FOI Network holds meeting on Access to Information Bill 2013

Members of the Kenya Freedom of Information Network (FOI) have held a two day strategy meeting in Nakuru to plan for a more aggressive advocacy towards realizing the passage of the Access to Information Bill 2013.

Members of the FOI network at the Nakuru Meeting

Kenya's  Constitution 2010 provides for Freedom of Information but no law has been enacted to facilitate the enjoyment of this provision. There have been ongoing efforts over the last ten years towards getting law passed but this has hit a brick wall because of resistance or reluctance from the government, which fears greater scrutiny by citizens and various stakeholders groups.

The strategy meeting identified thematic areas which will be the focus in the new year as the advocacy rolls out to the Counties to attract more stakeholders. The themes identified included: Legislative Advocacy, Human Rights and Acess to Justice, Environmental Governance, Public Finance Management and Procurement, Public Participation and Devolution.

The Rift Valley Freedom of Information Network which works together with the National FOI Network also identified key themes to work on. These included: Devolution, Public Finance Management and Procurement, Environmental Governance, Public Participation and Legislative Advocacy.

Anne Gitonga of ICJ  leads a session during the meeting

Anne Gitonga of the Kenya Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-K) said the FOI team will adopt a more aggressive approach in advocating for the realization of the Access to Information law to help citizens enjoy the right to information as provided for in the constitution.

The FOI is coordinated by ICJ-K but different organizations will convene different thematic groups to enhance more ownership and coordination of the initiative.

Right: A slide showing the status of Access to Information in Africa,during the workshop.

Westgate Attack: Businesses looted by "security men"

Traders who had various businesses at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi which was attacked by terrorists linked to the Somali militant group, Al Shabaab on September 21, were on Monday counting their losses, as it emerged that some of the security personnel deployed to deal with the attackers turned to looting.

Security personnel: Did some of them loot?

The government has admitted looting took place and conceded that some of the security personnel had looted some of the shops. At least three people have been arrested over the looting claims. A police officer has been arraigned in court over the looting.

Banks, M-Pesa shops, Forex bureaus and other businesses at the high end mall were reportedly ransacked during the four day stand -off between the security personnel and the attackers.

"Some people have reaped big from the mall tragedy, leaving us to count huge losses. People have no sympathy," lamented one of those who had an M-Pesa business in the mall.

 He said there was no time to lock the shops or keep money during the attack as there was panic when the shooting started.

The traders were shocked at what they saw when they were allowed to visit the premises to inspect their businesses. The government has remained non committal about compensation with the Cabinet Secretary in charge of East Africa Affairs, Trade and Tourism Phyllis Kandie saying the government would appoint a team of stakeholders to assess the extent of the loss.

Meanwhile it has emerged that the number of those earlier reported unaccounted for Monday reduced from 61 to 39 after the Kenya Red Cross announced that 14 people had been located in various hospitals while 7 others had been confirmed dead and in various morgues in the city.

Cabinet Secretary  Joseph Ole Lenku announced Sunday that 9 suspects were in custody and that a vehicle used in the attack had been recovered with an assortment of weapons.57 Kenyans and 10 foreigners were killed during the attack.

Prof Kofi Awonoor. He was killed in the attack.

Among the foreigners killed were the famous Ghanaian writer Prof Kofi Awonoor, the author of This Earth, My Brother who was in Kenya to speak at a literary forum. His son who was with him survived with injuries.

Kenyan security officers with the help of officers from the Interpol, Israel, the US, Canada were still pieces information together to unravel the details of the attack which caused extensive devastation to the mall.

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Death toll from Kenyan terror attack rises to 59, 175 injured

The death toll from Saturday's terror attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya today afternoon rose to 59 while 175 were confirmed injured, according to the Government, as the attackers continued holding hostages for the second day.

Kenyans donate blood at Kencom Bus Stage in Nairobi

It was not immediately clear how many foreigners were killed but it was known several foreign nationals were caught up in the incident as the mall is a favorite of wealth local and foreign nationals including employees of international organizations in Nairobi.

Cabinet Secretary in charge of National Security Jospeh Ole Lenku confirmed the figures at a press conference in Nairobi, near the scene of the attack. He said the operation to rescue hostages still held in the building by the attackers estimated at between 10-15 was still going.

Kenyan leaders from different sides of the political divide came together in a rare show of unity, first visiting the injured at the Aga Khan and MP Shah Hospitals before addressing a joint press conference at State House shortly after 4 pm local time, where they called for calm and support for the  security operation to flush out the attackers.

President Kenyatta also revealed that he had also lost a nephew and a fiancee in the attack. He said Kenya would not pull out its soldiers from Somalia over the attack which has been claimed by Al Shabaab which said they were revenging Kenya's presence in Somalia.

"We have received many offers of assistance from friendly countries but this for the moment remains a Kenyan operation," he said in apparent reference to reports in Nairobi tat foreign troops including the Israelis, were helping the Kenyan security team to deal with the situation.

Former PM Odinga called on Kenyans to remain united in the face of the attack and amid claims that the attackers had before the shooting urged Muslims within the mall to move out quickly.

" We should not allow the attack to divide us along religious or any other lines as terrorist attacks are universal and have occurred elsewhere including Israel, Iraq, the US, Britain and Spain among others," said the former PM.

He urged the international community not to issue travel advisories saying this will hurt the country's economy. President Kenyatta and UDF leader Musalia Mudavadi also echoed the same sentiments during the press conference.

Messages of solidarity with Kenya were sent by the Eastern Africa regional body Inter Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), US, Somalia,China, South Sudan, and UK, who condemned the terror attack.

The Saturday attack came 16 years after the 1998 Bomb attack in Nairobi which destroyed the US Embassy and left more than 200 people dead and hundreds others injured.

The scene of the attack remained under tight security from different units of the Kenyan security with both army and police helicopters flying overhead most of the day. Police shot in the air and lobbed tear gas at a crowd that was surging towards the area despite repeated pleas since yesterday to keep off.

Journalists were kept more than 600 meters away from where they monitored events. Other establishments including other shopping malls, churches and other public places frequented by many people were secured by the police throughout yesterday.

Hundreds of Kenyans and even non Kenyans turned out to in large numbers to donate blood at different hospitals in Nairobi and upcountry. Kencom Bus Stage in Nairobi had a big number of blood donors.

Red Cross officers manage a blood donation centre in Nairobi

Nairobi City Government also set up another centre at City Hall to provide opportunity for more Kenyans to donate blood.

A call for cash donations through the M-Pesa phone facility by Safaricom had by last evening raked in donations of about USD 95,000 and more was still coming in.

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Gunmen kill 20, injure 50 more in Shopping Mall attack in Kenya

Heavily armed gunmen today stormed into a a prestigious shopping mall in Westlands, Nairobi and shot at shoppers indiscriminately, killing some and injuring scores of others.

There were no official figures by 5.30 pm but the Red Cross and other sources indicated that the death toll had reached 20 while up to 50 others were rushed to local hospitals with serious injuries.

Police cordoned off the area from around 12 noon Kenyan time and were later joined by the army in an attempt to flash out the gunmen whose numbers were said by witnesses as between 10 and 18.

Rescuers including the security officials, the Red cross and others struggled for hours to evacuate those trapped in the building which during weekend host more than 1000 shoppers and revelers, some of them from high class neighbourhoods and employees of international organizations.

A bevy of journalists who camped at the scene for hours had restricted access to allow the security officers to carry out the rescue operation and flash out the gunmen.

By 6 pm, there was no indication that the gunmen had been subdued or that they had left the building although the police had gained access to the building and taken positions on the roof. Police and army helicopters hovered overhead to give support to the ground troops.

Little information was available on what kind of  people the gunmen were but there were reports that among them was at least one woman and that at the point of entry into the building, they appeared intent on robbing some of the business premises.

The Government was due to address a press conference by late evening to give a comprehensive picture and information of what happened.

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ICC: Activist Maina Kiai fears for his life,slams state and "hate bloggers"

Maina Kiai and other activists at the press conference

Prominent Kenyan human rights activist and lawyer Maina Kiai has expressed fears for his life and that of his family saying he had received reports that a militia group wanted to burn his family homestead in Nyeri, Central Kenya. 

Kiai said he and other members of the civil society who had been at the forefront of the fight against impunity in Kenya had been subjected to “vicious attacks since March (since the March 4, General Elections), especially by politicians and the social media.”

“I have been informed by the police that a militia group calling itself the “Nyaribo Support Group” intends to burn down the family homestead and my house in Nyeri,” he told a press conference in Nairobi this afternoon.

He said the threats had resulted in heavy presence of armed police and dogs at his mother’s homestead in Nyeri for the last few days but they had refused to provide more information to him and his family why they were asking about his whereabouts and if the family felt threatened in any way. 

“I fear for the safety of everyone in this extremely intimidating environment that grips the country, fuelled by bloggers acting with impunity,” he said adding that some of the bloggers were now staff at State House “right at the heart of the Presidency.”

Kiai linked the threats to the ongoing ICC trials and blamed the bloggers for claims in the social media which indicated he was a witness at The Hague intending to testify during the trials when he was actually in Nairobi. 

The lawyer has over the past been in the news as a fighter against impunity and violation of human rights and has particularly been visible with other CSO actors in calling for the trial of those who perpetrated the post-election violence and justice to victims of the mayhem. 

The human rights activist, who was at one time the chairman of the Kenyan National Commission of Human Rights (KNCHR) termed the threats via social media and the inaction by the state to apprehend and prosecute the hate bloggers as a “dangerous and destructive approach.”

He said innocent people were being exposed as witnesses and cited the case of Rahab Muthoni Kagiri, who  lives in Eldoret but whose picture was this week posted on the internet as being the first witness against Deputy President William Ruto at The Hague. 

The woman has come out to dismiss the claims that she was the witness and said the social media posting had caused her anguish and could lead to threats against her life. The ICC trial judges have since ruled that the first witness, who is at The Hague testify in a closed session due to attempts to expose her identity and jeopardize her security.

Rahab Muthoni. Her picture was on social media

Kiai said it was unacceptable that such lies and fear on social media should be allowed to continue with the national security system unable or unwilling to arrest and charge the bloggers.

He said it was neither treasonable nor criminal to provide to the ICC adding that under the Kenyan constitution, the Court was part of the country’s judicial system. 

He termed the witnesses at the ICC “truly brace heroes for their nation and justice and that it was “a mark of the highest courage and patriotism for anyone to give evidence in the fight against                impunity.” 

He said there was concern that many activists and their families were being threatened, harassed and hounded for exercising their fundamental rights to expression, association and assembly. 

Kiai said any attempt to criminalize peaceful dissent was an affront to the constitution and could return Kenya to the police state it was in the 1980s. Under the then Kanu regime at the time, many activists were arrested and detained under inhuman conditions and some died or killed mysteriously.

The activist said it was surprising that some of the hate bloggers should have been hired and allowed to lead the attacks against human rights activists from State House without any restraint adding that the president would be to blame if Kiai and other activists or their families were harmed in any way.

During the press conference, Kiai was accompanied by other human rights activists who included former anti-corruption official in the government of former President Mwai Kibaki John Githongo, Davinder Lamba and Ndungu Wainaina among others. 

Maina Kiai, (left)with a colleague at the press conference

Police in Kenya have denied camping at Kiai's home in Nyeri and denied knowledge of any threats to the lawyer's life. The Inspector General David Kimayio ordered Kiai to report his fears to Criminal Investigations Headquarters but also faulted him for "dragging" the Presidency into the matter.

Kiai’s claims comes at a time when the Office of the Prosecutor at The Hague led by the Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has repeatedly expressed concern that many witnesses had been intimidated, forced or paid to withdraw while in some had been killed.

A number of Kenyan politicians and supporters of President Kenyatta and his Deputy Ruto have expressed happiness over the reported witness withdrawal arguing this will weaken the cases against the two leaders leading to the collapse of the cases. 

There have also been calls from some quarters in Kenya and outside, notably from China and some African Countries for the ICC to stop the trials arguing the Court was political, only targeted African leaders or sought to undermine Kenya’s national sovereignty.

In Kenya, the anti-ICC lobbyists have claimed that the rival communities and victims of the post-election violence had reconciled, “moved on” or just did not want their “popularly elected leaders” tried. However there has been mixed reaction over the trials with other Kenyans including opposition politicians, human rights activists, a section of the clergy and lawyers for the victims opposing the move against ICC saying it would further entrench impunity and deny the victims justice. 

Lawmakers from the ruling Jubilee Coalition in both the National Assembly and the  Senate have used their dominant numbers to push through a motion seeking to pull Kenya out of the Rome Statute that created the ICC.

Opposition legislators from the Cord Coalition opposed the vote against the ICC and walked out of the two chambers during voting, leaving their Jubilee counterparts to carry the day.

Reports indicate that there are now moves to bring a Bill to the National Assembly to initiate the process of Kenya’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which will culminate in petitioning the UN Security Council to allow the withdrawal.

The process can legally and procedurally only take effect after twelve months, in the event that the UN Security Council allows the withdrawal. 

The ICC has indicated that no external interventions, at the Kenya, level, African Union and even at the UN will affect the judicial process of trying the three Kenyan suspects who include the President, his Deputy and former radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang’.

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The 2013 World Migration Report released, paints a gloomy picture of migrants well-being

IOM Regional Director Ashraf El Nour launches the book

The World Migration Report 2013 has been launched in Nairobi by the and for the first time presents a global picture of the well being of migrants. 

The Report was launched on Wednesday September 18, 2013 by the Regional Office for East and Horn of Africa of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) led the Regional Director  Ashraf El Nour.

The findings contained in the report are based on a Gallup World Poll which surveyed 25,000 migrants in over 150 countries. The report takes a fresh look at the life of the migrants across the world both migrating to the rich North and the poor countries of the South.

Nour said the findings in the report will be discussed at the 2013 United Nations General Assembly High Level Dialogue on International Migration in New York from October 3-4.

“There is need to look again at migration in a more holistic way,”said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing, in a statement released at the launch.

Contrary to common belief, migration is not just a South-North phenomenon. In fact, less than half of all migrants worldwide move from developing to developed countries,” Swing said.

According to the report, adult migrants moving South North represent only 40% of the global. About 33%of migrants move between countries in the South, 22% between countries in the North and 5% from the North to the South.

The report investigates the impact on migrations on the migrants, their levels of satisfaction compared to the local population, access to jobs or business and state of health.

Migrants from all regions have mixed experiences but the report indicates that migration improves the well-being of especially move to the North. In all cases, most migrants are dissatisfied with their lives than the native born population.

IOM Regional Director El Nour speaks at the forum

The launch was attended by a number of Kenyan officials from the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Foreign Affairs. Also present were diplomats based in Nairobi representing the US, France, Japan, Germany, Canada and officials from UNDP and United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

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Kenya plans tough laws to curb abuse of migrant workers rights

 Lack of a proper regulatory framework is to blame for the increasing abuse of the rights of migrant Kenyan workers, including cases of human trafficking. 

Kenya’s Deputy Commissioner of Labour Joseph Yilda said there was alarm over abuse of migrant Kenyan workers, especially in the Middle East, where many had been dehumanized and others killed adding that lack of proper regulations had given leeway to some irresponsible labour recruitment agencies to subject migrants to suffering.

IOM Regional Director Nour (L) and Yilda during report launch

“We have constituted a high level steering committee on Labour Migrations consisting of key officials from the relevant government agencies and are working in partnership with international agencies to put in place the proper policies and laws to address this issue,” said Yilda. 

He said a technical team was working out details of the policy and regulatory framework adding that Kenya was also involved in bilateral negotiations with different countries to facilitate migrants and help them to settle in those countries.

“Previous arrangements have been ad hoc and prone to manipulation by some recruitment agencies resulting in the problems Kenyans have been going through, particularly in the Middle East,” he said.

The official was speaking in Nairobi during the launch of the World Report on Migration 2013. The launch was presided over by the International Organization for Immigration (IOM) Regional Director for East and Horn of Africa Ashraf El Nour.  

There have been frequent reports in both local and international media about Kenyans undergoing horrifying experiences including racial discrimination, arrests, detention, torture and death at the hands of employers in the Middle East, which have cause uproar among human rights groups and families in the country. 

Yilda said many Kenyans were migrating abroad in search of jobs due to high employment rates in the country with most of them heading to the Middle East, US and Australia. 

He said the new regulations will also structure the remittances of funds from abroad which he noted had grown, almost surpassing direct foreign investment, with the funds being invested, majorly in the construction industry. 

Nour  said IOM was also concerned with the fate of illegal migrations from Kenyans and other countries in the Horn of Africa to the Middle East adding that the organization was helping the country to draft policies and laws to govern migration of its citizens and others on transit from other countries. 

“We are deeply concerned with tribulations of the migrants and in some cases those from the Horn of Africa heading to Yemen either drown or are killed by smugglers in the Red Sea before they reach their destination,” he said.

Chrispine Wanyahoro receives a copy of the Report

Nour said IOM headquarters in Geneva had approved funding to help with migration profiling in Kenya given that the country was a central point for migrants both to the Middle East and Southern Africa. 

Chrispine Wanyahoro, the Labour Export Officer at the Youth Enterprise Development Fund told a press briefing during the report launch that the fund had supported 10,000 youth migrants to relocate adding that approximately USD 40500 had been committed to the training of the youths to help with skills development and relocation costs.

She said remittances from the youths abroad currently stood at approximately USD 1.8 million back home from their host countries. 

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Coast Journalists Discuss Devolution at Media Workshop

Coast based journalists have began a process of engagement with the County Governments in the region with a view to improving the flow of information to the public and improve accountability.

During a two day media workshop at the Reef Hotel in Mombasa from August 8-9, 2013, the journalists  called on the County Governments to create an enabling environment for journalists and promote press freedom to enhance information flow to the public.

The workshop was organized by the Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) as part of the ongoing four month capacity building project on reporting Devolution as a new system of governance for journalists based in the Coast Region.

Slices of the workshop in pictures:

1. Participants go through a practical session - the analogy of egg on a spoon held in the mouth to demonstrate the need for careful handling of Devolution stories


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Trainer, Jane Munga leads the participants through the "egg" exercise