President Barack Obama calls on Kenyans to hold peaceful, credible Polls

US President Barack Obama today made a powerful statement about the on the Kenyan Election process.  Find below, the statement and  a link that has an audio and video file as well as  the message in English and Swahili.

http://nairobi.usembassy.gov/obmengtrans.html

President Barack Obama's

Message to the People of Kenya

Habari yako.  Over the years, I have been greatly moved by the warmth and spirit – the strength and resolve – of the Kenyan people. And I’ve been grateful for my connection to Kenya, and the way you’ve welcomed me and my family to your beautiful country – from my father’s village in Alego, to bustling Nairobi.

In my visits, I’ve seen your progress. Kenya has lifted people from poverty, built an emerging democracy and civil society, and sustained a spirit of hope in the face of great difficulty. After the turmoil of five years ago, you’ve worked to rebuild communities, reform institutions and pass a new constitution.

Now, Kenya must take the next step in March, with the first national elections under your new constitution.

We all know what makes for successful elections. Kenya must reject intimidation and violence, and allow a free and fair vote. Kenyans must resolve disputes in the courts, not in the streets. Above all, the people of Kenya must come together, before and after the election, to carry on the work of building your country.

The choice of who will lead Kenya is up to the Kenyan people. The United States does not endorse any candidate for office, but we do support an election that is peaceful and reflects the will of the people.

This election can be another milestone toward a truly democratic Kenya defined by the rule of law and strong institutions. If you take that step, and reject a path of violence and division, then Kenya can move forward towards prosperity and opportunity that unleashes the extraordinary talents of your people – especially young people. If you continue to move forward, you can build a just Kenya that rejects corruption, and respects the rights and dignity of all Kenyans.

This is a moment for the people of Kenya to come together, instead of tearing apart. If you do, you can show the world that you are not just members of a tribe or ethnic group, but citizens of a great and proud nation. I can’t imagine a better way to mark the 50th anniversary of Kenyan independence.  And I say to all of you who are willing to walk this path of progress—you will continue to have a strong friend and partner in the United States of America. Kwaheri        

 

Migori Civil Society Coalition calls for calm after chaotic political parties primaries

Civil Society Organizations in Migori County have called for calm following chaotic political party primaries which have left the County more fragile than it has been for the last two years since the passage of the new constitution in August 2010. 

This building in Migori was burnt during the 2007/9 Post election violence

The County is one of Kenya's multi - ethnic devolved units which have often experienced tensions between the dominant ethnic Luo and the minority Kuria among other communities settled there. 

The more than 10 CSOs condemned recent incidents of violence arising from the political party nominations and urge residents to maintain peace ahead of the March 4 polls. 

Pockets of violence and confrontations were witnessed in especially Nyatike, Awendo, Uriri constituencies following delays in receiving party nomination papers leading to unclear lists of nomination winners for various seats.

During the consultative meeting held in Migori Town, the CSOs extensively reviewed the conduct of the recent political party primaries and said they had concluded that they were "chaotic, fraudulent and totally undemocratic". 

" We wish to point out that the primaries were marred by disorganization, fraud, delays and in some cases, violence which could have been avoided had the parties, particularly the Orange Democratic Movement ((ODM) and its candidates made the necessary preparations for nominations," they said in a statement.  

They pointed out what they claimed were "widespread incidents of voter bribery, use of youth and school children in the campaigns, burning of ballot papers in some polling centers, delay in delivery of voting material and general indiscipline" which they said brought tension and undermined peace in the county.

An ODM supporters dances at recent rally at Migori Stadium  

The group has called on the ODM political leadership, as the dominant party in this region, to move with speed to resolve any grievances from its candidates and supporters arising from the nomination exercise to reduce the acrimony and a fall-out that now threatens the peace and harmony in the County.

"We note, in our post nomination survey that a majority of Migori County residents do not wish a recurrence of the violence that was witnessed in the region in 2007/8, which led to deaths, destruction of property and displacements," 

They said there was need for urgent voter education ahead of the March 4 polls and declared the readiness to work together towards making a rapid intervention to ensure voters were educated on the voting process which will involve six positions.

While lauding the the general restraint by security personnel during the recent demonstrations in Migori town, they urged greater consultation and collaboration between the government and local stakeholders towards nurturing peace and tranquility.

"We urge the different ethnic groups in Migori County to sustain the cohesion and understanding that has been built through dialogue over the last two years and ask politicians to desist from sowing seeds of discord among the people," the added.

They also resolved to work with the government organs and the Migori County Peace Forum to re-energize all the peace structures ahead of the elections and to hold dialogue forums to engage the politicians and their supporters.

Migori residents at a recent ODM rally before the nominations

The CSOs also pledged to mobilize voters in Migori County to turn out in large numbers on March 4 to vote in leaders of their choice for both the national and county government as part of actualizing the promises of the new constitution which they worked hard for and delivered in 2010.

    The CSOs included Migori Civic Local Affairs Network (CLAN), Migori Peace Forum, Kuria Disability Network,  Rise Trust, RAPADO, Africa Centre for Volunteers (ACV), Mount Everest Youth Initiative, Rieko Kenya, Community Action for Rural Development(CARD), CIPADO and the religious community represented by the Methodist Church in Migori.

Ends//

Kenyans Demonstrate against outgoing MPs, stage mock "State Burial" for them

Activists demonstrate against the MPs in Nairobi

Civil Society Organizations have twice this week of January 15-17, 2013 staged peaceful demonstrations in Kenya's capital Nairobi protesting over recent attempts by outgoing members of the country's parliament to sneak in generous retirement perks as they end their term.

The move, coming barely two months ahead of the next General Elections due on March 4, 2013 is bound to hit the out going legislators hard and a majority are unlikely to get re-elected.

CSOs and other Kenyans have expressed outrage over the move, which President Kibaki has shot down by refusing to assent to the Bill passed in the last session of parliament by the fatigued MPs, who were however still awake enough to think about their personal interests.

During the demonstrations in the capital, the hundreds of members of the activists donning black T-shirts and carrying placards and coffins, expressed outrage that the outgoing MPs could so shamelessly seek to award themselves generous send-off perks when a majority of Kenyans continued to suffer hunger and insecurity stalked the nation ahead of the elections.

The MPs sought to award themselves about Kshs 10 Million (about 110,000 US dollars) as a lump sum send off package besides other benefits which included monthly payments, security and state funeral upon death! Outraged Kenyans have come out fighting and are likely to vote out most of them at the March 4 Elections.

The message is loud and clear

In the first day of the demonstrations, the demonstrators went to parliament after going through several streets, where they tied an effigy of the MPs and "hanged" him at the the gate to the August House. Rev. Timothy Njoya, a re-known democracy and human rights crusader, said a prayer for the effigy before it was "hanged" and before the group presented a petition to President Mwai Kibaki. 

A demonstrator drags one of coffins towards Parliament

In the second day of demonstration on January 16, 2013, the activists paraded over 200 wooden coffins which they used to do a mock "state burial" for the MPs in a ceremony that took them through various streets and eventually set the coffins on fire next to Parliament.

The passage of a new constitution in August 2010 and the ongoing implementation have energized Kenyans to fight bad governance.

The Constitution, hailed as one of the most progressive in the world, has a strong Bill of Rights which has emboldened the citizens, leading to an increasing robust expression of public discontent with government and public officers' excesses.

Those who have ears should hear, those with eyes should see!

Scenes like this are likely to be common place among Kenyans, not only in Nairobi but also in other regional towns given that the anger against the outgoing legislators is wisespread.

Many of them have already come under a lot of pressure from an increasingly enlightened citizenry some of who have taken them to court for misuse of devolved funds.

Organization calls for Peace in Migori County during the Political Party Nominations

A Community Based Organization and other stakeholders in Migori County have appealed for peace and tolerance ahead of the political party nominations due on Thursday 17, 2017.

Migori Civic Local Affairs Network (CLAN) and the Migori County Peace Forum MCPF) have urged all the contestants for various political seats in the coming elections, party leaders, supporters and the general public to conduct themselves with restraint and maintain order and peace during the Thursday 17, party nominations.

Migori CLAN Coordinator who is also the County Peace Forum Chairman Oloo Janak said the March 4, 2013 General Elections will be a defining moment for the entire nation and Migori County. He urged all Kenyans in general and residents of Migori County in particular to turn out in large numbers during the nominations and at the march 4 Elections to help elect leaders who would bring about the desired political, social and economic transformation based on the promise of the new constitution.

One of the banners of the candidates seeking seats in Migori

Migori CLAN has since 2002 been at the forefront of enhancing citizens participation in public affairs and deepening democratic governance to realize accountable and transparent leadership. The organization has since the promulgation of the new constitution led a process of inter-ethnic dialogue and conflict mitigation in this multi - ethnic County, with a measure of success in creating tolerance. 

CLAN was also at the forefront of agitation for a new constitution and campaign for its passage during the 2010 referendum with other players including the residents of the county, which led to a high turn out of voters at the August 10, 2010 Constitutional Referendum.

Janak said CLAN had championed inter-ethnic dialogue and reconciliation after the post election violence of 2007/8 and after the passage of the constitution and therefore desired that all Migori County residents uphold tolerance among the different ethnic groups in the county to usher in a functional and an all inclusive County Government. 

"CLAN, with other organizations and the government, have initiated various peace and reconciliation efforts and led stakeholders in passing resolutions which were tabled at the Bomas National Conference end of last year which we would like to see respected by all candidates and the people during the nominations and the actual elections on March 4, 2013," he said. 

Mrs. Anne Anyanga who was a victim of violence

He urged all candidates and their supporters to resist attempts to saw seeds of discord and hostility among the residents of the county in the run-up to the nominations and to respect all the efforts that ordinary people and grassroot leaders have made towards unity over the last two years. 

Janak decried recent acts of violence including the attack in Rongo on Mrs Anne Omodho Anyanga who is seeking the position of governorship adding that all contestants needed to promote respect and tolerance ahead of the nominations and during the subsequent campaign period and the March 4 Elections.

Dennitah Gati from Kuria: Many women have come out to contest seats

"It is only through tolerance, peace dialogue and ethnic harmony that we in Migori County can elect credible, responsive and transformative leaders who will run a truly functional and economically viable Migori County that we can all be proud of," Janak added. 

He called on Migori County residents to only nominate leaders who had in the past demonstrated support and belief in the new constitution as a basis for transforming the country and bringing about equitable distribution resources, development and consultative leadership. 

Those who either actively opposed the constitution or never helped campaign for it, he said, would "undermine the gains inherent in the new constitutional order and should therefore not be elected to any position at all."

Ends//

OPINION: The Public Benefits Organization Bill aims to streamline the NGO Sector

There have been many things said about NGOs and a lot of what has made it to the public space has been hostility. Perceptions about the sector include the fact that NGOs answer to foreign donors and thus have no local interests, that the sector is full of fraudsters, that it is a get-rich-quickly personal poverty eradication programme etc. 

Kawive Wambua stresses a point at a media briefing

The sector workers and operatives have not helped matters – what with the wrangling, the presence of several NGO Councils, the prevalence of people who form organisation and get money from donors and then don’t do what they propose to do. The sector has had a bad name. The multiple registration regimes for civil society groups was big blessing since the KANU era stifled the operating environment and curtailed the operation of these organisations. 

It is still a blessing to the whole question of voluntary organising and the freedom of association. But what this has led to is an inability to regulate the sector on a uniform set of mutually agreed rules.  The fact that there has not been an enabling legislation setting out a system of norms and practice has indeed been the problem.

This must be changed, this must be corrected and a new operating environment – that clarifies issues for both the sector workers and the general public. The Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya realised this and developed a Cabinet paper in 2006 and later a Cabinet Memo in 2008 requiring that a new framework for regulation of the NGO sector be developed. It is our opinion that a change in how the sector is managed can only be realised if and when the proposed public benefits organisation (PBO) Bill 2012 is enacted.  

The Bill was developed by civil society organisations in Kenya led by the CSO Reference Group, an umbrella body of civil society organisations formed in 2009 to support CSOs in Kenya review the NGO Coordination Act no 19 of 1990. 

 It was published in the Kenya Gazette Vol. CXIV – No.35 on 4^th May 2012 as a private members Bill with the support of Hon. Sophia Abdi Noor, Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Labour and Social Welfare. The Public Benefit Organizations (PBO) Bill 2012 seeks to achieve a new legal, regulatory and institutional framework for civil society organisations (CSOs) doing public benefit work in Kenya.

The process for the development of the bill has been the most participatory as compared to any other bill. There has been systematic consultation with sector players in thematic groups and in regional blocks. The government department responsible for the sector – the NGO Board- has contributed immensely to the process and there have been wide consultations with leaders both in and out of parliament – including structured dialogue with the relevant government departments and the Parliamentary Committee on Labour and Social Welfare

CSO Reference Group Members EzraMbogori and Faith Kisinga

The first thing the Bill does is to define what a Public Benefit Organization (PBO) is. This is because organisations need to know that they exist not because of the founders or workers, but because of Kenyans. In the Bill, a PBO is defined as “a voluntary grouping of individuals or organizations that is organized and operated locally, nationally or internationally, to support or promote public benefit”.

The Public Benefit Organisations (PBO) Bill 2012 if enacted into law will lead to a strong Public Benefit Organisations sector promoting social welfare and improving the conditions and quality of life for the people of Kenya.

It will also be easy to create greater coherence coordination with the Government, private sector and development partners, enforce high standards of governance, transparency and accountability by organizations – including the provision that members of governing body of an organization respect gender parity, do not come from same family, are persons of high integrity and with a clean public record.

Most important is that the PBO Bill 2012 proposes mechanisms of compliance with the Constitution of Kenya as enacted in 2010.

The Bill sets out clear mechanisms to be used for an organization to gain the status of a PBO. These include democratization of the governance framework in the organization. If enacted, the Bill will ensure that My-Own-NGOs (MONGOs) are eliminated and instead we will have functionally useful institutions that serve the greater public good.

Enacting the bill will enable the government to have a uniform system of norms by which to hold the sector accountable. The sector will also be able to get benefits in a systematic way from the state. Tax exemptions and funding for CSOs are some of the proposed benefits when an organization complies with the PBO status as outlined in the Bill. We foresee that the problem easily associated with “a foreign agenda” will be eliminated.

The Bill has gone through the first and second reading and is awaiting the Committee stage before it is enacted into law. At this time, all citizens, citizen groups and other interested parties are free to contribute inputs, critique and make suggestions on how to make the PBO Bill better. Petitions and comments can be sent to the Parliamentary Committee or forwarded through the CSO reference Group. Let us all participate!

Kawive Wambua

Executive Secretary, CRECO

                  &

Co-Chair CSO Reference Group