Kenya
Kenya violence flare up, no cause for major concern, yet
(eTN) - After reaching a landmark political agreement under the guidance of former UN supremo Kofi Annan, the two main protagonists in Kenyan politics seemed well on the way towards a joint government. However, presidential election loser, former detainee and alleged coup supporter of 1982, Raila Odinga, seems to have welshed on his consensus on the composition of a new government, reached some days ago after a meeting with President Mwai Kibaki.
This appears to be due to complaints from Odinga’s own camp for not being “firm enough.” Yet this attitude, after the late December elections, had driven Kenya to the very brink of a major ethnically-inspired civil war.
Not getting further concessions from President Kibaki, Odinga swiftly brought his goons out again in one of the main Nairobi slums, a sharp reminder of his true ilk and the ongoing potential for incited violence. No tourists were affected, however, and international pressure is said to be piling up again on Odinga to get real, settle down and get on with rebuilding Kenya’s economy and community relations hand in hand with President Kibaki.
In a related development, rioters also damaged the main railway line to Uganda again, which passes through the slums, just weeks after it was repaired at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. This and, some sources say, deliberate disruption of the railway, will again cause concern in Uganda and the African hinterland nations depending on the railway from the Mombasa harbor functioning at all times.
Odinga supporters are said to be incensed about alleged support from the Uganda government to President Kibaki, reportedly that was never proven and for which no shred of evidence was found in the past, when the same Odinga loyalist crowds claimed that Ugandan security forces were deployed in Kenya against them.
Meanwhile, the Ugandan tourism fraternity has once again expressed their support for their Kenyan counterparts along the way to recover from the post-election violence business slump.
Comments
Dear Friends,
We at Pori Tours and travel http://www.poritours.com are at last glad that the political situation is at best for over a decade.The two principals have compromised and we do have a government comprising of the two camps.We would at best learn from the experiencewe have had rather than point out who did what where and why.While appreciating the different approach of the two principals we must not foprget that politics is all about the most power held.
We look forward to resumption of business,beyond normal in order to catch up the misused time and resources over the last four months.Indeed forcus on getting the tourist confidence so as to visit this part of the world well favoured with natural attractions.Comments by Pori Tours Director.
Dear Sirs,
I must reject the comments otherwise made. They are apologistic and do not help the people in Kisumu which died and those burned in a church. Odinga had the Kikuyus chased to their death by his crowds and now these comments make him almost a saint?
My parents were in exile in Kenya in 1982. Their house in Nairobi West was looted and we were terrorised. This Odinga should be in court for treason over that coup. Those who remember also his father are shocked how far he came. Both were detained for subverting the state. Imagine they had capture power, the communists would have triumphed not only in Ethiopia but also Kenya. People have short memories. We in Uganda know all about dictators and can smell them from far. Me for one am happy that the Professor gives his views like he does. Keep going Prof. and do not fear those few who think otherwise.
But in fairness, some other views should be allowed even if they are so wrong, because that is what freedom is all about. Remember, Odinga in power will become a dictator too and you can then regret your mistakes while you suffer quietly, because if you then speak so freely terror and worse will come to your doors.
Yours faithfully
Mukasa Fred M.
Regarding the article on unrest in Kenya by Wolfgang Thome, I am a former resident of Kenya for 10 years and have friends and family living there with whom I am in contact.
From the information I have received it seems that the power sharing agreement has broken down mainly due to the fact that Kibaki and/or his advisers have not followed through on actual power sharing of the key ministries as agreed.
Clearly one-sided articles like the one by Wolfgang Thome do harm to the situation by increasing polarization. I would like to respectfully request that perhaps this correspondent has such strong views on one side that he should refrain from writing further about the situation in Kenya.
This is a serious and delicate situation that warrants utmost respect and care in how it is presented to the public.
Thank you.
A Rift Valley Railways official in Kampala had confirmed, that the cost of the main line damages between Mombasa and the Uganda border and to other railway installations damaged or destroyed by Odinga supporters in the immediate aftermath of the elections in Kenya (January / February 2008) indeed ran into 'hundreds of thousands of US Dollars' - without being more specific on the exact cost to the railway corporation or what else, besides the actual repairs, would be included in this count.
These comments should have gone with my earlier comments:
As the report states, there was damage to the permanent way (rail track) on its route through the Kibera slums in Nairobi. The track is unfenced and unprotected in that area. In the earlier part of the year the damage was caused by vandals under the guise of political protest. That was also probably the case in the more recent occasion. Such actions, whatever the reason, are unacceptable and extremely dangerous.
However, to the best of my knowledge there is no evidence it cost 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' to repair the earlier track vandalism. Neither Rift Valley Railways (the operator) nor any other offical body quoted such a figure. It is more likely the repair costs were less than $50,000.
Blatant hyperbole does not help a story such as this.
It appears that your Uganda correspondent, Wolfgang Thome, is not fully aware of the real situation of the current political impasse in neighbouring Kenya, or he has been badly briefed on it.
Thome's comments do not reflect an accurate picture of the situation on the ground. More correctly, the position is that BOTH leaders (Kibaki and Odinga) have failed to progress the Peace Accord concluded under the guidance of Kofi Annan on 28 February last. This failure by the politicians is widely acknowledged by experienced local and international journalists, diplomats, business people, and a broad cross section of the wananchi (the ordinary people).
However, opinions and observations recently made by foreign governments (eg. British Foreign Secretary Miliband and US Sec of State Rice, EU Commissioner Louis Michel), the diplomatic community, and foreign investors in Kenya, the majority urge Mwai Kibaki to ignore the pressures currently being put on him by senior members of his PNU party and their related business interests (who are all, naturally, unwilling to cede power), and dissolve his existing ‘temporary’ Cabinet, and enter into a one-on-one dialogue with Raila Odinga to appoint a new Cabinet which gives equal balance in the distribution of portfolios to the coalition partners (PNU and ODM), 50/50, as required under the Accord.
Publishing patently unbalanced comments does not do justice to your readers. I write as a close observer of the situation, but with no interest in either political party, only with a strong desire for a lasting peaceful settlement of the situation in Kenya.
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