A monthly publication
of AFRICANEWS
For the period
covering August 15-September 15, 2002
1. Survey
reveals voting patterns, attitudes
2. Transition in jeopardy
3. Mungiki: outlawed cult becomes a strong political force
1. Survey
reveals voting patterns, attitudes
By Zachary
Ochieng
As Kenyans prepare for the country’s third multiparty polls,
it is interesting to note that a number of people are members of political
parties.
This finding is among a number of attitudes, voting
patterns, and other election behaviours revealed in a baseline survey jointly
conducted by Strategy &Tactics, Research International East Africa (both
research consultancy firms), and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a leading management
consultancy firm.
Titled “Kenya: State of the Nation,” the survey’s terms of
reference called for coverage of all districts in Kenya, as well as a
representative sample of the administrative divisions in Kenya. Consultation
around the actual sample was held with relevant stakeholders, especially the
Ministry of Planning’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS ) department..
Over 8,000 interviews were conducted for the survey. Each
province and district had a minimum of 500 and 100 respondents respectively,
who were selected by a random sampling methodology. The survey compared
respondents in terms of provinces they came from, their age groups, social
status, and whether they were urban or rural respondents. Comparison was also
done in terms of gender.
To further emphasise the reliability and validity of data
collected, the age, gender, and area of distribution of the sample closely
resembles that of the population as a whole according to the latest census
results. The survey’s aim was to gauge the level of knowledge and awareness
among the respondents and highlight which areas are to be targeted for civic
and voter education ahead of the general election slated for December of this
year.
According to the report, which was released in July 2002, 45
percent of the respondents belonged to a political party. However, membership
is unevenly distributed. Men are considerably more likely than women to belong
to a party. Interestingly however, rural respondents are more likely to belong
to a party than their urban counterparts.
Membership is also uneven across the eight provinces. Rift
Valley respondents are more likely to belong to a party (61 percent), while
those from Coast Province (27 percent) are least likely to do so.
The report states that two-thirds of the respondents
strongly agreed that an effective opposition is an essential component of
democracy, which means that there is broad support for multiparty democracy in
Kenya. It is also noteworthy that the support for a strong opposition is
highest among the better off. Men (72 percent) were considerably more likely
than women (63 percent) to agree with the need for a strong opposition. Support
for a strong opposition was highest among respondents from Coast Province (83
percent), Central (79 percent) and Nyanza (74 percent). It was lowest among
respondents from North Eastern Province (37 percent).
Support for multipartyism also increases proportionate to
education. Just 56 percent of those with no formal education agreed that a
strong opposition was important. The support, however, rose to 80 percent for
those with post-secondary school education.
The report further adds that 91 percent of the respondents
supported the notion that voting for the party of their choice was the essence
of democracy. The support had no gender differences. Again, the overwhelming
majority of respondents agreed that voting is important and should be conducted
through secret ballot. But in North Eastern Province, only 69 percent of the
respondents agreed that voting should be secret and private, while 23 percent
of the respondents rejected the idea.
The report also notes that three-quarters of the respondents
(72 percent) believed that people are motivated to vote for individuals, not
parties.
When asked about the previous general election, 71 percent
of the respondents said they had voted, while 29 percent said they had not done
so. Men (76 percent) were more likely than women (66 percent) to have voted
during the last general election according to the survey results. Respondents
from Nairobi were significantly less likely to have voted than those from the
other seven provinces, with only 51 percent of the respondents having voted.
This figure rose to 68 percent in Coast Province as in Central and was above 70
percent in the rest of the provinces.
Significantly, according to the report, voting declines as
education rises. Eighty-four percent of the respondents with no formal
education had voted at the last general election as compared to 77 percent of
respondents with post-secondary education. The survey results also indicate
that provinces with large urban areas were the ones with high levels of
non-participation at the last general elections.
With respect to this general election, 83 percent of the
respondents said that they would participate. However, almost one in 10 said
that they would not vote. Again, this was high among respondents in Nairobi,
where 74 percent of urban respondents said they would vote as compared to 84
percent of rural respondents.
Younger respondents were also more likely to vote: 715 of
respondents falling within the18-25 age bracket said that they would vote. This
figure declined as age increased. It is also worth noting that poorer
respondents are more likely to vote at the forthcoming general election than
their better off counterparts. Eighty-four percent of the poorest of the poor
said that they would vote as compared to 78 percent from more affluent classes.
Gender differentials were also noted as 87 percent of the men said they would
vote as compared to 80 percent of the women.
The survey also tested the extent to which respondents could
vote for a woman or a person with a disability. According to the report, more
than half of the respondents said they would vote for a woman or a person with
a disability, however more indicated that they would support a woman before
they would a person with disability.
Respondents’ attitudes towards political leaders were also
revealed in the survey. Overall, leaders at all levels of Kenyan society
enjoyed the confidence of more than half of the respondents. Confidence is
highest for the presidency, with 65 percent, followed by local leaders and
elders at 64 percent. Respondents had the lowest confidence in their Members of
Parliament (51 percent) and councillors (53 percent). Sixty-one percent of the
respondents said that they had confidence in their local chief. The report
notes that across every leadership category, the poorest of the poor
consistently expressed the highest levels of confidence. As poverty decreases,
dissatisfaction rises.
Overall, there were few significant differences between male
and female respondents. Men were slightly more likely than women to express
mistrust. However, urban and rural respondents have very different attitudes
towards leaders. In every instance, urban respondents had significantly lower
confidence in their leaders than their rural counterparts.
With this report, voter educators should find it easier to
pick out areas that need targeting, as well as cater for the gender and age
group in dire need of voter education.
ENDS
2. Transition in jeopardy
By Zachary Ochieng
Because Kenya’s first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta died in
office, this will be the first time an incumbent president is going to hand
over power to an incoming one. This unprecedented transition in
post-independent Kenya may not be a smooth one if current developments within
the ruling party KANU are anything to go by.
The party is now divided more than ever before, thanks to
the pressure being mounted by the Rainbow Alliance. The alliance is a group of
KANU MPs who are opposed to the way President Moi has picked – and is pushing
for – his preferred successor, the former president’s son, Uhuru Kenyatta. The
Rainbow Alliance, however, seems to be fighting a losing battle as Moi’s
support for Uhuru remains unstinted.
In an unprecedented move seen by many observers as
dictatorial, President Moi has opted to silence his critics by sacking them and
their key allies. The most shocking and high profile dismissal was the firing
of Vice President George Saitoti, who had earlier declared his candidature for
the KANU presidential nominations.
“I have never heard of any country in the world where a vice
president is fired because he has expressed interest in the presidency,” said
Saitoti, adding that in any country where democracy is cherished, a vice
president has the first count and even if he did not, he is allowed to seek
nomination.
KANU insiders say the alliance members were sacked to
prevent them from attending the Delegates Conference that will nominate the
party’s flag bearer. The president may resort to the infamous disciplinary
committee like the one used to silence critics in the 1980s. Part VII of the
New KANU Constitution states: “There shall be a KANU Disciplinary Committee
whose composition shall be determined by the national chairman in consultation
with the National Executive Council (NEC).”
But since there are only 15 Rainbow Alliance members on the
NEC as opposed to 23 members who are supporting Kenyatta, President Moi can
take advantage of this to suspend the Rainbow members, effectively shutting
them out of the Delegates Conference. Section 2(C) of the KANU Constitution,
which says that NEC’s decision on suspension is final, would then drive the
final nail in Rainbow’s coffin.
But the upshot of all this is that the party is now reeling
under an internal power struggle, with no end in sight. Ordinary party members
view Moi’s actions as a perpetuation of dictatorship. “There is no difference
between now and the eighties when the president resorted to expelling his
critics,” observes party member John Marende.
The country could be at a cross roads, courtesy of a looming
vote of no confidence. Nominated MP Prof. Peter Anyang Nyongo (SDP) has filed a
notice of intention to table a vote of no confidence in the government when
Parliament resumes on October 1. With the ruling party almost falling apart,
the outcome of this motion could be disastrous.
But President Moi’s support for Kenyatta seems relentless.
On August 22, the president broke from a tradition upheld over the last 23
years by attending Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s memorial service at the Presbyterian
Church of East Africa (PCEA) – an African Independent Church – instead of the
Catholic Church’s Holy Family Basilica.
Early this month, President Moi, in a show of might,
mobilized 20 Cabinet ministers, 66 MPs, and a number of civil servants to
attend a campaign rally for Kenyatta in Nakuru. The publicly funded Kenya
Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) aired a live broadcast of the event, to the
chagrin of members of the alliance, the opposition, and civil society.
Despite a spirited fight by the Rainbow Alliance, the
lingering question now is: how long will it survive? Analysts contend that with
Kenyatta’s nomination almost a forgone conclusion, Rainbow members are fighting
a losing battle.
The alliance first suffered a terrible blow last month with
the sacking of Assistant Minister Fred Gumo and Environment Minster Joseph
Kamotho. A few days later, Assistant Minister for Education Mathews Adams
Karauri – a strong Saitoti ally – resigned and crossed over to Simon Nyachae’s
FORD-People. Saitoti’s sacking then followed.
But the worst moment came when Transport and Communications
Minister Musalia Mudavadi quit the alliance, renounced his presidential
ambitions, and vowed to back Kenyatta. Analysts argue that as part of Moi’s
game plan to destabilize the alliance, he promised Mudavadi the vacant position
of vice president.
When all is said and done, the remaining presidential
contenders in the alliance cannot take the fight too far. Energy Minister Raila
Odinga, who is the mastermind of the alliance, insists he will fight within
KANU. Observers say he knows he has already lost the battle but does not want
to back out lest he annoys the former NDP MPs and his supporters. Chances are
that he might decamp to the opposition or pick on another moribund party as he
did in 1997 and vie for the presidency on that party’s ticket.
Saitoti has also vowed to fight on. Interestingly,
FORD-People presidential aspirant Simeon Nyachae visited Saitoti at the
latter’s residence in Lavington immediately after his sacking. Saitoti,
however, denied that he was intending to defect to the opposition.
One thing, however, is certain. The former vice president is
President Moi’s creation; it is therefore doubted whether Saitoti can call the
shots on his own. He lacks grassroots support and is often fought within his
own political backyard. He could just as well be headed for political oblivion.
Kalonzo Musyoka, although seen as a weaker member of the
alliance, has also vowed to soldier on. Speculations are rife that the
president is luring him with the vice presidency so as to further destabilize
the alliance. Should he succumb, the alliance is likely to crumble. He is
unlikely to defect to the opposition because his Mwingi constituents have
always been staunch KANU supporters.
Apart from wrangles within the ruling party, the
Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) is dogged with uncertainty. On
August 30, High Court judge Justice Richard Kuloba issued orders purportedly
barring the commission from carrying on with its work of drafting the
constitution.
But in a surprise turn of events, Commission Chairman Yash
Pal Ghai and Secretary Patrick Lumumba declined to sign the orders, claiming
they were different from the ones Kuloba issued. Said Lumumba: “While the order
of August 30 restricts itself in matters relating to the judiciary, the other
order purports to stop the deliberations of the commission in all its matters
and business.”
The order was the result of a suit filed by lawyers Tom
Kopere and John Njongoro, claiming that Ghai had already drafted a constitution
and that the one currently being prepared is just a public relations exercise.
Observers saw this move as ill timed and aimed at scuttling
Ghai’s promise to deliver the document by the middle of this month. In their
suit, the two lawyers claimed that Ghai had involved a foreigner in the
preparation of the draft and that the foreigner had suggested that all members
of the judiciary be sacked and asked to reapply for their jobs.
The two lawyers argued that they would also lose their jobs
if the judges were fired and produced the purported draft in court. Law Society
of Kenya (LSK) Secretary George Kegoro challenged the order: “The judge should
have asked the applicants to authenticate the document. Neither of the two
lawyers works for the commission or Ghai. Neither could presumably have had
legitimate access to the document.”
Kegoro added that the Review Act does not bar the commission
from hiring foreigners. Needless to say, the suit and the subsequent court order
are a violation of the Review Act. The Act states in part: “A commissioner or
the secretary shall not be liable to any civil action or suit in respect to any
matter done in good faith as a commissioner or secretary.”
Nairobi advocate Otieno Oluoch argues that the suit had no
legal basis. “In law, public interest takes precedence over private interest,”
he says. “But the two applicants were driven by private interests and were
bound to fail.” Oluoch further argues that the two applicants and their lawyer
committed a criminal act by altering the original contents of the order.
But he says that any court order has to be obeyed; hence,
Ghai’s refusal to sign it was also a criminal act. Later, another High Court
Judge Justice Andrew Hayanga ruled that the CKRC can continue with its work but
should not make any recommendations on the judiciary. But any draft
constitution that does not touch on the judiciary will not be of much help to
the public.
As debate raged on the court order, government critics saw President
Moi’s hand in the whole affair. It is instructive that the president has always
discredited the commission and its work. Last month, he declined an invitation
from the commission to go and present his views, arguing that he was being
called at the eleventh hour “when the constitution had already been written.”
Also baffling is the last minute cancellation of the
swearing in of Dr Andronico Adede, who was appointed as a commissioner to
replace the late First Vice- chairman Dr Oki Ombaka. Chief Justice Bernard
Chunga failed to turn up for the swearing in ceremony, which was to take place
in Mombasa last month. Consequently, the position, which was to be filled
urgently, remains vacant to date.
ENDS
3. Mungiki: outlawed cult becomes a strong political force
By Fred Oluoch
As Kenya approaches the significant transitional elections
scheduled for December of this year, earlier fears of unprecedented violence
have been exacerbated by what appears to the government’s encouragement of a
controversial and outlawed religious-cum-cultural outfit: Mungiki.
Initially dismissed as an eccentric and retrogressive group
out to revive discarded cultural practices, Mungiki, is now emerging as a
powerful political force, despite having been proscribed six months ago.
The sect, which espouses the return to long-discarded Kikuyu
religious and cultural practices including female circumcision, first captured
Kenyans’ attention in early 1999 when its gruesome oathing ceremonies, forcible
circumcision of women, and other activities came out into the open.
Within a short time the group, whose members are
recognisable by their dreadlock hairstyles and snuff-taking practices, were
taking over the operation of public transport routes all over the country, as
well as conducting daring raids on police stations in an attempt to free some
of its members arrested for various activities.
Last month, the group caused a major stir in Kenya’s
capital, Nairobi, when 3,000 of its members marched through the city streets in
support of leading presidential contender Uhuru Kenyatta – President Moi’s
choice of presidential successor – and threatening anybody opposed to Kenyatta
with dire consequences.
Suspicions of official endorsement are high. In March of
this year, Mungiki members were linked to a massacre in which 23 people were
killed in an area of Nairobi called Kariobangi. It was reported that the police
did not respond to advanced information that the violence – which many said was
election-related – would take place. The group was subsequently banned.
However, the group was allowed to disrupt business in the city last month as
policemen and other law enforcement agencies freely mixed with the marchers.
Although Kenyatta – the son of Kenya’s first president, the
late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta – distanced himself from the group, there is the
enduring perception that the group has come in handy politically.
The government is now hard-pressed to deny claims that it
using the group to intimidate those opposed to President Moi’s well-crafted
succession game plan. The irony is that while the outlawed group was allowed to
hold demonstrations, some registered political parties have had their licensed
rallies dispersed on the grounds of preaching anti-government sentiments.
Either by design or coincidence, local political observers
concur that the group, said to comprise of 4.5 million members, is a worthy
tool to any politician searching for a solid voting block and to intimidate his
or her rivals.
According to Ndura Waruinge, the group’s national
co-ordinator, Mungiki has collected about Ksh800 million (US$10 million) to
sponsor their candidates in 150 out of Kenya’s 210 elective constituencies.
Waruinge, who maintains that Kenya is ripe for a youthful revolution – hence
the presences of Mungiki – boasts that the group’s ultimate aim it to collect a
whooping Ksh3 billion ($38 million).
After almost two years of intermittent clashes with the
police, Kenyans were somewhat surprised when the government stopped interfering
with the group’s activities towards the end of last year and allowed them to
operate with impunity, even when they engaged in activities that were openly
threatening public order.
Their daring activities sparked off speculations that
powerful forces in Central province were sponsoring the group for political
expedience. Whatever the case, the government’s change of tactic towards the
group is conspicuous, raising fears that KANU somewhere along the way realised
that the trepidation-generating group could be used to coax those opposed to
its rule into line.
Its emergence, its adherents claim, sprung from simultaneous
“visions” experienced by some of its spiritual leaders, who allege that God
sent them to “redeem” Kenyan society from the shackles of modernism and foreign
cultural invasion.
To its critics, the group is simply an attempt to revive the
Kikuyu nationalism that died with the freedom-fighting outfit, the Mau Mau,
shortly before Kenya’s independence in 1963. The populous Kikuyu, who led
Kenya’s first government through the late president Jomo Kenyatta, has been
grousing that they have been victimised by the Moi government for the last 24
years and will do all it can to reclaim power.
A tall order, yet impeccable sources argue that this is
possible given that the group does not only comprise of unkempt, snuff-taking,
unemployed youth, but highly respectable politicians, civil servants, and
businessmen who are said to support the group clandestinely. As it, it is not
easy to tell who is a Mungiki and who is not.
Several of its members have since been arraigned in court
for administering oaths binding them to the sect’s ideals and practices.
The group sprung into the limelight in 1987 in Rift Valley’s
Nakuru District, when claims of illegal oaths by an amorphous group started
trickling into the mainstream media, with various area politicians pointing
fingers at each other over who was responsible.
The outfit does not shy away from using violence if it is,
in their view, “when fighting evil.” To them, “evil” is the prevalent Western/Christian
leaning, which they say, has corrupted Kenyan society. Mungiki has adamantly
refused to seek registration on the grounds that it is a religious and cultural
organisation that does not require a licence to operate.
Fears that the group is essentially a political outfit stem
from the fact that their rallies involve military-like practices including
parades, marches, and guards of honour, which the group’s leadership maintains
is meant to instil discipline.
However, as they seek to distance themselves from anything
Western and Christian, the group on the other hand “baptises” new members with
water and uses incense, practices prevalent in both Christianity and Islam.
What was equally surprising is that the group immediately
picked up President Moi’ rallying call that he will hand over power to the
youth when he officially retires late this year.
Mungiki’s leadership has been persistently calling for all
old guard politicians to step aside for the youth to enter the scene. Waruinge,
however, denies any linkage between their call and the president’s push for a
younger successor.
It is still debatable whether the group is working in tandem
with powerful forces that are supporting the government, or has simply picked
the president’s “Young Turks” theme to be on the government’s good books after
years of hostile relationship with the authorities.
Indeed, it is this hostility that forced one of its top
leaders to convert to Islam in September 2000, in a move that was ostensibly
meant to stem the government’s crackdown on the group.
While its objective, ideology, and origin remain shrouded in
mystery, one thing is clear: Mungiki will be a major factor in Kenya’s
forthcoming presidential elections.
ENDS
1. Glossary of Terms
All throughout the chronology and updates are sprinkled
acronyms referring to various committees, commissions, political movements,
etc. Here, we spell out these acronyms and provide some brief background
information.
CKRC = Constitution of Kenya Review Commission.
Chaired by Prof. Yash Pal Ghai, the 27-member group collects the views of a
wide cross-section of Kenyan groups and individuals. The commission is supposed
to present Kenyans with a new constitution on October 4.
PSCCR = Parliamentary Select Committee on
Constitutional Review. Chaired by Raila Odinga, Minister of Energy, the
committee monitors the work of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission
(CKRC).
KANU = Kenya African National Union, the
party that has ruled Kenya since independence. Daniel arap Moi is the president
of Kenya.
NAC = National Alliance for Change. This is
a grouping of the Democratic Party, FORD-Kenya, National Party of Kenya (NPK),
FORD-Asili, the unregistered Saba Saba Asili, SPARK, and several advocacy
groups. The group is striving to field one presidential candidate.
NAK =
the National Alliance (Party) of Kenya. This is the overarching political party
that NAC has recently formed.
KPC = Kenya People's Coalition. This is a
grouping of FORD-People, Safina, the Labour Party of Kenya, and the National
Convention Executive Council (NCEC).
MPs = Members of Parliament. Currently, the
House contains a total of 224 MPs (including two ex-officio members)
2. Chronology
August 16- The fight over Kanu's choice for the
presidency moves from the party's bigwigs in the city to the branches. The battleground is now over control of
the delegates whose votes will decide which candidate will fight for State
House.
But instead of the
national grassroots elections demanded by some party members since 1988 - when
the last were held - once again only piecemeal polls will take place.
This time they will be held in those areas where the merger
between Kanu and the defunct National Development Party has not be deemed a
success.
In many cases the old Kanu and NDP officials continue to
bicker over who exactly really represents the branch. The places where the polls will be held will be decided by a
Kanu committee headed by one of the party's leading contenders for the
presidential nomination, Mr Raila Odinga.
August 17- Kanu
has taken to the Ghai Commission its campaign for a new structure of government
and the creation of a Prime Minister's post. Top officials of the party
yesterday urged the Kenya Constitutional Review Commission to reduce the powers
of the president to prevent any ethnic group feeling insecure if their man or
woman was not in power
The party's proposals were presented to the team headed by
Prof Yash Pal Ghai by Kanu secretary-general Raila Odinga, its Secretary for Constitutional
and Legal Affairs, Mr Otieno Kajwang', a member of the party's committee on
constitutional reforms, Mr Mohammed Affey and consultant Prof Henry Mwanzi.
The party wants provinces and local authorities granted more
autonomy, with provincial councils made up of a chief executive, a running mate
and two elected representatives from every district.
Presidential candidates should have running mates who should
automatically assume the office of the vice-president. Presidential candidates
should not run for Parliamentary seats, Kanu said, which means that all
presidential election losers would be locked out of Parliament. This would be a departure from the
present system where the President appoints the VP from among MPs and names him
along with the Cabinet, and where the Head of State is also an MP.
MPs should be given the power to impeach any president who
grossly violates the constitution, Kanu said. .
August 18 – The National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK)
promises to name its presidential candidate within 10 days.
The Electoral Commission of Kenya says that members of the
police force, the military, and the National Youth Service serving away from
their constituencies can vote at their workstations.
August
19- KANU Secretary General Raila Odinga
threatens to boycott the party’s presidential nominations if they are held by
acclamation and not secret ballot.
Vice President George Saitoti
takes his presidential nomination campaign to Limuru, where he was re-appointed
three years ago after the post had been vacant for 14 months.
August 20- Opposition parties support KANU over the
proposed creation of a Prime Minister’s post in a new constitutional order.
Rainbow
Alliance plan to meet in a week’s time to review progress made in their quest for
free and fair KANU presidential nominations. Raila denies that some members of
the Alliance are planning to pull out.
August 21- The outlawed Mungiki sect yesterday held
demonstrations in Nairobi streets in support of KANU presidential nomination
hopeful Uhuru Kenyatta. The sect members were armed with dangerous weapons but
police mixed freely with them, raising speculations that they were sponsored by
the government.
Rainbow Alliance members met
yesterday to consider rallying behind a single candidate for KANU’s
presidential nominations.
August 22- Cabinet
minister Nicholas Biwott is now the patron of the Kanu Action Group that
replaces the controversial Youth for Kanu '92 lobby that was scrapped after the
1997 General Election. The
powerful Trade and Industry minister is expected to spearhead and bankroll the
operations of the group, formed two weeks ago to onstensibly campaign for
presidential hopeful Uhuru Kenyatta.
And with the elections of other office bearers on Wednesday
evening at a city hotel, the lobby announced that it is all systems go for a
high profile campaign for president Moi's preferred successor.
Mr Micah Kigen, a Nairobi businessman and close associate of
Mr Biwott, was elected chairman in an event devoid of the high pomp and pageantry
that accompanied the launch of the YK '92 in 1992 at a city hotel. Nairobi
Gynaecologist and beauty pageant organiser Dr John Nyamu was elected as the 1st
Vice chairman of the group, along with Mr Patrick Obara . The treasurer of the group will be Mr
Kenneth Wanjohi, to be deputised by Mr Piush Shah, a Nairobi accountant. Mr Fred Amayo, son of former
Karachounyo MP and chairman of the infamous Kanu Disciplinary Committee
chairman Mr Okiki Amayo was elected as lobby's secretary general , while a Ms
Hadija was elected as his deputy.
August 23- Presidential
aspirant Uhuru Kenyatta has disowned Mungiki,
saying the banned sect did not win his heart in their purported move to support
his presidential aspirations. In
a sharp response to questions by the Press over Mungiki's role in his campaign for presidential nomination, Mr
Kenyatta said that his hope lay in the 10.5 million voters.
The denunciation by the son of Kenya's first President Mzee
Jomo Kenyatta, comes two days after hordes of armed Mungiki followers
demonstrated in Nairobi streets, disrupting normal activity as police and other
law enforcement agents idled by.
The Local Government minister said that he had no link with Mungiki, adding that not every group
that goes in the street would be said to support him. He quipped: "How
many people run up and down the Nairobi streets shouting abc?" Then he turned to the members of the
press: "The press has been showing as if I have been supporting them...
they recently were busy burning my effigy in front of my father's
mausoleum."
President Moi confirmed yesterday that elections will be held in December
with or without a new constitution.
August 24- Scores of people were injured yesterday
when police stopped a demonstration in support of a Kanu faction, the Rainbow
Alliance. The
demonstrators were cornered and clubbed at Nairobi's Uhuru Park. Several were
arrested, but later released without charge or recording statements. The protesters, who are opposed to the
Uhuru-for-President campaign, engaged the police in running battles for four
hours in the city centre.
The demonstration started after police broke up a meeting of
about 200 people at Uhuru Park. A furious battle spilled into the city centre
and Upper Hill.
The Rainbow Alliance brings together Vice-President George
Saitoti and Cabinet Ministers Raila Odinga, Musalia Mudavadi and Kalonzo
Musyoka among other politicians opposed to President Moi's campaign for Local
Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.
In a quick reaction, Mr Odinga and Cabinet Minister William
Ntimama condemned the police action. "This is the most primitive and
cowardly act by police," Mr Odinga said. Mr Ntimama backed Mr Odinga's
sentiments.
August 25- The National Alliance
Party of Kenya (NAK) yesterday claimed it was the only group with a competent
and credible leadership to help restore the country after decades of KANU’s
misrule. Its leaders said they ask
voters to reject KANU and allow them bring back good economic management.
The Rainbow Alliance leaders
yesterday answered their critics, declaring themselves true and original KANU
followers. Speaking a day after president Moi publicly questioned their
motives, the leaders rejected the notion that they were either spoilers or had
formed a splinter party within KANU.
KANU said yesterday that its
grassroots polls would be held in September but maintained that the polls would
only be held in a few branches.
August 26- Vice-President George
Saitoti yesterday seemed to be developing cold feet over his membership of the
Rainbow Alliance. He told his supporters that he would not associate with party
members who showed disrespect to the Head of state by abusing him over his
Uhuru-for-president campaign.
Leaders yesterday criticized
president Moi for turning down an invitation to give his views to the
Constitution of Kenya Review Commission. NAK coordinating committee chairman Dr
Noah Wekesa, Nyeri MP Wanyiri Kihoro and his Kasarani counterpart Adolf Muchiri
said it was in bad faith for president Moi to say he was not consulted by the
review team in time to give his views.
August 27- Public
inspection of voters' registers opened to a low turn-out yesterday. The Electoral Commission of Kenya
distributed the registers to district coordination centres to enable voters to
confirm whether their names and other details appear correctly. The names of voters who are now dead
will be deleted from the register.
Voters with complaints of misspelt names, wrong identity
card numbers or other erroneous details have the next 13 days to correct the
anomalies.
Those who may have registered more than once now have a
chance to have their multiple registration deleted.
In Nairobi, only 13 people had visited the election coordinator's
office when we made a spot-check at
12.45pm. Mr Rita Mwera appealed to the public to turn out for the inspection to
avoid last-minute disappointments.
August 28-
KANU Director of Elections yesterday challenged Vice President George Saitoti
to resign for leading a rebellion within the party. He charged that the Vice
President was misusing state resources to campaign for the “opposition Rainbow
Alliance while masquerading as a KANU member.
Francis
Karani, a KANU member sues to have the party’s delegates conference that will
nominate the presidential candidate stopped. He also seeks the annulment of
KANU’s March 18 merger with the National Development Party of Kenya (NDP). But
KANU’s Secretary for Legal and Constitutional Affairs otieno Kajwang says the
suit has no legal basis as the merger was done according to the two parties’
constitutions, and the resolutions adopted are irreversible.
August 29- The Catholic Church
yesterday warned the president to uphold democracy and fair play in the
nomination campaign. In a statement endorsed by 26 bishops, the chairman of the
Kenya Episcopal Conference Archbishop John Njue said that the choice should be
made independent of family connections, tribal affiliations, any form of
hereditary claim or imposition by powerful groups or individuals.
President Moi
yesterday challenged members of the Rainbow Alliance to name their candidate
who will challenge his preferred choice. He said the alliance was busy
wrangling over a presidential nominee while time was running out.
August 30- A group
of protestant churches yesterday offered to oversee political party elections
to ensure fairness. The National
Council of Churches of Kenya said it was ready to put in place systems to help
parties conduct free and fair elections. The offer by the council follows a plea by Kanu presidential
aspirants allied to the Rainbow Alliance that their party's nominations be
supervised by an independent body.
Kanu Secretary-General Raila Odinga argued that the
elections could only be fair if they were conducted through secret ballot and
supervised by non-partisan individuals. NCCK also resolved to press for the
funding of strong political parties.
Conflict within the ruling party Kanu was dramatically
highlighted yesterday with the resignation of one of the Vice President's
staunchest allies, assistant minister Mathews Adams Karauri. Mr Karauri, who stressed that VP Prof
George Saitoti remained a close friend, walked away from his education docket
and embraced the Ford People party of Mr Simeon Nyachae, saying he was not
willing to continue "knocking my head on the wall in the Rainbow
Alliance". Kanu diehard
Julius Sunkuli reacted immediately by claiming the defection was only to be
expected.
The Cabinet minister in the Office of the President said Mr
Karauri's views were different from those of the majority in Kanu - and he
added: "This is a clear indication that the Rainbow Alliance is composed
of people who will decamp to the opposition."
August 31- George Saitoti who was sacked as vice president yesterday said
he would continue to fight within the party. His Home Affairs docket was given
to William Ruto while the vice presidency remained vacant.
Rainbow Alliance leaders declare themselves true and
original KANU followers. “We are deeply rooted in KANU and are not a faction
within the ruling party,” said Vice-President George Saitoti. “Our position is
that KANU should give every leader an equal opportunity to seek the party’s
nomination to contest the presidency.” The leaders were responding to President
Moi’s comments that questioned their motives.
The National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK) launches its
campaign in Rift Valley Province with an appeal to voters to give it a chance
to rebuild the country. Twenty-two MPs, led by FORD-Kenya leader Wamalwa
Kijana, DP head Mwai Kibaki, and National Party of Kenya boss Charity Ngilu,
ask voters to reject KANU and allow them to bring back good economic management
after decades of “KANU’s misrule.”
September 1 - The power struggle in Kanu reached fever pitch yesterday, a
day after the sacking of Vice-President George Saitoti.
The Rainbow Alliance, of which Prof Saitoti is a leading
member, shrugged off his sacking as "inconsequential" and pressed on
with their campaign in President Moi's home turf of Rift Valley. Breathing
defiance and expressing determination to wrest the Kanu presidential nomination
from the President's preferred successor, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, alliance
supporters violently clashed with those of Mr Kenyatta at 64 Stadium, Eldoret.
The Ghai commission reacted with muted defiance to the shock
decision by a High Court judge to stop the review process, which was greeted
with protests across the country. Chairman
Yash Pal Ghai is reported to be determined to continue with writing the new
constitution, at the risk of arrest for contempt of court and despite
threatening calls to staff that they risk being arrested if they defy the court
order.
September 2- Kanu's
much-awaited Kasarani meeting will be held to endorse Mr Uhuru Kenyatta's
candidacy and not to hold nominations, it was confirmed yesterday. The party's director of elections, Mr
William Ruto, said the Rainbow Alliance was wasting its time criss-crossing the
country seeking support since Mr Kenyatta's candidacy had already been decided. "We are going to Kasarani to
endorse Mr Kenyatta and those criss-crossing the country under the umbrella of
the Rainbow Alliance are wasting their time. There will be nobody to vote for
or against," said Mr Ruto. He
said Kasarani II would mark the beginning of Mr Kenyatta's campaign. The Home Affairs minister was speaking
in Kisii, where he expressed confidence that Mr Kenyatta would be Kenya's next
President."illegal", "wrong", "inappropriate",
and a "conspiracy".
The decision by a High Court judge to stop the writing of
the new constitution is politically motivated, the Catholic Church said
yesterday. The ruling is
intended to derail the new constitution, said Archbishop John Njue, the
chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference. He said Mr Justice Richard Kuloba, who made the ruling, was
being used by political forces operating behind the scenes. "This is like
a beetle which moves a ball of cow dung. You only see the ball of cow dung
moving but behind it is the invisible beetle pushing it. This is exactly what
is happening with the ruling," the prelate said.
President Moi has relieved Prof George Saitoti of his
vice-presidential and ministerial appointments.
September 3 – CKRC head Yash Pal Ghai risks six months in
jail if he disobeys court orders stopping him from writing Kenya’s new
constitution. This warning is contained in a formal order extracted by Nairobi
lawyer Fred Ngatia. Ghai has been named jointly with the CKRC as defendants in
a lawsuit levied by two lawyers on August 30.
Religious leaders and 16 MPs demand the appointment of a
vice-president to avoid chaos should anything happen to President Moi. The NAK
went as far as to say that Leader of the Official Opposition Mwai Kibaki should
be appointed as acting president in President Moi’s absence.
The long-standing friendship between DP Chairman Mwai Kibaki
and MP Njenga Karume may have come to an end following Karume’s announcement
that he would support Uhuru Kenyatta’s bid to succeed President Moi.
September 4 – CKRC head Prof. Yash Pal Ghai refuses to sign
the court order barring his commission from continuing to write a draft
constitution. He and commission secretary Patrick Lumumba did not accept
service when they notice what they describe as “glaring differences” between
the order issued by Mr. Justice Richard Kuloba and the one taken to them by a
court worker. PSCCR chair Raila
Odinga asks to have the order reversed, saying that courts have no jurisdiction
over the review.
September 5 – Following a series of secret meetings with
powerful KANU operatives, Musalia Mudavadi announces that he has quit the
Rainbow Alliance to back Uhuru Kenyatta’s campaign to succeed President Moi.
Raila Odinga immediately denounces Mudavadi’s decision as “a vile act of
betrayal.” Kalonzo Musyoka, another Rainbow Alliance member, vows not to
withdraw as well.
The High Court refuses to lift an order filed by the CKRC’s
lawyer to set aside Mr. Justice Richard Kuloba’s judgement stopping the CKRC
and its chairman, Prof. Yash Pal Ghai, from reviewing the Constitution of
Kenya. Meanwhile, the Legal Affairs Parliamentary Committee says that the CKRC
should the lawsuit filed against it. The committee says the case has no legal
basis. “This case has not come as an accident,” says Imenti South MP Kiraitu
Murungi, speaking on behalf of the 11-member committee. “The courts are being
misused by some forces in the executive to frustrate all the reforms in the
country.”
Police arrest four Mungiki sect followers suspected to be
administering oaths in Laikipia District. Residents of Ng’arua division are
complaining that many of them are being forced to take an oath binding them to
Mungiki ideals and practices. They are also allegedly being forced to promise
“not to betray” Cabinet Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, President Moi’s choice of
successor.
September 6- Constitution
Review chairman Yash Pal Ghai has been accused of committing contempt of court
by refusing to suspend the writing of Kenya's new constitution. Two
lawyers seeking to stop the review warned yesterday they would sue Prof Ghai
and Commission secretary P.L.O Lumumba for refusing to heed a High Court
ordered issued last Friday.
The lawyers have asked the court not to give the commission
a hearing as they challenged the ruling, saying the commissioners had not
complied with it.
"Since they cannot be physically restrained from
contempt, it is only fair that they are not heard until the contempt is
purged," the lawyers said. On Friday Justice Kuloba ordered the
Commission, which was set up by Parliament, to stop all its operations
following claims by lawyers Tom K'Opere and Mr John M. Njongoro that the review
team had breached the Act which set it up. They said Prof Ghai had already written a draft constitution
with the help of a South African and that the Commission intended to disband
the judiciary, endangering their work as lawyers.
September 7- Two lawyers seeking to stop the review warned
yesterday they would sue Prof Ghai and Commission secretary P.L.O Lumumba for
refusing to heed a High Court ordered issued last Friday. The lawyers have asked the court not to
give the commission a hearing as they challenged the ruling, saying the
commissioners had not complied with it.
.
The knives were out
between rival factions within Kanu yesterday, as the Rainbow Alliance gave its
clearest hint to date that it was seeking a partnership with other political
parties. Cabinet
minister William ole Ntimama told a rally in Ngong Town that Alliance leaders
"must talk to all Kenyans to fight injustice and humiliation". And
he added: "Mr Mwai Kibaki and Mr Simeon Nyachae are Kenyans and we will
talk to them."
His comment came as the Uhuru-for-President campaign team
prepared for a major rally to promote their man in the Rift Valley, heart of
their main power base.
Outside broadcasting vans from the state-owned Kenya
Broadcasting Corporation were being moved into place near the Afraha Stadium,
Nakuru, in readiness for a rally led by President Moi to campaign for his
protege, Mr Kenyatta.
September 8- President Moi
yesterday kicked off his campaign for his chosen heir, Uhuru Kenyatta in the
Rift Valley town of Nakuru. The rally, at Afraha Stadium, was attended by 20
cabinet ministers, 66MPs and six District Commissioners. The public funded
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) gave a live coverage to the rally.
Foreign
Affairs Assistant Minister Peter Odoyo yesterday told Uhuru Kenyatta to quit
the presidential nomination race or have nasty things about him revealed. Odoyo
threatened to expose what Kenyatta did when he was a university student in
Boston, USA.
September 9- NAK yesterday
demanded that all presidential candidates undergo a medical test to determine
whether they were fit to rule. Alliance leaders Mwai Kibaki, Wamalwa Kijana,
Charity Ngilu and SDP factional leader Prof. Peter Anyang Nyongo claimed one of
the candidates for the country’s top post was in questionable health and should
not be entrusted with power.
The National
Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) wants a government of national unity to
serve as an interim authority for five years after the general election. The
move would allow the unification of an “otherwise polarized country divided by
ethnicity”.
September 10-
Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister Peter Odoyo was yesterday sacked for
threatening to expose bad things about Uhuru Kenyatta.
FORD- People presidential
candidate Simeon Nyachae yesterday arrived in Mombasa to start a four day
campaign at the Coast. He condemned the mismanagement of Coast people’s
resources such as sugar and cashew nut factories.
September 11-
High Court Judge Justice Andrew Hayanga yesterday allowed the Constitution of
Kenya Review Commission to continue with its work of drafting the constitution
but restrained it from referring to the recommendations about the judiciary.
The National
Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK) yesterday said it would finally name its presidential candidate on 18 September at the
party’s national convention. The announcement was made by Election Board
Chairman David Welime.
September 12-
The Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) yesterday threatened legal action to
force the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) to give all candidates equal and
fair coverage. This followed complaints that KBC was giving more coverage to
Uhuru Kenyatta. The Commission said KBC was contravening the Inter-parties
Parliamentary Group (IPPG) reforms on elections, which require KBC to give
political parties equal airtime during elections.
Members of
the Rainbow Alliance were yesterday attacked by Uhuru Kenyatta’s supporters
when they went for a rally in Thika. The alliance members were caught up in a
stone throwing battle between Kenyatta’s supporters and the students from the
Jomo Kenyattta University of Agriculture and technology (JKUAT) who were
waiting for Energy Minister Raila Odinga to address them.
September
13-KANu and opposition parties yesterday united in a call to the electoral
commissioners term to be extended. Party representatives expressed concern over
lack of legal protection for the officials during a consultative meeting with
the commissioners. Half of the 21 member Commission’s term expires next month.
Education
Assistant Minister Orwa Ojode yesterday said KANU could disintegrate before the
general election should the party’s presidential nominations be rigged. He said
the party’s future would depend on how it conducts itself at the presidential
nominations.
September 14-
Information and Tourism minister Kalonzo Musyoka yesterday supported calls that
the General Election be held under the aegis of a new constitution. He said
alliance members wanted a strengthened party devoid of trickery on the way to
the presidential nominations.
NAK leaders
led by Mwai Kibaki and Kijana Wamalwa yesterday said they would seek ties with
the Rainbow Alliance to defeat KANU in the forthcoming general elections. They
were speaking at a rally in the boarder town of Busia.
September 15-
A meeting of Luo elders yesterday bitterly criticized president Moi, accusing
him of reneging on a secret promise to hand over power to Raila Odinga. The
elders mandated Odinga to chart out a new course for the community, including
abandoning KANU. The more than 500 elders from all constituencies in Luo Nyanza
claimed that contrary to denials, Moi had actually promised to hand over
leadership to Odinga, following a series of secret meetings with elders and
MPs.
NAK yesterday
pledged to form a government of national unity that would incorporate all
ethnic groups and take care of their needs. They accused KANU of balkanizing
the country along ethnic lines.