Folks,

After Kibaki Meeting with former President Moi, Mr. Big “NO” Chief Obstructionist to The New Constitution, we can see the wind of change of heart blowing with activities that clearly shows. “Justice Delayed, is Justice denied” they are diverging from heading to the REFERENDUM just like Moi said, “There Will be Blood Shed at Referendum”. So he mean it? Moi has authority and power to change the course of “REFERENDUM”, knowing in a clear clean vote at Referendum ground, between “YES” and “NO” Moi with Cartels fear to loose.

We are all worried. WE URGENTLY NEED THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LEADERS TO STEP IN AND HELP KENYANS. THINGS ARE GETTING OUT OF HAND. THERE IS FEAR EVERYWHERE AND KENYA IS HEADED TO DESTRUCTION. In Plain Language, Kenya is going to Libya, the biggest bidder and buyer.

Also, as you see the trend of things and the change of heart in Wako, something was cooking and there is only one powerful person who could have ordered the alteration to the draft constitution, and equally who is making these big changes. It is the same man with powers to appoint Attorney General and National Intelligence State Security. Neither the Attorney General nor the NISS has the power to alter anything unless ordered to do so by their appointing bosses who is KIBAKI / MOI, the one wielding power.

That same appointing boss is fooling the world that he is pro-reform while in fact both Cardinal Njue and Cannon Karanja are fully behind the NO campaign on his behalf! He too cannot and will not allow Uhuru Kenyatta to release the money for the education of the civil society on the referendum. See last statement from Kibaki at the end. It is beyond him and he leaves the matter to GOD.

Impunity is indeed fighting back hard, and Kenya is going people.

Kofi Annan Team of Eminent leaders are being shoved away, African Union are doing nothing when Kalonzo at African Union meeting recently from Iran, came back boastfully, knowing they had charted a deal to kick Gracia Machel out of the African Union as part of the Team of Kofi Annan, this is un-acceptable. People, we must engage African Union members, they are serving personal interest at Tax-Payers expense. We are paying leaders to sell us out and take us to make-shift concentration camps because East Africa has been sold completely to Libya, no wonder Kalonzo went to represent Kenya to participate in Al-Bashirs re-election. Al-Bashir is a wanted man at the ICC and this shows they have a common deal to destroy us people. Are we going to sit and watch??????

Sad to say………

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

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Wako wants Kadhi court ruling quashed before referendum

By Evelyn Kwamboka

Attorney General Amos Wako wants an appeal challenging the High Court’s decision declaring Kadhi Courts unconstitutional heard before the referendum.

Wako has written to the High Court registrar seeking to be supplied with uncertified copies of the proceedings to enable him prepare the appeal.

“Kindly but urgently supply us uncertified copies of proceedings in this matter to enable us prepare a record of appeal. It will be prudent that a record of appeal be prepared and the appeal heard before the referendum,” he said.

The letter is dated May 26 and signed on his behalf by Senior Principal Litigation counsel, Mr Anthony Ombwayo.

The letter comes barely 24 hours after Wako filed a notice to appeal against the controversial judgment that has generated heated debate in the country.

In the judgment, Justice Joseph Nyamu, Roselyne Wendoh and Anyara Emukule declared Kadhi Courts illegal under the current constitution.

They also declared that the financial maintenance and support of Kadhi Courts from public coffers amounts to segregation, is sectarian, discriminatory, unjust and amounts to elevation of one religion against others.

The judges ruled that entrenching Kadhi courts in the constitution is contrary to the principle of separation of State and religion. They argued that it is contrary to the universal norms and principles of liberty and freedom of religion envisaged under the constitution.

Lawyer Harun Ndubi of HAKI Focus said there is need for the AG to make an application before Court of Appeal, seeking interim orders stopping execution of the judgment.

He said this is because the declarations by the three judges have put some of the cases pending before the Kadhi Courts in limbo.

“The cases are in limbo because if Chief Justice Evan Gicheru decides not to give the courts space, it would be difficult for them to operate,” he said.

Ndubi pointed out that the order on financial maintenance and support of the courts using public coffers would paralyse the courts’ operations if the Judiciary stops the funding.

The Judiciary might stop the funding to avoid queries from the Auditor General’s office based on the May 24 judgment.

Kadhi Courts deals with matters of marriage, inheritance, divorce and personal status for consenting Muslims only.

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Judges in the dock over Kadhi Courts

By Athman Amran, Cyrus Ombati and Harold Ayodo

The storm ignited by a court ruling Kadhis’ Courts are illegal has put the Judiciary in the dock of public opinion and made judges subject of upcoming debate in Parliament.

It has also brought into sharp focus Justice Joseph Nyamu who was among those who wrote the High Court’s judgement for a case that started in 2004, despite his having been elevated to the Court of Appeal.

Already the Attorney General who is the Government Legal Advisor has filed formal notice he would appeal against the ruling that has excited the ‘No’ camp, infuriated the ‘Yes’ side and elated Churches opposed to clauses on Kadhi courts in the Proposed Constitution.

The ruling on a suit by Christian clerics who opposed inclusion of the courts in the Constitution also focused attention on the division of the High Court that deals with constitutional issues. The division is called Constitutional and Judicial Review Division. It deals with suits against the Government and issues that deal with interpretation of the law.

This is the court division, that in a judgment read by Nyamu in 2008, gave an order seeking to temporarily shield the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) under Mr Samuel Kivuitu from disbandment by a resolution of Parliament.

Formal notice

Kivuitu’s team was then under attack over the 2007 election mess and violence set off by the electoral dispute. Today, President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity and Prime Minister Raila Odinga will hold a joint Parliamentary Group meeting to discuss the threat posed by the ruling by Justices Anyara Emukule, Roselyn Wendoh and Nyamu to the Proposed Constitution, which they officially support.

Wendoh and Emukule are members of the court division.

Raila and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka are out of the country but Kibaki is expected in the meeting at Kenyatta International Conference Centre alongside ‘Yes’ team heavyweights in Cabinet, including Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, Mr Henry Kosgei, Mr Mutula Kilonzo, Mr Kiraitu Murungi and Prof George Saitoti.

Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara revealed he filed a Motion for the House to discuss the ‘conduct’ of the three Judges and review the rulings they have made before Monday’s that inclusion of Kadhis’ Courts in the Constitution discriminated against non-Islamic faiths.

“I have filed a formal notice to have the conduct of the judges discussed in the National Assembly,” Imanyara revealed during a Press conference at Parliament Buildings.

Among issues Imanyara wants discussed is why the judges delayed giving judgement on the case, which was concluded over 14 months ago, and only released it this week, two months to the referendum on the Proposed Constitution.

He also urges the President to appoint a tribunal under section 62 of the Constitution to investigate the conduct of Justices Emukule, Wendoh and Nyamu.

He wants the matter discussed as soon as Parliament resumes its sittings next month. He said he would ask fellow MPs to review the “trend of judgments” made by the three judges in the past to see if they have been “unfair, biased or unpatriotic”.

An MP has filed a Motion in Parliament to debate the conduct of the three judges and has urged the President to appoint a tribunal under section 62 of the Constitution to investigate the conduct of Justices Nyamu, Wendoh and Emukule.

“The Judges should explain why they chose this particular time to give the judgement. Was the intention to sway public opinion in favour of the ‘No’ camp?” Imanyara asked.

He also wants Parliament to discuss the constitutionality of Justice Nyamu’s presiding role over a judgement in a High Court when he was promoted to the Court of Appeal.

There were also reports the country’s top security chiefs are set to meet today to among other things discuss the impact of the ruling.

Sources revealed there was a general feeling among the security chiefs the judgement was weighty and had a national security implication.

Matter of security

The meeting was first scheduled for Tuesday at the Office of the President, but according to the sources it was pushed to today to allow the security chiefs “to gauge the mood of the country”.

“You know what it means to touch on the Kadhi courts in this country and especially at this time of constitution-making. It is a security issue,” said a senior Government official.

Among those expected at today’s meeting are Internal Security PS Francis Kimemia, Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere, Director of National Security Intelligence Service Maj-Gen Michael Gichangi and Vice-Chief of General Staff Gen Julius Karangi.

Saitoti, who is the Internal Security Minister, is also expected. The officials are expected to review the security situation and brief the President.

Imanyara argued courts are not supposed to give orders in vain and wondered why judges went ahead with their ruling with knowledge their judgement would not effect any changes in Constitution.

“All the three judges were Christians yet they sat without any Muslim judge and gave a ruling on a matter that only affects Muslims thus giving a Christian perspective,” he argued.

“The proceedings were completed more than a year ago. The case was completed when Nyamu was still a High Court Judge. There was nowhere the case was listed for hearing since he was promoted,” Imanyara said.

Parliament would also question the legal basis on which the judges were “questioning constitutionality of a provision in the Constitution”.

“When they say a unconstitutional provision is unconstitutional, what Constitution do they have to measure against the current Constitution?” Imanyara, also a lawyer, asked.

“It was an inspired piece of political activism disguised as judicial wisdom. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land so Justice Nyamu and his two colleagues must tell us whether they have a secret Constitution that they referred to,” he said.

The Constitutional and Judicial Review Division deals with suits against the Government and issues on interpretation of the law.

The judgement on ECK read by Nyamu gave orders restricting AG and Parliament from undertaking any executive or legislative process to disband the ECK.

Speaker Kenneth Marende dismissed the ruling saying the Judiciary had no powers to silence Parliament. He argued the principle of separation of powers did not allow the Judiciary to interfere with the Legislature, which has law-making capacity while Chief Justice Evan Gicheru argued the Judiciary had powers to rule on any matter.

Court of Appeal

The powers of judges sitting in the division have also been subject of decisions by the Court of Appeal — the highest court in the country. In 2006, Court of Appeal Judges Riaga Omolo, Samuel Bosire and Onyango Otieno took issue with a ruling made by Justice Nyamu, who then headed the division. They said they wanted to set the record straight on the division Nyamu called “the Constitutional Court”

They were ruling on an appeal filed against a ruling delivered by Justice Nyamu on case No1382 of 2003 involving Peter Ng’ang’a Muiruri and Credit Bank Limited. The ruling is available on the Kenya law reports website.

They said Nyamu assumed he was sitting in a court that had supervisory powers over all other courts. “Justice Nyamu’s decision was based on the mistaken belief that the Constitution created a Constitutional Court with supervisory powers over other courts,” the judges said in their ruling.

They also said “the Constitutional Court” was non-existent saying the Constitution established the High Court, Magistrate, Kadhis’ and Court Martial. “It is our view that Justice Nyamu considered this issue to give him opportunity of answering his critics and popularise his view and powers of his jurisdiction,” they ruled. “The law is not on his side,’’ they concluded.

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Why Africa still lags behind

By KOFI ANNAN

Posted Wednesday, May 26 2010 at 18:09

This is an important year for Africa. The World Cup is putting the continent at the centre of global attention.

Its strengths and frailties will be under greater international scrutiny than ever before. What will the story be? Our economies are proving their resilience. After major difficulties in the wake of the global economic and financial crisis, economic recovery is underway, contrasting with gloom elsewhere in the world.

The African Development Bank and IMF foresee GDP growth rates of around five per cent by the end of the year. Trade is growing too, both within Africa and with partners, including the global South. Africa–China trade has multiplied more than tenfold in the last decade.

Barely a week goes by without reports of the discovery of more oil, gas, precious minerals or other resources somewhere on the continent. The value of Africa’s resources is increasing and business activity is increasing. Climate change is drawing attention to the vast potential of its renewable energy supplies, including hydro, thermal, wind and solar power.

In short, Africa’s stock is rising. Then why are so many people still trapped in poverty? Why is progress on achievement of the Millennium Development Goals so slow and uneven? Why are so many women marginalised and disenfranchised? Why is inequality increasing? And why so much insecurity?

The good news is that access to basic services such as energy, clean water, healthcare and education has improved in many parts of the continent. But it is still denied to hundreds of millions of women, men and children. In trying to provide the answers to these difficult questions, one must be wary of generalisations.

Africa is not homogenous; it is raucously diverse. But its nations are linked by common challenges hampering human development and equitable growth — weak governance and insufficient investment in public goods and services, whether citizens’ productive capacity, infrastructure, affordable energy, health, education and agricultural productivity.

So what is holding back progress? Lack of knowledge and shortage of plans are not the problem. Good, even visionary agendas have been formulated by African leaders in every field, from regional integration to women’s empowerment. Nor, given the continent’s vast natural and human resources and the ongoing, often illicit, outflow of wealth, is lack of funds the insuperable barrier.

It is political will which is the issue, both internationally and in Africa. Internationally, there are concerns that the consensus around development has been eroded by the financial crisis. Many rich countries are keeping their promises on development assistance. But others are falling badly behind.

These shortfalls do not result from any decrease in human solidarity and sympathy. They stem more from the failure to communicate the importance of putting the needs of the least developed countries at the heart of global policies. Efforts must be stepped up to explain how these benefits, whether in providing fairer trade policies or stemming corruption, are in the self-interest of richer countries.

Mr Annan, a former UN secretary-general, is chair of the Africa Progress Panel.

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Seek God first during reform period, urges Kibaki

President Mwai Kibaki has called on Kenyans to seek God’s guidance as the country prepares to implement key reforms. Kibaki says he supports the Proposed Constitution because it gives Kenyans a chance to consolidate achievements made so far among them electoral and national cohesion. He urged Christians to show love and tolerate divergent views in order to remain a united country.

He was speaking today at Safari Park Hotel during the annual National Prayer Day organised by Parliament.

Here is Kibaki speech to the nation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me, first of all, to thank the Almighty God for bringing us together for this year’s National Prayer Breakfast. I also take this opportunity to commend all of you who are assembled here for answering the call to prayer.

It is my joy to note that this annual event reaffirms our heritage as a God fearing nation.

As we read in the Bible, God has promised to forgive our sins and heal our land if we humble ourselves, pray and turn from our bad ways. Let us, therefore, as a nation and as individuals, continually go before God in prayer with the intention of glorifying him, praising him for his goodness to our nation, seeking his forgiveness for our sins and asking him to bless and heal our land.

As we go before God this morning let us thank him for all the blessings he has showered on our country. Indeed, God has done great things for our country. I am glad to note that after the many challenges we have faced in recent years, we remain a united and peaceful nation with bright future prospects.

We are grateful to God that after a period of drought and food scarcity, we now have adequate rains and a bountiful harvest. We are also grateful that after dismal performance, our economy is now on the path to full recovery.

After declining to 1.6 percent in 2008, the economy improved to a real GDP growth of 2.6 percent last year. The outlook is more promising with the economy projected to grow by between 4 and 5 percent this year.

We thank God that we are also making progress in creating employment and in many other areas of national endeavor. Indeed, many development projects are taking place across the entire country. Let us all thank God for these and other blessings and acknowledge that without his sovereign grace these achievements would not have been possible.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we thank God for his blessings, let us also continue to seek His guidance and help in building our country. In particular, we need to pray for God’s guidance at this critical moment in our national history in which we are implementing a broad reform agenda.

This reform agenda involves undertaking comprehensive constitutional and electoral reforms, tackling poverty, inequity and unemployment as well as consolidating national cohesion and unity, among other reform measures.

While reform efforts are ongoing, we thank God for the progress we have made so far. In particular, let us thank God for the progress we have made towards a new constitution. I urge Kenyans to join hands in prayers so that God can guide us in making the right decision. Above all, let us be truthful over the contents of the proposed constitution.

Our people deserve to be told the truth so that they can make informed judgment. Personally I support the proposed constitution and believe that after TWENTY years of debate it is time to give Kenyans a new constitution. A new constitution gives us the best hope of consolidating the reforms that we have embarked on.

As we seek to implement reforms with the intention of building the just and equitable society that we aspire, we must remember that our mortal efforts are in vain except God bless them.

Indeed, let us all remember the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 127 verse 1 which says: ‘except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it’. I call upon Kenyans to pray to God for the wisdom and strength of character to bring about the true reforms that we need in our country.

As we continue to dialogue and implement reforms, I urge Kenyans to demonstrate a genuine sense of duty to our country in the true spirit of Christian love. I urge us all to respect each other’s right of opinion and to be tolerant to alternative viewpoints. Let us address the issues facing our country from the platform of knowledge, truth and honesty. This is the only way in which we can discern the will of God and promote the common good.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In spite of the differences of opinion that may exist between us as Kenyans, we must not lose sight of the progress we have made in national reconciliation and healing.

As you are all aware, we established the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission as well as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission with a view to addressing issues of negative ethnic tendencies and the process of national reconciliation and integration. As these Commissions undertake their mandate, I remind Kenyans that we all have individual responsibility to do our utmost to build a cohesive and peaceful country. I urge Kenyans to shun those in our midst who preach ethnic hatred and want to continue to divide us.

In conclusion, I wish to appeal to Kenyans to continue praying for our country and to extend a helping hand to those among us who are in need. Let us remember those who are facing various challenges including those who have been affected by floods in various parts of our country.

It is the desire of God that we love, help and forgive one another, share the spirit of fellowship and prayer and reach out in unity to one another as One Nation One People.

Thank you and God bless you all.