Tag: Kenya
CORD Statement: A Great Betrayal has been committed against Kenyans (06.01.2017)

Our Parliament has witnessed some bizarre scenes and moments between 2013 and now. It has witnessed several attempts by the Jubilee regime to raid the constitution and overturn the will of the people for individual gain. It has witnessed blatant efforts to reintroduce dictatorship in the country in the name of giving the President power to fight insecurity. The list is long.
But the spectacle that began in the National Assembly during a special sitting late last month and ended in the Senate last night, count among the most bizarre. It stands out as a blatant willingness by the Jubilee regime to sell out the entire country for no reason other than the survival of the increasingly unpopular corruption-ridden government.
One by one, Jubilee senators, disregarding irregularities and illegalities in the process, cast their ballot for the Bill whose sole aim is to make it easy for the regime to allow underage and dead voters to cast their votes in addition to stuffing the ballot boxes in the elections slated for August 2017.
Jubilee committed a great betrayal on the people of Kenya last night in the same way it did last month in the National Assembly. Jubilee has disowned what was initially a bipartisan agreement that pulled us from the brink and turned it into a full-blown national and government crisis.
In its desperate bid to create opportunities to rig the election, Jubilee senators went as far as fraudulently casting votes using their nominated senators who had no authority from the elected senators to represent their respective delegations. During all the discussions in both the National Assembly and the Senate, Parliament was put under siege by the overwhelming presence of the Police and other security agencies whose purpose was to intimidate legislators into passing the laws under duress.
This is now a crisis because the people of Kenya are determined today more than ever to hold free, fair, transparent and credible elections the results of which will have to be verifiable.
We will respond to this betrayal of the people comprehensively, decisively and firmly. We therefore wish to announce that we have invited all our elected leaders; members of county assemblies, members of the National Assembly, senators, governors and women representatives both elected and aspirants on opposition tickets to a meeting next Wednesday, 11th January 2017 at the Bomas of Kenya to deliberate on the developments. At this meeting a critical decision will be taken and communicated to all Kenyans on our plans to deal with this betrayal of the people by Jubilee and ensure free, fair, transparent and credible elections in August 2017.
Signed
HON RAILA ODINGA.
HON KALONZO MUSYOKA.
SEN. MOSES WETANGULA.
HON CYRUS JIRONGO.
JANUARY 6, 2017
Joint Statement on the Passage of Humanitarian Assistance through Sudan to South Sudan (06.01.2017)

The MoU will be extended for another six months, from 1 January to 30 June 2017.
KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 6, 2017 – The Joint Technical Committee (JTC) on Passage of Humanitarian Assistance from Sudan to South Sudan – comprised of representatives of the Governments of South Sudan, Sudan and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) – is pleased to announce the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will allow for the continued movement of food assistance through Sudan to South Sudan.
The MoU will be extended for another six months, from 1 January to 30 June 2017. The JTC is confident that an extension of the MoU will further contribute to ongoing efforts to prevent hunger among the food-insecure and conflict-affected people in South Sudan, particularly those living in the border state of Upper Nile.
First signed in 2014, the MoU has enabled WFP Sudan to deliver 54,420 metric tons of emergency and nutrition assistance to over 200,000 South Sudanese in Upper Nile state. From January to November 2016, WFP transported 28,626 metric tons of emergency food assistance using 26 convoys through the Sudan corridor.
With this six-month extension, WFP will be able to deliver food to more than 50,000 South Sudanese in food-insecure areas of South Sudan. A portion of the food will be purchased locally in Sudan, supporting Sudanese farmers.
The JTC also commends the close coordination and collaboration between the governments of Sudan and South Sudan at all levels. This has enabled the JTC to set up mechanisms that minimized delays and reduce the time needed to obtain customs clearance.
UNSOM: Somalia’s electoral process most discussed topic in public places (04.01.2017)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA – Somalia’s landmark electoral process has dominated discussions in public places across the Horn of Africa country over the past few months, as Somalis examine the democratic progress the country has made after years of civil war.
Scores of political analysts gather daily to debate and share views about the ongoing process, which will culminate in presidential elections later this month. Conversations are animated and go on for hours, with breaks only for meals or refreshments.
At a popular hotel in Mogadishu recently, newly elected member of the House of the People, Sadik Warfa, of Puntland state, expressed his thoughts on the electoral process to a group of colleagues.
Warfa described the delegates system, adopted by the National Leadership Forum to guide the electoral process, as an illustration of the country’s evolution towards representative governance.
“We have passed the era when elders picked MPs. I see it as a step in the right direction for the Somali people,” Warfa said.
The MP voiced his optimism about the post election period and looks forward to debate in parliament.
“When the House of the People holds its first sitting, the priority will be to hold the government accountable. It should have oversight responsibility to represent the views of the Somali people, ” Warfa told a keen audience, gathered around his table.
At another table, Liban Abdi Ali, a political analyst and former journalist, delved deeper into the issue of local media coverage of the electoral process.
“In my view, they (media) were focusing on conflict, like a candidate’s clan, which group he belongs to and such issues; although they are supposed to focus on each candidate’s experience, knowledge, achievements and political agenda,” Liban said.
He expressed disappointment at the media’s inability to organize political debates prior to the elections.
At the far end of the restaurant, author and political analyst Abukar Sheikh Ahmed questions the decision to push back universal suffrage until 2020, saying there was no public voting or campaign.
“Most of the candidates knew their target (delegates) and they were campaigning in parliament and within their clans,” Abukar argues.
Somalia’s electoral process, which is currently in its final stages, has seen voting taking place in five federal states and Mogadishu. At the conclusion of the electoral exercise, two hundred and seventy five members of the House of the People will have been elected from South West, Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubbaland and Somaliland states; and Banaadir region.
A further 54 members of the Upper House will also have been elected.
South Sudan: Extreme levels of Food Insecurity expected across South Sudan in 2017 (December 2016)



SPLM-IO: On the Allegations of detention of Tanzanian Citizen (02.01.2017)

Kenya: NCWSC is embarking on a Water Rationing program with effect from 1st January, 2017



End of the year 2016 message, on behalf of Moustapha Soumaré, the Acting UNMISS SRSG and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (30.12.2016)

JUBA, South Sudan, December 30, 2016 – End of the year 2016 message, on behalf of Moustapha Soumaré, the Acting UNMISS SRSG and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan:
I would like to extend warm greetings to all the people of South Sudan as we enter this holiday season. As we approach the end of 2016, let us be reminded of the universal values of unity, equality and compassion, which bind us together as human beings – the spirit of Ubuntu (humanity). These values should always be far stronger than anything that divides us.
Sadly, our hopes for sustainable peace were not realized this year and prospects for an end to the conflict have been thwarted with a resurgence of violence in the capital and in many other areas of the country. This has resulted in terrible humanitarian and economic consequences for many South Sudanese. I call on all those engaged in conflict, be with organized forces, armed groups, militias, youth groups with arms and others, to stop all fighting and silence the guns immediately.
While there is no doubt that the fighting has cast a dark shadow over the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement, we must never lose sight of the ultimate goal – a peaceful and prosperous future for the people of South Sudan. My colleagues and I serving with the United Nations stand ready to support South Sudan as it renews its commitment to the peace process and to help address its pressing humanitarian needs.
Kenya – IEBC “Subject: Talks on Election Law need Fast-Tracking” (30.12.2016)

Kenya: “Re: Consent to Institute Criminal Contempt Proceedings against Honourable Aden Duale Leader of Majority in the National Assembly and Member of Parliament for Garrisa Town Constituency” (28.12.2016)



