitus Mugabe Were and the thousand and more that died and will die? One difference between his death and many other Kenyans’ is that his name will be remembered by many. His death will lead to more violence and more anonymous numbers in the death count. There has been at lot of speculation and different opinions, whether the first wave of violence in the Rift valley was premeditated or fuelled by the opposition. A Human Rights Watch report and other Kenya’s human rights commission have raised allegations, which have been denied by ODM.

There is little doubt about the escalation of violence by the Police, an institution which most likely is still under government control. Demonstrators have been executed, journalists attacked and peaceful gatherings at funerals and at Melitus Mugabe Were’s compound were tear-gassed and turned into an angry mob.

And the new wave of violence was easy to foresee. More than 2 weeks ago Maina Kiai, chairman of the state-funded human rights body, said that in response to attacks on Kikuyu, government politicians have recruited the Mungiki. Kiai said the government has promised Mungiki immunity in return for protecting the Kikuyu. He said his information came from several sources including Mungiki members. Now we receive reports about Mungiki members recruiting by force to attack and kill members of other tribes and doing forced circumsitions on Kikuyus. There are also voices that state that the police did not respond in the way the could have.

Despite the above, Were’s party ODM did what many said they would not: They called upon their supporters to stay calm and not let the violence escalate. It may have been too late because they were not heard and a fresh wave of voilence occured. The police reacted yet again as most people expected: Mourners gathering at the Were’s compound were attacked with tear gas. But at least they called for calm, a commendable action.

Conclusion
The pressure on Kenyan’s politicians has been growing. The election of the Speaker of the Parliament was the first test of strength for the opposition which they just barely passed with 4 votes more than the government who had the support of the non-ODM MPs. The murder of an MP ensures that many will stay in line and increases the government’s marginal advantage in Parliament by one vote.

But it is hard to see who profits from the murder. Mwai Kibaki can follow any demands from the International Community and negotiate about peace and power-sharing, knowing that with the never ending violence and opposition MPs being killed that no agreement will last (What can you expect from talks about the future of Kenya, when they cannot even agree where who sits on the conference table?)

However, the uncontrolled violence might lead to a situation in which Kibaki’s authority can not be questioned from outside. He is in charge of the Police and military and therefore the only one able to do something to prevent further killings. What we already see is a totally out of control situation, moving from Molo, Nakuru, Naivasha in direction Nairobi. The militia forces unleashed here can not be calmed down on command. Support of the opposition by the international community might undermine this power Kibaki is struggling to hold on to and lead to further violence. At least this might be what the government is hoping for.

Before I start on the topic of analysis, I would like to draw attention to some very disturbing news. This news is best left to readers’ interpretation as I am at loss at what to say to it.

1. An earlier report by Reuters stated Kenya’s embattled government has activated a murderous criminal gang to protect its supporters during a bloody confrontation over disputed elections, a leading human rights activist said on Wednesday. Maina Kiai, head of the government-funded National Commission on Human Rights, said the Mungiki, an ethnic Kikuyu gang notorious for beheading its victims, had returned. “They are coming out again and being used by the state. We have firm evidence of that, some of their people came to us,” he said.

2. A BBC report from a Kenyan (who wishes to remain anonymous) in the Rift Valley town of Naivasha describes how members of an outlawed sect – the Mungiki – are forcibly recruiting members of their Kikuyu ethnic group to kill non-Kikuyus – allied to the opposition. Gangs of Kikuyus are outside the prison and burning houses nearby but the police – there are many of them there – but it is like they are relaxed. They are not doing anything, just shooting, shooting, shooting [up in the air] but not stopping these people from getting closer to the prison.

3. AFP reports the following: NAIVASHA, Kenya– Lying on a blood-stained stretcher, Caleb’s face is convulsed in pain. “The Kikuyus circumcised me by force,” he says, moments before losing consciousness in the hospital’s sweltering heat. On Sunday night, “a group of eight men with pangas (machetes) entered. They asked for my ID,” he says, explaining that his attackers wanted to see his name and determine which tribe he belonged to. “They slashed me and they circumcised me by force. I screamed a lot and cried for help: ‘Mum, I don’t want to die far away from home’,” he says. Caleb complains that the police arrived on the scene but eventually left him in a poll of blood and made away with the machetes and other weapons left behind by the Kikuyu gang.

4. Nation reports that In Kisumu, a watchman was shot dead by police as demonstrators took to the streets protesting against the Naivasha and Nakuru killings. They burnt vehicles and forced schools to close. At Kapsoit trading centre on the Kisumu-Kericho highway, a man who was among a group barricading the road was killed by police, while five vehicles were burnt…In Nakuru, the death toll from three days of violence stood at 84…

5. The Timesonline reports that Naivasha residents say that the attackers were Mungiki bussed in from Limuru, a Kikuyu stronghold close to Nairobi. Police are taking the accusations seriously. An officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “It certainly looks like they were … and that they were brought here from outside.”

I really thought there had been a previous attempt to destroy the Mungiki. Was it just a gimmick?

 Media

When one talks about how powerful media can be, we can sum it up in one sentence: The mass media play a crucial role in forming and reflecting public opinion: the media communicate the world to individuals and reproduce the self-image of society. Media information are influential mediums as they have been largely responsible in structuring the daily lives and routines of many, as found out by various sociologists.

Kenya opened a forum for many radio stations to broadcast information when the government banned live broadcasts. Live broadcasts were seen as essential in a time when everyone was biting their nails in anticipation of what would come next in the post-election crisis. How wise that was is what I want to examine. I posit that that was a most un-wise move as the proliferation of information broadcasts on the smaller radio stations grew concurrent with the need for the information people lacked in the live broadcasts. The vilifying of the media-houses, whose information are highly scrutinized by the rest of the world was also increased leading to a mistrust by the general public. What would hey have then done? Turn to their radios. Here comes the shocker:

According to humanitarian news and analysis by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Inflammatory statements and songs broadcast on vernacular radio stations and at party rallies, text messages, emails, posters and leaflets have all contributed to post-electoral violence in Kenya. While the mainstream media, both English and Swahili, have been praised for their even-handedness, vernacular radio broadcasts have been of particular concern, given the role of Kigali’s Radio-Télévision Libre des Mille Collines in inciting people to slaughter their neighbours in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. “There’s been a lot of hate speech, sometimes thinly veiled. The vernacular radio stations have perfected the art,” Caesar Handa, chief executive of Strategic Research, told IRIN. Among the FM stations that Handa singled out for criticism were the Kalenjin-language station Kass, the Kikuyu stations Inooro and Kameme and the Luo station, Lake Victoria.

“The call-in shows are the most notorious,” said Handa. “The announcers don’t really have the ability to check what the callers are going to say.” Handa heard Kalenjin callers on Kass FM making negative comments about other ethnic groups, who they call “settlers”, in their traditional homeland, Rift Valley Province.

“You hear cases of ‘Let’s reclaim our land. Let’s reclaim our birthright’. Let’s claim our land means you want to evict people [other ethnic communities] from the place,” said Handa. Vernacular music has also been used to raise ethnic tensions. The two Kikuyu stations, Kameme and Inooro, played songs “talking very badly about beasts from the west”, a veiled reference to opposition leader Raila Odinga and his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) colleagues, who come from western Kenya, said Handa. Radio Lake Victoria played a Luo-language song by DO Misiani, which referred to “the leadership of baboons”.

KNCHR singled out a Kikuyu song by Miuga Njoroge, broadcast on Inooro FM, as worrying. “I hear it was sponsored by the [governing] Party of National Unity,” said Mucheke. “The gist of it is Raila [Odinga] is a murderer. He is power hungry. He doesn’t care about other tribes. He only cares about his tribe, the Luo community. It says that Luos are lazy. They don’t work. They are hooligans. That when they rent houses, they don’t pay rent.”

IRIN then says that by allowing such sentiments to be voiced on air, observers say, they earn a degree of legitimacy that can be used to justify attacks on other ethnic groups. I totally agree with them. The media sanctions in place by the government now are at the wrong door. These stations should be closed with immediate effect, being that they sure have played a role in the escalation of the violence. Or they should be used as an effective means of stopping the violence. How to do this is a question I am still turning in my mind and will post an answer if and when I get it. However, the Eastandard has a put a foot forward towards this. Their editors had this to say:

“For the umpteenth time, we are compelled to address our leaders and the nation over the political madness that has been going on for a month now — since the December 27 election — and which shows no signs of abating.

It is important, from the outset, to make it clear that the crippling political crisis threatening to shut down the country is not the making of the Kenyan people — they rendered their verdict by casting their votes to choose their leaders in the parliamentary and presidential election…Leaders have lost control of their supporters and few can call for calm and be listened to. This is how low the country has sunk…The magnitude of this challenge suggests that unless our leaders deliberately make hard choices for the sake of preserving the security of our people and the Kenyan nation, we could see a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence”.

They said to the leaders, “They must also ponder the following: Who gains when our people continue to be killed and suffer? Will it matter much — in a situation where the country is destabilised — to hold or ascend to the presidency?… If they truly care, they should hold joint rallies to salvage the country from going down the precipice. They should demonstrate humility and climb down from the pedestals they are perched on…We also wish to appeal to the people — however inflamed their passions may be — to calm down”.

While there may be no reports of the ODM leaders using radio stations to escalate violence, I believe that a wise move would have been at an earlier stage to use them to calm people down. Human Rights Watch report that many Kalenjin community leaders told them that if the area’s ODM leadership or the local Kalenjin radio station KASS FM told people unequivocally to stop attacks on Kikuyu homes, then they believe the violence would stop. “If the leaders say stop, it will stop immediately,” said one Kalenjin elder”.

I uphold the Eastandard’s effort. Who is next? Will they reach down into the flaming souls of the populace? I am still thinking…

One small hand shake for two guys, one moving moment for a nation.

It was a big gesture, but by now nothing more is achieved. Raila Odinga has ruled out taking a new post of prime minister in President Kibaki’s Government. Odinga said the only three acceptable options would be Kibaki’s resignation, a vote re-run, or power-sharing leading to constitutional reform then a new election. The ODM leader said he was offended by Kibaki’s comments afterwards that he was Kenya’s “duly-elected” president. “Those remarks were unfortunate, calling himself duly-elected and sworn-in president. That is the bone of contention. We want negotiations with integrity,” he said. (Nation)

Every step towards peace is a right step, but the question is not Kibaki or Odinga or Kibaki and Odinga. The question is whether they agree on a constituion reform to limit the missuse of power.

Power sharing

Not even willing to share their umbrellas: Museveni and Gaddafi

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Libya counterpart Muammar Gaddafi have proposed that President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga should share power. Two experts of power sharing have spoken: Gaddafi is in his 39^th year of non-power sharing, while Museveni only achieved 21 years. Both are known for their love for democratic elections. Opposition politicians from Lybia are sharing their place on the Amnesty International report, while Uganda’s oppostion leader Dr Besigye shares the court bench for treason (more on this in the last Part of our article Eyes on the International Community concerning elections in Africa)

Violence in Nakuru

The killing continues and spread towards Nakuru, where houses have been torched. Kenya Army soldiers have been called out to beef up security in Nakuru town after rival militia blocked key roads and destroyed property in fresh escalation of violence.

Screaming and wailing rent the air at Kisima and Kaptembwa Estates in the western part of Nakuru Town all night on Thursday as armed gangs torched houses.

 There are reports about the use of army forces and  Mungiki involvment.

Kenneth Marende, social injustice and a fair salary

R. from the African woman blog quoted freshly elected parliamentary speaker Kenneth Marende, decried the income inequality that saw one man taking home a paltry 5000 Ksh every month (71.5 US dollars), while another took home 1,000,000 Ksh (over 14,000 US dollars) saying this inequality must be corrected if stability is to be achieved. In the same interview just a little later he defended the exorbitant pay that our legislators receive, a minimum of 800,000 Ksh (approximately 11,500 US dollars) on the basis that the house was constituted of a good number of professionals who earned hefty salaries in their previous jobs and that their hefty salaries freed them to concentrate on house business.

We just published our second last part of the article Eyes on the International Community concerning elections in Africa, about Congo. The last part about Uganda will be posted soon.

According to the German Spiegel Online, Lynn Muthoni Wanyeri from the Kenyan Human Rights Commission stated that she has knowledge about militias arming themselves in at least three regions: in Nyanza Province, the Mungiki group in Nairobi and in the area around Eldoret.

It is difficult to tell how much influence the Mungikis still have in Nairobi. During the riots in the slums, they might have lost some of their controlled ground. Nevertheless, they most likely have a substantial amount of money and weapons. There were ties between Mungiki and some KANU and NARC politicians in the past. But after the governments war against Mungiki in 2007, with at least 500 people killed by the police (some sources even go as far as 8000), it is not very likely that Mungiki is fighting for any other interest besides its own.

Continuing violence in Nyanza and Eldoret could harm ODM. Kibaki’s government could try to blame it on their unwillingness to join a government of national unity. They would have the chance to keep up the police forces all over the country and they could keep up the pressure on the media. Peaceful protest marches are basically all ODM can try at this moment, but the margin of peaceful protests is thin, with tensions all over the country. And the economic crisis is working against ODM as well: With food supplies running short, people have to set priorities and it will become more difficult to organize mass demonstrations.

Kibaki made clear that he will not give in easily. If violence erupts once again, the international community will raise the pressure also on Odinga to end atrocities with a government of national unity.

There are few choices for ODM. With Kibaki hanging on to power, it is crucial to reorganize and strengthen the party structure of ODM all over Kenya. So far in many places ODM has been more an alliance for the election campaign. ODM’s MPs and leading politicians should start to organize the protest in their constituencies and recruit more party members. Only with a local structure strong enough to convince people in Eldoret, Nyanza and elsewhere, that every person killed in “ethnic clashes” makes Kibaki only stronger, ODM can keep up its pressure on the government with the support of the international community.

ODM can win on the streets of Nairobi, but can also lose its struggle in the Rift valley.