The UN's idiot guide to hanging with war criminals

The U.N. recently issued updated its guidelines for its senior officials on the etiquette of consorting with world leaders and lesser suspects that stand accused of committing massive war crimes.
Seems that would be a pretty obvious "no, no," but it's not as simple as it seems.
The latest regulations reaffirm existing U.N. guidelines restricting U.N. brass from most dealings with Sudan's leader, Omar al-Bashir, who stands accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of masterminding a campaign of genocide in Darfur several years ago.
But there are virtually no restrictions on dealings with Kenya's new leader, President Uhuru Kenyatta, who stands accused of orchestrating the killing, rape, and displacement of thousands of civilians from the cities of Nakura and Naivasha who were suspected of backing a rival political faction during the country's disputed election in 2008.
So, what's the difference between the court's treatment of Bashir and Kenyatta?
For starters, Kenyatta has recognized the court's legitimacy and appeared in The Hague to face the charges. Bashir hasn't.
The U.N. policy is crafted to reward suspects who cooperate with the Hague-based tribunal. Under the new guidelines, the ICC will issue a summons to a suspected war criminal who volunteers to face charges before the Hague court. But if a suspect makes it clear they won't appear, then the court will issue a formal arrest warrant, which places a legal obligation on governments that have ratified the treaty creating the war crimes court to surrender the individual.
The U.N., which signed a relationship agreement that requires it to refrain from undermining the ICC, reasons that contacts with cooperative suspects "do not undermine the authority of the court."
"U.N. officials may interact without restrictions with persons who are the subject of a summons to appear issued by the ICC and who are cooperating with the ICC," read the guidelines, which were presented to the U.N. Security Council earlier this month. A copy was obtained by Turtle Bay.
But the privilege can be taken away if Kenyatta halts his cooperation with the court. Kenyatta hinted at that possibility, declaring in his inauguration that Kenya intended to uphold its international obligations, but only if its relations with international institutions were based on "mutual respect" and affirmed Kenya's sovereignty. Since then, Kenyan officials have been pushing back. Last week, Kenya's deputy U.N. ambassador Koko Muli Grignon told the U.N. General Assembly that the ICC has no right to prosecute Kenyan nationals without the consent of the government, and that the case against Kenyatta and other Kenyan nationals should be transferred to a Kenyan court. The Hague-based tribunal, she added, "should be a "court of last resort."
Court observers find Kenyatta's remarks troubling.
"I think there is a concern that they may be backtracking," said Richard Dicker, an expert at Human Rights Watch, who noted that the ICC is only pursuing the case because "the Kenyan authorities have failed for several years to take action domestically."
For the time being, Dicker said, the ICC guidelines make sense for legal and policy purposes. First, he said, they affirm the "presumption of innocence" for the accused, including Kenyatta, who has not been convicted of a crime. The policy also serves as an incentive for suspects to cooperate with the court.
There are also practical considerations for making an exception for someone like Kenyatta. The U.N.'s African headquarters is stationed in Nairobi, providing support for peacekeeping, humanitarian, and anti-poverty missions throughout the continent. A breakdown in the relationship with the Kenyan leader could complicate the U.N.'s ability to do its work. In a sign of Kenya's importance, U.S. and European ambassadors attended Kenyatta's presidential inauguration. And Ban Ki-moon even sent a letter congratulating Kenyatta for his win.
The U.N.'s experience in Sudan, where the international body manages several major stability operations, has demonstrated how difficult it can be to shun a leader in a country's whose cooperation the U.N. depends on.
Ban's office chided the former chief of the African Union-U.N. peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari, for attending a wedding of Bashir's daughter. Last month, a U.N. Development Program official in Chad participated in a diplomatic welcoming committee that received Bashir at the airport, which prompted a call by Tiina Intelmann, the president of the ICC's Assembly of State's Parties, to senior U.N. officials to express concern about the incident. UNDP acknowledged that it had erred.
"The Officer-in-Charge of UNDP's country office in Chad...was requested by the Chad Government to form part of a receiving line for Heads of State arriving at the airport," said UNDP spokeswoman Christina LoNigro. "There he was introduced by President [Idriss] Deby to the Presidents of Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, and Benin. UNDP has taken this encounter, which runs counter to UN policy seriously, and has drawn the attention of all staff in the region to the policy."
Intellman welcomed the U.N. decision to release the guidelines, and said that member states of the ICC treaty body are trying to negotiate their own guidelines. She also voiced sympathy for the challenge posed by U.N. officials.
“The situations in which UN officials find themselves are quite complex,” she told Turtle Bay. She acknowledged that there are legitimate cases "where U.N. officials have to make essential contacts with indictees," highlighting U.N. efforts to promote peace deals.
So, what then is a U.N. official to do avoid an inappropriate encounter with an alleged mass murder? Here are some key pointers, from the new guidelines:
• It can be anticipated that persons who are the subject of arrest warrants issued by the ICC may deliberately seek to meet with UN officials in order to demonstrate their contempt for the ICC and try to undermine its authority.
• Contacts between U.N. officials and person who are the subject to warrants of arrest issued by the ICC should be limited to those which are strictly required for carrying out essential UN mandate activities.
• As a general rule, there should be no meetings between U.N. officials and person who are the subject of warrants of arrest issued by the ICC.
• There should be no ceremonial meetings with such persons and standard courtesy calls should not be paid. The same holds true of receptions, photo opportunities, attendance at national day celebrations and so on. If the person holds a position of authority in a state, every effort should be made to meet and liaise with individuals other than the person in order to conduct business.
• This being said, there may be a need, in exceptional circumstances, to interact directly with a person who is subject of an ICC arrest warrant. Where this is imperative for the performance of essential U.N. mandate activities, direct interaction with such a person may take place to the extent necessary only.
The current guidelines also include an explicit exemption for the U.N. secretary general -- who met with Bashir in Tehran in August -- and the deputy secretary general to meet with Bashir and other accused war criminals "from time to time" in order to discuss "fundamental issues affecting the ability of the United Nations and its various offices, programs and funds to carry out their mandates in the country concerned, including vital matters of security."
Court advocates like Dicker say the exemption can be justified if used sparingly. "Making clear that there are some exceptions is acceptable, but the devil will be in the details." He said any exception should adhere to "an appropriately narrow application or interpretation." For instance, U.N. officials must learn to turn down invitations to war criminals' nuptials. The trick, he said, is to insure this doesn't become "the exception that ate the rule." 

Article by Colum Lynch

Related article; Old tensions persist in Kenya's Rift Valley 

Will this greed ever stop, it is not your time to eat

These guys are the highest paid MP's in the world. This needs to be stopped. It is painful knowing that the taxpayer pays for this greed.

Raila Odinga says stop saying sorry

I heard that lots of people were going round to Raila's house to say Pole, after the results were announced. His response was that they should not be mourning, as noone has died. Damn right!

Here is a quote from Raila that I got from the Standard

“Do not tell me sorry for what happened, I do not wish to hear this. When a cooking stick breaks, do you stop preparing your meal? Certainly not! And that is why we want to state that we have enough work to do,” said Raila.

Relevant article: Raila declines Uhuru's job offer and vows to soldier on

An excerpt below

“We all know what happened, but we want to say that is over, we did not want to bring bloodshed again and that is why we are looking ahead,” he said.  Wetangula warned against picking political rejects from Western for Cabinet slots saying this would not resonate with people’s wishes. He accused some leaders from Western of angling for appointments into the Cabinet saying they were selfish and had sold out the community. "

I am no fan of Martha Karua, but have to agree with the point she makes on this video.


Update: Relevant article An ode to a fallen general by Peter Wanyoni

An excerpt below

In recent times, young politicians and some Kenyans crawling on social  media barely out of their napkins have taken Raila’s defeat in the recent elections as an opportunity to hurl insults at him.
They conveniently forget that the very structures over which they lord, the very country that they now bestride with noisy tweets and Facebook posts and many of the freedoms they enjoy, would never have been possible without the sacrifice of Raila Odinga and his contemporaries.
DEMOCRACY
These men and women endured years behind bars, banged up in detention without trial, to birth the openness and the democracy that we now take for granted, and in whose free air the new political class now hold forth with their salt-in-the-wound rubbing. In so doing, they come to resemble Chinua Achebe’s unwise little bird eneke-nti-oba, who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his personal god to a fight.
Raila is a yardstick against which to measure the performances of our new crop of politicians. He made mistakes — like everyone else  — but his virtues far outweighed these. It is this very standard against which we will now judge the fortitude, the fitness-for-purpose, of our new leaders. 
They have not begun on a good footing, letting their followers humiliate Raila in ways that are decidedly un-African.

Like Achebe said, those who mock Raila should remember that he whose palm nuts have been cracked for them by benevolent spirits, should not forget to be humble.
Thank the man for his selflessness and service, and let him be.

Uhuru and Ruto host Raila and Kilonzo

  Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka held talks with President  Uhuru Kenyatta , and his deputy William Ruto. I think it is important that we have a healthy,strong, opposition. Looks like they are all sharing some joke,



unlike this photo



Salim Lone has said that Raila Odinga will be focusing on building a national movement.

Like Onyango Oloo, I found the supreme court ruling a slap in the face.

I wait to see the the poll petiton verdict on Tuesday. I don't see how it will help anybody,as the ruling was made, end of.

Update: Relevant article Uhuru offers Raila special envoy post 

Update two: Relevant articles attorney General misled Supreme court on doctrine of invalidation of elections by James Gondi.

An excerpt from that article

It is not in dispute that there were violations of electoral laws by the IEBC. The petitioners applied legitimate audio visual means to demonstrate these illegalities and further adduced incontrovertible evidence to demonstrate this fact. The court appears to have ignored this evidence and chartered the easier path towards the net effect of these violations of electoral law on the actual outcome of the elections.
Perhaps the court subconsciously took into account the socio-political effects of an invalidation of an election result and chose the more conservative path as advanced by the AG. Indeed, the law does not exist in a vacuum and the court may have been persuaded to apply the more conservative case law which says that even after establishing flagrant violations of the law, the petitioners must show that without these violations, a considerably different result would have emerged from the electoral process.
The doctrine of substantial effect on the result even though outdated and controverted may have been a safer way out for the court given the socio political and economic dynamics at play. After all, many in Kenya, especially the middle class and business community had taken the position that the country must move forward notwithstanding their dissatisfaction with the electoral process.
In addition to the desire to move on with life and business, despite the injustices by the electoral management body, the tension between peace and justice came into play behind the scenes. It was feared by the political establishment that an invalidation of the result would have led to widespread violence. Given that the courts operate in society, they may have been swayed towards this narrative and chose to abandon the established violation of law standard and adopt the inferior doctrine of substantial effect on results as part of a political calculation to avoid perceived violence and the detrimental economic effects of invalidation of the election results.
The effect of the electoral malpractices and upholding the result leaves the country balkanised along ethnic lines depending on their desired outcome and taking into account the gross irregularities. One half of the country feels disenfranchised and that their right to vote has been infringed by legitimising the failure of the election management body to abide by its laws and regulations.
The other half of the country is ecstatic about its coalition ascending to power despite flagrant breaches of the law. The result is that electoral malpractice, irregularity and illegality have been legitimised and any party to future electoral contests will have to either be complicit in the violation of election laws or become the victim of such violation. The disenfranchisement of voters is also an outcome which may lead the populace to significantly diminish its participation in future electoral processes.
More significantly, confidence in electoral justice has diminished while apathy and ambivalence has begun to take root. The gains made after 2007 through the partial implementation of new electoral laws and regulations suggested by the Kriegler report are on the verge of being lost. The courts and the electoral management body will have an uphill task in motivating public participation in elections and dispute resolution. The court had a duty to restore the integrity of elections which the electoral management body has distorted.
The writer is a Program Advisor at the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG) which challenged the outcome of the March 4 presidential election.

Update three Relevant article: Details of Uhuru Raila State house meet

Some quotes from the article below

Speaking in Khwisero constituency on Saturday during the burial of Mama Ellena Andayi, mother to area lawmaker Benjamin Andola, Raila told supporters he had warned Uhuru and Ruto against buying members of his team to their side. ?
“I met with the two and we discussed how we shall operate. I cautioned them against buying my team and instead I told them to work on one side and we work on the other. We have to have two teams – one the opposition and their side,” he affirmed.
Speaking after State House meeting, Raila also divulged that he had turned down an offer by Jubilee Government to serve as special envoy asserting that he had a lot of work to do. Instead, Raila said he would strengthen his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party and CORD.

courtesy call
In its statement to the Press, the PPS referred to the meeting as “a courtesy call” by Raila and Kalonzo to President Kenyatta and his Deputy Ruto.
“During the meeting, the CORD leaders conveyed their message of goodwill to the President and his deputy saying they wished them well in running the country,” read the statement. ? In contrast, the statement from Raila’s aide was more specific about the “real issues” discussed.
Raila and Kalonzo raised concerned about the quest by Jubilee to take control of House committees and thereby denying the minority party a critical role in key committees such as Accounts and Investments.

“President Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto pledged that the Jubilee Coalition, which commands majority in both Houses, is committed to ensuring the existence of a strong opposition party, as a necessary tool for democratisation and to ensure steady check on Government,” said the statement from Raila.
And following the gesture by Uhuru and Ruto to include some members of Raila’s CORD team in Government, the former PM and VP are said to have presented a case for tribal and regional balance in Cabinet and other senior Government appointments.    
Similar sentiments were made by former Attorney General Amos Wako, who asked President Kenyatta, a day before he was sworn-in to office, to absorb members of other communities –including those who did not vote for him – in senior Government positions.
Separately, a source allied to Jubilee Coalition and privy to the State House meeting, confided that Raila and Kalonzo also raised concerns over their personal security.

“Although promising to look into the matter and push for their case, President Kenyatta advised that the security demand was solely under the prerogative of another independent official – the Inspector General of Police,” says our source.
It was agreed, however, that this demand would be addressed anyway, considering that a precedent had been set as the Ninth Vice-President, Moody Awori, was enjoying a 24-hour security presence at his Nairobi and Gulamwoyo homes in Busia County.

And while appreciating the good gesture by the top political leaders to reach out to one another, Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo reads politics in On Saturday’s State House meeting.
According to the two-term MP, Uhuru and Ruto have been in politics fairly long enough and can therefore not underestimate Raila’s political might and shrewdness.
“They want to get close because they realise they cannot wish away a man who got over 5.3 million votes.
The country is virtually split into two and it will be politically dangerous if such a huge proportion of Kenyans were to become skeptical of Uhuru’s leadership,” he said.
However, Senator of Machakos County, Johnston Muthama hopes that Uhuru and Ruto are genuine about their overtures.




 

Maina Kiai the Peoples court great Initiative by the civil society

 I have said before that Maina Kiai is always willing to  stand up to be counted.

This is what Maina said yesterday.

"Unlike 2008 when we swept matters under the carpet, this time we should interrogate what happened.

On behalf of InformAction and Africog, I am pleased to invite you to the launch of a website called "The Peoples Court" today at 10am at the Sarova Stanley Hotel.

I am sorry for the incredibly short notice  in getting this to you but I hope that some of you will attend or send representatives to the event as a sign of your support for openness,accountability, and the freedom of expression and information.

The website is a joint project between Africog and Informaction and is an attempt to present in public all the evidence around the recent elections. Some of that is from the cases filed at the Supreme Court, but it will also include material and information from citizens, observers and others. Citizens will be provided a location to post and send any information and evidence they gathered so that the complete truth on the recent elections can emerge.

Importantly, The Peoples Court will be an accountability mechanism on the IEBC and the Supreme court. Analysis of the Court's decision will be posted on the website hoping to engender critical and constructive discussions on why they took the decision that they did, in the face of the evidence that will be presented. The People's Court gives the public unique access to all the evidence filed at the Supreme Court in the Civil society petition challenging the election process.

By inviting citizen participation, it aims to make institutions accountable and uphold the high democratic standards of the constitution. It is also a forum for debate and opinion celebrating freedom of expression in Kenya and our vibrant tradition of democracy activism.

Thank you.

Maina Kiai"

Maina is no stranger to ruffling some peoples feathers,  whenever he challenges opinions.

May Justice be our shield and defender Maina.

"A time comes when silence is betrayal"  Rev.Martin Luther King.

Update three: The site is now live The People's court 



 relevant article Evidence released of alleged Kenyan election irregularities

Update relevant articles: Wycliffe Muga makes some interesting points in his article Keeping Ruto happy is Uhuru's greatest test.  History has a way of repeating itself.

Will Kenya's new president respect the international court. by Elizabeth Evenson some excerpts from her article below

But this pledge came with a caveat. International obligations would be upheld, he said, provided they are founded on "mutual respect and reciprocity". As the product of a global treaty, the ICC depends on the mutual respect of its 122 member countries, including Kenya. The real question is what respect Kenyatta and his new government will show for the court. The previous government's record was deeply ambivalent. The ICC prosecutor stepped in when Kenya's national authorities failed to bring to account those responsible for the 2007-2008 violence, which claimed more than 1,100 lives and forced as many as 650,000 people from their homes.
Government officials and members of parliament swiftly challenged the court. Parliament pressed the government to withdraw Kenya from the ICC treaty, while a faction of the government campaigned for a United Nations Security Council deferral. Kenya petitioned to retake the cases, as was its right, but lost when ICC judges found no evidence of national investigations. As the cases have neared trial, Fatou Bensouda, the ICC prosecutor, has reported that the government has stalled or failed to assist its investigations, contrary to its ICC obligations. She cited this problem as one factor in her recent decision to drop the charges against Kenyatta's former co-accused, Francis Muthaura. The government is now seeking, before the ICC judges, to refute this claim of limited assistance.

Kenyatta and Ruto sent contradictory messages during the campaign. The two, who stood on opposite sides of the political divide in 2007 and are accused of organising attacks against each other's supporters, have now been united by the ICC's charges. On the one hand they pledged their cooperation to the ICC, while on the other they at times painted the election as a referendum on the ICC and the court as a tool of western imperialism. Indeed Kenyatta's caveat at his inauguration also came with a warning. He cautioned that no one country or group of countries should control international institutions or the interpretation of international treaties. As the keynote speaker, Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, praised Kenyan voters for resisting "blackmail" by the ICC and accused "arrogant actors" of "using [the ICC] to install leaders of their choice in Africa".

This trades neatly on the canard that the ICC – with all eight of its investigations in Africa – is targeting the continent's leaders. This conveniently ignores that four investigations were referred to the court by the government concerned and two by the UN Security Council. Museveni himself sought the ICC's investigation in Uganda and hosted the court's states parties at a conference in a resort outside Kampala in 2010. Above all, the claim that the ICC is a stalking horse for the west ignores the horrific crimes committed in Kenya and that victims and their families have yet to see any measure of justice from Kenyan courts. Far from backing off, the international community needs to stand in solidarity with these victims and press Kenya's new government on its ICC cooperation obligations.

Kenyatta and Ruto are not fugitives, making some "business as usual" with the new government possible. But the ICC finds itself in a challenging situation in which it must depend at the highest levels on the very people it is putting on trial for the cooperation it needs to proceed. This reality means the international community will need to be vigilant in reacting to any signs that this cooperation is on the wane. Kenyatta's reformulation of his pledge on the ICC at his swearing-in should be cause for concern. He is seeking to have the charges against him dropped following the withdrawal of the case against Muthaura, a petition the ICC judges will decide. Kenyatta and Ruto, along with Ruto's co-accused, are entitled to a vigorous defence. That is their right and it should be scrupulously respected. But the Kenyan government should simultaneously ensure that the court can go forward with its independent, judicial process. 

Update two

Adrian Onyando in his article farewell parties are a case in discrimination makes a good point

In the past one year, I’ve seen one person, Mwai Kibaki, take all the credit for the achievements we have made in the past one decade or so. I’ve also seen one person, Raila Odinga, take all the blame for our failures of the past one decade or so.

Update three Relevant article: We have the opportunity to question supreme court on its recent decision by 
Anyang Nyong'o

An excerpt below

Hence, as Bishop Augustine of Hippo once said, “in the court of conscience there is no obligation to obey an unjust law.” Likewise, the Africog Website is giving Kenyans, bothered by their conscience on this issue, an opportunity to discuss it and interrogate the court’s decision to keep the court accountable to the Kenyan people. 

Some participants argued that launching the website after the court made its decision would be tantamount to “inciting Kenyans.” Maina retorted that Kenyans have a right to search for and speak the truth. Such truth can only irritate liars.
Others argued, “It is time to move on. Whatever happened during the elections cannot be changed now.” Maina responded by noting that if we don’t get to know the truth we are bound to make the same mistakes again next time, with the same IEBC.

Kenya Questions and Answers on Recent Developments on the International Criminal Court

1. How should the international community engage with Kenyatta and Ruto and their administration given the pending ICC cases?

Kenyatta and Ruto are subject to summonses to appear, rather than arrest warrants, because the ICC pre-trial chamber determined that arrest was not necessary to secure their presence for trial. Like an arrest warrant, an ICC summons to appear contains the crimes a person is alleged to have committed and triggers proceedings that may ultimately bring a case to trial. But unlike an arrest warrant, the summons imposes only an obligation on the individual to appear before the court; it does not impose any obligation on the Kenyan authorities or the authorities of any other ICC state party to arrest the person.
Kenyatta and Ruto voluntarily responded to the ICC’s summonses and have attended court proceedings. They have pledged their continued cooperation with the court. This distinguishes their case from that of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, who has evaded arrest in spite of two ICC warrants issued against him.
Given their voluntary appearance before the ICC, Human Rights Watch does not oppose diplomatic contacts with Kenyatta and Ruto. However, representatives of the international community should weigh carefully whether any particular official interaction with these ICC accused could undermine support for the ICC proceedings or call into question the court's independent judicial nature. Those contacts should be avoided.
Contacts that do take place should be used to signal support for the ICC process and to press the new administration to ensure the government’s full cooperation with the ICC, particularly in light of the limited assistance provided by the previous Kenyan government to the ICC prosecutor’s investigations (see question 3 below). Publicized and high-level contacts should be accompanied by public statements expressing support for the ICC.
Kenya’s international partners have a key role to play in maintaining consistent support for the ICC and should continue to make Kenyatta and Ruto’s personal cooperation, on the one hand, and the cooperation of the Kenyan government, on the other hand, clear priorities in their engagement with the new administration.

2. Is Kenya required to cooperate with the ICC and why? What is meant by cooperation?

All states parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC treaty, are obligated to cooperate fully with the ICC’s investigations and prosecutions. Kenya, which joined the ICC in 2005, has codified its cooperation obligations into national law through the International Crimes Act. Cooperation can take a variety of forms and includes responding to requests for assistance to provide evidence, serve documents, execute searches, protect witnesses, freeze assets, and arrest and surrender people subject to ICC arrest warrants. Failure to cooperate can subject a government to a finding of non-cooperation by the ICC judges and referral to the Assembly of States Parties, the court’s oversight body, which consists of representatives of all states parties.

3. Has Kenya cooperated with the ICC’s investigations and prosecutions?

The Kenyan government signed a memorandum of understanding with the court in 2010 and has facilitated some court activities in Kenya. But the ICC prosecutor has indicated that Kenya has stalled or failed to assist its evidence collection, including access to government records. The prosecution also reports that the previous government has not acted, in spite of repeated requests, to resolve domestic litigation challenging the prosecution’s ability to take evidence from a number of senior Kenyan police officials. Limited assistance by the government in the ICC’s investigations was one factor cited by the prosecutor in withdrawing charges against Muthaura.
The prosecutor has not sought a formal finding of non-cooperation against Kenya and has indicated that she intends to continue to engage the government and seek its cooperation.
The ICC depends on the public support of its member countries and other interested parties to create a climate conducive to its work. Various initiatives by Kenyan government officials appear to be designed to have the opposite effect. Top Kenyan government officials and members of parliament have referred to bringing the cases “back to Kenya.” They have campaigned for an African Union-endorsed deferral of the cases by the United Nations Security Council. However, there have been few prosecutionsof crimes during the post-election violence in the Kenyan courts.

4. Why was the Muthaura case dropped?

The ICC trial chamber terminated the case on March 18, 2013, after the ICC prosecutor filed a notice on March 11 that her office intended to withdraw the charges. The prosecutor identified a number of “severe challenges” her office had faced in its investigation of Muthaura. These included the fact that potential witnesses against Muthaura had died, while others were afraid to come forward; a lack of cooperation by the Kenyan government, including a failure to provide the office with requested evidence and to facilitate its access to witnesses; and the withdrawal of a key prosecution witness, identified as Witness 4.

5. Who is Witness 4?

In its January 2012 decision sending the Kenyatta and Muthaura case to trial, the pre-trial chamber relied on the testimony of a prosecution witness, known as Witness 4, to find substantial grounds to believe—the standard applicable to a decision to confirm charges—that Muthaura, along with Kenyatta, was at a January 3, 2008 meeting at which Kenyatta and Muthaura allegedly directed the Mungiki, a criminal gang, to carry out crimes. Witness 4 claimed to have been at the meeting and was the only direct witness against Muthaura. Muthaura’s defensechallenged the credibility of Witness 4 but the pre-trial chamber found the testimony of Witness 4 reliable.

6. Why did the Office of the Prosecutor decide not to rely on Witness 4 at trial?

Following the confirmation of charges, Witness 4 stated in an interview with the prosecution that he had lied about parts of his testimony and had accepted money to withdraw his testimony. As a consequence, the Office of the Prosecutor decided not to call Witness 4 at trial.
It is now known that at the time of the pre-trial hearing the Office of the Prosecutor had access to Witness 4’s affidavit seeking asylum in another country in which he indicates that he had heard about the January 3, 2008 meeting from a third party. The Kenyatta defense contends that this shows that Witness 4 was not actually at the meeting, undercutting the value of the testimony. The prosecution admits that it erred in failing to disclose the affidavit. This disclosure failure—which the defense contends was the result of systematic failures on the part of the office and the prosecution says was an oversight—forms a central part of an application by Kenyatta to have the charges dropped or reconsidered (see question 7 below).

7. Does the withdrawal of the charges against Muthaura or the withdrawal of Witness 4 have an impact on the pending case against Kenyatta?

This is one of the issues being argued before the trial chamber.
Kenyatta’s defense contends that his case, like Muthaura’s, should be dropped. Absent the testimony of Witness 4 as well as allegations regarding the participation of Muthaura in a “common plan,” the defense argues, the pre-trial chamber would not have found substantial grounds to confirm the charges as framed by the prosecutor against Kenyatta. The defense also contends that the prosecution’s disclosure failure undermines the validity of the confirmation of charges process and alleges errors in the pre-trial chamber’s assessment of the evidence. The defense has asked the trial chamber to terminate or stay the case or to send the case back through a pre-trial process to reconsider the validity of the underlying decision to send it to trial.
The ICC prosecutor has insisted that the withdrawal of the charges against Muthaura has no legal or factual impact on the case against Kenyatta. The prosecution contends that even if the pre-trial chamber had discredited the evidence of Witness 4 based on the asylum affidavit, it would still have found substantial grounds to confirm the charges against Kenyatta. If new pre-trial proceedings were ordered, the prosecution argues that it has additional evidence to support confirmation of the charges.
The ICC judges have indicated that they may consider, among other issues, the powers of the trial chamber to decide whether the disclosure failure affected the validity of the decision confirming the charges and whether, if the trial chamber does find errors in that decision, it can order the prosecution to amend or withdraw the charges. They have also indicated that they may consider whether Kenyatta can continue to be charged as an “indirect co-perpetrator” absent the charges against Muthaura, and the extent to which the prosecutor was permitted to conduct investigations following the decision to confirm the charges.

8. Have witnesses been bribed or intimidated?

The ICC prosecutor has characterized the scale of interference with witnesses in the Kenya cases as “unprecedented,” referring to pressure on witnesses and their families. The prosecutor stated that the fact that people who might have had evidence against Muthaura were afraid to come forward was one factor in her decision to drop his case. Victims participating in the ICC cases in Kenya have consistently highlighted their safety concerns in court through their legal representatives. The prosecution has alleged bribery attempts against its witnesses, including Witness 4, but has refuted media reports that as many as eight witnesses have recanted their evidence.
The Muthaura defense team alleged that the prosecution had exposed the identity of defense witnesses to prosecution witnesses, jeopardizing the defense witnesses’ security, a claim the prosecution rejected. Muthaura asked the trial chamber, among other measures, to order the Office of the Prosecutor to abide by its obligations to defense witnesses. The withdrawal of the Muthaura case rendered this request moot.

9. What can be done to ensure that witnesses are protected from interference and intimidation?

The ability of all witnesses—whether for the prosecution or the defense— to testify securely and without fear of reprisal is essential to fair and credible trials.
The ICC has an obligation to take appropriate measures to protect the well-being and safety of witnesses, victims participating in the proceedings, and others at risk on account of testimony given by witnesses, including, for example, so-called intermediaries assisting the work of the court. Protective measures may range from measures taken in court like permitting witnesses to testify in a closed session to keep their identities hidden from the public, to measures taken outside of court like relocating witnesses away from security threats. Protective measures can be taken for both prosecution and defense witnesses.
Long delays in relocating ICC witnesses can expose them to risk and delay proceedings, given the need to ensure that protective measures are in place before witness identities are disclosed to other parties. ICC officials have repeatedly stressed the urgent need for additional countries to sign witness relocation agreements with the court to respond adequately to protection needs. The ICC’s new registrar, elected in March, should review protection programs administered by the court and identify areas where they should be strengthened.
While the ICC has specific obligations for its witnesses, victims, and intermediaries, the Kenyan government has a core responsibility to protect the safety of all those within its borders. This includes investigating harassment or threats amounting to violations of national law. Kenya’s new government should make a public commitment to take steps to help ensure the security of those assisting justice processes and to continue strengthening its national Witness Protection Agency.

10. What does the withdrawal of the Muthaura case say about the ability of the ICC prosecutor to investigate effectively?

The ICC prosecutor’s decision to withdraw charges against Muthaura reflects the full range of challenges confronting her office in its investigations. These include securing state cooperation and providing adequate protection to encourage witnesses to come forward—both particularly acute difficulties faced by the office in its Kenya investigations (see questions 3 and 8 above)—and collecting evidence linking the actions of high-level accused to crimes carried out by other people. With pressure from states parties to reduce the ICC budget and an increasing number of country situations before the court, the ICC has become increasingly overstretched in carrying out its difficult mandate.
Human Rights Watch is concerned that the Office of the Prosecutor’s investigative methodologies may need strengthening to meet these challenges. The decision to withdraw charges against Muthaura was a first at the ICC, but the Office of the Prosecutor has faced other setbacks in its prosecutions. In December an ICC trial chamber acquitted a former Congolese warlord, which the prosecution is appealing. The prosecution has also been unable to bring forward sufficient evidence to send cases against four other defendants in its Darfur, Kenya, and Democratic Republic of Congo investigations to trial, including Kosgey and Ali, two of the original defendants in the Kenya cases.
The ICC prosecutor, who began her nine-year term in June, has indicated that improving the office’s investigations and prosecutions is among her first priorities. Adapting the office’s investigative practices to the court’s operational challenges is no easy task, but it is essential to ensuring that the ICC can deliver effective and meaningful justice. Human Rights Watch urges the prosecutor to identify any needed reforms and calls on states parties and other international partners to support the additional resources and cooperation—including in witness protection—which may be needed to improve the efficacy of the office’s investigations.

Quotes from Kenya Questions and Answers on Recent Developments on the Internation Criminal Court by Human Rights Watch

Related article:Controversy as Kenya salutes Uhuru Kenyatta as new leader

Update related article: Anger and Frustration in Post election Kenya

New Chapter,change of guard really

 Uhuru Kenyatta will be sworn in today.

The fourth president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta, is also the  the first international criminal court (ICC) indictee to be elected as head of state. If he abides by the summons and the charges stand, he will be the first president to stand trial at The Hague.

Who would have thought?

I wait to see how much he will be shaped by his fathers politics.

Will Uhuru be a divisive figure?

He says he will be a president to all Kenyans, so it is time for him to walk the talk, and make sure that opportunities are open to all Kenyans.

I hope that Kenya does not move back in time.

Margaret Thatcher RIP

Lady Thatcher has just died. I did not agree with her policies, but admired her strength as a woman for her term in office.

Updated

David Cameron has led tributes to Lady Thatcher as he cut short a European tour to return to the UK on hearing news of her death.
In a statement he said: "It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Lady Thatcher. We have lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton."
The news was broken to him while he was in Madrid, where he was meeting the Spanish prime minster, Mariano Rajoy.
The Queen was said to be saddened by the news. Buckingham Palace said in a statement: "The Queen was sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher. Her Majesty will be sending a private message of sympathy to the family."
Tributes poured in from across the politicial spectrum. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said: "I send my deep condolences to Lady Thatcher's family, in particular Mark and Carol Thatcher.
"She will be remembered as a unique figure. She reshaped the politics of a whole generation. She was Britain's first woman prime minister. She moved the centre ground of British politics and was a huge figure on the world stage.
"The Labour party disagreed with much of what she did and she will always remain a controversial figure. But we can disagree and also greatly respect her political achievements and her personal strength.
"She also defined the politics of the 1980s. David Cameron, Nick Clegg and I all grew up in a politics shaped by Lady Thatcher. We took different paths but with her as the crucial figure of that era.
"She coped with her final, difficult years with dignity and courage. Critics and supporters will remember her in her prime."
The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said: "Margaret Thatcher was one of the defining figures in modern British politics. Whatever side of the political debate you stand on, no one can deny that as prime minister she left a unique and lasting imprint on the country she served.
"She may have divided opinion during her time in politics but everyone will be united today in acknowledging the strength of her personality and the radicalism of her politics. My thoughts are with her family and friends."
The former prime minister Tony Blair described Thatcher as "a towering political figure". He added: "Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world. Margaret was such a leader. Her global impact was vast. And some of the changes she made in Britain were, in certain respects at least, retained by the 1997 Labour government, and came to be implemented by governments around the world."
Among senior Conservatives, the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, said Thatcher was "the reason I came into politics".
He said: "Watching her set out to change Britain for the better in 1979 made me believe there was, at last, real purpose and real leadership in politics once again. She bestrode the political world like a colossus."
The senior Tory MP David Davis said: "Margaret Thatcher was the greatest of modern British prime ministers, and was central to the huge transformation of the whole world that took place after the fall of the Soviet Union.
"Millions of people in Britain and around the world owe her a debt of gratitude for their freedom and their quality of life, which was made possible by her courageous commitment to the principles of individual freedom and responsibility. Her passing is a very sad event and she will be greatly missed."
The London mayor, Boris Johnson, said on Twitter: "Very sad to hear of death of Baroness Thatcher. Her memory will live long after the world has forgotten the grey suits of today's politics."
The Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, said: "I have always said that Mrs Thatcher was a great inspiration to me personally. Whether you loved her or hated her nobody could deny that she was a great patriot, who believed passionately in this country and her people. A towering figure in recent British and political history has passed from the stage. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family."
Many took to Twitter to pay tribute to Thatcher. The Tory MP Therese Coffey said the former prime minister had transformed the country, "putting Great back in Great Britain".
The shadow international development secretary, Ivan Lewis, said: "Hoping all Labour supporters will respond with dignity + respect to news of Baroness Thatcher's death. Our thoughts with her family + friends."
And the former Labour minister and MP Tony McNulty tweeted: "God bless her and thoughts are with her family. RIP."
The Liberal Democrat MP Martin Horwood tweeted: "Sad news about Baroness Thatcher. Don't miss her policies but a towering figure in 20th c British politics, & made history UK's 1st woman PM."

Quotes from Margaret Thatcher death David Cameron leads tribute to Iron lady.

RIP Maggie

Update related article: Margaret Thatcher dead first female prime minister transformed a nation.

Fairness is the key

I was reading this article earlier today, from welfare to banks, fairness is the key. Then went on to read the politics of fear and division won't solve our problems. It made me wonder what it would be like if we had a welfare state in Kenya. I can't imagine it. It got me thinking of the masses who are unemployed, and then the whole land issue. Something that Martin Ngatia feels very strongly about,and never minces his words.



I have to agree with Peter Onyonyi, where he mentions that sadly Kenya is in a mess, and Jubilee have their work cut out for them.

He mentions in his article, that

 It is a good thing that the new president is a wealthy man, and his deputy isn’t exactly in need of pocket change either. This means they have no incentive to improve their bank accounts at our expense.

Quotes from You asked for it by Peter Anyoni

Well, I disagree with Peter, previous presidents were wealthy, but this in no way prevented them from taking money from the country, so I don't buy that logic.

Otieno Otieno gives his opinion on why the Uhuru's national unity project is doomed to fail.

The fear of Mr Kenyatta among some Kenyans is part historical and part informed by recent events.

There is a generation that sees in his presidency the rebirth or even the entrenchment of a tribal hegemony that has ruled Kenya since independence.

I asked a friend belonging to this generation what she feared most about a Kenyatta presidency and she didn’t mince her words.

“I was born to see my father cry about [Jomo] Kenyatta’s shackles, I grew up under Moi’s shackles and now I may die under another Kenyatta’s shackles,” she said.

The crimes against humanity charges at the ICC further make a mockery of Mr Kenyatta’s unity project.

Until he clears his name, as he has promised to do, it is difficult to see how the victims of the post-election violence in Naivasha and Nakuru will reconcile themselves to his unity message.

Add this to the new frontiers of ethnic grievances created all over by the isolationist Jubilee campaign built on the so-called ‘tyranny of numbers’ and you have a national unity project doomed to fail.

Quotes from Why Uhuru's national unity project is doomed to fail.

Time will tell.

President Uhuru has a chance to build bridges so they say

The fact is Kenya is stuck with Uhuru Kenyatta for better or worse.

Okech Kendo hits the nail on the head with some of the issues that need to be addressed in his article below.

From Mombasa to Busia, Migori to Marsabit, and Kilifi to Kisii, the past had returned to torment. It was an old play with a new cast, but the same old audience was sitting through the show. For the Independence generation, it was back to the 1960s and the 1970s – the era of grand isolation.
These feelings, which run across the other Kenya, are challenges President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta must address when he takes office on April 9, with a solemn promise to Kenya.
Yet these feelings of betrayal are not entirely without pillars. If these issues are not addressed, they would still leave the other Kenya feeling isolated and second-rated.
The President will have to show he is a new generation leader in the post-2010 constitutional era. He will have to show that although he is a Kenyatta, he is not Old Jomo; that even though he is from central Kenya, he is out of sync with the Mwai Kibaki generation. That generation could only trust homeboys and home girls with ‘sensitive’ dockets like security, finance, and energy.

What President Uhuru does to reconcile the nation will show he is not encumbered with the prejudices of the Kenyatta and the Kibaki eras.

Right-thinking Kenyans desire a president who would give all Kenyans a sense of belonging. The agenda then is to build one Kenya –  one nation.
The other Kenya should appreciate how the other Kenya lives. Northern Kenya, western, and coastal should be one Kenya, the way it was intended to be.
The other fact is that Raila would remain the most prominent defender of civil liberties, a post-independent liberator without compare; a leader who has sacrificed and dedicated his entire life to making Kenya a better place.
Raila is an Odinga, another liberation hero and first Vice-President of Kenya, but his national eminence is a child of his own ideological gravitas as a citizen with a high sense of civic responsibility. That he did not become president in 2007 or 2013 has nothing to do with his flaws, but with democracy as a game of numbers, which is still framed in ethnic terms.

Quotes from President Uhuru has a chance to build bridges.

Michela Wrong's interestesting perspective is it is the most useless exercise in Kenya

Yet it won’t be business as usual. Something fundamental shifted with last month’s elections in both the way Kenyans view themselves and the way the outside world will view them, whether they like it or not.
Courts are by nature conservative, so Saturday’s announcement was only to be expected. But in confirming the election of a man indicted by the International Criminal Court for allegedly orchestrating the ethnic cleansing that followed Kenya’s 2007 polls, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga did more than solve a national wrangle over a ballot count. He secured Kenya’s place as a shining international symbol of impunity.
The I.C.C. case against Kenyatta now seems doomed. The chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has revealed that unprecedented levels of witness intimidation and bribery are undermining the cases brought against Kenyatta and fellow indictees, who include vice president-elect William Ruto. These tactics will only escalate, and it’s hard to see any Kenyan being brave — or foolhardy — enough now to take the witness stand against a head of state.

It will take a long time for any official to admit it, but the failure of the Kenyatta case may be the first chime of the death knell for the I.C.C., whose prosecutors already stood accused of anti-African bias and slapdash preparations long before the election in Kenya handed them a poisoned chalice.
The success with which Kenyatta and Ruto turned their I.C.C. indictments into electoral assets exposes how deep the scars of imperialism go. The anti-Western, anti-British vitriol that characterized exchanges in the press and on social media — most generated by Kenyans far too young to have experienced firsthand the Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s — showed how grievances are efficiently relayed from one generation to another.

Jingoistic and cynical while campaigning, the Jubilee alliance of Kenyatta and Ruto is likely to be bullying while in power, with foreign diplomats whose respect it demands and constituents alike.
The immediate concern of ordinary Kenyans will be how the incoming government implements a new Constitution designed to devolve power and money to the counties. The document is seen as the key safeguard against a return to the “winner-takes-all” system of old. But historians warn that when Kenya tried devolved governance before, at independence in 1963, the experiment was swiftly sabotaged by Uhuru’s father, Jomo Kenyatta.

Civil-society campaigners, who were briefly shocked into silence by this weekend’s Supreme Court ruling, are bracing for a long campaign in the defense of the bill of rights. One issue they will have to tackle — in a country polarized as never before — is the political disengagement of people who queued for eight hours in the sun to vote, saw the tallying process grind to a halt, digested the damning details of the petitions citing election-law violations, only to be told this botched process was free and fair after all. Odinga has predicted a surge in voter apathy given that “what has happened here is a replica, a repeat of what happened five years ago.”
A Facebook page created over the weekend captured that bitterness. Entitled “I will NEVER VOTE in a Kenyan election,” it had attracted over 25,700 likes by midday Tuesday. “We are done with Independent Judiciary, Independent Electoral Commission, we are done,” reads one post on the page. “Let all Kenyans be done with VOTING, the most useless exercise in Kenya.”

Quotes from the Most useless exercise in Kenya

John Githongo  a leading anti-corruption campaigner and advocate of political reform, says

the election failed as a nation-building event. “Kenya emerged from this process far more polarised than ever before along tribal lines,” he laments. Though political violence has been averted for the time being and Mr Kenyatta is bound to appoint a cabinet that reflects the country’s ethnic diversity, tribal grievances over land and politics could yet erupt.

Quotes from Kenya's new president will the new centre hold.

Relevant articles: Open letter to President elect Uhuru on Agenda

Did the calls for peace drown out democracy 

 Update related article:Historic hair veteran of the Mau mau laments the new order

The Supreme court has spoken

Uhuru Kenyatta is the president of Kenya.

I hope he can deliver for the next five years.

Will history repeat itself with another Kenyatta presidency?

Time will tell.




Related article: Raila Odinga to continue the struggle peacefully

May Justice be our shield and defender.

Update

Related article Kenya's quiet court ruling where was Willy

Waiting for the court to speak

Will there be a rerun or will Uhuru Kenyatta lead the country?

We find out tomorrow, when all will be revealed.

What has been confirmed is the voting irregularities.

Update related article:

Why Raila challenged Uhuru's win

Supreme court orders recount in some areas

Kenya's Supreme Court on Monday ordered a recount of votes in some constituencies in the country's March 4 presidential election.

Related article:Trust in Kenya's top judge is tested by election challenge.

Whatever Mutunga rules, upholding Uhuru Kenyatta's victory or deciding in Odinga's favor, he will face a tough job convincing the losers that his court has not again played politics. He has already faced some sniping from critics who suggest he is too close to Odinga and question his ability to be impartial.

But Mutunga's background as a lawyer who was detained in the 1980s for challenging the autocratic government at that time means he may stand a better chance than predecessors in ensuring his final ruling, due by March 30, wins popular acceptance.
"People have never had as much faith in the chief justice as they do in Willy Mutunga," said John Githongo, a former anti-corruption official turned whistleblower. "Before now there has never been this level of confidence in the judiciary."

Maina Kiai, who co-founded the Kenya Human Rights Commission with Mutunga during those years abroad, told Reuters the chief justice, who he said had grown up poor in an unequal society, stood by the same values that spurred his early activism.

"He has been a resolute defender of human rights and democracy, he's for social justice and his focus is very much on lifting the country so everyone has an equal opportunity," said Kiai, who has also challenged Kenyatta's win in a separate suit by civil society group Africa Centre for Open Governance.

Two weeks before the vote, Mutunga said had received threats from the Mungiki criminal gang. The group wanted to prevent any obstacles to a presidential bid by Kenyatta, who faces charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
"Let no individual, group, candidate or supporter imagine that cowardly and dark acts such as these will cower us," Mutunga told a news conference.

He has a rock-steady history for which he has paid a very high personal price," said former anti-graft czar Githongo. "That gives him a level of credibility and legitimacy going into this that is not shared by anyone else

The courts will decide

Riot police opened fire on Saturday, as Raila Odinga presented his papers to the court.

Hundreds of Odinga supporters in white shirts bearing the slogan Democracy on Trial gathered by the court in Nairobi to support the petition. The situation grew tense as Kenyan security forces turned up on horseback and in riot gear. Just before 10.30am, they fired teargas at the protesters and shot bullets into the air. The Observer saw one demonstrator and a bystander bloodied by security forces armed with batons and rifles.
Josiah Augo, 25, a student at Kenyatta University who joined the demonstration, said: "We were here peacefully and the police come with teargas. People started running, then one officer shot a student."
Odinga's running mate, Kalonzo Musyoka, appealed for calm. "I want to call on the police to exercise restraint," he said. Kenya's police inspector general said through a spokesman that further public political demonstrations and prayer gatherings would be banned. After Odinga's lawyers filed their petition, demonstrators returned to the streets, taunting security officers with blood-stained T-shirts. Odinga lawyer Dalmas Otieno addressed the crowd. "We have got enough information to show that our victory was stolen," he shouted to cheers.

Some questions and answers on why they are fighting the announced results

james Brownsell: Why are you bringing this case to the Supreme Court? What are the merits of the case?
Rahema Abdul-Rahman: We want to end the culture of election rigging in Kenya and restore confidence in our democratic processes. Our case is well merited. We have evidence of the violation of statutory provisions relating to the conduct of elections, as well as falsified figures and outright ballot box stuffing.
We will, through our petition, test the pedigree of our judicial institutions in restoring electoral integrity in Kenya.
JB: Why not just accept defeat?
RA-R: Accepting defeat in the face of massive electoral irregularities is tantamount to legitimising impunity. We are taking this action on behalf of Kenya. We have an opportunity to clean up our electoral system and we will not let it pass - lest history condemns us harshly.
The people of Kenya deserve to be led by legitimate, elected leaders. We must put to an end the culture of letting those who tally our votes determine the outcome.
Elections should only be determined by Kenyans through a fair process.
JB: What actual, physical evidence do you have of rigging or tally tampering?
RA-R: We have massive evidence of electoral irregularities that render the entire presidential election a fraud.
We will be moving to court shortly, where we will lay bare the evidence for the world to see.
At this moment I don't wish to delve into the contents of our evidence, lest it prejudices our case.

Follow our in-depth spotlight coverage of the vote

JB: Do you worry that contesting the result in court will negatively affect the unity of the Kenyan people?
RA-R: There is no threat whatsoever to national unity. If anything, Kenyans are hurting from the inside. Long term peace and unity will be founded on justice and equity - where every Kenyan is satisfied with the outcome of the election.
And most importantly, we have fidelity to the rule of law, and that is why we are going to court to contest the results of the election.
JB: What next? If the court upholds the IEBC declaration, will ODM/CORD accept their ruling?
RA-R: We have made a commitment to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court - and we are challenging Uhuru [Kenyatta] and his team to make a similar commitment.
JB: If the court rules in your favour, will there be a head-to-head run-off?
RA-R: If the Supreme Court rules in our favour, then we will have a repeat of the presidential election within 60 days - and only the eight candidates who participated in the March 4 election will be eligible to contest.
[However,] we have only anticipated this being a contest between our candidate and Uhuru Kenyatta... In my view, I do not expect the other candidates to compete.
JB: What makes you think you have a better chance of winning in a straight run-off against Kenyatta?
RA-R: We have no doubt in our mind that we enjoy massive support from all Kenyans, and if the election is conducted in a free and fair manner and in accordance with the law, we will emerge victorious.
JB: What’s next for the ODM if Raila retires?
RA-R: ODM is bigger than any individual, it is a mass movement of all Kenyans, and we surely have no shortage of leaders in our party ranks. We will have plenty to pick from and I am sure Raila will still have a great role to play in shepherding the party.
Our court petition is not about Raila as a person. It is about Kenya, it is about building and strengthening our democractic institutions.
In pursuit of a better, reformed Kenya, we will not relent.

The Coalition for Reform and Democracy, known as CORD, Mr Odinga’s electoral alliance and a handful of civil-society activists have complained that the election commission’s sums seem off. Monitors found that, whereas 12.3m votes were cast for president, only 10.6m were recorded for the 47 governors—though ballots in both races were cast at the same time.
Activists also point out that election officials evicted observers from the tallying centre a day into the count. The commission said party agents were getting in the way of the count. Yet independent poll monitors, including representatives for the Carter Center, an American institute that monitors human rights, were chucked out, too. Maina Kiai, a former head of Kenya’s National Human Rights Commission, criticised what he called a “peace at all cost” agenda, which may have drawn attention away from vote-tampering. “The IEBC failed so remarkably it cannot be a cock-up,” he asserted.
In any event, many Kenyans trust that the supreme court will rule fairly on the matter. The chief justice, Willy Mutunga, is viewed as his own man. Along with a panel of five other judges he will decide whether Kenyans need to vote again.

The chief justice has said the proceedings will be held live. Just hope there are no power cuts, but in Kenya you can't be sure.

In the meantime, a Kenyatta is back in charge.

Uhuru Kenyatta must convince Kenyans he is his own man, as he is seen as a chip off the Kikuyu block by some.

A NOVELTY of Kenya’s first televised presidential debate was the sight of awkward questions being put to Uhuru Kenyatta. How would he run the country from the dock at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he faces a charge of crimes against humanity perpetrated during the previous election? And just how much land did he own? In the calm transatlantic tones acquired at Amherst, a private college in America, he said he would use video-conferencing if necessary and that he was not quite sure of the extent of his acres. Despite such vague replies, most opinion polls said that his performance in the debate gave him a modest lift.

He had run for president before, but only after being handpicked as successor to Kenya’s strongman, Daniel arap Moi, in a multiparty election in 2002. He lost that race to his godfather, Mwai Kibaki, now the outgoing president.
He then served under Mr Kibaki in various posts, including as finance minister, earning a reputation for headline-grabbing initiatives that often failed. He ordered Kenya’s legion of government ministers to surrender their Mercedes cars for more modest brands. But after a handful of auctions most senior officials climbed back into their limos

Says it all

The past week has been spent waiting to see what the outcome of the elections would be. The technological failures did not surprise me at all. However, it is at that point that I started to think something was up, when I heard news of  the  possibility of systems being hacked. While some were saying there were no problems.

I never  thought that I would see the day when our president would be a defendant . 

Talking to a friend yesterday, comparing notes on what we think really happened. He came up with a joke which some of you may have already heard.

There are three guys, a Pakistani, Brazilian and Kenyan. The Pakistani guy says that when Pakistanis vote they get their results the next day. The Brazilian guy says when Brazilians vote, they get their results in two days. The Kenyan guy says when Kenyans vote, even though we wait a week, we always know what the results will be, before they are announced..

So Cord are going to court. I don't think anything will come out of it, frankly.

The ICC have dropped the case against Muthaura, what is next.

In the meantime, Binyavanga feels that Kenyans elected a president  we felt could bring peace.

I wonder what the IDP's feel, who still don't have homes, or  whether they voted.

Travelling with a Kenyan Passport

Last week while I was at work, my boss told me that it was time I took leave. I could not believe my ears. I normally have fought to take leave in previous jobs. I know that she is worried,as I have a lot of leave, and the rule is you can take a maximum of two weeks at a time. They have made exceptions for me, and said that I can take three weeks to go home. The rule annoys me, as before in other jobs, I could take however many days I had at a time.

So, I was thinking of planning a short break, and not doing the long haul trip home, yet. I don't like travelling during high season, as it is the most expensive time to travel, and I don't like the crowds everywhere. It is hard for parents to travel with school children here, outside of school times, as they get penalised.

I have browsed on the net for places to go, and finding places that I can travel to that are shorthaul, without the visa hassle is a challenge. In my search I wondered which countries Kenyan passport holders can travel to without having to apply for a visa. This is what I came up with, although I am not sure how accurate it is. If anyone has any other information, let me know. I could have applied for a British passport years ago,but have held onto my Kenyan one. I am waiting to see what will happen in 2012, and also what they do about the whole dual citizenship thing. This is when having a British passport makes travelling easier.

I like to travel, but don't like flying. My anxiety levels are pretty high after 9/11. I don't relax until I get to my destination. So reading about airlines flying to Nairobi hiring private guards, scares me. The last time I was in Nairobi, checking in with British Airways, I went through a number of security checks, and have to say I found it excessive, and hope that noone can bypass the systems. I was just puzzled that the checks in London travelling to Nairobi, were nothing like what I experienced in Nairobi.

It looks like the only place I can go to without a visa in Europe is Kosovo, and am not keen to go there. Everything else is longhaul, in which case I may as well go home, or join the long visa queues.

Trying to shut the stable door when the horse has bolted

The last ditch effort meeting that Raila and Kibaki have summoned to salvage plans for trials of Post election violence , is too little too late.

Ocampo is on the case, and will spill the beans this week. All will be named. However Ruto wants those who rigged the election to be tried first.

I am with Sue and thank Annan for handing over the envelope, and agree with her view that had Mr Kiviuitu behaved differently,we would not have this discussion.

The long arm of justice will come after some of the culprits, whether they like it or not.

I see the Hague as the only option. The local tribunal option I have no faith in whatsoever.

Update related article:What next after handing of Waki ‘envelope’ to ICC? A legal perspective from Paul Muite

Diaspora dollars down the drain

Reading this article earlier today on why diaspora dollars elude local real estate, brought back some memories.

I have a Ghanaian friend who is now retired, who used to send money to his brother, each month. My friend had not been back to Kumasi, in over twenty years. He was working to build properties back home, and assumed his brother was taking care of business. The plan was, he would leave the UK when he retired, and live comfortably at home. He went home, just before retirement, to check on the state of his properties. Sadly, there were no properties, no bricks, nothing, nada, niente! When he told me what happened, I cried. This guy worked day and night to send money home. I am surprised that he can still talk to his brother.What his brother has done, is wicked.

I have uncles in Kenya who have done the same thing to members of my family, and am at a loss for words. The same uncles who know where to go when they are in a bind, and need money for their children's school fees, or to pay for some emergency.

Life sucks, if you can't trust your family.

My mother is always going on about blood being thicker than water. I don't think so.

Kenya and the Failed state Index

I get home from work, and come across this article on Kenya's decline and fall.

The keywords for me in the article are Kenya and the Annual failed state index 2009. I am relieved that we are not in the top ten rankings, yet.Kenya ranks at 14 in 2009.

I am still getting my head round the idea that we are a failed state, denial ,or wishful thinking, still don't know what it is .

I look back at 2008 and Kenya was ranked 26 on the list. In 2007 we were ranked at 37. So since, 2007, things seem to have gone downhill. I thought that things had improved somewhat, but then I look at the social indicators and political indicators . The truth is staring me in the face loud and clear. We could be in the top ten, and seem to be on the way there.

I live in hope, regardless.

Update related article:The Kenya police is the most corrupt institution in East Africa

The Somalia threat

I am for Kenya closing the border with Somalia, and feel very uneasy while it is open. Our security on our border posts is not the best, I have Somali friends here who have tales of how they travel across borders across East Africa, and it is down to money, corruption rules. However, security on our borders seems to have improved in the past few weeks.

It will be difficult for Somali refugees , if we close our border. However, I believe this may be the best option in terms of damage limitation.

I do not think our military forces should intervene in Somalia, unless we are attacked.

Michael Jackson RIP

What a legend. Takes me back to the Jackson Five. I grew up with them. Thriller, Off the Wall, Rock with you.

May your soul rest in peace Michael Jackson.

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These Kenyan bishops should not be shocked

Catholic bishops of Kenya have expressed shock at allegations of child sex abuse by a prominent missionary priest and promised "to investigate the matter to its final conclusion."

I am not surprised that the Catholic church is on the defensive.

You need to read the finds of this enquiry into endemic rape and abuse of Irish children in Catholic care.

I know someone who was a victim of abuse, who has just received some compensation.

The abuse has wrecked her life, and the life of her brothers and sisters.

I wonder how anyone can be compensated for these sorts of atrocities.

It is not easy for victims of abuse to come out, and divulge what has happened, so I hope the Catholic church in Kenya, investigate this case properly.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga says that you have a simplistic view of Kenyan politics if you believe it is ethnic

We've met with a number of university students here, some of whom were very adamant that it was time for Kenyan politics to move beyond ethnic politics and community politics, that it was time for Kenyan politics to focus on national politics and ideological politics. Does Kenya need to have a more ideological base of party politics, rather than these coalitions of ethnic communities running against each other or alternating power?
I don't agree. It's a very simplistic view of Kenyan politics. Kenyan politics are much more complicated than that, and they are fairly ideological. ODM party [Odinga's party] is more of a social democracy [party]. PNU [Kibaki's party] is a more conservative political party. But ideology has even died in America. What is the difference between Republicans and the Democrats? Go to Britain. Labor and the Tories. It is not just only Africa. That is a very simplistic view of what's happening here.
Our politics are not ethnic. Look at elections last time. My party won seats in all the eight provinces in the country. Look at the presidential elections. I won the vote in six of the eight provinces. I did not win in [President Kibaki's province], but I also got some votes there. I did not win in Eastern Province, but I also got some votes there.
If you look at the Democrats and the Republicans in the United States when they are voting, there are some states that are purely Democratic, the others which are purely Republican. Your political parties are stronger in some regions than others. In Britain, there are what they called the Labor-safe seats and the Tory-safe seats. If you are a Labor and you want to run for a Tory-safe seat, they will give you a ticket, but not [funds], because they know you stand no chance of winning.
Tell me how ODM is an ethnic grouping. We have forty-two different tribes in this country. Who are my alliances in all those? Yesterday I was in Samburu [in northern Kenya], where I got 90 percent of the vote. Who are my ethnic allies in Samburu? In Somali, in Northeastern Province, I won the majority vote there. Who are my ethnic allies there? The people just voted for me because of what I represented. I got the votes of the Kambas [an ethnic group]; I got votes from [the coast]. I won the majority vote, not because of ethnic alliances, but because of what my political party stood for. This idea that politics in Africa is ethnic-based tribalism completely misses the point. It does not understand the sophistication of African [politics].

You have made some public statements of frustration and exasperation with the government and threatened at points to pull out. First, do you have any intention of doing so, and under what conditions?
I have not threatened to pull out. We will not pull out because pulling out would amount to surrender. Our position is that we won an election but our victory was stolen. We agreed to compromise so that the country can move on and that we use this position to produce reforms that will ensure this country does not in this future get itself in the difficult situation that it found itself in last year.
We want to devolve power to give the regions more say in planning and execution of the development agenda. We want parliament to play an oversight role and the executive to implement the vision.
What we have been doing sometimes is to criticize from within so that we can act as a catalyst to the process of reforms. There are difficult areas where the two sides of the coalition are not in agreement. For example, the issue of police reform. Also in the area of judicial reform.
In a coalition, it is not always the case that two sides will agree. Sometimes there are different positions. That's how coalitions work the world over. Even in Germany, where they have a grand coalition, sometimes you see that the coalition partners disagree.

Quotes from Prime Minister says Kenyan politics are not ethnic

Related article: Did the government change its report in Geneva

The ripple effect

Mac Maharaj believes the instability radiating from Kenya and Zimbabwe will affect neighbouring countries.


The immediate and pressing matter, however, is what should be done about Kenya and Zimbabwe.
In the Kenyan crisis, Kibaki may have appeared reluctant about entering a deal. But it was Odinga who, if he stayed out, would have been seen as the spoiler.
In the case of Zimbabwe, SADC painted Morgan Tsvangirai as the impediment to peace. Mugabe was not put under pressure to make real concessions.
In both instances, the incumbent leaders who were determined to cling to power, retained their seats.
What we are seeing is how both presidents are using their positions to pare down the effects of the deal on their powers and diminish the powers of their coalition partners.
The instability radiating from Kenya and Zimbabwe is going to ripple through their neighbouring countries.
South Africa is in danger of being caught in the middle: on the one hand is the impact of the global economic crisis, and on the other the instability spilling out of Zimbabwe.
Leaving matters to drift along will only increase the instability in the present, and may well spell disaster in the future. It is time to put Kibaki and Mugabe under pressure.

I think of Gordon Brown and the pressure he is under and feel for him.

The sins of the fathers

I have heard this expression, and wonder to what extent some of us suffer for the sins of our fathers.

Joe Kadhi thinks that if Jimmy Kibaki is thinking of succeeding his father he will pay for his sins.

Happy Madaraka day.

Update Related article:The Partnership for change message for Madaraka day-46 years later it is not yet Uhuru but change is coming.