ECHOES FROM THE PAST: WALLS REGAINING EARS!

 OPINION:(This opinion was initially published by the author on his facebook page)

By Oduor Ong'wen

July 24, Nairobi · 

WALLS REGAINING EARS!

The National Intelligence Service could soon have complete access to your mobile phone messages and emails if a Bill proposing the removal of a requirement mandating them to first get court warrants before accessing any citizen's private messages sails through National Assembly.

The Bill proposes the deletion of section 36 (2) of the current act, on limitation to right to privacy as enshrined in Article 31 of the Constitution, that provides for the court's participation.

The court process was to mitigate between the need for the protection of citizens' privacy while at the same time allowing government agents monitor the activities of those that they suspect of criminal involvement in activities such as terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking and corruption.

Before gaining access to a citizen's private communication data, it was upon the spy agency to convince the courts why it was important to have the rights to privacy removed. This may not be the case soon, if the government gets its way in National Assembly.

The section targeted for amendment provides that, "the right to privacy may be limited in respect of a person suspected to have committed an offence to the extent that the privacy of a person's communications may be investigated, monitored or otherwise interfered with".

Section 42 as currently written gives NIS powers to browse your mails only after obtaining court warrant. The spy agency therefore needed to apply for the document from the High Court, in writing stating among others the type of information, material, record, document or thing proposed to be obtained.

If parliament approves the amendments, the government spies will now have powers to listen in on your phone conversations and intercept your mails without the Judiciary exercising any control.
The Bill further seeks to amend Section 36 (1) of the Act to give the spies power to infringe on the privacy of any person who is subject to investigations. Under the same Act, NIS can only monitor, listen or intercept communication of any person deemed to have committed an offence.

The right to privacy set out in Article 31 of the Constitution which states that every person has the right to privacy, which includes the right not to have their person, home or property searched; their possessions seized; information relating to their family or private affairs unnecessarily required or revealed; or the privacy of their communications infringed.

Saba Saba Rally held amid heavy security, sets stage for the continued tussle with Govt

The public rally called by the Opposition Cord at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, dubbed "Saba Saba", was attended by thousands of the opposition coalition supporters amid heavy security which some people said was reminiscent of the police state under the former Kanu regime voted out in 2002.

A section of the crowd at the Cord Rally

According to the government, more than 15,000 police officers were deployed at the venue of the rally and in the city, the presence of which scared away many people. Business remained closed and the city centre and its environs remained deserted as thousands of people streamed to the rally venue while other stayed at home. Many schools were closed both in Nairobi and in other parts of the country.

Police presence at the Rally: Kenya turning into police state?

There were brief skirmishes in Kisumu in Western Kenya but the situation across the country remained largely peaceful. The Cord rally, led by the threee principals, Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula passed a serries of resolutions which they said would define their next course of action in moving the country forward.

Many Kenyans had expected to follow th rally live on TV but this did not happen, prompting many people to complain about the media 
 being compromised. There has been an attempt lately to intimidate the media in Kenya. Senior editors were recently summoned to ameeting with chief security officers who reportedluy warned them to tread carefull and to report on security matters "responsibly", a euphimism for censorship.

Below is the full text of the resolutions:


RESOLUTION BY THE PEOPLE OF KENYA DURING THE SABASABA SABA SABA RALLY WAS PEACEFUL AND SUCCESSFUL, HERE ARE RESOLUTIONS
ASSEMBLY HELD ON MONDAY 7TH JULY, 2014 AT UHURU PARK, NAIROBI

WE THE PEOPLE OF KENYA here assembled at Uhuru Park on this historic day on which we commemorate our struggle for freedom, democracy and good governance;

REMINDED of the events of the 1960s leading to the clawing of the democratic ideals in the Lancaster Constitution by the administration of the late Jomo Kenyatta and noting that the Jubilee regime has adopted a similar pattern in reversing the democratic gains in our new Constitution by curtailing media freedom through the enactment of the Media Act, Amending the National Police Service Act and the National Police Service Commission Act, introducing amendments to the land laws to remove powers from the National Land Commission to the executive, amending the Truth Justice & Reconciliation Commission Act to allow Parliament to debate, amend and mutilate the Commission’s Report on historical injustices; and, introducing legislation to curtail the Civil Society movement in the country.

RECOGNISING that Article 1 of the Constitution of Kenya vests all sovereign power in the people of Kenya;

ALARMED by the direction that our country is taking; in particular, the rising insecurity, escalating cost of living and increased negative ethnicity and exclusion from public service and national resources;

CONCERNED about the refusal by the Jubilee regime to accede to National Dialogue with the
CORD Coalition to discuss issues of national concern to the people of Kenya;

CONCERNED by endemic corruption rife within Jubilee Administration, including complicity by senior officials in Jubilee Administration including: Anglo-leasing, Standard Gauge Railway, School Laptop project, Security surveillance equipment procurement fiasco;

CONCERNED that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has failed to take responsibility for their failure to duly discharge their mandate of managing an independent, impartial electoral process, with the open connivance and protection of the Jubilee Administration;

DISTURBED by the Jubilee Government’s relentless assault on our Constitution; in particular, the curtailing of our fundamental rights and freedoms including the freedom of belief, expression and assembly; freedom of the media and press; undermining devolution by establishing parallel structures of Provincial Administration in competition with County Governments; and, flagrant failure to uphold the national values and principles of patriotism, equity and inclusivity;

AWARE that Devolution is the greatest gift in the new Constitution to the people of Kenya to promote equitable sharing of national resources and therefore deserves to be jealously guarded;

CONCERNED about systemic profiling and victimizing of sections the country based on religion and ethnicity by the Jubilee regime, leading to capital flight by for example the Eastleigh Somali business community to neighboring countries;

DISMAYED by the emasculation and abuse of Parliament by the Jubilee administration by subverting and undermining its legislative authority and mandate;

NOTING that this has already led to the assault on and reversal of democratic gains brought by the Constitution by enacting retrogressive and unconstitutional legislation;

DETERMINED to defend our hard-earned Constitution and to continue undeterred our pursuit of democracy, good governance, unity, peace, equality, inclusivity, justice and prosperity;

THEREFORE ASSERTING our sovereignty as the people of Kenya and our right to exercise the sovereign power directly; the Jubilee administration having refused to accede to our plea for national dialogue;

WE NOW RESOLVE as follows: -

1. We launch today OKOA KENYA, a people’s movement to defend our Constitution, support one another in good and bad times, protect the gains we have made in democratic governance, and rededicate ourselves to national unity and peaceful co-existence.

2. Demand that the Jubilee administration addresses the escalating cost of living by reviewing the taxation regime; failing which we will boycott the consumption of goods and services whose prices are beyond the reach of the common Mwananchi and commence commercial sanctions against companies which continue to ignore our plight.

3. Convene an all-inclusive National Referendum Committee (NRC) for the purpose of preparing the people of Kenya for a national referendum on the critical challenges facing our Nation.

4. Mandate the National Referendum Committee to ensure the maximum participation of the people of Kenya in the referendum at the County, Sub-County and Ward levels all over Kenya; in formulating the referendum question(s), collecting and collating one million signatures to initiate the referendum.

5. Having lost all confidence in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC); do now demand its immediate disbandment and the establishment of a new electoral body.

6. Demand the immediate end to corruption, wasteful spending, reckless borrowing within and by Jubilee Government. In this regard, we demand that the Jubilee administration immediately cancels the inflated security camera contract irregularly awarded to Safaricom and that Safaricom withdraws from the contracts and subjects itself to competitive bidding, failing which we will commence commercial sanctions on Safaricom and other companies abetting corruption or engaging in monopolistic practices.

7. Demand that the Jubilee administration takes immediate steps to withdraw our gallant soldiers from Somalia to join our forces in securing our nation from home.

8. Demand that the Jubilee administration takes visible, decisive action to deal with runaway insecurity, including holding the senior security officials accountable for hundreds of Kenyans who have been killed and maimed in the various attacks and conflicts across the country.

9. Reject attempts by the Executive through Parliament to bastardise the Report of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC Report) and demand the immediate implementation of the original and unadulterated Report.

10. Demand that the Jubilee administration immediately addresses the underlying land issues that are at the heart of some of the most enduring historical injustices and conflicts in our society.

11. Demand a National Audit and publication by the Public Service Commission of all appointments made in the public service by the Jubilee administration, with full details listing names, ethnic backgrounds and percentages.

12. Recognizing that the Jubilee administration has failed to apply national resources equitably across the country, we demand that 40 per centum of the projected ordinary revenue of the current fiscal year be allocated to the County Governments.

13. Demand that a National Audit on how resources at the disposal of the National Jubilee administration are applied across the country.

The Cord leaders (L-R) Moses Wetangula, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka address the rally.

GOD BLESS KENYA

UK Journalism students in Kenya for familiarization tour

A group of journalism students from the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom are on a learning tour of Kenya to familiarize themselves with how the media is contributing to community transformation.

One of the students during an interview at Radio Nam Lolwe

The students, led by A Senior Lecturer in Journalism Dr. George Ogola arrived in Nairobi on July 28, and have met different groups in Nairobi and Kisumu.

The group arrived in Kisumu today July 2 and visited Radio Nam Lolwe and Radio Lake Victorie where they met the staff and journalists. They were briefed on the kind of radio content broadcast by the two radio stations which focus on governance, health, environment, gender, fishing and other economic activities.

On July 3, the students and their lecturer held a round table discussion with journalists and community leaders drawn from Kisumu and its environs to discuss the role of the media in community development. The meeting discussedd the need for the media to focus on social and economic issues of the local community as a way of transforming society. There emerged interesting views on the role of the media, and more so the radio broadcasting in local languages and the place of the ordinary citizens in setting the agenda and informing the content of the radio programs.

The UK students talk to Kenyan journalists in Kisumu

The students with their Lecturer Dr. George Ogola (second left in cap) at Osienala/Radio Lake Viictoria