So did you, Americans!
"Kenyans burn coffins in protest of lawmakers’ conduct" by Tom Odula | Associated Press, January 17, 2013
NAIROBI — Hundreds of demonstrators angered at the conduct of outgoing Kenyan legislators doused 221 coffins with gasoline and set them on fire Wednesday, causing an inferno outside Parliament’s main entrance.
Organizers of the protest said the coffins represented the end of an era of Parliament’s 221 legislators and burning the coffins symbolized the start of a new era away from the dishonorable acts that Parliament was known for in the last five years. The legislators’ term ended earlier this week. Police looked on as the caskets made of thin wood burned to ashes as protesters shouted and screamed in exhilaration.
“Bye bye parasites,” shouted Sheldon Ochieng, 23, a college student studying community development. “MP’s do not know their work; they are just stashing money in their pockets. It is time to have new leaders who serve the people.”
Kenyans say their legislators are seen as lazy, greedy, and self-centered for often improving their welfare lavishly at the cost of taxpayers.
It's an endemic condition around the globe.
A Kenyan legislator earns about $175,000 a year in a country where the average annual income is $1,700. Last week, Kenyan legislators attempted to award themselves a $110,000 bonus, but the president vetoed the legislation.
The package would also provide an armed guard, a diplomatic passport, and access to the VIP lounge at Kenyan airports and state funerals.
It was the second time President Mwai Kibaki had refused to sign the bill adding the legislators’ bonuses into law. In October Parliament members awarded themselves bonuses.
However, civil society activists say Kibaki, who is the 222d legislator, is no different because while he vetoed the hefty raises, he has approved large increments to a send-off package for when he retires following the country’s March 4 elections.
The organizers of the protests Wednesday said they did not make a coffin for the president because of the veto, and the decision to give himself more money came after the coffins had been ordered.
“It was unsurprising that President Kibaki, while rejecting the MPs’ pay deal, retained his own hefty retirement package,” said Boniface Mwangi, an official of a lobby group called Kenya Ni Kwetu, or Kenya is Our Home.
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Gotta elect a new president:
"Obama calls for peaceful Kenya vote" by Jason Straziuso | Associated Press, February 06, 2013
NAIROBI — Wading into the politics of his father’s homeland, President Obama urged Kenya on Tuesday to reject violence in next month’s election, adding the voice of America’s first black president to those hoping the country can avoid the bloodshed that stained its last vote.
Obama released the rare country-specific message in a YouTube video in which he used Swahili greetings — the common language in Kenya — to open and close his message. He urged Kenyans to reject intimidation and violence, to allow a free and fair vote, and to resolve any disputes ‘‘in the courts, not in the streets.’’
‘‘This is a moment for the people of Kenya to come together, instead of tearing apart. If you do, you can show the world that you are not just a member of a tribe or ethnic group, but citizens of a great and proud nation,’’ said Obama, who has several relatives in the country, including half-siblings and a step-grandmother.
Related:
Obama’s uncle gets expulsion rehearing
Obama uncle faces hearing in fight against deportation
Kenya goes to the polls on March 4 to vote for president and other offices. It is the first national election since the 2007 presidential vote devolved into nationwide violence that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced some 600,000.
Obama’s message is likely to be well received by most Kenyans, said John Githongo, who resigned as adviser on ethics and governance to Kenya’s president, Mwai Kibaki, and then exposed hundreds of millions of dollars in government corruption.
‘‘To many people who respect him and love him, as somebody who is the son of our soil, to say something like that is something that is much appreciated by Kenyans,’’ Githongo said. ‘‘Of course there are those who will call it interference.’’
Well, not really.
Obama visited Kenya as a US senator but did not visit during his first term as president, a fact that has disappointed many Kenyans.
He didn't visit israel, either, so....
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"Kenyan government sued for police brutality" by TOM ODULA, Associated Press / February 15, 2013
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Kenyan government is being sued for police brutality in the violence following the 2007 election.
The lawsuit comes as Kenya prepares for a new election on March 4 amid warnings from international human rights groups that the police are not ready to prevent electoral violence while refraining from human rights violations.
The families of seven people shot dead five years ago and eight wounded survivors this week filed a lawsuit to sue the Kenyan government claiming the shots were fired by police during a dispute over who won Kenya’s 2007 presidential election.
Four human rights groups are also part of the suit against the government.
Government records show police shot dead 405 of the more than 1,100 people who died in the post-election violence following a dispute in the presidential race in 2007 general elections. Many of them were shot in the back, according to documents filed by law firm Nderitu Partners and Advocates on behalf of the group late Wednesday.
According to the suit unlawful orders were given to policemen and the government failed to train the officers on lawful methods of how to deal with civil unrest. And the government did not investigate the abuses.
Those suing the government are from western Kenya. In the 2007 elections, the majority of the people in western Kenya supported the main presidential challenger Raila Odinga — who polls had consistently put as the front runner — and took to the streets in violent protests after the electoral authority announced President Mwai Kibaki had been re-elected.
International observers said the presidential vote was flawed.
Meaning it was rigged.
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"In an extraordinary public statement only days before Kenya’s high-tension national election, the country’s chief justice said Wednesday that he has received a threatening letter warning of dire consequences if the judiciary doesn’t allow a top candidate indicted by the International Criminal Court to run. Kenya goes to the ballot box on March 4, the first election since a flawed presidential vote in late 2007 devolved into mass violence that killed more than 1,000 people."
"Elections stir tribal tensions in Kenya" by Jeffrey Gettleman | New York Times, February 22, 2013
MALINDI, Kenya — In a room by the stairs, Shukrani Malingi, a Pokomo farmer, writhed on a metal cot, the skin on his back burned off. Down the hall, at a safe distance, Rahema Hageyo, an Orma girl, stared blankly out a window, a long scar above her thimble-like neck. She was nearly decapitated by a machete chop — and she is only 9 months old.
Ever since vicious ethnic clashes erupted between the Pokomo and Orma several months ago in a desolate part of Kenya, the Tawfiq Hospital has instituted a strict policy for the victims who are trundled in: Pokomos on one side, Ormas on the other. The longstanding rivalry, which both sides say has been inflamed by a governor’s race, has become so explosive that the two groups remain segregated even while receiving lifesaving care.
‘‘There are three reasons for this war,’’ said Elisha Bwora, a Pokomo elder. ‘‘Tribe, land, and politics.’’
Those seem to be the three reasons for any war.
Every five years or so, this stable and typically peaceful country, an oasis of development in a very poor and turbulent region, suffers a frightening transformation in which age-old grievances get stirred up, ethnically based militias are mobilized, and neighbors start killing neighbors. The reason is elections, and another huge one is barreling this way.
In less than two weeks, Kenyans will line up by the millions to pick their leaders for the first time since a disastrous vote in 2007, which set off clashes that killed more than 1,000 people. The country has spent years agonizing over the wounds and has taken some steps to repair itself, most notably passing a new constitution. But justice has been elusive, politics remain ethnically tinged and leaders charged with crimes against humanity have a real chance of winning.
People here tend to vote in ethnic blocs, and during election time Kenyan politicians have a history of stoking these divisions and sometimes even financing murder sprees, according to court documents. This time around, the vitriolic speeches seem more restrained, but in some areas where violence erupted after the last vote the underlying message of us versus them is still abundantly clear.
Now, the country is asking a simple but urgent question: Will history repeat itself?
‘‘This election brings out the worst in us,’’ read a column last week in The Daily Nation, Kenya’s biggest newspaper. ‘‘All the tribal prejudice, all ancient grudges and feuds, all real and imagined slights, all dislikes and hatreds, everything is out walking the streets like hordes of thirsty undeads looking for innocents to devour.’’
As the election draws nearer, more alarm bells are ringing. Seven civilians were ambushed and killed in northeastern Kenya on Thursday in what was widely perceived to be a politically motivated attack. The day before, Kenya’s chief justice said that a notorious criminal group had threatened him with ‘‘dire consequences’’ if he ruled against a leading presidential contender. Farmers in the Rift Valley say that cattle rustling is increasing, and they accuse politicians of instigating the raids to stir up intercommunal strife.
Because Kenya is such a bellwether country on the continent, what happens here in the next few weeks may determine whether the years of tenuous power-sharing and political reconciliation — a model used after violently contested elections in Zimbabwe as well — have ultimately paid off.
‘‘The rest of Africa wants to know whether it’s possible to learn from past elections and ensure violence doesn’t flare again,’’ said Phil Clark, a lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. ‘‘With five years’ warning, is it possible to address the causes of conflict and transfer power peacefully?’’
Spurred on by Kenyan intellectuals and Western allies, Kenya has overhauled its judiciary, election commission, and the nature of power itself. Dozens of new positions, like governorships and Senate seats, have been created to ensure that resources flow down more equitably to the grass roots, an attempt to lessen the winner-take-all system that lavished rewards and opportunities on some ethnic groups while relegating others to the sidelines.
On the national stage, two of Kenya’s most contentious politicians — Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto — are running on the same ticket for president and deputy president. Both have been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity stemming from the violence last time. Kenyatta, a deputy prime minister and son of Kenya’s first president, is accused of financing death squads that moved house to house in early 2008, slaughtering opposition supporters and their families.
He could quite possibly be elected Kenya’s next president and find himself the first sitting head of state to commute back and forth from The Hague, potentially complicating the typically cozy relationship between Kenya and the West.
Many nations in this region depend on Kenya, as demonstrated by the economic chaos caused downstream during the last election when mobs blockaded Kenya’s highways and sent fuel prices spiking as far away as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Another safety valve may be the courts, which are now considered much more independent. Kenya’s new judiciary is led by a former political prisoner and widely respected legal mind, Willy Mutunga, the chief justice, who said he was threatened this week.
The hope is that if any election disputes arise between Kenyatta and the other front-runner, Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, who says he was cheated out of winning last time, Mutunga will step in — before people on the streets do.
Get ready for it to happen again.
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"Intelligence on the Somali-Kenya border said Somali militants planned to launch attacks; a secessionist group on the coast threatened — and perhaps already carried out — attacks"
Why would they care?
"19 killed in attacks during Kenyan presidential election" by Tom Odula | Associated Press, March 05, 2013
MOMBASA, Kenya — Kenya’s presidential election drew millions of eager voters who endured long lines to cast ballots Monday, but the vote was marred by violence that left 19 people dead, including four police officers killed by machete-wielding separatists.
Officials urged voters not to be intimidated by the violence amid fears the impending election results could spark another round of the ethnic-related bloodshed in which more than 1,000 people died after the 2007 vote.
The election is the first presidential poll under a new constitution designed to prevent such violence. Enthusiastic voters formed long lines around the country, and election officials estimated turnout at 70 percent of 14 million registered voters.
Official results are not expected until Tuesday or Wednesday. A run-off between the top presidential contenders is set for April unless one captures more than 50 percent of ballots from among the pool of eight candidates.
In the early vote count, Uhuru Kenyatta, the deputy prime minister who has been accused by the International Criminal Court of financing death squads, held a lead of 56 percent to 40 percent over the second-place candidate, Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister. Election observers cautioned that the preliminary results may not be representative of the countrywide vote.
The violence began before the polls opened when a group of 200 separatists set a trap for police in the coastal city of Mombasa in the pre-dawn hours, Inspector General David Kimaiyo said. Four police were hacked to death, coast police leader Aggrey Adoli said.
The separatist group — the Mombasa Republican Council — had threatened election day attacks, and Kimaiyo said police were planning a raid ‘‘that will see the end of the MRC.’’
The MRC believes Kenya’s coast should be an independent country. Their cause is fueled by the belief that leaders in Nairobi have taken the coast’s land for themselves, impoverishing indigenous residents.
In addition to the attack in Mombasa, police blamed the MRC for three deadly attacks in nearby Kilifi.
Six government officials, four MRC members, and two civilians died in the attacks near the coastal city.
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Related: America’s best export: Politics
If so, that is sad.
"Delays raise fears on Kenya vote" by Jeffrey Gettleman | New York Times, March 06, 2013
NAIROBI — Confusion and anxiety rose Tuesday as results from Kenya’s presidential election were delayed by electronic breakdowns and officials announced a late-night change in tabulating votes, leading several observers to predict that a runoff might ensue.
Oh, no. Diebold machines?
Millions of Kenyans flooded the polls on Monday and the voting went reasonably well, most observers said. But serious questions have begun to crop up in the tallying process, with unexplained delays in electronically transmitting the results from the polling places and public wrangling over which votes should be counted.
Given the deadly aftermath of Kenya’s last major election in 2007, which was marred by vote rigging and then erupted in bloodshed, any breakdowns or disputes could tear at the public’s confidence in the vote, an outcome many people fear could set off violence again.
‘‘I don’t think the situation looks good,’’ said Joel D. Barkan, a senior associate for the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. ‘‘We are entering a quite potentially messy situation here.’’
Tensions were rising in the slums. Truckloads of soldiers in helmets and padded suits chugged through the streets, eyeing the crowds warily. Many shops remained shuttered, and Kenya’s police chief promptly banned all demonstrations, saying Kenya had no history of peaceful protests.
As of Tuesday night, about half the votes had been tallied, giving a relatively large lead to Uhuru Kenyatta, the scion of one of the wealthiest, most powerful political families in Africa, 53 percent to 42 percent over Kenya’s prime minister, Raila Odinga.
But there was a wrinkle.
Kenyan election law says that the winning candidate must secure more than 50 percent of all the votes cast and late on Tuesday night, the election commission announced that it would include more than 300,000 rejected ballots as part of the total. With the pool of votes suddenly enlarged, several analysts said that both candidates would receive a smaller percentage of the total and that Kenyatta might not clear the 50 percent threshold, necessitating a runoff.
Ahmed Hassan, the head of Kenya’s election commission, conceded that the number of ballots rejected for stray marks and other irregularities was “quite worrying,” though observers said it was not particularly surprising given the complexity of these elections. Voters had six ballots in their hands, for national and local races.
Elections are the same wherever you are!
“We feel the constitution is very clear,” said Salim Lone, an adviser to Odinga. “The spoiled votes have to be included as part of the calculation.”
Hanging chads?
Kenyatta’s camp expressed displeasure, which may mean a protracted court battle after the preliminary results are announced, expected in the coming days. The risk, analysts said, is that Kenyatta’s supporters might feel they were unfairly denied an outright victory.
Partial results showed that once again, Kenyans voted overwhelmingly along ethnic lines. Some areas voted 95 percent for the politician from their ethnic group, while other areas, equally poor, with people in very similar circumstances, voted 95 percent in the opposite direction.
“I guess we haven’t come very far,” said Maina Kiai, a prominent human rights advocate. “We still use identity as the only factor in voting.”
Enormous efforts were made this time to move voters away from choices based on ethnicity and persuade them to consider other factors like the candidate’s resume or policy proposals. The Kenyan news media, considered among the most independent and professional in Africa, even organized televised debates, a first.
Related(?): The Globe's Invisible Ink: African Echo
But the candidates who tried to gain momentum on issues-based campaigns, like Peter Kenneth and Martha Karua, got a minuscule share of the vote. It seemed that most voters still felt that the leader from their ethnic group was the best one to protect them, especially in an edgy environment where many fear a replay of postelection violence.
“The ethnic vote is often the one based on fear,” Kiai said.
Kenya’s ethnic arithmetic favors Kenyatta. His ethnic group, the Kikuyu, is the country’s largest, and along with the Meru and Embu, which often vote with it, they represent 22 percent of the population. He chose William Ruto, a Kalenjin, to be his running mate, and the Kalenjin are the third-largest group in the country.
Odinga says he was cheated out of winning the last election, and many analysts say that Kisumu could explode again if there is vote rigging and Odinga loses again.
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"Kenya vote results delayed by glitches" by Jeffrey Gettleman | New York Times, March 07, 2013
NAIROBI — As results from Kenya’s hotly contested presidential election continued to trickle in Wednesday, persistent delays spawned all sorts of fears, frustrations, and conspiracy theories.
Uh-oh. When the AmeriKan media starts throwing around the term conspiracy theories look out!
The election was Monday, but because of a breakdown in a new vote-transmission system, results that should have been received and tabulated by Wednesday were not expected until later this week, keeping the country on edge.
Yeah, a fraudulent election is now a conspiracy.
On Wednesday, the presidential campaign of Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s deputy prime minister, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity, lashed out at the British government, accusing it of meddling in the vote.
Could be; there are always residual intelligence agency assets in former colonies.
Kenyatta’s team said it was ‘‘deeply concerned about the shadowy, suspicious, and rather animated involvement of the British high commissioner’’ and ‘‘alarmed by the abnormally high influx of British military personnel in the country which began around the voting day, under the pretext of training.’’
The British Foreign Office dismissed the claims of interference as ‘‘false and misleading’’ and said the British troops were on a ‘‘routine exercise’’ that was ‘‘completely unrelated to the Kenyan elections.’’
Kenyatta, the scion of one of the richest families in Africa, has been leading in the preliminary vote count. He has been ahead by more than 10 percentage points over the second-place vote-getter, Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister.
But late Tuesday, the election commission decided to include hundreds of thousands of spoiled ballots in the overall count, of which a candidate must get more than 50 percent to win. Election observers say that decision may mean the election will go to a runoff, angering Kenyatta’s supporters.
This is Kenya’s first presidential election since 2007, when widespread evidence of vote-rigging set off intense ethnic clashes that killed more than 1,000 people. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court accuse Kenyatta and his running mate of organizing some of the violence.
Kenya has undertaken many major reforms since then. In this election, votes were supposed to be transmitted directly from tallying centers to the election headquarters via encrypted data messages. But the computer servers at the election headquarters crashed Tuesday, and now officials are tabulating results manually.
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"Kenya’s election troubles could stir violence" by JASON STRAZIUSO and TOM ODULA | Associated Press, March 08, 2013
NAIROBI — Kenya’s presidential race tightened late Thursday as new results pushed the leading candidate below the crucial 50 percent mark needed to win outright. A final result was expected Friday, but the close race and a troubled vote count are sparking fears of the kind of violence that ripped through the country after its last national election.
Tensions rose as the political coalition led by Kenya’s prime minister, currently running in second, alleged that some vote results have been doctored and called for a stop to a tallying process it said ‘‘lacked integrity.’’
The statement by Raila Odinga’s coalition said the counting process should be restarted using primary documents from polling stations, but the election commission insisted there was no way to doctor the results.
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta had a small lead over Odinga as of late Thursday, though crucially Kenyatta for the first time slipped below the 50 percent threshold that would give him a clean win.
Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto face charges at the International Criminal Court for their alleged involvement directing postelection violence five years ago. The court announced Thursday that the start of Kenyatta’s trial would be delayed from April until July.
Kenya’s national vote on Monday was the first since the 2007 election sparked tribe-on-tribe attacks that killed more than 1,000 people. Minor protests have cropped up, but no massive rioting or ethnic violence has occurred. As more time passes without a final result, though, tensions are rising, sparking fears that the dam now holding back potential protests could break.
Though Odinga’s party said it continues to urge ‘‘calm, tolerance and peace,’’ its call for a halt to the vote count and allegations of vote rigging could agitate its supporters. Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Odinga’s running mate, said the announcement ‘‘is not a call to mass action.’’
The winner must capture 50 percent of the vote from the eight presidential candidates in order to win; otherwise there is a runoff.
Officials on Thursday continued to add up votes from tally sheets that have been transported to the capital.
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"Indicted official wins Kenya election" by Jason Straziuso | Associated Press, March 09, 2013
NAIROBI — Kenya’s election commission posted complete results early Saturday showing that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta prevailed in the country’s presidential elections by the slimmest of margins, winning 50.03 percent of the vote.
That result is likely to bring controversy in Kenya and an almost certain legal challenge from Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Kenyatta needed to break the 50 percent barrier to avoid a runoff with Odinga, but he did so by only 4,099 votes out of more than 12.3 million cast....
A win by Kenyatta could greatly affect Kenya’s relations with the West. Kenyatta faces charges at the International Criminal Court for his alleged role in directing some of Kenya’s 2007 postelection violence. His running mate, William Ruto, faces similar charges.
The United States has warned of ‘‘consequences’’ if Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding father, wins, as have several European countries. Britain, which ruled Kenya up until the early 1960s, has said they would have only essential contact with the Kenyan government if Kenyatta is president....
What are we going to do, invade?
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"Kenyatta wins by narrow margin" by Jeffrey Gettleman | New York Times, March 10, 2013
NAIROBI — Kenya’s election commission on Saturday declared Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first president and a suspect in a case involving crimes against humanity, the winner of the country’s presidential race amid growing allegations of vote fraud and a refusal by the other leading contender to concede.
Kenyatta, who has been accused by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague of bankrolling death squads during Kenya’s last election crisis, cleared the 50 percent threshold and avoided a runoff by the thinnest of margins, about 8,000 votes out of 12 million, or 0.07 percent.
Kenyatta’s trial is set for July, which means that Kenya, one of the United States’s closest allies on the continent, could soon have a president commuting back and forth from The Hague, simultaneously trying to run a country and keep himself from being imprisoned for years.
Kenyatta has said he is innocent and that he will cooperate with the court, but in his acceptance speech on Saturday he signaled that he wanted the world to back off.
‘‘We recognize and accept our international obligations,’’ he said. ‘‘However, we also expect that the international community will respect the sovereignty and the democratic will of the people of Kenya.’’
Kenyatta, 51, a graduate of Amherst College and a confident speaker, said Kenya had surpassed expectations....
But it is not clear whether Kenya’s election is really over. The second-place finisher, Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, has refused to admit defeat and plans to appeal to Kenya’s Supreme Court to overturn the results, which some independent observers said were suspicious.
Odinga said there had been ‘‘rampant illegality’’ and ‘‘massive tampering’’ with the vote-tallying process, the same problem that happened in 2007 during Kenya’s last election. Odinga narrowly lost that vote, and Kenya exploded in political violence.
‘’We thought this would never happen again,’’ he said, referring to the fraud allegations.
But he urged his supporters to stay calm. ‘‘We don’t want riots, property damage, or any other kind of disturbance,’’ Odinga said. ‘‘Any violence now could destroy this nation forever.’’
Some of Odinga’s strongholds, like the sprawling Kibera slum, were tense on Saturday. Police officers in helmets patroled the streets as groups of young men glared at television sets, many still visibly dumbfounded by the election results, but there were no reports of major violence.
Kenyatta’s victory, after a heated race, poses unique challenges for the Obama administration, which increasingly relies on Kenya as a strategic partner in a volatile region, yet, at the same time, has pledged to support the International Criminal Court, though the United States is not a member.
I imagine this will all quiet down afterward.
In the weeks before the election, the top US official for Africa issued a thinly veiled warning that ‘‘choices have consequences’’ and some Western diplomats here indicated that they would keep their distance from Kenyatta, currently a deputy prime minister, should he win.
Many analysts predict that the coming months will be an awkward time for US-Kenya relations, unexpected, perhaps, considering that Kenya was the birthplace of President Obama’s father and a place Obama has written fondly about.
The International Criminal Court — and the perception that Western countries were lining up against Kenyatta — seems to have been a galvanizing factor in this election, driving Kenyatta’s supporters to the polls in a tsunami-like force.
‘‘Kenyans may be tribalists but we are also nationalists,’’ said Edward Kirathe, a real estate developer and a passionate Kenyatta supporter.
Yeah, no one likes someone else telling them who their leader should be.
Kenyatta’s running mate, William Ruto, who is in line to become deputy president, has also been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity, accused of sponsoring gangs that hunted down supporters of his political opponents in 2007 and early 2008.
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"Kenya court orders recount in presidential vote" Associated Press, March 26, 2013
NAIROBI — Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered a recount of votes in some constituencies in the country’s March 4 presidential election.
The court heard arguments from civil society groups and the legal team of Prime Minister Raila Odinga over what they charge were failures by the election commission to conduct a free and fair election.
Uhuru Kenyatta has been named the winner over Odinga, with 50.07 percent of the vote.
The court will decide Tuesday where and how the recount of votes will be done. The petitioners and the respondents are to elect 10 people each to act as observers.
The court ordered the recount of votes in 22 of the country’s 291 constituencies to see if any of the tallies exceed the number of registered voters, one of the complaints from Odinga’s team.
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"Vote numbers were changed, Kenyan court told" by Jason Straziuso | Associated Press, March 28, 2013
NAIROBI — Vote totals for Kenya’s president-elect increased without explanation between the time the ballot numbers were announced at some remote polling centers and when they reached the national tallying center in the capital, a lawyer for a civil society group told the country’s Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The election was STOLEN, folks!
Kenya’s six-justice Supreme Court heard arguments from the group and from the legal team of Prime Minister Raila Odinga asserting that the court should invalidate the election commission’s declaration that Uhuru Kenyatta won the country’s March 4 presidential election with 50.07 percent of the vote.
Kethi D. Kilonzo, an attorney for the African Center for Governance, played a video for the Supreme Court that she said showed Kenyatta’s vote totals increased between when some local polling stations announced their counts and when those numbers reached the national center.
One station, in Nyeri Country, said Kenyatta had won 53,252 votes, Kilonzo said. By the time the national election commission read the result, Kenyatta’s total had increased to 55,726, she said.
Kenyatta cleared the crucial 50 percent mark by only 8,400 votes out of more than 12 million ballots cast, making each vote highly valuable. Had he gotten below the 50 percent threshold, Kenyatta and Odinga would have faced one another in a run-off.
The last time Kenyans voted for president in 2007, allegations of rigging to benefit President Mwai Kibaki sparked ethnic clashes that killed about 1,000 people.
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Related: Kenya vote commission cites Bush v. Gore in defense
Not a good precedent.
"Kenya’s high court upholds presidential election results" by Jeffrey Gettleman | New York Times, March 31, 2013
NAIROBI — Kenya’s Supreme Court on Saturday unanimously upheld the election victory of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country’s president, dismissing allegations that the vote had been rigged.
The second-place finisher, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, seemed to finally swallow his defeat. Odinga had accused Kenya’s election commission of conspiring with Kenyatta to steal the vote. In the past week, in heated hearings in front of the Supreme Court, Odinga’s lawyers presented evidence of questionable vote tallying.
The Supreme Court concluded that there had been dozens of errors, though it appears the justices did not feel those errors would have changed the outcome — or they were wary of dragging out what had already become a long and tortuous election period.
Yeah, who really cares who won, let's just get it behind us.
On Saturday evening, in a room full of his supporters, Odinga said, somewhat mournfully, [that] he would abide by its decision, and he wished Kenyatta well.
A few hours later, Kenyatta spoke to the nation, saying, ‘‘I urge you to accept the election is over.’’ And he called for Kenyans to come together ‘‘above the partisanship.’’
What choice do they have?
But almost immediately, protests erupted in some opposition strongholds, with stone-throwing mobs squaring off against Kalashnikov-toting police officers. And Kenyatta’s legal battles are hardly over.
As Kenya’s next president, Kenyatta will soon be summoned to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to stand trial on charges of crimes against humanity, accused of using his vast family fortune to bankroll death squads during the chaos that exploded after Kenya’s last disputed election in 2007.
He says he is innocent and that the charges are based on gossip. But many Western officials believe otherwise, and the Obama administration has gotten off on the wrong foot, sending the signal that it hoped Kenyatta would lose.
The United States now may have little choice but to work with Kenyatta because Kenya is one of its closest allies in Africa, serving as a base for everything from running billion-dollar health programs to spying on agents of Al Qaeda. When it comes down to it, several analysts have said, the United States needs Kenya more than Kenya needs the United States....
That's the sign of a weakening empire.
The long-awaited verdict caps weeks, if not months, of distraction, anxiety, hope and dread. In 2007 and early 2008, Kenya cracked open in riots and clashes after Odinga lost the presidential race amid evidence of vote rigging, leaving more than 1,000 dead.
The horrific memories from that time have been fresh in the minds of many Kenyans. Many have feared that another contested election could set off the same type of violence.
On March 4, Kenyans streamed into polling places. The turnout was tremendous, around 86 percent.
But problems started almost immediately. A new biometric voter identification system failed, and then, after the polls closed, the electronic system to transmit results directly from the polling places to election headquarters crashed. Odinga’s side said it was a conspiracy. The election commission said it was an accident.
Banks not lose a penny.
Election officials then had to tally the results manually, which took days and opened up more possibilities for fraud. On March 9, the election commission declared Kenyatta the winner. Odingafiled his lawsuit.
On Saturday night, after the Supreme Court upheld Kenyatta’s victory, protests broke out in several slum areas of Nairobi, the capital, and in Kisumu, Odinga’s ethnic stronghold. His supporters tried to barricade roads with burning tires, but police officers shot in the air and chased them away.
Limited coverage of the protests.
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"Kenya deploys police amid tension" Associated Press, April 01, 2013
NAIROBI — Kenyan police deployed forces Sunday in the capital and the lakeside city of Kisumu to contain the continuing threat of violence after five people were killed in riots Saturday, officials said, but the country remained mostly peaceful after a court upheld Uhuru Kenyatta’s election as president.
Rowdy youths in Nairobi’s slums were still trying to protest the Supreme Court’s ruling against Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s challenge to the validity of Kenyatta’s win, Nairobi police officials said Sunday.
At least three people rioting in Nairobi’s Dandora slum were shot to death by police Saturday, authorities said, bringing to five the number of people killed in postelection violence since the court’s verdict was given Saturday.
Two people were killed and five seriously injured Saturday in riots in Kisumu, Odinga’s hometown, said Ole Metito, police chief for Nyanza Province.
The incidents Saturday threatened to disrupt the peace across most of Kenya, which five years ago degenerated into deadly violence stemming from a disputed election. But police said the heavy presence of forces Sunday in trouble spots — especially slum areas where many of Odinga’s supporters live — was likely to deter protesters still angry over Kenyatta’s court victory.
An unexploded bomb was discovered inside a minibus at a Nairobi bus stop on Sunday, police said. ‘‘There is tension obviously, but with the deployment of officers we have done we don’t anticipate anything,’’ said Moses Ombati, the deputy police chief for Nairobi.
Although Odinga accepted the court’s decision, some of his supporters reacted angrily to his loss.
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"Kenya celebrates new president" by Tom Odula and Jason Straziuso | Associated Press, April 10, 2013
NAIROBI — Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding president, ascended to the country’s top office Tuesday during a jubilant celebration that began a new era in Kenyan politics, one that forces the United States and Europe into a diplomatic balancing act.
A new era?
Amid the dancing and cheering of a sea of red-clad supporters, Kenyatta, his deputy, and Uganda’s president made known their displeasure at US and European efforts to steer Kenyan voters to another candidate, the outgoing prime minister, Raila Odinga.
Uh-oh.
The United States and Europe had hoped to avoid having a Kenyan leader who is the second sitting African president to face International Criminal Court charges. Kenyatta, 51, faces charges of crimes against humanity for allegedly helping to orchestrate the vicious tribe-on-tribe violence that marred Kenya’s 2007 presidential election.
The United States has said a Kenyatta win would have ‘‘consequences,’’ though many analysts think the effects will turn out to be minimal, given that Kenya is the lynchpin of East Africa’s economy and is a major security partner, especially in the fight against Somali militants.
‘‘I want to salute the Kenyan voters on one other issue — the rejection of the blackmail by the International Criminal Court and those who seek to abuse this institution for their own agenda,’’ Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, told the boisterous crowd.
‘‘They are now using it to install leaders of their choice in Africa and eliminate the ones they do not like,’’ he said.
That's all true.
Incoming Deputy President William Ruto — who also faces ICC charges for the 2007-08 violence — noted that he and Kenyatta won in the first round of voting despite the US warning.
As the swearing-in was administered, the crowd roared so loudly it interrupted the ceremony. The US ambassador attended, as did US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, who was an invited guest of Kenyatta.
That settles that.
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"Iranians convicted on terror charges" by Tom Odula | Associated Press, May 03, 2013
NAIROBI — Two Iranian nationals, whom officials accused of planning to attack Western targets inside Kenya, were found guilty Thursday by a Kenyan court of terror-related charges.
Officials in Kenya say the two suspects may have been planning attacks on Israeli, American, British, or Saudi Arabian interests in Kenya.
Magistrate Kaire Waweru Kiare said the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt all counts against the two.
Kiare said he would pronounce sentences for the two on Monday.
Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi were arrested in June 2012 and led officials to a 33-pound stash of the explosive RDX.
Prosecutors said in their charge sheet that the two had explosives ‘‘in circumstances that indicated they were armed with the intent to commit a felony, namely, acts intended to cause grievous harm.’’
Iranian agents are suspected in attacks or thwarted attacks around the globe in recent years, including in Azerbaijan, Thailand, and India. Most of the plots had connections to Israeli targets.
And probably Israeli intelligence, too.
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Kenya trying to suck back up to the West.
Related: Iran executes 2 convicted as spies for Israel, CIA
Also see: 40 flee from Kenyan mental hospital
