"Kenya girds for vote on constitution" by Associated Press | August 3, 2010
NAIROBI — Kenya is bracing for its first national vote since the 2007-08 political violence that left more than 1,000 people dead, dispatching 18,000 additional police officers to a potential hotspot ahead of the ballot on a new constitution.
Politicians and analysts predict that tomorrow’s referendum will be largely peaceful, but at least 200 people in the volatile Rift Valley already have fled their homes, fearing a new flare-up.
Kenya is sending thousands of extra police officers to the Rift Valley, home of the largest concentration of Kenyans planning to vote against the constitution and site of some of the worst attacks in 2007-08. During the violence, tribesmen used bows and arrows to fight each other, gangs hacked opponents to death, and police were accused of shooting sprees....
At a rally against the constitution in downtown Nairobi in mid-June, grenade attacks killed six people. Leaflets threatening violence have been distributed elsewhere and three politicians were charged with hate speech for inciting crowds....
National police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said there was no indication violence will break out in the Rift Valley but that officials are concerned about the possibility of a resurgence of a militia group. The Sabaot Land Defense Force claims to fight for land rights in the Mount Elgon region on the border with Uganda.
Kenya’s two top leaders — President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga — both back the “Yes’’ campaign, bringing two of the major ethnic groups onto the same side....
Recent polls have consistently shown that a majority of Kenyans back the new constitution, and it appears likely to pass.
The draft constitution being voted on cuts down the president’s enormous powers by setting up an American-style presidential system of checks and balances, part of the reason the draft appears to have wide support.
Maybe theirs will work better than ours.
The US government has openly backed the “Yes’’ campaign.
Almost makes you want to vote no.
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And the Kenyans sacrificed so their voices could be heard:
"Kenyans wait hours to cast their vote; Turnout is heavy in push to create new constitution" by Katharine Houreld and Tom Odula, Associated Press | August 5, 2010
TIMBOROA, Kenya — Enthusiastic voters, many wrapped in colorful traditional blankets, waited for hours yesterday to cast ballots on a new constitution that could spell a new era for Kenya — curtailing the president’s enormous powers and giving citizens a bill of rights.
With memories fresh of the ethnically charged violence that left more than 1,000 people dead following the disputed 2007 election, police were deployed en masse across the country.
Voters overwhelmed polling stations in some locations, and at one Nairobi site dozens of Kenyans who had not voted forced their way in after authorities tried to shut down at the official 5 p.m. closing time.
Despite that after-hours push, officials reported few problems and no violence countrywide.
Enthusiasm for the new constitution appeared high. In the Nairobi slum of Kibera, lines formed as early as 3 a.m., while voters at some Rift Valley sites waited five hours or more.
“Since we got independence from Britain, our country has not run smoothly. The current constitution has not been used well, but we didn’t write that one, and we are writing this one,’’ declared Paul Wahome, 23, a student who waited six hours to vote in Nakuru.
Returns from about 30 percent of the polling stations showed the “yes’’ camp taking an early lead: about 64 percent, vs. 36 percent for the “no’’ camp.
Polls had showed the referendum would probably pass, and reporters had difficulty finding Kenyans who said they voted against it.
You can rig a vote some of the time....
“It’s a struggle between the haves and the have-nots in this country, and the haves are trying to maintain the status quo,’’ said James Otumba, 43, a teacher who was shot in the chest during the 2007-08 violence.
Translation: 36% is way too high.
“This is a revolution taking place in this country. . . . This constitution is one thing that can actually reconcile the nation,’’ he said.
The international community, and particularly the United States, has urged Kenyans to pass the constitution, even as the draft raised emotions over land rights, abortion, and Muslim family courts. Kenya’s current constitution, drawn prior to Kenya’s 1963 independence from Britain, grants the president sweeping powers.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters yesterday that the Obama administration was gratified that a large number of Kenyans voted and that the vote was generally peaceful.
“This is an important step toward strengthening democratic institutions in Kenya,’’ Crowley said.
If passed, the new constitution will dramatically cut back the president’s powers by setting up an American-style system of checks and balances and paving the way for much-needed land reform.--more--"
"Kenyans OK constitution taking aim at corruption; Draft diminishes presidential power, makes land reforms" by Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post | August 6, 2010
NAIROBI — Kenyans overwhelmingly approved a new constitution that promises to address the core problems of governance, such as corruption and tribalism, that have plagued their country throughout its post-colonial history....
The referendum came more than two years after violence erupted following the 2007 elections, which were marred by allegations of vote rigging and fraud.
More than 1,000 people were killed in the ethnic and politically motivated attacks. A new constitution was a key provision of a power-sharing deal that ended the bloodshed.
Related: African Safari: Clinton Threatens Kenya
The war crimes charges washed right away, huh?
In the run-up to Wednesday’s vote, many Kenyans said they feared that violence could again haunt their nation. But authorities took painstaking steps to ensure a transparent vote.
Both President Mwai Kibaki and his ruling coalition partner, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, were in favor of the constitution, ensuring that most Kenyans would support its passage.
“It’s a major step forward for Kenya,’’ said John Githongo, a well-known crusader against Kenya’s endemic corruption. “It gives us something to be hopeful about.’’
The constitution, which Kibaki must sign into law, slashes the powers of the presidency. Many hope that will reduce the political patronage and domination by a single tribe that has been a staple of politics here since the end of British rule in 1963 and turned Kenya into one of Africa’s most corrupt nations.
The charter also provides for land reform to curb endemic land grabbing by elite groups; devolves power to local areas; and gives Kenyans more civil liberties.
Which the AmeriKan government is for as they take ours away.
Some church leaders, who overwhelmingly opposed the constitution, said they would continue to press the government to alter a clause that they say could be interpreted as favoring abortions.
Much of the Rift Valley, the nexus of the 2007 violence, voted against the constitution. The no vote was driven largely by the Kalenjin tribe, which dominated the country under the rule of former president Daniel Arap Moi, who is a Kalenjin. Tribe members fear a loss of land rights and influence.
Githongo said there is “a huge underlying unhappiness that’s going to have national implications.’’
“We’re not out of the woods yet,’’ he added. “The heavy lifting starts now.’’--more--"
Yeah, look what crawled out of the woods:
"Kenyan man accused in terror attacks free on bail" by Tom Maliti, Associated Press | August 12, 2010
NAIROBI — A Kenyan man who once told authorities he was part of an Al Qaeda plot to blow up the US Embassy in Nairobi is now facing charges in connection with last month’s terror attacks in Uganda but is free on bail, authorities said yesterday.
So which "Al-CIA-Duh" would that be, huh?
The made-up "Al-CIA-Duh?"
Also see: "Al-CIA-Duh" Expanding Operations in East Africa
One wonders why they didn't hit the Dutch in South Africa.
Salmin Mohammed Khamis, 34, was one of seven people acquitted in the 2002 bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa, Kenya, in which 15 people died.
Must have been ANOTHER ISRAELI FALSE FLAG and the jury saw it!
He also was acquitted of charges in connection with a failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli passenger plane leaving Mombasa that same day....
Again!
Khamis is accused of harboring three suspects in connection with the Uganda attacks, when a Somali Al Qaeda-linked group, al-Shabab, attacked fans watching the World Cup final match on television at two locations....
Just thought you should know Shabab's trainers are bearded white men.
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Also see: The Kenyan Connection
I think you need to change your shorts after that one, readers.
