Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch: KENYA DEMOCRACY

Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch

Welcome to Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch Blog. Our objective is to promote the institutions of democracy,social justice,Human Rights,Peace, Freedom of Expression, and Respect to humanity in Rwanda,Uganda,DR Congo, Burundi,Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya,Ethiopia, and Somalia. We strongly believe that Africa will develop if only our presidents stop being rulers of men and become leaders of citizens. We support Breaking the Silence Campaign for DR Congo since we believe the democracy in Rwanda means peace in DRC. Follow this link to learn more about the origin of the war in both Rwanda and DR Congo:http://www.rwandadocumentsproject.net/gsdl/cgi-bin/library

Showing posts with label KENYA DEMOCRACY. Show all posts

Monday, May 16, 2011

Olympic marathon champ Wanjiru dies after balcony fall

Samuel Kamau Wansiru of Kenya is shown after winning the men's marathon in this file photo from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Jamie Squire/GETTY IMAGES

Tom Odula , Associated Press

NAIROBI, KENYA — Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru died in a fall from a balcony after a domestic dispute involving his wife and another woman, police said Monday.
One police official said Wanjiru committed suicide, while another said he jumped to stop his wife from leaving the house after she discovered him with another woman.
The 24-year-old runner died late Sunday after jumping from a balcony at his home in the town of Nyahururu, in the Rift Valley, said John Mbijiwe, the police chief in Kenya's Central Province.
“The fact of the matter is that Wanjiru committed suicide,” national police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said.
Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere also said initial reports indicated Wanjiru killed himself, though a local official offered a different account.
“Wanjiru came home with another woman friend at around 11:30 p.m. and then when his wife came home and found them she inquired who the lady was,” area police chief Jasper Ombati said. “They got into an argument. His wife locked them in the bedroom and ran off.
“He then jumped from the bedroom balcony. He is not here to tell us what he thinking when he jumped. We do not suspect foul play. In our estimation we think he wanted to stop his wife from leaving the compound.”
Ethiopian distance running great Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic 10,000-metre champion and world record-holder in the marathon, said on his Twitter feed that he was “totally shocked” by the news.
“My thoughts are with his family and all his friends and colleagues,” Gebrselassie said.
“Of course one wonders if we as an athletics family could have avoided this tragedy,” he said.
American marathon runner Ryan Hall posted on Twitter: “Incredibly sad news about Sammy. I am shocked and saddened.”
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wanjiru became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in the marathon, finishing in an Olympic-record two hours six minutes 32 seconds.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Wanjiru was “steadily developing into our country's running phenomenon.”
He offered condolences to family, friends, Kenya and the entire world athletics community, calling the death “a big blow to our dreams.”
Olympic 5,000 and 10,000-metre champion Kenenisa Bekele said he looked up to Wanjiru as a great athlete.
“I was looking forward to meet him in the future at the marathon distance and to race against him,” the Ethiopian said.
Wanjiru had a history of domestic problems. Last December, he was charged with wounding his security guard with a rifle and threatening to kill his wife and maid. The runner denied all charges and was released on bail.
Jos Hermens, the manager of Gebrselassie and Bekele and one of the most respected long-distance experts in the field, said Wanjiru saw too much success too early in his career.
“It is incredibly sad. An Olympic champion at 21, he was poised to become the world-record holder in the marathon. He could not deal with all the luxury. It all went too fast, too much money,” Hermens said. “You could not say anything bad about him. He just could not deal with it all. He was a lion of a man, and he departed us in much the same way.”
Wanjiru made an early start to his career, moving to Japan aged 15 where he attended school in Sendai — a city hard hit by this year's tsunami — where he won some major cross-country events while also competing in track competitions.
Moving to Europe to advance his promising career, Wanjiru won the Rotterdam Half Marathon in 2005 in a world record time.
He twice improved on that record before stepping up to the full marathon in 2007, back in Japan, winning the Fukuoka Marathon.
The following year he finished second in the London Marathon, and then claimed the biggest prize of his career by taking Olympic gold in Beijing.
Wanjiru became the youngest runner to win four major marathons. In addition to the Olympics, he won in London in 2009 and in Chicago in 2009 and 2010, in the process running the fastest ever time recorded in a marathon in the United States.
“Sammy Wanjiru was an accomplished runner who will be remembered for winning the first Olympic gold medal for Kenya in marathon and setting a new Olympic record in the process,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

NAIROBI: DEATH OF MR SAMUEL WANJIRU KAMAU

Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga

May 16, 2011

Today we woke up to the sad news that Mr Samuel WanjiruKamau, who was steadily developing into our country’s running phenomenon, has died.

Wanjiru’s death is not only a loss to his family and friends but to Kenya as a whole and the entire world athletics fraternity. I wish to register sincere condolences to the family, friends and the whole sport fraternity for this loss.

As an athletics nation, we looked forward to a sterling performance in the Olympic Games in London next year. MrWanjiru was one of our sure bets for gold in the upcoming contest. His death is therefore a big blow to our dreams.

As a country, we shall always remember MrWanjiru’s great action on the international stage when he led an African sweep of the marathon medals on the final day of the Beijing Olympics. With his victory, ours became the last National Anthem to be played in Beijing when the games came to a close, and we earned our first Olympic marathon title.

We looked forward to MrWanjiru successfully defending in London the Olympic record time of two hours six minutes 32 seconds he made in Beijing.

Although MrWanjiru was a Kenyan, Japan shouldered his training for years because of the promise they saw in him as an inspiration to the youth. He was a disciplined and committed leader in the field of athletics, from whom the youth could learn and get inspiration to face the future on the strength of their own determination to succeed. It is my hope that his exploits will inspire more of our young people to carry on from where he has left.

May God rest his soul in peace.

RT. HON. RAILA A. ODINGA, EGH, MP

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Rwanda, Burundi cry foul on Mwapachu succession

East African Community secretary general, Juma Mwapachu. Photo/FILE

By CATHERINE RIUNGU

Posted Monday, December 27 2010 at 00:00

The vacancy created by the impending exit of East African Community Secretary General Juma Mwapachu is dividing the region, between Rwanda and Burundi on the one hand and Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on the other.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Kenya: centre embarks on empowering street children

Sep4

Ndugu Mdogo Rescue Centre takes the children through their rights as enshrined in the new Constitution. It is a chilly morning early on Wednesday and I decide to take a tour of Kibera, sub- Saharan Africa’s largest slum settlement.

A pungent smell hits me as I crisscross the dusty terrain. I soon realize that the smell could be emanating from the ‘flying toilet’, a method most dwellers use to relieve themselves. I try to hold my breath but that doesn’t help as I have a long mission to accomplish.

My first halt is at a rescue centre christened Ndugu Mdogo (Kiswahili for small brother). I am shocked at the overwhelming response accorded to me. Young children aged 5-14 come running to receive me awash with excitement. I try to imagine that they are excited after seeing the cameras I am carrying; perhaps they think I am here for a photo shoot. I suddenly find myself in high spirits due to the warm atmosphere.

Welcome to Ndugu Mdogo, a child rescue centre situated in the heart of Kibera. The centre launched its operations in September 2005 with an aim of promoting street interventions and youth empowerment programmes.

On the day of my visit, I found the children preparing for training. I quickly developed some interest to catch a glimpse of what was to transpire during the training and I was cordially absorbed in. I sat at the furthest corner and a hairy gentleman walked it. With his husky voice he introduced himself as Boniface Okada. He was the facilitator of the training.

The training started at exactly 10:00 am. The training’s theme was using art to express the rights of Children. Okada carried with him a copy of Kenya’s new Constitution. It quickly occurred to me that he was going to take the children through the new constitution.

“We are going to learn about the Constitution and your rights” said Okada. A silent mood immediately engulfed the four walls that were filled with enthusiastic spirits. One minute past and the children could be heard murmuring. One child stood up and said: “The constitution is meant for the older guys”.

Okada couldn’t hold his laughter, terming the boy’s suggestion as ridiculous. In his response, he clarified to the boys that it was for that reason that he came to teach them on their rights based on the current Constitution.

The class session went on well with the children being taken through their right to life, right to identity, right to shelter and right for care and protection . As lunch time approached, Okada called for a break.

The afternoon session was more practical in nature. Creative arts took centre stage; thechildren’s task was to interpret the morning theory class into drawings. The aim was to help them memorise their rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

It was interesting to see their pieces of work after an hour’s drawing session. Some drew the school to indicate the rights to education, while others drew houses to refer to the rights to shelter. Majority drew a man and a woman to represent care and protection and the church for the rights to worship.

It was an incredible experience and the class concluded with the children sticking their drawings on a map of Kibera. They carried the map all over the class singing with shrill voices that sounded innocent: “Kibera for peace.”

Article 14 (4) of the Constitution states that: “A child found in Kenya who is or appears to be less than eight years of age, and whose nationality and parents are not known, is presumed to be a citizen by birth”.

Under the Kenyan Children’s Act, one of the particular rights of children is the right to a name and nationality, which facilitates their enjoyment of other rights.

Street children in Kenya face numerous hardships and danger in their daily lives. In addition to the hazards of living on the street, these children face harassment and abuse from the police and within the juvenile justice system for no reason other than the fact that they are street children. Living outside the protection of responsible adults, street children are easy and silent targets for abuse by police and society at large. On the streets, they are subject to frequent beatings by police as well as monetary extortion and sexual abuse. They are subject to frequent arrests simply because they are homeless.

Sadly enough, it is the harassment and negative adult reactions, not their hunger that troubles street children the most. Isolation and distrust cause them the greatest pain.

The advent of the new constitution provides for the rights of the minorities. This in simple terms gives the street children a sense of belonging.

Article 33 of Chapter 4 asserts the freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, the freedom of artistic creativity, academic freedom and the freedom of scientific research.

The majority of the children would not wish to continue with street life if given an alternative. According to The African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCANN) study, 77 per cent reported that they would not wish to continue with street life, while only 23 per cent wished to continue with street life.

Various reasons were given to justify why the majority of them would wish to discontinue with street life. They included the fact that street life is bad and tiring, the desire for a better life and the desire to go to school and to enjoy other conveniences

elsewhere.

The mission to get the street children know their rights was a collaborative effort of the centre’s management and Koinonia Action for Peace, an NGO based in Kenya.

By Eric Sande – News From Africa

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Kenya gets new constitution, buries its demons with vote

Image by ActionPixs (Maruko) via Flickr

The Kenyans at Yes Campaign Rally

Less than 12 hours after the polls closed in Wednesday’s referendum in Kenya, provisional results showed supporters of a new constitution headed for a landslide win.

According to results from the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), the Yes side had 4,141,521 votes (67 per cent) against the No camp's 2,054,946 (33 per cent).

With a lead of more than two million votes, and quite a few Yes strongholds still to report, it seemed not even a miracle could turn the tides in favour of the No camp. Indeed as dawn approached, it looked likely that the Yes vote could even climb to at least 70 per cent.

The law requires that for the proposed constitution to pass, more than 50 per cent of the voters who turn out must support it.

The Yes campaign, led by President Kibaki, 79, and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, 65, had a disorganised start, although opinion polls consistently showed them leading.

The No group, led by several churches, a few dissident ministers, most notably Higher Education minister William Ruto, and former president Daniel arap Moi, 86, looked in good early form.

More impassioned, and exploiting the emotional issues of abortion, which it claimed (inaccurately) was being legalised by the proposed constitution through an ambiguous clause, and the fact the (Islamic family) kadhi courts had been retained, the No side was on message straight from when the whistle blew.

However, the document was loaded with too many attractive clauses to lose. Its bill of rights is easily the most ambitious in Africa. It dramatically reduces the power of the president, expands parliamentary oversight over the executive, and provides for dual citizenship.

For a country where almost every middle class family has at least one child living or working abroad, mostly in the west, this clause was a difficult one to defeat.

For Mr Kibaki, the victory allows him to refurbish his reformist credentials and leave behind a worthy legacy when he retires in 2012. The President had been tarnished by the December 2007 election, which he was widely seen to have won fraudulently. The dispute over the results led to the worst political violence Kenya had witnessed since its independence in 1964.

1,133 people were killed in the violence and 650,000 displaced. Kenya stepped back from the brink only after a negotiated settlement led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan resulted in a 50-50 power-sharing between Kibaki and his main rival, Raila Odinga, who is now prime minister in the coalition government that was formed.

For Mr Odinga, the success of the Yes, which he led for several weeks alone before Kibaki joined the fray, bolsters his presidential hopes in 2012.

Indeed the votes from his home region of Nyanza and Western were dizzyingly high, weighing it at 92 and 80 per cent respectively.

Big names, big money, and state machinery served the Yes side well, but they were also gifted by Moi’s high profile role on the No side. Mr Moi was hugely unpopular, and Kenyans tend to treat him like the mad uncle who is locked away in the attic. They will let him be, as long as he doesn’t intervene too much in politics.

At the height of the campaigns, he got in a verbal spat with an unusually animated Kibaki. If that did anything, it seems to have convinced nearly all the undecided voters to fall on the Yes side. Commentators noted that every time Mr Moi opened his mouth to criticise the proposed constitution, he recruited 1,000 votes for the Yes.

For Kenya as a country, a Yes vote is also some form of national redemption. In December 2002, Kenya became the first country in the wider Eastern Africa where an opposition ousted a long-ruling party through a democratic vote.

But the euphoria soon dissipated as the opposition coalition descended into bickering and the same kind of corruption that had discredited the Moi regime. The post-election violence that followed the December 2007 poll, enveloped Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, in a cloud of despair and self-doubt.

With this referendum, the interim election commission organised easily the most efficient and open vote in Africa. And, after being caught asleep on the job last time, this time the security services left nothing to chance.

Security forces were deployed in large numbers in the volatile Rift Valley, where most of the last post-election and displacements took place.

KENYA:'No' camp leader William Ruto concedes referendum defeat

Kenyan Minister William Ruto

Mr Ruto congratulated Kenyans for conducting themselves peacefully during the referendum.

The minister said: "Kenyans have spoken and we respect the decision. All Kenyans are winners."

However, the 'No' group called for immediate consultations between the two sides with the aim of amending the contentious issues.

Mr Ruto was accompanied by cabinet ministers Naomi Shabaan and Samuel Poghisio and several Members of Parliament allied to the Red camp.

He said the international threshold for endorsing a new constitution had not been met, showing that more Kenyans needed to be brought on board.

"We want to be part of the process of moving Kenya into the future," he said as to emphasize his call for more consultations and national unity. Mr Ruto commended Kenyans for displaying maturity in making their decision despite what he called foreign interference and abuse of state resources during the campaigns.

Kenya Christian Church leaders also emphasized the need for further consultations on the contentious issues in the new constitution that had made them to oppose its passage.

In a separate press briefing at the same venue, where the 'No' politicians earlier conceded defeat, the Church leaders claimed that the pre-referendum process "was marred by malpractices and irregularities which continued right into the balloting and tallying phases."

"Our attention is especially drawn to the fact that only about 30 per cent of the registered voters endorsed the proposed constitution," National Council of Churches of Kenya secretary-general Canon Peter Karanja said.

The Church leaders did not categorically concede defeat, instead declaring that the Church had played a prophetic role in warning the nation of the dangers posed by the contentious issues.

The Church leaders claimed that some of their agents had been barred from the tallying process.

However, they called upon Kenyans to remain peaceful and united in addressing the contentious issues. "We especially appreciate the more than two million Kenyans who courageously stood to demand that the anomaly in the proposed constitution be addressed before the same is passed," Canon Karanja said from the prepared statement.

The mainstream Catholic Church was not represented at the press briefing.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

KENYA REFORMISTS SCORE A RARE AFRICAN POLITICAL VICTORY; HOW, AND WHY?

By Charles Onyango Obbo

Daily Nation Photo

It is shortly after 2 am in Nairobi, and it is time to call the referendum for the “Yes” (Green) side in the referendum that took place yesterday. The “Yes” side has 4,112,900 (66.8%)and the “No” side has 2,040,700 (33.2%). There are just under 3m votes to be announced, and even if the “No” side took 75% of it, it will not overturn the result.
So President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who were leading the “Yes” side can turn off the lights, kiss their wives goodbye, and wake up to take a sweet victory to the bank.
The new Kenya constitution has the most progressive bill of rights in Africa, a notch better than even South Africa’s. But the referendum outcome is significant for greater reasons in Africa.
In December 2002, Kenya became the country – and so far only – country in the wider Eastern Africa in which an opposition defeated a ruling party at democratic elections.
The constitution change today represents the FIRST TIME that a group of reformists have actually managed this kind of reform through a civil political process. Everywhere else in Africa, radicals and reformists (and I use these words cautiously here) have only changed constitution after they seized power through a military coup (Jerry Rawlings in Ghana, Thomas Sankara in Bourkina Faso, etc), or through an armed rebellion (Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, the ANC in South Africa, SWAPO in Namibia, Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia, the list is endless).
The question is why Kenya? That is a story I will venture to tell another day, but you clever Facebookers are welcome to take a stab at it.