Orengo’s assasination around the corner? – Who is targetting him?

Speculation that the two recently gunned down Kenyan MPs lost their lives due to politics should not surprise anyone, although we must not rush to conclusions.

Now that James Orengo says he fears for his life, it sends scary messages to MPs because it is not difficult to see the point in Orengo’s case. He is part of the team negotiating for President Kibaki’s fall and could easily be Mungiki target. We are not saying that Mungiki is connected to Kibaki, but it should be understood that groups like Mungiki and those who are angered with the killings of the Kikuyu people around Kenya are not in the mood to accept change from the status quo. MPs may now be forced to be more security alert.

If they care for their lives, they must also be careful in making statements that attract them to killers of any kind. It is known that many MPs make careless utterances just to be noticed. If they contnue so, they will have themselves to blame if they are targetted.

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Orengo fears for his life as his home is raided Story by KENNETH OGOSIA 

Ugenya MP James Orengo Sunday said his life was in danger after his Nairobi home was  invaded at dawn by a gang of hooded people.

Mr. James Orengo. Photo/ FILE

The MP, who is a member of the ODM mediation team chaired by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, had just been escorted to his Runda estate house by his bodyguards who had left with his driver when  the gang jumped over his fence.

However, the watchman and a househelp saw them and called the police and woke up the MP.

But the raiders, who seemed not to be in a hurry,  remained  at the gate as the MP started making distress calls.

The bodyguards and the driver came back  only to find that the gang had left.

The raid follows the killing of two ODM MPs Mr Melitus Mugabe Were ( Embakasi) and David Too (Ainamoi),  which the party has described as political.

The raiders  gave up and went to a nearby residence of  Pastor Maynard Lusambai, where they cut a fence and attempted to break into the compound but a househelp raised alarm at 2.30am.

In the morning, the Gigiri OCPD, his CID counterparts and the Runda police station officers recorded statements from Mr Orengo, his employees and the other estate residents who saw the gangsters.

Calling the police

“There were about 30 heavily armed and hooded people. My servant and I had to hide inside the ceiling after calling the police.  They escaped across the river into the forest towards Gigiri,” Pastor Lusambai said.

Mr Orengo  joined the mediation talks to provide legal support to the ODM team, whose initial representatives Mr Musalia Mudavadi, Ms Sally Kosgei and Mr William Ruto do not have any legal background.  Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula joined the Government/PNU team, which already had seasoned lawyers.

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Kalonzo Musyoka is an opportunist – He must be dropped in the next arrangement

<Vice president Kalonzo Musyoka

What is your next move now Mr Kalonzo?

Kalonzo was together with Raila Odinga and the rest of the pentagon people during the start of the original ODM. That was when ODM was a united party before Kalonzo managed to cause a split because he could stand Raila becoming the flag bearer and himself, the underdog.

Kalonzo realising that he stood no chance to take on Raila during the then united ODM convention, he decided to engineer a split that gave him way to contest the presidency alongside Kibaki and Raila.

As a result, Kenyans had to decide between 2 ODM parties, among others. The people got confused when the party split into two and they may have decided to punish Kalonzo by giving preference to Raila’s ODM and not Kalonzo’s.

Was Kalonzo thinking of himself all along while telling his colleagues that they would face Kibaki as a united ODM?

After the elections the country has been sailing in a nightmare. Raila has announced that he will not betray his supporters now that President Kibaki and PNU have agreed on a formular that might see ODM of Raila and PNU forming a government, because they have realised that there is no other way out of the ongoing problems that has now distabilised the country for almost two months.

Forming a new government, someone must be squeezed out to give way:

Kibaki nr 1 on the left, Raila nr 2 in the middle of the photo and Kalonzo nr 3 seemingly being squeezed out! This could happen any time now to permanently give way to Raila. If Raila gets a powerful seat next to Kibaki, and if he gets the responsibility to nominate government ministers for the president to approve, then it is little chance he will nominate Kalonzo, a man he considers ODM splitter.

To form a government, the one functioning now must be dissolved first. That will mean Kalonzo loosing the vice presidency. The question will be whether ODM of Raila will accept one they consider a betrayor of their trust to be re-appointed to the vice presidency.

The only logical thing here is to have ODM of Raila and PNU of Kibaki form a goverment of some sort and help Kalonzo and his small ODM-Kenya to be the opposition party and give him a tittle of the leader of the opposition.

Trusting Kalonzo may be a difficult thing. When Kalonzo ran for the presidency on the ODM-Kenya ticket, he had his running mate Dr Julia Ojiambo who failed to get elected to parliament. There is room to nominate her to parliament through Kalonzo’s ODM-Kenya. And yet we now understand that Kalonzo has gone behind her and engineered the nomination of two others leaving Ojiambo out. Is this not another betrayal?

Why should he benefit all the time and yet he is the one splitting and betraying other leaders?

Published by Korir, Chief Editor API africanpress@getmail.no

How close is Zambia to MDGs?

<By Wilfred Zulu

Tumelo SAkala looks down nervously at her ailing baby snuggled close to her, she is on the far end of the queue awaiting medical assistance, perhaps the doctor will prescribe something stronger, something that will help make her son’s pain a bit more bearable.
But the worry lines are deep and conspicuous in her brow, it is easy to see why, her three year-old child is gaunt and his breathing, but a lazy wheeze.
It is highly probably that her son’s short life could end abruptly by an untimely…No – a preventable death.
After all, that is what most under-five deaths are attributed to in developing countries like Zambia.
World reports today reveal that preventable diseases across the globe are acting as a gigantic leech sucking the life out of young children, especially in developing countries. In fact, an estimate of more than 26,000 children may lose their lives today before their fifth birthday to a disease, which could have been easily avoided with the right treatment or ready vaccine.
And Zambia has not been spared from these statistics.
In the State of the World’s Children 2008 report, Zambia’s under-five mortality rate has been listed 13th from the top 60 developing countries and its maternal mortality rate on position 22nd.
In view of these reports, one would not be rendered unreasonable if they concluded that there is still a lot to be done in the health sector to insure that the nation’s children are protected from preventable diseases, if the nation is to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of two-third reduction in the rate of child mortality by 2015.
Despite the recent report about Zambia’s position in the world, in the under five mortality rate however, Health Minister, Brian Chituwo, has assured the nation that the Government is making an improvement in saving the lives of children across the country.
The distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria, nutritional support to contribute to the growth and development of a child and scaling up the Prevention of Mother-to-child-Transition of HIV (PMCT) are among the numerous interventions attributing to the steady progress towards achieving MDG 4 on child health.
“We are confident that with the scaling up and sustainability of the child health measures and programmes I have mentioned, we should steadily move towards the attainment of the MDG on child health,” he said during the launch of the report on the state of the world’s children for 2008.
The progress has been steady indeed, fresh possibilities for women living with HIV/AIDS in Zambia were introduced a few years ago, following the introduction of PMCT, and these efforts encouraged more women to go for voluntary counseling and testing. Such a provision is instrumental in the reduction of child mortality considering reports that about 50 percent of children born with the HIV virus die before the age of two.
Programmes like child health weeks and national immunization campaigns have also made a positive difference in the quest to reduce under five-child mortality.
These programs have yielded good results since they were introduced, and a good example of this was in July last year, when the Measles campaign was declared a success story in Zambia, more than two million children under five were immunised against measles, a great accomplishment considering that in the year 2003, measles was among the five major causes of childhood illness in Zambia.
Children also received vitamin A supplements to boost their immunity, and those between the age of one and five were given de-worming tablets.
The noted improvement in Zambia and indeed many regions, and the report that almost one third of the 50 least developed countries reducing their child mortality rates by 40 percent or more since 1990, is no guarantee that many countries recording an improvement will meet the fourth MDG on time.
There are still a lot of challenges that have to be overcome in the health sector. Eastern and Southern Africa is among the regions that have registered insufficient progress towards the MDG target according to estimates made by UNICEF based on the work of the interagency child mortality estimation group.
According to Ann, M Veneman, Executive Director of the United Nations Children Fund, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS has reversed previously recorded declines in child mortality in 62 countries registering no progress or insufficient progress. Veneman says more needs to be done to address the devastating impact of pneumonia, diarrhea, severe acute malnutrition and HIV.
Among the other challenges she brings out in the report is in the increase of accessibility of community based health services backed up with a strong referrals system, something lacking in many developing countries.
Last year, the Government of Zambia had pledged to increase health reproductive services to help reduce under-five mortality in the country through emphasis on integral child health care and nutrition.
Maternal and neonatal health was the government’s was listed high on the agenda. But HIV/AIDS remains a threat in child health and there is still much to be done in terms of encouraging more people to go for voluntary counseling and testing so that they make necessary steps towards improving their health if need be, the other challenge highlighted by government at the moment lies in improving referral systems for follow-up care those who have been tested and the provision of Antiretroviral Therapy.
2015 may seem like a long way to go, but it is in reality, only seven more years from now.
Will Zambia intensify its progress and be marked as one of the countries that meets the fourth MDG on time when the date crosses the world’s goal mark? Steady progress can be rendered insufficient.
Steps taken forward can be reversed if firm measures to maintain basic health interventions begin to slack. The challenge remains not only upon the ministry of Health, but also the private sector and general public, to secure a brighter future for the nation’s children and their mothers by encouraging more community initiatives complemented by the Government provisions, better sanitation and better health care facilities, in the quest to encourage a healthy environment in which to raise a child and secure practices that can ensure that preventable diseases do not equal a death sentence in a child under five and its mother.

Published by API africanpress@getmail.no

Papers are full of imminent settlement between politicians

New comment on your post #240 “Kenya: Does Raila Odinga “hate the Kikuyu community?”"
Author : Mark Archer (IP: 196.201.208.24 , cache02.safaricom.com.208.201.196.in-addr.arpa)

Commentary:
So the papers are full of this imminent settlement between the politicians.

Why does this not FEEL like a solution?

I would say it does not feel like a solution, because it isn’t one. Rather it is a diplomatic soup which has been made from meat and vegetables, some of which was good and some of which was bad. Making soup of it will not disguise the bad.

The theft of power was not perpetrated against Raila Odinga, but against the Kenyan people who had a constitutional right to choose who was to be their President. The entire foundation of the State has been undermined, and can only be restabilized by a forced prosecution of the guilty parties, assuming the guilty parties would prefer to hold on to the stolen goods, than to save their own country from ruin by stepping down.

Kofi Annan may go home, claiming there has been a solution, and maybe the powers that be will think that it is OK to have business as usual. But they will have missed the point and Kenya may pay dearly in the future.

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Thinking peace and thinking double – PNU&ODM

President Mwai Kibaki (2nd Left) and Raila Odinga (2nd Right) in a group photo with H.E Koffi Annan (Center), H.E Graca Machel (Left) and H.E Benjamin Mkapa (Right) when they held a peace mediation session at Harambee House, Nairobi.  

Annan optimistic on solution

Expect a political solution next week, says Kofi Annan.

The former United Nations secretary general made the statement after meeting the two key figures in the political impasse, President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga at the Office of the President.

Mr. Annan has spent the past week trying to nudge the  government and top opposition leaders toward a compromise that could end the turmoil and violence that exploded in December after a disputed presidential election.

More than 1,000 people have been killed, and Kenya’s economy and reputation for stability have taken a beating.

“We have agreed that what is needed is a political solution,” Mr. Annan said. “We are actively discussing the terms of that solution.”

He added, “I hope next week we’ll have firm details.”

The negotiating team held their sitting at the Serena Hotel for the Friday morning where it was agreed that the chair and his team will brief members of parliament on the progress of the talks at an informal meeting to be convened next Tuesday.

Annan however, did not disclose details of the political solution arrived at between the two leaders.

ODM’s William Ruto has been quoted by a section of the foreign media saying there was a possibility of a formation of joint government but Annan was non comitial on the details only promising a solution would be forthcoming next week.

Both teams however concur that a political solution is key to unlocking the current political stalemate.

Published by Korir, API africanpress@getmail.no source.kbc.ke

Raila assures his supporters of his firmness – Wait and see, he says

<Raila enjoying the lime-light (left photo).

Raila is a man not easy to understand at times. Now he wants his supporters to rest assured that he will not be pocketed by PNU. He promises to deliver the goods. If he does so, then he will be considered a statesman by many. Many feared that he might get a job offered by PNU under the table, a job that he feels satisfies him and forget the wishes of the voters, but now he says there will be no supporter that will get betrayed. This is a good sign for his followers. Agreement between ODM and PNU will save many Kenyans from continued distress.

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Raila: I won’t be a betrayer

By James Ratemo and Brian AderoODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga, has reiterated that he will not betray his supporters in the talks seeking a solution to the political crisis.

“I will not betray you,” Raila told his supporters on Sunday. Speaking after a church service at the All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, Raila said he was committed to the mediation talks and denied claims that he had renewed calls for President Kibaki to resign.

He, however, spoke strongly on his quest to deliver the wishes of his supporters.

“We are not going to let our supporters down. Kenyans voted for change and we are going for nothing short of that,” said Raila.

He added: “The mediation team agreed on a political settlement and we support it. Details of the settlement will be out soon.”

But asked who the beneficiaries of a joint Government would be, Raila remained evasive: “We will give our proposals at the negotiation table. We are not going to negotiate through the media. At this point, I don’t know who is going into the Government or who is going out.”

He said the two sides were still discussing who would lead the Government and what roles each party would play.

His call for peace and reconciliation was also loud and clear: “We continue to pray for peace. It is, however, important that security forces continue to provide peace.”

At the weekend, sources indicated that the two warring sides had agreed to a political solution to end weeks of bloodshed that have engulfed the country since the outcome of the disputed election.

Earlier, Pentagon member, Mr William Ruto, was quoted saying talks were in high gear on the composition of a joint government.

“We have finally agreed that there is a problem and neither side can proceed on its own,” Ruto said. “We have agreed to form a joint government. Details of that government, its time and how to share it are under discussions.”

But former UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, who is heading the talks, cautioned the media against speculation and promised to give a comprehensive and updated statement this week.

Claims that a deal had been reached came hours after President Kibaki said he was fully committed to the negotiations.

Speaking at a prayer meeting in Nairobi, Kibaki said he was “encouraged” by progress in talks and reiterated “my personal support and that of my entire Government to this process”.

Meanwhile, Raila accused the security forces of using excess force in containing perpetrators of violence.

The ODM leader called for the arrest and prosecution of police officers who killed citizens in the post-election skirmishes.

“It is pointless to arrest one police officer supposedly for assassination just because he was caught on camera yet many officers have been killing wananchi,” said Raila.

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Top positions for loosing a soul – That is why people kill for power

<What next now Mr Vice President? Loosing power soon or retaining it? Your left the rest of the ODM people and now you may be forced to share power with them. In fact, they may may refuse to have you in the new shared government. May be you can be the new opposition.

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Kalonzo got top position but lost his political soul

By Dominic Odipo “I joined the government out of recognition that Kibaki had beaten me. We must first know the truth about who won the election because there are perceptions that the President stole.”

That was Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka speaking last week shortly after returning from an official trip to Britain and the United States. It is not quite clear what Kalonzo’s mission in these countries was. What is becoming clear is that, if Kalonzo’s primary mission was to sell the Kibaki presidency, then he was not overwhelmingly successful. Here is how at least one senior American Congressman, Mr Donald Payne, put it last week.

“The people of Kenya voted for change. What they were given was the status quo. That is unacceptable.” But that is really not our message today. Let us return to Kalonzo’s words above.

The Vice President says he joined the Government after recognising that Kibaki had beaten him. That surely cannot be a big deal or some rare brainwave. Everybody in this country, including my grandmother in the village, knows that Kibaki beat Kalonzo at the polls. What we are dying to hear from the Vice President is whether or not he believes that Kibaki also beat the ODM candidate, Mr Raila Odinga.

That is the real contentious issue. That is the issue that has led directly to the death of almost 1,000 Kenyans over the last five weeks. And, on this point, Kalonzo’s words seem to be getting more curious. He is saying that we must first know the truth about who won the election because there are perceptions that the President stole it. What, really, is the Vice President saying here?

Is he saying that, whatever else he might have said in the past, he, too, does not know who won the presidential elections? Is he, finally, getting to agree with his learned friend Mr Samuel Kivuitu, the chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, who has publicly admitted that he does not know who actually won the elections?

If, by any chance, Kalonzo does not know who won the elections, then how can he, in the name of God, continue serving the Government whose very legitimacy, according to its own electoral commission, is in dispute?

Last month, I observed that never has the Kenyan vice presidency diminished a man as it has diminished Mr Kalonzo Musyoka. That was not an idle statement. It was made after taking all the major political facts and factors into account.

Political power is not always a factor of the realities on the ground. It is very often about the perceptions of those realities and of the political players involved. If a critical mass of political players begin to perceive a person as being politically powerful, that person will in fact become powerful, whether or not he was in the first place. In politics, the line between reality and fiction very often disappears.

The minute Kalonzo accepted the vice presidency, he lost the support and trust of virtually the entire ODM fraternity in this country- or about 55 per cent of the population. Never in our history have we had a vice president who started off with so many of his fellow citizens against him.

And if a man can do to his colleagues of almost two years what Kalonzo did to the opposition fraternity, what can he not do to his colleagues of only two months? If Kalonzo gained high political office by accepting the vice presidency, there can be no doubt that he lost his political soul in the process.

As the country heals and buries its dead, these realities will begin to dawn upon the vice president. If the Kofi Annan process ends up with a power -sharing formula, Kalonzo’s job will be one of the first to be put on the table. It is not by accident that Kalonzo is not among those now sitting on Annan’s negotiating table.

A political reality check will quickly establish that the Vice President is being driven into oblivion by the opposing forces of the PNU and the ODM. If he has to survive as Vice President he will have to oppose any power-sharing formula that Annan puts on the table — a very tricky option indeed.

Great days are not yet here for the Vice President and they may not be here any time soon. As we have said here before, after December, 30, 2007, Kenya will never be the same again. Certainly not for its new vice president.

Lifted and published by Korir, API africanpress@getmail.no source.standard.ke

Investment know-how

How to invest in property and things to know

By susan Ombewa Investing in real estate not only involves lot of money but one has to exercise some caution. First of all thorough research is of utmost importance. Do not delve into real estate without doing a lot of research. Keep in mind it’s a business that requires hard work, plenty of time and an abundance of money.

However, this type of venture can pay off enormously in the end. The thrill of this type of dealing, buying, fixing and selling is a magnificent step.

As with any endeavour knowing as much as you can before you lay out cash is very beneficial. When looking at the prospective home, look for anything that will need to be fixed or updated. Bring a notepad and a pencil when viewing potential real estate and jot down any problems you see or any questions you have. Inspect the house by flushing toilets, turning on lights, examine the floorboards, look for cracks or drooping ceilings, and check the plumbing and water faucets. Explore everything plausible.

Once you find a home you’re interested in, hire a house inspector. The house inspector will give you an idea on how much it will cost you to fix up and resell. Make sure to purchase your real estate in the best location you can afford. Is it in a nice neighbourhood, close to schools and shopping malls? Is there freeway access nearby? Are homes selling quickly in this neighbourhood? Check with the local police department to get local crime rates. Do some research on the housing market. Understanding the type of houses people are looking for will help to have a better experience in what kind of market will sell.

Sentiment is a downfall in any business relationship. Having a poker face at the correct time can save considerably in funds. Remember, the end goal of an investment house is resale. Loving the house personally will not make the house easier to sell. Make very sure you have capital for this deal. Invest the time and expertise of an appraiser.

What is the house really worth before and after renovation? How much will renovations cost? Decide before hand by research and word of mouth, which would benefit you the most, resale or renting the home. Inquire the help of professionals in this type of enterprise. Find out their thoughts about problems you are facing.

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