KENYANS MARCH AGAINST CORRUPTION.WHAT ABOUT US?

Anti-corruption activists demonstrate outside President Mwai Kibaki's office in Nairobi

By Francois Ausseill (AFP)

NAIROBI — Kenyans on Wednesday marched to vent their anger at a coalition government slowly falling apart over graft allegations and its inability to further key reforms pledged two years ago.

Thousands of people displaced by the violence that broke out following the disputed December 2007 elections began marching from the Rift Valley to Nairobi on Tuesday but their 200-kilometre (120 miles) procession was aborted.

Anti-corruption activists also demonstrated outside President Mwai Kibaki's office in Nairobi."We want political accountability," shouted scores of demonstrators gathered in front of the president's office, standing next to a sign describing the institution as a "corruption-free zone".

"We welcome the recent suspension of senior civil servants and two ministers," Okiya Omtatah, who led the protesters, read out in a petition. He said the demonstrators backed neither side in the country's coalition government.

"We now call upon your excellency to use state machinery to ensure the two suspended ministers do not continue to occupy their ministerial offices," he said, referring to Prime Minister Raila Odinga's decision to sack them at the weekend, subsequently overruled by President Mwai Kibaki.

In the Rift Valley, displaced people had launched their march on Tuesday, saying they feared the death of the coalition government could spell further misery for hundreds of families still in limbo two years after the violence.

"We have a message for the president. We want him to listen to our grievances because we fear this coalition may collapse before we are resettled as promised," Peter Kariuki, who led the march, told AFP.

Armed police on Wednesday blocked the protestors on the highway however and government lorries eventually drove them back to their tents after local officials promised to relay their concerns to the government.

Up to 15,000 of the 250,000 people displaced by post-election violence still remain in camps since the 2008 unrest, which killed some 1,500 people.Kenya's unwieldy unity government has been repeatedly criticised at home and abroad for failing to tackle the root causes of the post-poll violence, bring the perpetrators to justice and eradicate corruption and impunity.

Simmering tensions between the premier and the president boiled over at the weekend when Odinga sacked the education and agriculture ministers accused of graft before Kibaki vetoed the move.

Kibaki argued Odinga did not consult him and had no authority to fire ministers, prompting the premier's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to threaten a boycott of cabinet meetings.

"ODM may not feel comfortable attending any cabinet meetings until that matter is resolved," Lands Minister James Orengo told reporters late Tuesday.

A cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday was subsequently cancelled.

Odinga's critics charged he was seeking to undermine Agriculture Minister William Ruto, who is likely to be one of Odinga's main rivals in presidential elections scheduled for 2012.

Odinga's supporters accused Kibaki and his entourage of protecting scandal-ridden officials -- including Attorney General Amos Wako -- providing further evidence that the regime was corrupt.

Odinga's adviser Miguna Miguna lashed out at Wako for censuring Odinga's move in what he said was a deliberate misinterpretation of the constitution.

"Mr Wako?s latest statement is the most embarrassing and scandalous utterance ever made by an attorney general in the Commonwealth," Miguna said.Wako has been repeatedly singled out by top UN and US officials as one of the main obstacles to reform in the country.

When the dispute over the 2007 polls flared, an international mediation led by former UN chief Kofi Annan rushed to Kenya and eventually brokered a power-sharing deal whereby Odinga became premier and Kibaki kept his job.But distrust and gamesmanship has characterised the unity government since, causing political stalwarts to splinter one after the other ahead of the 2012 polls and public opinion to become increasingly disenchanted.

On Monday, Vice Prime Minster Musalia Mudavadi called for Annan to return to Kenya to salvage the coalition government.

SOURCE: AFP

This should serve as a lesson to Tanzanians as well.One would have expected a similar protest when CCM MPs recently concluded the 2-year plus investigation over the Richmond scandal in such a disgusting way.By keeping mum it's as if our country has legalised the on-going plunder of our economy.Without expressing our anger by protests and such actions,the mafisadis (economic saboteurs) are made to believe that they could go on stealing our natural resources and taxpayers' money and get away without facing any consequence.Apart from impoverishing our country,giving mafisadis a free pass pose a danger of encouraging some innocent law-abiding citizens into such criminal activities.

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RAILA ODINGA CALLS FOR FRESH ELECTIONS

By Citizen correspondents, Nairobi

The divide within the Kenyan coalition government over the control of the National Assembly widened further yesterday when Prime Minister Raila Odinga demanded fresh elections.

Mr Odinga's demand came as President Kibaki's PNU arm of government accused ODM of trying to mount a coup.

Speaking in his Lang'ata constituency, Mr Odinga said ODM will not retreat on its push to take the two positions of Leader of Government Business and chair of the House Business Committee held in the last session of Parliament by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

Mr Odinga led the crowds in his constituency in showing support for fresh elections through a show of hands.

"We shall not relent in our quest. We have had enough. Therefore, if this issue cannot be resolved and our partners see the sense, we should go back to the ballot for an election. That's our message," he declared.

The PM, who was accompanied to the rally by Higher Education minister Dr Sally Kosgei and MPs Yusuf Chanzu (Vihiga) and Rachael Shebesh (Nominated) scoffed at claims that his party was out to wrestle power from President Kibaki.

Mr Odinga spoke just a day after the President wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende, informing him that there was nothing new to consult about since he had appointed Mr Musyoka as the Leader of Government Business and also nominated him to chair the House Business Committee as required by the relevant Standing Orders.

President Kibaki said he had fulfilled his constitutional duty and would not be available for any other consultations.

When the matter came to a deadlock in Parliament last Thursday, the Speaker announced that he would seek the audience of both the President and the Prime Minister in an effort resolve the situation.

Mr Marende is expected to make a ruling in the matter on Tuesday, but has already warned Parliament that the Chair cannot adjudicate on political disputes within the government or between political parties.

Even as Mr Odinga spoke on Sunday at a rally at the Kamukunji grounds in the sprawling Kibera slums, Mr Musyoka led a group of 20 PNU MPs in dismissing his quest for the seat of Leader fof Government Business, saying that it was "illegal, unconstitutional and unacceptable."

And later, while addressing a rally in Lari constituency, Mr Musyoka said the President's word on who should be the Leader of Government Business in Parliament "was final."

His views were shared by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta who said the PM was greedy for power.

SOURCE: The Citizen

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KENYA'S JUSTICE MINISTER RESIGNS

Martha Karua, Kenya’s Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister has resigned from the Grand Coalition Government.

“I will continue to participate in nation building as a Member of Parliament and a leader," Ms Karua told a Press conference in Nairobi on Monday.

“I will now be able to totally disagree with anything that is anti-reform,” she said.

She made good her threat to quit only a day after declaring “enough is enough” after attending a church service at the Anglican Church in Nairobi.

She has said that she decided to resign because of frustrations in discharging her duties.

President Kibaki appointed five new High Court judges on Friday last week and promoted two others to the Court of Appeal. She said she was not aware of the President’s move.

As the minister in charge of Justice, Ms Karua expected to be consulted before new judges were appointed.

“If my hands are tied and the Judiciary continues to be used as a place where people sacked from parastatals are recycled, the agenda is forestalled and all reforms are annihilated, then I better leave and fights for the rights of ordinary mwananchi,” she said after the appointments.

She becomes the first Kenyan minister to resign from the Grand Coalition Government.

The Government, which brought together President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odiinga, was formed to help end post election violence following a disputed presidential election.

The opposition Orange Democratic Movement said that its candidate, Raila Odinga, was denied victory through rigging and claimed it could not accept results of a stolen election.

The violence that broke out left 1,133 people dead and a further 350,000 displaced.

Ms Karua had accused the Judiciary of being lethargic and anti-reform and laid the blame on Chief Justice Evans Gicheru.

She lashed out at the CJ accusing him of blocking judicial reforms in the country and called for his removal.

However, President Kibaki has since expressed his confidence at the Chief Justice and dismissed a petition from the Law Society of Kenya calling for the CJ’s ouster.

SOURCE:Daily Nation

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