Category Archives: Kenya

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Neighbors Kill Neighbors as Kenyan Vote Stirs Old Feuds

New York Times
“There are three reasons for this war,tribe, land and politics.”
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

Rahema Hageyo, 9 months old, was slashed by a machete when raiders from a rival ethnic group attacked her Kenyan village in December.

Rahema Hageyo, 9 months old, was slashed by a machete when raiders from a rival ethnic group attacked her Kenyan village in December.

MALINDI, Kenya — In a room by the stairs, Shukrani Malingi, a Pokomo farmer, writhed on a metal cot, the skin on his back burned off. Down the hall, at a safe distance, Rahema Hageyo, an Orma girl, stared blankly out of a window, a long scar above her thimble-like neck. She was nearly decapitated by a machete chop — and she is only 9 months old.

Orma men were patrolling their village in the Tana River Delta, fearful of Pokomo attacks. Kenya’s disastrous 2007 vote set off clashes that killed 1,000 people. Continue reading →

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Women Navigate Political Minefield in Kenya

Hamisa Zaja dropped out of the Mombasa County gubernatorial race for lack of resources. Credit: Miriam Gathigah/IPS

Hamisa Zaja dropped out of the Mombasa County gubernatorial race for lack of resources. Credit: Miriam Gathigah/IPS

NAIROBI, Jan 25 2013 (IPS) – Few women in Kenya harbour illusions of entering politics. Blatant discrimination, threats and intimidations, an uneven playing field and a largely unsympathetic public have turned electoral politics into a veritable minefield for women hoping to secure top government posts.

Despite adopting a more gender sensitive constitution back in 2010, in which Article 81(b) stipulates that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender, male-dominated parties continue to make a farce of the little political space offered to women. Continue reading →

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Kenya’s IDPs fault government for delayed resettlement

ken6NAKURU, 15 January 2013 (IRIN) – Of the 600,000 people forcibly displaced in Kenya during the fierce 2007-2008 post-election violence, hundreds have yet to be resettled, despite government pledges to find them new homes.

Minister for Special Programmes Esther Murugi says 723 such families are still displaced, as well as a further 1,200 families who were evicted by the government from their homes in the Mau Forest as part of efforts to protect crucial water catchment areas. Continue reading →

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There must be more to the killings in Tana Delta than meets the eye

Daily Nation
Rasna Warah
In Summary
In 2008, it was revealed that the Emirate of Qatar had allegedly entered into a deal with the government to convert 40,000 hectares in the region for horticultural produce
•    These “land-grabs” reflect a trend internationally where rich food-insecure nations seek to acquire land in poor countries for food or biofuel production to boost their own supplies and to avert domestic instability
•    In the Tana Delta, a fragile and extremely important wetland system, the land-grabs may have aggravated tensions between the agriculturalist Pokomo and the pastoralist Orma and Wardei ethnic groups Continue reading →

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Political Provocateurs Expose Kenya’s “MaVultures”

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Boniface Mwangi is known for his political graffiti murals around Nairobi and his photographic exhibitions that documented the violent aftermath of the 2007 presidential elections. Credit: Mike Elkin/IPS

By Mike Elkin

NAIROBI, Nov 21 2012 (IPS) – A new website linking corruption and other scandals to high-ranking Kenyan politicians, created by a team of political provocateurs, has become one of the most-visited web pages in the country.

MaVulture.com, which means “many vultures” in Swahili, aims to collect, condense, and air the past wrongdoings of Kenya’s political class. Going live on Nov. 13, the site is the latest project from activist Boniface Mwangi, known for his political graffiti murals around Nairobi and his photographic exhibitions that documented the violent aftermath of the 2007 presidential elections. Continue reading →

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Kenyan police ambush toll rises to 26

Daily Nation

In Summary
•    Locals in the northern district where the initial attack took place also said that fighting between police and gunmen had continued for a second day
•    The remoteness of the northern Baragoi district, where the attack took place, explained why it took a day after the attack for the bodies to be discovered, said a source.
•    The group of rustlers police were pursuing were already suspected of killing 13 people in another raid on October 30 Continue reading →

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Kenya: Amnesty Urges Govt to Investigate Excessive use of Force and Drop Charges Against Human Rights Defenders

By NewsfromAfrica

The seven human rights defenders and community activists face charges of incitement to violence and disorderly conduct.

NAIROBI–Trumped-up charges against a group of human rights defenders in Kenya including Amnesty International staff and volunteers must be dropped, the organisation said ahead of a court appearance in Nairobi on Thursday.  Amnesty International is also calling for an investigation into the ill-treatment of the activists at the hands of the police. Continue reading →

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Britain must compensate all Mau Mau veterans

New Internationalist

Maina Waruru

I was excited last week when I learned the High Court in London had ruled that a group of ex-fighters, now ageing and mostly ailing, could sue their former colonial master.  It was through an old teacher of mine, Mr Gacahau, that I heard firsthand about the torture, brutality and general injustices committed against him and thousands of others during Kenya’s darkest years, 1952 to 1960.  I last saw Mr Gacahau some 12 years ago in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, He was part of a noisy protest made up of a group of old men and women – all ex Mau Mau fighters and detainees – who had just presented a petition at the British High Commission with the support of human rights lobbies. Continue reading →

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KENYA: Churches ask Govt. to Address Root Causes of Skirmishes

NAIROBI, September 21, 2012 (CISA) -The Church in Kenya has urged the government to ensure security in the country. This comes in the wake of recent killings in Tana River delta where clashes led to the death of over a hundred people.  At a press conference held on September, 20 at Waumini house, church leaders voiced their concern over the skirmishes and questioned the manner in which the Government handled them. Continue reading →