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Kenya: Security and Elections
Kenya: Security and Elections
Date distributed (ymd): 021216
Document reposted by Africa Action
Africa Policy Electronic Distribution List: an information
service provided by AFRICA ACTION (incorporating the Africa
Policy Information Center, The Africa Fund, and the American
Committee on Africa). Find more information for action for
Africa at http://www.africaaction.org
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: East Africa
Issue Areas: +political/rights+ +economy/development+
+peace/security+
SUMMARY CONTENTS:
This posting contains several documents on current issues in Kenya,
in the wake of the Mombasa attacks and in the lead-up to the
December 27 election, as well as links to additional current
information. According to current plans, President Bush's trip to
Africa in January will includes stops in Kenya, as well as Senegal,
Nigeria, South Africa, and Mauritius.
+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Africa Action Note
Today's postings are the last for this year on the Africa Policy
List. We will resume in the second week of January. Our best wishes
to our readers for a safe holiday season and for renewed strength
for struggles for peace and justice in the new year.
To support our continued work with a contribution on-line, or to
print out a contribution form, go to:
http://www.africaaction.org/join.htm
Close Call in Kenya
By Gamal Nkrumah December 6, 2002
Foreign Policy in Focus Global Affairs Commentary
http://www.fpif.org/outside/commentary/2002/0212kenya.html
(Gamal Nkrumah writes for Al-Ahram Weekly (online at
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg) where this first appeared.)
The daring attacks last week on Israeli interests in Kenya sent
shock waves throughout the East African region. The United States
was obviously also deeply perturbed. Three East African leaders
were immediately summoned to Washington for discussions with
President George W Bush. Two, Kenya's President Daniel Arap Moi and
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zennawi, accepted the invitation.
A third, Djibouti's President Omar Guelleh, declined the invitation
to join Moi and Zennawi at the White House on the pretext that he
had to be in his country to celebrate the end of the holy month of
Ramadan. Djibouti, an Arab League member state, is strategically
situated on the crossroads between the Arabian Peninsula and the
Horn of Africa. More than 95% of its population is Muslim and it is
inhabited by ethnic Afar and the not-so-distantly related
Somalis--an ethnic group that has unfortunately come under
increasing scrutiny and suspicion for fomenting trouble in the
region. Indeed, ethnic Somalis make up a large and restive minority
in both Ethiopia and Kenya as well.
Talks centered on the Mombasa attacks and the U.S.-led war against
terrorism. And Bush himself is scheduled to visit Kenya next
January for the official inauguration of the new U.S. Embassy in
Nairobi.
The Kenyan authorities and Western intelligence agencies discount
any direct connection between al Qaeda and those detained--six
Pakistanis and four Somalis. But there is a great deal of
controversy surrounding the Mombasa attacks. Questions are raised,
however, about how militant Islamists managed to destroy an
Israeli-owned resort, Paradise Beach, and attempted to shoot down
an Israeli airliner in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, the country's
second-largest city.
Kenya appears to be especially prone to such attacks. The country,
East Africa's economic powerhouse, is now widely seen as a soft
target. This is the third time that such major terrorist attacks
have taken place on Kenyan soil. Kenya has a Muslim minority of
about 20% of the population of 32 million. Kenya's Muslims are
geographically concentrated on the East African country's Indian
Ocean coastline, where a five-century-old Arab-African hybrid
Swahili culture thrives. However, nomadic ethnic Somalis inhabit
the northeastern arid areas of Kenya, and these Kenyan nationals
are also thoroughly Islamized.
Nevertheless, it appears that neither community was directly
involved in the attacks on the Paradise Beach resort in Mombasa and
the Arika airliner. None of the four Somalis detained by the Kenyan
authorities appear to be Kenyan nationals--they are all from
Somalia proper and hold Somali passports issued in the Somali
capital Mogadishu.
Kenya has, since the collapse of the state of Somalia in 1991,
played host to hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees, who quite
naturally have intermingled and intermarried with their kith and
kin in Kenya. The Somalis have found safe haven in Kenya, but the
Kenyan authorities have become increasingly concerned about the
security risk inherent in the Somali presence--a large and dynamic
ethnic and religious minority.
The Mombasa incident was reminiscent of the August 1998 bombing of
the United States embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar Es-Salam,
Tanzania. More than 200 people were killed in the Nairobi bombing,
most of them, it has to be said, Kenyans. But as early as November
1979, militant Islamists blew up the Norfolk Hotel in Kenya,
ostensibly in retaliation for the Kenyan government permitting the
Israeli military to use Kenya as a base for rescuing passengers
aboard a hijacked Israeli plane in Entebbe airport, in neighboring
Uganda.
The militant Islamists who carried out the Mombasa attacks used
surface-to-air missile launchers to shoot down an Israeli Arika
airliner, which took off from Mombasa airport for Tel Aviv with 261
passengers aboard the Boeing 757. Soon after the attacks an
Islamist website on the Internet asserted that al Qaeda claimed
responsibility, but obviously the assertion cannot be independently
verified.
What is certain is that the surface-to-air missile (SAM) seeker
system used in Kenya was very similar to that used against a U.S.
warplane in Saudi Arabia in June. They are shoulder-launched and
heat-seeking missiles. Kenyan and Western intelligence also concur
that the SAM seeker system used was Strela-2, a rather antiquated
system that was originally developed in the former Soviet Union in
the 1960s.
Israel's national carrier, El-Al, uses infrared system that tampers
with the less sophisticated types of SAM seeker systems, making
them less accurate. The optimum altitude for the Strela-2 is 250
meters. Apparently, those who launched the Strela-2 against the
Arika airliner in Kenya were rather hasty, as the SAM seeker system
was launched immediately after take-off when the Israeli plane was
only 150 meters off the ground.
About a year ago, Hussein Aidid--son of the warlord Mohamed Farah
Aidid who in 1993 masterminded America's most disastrous firefight
loss since the Vietnam War--warned that militant Islamist Pakistani
proselytizers were active in Mogadishu and other Somali cities and
that they have strong links to Al-Itihad Al-Islami, founded in the
late 1980s and until recently dismissed as a spent force. Aidid
heads the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC)--set
up as a rival administration to the Somali Transitional National
Government (TNG)--and has accused the TNG of harboring militant
Islamist sympathizers. Hussein Aidid is a former U.S. marine, and
whatever his political agenda, he does know a thing or two about
military matters.
The U.S. authorities have identified Al-Itihad Al-Islami as having
a hand in the Mombasa attacks. The organization had also incurred
the wrath of the Ethiopian authorities as it emerged that it had
been active among Ethiopia's own ethnic Somali minority
concentrated in the southeastern region of Ethiopia. Two years ago,
Ethiopian troops crossed over the border into the adjacent southern
Somali Geddo region in order to pursue Al-Itihad Al-Islami forces.
The militant Islamist organization is also believed to have
military bases in El-Wak, at the crossroads of the Ethiopian,
Kenyan, and Somali borders, and in Ras Kamboni, near the Kenyan
border in the far south of Somalia.
The Kenyan authorities have clamped down hard on the large ethnic
Somali community in the Nairobi suburb of Eastleigh where an
estimated 500,000 Somalis reside. Most have been living in the
country for generations, and Eastleigh has emerged as a prosperous
and vitally important economic district of the Kenyan capital city.
The Kenyan authorities have banned all flights to Somalia for
security considerations. Until last week, there had been at least
four daily flights between Nairobi's Wilson Airport and the Somali
capital Mogadishu, and three other daily flights from Nairobi to
other Somali cities. The Kenyan connection is vital for Somali
economic survival, and Kenya itself benefits tremendously from such
lucrative trade links. What remains to be seen is whether there is
irrefutable evidence of collaboration between Al-Itihad Al-Islami
and al Qaeda in East Africa.
Kenya's Dec. 27 Elections Won't Solve Human Rights Ills
December 12, 2002
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/kenya2
For more information, please contact:
In New York, Peter Takirambudde: +1-212-216-1223
In London, Steve Crawshaw: +44-20-7713-2766
(New York, December 12, 2002) - The hotly-contested December 27
election has highlighted serious human rights shortcomings in
Kenya, Human Rights Watch said today. As the election approaches
and Kenya's draft constitution awaits enactment, Human Rights Watch
released a new report urging all candidates to adhere to a clear
human rights agenda, which would address the iniquities and abuses
that persist in the East African country.
"Kenya is at a crucial turning point in its history as it
desperately struggles to complete the transition from Cold War
semi-autocracy to modern democracy," said Peter Takirambudde,
executive director for Africa at Human Rights Watch. "Power
struggles and backroom deals among various political parties dominate political debate, and we have
real concern human rights abuses will be overlooked by the new
government."
The 34-page report, "Kenya's Unfinished Democracy: A Human Rights
Agenda for the New Government," reveals that while Kenya has gained
many important freedoms since the early 1990s, and is considered a
relatively free and open society- especially in comparison with
many other African countries- a closed system of patronage and
graft continues to undermine human rights in the country.
Limits on Democracy
Although officially Kenya no longer detains political prisoners,
torture in police cells is reported to be common. Interference with
democratic processes also remains widespread. During the1990s,
Kenya held two multi-party elections, but both were suspect, and
accompanied by politically motivated `ethnic' violence, which
resulted in hundreds of deaths and the displacement of some 400,000
people.
The media often presents critical views of the ruling party, but
bureaucratic restrictions on radio licenses mean few opposition
voices can be heard outside of Nairobi. Kenya's notorious sedition
laws were scrapped in 1997, yet several politicians have since
instigated dubious, but successful, defamation lawsuits to silence
criticism. Likewise, while the atmosphere at public meetings is
freer than ten years ago, some activists still experience police
harassment.
"The paradox of Kenya is that the country seems very free on the
surface, but this freedom does not extend to everyone," said
Takirambudde.
Activists in poor, remote areas face particular limitations. For
example, two land reform advocates, Nicodemus Mutuku and Alois
Mwaiwa Muia, for example, have been charged with murder in
Machakos, a provincial town, though they were reportedly not in the
area at the time the victim was killed. The activists say they are
being framed to silence their protests over the illegal grabbing of
public by powerful, politically connected individuals.
Constitutional Changes Uncertain
The change-over from the 1963 constitution to the constitution
drafted last year presents an ideal moment for Kenya to improve its
human rights record. It has been clear for many years that the
country's constitution, drawn up by the British at independence and
subsequently amended in ways that placed even greater limits on
freedom, needed to be rewritten. A review commission has just
published a new draft constitution, developed with extensive
civil-society participation.
"If adopted, the new constitution could dramatically improve the
human rights protections for Kenyans," said Takirambudde. However,
the constitution proffered has been undermined by lawsuits and
other forms of interference by associates of the ruling party, and
its future is not yet secure.
Report Recommendations
Human Rights Watch urged Kenya's leaders to address the tension
between the country's democratic and anti-democratic tendencies,
which has created an element of suspense both with respect to the
upcoming election and to Kenya's future in general. In particular,
Human Rights Watch called upon Kenya's new leadership to adopt the
following reforms:
- Put an end to torture, extortion, forced confessions, and
extra-judicial killings in Kenya's jails and prisons, which have
become routine. In the past, most victims of such human rights
abuses by Kenya's security forces were lawyers, activists, and
academics. Most victims today are ordinary poor people, and not
necessarily dissidents
- Enforce the official ban on ad hoc vigilante gangs that terrorize
people at political rallies and spread fear and violence in the
slums. Many gangs are recruited by powerful politicians who exploit
the poverty and boredom of slum youths
- Uphold the independence of the judiciary. At present, the
president has enormous power over the appointment and discipline of
judges, which allows for executive interference in court cases.
Greater judicial independence would make an enormous contribution
to the right to justice in Kenya. The new government should also
take steps to stamp out corruption, incompetence, and inefficiency
in the justice system
- Seriously prosecute major cases of corruption. The average Kenyan
is now poorer than he was twenty years ago. This economic decline
is partly a direct consequence of the looting of public resources
and public land by government officials and their collaborators,
including the treasury, government agencies, and parastatals. None
of these offenses has been seriously prosecuted
- Provide justice to the victims of politically motivated ethnic
clashes. Throughout the 1990s, widespread politically motivated
ethnic violence resulted in the deaths of thousands of Kenyans and
the displacement of hundreds of thousands of potential opposition
voters. To date, tens of thousands of people remain displaced from
their Rift Valley farms, and their land remains occupied by
government supporters. The clashes are believed to have been
instigated by powerful politicians, who took advantage of a long
history of land disputes in the region to stoke tribal hostilities.
Human Rights Watch urges the government to help clash victims
seeking redress through the courts
- Enforce the right to free expression. Police and candidates'
thugs sometimes harass journalists, while outside of Nairobi, the
government has almost total control of the media. For most Kenyans
the only source of local news outside of the capital is the
government-run radio station, whose reporting tends to favor the
ruling party. Radio and TV stations seeking to obtain licenses to
broadcast beyond the capital face bureaucratic obstacles that are,
so far, insurmountable. Human Rights Watch urges Kenya's new
leaders to close the vast urban-rural gap in access to information
that denied millions of people unbiased information as the election
approached
- Establish clear policies to govern the rights of workers in the
informal economy. Many of Kenya's street hawkers and kiosk vendors
are subject to arbitrary harassment by the police and local
authorities, who extort bribes, destroy their property, steal their
goods, or hold them in prison until they manage to bribe their way
out. The new government must curb these abuses of police power
- End the culture of impunity. The government has established
numerous commissions to investigate major cases of corruption, the
political manipulation of ethnic violence, the grabbing of public
lands for use as political patronage, and other issues. However,
few reports of these investigations have been released to the
public, and no one has been held accountable for major crimes.
Kenyans must urgently begin an intensive national debate on
accountability for past crimes, including corruption and the
manipulation of ethnic violence.
Kenya's foreign donors eagerly look forward to a change of
government, but many Kenyans recognize that the greater challenge
is to create a just and open system of governance based on checks
and balances and separation of powers.
"The change in leadership and the new draft constitution provide a
unique opportunity for Kenya to address longstanding human rights
concerns," said Takirambudde. "The new Kenyan government and the
international community should embrace this opportunity."
Recent news reports:
allAfrica.com
Interview with presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta,
December 15, 2002
http://allafrica.com/stories/200212150082.html
allAfrica.com
Nairobi welcomes opposition presidential candidate Mwai Kibaki
December 15, 2002
http://allafrica.com/stories/200212150081.html
allAfrica.com
Moi vows not to rule from behind the scenes
December 12, 2002
http://allafrica.com/stories/200212120202.html
Human Rights Watch
"Kenya: Crackdown on Nairobi's Refugees After Mombasa Attacks"
December 6, 2002
http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/12/kenya1205.htm
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by
Africa Action (incorporating the Africa Policy Information
Center, The Africa Fund, and the American Committee on Africa).
Africa Action's information services provide accessible
information and analysis in order to promote U.S. and
international policies toward Africa that advance economic,
political and social justice and the full spectrum of human
rights.
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