Spotlight 2012 : The Hague Hyenas?

In September 2011 the second phase of a process that political pundits argue will invariably shape kenya's political future commences: the confirmation of charges hearings on the kenyan cases at the hague. How exactly will the hague process impact next years elections? Will the two presidential aspirants among the six kenyans in Luis Moreno's cross hairs make it to the ballot? Who will benefit from any political misfortune that could befall the two? On tonights spotlight 2012 KTN's Newton Ndebu seeks to find out who are the Hague Hyenas ?

Spotlight 2012: Beyond The Declarations

It is still more than one year to Kenya's next Presidential election and already at least 12 Kenyans have declared their intention to vie for the top seat. On our spotlight 2012 segment, KTN's Political Affairs Editor Newton Ndebu through our analysts seeks to separate the serious contenders from the pretenders and finds out why we are witnessing this frenzy of declarations.

Battle for AG

Pressure is mounting on the president and prime minister to move quickly on the appointment of Kenya's next attorney general. The ministry of justice and the parliamentary constitution implementation oversight committee have warned that the continued delay in naming Wako's successor could be detrimental to the implementation process. But as KTN's Newton Ndebu reports, the stakes are high and the appointment could be another battle ground in the grand coalition government

Suspend Libya relations, US to Kenya

Suspend Libya relations, US to Kenya
From: standardgroupkenya | Jul 1, 2011 | 361 views
Kenya has rejected a bid by the United States government to pressure Nairobi into kicking out Libyan diplomats loyal to the Gadaffi regime. The us wants Kenya establish diplomatic relations with the rebel transitional national congress. Through its Nairobi embassy, the American government has sent out at least two letters demanding that Nairobi cuts off ties with Gaddafi's government. KTN's Newton Ndebu reports.

Mutava Musyimi One-On-One(Interview)

Gachoka member of parliament Mutava Musyimi is slated to formally launch his presidential bid on Saturday. Mutava made a name for himself during his tenure as the general secretary of the national council of churches of Kenya where he spearheaded the ufungamano initiative in the clamour for a new constitution. There are, however, those who argue that his charisma has waned since he was elected to parliament. Mutava spoke to KTN's Newton Ndebu earlier today

Challenges of a Nationhood Pt 4:Sudan Feature

Even before south Sudan attains full independence citizens from neighbouring countries are rushing there in droves, seeking to take advantage of the new opportunities the virgin country has to offer. According to the Kenyan consulate in juba there are over 40,000 Kenyans working and living in juba. In the final part of our challenges of nationhood feature, KTN's Newton Ndebu brings to you details on the scramble for south Sudan.

S/Sudan: Challenges of Nationhood Part 3

Even before it attains independence the government of south Sudan is facing allegations of grand corruption and ethnic domination. In the third part of our special feature on south Sudan, KTN's NewtonNdebu reveals the bad habits the new nation has apparently picked from its neighbours.

Challenges of Nationhood pt.2

SUDAN’S PRESIDENT OMAR AL BASHIR IS NOW THREATENING TO SHUT DOWN PIPELINES CARRYING OIL FROM SOUTHERN SUDAN. AL BASHIR MADE THE THREAT ON NATIONAL TELEVISION A DAY AFTER KTN REVEALED HOW THE STALEMATE OVER OIL RESOURCES IS FUELING VIOLENCE IN ABYEI AND NORTH-SOUTH BORDER REGIONS. IN THE SECOND PART OF THE CHALLENGES OF NATIONHOOD FEATURE TONIGHT, KTN’S NEWTON NDEBU BRINGS YOU A FACE-TO-FACE ENCOUNTER WITH REBEL LEADER GEORGE ATHOR AND OTHER RENEGADE GENERALS WHO HAVE TAKEN UP ARMS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF SOUTHERN SUDAN EVEN BEFORE THEIR NATION ATTAINS INDEPENDENCE.

S/SUDAN CHALLENGES OF NATIONHOOD - part1

Africa's newest country is on the brink of a full-blown war barely a fortnight to its declaration of independence. Fresh violence in the contested Abyei region has spilled over into at least two border states, increasing animosity between north and Southern Sudan. KTN's Newton Ndebu, who has just returned from Sudan, exposes the real issues behind this round of violence. Here is the first segment of a series on the challenges of nationhood.

Besigye One-on-One

ImplementationParalysis

High stakes in influencing appointments to the judiciary, the independent electoral and boundaries commission and other high profile offices is at the heart of the wrangles dogging parliament's justice and legal affairs committee. The constitution implementation commission is raising the alarm that the wrangling could greatly undermine parliament's ability to effectively execute its mandate in implementation of the new constitution. KTN's Newton Ndebu reports

Cosmetic Relief?

The government has moved to curb rising public anger of the cost of fuel and announced a 30% and 20% cut on excise duty levied on kerosene and diesel respectively. According to finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and his energy counterpart Kiraitu Murungi, the move is aimed at helping the public shoulder the burden of high fuel prices. But as KTN's Newton Ndebu reports the move is seen as cosmetic as it translates to just two shillings relief at the pump. view full story here

Of Fuel , Politics and Cartels...

The National oil corporation is on the spot over allegations that it bungled importation of two consignments of oil earlier in the year resulting in the current crisis. The corporations management today came out fighting but were hard pressed to fend off the notion, that the defenders of public interest have become a conduit for cartels and vested interests. view full story here

Interview with A.G Amos Wako on Kenya's ICC cases

In an interview on the 22nd of August Attorney General Amos Wako revealed that he had contracted two senior international lawyers to work on Kenya’s admissibility challenge on the two cases involving six Kenyans before the International Criminal Court . He also denied allegations that he had frustrated previous efforts at filing the challenge at the ICC.
VIEW INTERVIEW

Kenya files admisibility challenge

Kenya has formally commenced a legal challenge on the international criminal court's jurisdiction over the two cases against six kenyans at the hague. Attorney general amos wako has confirmed that two international lawyers contracted by the government filed the challenge at the hague today. The government wants the pre-trial chamber that is considering allegations against the six to rule that the cases are in admissible before the icc
watch full story

KENYA LAUNCHES ADMISSIBILITY CHALLENGE ON OCAMPO 6 CASES

                                                         PRESS STATEMENT

This is to confirm that Counsels, Sir Geoffrey Nice Q.C. and Rodney Dixon, Barrister-at-Law have today, on behalf of the Government of Kenya, filed an application pursuant to Article 19 of the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), respectfully requesting the Pre-Trial Chamber to determine that the two cases currently before the ICC are inadmissible before the I.C.C.

(S. AMOS WAKO) E.G.H, F.C.I.Arb, S.C, M.P
ATTONERNEY-GENERAL

31st March, 2011

Raila: Post Election Violence Was Planned!

Prime minister Raila Rdinga now says that he is convinced the 2008 post election violebce was both organised and systematic. Raila says the killing of an estimated 1,300 people during the chaos indcates that the bloodletting was pre-planned. The odm leader says those responsible for the chaos must be brought to book. This position is however a clear contradiction of his previous position, where Raila has repeatedly maintained that the violence was spontaneous, sparked by public outrage over the electoral commissions mishandling of the polls. Click here to view full story.

divided orange

The orange party is divided over yesterday's announcement by some party officials that it will hire legal counsel for three of the Ocampo six. While one group of mps have supported the proposal, another one led by the party's secretary general Anyang Nyong'o maintain that the party would only engage lawyers to represent its interests and not individual suspects at the Hague. This came as Eldoret north MP William Ruto, who is one of the suspects, said he does not need ODM's help. Click here to view video

KENYANS ARE LIKE ENO: GRAND AT REACTIONS BUT...

Education Minister Prof. Sam Ongeri’s obstinate stance against calls for his resignation in the wake of the multi million shillings FPE scandal is both ill advised and poorly strategized as far as real politic is concerned. With the wealth of experience he boasts from the Kenyan political arena, he should know better than that. Consistent denials and allusions to real or imagined political witch hunts do little to salvage one’s integrity or win public sympathy. If only he looked around the cabinet, he is seemingly so desperate to remain part of, he would realise that the corruption tag in Kenya is not necessarily a career ender, but more an initiation to the ‘big boys’ lobby comprising the who is who in Kenya’s politics. Is there one among Kenya’s senior politicians that does not have a pending integrity issue? Indeed if Ongeri was keen enough he would learn from his colleagues that he can easily transform the dark stains from this encounter to appear more like the scars of a warrior who fought and survived a tough political battle.


Indeed if Ongeri sought the advice of his predecessor, a fellow professor, he would be reminded that having been indicted by a commission of inquiry into Kenya’s grandest corruption scandal neither killed his presidential ambitions not stopped him from serving in the plum internal security docket he currently holds . The magnitude of the Goldenberg scandal was not mountain enough to deter his ascent to the leadership of the President’s party PNU.

Ongeri would benefit from the experience of his colleague in the energy docket, who did not die and was not politically extinguished by the repeated playing of John Githongo’s all famous recording of his alleged cover up attempt in the Angloleasing Saga. Kiraitu would probably ask him if he ever heard of the Triton oil saga…. What happened to that storm in a tea-cup?

The son of Maria would share his latter day revelation that stepping aside is not akin to suicide, he would tell him how much folly his statement that he would “rather die than resign”, turned out to be, seeing that he is now enjoying his position at the trade docket. Ongeri would be consoled to find out that the senior British government officials who kicked off this stint of misery actually paid Kimunya a courtesy call, during their recent tour of the country.

Surely if only he consulted around, Ongeri’s misery would look much less of an ogre if he found out from the man at treasury how he resolved a 9 billion shillings ‘typing error’ and has since continued to be the presidents blue eyed boy.

He would still be in good company if he moved across the political divide to ODM. He would certainly be happy that he was not the agriculture minister sometimes last year… Certainly Bill would share with him some tricks on how to resolve such issues… I mean was there ever a maize scandal?

If Ongeri could bury his fury and listen more intently to the Prime Minister’s friendly advice he would hear the re-assurance that he is actually not facing the sack. Stepping aside is just the fastest way to resolve this matter…. let the storm die off and you will be back. The PM would surely know how to handle this matter; do you hear anybody asking any questions about any mollases? or even the alleged involvement of his family members and officials from his office in the maize saga? The Kenyan public are happily satisfied that these were nothing more than cheap politics.

If he is still in doubt that he can survive this storm he probably should have a long chat with his boss. Who probably would remind him that, the public regularly needs to hear the man at the top talk tough, but that has never kept him from reinstating his allies after the storm dies off. “We know how to deal with this things...in less than ten years Goldenberg is out of the way, Anglo Leasing is out of the way, The Grand Regency saga is out of the way, The maize and oil Sagas are out of the way…etc etc …we are so good at this that nobody got arrested in the process…. Can you imagine even Kamlesh Pattni, whose story every Kenyan knows was so well sanitised he actually ran for parliament in 2007…take it easy Sam this is a small matter.”

Ongeri and his PS would be well served to heed the words of one local commentator, who observed that “Kenyans are like ENO, they react so explosively when the scandal breaks, but the reaction dissipates as soon as the water settles”

WHY THE FOREIGN FRENZY OVER KENYA

Is Kenya opening the door too wide to foreign intervention (meddling) that may in the years to come return to haunt the nation’s right to self determination? Since January 2008 the country has been the subject of concerted international attention: initially in the form of urgent intervention to salvage a fast spiralling situation and in subsequent months in the form of pressure to keep the grand coalition government together and push for essential reforms: these variously administered through blunt threats and coercion many a times celebrated by a public clearly hungry for change.

The latest is the US governments’ announcement of a Visa ban slapped on a ‘high ranking’ government official over his alleged continued frustration of reforms in the country. This announcement was delivered by the US top diplomat on African affairs, assistant secretary of state Jonnie Carson in Nairobi, and widely praised by sections of the local media, as America’s first big step to fighting impunity in Kenya. The Kenyan media barely a month ago was in similar fashion all over itself in its reportage of former UN secretary General Kofi Annan’s trip to Nairobi and his ‘harsh verdict’ on Kenya’s reform record and subsequent ‘reprimand’ on the grand coalition principals: President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Any body familiar with Kenya’s media, will not be surprised to witness a similar spectacle next week, when the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo is expected in Nairobi for a meeting with the coalition government’s top leadership. Is there merit to this foreign frenzy on Kenyan issues and the ultimate prominence it is accorded by the Kenyan media? This is a question that scholars and pundits could debate endlessly and write myriad books while at it.

What is clear however right now is that the patriotism of Kenya’s leaders and indeed the Kenyan people has been called to question. Watching this drama from a distance one is left to wonder are Kenya’s leaders totally lacking in patriotism, that they must be pushed by foreigners to do what is right for their country? Are they so out of touch with the reality on the ground and aspirations of the people they lead that Johnnie Carson has to leave Washington DC to come and spell it out for them?

This foreign frenzy also raises serious questions about the Kenyan public. Are Kenyans so helpless that if foreigners do not come to their aid their aspiration for change will never be achieved? Are the sons and daughters of the Mau Mau and the gallant freedom fighters who kicked out the colonialist forty five years ago a weaker breed, incapable of pushing their leaders to bring the change they desire? In spite of the high levels of literacy and heightened civic awareness could it be that Kenyans today completely lack ideas and the know how to bring their elected leaders to account? Or is it simply that unlike their fore fathers, this generation of Kenyans acutely lack the patriotism requisite to free their country.

One must concede that if convenience is the criteria, it is much easier to listen to Kofi Annan, Jonnie Carson and other increasingly vocal foreign envoys at press conferences tell Kenya’s leaders what Kenyans want rather, than to mobilise Kenyans to voice their demands to their elected leaders. However in this embrace of convenience the Kenyan people may just be giving away their right to self determination and respect as a sovereign people. The foreign voices may sound like music in the ears of the Kenyan today, since their demands resonate with the public interest, but encouraging them on is embracing the derogatory position of the ‘less evolved being’ ‘big brother’ would not mind Kenya settling for.

By allowing, even cheering on, as foreign powers and their representatives bully and push your elected leaders around, the country sets a precedent that could in the future expose it to blatant plunder and abuse. What will stop ‘big brother’ from using the same condescending tone, threats and tactics when seeking to dictate how and who benefits from the exploitation of oil in Kenya, should the ongoing hunt for oil bear fruit. History is replete with lessons that where the fervent advocates of democracy put in their all in marketing this philosophy, it is soon followed by a bill that has everything to do with the economic bottom line. Is it not common knowledge that western democracy and cut throat capitalism are twins rarely sighted far apart?

Kenyans and their leaders must rise to the occasion and cease abrogating their national duties to foreigners who though acting in brotherly good will, wield under the veil vested interests. It is good that one brother help another in his time of need, I would however be twice as cautious if I know that the helping hand is from ‘big brother’ who secretly eyes my wife.