By Neil Bayley, director and crisis & issues specialist

It’s not true that online noise has made it impossible for brands to minimise negative publicity once it’s out there. These eight steps can help keep the fire under control.

1. Speed is of the essence. You will be able to react more quickly if you have clear processes already outlined, based on a thorough risk assessment and involvement of all the key internal decision-makers. You need to anticipate as much as possible and avoid bureaucracy at all costs

2. Make sure the organisation is behind you. Internal communications based on a strong idea of who you are and what you stand for will help staff adapt more easily to rapidly changing situations

3. Employ people who are specialists in crisis communications. There are lots of pitfalls the experts will have been through – they will be able to act decisively

4. On the digital front, concentrate only on the relevant online chatter (you can’t be everywhere) and react swiftly when something happens. Silence is often taken as an admission of guilt

5. Stay the course. Digital channels thrive on conversation, so watch how people react to your response. Be prepared to provide more comment, but take care with answering back. There will be limitations to how much you can influence in social media. It may be better to watch and respond via other channels than jump straight in there, as Ryanair found to their cost earlier this year

6. Reacting via digital channels requires the right tools (e.g. equipment to record video, social media knowledge, web design expertise, pre-emptive purchase of the most helpful search terms in a crisis). Make sure your staff already have them and know who to turn to if they need specialist help

7. All organisations should have a crisis blog set-up ready to activate quickly as a means to getting their side of the story out in a crisis. Having a blog that links in and out of your web site provides flexibility and improves search ranking

8. I’d also encourage organisations to think about using ‘talking head’ video posts from executives and experts to provide responses in crisis situations. Here is how Dominos used one to good effect when responding to their recent in-store hygiene crisis in the US

Waki Report – Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV)
Executive Summary
The mandate of the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV)
was to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the violence, the
conduct of state security agencies in their handling of it, and to make
recommendations concerning these and other matters.
The Report comprises 5 Parts. Part I of the Report is an Introduction which
discusses the historical context of the violence; Part II is a narration of the
violence province by province. Part III deals with four cross cutting issues:
sexual violence, internally displaced persons, the media and the nature and
impact of the violence. Part IV deals with acts and omissions of state security
agencies and impunity; and Part V contains recommendations made with a view
to the prevention of future reoccurrence of large scale violence; the investigation
of alleged perpetrators; and how to tackle the culture of impunity that has
become the hallmark of violence and other crimes in the country.
Sadly, violence has been a part of Kenya’s electoral processes since the
restoration of multi party politics in 1991. However, the violence that shook
Kenya after the 2007 general elections was unprecedented. It was by far the
most deadly and the most destructive violence ever experienced in Kenya. Also,
unlike previous cycles of election related violence, much of it followed, rather
than preceded elections. The 2007-2008 post-election violence was also more
widespread than in the past. It affected all but 2 provinces and was felt in both
urban and rural parts of the country. Previously violence around election periods
concentrated in a smaller number of districts mainly in Rift Valley, Western, and
Coast Provinces.
As regards the conduct of state security agencies, they failed institutionally to
anticipate, prepare for, and contain the violence. Often individual members of
the state security agencies were also guilty of acts of violence and gross
violations of the human rights of the citizens.
In some ways the post-election violence resembled the ethnic clashes of the
1990s and was but an episode in a trend of institutionalization of violence in
Kenya over the years. The fact that armed militias, most of whom developed as a
result of the 1990s ethnic clashes, were never de-mobilized led to the ease with
which political and business leaders reactivated them for the 2007 post-election
violence. Secondly, the increasing personalization of power around the
presidency continues to be a factor in facilitating election related violence.
The widespread belief that the presidency brings advantages for the President’s
ethnic group makes communities willing to exert violence to attain and keep
power. Inequalities and economic marginalization, often viewed in ethnogeographic
terms, were also very much at play in the post-election violence in
places like the slum areas of Nairobi.
One of the main findings of the Commission’s investigations is that the postelection
violence was spontaneous in some geographic areas and a result of
planning and organization in other areas, often with the involvement of
politicians and business leaders. Some areas witnessed a combination of the two
forms of violence, where what started as a spontaneous violent reaction to the
perceived rigging of elections later evolved into well organized and coordinated
attacks on members of ethnic groups associated with the incumbent president or
the PNU party. This happened where there was an expectation that violence was
inevitable whatever the results of the elections.
The report concludes that the post-election violence was more than a mere
juxtaposition of citizens-to-citizens opportunistic assaults. These were
systematic attacks on Kenyans based on their ethnicity and their political
leanings. Attackers organized along ethnic lines, assembled considerable
logistical means and traveled long distances to burn houses, maim, kill and
sexually assault their occupants because these were of particular ethnic groups
and political persuasion. Guilty by association was the guiding force behind
deadly “revenge” attacks, with victims being identified not for what they did but
for their ethnic association to other perpetrators. This free-for-all was made

possible by the lawlessness stemming from an apparent collapse of state
institutions and security forces.
In general, the police were overwhelmed by the massive numbers of the attackers
and the relatively effective coordination of the attacks. However, in most parts of
the country affected by the violence, failure on the part of the Kenya Police and
the Provincial Administration to act on intelligence and other early warning signs
contributed to the escalation of the violence.
The post-election violence is also the story of lack of preparedness of, and poor
coordination among, different state security agencies. While the National
Security Intelligence Service seemed to possess actionable intelligence on the
likelihood of violence in many parts of the country, it was not clear whether and
through which channel such intelligence was shared with operational security
agencies. The effectiveness of the Kenya Police Service and the Administration
Police was also negatively affected by the lack of clear policing operational
procedures and by political expediency’s adverse impact on their policing
priorities.
The report recommends concrete measures to improve performance and
accountability of state security agencies and coordination within the state
security mechanism, including strengthening joint operational preparedness
arrangements; developing comprehensive operational review processes; merging
the two police agencies; and establishing an Independent Police Complaints
Authority.
To break the cycle of impunity which is at the heart of the post-election violence,
the report recommends the creation of a special tribunal with the mandate to
prosecute crimes committed as a result of post-election violence. The tribunal
will have an international component in the form of the presence of non-Kenyans
on the senior investigations and prosecution staff.

CIPEV Website

Download Full Waki Report – DialogueKenya

Report of the Independent Review Commission on the General Elections held in Kenya on 27 December 2007

Kreigler Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On 30 December 2007, following announcement of the presidential election results,
violence broke out in several places across Kenya amid claims that the Electoral
Commission of Kenya (ECK) had rigged the presidential election. Sporadic eruptions
continued for many weeks, bringing death and destruction to thousands of Kenyans. An
African Union-sponsored Panel of Eminent African Personalities led by former United
Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan brokered a settlement which heralded a
government of national unity between the main political parties and a common
commitment to urgent constitutional reform. The settlement included the appointment of
two commissions, one to examine the violence and the other, the Independent Review
Commission (IREC), to examine the December 2007 Kenyan elections from various
perspectives.
In conformity with its terms of reference (ToRs) IREC now presents its findings and
recommendations, based on its analysis of the legal framework for the conduct of
elections in Kenya, the structure, composition and management system of the ECK and
its organisation and conduct of the 2007 electoral operations. The report specifically
examines the integrity of the whole electoral process, from voter registration and
nomination of candidates through voting, counting, transmission and tallying to dispute
resolution and post-election procedures, deals with the role of political parties, observers,
the media, civil society and the public at large, and comments on the independence,
capacity and functional efficiency of the ECK.
Main findings
Kenya’s constitutional and legal framework relating to elections contains a number of
weaknesses and inconsistencies that weaken its effectiveness. This legislation needs
urgent and radical revision, including consolidation.
The electoral management process as a whole needs revision
During the preparation and conduct of the 2007 elections the ECK lacked the necessary
independence, capacity and functionality because of weaknesses in its organisational
structure, composition, and management systems.
The institutional legitimacy of the ECK and public confidence in the professional
credibility of its commissioners and staff have been gravely and arguably irreversibly
impaired. It lacks functional efficiency and is incapable of properly discharging its
mandate.
The conduct of the electoral process was hampered and the electoral environment was
polluted by the conduct of many public participants, especially political parties and the
media.
There were serious defects in the voter register which impaired the integrity of the 2007
elections even before polling started:
• it excluded nearly one-third of eligible voters, with a bias against women and
young people
• it included the names of some 1.2 million dead people
Serious anomalies in the delimitation of constituencies impaired the legitimacy of the
electoral process even before polling started.
There was generalised abuse of polling, characterised by widespread bribery, votebuying,
intimidation and ballot-stuffing.
This was followed by grossly defective data collation, transmission and tallying, and
ultimately the electoral process failed for lack of adequate planning, staffselection/
training, public relations and dispute resolution.
The integrity of the process and the credibility of the results were so gravely impaired by
these manifold irregularities and defects that it is irrelevant whether or not there was
actual rigging at the national tally centre. The results are irretrievably polluted.
Main recommendations
All political role-players in Kenya should recognise that materially defective elections
accompanied by public violence will remain a feature of life in their country absent a
concerted and sustained commitment to electoral integrity by all Kenyans.
Radically reform the ECK, or create a new electoral management body (EMB), with a
new name, image and ethos, committed to administrative excellence in the service of
electoral integrity, composed of a lean policy-making and supervisory board, selected in a
transparent and inclusive process, interacting with a properly structured professional
secretariat.
Devise, implement and maintain appropriate executive, legislative and political measures
to enable the reconstituted or new EMB to initiate, popularise and sustain a national
commitment to electoral integrity and respect for the inalienable franchise rights of
Kenyan citizens.
Empower the EMB, by means of executive, legislative and political measures properly to
perform the essential functions entrusted to it under sections 42 and 42A of the
Constitution (delimitation and the conduct of elections and associated activities).
Adopt a new voter registration system.
Agree (as part of the constitutional review process) on an electoral system, which puts to
rest the continuous discussion about a new electoral system for Kenya.
Choose and implement the necessary constitutional and other legal amendments to give
effect to whichever of IREC’s recommendations are accepted.
Minority Opinion
Two members of the Commission held a dissenting view on some of the findings
reported in Chapter 6. Their opinions are presented in italics at the end of each of the
relevant paragraphs.

View Full Report – Dialogue Kenya

Minutes compiled by Sally Murunga (smurunga@gmail.com Tel. 0722 218031)

Next meeting: Friday 20/06/08 Time: 9.00 am

Convenor: To be communicated

Venue: Oxfam, Shelter Afrique, 6^th Floor

Minutes compiled by Sally Murunga (smurunga@gmail.com Tel. 0722 218031)

Next meeting: Friday 13/06/08 Time: 9.00 am

Convenor: To be communicated

Venue: Oxfam, Shelter Afrique, 6^th Floor

AMREF’s Deputy-Director General, Dr Florence Muli-Musiime has warned that emergency institutions, both local and international, risk misdirecting their humanitarian crisis response if they are not sensitive to community dynamics that are not always visible in times of upheaval. In a powerful message to hundreds of delegates at the 35th Global Health Council Conference taking place in Washington DC, Dr Muli-Musiime described a ’silent emergency’ that nobody spoke about following the post-election violence in Kenya, whose implications for healing and recovery has more serious implications for post-conflict health and social development than the more widely publicised plight of internally displaced people in the country.

‘When the crisis broke out,’ she said, ‘the focus of the health system was to mitigate the physical injuries, while that of the donor community and emergency institutions was on the Internally Displaced People. But we realised that there was a silent emergency which none of the two groups was looking at – that of thousands of people who were caught up in their own homes, unable to go to IDP camps because they would have had to go through hostile territory to get there, and unable to access health or any other basic services. To make matters worse, they were physically assaulted and sexually abused in their own homes.’

Dr Muli-Musiime one of four panelists in a discussion on how current affairs affect health care in the community, with a specific focus on the recent crisis in Kenya. The others were Dr Sylvester Kimaiyo, Programme Director for AMPATH; MAP International’s Senior Director for was Health and HIV/AIDS Policy, Dr Peter Okaalet; and Dr. Salvador de la Torre, Country Director for the Catholic Medical Missions Board, all based in Kenya.

The purpose of the session, according to moderator Sheila Mitchell, Senior Vice-President at the Institute for HIV/AIDS, Family Health International, was to draw lessons from the experiences of organisations that were working on the ground at the time of the crisis in Kenya and come up with recommendations for what to do in similar situations.

AMREF has worked for many years in one of the areas most affected by the violence and attendant humanitarian crisis – Kibera, a vast informal settlement that is home to close to a million people.

‘Our northern-based partners focused on only a fraction of people in need,’ said Dr Muli-Musiime. ‘For example, only 5,000 of Kibera’s 750,000 people were in the camps. Very few organisations – AMREF, MSF and some faith-based institutions – stayed where the majority of people were. Here, we observed the emergence of significant new health challenges. One of these was gender-based violence, which was systematically used as a tool to promote the political violence. Then there was a total breakdown of the health system, and disruption of household life. People were unable to cross from one section of Kibera to another to access even the most basic of health services.’ This scenario was repeated in all the regions where the violence was intense; the Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western provinces.

‘A very scary phenomenon that is difficult to explain was the psyche of the violence – it had no restraint. In Kibera, when a mob descended on a house, sexual violence was unprecedented and unrestrained: everyone – men, children and women – was raped. In Africa, it is not usual for men to admit that they raped other men, but it happened during this violence. The most frightening aspect was that it was all so silent, a silence that was perpetrated by the media, which was more interested in the bleeding, not where there was hurting and the bleeding was in secret. This was extremely sad.’

HIV and TB programmes were severely affected. Systems that had been established to monitor and track patients collapsed. In Kibera for example, where AMREF had established an efficient monitoring system for TB and HIV patients, the organisation lost track, within the first two weeks, of 70 per cent of AIDS patients and 30 per cent of TB patients registered at the AMREF clinic and with community support groups for drug adherance and household support. Dr Muli-Musiime warned that the fallout from this disruption was certain to erupt in coming months as the effects of missing critical dosages took effect on hundreds of patients across the country.

Countrywide, the crisis had a heavy impact on the health system. Supply was affected between the two groups. Initially, when the crisis broke out, the health system was very quick to react, thanks to the 1998 bomb blast that hit Nairobi, leading to the creation of an emergency response plan. The plan immediately kicked in when the crisis broke out last December. Those affected were quickly evacuated and moved to hospitals, although this was hampered by the fact that medical personnel could not move about freely due to ethnic animosities. Hospitals were also able to respond to the crisis adequately for the first two weeks, but as the fighting continued, they began to run out of supplies, especially surgical equipment and drugs. People were disconnected from the services because of inability to access certain areas, because of being displaced, and the inability of service providers to move into the communities as they had been doing before. This was further complicated by the fact that the health workforce was also a target of the violence depending on their ethnic origin.

‘Our response was to work on both sides,’ said Dr Muli-Musiime of AMREF’s activities. ‘We went into the IDP camps and stepped in to do the things that emergency organisations were not doing, such as water and sanitation – building bathrooms and latrines, providing clean water and keeping the camps clean – as well as providing laboratory services. Within the communities, we responded by reaching out and going where the communities were trapped and unable to get out. This required serious dialogue and negotiation with all the actors, working with households, and creating a presence on the ground. Instead of waiting for the people to come to us, we went to them. We set up mobile clinics in each village, as people were unwilling to seek services in sections of Kibera inhabited by different communities. We also had to negotiate with the communities to allow our staff and government workers to move through Kibera to provide services.

The role of the media

Dr Muli-Musiime expressed great disappointment in the media’s handling of the crisis and of the victims. ‘I was deeply saddened that journalists could be so insensitive to the people they were reporting about. The media needs to report painful incidents in a manner that does not magnify the pain and trauma as a result of exposure, repetition of clips showing wanton violence, or blatant insensitivity, particularly when reporting about sexual violence. When you ask a woman whether she was raped and she is surrounded by her family, she will not tell you the truth because of shame and fear of ostracisation, but they told us in private what they had been through.’

With the increased incidence of violence and aggression in communities, she suggested integration of mental health and gender-based violence into whatever work an organisation is doing. ‘The underlying principle is integration. Let us not create silos – we need to ensure that we look at the spiritual and mental, as well as physical health of the people. Similarly, we need to move away from verticalising the various responses within a crisis based on the interests of different intervention partners including donors. This only ends up creating many parallel, segregated systems within the same communities. The international community is involved in patchwork; we want to create a mosaic.’

The healing process

Dr Muli-Musiime suggested that civil society has a huge role to play in the country’s healing process. ‘We need to reach out to politicians, interact with them, and create avenues for dialogue. We may not always agree with them, but at least we will be talking. We must also learn as Africans to appreciate our diversity, because the friction created by diversity is necessary and is needed to drive social change. We must recognise, promote and celebrate the strengths of different communities. The onus is also on each one of us as individuals. We need to change our actions and attitudes. We cannot wait for the politicians or the government to reconcile us. We need to empower communities to be conscious of the issues that cause misunderstanding, to address them and to find solutions for themselves. AMREF believes that there can be no progress in a community, whether in health or any other field, if the people themselves are not fully involved.’

The panelists emphasised the importance of putting emergency plans in place regardless of a country’s past experiences. ‘Kenya has been a haven of peace in a volatile region, and a refuge for many exiled people from troubled countries in the Horn of Africa and central Africa. Nobody expected anything like this would happen there. It taught us that we must always be prepared, and that we must have a plan in collaboration with other players on the ground.’

The need for coordination, honesty and integrity were also emphasised, as many organisations and individuals were involved in the humanitarian efforts, but there was a lot of duplication of activities, and even exploitation of victims of the crisis.

ReliefWeb

HIGHLIGHTS

- Representative of the Secretary General emphasizes the need to ensure sustainability of the returns and resettlement process.

- Over two thirds of IDPs have left camps and 123 camps have closed since January.

- 84,752 IDPs remain in camps and over 53,330 IDPs settle in transit camps.

- Aid agencies report funding gaps for proposed projects; only 31.8% of the EHRP funded.

The information contained in this report has been compiled by OCHA from information received from the field, from national and international humanitarian partners and from other official sources. It does not represent a position from the United Nations.

I. General Overview

The Ministry of Planning released the Economic Survey for 2008, which reflected a grim economic situation, beleaguered by increased inflation and slowing economic growth. Economic growth is now estimated to have declined to 3.5-4.5% in 2008 whilst the Survey noted that the post-election violence (PEV) had caused USD 3.7 billion in damages and agriculture productivity had declined by 8.1% from the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Meanwhile, the bill for oil imports increased by 18.8% in the past year, further constraining domestic production with higher input costs. Furthermore, the World Bank was cited to have estimated that five million more Kenyans have been impoverished as a result of PEV. In light of these poor indicators, the key determinates of economic recovery outlined in the Survey, included the country’s ability to achieve the following: political stability, rehabilitation of infrastructure damaged in the PEV, construction of new infrastructure and increased regional economic integration in the East Africa Community.

In addition to economic woes, Kenya also rated poorly in the Global Peace Index for 2007-2008, dropping to number 119 out of 140 rated countries from number 91 out of 121 countries in the 2006-2007 Index. The report cited the high rates of homicide, violence, proliferation of arms and the unstable political climate as contributing factors to the declined rating. Indeed, a report by Peace-Net on small arms and light weapons (SALWs) in Kenya, noted that there is an increasing proliferation of SAWLs and that that the availability of SALWs played a significant role in the PEV.

Weapons are reportedly being sourced from Uganda, Southern Sudan and parts of South Ethiopia. The major weapons trafficking corridors are from Koloa Market, Marakwet district to Eldoret, Uasin Gishu district and parts of Nakuru district; from Kitale, Trans Nzoia district to Eldoret; and from Nairobi to Kauru, Molo and finally to Eldoret. Analysts noted that cattle rustling in West Pokot, Marakwet and East Baringo districts has actually declined as youth are engaging in weapons trafficking, a more lucrative activity. There will be a Global Week of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons from 2-9 June; during this week, the Kenya Action Network on Small Arms and Peace-Net will strengthen awareness campaigns in support of non-proliferation.

By-elections for five MPs on 11 June will determine the majority representation in Parliament between the Party of National Unity (PNU) and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Meanwhile debate continues from within the Grand Coalition as to whether some of the youth who protested peacefully during the PEV could be given amnesty; however, the Internal Security Minister has ruled out the possibility of blanket amnesty. Parliament is expected to debate the Truth Justice Reconciliation Commission Bill, which will provide further guidance on the way forward. Meanwhile, a renewed debate on land policy has emerged after the Minister of Lands suggested that all land with a 99-year lease pre-dating 1909 should revert to Government ownership. The policy is reportedly intended to facilitate the redistribution of land, an underlying driver of past conflicts; however, it may face serious resistance from lease-holders.

Full_Report

ReliefWeb

Source: United Nations Human Rights Council

Date: 27 May 2008

UN Expert calls for renewed efforts to protect and assist Kenya’s internally displaced persons as essential to conflict resolution and peacebuilding

Nairobi and Geneva, 27 May 2008 – “At this crucial beginning of recovery, special efforts by the government, humanitarian agencies and the donors are essential if the return of those displaced by the post-election violence is to be sustainable and compatible with international human rights standards. In the absence of substantially increased efforts, we will jeopardize the fragile process of building and restoring of peace in displacement affected communities.” This is the main conclusion of Walter Kaelin, the Representative of the UN Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, at the conclusion of his working visit to Kenya, from 19 to 23 May 2008.

The Representative commended the Government of Kenya, the Kenyan Red Cross, the international humanitarian organizations and the people of Kenya for the effective assistance and support provided to those living in camps since they were displaced by the post-election violence of December 2007 and January 2008. Today, the government’s effort to return the displaced from camps to their fields and homes (Operation Rudi Nyumbani) create particular challenges. These challenges include ensuring that returns are safe and voluntary, providing humanitarian assistance in the areas of return and at the transit sites, and restoring full protection of the IDPs’ human rights in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

“While reconciliation efforts are under way and there is an increased police presence in affected areas, more robust reconciliation measures involving returning IDPs and the local communities must be undertaken to address the underlying causes of the displacement. Local elected officials and political leaders from all sides must demonstrate their commitment to reconciliation. Without true reconciliation and fair transitional justice measures, the risk of renewed violence against returnees remains high”, the Representative remarked. After visiting returnees at transit sites in Molo and Uasin Gishu districts, the Representative expressed concern that despite welcome efforts by the government, the present speed of the return operations has left some returnees without adequate humanitarian assistance, clean water and sanitation, access to education and basic health services, and basic tools to resume farming or other livelihoods. “Returns must be better planned and coordinated if we want to avoid regression into a new emergency situation. We run the risk now that the displaced persons will return to camps and urban areas in increasing numbers because life at transit sites may become unbearable.” The Representative also highlighted the difficult situation of those among the displaced who leave their camps and host families without a place to return to, in particular agricultural workers, tenant farmers, squatters and small businesspersons. These individuals have no real property and lack the means to resume their economic activities and regain self-sufficiency.

The Representative acknowledged the difficulty of transitioning from an emergency phase to a situation in which the displaced can resume their normal lives: “Experiences from other countries indicate that if we do not get this transition right in the next few weeks and months, the lack of durable solutions for the displaced may jeopardize the present process of reconciliation and conflict resolution. Even worse, it could foment a new round of violence. During this critical phase, I am concerned that the lack of funds is hindering humanitarian agencies in effectively assisting the returnees and helping them to regain their livelihoods. I call on the government and the donors to support the necessary efforts to strengthen recovery. These efforts are essential to protect the human rights of the displaced and to build peace in Kenya. For example, the use of constituency development funds and other decentralized funding sources for early recovery activities benefitting all communities, regardless of their vote, would send a powerful message that it is time for communities to reconcile”. The Representative recommended that the government adopt a comprehensive IDP strategy, as well as the laws necessary to implement it. “Kenya’s ratification of the Protocols on IDPs and on property restitution adopted by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region provides a unique opportunity to fully equip this country with the instruments necessary to resolve past and future displacement situations”, he remarked.

In Nairobi, the Representative met with the Minister of State for Special Programmes, Honorable Naomi Shaaban, UN agencies, the Kenyan Red Cross, and non-governmental organizations. He visited Nakuru, Molo, Eldoret and Burnt Forest where he met with local authorities and humanitarian organizations and visited both IDP camps and transit sites for returnees.

Mr. Kaelin assumed office in 2004 and is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to enter into dialogue with governments and international actors in order to enhance the protection of the human rights of internally displaced persons. In support of his mandate, he undertakes working visits and missions, including most recently to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Azerbaijan and Côte d’Ivoire. For more information on the mandate see http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/idp/index.htm

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KNCHR POSITION ON AMNESTY FOR ALLEGED PERPETRATORS OF POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE
I. Introduction
Recently, a debate in Kenya has raged regarding whether persons arrested in the wake of the post election violence should be prosecuted or granted amnesty. These persons comprise mainly youths from Rift Valley, Nyanza, Coast, Central and Nairobi Provinces who are alleged to have committed diverse offences between December 27th and February 28th. There are conflicting figures as to how many youths are being held and the offences they are alleged to have committed. According to a statement attributed to Agriculture Minister Ruto, around 12,000 youths are being held in police and prison custody following the violence. However, the police dispute this figure and claim that less than 1000 people are in custody.
II. The different shades of arguments
1. One argument made, supporting the case for amnesty, is that by doing what the youths are alleged to have done, they contributed to the formation of the grand coalition government and it therefore does not make sense to have the youths languishing in jail while the politicians they ‘fought for’ enjoy power. It has also been argued that holding the youths in custody discriminates against the poor since politicians who mobilized the youths to those actions are themselves enjoying their liberty.
2. Another argument advanced is that ‘host communities’ are unlikely to cooperate with the return of the internally displaced people (IDPs) while their own sons are languishing in jail. It is a compelling argument from the point of view that the situation is still volatile in some of the regions with some locals threatening not to allow the IDPs to return. Indeed violence has broken out since the return of some IDPs in places like Molo. However this argument is countered by those who say that Kenyans have a right to property and to settle anywhere in the republic and the government should not be blackmailed into releasing alleged perpetrators on the pain of communities sabotaging the IDP return programme.
3. A third argument, rejecting amnesty, suggests that granting amnesty to the suspects would encourage impunity and threaten the rule of law. This would be tantamount to abolishing civilized society and going back to the rule of the jungle. This would also encourage organized violence.
III. Amnesty in other jurisdictions
Kenya is not the first country to consider amnesty following violent conflict. Amnesty has been used to avoid expensive prosecutions especially where massive numbers of violators are
involved; prompting violators to come forward who might otherwise have eluded authorities; and prompting reconciliation between offenders and society.
In a number of instances, it has been used in the context of a truth telling process following protracted social conflict. The mandate of the Guatemala Truth Commission for instance prohibited it from having any “judicial aim or effect”. In El Salvador, the release of the truth commission report was answered with immediate passage of a sweeping amnesty law.1 In South Africa, the truth commission was empowered to recommend amnesty to individuals (not groups) who made full disclosure of all the material particulars of their offence which must have been perpetrated to further a political aim.2
Supporters of amnesty seem to borrow from the South African example by arguing that the youths in custody were pursuing a political aim and that their actions helped bring about a more democratic dispensation. This line of argument has however been countered by pointing out that it is not legitimate to use undemocratic means – such as indiscriminate violence directed at civilian population rather than political or military interests – to pursue democratic ends.
Whenever and wherever it has been applied, amnesty has been a controversial feature. Its opponents see it as impunity that encourages lawlessness and leads to the breakdown of a society’s moral fibre. Human rights advocates often object that amnesties repudiate the principles of individual responsibility for criminality. It is difficult to build a society based on the rule of law unless it is understood that everyone is responsible for his or her own acts and that everyone is subject to punishment for violating the law.
The proponents of amnesty on the other hand see it as an important part of a political transition from dictatorial to democratic regimes. In most cases where amnesty is granted, former military dictators are still very influential and would threaten the transition to democracy if they knew that they might end up behind bars.
The injustice of the amnesty law to the victims of human rights violations in the case of South Africa was tempered by the requirement that amnesties would be accompanied by full disclosure and the promise of reparations for the victims. Most of the perpetrators were spared a trial and imprisonment, but only if they acknowledged their individual responsibility. The South African approach represents an innovative attempt both to honour a bargain that permitted a peaceful transfer of power, and to promote the interests of truth and justice, by requiring perpetrators to publicly acknowledge their crimes as a precondition to receiving a pardon.

IV. Amnesty and International Law
While every government has the prerogative to issue an amnesty or to pardon criminal offences or offenders under its domestic law, when the effects of such measures deprive victims of judicial protection that are guaranteed by international instruments to which the state is a party, then the matter can no longer be regarded as purely domestic. According to international law and
1 Priscilla Hayner, Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenge of Truth Commissions, p. 86
2 Chapter 4 of the South African Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act No 34 of 1995
Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, “a party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for failure to perform a treaty. The doctrine of pacta sunt servanda under Article 26 of the Vienna Convention, which establishes that “every international agreement in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith” also reinforces states’ obligations not to interpose their own domestic laws as justifications for non-compliance with international agreements.
The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights called on states to prosecute those responsible for gross human rights violations such as torture and other humanitarian violations. Although the Rome Statute for the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which Kenya is a signatory, does not prohibit amnesties, it provides for the principle of ‘complementarity’, giving both national and international courts jurisdiction over international crimes such as crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, apartheid, torture and other international humanitarian violations.
The duty of states to prosecute perpetrators of human rights violations can also be found in regional and international case law. In the Velasquez Rodriguez case3, the American Court of Human Rights held that the Honduras government was under an obligation to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of gross human rights violations. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has held that amnesty laws in Argentina and Uruguay were incompatible with the American Convention on Human Rights. In Prosecutor v Furundzija4 the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) held that amnesties for torture were null and void and cannot be afforded international recognition. In the Pinochet case5, the British House of Lords held that the ex-Chilean dictator could be extradited to Spain to face charges of torture and crimes against humanity committed during his reign, despite an amnesty law being in force in Chile prohibiting the authorities from prosecuting him.
Proposals for blanket amnesty in other jurisdictions have been roundly rejected by such high ranking officials as the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. In a report to the UN Security Council responding to similar proposals in Sierra Leone, Annan said:
“As in other peace accords, many compromises were necessary in the Lome Peace Agreement. As a result, some of the terms which this peace has been obtained, in particular the provisions on amnesty, are difficult to reconcile with the goal of ending the culture of impunity, which inspired the creation of the United Nations Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia, and the future International Criminal Court. Hence the instruction to my Special Representative to enter a reservation when he signed the peace agreement stating that, for the United Nations, the amnesty cannot cover
3 American Court of Human Rights (series C) no.4, para. 165 (1988).
4 IT-95-17/1-T (10 December 1998).
5 R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magisrate Ex Parte Pinochet (1998) 3 WLR 1456 (HL).
international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law [.…].”6

V. KNCHR POSITION AND ADVICE
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights recognizes the fact that the violence that took place after the disputed election results were announced took place in extraordinary circumstances and that there is need to balance this fact with the right of victims to judicial remedy for violations committed against them. In the circumstances, the Commission advises as follows:
1. That the Police and the prosecution authorities should make public the exact number of people being held in custody, undergoing trial and being investigated as a result of the post election violence. There is also need to categorize the seriousness of the offences with which they are charged.
2. That persons being detained without charge should be produced in court without further delay or released forthwith.
3. That in the interest of truth and justice, no blanket amnesty should be allowed. Blanket amnesty would violate the rights of victims to life, property and equal protection of the law, which are all guaranteed by the Constitution and in international law. Indeed one of the agreements signed at Serena Hotel on 4th March 2008 provides: “No blanket amnesty will be provided for past crimes. Individual amnesty may be recommended… in exchange for the full truth….”
4. That amnesty can be considered for certain minor offences but must be granted only upon individual application and within a legislative framework. To qualify for amnesty, alleged perpetrators must make full disclosure of the act for which they are applying for amnesty and tell the whole truth which might lead to the arrest and prosecution of the financers and planners of the violence. Before amnesty is granted, the views of the victims should be sought and taken into account.
5. That no amnesty should be granted for international crimes, such as crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, torture and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. The Serena agreement also states, “… provided that serious international crimes (crimes against humanity, war crimes, or genocide) are not amnestied, nor persons who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes covered by the Commission”
6. That prosecution of alleged perpetrators of post election violence should be fast-tracked. This might be done through the establishment of special courts for this purpose.
7. That while the mechanism for amnesty is being legislated, suspected perpetrators, who may not be facing charges of serious human rights violations, should be bonded to keep the peace.
8. That amnesty should apply across the country without discrimination and based purely on the type of crimes committed.
6 Seventh Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone S/1999/836, 30 July 1999. Para 55.
9. That the law should be applied equally, and robust investigations into the activities of politicians who incited the violence and the conduct of police who used excessive force should continue and all the culprits brought to justice without discrimination.
Finally, the Commission wishes to restate its position that violence must never be rewarded and that while reconciliation is important, holding perpetrators of violence to account is crucial if we are to combat the culture of impunity.

Dowload the report — knchr-position-on-amnesty-

Minutes compiled by Sally Murunga (smurunga@gmail.com Tel. 0722 218031)

Next meeting: Friday 06/06/08 Time: 9.00 am

Convenor: George / Dekha

Venue: Oxfam, Shelter Afrique, 1^st Floor

Kwani Trust, in partnership with the Coalition of Concerned Kenyan Writers (CKW) are pleased to announce the release of a new book, After the Vote; Dispatches from the Coalition of Concerned Kenyan writers on May 29, 2008

CKW are a coalition of the foremost writers, thinkers, philosophers and artists in the country, who came together in response to the 2007 election and its aftermath. With more than 80 members, CKW has created an online forum in which to share and critique each other’s writing, with the explicit purpose of exploring and articulating solutions to the disaster that befell Kenyans.

This book features non fiction stories by five writers: Alison Ojany Owuor, Andia Kisia, Tony Mochama, Simiyu Barasa and Kalundi Serumaga. The book will be available at all leading bookshops and supermarkets.

It is the first in a series of publications by Kwani Trust to be released this year in response to the post election crisis and the ensuing violence in Kenya. Since its inception in 2003, Kwani Trust has been at the forefront in publishing contemporary creative fiction, non fiction and poetry.

For more information about After the Vote, please visit www.kwani.org or contact Annette Majanja on +254 – 2 – 3745210 or email info@kwani.org

###.

Title: After the Vote

Featured writers: Kalundi Serumaga, Alison Ojany Owuor, Andia Kisia, Simiyu Barasa, Tony Mochama

Genre: Creative Non Fiction

ISBN: 9966 -7008 -1 -1

RRP: Ksh. 200

Availability: All leading bookstores

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Note: The last fact sheet was dated May 7, 2008.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

- The Government of Kenya (GOK) continues to facilitate the return of approximately 350,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from temporary shelters in camps and host communities to pre-crisis lands. Between May 2 and 22, the number of IDPs residing in camps decreased from 158,891 to 95,454 and the number of camps declined from 157 to 124, according to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS).

- Relief agencies report that the majority of returnees are farmers moving back to agricultural areas. Some IDPs, including some small business owners and landless individuals, continue to indicate a reluctance to depart camps without government assistance to help reestablish livelihoods. In addition, ongoing security concerns and the perceived need for further reconciliation is hampering returns in some areas.

- The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the GOK are working to register IDPs in host communities and return sites in order to provide targeted humanitarian and livelihood assistance to these populations. Registration is scheduled to be complete by June 30, although population movements are complicating the process.

- USAID/OFDA’s Early Recovery Team continues to monitor the returns process throughout affected areas of western Kenya, facilitate coordination and information sharing among U.N. and relief agencies, and work with implementing partners to support sustainable returns and early recovery.

FY 2008 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED TO DATE

USAID/OFDA Assistance to Keny: $9,223,232
USAID/FFP(4) Assistance to Kenya: $56,960,000
State/PRM(5) Assistance to Kenya: $14,943,105
Total USAID and State Humanitarian Assistance to Kenya: $81,126,337

CURRENT SITUATION

- USAID/OFDA staff assessments indicate that the pace of returns has slowed significantly since the initial surge immediately following the launch of the GOK return operation on May 5. Early returns consisted primarily of agricultural IDPs in targeted areas of central Rift Valley Province, including Molo in Nakuru District and Cherangani in Trans Nzoia District. USAID/OFDA staff report that approximately 65 percent of the original 8,000 IDPS at Molo Saw Mill camp remained displaced as of May 21. Relief agencies operating in the Molo area, as well as in Nakuru and Kissii area camps, report that remaining IDPs largely comprise business people and landless persons reluctant to leave without securing GOK compensation to reestablish livelihoods.

- On May 16, the GOK began facilitating the return of a limited number of IDPs from large urban camps in Rift Valley Province to pre-crisis areas. To date, relief agencies report that approximately 1,000 IDPS from Eldoret Showground, 238 IDPs from Naivasha Stadium, and 60 families from Nakuru Showground have left the formal IDP camps and move closer to pre-crisis home areas. However, USAID/OFDA staff reports that humanitarian conditions and overall population totals remain stable in large urban IDP camps.

Map: Kenya: Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #14 (FY 2008)

Notes:

(1) While exact estimates of the total population affected by post-election violence vary, the World Bank estimated that 2 million Kenyans may be driven into poverty as a result of the ongoing complex emergency.

(2) The GOK National Disaster Operations Center (NDOC)

(3) NDOC reported deaths include only those confirmed by area hospitals and morgues.

(4) USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP)

(5) U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM)

Full_Report

Source: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Reliefweb

Following Kenya’s December 2007 general elections, hospital staff had to face a massive, and unexpected, influx of victims of violence. Now, during a series of ICRC-organized workshops geared at peace-time emergencies, they are discussing the lessons learned. The ICRC’s Iolanda Jaquemet reports.

“Even if the patient has his bowels hanging out, it does not necessarily mean this is the most urgent case on hand, as long as he is in stable condition.” The 20 members of the audience listened attentively to Dr Mauro Dalla Torre, the ICRC surgeon, as he illustrated the principles of triage.

Later, they looked with calm, clinical interest at a picture showing a little boy with horrendous leg wounds, used by Dr Dalla Torre to illustrate “the high energy transfer” caused by a bullet.

The participants’ poise was not surprising: they were surgeons, nurses and clinical officers from five hospitals in Nyanza province, Western Kenya. During two days in April, they swapped experiences at an ICRC-organized workshop on “emergency preparedness and treatment of wounds due to violence”.

The Kenyan Ministry of Health and the ICRC had agreed to put to good use the lessons learned during the post-electoral violence in early 2008, in order to help hospitals face an influx of casualties due to peace-time disasters – such as a bus overturning or a plane crashing at take-off.

29 December, the wounded flood in

“Mass influx of casualties” was nothing new to Dr Dalla Torre’s audience. “On 29 December, in a matter of hours, we received 88 patients with injuries. On a normal day, on average, we get 30 patients in 24 hours!” recalled Dr Dan Raburu, chief surgeon at Nyanza Provincial General Hospital, in Kisumu.

That day, Nyanza, like all other health facilities in the country, was taken by total surprise. “No-one had anticipated that the elections would not be peaceful,” added Dr Raburu. He himself was on leave, like many other members of the staff. Others fled the town during the following days, or did not dare report to work in the face of violent mobs. “In the beginning, we hardly had a quarter of the normal staff,” he remembered.

Access to the hospital was a nightmare, for both patients and personnel. “We soon discovered that the safest way to come was by ambulance, but even like that, I personally had to plead to get through,” said Dr Raburu. At least one ambulance was set on fire.

Pamela Olilo, who as a clinical officer was receiving the patients into the hospital, recalled the long days: “For safety reasons, we had to come to work at dawn, and could not leave before 10 pm.”

Surviving on tea

“At the beginning,” said Dr Raburu, “we would stay in the hospital three days in a row, without changing clothes.” Food was an issue, for patients as well as for their caregivers, who sometimes had to survive on strong tea. Fortunately, kind neighbours donated juice and bread.

Little by little, though, he said, they got better organized, formed teams and learned to react quickly to treat the incoming casualties. More staff, as well as material – like the badly-needed intravenous fluids and dressing kits – came from Nairobi. International agencies donated other essential material.

An additional challenge for hospital staff was to remain neutral in the face of what Dr Raburu calls “tribal inclinations”: to treat everyone impartially, whatever his community affiliation and regardless of any outside pressure. Reporting to work was not easy when you left a spouse and children at home, not knowing what could happen to them during the day, Dr. Raburu said. His own private practice in town was burnt to the ground.

Staff still absent

Today, things have normalized. Except, that is, the staff levels. “Forty staff members have never returned; only a few have been replaced to this day. And there was a shortage even before the crisis,” says Jane Owuor, a nursing officer. She, together with Dr Raburu and Pamela Olilo, represents Nyanza Provincial General Hospital at the workshop.

The team said they found the workshop very useful – after all, the ICRC can draw on its broad experience, having treated over 100,000 war wounded worldwide in 30 years. Dr Raburu is already preparing a report for his management, with suggestions for improvements in the way the hospital is run.

Altogether, four workshops are taking place, with a total of a 80 participants expected. Apart from Kisumu, the venues are Nakuru, Machakos, and Nyeri.

Success is guaranteed, to judge by the enthusiasm in Kisumu, where eager participants worked on oblivious to the lunchtime gong in order to prepare a contingency planning scenario.

REliefWEb

Minutes compiled by Sally Murunga (smurunga@gmail.com Tel. 0722 218031)

Next meeting: Friday 23/05/08 Time: 8.30am

Convenor: To be communicated

Venue: Oxfam, Shelter Afrique, 6^th Floor

Introduction

Amnesty International has a number of serious concerns about the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission Bill of Kenya (the Bill), published on 9 May 2008 and due to be submitted for debate in Parliament. (i)

Amnesty International recognizes the decision to establish the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission in Kenya as an important first step towards ensuring accountability for past human rights violations and guaranteeing that victims of those violations know the truth, obtain justice and are provided with full reparation.

The organization welcomes the provisions in the Bill intended to ensure that the establishment and functioning of the future Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (the Commission) comply with international law and standards. Such provisions are discussed below (see para1).

However, Amnesty International is seriously concerned about several aspects of the Bill, which do not comply with international law, standards and best practices. These include:

- The provisions allowing the Commission to recommend amnesty for gross human rights violations such as torture, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial executions (para2);

- Other provisions creating obstacles to prosecutions of gross human rights violations (para3);

- The procedure for nominating Kenyan Commissioners, which does not ensure their independence, impartiality and competence (para4);

- The lack of provisions for the establishment of a comprehensive, long term and effective protection programme for victims and witnesses (para5);

- The lack of provisions authorizing the Commission to recommend a broad range of reparations for victims (para6);

- The lack of full consultation with civil society organizations, victims, human rights defenders, women, children, and persons belonging to minorities and vulnerable groups on the establishment, mandate and powers of the Commission (para9).

The establishment of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya was decided by the parties to the Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation, which defined its general framework in an agreement on 4 March 2008. (ii)

According to the Bill, the Commission’s main tasks are: establishing the facts about human rights violations committed between 12 December 1963 and 28 February 2008, recommending the prosecution of suspected perpetrators and reparations for the victims and providing a forum for reconciliation (section 5). In particular, the Commission would: investigate the violations, as well as their context, causes and circumstances; identify the individuals and institutions responsible for the violations; identify the victims; educate and engage the public; and make recommendations for reparations and prosecutions, as well as institutional, administrative and legislative reform (section 6).

This briefing is a constructive critique to the Bill, intended to contribute to continuing discussions by government officials, parliamentarians, civil society and other interested parties.

Notes:

(i) A Bill for AN ACT of Parliament to provide for the establishment, powers and functions of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and for connected purposes (The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission Bill, 2008), Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 34, 9 May 2008.

(ii) Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation, Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, mediated agreement, 4 March 2008 (4 March agreement).

Full_report

ReliefWeb

AMREF has launched a global appeal to raise $1.5m to provide health care to victims of the post-election violence in Kenya that has left nearly 500 dead and over 300,000 people living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the country.

AMREF already works in the places affected by the recent events such as Kibera, Kisumu and Eldoret. In fact, as Africa’s leading health organisation and having worked in Kenya for 50 years, AMREF is uniquely placed to intervene in the humanitarian crisis and protect the health of those affected.

“In most of the affected communities, people had very little to start with but the violence destroyed many homes and livelihoods. Families have fled their homes in fear, and thousands of people are living in makeshift camps with rudimentary water supplies, sanitation and health care. Many more are trapped in their own homes, afraid to venture out to seek health services,” said Mette Kjaer AMREF’s Kenya Country Director.

AMREF in partnership with the Kenyan government is applying its specialist medical skills and health sector experience in the most affected areas, including Kibera, one of Africa’s largest informal settlements. AMREF is launching three new mobile clinics to provide essential health services. Though AMREF’s Community Health Centre in Kibera, which was serving 97,000 people before the crisis, has re-opened, few people are coming for services due to the prevailing tension. AMREF Director General Dr Michael Smalley said: “The mobile clinics will be deployed in different areas, providing essential health services. This is back to AMREF’s roots. If people can’t come to us, we will go to them.”

The outreach will be extended to Kawangware, Dagoretti and Baba Dogo in Nairobi which are home to over 1 million of the most affected communities. AMREF’s work will focus on the needs of women and children, providing maternal health services, immunisation, health education, counselling, and HIV/ AIDS and TB care and treatment.

At the Jamhuri IDP camp in Nairobi, which is home to 4,000 internally displaced people, many have to share public toilets and water supply is sporadic. AMREF is concerned about the possibility of disease outbreak and is providing clean water, sanitation facilities and laboratory services. The laboratory will test anyone who gets sick so they can be diagnosed and treated quickly.

According to AMREF Deputy Director General Florence Muli-Musiime, though the worst part of the violence seems to be over, there is still great need. “People continue to suffer. Many are traumatised and living in make-shift conditions. The money raised will support AMREF’s appeal in Kenya. If we raise more money than we need the extra will go towards supporting our existing programmes in Kenya and other parts of Africa,” she said.

Donate to AMREF online and your donation will go directly to assist those affected.

Enquiries

To find out how you can help contact:

Bob Kioko – Communications Manager AMREF HQ on
email:bobk@amrefhq.org
Tel:+254 20 6993111 or Cell: +254 735 546440

Betty Muriuki – Writing Manager
email: bettym@amrefhq.org
Tel: +254 20 6993327, Cell: +254 726 261495

ReliefWeb

Kenya Post-Election Emergency Response: Food Assistance Sector

Situation Overview

Kenya Red Cross(KRC), Government of Kenya(GoK), Office of the President/Special Programmes, and WFP are coordinating the single-food-pipeline and food assistance activities in Kenya, building on the existing food assistance coordination mechanisms in Kenya.

According to Government statistics, the ‘Rudi Nyumbani’ (Return Home) operation recently launched has so far seen an estimated 125,000 persons resettled by the Government; actual numbers are lower. Population in camps is reducing, but a significant group mainly of traders, landless persons and other vulnerable groups without land to return to are likely to remain in the camps; Population in 134 IDP camps stands at 113,065.

WFP/KRC has agreed to provide the returnees with a one month ration during this transition. However, lack or coordination and consultations during the exercise have in the past week resulted in reported incidences of persons leaving the camps without food allocations as camps were hurriedly closed posing difficulties in assessing and establishing locations where these persons moved to supply them with the necessary food requirements.

The general security situation in the country was calm. Few incidents of road banditry, hijacking of public transport means, robbery and violence against passengers were reported over the week, but in no way related to the post election crisis. There was reported tension in Mandera and along the Kenya/Somali border as the Kenyan security forces beefed up their presence after the killing of the Islamic Court Union militant commander in Somalia last week. In Mt. Elgon, military operations to neutralize the sabaot land defence force are ongoing; yesterday 18 May, 2008, the leader of the force was killed by police.

GoK, KRC, WFP, and partners have jointly delivered 13,354 mt of assorted food. WFP stocks are in place at four operational hubs (Eldoret, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nairobi), in addition to GoK and KRC stocks, to respond to identified needs for the current distribution. WFP will face pipeline breaks for cereal shortfalls in June, and pipeline breaks for all commodities from July onwards.

Humanitarian Response

The movement of returnees is ongoing at a slow pace in the post election areas, and has not been without resistance by some of the communities being resettled. In some instances, there have been reported incidences of increment in the camps, a situation attributed to security reasons and an outcry for compensation from the Government by returnees. GoK/WFP/KRC continues to provide food requirements to the resettled persons at the point of departure, although in some cases as highlighted above, some of the returnees have left camp without food resulting in returns to the camps. WFP will however continue to provide the returnees with food assistance after resettlement to assist with recovery.
KRC/OCHA/UNHCR are arranging for registration of IDPs movement from the camps to allow for pre-planning for assistance in destination areas of IDPs. The results of this are expected in the coming month.

Under the IASC Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan, WFP appealed for additional USD 84.35 million needed to cater for IDPs and populations affected by short rains failure in arid and semi-arid districts until the end of 2008, and an additional appeal for food requirements of 140,695 mt of food commodities. (Inclusive of USD 84 million under the IASC appeal). These food commodities are not a part of the KRC April appeal for additional funding.

Nyanza and Western Provinces

A total of 1,496 mt food has been distributed in Nyanza and Western Provinces from 9 January through end of April. In the month of May, some 18,778 beneficiaries have received 320 mt of assorted food commodities as at 15 May 2008.

The 6th round of distribution commenced on 12 May 2008, with a total 3,428 persons targeted in 12 camps; of these, 2,958 persons were fed with 53.55mt of assorted food items. Distribution of food to returnees in Homa bay and Busia commenced on 13 May 2008 with a total 7,778 persons and 133.818mt distributed. Distributions for Siaya was completed on 9 May 2008 with 10,421 returnees fed in the month of May and 175.055 mt distributed. Training of KRC volunteers on food distribution was done in Rachuonyo, Nyando, Busia and Homa bay. Plans are underway for the resettlement of IDPs in Nyanza.

North Rift

A total of 211.065 MT of assorted commodities was dispatched and distributed to IDPs returning to their farms from Burnt Forest; ASK Kitale, Bungoma and Geta farm area. The 5th round distribution was finalized in Trans Nzoia on 8 May, 2008. A total 86,244 persons served with a monthly ration at 64 sites with the exception of 135 persons from PCEA Munyaka where verification process had not been complied with. Planning for the 6th round of distribution is ongoing, though likely to be hampered by the resettlement of IDP’s to farms that is ongoing posing challenges especially with regards to targeting and prioritization of camps within the area. The resettlement programme has so far seen a total 17,875 internally displaced persons moved and 260 mt distributed as at 14 May 2008.

South Rift

A one month ration was distributed to 7,663 IDP’s across Molo and Kuresoi districts. All 13 camps in Kipkelion district are now closed down. In Molo, movement is expected to continue during the week. The 6th distribution is however complete in the two districts. Of the 9,327 initial IDP’s in the camps across Molo and Kuresoi districts, 7,663 have been moved to farms within the districts. All returnees received a month’s food ration. Challenges are envisaged in verification and registration of the IDP’s per farm.

Nairobi & Central

There were no reportable activities in Nairobi slums and its’ environs. There are 4,617 IDPs in camps in Nairobi and the environs (Limuru). Kenya Red Cross (KRC) is providing them with food aid. This week KRC requested WFP to provide 81 Mt of food aid to support this group. Discussions are ongoing on how to cater for this group.

REliefWeb

Kenya Inter-Cluster Team Situation Report No. 23, 08 May 2008: Kenya Post-Election Emergency Response; Cluster – Food Assistance

Situation Overview

Kenya Red Cross(KRC), Government of Kenya(GoK), Office of the President/Special Programmes, and WFP are coordinating the single-food-pipeline and food assistance activities in Kenya, building on the existing food assistance coordination mechanisms in Kenya.

The KRC statistics as of late April showed 157,585 IDPs in 182 camps and an additional 130,000 in host communities. However, with the recent launch by the Government of ‘Rudi Nyumbani’ (Return Home) operation, these figures are expected to change rapidly. Camp registers are expected to be helpful in tracking beneficiaries’ movement.

The security situation has returned to calm in most of the country. Highways were accessible and no post-election related violence was reported. However, a few incidents of road banditry, hijacking of public transport means, robbery and violence against passengers were reported end of last week. The incidents were by no means limited to post-election crisis areas. UNON security mission team is currently visiting post-election crisis areas to review the security situation and recommend a security phase level.

Humanitarian Response

GoK, KRC, WFP, and partners have jointly delivered 12,301 mt of assorted food. Adequate WFP stocks are in place at four operational hubs (Eldoret, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nairobi), in addition to GoK and KRC stocks, to respond to identified needs for the current distribution. WFP will face pipeline breaks for cereal shortfalls in June, and a dramatic pipeline break for all commodities in July.

Under the IASC Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan, WFP appealed for additional USD 84.35 million needed to cater for IDPs and populations affected by short rains failure in arid and semi-arid districts until the end of 2008. In addition, WFP has prepared a new project document for an emergency operation from July 2008 through March 2009 which will continue to cater for drought victims in the north and people affected by post-election violence in western parts of Kenya. WFP is appealing for 113.5 million, and the total food requirements are 122,128 mt of food commodities (this is inclusive of USD 84 million under the IASC appeal). Food commodities are not a part of the KRC April appeal for additional funding.

Nyanza and Western Provinces

A total of 1,496 mt food has been distributed in Nyanza and Western Provinces from 9 January through end of April. In April alone, some 17,700 beneficiaries received 256 mt of assorted food commodities.

Out of the latest dispatch of 40 mt of CSB for supplementary feeding for the most vulnerable groups, 7.5 mt were for Chewele, Bungoma and Mt. Elgon locations, as requested by UNICEF.

Training of KRC volunteers who will be responsible for distributions to returnees in Homabay, Busia and Nyando was conducted this and last week.

A distribution plan has been made for 27,400 returnees served out of Kisumu hub. Dispatches are planned for the second week of May.

North Rift

A total of 155 MT of assorted commodities was dispatched and distributed in Burnt Forest, Shikhendu, Ngarua, Boror, Gitwamba, Explosion, Kesogon and Eldoret showground. The dispatches also include food for various health institutions in the North Rift for supplementary feeding for the most vulnerable groups.

The 5th round distribution is still underway and was planned to be concluded by Monday 5th May. However, the on- going resettlement programme by the Government is interfering with the planned food distributions and causing delays.

So far 64 out 65 camps/sites have been covered with either a monthly ration or a two weeks ration. PCEA Munyaka was remaining pending register verification.

South Rift

A total of 68 mts of assorted food commodities distributed to 8,019IDPs in Molo, Narok and Kipkelion.

Nairobi & Central

WFP completed its fourth and last round of distributions in Nairobi and Central in the second half of April. The general food security situation in these areas does not warrant further food assistance, however, UNICEF and NGO partners, through shortly planned nutritional surveys, will inform whether supplementary feeding for the most vulnerable populations is necessary.

REliefWeb

HIGHLIGHTS

- Government operation continues to return IDPs.

- Permanent Secretary of Special Programs reports that 114,000 displaced

persons have returned to their pre-crisis homes since the end of the conflict.

- Peace and Reconciliation Framework finalized by the Early Recovery Cluster.

- Provisional nutritional survey results for Turkana, Samburu and Marsabit Districts show increase in malnutrition rates

The information contained in this report has been compiled by OCHA from information received from the field, from national and international humanitarian partners and from other official sources. It does not represent a position from the United Nations.

I. General Overview

Discussions are ongoing within the Grand Coalition Government to determine the structure and respective powers of the President, Prime Minister and Vice President. The Government composition is intended to ensure a genuine coalition is formed, with the representation required to arbitrate disputes.

The Prime Minister traveled to Kisumu District in the Nyanza/Western Region, where support for his party, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), is strong. During his tour, the Prime Minister stated that a new constitution would be prepared within the year. Land legislation and past grievances continue to drive conflict throughout Kenya; as a key element of Agenda Item Four, which will include longer-term solutions to the drivers of conflict, the new constitution is expected to address land legislation.

A Review of the Post Election Crisis Damage and Needs Assessment of the Land Sector by the Development Partners Group on Land in Kenya yielded many findings that must be addressed through the anticipated National Land Policy to ensure sustainable peace. Specifically, the report cites several circumstances that IDPs have faced in the absence of a clear land policy: displaced peoples could lose their land or speculators/evictors could take the land; infrastructure may have been destroyed which had formerly ascribed rights to access the land; those who have lost their sources of livelihoods may not be able to pay their loans; property values may have fluctuated due to the insecurity caused by violence, depreciating the value of some lands; and those displaced from informal settlements may not be able to claim non-formal rights to their previously occupied settlements upon return. Without intervention and consideration in the formulation of a clear land policy, it is anticipated that these scenarios could lead to long-term displacement for some IDPs, and could potentially precipitate future conflict if left unresolved.

Full_Report

KENYA: Financing boost for small farmers

Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN

The cost of food is rising, placing a disproportionate burden on the poor who spend most of their income on consumables

NAIROBI, 6 May 2008 (IRIN) – Small farmers and agricultural enterprises are the main beneficiaries of a financing partnership launched on 6 May to help them break out of poverty and commercialise farming.

“We must insulate our people from the indignity of hunger and starvation,” James Mwangi, the chief executive officer of Equity Bank, one of the partners in the deal, said in Nairobi at the launch of “Kilimo Biashara” (Commercialising Farming).

According to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the partnership represents an innovative solution to the farmers’ credit crunch, with the aim of boosting food security and creating jobs in rural areas.

AGRA, with Equity Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, signed an agreement for a loan facility of US$50 million (Ksh3 billion) to speed up financing for at least 2.5 million farmers and 15,000 agricultural enterprises across the country.

The loan facility will operate against a “cash guarantee fund” from AGRA and IFAD to reduce part of the risk of lending by Equity Bank, AGRA said.

“Farmers are the backbone of our economy; they deserve access to affordable credit that will enable them to make a profit and continue Kenya’s trajectory of growth,” Mwangi said.

Akin Adesina, AGRA vice-president in charge of policy and partnerships, read a speech on behalf of the AGRA chairman, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in which he said the government still faced many challenges despite the formation of a new cabinet.

“There are lots of internally displaced persons. Many have lost their lands and ability to produce food,” Annan said. “Vast areas of the country now experience the challenges of getting access to affordable seeds and fertilisers. Unless urgent measures are taken, food insecurity will deepen.

“The world is in the midst of a food crisis. Kenya is not exempted. The food crisis has several causes, including high energy prices, diversion of food grains to bio-fuels, climate change, and low grain reserves on the global market – the lowest it has been in several years.

“Many go hungry. Children skip meals, malnutrition is rising and real wages are falling due to the high price of food,” he said. “There is an urgent need to mitigate these impacts. Food subsidies are justified to stem the tide, but only for the short term. We need to recognise that the real cause of the food crisis in Africa is low and declining agricultural productivity.”

For a sustainable solution, he said, medium to long-term measures were needed to raise agricultural productivity in Kenya and other African countries; “that requires a green revolution“.

We need to recognise that the real cause of the food crisis in Africa is low and declining agricultural productivity

“Now is the time to have bold policies that support farmers to be able to afford farm inputs and produce food to feed granaries in Africa,” Annan said. “Now is the time for governments to implement bold pro-poor policies to achieve a green revolution – one that ensures sustainable and dramatic increases in agricultural productivity by poor farmers. Now is the time.”

Poverty strategy

President Mwai Kibaki said Kilimo Biashara was one of the government’s strategies to improve the plight of poor farmers and to help eradicate poverty.

He said the government had taken measures to improve agricultural production across the country, including reviving collapsed farmers’ institutions, doubling the budgetary allocation for the ministry of agriculture, improving agricultural extension services by providing technical and personnel assistance, as well as establishing commodity-specific grants to sectors such as coffee and tea.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Kenya wanted to move away from dependence on outside help with regard to food production.

“A hungry person is an angry person; we want to deal with the hunger so as to be able to comprehensively deal with the anger,” he said.

Agriculture Minister William Ruto said his ministry had identified key areas to make agriculture “profitable, commercial and competitive”: access to farm inputs; doubling the ministry’s research budget; certification of seed; and increasing farmers’ access to credit.

“If you finance agriculture, you enable farmers to produce more food; if farmers produce more food, we are likely to realise lower food costs; with lower food costs, we will be able to tame inflation; and if we tame inflation then our economy will grow.”

IRIN

KENYA: Govt raises funds, resettlement ongoing despite hitches

Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) at a camp in Eldoret, Rift Valley Province

NAIROBI, 13 May 2008 (IRIN) – The Kenyan government has raised Ksh1.46 billion (US$22.4 million) of the Ksh30 billion ($462 million) it says it needs to resettle at least 350,000 people displaced during the post-election crisis.

“The magnitude of the destruction caused by the violence was enormous; we will therefore require about 30 billion shillings to meet the full costs of resettlement, including reconstruction of basic housing, replacement of household effects, as well as rehabilitation of community utilities and institutions destroyed during the violence,” President Mwai Kibaki said on 12 May during a funding drive in Nairobi.

Kibaki helped to raise Ksh457,272,129 ($7 million), with donations mainly from government ministries and individual businesses, for the Humanitarian Fund for Mitigation of Effects and Resettlement of Victims of Post-2007 Election Violence.

On 5 May, the government launched a resettlement plan targeting 158,000 IDPs in camps across the country, which has seen some 85,000 IDPs resettled so far.

Kibaki said the programme started with those living under difficult conditions in various camps and that the next phase would involve those who sheltered with relatives and friends.

“I want to emphasise that the ongoing resettlement programme which commenced early last week is purely voluntary, and the government will not coerce people to return to their homes,” he said.

Resettlement concerns

However, the international community and some IDPs have expressed concerns over the lack of consultation with stakeholders before the launch of “Operation Rudi Nyumbani” (Operation Return Home).

Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN

President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga toured Rift Valley Province ahead of the government’s resettlement programme

“I am aware of the fears and reservations expressed by some of the displaced people with respect to the ongoing resettlement programme,” Kibaki said. “I want to assure them that the government has put in place adequate security arrangements for their safety. Moreover, the current resettlement initiatives are the outcome of intense reconciliation efforts by grassroots peace committees and the local leaders.”

In a humanitarian update covering 1-9 May, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on 12 May that “due to the sudden and unexpected nature of the operation, serious concerns have been raised about the lack of consultation and participatory planning for returns.

“Some piecemeal requests for support from the international community are coming from line ministries at district level, emphasising the need for greater consultations and development of a more comprehensive return plan.”

OCHA said some coercion had been reported in specific camps by local authorities.

“Furthermore, the involvement of the military in the operation had added psychological pressure on IDPs to return in areas like Trans Nzoia and Molo,” OCHA said.

The IDPs’ ability to make informed decisions about their choice to return may have been compromised by the sudden and expedited nature of the operation and conditions in places of return, the agency reported.

More help for IDPs

“In the interim, the international community is focusing on how humanitarian aid can reach those who leave camps and may set up transitional camps or subsequently experience secondary displacement from places of return,” OCHA said. “Without adequate warning of the government resettlement operation, take-home rations were not prepared for the first to depart from many camps; quick efforts to prepare such resources are under way.”

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre says the displacement is complex and multi-faceted, and revolves around unresolved issues of land and property, as well as the struggle for control of political and economic resources.

The centre says while different displacement situations are distinct, they share common trends, and any effort to address them requires a holistic understanding of the country’s political history as well as the socio-economic and cultural dynamics of affected communities.

Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN

A boy drinks rain water at a camp for the displaced in Eldoret, Rift Valley Province

Rift Valley hosts the highest number of IDPs, 134,399 as at 1 May, according to figures from the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). Before “Operation Rudi Nyumbani”, there were 158,124 IDPs in 157 camps across the country, the KRCS reported.

Food concerns

Fragile food security was exacerbating conditions for the displaced, stated OCHA, “while it also links to the sustainable return and resettlement of IDPs. In East Africa, the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] estimates that two million people are at risk of food insecurity, one-fifth of these as a result of humanitarian crises. Kenya is among these countries. A food deficit is expected in Kenya due to the global food shortages, increase in food prices and reduced production, primarily because of displacement.”

It said the fist planting season for maize was coming to a close yet many IDP families had yet to cultivate their lands, while farmers who were able to plant would not have the resources to provide second rounds of fertiliser to their crops.

“Furthermore, drought is expected, primarily in the arid and semi-arid land areas,” OCHA said, because of poor short rains from October to December 2007.

However, OCHA reported that the government had taken measures to improve the food security outlook. “In addition to the fund established [recently] for loans to farmers [ the ministry of agriculture has made tractors available in the North Rift for tilling land and has provided seed and fertilisers to farmers,” OCHA said.

IRIN

KENYA: IDPs in Central reluctant to return to Rift Valley

Photo: Waweru Mugo/IRIN

Samuel Ngumo Kamau and wife, Teresia Muthoni, and their three-week old baby

RURING’U, 23 May 2008 (IRIN) – Samuel Ngumo Kamau cannot dispel the images of burning houses and Kenyans killing each other from his mind – a key factor in his decision not to return to his home of nearly four decades in Burnt Forest area in Rift Valley Province.

Kamau, a father of 10, who hails from Kamuyu Farm in Burnt Forest, has little trust in the government, which he accuses of “watching and doing nothing” while armed gangs violently ejected him and thousands more from their rich agricultural lands soon after presidential election results were announced in December 2007.

Having experienced the same tortuous treatment every election year since 1992 when the region repeatedly bore the brunt of tribal violence, he feels “enough is enough”.

“In 1992, they [tribal warriors] burnt down mine and my neighbours’ houses, killed and injured many people and stole our livestock and property,” Kamau told IRIN. “We fled and later returned but the same community was at it again in 1997 and 2002.”

If he had his way, Kamau says, he would rather the government compensate him with an alternative piece of land away from the violence-prone area. In early May, the government launched an ambitious programme to resettle up to 158,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had been living in camps since the violence erupted.

Kamau lives at an IDP camp in Ruring’u Stadium in Nyeri, the main town in Central Province. He is one of thousands of IDPs who have sought refuge in their so-called ancestral homeland in Central.

Claims of partiality

Security personnel, including regular and administration police and the local chief, Kamau says, failed to offer his community protection, siding with the aggressors instead. Without any options, thousands set off on a long journey to nowhere.

“We sought shelter in the school compound following an orgy of killings and plunder the night the [election] results were announced,” he said. “The following day, hundreds of youths armed with bows, arrows and machetes, and I think guns, followed us there … the police who turned up said they could do little for us. Indeed, some openly told us to leave as the mob shared livestock and other property we had salvaged.”

Asked whether he would return home now since the government’s launch of Operation Rudi Nyumbani (Operation Return Home), Kamau said: “Go back where? I do not feel like going back to Burnt Forest. Only death awaits us there.”

Photo: Waweru Mugo/IRIN

Relief food being distributed at the Ruring’u stadium in Nyeri

His view was shared by many IDPs at the Ruring’u camp. With reports of violence and even deaths among returnees, many, like Kamau, are digging in, urging the government to resolve their security concerns and resettle them elsewhere.

Samuel Mugoya, chairman of the Ruring’u IDP camp, said: “When I tried going back to my farm in Solai [Nakuru District] in March, a gang of six armed men invaded my home and I was lucky to escape. I do not think there will be much change in the hostilities. I can forfeit my one acre in Solai in exchange for government land elsewhere so that my wife and children will not risk death at the hands of tribal militias.”

With at least 350,000 displaced at the height of the post-election violence, and more than 1,200 killed, Mugoya is urging the government to give all IDPs start-up capital and construction material, seeds and farm implements, besides compensation for losses incurred in the chaos.

His biggest fear is that the worst is not yet over and people who return home, especially in the Rift Valley, risk tribal-related attacks from “host” communities.

Compensation

The deputy Central Provincial Commissioner, Wenslas Ong’ayo, however, ruled out any government acquisition of IDP land in exchange for alternative land in “safe havens”.

Speaking in Nyeri, Ong’ayo said: “We haven’t reached that level; we do not want to Balkanise this country by resettling particular communities only in certain places. IDPs must beware of conmen going round purporting to represent government and registering people for alternative resettlement in Laikipia District.”

The Kenya Red Cross Central region’s relief field officer, Martin Muteru, said as at 13 May, the region was hosting at least 83,000 IDPs, most of whom were living with friends and relatives. Others are in camps in Ruring’u, Ol Kalou, Ndunyu Njeru, Nyaituga, Ndundori and Kirathimo.

Muteru said the resettlement programme was voluntary. However, there have been claims of forced returns. “A majority of IDPs in the region are not ready to go back at all to their farms in the Rift Valley. They wish to dispose of their land and suggest the government acquires their property [land] and in turn settles them elsewhere,” he said.

Photo: Waweru Mugo/IRIN

Sharing distributed food at the Ruring’u IDP camp

Muteru also called for dialogue between the various communities to reassure IDPs returning home of their security. However, said Kamau: “I don’t think it will be possible for us to forgive one another … how do I react when I come across someone herding my goats or milking my cows?”

Faced with a looming food crisis, the government is keen to have the IDPs return home and resume nation-building, especially in the Rift Valley, the country’s bread basket. A large number of IDPs across the country lived in the Rift Valley, the largest province.

Voluntary resettlement

Ong’ayo said the government wanted IDPs to return home “and live a fruitful life; however, we are not forcing people to go back”.

The government is helping those returning home by providing food and non-food items.

While saying that those keen to return would get help, Ong’ayo was non-committal regarding full compensation for victims of violence.

However, reactions to the government’s position have been mixed. Some IDPs feel that once they leave the camps for their homes, they may not receive any compensation; hence many are reluctant to leave.

“Compensation will be a token, something to start you off … the government will also provide shelter, items like utensils, but not necessarily equivalent to what was lost,” Ong’ayo told IRIN.

IRIN Africa

KENYA: Concern over increase in illegal arms after post-poll violence

Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN

A boy plays with mud pistols in Nairobi’s Mathare slum: The post-election violence in January and February led to an increase in illegal guns in circulation across the country

NAIROBI, 26 May 2008 (IRIN) – Very little has been done to check the increase in illegal guns in parts of Kenya that were hardest hit by the post-election crisis, an official of a peace and development NGO said on 23 May.

“The small arms problem is bigger at this point than at any other time in our country’s history, especially owing to the post-election violence, which created new markets for illegal arms more than ever before,” Mutuku Nguli, chief executive of the Peace and Development Network (Peace-Net), said. “The danger is these arms may not necessarily be in use currently but could be used for the wrong reasons in the near or distant future.”

Nguli said efforts to check the increase in arms had begun in parts of Rift Valley Province, with the expected induction on 28 May of 105 reformed Pokot warriors in West Pokot district. This, he said, follows the surrender of arms this month in West Pokot. Nine guns were recovered in the district in April, he said.

Nguli added that the arms surrender and induction of reformed warriors were some of the activities planned to mark the Global Week of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons from 2-9 June.

Nguli said a PeaceNet survey conducted in the town of Eldoret in May indicated that trade in small arms in the region reached its peak in February, the second month of violence sparked by the disputed presidential elections held in late December 2007.

Studies have found that at least 100,000 illegal guns are in circulation.

Nguli said the post-election violence contributed to the illegal arms’ market taking on a new dimension, with the opening-up of new markets in the North and Central Rift Valley.

The PeaceNet survey found that the price of an AK-47 rifle on the illegal market was at least Ksh25,000 (US$385) in the North Rift; 35,000 ($540) in Marakwet district; and up to 50,000 ($770) in East Pokot district.

These illegal markets source the guns from Uganda’s Karamoja region, Southern Sudan and parts of South Ethiopia, according to PeaceNet.

The survey also found that communities in the Rift Valley had supplies of other weapons, such as bows, poisoned arrows, spears, machetes and knives.

“Bows and arrows were being manufactured locally and were delivered to the frontline fighters,” PeaceNet said. “This practice went on unabated and where arrests were made, it was perceived as ordinary crime.”

Photo: Julius Mwelu/IRIN

The post-election violence opened up new markets for illegal guns, especially in Rift Valley province, which bore the brunt of the violence

The Kenya Action Network on Small Arms (KANSA), citing a baseline assessment undertaken in 2005, says at least two million Kenyans had access to guns, with people in the Eastern and Northeastern provinces possessing the highest proportion of firearms. In these provinces, it says, arms availability is linked to cattle rustling, proximity to the borders of Ethiopia and Somalia, and actual or perceived inability of the government to protect citizens.

Kenya was one of 10 countries in the Horn, East and Central Africa regions that signed the Nairobi Declaration on Small Arms and Light Weapons in 2000. This declaration later led to the binding Nairobi Protocol on Small Arms, which entered into force in 2005. Kenya officially launched its National Action Plan for Arms Control and Management in July 2006.

Kenya burnt up to 8,000 guns in Nairobi on 15 March 2007, its fourth national destruction of illicit small arms, an event coordinated by the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons and the National Steering Committee on Peace-building and Conflict Management.

IRIN Africa

AOB

O A noble downstream initiative would be the commencement of countrywide prayer meetings for peace building. This would be a time for prayer and reflection of what happened especially at the church where many people got burnt. It would be a day of repentance and atonement for the atrocities committed.

Minutes compiled by Sally Murunga with assistance from Annette Majanja (smurunga@gmail.com Tel. 0722 218031)

Next meeting: Friday 16/05/08 Time: 8.30am

Convenor: To be communicated

Venue: Oxfam, Shelter Afrique, 1^st Floor