Africa Horn |
Hundreds arrested, nine dead following Kenya protests |
2023-07-14 |
[AlAhram] Kenya's interior ministry on Thursday said more than 300 people had been arrested over anti-government protests that left nine dead as the opposition announced fresh demonstrations next week. There were Police have been accused of a heavy-handed response and criticised for using tear gas against civilians, including at a school, causing dozens of children to be hospitalised. Opposition leader Raila Odinga's Azimio alliance said it would stage its next demonstration on Wednesday, vowing to keep up the street action until cost of living pressures come down. "Our protests will resume on Wednesday, 19th July 2023," Azimio said, hours after the interior ministry announced a raft of arrests linked to the demonstrations. "Acts of lawlessness... can neither be accepted nor tolerated", Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said. "There is no relationship between lowering the cost of living and destruction of critical infrastructure built using public funds. That is hooliganism, lawlessness, and a recipe for anarchy," he said. "Security officers are directed to enforce the law firmly and decisively and deal with all criminals, including economic saboteurs, looters, and vandals, who are destroying...private property." He said 312 people "who directly or indirectly planned, orchestrated, or financed" the protests had been arrested and would be charged, including a member of parliament who was later released. "The search for more culprits is on," he added. The unrest has claimed nine lives, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), an independent watchdog created by parliament, which said the figures were shared by the police. The rights body on Thursday called for an investigation into reports of looting, vandalism and incidents of police brutality, warning the country was "teetering on the brink of anarchy". "It is essential for leaders across the political spectrum to prioritise the interests of the nation and its citizens over partisan interests," it said, urging the two sides to find a solution. Police said one man died in festivities between rival groups in Sondu on the border of Kericho and Kisumu, the latter an Odinga stronghold. Six people bit the dust when police gave the demonstrators a whiff of grapeshot in the towns of Mlolongo and Kitengela on Nairobi's outskirts, and in Emali along the highway to Mombasa. Two others were killed in Migori and Busia in western Kenya, KNCHR said. CHILDREN HOSPITALISED In Nairobi's Kangemi slum, dozens of children were hospitalised, some unconscious, after teargas was fired near their classrooms. The National Gender and Equality Commission, a state authority, strongly condemned the incident. "School children... who should be shielded from such chaos, were tragically caught in the crossfire," it said, deploring the vandalism and rights abuses linked to the protests. Odinga initiated a string of anti-government rallies this year after losing to William Ruto in presidential elections last August -- a vote he claims was "stolen". Last week, protests in several cities also saw six people killed. Already hit by soaring inflation, many Kenyans say the country can ill afford the disruption caused by the demonstrations. Each day of protest costs the economy an average of three billion shillings ($21.8 million), according to an estimate by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance. Last month, Ruto signed a new finance law aimed at generating more than $2.1 billion for the government's depleted coffers. The Finance Act provides for new taxes or increases on basic goods such as fuel and food and mobile money transfers, as well as a levy on all taxpayers to fund a housing scheme. |
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Africa Subsaharan |
Kenya Finds 3 Venezuelans Breached Its Election Servers Illegally, top court orders recount in 15 polling stations |
2022-09-01 |
[Breitbart] The Kenyan national police service’s investigative unit, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), allegedly determined in recent days that three Venezuelan nationals had illegal access to Kenya’s electoral commission servers five months ahead of the country’s general election on August 9, during which a disputed presidential vote occurred, Kenya’s the Nation newspaper reported Monday. The Nation reported the development on August 29 loosely citing an alleged “forensic analysis” by Kenya’s DCI that it said it had “learnt” of, though the newspaper did not cite specific or anonymous sources nor did it state how it obtained the alleged information. The newspaper reported: The three Venezuelans who were arrested upon landing in Nairobi two weeks before the General Election had not been contracted by the electoral commission but had access to its servers five months before the disputed polls, a forensics analysis shows. The Nation said that the Kenya DCI’s alleged investigation into the Venezuelans’ access to Kenya’s electoral commission servers “is currently among various electoral fraud matters being investigated by the DCI, whom the Azimio coalition wants to be summoned to the Supreme Court to testify in their petition.” The newspaper referred to Raila Odinga, who was the presidential candidate for Kenya’s opposition Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition party in the country’s August 9 general election. Odinga is currently contesting the results of the August 9 presidential vote. The chairman of Kenya’s election commission, Wafula Chebukati, declared current Kenya Deputy President William Ruto the winner of the presidential election on August 15 with 50.49 percent of the vote, though “[f]our out of the seven commissioners disowned the result,” Reuters noted on August 30. Odinga alleged that the vote’s result was fraudulent immediately after the final tally was announced and has since submitted an official petition to Kenya’s Supreme Court contesting the election’s result. Kenya’s Supreme Court is expected to issue its verdict on the matter on September 5. Odinga on August 22 specifically alleged that Venezuelan nationals had interfered in Kenya’s latest presidential election. Speaking to a crowd of his supporters, Odinga said his legal team had “enough evidence to show foreigners, those people from Venezuela, were brought into the country to try to steal our victory but it won’t be possible.” Odinga cited the alleged interference of Venezuelans in Kenya’s August 9 presidential in his official Supreme Court petition, according to the Nation. “In the petition, Mr Odinga’s legal team argues that three Venezuelans had the ability to remotely access and manipulate [the Kenya] IEBC [Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission]’s data,” the newspaper noted on August 22. The Nation published an excerpt of the petition, which read: Combined with the capability of the foreigners and anyone in possession of the contents and information in the electronic devices to remotely access and manipulate the entire IEBC data; and the manifest discrepancies and irregularities manifest during the General Election and the tallying, verification of count and declaration of the presidential election result; it is the inevitable conclusion that not only was the presidential election not secure, it is not verifiable, accountable, neutral or transparent. IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati had claimed that the three Venezuelan nationals recently arrested by Kenyan authorities were “contracted by IEBC to provide support on behalf of Smartmatic International, the company contracted to provide electoral management technology by the commission,” the Nation recalled on August 29. “Detectives who have been on the case since July now believe that was not the case, and that the three worked for a different entity linked to the North Eastern politician,” the newspaper noted on Monday, referring to an unnamed Kenyan politician. Kenyan police arrested the still-unnamed Venezuelans in question at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in late July after authorities found Kenyan election materials stored inside their luggage. The Venezuelans had flown to Nairobi from Istanbul, Turkey. “Smartmatic, the Greek company that won the tender to run the all-encompassing Kenya Integrated Elections Management Systems (Kiems), also insisted that three Venezuelans arrested at the airport with election kit stickers in their luggage were their full-time employees through a subsidiary company,” the Nation noted on August 22. Kenya’s top court orders recount of election results in 15 polling stations [ShabelleMedia] Kenya’s Supreme Court ![]() on Tuesday ordered a recount of votes in 15 polling stations across the country as a dispute over this month’s presidential election results continues. A petition was filed by 77-year-old Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua to nullify the results of the Aug. 9 elections in which William Ruto was declared as president. The top court ordered that the recounting exercise be concluded by Thursday, and also directed the election commission to give the petitioners access to any server(s) at the tallying center for storing and transmitting voting information. A high-level delegation of African jurists arrived in Kenya on Monday to observe court proceedings that kick off on Wednesday. A bench of seven judges will preside over the appeal, which must be decided by Sept. 5. If they order the cancellation of the result, a new election must be held within 60 days. Five-time presidential candidate Odinga rejected the "flawed" election results, calling them a "major setback" to democracy in the East African country that could trigger a political crisis. He had filed legal challenges in 2013 and 2017 as well. Ruto won nearly 7.18 million votes, 50.49% of the total, while Odinga got 48.85% or over 6.94 million votes. |
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Africa Horn |
Al Shabaab lists a raft of demands from Kenya after Ruto election |
2022-08-29 |
[ShabelleMedia] Al-Shabaab![]() listed a raft of demands from Kenya after William Ruto was declared the President-elect in the August 9 General Election. In the statement dated Saturday, August 27, and titled ’Kenya at a Crossroads,’ the militia demanded for a change in the foreign policy in a bid to prevent further deployment of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers to Somalia. It argued that KDF’s continued stay in Somalia made no sense since its objectives were yet to be met 11 years on. "It has been 11 years since Kenya invaded Somalia. To this day, however, the Kenyan military did not achieve any of its initial goals of the invasion. "The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) remain besieged in their bases, unable to leave their bunkers. They are also incapable of conducting any effective military operations against the Mujahideen," read the statement in part. The militia also expressed their contempt for the silence portrayed by Ruto and his rival, Raila Odinga over the foreign policy issue during the campaign period. The group claimed that the policy as is posed detrimental risks between Somalia and Kenya and needed to be revised. "Throughout their election campaigns, the presidential candidates deliberately avoided addressing Kenya’s deteriorating security situation as well as their military invasion of Somalia. Kenyan politicians, it seems, are willing to persist upon the path of war to fulfil the interests of their western masters, putting the lives of their citizens at risk and the interest of their country in jeopardy," continued the statement. The KDF invasion in Somalia kicked off in 2011 after the Kenyan troops seized Kismayu from Al-Shabaab’s grip. The intense training, titled Operation Sledgehammer, took place in Baringo County, Rift Valley before deployment. Since the Port of Kismayu was secured in October 2012, the navy has been working hand in hand with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and Æthiopian Forces to secure the city which is the main sea entry point into the war-torn country. In the last 10 years, Al-Shabaab has lodged over four attacks in Kenya including Westgate Mall, DusitD2, Mpeketoni and Garissa University. |
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Africa Horn |
Muslim clerics join other religious leaders to condemn terror attack |
2019-01-17 |
[CAPITALFM.CO.KE] Moslem leaders have The leaders called upon Kenyans to put aside their religious differences and support security agencies in the war on terror. Addressing journalists at Jamia Mosque on Wednesday, Supreme Council of Kenya Moslems (SUPKEM) Vice Chair al-Hajj Hassan said there is no religion that supports the killing of innocent people and that terrorism has nothing to do with religion. He dismissed claims that holy warriors are Moslems saying that they also lost their Moslem brothers in the attack and called upon the people of Kenya to stay calm and shun attempts to divide the country along religious and ethnic lines. "The so-called acts of terrorism are acts of criminality and has nothing to do with religion. If it was about religion, we could not have bombs blowing up in Somalia where almost 99 per cent of people there are Moslems; there is nothing religious about terrorism this is an act of crime," he said. The holy mans have also set up a counselling and blood donation center at Chiromo where those in need will be assisted. President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA leader Raila Odinga led other leaders in condemning the incident as they called upon Kenyans to be each other’s keeper. President Kenyatta announced that the operation had come to an end with all the assailants having being eliminated. |
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Africa Subsaharan |
In Kenya, Obama calls on leaders to celebrate diversity of tribes |
2018-07-17 |
As opposed to butchering and eating one another. Ok, I'll go with that. [The Hill] Former President Obama on Monday urged Kenyan leaders to celebrate the nation’s diversity during a stop in the country to help launch an educational center run by his half-sister. Obama's visit to Kenya, where his late father was born, was his first since he left office. Reuters reported that he praised President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga for making progress in improving rifts between ethnic groups, but said that more still needs to be done. "It means no longer seeing different ethnicities as enemies or rivals but rather as allies; in seeing the diversity of tribes not as a weakness but as a strength," Obama said. The former U.S. president was in Kenya for the opening of a sports and training center established by his half-sister, Auma Obama. Reuters reported that former President Obama made no mention of President Trump in his remarks. Trump inflamed tensions with African nations when he referred to them as "shithole countries" earlier this year. Obama met Sunday with Kenyatta and is reportedly expected to meet with Odinga during his visit. Any tips for folks back home in South Chicago ? |
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Africa Horn |
Kenya extends TV station ban over Odinga 'inauguration' |
2018-02-01 |
[Al Jazeera] The government of Kenya has called a symbolic swearing in of opposition leader Raila Odinga a "well-choreographed attempt to subvert or overthrow" the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the interior ministry also said that it would keep three independent TV stations, which had planned to broadcast the event, off air pending investigation. They said that broadcasting the event amounted to a "serious breach of security". Citizen, NTV and KTN TV were taken off the air by authorities on Tuesday over plans to cover the ceremony at Nairobi's Uhuru Park. Also on Wednesday, local media reported that an opposition politician who had presided over the swearing-in had been locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! TJ Kajwang was said to have been taken to the headquarters of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Nairobi. |
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Africa Horn |
Kenya: Opposition movement declared criminal group |
2018-01-31 |
[AA.TR] Nairobi on Tuesday labeled Kenya’s opposition National Resistance Movement (NRM) an organized criminal group, hours after its leader Raila Odinga symbolically "swore himself in" as president in a mock inauguration. Last October, Odinga formed the NRM from his National Super Alliance (NASA) political movement to pressure President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government to make Kenyatta step aside call for a new free, fair and credible election. In a statement, Kenya’s Interior Ministry said that under the 2010 Prevention of Organized Crimes Act, "the Ministry of the Interior and Co-ordination of National Government declares the National Resistance Movement to be an organized criminal group." The parliamentary wing of the opposition National Resistance Movement has previously called on its supporters to boycott services and products from companies it claims is supporting Kenyatta’s ruling Jubilee party. The declaration puts Odinga’s NRM in the same legal category as the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab ... ![]() holy warrior group, which has killed thousands of innocent people in the horn of Africa region and has been called a criminal group by the government. |
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Africa Horn |
Odinga symbolically sworn in as Kenya’s ‘people’s president’ |
2018-01-31 |
![]() The ceremony, staged by Odinga’s followers in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday, was a sign of protest against President Uhuru Kenyatta's new term, which came after months of political wrangling in the East African economic hub. Tens of thousands gathered in a Nairobi park for the event, which was initially broadcast live on top three TV channels before the transmission was cut by the government. A statement from the Kenya Editors Guild said Kenyatta had threatened to crack down on any media outlets that aired a live coverage of the mock ceremony. Odinga still claims he won the presidential election last August. He boycotted a re-run of the election in October, which came after Kenya’s Supreme Court overturned the first round over irregularities. Around 100 people have been killed in months of unrest over the election. The opposition insists the corpse count is much higher. |
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Africa Horn |
Kenyan forces raped, killed, maimed, looted civilians: Rights group |
2017-12-15 |
[PRESSTV] Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a report that Kenyan security forces raped, beat and assaulted civilians during the recent election turmoil across the East African country. Kenya has been in turmoil since September when the Supreme Court nullified the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta over "irregularities and illegalities". The court ordered a rerun in October that was boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga, handing Kenyatta a landslide of 98 percent of votes cast by just 39 percent of the electorate. The leading international rights group on Thursday said it recorded "police use of excessive force against protesters, killings, beatings and maiming of individuals, looting and destruction of property". The report also cited multiple gang-rapes by men in uniform in the slums of the capital, Nairobi, and the opposition strongholds of Kisumu and Bungoma. |
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Africa Horn |
Kenya: Five killed as Odinga return marred by violence |
2017-11-18 |
[Al Jazeera] At least five people have been killed in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, as police clashed with supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga. Officers on Friday used tear gas and water cannon to break up large crowds cheering Odinga's convoy from the airport to central Nairobi after his return to Kenya from a trip abroad. Odinga, leader of the National Super Alliance (NASA), said in a statement that authorities had also used "armed militia and live bullets" to disperse supporters, which led to the "killing [of] several and maiming [of] many". |
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Africa Horn |
Kenya: Chebukati Says Repeat Presidential Poll Was Free, Fair and Credible |
2017-10-31 |
![]() Mr Chebukati has subsequently declared Jubilee’s Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto as president-elect and deputy president-elect respectively. Mr Kenyatta garnered 7,483,895 votes, which is 98.27pc of the valid votes cast in the fresh election held last week and which was boycotted by his main challenger, Nasa’s Raila Odinga. The declaration process, which is ongoing, started a few minutes to 4pm with Mr Chebukati reading the votes that each candidate got in each of the 47 counties. The declaration is made without results from 25 constituencies in Nyanza that failed to vote on Thursday due to disruptions of polling. Mr Chebukati said that the conditions that had been set for the repeat poll were met and that the fresh election credible, free and fair. |
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Africa North |
Kenyans Go to the Polls - Again |
2017-10-27 |
[All Africa] Kenyans from various parts of the country have woken up early to vote in the repeat presidential election, reports the Daily Nation. Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is boycotting the poll, yesterday urged his supporters not to vote - but several journalists have photographed his name on the ballot paper and posted it on Twitter. Al Jazeera correspondents are reporting that some polling stations are closed and that others have not received ballot papers. |
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