TARGETING MOSQUES OR "ADHAAN".................

If you haven't heard, There is a talk in the town that ADHAAN for that matter, The Muslim call for prayer is subject to the new rules of NEMA.

Check the Video

For those of us who think otherwise, Please move with your cheap politics about ISLAM. Muslims are making their prayers all over the world with the Call of Prayers (The Adhaan) as one Christian recently said, The Noise they make while worshipping can't be undermined by suspicious rules that may endanger all of us.

If your religion doesn't have something to tell your congregation, Then leave others. We have the right to worship In KENYA and we can worship the way we want. Kama unaweza kuzuia Adhaan Like the way NEMA says......Come forward.. What is NEMA....National Environmental Management Authority....Waende waangalie sewage za Eastleigh Kwanza before talking and worse still, Let them come to all beaches at Mombasa for Beach Cleaning exercise....This has been long overdue......Does The Bill of Right the Only constitution...What about the main section, The Freedom of Worship, which allows you to even worship "Idols and Stones"...

Ama mnasemaje...

EVERYTHING HAPPENS IN KENYA....After the Lion/Gazelle Affair Now.....

Wonders will never cease. A cow adopted a goat kid after its mother died soon after giving birth to twins in Isiolo, recently. Although the cow had a calf to care for, it nevertheless allowed the kid to suckle.

KENYA IS "TRAINING" SOMALIS FOR TFG

The government has admitted that it is helping to train Somalis in a bid to help the Somali Federal government but denies that any Kenyans are among those being trained. Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang says 2,000 Somalis have been trained by the Kenyan government. Kajwang was speaking when he appeared before a joint Parliamentary committee on Administration and National Security and Defense and Foreign Affairs. 

Watch the Video, http://www.youtube.com/user/Kenyansomali

Meanwhile, A group of youths on Sunday cried foul after being ejected from a camp where the Kenyan Government is training military staff for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. The youths claimed they were bundled out after it was discovered that they were Kenyans, and not from Somalia. Kenya is one of the countries that have agreed to help Somalia train its police officers and soldiers. The European Union at the weekend announced plans to train 2,000 troops in Uganda. Djibouti is also helping train Somalia's armed forces.

Speaking to the Nation, the youths said they were promised jobs that pay $600 (Sh44,000) a month. Some of them had left other jobs, they added. Asked whether they were prepared to die for a foreign government currently fighting the Al Shaabab, they said they do not mind the danger so long as the money is good.

"I doubt if you can resist an offer to make dollars. Death can come in many ways. If it comes through a bullet that would have been fine with me," said Mr Osman Adan Sigale, 26. Mr Sigale said he used to sell mobile phone airtime at Garissa before he came to the camp. He said he was in a group of 45 who were ejected from the training camp on Saturday and taken to Voi, where they also met some MPs.

Mr Adan Mohammed, another youth, said he left his job as a security guard in Garissa Town when the opportunity of making more money in Somalia arose. He accused Parliament of cancelling their ticket out of poverty -- the opportunity to fight in Somalia and earn the dollars.

On Saturday, members of the Kenya House Defence Committee, chaired By MP Adan Keynan visited the Manyani training camp at the Coast, where it has been reported that the youth are receiving training before being dispatched to Somalia.

"There appears to have been a major security breach that has occurred on Kenyan soil," said committee chairman Adan Keynan.

According to Internal Security permanent secretary Francis Kimemia, the youths should have been arrested and charged with impersonation. He said they had taken advantage of Somalia's failed structures to pass themselves off as its citizens and get into the training camps. "We cannot train Kenyan youth to go and fight in Somalia," he said.

MACHARIA GAITHO: THE DAY I LEARNT GARISSA IS PART OF KENYA

THE DISTRICT COMMISIONER assured the guests that contrary to popular perceptions, Garissa is a very safe place and there is no need for armed security escorts when travelling there.

Garissa, he said, had been found by an Interpol (International Police Organisation) survey to be the safest town in East and Central Africa. A local dignitary seated on the dais interjected: “It’s in Nairobi where you need armed escorts!” Nairobi’s reputation for runaway crime had preceded us. Welcome to Garissa. It was for me too fleeting a visit, but a real eye-opener that leaves me deeply ashamed about my ignorance.

Like many others in Kenya, I tend to see the country as comprising Nairobi and the well-developed agricultural zones or tourist attractions. Other places are remote, dry, unproductive, hostile, parched, inhospitable, bandit-infested and generally good for nothing; unless, perhaps, they are blessed with oil, gold, rubies, titanium or other valuable mineral deposits.



That is the time we will all be rushing there to claim a share of the loot from the same places we have neglected, and exiled to the periphery of national life. The short visit to Garissa town can hardly allow me to form a clear picture of the rest of the district or the rest of North Eastern Province, the so-called contiguous districts of Coast and North Eastern Province, and the districts of northern Rift Valley.


But if my perceptions of Garissa town could be so comprehensively overturned after a short visit, then surely I must also be suffering similarly misguided impressions about large swathes of the country. I had expected a barren, inhospitable desert full of people dependent on relief food; a garrison town marked by night curfews enforced by heavily-armed soldiers nervously keeping at bay marauding bandits that could strike any time.


There was not a soldier in sight. Despite all that propaganda about Al-Shabaab militants from Somalia poised at the edges and extremist Islam taking root and starting to impose a virulent code on religious compliance, there as nothing out of the ordinary. What one encounters is not a barren basket-case, but a thriving commercial centre with shiny new office blocks and hotels displaying unique architecture.


The place is barren and dry, true, but the mighty Tana River passes nearby, and those who cared to invest in water supply and storage achieved dramatic results. There is thriving agriculture on the farms along the Tana, making Garissa town self-sufficient in succulent fruits and vegetables, with surplus available for markets in Mombasa and Nairobi.


FROM A SIMPLE CAMERA-PHONE, I uploaded on Facebook a few images of the lush gardens of the Almond Resort where our party stayed, a hotel, together with neighbouring Nomad Palace, that would not be put of place in Nairobi.The responses were revealing. The majority flatly refused to believe that the pictures were taken in Garissa. Some friends in the US even wondered whether it was in Kenya at all. One friend suggested I’d used the mansion of some American celeb. Another wondered whether grass that green was artificial.


Those responses illustrated perfectly that some of us have been conditioned to dismissing certain parts of Kenya. At independence we inherited a development model that believed in investing all resources in high-potential areas, and leaving the rest of the country to its own devices.


We wilfully marginalised, isolated and under-developed certain regions. Then we came to swallow the lie that those regions were undeveloped because the people were backward, warlike and not “development-concious”. Now I understand why the people of North Eastern, Marsabit, Moyale, Turkana, Pokot and other regions deprived of development deeply resent the leaders and people who grabbed the best for themselves.


I saw a bit of that resentment in Garissa. That tied in with conversations I’ve had over the years with various friends from marginalised communities. The resentment is justifiable, but there is also an element that is too quick to blame the system for their own inadequacies.
Garissa is growing despite government neglect; because a hard-working, entrepreneurial and resourceful people do not sit on their butts waiting to be lifted up – they lift themselves up. True, successive regimes have short-changed important population groups by treating them like second-class citizens.


But what the neglected communities need is not handouts, but the communications and social infrastructure -- roads, telephone lines, electricity, piped water, hospitals and schools -- that will connect them to the rest of Kenya. Ultimately, however, all must work hard for their own development. That is the lesson from Garissa.

mgaitho@nation.co.ke

RECRUITING KENYANS FOR SOMALIA: What are the Facts

DADAAB, Kenya


The recruits assembled by moonlight at a watering hole. Hundreds of boys and young Kenyan men were herded onto trucks, which were covered with heavy canvas and driven through the night.

It was so hot inside they could hardly breathe. One recruit, Salad Dahir, said they banged the sides of the truck for water but got none. Some had to urinate where they stood. Their destination: a secluded training camp deep in the Kenyan bush.

Thousands of people, including children, are being secretly recruited and trained inside Kenya to battle Islamic insurgents in neighboring Somalia, according to deserters, local officials, families of recruits and diplomats. Most recruits are Somalis living in crowded refugee camps and Kenyan nationals who are ethnic Somalis living nearby.

 Sources say, Both Somali and Kenyan military officials were involved in the training, the recruits said, adding that they recognized Kenya's green military uniform and beret on some trainers while others wore plain clothes. 

Salad Dahir, a tall, thin man in a tattered blue shirt, said he had traveled to the training site in the crowded, sweltering truck about a month ago. He said the Kenyan military did the training — push-ups and other calisthenics. 

"Kenya military were there wearing uniforms," added Hassan.

MANDERA: UN-PAID NATIONAL CENSUS ENUMERATORS "EJECT" DC FROM OFFICE

Hundreds of youth and elders who were officials in the census on Monday protested over nonpayment of their dues. They marched to the district headquarters and ejected the DC from his office to address them on the delayed pay.

“We want to be told the truth; they already said we will not be paid,” one enumerator Abey Mohamed told the Nation.

Mandera East DC Francis Leyangume said they will have to sort the errors in the account information of the protesting youth.

The Kenya National Census was carried out in September/October, 2009 and was marred in irregularities. Kenya is estimated at close to 40 Million people.

PSC, IIEC & IIBRC MUST MOVE VERY FAST ON KENYA CONSTITUTION

It has been quite a while since we agreed that a Constitution-writing is not for the rabble. So we established a Committee of Experts chaired by former Law Society of Kenya chairman Nzamba Kitonga.
It has been quietly going about its work, insulating itself from all the political noise. But as it becomes apparent that a draft constitution is about to be unveiled, the decibel count is rising.
All sorts of interest groups that fear the document might nor advance their narrow political, religious or other partisan or sectional interests have started making noise and threatening to scuttle the entire exercise.








We witnessed just the other day, the impolitic exchanges between President Kibaki’s and Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s respective constitutional advisors, Prof Kivutha Kibwana and Mr Miguna Miguna.







That seemed to have been a case of the passers-by mourning louder than the bereaved, for we do see the President and the PM getting on rather chummily these days and avoiding divisive public exchanges.



Now we are seeing all those Christian fundamentalist groups rising up in advance of publication. They claim that the Committee of Experts wants to impose Islamic courts on secular Kenyans. 

WHO IS RECRUITING NEP YOUTH FOR SOMALIA'S WAR?

Somalia's U.N.-backed government has recruited more than 170 young Kenyans and former servicemen to help it fight rebels in the failed Horn of Africa state, local leaders in eastern Kenya said.

Mohamed Gabow, the mayor of Garissa, told Reuters the enrolment of ethnic Somali Kenyans was being conducted at a home in Bulla Iftin village, on the outskirts of his town.

"The recruitment is not a secret. Those involved are not worried. They are going around all the villages to announce the exercise," Gabow said in an interview late on Thursday.

Gabow called for there to be an investigation.

"We are raising an alarm. Our community must not be used to kill its kin or risk the lives of its people."

Local police commander Paul Mukoma dismissed the report as a rumour and said no official complaint had been lodged.

"No local leader or any parent has come forward to inform us about any such reports," he told Reuters.

Western donors agreed at a meeting in Brussels in April to give Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's administration nearly $214 million to help build up a police force of some 10,000 personnel and a 5,000-strong security force.

H1N1 Swine Flu Reported in Dadaab and Kakuma

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has activated its emergency preparedness plan for H1N1/A virus after 21 cases were confirmed in two refugee camps.

There have now been five confirmed swine flu cases in Kakuma camp, northwestern Kenya, as well as 16 cases in Hagadera, Dadaab — one of the world’s largest refugee camps, where overcrowding and lack of resources are already putting a strain on healthcare systems.

Effects of outbreak

IRC physician Gitau Mburu confirmed the cases and said in the congested refugee camps it is essential to strengthen surveillance, prevention and treatment measures to minimise effects of the outbreak.

"Most of those affected usually recover without antiviral treatment or specialised medical care, as they only experience mild illness," Dr Gitau said, adding none of the infections in Kakuma or Dadaab are life-threatening as many patients had recovered.

"With the current overcrowding in Dadaab and the potential for contagious diseases to spread, it is good practice to be prepared," he said.

As a precaution, IRC has secured doses of Tamiflu from UNHCR.

MOBILE SCHOOLS IN KENYA NORTH EAST

The sandy track cutting through Kenya's northeast province is marred by the corpses of cows, goats and donkeys. The drought has sucked all color leaving the landscape a singular shade of gray. Global warming has scarred this region. Somali pastoralists, the main community in this barren desert, cannot remember a drought this severe. It has not rained for over a year.

Nomadic pastoral communities depend on water and green pastures to maintain their livestock and the worsening conditions pose a drastic threat to their pastoral lifestyle. Many are succumbing to this pressure and "dropping out" of pastoralism, relocating to towns destitute and without work experience. The United Nations Institute for Environmental and Security Studies estimates that by 2010 there will be 50 million such "climate refugees."

Mobile schools - secular pre-schools which follow these groups as they move to find pasture and water for livestock - are an attempt to help nomadic communities develop more options as the climate becomes increasingly hostile. "Security is now seen [by pastoral communities] in children's education," says Kassim Ali, Chief of Wajir South, a region in Kenya's North East Province (NEP). Currently, NEP has the lowest primary school enrollment rate at 14.5 per cent, compared to 70 per cent national average.

Understandably, the pastoral lifestyle makes accessing mainstream education difficult. Children are constantly moving as families search for pastures and water. While children are taught Islamic Studies for six to seven hours a day in the Islamic school called dugsi, few communities have prioritized - or have access to - secular education.

Supported by two local organizations, Nomadic Heritage Association (NOHA) and Education for Marginalized Children of Kenya (EMACK), mobile schools have drastically changed nomadic communities' views of secular education. Mobile schools, equipped by a trained pre-school teacher from the community, ensure that children learn the basics of reading, writing and counting in the national languages, Kiswahili and English.

The existing three mobile schools in the region, first founded in 2005, now host 55 students. Over 30 students have graduated from the mobile school program and are now attending boarding schools in neighboring towns. "We are illiterate, but since schools came we can now read and write. It has been very empowering," says Abdullahi Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of one of the mobile schools.

Farah Olad, EMACK's Deputy Chief of Party, comes from a community near the Somali border. When he visits the mobile schools, he brings water and biscuits for the children. His concern over the worsening drought is palpable. "I do not think Somalis will ever say they are fed up [with their lifestyle], they would go into a war-torn country to keep going," says Olad, "But, change is complex. Nomadic pastorals are beginning to appreciate what opportunities school brings, such as improving their own livestock, initiating small businesses and lobbying on environmental issues."

"The situation is dehumanizing," says Alex Alusibia, Chief of Party at EMACK, about the drought. He has been working with the Kenyan government to register the schools in a feeding program to ensure that children have regular access to food. He is also lobbying for an emergency food aid component that would be included in every mobile school.

Ebla Abdullahi

Culture also plays a strong role in limiting children's access to school. Ebla Abdullahi, a 10-year-old Somali girl, wants to transfer into a boarding school this year and become a teacher. Eventually, she wants to return to her community and teach. However, as tradition dictates, Farah expects that she will be married by the end of the year. When women marry, the other family pays a "bride-price" to her family, making her a valuable tool both economically and socially.

Alusibia says the government has been very responsive and is hoping to deploy the program in Kenya's 191 arid lands district. The situation in these areas is much the same: herders remain marginalized from mainstream society and increasingly threatened by the changing environment. Without education, they will be left poor and unrepresented.

Education offers choice, both economic and cultural. The next generation of young Somali pastoralists will have the potential to work in villages and towns or care for livestock, if not both. Young women will have reason not to marry young and will be able to better provide for their children when they do settle down.

As Olad explains, "It is not about changing culture, but about strengthening it."

***

Siena Anstis is a Canadian-Swedish freelance journalist. Aside from her passion for writing and photography, she's interested in using journalism to foster positive change and alleviate poverty. All photos by Anstis.

UN WARNS OF TRAGEDY IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

On your right, the face of a helpless child suffering from malnutrition and diarrhea at a hospital in Mogadishu. You can feel the innocence for yourself and guess what, The global financial crisis, growing conflict and unpredictable weather patterns are threatening the lives of millions of people in the Horn of Africa, a UN agency said Friday. An estimated 19.8 million people, among them four million children, are in need of emergency relief in the region, a rise of nearly 50 percent from 14 million in September, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

"Over the last few months we have witnessed a steady increase in the numbers of children suffering from acute malnutrition... more children are at risk of death and disease," said Dorothy Rozga, the agency's deputy director for east and southern Africa. Rampant piracy off the coast of Somali that is threatening a key shipping route had also contributed to the region's woes, the agency said.

"We are witnessing an all too familiar tragedy unfolding, and unless we act with much greater urgency the situation for children can only get worse," Rozga added.

Malnutrition rates among children in Djibouti, Somalia and parts of Eritrea were high, said UNICEF. It said its relief efforts were hamstrung by lack of funds. So far this year it has received less than 10 percent of its projected emergency funding requirements.

FORMER NEP PC MOHAMUD SALEH INCLUDED IN POLICE REFORMS TEAM

President Kibaki has appointed a 15-member task force to spearhead comprehensive police reforms. The National Task force on Police Reforms to be chaired by Philip Ransley, with two joint secretaries V. Okioma and Dorcas Oduor, aims to fast track reforms.

The members include Sarah Ondeyo, Bishop Alfred Rotich, Mohamud Ali Saleh, Macharia Njeru, Kyalo Mbobu, Mike Harries and Attorney General Amos Wako. Others are the Permanent Secretaries Provincial Administration and Internal Security, Office of the Prime Minsister, Finance, Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ministry of Public Service, the chairman of Law Reform Commission, Director Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (Kippra) and Chariman of the Kenya Human Right Commission (KNCHR).

It will examine existing policy, institutional, legislative, administrative and operational structures and recommend comprehensive reforms. The task force is expected to complete its work by the end of July. That is a grace 90 days period.

GARISSA-MODIKAAREY ROAD CORRUPTION: PM ORDERS INVESTIGATION

The Government has ordered a probe into the stalled construction of the Garissa-Modika-Nuno road after the contractor was paid Sh748 million. Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the Government could have lost the money and directed Roads Minister Franklin Bett to investigate engineers and the contractor to establish how the money was used to construct only 9.6km of the 20km road. Saying this was a glaring case of impropriety, Raila wondered how the contractor could use Sh70 million to build only one kilometre.

"I want investigations to be instituted immediately and a report brought to me in two weeks," he said.

Raila was addressing a public rally yesterday at Garissa Primary School on his second day tour of development projects in Garissa District. The PM said at the rate of Sh70 million per kilometre, it will take eternity and a huge amount of money to finish the project. He further directed the ministry to allocate Sh150 million for the construction of roads in Garissa town, saying the Government would like to fast track development in North Eastern Province to bring it to the same level of development with the rest of the country.

Raila said it was unfortunate previous governments had stopped issuance of title deeds to wananchi in the area. He directed the Ministry of Lands to issue the documents to enable land owners use them as collateral to borrow money from banks. The Prime Minister decried clannism in the province, saying it was a major drawback to development.

He told parents to take their children to school irrespective of gender, saying all Kenyan youth must be given equal opportunities.

The meeting was also addressed by Cabinet ministers Mohammed Yusuf Haji, Mohammed Elmi and Otieno Kajwang’ and assistant ministers Aden Duale and Charles Keter and nominated MP Sofia Abdi Noor.

FICTITIOUS Ksh. 9.2 BILLION OR IS IT Ksh. 9.6 BILLION, A SMALL ERROR: FINANCE MINISTRY

Who is playing with who in Kenya.....Kenya's Treasury Ministry headed by one Deputy Prime Minister, has admitted that a scandalous estimate presented to the parliament was not the actual budget estimate, there was a fault and it was printing error while insisting that budget spending figures had not been tampered with. National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende, following an inquiry by Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara, referred the matter to the Parliamentary committees of Finance and Budget.

Imagine that.

And for your information, The scandalous Ksh 9.2 Billion or was it Ksh 9.6 Billion is enough to make whole of North Eastern Province appear the likes of Dubai and someone somewhere is saying, it was just a printing error. Who is playing with who ? As the concerned minister, why didn't he counter-check or was it purposedly done and to make matters worse, how many errors has the computer made ever since Government supplementary budget have never been thoroughly scrutinized ?

Now a lobby group led by officials Jane Mati, Cyprian Nyamwamu and Mwalimu Mati wants the joint Kenya Parliamentary team inquiring into a discrepancy in the Supplementary Budget Estimates passed by the House to extend the probe to the national budget, currently under preparation.

Read the Blunders here.....

NEP PEOPLE "HAVE NO BUSINESS" WITH AL SHABAAB MILITIA OF SOMALIA

PRIME MINISTER ODINGA TWO DAYS VISIT TO NORTH EASTERN PROVINCE (Where he said peace is the source of development for NEP people)

Leaders from North Eastern Province on Friday distanced themselves from the activities of the Al Shabab or any other militia groups operating in Somalia. The leaders further said that there were no active Al Qaeda cells in the Province as alleged in a section of the media, emphasizing they would not like to be associated with lawless groups in Somalia or elsewhere in the world.

Speaking at a leaders meeting attended by Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Garissa, the leaders led by cabinet Ministers Mohammed Yusuf Haji and Mohammed Elmi noted that the people of North Eastern Province would not disturb the current peace prevailing in the area by associating themselves with lawless groups from Somalia. They said it was unfortunate that talk of presence of Al Shabab operatives in North Eastern Province was discouraging donors and other international organizations from working in the Province. Prime Minister expressed concern that lack of a central government in Somalia for nearly two decades had led to widespread insecurity in that country that could spill over to Kenya if not well handled.

Noting that due to the lawlessness in Somalia, guns and other dangerous weapons from that country were finding their way into Kenya, the Prime Minister asked people from North Eastern Province to cooperate with security agencies in the area in ensuring that all such weapons are mopped up. He said, "an upsurge in piracy and other lawless activities off the Somalia coast has raised insurance costs for ships plying that route". This has consequently raised the cost of goods coming to East Africa, hurting the economies of this region,"


Odinga said the solution to the Somalia crisis lay in constituting a central government acceptable to all the Somali people, adding Kenya was willing to help in the realization of a central authority in Somalia.

On refugees, the Prime Minister noted that the Dadaab refugee camp in the Province was home to 250,000 refugees, adding there was need to expand the camp to accommodate the rising number of refugees fleeing Somalia and other troubled countries in the region. Said Odinga, "The Problems of Somalia are also our problems, we cannot ignore their suffering. We must help those refugees until when peace is realized in their country and they can go back home."

At another function earlier, Odinga announced that the World Bank will fund Garissa electricity project at a cost of shs. 2 billion to permanently address the frequent power outages in the town.
The Prime Minister who is on a two day tour of development projects in Garissa district, said the project to be completed in two years time will connect the town to the national grid. "The project which will be ready by 2011 will connect power to this town from Kindaruna, through Mwingi," he said.


It should be noted that, Prime Minister Odinga was the key to the establishment of the Ministry of Northern Kenya headed by Ibrahim Elmi of ODM. We had no ministry dealing with marginalized pastrol communities before 2007.

KENYA ELECTION BOSS AHMED ISSACK AND TEAM INCLUDING HAMARA ADAN CONFIRMED

President Mwai Kibaki on Thursday signed his approval of a list of names to the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) that was passed by Parliament last week. In a special gazette notice dated May 7, 2009, President Kibaki formally appointed Ahmed Isaack Hassan as the Chairperson, while Douglas Mwashigadi, Tiyah Galgalo, Hamara Ibrahim Adan, Kennedy Nyaudi, Dr Yusuf Nzibo, Winfred Waceke Guchu, Davis Chirchir and Abiud Wasike were appointed as members of the interim commission. IIEC has replaced the disbanded Electoral Commission of Kenya, which was led by Samuel Kivuitu, and is expected to compile new voters’ registers.

The new team was expected to immediately begin its work amid numerous calls for electoral reforms by members of the public, civil society and religious groups.The team was also expected to come up with a new voters’ register and enforce major changes that will restore Kenyans’ confidence in the electoral process.It will also prepare the country for the constitution referendum that is expected next year.

The commission will also liaise with the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IBRC), whose list was approved by Parliament on Thursday afternoon.MPs, while supporting the report tabled by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on constitution review Mohammed Abdikadir, said the success of the Boundaries and Electoral Commissions would go a long way in ensuring the 2012 elections are reliable and enjoy the approval of Kenyans.

“The nine-member team is eminently qualified to carry out the functions set out in the constitution as far as this institution is concerned,” he said.Commissioners include Mwenda Makathimo, Abdullahi Sharawe, Murshid Mohammed, Rosa Buyu, Irene Masit, Joseph Kaguthi, John Kinyangi and Jedidah Mtoyai.The key role of the team will be to form, draw and review new administrative and constituency boundaries.Its life span is two years, or three months after a new constitution is made. Owing to the urgency being placed on the reforms agenda, President Kibaki may be likely to assent to the list in due course so that the commissioners work closely with the IIEC.

JE MGOMO WA AKINA "DADA" ILIFAULU?

It is now past the week our women set for a sex strike in Kenya and , many beleieve has brought some success and semblance. Chairperson of Maendeleo ya Wanawake, Rukia Subow says it has been succesful in bringing President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to talk. But what is the reality

Women are divided on going for sex strike again and many believe that, their future lies in electing the right person for the right job in Kenya by their brains. That is the right decision making time in Kenya. Many people elect the wrong people and then complain of this and that. Some women say, G10(The women grouping that include MYW that supports the strike) will not help them incase their men desert them or decide to beat them. They are asking for a different solution... The women have resorted never to pressurize men by resorting to issues "below the belt" again. So men who were affected, sorry...on their behalf

Check this video, Gumzo mitaani ambaye ni reality mjini.....

Another Video.

Muslim women dissociate themselves from sex boycott

ENGINEER SHARAWE IN THE APPROVED KENYA'S BOUNDARY REVIEW COMMITTE

Parliament approved the boundaries review commission despite protests by 18 Coast MPs rejecting the nominee from the Province.

While moving the motion, the chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee which picked the nominees, Mr Abdikadir Mohammed, said the nominees were “prominently qualified” in the area.

The nine nominees are: Mr Ligale, Ms Jedidah Ntoyai, Ms Irene Masit, Mr Mwenda Makathimo, Mr Joseph Kaguthi, Dr John Nkinyangi, Mr Murshid, Mr Abdullahi Sharawe and Ms Rozaah Buyu. Each province, Mr Abdikadir said, is represented with Rift Valley getting two nominees in what the PSC’s Vice Chair Ababu Namwamba said was “due to its vast territory and populous nature.” Mr Namwamba lauded the new team terming it as filled with “solid experience” and “unquestionable technical and professional competence.”

The IIBRC is tasked with looking afresh into the boundaries with a view to ensuring equitable representation in the House. With the approval of the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission at 5.00 p.m., the House lacked further business and adjourned one hour, thirty minutes earlier than scheduled.

EASTLEIGH "MATHREE" BURNT BY MUNGIKI GANG....What is next ?

A matatu plying Eastleigh route was burnt by men suspected to be followers of the outlawed Mungiki sect in the latest attack along Juja Road in Nairobi. Police and witnesses said four men, armed with pistols had boarded the matatu from the city centre posing as passengers but later started to demand money from the crew. The demands degenerated into an argument as the thugs demanded ‘protection’ fee. At Mlango Kubwa area the men demanded that the vehicle stops for them to alight. One of the men reportedly ordered the passengers out before he poured petrol inside and set the matatu on fire. The gang escaped on foot to the near-by Mlango...

The Tuesday night incident caused panic in the area with businesses closing down in fear of being attacked as word spread that Mungiki had invaded the locality.

Kasarani OCPD Jasper Ombati said the thugs were definitely Mungiki followers. The attack was the latest targeting matatus in the city to scare the operators to pay protection fees to the Mungiki. Ten matatus have been burnt since February in attacks blamed on Mungiki. A special squad is on the ground pursuing the attackers of the Eastleigh matatu.

Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe urged matatu operators to help police hunt down the thugs.

Meanwhile, a man believed to have stabbed to death an Administration Police officer was on Tuesday evening shot dead in Majengo slums and a pistol recovered from him. The man is accused of stabbing to death an AP outside a mosque in the area a month ago.

As this is happening, The Police Commissioner has been summoned to court to explain the continued solitary confinement of Mungiki sect leader Maina Njenga. Police have also been accused of using excessive force to contain Mungiki gang which has killed over 25 kenyans the previous month in Kirinyaga.

High Court judge Mohammed Warsame on Wednesday directed either the Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali or the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department to explain why Mr Njenga, alias John Maina Kamunya, has been held incommunicado for the last eight days. Mr Justice Warsame also ordered lawyers Paul Muite and Kibe Mungai to be allowed to see the suspect and that family members visit him.

The judge was ruling on an application filed by Mr Muite to see Mr Njenga. “The graver the offence the greater the need for legal advice,” Mr Muite told Mr Justice Warsame in arguing the case to visit his client. “Public good demands that one be allowed to communicate with his relatives and lawyers,” Justice Warsame said.

MEETING TO DISCUSS "LIVESTOCK" IN NEW YORK COMPLAINS OF GOV'T LAXITY

NEW YORK, May 6 - The Kenyan pastoral community has spoken out on the second day of an International UN forum complaining of neglect by the government. Wilfred Ole Ondugo, representing the pastoralists, on Tuesday accused the respective Members of Parliament of failure to address their plight.

“The government has ignored the livestock sector and when we try to tell them they don’t want to listen to us. Like now a lot of livestock has died because of the drought,” said Mr Ole Ondugo.

Speaking to Capital News at the UN headquarters in New York, Mr Ole Ondugo however expressed optimism that airing their concerns at the meeting would ensure their voice was heard. Heifer International Kenya Country Director, Alex Kirui, concurred with the sentiments and said the livestock sector was faced with numerous challenges such as inaccessible financial services like credit to the pastoralists, poor infrastructure as well as in the regulatory and public services like veterinary and quality assurance.

“We have some policies which are really old and are not conducive to the current environment but the government with support from the private sector and farmers is now developing livestock policies,” Mr Kirui said.

“Livestock contributes significantly to the livelihoods of more than 80 percent of the population,” he added.

Kenya's Northern Province which is composed of four districts, Garissa, Ijara, Mandera and Wajir inhabited by Somalis together with Turkana. Massai, Rendille, Boran and Samburu Tribes keep most of the livestock in Kenya. A large portion of northern Kenya is either semi-arid or arid. The inhabitants of North Eastern Region, such as the Somali, rely on Livestock activities and the government is expected to assist them as much as possible. Just recently, The Ministry of Northern Kenya meant to assist communities in NEP Kenya was instituted. The budget allocated to the ministry is just too small to address anything on livestock. The nearest national abbatoir KMC is situated hundreds of kilometres in another province and logistics and transport is a problem. NEP people keep camels, cattle, sheep and goats and depend on animal products such as milk and meat for their livehood. To them, livestock is their ultimate livelihood and these are the people the forum need to address.

At the same time, a Nairobi-based International NGO expressed concern over the vulnerability of women especially in pastoral communities. Indigenous Information Network Executive Director, Lucy Mulenkei said the women pastoralists suffer security threats when there is drought because of resource competition.

“They suffer more because they are left to feed the children when men leave with cattle to look for greener pastures,” she said.

“With the frequent droughts and climatical changes we have had, we have seen that there are meager resources and they (women) tend to be even more vulnerable when it comes to security and trying to survive at the same time,” she added.

She said although the government was taking some steps, they took too long to implement. Ms Mulenkei said the organisation would push for the recognition of local communities in policy making at the ongoing Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)meeting in New York.

“There should be participation from the communities and their rights should be considered that they are there and they should be consulted when those policies are being made for them to be effective,” she said.

ARSENAL FAN IN KENYA COMMITS SUICIDE.....serious

A Kenyan Arsenal fan committed suicide on Wednesday following his team's 4-1 aggregate drubbing by arch-rivals Manchester United in Tuesday night’s Champions League semi-final. Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, 29, living in Nairobi's Embakasi neighbourhood, hung himself in his Arsenal shirt after the match late on Tuesday.

One of the most stinging strike happening in Kenya for years...It is assumed that it's going to work well and make people aware of their country. Women of Kenya have decided....No ...No Honey...Do you know how the country is being governed....Men also started it afresh but they wait for women to start everything...Shame on them....

Among the organizers include Chairwoman of Maendeleo ya Wanawake Kenya, Rukia Subow

THERE WILL NO "MUCH" DEVELOPMENT IN NEP KENYA WITHOUT LEGAL BACK-UP: IIEC CHAIRMAN

The creation of the Ministry of State for the Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands was an important milestone in addressing the problems in the region. This ministry is a focal point for the Government’s efforts in addressing the historical injustices, marginalisation and underdevelopment that loudly define the region. It was created by an Executive fiat. Many have argued it is ineffective, inefficient, merely symbolic and cosmetic. This begs for a legal framework upon which the ministry can be built. The law must set out the powers of the minister, the functions of the ministry and the procedures for the implementation of its functions.
Such a law will also establish the necessary institutions that will be instant vehicles for the implementation of the policies and programmes of the ministry. The Arid Land and Resource Management Project can be converted into such an institution under this ministry. The law will set clear guidelines on the exclusive roles of the ministry to avoid overlap of their roles with other ministries.

There are some vestiges of the repealed emergency laws, which are retrogressive.

The Stock Theft and Produce Act provides for the collective punishment of the pastoralist communities of Northern Kenya.

The Indemnity Act, which was meant to immunise the security forces against any claims for their conduct, is now spent. The security forces still operate under the emergency laws era mentality. There are so many unnecessary barriers mounted by the Police and the AP in the name of security but which have become fertile sites for harassing motorists, corruption and the hindrance of the free movement of people and goods in the region and people at large. The conspicuous absence of land registries in the region has hindered an economic progress.

Under the Registered Land Act, Cap 300, there are established land registries in every district to empower the District Lands Registrar to issue title deeds. Once the land has been allocated, surveyed and letter of allotment issued, every allottee is required to meet the conditions on the letter of allotment to be able to get a title deed. The Registry Index Map for Northern Kenya, which captures the properties that have been surveyed and registered, is held in Nairobi.

Under the Judicature Act, Cap 8, the Chief Justice is empowered to create high courts and magistrate courts in any part of the country. For the people of Northern Kenya, access to justice is a nightmare. There is no high court in the whole region. Appeals from the magistrate’s courts must be filed in the High Court either in Nairobi, Embu, Nyeri or Meru. This is quite prohibitive and discouraging and most dissatisfied people choose not to appeal.

Despite livestock being the economic mainstay of the region, there is a sheer absence of legal framework for the marketing and sale of livestock and livestock products. This is a major obstacle to the development. There is need to establish institutions to support this sector — such as marketing boards, abattoirs, cold storage, slaughter houses and airports of international standards for the export of these products. The Kenya Meat Commission should have been located in the region or at the very least have an effective branch there.

The most embarrassing aspect is that the tourism potential of the region has never been harnessed. Policymakers in the tourism industry have neglected it. The Kenya Tourism Development Corporation, the Kenya Tourism Board and the Tourism Trust Fund are the premier institutions to promote tourism in Kenya. Why they have neglected such a valuable project that might help the local inhabitants and Kenyans generally is beyond comprehension. Instead of taking the camel to the tourists at the Coast, there should be more efforts put to take such tourists to the camel in its natural habitat and to explore other potential tourist attractions in the region.

Political goodwill from the Executive and an accommodating Parliament will address the concerns of the residents of North-Eastern Province and Kenyans.

The writer is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. The Kenyan Parliament has proposed him to be the Chairman of the country's Election board. This is an abridged version of a paper presented at a meeting of MPs in Naivasha last year.

KENYANS ADVISED TO TAKE CARE "VISITING" SOMALIA

Kenya Civil servants in the border district of Ijara have been warned against venturing into Somalia. The government workers have also been advised to park GK vehicles at police stations in the area.District Officer 1, Abdullahi Galgallo said the border with Somalia remained closed and advised those travelling on duty to avoid doing so at night and always seek a police escort when visiting the border areas.

Mr Galgallo, however, said the measures were routine and were normally taken in districts bordering a country whose security situation was precarious. (KNA).

DUALE PRAISES POLICE COMMISIONER MAJOR MOHAMED HUSSEIN ALI

Haya, it looks like Dujis MP Aden Duale is fighting back and has regained some sense after Dujis CDF has alledgedly been mentioned among the worst managed CDF unit in Kenya. This time, with the help of some relief food from BBK (Barclays Bank of Kenya) he managed to declare to Dujis people that he is ready for some more business for them by distributing food in his constituency. Duale also faulted those who are accusing Kenya's Police Commisioner Major General Mohamed Hussein in dealing with Mungiki illegal gangs that killed more than 27 people in Central Kenya last month.

The food was distributed in conjuction with Kenya Red Cross.

Dujis constituency has over 31,000 registered voters although many have not been counted, I mean many who are in badia...It consist of Biashara, Garissa municipality, Bulla, Garissa municipality Jamhuri, Garissa municipality Market, Garissa municipality Mashambani, Garissa municipality Stadium, Garissa municipality Sankuri / Raya, Garissa County Balambala, Garissa County Danyere, Garissa County Jara Jila, Garissa County Kora Kora, Garissa County Saka, Garissa County Shimbirey, Garissa County with a total of 30,912.

Duale went on to praise the role of the police commisioner and thanked BBK of having assisted the somali community of Kenya.

Previously, reports said that Wajir South MP Abdirahman Ali Hassan has been sued for allegedly misappropriating Sh78 million.Some local residents moved to court claiming the money allocated to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) since 2004 had been misappropriated.
Lady Justice Jessie Lesiit allowed four constituents led by Abdirahim Mohammed Abdille to institute a representative suit against their patron and the CDF committee.

ARE THERE REAL "KENYAN" NATIONALIST? ...Piece of Mind

Migingo: Why is the Kenyan media so militant?

By Tajudeen A. Raheem

If you read the Kenyan and Ugandan papers or monitor other regional media , it would be understandable if you conclude that both countries are about to go to war over a disputed island that is about the size of half of a standard football field, with no much room for supporters to watch if there was a ‘5-a-side’ football match.

Why would two countries with very warm relations in recent years , both committed to further regional integration through an expanded East Africa Community, both members of several regional multilateral organisations, go to war or escalate border dispute to this level? I think the ease with which an African State is more prone to violent dialogue as opposed to peaceful settlement of disputes has to do with the nature of these states artificially built to satisfy other people’s interests and largely unchanged in its anti- people character, decades after independence. Otherwise we have to ask ourselves why States that cannot defend their own people from hunger and disease, are ready and able to go to war whatever the cost in human and material terms. Unfortunately the citizens for whom the State could not provide basic services are mobilised and driven into frenetic nationalism.

There are differences between the reaction of Uganda’s and Kenya’s political leadership. Kenya has held out the position that this conflict should be resolved diplomatically and politically. Uganda says the same but typical of the way and manner in which President Museveni and the NRA/M came to power: prepare for war while talking peace. But the reaction of the media in both countries’ contrasts the political responses. In Uganda the media is not that gung ho whereas the Kenya media is spoiling for war and quite critical of what they see as a weak response from President Kibaki’s administration. Indeed Uganda has virtually been at war with all its neighbours at one point or the other with the exception of Kenya and Burundi (though many in Bujumbura may dispute this!). But Kenya is not known for interstate militarism even though its internal politics has been very violent with ethnic clashes, high profile assassinations culminating in the violent post election disputes of 2007/8. So Kenya’s political elite could be violent towards each other in their battles for supremacy but they seem to have kept it within their borders whereas Uganda’s political violence is historically externalised. So why is the Kenya media so militant? Partly because they are already frustrated with the coalition government for its non delivery but in particular, President Kibaki’s ‘hands off’ approach to many controversies.

The Kenyan President is infamous for remaining quiet in the face of burning issues that sometimes there is an impression that the country is on auto piloting. Migingo merely provides yet another opportunity for the media and the wider public to vent their spleen, this time using the threat of aggression by their gun-totting neighbours to whip up patriotism. It is really sad that our patriotism and nationalism are brought out mostly in the negative. Where is the patriotism of the media in the face of corruption that is destroying the country; compromising the delivery of services, maintenance of roads and killing people in badly maintained hospitals?

Where is the media’s patriotism in an aspiring middle income country that has 10 million of its citizens facing mass hunger and starvation when there is plenty of food, why are they not waging war against corruption and hunger? Hunger in Kenya is not because there is no food but because the poor do not have the resources to buy food. The middle class professionals and the indolent political elite, who do not produce anything but milked the country dry, have money to buy any food they want whereas the poor and powerless cannot farm due to drought and cannot eat due to lack of economic means occasioning famine. Where is the patriotism about this?

If militarism really works, President Museveni should have annihilated Joseph Kony and the LRA. Unfortunately, as they say a leopard cannot change its spots. However, this conflict needs to be resolved through legal, diplomatic and political means. President Kibaki has been pressured into ‘vowing’ to defend Migingo but ‘defence’ does not and should not mean going to war. It is not a sign of weakness to give politics and diplomacy a chance. All conflicts on this continent eventually are resolved by negotiations even if one side ‘won’ militarily. It is a setback for the fast tracking of East Africa integration of which President Museveni is a key champion.

Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem writes this syndicated column for Daily Monitor of Uganda in his capacity as a concerned Pan Africanist

AHMED ISSACK TO BECOME KENYA'S ELECTION BOSS AFTER PRESIDENT'S SIGNATURE

Kenya has moved a step closer to having a new Electoral Commission after Parliament approved a list of proposed new members. Parliament on Thursday afternoon unanimously approved a list of nine nominees to the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC). The chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on constitution review Mohammed Abdikadir said that the approval marked the beginning of institutional reforms in the country. “This is our country and this House has talked the talk of reforms for so long. The House has adopted a report by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Review finally sealing the electoral vacuum that has faced the country over the last four months.

"Its time for us to walk the talk and this afternoon (Thursday) we are starting on a good foot, if this House can approve the names of IIEC so that reforms in that sector can be underway once and for all,” he said.Vice chairman Ababu Namwamba said that the team was nominated competitively and on merit.

The report on the proposed Interim Independent Electoral Commission will now be passed on to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga for appointment. MPs said the team had to work fast and prepare for a referendum as soon as possible, in order to help in the implementation of the much-talked about Agenda Four on reforms. The new team will contend with a packed agenda: voter registration, pending by-elections and a complete overhaul of the electoral system. The MPs also urged the IIEC secretariat to rid itself of tribalism and find a way of settling all political disputes. The House adjourned early at 4.00 p.m. after only a handful of MPs contributed to the Motion expressing their confidence in the new team headed by lawyer Ahmed Issack Hassan. He will replace former ECK Chairman, Samuel Kivuitu who bungled the 2007 Kenya election.

Attorney General Amos Wako gave the new team a thumbs-up and asked them to stick to the law even as they discharged their mandate. Unlike the previous list, which was rejected by Parliament including the PSC members, Mr Namwamba said.“The committee has taken time to have consensus and the list enjoys the full confidence of the members. We have faith in the professionals nominated. We have no doubt that this team will live up to the expectations of Kenyans.”He further said that the committee believed the team would restore confidence in the electoral body following the outcome of the 2007 General Election.“The nominees have an enormous responsibility of reviving and re-installing the faith of Kenyans,” he said, while appealing to the President to quickly assent to the list so that the team can begin its work. “Reform is going to be the guiding star of this team.”

The new team includes revised names of the chairperson and two members to replace those rejected by Parliament on February 18 on grounds of credibility. The House expressed reservations on the nomination of lawyer Cecil Miller for the position of chairperson and two nominees Mr Suleiman Buko and Capt (Rtd.) Charles Masinde after MPs argued that nominees to the electoral body must be persons of ‘high moral character and integrity.’

The PSC chaired by Mr Mohammed Abdikadir consequently re-advertised the chairman’s position and after further interviews picked Mr Ahmed Issack Hussein for the chairperson’s position, Mr Douglas Mwashigadi to replace Mr Buko and Mr Simiyu Abiud Wasike to replace Capt. (Rtd.) Masinde. About 20 candidates were interviewed for the chairman’s position. Assistant Ministers Joseph Nkaissery and Adan Duale led in calling on the IIEC to remain impartial in discharging its duties. The motion was moved Mr Abdikadir who said the team was “the core of institutional and Constitution reforms in the country.”

While seconding the motion, the committee’s Vice Chair Ababu Namwamba had asked Parliament to endorse the matter with utmost urgency “to seal the vacuum that existed in the country” following the dissolution of the ECK. Mr Namwamba asked the MPs to look at merit and not introduce private matters as was the case when Mr Miller was appointed to the seat. Tourism minister Najib Balala called for a “digital voting system” in the country and asked the new team to focus on integrity in the course of their work.

“From registration of voters, the voting itself and the announcement of results…all should be transparent,” he said. “The stability of the country depends on having an independent democratic Constitution. We also need honest leadership.” Vihiga MP Yusuf Chanzu asked the IIEC to consider staff of the former ECK.

The lack of an electoral body had left the country with an electoral vacuum that could precipitate a constitutional crisis in case the presidency falls vacant. The country also lacks both a voter register. The situation is further complicated by an unclear constitution that puts both the vice-president and prime minister in close contention of the presidency. While the constitution says that the VP would take over power for 90 days, the National Accord says the PM is an equal partner to the president.

Attorney General Amos Wako expressed his pleasure with the team as he acknowledged the members’ qualifications and experience.He urged them to efficiently use their expertise to make up for the lost time.“We have lost a few months but I am pleased by the fact that the nominees were appointed through a competitive process. For the first time we have qualifications for who a commissioner should be,” he said. To be considered for the post of commissioner, one must have a degree from a recognised university and must be of high moral character and integrity. One should also be qualified to be a High Court Judge.

Defence Minister Joseph Nkaissery said that the country was in a crisis owing it to the fact that there was no an electoral body and a register. “We are in a damaging situation, we have to pass the list today (Thursday) since there is a constitutional crisis. The next thing is to push the agenda forward,” he said. Tourism Minister Najib Balala emphasised on the need to demonstrate honest leadership that will win the faith of the Kenyan people back.He said it was important for the new team to lead the way and provide real changes that will satisfy the country.Once President Mwai Kibaki signs the list, the new electoral body will begin its work led by former Constitution of Kenya Review Commission member Ahmed Isaak Hassan.

IF SOMALIA COAST PIRACY'S ILLEGAL, Then Check this....

Lawlessness off the Somalia coast involving overfishing and toxic-waste dumping is being ignored amidst the uproar over attacks on international shipping, some analysts are charging. For years, Somalis had complained to the United Nations and the European Union “when the marine resources of Somalia were pillaged, when the waters were poisoned, when the fish was stolen, creating poverty in the whole country,” Kenyan writer Mohamed Abshir Waldo, told a national radio audience in the United States last week. “They were totally ignored."

Beth Tuckey, an activist with the African Faith and Justice Network in Washington, wrote in a recent commentary that focusing solely on one kind of piracy – “holding ships and people for ransom” – distorts the actual situation of Somalis living on the coast.

“Having over-fished in their own oceans, many European, Middle Eastern and Asian fishing companies perceived the 1991 state collapse in Somalia as an opening to begin business in foreign waters, Ms Tuckey says and adds "Large trawlers appeared off the coast, scraping up $300 million worth of seafood every year, depriving coastal Somalis of their livelihood and subsistence. Foreign corporations also saw it as a great location to discreetly dump barrels of toxic waste, thereby causing death and disease among the Somali population.”

Taking a similar perspective, the US-African Chamber of Commerce is calling on President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to address all forms of “international maritime violations off the Somali coast.”


In addition to stopping the seizure of vessels, the United States and other powers should prevent “illegal dumping of chemical toxic waste [and] illegal fishing,” says Martin Mohammed, the chamber’s president. He traces the upsurge in Somali pirate attacks to the 2006 US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia that initially routed an Islamist force that had established control over broad parts of the country. The Islamists had provided much of Somalia “with rule of law and a functional society,” Mr Mohammed says. Chaos have returned to the country in the past two years, “Leaving the people of Somalia in dire conditions and leaving the coast unprotected,” Mr Mohammed adds.

Allegations of illegal fishing in Somalia waters were raised last year by the United Nations’ special envoy for Somalia. “Because there is no government, there is so much irregular fishing from European and Asian countries,” Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told reporters in July 2008. He added that the proceeds from illegal fishing help perpetuate the violence that has reigned in Somalia for the past 18 years. Illegal fishers are paying corrupt officials or warlords for protection or to secure fake licenses, Ould Abdallah said.A UN report two years ago estimated that poaching in the rich fishing grounds off Somalia amounts to a $300 million a year enterprise.

The UN envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has stated that "because there is no (effective) government, there is ... much irregular fishing from European and Asian countries," and that the UN has "reliable information" that European and Asian companies are dumping toxic and nuclear waste off of the Somali coastline. However, he stresses that "no government has endorsed this act, and that private companies and individuals acting alone are responsible." In addition, Ould-Abdallah told the press that he believes the toxic waste dumping is "a disaster off the Somali coast, a disaster (for) the Somali environment, the Somali population," and that what he terms "this illegal fishing, illegal dumping of waste" helps fuel the civil war in Somalia since the illegal foreign fishermen pay off corrupt local officials or warlords for protection or to secure counterfeit licenses. However, Ould-Abdallah noted that piracy will not prevent waste dumping: "The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," and "What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs." These issues have generally not been reported in international media when reporting on piracy.

“It’s been like a long gold rush for Thai, European, Yemeni and Korean boats,” Abdulwali Abdulrahman Gayre, the Puntland vice minister of ports and fisheries, told a Chicago Tribune reporter last October.Related Stories“We have some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. Scientists say it is like a rainforest of fish. But our fishermen can’t compete with the foreigners in big ships who come to steal from our waters.”

IS KENYA, A SOVEREIGN STATE AMA IKO NA WENYEWE

Click on the picture to read The Full JOSHUA C. KULEI's Response to Mr. RANNERBERGER'S alledged ban to travel to UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

AL SHABAAB "OUTFIT" NOT WELCOME IN NEP KENYA

Kenya on Monday shrugged off threats by the radical Somali Islamic group, Al-Shabaab, that it would launch incursions into North Eastern province. North Eastern Provincial Commissioner Kimeu Maingi is quoted saying the Somali militia and Al-Qaeda had threatened to invade Kenya and introduce Sharia Law. Now the Kenyan Government has dared Al-Shaab militiamen to seize any part of Kenya and face military action.


“Kenya is a sovereign country. We have the capacity and the ability to stave off any incursions,” Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka said on Monday. He was responding to reports that the insurgents were planning to take over North Eastern Province and subject it to the rule of Sharia law. Mr Onyonka said the government would do anything to protect its territory.

North Eastern Provincial Commissioner Kimeu Maingi at the weekend was quoted as saying the Al-Shabaab, a militia group linked to al-Qaeda, had officially communicated to the government, warning “they would stop at nothing, including armed conflict, to invade the province and make it part of their country and rule it using their religious laws”.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Somalia conference in Nairobi exploring the country’s civil service training opportunities, Mr Onyonka said such threats would not deter Kenya from ensuring that the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is successful in achieving its agenda. Mr Maingi had said the abduction of several Kenyans at the border town of Mandera last month was part of Al-Shabaab’s wider scheme to aggress Kenya.

The Kenya Government has started a training programme for Somalia’s civil servants in efforts to foster development in the war-torn country. Having had no government in place for 18 years, senior civil servants of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG) jetted into the country to learn public administration, enhancing good relations with neighbouring states and regional co-operation. The week-long training, which is being coordinated by the Foreign Affairs ministry, started Monday at the Kenya Institute of Administration.

Mr. Onyonka while speaking at the opening ceremony of the training programme, said the country was committed to bringing stability and development in Somalia. “Kenya recognises the need to extend technical assistance, inform of training, as part of the broader effort in facilitating national reconstruction and building of the TFG,” he said. Somalia is one of the countries in the world to experience civil unrest for a long time, resulting in the breakdown of various training and learning institutions. “This has impacted negatively on the human-resources base of the country,” Mr Onyonka said. The Kenya Government and the United Nations Development Programme (Somalia office) have teamed up to train all the civil servants.“The officers will learn from the best practices in the country on how they can run their government,” Mr Onyonka added.The first batch is made up of 25 officers and the programme is set to be rolled out in all other departments of the TFG.

The Al-Shabaab "outfit" are said to be Somali extremists, with strong ties to Al Qaeda. They support the imposition of strict Sharia Law throughout Somalia. Mr Onyonka said that the threats from them would not deter Kenya from ensuring that the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia is successful in achieving its agenda.


The Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister further called on the militia and the transitional government to consider dialogue as a means of resolving their disputes “We hope the group will resolve conflict diplomatically; going to war will not help anyone,” he advised.“The TFG is the only way out and we (the international community) will not accept any other way. It is in the best interest to ensure peace and security of the Somalia,” said Mr Onyonka.


Mr. Onyonka has not expressed similar rhetoric on issues regarding Migingo.... an Island the Ugandan government has already annexed as part of it's country.

According to the director of the Foreign Services institute Prof Phillip Mwanzia these officers will be trained on methods of public administration, diplomacy and other sectors relevant to their government. “At the end, the officers will develop sharp negotiation skills, project management, monitoring and evaluation,” he said.

CAN WE DECIDE ON "GUDNIINKA FIRCOOWNIGA".......FGM ONCE AND FOR ALL

NOTE: Pic for illustration only...

46-year-old Mrs Abdow Ahmed retorts: “They are telling us to stop circumcising our girls; where on earth are we heading to? Do they want our girls to run mad?”

It is a classic case of the law finding itself caught between modernity and tradition. A Wajir woman has been arrested and is awaiting arraignment in court after her daughter died in a female circumcision gone wrong. Also in court is a traditional female circumciser who presided over the botched operation. The two cannot be named for legal reasons, but in Wajir, local clan elders and religious leaders are up in arms over the arrests. They say it was just an accident, and do not see why anyone should face charges of murder or manslaughter in a case they say should be handled traditionally by elders.

After more than a week in custody at the Wajir Police Station, the mother is yet to come to terms with the double tragedy — the death of her seven-year-old daughter and the prospect of spending time in jail. “This is just God’s case, and it has no appeal,” relative who identified himself as Abdi told the Nation. “No parent would like to cause death of her own child. “This is like an accident. Clan elders can settle the issue,” Abdi said, echoing other family members who want the women released. The case has now generated controversy in Wajir. Police insist the two caused the death of the girl and must face the law. But elders and religious leaders say the arrests are unfair and an affront to local cultural and Islamic sensibilities.

Female circumcision, formally known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is widely practised in the Somali community, with more than 97 per cent of girls going through the ritual. Local and international pressure groups have long campaigned for an end to the practice, which is also common in some other communities in Kenya including Central, Eastern, Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces. During the current school holidays, hundreds of girls have gone through the ritual in North Eastern Province, despite the spirited campaigns by the government and activist groups against the rite of passage.

In much of North Eastern, anti-circumcision campaigners have faced hostility and accusations of trying to kill age-old cultural practices. One of the most prominent local campaigners against the practice is nominated councillor Rukia Abdille. “It is a second degree felony that needs to be eradicated,” she said firmly. But 46-year-old Mrs Abdow Ahmed retorts: “They are telling us to stop circumcising our girls; where on earth are we heading to? Do they want our girls to run mad?”

Many women in Wajir, even the educated, embrace circumcision. “It is something every girl in our community should pass through. It is a way of preserving our womanhood,” Said Mrs Alasa Hussein, a 39-year-old mother. And anti-FGM campaigners acknowledge they are making little headway in the conservative community.

“We are facing an angry backlash from the community who believe that we are coming with a foreign ideology,” said Ms Ardo Mohamed, Wajir district anti-FGM and gender coordinator. “When we are talking about the thorny issue of FGM, women herders know we — women campaigners — have been circumcised too. Why do we have to preach now, they wonder?”

Even religious leaders strongly resist any move to eradicate girl circumcision. “We are doing what is called for by our religion,” says Wajir branch Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) chairman Sheikh Abdullahi Ubied. “This is Islamic culture and it is part of our religion”. The Supkem official, however, advocates that infibulation, the most extreme form of female circumcision practised in the region, should be avoided. The rite is, however, not practised by all Muslims, and according to some scholars, seems to have cultural rather than Islamic roots.

The death of the young girl seems not to have moved locals to abandon the female cut. And neither has the arrest of her mother and the “surgeon” shaken their belief in the rite of passage. The difficult question is: will FGM be with us in the coming years?

FIRST COMMUNITY BANK KENYA EYES INVESTMENT BANKING

Competition for multi-million shilling corporate deals is set to increase as fast growing First Community Bank (FCB) joins the fray. The fully-fledged Islamic bank said it has applied to the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) for an investment banking licence to tap deals in Islamic structured finance, issuing of bonds and overseeing mergers and acquisitions.

"We are close to getting a licence for a Sharia compliant investment banking subsidiary that will be up and running soon," said Mr Nathif Adam, the Chief Executive.

He added the bank has fulfilled all the requirements, the regulator has completed a due diligence of its operations and the licence should be granted soon. FCB’s foray into investment banking is part of a fast growth stra tegy that the bank has opted for in its quest to offer a one-stop-shop solution to its Islamic niche market. Last week, FCB, which launched operations last year after receiving approval from the Central Bank to operate as a Sharia (Islamic law) compliant bank, opened two more branches in Nairobi, bringing its total branch network to nine. Plans are also underway to open eight more branches across the country within the next seven months.

"Expanding fast is a strategy that we hope not to go wrong with because we are doing our mathematics well," said Adam.

Recently, it launched a product dubbed Labbeyk Hajj Savings Account that would enable Muslims save for the Hajj pilgrimage.

Islamic banks were allowed to operate after an amendment to section 53 of Banking Act in 2006 that removed prohibitions in trading in and holding of fixed assets. They have been opening branches in particularly Muslim-dominated areas in Nairobi, Mombasa and North Eastern, which would explain their financial performance due to heavy initial capital investment.

FCB customer deposits stood at Sh2.1 billion by end of December compared to Sh1 billion in September. Loans and advances increased from Sh1.8 million in September to Sh18 billion by December 31. The bank, therefore, increased its loan loss provision from Sh4.1 million to Sh8.7 million in the same period. Its core capital stood at Sh775 million compared to the statutory minimum of Sh250 million.

It was earlier reported that First Community Bank has recorded a pre-tax profit loss of Sh307 million for the year ending December 31, 2008. According to the bank's financial report signed by the chairman Hassan Varvani and chief executive officer Nathif Adam, FCB’s loss increased from Sh191 million recorded by September 2008. This was the first financial report by the fully fledged Islamic bank that was provided with a licence to operate by the Central Bank of Kenya on May 29, 2007 and opened its doors to customers in June 2008. It means the bank results are based on the six months that it has been in operation. It was reported that Gulf African Bank, the other Islamic bank operating in the country, and which was licensed almost at the same time, last week also posted a loss in its first year of business.

However, FCB's CEO Mr. Nadhif dismissed reports that the bank had recorded a pre-tax loss of Sh307 million for the year ending December 31, last year as a fallacy because set up investment cannot constitute a loss. "The reality is that it was not an operating loss. It is a fallacy because we are growing," he stated. Since its launch in May, FCB has extended banking services to areas erstwhile ignored by conventional banks like North Eastern Province where it has one branch and plans to open three more branches before the end of the year. To date, FCB has disbursed more than Sh2 billion in loans and is one of the four banks picked to work with the Youth Enterprise Development Fund in dispersing Sh1.5 billion to empower the youth.

The Other Islamic Bank, Gulf African Bank has also opened several branches in various towns among them an able team in the Garissa branch headed by my freind Ali Noor Shabure, formerly of KCB, now the branch manager. Shabure has previously been working for KCB and his last posting was in Moyale. He is required to harness his past relationships and knowledge of the business community to add value to our services in Garissa for the Islamic Bank. The Garissa branch is the 7th to be opened since Gulf African Bank started operations in January this year. The target is to have 11 operational branches by end 2008 and we are on course.

First Community Bank Ltd. (FCB) has previously stepped up its recruitment of key personnel with the objective of commencing operations. The bank, which has links to Kuwaiti investors has recruited senior personnel to head its risk management, operations, treasury, corporate and retail banking arms as it opens branch networks through out the region. In May 2007, it was granted approval by the Minister of Finance to conduct “banking business’’ under the Banking Act. First Community is now a fully fledged Islamic Bank.

In 2006, Section 53 of the Banking Act was amended to enable the Minister of Finance exempt institutions from provisions of Section 12 of the Act that prohibit trading and holding of fixed assets. This amendment was intended to promote the introduction of innovative products in the banking sector, including Islamic Banking products that may require an institution to hold a fixed asset such as in the case of mortgage financing or goods and commodities in the case of consumer financing. Among the banks waiting for the approval of operating licenses are Dubai Bank and Gulf Bank. A number of local banks already offer Islamic banking products targeting the country’s estimated 11 million Muslims. Since the amendment, several banks have opened up windows offering interest free-based accounts to accommodate religious sensitivities of some Muslims.

Globally, HSBC and UBS have created separate brands for Muslims while Maybank in Malaysia and Samba Financial in Saudi Arabia have opened special branches that sell only Islamic banking products.

Kenya's first Islamic lender-First Community Bank has set out branches across the country under it's the appointment of veteran banker Nathif Adam as the chief executive officer. With a Sh1 billion capitalisation - four times the statutory base -the bank will hit the ground running in anticipation of intense competition from other banks that have unveiled products targeting Muslims.

"It was in line with our business strategy. With this kind of money, we are leaving nothing to chance," Mr Adam told Business Daily.

The bank has opened branches in the Coast and North Eastern provinces which have largely Muslim populations and in city estates such as Eastleigh where Muslims are the majority.

"Our plan was to have as many branches as possible in all the Muslim-dominated regions of Kenya, including North Eastern Province and as many branches as possible in Coast Province," says Mr Adam, adding that the new bank has also opened a branch in Garissa last February. The move is seen as a major step in opening up the regions to the financial sector which comprise a substantial proportion of the unbanked rural population across the country. The initial roll out targets a branch in Eastleigh -Kenya's "Little Mogadishu" - another in Mombasa and a third at Prudential House within Nairobi's Central Business District. The bank has already hired 55 members of staff across all ranks.

Prior to his appointment, Mr Adam, 58, was the Senior Vice-President and Head of Investments at Sharjah Islamic Bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A career Islamic banker, he insists that he was the pioneer of Islamic banking in Kenya.

"It is not true that Islamic Banking came into vogue in 2005 . I had already indicated my desire to start an Islamic bank to the CBK way back in 1984," he said. Apart from FCB, the Gulf African Bank is the other bank in Kenya with a licence to operate as a fully Islamic bank.

The La Riba account offered by Barclays Bank was the first ever Sharia compliant account in Kenya. The account was set up in December, 2005, and is reported to have attracted nearly Sh560million from traders over the past year.

Mr Adam, however, says there are challenges to be overcome if the new bank is to make an impact in the country. Chief among them is association of Islamic banking with terrorism.
"We have to be realistic. Getting rid of the notion that Islamic banks are conduits for financing terrorism will be one of my biggest challenges," he says. The other is to open up the bank to all Kenyans.

"As a matter of priority FCB will offer shares to the public through an IPO at the Nairobi Stock Exchange," Mr Adam said. Under Kenyan laws, a company has to be in existence for at least five years before it can be listed unless if it is floated at another stock exchange.

Currently, FCB's main shareholders include Sharjah Islamic Bank of the UAE, Al- Madina investment & Finance and Zummoroda Investment company (both of Kuwait) and a number of Kenyans (30 per cent).

Although the bank will be open to people outside the Muslim faith, its main target will be the Somali community who are known as astute international traders. "If we get them and more, we will be a force to reckon with in Kenya's banking industry," Mr Adam said.

The Somali community in Kenya is estimated at more than 2 million and has a savings base in the region of Sh800 million. Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), K-rep Bank and Dubai Bank, also offer shari'a compliant products targeting the Kenya's 1 million Muslims. Other banks such as Imperial Bank are also in the process of introducing similar products before the end of the year.
The emergence of shari'a complaint bank products was made possible through amendments made to section 53 of the Banking Act last year, removing prohibitions on trading in and holding of fixed assets.

Again, Path Solutions, the leader in the provision of high quality integrated Sharia-compliant software solutions to the world's Islamic banking industry announced that First Community Bank (FCB) Kenya has gone live using iMAL Islamic Banking & Investment System, only 4 months after the project kick off date.

FCB was granted an approval to pioneer Islamic banking in the country by the Central Bank of Kenya in May 2007 and immediately chose Path Solutions' iMAL System after extensive and competitive vendor selection process that included other major global solutions' providers. By deploying iMAL, FCB will provide premium Sharia compliant Retail, Commercial services and Investment banking solutions to meet the diverse needs of its clientele.

Hassan Muhammud, Head of Business Technology & Project Manager at FCB said:

'It was important to select a partner that shares our bank's grand vision on Islamic finance. Indeed, Path Solutions understood our business model, are adaptive and flexible in perceiving Kenya's dynamic financial requirements - with special attention to Shariah principles and compliance'. And he added: 'We are proud to have chosen the right technology solution not only to cater for our current business requirements but also to support us in the fast dynamic growing Islamic finance industry. Last but not least, we thank Allah for this achievement as we usher a new era in Kenyan banking with the birth of FCB. Verily, this success is an enormous blessing to everyone in the East African region.'Commenting on the Go Live, Raida Hafez, Path Solutions' Project Director said: 'The whole implementation process went extremely well, largely because of the quality and commitment of both teams'.

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US AMBASSADOR IN KENYA MR. RANNERBERGER SHOULD STICK TO HIS "OFFICIAL" DUTIES. HE SHOULD LEAVE US ALONE

It has not passed a week before it was reported that Molo MP Joseph Kiuna accused the US ambassador in Kenya Michael Ranneberger of visiting his Molo constituency in the Rift Valley without his knowledge accusing the US envoy and some NGOs of "criss-crossing" his constituency in the name of peace building. Just around One month ago, Former President Moi’s aide Joshua Kulei Kulei had a problem again with the US Ambassador arguing that Ranneberger(The US Ambassador) is using his diplomatic immunity to propagate falsehoods in Kenya by saying:

"Ranneberger’s conduct is in bad taste, theatrical, less than honest, pervasive and cowardly," while admitting that the US envoy had abandoned the US cause and redirected his energies to taking sides in Kenya’s politics. Kulei had even dared the envoy to waive his diplomatic immunity if his allegations had merit and face him in court.

This week, it was our time for people of NEP. It was reported by BBC Somali that Kenya's Deputy Speaker, Farah Maalim has been refused a US Visa to travel to United States by the US Embassy, a fact that Hon Farah himself denies ever requesting a visa to travel there, but then, you tend to ask, what happened to the US Ambassador of Kenya official roles and why is he interfereing in our state of affairs....?

A short reminder

If it's about leasure and holidays and Mr. Rannerberger thinks US is somewhere people go for nice travel and holidays, Kulei had reminded him that US Citizens, Europeans and others travel to Kenya for holidays and even indicated that he was not interested in travelling to America with or without a visa ban. While Hon Farah may share the same theme as previously Martha Karua once described, America is not heaven....The question remains, what is the official duty of foreign embassies in Kenya...Why are they trying to cause issues when there are no issues at all....

Speaking in Nairobi once, Kiuna, The Molo MP said protocol dictated that before officials(Local+Foreign) who visit his constituency, they should inform him. He said: "I deserve to know who is coming to my territory and for what reason. That’s just but courtesy. Even when the President visits Molo he has the courtesy to tell me." It could be wise, if the ambassador followed laid down protocols of the country and helped unite the communities by involving the person they elected to the parliament. Otherwise, what does he gain without Kiuna's Involvement in his own constituency?

Sometime back, The presense of US Marines in North Eastern province of Kenya has been questioned by Hon Farah Maalim (Lagdera, ODM) asking the Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula to clarify whether the 80 marines in his constituency were doing more than drilling boreholes for the residents. Mr Maalim, who is also the deputy Speaker in the Kenyan National Assembly and whose constituency he is representing and where the activities were taking place wanted to know what the marines are doing there. He said the marines had been in the arid area for over a year and had not succeeded in getting water for the residents.

What are they supposed to be doing there, he asked? Are they depositing Nuclear wastes there?

The ODM MP asked whether the marines were there to bury nuclear waste. He accused the marines of operating under a lot of secrecy, saying that local leaders, including the provincial administration and councillors were in the dark about the activities of the US soldiers. It was then, that former Justice minister Martha Karua, who was by then, the deputy leader of Government Business, gave an undertaking to communicate the request for a ministerial statement to Mr Wetang’ula. We are still waiting for a formal communication from Wetangula, which until now was not sufficiently dealt with. Rumours are rife about US Marines missions in NEP kenya. Some residents are convinced that the marines are "polluting" the vast arid area with nuclear wastes while pretending they are drilling boreholes. Hon Farah Maalim had asked (in parliament) Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula to clarify whether the US marines in his constituency were doing more than drilling boreholes for the residents.. He accused the marines of operating under a lot of secrecy, saying that local leaders, including the provincial administration and councillors were in the dark about the activities of the US soldiers and asked whether the marines were there to bury nuclear waste.

The return of United States marines in North Eastern Province has raised eyebrows among the local Somali Muslims amid fears that the province is likely to be used as the launching pad for the wider war on terror, albeit covered in the clothes of humanitarian assistance. Their unexpected arrival in a convoy of trucks with sophisticated military and engineering equipment had previously caused a stir in Garissa town.

"We thought we had seen the last of them when they left the province late 2004 after completing the humanitarian projects," said Mr Hussein Issa, a Garissa branch Narc chairman. "Now that they are back, it seems they have a special attachment to Northern Kenya — probably due to its proximity to Somalia," he added.

Political analyst say, it looks that some of these issues may have led to the rumours that Hon. Farah Maalim must have developed some bad blood with the US Operations in and around Kenya and that is part of the "supposed" refusal of the US Visa.... But this should not worry NEP or kenyan citizens residing over there. It should worry the US even more. Residents are construing to mean that, because Hon. Farah spoke about their activities, the US is punishing him for that and this will not be taken easily in that area.

Although the US Counter-Terrorism operations is helping residents of the vast province, The last time the marines were in town, the Government was forced to publicly declare their mission after the predominantly Muslim residents ejected them from a Garissa hotel. The rare spectacle when the Americans landed in town caused commotion as hordes of curious residents milled around the Garissa Kenya Military Barracks, where the marines have made temporary base. In one incident, the marines were forced to abandon medical and veterinary services to the residents.There were claims that their drugs could cause infertility. The residents feared that the drugs were meant to reduce and subsequently wipe out the Muslim community.The propaganda was even spread in local mosques and coffee shops. Many residents took the fears seriously and stayed away from a free medical camp at the Kenya Red Cross Society camp.

The North Eastern Provincial Commissioner, Mr Kiritu Wamae, was at times forced to call an impromptu public meeting to dispel the negative perception about the presence of the troops in town. He had on several occassion insisted that the marines were on a humanitarian mission in the region and were working in partnership with the Kenya Army officers. Wamae said the soldiers planned to drill 10 boreholes in Garissa District. We can't confirm this has been done upto date.

Thus Hon Farah Maalim's Visa refusal claim by US Embassy, it seems to residents as america's bullying tactic to silence the leader not to question the US military presence in Lagdera constituency but why deny him a simple Visa to such a valuable person in the country? Farah Maalim, the Lagdera elected member of parliament is one of the few out spoken Kenyan-Somali, who will never shy off on issues that are of national interest and has on several occasions told Kenyans to solve their problems internally while rebelling the waki report. We like him because he understand the problem afflicting people of Northern Kenya. He is one of our few important Member of Parliament. Mr Aden Abdi; a constituent from Lagdera said that the US field officer should respect our leaders if not he should advice Americans not to step a foot on Lagdera constituency without the permission of the locals.


Hon Farah Maalim had once bravely accused western countries of a conspiracy to turn Kenya into a failed State for their own "selfish" interests. He said “ before the peace deal was signed, he and a group of ODM leaders visited a diplomat of a western superpower and instead of assisting to end the violence, he told them the due process of law must be followed. US media across the Atlantic, shade more light on Mr Maalim’s sentiments. An article by Karen Rothmyer on The Nation, a US newspaper in New York, claimed that Mr Ken Flottman, who was IRI country director sat on the exit poll when Kenyans needed it most. Mr Flottman said, Ranneberger appeared to try to help Kibaki’s chances. In one case, when a poll done by a local leading pollster showed Raila pulling ahead, "the ambassador was keen to release our poll, which showed Kibaki was more popular".

It is time, our Kenyan leaders need to stand up for their democratic rights and work together to mobilize their constituents against US interventions and subsequent actions of causing further tensions within communities. Kenya is sovereign and the US Ambassador must know NEP is trying to cope with three decades marginalization and we don't need further issues that will harm our development. NEP residents and Kenyans are urged to stand firm, strong and united against these kind of arm twisting by the US and it's officials in the name of democratization. This can be counter-productive at times and especially in NEP Kenya and the US Ambassador in whose nation he is working for must know this.

Editor

KENYA ON A VERY "THIN" TIGHT ROPE.........

SUMMARY:

President says issue of Leader of Government Business closed by writing a "final" letter to the Speaker of the parliament . ODM insists that "it will do everything" to take parliament as it has majority members of parliament, even if going back to elections. There is currently no electoral board to oversee any elections....

Coalition partners ODM and PNU remained hopelessly divided on Saturday over the raging dispute over the Leader of Government Business that has paralysed Parliament. The political temperature is likely to rise on Sunday when PNU leaders address a press conference at Serena Hotel in Nairobi to respond to Prime Minister Raila Odinga. On Saturday, it emerged that the standoff in the House last week was a sign of a deeper struggle over control of government affairs.

On the one hand, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has identified Parliament as the perfect launch pad for its new strategy to force President Kibaki and his Party of National Unity (PNU) to consult the Prime Minister as an equal partner in the Grand Coalition government. On the other PNU views the move as targeted at grabbing presidential powers, a form of a “civilian coup” against the President.

At the heart of the dispute is the position of Leader of Government Business in Parliament, which is being claimed by Mr Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka. The President wrote to the House Speaker Kenneth Marende endorsing Mr Musyoka for the position, but Mr Odinga sent another letter stating that as supervisor of government affairs, he was the rightful holder of the post.

The standoff paralysed parliamentary business for two days this week as MPs from both sides argued on who between the President and PM should appoint the Leader of Government Business.

On Thursday, Mr Marende announced that he would rule on the issue on Tuesday, if the two principals would not have arrived at an amicable solution.

FORMER KENYA PARLIAMENT SPEAKER, FRANCIS OLE KAPARO SAYS:

“The House Business Committee sets the agenda for the House. Whoever sets the agenda controls what comes to the floor of the House,” Mr Kaparo said. “But this is a strange phenomenon. Ordinarily there is a government and an opposition. In this particular case it’s a government fighting itself. It cannot be resolved through legalities, it has to be solved politically.”

PNU SIDE SAY:

“Traditionally, the President’s principal assistant (the vice-president) has been taking that role. That means that Mr Musyoka was rightly appointed leader of government business in Parliament by President Kibaki. His duties do not go beyond the House,” said Mr Kilonzo.

“Raila is actually fighting Kibaki for power. Kalonzo is a nominee of the President. However, think of the football analogies the PM loves to use all the time... about overcoming the defences around the goalkeeper, then making the shot into goal. On this (parliamentary) appointment we have drawn a red line,” one of the participants told the Sunday Nation but adamantly refused to discuss the actual deliberations.

“Why did he not address the House during the State opening? The Head of State is head of government. The leader of government business is basically the President’s deputy. If the PM wants to lower himself to take that position, then he should not insist on equal power-sharing,” said Mr Nyamweya.

“Look, ODM already has the Speaker’s position and the deputy’s. The push for the Leader of Government Business is something the President cannot ignore. Let nobody forget that the President’s office is executive. After all, he dissolves and prorogues the House,” said the official, who like the others did not want to be identified on this sensitive matter.

And last evening State House issued a Press statement saying that the President was not ready to negotiate over the matter. “Having executed (his) Constitutional responsibility, His Excellency the President considered the matter closed and therefore deemed further consultations on the matter as unnecessary,” the PPS statement read.

“The truth of the matter, even in the last session, it was the President who appointed the Leader of Government Business who became the chair of the HBC. It is his constitutional right to do so,” Mr Kenyatta said. The minister said that a critical look at the National Accord shows that Mr Odinga signed for ODM while the President signed for Government/PNU, Kenyatta added.

Lastly PNU’s Mutula Kilonzo said: “We will abide by the ruling from the Speaker which I expect will define government as used in the Standing Orders.

ODM SAYS

The ODM party said that it has staked a claim to the powerful positions in order to take charge of the reform agenda. Assistant Foreign Affairs minister Richard Onyonka said the coalition government is a first in the country and therefore tradition cannot be invoked when dealing with House matters. Kenyans are agitating for more reforms and reforms must be given priorities.

Although Kanu chairman said it was erroneous for ODM to compare Kenya with other countries because the grand coalition government had been formed “in exceptional circumstances in which he says, It is clear who is supposed to be the head of government”. ODM Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo, one of Mr Odinga’s key lieutenants, said that ODM “will fight to the bitter end” over the dispute.

Meanwhile, key advisors to the coalition principals said the parties would respect the Speaker’s ruling which will set a precedent in the House and shape the future of Kenya’s politics.

“We shall respect the Speaker’s ruling. It is something that must be respected,” said the ODM secretary general, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o.

PNU says “We will abide by the ruling from the Speakewhich I expect will define government as used in the Standing Orders.

A NEW NAVAL ANGLO-LEASING: SURELY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN KENYA....

The Kenya Government is engaged in parallel negotiations to secure a controversial naval ship after it was slapped with claims of Sh6.46 billion by the contractor for the vessel held at a Spanish shipyard, the Sunday Nation has learnt. In addition to arbitration at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the government is also involved in secret negotiations with Euromarine Industries who were awarded the contract to construct the ship in April 2003 in a deal linked to the Anglo Leasing scandal.

Well-placed sources say the government is conducting parallel negotiations with the firm to have the matter settled out of the international court.

A source, who cannot be named for fear of reprisal, said military officers, who face possible questioning by Euromarine, want the government to withdraw the case from UNCITRAL. Euromarine claims Sh6.46 billion, but the government is willing to pay only Sh3.3billion. It has already paid Sh1.3 billion for the KNS Jasiri. A high-powered Kenyan team visited Europe in February for negotiations, and early this month lawyers representing Euromarine visited Nairobi.

The visit coincided with a statement by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announcing the end of its probe into the Anglo Leasing scandal in which Kenyan taxpayers are believed to have lost Sh54 billion in 18 shady contract deals. Five companies, including Euromarine, which is not a constructor, were identified in May 2004 as having tendered. Euromarine was awarded the contract for Sh4.1 billion (euros 51,997,000).

Last week Spanish Defense minister Carmen Chacon Piqueras visited Kenya and said her country was ready to release the ship.

The negotiations went into high gear following the release of a Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC) report on the 18 Anglo Leasing contracts in which PCW recommended that the government renegotiate with Euromarine to pay them 40 million euros (Sh3.1 billion) and not the 51 million euros (Sh4.1 billion) it committed to in 2003. The report says the selection process was seriously flawed and that Euromarine’s bid was not the best.

In February 2008 Euromarine, linked to Sri Lankan tycoon Anura Pereira, wrote to the head of public service Francis Muthaura complaining that the government was stalling on payment and threatening to sell the vessel. 

Spain’s ambassador to Kenya Nicolas Martin Cinto declined to comment by telephone; his secretary said he would not be available until Monday. 

Department of Defence (DoD) spokesman Bogita Ongeri also declined to comment on the issue. 

MAMA SARAH PROCEEDING TO HAJJ IN MECCA

The businessman behind the takeover of English Premier League side Manchester City Football Club has pledged to sponsor Mama Sarah Obama, the grandmother of US President Barack Obama, to the Hajj pilgrimage later this year. Billionaire Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim — the point man of mega-rich Abu Dhabi United Group — said on Friday he would be taking Mama Sarah to Mecca for the annual pilgrimage alongside his wife.

 

“I have a wife but not a mother so she (Mama Sarah) can take that place and join us to the Hajj,” he said after paying a courtesy call on Mama Sarah at her Kogelo Village home.

 The pilgrimage falls in November, this year, a good time for Mama Sarah to visit the Islamic Holy city of Mecca, he said. Dr Al-Fahim is the ambassador at large for Inter-governmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (Iimsam) while Mama Sarah is its goodwill ambassador.Iimsam director-general Remigio Maradona accompanied Dr al-Fahim.

Speaking through a translator, Mama Sarah accepted the Hajj offer. “I will go,” she said. “If it’s possible, I will make it.”

Dr Al-Fahim pledged to help the organisation realise a world free of malnutrition and hunger by mainstreaming the use of Spirulina to eradicate malnutrition, achieve food security, and bridge the health divide. 

This comes after a failed Seventh Day Adevtist Baptism of Mama Sarah into their congregation.

WHO IS DENYING HON. FARAH MAALIM A VISA......?

Since last week, there is a story going around that Kenya's Deputy Parliament speaker, Hon. Farah Maalim, a long time freedom activist, has been denied a US visa. Nevertheless, Farah himself has denied those rumours and no news media has reported anything on that except a BBC Somali Correspondent in Nairobi who went to check on the facts and here is what Farah replied....in the following detail.....

"Haddaba waxaa BBC u suurta gashay inay wareysato guddoomiye ku xigeenka baarlamaanka Kenya, Faarax Macallin, oo sheegay in aanay jirin wax codsi fiiso ah oo uu gudbiyay safaaradda Kenya, isagoo intaa sii raaciyay in warkaasi aanu soo gaarin isaga, meel laga keenay ogeyn. Faarax Macallin waxa uu sheegay in aanay jirin wax qoraal oo ay usoo qoreen safaaradda, wixii hadda kadib ahna, waxa uu yiri " waa wax iyaga u taallo".

Hon. Farah is a respected politician from NEP Kenya and reverred in the country. He is a renowned ethnic Kenyan

Somali politician with almost two decades of experience on the Kenyan political scene. He is the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya. In addition, he belongs to the Orange Democratic Movement and was elected to represent the Lagdera Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya since the Kenyan parliamentary election, 2007. This is his second stint in the Kenyan Parliament, his first being the 7th Kenyan Parliament. For anyone with sinister motive to deny such a long standing second liberation member a US Visa...it means is like it has become a joke. For that matter, it should also be known that Farah Maalim is a democrat and has fought for democracy. He is entitled to any opinion of any kind and has no anyone questioning his freedom. Thus we joke when we say Hon. Farah has been refused a US Visa.

The BBC continues as:

"Safaaradda Mareykanka ee Magaalada Nairobi ee Dalka kenya, ayaa sheegtay in ay u diiday Fiiso ama dal ku gal uu ka codsaday in uu ku gallo dalka maraykanka guddoomiye ku xigeenka barlamaanka ee Kenya Faarax Macallin oo isla markaasna ah mudane laga soo doorto gobolka Waqooyi Bari ee Kenya. Safaaradda Mareykanka waa ay ka gaabsatay in fahfaahin ka bixiso sababta ay tallaabadaas u qaadatay balse wargeys ka soo baxa magaalada Nairobi ayaa ka hadlay arrinta oo ku tilmaamay in guddoomiye ku xigeenka sababta loogu diiday Fiisaha ay tahay wax uu ugu yeeray xiriirka uu la leeyahay kooxaha Soomaaliya.

Haddaba waxaa BBC u suurta gashay inay wareysato guddoomiye ku xigeenka baarlamaanka Kenya, Faarax Macallin, oo sheegay in aanay jirin wax codsi fiiso ah oo uu gudbiyay safaaradda Kenya, isagoo intaa sii raaciyay in warkaasi aanu soo gaarin isaga, meel laga keenay ogeyn. Faarax Macallin waxa uu sheegay in aanay jirin wax qoraal oo ay usoo qoreen safaaradda, wixii hadda kadib ahna, waxa uu yiri " waa wax iyaga u taallo".

Waxa kale oo uu ka hadlay guddoomiye ku xigeenka baarlamaanka Kenya Faarax Macallin, inuu taageero u hayay maamulkii maxkamadaha Islaamka ee ka jiray Soomaaliya 2006, oo uu ku eedeeyay Mareykanka iyo dowladdaha deriska ah in si xaq darro ah ay ugu duulleen Soomaaliya"....

Hon Farah Maalim has severally been critical of US Army in NEP Kenya.....

HOUSE BUSINESS COMMITTE IN WHICH ADAN KEYNAN AND ALI MOHAMUD FEATURE REJECTED

Business in Parliament has kicked off to a rocky start after Cabinet Ministers and backbenchers joined hands to oppose the composition of a key House committee.

The list comprised of the following.

1. Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, M.P.2. Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, M.P.3. Kiraitu Murungi, M.P.4. Shakila Abdalla, M.P.5. Esther Murugi, M.P.6. (Prof.) George Saitoti, M.P.7. Mutula Kilonzo, M.P.8. Moses Wetangula, M.P.9. Adan Keynan, M.P.10. George Thuo, M.P.11. Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, M.P.12. William Ruto, M.P.13. (Prof.) Anyang’ Nyongo, M.P.14. Charity Ngilu, M.P.15. Henry Kosgei, M.P.16. (Dr.) Sally Kosgey, M.P.17. Ali Mohammed Mohammud, M.P.18. Francis Chachu Ganya, M.P.19. Thomas Ludindi Mwadeghu, M.P.20. Robert Monda, M.P.21. Jakoyo Midiwo, M.P.

Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende urged Mr Musyoka to ensure proper consultations are done to come up with an acceptable list. The HBC is the committee that determines the order of business in Parliament.

KENYA DISMISSES ACQUISITION OF SOMALIA TERRITORY

The government on Wednesday dismissed as unfounded allegations by a section of Somali politicians that Kenya is trying to acquire Somali territory through the signing of the Maritime Boundary Agreement. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the memorandum of understanding signed in Nairobi on April 7 between Kenya and the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia does not establish a maritime boundary.

“The memorandum therefore does not establish the maritime boundary between Kenya and Somalia; it only leaves the matter of delimiting the boundary to the future when Somalia will be ready to undertake the exercise with Kenya,” read the statement.

Paul Ndungu, an aide to Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi has explained that through the MOU the states are granting each other the No-Objection with respect to submissions on the outer limits of the continental shelf.

“The claims must be submitted by 13 May, 2009,” he said. “The CLCS requires states that have adjacent coastlines to each other to conclude agreements on the delimitation of their maritime boundaries”. “The Memorandum solely wishes to facilitate the presentation of submissions to the CLCS and does not in any way prejudice future delimitation of submissions to the commission before the scheduled deadline of May 13,” read the statement.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states intending to define the outer limits of their continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical miles are required to submit scientific and technical data to the Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS). The government has said that this does not affect future delimitation of the maritime boundary in the un-surveyed area, and shall be agreed between the countries after the commission examines the separate submissions to be made before May 13. The preparation of Kenya's claim for submission requires the cooperation of its neighbours Tanzania and Somalia.

This is because, UNCLOS provides that states that have adjacent coastlines to each other need to conclude agreements on the delimitation of their maritime boundaries for their Territorial Sea, Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelves by means of an agreement in order to achieve an equitable solution.

GENERAL MESSAGE ON AIDS IN NEP KENYA.......TO SOMALIS EVERYWHERE

click on the picture to view video.....

MAYBE IT WAS NOT HER MISTAKE.....................................

In Somali community, one can marry 4 and again divorce and re-marry.....therefore if someone has a 4 women and he develops HIV ama AIDS because of Zina(Adultery) sleeping with women and prostitutes..........and then you go to your wife and infect her...Imagine if you have 4 wives.......Hio family na wengine wamekwisha....This should be a very big story for Somalis everywhere, In kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Muslims all over the world.

Take care about yourselves and your families........

This is a general message to all of us.....Thanks for that KTN(Kenya Television Networks.

AFTER ALSTON'S REPORT, MUNGIKI SECT NOW A FULL CRIMINAL GANG

Since Prof Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary and arbitrary executions released his report in February, the outlawed Mungiki sect has been emboldened and become active in most parts of Central, Nairobi and Rift Valley provinces.

Police say Mungiki have become bolder and stronger. Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe said their analysis had shown that the release of the Alston report made the followers think they were above the law and can continue to terrorise Kenyans. Today, Mungiki gangs killed more than 25 Kenyans.

"You can even see them calling for a protest against the Government since the report was made public. These are criminals who want to govern Kenyans," said Mr Kiraithe, yesterday.

Sufficient proof

In his report, Alston noted there exists a police death squad that was particularly formed to fight the Mungiki sect and cited a report compiled by Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, saying over 500 youths were killed for being members of the movement. A police unit called Kwe Kwe Squad was formed in 2006 to fight the sect following macabre beheadings. Prof Alston said confessions by a former police officer that he and his colleagues in the squad participated in the killing of 58 suspects were sufficient proof of the same. Before the UN official had issued the report, Mungiki activities were unheard of in most areas, as the squad suppressed them.

RTD MAJOR GEN AHMED SHEIKH FARAH INCLUDED IN TRUTH COMMISION

The selection panel of the proposed Kenya Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission has shortlisted nominees to sit in the team. Most of them are lawyers, ambassadors and human rights activists. They include the Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi and Presbyterian Church of East Africa clergyman Timothy Njoya. The names of the nominees were contained in a statement released on Tuesday evening signed by Mr Daniel Ichang’i, chairman of the selection panel on Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

The setting up of the commission was recommended by the National Dialogue and Reconciliation Committee which was formed to find out the root causes of the post-election violence. The nominees are Bethwel Kiplagat, Dr Maria Nzomo, Dr Elizabeth Muli, Tom Ojienda, Timothy Njoya, Dr Joseph Aluoch, Betty Murungi and Margaret Shava. The others are Thomas Letangule, Abubakar Zein Abubakar, Joyce Miguda Majiwa, Tecla Namachanja, Maj Gen rtd Ahmed Sheikh Farah and Dr Daadab Mohammed.


Mr Kiplagat is a former ambassador and has been involved in peace processes in Kenya and its neighbour while Dr Nzomo is also a former ambassador and Kenya’s Permanent Representative in Geneva.

Dr Muli, is a human rights crusader while Mr Ojienda is a former Law Society of Kenya chairman and heads the East Africa chapter of the lawyers association. The Rev Njoya is credited for his stand as a church minister advocating for justice and human rights. Dr Aluoch, Ms Shava and Mr Letangule are also human rights crusaders. Mr Abubakar was in the Constitutional of Kenya Review Commission. Ms Murungi is the co-founder and a former director of Urgent Action Fund- Africa, which supports innovative and rapid initiatives on women’s leadership. The others Majiwa, Namachanja and Maj Gen rtd Farah as well as Dr Daadab are credited with advocating for human rights.

WHERE IS OUR KENYA POLICE AND NSIS.......FOR HEAVEN SAKE.......

CRIME & CORRUPTION WILL SURELY KILL KENYA...MCHEZE TU....

Check the picture below and tell me about insecurity in Kenya. Imagine this is near Jamia Mosque as you can see clearly. This will surely make many Investors avoid Kenya due to Insecurity.The Government and especially the Police Commissioner Must ensure security, even mugging affects people is eradicated not even controlled. When this catches the world headlines, what do you thinkm people will see of Kenya. Us Kenyans in diaspora are just worried about reforms, corruption and bad governance.


Even as reports of murder and armed crime increase in the city, police maintain the situation is normal. The police have seen no need to issue any statement assuring Nairobi residents of their safety. The last statement by Kenya Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe simply stated police were keenly monitoring crime trends and working to ensure the city was safe for all to conduct their business. Even us Kenyans, we need to be serious. There are times when police are vicious with Mungiki, carjackers and mugging gangs...I mean when police wke up and become serious with their work....& when they act, everyone condemns them. Like ati police are killing innocent people....and so and so.....we need to put lives of the country and it's people first.

Security is one thing a country needs to take serious.........VERY SERIOUS INDEED...Where is our NSIS (The most reknowned National security intelligence)........Can you do something...

Kenya police say they have enlisted informers in the hunt for vicious street gangs following a recent spate of muggings in Nairobi. At least 30 men have been arrested since the hunt started on the city streets three days ago but the fellas who are ransacking the guy on the right picture have since not been apprehended, it is alledged.

Above, a man pleads for mercy after he was cornered by two of the five robbers whose pictures were published in the Daily Nation. Most of the muggers have gone underground following the media reports.

The government must also arm and improve police working environment. Houses Must be provided for them, uniforms, boots, education for their children, heatlh amenities etc...

Related article 1

&

Related article 2

“Kenyans are buying number plates for prestige. When you have a (registration number) ‘KBG’ and another has a ‘KAZ’, then his is considered an old car. Why can’t you look at the mileage or the year of manufacture,” Mr Kirgotty wondered.

BOUNDARY COMMISSION SHORTLISTS 22 PERSONS

The formation of the Interim Boundaries Review Commission (IBRC) drew closer on Monday with the short listing of 21 candidates for the chairmanship.

A meeting of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the Constitution also proposed a total of 50 people who will be interviewed for the eight commissioners’ slots.

“We intend to conduct interviews on Monday and Tuesday next week and by the end of those two days we hope to have the proposals of nominees for the commission,” PSC chairman Abdikadir Mohammed said.

He said the proposals for the nominees will be presented for consideration by Parliament after the conclusion of interviews.

According to reports among those shortlisted to chair the commission include former National Assembly Speaker Francis Kaparo, former Provincial Commissioner Joseph Kaguthi and former MPs Wanyiri Kihoro, Joseph Kiang’oi and Adams Karauri. Haki Focus Director Harun Ndubi is also in the race. Others are Abdullahi Farah, Beatrice Nduta, Henry Obongi, Kamau Mbugua, Francis Mulu, Kimaiyo Chirama, Caroline Sang and Nzomba Musyoka. Mr Kaparo’s bid to chair the Interim Independent Review Commission flopped earlier in the year. There were unconfirmed reports that he had requested the PSC to exclude his name in the boundaries team but this was dismissed by the committee since he had not written to them formally. Over 1,000 people had applied for the nine posts in the IBRC.

Once constituted, the commission will spearhead the review of both electoral and administrative boundaries in the country and will have an operation mandate of two years. The commission will be expected to review the current constituency boundaries and make proposals for amendment to Parliament. The new constituency boundaries are expected to balance voter representation and size of constituencies.

IBRC is a product of the Independent Review Commission which probed the disputed 2007 presidential election results. The Justice Johann Kriegler chaired commission expressed concern over the unequal representation in the current list of constituencies. The commission will also be expected to comprehensively re-look the boundaries of districts and wards. Among proposals that have been flouted is the conversion of all constituencies to districts to bring services closer to the public. PSC Vice Chair Ababu Namwamba said last week that the commission will be expected to settle the controversial issue of districts.

There are 210 constituencies in the country while the number of districts has risen to 209.

Last year, there was a clash in Mandera between the Garres and Murulle clans over boundary issue and this needs to be sorted once and for all.

KENYA MUSLIMS ANGRY AT ATTEMPT TO CHRISTINIZE MAMA SARAH OBAMA

Muslims on Sunday took issue with a church’s attempts to convert US President Barack Obama’s grandmother to Christianity.

The Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya said it was wrong for the Seventh Day Adventists to coerce Mama Sarah Obama to turn from her Islamic faith.

Organising secretary Sheikh Mohamed Khalifa said any attempts by the SDA clergy to convert Mama Sarah without the family’s consent will arouse the wrath of Muslims.

“Mama Sarah should not be forced by anybody to join Christianity since she is a Muslim. Conversion must take place in a voluntary manner,” the CIPK official said.

“The government has to urgently intervene over the matter to prevent a religious stalemate. Muslims will not sit back and watch one of their own being coerced by some Christian religious leaders to convert to Christianity.”

The cleric commended the Obama family for blocking the SDA pastor’s attempt to baptise Mama Sarah.

“It was a right thing for the family members of Mama Sarah to stop the SDA pastor from baptising her. They acted according to the requirements of the Muslim faith. A Muslim should continue to remain in his faith,” said Sheikh Khalifa.

A baptism ceremony for Mama Obama, which was planned for Saturday at the Jomo Kenyatta Grounds in Kisumu, flopped after family members opposed the move.

The baptism ceremony had been intended to be the climax of a three-week convention by the church.

But yesterday, the SDA clerics were not giving up on convincing Mama Sarah to convert to Christianity. Pastors camped at her Kogelo home for the better part of the day, trying to convince her to be baptised.

Evangelist

Already, a church located in the village, has been named after her famous grandson. The Nyang’oma Seventh Day Adventist Church is now called the Obama Seventh Day Adventist Church.

A member of the church’s top leadership in Kisumu, who declined to be named, said that visiting Australian evangelist John Jeremic was expected at the village and would hold discussions with Mama Sarah.

OBAMA GRANDMOTHER REFUSES TO BE BAPTIZED

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has said it has no plans to convert US President Barack Obama’s grandmother, Sarah. Pastor Tom Obuya said the church had invited her as a special guest to a function in Kisumu at the weekend."We requested her to attend the function, but she declined since she is a Muslim," he explained.

"When I heard there were plans to baptise me, I rejected," Sarah told The Standard by the telephone.

KENYA MUST DEAL WITH SOMALIA AND BORDER NOW

The trail of more than 20 suspected pirates arrested by Nato and European Union forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden and the frequent incursions by suspected al-Shabaab militants are raising concern within the Kenyan security agencies.

There is fear that the Mogadishu-based insurgents, who are believed by security operatives to have accomplices in Somalia, might help to coordinate retaliation against Kenya.

The Kenya government has been at pains to practise its non-alignment foreign policy, especially with no lines of communication with Somalia — a nation that has borne the brunt of warlords and factional fighting for nearly 18 years.

Somali speaking people cover the entire horn of Africa and number around 20Million spanning Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Ethiopian intelligence operatives monitoring Somalia have recommended the invasion of the country and withdrawal. They have done that in their failed attempt to sit in Mogadishu and help the Interim Somalia Government. The Kenyan provincial administration and security officials are forced to rely on unpredictable and sometimes ineffective local religious leaders to mediate and resolve issues.

However, kenya's Foreign Affairs ministry official said the Horn of Africa division, headed by a Mr Maikara, has been monitoring activities in the war-torn country over a long period.

“We have a facilitator, Mr Kipruto arap Kirwa, appointed by President Kibaki as Kenya’s special representative for Somalia at the African Union. The Horn of Africa division in the ministry of Foreign Affairs that handles Somalia issues, is very active.”

But the Somalia issue is a complicated affair owing to its long standing historical problems. Kenya has to do everything to ensure that there are administrative structures in Somalia because what goes on there directly affects Kenya.

“Issues of piracy and al-Shabaab have drawn a lot of international attention,” said an official who spoke to the Sunday Nation on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to journalists.

He said Kenya has been in the forefront in rallying the international community to pressurise warring parties in Somalia to work together. The signing last week of a memorandum of understanding between Kenyan Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula and the Somalia minister for Planning, Mr Abdirahman Warsame, is already causing ripples in Mogadishu, with Islamists, the opposition and the media claiming that the Somalia government has been duped into ceding part of its territory to Kenya. In the MoU, the two countries commit themselves to reviewing maritime boundaries under the 1982 UN Convention on Law of the Sea.

So strained have the relations between Kenya and Somalia been that Mr Wetang’ula at one time threatened to ban the then Somalia transitional federal government president, Mr Abdullahi Yusuf, from entering Kenya for what he termed his lack of cooperation to bring order in his country. The Kenyan ambassador to Somalia works from Nairobi.

The northwest frontier, the Previous NFD Kenya, The current North Eastern Province, has been Kenya’s problem since the colonial days when there was an attempt to secede. But the holding of 42 suspected pirates in Kenya, including 10 serving a seven-year jail sentence each at Shimo la Tewa prison in Mombasa and 32 others are facing trial, is likely to put Kenya at a greater security risk.

Al-Shabaab, a somali militia outfit has warned Kenya of dire consequences if it cooperates with the international community in the war on terrorism or piracy. Both local and international intelligence and security agencies fear that the proceeds of piracy are being laundered in Kenya. On a number of occasions, Somalia insurgents have crossed into the country, raided police stations to rescue their colleagues and escaped with weapons and vehicles.

Intelligence sources suspect that insurgents from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, who are fighting the UN-backed Somalia government and have taken over large swathes of the war-torn country bordering Kenya, are infiltrating the country. Intelligence sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to talk to the media, revealed that they gather all the information and pass it on to the relevant security agencies for action. It is for the agencies to do whatever they deem necessary with the information.

Kenya's Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the force has been monitoring the activities of Somali insurgents and arresting those in Kenya suspected to be working with them. He gave the example of a man who arrested in Thika with 600 detonators headed for NEP. The man has since been charged in court. One other suspect, Mr Kiraithe said, was arrested in El Wak, near the Kenya-Somalia border, and has also been charged in court.

The military intelligence, like the National Security Intelligence Service, has been monitoring the activities of Somalia refugees and other people entering the country as they patrol the notorious 1,800km border with Somalia. The money transfer systems, commonly referred to as Hawala and which does not go through the regular banking system, and other cross-border business activities are also under close scrutiny by intelligence and security agents. The influx of hundreds of thousands of Somalia refugees into Kenya, some without the documents, is causing a lot of concern within the government, especially the security agencies.

Kenya Army has instituted an operation by the name OPERATION LINDA MPAKA which was launched on 29 th December 2006 following the breakout of hostilities in Somalia between the main protagonists in the conflict, fighters of Council of Islamic Court (SCIC) fighters and the Transitional Government Forces (TGF) supported by Ethiopian forces. The conflict was trigged by an incessant stalemate in the Khartoum talks. Fundamentally Operation Linda Mpaka is intended to ensure peace and security along the Kenya- Somalia border by denying entry into Kenya fleeing SCLC political leadership, senior commands and their fighters. Since its inception, several arrests of key political leaders have been made. Similarly, persons wanted for their terrorists' activities in Somalia have also been arrested and repatriated. It is envisaged that the operation will continue for sometime subject to a general pacification in the Somalia crisis. On humanitarian civic assistance, the Kenya Army has initiated humanitarian civic initiatives targeting drilling of boreholes and the provision of medical services.

The insurgents are suspected to be involved in the inter-clan fighting that has rocked North-Eastern province on several occasions. It is for this reason that the military was deployed there to embark on a major weapons mopping operation. There are fears that different Somalia factions with cells in Kenya might extend their fighting into the country.

In early March, Somalia militia abducted four senior Kenyan education officers and their driver held them for three days on a charge of crossing into Somalia without permission. They were released after the local leaders’ intervention.

In July, last year, armed Somali militiamen crossed into Kenya at a remote Mandera outpost and ambushed and abducted two police officers. Two days later, the officers’ mutilated bodies were found hanging from trees in a hilly area on the Somalia side of the border. The Kenyan security agents ranted and threatened to cross into Somalia to avenge the officers’ killing, but did not.

In another attack later, Somalia militiamen in three vehicles raided the Dedajabulla administration police camp, about 20km from the border, and rescued two terror suspects who had been arrested by police. They injured a police officer and made awy with a police vehicle and three guns after overpowering Kenyan security forces.

On several occasions, the military and both regular and administration police have been deployed in Mandera to counter acts of aggression by the insurgents. The militiamen then were suspected to be members of the al -Shabaab group that has taken over control of most of Somalia, including the Gedo region that straddles the border.

In September 2008, the militiamen raided the Alungu administration police camp, killed two officers and three civilians and stole four G3 rifles and over 200 rounds of ammunition. It was alleged then that the attackers were members of Al- Shabaab fighters hired by clan leaders involved in a dispute with another clan over the Mandera Central district boundary.

And the attack on El Wak town by the group caused concern within the intelligence and security agencies. The militiamen crossed into Kenya, fired rocket -launched grenades at the local police station, attacked a Catholic parish and abducted two Italian nuns. The daring militiamen then raided a guest house and a lodge and robbed the area resident magistrate of his laptop and a wristwatch. Two police officers were also robbed. The gunmen then got onto three vehicles parked at the police station and drove off.

During a recent operation, security officers in Mandera recovered six mortar bombs and hundreds of guns. All the weapons had been sneaked into the country through the porous border. Some of these weapons find their way into Nairobi where they are used to commit violent crimes.
Sources privy to a joint police military operation in Mandera said the operation was sanctioned following intelligence reports of al-Shabaab’s involvement in the attacks.

OBAMA'S GRANDMUM PREFERS ISLAM

Attempts to convert US President Barack Obama’s grand mother to Christianity flopped on Saturday at the 11th hour after family members opposed the move. Although Mama Sarah Obama had dressed up for the day, her son, Saidi Obama, and other family members were adamant that she would not attend a baptism ceremony organised by the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA).

Mr Saidi said that they were opposed to the move to take Mama Sarah to church since she is a Muslim. “I was opposed to it because I believe she was not fully informed about what they were going to do to her. I personally asked her not to attend the function,” he said.

On Saturday, SDA Pastor Tom Obuya arrived at Mama Sarah’s Nyang’oma Kogello home to take her to the Jomo Kenyatta Sports ground where the ceremony was to take place. However, he found she had changed her mind on instructions from Mr Saidi. Pastor Obuya said that the church had been reaching out to Mama Sarah for the past three weeks. “Mama Sarah had assured us that she was converting, and we were ready to baptise her today, but it seems the family has prevailed upon her,” said Pastor Obuya.

The security detail at her home confirmed that there had been arrangements for Mama Sarah to travel the 100 kilometres to Kisumu, but said that apart from the fact that they were to escort her, they did not know much else about the visit.

“I did not understand why they were asking her to attend a Christian ceremony, yet she is a Muslim. I thought her presence in the church would not add any value,” Mr Saidi said.

Family sources told the Sunday Nation that Mama Sarah had prepared for the ceremony and among those who were to accompany her were sisters-in-law Norah Otieno and Consolata Oguna. Also, the 30 members of the Nyang’oma Seventh Day Adventist Church had hired a vehicle to take them to Kisumu so they could welcome Mama Sarah to their congregation. Her baptism was to mark the end of a three-week convention by the church in Kisumu. Mr Saidi said that apart from the faith aspect, Mama Sarah had knee complications that would make travelling such a long distance uncomfortable.

“She would also have attracted unnecessary attention which is not good for her,” he said.

Meanwhile, United States President Barack Obama could visit Kenya as early as August this year to attend the Eighth forum of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Mr Obama is expected to use the AGOA conference to make his first trip to the African continent since he was elected US President. He could also be visiting again during the 9th Leon H. Sullivan Summit scheduled to be held in July 2010. The summit is to be attended by an estimated 1,500 African-American businessmen.

Mr Thuita Mwangi, the Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary had said President Kibaki would invite President Obama to attend both conferences.

Obama's father hailed from Kenya.

22 ILLEGAL FOREIGNERS ARRESTED IN MOMBASA

Kenya police on Friday arrested 22 foreigners without valid documents at Bondeni in Mombasa. The foreigners, 15 Ethiopians and seven Bangladeshis, were arrested in a morning raid at a house in the area. Two Kenyans suspected to be behind a ring sneaking in the aliens were also seized.

Mombasa police boss Tom Odero said police raided the village after a tip-off from the public.
Sinister motive. “The foreigners did not have immigration papers and we suspect they entered the country for a sinister motive,” he said.

Mr Odero declined to shed more light on the matter, but police sources said the group arrived in the town a week ago.

“In our preliminary investigations, we managed to determine their countries of origin but we shall only release more information after we finish interrogating them,” said Mr Odero. The arrests come a few months after Coast Provincial Commissioner Ernest Munyi promised to intensify vigilance on the border to curb illegal entry.

Odero was speaking even as the Minister for Immigration was saying new third generation ID cards will start in January 2010. Kenya immigration policy is so corrupt and lax where everyone who has some few money to bribe can get any official document for travel and trade.

FIBRE OPTIC CABLES CONNECTING KENYA AND UAE LAID IN FUJAIRAH UAE

KENYANS REGISTERING AS REFUGEES AS FAMINE WORSENS

Thousands of Kenyans are registering themselves as refugees to benefit from food rations as the hunger crisis bites, a report shows.

However, they are unable to obtain Kenyan identity cards so the report proposes that their cases be considered favourably. As many as 4,000 Kenyans are said to have been found in this predicament since registration started in 2000.

“The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons should ensure that a comprehensive list of such cases is compiled and applying the existing procedures for deregistering Kenyans who may have been registered as refugees in order to issue them with Kenyan IDs,” it says.

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission’s Report of the Examination into the Systems, Policies, Procedures and Practices of the National Registration Bureau, Ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons, identifies five registration centres for aliens in Kenya. They are in Nairobi, Mombasa, Malindi, Eldoret and Kisumu.

The report says Kenya has no policy requiring refugees to live in camps. However, a number of measures have been put in place to limit the movement of refugees from camps.

First is the shared policy of the Kenyan Government and UNHCR that refugees cannot receive humanitarian assistance outside of camps.

There is also the government policy restricting officially sanctioned movement between camps and other parts of the country.

This means that once registered in Dadaab’s camps, refugees are not permitted to travel unless they fulfil one or more unpublished criteria for obtaining a “movement pass” co-signed by the Kenyan authorities and the refugee commission.

If a refugee registered in the camps is found travelling without a movement pass, there is the risk of arrest, a fine, and, in practice, even worse, detention.

Thirdly, for Somalis to live outside the camps, they require the UNHCR’s lengthy refugee status determination procedures in Nairobi, compared to swift procedures in Dadaab’s camps.

Refugees’ IDs expire after two years but those issued in 2004/05 have not been replaced. According to the KACC report, “this exposes refugees to possible harassment and extortion by police officers whenever they are required to identify themselves”.

“Kenya has legitimate security concerns and a right to control its borders, but its borders can’t be closed to refugees fleeing fighting and persecution,” says a human rights watch refugee researcher, Mr Gerry Simpson.

But one issue is clear; the number of Somali refugees in Kenya is fast becoming unmanageable despite the continued official closure of the 682-kilometre border with Somalia, effective January 2007.

On average, 165 Somali refugees cross the border daily to escape increasingly violent conflict in Somalia and seek shelter in the heavily overcrowded and chronically under-funded refugee camps in Kenya.

Contribution

The Human Rights Watch has also termed the fact that the donors’ contribution has remained constant despite the soaring number of refugees in Dadaab camp as “worrying” and “a disaster in waiting”.

On December 19, last year, the refugee commission launched a supplementary appeal for Dadaab for about Sh7.4 billion ($92 million). This excludes World Food Programme’s food budget of approximately Sh320 million per month.

Donors have indicated that they have committed nearly Sh2 billion ($ 24.3 million), 26 per cent of what was requested. The total committed to non-food needs in Dadaab in 2009 is just under Sh1.5 billion ($ 19 million).

The Kenyan Government considers famine as a national disaster while not doing enough to help it's citizens.

JOINT NAVY WILL "GUARD" FIBRE OPTIC CABLE TO BE DEPLOYED AT KENYA SOMALIA COAST

Foreign navies have agreed to protect a vessel installing an undersea high-speed Internet cable from pirates off the coast of Somalia, a Kenyan minister said on Thursday. Sea gangs from lawless Somalia have been increasingly striking the Indian Ocean shipping lanes and strategic Gulf of Aden, capturing dozens of vessels and hundreds of hostages in attacks that have driven up insurance rates.

Patrols by Western navies have done little to deter the attacks.

Kenyan Information and Communications Minister Samuel Poghisio said the 5,000 km (3,107 miles) fibre optic cable was on course for completion in June. Last month, a government official said the route for the East African Marine Cable (TEAMS) had been shifted an extra 200 km from the coastline for fear of pirates.

"These are concerns we have but they are being addressed. We know it will be secure and will land in Mombasa on time," "The process (of laying the cable) has begun and will probably take two months. It is likely that by the middle of June the ship should be anchoring in Mombasa, or rather delivering the cable to Mombasa," Poghisio said in a statement on Thursday.

The $130 million cable will link Kenya's coastal town of Mombasa with Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. UAE Etisalat is also linked to the Fibre optic project.

Kenya has been putting down a terrestrial cable connecting different parts of the country to prepare for the arrival of the marine cable, which could be east Africa's first speedy but cheap telecoms link with the rest of the world.

Another undersea project known as SEACOM is also expected to be operational in the second half of 2009 and two others are due to land in 2010 -- the Eastern African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and the France Telecom/Orange Sat3-wasc-Safe cable. East Africa has relied on expensive satellite connections for telephones and Internet. Telecoms operators and outsourcing firms are eagerly awaiting the cable's arrival, which is expected to slash costs and speed up connectivity.

THERE WILL BE NO RAIN FOR LONG...MET EXPERTS SUGGEST

Weather experts on Thursday gave a gloomy outlook of the current rainfall pattern in most parts of Kenya even as 10 million Kenyans face starvation. Meteorological Services assistant director Peter Ambenje said although April is the rainfall peak period for the March to May long rains season, Nairobi and most parts of the country will continue to receive deficient rainfall “for some time”

On Thursday, Mr Ambenje said: “Currently, it is only the western parts of the country (Kitale, Kericho, Nandi, Eldoret, Kakamega, Kisumu, Kisii and Busia) that are receiving enhanced rainfall, which has resulted in flooding in Kano plains... At the same time, areas in the Coastal region are also receiving some rains.”

JAKOWO MIDIWO SAYS IIEC TEAM LED BY LAWYER AHMED ISSACK WILL SAIL THROUGH

ODM Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo says nomination of Mr Ahmed Issack Hassan to head the Independent Interim Electoral Commission (IIEC) will sail through in Parliament. Midiwo said he had not seen any resistance towards the nomination of Hassan to head the Commission.

"Hassan’s nomination is as good as done because nobody has come out to oppose the move, Although I cannot speak for other MPs, the position is that Hassan is likely to get Parliament’s nod when the matter comes before the floor," said the Gem MP.

Midiwo was speaking in Kisumu.

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Constitution Review appointed the city lawyer to head the IIEC, but his fate rests with Parliament. In February, Parliament rejected the nomination of Cecil Miller to chair the IIEC forcing PSC to conduct fresh recruitment.

Midiwo said MPs wanted to deal with the formation of the IIEC because the country was treading on dangerous grounds without an electoral body. "We have pending Parliamentary and civic elections due to lack of an electoral body. The faster we put the body in place the better," he added.

He said Parliament was handling the matter carefully after it sanctioned the disbanding of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) headed by Samuel Kivuitu. Former Constitution of Kenya Review Commission Secretary PLO Lumumba asked Parliament to give priority to establishment of an electoral commission once it resumes.

Lumumba faulted Parliament for disbanding ECK without putting in place transition mechanisms.

KENYA-UGANDA MIGINGO TENSIONS

SIASA WIKI HII...KENYA STYLE

Revenge is a dish best eaten cold. What satisfaction it must have given Chirau Ali Mwakwere, who once got a thumping from PM Raila Odinga over his running of the Transport ministry, to suggest installing a toilet in Raila’s car. It seems he has inspired other whipping boys (like Mutula Kilonzo whose metropolitan idea Tinga spat on) to spring up with sarcastic ideas on salary harmonisation!
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Talking of harmonisation, it’s not just on the temporary salary arrangement where things need to change. We may have to get Raila a new official car since the S350 Mercedes Benz he now has is ‘equal’ to the VP’s. Then there’s the house business. Taxpayers have poured some Sh200 million (possibly more) into an official residence for the VP under construction in Karen. What about a house for Raila?
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Still on Raila: Is it true the shabby treatment that he ranted about in Mombasa was of his office’s making? Palaver has it on authority that an official at the PM’s ‘punch drunk’ office wrote to Mombasa authorities saying Raila would be in the coastal town to officiate at a fisheries function. But a day or two before the event, another official called to call off the meeting!
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Propagandists (reading off some master script?) are busy putting about the idea Kenya and Uganda have different policy objectives on Migingo island in Lake Victoria. Shock on you: A joint communique signed in March shows goals like fewer Kenyan fishermen and stricter law enforcement on the Kenyan side are shared. So don’t be surprised if, as I said before, there’s not only no ‘fight’ but the welcome mat is rolled out for the Ugandans!
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And finally...

Dog-crazy Americans will soon be able to buy a pet-friendly car with a dog bed in the trunk, fitted with a built-in water bowl and fan and a ramp to help less agile dogs climb in. Japanese car maker Honda unveiled the pet friendly utility vehicle in New York last week. Is there a market for it? In a recession? Americans spend $41 billion a year on pets, a figure forecast to rise to $52 billion in two years!

FGM: A 7 YEAR OLD GIRL BLEEDS TO DEATH IN WAJIR

A woman was yesterday arrested after her seven-year-old daughter bled to death after female circumcision. It is female circumcision season in Wajir District, despite concerted efforts to discourage the practice.

"She was brought to the hospital more than 24 hours after circumcision. By then it was too late to save her life," said Mrs Ardo Mohammed, a nurse.

She said the girl underwent infibulation, the worst form of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) common in North Eastern Province. Police intercepted family members planning to bury the girl. An elderly circumciser was also arrested after a brief search.

Deputy OCPD Job Lesinayu said they would be charged with murder. But relatives want the two released, arguing the death was pre-ordained. "No parent would want to see her child die. At least the police should allow her to mourn her daughter," a former councillor, Mr Kunow Ibrahim, said. It has also emerged that the child was among three girls cut by the circumciser.

The tragedy has not dampened the cultural mood with scores of other girls facing the knife.

The Somali ethnic group in Kenya has the highest prevalence of FGM - 97 per cent of Somali women have undergone the procedure, and almost all are infibulations. As in many other communities, pre-marital virginity is very important for the Somali, and FGM is considered essential in preserving virginity and family honour. Many Somali also believe that FGM is an Islamic requirement, although some Sheikhs, community elders and Muslim women's groups have clarified that infibulation is in violation of the Koran. This has led to a shift from infibulation to a less-severe form of FGM, and it is a complex issue for groups working to eradicate the practice to encourage its abandonment instead of the adoption a less-severe form.

Read about FGM today