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Thursday, July 09, 2009

KENYA - ELECTIONS

US sends diplomat to seek peaceful solution

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Washington's top diplomat for Africa met the Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga Saturday morning and is due to hold talks with President Mwai Kibaki later to seek an end to unrest. (Story: N.Rushworth)

Saturday, January 5, 2008

By  Reuters

NAIROBI, Jan 5 (Reuters) — Washington's top diplomat for Africa hopes to meet both sides in Kenya's political crisis on Saturday to seek an end to ethnic unrest that has killed more than 300 and shattered the country's peaceful image.

US Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer arrived in Nairobi overnight in the latest attempt at mediation by world powers horrified by the turmoil in what was seen as one of the continent's most stable democracies.

"I'm here to talk to people, we'll see," Frazer told Reuters at the airport when asked how she saw the situation.

Opposition protests subsided on Friday and the government said it would accept a re-run of the Dec. 27 polls, if a court ordered it. The opposition say President Mwai Kibaki's team rigged his re-election to lead east Africa's biggest economy.

The disputed result triggered a wave of riots and tribal violence that the United Nations says has displaced 250,000 people — far more than previously feared.


UN officials were scrambling on Saturday to get food to 100,000 terrified people facing starvation after fleeing violence in the west of the country that included the burning to
death of 30 people barricaded in a church.

The World Bank has warned the unrest could hurt Kenya's impressive economic gains and harm neighbouring countries that rely on it as the region's business and transport hub.

Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are suffering fuel shortages. The UN World Food Programme says its main problem in getting food to the displaced has been moving trucks to western Kenya.

Given Kenya's reputation as a beacon of stability in a volatile region, Frazer is more used to visiting east Africa to mediate in persistent trouble spots like Somalia or Sudan.

A US State Department spokesman said she hoped to meet both Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga — who was due to visit supporters in his party's western heartland on Saturday.

"New vote?"

International observers say last week's election fell short of key democratic standards, especially the counting process.

The State Department spokesman said talks about a new vote were part of "different suggestions that are being generated by the Kenyan political system, and that's as it should be."

But the opposition says the odds of winning such a court order are against it. It says Kenya's judiciary is loaded with Kibaki loyalists and that the legal appeals could take years.

Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement is insisting Kibaki step down, an internationally recognised body mediate and a "transitional arrangement" — not government — be set up prior to a new vote within three months.

Both sides have traded allegations of genocide and ethnic cleansing, and the violence has dented the country's image.

"Kenya's leaders need to know the seriousness with which the international community views the situation," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement.

South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, who has met both sides to explore common ground, said on Friday that Kibaki was open to the idea of forming a coalition government.

But John Kufuor, the president  of Ghana and chairman of the African Union, has shelved plans to visit the country for talks because the authorities in Nairobi did not give him clearance.
[8] reactions :

  • Wednesday, January 2, 2008

    NOT A TRIBAL WAR?

    By  Dar' Lene

    did someone say that it is not a tribal war? if it isnt then why is it that only the kikuyus are being killed? those who fled to the church, majority of them were kikuyus. and only the luos are killing them.

    on what platform did Raila enter his election campaigns? didnt he make anti-kikuyu sentiments? if his people looked up to him to "phase out" the kikuyu "domain" and he failed to get the presidency, on whom do you think the luos are going to take out their frustrations?

    and what is Raila saying about all these "didnt he say yesterday that "stop saying Raila do something. injustice has been done, and as long as there is unjustice, there will be no peace. let the people continue with the peace demonstrations."

    peace demonstrations? killing more than 250 people is peaceful?

    true, Kibaki has made his own grave mistakes that are gonna have great impact on the country..

    i think we should all stop thinking in terms of tribes. at the end of this, it may be irrelevant as to which of the two becomes the president. the luos may not mind having Raila as the president, but will he rule the kikuyus? Kibaki may not even be accepted by the kikuyu because he is not doing anything now to stop teh blood-shed..it still will be terrible despite who takes over eventually.

    they should compromise, each should give in on one thing or another. and for crying out loud, they should swallow their pride, because our mothers and our fathers and sisters and brothers are being killed because the kikuyu is too proud to face the luo and the luo is too chicken to accept a straight defeat



  • Wednesday, January 2, 2008

    Its not about Luos and Kikuyus

    By  Raymond

    The Western media does not get it!!! its not just about just Luos and Kikuyus! Its about Kenyans who are fed up with the corrupt systems. Yes, Kenyans we are peaceful, but it has got to a point where people are fed up with the corruption and authocratic rule that some of our leader are displaying. The church was not burnt by Luos but by another tribe, the Kalenjins. This shows you how intense the situation is. The situation in Kenya is about the have and have nots.People are dying for no good reason. Tribalism is rampant in Kenya, it saddens me to see my fellow Kenyans being killed just because of their tribe. The people who are responsible are the inept leaders that we have and who are trying to deny other Kenyans their democtatic rights. You need to understand the facts on the ground before you reduce this to just a question of two tribes.

  • Wednesday, January 2, 2008

    An imbalanced view

    By  Serah

    I am surprised by the kind of stories and reports we are seeing in the international media about this issue. Its sad that kenyans are loosing their lives everyday but i would like to hear reports from a more objective media. the media has chosen to focus on the sole issue of kibaki being sworn in and granted innocence to the loudest shouters. In my opinion we are seeing a much less scale of violence than we would have seen had the opposition won the elections. Before we forget, looting and rioting started in railas strong hold the minute he was leading in the polls as his supporters were ready to kick out other tribes from their area as he had promised them majimbo. to blame the violence on the rigging is to be blinded by the holier than thou attitude adopted by the so called opposition leaders. You are in Kenya as reporters and i want to know which parts of central kenya flared up on saturday when Raila was clearly set out to win, there were none because there was no one to fund the violence.
    as we can all see, the violence is only in the areas headed by the ODM leaders why is that so? who is inciting these people? the president?
    These aresome of the questions that need to be answered and if the media can not get us the answers then who can?
    Onanother issue, everybody agrees the elections were flawed, but why is nobody asking Raila what he wants the electoral commision to in areas that he received more than 100% of the votes, If anyone has the power to stop the violence its not the government, nor is it the AU or the west, Its only raila.
    Lastly, if you readthe ODM manifesto and came across the word majimbo that you didnt understand, this is its meaning to the regular kenyan citizen "simply kick out the minority tribes from your areas and take over their property" and that is what we are seeing in parts of teh Riftvalley.
    HOWEVER I CAN ON ALL KENYANS TO COME TOGETHER AN PRAY FOR PEACE AND EXERCISE RESTRAINT.

  • Wednesday, January 2, 2008

    Kenya: You are getting it all wrong

    By  Carolynne

    International media is getting it all wrong by claiming that this is a Kikuyu Luo war... No it isnt, Mombasa, Eldoret, Rift valley, these are non luo zones, My opinion, the rest of kenya apart from central province feels cheated. Both Odinga and Kibaki need to find a solution to this,innocent lives are being lost, for what??? powr struggle.... God help Kenya

  • Wednesday, January 2, 2008

    IT'S NOT A LUO-KIKUYU WAR

    By  NICHOLAS OGENDO

    THIS IS NOT A TRIBAL WAR BTW THE LUOS AND THE KIKUYUS IT'S ALL OVER THE COUNTRY,ELDORET(WHERE THE CHURCH WAS BURNT)IT'S NOT A LUO DOMINANT AREA IT'S KALENJIN AREA.SO I THING BEFORE YOU MAKE SUCH COMMENTS YOU SHOULD HEAR FROM THE EXPERTS

  • Wednesday, January 2, 2008

    No ethnic cleansing?

    By  Dorothy Maloba

    The leaders are making inflamatory accusations about it but it sure is coming soon if no one does anything positive about the situation. At the moment, the Mungiki have been absorbed into the military and police, and their main purpose is to get rid of everyone else. They are seething with anger, and it's a bad situation since they are now disguised.

  • Thursday, January 3, 2008

    Will you please report accurately

    By  Dorothy Maloba

    I just saw the live feed and your reporters keep insisting that this is a Luo vs Kikuyu slaughtering going on. Those Kikuyus attacked and burnt in the church in Eldoret were attacked by people from the Rift Valley, most likely Kalenjins. The problem is not the two tribes fighting for power but rather the rest of the tribes angry at the way the Kikuyus stole the election. It is sad that it wasn't a Kikuyu plan to take power through fraud, but everyone is paying the price of a few greedy politicians who couldn't let go when they should have.

  • Tuesday, January 1, 2008

    will you look away?

    By  Beth Ann H.

    This is a request for any who are willing to stand and watch with me in prayer for the nations of the world to come to the knowledge of their Savior while there is yet time.
    Stories like this one are happening throughout the world, and we must band together and pray!

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