At this rate, I don’t think Kenya will get anywhere with reforms. If no one that breaks the law can ever be censored or punished, then we’re doomed.
Here, it’s clear that Charity Ngilu has violated the Constitution. For once our useless parliament has decided to do the right thing by taking steps to address the situation.
What happens next?
She runs back to Ukambani for help and screams, “We Kambas are being finished !!!”.
The Kamba MPs come to her rescue with a call that “Mama Ngilu should be allowed to do her job; it’s time to set aside petty politics”
What petty politics? The lady broke the law !!! People face punishment when they break the law !!!!! That’s not petty politics !!!!
Sometimes I think I’m a character in George Orwell’s book, 1984, and that everything that is right real life is wrong but everything that is wrong in real life is right.
Human is to era, Ukambani MPs tell President Uhuru Kenyatta over Ngilu
Updated Saturday, November 9th 2013 at 13:55 GMT +3
By ONESMUS NZIOKA
MACHAKOS, KENYA: Members of Parliament from Ukambani have come to the rescue of embattled lands cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu who faces possible sacking for violating the Constitution after parliament censured her.
The MPs, during the launch of the Machakos City, petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to pardon Ngilu over the ‘gross misconduct’ allegations leveled against her by the parliamentarians.
“Human is to error. If Ngilu erroneously made a decision that did not please many, she should be forgiven and allowed to perform her duties. No one is an Angel,” said Mavoko MP Patrick Makau.
“Mavoko residents and all Kenyans would like to be issued with title deeds. We should allow the Cabinet Secretary to perform her duties and stop petty politics,” Makau said.
Masinga MP Itwiku Mbai besieged the President to ensure Ngilu is protected from the MPs who are baying for her blood, saying the Cabinet Secretary is being hounded for her firm stand to clean the lands ministry dogged by corruption and massive land grabbing.
“We know mama is able and should be left to go on with her duties. We want Ngilu protected,” said Mbai.
Kangundo MP Katatha Maweu urged all Kamba politicians to unite for the sake of the region’s development, saying divisive politics will continue to plunge the region in poverty.
MPs wanted Ngilu fired for unconstitutional, irregular and un-procedural acts of creating offices and making arbitrary appointments, promotions and transfers of staff in the lands ministry.
This, could be a sign that Ngilu, who has been lobbying MPs to let her off the hook is winning the fight.
Senator Lindsey Graham is introducing an extremely cruel and inhumane abortion ban bill in the Senate. Sign the petition telling the Senate: no more attacks on women, block Graham’s bill!
Extreme conservatives in the Senate are about to introduce a sweeping ban on abortion. Here’s one family who’s already been hurt by this type of law:
Danielle and Robb Deaver were “over the moon” about Danielle’s pregnancy until her water broke at 22 weeks. They were heartbroken to learn their baby would not develop further or survive, but that heartbreak was compounded when doctors told them they couldn’t end their nightmare and induce labor because their state bans abortion after 20 weeks. Doctors had to wait for Danielle to get sick or for the baby to die before they could do anything. When baby Elizabeth was finally born, she survived for only 15 minutes.1
Senator Lindsey Graham is planning to introduce a national bill this week that criminalizes abortions after 20 weeks.2 When politicians introduce these inhumane bans on abortions, they are tying the hands of doctors who want to help couples like the Deavers. Less than 2% of abortions occur after 20 weeks, and many of them are for heartbreaking reasons that no one should ever have to face.3
Texas, North Dakota, and Arkansas have all passed 20-week abortion bans this year, and so has the House in Congress.4 If we don’t make a stand against Sen. Graham’s bill in the Senate, more states will be emboldened to pass these inhumane laws. We have to make sure that conservatives everywhere know we won’t stand for this.
Tell the Senate: You have no right to legislate our medical decisions. Enough with the attacks on women. Block Graham’s inhumane and extreme abortion ban bill.
Add your name to the petition.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F945%3Ft%3D3%26akid%3D659.6000.Py1mA6&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEp6-MnkQw0fnHQmacGvX5_9bVRpg
Extreme attempts to criminalize abortion after 20 weeks aren’t new. Multiple states have already passed such laws, including Texas most recently. But Sen. Graham’s bill is unconstitutional, and it directly contradicts Roe v. Wade. A federal appeals court threw out Arizona’s ban in May. Courts have also overturned similar laws in Idaho and Georgia.5
What’s worse are the heartbreaking stories of women who needed to abort their much-wanted pregnancies after 20 weeks. We received some of these stories during the battle in Texas from UltraViolet members. There was Kathy, a military wife with 3 college degrees and already a mother of 2 wonderful boys. At the 20-week ultrasound for her 3rd baby, the doctors found a severe case of spina bifida, “the worst they had ever seen.” She and her husband chose to terminate for the sake of their family. Kathy wrote that she still grieves but knows it was the right choice.
Doctors are also speaking out against these extreme bills. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has resoundingly opposed such legislation and told politicians to get out of their exam rooms.6
These extreme bills are not about women’s health or the lives of healthy babies. They are not about good and safe medicine. They are about extreme politicians who think they know better than women and our doctors about what’s right for our families. We need to make a national stand against this inhumane extremism.
Tell the Senate: stop your attacks on women and our families; stop Graham’s extreme abortion ban bill.
Sign the petition.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F945%3Ft%3D4%26akid%3D659.6000.Py1mA6&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFPpcEJMFxLkke5GeMj3gkhnPpnDA
Thanks for speaking out.
–Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Malinda, Adam, and Gabriela, the UltraViolet team
Want to support our work? UltraViolet is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions go a long way.
visit here
https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fweareultraviolet.actionkit.com%2Fdonate%2Fdonate%3Fakid%3D659.6000.Py1mA6&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFKrgGbvsJkBUgO7W6oMBos8BpahA
Regional lawyers will meet over the sweeping wave of oppressive media laws in East Africa.
The East Africa Law Society (EALS) President Mr. James Aggrey Mwamu said that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Somalia have adopted a pattern of media suppression.
“Governments in the region are jointly suppressing democratic freedoms by using unconstitutional laws to gag journalists the media,” Mr. Mwamu said.
Mr. Mwamu said that media freedom will be among the core subjects to be discussed in depth at the EALS Annual Conference set for November 15th and 16th at The Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa.
The Conference will bring together practicing lawyers from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The theme is Raising the Bar: The Changing Environment for the Legal Profession in East Africa.
“We are dismayed that the Kenyan Parliament last week passed into law Acts which suppress freedom of information under Article 35 of the Constitution,” Mr. Mwamu said.
The EALS President regretted that intolerance to media freedom has also intensified in Tanzania with the recent suspension of two newspapers for alleged violation of stringent media laws.
“The Ministry of Information stopped the publication of Mwananchi newspaper and Mtanzania, alleging violation of secrecy and sedition laws,” Mr. Mwamu said.
The EALS President also recalled how The Daily Monitor newspaper was raided and shut down for 10 days in May after allegedly publishing a politically sensitive story in Uganda.
“The Daily Monitor was allowed to reopen on the promise that it would not publish material that might disturb law and order or generate tensions,” Mr. Mwamu said.
The EALS President also regretted that journalists are also reportedly being harassed and intimidated in Uganda when covering political stories like arrests of Mr. Kizza Besigye.
“There are also concerns on violent deaths of journalists, such as that of Thomas Pere in June,” Mr. Mwamu said.
The EALS President said that Burundi President Mr. Pierre Nkurunziza is about to sign into law a media Bill recently passed by the Burundi National Assembly in April.
“The Burundi Senate passed a draft media law despite opposition from journalists and the international community,” Mr. Mwamu said.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the new law would interfere with media independence by forcing journalists to disclose sources and imposing minimum requirements for journalists’ education and experience.
Under the proposed bill, journalists will be required to have at least two years of professional experience in addition to a university-level degree.
Additionally, the media will be banned from covering “sensitive” issues including public security, national defense, and the economy.
The new law repeals many of the provisions for jail terms imposed on violators under the 2003 law, but violations still carry penalties such as steep fines that HRW said most Burundian media outlets would not be able to afford.
On November 3, 2013, The Guardian Newspaper reported that Dar es Salaam City police arrested 3 Chinese citizens in the city, and confiscated large amount of tusks on the spot.
The Embassy of People’s Republic of China in the United Republic of Tanzania felt shocked at this report that 3 Chinese citizens suspected of smuggling ivory were arrested by the police and is now in contact with the Tanzania side on this issue. The Chinese government has always attached great importance to the protection of wildlife, promulgated a series of laws and regulations, and set up a National Inter-Agency CITES Enforcement Collaboration Group (NICECG) mechanism.
Chinese State Forestry Administration has set up a special armed anti-poaching team. China leads the world on severe punishment in cases of wild animal protection violation including ivory smuggling and its products. It has also actively participated in international law enforcement cooperation to crack down criminal activities on smuggling and trade of ivory and its products. In February this year, the Chinese government carried out successfully Operation COBRA, a cross-continent joint special operation to combat illegal wildlife trade together with 22 countries in Asia and Africa.
H.E. LU Youqing, Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, and the Chinese Embassy strongly condemn criminal acts of killing elephants and smuggling ivory, firmly support the Tanzania government action to fight ivory smuggling by law, and are willing to actively provide help. The Chinese government and police are ready to work together with their Tanzania counterparts to crack down on criminals according to law.
Majority Chinese citizens are able to abide by local laws in Tanzania and take part in legitimate businesses. China’s national image has been severely undermined by illegal or bad behavior of quite few Chinese. Chinese Embassy in Tanzania will, as always, require all Chinese in Tanzania, and those coming to Tanzania either for tourism or on business, to strictly abide by local laws and regulations, never involve themselves in illegal activities like the ivory smuggling, make joint efforts to safeguard the good image of Chinese in Tanzania and promote the China-Tanzania friendship and cooperation.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has filed a suit to eject from office Traffic Commandant Mr. Samuel Kimaru over increased tragic road accidents.
LSK has also included the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) as respondents in the suit filed at the High Court, sitting in Mombasa.
The suit seeks a declaration that the Traffic Commandant is unfit to hold office following omissions, actions, abuse of power and gross neglect of Constitutional and Statutory duties.
It further seeks an order directing the NPSC to sack Mr. Samuel Kimaru as an employee of the Service.
According to the plaint (legal papers) drawn and filed by Ndegwa Muthama Katisya & Associates Advocates who are representing LSK, thousands of lives are being lost on roads.
“Neglect of duty by the Traffic Commandant and the NPSC leads to loss of over 3,000 lives on the road annually,” says LSK in the plaint.
LSK told the High Court that over 9,000 people are maimed for life annually, 26,000 vehicles and other property destroyed annually and billions of shillings spent on hospital bills and funeral expenses.
“Over 1,725 people lost their lives on the road between January and July 16, 2013 alone,” LSK said in the plaint.
LSK said that unlawful omissions and actions of the Traffic Commandant and NPSC have significantly contributed to the Police Service becoming the most corrupt institution countrywide.
“The Kenya Police service has consequently been nationally and internationally recognised as the most corrupt institutions,” LSK said.
LSK said that the respondents are in gross violation of the National Police Service Act No. 11 of 2012.
“The Traffic Commandant has failed to maintain law and order on roads, protect life and property, investigate, prevent and detect traffic offences, apprehend offenders, and enforce of all traffic laws and regulations,” LSK said.
In violation of Section 49(3) and (4), of the National Police Service Act , the Commandant has failed to make reports of all daily occurrences and incidents encountered in the discharge of the statutory function and submit the report to superiors.
Under Section 49(10) of the National Police Service Act, the Commandant has failed to respect the law, regulations, Service Standing Orders and to prevent violations thereof.
“The Traffic Commandant is professionally and vicariously liable for the neglects, unlawful omissions, and commissions of the officers working under his command.” LSK said.
LSK has argued that as a result of the Commandant’s failure to remove defective vehicles from the roads, a substantial number of vehicles with visible defects or violations of the Traffic Act pass through Traffic checkpoints.
LSK said that the visible defects or easily discernible defects and or violations include vehicles without both or any head-light being driven for long distances at night without being removed from the road.
Others include public service vehicles with dangerous worn out tyres, overloaded public service vehicles and commercial vehicles.
Some of the vehicles illegally emit heavy obnoxious petrol or diesel fumes, public service vehicles without speed governors, vehicles without identification number plates are habitually used in Kenya roads.
LSK said that many vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers and kerbs have been converted into parking and garages for repairing broken down vehicles.
Regional lawyers have called for stringent enforcement of laws towards containing increasing criminal sexual offences against children in East Africa (EA).
The lawyers decried escalating cases of defilement and under age prostitution leading to a growing number of girls below 14 years old in public maternity wards in the region.
LSK Chairman Mr. Eric Mutua said that lack of prosecution of perpetrators and out of court resolution of criminal sexual offences against children aggravates the situation.
“We must strictly implement or draft stringent laws that would protect children from increasing cases of defilement and childhood pregnancies among others,” Mutua said.
The lawyers, magistrates and probation officers are attending a three day conference on Supporting Access to Justice for Children and Youth in East Africa at Enashipai Lodge, Naivasha.
The conference heard that children are increasingly dropping out of school to be used in cross border trade between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Other children have been infected with HIV/Aids following increased cases of childhood prostitution following involvement in fishing trade and mining in Uganda.
Tanganyika Law Society President Mr. Francis Stolla said that courts in East Africa are not strictly implementing existing sexual offences laws to protect children.
“Tanzanian law provides for up to 30 years in prison for criminals found guilty of defilement…Kenya has similar penalties,” Mr. Stolla said.
Ugandan Advocate Mr. Aaron Bessigye said that defilement cases in the country would attract imprisonment for life or death penalty.
“Ugandan law is strict on aggravated rape whereby the offenders infect their victims with HIV/Aids,” Mr. Bessigye said.
The lawyers said that reported cases of FGM are aggravated over lack of successful prosecution of perpetrators despite legal provisions on the same.
“Tanzanian law provides 15 years imprisonment for FGM perpetrators but the culprits are rarely arraigned in court,” Mr. Stolla said.
Mr. Bessigye said that Ugandan law provides 18 years imprisonment for FGM perpetrators but none is yet to be charged despite increased reported cases on the vice.
Magistrates and Probation Officers attending the conference heard that several village leaders were bribed not to report cases of child sexual offences and FGM.
“Sexual offences against children must never be settled out of court towards bringing the criminals to book,” Mutua said.
Freedom of speech, association and communication is under siege against the public mandate referendum Reform Change Accord how they wish to be Governed. It looks like special interest corrupt politicians want to silence people from demanding for their rights…………..and this is against not what the people demanded at the Referendum. This behavior is contravening the freedom and suppressing transparency and accountability from public servants who have failed to do their work according to their oath of office…………to protect, deliver and safeguard the core value of how people want their Government facility to operate and deliver services to people with fundamentals that the Security must restructure and overhaul to bring on board Responsible Leaders with integrity to avoid what happened in 2007/8 election gone bad and where massacre, genocide and atrocities committed were masterminded by suspects of those inscribed in the police force to do the unthinkable…….in the event, peoples security was compromised; which was top of the agenda for Reform was Administering Police overhaul urgently, which has not happened to-date.
People want complete healing not a bandage to cushion a chronic sore on peoples governance with just rule of law. Negative comments from senior police and political leadership is causing disharmony in the minds of people and people must demand for apology for such inflammatory injustices meant to shut people from engaging in their own business of good governance……………this behavior is unacceptable……..
All People must go firmly in solidarity with Mohamed Ali and John Allan to protest and demand what is called jeopardy of public insecurity and safety and demand for Media freedom, good governance with just rule of law including holding Kimaiyo responsible and force him to step down for further investigation for Wastgate attack with relation to connection of Al-shabaab in Uganda.
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
– – – – – – – – – – –
Police target media over Westgate reportage
In a bizarre twist, government has now trained its guns on the media coverage of the Westgate terror attack with Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo saying KTN journalists John Allan Namu and Mohamed Ali will be arrested for incitement and spreading propaganda.
Published on Oct 23, 2013
In a bizarre twist, government has now trained its guns on the media coverage of the Westgate terror attack with Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo saying KTN journalists John Allan Namu and Mohamed Ali will be arrested for incitement and spreading propaganda. But as NTV’s Andrew Ochieng reports, Kimaiyo may have jumped the gun, as regulations require him to direct complaints to the Media Council Of Kenya.
Police Inspector General asked to channel grievances through Media Council
Published on Oct 25, 2013
The Media Council of Kenya has asked police inspector general David Kimaiyo to channel any grievances he harbors against any media practitioner or media house through the council. The council says the police Inspector General was wrong to summon KTN journalists over the Westgate attack without following due process.
For more news visit http://www.ntv.co.ke
Baragoi residents living in makeshift camps out of fear
Published on Oct 25, 2013
A large number of Baragoi residents are living in makeshift tents following recent attacks in the area. Cattle rustling has become the plague of Baragoi. For long Baragoi residents have had to endure criminal activities linked to cattle rustling that has led to the lose of lives and displacement.
For more news visit http://www.ntv.co.ke
===============================
From: OS
To: “progressive-kenyans@googlegroups.com”
Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2013 7:24 AM
Subject: IG KIMAIYO: ARREST JICHO PEVU TEAM.
Weli,
This is intimidation that the journalists should not cower to.
OS.
On Thursday, October 24, 2013 2:20 PM, Jagem K’Onyiego wrote:
Weli,
We do not agree on many things, but on this one I agree with you. Since Stage managed attack and rescue, at westgate, Kimaiyo has been looking like someone with no clue at all on what goes on in Kenya. I am surprised that he is coming out now issuing threats to reporters. I think he has been told by Kamwana to silence the press. Hakuna kitu ingine.
Jagem
From: Maurice Oduor
Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2013 6:16 AM
Subject: IG KIMAIYO: ARREST JICHO PEVU TEAM.
Welcome to Kenya Abdi. That is Kenyans for you. Akina Asman Kamara will insist on denying what everyone can see on video from the CCTV. They will insist on denying it until the issue dies off. That is how Kenyans behave in nature. It’s one of the things I really hate about our people. One may know the truth about a situation but because he/she has decided to support one side, he/she will defend that side to the death even if it is the offending side.
In Luo we say, “Jo Kenya richo” (Kenyans are bad).
Courage
From: Mburi Eric
Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2013 4:06 AM
Subject: IG KIMAIYO: ARREST JICHO PEVU TEAM.
Lailatu,
And I wonder why Kimaiyo thinks he is law unto himself and can not be subjected to the law per-Se
Nyakwar Mburi
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 01:57:33 -0700
Subject: IG KIMAIYO: ARREST JICHO PEVU TEAM.
From: lailatuatiende@ . . .
Mohamed /Mburi,
I concur with both of you on this one. KIMAIYO should show some transparency to Kenyans. By demanding the arrest of the Jicho Pevu team lacks lucidity.
From: Mburi Eric
Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2013 2:08 AM
Subject: IG KIMAIYO: ARREST JICHO PEVU TEAM.
Its actually Kimaiyo who should be arrested
Nyakwar Mburi
On Thu, Oct 24, 2013 at 2:33 AM, Mohamedweli Abdi wrote:
Inspector General wants Jicho pevu team Mohamed Ali and John Allen Namu be arrested.
Is this for diversion of attention from the incompetence of our security agencies and terrorist attack, or this two guys are threat to our national security.
Please Mr IG, all they did is do their kob unlike you and your team. Your boys let you down looting Kenyans in their worst hours.
Arrest the real looters and the terrorist not Ali and Namu.
Shame on you.
Mohamed
Outrage as Police summon Standard boss, KTN reporters over Westgate
October 25
00:352013
by In2EastAfrica Reporter
In what could be the first assault on media freedom under the Jubilee government, police have targeted the Standard Group over a report aired on television station KTN.
Hooded gunmen raided Westgate Mall last month, killing 67 people and wounding several others according to official reports
Police are seeking the Groups Chief Executive Sam Shollei and two KTN journalists, Mohammed Ali and John-Allan Namu, over the investigative report on the Westgate Mall terrorist attack.
Police delivered summons to the Standard Group Centre on Mombasa Road on Thursday, requiring the three to present themselves to Kilimani Police Stationon Friday.
Head of Kilimani CID George Ojuka said police had wanted the three to appear before them on Thursday but were informed that Mr Shollei was out of town.
Police summons signed by Mr Ojuka addressed to Mr Shollei and copied to the two journalists compel the trio to report to him this morning to answer to charges of ‘unlawful sending of misleading messages’.
The misleading messages apparently refer to an investigative series run on KTN titled ‘Zilizala la Westgate’ and ‘Wolves at Westgate’.
Ojuka alleges that the series, which offered insights into events at the mall after the Al-Shabaab gunmen struck, was not factual. The journalists relied on CCTV footage that captured events inside the mall during the siege and which had been widely broadcast both locally and internationally.
“I do require you Sham (sic) Shollei to attend before me George Ojuka, the DCIO Kilimani at Kilimani CID offices situated at Kilimani Police Division, Nairobi, on Friday the 25th day of October at 0900 hours,” read the summons.
SLIPPED OUT
The officer warns that, ‘failure to comply with this requisition comprises an offence.’
The investigative series raised questions about official accounts of events during the Westgate siege. The footage at one point showed the four gunmen looking relaxed in a section of the mall before one moves the CCTV cameras. Questions were raised about whether they slipped out of the mall unnoticed. More contentious footage shows soldiers carrying white plastic bags. Authorities have explained that the soldiers had taken bottles of water to quench their thirst. Questions were also raised about the cause of the extensive damage to the building after three floors collapsed.
Police said they have launched investigations into the source of the Westgate Mall footage that showed soldiers carrying items from Nakumatt Supermarket.
Nakumatt boss Atul Shah was summoned by police investigating the incident on Tuesday, and appeared before detectives at the Kilimani CID offices for about an hour.
Yesterday’s police action against the Standard Group came a day after Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo threatened the two journalists with arrest.
It also comes just a week after High Court Judge Mumbi Ngugi ruled as illegal the State-sponsored 2006 raid on the media groupâs offices and awarded it Sh5 million as compensation.
HOODED GUNMEN
In the raid, hooded gunmen set upon staff, switched KTN off, carted away equipment and burnt copies of The Standard newspaper that was rolling off the press at its Likoni Road premises.
The Internal Security minister at the time, John Michuki (since deceased), alleged that the media house was about to disseminate information that would have undermined ânational securityâ.
On Wednesday, Kimaiyo seemed to be reading from the same script claiming that the journalists were not patriotic in the manner in which they covered the Westgate issue, and accused them of incitement and propaganda. On Thursday, the Standard Group legal team sought confirmation from the police chief about the identities of individuals who had sent text messages summoning the two for interrogation.
The Groupâs lawyers protested the action noting that, âsummons by text messages is not one of the methods contemplated under the law.â
The action by the police sparked outrage from rights groups, including a state rights watchdog, media practitioners and political leaders, who condemned the harassment of journalists and termed it a breach of media freedom.
The Media Council of Kenya (MCK), the industryâs regulatory authority, said it was aggrieved byKimaiyo’s threats of arrest and prosecution, saying there were proper channels to address grievances by any party regarding journalistic work.
Harun Mwangi, the chief executive of MCK, said during and after the Westgate attack, the media did an excellent job of informing the country about the national tragedy.
“The journalists have not committed any criminal offences; Kimaiyo’s complaints border on the impact that the coverage generated,” said Mwangi. “We would expect him to present his complaint to the council if he needs any recourse, but we cannot entertain intimidation and curtailing of media freedoms.”
Tom Rhodes, the regional co-ordinator of the Committee for Protection of Journalists, said Kimaiyo and the state are trying to prevent the media from reporting on issues that affect everyone, such as security.
“We find it absolutely ridiculous that the journalists would be investigated. Why doesn’t the report focus on probing the attack rather than the messengers?” Rhodes posed.
He added that the country would be far worse without an independent media.
Media practitioners are protected by law under Article 34, which prohibits the state from âcontrolling or interfering with, exercising control over or interfering with any person engaged in broadcasting, the production or circulation of any publication or the dissemination of information by any medium.
By MOSES MICHIRA and CYRUS OMBATI, The Standard
========================================
MATHIU: Why Kimaiyo left Kenyans baffled over his threat to arrest journalists
Thursday, October 24, 2013
PHOTO | FILE IGP David Kimaiyo. NATION
In Summary
Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo has hoisted himself into a similar position and he seems to leak public goodwill every time he offers his views in the media.
Specifically, Mr Kimaiyo warned that he was going to arrest two journalists for “provoking propaganda”, whatever the hell that is, and inciting the people against the authorities.
All that nonsense about matresses and carrying of water in Nakumatt bags has convinced no one. The mall was systematically looted. Instead of confronting the indiscipline in our forces, the authorities have chosen to beat up on reporters. This is beyond belief.
By Mutuma Mathiu
There was a time my brother, Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi was often in the news for all the wrong, controversial reasons. Wags characterised him, poor man, as a politician who lost votes every time he opened his mouth.
Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo has hoisted himself into a similar position and he seems to leak public goodwill every time he offers his views in the media.
I remember watching a catastrophic interview on NTV and thinking “Dear Lord, why did they let this one out?” For Mr Kimaiyo, bless him, is not the most eloquent of men.
But it is his press conference on Wednesday which really exposed him as a man who, though he has spent some time around universities, has not modernised his views about society and rights. He also has a 1990s concept of the power of government.
Specifically, Mr Kimaiyo warned that he was going to arrest two journalists for “provoking propaganda”, whatever the hell that is, and inciting the people against the authorities.
When governments are new in office, they will always do that kind of nonsense. In 2003, the CID arrested the entire leadership of The Standard. I was also invited by the director of CID at the time “for a cup of tea” at his office which I declined and was off radar for a while.
Many attempts have been made to write laws that would allow the government to control the Kenyan press, one of the freest in the Third World. Politicians, because they are mainly self-absorbed and thick, always think the country would be better off with a muzzled press.
FREE PRESS
So let me tell it to you: the government does not own the freedoms of the people. They are not its property to give. Our right to a free press is not a gift from the President, the Inspector-General of Police, Parliament or indeed any other person or organ.
They belong to the people and can only be limited when there is manifest general good to be achieved by so doing.
Also, I don’t think it is going to be possible for anyone to roll back the gains we have made so far and for banana-republic theories of some bureaucrat to have sway in the media. It’s just not going to happen.
Now, going back to the arrest threat. Kenyans know that something went terribly with the rescue mission. They know that the calling in of the military was either premature or ill-advised and that had the SWAT team been allowed more time, they would have rescued everyone, including the VIPs in there, contained the terrorists, and preserved the scene of crime.
Secondly, they already believe that the military behaved in a most disgraceful fashion, looting and feasting as the nation grieved.
Thirdly, they are royally pissed off at being lied to by the military and Internal Security Cabinet secretary, the hapless Mr Joseph ole Lenku.
All that nonsense about matresses and carrying of water in Nakumatt bags has convinced no one. The mall was systematically looted. Instead of confronting the indiscipline in our forces, the authorities have chosen to beat up on reporters. This is beyond belief.
Finally, through no fault of his own, Kenyans believe Mr Kimaiyo was not in charge of the rescue operation. He couldn’t have been: it was a military operation and the military does not take orders from the police.
Mr Kimaiyo is not employed to break the law, although the Kenya police are some of the leading law breakers. He is employed to enforce it, including the laws protecting the freedoms of Kenyans. If he tries to do anything contrary, he will lose, if he already hasn’t.
* * *
I want to wish the best of luck to all those candidates who are sitting their exams this season. I know my views about education and managing behaviour are boring; they are copied from my headmaster, the late Stanley Ndeke.
Mr Ndeke believed in science. You needed his express permission to take the arts. He used to say that good, well-behaved boys don’t walk, they run. So I spent part of my childhood running everywhere.
From him I learnt the value of hard work and discipline, the importance of intellectual rigour and discipline and the centrality of learning to human progress.
So yes, all that reading is a pain but you and the world probably couldn’t exist without it. Good luck.
===================================
Westgate: Kimaiyo now threatens journalists
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
In Summary
He accused the journalists of “provoking propaganda” and inciting Kenyans against the authorities with investigative stories which exposed command confusion during the operation which saw at least one police officer shot and killed by the Kenya Defence Forces.
By ZADOCK ANGIRA
Police boss David Kimaiyo on Wednesday announced that journalists will be arrested and prosecuted over their coverage of the Westgate rescue operation.
He accused the journalists of “provoking propaganda” and inciting Kenyans against the authorities with investigative stories which exposed command confusion during the operation which saw at least one police officer shot and killed by the Kenya Defence Forces.
Journalists, both local and international, have also reported the apparent looting of the shopping mall by the KDF. The military however told Parliament that the soldiers were carrying water in the shopping bags and not looted goods. (VIDEO: Military: KDF soldiers carried water from Westgate)
The Inspector-General’s announcement is the latest in a sustained assault on press freedom in Kenya in recent months, which has seen the tabling in Parliament of bills giving government control over media operations.
Mr Kimaiyo said investigative journalists from KTN are among those to be arrested.
He appeared to take umbrage at the insinuation that he was relieved of command during the operation against terrorists who massacred nearly 70 shoppers at the mall located in Westlands.
At the time, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that Mr Kimaiyo remained in charge of the operation.
However, from around 5pm on Saturday September 21 until the end of the siege four days later, the operation was controlled by the military. KDF does not take orders from the police.
Mr Kimaiyo’s decision to muzzle the press flies in the face of the constitution which prohibits the government from interfering with the media.
Mr Kimaiyo has not filed a complaint with the Media Council of Kenya, the normal procedure for dealing with cases where journalists are involved in unethical conduct.
At the press conference on Wednesday, Mr Kimaiyo said the journalists had “overstepped” press freedom apparently by reporting the command chaos and looting during the operation.
“You cannot provoke propaganda and incite Kenyans against the authorities. The two journalists will be apprehended,” explained Mr Kimaiyo.
In Parliament, Majority Leader Aden Duale has published a Bill which gives the cabinet secretary for communication immense powers over the Media Council, which regulates the media.
The cabinet secretary has, among others powers, the right to dissolve the current Media Council and then constitute the selection panel that will interview and nominate members to form part of the new council.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Mr Kimaiyo denied that British terrorist Samantha Lewthwaite was involved in the Westgate attack.
Ms Lewthwaite is a high ranking and dangerous member of al Shabaab who has explicably been allowed to live and move freely in Kenya until relatively recently.
In one egregious act of police incompetence, officers bizarrely did not take Ms Lewthwaite into custody even though they found her with stacks of foreign currency and forged papers.
Mr Kimaiyo said yesterday that eight of what he claimed to be chief suspects will be charged.
Police arrested more than 100 suspects after the attack, almost all of whom were innocent.
He said detectives were looking for more suspects who may have played smaller roles in the attack.
But even as he made the announcements, it was still not clear how many terrorists took part in the attack and what eventually happened to them.
There have been claims that some were killed, but no bodies were ever produced. The government said there were between 10 and 15 attackers. CCTV footage showed only four.
There are suspicions that four bodies recently found in the ruins of the mall were terrorists, but that is still to be proved.
Explaining the command chaos in the operation, Mr Kimaiyo claimed that he was consulted about the rescue mission.
“It was a joint effort, and we clearly agreed on how to conduct it,” Mr Kimaiyo claimed.
Turning his guns on the media, the Inspector-General said: “We know very well that every person or organisation has the right to freedom of expression, but this freedom does not extend to advocacy of hatred or propaganda. Again, in the exercise of such rights, people should respect the reputation and rights of others.”
Mr Kimaiyo has had a slow start on the job, characterised by widely publicised fights with Police Service Commission boss Johnston Kavuludi.
Mr Kavuludi was involved in a dramatic incident earlier in the year when a human head was delivered to his office.
German and French accusations that the United States has run spying operations in their countries, including possibly bugging Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone, are likely to dominate a meeting of EU leaders starting on Thursday.
The two-day Brussels summit, called to tackle a range of social and economic issues, will now be overshadowed by debate on how to respond to the alleged espionage by Washington against two of its closest European Union allies.
For Germany the issue is particularly sensitive. Not only does the government say it has evidence the chancellor’s personal phone was monitored, but the very idea of bugging dredges up memories of eavesdropping by the Stasi secret police in the former East Germany, where Merkel grew up.
Following leaks by data analyst Edward Snowden, which revealed the reach of the U.S. National Security Agency’s vast data-monitoring programs, Washington finds itself at odds with a host of important allies, from Brazil to Saudi Arabia.
In an unusually strongly worded statement on Wednesday evening, Merkel’s spokesman said the chancellor had spoken to President Barack Obama to seek clarity on the spying charges.
“She made clear that she views such practices, if proven true, as completely unacceptable and condemns them unequivocally,” the statement read.
White House spokesman Jan Carney said Obama had assured Merkel that the United States “is not monitoring and will not monitor” the chancellor’s communications, leaving open the possibility that it had happened in the past.
A White House official declined to say whether Merkel’s phone had previously been bugged. “I’m not in a position to comment publicly on every specific alleged intelligence activity,” the official said.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has summoned the U.S. ambassador to Berlin to discuss the issue.
Germany’s frustration follows outrage in France since Le Monde newspaper reported the NSA had collected tens of thousands of French phone records between December 2012 and January 2013.
President Francois Hollande has made clear he plans to put the spying issue on the summit agenda, although it is not clear what that will ultimately achieve.
While Berlin and Paris are likely to find sympathy among many of the EU’s 28 member states, domestic security issues are not a competence of the European Union. The best that may be hoped for is an expression of support from leaders and calls for a full explanation from the United States.
“Between friends, there must be trust. It has been shaken. We expect answers from Americans quickly,” European commissioner for financial regulation Michel Barnier, a Frenchman, said in a message on Twitter.
DATA PRIVACY RULES
The furor over the alleged espionage could encourage member states to back tougher data privacy rules currently being drafted by the European Union. The European Parliament this week approved an amended package of legislation that would overhaul EU data protection rules that date from 1995.
The new rules would restrict how data collected in Europe by firms such as Google and Facebook is shared with non-EU countries, introduce the right of EU citizens to request that their digital traces be erased, and impose fines of 100 million euros ($138 million) or more on rule breakers.
The United States is concerned that the regulations, if they enter into law, will raise the cost of doing business and handling data in Europe. Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and others have lobbied hard against the proposals.
Given the spying accusations, France and Germany – the two most influential countries in EU policy – may succeed in getting member states to push ahead on negotiations with the parliament to complete the data regulations and make them tougher.
That could mean an agreement is reached early next year, with the laws possibly coming into force in 2015. For the United States, this could substantially change how data privacy rules are implemented globally.
It may also complicate relations between the United States and the EU over an agreement to share a large amount of data collected via Swift, the international system used for transferring money electronically, which is based in Europe.
Among the revelations from Snowden’s leaks is that the United States may have violated the Swift agreement, accessing more data than it was allowed to.
The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to suspended Swift and the spying accusations may make EU member states support a firm line, complicating the United States’ ability to collect data it says is critical in combating terrorism.
Despite the outrage in Paris and Berlin, the former head of France’s secret services said the issue was being blown out of proportion and no one should be surprised by U.S. spying.
“I’m bewildered by such worrying naivite. You’d think the politicians don’t read the reports they’re sent – there shouldn’t be any surprise,” Bernard Squarcini told Le Figaro.
“The agencies know perfectly well that every country, even when they cooperate on anti-terrorism, spies on its allies. The Americans spy on us on the commercial and industrial level like we spy on them, because it’s in the national interest to defend our businesses. No one is fooled.”
(Writing by Luke Baker; additional reporting by Madeline Chambers and Noah Barkin in Berlin and Alexandria Sage in Paris; editing by David Stamp)
Thursday October 24, 2013 – US President, Barrack Obama, on Wednesday differed with his “cousin”, Raila Odinga, by saying President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto were democratically elected during the March 4th elections.
Through statement dispatched by US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Linda Greenfield, on Wednesday, Obama said he is aware of Uhuru and Ruto’s case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) saying his government will support the deferral of the cases to allow the two leaders perform their constitutional duties to Kenyans.
“We are aware of the Kenyans’ concerns over the ICC issue and we are in talks with the Kenyan Government,” Greenfield said.
Greenfield said though the US wants justice for victims of the 2007-08 post election violence, Uhuru was voted in democratically in the March 4th general election presenting a rare scenario where a serving President was a suspect in a ICC trial.
The secretary said terrorists usually take advantage when there is a power vacuum and such a situation would not be allowed to befall on Kenya.
Obama’s statement is in total reversal of the hardline stance taken by former US Assistant Secretary of State, Johnnie Carson, who cautioned that the election of Uhuru and William Ruto on March 4th would bear “consequences”.
The US Head of State also differed with Raila Odinga who has been running all over the world saying Uhuru and Ruto were not democratically elected.
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Why should we not all live in peace and harmony ? we look up the same stars , we are fellow passengers on the same planet and dwell beneath the same sky , what matters it along which road each individual endeavours to reach the ultimate truth ? the riddle of existence is too great that there should be only one road leading us to an answer *
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The recent reports emerging from Muhoroni Sub-County within Kisumu COUNTY are pointing out the alarmingly deteriorating security along the Nyanza-Rift Valley border. Several people have lost their lives within the last two months as the result o senseless and attacks by criminal elements.
Nyanza regional commissioner Franciis Mutie toured Cgehelil Location last weekend and addressed series of public Barazas and urged the two communities, namely the Luos and Nandis to maintain peace and also warned squatters to desist from the bad habit of invading other people’s lands, occupying them. Mutie did not mince his words and told the squatters that the government will kick them out of the land they were currently occupying illegally.
The first incident was the killing of a night guard at the palatial home of MR Arjit SINGH Singyh [Simba} and his family. They had travelled to Makinndu for religious pilgrimage when the attack took place, forcing the family to rush back home. The night guard was shot at close range with a powerful rifle and died instantly. The unknown assailants later ransacked Mr Singh house turning everything upside down.
So far no arrest has been made by police in connection with the killing of the night guard. Local observers believes that the killing was the result of business rivalry, which is suspected to be connected with the scramble for the Miwani Sugar Mills and its 900 nucleus estate farm. He company was run-down and went burst about 15 years ago.
Muhoroni MP James O nyango K’Oyoo has appealed to the Luos AND Nandis communities to live in harmony.
The MP also termed the action of one community invading the farms which belonging to their neighbors as an act of high provocation, saying that respecting one another property was the best component of maintaining peace and tranquility along the tribal common borders.
The MP’S complaint came in the wake of the killing two weeks ago of a prominent LUO businessman and a farmer who was shot with an arrow at Chepsweta area of Chemelili Location. The deceased, who was accompanied by his sibling, had gone to inspect his sugar cane farm when they were attacked by the Nandi youths. His brother sustained serious bodily injuries and was treated at the Chemelil sugar company dispensary and discharged. YOUTHS FROM THE luo side of the border had grouped to dtsgr rotation, but were restrained and dispersed by the police.
K’Oyoo has since raised the issue in parliament an urged the Nandi leaders to top inciting the youths.
Lawyers from East Africa will converge in Nairobi to deliberate regional constitutional and governance reforms this week.
East Africa Law Society (EALS) President Mr. James Mwamu said that States in the region are experiencing reforms in the wake of electoral cycles.
“East Africa partner States are experiencing constitutional and governance reforms amidst mismatching limitations in democratic practices,” Mr. Mwamu said.
The Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Mr. Isaak Hassan will officially open the two day seminar on Thursday (October 24th) at Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi.
The EALS President said that other participants include facilitators from the EAC secretariat, the East African Legislative Assembly and Judges from Regional and National Courts.
“National Ministries in charge of EAC Affairs, EALS, Media practitioners, seasoned and accomplished legal practitioners and scholars will be present,” Mwamu said.
The theme of the seminar is “Inclusive and Participatory Electoral Processes; the Role of the National Law Society”.
The EALS President said that there was reducing respect for civil liberties and under resourced political institutions.
“Upcoming electoral cycles in the region from 2015 to 2017 have compelled the legal profession to deliberate ways of ensuring electoral systems and processes are credible,” Mwamu said.
The EALS President said that there should be legal avenues citizens’ population to select and hold their elected leaders to account.
“The objectives of the seminar include building a critical mass of lawyers actively engaged in ensuring participatory and inclusive electoral processes within EAC partner States,” Mwamu said.
He said that lawyers from the region also seek to strengthen the capacity and voice of the profession to foster adherence to democratic principles by the EAC partner States.
“We need to share best practices on the management and conduct of electoral processes across East Africa by the legal profession, including the development of an Election Monitoring and Observation Manual for Law Societies,” Mwamu said.
The EALS works to enhance the rule of law, human rights and good governance with a view to promoting sustainable social and economic development and enjoys formal Observer Status with the EAC and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Date: Wed, Oct 23, 2013 at 7:00 AM
Subject: LSK
To: jaluo; jaluo@jaluo.com
By Agwanda Saye
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has commenced the process of electing new officials in polls on a date to be announced.
LSK Secretary/CEO Mr. Apollo Mboya said that Advocates with valid practising certificates would elect a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Council and Members of the Disciplinary Committee.
“We have sent a notice to 9,791 Advocates countrywide to nominate candidates for the said elections,” Mr. Mboya said. The LSK elects new officials after every two years.
Mr. Eric Kyalo Mutua is the current Chairman while Ms. Lilian Renee Omondi is the Vice Chairperson.
The other Council Members include Mr. James Mwamu, Mr. Godfrey Kitiwa, Ms. Caroline Khasoa, Ms. Grace Okumu, Mr. Allen Gichuhi and Ms. Faith Waigwa.
Others are Mr. Ambrose Weda, Mr. Charles Kanjama, Ms. Judith Sijeny and Ms. Gertrude Angote.
The CEO said that the notice that sets the ground for elections is in line with Regulation 12 of the LSK (General) Regulations 1962.
Mr. Mboya said that there are four vacancies in the Disciplinary Committee (DC) following the appointment of Mr. Beauttah Siganga and Ms. Naomi Wagereka as Advocates Complaints Commissioners.
“Mr. Ambrose Weda is retiring and opted not to vie while Ms. Dorcas Kitaa is retiring but will defend her position,” Mr. Mboya said.
The CEO said that the qualification for election as Chairperson and Vice Chairperson is Membership of the current Council.
“Qualification for election as Council Member is to be a Member of the LSK while the DC requires Membership and at least 10 years as an Advocate of good standing,” Mr. Mboya said.
The CEO said that each candidate must be nominated in an official nomination paper by two nominators who are LSK Members with valid Practicing Certificates.
“Every nomination paper must be signed by both nominators and refer to one candidate whose consent must be given in writing,” Mr. Mboya said.
The CEO said that separate nomination papers have been provided in respect to the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Council and Disciplinary Committee.
“The completed nomination papers must be returned to the LSK Secretary not later than 5pm on November 15, 2013,” Mr. Mboya said.
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013
On Friday November 1, 2013 will be the Solemnity of all Saints Day, the day on which Catholics celebrate all the saints, known and unknown. The date of November 1 was instituted by Pope Gregory III (731-741), when he consecrated a chapel to all the martyrs in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and ordered an annual celebration. All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation.
The first reading is taken from Rv 7:2-4, 9-14, second reading from 1 Jn 3:1-3 and the Gospel from Mt 5:1-12a. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
If I were to make Saints in Kenya then Anglican Bishop Alexander Muge would be one of them. He was one of the most prominent reformers who lost his life at age forty two. He was among the champions who vigorously campaigned for multiparty democracy in Kenya.
He wanted the government where the president respected the rule of law. He believed that anyone who had been given authority, they should exercise that authority in a just and fair manner. He went on to tell President Daniel arap Moi to his face in public that he would be with him if he did right before men and God but he would not stand by him if he did wrong.
No matter how much he would pray to God to guide Moi in whatever decision he made, he always made a wrong one. He also challenged the church that they had nothing to lecture Kenyans about since it was filled with tribalism nepotism and all forms of isms.
Muge worked hard to alleviate the suffering of the poor and guided his followers to live in harmony as they endured suffering caused by government of Moi. Muge himself lived a humble life. Despite receiving millions from donors he took a loan to build his house and drove the Peugeot he died in.
Muge died on August 14, 1990 in a road accident at Kipkaren, Uasin Gishu County, on his way back from Busia. His death sparked controversy after it was alleged that he had been warned by a former Labour minister Peter Okondo not to set foot in Busia. Muge defied the threat and travelled to but crashed on his way back.
According to former member of Kenya’s Directorate of State Intelligence – the Special Branch, Inspector James Lando Khwatenge, Bishop Muge’s accident was planned by the government of Moi.
Khwatenge told Truth Justice & Reconciliation Commission in March last year that the urder was planned by the security services as “Operation Shika Msumari”.
Prior to his death bishop Muge had urged President Moi to dissolve parliament, convene a national constitutional conference and hold free and fair elections. Large-scale political demonstrations erupted in July 1990 when Moi began detaining most vocal critics, charging them with sedition.
My next Saint is a Mill Hill Missionary Fr John Anthony Kaiser. He had devoted 36 years of his life as a human rights worker and a catalyst for social ministry in Kenya. He advocated for social justice in a country that despite of gaining independence in 1963 poverty was still rampant-Corruption, abuse of power and economic crime.
Father Kaiser did not only live and worked in solidarity with the rural poor, when ethnic unrest in the Rift Valley threatened to fragment the nation during the early 1990s, Father Kaiser openly spoke out against the government for its role in stoking the tensions.
The night he died, Father Kaiser was en route to give sanctuary to another of his flock.
A young girl in his parish had been raped and impregnated by a government official, and he was on his way to get her out of a lodge where she was being forcibly held. Among his most dearly held roles as a pastor was to continually advocate for and work toward safety and respect for women.
Father Kaiser, driving alone through the Rift Valley, was found dead at the side of the road, his body found near his truck and his gun lying nearby. The FBI investigation into his death, released several days after Easter, concluded that Father Kaiser’s death was probably a suicide.
According to FBI report, Fr. Kaiser could have killed himself because of depression which intensified immediately the papal Nucio had summoned him. He met the Nuncio on August 22, 2000.
On August 23, 2000, he bade goodbye to almost all of his friends. When he arrived at the bishop’s residence later that evening, he was informed by Fr. Mwangi Francis that Sister Nuala had telephoned him. In return he told Fr. Mwangi to thank her for the good work she had done.
This looked strange to Fr. Mwangi because he used past tense expressions. Sister Brangan Nuala is a Loreto sister who working for peace and justice for the Association of Religious Women in Nairobi at that time.
He had informed his parishioners that he was going on a long journey and he was not sure he would come back. At this time he had already received the summon to appear before the Nuncio through his regional superior, Fr Cornelius Schilder who later became the Bishop of Ngong.
The report further revealed that he announced to colleagues that he had not slept in three days since he received the sermon to see the nuncio. He appeared solemn, worried and withdrawn. He was observed weeping at a group lunch.
On August 23, 2000, at 8.30 pm, Fr. Kaiser drove from bishop’s residence to Kiambu for unknown reason. Local residence observed him standing on a knoll, holding shotgun in both hands.
On August 23, 2000, at 11.30 pm Fr. Kaiser arrived at Naivasha gas station and did not fuel his car even though he had some money with him. The reported added that Fr. Kaiser was alone in Naivasha and that there was no other vehicle apart from his.
On August 24, 2000, between midnight and 2.00 am, a night watchman in the vicinity of where Fr. Kaiser’s body was found, repeatedly saw and heard a vehicle similar to Fr. Kaiser’s truck, driving on a near by access road.
At about 2.30 am, the same watchman heard a loud noise, similar to a shotgun blast coming from the direction where Fr. Kaiser’s body was later found.
Fr Cornelius Schilder had secretly advised him to leave Kenya. He had seen Fr Kaiser as going astray to his mission by involving himself into human rights, a movement Fr Schilder did not welcome. In 1994 they were working secretly to deport him when his work permit had expired, a move he objected vigorously.
The reason why Fr Kaiser refused to go home was because he so loved the people he worked for so much. For him it was rather to die than leaving his flock, especially the IDPs at at Maela camps.
He was a priest who did not shut his eyes to wrongdoing nor lose his voice in the face of injustice. Fr Kaiser had the “remarkable ability to recognise evil for what it was”. Father Kaiser gained prominence in Kenya as an advocate for thousands of people who had their land and property summarily taken.
In working directly with IDPs he gathered and publicly presented documentation that connected this land grabbing to highly placed government officials. Testifying before a special Kenya government commission, Father Kaiser accused two Cabinet ministers of promoting tribal clashes and seizing land vacated during the fighting.
Father Bill Vos, director of the St. Cloud Catholic Mission Office, was a close personal friend of Father Kaiser’s. “When I received word early Thursday morning of John Kaiser’s death, I was not surprised,” said Father Vos.
“I knew his life was in jeopardy and had shared with him on more than one occasion about the very real possibility that he would be killed. He knew that by implicating some of the most powerful people in Kenya in serious human rights abuses he was putting his life in danger.” Father Vos had served in east Africa for 19 years.
The next Saint in this category is Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya (15 August 1930 – 5 July 1969), a Kenyan politician during Jomo Kenyatta’s government. He was founder of the Nairobi People’s Congress Party, a key figure in the formation of the Kenya African National Union (KANU), and the Minister of Economic Planning and Development at the time of his death.
Mboya was assassinated on 5 July 1969 in Nairobi, Moi Avenue. At the time Mboya was killed he had been widely viewed as the most obvious successor to former President Jomo Kenyatta. He was gunned down by Nahashon Isaac Njenga Njoroge.
Mboya was educated at various Catholic mission schools. In 1942, he joined a Catholic Secondary School in Yala, in Nyanza province, St Mary’s School Yala. In 1946, he went to the Holy Ghost College (later Mang’u High Scholl), where he passed well enough to proceed to do his Cambridge School Certificate.
In 1959 Mboya organized the Airlift Africa project, together with the African-American Students Foundation in the United States, through which 81 Kenyan students were flown to the U.S. to study at U.S. universities. Barrack Obama’s father, Barrack Obama, Sr was among students he airlifted.
The next is Josiah Mwangi Kariuki (March 21, 1929–March 2, 1975), a Kenyan socialist politician during the administration of the Jomo Kenyatta government. He was assassinated in March 2, 1975 by people close to the Kenyatta government.
From the onset of independence in 1963, JM constantly warned those that seemed to have acquired a new disease of ‘grabbing’ thousands of acres of land while the majority of Kenyans remained landless.
“This is greed,” he thundered in Parliament in March 1974, one year before he was assassinated. “It is this greed that will put this country into chaos. Let me state here that this greedy attitude among the leaders is going to ruin this country.”
JM specifically warned privileged elites from Central Province who were taking advantage of their positions to buy up land cheaply from other communities.
“They have even gone as far as Maasailand, saying that they are doing an experiment whereas the whole Masailand has been taken by those greedy people.”
His insight into the creeping inequality in the country acquired a prophetic tone when he warned that if we were not careful, the Kenya would become a country on “ten millionaires and ten million beggars”.
JM indeed was a friend of the poor with his call to the government to create
policies that empowered Kenyans. He used his wealth towards the empowerment of Kenyans.
My last Saint in this category is Prof Wangari Maathai (1940-2011), the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, a rural area of Kenya (Africa), in 1940. She obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964), a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966), and pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, before obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi, where she also taught veterinary anatomy.
The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region.
Professor Maathai represented the Tetu constituency in Kenya’s parliament (2002–2007), and served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in Kenya’s ninth parliament (2003–2007). In 2005, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador to the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem by the eleven Heads of State in the Congo region.
Some Kenyans viewed her move to campaign for Mwai Kibaki’s presidency as tribal. Professor Maathai died on 25 September 2011 at the age of 71 after a battle with ovarian cancer. Memorial ceremonies were held in Kenya, New York, San Francisco, and London.
Maathai and her husband, Mwangi Mathai, separated in 1977. After a lengthy separation, Mwangi filed for divorce in 1979. Mwangi was said to have believed Wangari was “too strong-minded for a woman” and that he was “unable to control her”.
In addition to naming her as “cruel” in court filings, he publicly accused her of adultery with another Member of Parliament, which in turn was thought to cause his high blood pressure and the judge ruled in Mwangi’s favour.
Shortly after the trial, in an interview with Viva magazine, Maathai referred to the judge as either incompetent or corrupt. The interview later led the judge to charge Maathai with contempt of court. She was found guilty and sentenced to six months in jail.
After three days in Lang’ata Women’s Prison in Nairobi, her lawyer formulated a statement which the court found sufficient for her release. Shortly after the divorce, her former husband sent a letter via his lawyer demanding that Maathai drop his surname.
In the latter half of the 1980s, the Kenyan government came down against Maathai and the Green Belt Movement. The single-party democracy opposed many of the positions the movement held regarding democratic rights.
In October 1989, Maathai learned of a plan to construct the 60-story Kenya Times Media Trust Complex in Uhuru Park. The complex was intended to house the headquarters of KANU, the Kenya Times newspaper, a trading centre, offices, an auditorium, galleries, shopping malls, and parking space for two thousand cars.
The plan also included a large statue of President arap Moi. Maathai wrote many letters in protest to, among others, the Kenya Times, the Office of the President, the Nairobi city commission, the provincial commissioner, the minister for environment and natural resources, the executive directors of UNEP and the Environment Liaison Centre International, the executive director of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the ministry of public works, and the permanent secretary in the department of international security and administration all received letters.
She wrote to Sir John Johnson, the British high commissioner in Nairobi, urging him to intervene with Robert Maxwell, a major shareholder in the project, equating the construction of a tower in Uhuru Park to such construction in Hyde Park or Central Park and maintaining that it could not be tolerated.
The government refused to respond to her inquiries and protests, instead responding through the media that Maathai was “a crazy woman”; that denying the project in Uhuru Park would take more than a small portion of public park land; and proclaiming the project as a “fine and magnificent work of architecture” opposed by only the “ignorant few.”
On 8 November 1989, Parliament expressed outrage at Maathai’s actions, complaining of her letters to foreign organizations and calling the Green Belt Movement a bogus organization and its members “a bunch of divorcees”. They suggested that if Maathai was so comfortable writing to Europeans, perhaps she should go live in Europe.
Despite Maathai’s protests, as well as popular protest growing throughout the city, ground was broken at Uhuru Park for construction of the complex on 15 November 1989. Maathai sought an injunction in the Kenya High Court to halt construction, but the case was thrown out on 11 December.
In his first public comments pertaining to the project, President Daniel arap Moi stated that those who opposed the project had “insects in their heads”. On 12 December, in Uhuru Park, during a speech celebrating independence from the British, President Moi suggested Maathai be a proper woman in the African tradition and respect men and be quiet.
She was forced by the government to vacate her office, and the Green Belt Movement was moved into her home. The government then audited the Green Belt Movement in an apparent attempt to shut it down. Despite all this, her protests, the government’s response – and the media coverage it garnered – led foreign investors to cancel the project in January 1990.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013
President Kenyatta used Mashujaa Day celebrations in Nairobi to hit out strongly at Western nations over the International Criminal Court indictments with his deputy, Mr William Ruto delivering a similar message at a gathering with Kenyans in Brussels, Belgium, where Kenyans in Europe met to mark the national holiday.
Mr Kenyatta called on Kenyans to reject all forms of domination and manipulation by foreign forces. If Uhuru was very serious then he should be the first to reject imperialist judge who represents him at The Hague.
It means that we cannot trust our own that is why his deputy Ruto has also opted for imperialist judge. That is why even in football we cannot trust our own coach but imperialist. Imperialists still have a big role to play in Kenya.
This is not to forget that even after independence Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was still the champion of western imperialism. It is his leadership that deflated the Mau Mau vision of ‘land and freedom’ when upon taking over power he changed, and like imperialists he grabbed the land.
That is why since 1963 Kenya has remained a neo-colony. Kenyan economy, from the agricultural, industrial to the service sectors, is more than seventy percent controlled by foreign capital. You cannot determine the price of your own Tea, Coffee name them, unless it is done by imperialist.
That is why peasant farmers in Migori and Meru, still grow tobacco that is owned by BAT and peasant tea and coffee farmers in Murang’a, Kisii, Meru or Mogogosiek produce tea for export with less than ten percent being sold at factory gates. We produce for Europe and consume from Europe and now China.
Our cases are to be heard by imperialists because of impunity which has in fact fuelled deep inequalities in Kenya. Inequalities, impunity and institutional capture of the state is what produces resentment and intolerance that is at the heart of the many conflicts and hate that is rife in Kenya today. It is the cause of tribalism and nepotism, so the abuse of power.
Even civil society in Kenya like the one I worked for the last 13 years cannot do without imperialists. Without their money you cannot walk on the street or carry pigs to the parliament buildings.
Should they stop their money FIDA will close its door the following day, so do other organizations which solely depend on imperialists for their movements and salaries. In other words, if Kenya was truly independent then it is first to pull out from NGOs as agents of imperialism.
Surprisingly, imperialism did not cause as much violence in Kenya as it is today. Kenya still has a lot of poverty as a result. When Westgate terror attack demolished this false sense of security in the country, imperialists had to come in.
It explains why the terrorists who lay siege on Westgate took advantage of the fact that the Kenyan state has been captured by liars, thieves, murderers, money launderers and druglords.
But even to pull out from Rome Statue Kenya is still to rely on imperialists. That is why the President dispatched Cabinet secretaries Amina Mohamed (Foreign Affairs), Najib Balala (Mining) and Fred Matiang’i (Information) to the Czech Republic, China and Russia respectively to lobby members of the UN Security Council who have veto powers to consider Kenya’s cases positively and defer his case.
The three Cabinet secretaries were sent on the diplomatic mission a few days after a special AU Summit in Ethiopia called on the UN Security Council to defer Mr Kenyatta’s trial.
Although the Council is expected to sit before his case opens on November 12, they have already hinted that this is not going to be possible because criminality does not favour anyone, whether you are the present or not.
It is again why Uhuru is in dilemma whether to attend the ICC cases even after the AU leaders have categorically asked him not to attend the case if the Council would not have given a position on the Kenya trials before November 12.
Yet still, after independence corruption is till rampant in Kenya. There is still bad governance, lack of political will, tribalism, faviouritism, nepotism and cronyism, weak or absence of management systems.
Misuse of discretionary power vested I individuals or offices, lack of professional integrity, lack of transparency and accountability, inefficient public sector and greed- Poor infrastructure, and increased cost of goods and services.
Shoddy work and stalled projects, poor medial services (e.g. lack of medicine and doctors), beds, running water, food- Unemployment, rise in crime rate and insecurity, delay denial and sale of justice in our public land, property and utilities.
Yet again, Kenya’s old guard associated with the culture of impunity continues to resist fundamental change in Kenya. This has hindered the efforts of reform. This is because most of the political and economic elite compose the vested interests that benefit from and support impunity and the lack of accountability with respect to governance, state resources, and the rule of law.
Against the background that bringing about implementation of the reform agenda poses a large challenge because doing so threatens the culture of impunity and the entrenched political class that has existed in Kenya since independence.
Those associated with the culture of impunity are working hard to limit the impact of steps taken so that they do not lead to truly fundamental reform that would threaten vested interests.
It will not be correct therefore to blame the colonial government that they stole the Kenyan people’s land, starved them and then blamed them for not feeding their children properly. Instead we should blame ourselves.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002
The inspiration behind the recent launch of Constitute, a new application for lawmakers and those aspiring to draft their first constitution, are cases like Egypt, fresh from a revolution and still grappling with political unrest. It is a platform created by the Comparative Constitutions Project in partnership with Google Ideas and is a tool to “read, search and compare” constitutions from over 170 countries.
“Most people who are drafting constitutions have never done so before and hope to never have to do it again,” the project’s co-director, Tom Ginsburg, told Foreign Policy. “We seek to empower both potential constitutional drafters and their citizens, so as to better inform the choices they will have to make to establish and preserve lasting national constitutions. With Google’s help, we’ve been able to do just that.”
The website allows users to filter for constitutions by country and the 300+ topics, as well as utilize a search function that shows suggested topics while searching.
For example, a search for “abortion” turns up only two countries that have written it into their constitutions. The 2012 Somalian constitution only says that abortion “is contrary to Shari’ah and is prohibited except in cases of necessity, especially to save the life of the mother.” Swaziland’s 2005 constitution has a conflicted notion of abortion, decreeing it “unlawful but may be allowed.”
In my Star column this weekend Pursuing ICC Cases At The Hague Is Counter-Productive, I continue to make the case why the ICC cases should be terminated or at least brought back home.
Excerpt
This is precisely where we are, namely, given the fast unraveling of the cases against the original Ocampo Six, given the unlikelihood of conviction for either Uhuru or Ruto going by the crumbling of these cases, given the prospect for finding a local solution, and especially given the need to maintain our dignity and stature as a sovereign state, it’s in the best interests for our country to either terminate or defer these cases to find a local solution.
Contrast with a scenario where the President ceases cooperating with the ICC and even has our country withdraw from the Rome Statute and we are made a pariah state as a consequence.
Those clamouring for this outcome hope it would be the undoing of the Uhuru presidency but they are mistaken.
Were Kenya to become a pariah state, it is not the President or his administration that would mostly suffer the consequences but ordinary Kenyans as well as foreign interests in the country neither of whom wish or would want to suffer such.
It’s for this reason it makes sense to either terminate these cases or defer them to allow a local solution for doing otherwise would in all likelihood result in far graver consequences for all.
Peace, Unity and Truth
Omwenga
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Kenyan communities which are living along the shorelines of Lake Victoria have raised complaints about the alarming increase in cases whereby unscrupulous fishermen are reportedly using dangerous chemicals which are killing thousands of fish species at the same time causing high risk of health hazards to the consumers.
Reports reaching us from low lying locations along the lake’s shorelines, especially in the Nyanza Gulf says that owing to the laxity and complacency on the part of, and lack of effective patrol of, the lake by the officials of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Fisheries Department, there is a sharp increases in the use of dangerous chemicals such as snide and other poisonous chemicals by unscrupulous fishermen.
Experts have said that poisonous chemicals are now being used excessively by unscrupulous fishermen in their concerted effort to enhance catches. Any adverse publicity in the media, particularly in those countries which are currently importing lake Victoria fish could put into jeopardy the booming trade in fish commodity. This is what once happened to the neighboring Uganda some years back when EU and other importers stopped their fish import from that country following allegation about chemical fishing. Kenya and Uganda shared Lake Victoria.
THe regions most affected by the latest incidences of chemical fishing included parts of Suba, Rarieda and Bondo sub-counties.
In Uyoma West Location, the local fisherman had ganged themselves and beat one of them who Was caught red handed using chemical whioef9ishng during the dead hour of the night
Fisherman are also reported to be working in total defiance against the laid down fishing regulations by Way of using unauthorized fishing nets and fish unlawful fishing gears
The Ministry has posted fish scouts at the various points within the lake, but the officials are said to be Corruptly sleeping on their jobs and having been compromised by the unscrupulous fishermen.
Chemical fishing is also said to be so rampant in the two major fishing islands of Rusinga and Mfangano.The practice is slowly spreading into other fishing locations in Karungu and Kadem within Nyatike sub-county of Migori, Gwassi and Kaksingiri areas.
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2013
Regina from Busia, Kenya writes: “Father Beste what is your take on resolutions by the African Union that President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto should not appear before ICC because no charges should be commenced or continued before any international court or tribunal against any serving Head of State or Government or anybody acting or entitled to act in such capacity during their term of office?”
Thank you Regina for this important question- I am sure where President Uhuru Kenyatta is now he is increasingly under pressure to skip his November 12 trial for crimes against humanity at the ICC because he knows very well that Article 27 of Rome Statute on irrelevance of official capacity does not favour anybody.
The article states:
1. This Statute shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on official capacity. In particular, official capacity as a Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representative or a government official shall in no case exempt a person from criminal responsibility under this Statute, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitute a ground for reduction of sentence.
2. Immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.
Against the background that renowned human rights lawyer and former Imenti Central Member of Parliament, Gitobu Imanyara, has cautioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to trade carefully with the African Union (AU), because they are misleading him and would land Kenya in a ditch.
On his Twitter account, Imanyara advised President Uhuru Kenyatta not to heed to the AU advice to snub his trials at The Hague, saying it is the Kenyan people who will suffer if he fails to show up at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The AU head of States, most of whom should even be at The Hague right now on charges of economic and war crimes are now using force that Uhuru and Ruto should boycott ICC hearings because their first attempt to ask the ICC security council to defer their cases in Kenya or Arusha, Tanzania was rejected.
Some of these African head of States who have been rigging their elections to impose their dictatorial leadership and harvest where they have not sown have even threatened to withdraw from the Rome Statute.
The Kenyan parliament voted on 5 September 2013 to back a call for government to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), thinking this would automatically bar Uhuru and Ruto from attending the ICC cases.
This action by Kenya was a first step in an effort to mobilise other African countries that are states parties to the Rome Statute to follow suite and withdraw from the ICC.
The challenge here is that, according to the Rome Statute, a withdrawal can only take effect after one year after receipt of notification. It further provides that a ‘State shall not be discharged by reason of withdrawal from its obligations arising from while it was a Party.
This means that the ICC is compelled to continue the cases against Kenyatta and Ruto, despite Kenya’s withdrawal.
It also means that if Kenyatta and Ruto fail to cooperate, the ICC will have to issue a warrant of arrest against them. All ICC member states, including those that may chose to withdraw from the Rome Statute, will still be legally obliged to cooperate with the court on the Kenyatta and Ruto cases.
It explains why Kenyatta should plan his next move with care. In other words, Kenyatta should continue to cooperate with the ICC. Furthermore Kenya must remain in the Rome Statute because it is the only trust Kenyans have in ending impunity and further abuses.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002
From: Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard – African Press Organization
Subject: Opinion Piece: International Criminal Court – African Union: Op-ed from the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute
OPINION PIECE
International Criminal Court – African Union: Op-ed from the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute
THE HAGUE, Netherland, October 11, 2013/ — Op-ed from the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute:
Annual session of States Parties to the Statute of the International Criminal Court is a venue for all States Parties
Recently, the International Criminal Court has been in the spotlight of the international stage. This Court is an independent judicial institution that States collectively established by agreeing to its founding document, the Rome Statute, in 1998. The Statute constitutes the legal framework within which the Court works. The Rome Statute system is a major achievement of the whole international community. Hence, the significance of this Court extends far beyond one case, one situation, or one region. All members of the international community should bear this in mind when discussing the current circumstances surrounding the work of the Court.
Logo ICC: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/cpi-1.jpg
Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/fep_7255-1.jpg (Ambassador Tiina Intelmann is the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court)
Currently 122 States have adhered to the Rome Statute; through their accession to the Statute they have voluntarily placed themselves under the jurisdiction of the Court. Together, these 122 States are responsible for the Rome Statute system, and together they constitute the Assembly of States Parties, where each one of them is equally represented and enjoys the same rights. The Assembly carries out essential functions for the overall Rome Statute system and constantly evaluates how to improve and refine it. The Assembly provides a forum to exchange views on issues of concern to States, to consider amendments to the Court’s legal framework, to discuss how to enhance the capacity of national judicial mechanisms and assistance to victims, and much more. Indeed, the place of the Court in the overall Rome Statute system is to be the court of last resort, to get involved only when domestic avenues fail. It is by no mistake that we constantly stress the importance of the whole Rome Statue system and not the Court alone.
As a rule, the Assembly holds one regular session each year. This year is no exception: we will convene in The Hague, The Netherlands, from 20 – 28 November 2013. In light of the challenges that the Court has faced over the past year, many States Parties have expressed to me their wish to engage and constructively address issues of concern with other States Parties.
For these discussions to be truly comprehensive, it is essential for all States Parties to be represented and ready to engage with one another. I hope that any meetings of the African Union or African States Parties prior to this year’s Assembly session will focus on consolidating suggestions and proposals for consideration by all States Parties at the Assembly session. Moreover, representatives of the African Union are also invited to partake during the Assembly, as they have been in the past. I encourage African States to reaffirm their commitment to the fight against impunity by engaging actively with all States Parties.
Ambassador Tiina Intelmann is the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (http://www.icc-cpi.int).
Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the International Criminal Court.
Who shall stop the next genocide with atrocities to end its snares in Africa if you and me do not act positively. Each and everyone with black skin must must know their lives are in danger and are at stake, and that, they must begin to act in their own ways they know how to make this world a better place for all.
A journey begins with one step and Bishop Tutu has opened the door. Sign up the petition, spread the word and support this mission for true justice to save the Great Lakes Region of Africa from spreading cancer of genocidal injustices and that life be with hope and of meaning again to the people of Africa.
God Bless Bishop Desmond Tutu………….and dont forget to Sing the petition and share…………..
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
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Bishop Desmond Tutu has issued a call to Support International Criminal Court
Written by: McCullough T. Jr.
Tags: African Union, Bishop Desmond Tutu, confront genocide, crimes against humanity, Darfur & Rwanda conflicts and killings, International Criminal Court, Kenya, Nigeria & South Africa, Sudan
Bishop Desmond Tutu has issued a call to action open letter to save a great institution of justice and prevent further bloodshed on the African Continent. He asks all people of good conscience and concern for human rights and their fellow man to join forces against this scourge of violence and evil.
From Desmond Tutu:
In just 2 days’ time, African leaders could kill off a great institution, leaving the world a more dangerous place.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the world’s first and only global court to adjudicate crimes against humanity. But leaders of Sudan and Kenya, who have inflicted terror and fear across their countries, are trying to drag Africa out of the ICC, allowing them the freedom to kill, rape, and inspire hatred without consequences. Their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court would cripple one of the world’s best hopes for confronting genocide and crimes against humanity.
I know that together we can change this. But we have to join hands and call on the voices of reason at the African Union (AU) – Nigeria and South Africa – to speak out and ensure that the persecuted are protected by the ICC. Join me by adding your name to the petition now and share it with everyone – when we have hit 1 million our petition will be delivered straight into the AU conference hall where Africa’s leaders are meeting in Addis Ababa.
In my years of work, life and travel, the fight for justice has been a long and arduous one. I have seen the very worst in Darfur and Rwanda, but also the very best with the reconciliation in South Africa. During this journey, I have seen great gains made that protect the weak from the strong and give us all hope. The ICC is one of these beacons of hope.I know that together we can preserve this.
This threat to the ICC started precisely because the court was doing its job. It charged Kenya’s Deputy President for killing people who rallied against him during an election and Sudan’s President for murdering women and children in Darfur. Now Kenya and Sudan are lobbying all of Africa to pull out of the court and destroy its chance of success.
Judge Panel at ICC
But in Darfur, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire and Kenya, the ICC has played a key role in bringing hope to those terrified by the armies, militias and madmen that have waged war against the innocent. It’s a light in the darkness that cannot be allowed to go out.
The main argument by some leaders with a guilty conscience is that the ICC is a Western witch-hunt as most of the investigations have happened in Africa. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. This was an institution that was created by 20 African countries, 5 of the court’s 18 judges are African and the chief prosecutor is African.
Friday is a key judgement day. Will our African leaders stand on the side of justice or injustice? With survivors and fallen victims or with tyrants and oppressors? This is the moment to choose.
I’ve seen some of the brightest moments in human history, moments where we together brought hope to so many. This is our chance to do that again, together.
Find the petition at: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/justice_for_africa_icc/?buvZsbb&v=30034
With hope and appreciation for this community,
Desmond Tutu
