Posted by africanpress on November 2, 2009
KABUL, Monday (Reuters) – Election officials on Monday declared Hamid Karzai the winner of Afghanistan’s disputed presidential poll after cancelling a planned run-off following the withdrawal of his rival, Abdullah Abdullah.
“The Independent Election Commission declares the esteemed Hamid Karzai as the president … because he was the winner of the first round and the only candidate in the second round,” the commission’s chief Azizullah Ludin told a news conference.
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Posted by africanpress on November 2, 2009
Zambian President Rupiah Banda (left) introducing governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) party parliamentary candidate Burton Mugala to Kasama Central Constituency electorate at a campaign meeting on Tuesday in Kasama – about 855 kilometres north east of Lusaka. The Zambian leader on Saturday joined local chiefs in a traditional ritual to ask ancestral spirits and God for rains. ELIAS MBAO
CHONGWE (Zambia), Sunday
Zambian leader Rupiah Banda on Saturday joined local chiefs in a traditional ritual to ask ancestral spirits and God for rains.
Officiating at Chakwela Makumbi traditional ceremony, which means pulling clouds together to form rains, of the Soli people in Chongwe District, about 45km east of Lusaka, President Banda implored Zambians to produce a bumper harvest through hard work, discipline and prayers to God.
“Your royal highness, not only have you prayed for us to have rains so that we can have a lot of food, but you are telling us in the same spirit that we can only have food if we work hard. I remember you telling me, as we were planting there, that this ceremony marks the end of pleasure of wearing suits as we are dressed today, that now we must get ready to go to work,” said President Banda.
Enrich ourselves
The ceremony was attended by about 17 chiefs from various parts of Zambia.
“…it is unfortunate that in our country today there are people who tend to think that there is any other way to feed ourselves or to enrich ourselves or to make our lives better without hard work, discipline.”
He said the government would continue to subsidise the production of Zambia’s staple food, maize, through the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) – a government initiative to pay about 60 per cent of the cost of fertiliser for a limited number of farmers.
“I am happy to note that Chongwe District has received 24,500 by 50kg of D compound (fertiliser) and 16,000 by 50kg of urea (fertiliser). Within the next few days, seed should arrive in Chongwe in readiness for the planting season,” President Banda assured.
Other than being a ritual to ask for rains, President Banda said the Chakwela Makumbi traditional ceremony unifies Zambians.
“It is such a wonderful treat to see Zambians from all walks of life, tribes and cultures coming together to celebrate the Chakwela Makumbi ceremony,” said President Banda.
Earlier, President Banda and the head of the Soli people, Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II, lit a fire to clear a crop field and planted maize and other food crops within her palace after the chieftainess’ ritual prayer to the ancestors.
“The essence of this traditional ceremony is to ask our ancestral spirits to give my people rains and other favourable weather conditions to enable them grow and harvest enough food,” said Nkomeshya Mukamambo II.
“Today, I stand here to pray to God to open up the windows of heaven so that the sky can shower the earth with the right amount of rains so that people can grow more food for themselves to eat. This is the uniqueness of my ceremony.”
President Banda was shown several local farming tools the Soli people have used to produce their food since time im memorial.
Zambia enters the 2009/2010 agriculture season with a surplus maize stock of about 203,271 metric tonnes from the previous season. A couple of weeks ago, Zambia’s Agriculture minister said the country will export about 100, 000 metric tonnes to Kenya.
Other than maize, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives indicated that in the 2008/2009 agriculture season, Zambia recorded wheat surplus of 50,516 metric tonnes and cassava surplus of 464,632 metric tonnes.
In another development, violence erupted between Zambia’s ruling party and opposition supporters in Solwezi Central Constituency on Thursday during the filing in of nomination papers by candidates in this month’s parliamentary by-election.
An opposition councillor sustained severe injuries during the fracas and police had to use tear gas to quell the violence, according to a local elections observer organisation.
Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) and its alliance partner, Patriotic Front (PF), supporters had escorted their parliamentary candidate, Mr Watson Lumba, to file in his nomination papers at Solwezi Civic Centre.
When the UPND/PF supporters reached Kyawama market, a venue for a rally, suspected ruling MMD supporters confronted them in the presence of police officers, a local NGO said.
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Posted by africanpress on November 2, 2009
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at the Nairobi National Museum on Friday evening. Photo/DENNIS OKEYO
The fastest man on earth, Usain Bolt was on Saturday made a Maasai Moran at a brief ceremony at Segere Ranch in Laikipia where the Zeitz Foundation is establishing a conservation programme.
A dozen Morans dressed Bolt in their traditional shuka and presented him with a stick before christening him Loilgwany, the warrior of warriors. It was only after this initiation that the Moran could allow themselves to dance in front of one of the most recognized sporting person in the world.
Heavy rains in the area the previous night, made the airstrip at Segera treacherous, delaying Bolt’s arrival by a couple of hours. But the wait was worth it for the Morans who enthusiastically mingled with Bolt and posed with him as he did his now famous victory salute.
One Moran said he wondered why people were telling Bolt, “welcome to Africa, since the origin of the human species was in Africa and Bolt, “was just returning home.” Still, it was Bolt’s first game drive in the continent as he sampled the wild species of Africa, which included the fastest animal, the cheetah.
Global ambassador
The Jamaican sprint king is a global ambassador for sport for Zeitz Foundation. He arrived in Kenya on Friday for the official launch of the foundation. The foundation was established by sports manufacturing giant, Puma CEO Jochin Zeitz in 2008 and advocates for the sustainable use of environment.
Before flying out to Segera, Bolt sampled Kenya’s heritage at a function hosted in his honour by the Nation Media Group at the Nairobi National Museum of Kenya. “Since the start of the season, I always looked forward to my first trip to Kenya. It is good that it has come true and I am happy to be here,” he said.
Most of the guests were thrilled to get a photo session with the Jamaican icon including guest of honour Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula.
The minister said a bill would be presented to Cabinet next week, seeking to grant outstanding Kenyan sports icons with diplomatic passports. “When Pamela Jelimo won the Olympics I was inspired to secure her a diplomatic passport and it is always important to honour and recognise these sportsmen,” he said.
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Posted by africanpress on November 2, 2009
Raila’s First Detention
According to Musomba, the privates who planned the coup admitted that they had received a Luo traditional blessing and encouragement from Oginga Odinga to carry out the coup attempt. Musomba also claimed that Raila was mentioned by the privates as having given assistance towards the execution of the failed coup. Sgt. Joseph Ogidi Obuon, one of the ringleaders who was subsequently executed for treason, reportedly claimed that Raila had given the plotters money and had promised to canvass support for them from neighbouring countries.
Private Hezekiah Ochuka, who led the coup, corroborated the claims of Obuon at his court-martial after his extradition from Tanzania, where he had fled with Sgt. Pancras Oteyo. On the basis of those accounts, it was a question of when, and not if, Raila would be picked up for interrogation.
Crackdown on critics
There was a general crackdown on all who had been critical of the Kenyan government. Raila and Sumba along with Odongo Langi decided to leave Nairobi and head for Kisumu.
Just before the escarpment, they met the 5th Battalion column from Gilgil. They stopped and the commander of the troops approached the car. As he approached Langi, who was in the back seat, reached for his firearm which he had carried without the knowledge of the other two. Seeing this, Sumba cautioned him against trying to be a hero, and he slid the gun under the front passenger seat occupied by Sumba.
The commander asked if the trio knew what had happened in the country. They responded in the affirmative, but pleaded that they were rushing to a funeral in Nyanza. Since they looked harmless, the commander allowed them to continue. Having survived this check-point they turned off towards Narok, heading towards Kisumu.
Raila and Sumba took turns to drive all night. They got stuck in the mud a few times but succeeded in extricating themselves. At Litein, they monitored the situation and heard on the radio that there were still pockets of resistance. It it did not seem like it was over.
On arrival in Kisumu, they went to see Dr. Odhiambo Alel who was a close ally of Raila’s father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
They spent the day and night in Kisumu but did not reach Oginga Odinga as they concentrated their efforts on monitoring events in Nairobi and the rest of the country. Although clearly Moi had been reinstated, the regime was not in full control of the country. There was still confusion and even pockets of resistance.
Raila, Langi and Sumba could have escaped to Uganda via Lake Nyanza. But they decided not to take this option. Langi was to stay in Kisumu as the others returned to Nairobi on August 3 to see if their military colleagues could still be helped by rallying resisting elements and/or arranging an escape with them. They decided that they simply could not leave Kenya at that time.
As Raila and Sumba approached Nakuru, they saw that there was a major roadblock at which identification was being demanded. Sumba had his but Raila was not carrying one. So, they decided that Raila would find his way into Nakuru and take the train. On arrival at Nairobi Railway Station the following day, Sumba picked Raila up. In Nairobi, the duo learned that Ochuka and Oteyo had fled and that Ogidi Obuon and many of their friends had been arrested.
Raila heard of the death of a relative, an activist and a very close friend, Okatch Ogada Ondiek, who was killed on the night of the coup. The circumstances of Okatch Ogada’s death remain unknown. One version suggested that he was a guest at the Ambassadeur Hotel and had stepped out of the hotel only to be shot by rampaging Kenyan soldiers. However, the second more plausible version, was that being an activist, Okatch Ogada came out of the hotel intending to find Raila, with his clenched fist signifying power to the people, and the soldiers executed him in cold blood. Whatever, the case, his death reflected the excesses of the Moi regime on the day of the coup. Raila spent the night of August 5, in his house at Kileleshwa. The following day, he was in town joining the arrangements for Okatch Ogada’s burial.
At a meeting to raise funds for the funeral in Kaloleni Hall, he was told that Special Branch officers had been looking for him.
On August 10, Raila met with Sumba and they both decided to flee Kenya the following day. It was agreed that Agung’a, Raila’s driver, would pick Sumba up from the 680 Hotel at 1:00pm on August 11.
Raila decided that it would be better for him to stay away from home overnight. He decided to sleep in the house of the late Dr. Oki Ooko-Ombaka, an activist lawyer. Agung’a dropped him at Ooko-Ombaka’s house and was instructed to keep watch at Raila’s residence and alert him if the Special Branch came searching.
Police officers visited Raila’s Kileleshwa residence on August 10 and were told that Raila had travelled. They left but returned in the early hours of August 11, and insisted on searching the house. Raila’s driver (who, he claimed later to have learned was working for State Security) told them not to bother and volunteered to take them to where Raila was.
At Ooko-Ombaka’s residence, at around 6:00am, Raila heard the distinct sound of his Peugeot 504 car on which he had altered the muffler. There was knocking on the door and Raila woke Wycliffe Oduor Ombaka, his host’s younger brother who was sleeping in an adjoining room, to go the door. As the door opened, Agung’a was the first to come in.
He told Raila that “these people” wanted to talk to him. The people identified themselves and demanded that he came along with them. Raila told them he would see them later as he had some things to do. They insisted and he had no choice but to follow them.
Raila was taken to the Central Police Station and was booked in the office of the officer-in-charge. He was transferred to the Nairobi Area Special Branch office, on the first floor of a building opposite the Central Police Station, and was handed over to Senior Superintendent Josiah Rono, the officer-in-charge who interrogated him on his role in the events of August 1.
It wasn’t me
Raila’s position was that he knew nothing. He decided to be silent on whatever he knew for the sake of people who had been arrested. He recorded a statement and was taken back to the Central Police Station for custody and locked up. Meanwhile, Agung’a went to the 680 Hotel and told Sumba that his boss had been picked up that morning. As soon as the driver told him this, Sumba left without saying a word.
Why did Agung’a not hand Sumba over to State Security? No one knows! Since he did not know the details of the escape plan, Sumba briefly went to the house of Arthur Nyamogo, a cousin of his, and from there left for Mombasa to attend the annual general meeting of the Amateur Athletics Association, where he took the risk of contesting for the Public Affairs post of the association. He eventually disappeared into Nyanza where he remained in hiding for a few weeks before, with the assistance of Oginga Odinga, escaping to Uganda to begin 19 years of exile of which 17 were spent in Sweden.
Raila tortured
On the second day of his arrest, Raila was taken back to the Special Branch offices for further interrogation. He realised they were asking the same questions to cross-check what he was saying with what those who had been arrested earlier had said. On the third day when he returned for interrogation, Inspector Rono and his team became rough.
They told Raila that they had instructions from above to do whatever they liked with him, including killing him, if he did not co-operate. Rono charged at Raila, broke the leg of a table in the room and started to hit him with it. Raila fell and Rono stepped on his groin. Inspector Rono’s subordinates joined in hitting and stepping on Raila. After this experience, he was transferred to Kilimani Police Station in Nairobi. He was joined there by student leader Paddy Onyango and Adongo. He spent two days at Kilimani and was transferred to Nairobi’s Muthangari police station for more torture.
The Nyayo House torture chambers were yet to be built. At Muthangari, the police removed Raila’s pullover (August is usually cold in Nairobi), his shirt and shoes. They poured water inside a room. The door of the room had been sealed with rubber material to prevent water from escaping. The cold water went up to Raila’s ankles. He could not sit and had to stand all night.
In the morning, he realised that Titus Adungosi, a former student leader, was in the opposite cell. Adungosi told Raila that he had been tortured since August 1 when he was arrested as one of the students celebrating the coup attempt, and that his tormentors wanted him to confess even to what he had not done. Raila advised him to stand firm.
Raila was taken to the CID headquarters on Milimani Road, Nairobi, where he met Otieno Mak’Onyango, an Assistant Editor at The Standard. He was interrogated by Chief Inspector Mwangi and a bulky mzungu, whom he later knew as, the late Patrick Shaw who was a teacher at Starehe Boys School and a police reservist. It was a long interrogation and he made a lengthy statement. Raila and Mak’Onyango were transferred to the General Service Unit (GSU) headquarters at Ruaraka, on the outskirts of Nairobi, where they met Prof. Alfred Vincent Otieno, a former University of Nairobi don, who had also been arrested. The trio was kept in different cells for the night.
The following day, on August 19, 1982, Shaw came for Raila and he was returned to the CID headquarters to face further interrogation and made another lengthy statement before being returned to the GSU headquarters. According to Raila, at 11:00pm that evening, his cell was invaded by a group of GSU officers led by Ben Gethi, the police commissioner who was accompanied by Mbuthia, the commandant of the GSU. He was subjected to rough interrogation including being beaten up in an attempt to extract a confession.
Gethi was drunk and was chewing a leg of roast goat as he ordered his officers to assault Raila and company. Gethi ordered that Raila be given pen and paper and commanded him to write everything he knew about the coup. Gethi told him to write a confession addressed to “Uncle Ben” asking for mercy. But Raila refused to implicate himself.
Instead, he wrote that he knew that Charles Njonjo, the powerful Minister of Constitutional Affairs was involved in a plan to overthrow Moi. Gethi, a close associate of Njonjo, tore up Raila’s statement four times. It read: “I stated that I had received information to the effect that Mr. Njonjo had made plans to overthrow the Government of Kenya with the aid of South African and Israeli mercenaries and the General Service Unit. To this effect, a substantial amount of arms had been smuggled into the country. Some of these arms were kept somewhere in the Aberdares and the said coup was planned to take place on the August 5, 1982. I also stated that the same source had said that several South Africans and Israeli agents had come into the country to make arrangements for the coup.”
Gethi sacked
Two days after his assault on Raila, Gethi was relieved of his post in the “public interest” and jailed by President Moi. Apparently, he could no longer be trusted and he was replaced by Bernard Njiinu. But Njonjo was not carpeted until June 29, 1983 when he was suspended as minister and an inquiry set up to look into several allegations that bordered on compromising the security and integrity of the Kenyan state and conspiracy to overthrow President Moi. The Commission of Inquiry believed the testimony of Raila, and on the basis of this and other evidence adduced before it, concluded in the affirmative on most of the allegations against Njonjo.
Raila spent five weeks there in addition to the week in different cells after his arrest. Raila remembers that one afternoon in late September, he, Otieno Mak’Onyango and Prof. Alfred Vincent Otieno were taken to court and charged. They were all charged with treason. After the charges were read, they were taken to Kamiti Maximum Security Prison on remand.
At Kamiti, they were specially treated and referred to as “capital remand” prisoners with a big red letter “c” on their kunguru shirts depicting that status. They were to receive capital punishment if found guilty and were not to mix with others on remand. Each one of them was in his own cell for 24 hours except for brief excursions to the toilet. Every day, porridge was thrown in as breakfast, “ugali and sukumawiki” (a hard maize meal mix and a vegetable dish) as lunch, and ugali and beans as supper. It was not long before they became emaciated due to poor diet and lack of daylight. Their health deteriorated. They began to feel dizzy and when the doctor came he recommended that they be given an additional blanket each and allowed brief daily access to sunshine. As the routine of bi-weekly mention in court continued, a group of friends in the UK and Europe came to the conclusion that higher-profile representation was needed for Raila and his co-accused. These friends raised funds and hired the services of a British Lawyer, Desmond Da Silva, QC.
When Da Silva got involved, the Kenyan Government entered a nolle prosequi Qegal (withdrawal of the charge) as the State no longer wanted to prosecute. However, the nolle prosequi was not just the result of the personality and stature of Da Silva. President Moi was determined to put the inner core of the planners of the coup to death. Raila had been charged with treason, a capital offence, on the basis of the confessions of military men like Ogidi Obuon. As a civilian, he could not be tried by a court martial.
However, under the Kenyan criminal procedure code, when the offence is treason, the evidence of an accomplice must be corroborated by an independent witness. In other words, the evidence of 10 accomplices could not convict without the corroboration of a witness who was not a participant. Since there were no such witnesses, the Chief Justice, A. H. Simpson, advised the Attorney-General, Joseph Kamere, and President Moi against prosecution.
Raila detained
The bringing of a Bill to Parliament to amend the law to try Raila, met with an outcry both in Kenya and in Britain. Nonetheless, it was passed.
Raila’s formal detention started on March 23, 1983 as the withdrawal of the charge did not result in freedom for him and the two others accused with him. They were re-arrested in the court cells, taken to Langata Police Station where they were detained till midnight before being transported to Nairobi Area Police headquarters, where provincial police officer Kilonzo served them with detention orders. They were subsequently transferred to Kamiti Maximum Security Prison’s segregation block.
Angered by what he saw as wrongful confinement, Raila sought to know why he was being detained by filing a suit in February 1986. The suit was filed by Gibson Kamau Kuria and Kiraitu Murungi (two activist lawyers who subsequently fled to the US as the government clamped down on multiparty advocates), and sought a detailed answer for the grounds of Raila’s detention; his immediate release, and a declaration that his right to have his case reviewed by an independent and impartial tribunal under the Kenyan constitution, had been adversely impaired. Other orders sought from the court included payment of damages for the breach of Raila’s constitutional rights as well as the provision of a mattress, bed, radio, television set, newspapers, trousers, shirts, shoes and that he, like other prisoners, be allowed access to relatives and friends.
The acting Chief Justice, Madan, dismissed the case, citing a written submission from Raila to the Detainees Review Tribunal, dated October 25, 1983 in which Raila had stated that there were sufficient grounds to warrant his detention. Justice Madan ignored the power relationships in Kenyan prisons that made people write or sign whatever their tormentors wanted.
He treated a forged letter that Raila had purportedly written in detention, as a freely entered into agreement with the Moi government that he deserved to be detained. The fact that Raila was denied appearance before the court was never questioned.
He was not impressed that Raila’s suit now wanted a review of the whole process of his detention within the constitution of Kenya. Madan ruled that: “to ask the court under these circumstances to make a declaration that (Raila) Odinga’s right given by Section 83(2)(a) of the Constitution has been contravened is a limping and pedantic peroration. In March 1986, following the court ruling, Raila was moved from his solitary confinement at Shimo-La-Tewa to Manyani Prison at the coast as a punitive measure. Raila regarded this prison as the most difficult and went on hunger strike for five days.
on the verge of death
He continued his hunger strike until Kilonzo came with the deputy commissioner of prisons, Valai. They told him that they would order that he be force-fed if he continued with the hunger strike. Kilonzo and Valai were accompanied by a doctor who prescribed a medicine for Raila ostensibly to ameliorate Raila’s poor state of health. According to Raila, he took the medicine only to have his blood pressure shoot up with pain in his hands. One side of his arm started going darker. He complained. But the warders thought he was pretending. Pimples covered his hands and he started shouting every night that his body was reacting to the medicine he had been given in jail and that if he died, the State should be held responsible.
It took his wife, Ida, smuggling medicine to him for his health to improve. He was transferred to Kamiti Prison in July 1986 and within months to another maximum security prison at Naivasha where he spent 1987 alone in a block meant for 300 prisoners. He did a lot of farming in the compound using a variety of seeds: tomatoes, onions, maize, cabbages and carrots, given to him by prison officers. He ate some of his produce raw, got assistance to roast maize and gave some to other prisoners and warders.
Aside from farming, after his first year in detention, Raila received books from Ida. The books were normally censored. Out of 10 books sent, five might survive censorship. Sometimes Ida re-sent the same books with new ones and some that had earlier been rejected, made it. This told Raila that the censorship was being done by semi-illiterates. Raila found the Naivasha Prison library well stocked with books donated from the US and Britain, and for the first time, he had access to knowledge beyond the Koran and the Bible. He read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and he had a teacher of the Koran at Shimo-La-Tewa Prison. This helped him to appreciate Islam. Letters between him and his family were heavily censored and at times took more than six months to be delivered. He was denied access to radio and newspapers as he was not supposed to receive current news while in detention. Nor were the warders allowed to speak to him.
Out of first Detention
February 5, 1988 was an eventful day for Raila. That morning, Raila was told to pack his belongings and was driven from Naivasha to the Nairobi Area police headquarters. There, he met a number of old friends and acquaintances. In all, there were eight other detainees: Israel Agina, Herbert Lusiola, Jackson Waga Ngola, Ngotho wa Kariuki, George Katama Mkangi, Nicodemus Benedict Obiero, Patrick (Paddy) Ouma Onyango and Paul Ong’or Arnina. They were driven to State House where they were taken to a large room. Kilonzo asked the detainees to select one among them to thank the President when he came to set them free, and he advised them to be of good behaviour. Since Raila was the “dean” of his co-detainees, he was chosen. He told Kilonzo he would speak on the understanding that he would not express thanks.
When President Moi arrived, Raila spoke about the conditions in detention, describing them as inhuman, and saying that it should be unnecessary to detain any Kenyan without trial. He stressed the need for due process of law in Kenya. Moi then set the detainees free.
The Second Detention
During a six-month break, Raila tried to rebuild his life and re-organise his business. But he was, arrested again on August 14, 1988. Agina followed. But although their detentions were gazetted, they were never charged or brought before any law court.
Nyayo House had been built, but what happened in the basement was hidden from Kenyans and the rest of the world. Raila was in the infamous torture chamber in this building for 10 days. Of this experience, he stated:
“I spent 10 days standing in water. That is when you know how long the night is. The cell was like a tank. It had automated doors that closed tight. Water would reach the legs. They would pour cold water on you at midnight and at 5:00am. Then they would blindfold you and take you to the interrogation room on the 24th floor. When the blindfold was removed, you found yourself before a row of five or six well-dressed men sitting on a raised platform. It was a very terrifying scene. George Anyona said he saw them and thought they were from the moon.”
In a further description of how the Nyayo House interrogators operated, Raila recalled that detainees in Nyayo House were normally naked during interrogation. The detainee was usually under floodlight while the interrogators sat in partial darkness. The detainee could see fresh blood on the floor with broken wood all over the place as if a battle had just ended. The interrogators would then be smoking and eating roast chicken before a detainee who had been starved for weeks.
In Raila’s own words: “They (interrogators called Wazee, meaning elderly men) would start by telling you that they thought you were there by mistake and that the sooner you confessed everything, the better, so you could leave. As they did so, they would be smoking heavily while munching roast chicken. The sight of the food would make the starved prisoner say anything in order to be freed as quickly as possible so he could feed.”
Raila was accused of planning clandestine activities against the legally constituted government of Kenya, and that he had engaged in subversive activities which necessitated his detention. Ida’s attempt to secure his release through a writ of habeas corpus (a legal order which if granted, forces the authorities to produce the accused in court), forced the Kenyan authorities to serve Raila with a detention order.
The rumour was that Raila had been mentioned in a number of sedition cases. Raila, was released on June 12, 1989 and characteristically, in an interview with The Weekly Review, said that he was not bitter with the government. He returned to making sense of his life from where he had left off. However, changes were taking place in the world at large, and in Kenya. The Berlin Wall came down and in Kenya, a number of new leaders had started to speak out boldly. Many of these leaders came from the Church and the Law Society of Kenya. One was the late Bishop Henry Okullu. These courageous new political leaders, especially Charles Rubia and Kenneth Matiba, added strength to the protests of the better known Oginga Odinga, Masinde Muliro and Martin Shikuku.
Rubia and Matiba, former members of President Moi’s cabinet, emerged in early 1990 and in an unprecedented move, called for the repeal of Section 2A of the Kenyan Constitution to allow the formation of other political parties. The reaction from the establishment was, as expected, sharp and threatening. The two leaders were instantly transformed into tribalists who wanted to plunge the country into chaos by the introduction of ethnic politics. A countrywide campaign was orchestrated to demonise them as enemies of the Kenyan people. The Kenya African National Union (KANU) sponsored political rallies where the effigies of the leaders were publicly burnt.
Matiba urged Raila to join the crusade for the repeal of Section 2A. Raila was asked to get a statement of support from Oginga Odinga. Matiba and Rubia were worried that they could be arrested and felt a statement from the leading veteran opponent of one-party rule could save their skin. Raila arranged a meeting with his father Oginga Odinga, at which Matiba and Rubia pledged their full support to his cause for change, and promised to work with him and support him for the presidency when the time came. Oginga Odinga issued a strong statement on the principled ground that Kenya should have a multiparty system. Rubia, Matiba and the Raila group then decided to organise a public rally at Kamukunji to test popular opinion on support to multipartyism. Their application for a permit was rejected. Nevertheless, they decided to go to Kamukunji on July 7 (Saba Saba) with or without a permit. In the absence of proper political mobilisation machinery, they decided to use informal channels. Matiba used his contacts in the matatu (private mass transport vans) industry while Raila used his in football circles.
Third prison stint
When the government realised that the public had been mobilised to endorse multipartyism by attending the rally, the security apparatus moved to arrest the leaders. Rubia and Matiba were picked up on July 4, 1990 and Raila on July 5.
The final release
Raila was not released until June 21, 1991 after Rubia and Matiba had been released on health grounds. Rubia went to hospital on his release and Matiba was released while in hospital having suffered what was said to be a mild stroke. Ida, with the assistance of Japheth Shamalla, a lawyer, called attention to the situation of Raila claiming that he was also sick and needed to be released as detention had aggravated his diabetes.
President Moi quickly condemned detainees who “feigned illness in order to be released”. He claimed that an X-ray of Raila had shown that he was not ill. Ida replied that Raila’s illness could not be diagnosed by X-ray and that the State had refused to carry out the blood and urine tests recommended for her husband.
Raila and Matiba had again asked the courts to order their release. They asked the court to review the constitutional validity of their detention and to order their immediate release. This was not to be. Raila was released on what appeared to be health grounds. He then had tests at Nairobi Hospital and asked for the return of his passport which had been withheld for almost a decade so that he could go to England for further tests. But this request fell on deaf ears. Raila’s stints in jail were the result of accusations of involvement in opposition to as well as an attempt to overthrow a regime the Luos (and many non-Luos) deemed oppressive and against Luo interests. This act of “bravery” (as the Luos saw it), marked the beginning of Luo endearment to Raila as a courageous leader ready to take bold risks and suffer courageously for their interest.
posted to API by Joseph K.M, Oslo
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Posted by africanpress on November 2, 2009
GABORONE, Sunday – A Kenyan pastor and his family have been reportedly deported from Botswana for misappropriating church funds and property and dubious business dealings.
The private weekly, Botswana Guardian reports in its current edition that Pastor Chris Barasa attempted to illegally transfer a plot belonging to City Bible Ministries to his name and operating unregistered businesses under the aegis of the church to avoid paying tax.
It is reported that the little known pastor often wrote false reports and submissions which included audited accounts on behalf of the church to the government.
Pastor Barasa of the obscure Gaborone-based City Bible Ministries was reportedly declared a Prohibited Immigrant (PI) early this year but he escaped from Botswana before he could be served with a deportation order.
“Pastor Barasa was long declared a PI but he skipped the country leaving behind his wife and relatives. The law enforcement units never found him to serve him with a deportation order. His wife and relatives and the ones we served recently,” the Botswana deputy spy chief Mr Tefo Kgotlhane reportedly told the Guardian.
The deportation order was served on Pastor Barasa’s wife Pascelisa and close relatives. The Pastor is accused of money laundering, fraud and attempting to grab church land in Gaborone. The land was allegedly bought by members who were asked to contribute a minimum of P6,000 each (approximately Ksh 66,000).
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Kenya association in Botswana Mr William Kaboro said that they are not aware of Pastor Barasa’s deportation nor that of his family.
Mr Kaboro told the Nation that they do not even know Pastor Barasa. “I go through the membership register regularly and I have never seen a name like that (Chris Barasa). No we are not aware of him,” Mr Kaboro said.
Pastor Kingship Ntabotha of City Bible Ministries said he does not know the fate of Pastor Barasa. “We have not heard about it,” he said.
source.nation.ke
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Posted by africanpress on November 2, 2009
by Peter Orengo
Scientists are on the brink of a major breakthrough in discovering a vaccine for malaria.
After more than 20 years of research and development of a vaccine, experts in Kenya say they are on the threshold of the most advanced malaria trial vaccine in the world.
If the trial vaccine is successful, it will stop the death of 90 children who die of malaria every day and stem the loss of 170 million working days lost to malaria annually in Kenya.
It will also free up bed space in hospitals and radically change the health financing landscape not only in Kenya but also across the continent. Many countries in Africa spend a huge percentage of their health budgets on malaria. The new vaccine by the name of RTS,S is a result of partnership between leading African institutions that include Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), America’s Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biological, with the support of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The vaccine, which is in the third phase of trial and has shown efficacy levels of 53 per cent, has taken more than 20 years of research and development. There is no proven vaccine for malaria to date.
The disease kills up to 3,000 people every day in Africa, majority of them children.
In Kenya, the trial is taking place at three sites: Kombewa (led by Kemri-Walter Reed Project), Siaya (led by the Kemri/CDC Research and Public Health Collaboration), and in Kilifi (led by the Kemri-Wellcome Trust research programme).
Lives saved
Dr Simon Kariuki, Kemri and CDC representative said if the vaccine comes to the market, millions of lives would be saved, especially in malaria-prone areas in Africa.
Invented in 1987, RTS,S triggers the immune system to defend itself against the plasmodium falciparaum, malaria parasite, when it enters the human host’s bloodstream or when the parasite infects the liver cells. This prevents the parasite from maturing and multiplying in the liver.
To stimulate an immune response to malaria parasite, the RTS,S antigen fuses a critical protein with another found in Hepatitis B vaccine. This strengthens the immune response even further and is capable of also preventing Hepatitis B, a chronic liver disease.
After going through two separate phase trials, results found that RTS,S vaccine done in Kenya and Tanzania had a promising safety and tolerability profile, which reduced the risk of episodes of malaria by 53 per cent in children aged between 5 and 17 months over an eight-month follow-up period.
Located in seven African countries with three trial sites, clinical evaluation of RTS,S released in November 2007 showed that after a full vaccination course in infants, it reduced infection by 65 per cent over a three-month period.
It also demonstrated a promising safety and tolerability profile similar to the standard WHO’s expanded program on immunisation vaccines commonly given to infants. A phase three trial for the vaccine is currently underway and if it succeeds, its data will be submitted to regulatory bodies, both international and individual countries to allow it to be introduced in the market.
But the trials may take three to five years before the vaccine finally hits the world market.
Ongoing trials
Presently, ongoing trials involve a double-blind study in which participants will initially receive three doses of RTS,S or a control vaccine. After 18 months, participants will receive a fourth dose of the vaccine to evaluate the impact of the “booster” dose.
All the 6-12 week old infants in the trial will also receive a standard, licensed vaccine that protects against five common childhood illnesses as recommended by WHO.
“The final stage trial is expected to enroll up to 16,000 children across seven countries in Africa. The majority of malaria deaths in Africa occur in children under the age of five,” Kariuki said during a tour of a research facility in Kisumu.
“The other trials involved 4,000 children and more than 50 per cent of the children, as a result of the vaccine, did not go on to have severe malaria, while 30 per cent were completely protected from malaria,” Dr Walter Otieno, an RTS,S investigator at Kombewa Research Centre in Kisumu told journalist who attended the launch of Phase III vaccination role-out.
Long-term collaboration
“The Phase III trial is the outcome of a 9-year collaboration between the Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative and GSK Biological, now in partnership with a network of outstanding study centres in Africa, such as the three here in Kenya,” said Dr Christian Loucq, director of the Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative.
“If all goes well, we will end up with a vaccine able to save lives and protect many more young children from malaria. We are grateful to the Kenyan Government for allowing this trial to move forward,” Loucq added.
Dr Joe Cohen, co-inventor of RTS,S and Vice President of Vaccines for Emerging Diseases and HIV at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biological expressed excitement on the breakthrough and said the moment had special relevance to him following a journey that started in late 1980s when he started working on RTS,S vaccine.
source.standard.ke
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