In bitter twist of irony the opposition Kenya African National Union (Kanu) — which viciously cracked down on dissent when it was in power — this week came out in support of mass action. Meanwhile, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his government declared demonstrations illegal and ordered the security forces to use the "necessary means" to end protests.
A historic lawsuit in the Nairobi High Court, the first time that a Kenyan court will have heard a case relating to alleged discrimination against someone living with Aids, recently galvanised East African Aids activists. Previously fractious organisations representing HIV-positive Kenyans, united to demonstrate in the streets and to declare a "new militancy".
”Our backs are broken but we are still alive,” seethed Felix Nge’tich as he scoured the ruins of his shebeen at Nakuru in central Kenya. Security forces and furious members of the public continued to raid drinking dens across the country this week following the deaths of 52 people who consumed the illegal alcohol, known locally as chang’aa.
Racial tension and anti-foreign sentiment grew in Kenya this week as outrage continued following the release of a white farmer who confessed to killing a Maasai game ranger. The country’s attorney general, decided there wasn’t enough evidence against Tom Cholmondeley, a member of Kenya’s most prominent white settler dynasties, the Delameres, to sustain a murder charge.
A recent statement by Kenyan Minister of Justice Kiraitu Murungi that it is ”no longer necessary” for the country to establish a commission to investigate atrocities committed under previous governments has been greeted with both outrage and delight. The promise to set up such a body, was one of the key pledges made during the current head of state’s campaign for office.
It wasn’t the remembrance of Ethiopian rebel leader Jettane Ali, that darkened the mood around his grave at Marsabit. The 36 Ethiopian refugees from the disputed territory of Oromia in southern Ethiopia who gathered in the oasis in northern Kenya to pay their respects ahead of this Sunday’s parliamentary poll were convinced that the election would yield victory for Ethiopia’s ruling party.
The Dida Galgalu desert is a good place to hide. Perennial drought and famine extract their daily toll here, where warring nomadic tribes battle over livestock and shifta (bandits) prowl the dead land in search of bounty from the odd supply lorry that chances over the twisted network of rough tracks.
The descendants of British colonialists in Kenya are reeling in shock following the arrest of a member of the country’s most prominent white settler dynasty, the Delameres, in an incident that has ignited debate about land reform in East Africa’s largest economy. Tom Cholmondeley (37), a farmer, is expected to be charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Simon ole Sitima (44), a Kenya Wildlife Service game ranger.
Dadu Abdi Mohamed wasn’t jumping up and down with the rest of the cheering, flag-waving mass when the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and the Sudanese government signed a "comprehensive peace deal" to end Africa’s longest conflict. The former SPLM/A guerrilla, living in exile in Kenya, believes they were sold out by their leader.
Ethnic clashes, blamed on competition for increasingly scarce water and grazing, are sweeping northern Kenya, as drought and famine intensify in the neglected region. Since the beginning of the year, more than 100 people have been killed in renewed violence perpetrated under the cover of long-simmering ethnic animosities, and fueled by the myriad conflicts which surround northern Kenya.