Pambazuka News
Obama in Ghana: The speech he might have made
Firoze Manji
2009-07-16, Issue 442
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/57787
Obama, Africa, and Truth-Telling
by Valerie Elverton Dixon 07-14-2009
Now that the Cold War that was anything but cold in Africa is over; now that the CIA, as far as we know, no longer pays for the overthrow and murder of democratically elected leaders as it did with Patrice Lumumba of the Congo in 1960; now that the United States no longer supports African kleptocrats that hold power through brutal thug rule as did Joseph Mobutu in the Congo later named Zaire; now that the U.S. through the CIA no longer sends millions of dollars in cash and weapons to support one side of a civil war in Angola, the side also supported by the apartheid government of South Africa; now that the U.S. no longer provides weapons to a particular side of a conflict in Somalia, leaving leftover weapons to fall into the hands of clans at war; and now that the U.S. no longer ignores genocide the way it did in Rwanda, the vote of Africans is sacred. Now, according to President Obama, “Africa’s future is up to Africans.”
In other important speeches to the world, President Obama has been courageous in telling the truth of the misdeeds of the United States. His critics call these simple statements of truth apologies. I have never heard an apology, even though an apology would be fitting. Still, stating the facts is important. It is important not only for the Other, but it is important for citizens of the United States to know what various administrations have done in our name. Truth-telling is an important element of just peacemaking. The truth is that our hands are not clean when it comes to much of the post-colonial confusion in Africa.
President Obama spoke about the colonial history of Africa from within the context of his own family’s story – his grandfather who was both a village elder and a cook for the British in Kenya and his father, a goat herder, who made his way to a university education in the United States. President Obama and his family visited the site from which Africans left to sail as cargo to the new world. It was a voyage of unspeakable horror that diminished the humanity of all of humanity. Remembrance is an important ethical act.
In an African cosmology, the community is composed of the living, the dead, and the not-yet-born, those who have yet to be conceived. Thus, when we think about moral choices within this cosmological framework, we ought to think of the past, present, and future of now. To think of the past honors the dead. They are among the great cloud of witnesses watching as we run our race. When we remember the truth of history, including our own bloody acts, we start from a righteous starting line. To forget, to leave the truth unstated, is unrighteous because it puts us at greater risk of repeating the unacknowledged wrong.
President Obama was right to speak of corruption, the importance of strong institutions, the efficacy of bottom-up change, self sufficiency, and the triumph of justice. He was right to remind young people of their responsibility to hold leaders accountable. This includes holding leaders accountable to face and to state the truth of history.
This is important not only to honor the past, but to plan wisely for the future — so that when we have joined the great cloud of witnesses, and the not-yet-born are the living members of the community, they will find inspiration from our courage to face the facts and to move forward.
Dr. Valerie Elverton Dixon is an independent scholar who publishes lectures and essays at JustPeaceTheory.com. She received her Ph.D. in religion and society from Temple University and taught Christian ethics at United Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Theological School.
http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/14/obama-africa-and-truth-telling/
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Obama on Africa's future, in Ghana
Key excerpts: Obama's Ghana speech
ON AFRICA'S IMPORTANCE
I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world - as partners with America on behalf of the future that we want for all our children. ON COLONIALISM AND RESPONSIBILITY
It is easy to point fingers, and to pin the blame for these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense bred conflict, and the West has often approached Africa as a patron, rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants.
In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is a daily fact of life for far too many.
ON GOVERNANCE
Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That is the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.
ON CORRUPTION
Repression takes many forms, and too many nations are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers... No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end. ... Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
ON AID
As Africans reach for this promise, America will be more responsible in extending our hand. By cutting costs that go to Western consultants and administration, we will put more resources in the hands of those who need it, while training people to do more for themselves. That is why our $3.5bn food security initiative is focused on new methods and technologies for farmers - not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it is no longer needed.
ON HEALTH
Yet because of incentives - often provided by donor nations - many African doctors and nurses understandably go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease. This creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention. Meanwhile, individual Africans also have to make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries.
ON CONFLICT
Now let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at war. But for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.
These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck. We all have many identities - of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st Century. Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2009/07/11 14:04:13 GMT
> VIDEO: Watch/hear the speech here
> BBC coverage of Obama's trip
ON AFRICA'S IMPORTANCE
I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world - as partners with America on behalf of the future that we want for all our children. ON COLONIALISM AND RESPONSIBILITY
It is easy to point fingers, and to pin the blame for these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense bred conflict, and the West has often approached Africa as a patron, rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants.
In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is a daily fact of life for far too many.
ON GOVERNANCE
Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That is the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.
ON CORRUPTION
Repression takes many forms, and too many nations are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers... No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end. ... Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
ON AID
As Africans reach for this promise, America will be more responsible in extending our hand. By cutting costs that go to Western consultants and administration, we will put more resources in the hands of those who need it, while training people to do more for themselves. That is why our $3.5bn food security initiative is focused on new methods and technologies for farmers - not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it is no longer needed.
ON HEALTH
Yet because of incentives - often provided by donor nations - many African doctors and nurses understandably go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease. This creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention. Meanwhile, individual Africans also have to make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries.
ON CONFLICT
Now let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at war. But for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.
These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck. We all have many identities - of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st Century. Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8145999.stm
Published: 2009/07/11 14:04:13 GMT
© BBC MMIX
(CBS) Last updated 12:22 p.m. ET.
Text of President Barack Obama's speech, provided by the White House, as delivered to the Ghanaian parliament today in Accra, Ghana:
THE PRESIDENT: (Trumpet plays.) I like this. Thank you. Thank you. I think Congress needs one of those horns. (Laughter.) That sounds pretty good. Sounds like Louis Armstrong back there. (Laughter.)
Good afternoon, everybody. It is a great honor for me to be in Accra and to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. (Applause.) I am deeply grateful for the welcome that I've received, as are Michelle and Malia and Sasha Obama. Ghana's history is rich, the ties between our two countries are strong, and I am proud that this is my first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States of America. (Applause.)
I want to thank Madam Speaker and all the members of the House of Representatives for hosting us today. I want to thank President Mills for his outstanding leadership. To the former Presidents - Jerry Rawlings, former President Kufuor - Vice President, Chief Justice - thanks to all of you for your extraordinary hospitality and the wonderful institutions that you've built here in Ghana.
I'm speaking to you at the end of a long trip. I began in Russia for a summit between two great powers. I traveled to Italy for a meeting of the world's leading economies. And I've come here to Ghana for a simple reason: The 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra, as well. (Applause.)
This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand America's prosperity. Your health and security can contribute to the world's health and security. And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere.
So I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world - (applause) - as partners with America on behalf of the future we want for all of our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual responsibility and mutual respect. And that is what I want to speak with you about today.
We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans.
I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. After all, I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family's - (applause) - my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story.
Some you know my grandfather was a cook for the British in Kenya, and though he was a respected elder in his village, his employers called him "boy" for much of his life. He was on the periphery of Kenya's liberation struggles, but he was still imprisoned briefly during repressive times. In his life, colonialism wasn't simply the creation of unnatural borders or unfair terms of trade - it was something experienced personally, day after day, year after year.
My father grew up herding goats in a tiny village, an impossible distance away from the American universities where he would come to get an education. He came of age at a moment of extraordinary promise for Africa. The struggles of his own father's generation were giving birth to new nations, beginning right here in Ghana. (Applause.) Africans were educating and asserting themselves in new ways, and history was on the move.
But despite the progress that has been made - and there has been considerable progress in many parts of Africa - we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled. Countries like Kenya had a per capita economy larger than South Korea's when I was born. They have badly been outpaced. Disease and conflict have ravaged parts of the African continent.
In many places, the hope of my father's generation gave way to cynicism, even despair. Now, it's easy to point fingers and to pin the blame of these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense helped to breed conflict. The West has often approached Africa as a patron or a source of resources rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage and nepotism in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far too many.
Now, we know that's also not the whole story. Here in Ghana, you show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or a need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with repeated peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. (Applause.) And by the way, can I say that for that the minority deserves as much credit as the majority. (Applause.) And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana's economy has shown impressive rates of growth. (Applause.)
This progress may lack the drama of 20th century liberation struggles, but make no mistake: It will ultimately be more significant. For just as it is important to emerge from the control of other nations, it is even more important to build one's own nation.
So I believe that this moment is just as promising for Ghana and for Africa as the moment when my father came of age and new nations were being born. This is a new moment of great promise. Only this time, we've learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa's future. Instead, it will be you - the men and women in Ghana's parliament - (applause) - the people you represent. It will be the young people brimming with talent and energy and hope who can claim the future that so many in previous generations never realized.
Now, to realize that promise, we must first recognize the fundamental truth that you have given life to in Ghana: Development depends on good governance. (Applause.) That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That's the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.
As for America and the West, our commitment must be measured by more than just the dollars we spend. I've pledged substantial increases in our foreign assistance, which is in Africa's interests and America's interests. But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of perpetual aid that helps people scrape by - it's whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change. (Applause.)
This mutual responsibility must be the foundation of our partnership. And today, I'll focus on four areas that are critical to the future of Africa and the entire developing world: democracy, opportunity, health, and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
First, we must support strong and sustainable democratic governments. (Applause.)
As I said in Cairo, each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own traditions. But history offers a clear verdict: Governments that respect the will of their own people, that govern by consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they are more stable, and more successful than governments that do not.
This is about more than just holding elections. It's also about what happens between elections. (Applause.) Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves - (applause) - or if police - if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. (Applause.) No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top - (applause) - or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. (Applause.) That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end. (Applause.)
In the 21st century, capable, reliable, and transparent institutions are the key to success - strong parliaments; honest police forces; independent judges - (applause); an independent press; a vibrant private sector; a civil society. (Applause.) Those are the things that give life to democracy, because that is what matters in people's everyday lives.
Now, time and again, Ghanaians have chosen constitutional rule over autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your people to break through. (Applause.) We see that in leaders who accept defeat graciously - the fact that President Mills' opponents were standing beside him last night to greet me when I came off the plane spoke volumes about Ghana - (applause); victors who resist calls to wield power against the opposition in unfair ways. We see that spirit in courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to report the truth. We see it in police like Patience Quaye, who helped prosecute the first human trafficker in Ghana. (Applause.) We see it in the young people who are speaking up against patronage, and participating in the political process.
Across Africa, we've seen countless examples of people taking control of their destiny, and making change from the bottom up. We saw it in Kenya, where civil society and business came together to help stop post-election violence. We saw it in South Africa, where over three-quarters of the country voted in the recent election - the fourth since the end of Apartheid. We saw it in Zimbabwe, where the Election Support Network braved brutal repression to stand up for the principle that a person's vote is their sacred right.
Now, make no mistake: History is on the side of these brave Africans, not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. (Applause.) Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. (Applause.)
Now, America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation. The essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny. But what America will do is increase assistance for responsible individuals and responsible institutions, with a focus on supporting good governance - on parliaments, which check abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard - (applause); on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice; on civic participation, so that young people get involved; and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting and automating services - (applause) - strengthening hotlines, protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability.
And we provide this support. I have directed my administration to give greater attention to corruption in our human rights reports. People everywhere should have the right to start a business or get an education without paying a bribe. (Applause.) We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't, and that is exactly what America will do.
Now, this leads directly to our second area of partnership: supporting development that provides opportunity for more people.
With better governance, I have no doubt that Africa holds the promise of a broader base of prosperity. Witness the extraordinary success of Africans in my country, America. They're doing very well. So they've got the talent, they've got the entrepreneurial spirit. The question is, how do we make sure that they're succeeding here in their home countries? The continent is rich in natural resources. And from cell phone entrepreneurs to small farmers, Africans have shown the capacity and commitment to create their own opportunities. But old habits must also be broken. Dependence on commodities - or a single export - has a tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, and leaves people too vulnerable to downturns.
So in Ghana, for instance, oil brings great opportunities, and you have been very responsible in preparing for new revenue. But as so many Ghanaians know, oil cannot simply become the new cocoa. From South Korea to Singapore, history shows that countries thrive when they invest in their people and in their infrastructure - (applause); when they promote multiple export industries, develop a skilled workforce, and create space for small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs.
As Africans reach for this promise, America will be more responsible in extending our hand. By cutting costs that go to Western consultants and administration, we want to put more resources in the hands of those who need it, while training people to do more for themselves. (Applause.) That's why our $3.5 billion food security initiative is focused on new methods and technologies for farmers - not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it's no longer needed. I want to see Ghanaians not only self-sufficient in food, I want to see you exporting food to other countries and earning money. You can do that. (Applause.)
Now, America can also do more to promote trade and investment. Wealthy nations must open our doors to goods and services from Africa in a meaningful way. That will be a commitment of my administration. And where there is good governance, we can broaden prosperity through public-private partnerships that invest in better roads and electricity; capacity-building that trains people to grow a business; financial services that reach not just the cities but also the poor and rural areas. This is also in our own interests - for if people are lifted out of poverty and wealth is created in Africa, guess what? New markets will open up for our own goods. So it's good for both.
One area that holds out both undeniable peril and extraordinary promise is energy. Africa gives off less greenhouse gas than any other part of the world, but it is the most threatened by climate change. A warming planet will spread disease, shrink water resources, and deplete crops, creating conditions that produce more famine and more conflict. All of us - particularly the developed world - have a responsibility to slow these trends - through mitigation, and by changing the way that we use energy. But we can also work with Africans to turn this crisis into opportunity.
Together, we can partner on behalf of our planet and prosperity, and help countries increase access to power while skipping - leapfrogging the dirtier phase of development. Think about it: Across Africa, there is bountiful wind and solar power; geothermal energy and biofuels. From the Rift Valley to the North African deserts; from the Western coasts to South Africa's crops - Africa's boundless natural gifts can generate its own power, while exporting profitable, clean energy abroad.
These steps are about more than growth numbers on a balance sheet. They're about whether a young person with an education can get a job that supports a family; a farmer can transfer their goods to market; an entrepreneur with a good idea can start a business. It's about the dignity of work; it's about the opportunity that must exist for Africans in the 21st century.
Just as governance is vital to opportunity, it's also critical to the third area I want to talk about: strengthening public health.
In recent years, enormous progress has been made in parts of Africa. Far more people are living productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the drugs they need. I just saw a wonderful clinic and hospital that is focused particularly on maternal health. But too many still die from diseases that shouldn't kill them. When children are being killed because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we know that more progress must be made.
Yet because of incentives - often provided by donor nations - many African doctors and nurses go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease. And this creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention. Meanwhile, individual Africans also have to make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries.
So across Africa, we see examples of people tackling these problems. In Nigeria, an Interfaith effort of Christians and Muslims has set an example of cooperation to confront malaria. Here in Ghana and across Africa, we see innovative ideas for filling gaps in care - for instance, through E-Health initiatives that allow doctors in big cities to support those in small towns.
America will support these efforts through a comprehensive, global health strategy, because in the 21st century, we are called to act by our conscience but also by our common interest, because when a child dies of a preventable disease in Accra, that diminishes us everywhere. And when disease goes unchecked in any corner of the world, we know that it can spread across oceans and continents.
And that's why my administration has committed $63 billion to meet these challenges - $63 billion. (Applause.) Building on the strong efforts of President Bush, we will carry forward the fight against HIV/AIDS. We will pursue the goal of ending deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, and we will work to eradicate polio. (Applause.) We will fight - we will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won't confront illnesses in isolation - we will invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children. (Applause.)
Now, as we partner on behalf of a healthier future, we must also stop the destruction that comes not from illness, but from human beings - and so the final area that I will address is conflict.
Let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at perpetual war. But if we are honest, for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.
These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck. Now, we all have many identities - of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st century. (Applause.) Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division. We are all God's children. We all share common aspirations - to live in peace and security; to access education and opportunity; to love our families and our communities and our faith. That is our common humanity.
That is why we must stand up to inhumanity in our midst. It is never justified - never justifiable to target innocents in the name of ideology. (Applause.) It is the death sentence of a society to force children to kill in wars. It is the ultimate mark of criminality and cowardice to condemn women to relentless and systemic rape. We must bear witness to the value of every child in Darfur and the dignity of every woman in the Congo. No faith or culture should condone the outrages against them. And all of us must strive for the peace and security necessary for progress.
Africans are standing up for this future. Here, too, in Ghana we are seeing you help point the way forward. Ghanaians should take pride in your contributions to peacekeeping from Congo to Liberia to Lebanon - (applause) - and your efforts to resist the scourge of the drug trade. (Applause.) We welcome the steps that are being taken by organizations like the African Union and ECOWAS to better resolve conflicts, to keep the peace, and support those in need. And we encourage the vision of a strong, regional security architecture that can bring effective, transnational forces to bear when needed.
America has a responsibility to work with you as a partner to advance this vision, not just with words, but with support that strengthens African capacity. When there's a genocide in Darfur or terrorists in Somalia, these are not simply African problems - they are global security challenges, and they demand a global response.
And that's why we stand ready to partner through diplomacy and technical assistance and logistical support, and we will stand behind efforts to hold war criminals accountable. And let me be clear: Our Africa Command is focused not on establishing a foothold in the continent, but on confronting these common challenges to advance the security of America, Africa, and the world. (Applause.)
In Moscow, I spoke of the need for an international system where the universal rights of human beings are respected, and violations of those rights are opposed. And that must include a commitment to support those who resolve conflicts peacefully, to sanction and stop those who don't, and to help those who have suffered. But ultimately, it will be vibrant democracies like Botswana and Ghana which roll back the causes of conflict and advance the frontiers of peace and prosperity.
As I said earlier, Africa's future is up to Africans.
The people of Africa are ready to claim that future. And in my country, African Americans - including so many recent immigrants - have thrived in every sector of society. We've done so despite a difficult past, and we've drawn strength from our African heritage. With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and Lagos, Kigali, Kinshasa, Harare, and right here in Accra. (Applause.)
You know, 52 years ago, the eyes of the world were on Ghana. And a young preacher named Martin Luther King traveled here, to Accra, to watch the Union Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was before the march on Washington or the success of the civil rights movement in my country. Dr. King was asked how he felt while watching the birth of a nation. And he said: "It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice."
Now that triumph must be won once more, and it must be won by you. (Applause.) And I am particularly speaking to the young people all across Africa and right here in Ghana. In places like Ghana, young people make up over half of the population.
And here is what you must know: The world will be what you make of it. You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities, and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, and end conflicts, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can - (applause) - because in this moment, history is on the move.
But these things can only be done if all of you take responsibility for your future. And it won't be easy. It will take time and effort. There will be suffering and setbacks. But I can promise you this: America will be with you every step of the way - as a partner, as a friend. (Applause.) Opportunity won't come from any other place, though. It must come from the decisions that all of you make, the things that you do, the hope that you hold in your heart.
Ghana, freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your responsibility to build upon freedom's foundation. And if you do, we will look back years from now to places like Accra and say this was the time when the promise was realized; this was the moment when prosperity was forged, when pain was overcome, and a new era of progress began. This can be the time when we witness the triumph of justice once more. Yes we can. Thank you very much. God bless you. Thank you. (Applause.)
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Friday, July 10, 2009
Today's headlines - Fri 7/9/2009
Friday July 10, 2009
News
KENYA CORNERED
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga during the signing of the National Peace Accord on February 28, last year. Mr Annan has handed over the secret list to ICC prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Photo/FILE
By BERNARD NAMUNANEPosted Thursday, July 9 2009 at 19:29
Kenya’s attempts to delay punishment of top suspects accused of crimes against humanity on Thursday backfired after chief mediator Kofi Annan abruptly handed over the secret list to the International Criminal Court.
What started as recommendations for the formation of a commission of inquiry into the violence following the presidential election in 2007 is now formally an international judicial matter and Kenya’s options have all but ended.
Irritated by the deadlines set by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, which brokered a deal to end the violence last year, the government sent a delegation to Mr Annan and later to negotiate directly with the prosecutor at the ICC, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
The reception in Europe was far from warm. Mr Annan thought Kenyan lacked the political will to punish the perpetrators of the violence.
His advice was for the leaders to speak to Mr Moreno-Ocampo first and then he would communicate his decision.
He summoned the other members of the panel of Eminent African Personalities, Mr Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and Ms Graça Machel of South Africa and they decided to hand over the list of suspects to the International Criminal Court.
His “communication” on Thursday caught everyone by surprise and threw the government into a panic.
Both the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement have paid lip service to the need to end impunity without real commitment to punishment for crimes against humanity.
ODM, according to a party apparatchik, is “focusing on... the officials who were in charge when innocent people were killed by police.”
The feeling in ODM is that more of PNU people stand to be prosecuted than its own.
The dossier it sent to the International Criminal Court in January last year consisted of evidence of murder by the State, including postmortem reports showing that victims had been shot.
On the other hand, PNU appears to believe that the bloody crackdown on protesters was a law and order issue, which is necessary to preserve the state, and that the Mungiki slaughter in Naivasha and elsewhere was “spontaneous” retaliation for killings and mass evictions reported in the Rift Valley and elsewhere. In other words, ODM started it.
In both parties, those responsible for the slaughter believe that they could threaten new violence to deter prosecutions.
Some have argued that what is needed is “healing” and “reconciliation” rather than prosecution.
This explains the fashionable idea of referring even the worst criminals to the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.
Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo is on record as having said that a special tribunal would only be formed if it did not threaten stability, an indication that there has been no single-minded pursuit of justice.
All these are moot arguments now: According to the agreement entered into with the International Criminal Court, Kenya must establish a court or tribunal to try the suspects, offer proof that it was protecting witnesses and preserving evidence — all by September.
The court or tribunal must not only be accepted by Parliament — a near impossibility given MPs’ hostility to a local tribunal — but must also have the broad support of many sectors of the society, according to Mr Annan’s letter.
To build consensus and get MPs to pass the necessary laws in three months would require the kind of commitment to ending impunity that Kenya is yet to demonstrate.
On Thursday, Mr Annan separately called President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to inform them of his decision, sparking a flurry of meetings at Harambee House, the President’s office, attended by both the President and the PM.
The two, it appears, did not expect Mr Annan to hand over the envelope to Mr Moreno-Ocampo, especially after last week’s visit to Geneva and The Hague by the government delegation.
“Mr Kofi Annan today (Thursday) informed President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga that the Panel had transmitted to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court the sealed envelope and supporting materials entrusted to him by the Waki Commission on 17 October 2008,” Mr Annan’s statement said.
To underline the importance of his calls, Mr Annan also wrote separately to the President and the PM to inform them of the decision taken by the panel.
He said the decision was reached after the government delegation of Cabinet ministers Mutula Kilonzo, James Orengo and Attorney General Amos Wako met Mr Moreno-Ocampo.
The prosecutor gave the government until end of September to show proof that it was prosecuting the prominent people behind the violence in which more than 1,133 Kenyans were killed.
Sealed envelope
Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s office confirmed receiving the sealed enveloped and materials bearing evidence of the killings from Mr Annan.
The ICC chief prosecutor, who is Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on a visit to several Africa countries, has stressed no one will be spared if the government fails to meet its side of the bargain.
Sources said the meeting between President Kibaki, Mr Wako, Mr Kilonzo and Mr Orengo did not agree on the kind of judicial mechanism that they would put in place.
ODM had expressed fears that a special division of the High Court may not meet international standards.
Mr Wako, Mr Kilonzo and Mr Orengo were tasked to quickly work out a judicial mechanism that would be acceptable to MPs, The Hague and the public.
Although Mr Annan had welcomed the government’s efforts to either establish a local tribunal or a judicial mechanism to try the suspects, he declared that it must meet international standards and be agreed on by all Kenyans.
The slow pace
However, he hit at the slow pace of putting in place a mechanism and warned that impunity must be tackled for Kenya to embark on a fresh chapter.
He reminded the government that the public was becoming restless with the delay in implementing reforms under Agenda Four of the National Accord.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. The people of Kenya want to see concrete progress on impunity. Without such progress, the reconciliation between ethnic groups and the long-term stability of Kenya is in jeopardy,” he warned.
A draft Cabinet paper on the establishment of the special court has been submitted to the President and the PM, although it appears that it will meet strong opposition in Parliament.
The proposal seeks to set up a special division of the High Court that will be composed of foreign and local judges. The prosecutor and the investigator will be non-Kenyans.
Popular
KENYA CORNERED
Bury or cremate? Kin of sports official feud
Murugu, a tireless fighter in war
GAITHO: Annan has called the bluff on suspects against local trials
Ocampo itching to prosecute Kenyans
Youth PS Murugu dies in Nairobi
OBBO: It’s rich city folks who need slums most
Panic as Kenya poll chaos case handed to ICC
Chasing the dream in the US
Spanish giants battle for Sh5bn Fabregas
NTV Kenya
KENYA: PEOPLE'S LAUNCH OF NATIONAL LAND POLICY
http://tinyurl.com/m2s8en
In Kenyan history, the land issue has been an emotive issue. Toaddress this problem, the government embarked on the formation of anational land Policy through a widely consultative process with theaim of producing a policy whose vision was to guide the countrytowards efficient, sustainable and equitable use of land forprosperity and posterity.
******
SOMALIA: NUMBER OF DISPLACED TOPS 200,000
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31382
More than 200,000 people have now been forced to flee the Somalicapital Mogadishu since fighting broke out between the Government andopposition groups in early May, in the biggest exodus from thetroubled city since Ethiopian forces intervened in the Horn of Africanation in 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) has said. By July 6, the eight-week offensive led by theAl-Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam militia against the Government had drivena “staggering” 204,000 people from the capital, agency spokespersonRon Redmond said.
******
KENYA: AFTER 50 YEARS, LAND THEY CAN CALL THEIR OWN
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85149
After a 50-year wait, thousands of Kenyans in Central Province havereceived the most coveted asset in the country – a piece of land. Themove is not only good news for those allocated the land but for thecountry as a whole as the move will boost food security when therecipients start farming wheat, beans, maize and livestock on the6,070ha.
******
KENYA: CRISIS LOOMS AS WATER SOURCES DRY UP
http://tinyurl.com/pkxz7r
An acute shortage of water resources has hit Kenya pushing the countryinto a crisis as water sources dry up in what experts say is a loomingecological disaster. The shortage has been complicated by drying up ofwater sources including rivers, lakes , dams ,wells and springs andworsened by a an ongoing 10 month drought.
******
AFRICA: IRAN AND AFRICA: WHAT’S GOING ON?http://reporterregrets.blogspot.com/2008/09/iran-and-africa-whats-going-on.html
Much attention has been focused on China’s growing presence in Africa.But Iran too has been seeking expanded ties on the continent. Justthis month, Iran’s President Ahmadinejad expressed Tehran’s readinessto expand all-out relations with African countries. “The IslamicRepublic of Iran sees no limits for the expansion of ties with Africancountries,” and sharing its experiences with them, Ahmadinejad toldhis Kenyan counterpart in New York. “Iran has always sought to boostties with African countries in all arenas,” Ahmadinejad added.
******
KENYA: ANNAN ACTS ON POLL SUSPECTS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8142263.stm
The names of key suspects involved in violence after the 2007 Kenyanelection have been handed to the International Criminal Court (ICC).Mediator Kofi Annan said he had handed the names in a sealed envelopeto the prosecutor in The Hague.
******
KENYA: VOLUNTEER BRINGS STUDENTS IN WASHINGTON FACE-TO-FACE WITH POVERTY
http://advocacynet.org/resource/1254
"You are sick and it is the weekend. You have a fever and you'resweating and vomiting so you fear you have malaria. You need medicalattention. All the money you have is what is in your pocket, a totalof $3.59. You never went to school so you do not know how to read orwrite. You live in the Kibera slums."This was one scenario played outon a leafy Washington campus, as students in the summer program at theWashington International School struggled to understand life on theedge for children in Nairobi's notorious slums.
******
5 Refugees & forced migration
AFRICA: REFUGEE FREE PRESS AT A CROSSROADS
Report on KANERE’s progress June 2009
Bethany Ojalehto
In October 2008, several refugee and Kenyan journalists met in KakumaRefugee Camp, Kenya, to discuss the development of a press in Kakumausing the Kanere Free Press. In previous years, they had been involvedin a camp newsletter, produced by the refugee journalists, but editedby humanitarian agency staff and only intended for local in-campcirculation. That newsletter had eventually collapsed, but thejournalists had continued to meet together and analyze the news eventsin their local milieu.
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/57613
KENYA: DEFYING THE ODDS
Lessons learned from Men for Gender Equality Now
http://tinyurl.com/lbvykd
In this book, gender justice activists from Men for Gender Equality
Now (MEGEN Kenya) share their personal experiences as individuals and
as Changemakers. Besides personal stories told by activists, this
publication also includes short briefs on the work of MEGEN Kenya,
highlighting the challenges, successes and lessons learned in
different program areas.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\Fahamu - Networks For Social Justicehttp://www.fahamu.org/Pambazuka News is published by Fahamu Ltd.© Unless otherwise indicated, all materials published are licensedunder a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works3.0 Unported License. For further details see:http://www.pambazuka.org/en/about.phpPambazuka news can be viewed online: English language edition (http://www.pambazuka.org/en )Edição em língua Portuguesa ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt )Edition française ( http://www.pambazuka.org/fr )RSS Feeds available at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/newsfeed.phpPambazuka News is published with the support of a number of funders,details of which can be obtained athttp://www.pambazuka.org/en/about.phpTo SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE go to:http://pambazuka.gn.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pambazuka-newsor send a message to editor@pambazuka.org with the word SUBSCRIBE orUNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line as appropriate.The views expressed here are those of the authors and do notnecessarily represent those of Pambazuka News or Fahamu.With over 1000 contributors and an estimated 500,000 readers PambazukaNews is the authoritative pan African electronic weekly newsletter andplatform for social justice in Africa providing cutting edgecommentary and in-depth analysis on politics and current affairs,development, human rights, refugees, gender issues and culture inAfrica.In addition to its online store, Fahamu Books (http://fahamubooks.org/?utm_source=pz441&utm_medium=email ) is pleasedto announce that Yash Tandon’s Ending Aid Dependence is now availablefor purchase in bookstores in Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Malaysia, andMauritius. For more information on the location of these stores,please visit Where to buy our books (http://fahamubooks.org/bookstores/?utm_source=pz441&utm_medium=email )on the Fahamu Books website, or purchase online (http://fahamubooks.org/book/?GCOI=90638100770030&utm_source=pz441&utm_medium=email) .*Pambazuka News has now joined Twitter. By following 'pambazuka' onTwitter you can receive headlines from our 'Features' and 'Comment &Analysis' sections as they are published, and can even receive ourheadlines via SMS. Visit our Twitter page for more information:http://twitter.com/pambazuka*Pambazuka News now has a Del.icio.us page, where you can view thevarious websites that we visit to keep our fingers on the pulse ofAfrica! Visit http://delicious.com/pambazuka_newsISSN 1753-6839
News
KENYA CORNERED
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga during the signing of the National Peace Accord on February 28, last year. Mr Annan has handed over the secret list to ICC prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Photo/FILE
By BERNARD NAMUNANEPosted Thursday, July 9 2009 at 19:29
Kenya’s attempts to delay punishment of top suspects accused of crimes against humanity on Thursday backfired after chief mediator Kofi Annan abruptly handed over the secret list to the International Criminal Court.
What started as recommendations for the formation of a commission of inquiry into the violence following the presidential election in 2007 is now formally an international judicial matter and Kenya’s options have all but ended.
Irritated by the deadlines set by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, which brokered a deal to end the violence last year, the government sent a delegation to Mr Annan and later to negotiate directly with the prosecutor at the ICC, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
The reception in Europe was far from warm. Mr Annan thought Kenyan lacked the political will to punish the perpetrators of the violence.
His advice was for the leaders to speak to Mr Moreno-Ocampo first and then he would communicate his decision.
He summoned the other members of the panel of Eminent African Personalities, Mr Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and Ms Graça Machel of South Africa and they decided to hand over the list of suspects to the International Criminal Court.
His “communication” on Thursday caught everyone by surprise and threw the government into a panic.
Both the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement have paid lip service to the need to end impunity without real commitment to punishment for crimes against humanity.
ODM, according to a party apparatchik, is “focusing on... the officials who were in charge when innocent people were killed by police.”
The feeling in ODM is that more of PNU people stand to be prosecuted than its own.
The dossier it sent to the International Criminal Court in January last year consisted of evidence of murder by the State, including postmortem reports showing that victims had been shot.
On the other hand, PNU appears to believe that the bloody crackdown on protesters was a law and order issue, which is necessary to preserve the state, and that the Mungiki slaughter in Naivasha and elsewhere was “spontaneous” retaliation for killings and mass evictions reported in the Rift Valley and elsewhere. In other words, ODM started it.
In both parties, those responsible for the slaughter believe that they could threaten new violence to deter prosecutions.
Some have argued that what is needed is “healing” and “reconciliation” rather than prosecution.
This explains the fashionable idea of referring even the worst criminals to the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.
Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo is on record as having said that a special tribunal would only be formed if it did not threaten stability, an indication that there has been no single-minded pursuit of justice.
All these are moot arguments now: According to the agreement entered into with the International Criminal Court, Kenya must establish a court or tribunal to try the suspects, offer proof that it was protecting witnesses and preserving evidence — all by September.
The court or tribunal must not only be accepted by Parliament — a near impossibility given MPs’ hostility to a local tribunal — but must also have the broad support of many sectors of the society, according to Mr Annan’s letter.
To build consensus and get MPs to pass the necessary laws in three months would require the kind of commitment to ending impunity that Kenya is yet to demonstrate.
On Thursday, Mr Annan separately called President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to inform them of his decision, sparking a flurry of meetings at Harambee House, the President’s office, attended by both the President and the PM.
The two, it appears, did not expect Mr Annan to hand over the envelope to Mr Moreno-Ocampo, especially after last week’s visit to Geneva and The Hague by the government delegation.
“Mr Kofi Annan today (Thursday) informed President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga that the Panel had transmitted to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court the sealed envelope and supporting materials entrusted to him by the Waki Commission on 17 October 2008,” Mr Annan’s statement said.
To underline the importance of his calls, Mr Annan also wrote separately to the President and the PM to inform them of the decision taken by the panel.
He said the decision was reached after the government delegation of Cabinet ministers Mutula Kilonzo, James Orengo and Attorney General Amos Wako met Mr Moreno-Ocampo.
The prosecutor gave the government until end of September to show proof that it was prosecuting the prominent people behind the violence in which more than 1,133 Kenyans were killed.
Sealed envelope
Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s office confirmed receiving the sealed enveloped and materials bearing evidence of the killings from Mr Annan.
The ICC chief prosecutor, who is Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on a visit to several Africa countries, has stressed no one will be spared if the government fails to meet its side of the bargain.
Sources said the meeting between President Kibaki, Mr Wako, Mr Kilonzo and Mr Orengo did not agree on the kind of judicial mechanism that they would put in place.
ODM had expressed fears that a special division of the High Court may not meet international standards.
Mr Wako, Mr Kilonzo and Mr Orengo were tasked to quickly work out a judicial mechanism that would be acceptable to MPs, The Hague and the public.
Although Mr Annan had welcomed the government’s efforts to either establish a local tribunal or a judicial mechanism to try the suspects, he declared that it must meet international standards and be agreed on by all Kenyans.
The slow pace
However, he hit at the slow pace of putting in place a mechanism and warned that impunity must be tackled for Kenya to embark on a fresh chapter.
He reminded the government that the public was becoming restless with the delay in implementing reforms under Agenda Four of the National Accord.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. The people of Kenya want to see concrete progress on impunity. Without such progress, the reconciliation between ethnic groups and the long-term stability of Kenya is in jeopardy,” he warned.
A draft Cabinet paper on the establishment of the special court has been submitted to the President and the PM, although it appears that it will meet strong opposition in Parliament.
The proposal seeks to set up a special division of the High Court that will be composed of foreign and local judges. The prosecutor and the investigator will be non-Kenyans.
Popular
KENYA CORNERED
Bury or cremate? Kin of sports official feud
Murugu, a tireless fighter in war
GAITHO: Annan has called the bluff on suspects against local trials
Ocampo itching to prosecute Kenyans
Youth PS Murugu dies in Nairobi
OBBO: It’s rich city folks who need slums most
Panic as Kenya poll chaos case handed to ICC
Chasing the dream in the US
Spanish giants battle for Sh5bn Fabregas
NTV Kenya
KENYA: PEOPLE'S LAUNCH OF NATIONAL LAND POLICY
http://tinyurl.com/m2s8en
In Kenyan history, the land issue has been an emotive issue. Toaddress this problem, the government embarked on the formation of anational land Policy through a widely consultative process with theaim of producing a policy whose vision was to guide the countrytowards efficient, sustainable and equitable use of land forprosperity and posterity.
******
SOMALIA: NUMBER OF DISPLACED TOPS 200,000
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31382
More than 200,000 people have now been forced to flee the Somalicapital Mogadishu since fighting broke out between the Government andopposition groups in early May, in the biggest exodus from thetroubled city since Ethiopian forces intervened in the Horn of Africanation in 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) has said. By July 6, the eight-week offensive led by theAl-Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam militia against the Government had drivena “staggering” 204,000 people from the capital, agency spokespersonRon Redmond said.
******
KENYA: AFTER 50 YEARS, LAND THEY CAN CALL THEIR OWN
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85149
After a 50-year wait, thousands of Kenyans in Central Province havereceived the most coveted asset in the country – a piece of land. Themove is not only good news for those allocated the land but for thecountry as a whole as the move will boost food security when therecipients start farming wheat, beans, maize and livestock on the6,070ha.
******
KENYA: CRISIS LOOMS AS WATER SOURCES DRY UP
http://tinyurl.com/pkxz7r
An acute shortage of water resources has hit Kenya pushing the countryinto a crisis as water sources dry up in what experts say is a loomingecological disaster. The shortage has been complicated by drying up ofwater sources including rivers, lakes , dams ,wells and springs andworsened by a an ongoing 10 month drought.
******
AFRICA: IRAN AND AFRICA: WHAT’S GOING ON?http://reporterregrets.blogspot.com/2008/09/iran-and-africa-whats-going-on.html
Much attention has been focused on China’s growing presence in Africa.But Iran too has been seeking expanded ties on the continent. Justthis month, Iran’s President Ahmadinejad expressed Tehran’s readinessto expand all-out relations with African countries. “The IslamicRepublic of Iran sees no limits for the expansion of ties with Africancountries,” and sharing its experiences with them, Ahmadinejad toldhis Kenyan counterpart in New York. “Iran has always sought to boostties with African countries in all arenas,” Ahmadinejad added.
******
KENYA: ANNAN ACTS ON POLL SUSPECTS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8142263.stm
The names of key suspects involved in violence after the 2007 Kenyanelection have been handed to the International Criminal Court (ICC).Mediator Kofi Annan said he had handed the names in a sealed envelopeto the prosecutor in The Hague.
******
KENYA: VOLUNTEER BRINGS STUDENTS IN WASHINGTON FACE-TO-FACE WITH POVERTY
http://advocacynet.org/resource/1254
"You are sick and it is the weekend. You have a fever and you'resweating and vomiting so you fear you have malaria. You need medicalattention. All the money you have is what is in your pocket, a totalof $3.59. You never went to school so you do not know how to read orwrite. You live in the Kibera slums."This was one scenario played outon a leafy Washington campus, as students in the summer program at theWashington International School struggled to understand life on theedge for children in Nairobi's notorious slums.
******
5 Refugees & forced migration
AFRICA: REFUGEE FREE PRESS AT A CROSSROADS
Report on KANERE’s progress June 2009
Bethany Ojalehto
In October 2008, several refugee and Kenyan journalists met in KakumaRefugee Camp, Kenya, to discuss the development of a press in Kakumausing the Kanere Free Press. In previous years, they had been involvedin a camp newsletter, produced by the refugee journalists, but editedby humanitarian agency staff and only intended for local in-campcirculation. That newsletter had eventually collapsed, but thejournalists had continued to meet together and analyze the news eventsin their local milieu.
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/57613
KENYA: DEFYING THE ODDS
Lessons learned from Men for Gender Equality Now
http://tinyurl.com/lbvykd
In this book, gender justice activists from Men for Gender Equality
Now (MEGEN Kenya) share their personal experiences as individuals and
as Changemakers. Besides personal stories told by activists, this
publication also includes short briefs on the work of MEGEN Kenya,
highlighting the challenges, successes and lessons learned in
different program areas.
/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\Fahamu - Networks For Social Justicehttp://www.fahamu.org/Pambazuka News is published by Fahamu Ltd.© Unless otherwise indicated, all materials published are licensedunder a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works3.0 Unported License. For further details see:http://www.pambazuka.org/en/about.phpPambazuka news can be viewed online: English language edition (http://www.pambazuka.org/en )Edição em língua Portuguesa ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt )Edition française ( http://www.pambazuka.org/fr )RSS Feeds available at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/newsfeed.phpPambazuka News is published with the support of a number of funders,details of which can be obtained athttp://www.pambazuka.org/en/about.phpTo SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE go to:http://pambazuka.gn.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pambazuka-newsor send a message to editor@pambazuka.org with the word SUBSCRIBE orUNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line as appropriate.The views expressed here are those of the authors and do notnecessarily represent those of Pambazuka News or Fahamu.With over 1000 contributors and an estimated 500,000 readers PambazukaNews is the authoritative pan African electronic weekly newsletter andplatform for social justice in Africa providing cutting edgecommentary and in-depth analysis on politics and current affairs,development, human rights, refugees, gender issues and culture inAfrica.In addition to its online store, Fahamu Books (http://fahamubooks.org/?utm_source=pz441&utm_medium=email ) is pleasedto announce that Yash Tandon’s Ending Aid Dependence is now availablefor purchase in bookstores in Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Malaysia, andMauritius. For more information on the location of these stores,please visit Where to buy our books (http://fahamubooks.org/bookstores/?utm_source=pz441&utm_medium=email )on the Fahamu Books website, or purchase online (http://fahamubooks.org/book/?GCOI=90638100770030&utm_source=pz441&utm_medium=email) .*Pambazuka News has now joined Twitter. By following 'pambazuka' onTwitter you can receive headlines from our 'Features' and 'Comment &Analysis' sections as they are published, and can even receive ourheadlines via SMS. Visit our Twitter page for more information:http://twitter.com/pambazuka*Pambazuka News now has a Del.icio.us page, where you can view thevarious websites that we visit to keep our fingers on the pulse ofAfrica! Visit http://delicious.com/pambazuka_newsISSN 1753-6839
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Some Headlines - Thurs 7/2/2009
Most popular from Daily Nation today:
Kenyan couple admits conning US nuns of Sh77 million
You are my friend, but put it on paper!
Muthaura flown to SA for treatment
Kidnappers demand Sh1m as they seize schoolboy
Ministers deny ODM meeting walkout
Report exposes how 8-4-4 ruins the youth
ODM ministers walk out on Raila over tribunal
Kenyans embroiled in new US crackdown on immigrants
Kenya asks Annan for more time
Armed gangsters now target leafy suburbs
Stories below for these headlines:
- Kenya most corrupt - Reuters
- Kenya demand for circumcision on rise - IRIN
- World financial meltdown: impact on African women - Pambazuka
- Unfinished business: Moving Kenya forward - Pambazuka
- EAST AFRICA/HORN: Preparedness gaps evident as first flu cases diagnosed - IRIN
Kenya most corrupt in east Africa, bribe poll shows
Thu Jul 2, 2009 2:57pm GMT
1 of 1Full Size
By Wangui Kanina
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE5610I020090702?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya is east Africa's most graft-prone nation with a bribe expected or solicited in nearly half of all transactions, according to a survey by an anti-graft watchdog published on Thursday, followed by Uganda and Tanzania.
Kenya's police force was the most corrupt public institution with 66.5 percent bribery rate, the inaugural East Africa Bribery Index showed.
The index focused on seven bribery indicators: likelihood of encountering bribery, the prevalence, severity, frequency and impact of bribery, the average size of the bribe and the contribution of bribery to an organisation's income.
Measured on those criteria, Kenya's overall bribery rate was 45 percent, Uganda's 35 percent and Tanzania's 17 percent.
The survey was commissioned by the Kenya division of Transparency International (TI), which has been publishing a separate bribery index for Kenya since 2002.
"The ranking of key public service delivery agencies ... shows that the public service in east Africa is riddled with corruption," said Job Ogonda, the group's executive director.
Corruption and red tape were cited as a headache by east African corporate bosses in a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers published in April.
The World Bank says higher costs for businesses due to corruption, as well as poor infrastructure or insecurity, are "invisible costs" that can hit competitivity with other regions in the world.
Kenya's police force has dominated the Kenyan bribery index since it was first published.
Kenyans expect to being asked for bribes, known as "kitu kidogo" -- a little something -- to get most services, and so they rarely report such incidents.
JOB-RELATED BRIBERY
Tanzania's police was ranked second most corrupt public institution with a 62.6 percent bribery rate followed by Kenya's Ministry of Defence on 61.9 percent and Tanzania's judiciary and courts on 61.5 percent.
The least corrupt public institution was Uganda's Postal Corporation with a rate of 2.3 percent.
The survey was compiled from responses from 10,517 people in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
High unemployment and a harsh economic climate also contributed to an increase in bribery, said Ogonda, as candidates buy their way into a highly competitive jobs market.
"Cases of unemployment-related bribery in Kenya rose from 6 percent in 2008 to 11 percent in 2009 ... Tanzania, 41 percent of the total value of bribes paid were for employment related issues," he said.
Kenya is the region's economic powerhouse with a gross domestic product of $35 billion. Growth plunged to 1.7 percent in 2008 from 7.1 percent in 2007 due to post-election violence, bad weather and the global slowdown.
Tanzania's growth will slow to 5 percent in 2009, a Reuters poll showed, while Ugandan growth is seen slowing to 5.5 percent in 2009.
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
KENYA: Struggling to meet demand for male circumcision
Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN
A mother comforts her son who has just been circumcised at a Marie Stopes clinic in NyanzaKISUMU, 1 July 2009 (PlusNews) - Demand for medical male circumcision has been rising in Kenya's south-western Nyanza Province since it became available as part of a package of HIV prevention services in November 2008. Although local communities do not traditionally practice male circumcision, intensive sensitization programmes by governmental and non-governmental organizations are boosting acceptability. "We are ensuring that this public health measure is implemented in a culturally sensitive environment, and that men and their families have the information they need to make informed choices," said Dr Jackson Kioko, Nyanza's director of public health. So far 20,701 men have been medically circumcised at 124 private and public health facilities across Nyanza, the only province where the programme has been rolled out. Nyanza has the highest HIV prevalence in Kenya - 15.3 percent, more than double the national average - and a low level of male circumcision. A national task force will coordinate wider implementation of the procedure, and the National AIDS Control Council has set aside 16.1 million Kenya shillings (US$212,500) to encourage greater acceptance of it. Dominic Oyier, 30, a member of the Luo community, which does not traditionally circumcise men, feared he would be ridiculed by his friends and relatives if he decided to get circumcised. "Later, when I received the information from community sensitizers, I thought it was a good thing, especially when I was told that it can even benefit my wife by reducing her chances of getting cervical cancer," he told IRIN/PlusNews. "I decided to go for it ... It is a scary experience but it is worth it and even some of my friends consult me because they also want to try it out."
There are men who will come to the clinic seeking these services, but the moment you mention that they have to abstain for six weeks...they change their minds Challenges Dr Walter Obiero, a clinical manager at the Nyanza Reproductive Health Society, said the biggest challenges were the shortage of trained health workers, and persuading men to abstain from sex for six weeks following the surgery. "There are men who will come to the clinic seeking these services, but the moment you mention that they will have to abstain for six weeks, as is required after the circumcision, they ... change their minds," he said. "Then there is the issue of staff constraints, especially in government facilities. The number of staff already trained to offer circumcision services falls far below the demand, and other health services also need to be attended to by the same health workers." Most of the 450 government health workers able to offer male circumcision services including counselling, performing the procedure safely and ensuring infection control, have been trained by the Male Circumcision Consortium, which includes Family Health International, the Nyanza Reproductive Health Society, the University of Illinois at Chicago and EngenderHealth, a reproductive health organization.
Read more:
Rising demand for male circumcision
Male circumcision sparks controversy
Government to roll out male circumcision
At the cutting edge - male circumcision and HIVLess than one percent of male circumcisions have had an adverse reaction. "Any complication that may arise could be mainly due to the client ignoring the advice of health personnel on how to care for themselves immediately after the procedure," said Dr Obiero. Until more government health workers can be trained, the consortium is providing more than 75 percent of circumcision services, and taking a lead in informing people that male circumcision provides only partial protection against HIV infection, and they should keep using condoms. Women have been targeted with information about how male circumcision can benefit them by reducing their risk of cervical cancer and improving hygiene to ensure they support the programme. Models for providing circumcision services through outreach and mobile services are also being explored. "The outreach services involve sending providers to health facilities that do not have capacity to offer male circumcision on a regular basis, due to lack of space or insufficient health personnel," said Kioko. The government and its partners have set a target of circumcising 80 percent of all uncircumcised men between the ages of 15 and 49 in Nyanza over the next 10 years, reaching a total of one million men. ko/ks/he
Themes: (IRIN) HIV/AIDS (PlusNews), (IRIN) Prevention - PlusNews
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The world financial meltdown: What now for African women?
Hilary N. Ervin & Caroline Muthoni Muriithi
2009-06-25, Issue 439
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/57247
cc hdptcarAs the global economic crisis takes its toll on Africa’s fiscal revenues and household incomes, Hilary N. Ervin & Caroline Muthoni Muriithi fear that the continent’s achievements in human rights and development may be reversed, worsening the condition of women already struggling against an ‘entrenched patriarchy’. Despite embracing commitments to gender equity on paper, Ervin and Muriithi say many countries lack the funding and resources to implement policies and legislation. Programmes focused on women, largely funded by multi-lateral donors, are likely to decline as aid dries up the authors warn, while at a domestic level many households will prioritise the education and welfare of sons over daughters, with ‘long-term consequences for overall development’. Calling for the ratification and implementation of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, Ervin and Muriithi suggest that ‘investment in women's livelihoods, particularly in African economies,’ should be ‘a central focus of governments’ economic recovery policies’.
Today the global community faces widespread economic turmoil, which has implications of considerable scope for the inclusion and promotion of human rights in general and women's rights in particular. In 2007-2008, many African countries enjoyed relative economic growth and increased investor confidence like never before. Sound economic policies were an important factor, as was the favourable external environment and increased external support in the form of debt relief and higher inflows.[1] However at the end of 2007, the world experienced an increase in commodity prices like fuel and food, followed by the global financial crisis. This crisis has seen commodity prices drop with negative effects on export earnings and the external current account, fiscal revenues, and household incomes.[2] Some African countries have seen a fall in equity markets, capital flow reversals, and pressure from exchange markets.[3]Remittances to Africa are also projected to decline by 4.4 per cent[4], and foreign aid, if the precedent set by the Scandinavian financial crisis of the 1990's[5] is any measure, will likely decline as well. It is feared that the current crisis will result in reversal in achievements made under the Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs) and human rights in Africa. The slowdown in growth will likely deepen the deprivation of the poor and of the large number of people clustered just above the poverty line, who are particularly vulnerable to economic volatility and temporary slowdowns.[6] This is particularly true for African women who for a long time have been the face of poverty in Africa. In Africa many women are already struggling daily against an entrenched patriarchy, enforced through formal and informal social, cultural, political and economic practices. They often face rampant sexual and psychological abuse, which is further exacerbated by the numerous conflicts on the continent. For example mass rape of women and girls in the Congo and Darfur, which subsequently contributes to the increase in levels of HIV/AIDS in Africa and further endangering the health of women on the continent. Women continue to bear the burden of feeding the continent. They constitute 70-80 per cent of the agricultural labour force, yet they have limited access and control over land and the produce they grow; no access to credit and agricultural inputs and are never involved in decision making processes. Women continue to face various forms of harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutilation, early marriage, and other forms of slavery and bondage that leave them vulnerable to abuse and health complications.Women rights advocates across the continent have fought long and hard to ensure that their governments adopt and implement laws and policies that seek to remedy the injustices faced by women. As a result funding for women-centred programming varies considerably across Africa, but with limited resources being invested in the implementation of women's rights. Though on paper many countries have embraced broad commitments to gender equity and female empowerment, including the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) [PDF]; the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women ('The Protocol') and commitments under the Millennium Development Goals, funding for the financial and human resources necessary to bring laws and policies into action has thus far been negligible[7]. With the current crisis, this negligible funding may result in no funding at all. The current financial crisis has amounted to a decline in household income, meaning the reallocation of scare resources towards boys' welfare and education. In times of economic crisis, the rate of child mortality among girls has been shown to increase, while the percentage of girls enrolled in primary education rapidly declines.[8] This could also mean a drop in the gains made on girl child education, with parents choosing to invest in education of boys and removing girls from school due to high cost of living and education. The crisis also has far-reaching effects on women's ability to assert and demand their individual rights within the current economic context, especially when they are forced to rely on their husband and male relatives for money. Women are mostly likely to have jobs in the informal sectors of the economy with virtually no job security. They are also the first to get laid off as they are often less skilled than their male counterparts.[9] This will increase the vulnerability of women and make them susceptible to human rights violations such as trafficking, prostitution and domestic violence to mention a few. When basic survival is a daily concern, the overall rights agenda takes a back seat, and with many African nations struggling to feed their people social welfare programmes become a mere luxury. The International Labour Organization recently released a report on the Global Employment Trends for Women, which reconfirms the reality of gender inequality in the global labour market in terms of access, freedom of occupational choice, participation rates and levels of unemployment.[10] Couple this with contractions in the market, reduction in remittances and a decrease in micro-lending and you have dire consequences for women, a reversal of the progress made towards gender equity over the past decade and long-term consequences for overall development.With industrialised (i.e. donor) nations reallocating funds towards domestic sources and economic stimulus packages, many programmes dependent on foreign aid in Africa and other developing areas will no longer be able to operate or will face significant programme reductions. A decrease in funding for women specific programming will result in further marginalisation of their rights and self-efficacy. As we are aware, many women based initiatives in Africa are funded through multilateral aid agencies and country foreign aid programmes from wealthy donors. The inclusion of women-centred programmes and social funding in many national budgets of African countries is negligible and as such, a large percentage of women who are currently benefiting from externally funded projects will no longer be able to access services as donor governments continue cutting aid in favour of investment at home.This is why full ratification and implementation of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is so vital to both the empowerment and status of African women as well as economic recovery across the continent. The protocol does not only spell out the rights of women but clearly guides state parties on their obligations in ensuring that the rights provided are adequately implemented. Article 26 (2) calls on state parties not only to adopt measures stated in the protocol but also to ensure that it provides budgetary and other resources for the full and effective implementation of the protocol. The protocol is bold in providing for a number of human rights for women such as: A call for the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, the rights of widows; the rights of women to property and inheritance; calling on states to invest in social programmes for women; the right to food security and housing; a right to sustainable development; the prevention of early marriage for girls; and sexual and reproductive health rights among others. For example, the fact that the Kenyan government has yet to ratify the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is indicative of the culture of male dominance that dictates many social and cultural practices in the nation. In Kenya reproductive health is not a government priority and provision of services are extremely limited with respect to family planning and maternal health. In a nation where 1 in every 39[11] women is at risk of maternal mortality during her lifetime and an estimated 30-50 per cent[12] of those deaths are attributable to unsafe abortions and resulting complications, a reduction in external programme funding translates to an even higher mortality rate. Beyond direct funding for health services, a reduction of aid targeted towards community programmes and women's initiatives that aim to educate women on their reproductive and family planning options will result in an increase in number of unwanted pregnancies, abortions and ultimately mortality rates among the population, not to mention other continuous violations of women's rights. This is just but one example of how fluctuations in the market will, can and do affect the implementation and realisation of women's rights in any context. Unfortunately, for women in Africa the battle to level the playing field is still being fought. It is clear that many African nations did not invest resources to fund social welfare programmes prior to the global crisis and the impacts felt locally further complicate respective government's financial capacities now. WAY FORWARDSound policy choices now, which adequately account for women, will have both short-term and long-term positive impacts on development and economic sustainability – for example the inclusion of women in national budgets and all investment policies. This again necessitates the ratification and implementation of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Though there are rapidly evolving and increasing challenges facing the global community, the current upheaval in the economy does offer a unique opportunity for the insertion of a women's rights and equality agenda. History demonstrates[13] that investment in women's economic security and their place within the workforce helped pull the United States out of the Great Depression and aided the stabilisation of the Latin American economies during the regional economic crisis of the 1990s. However, a focus on the massive wealth of resource available on the continent and responsible adjustments that focus on the human development and specifically women's socio-economic empowerment is important during this period of economic turmoil.Addressing gender specific issues of the economic crisis at the 53rd United Nations session Sakiko Fukuda-Parr points out that 'global governance needs to provide for safeguards against such downside risks that threaten the security of human lives'. Investment in women's livelihoods, particularly in African economies, should be a central focus of governments' economic recovery policies. In any society the status of women has an effect on the overall level of national development and level of freedom enjoyed by the people as a whole. Accounting for women's rights and development of inclusive policies and practices now will help both to stabilise many economies in Africa feeling the heat of the current global crisis and to reposition African countries on the world's stage.* Hilary Ervin is a freelance writer on human rights and an intern at Equality Now.* Caroline Muthoni Muriithi is a human rights lawyer and currently a programme officer at Equality Now.*Please note that the views reflected in this article are not necessarily the views of Equality Now.* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/.NOTES[1] See, Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Sub-Saharan Africa , p. 3 , 2009 (International Monetary Fund.[2] Id., [3] Id., p.4 [4] Ratha, Dilip. Remittances Expected to Fall by 5-8% in 2009. World Bank. peoplemove.worldbank.org/en/content/remittances-expected-to-fall-by-5-to-8-percent-in-2009[5] Rodman, David. History Says Financial Crisis Will Suppress Aid. Global Development: Views from the Center.blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2008/10/history-says-financial-crisis.php[6] Shimelse Ali, Impact of Financial Crisis on Africa, International Economic Bulletin, April 2009, viewed at www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=22995 [7] See, African Center for Gender and Social Development. Financing Gender Equity and the Empowerment of Women in Africa. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Transcript Published December 2007.[8] Buvinic, Mayra. Emerging Issue: The Gender Perspective of the Financial Crisis. Interactive Expert Panel. March 2009[9] Id., p.3[10] International Labor Organization. Global Employment Trends for Women. International Labor Organization. March 2009[11] UNICEF. Kenya Statistics. www.unicef.org/infobycountry/kenya_statistics.html[12] Mulama, Joyce. Break the Silence on Abortion. Health Kenya. IPS. August 30th, 2009. [13] Commission on the Status of Women. Governments Must Focus on Women as Economic Agents During Global Financial Crisis if Their Disproportionate Suffering is to be Averted. United Nations Economic and Social Council. May 5th, 2009. www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/wom1721.doc.htm
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/57247
Unfinished business: Moving Kenya forward
Author: Korir Sing’Oei
Date Written: 18 June 2009
Primary Category: Kenya
Document Origin: Pambazuka News 438
Secondary Category: -none-
Source URL: http://www.pambazuka.org/
Key Words: Kenya, Shifta War, ethnic conflict, violence,
African Charter Article #13: Every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of their country and to equal access of public services . (Click for full text...)
African Charter Article #13
1. Every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of his country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives in accordance with the provisions of the law.
2. Every citizen shall have the right of equal access to the public service of his country.
3. Every individual shall have the right of access to public property and services in strict equality of all persons before the law. (Click to hide charter text)
Summary & Comment: The author points out that there are clear similarities between the State’s response to the 1963 Shifta War and today’s military crackdowns at Mt. Elgon and stresses that the government continues to have a single method of conflict resolution: state-sponsored violence. Accountability and an apology are called for from the President and Prime Minister. DN
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Unfinished business: Moving Kenya forward http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/57081
Many were quick to write in adulation that the agreement signed by Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on 28 February 2008 to share, among other things, executive power was the answer to the conflict that had engulfed the country since December 2007. But was it? Evidence of what has happened in Kenya subsequent to the enactment of the National Accord suggests that the chasm that separates the country is one that requires a fundamental redesign of the state through substantive constitutional arrangements, strong human and minority rights guarantees and transitional justice processes supervised by the international community. The establishment of a committee of experts to complete the drafting of a new constitution and a soon-to-be constituted truth commission represents opportunities, the failure of which will spell doom for the country.
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EAST AFRICA/HORN: Preparedness gaps evident as first flu cases diagnosed
Photo: Julius Mwelu/IRIN
A nurse at work at a Kenyan hospital: Overall pandemic preparedness in East Africa and the Horn of Africa remains "relatively inactive", according to a UN agency, as the first cases are reported in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda - file photoNAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA/KAMPALA, 2 July 2009 (IRIN) - Although some countries within East Africa and the Horn region have scaled up their influenza A (H1N1) contingency plans, overall pandemic preparedness remains "relatively inactive", a UN agency has said, as the first cases were reported in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. According to an overview prepared by the pandemic influenza coordination (PIC) unit in the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA PIC) in Nairobi, the countries that have updated their contingency plans include Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic (CAR), and the Republic of Congo. "These countries are considered well prepared in mobilizing both health and non-health sector measures in the event of a pandemic," OCHA PIC said on 1 July. OCHA PIC is a member of the regional rapid response team, which is planning technical support missions between July and September to accelerate preparedness and response in countries considered most vulnerable to so-called swine flu, including Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, CAR, Chad and Eritrea. OCHA PIC said regional partners had expressed concern over the inadequate communication messages and channels used to reach the public with regard to pandemic preparedness and responses.
Countries that have updated their contingency plans include Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo "It is recommended that a communication centre be hosted within respective ministry of health structures but supported by technical agencies in disseminating well-packaged messages on H1N1, H1N5 [avian flu] and other trans-boundary diseases," OCHA PIC said. Symptoms of A(H1N1) were confirmed in Kenya on 29 June in a British student visiting the country. "[Another] three suspected cases are under investigation," OCHA PIC said. In Ethiopia, the Ministry of Health has confirmed a third A(H1N1) case and is investigating four suspected cases. "Out of 17 suspected individuals, 10 of them were found to be free and returned to their homes," Ahmed Imano, head of the public relations service at the Ministry of Health, said. "Four of them are still under surveillance." In Uganda, the Ministry of Health announced on 2 July that one case of H1N1 had been diagnosed at Entebbe International Airport. The ministry said the 40-year-old had been isolated at a medical facility at the airport. In Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa have also reported A(H1N1) cases. Although no deaths have been recorded, more than 10 cases have been confirmed on the continent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Ethiopia reported its case on 19 June. The first cases were detected in two teenagers returning from the United States. The third was reported on 29 June, of an air hostess with Ethiopian Airlines. "All of them came from abroad," Ahmed said. "It is not necessary at this time to reveal where they came from." He added: "We have a good mechanism of tracing [the epidemic.] All flight attendants have received training and are doing a good follow-up." tw/js/vm/mw
Themes: (IRIN) Early Warning, (IRIN) Flu
[ENDS]
Report can be found online at:http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85105
Monday, June 29, 2009
Today's Headlines - Mon 6/29/09
Reuters Ethiopia
Kenyan forces again accused of torture, rape
Reuters - Andrew Cawthorne, Abdi Sheikh - 3 hours ago
The accusation by US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) of brutalities in a late 2008 operation adds to a litany of allegations against Kenya's army and police ...
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Kenyan Stocks Climb for a Third Day: Led by TPS Eastern, Unga
Bloomberg - Sarah McGregor - 4 hours ago
June 29 (Bloomberg) -- Kenya's price-weighted All-Share Index rose for the third day, climbing 0.9 percent to 57.75 points at 10:20 am in ...
Daily Nation
Kenya confirms first swine flu case
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation - 2 hours ago
The tests were done by the Kenya Medical Research Institute - KEMRI and other agencies. However, the minister has called on the public not to panic saying ...
Kenya confirms country's first swine flu case Times of India
Swine Flu hits Kenya Standard
Kenya confirms first case of H1N1 flu virus Reuters India
Independent Online - Daily Nation
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Los Angeles Times
In Kenya, patients held hostage to medical bills
Los Angeles Times - Edmund Sanders - Jun 27, 2009
Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya -- Widowed and HIV-positive, Beatrice Acheing had no money to have her baby delivered in a hospital. ...
CTV.ca
Somalia: Kenya Army Ready for Attack
AllAfrica.com - Jun 25, 2009
Nairobi — Kenya's military is preparing to protect its borders and refugees seeking a safe haven in the country following threats by extremists in Somalia ...
Kenya may close border with Somalia PRESS TV
As more flee Somalia, world's largest refugee camp feels the pressure Christian Science Monitor
US Has Sent 40 Tons of Munitions to Aid Somali Government Washington Post
United Press International - Daily Nation
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Kenyan stocks rise by 0.5% by Friday's close:
ISI - Emerging Markets - 1 hour ago
Kenyan stocks rose for a second day, by 0.5% by Friday's close of trade in Nairobi , reported Bloomberg. The price-weighted All-Share Index rose every day ...
Business Daily Africa
Kenyan sugar privatisations should cut costs:
ISI - Emerging Markets - 1 hour ago
Kenyan sugar privatisations should cut costs by up to 30% and boost regional competitiveness as the country sells shares in five sugar factories over the ...
Sugar millers not ready for competition East African
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IMF approves USD 200mn Kenyan funding request.
ISI - Emerging Markets - 1 hour ago
The IMF approved a USD 200mn Kenyan funding request from the fund's Exogenous Shocks Facility, Scott Rogers, the senior IMF representative in Kenya , said. ...
African Development Bank sees Kenya GDP growing by 4.2% in 2009.
ISI - Emerging Markets - 1 hour ago
The AfDB said on Tuesday that Kenya 's economy will expand at a rate of 4.2% this year, hampered by a global economic downturn. The bank's forecast is more ...
African Markets - Factors to watch on June 29
Forbes - 5 hours ago
Kenya's shilling rose to a seven-week high on Friday on foreigner demand for government bonds. The central bank governor says he anticipates the Kenyan unit ...
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Police deny Kenya torture claims
BBC - Kenya's police have denied claims of torture and rape when they disarmed rival clan militias last year.
Human Rights Watch says there should be an inquiry into the "collective punishment" of civilians in Mandera.
The US-based organisation said its research showed thousands of people had been tortured and women had been raped.
But police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told the BBC there had been no torture or beatings and asked HRW to produce evidence to back up its findings.
"Certainly we should look into the laws in this country which allow any street boy to come here and publish very disparaging lies about our internal security forces," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Earlier this year a UN investigator into allegations of extrajudicial killings elsewhere in Kenya, Philip Alston, said the police were a "law unto themselves".
'Not a case of bad apples'
According to Human Rights Watch, a joint police and military operation to disarm the warring militias in the north-eastern town of Mandera took place between 25 October and 28 October 2008.
A woman who was raped in Elele:
"One held my head on the ground, and the other one started raping me.
I fainted because I was pregnant and when I woke up I just found myself damaged from the rape.
I ran to the bush where our livestock are. I went with the five children that I could see. After three days, I found the rest of my kids in the bush.
I came back after six weeks to give birth in Elele. I haven't seen any doctor or hospital."
Source: Human Rights Watch
It followed deadly clashes between the local Garre and Murulle clans, which had killed 21 people earlier in the year.
"Unfortunately, that joint operation pursued a brutal strategy of basically rounding up all of the civilians in various villages and then, in a sense, collectively punishing them," the report's author Ben Rawlence told the BBC.
"Requiring them to turn over weapons, to disclose the whereabouts of the militias who've been fighting, torturing thousands of people and raping some women… destroying property and causing between 20,000 and 30,000 people to flee the area."
In February, Human Rights Watch researchers visited five of the towns and say they documented consistent accounts from more than 90 victims.
The interviewees said security forces entered early in the morning and rounded up all of the men they could find.
They were made to lie on the ground for hours and were beaten with rifle butts, sticks, canes and iron rods.
"In front of the police station, they made us lie down. They were beating us with sticks, rungus [clubs], anything. They weren't saying anything except beating us and then: 'Bring the gun or you'll die,'" a victim in El Wak said.
“ We have well over five institutions in this country prepared to carry out public prosecutions and ensure that justice is done ” Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe
Other said the security forces twisted, crushed or ripped open their testicles.
"This is not a question of a few bad apples disobeying orders," Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch's executive director said.
"This operation was the result of a strategy devised by senior officials to use brutal force against Kenyan citizens."
Mr Kiraithe has denied previous accusations of police brutality and said if Human Rights Watch had evidence of torture in the Mandera district, the organisation should hand it over.
"We have well over five institutions in this country prepared to carry out public prosecutions and ensure that justice is done," Mr Kiraithe said.
The region around Mandera is prone to conflicts between rival clans, often for control of scarce water and pastures.
The area is largely inhabited by Somali-speaking nomads.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8123751.stm
Published: 2009/06/29 08:59:43 GMT© BBC MMIX
Kenya confirms first swine flu case
Written By:Margaret Kalekye/Mary Daraja
Posted: Mon, Jun 29, 2009
Caption: According to WHO 263 deaths from the flu have been reported worldwide (File Picture)
The first case of swine flu has been confirmed in Kenya.
Public Health and Sanitation minister Beth Mugo addressing a press conference on Monday said samples taken from a 20-year-old British student who is on a field trip in Kisumu tested positive.
The student is at a kisumu hotel which was immediately quarantined following the positive results.
The tests were done by the Kenya Medical Research Institute - KEMRI and other agencies.
However, the minister has called on the public not to panic saying the country is well prepared to handle Swine Flu outbreak.
She says the Flu is curable and the government has enough drugs in its stores.
Mugo said public health officials were on high alert and are screening visitors at the airports and border points.
On Saturday, Mugo allayed fears of a Swine Flu outbreak in the country.
Samples taken from the patient for testing at Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) laboratories proved negative for the H1N1 influenza virus.
Mugo said the patient suspected to have been infected with the flu was a 20-year old Kenyan lady who is a student at a university in London.
The student who had arrived UK on Friday was rushed to AAR health clinic at sarit centre after she developed a slight fever and flu like symptoms similar to those of the swine flu.
The doctors examined her alerted Kemri officials after she disclosed that she had been in contact with a friend who later tested positive for influenza A H1N1 in London.
The clinic was closed and the patient transferred to Kenya's main referral hospital, the Kenyatta National Hospital where she was placed in isolation ward as tests went on at Kemri.
A press statement from AAR said the first results had ruled out presence of the H1N1, adding that the affected clinic had been reopened.
Mugo assured the public during a press conference that the suspected case had been confirmed negative.
The announcement by the minister came as a relief to Kenyans.
'Government prepared'
She reiterated that the country is fully prepared to handle any confirmed AH1N1 cases.
" The government with the support of World Health Organization-WHO has stocked over 50,000 doses of tamiflu for treatment of any confirmed cases of Influenza a H1N1 and stocked personal protective equipment for the health workers" She said.
She urged health workers and the general public to report any suspected case to the national surveillance unit and the national influenza centre through the following contacts: 0722 331548, 0202040542, 2718292.
News about the suspected case spread across Nairobi via SMS overnight on Friday causing panic across the city.
The H1N1 virus first emerged in April in Mexico, which has recorded 116 deaths and 8,279 cases, according to the WHO.
On 11 June, the WHO declared a global flu pandemic, meaning that swine flu virus was spreading in at least two regions of the world.
According to the latest figures from the WHO, there have been 263 deaths and nearly 60,000 cases in some 100 countries and territories.
US health officials estimate that at least one million Americans have been infected with swine flu since the H1N1 virus emerged nearly three months ago.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Today's Headlines - Fri 6/26/2009
See previous post for news about Michael Jackson's death
KENYA: Thousands displaced in ethnic clashes in southwest
NAIROBI, 25 June 2009 (IRIN) - Tension remains high in Kenya's southwestern district of Kuria East, on the Tanzania border, where at least 6,000 people have been displaced by inter-clan fighting, humanitarian officials said.
full report
Telkom Kenya names Mickael Ghossein as CEO
Reuters - John Stonestreet - 1 hour ago
NAIROBI, June 26 (Reuters) - Telkom Kenya said on Friday it had picked industry veteran Mickael Ghossein as chief executive to succeed Dominic Saint-Jean at ...
TKG - FTE - BIT:FTE
Daily Nation
Somalia: Kenya Army Ready for Attack
AllAfrica.com - 15 hours ago
Nairobi — Kenya's military is preparing to protect its borders and refugees seeking a safe haven in the country following threats by extremists in Somalia ...
Kenya steps up border security over Somalia threats Xinhua
Kenya rules out military action in Somali Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
Our military has no business in Somalia Daily Nation
Standard - Daily Nation
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BBC News
Somalia: Militant Islamists Try to Draw Kenya Into a Trap
AllAfrica.com - 3 hours ago
Kenyan media have been abuzz in recent days with speculation that Nairobi and its allies in the region could be planning a military operation to prop up the ...
US sends weapons to Somali government Christian Science Monitor
Somalia mps flee assassinations BBC News
Kenya undecided as Somalia pleads for assistance Worldfocus
Voice of America - PRESS TV
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Brisbane Times
Your views: Kenya Mau Mau case
BBC News - Jun 23, 2009
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Michael Jackson dies at 50, Africa cries - Fri 6/26/2009
Africa cries for Michael Jackson
Nelson Mandela presented the pop king with a lifetime achievement award
News of pop star Michael Jackson's death has been greeted with a mixture of disbelief and sadness across Africa.
In Nigeria, a presenter on Radio Continental broke down live on air and could not continue her programme.
A woman in Ghana burst into tears in the capital, Accra, when told by a BBC reporter about the musician's death.
In 1999, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award by South African icon Nelson Mandela at the Kora All Africa Music Awards.
Michael Jackson first visited the continent at the age of 14 as the lead singer of the Jackson Five.
Emerging from the plane in Senegal, he responded to a welcome of drummers and dancers by screaming: ''This is where I come from."
'Spectacular disappointment'
He returned for an African tour 19 years later, when the king of pop was crowned chief of several African villages.
But the trip quickly turned into a public relations nightmare amid allegations that police had beaten the crowds who went to see him and complaints in the local media that the pop star had been seen holding his nose, as if to keep out a bad smell.
It's not true, no it's not true
Ghanaian fan
Jacksons star in Nigeria resort row
Ghanaian journalist Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, who says she was a huge Jackson Five fan as a girl, covered the visit.
She said he spent most of his time locked away in his plush hotel or hidden in his limousine when out.
When his car window wound down for a brief minute for him to greet fans, she asked him about his trip to Africa, and he replied limply: "Beautiful, I love it."
It was "a spectacular disappointment in many ways", Ms Quist-Arcton told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
But the crowds who lined Abidjan's streets during his visit were testament to his huge popularity across the continent where fans have been expressing their shock at his death.
The BBC's Tom Oladipo in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos said the Radio Continental presenter broke down sobbing live on air after hearing the news and her co-presenter had to take over.
The Jackson Five first visited Africa in the 1970s
One of Michael Jackson's brothers, Marlon, is planning to develop a controversial luxury resort, a mixture of a slave history theme park and a museum dedicated to the Jackson Five in Nigeria.
He also had passionate fans in Ghana.
"It's not true, no it's not true," a woman in Accra wailed as her companion accused our correspondent of lying about the news of Jackson's death.
"He's a legend, he's not supposed to die," a woman in the Kenyan capital told the BBC.
But others expressed concern about his obsession with his appearance.
"He was not proud to a black American, he wasn't, he wanted very much to be white," a man in Nairobi said.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says Michael Jackson's most tangible contribution to Africa came at the peak of his career in the mid-1980s, when he co-wrote the charity song We are the World with Lionel Ritchie.
Sung by a group of leading artists, the single topped charts around the world raising awareness and more than $50m for famine relief in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
World mourns pop legend Jackson
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BACKGROUND Child star, pop icon, troubled decline - a life in pictures
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IN VIDEO Jermaine Jackson pays tribute to brother
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Singer Michael Jackson dies at 50
Michael Jackson had been due to play 50 concert dates in the UK this summer
Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50.
Paramedics were called to the singer's Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.
He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Jackson's brother, Jermaine, said he was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK, beginning on 13 July.
Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.
Jermaine Jackson on his brother's sudden death
He added: "The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time."
"And Allah be with you Michael, always. I love you."
TV footage showed the star's body flown from UCLA to the LA County Coroner's office where a post-mortem is expected to take place on Friday.
Concerns were raised last month when four of Jackson's planned comeback concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.
AT THE SCENE
Rajesh MirchandaniBBC News
Michael Jackson was brought here to the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles around 12 hours ago. Earlier there were several hundred people here, before it got dark - there was a sense of grief, of disbelief.
But in the last few hours, these people have been singing his songs, dancing, there was a guy on a keyboard earlier, playing his songs for people to dance along to.
This has turned into an impromptu celebration of Michael Jackson's music. He's the king of pop as far as they're concerned. They're still shocked by his sudden death but they're here because they want to show their support.
A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.
Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: "I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.
"I'm wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.
"It was wishful thinking that, at this stage of his life, he could be Michael Jackson again."
Tributes have poured in from the entertainment industry. Sir Paul McCartney described Jackson's death as " sad and shocking".
The pair worked together on two hit tracks, Say Say, Say and The Girl Is Mine from Jackson's Thriller album.
He said " I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy-man with a gentle soul.
"His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.
"I send my deepest sympathy to his mother and the whole family, and to his countless fans all around the world."
Speaking outside New York's historic Apollo theatre, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.
"I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me," he said.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Can't believe it. I'm gutted. RIP Michael, thanks for everything you gave us.
Tommy, Cardiff
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"I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media."
Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of "pandemonium".
"At the moment there is a period of disbelief. He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras - it's absolute craziness.
"I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture."
Musical icon
Tributes from the world of music and film have already flooded in from celebrities including Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley.
Jackson's contribution to music
Large numbers of fans have also gathered outside Jackson's home and at the UCLA medical centre with lit candles to mourn the star while playing his greatest hits.
Facebook groups have also been set up for fans to share their memories.
The singer's albums are occupying the top 15 slots of online music retailer Amazon.com's current best-seller chart, led by his 1982 smash hit Thriller.
Paramedics were called to the singer's house in Bel Air at 1221 (1921GMT) following an emergency phone call.
They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson's death because of its "high profile", but there was no suggestion of foul play.
Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.
MICHAEL JACKSON 1958-2009
Full name: Michael Joseph Jackson
Born: August 29, 1958, Gary, Indiana, US
Also known as: The King of Pop, Wacko Jacko
Biggest hits: I Want You Back, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White, Earth Song
Obituary: Remarkable talent
Life in pictures
Tributes paid to Michael Jackson
He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad.
Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.
"He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.
Michael Jackson's body is delivered by helicopter for a post mortem report
He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.
The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.
He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings - including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8119993.stm
World reacts to Jackson death
BBC correspondents report on reaction from cities around the world
With the death of pop star Michael Jackson at the age of 50, BBC correspondents report on the reaction around the world.
ZUBAIR AHMED, MUMBAI
Television networks in India abandoned normal programmes to run news of Michael Jackson's death.
Popular news websites and portals have wall-to-wall coverage of the pop star's death. Mourners have been posting condolence messages on their favourite websites.
The singer, who was a huge name in India, had come to Mumbai 13 years ago when he performed at a packed concert.
He was invited by a right-wing Hindu nationalist party and his visit had become controversial, with some questioning how his music was connected to Hindu culture.
Regardless of the controversy, a whole generation of Bollywood music directors have been influenced by his music.
Some have been accused of plagiarising his tunes. His dance sequences have also left a deep impression on Bollywood stars of the 70s and 80s.
NICK BRYANT, SYDNEY
On the east coast of Australia people awoke to the news that Michael Jackson had suffered a cardiac arrest, and heard that he'd died by the time they reached work.
The main television networks have been interrupting their schedules to carry special programmes, radio stations are playing some of his most popular hits, and fans are leaving tributes on web and social networking sites.
Walking through the streets of Sydney this morning, his signature song Thriller could be heard coming from passing cars.
People here are likening his death to the passing of other musical greats, such as Elvis Presley and John Lennon.
There's been a conflicted response. There's enormous respect here for his musical talent and his extraordinary stagecraft, but there's been criticism too at what many people clearly feel was a sometimes unhealthy relationship with young children.
ROLAND BUERK, TOKYO
Japanese television networks broke into normal breakfast programmes to carry coverage of Michael Jackson's death, and a text alert was sent early in the morning to people who subscribe to mobile phone news services.
The singer was a huge star in Japan - a country he visited often over the years. It was here in 2006 that he made his first official public appearance, at an awards ceremony, after being acquitted at his trial.
He came again a year later and a screaming mob of fans greeted him at the airport. There were more crowds outside a downtown electronics store where he went on a shopping spree.
And hundreds of people paid more than $3,000 for a ticket for what was known as a fan appreciation event.
It featured a buffet dinner, Michael Jackson impersonators, and a chance to be in the same room as the singer himself - but not to see him to perform.
Michael Jackson's popularity was perhaps knocked less here by the scandals that surrounded him later in life.
People in Japan seemed more willing to overlook his much-publicised troubles and see him just as a great performer, and that's how he'll be remembered.
JONAH FISHER, JOHANNESBURG
Michael Jackson first visited Africa at the age of 14, as the lead singer of the Jackson Five.
Emerging from the plane in Senegal, he responded to a welcome of drummers and dancers by screaming: ''This is where I come from''.
Returning for an African tour 19 years later, the king of pop was crowned chief of several African villages.
But the trip quickly turned into a public relations nightmare, amid allegations of police beating the crowds and complaints in the local media that the pop star had been seen holding his nose.
Michael Jackson's most tangible contribution to Africa came at the peak of his career in the mid-80s, when he co-wrote the charity song We Are The World with Lionel Ritchie.
Sung by a group of leading artists, the single topped charts around the world, raising awareness and more than $50m for famine relief in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8120505.stm
Michael Jackson Dies
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Read More: Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson Cardiac Arrest, Michael Jackson Dead, Michael Jackson Died, Michael Jackson Dies, Michael Jackson Heart Attack, Micheal Jackson, Micheal Jackson Dies, Entertainment News
FILE - In this Aug. 25, 1993 file photo, American pop star Michael Jackson performs during his "Dangerous" tour in Bangkok. (AP Photo/Jeff Widerner, file)
LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" who once moonwalked above the music world, died Thursday as he prepared for a comeback bid to vanquish nightmare years of sexual scandal and financial calamity. He was 50.
Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.
"It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known," his brother Jermaine said. Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.
Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
His 1982 album "Thriller" _ which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" _ is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.
At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing hard for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13.
As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to play videos from Jackson's heyday. Radio stations began playing marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital. In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.
"No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend had sent him. "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."
The public first knew him as a boy in the late 1960s, when he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group he formed with his four older brothers out of Gary, Ind. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back," "ABC" and "I'll Be There."
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing, punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks, as was his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller." "He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time.
He united two of music's biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson's death immediately evoked comparisons to that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.
As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure _ a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He often wore a germ mask while traveling, kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions, and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, a storybook playland filled with toys, rides and animals. The tabloids dubbed him "Wacko Jacko."
"It seemed to me that his internal essence was at war with the norms of the world. It's as if he was trying to defy gravity," said Michael Levine, a Hollywood publicist who represented Jackson in the early 1990s. He called Jackson a "disciple of P.T. Barnum" and said the star appeared fragile at the time but was "much more cunning and shrewd about the industry than anyone knew."
Jackson caused a furor in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.
The case followed years of rumors about Jackson and young boys. In a TV documentary, he acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.
Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary. He was 4 years old when he began singing with his brothers _ Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito _ in the Jackson 5. After his early success with bubblegum soul, he struck out on his own, generating innovative, explosive, unstoppable music.
The album "Thriller" alone mixed the dark, serpentine bass and drums and synthesizer approach of "Billie Jean," the grinding Eddie Van Halen solo on "Beat It," and the hiccups and falsettos on "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'."
The peak may have come in 1983, when Motown celebrated its 25th anniversary with an all-star televised concert and Jackson moonwalked off with the show, joining his brothers for a medley of old hits and then leaving them behind with a pointing, crouching, high-kicking, splay-footed, crotch-grabbing run through "Billie Jean."
The audience stood and roared. Jackson raised his fist.
By then he had cemented his place in pop culture. He got the plum Scarecrow role in the 1978 movie musical "The Wiz," a pop-R&B version of "The Wizard of Oz," that starred Diana Ross as Dorothy.
During production of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, Jackson's scalp sustains burns when an explosion sets his hair on fire.
He had strong follow-up albums with 1987's "Bad" and 1991's "Dangerous," but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy's family, reported to be $20 million, and criminal charges were never filed.
Jackson's expressed anger over the allegations on the 1995 album "HIStory," which sold more than 2.4 million copies, but by then, the popularity of Jackson's music was clearly waning, even as public fascination with his increasingly erratic behavior was growing.
Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, and they divorced in 1996. Later that year, Jackson married Deborah Rowe, a former nurse for his dermatologist. They had two children together: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.
Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.
Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said Jackson's star power was unmatched. "The world just lost the biggest pop star in history, no matter how you cut it," Werde said. "He's literally the king of pop."
Jackson's 13 No. 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey, Werde said.
"He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit," he said. "People might have started to think of him again in a different light."
___
Associated Press Writers Derrik J. Lang, Solvej Schou and Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles and Virginia Byrne, Hillel Italie, Nekesa Mumbi Moody and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.
Nelson Mandela presented the pop king with a lifetime achievement award
News of pop star Michael Jackson's death has been greeted with a mixture of disbelief and sadness across Africa.
In Nigeria, a presenter on Radio Continental broke down live on air and could not continue her programme.
A woman in Ghana burst into tears in the capital, Accra, when told by a BBC reporter about the musician's death.
In 1999, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award by South African icon Nelson Mandela at the Kora All Africa Music Awards.
Michael Jackson first visited the continent at the age of 14 as the lead singer of the Jackson Five.
Emerging from the plane in Senegal, he responded to a welcome of drummers and dancers by screaming: ''This is where I come from."
'Spectacular disappointment'
He returned for an African tour 19 years later, when the king of pop was crowned chief of several African villages.
But the trip quickly turned into a public relations nightmare amid allegations that police had beaten the crowds who went to see him and complaints in the local media that the pop star had been seen holding his nose, as if to keep out a bad smell.
It's not true, no it's not true
Ghanaian fan
Jacksons star in Nigeria resort row
Ghanaian journalist Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, who says she was a huge Jackson Five fan as a girl, covered the visit.
She said he spent most of his time locked away in his plush hotel or hidden in his limousine when out.
When his car window wound down for a brief minute for him to greet fans, she asked him about his trip to Africa, and he replied limply: "Beautiful, I love it."
It was "a spectacular disappointment in many ways", Ms Quist-Arcton told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
But the crowds who lined Abidjan's streets during his visit were testament to his huge popularity across the continent where fans have been expressing their shock at his death.
The BBC's Tom Oladipo in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos said the Radio Continental presenter broke down sobbing live on air after hearing the news and her co-presenter had to take over.
The Jackson Five first visited Africa in the 1970s
One of Michael Jackson's brothers, Marlon, is planning to develop a controversial luxury resort, a mixture of a slave history theme park and a museum dedicated to the Jackson Five in Nigeria.
He also had passionate fans in Ghana.
"It's not true, no it's not true," a woman in Accra wailed as her companion accused our correspondent of lying about the news of Jackson's death.
"He's a legend, he's not supposed to die," a woman in the Kenyan capital told the BBC.
But others expressed concern about his obsession with his appearance.
"He was not proud to a black American, he wasn't, he wanted very much to be white," a man in Nairobi said.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says Michael Jackson's most tangible contribution to Africa came at the peak of his career in the mid-1980s, when he co-wrote the charity song We are the World with Lionel Ritchie.
Sung by a group of leading artists, the single topped charts around the world raising awareness and more than $50m for famine relief in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
World mourns pop legend Jackson
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Singer Michael Jackson dies at 50
REACTION
UK stars pay tribute to Jackson
Global tributes: 'He was magic'
In pictures: Fans' grief
Fans in shock
Your memories
Jackson's impact on music
Bodyguard's tribute
BACKGROUND Child star, pop icon, troubled decline - a life in pictures
What could have caused Jackson's death?
'Spendaholic' singer dies in debt
Why Jackson was the King of Pop
Obituary: Remarkable talent
The songs that defined a star
Career highs and lows
IN VIDEO Jermaine Jackson pays tribute to brother
Fans: 'It doesn't feel real'
MOBO founder hails "greatest showman"
A life in the spotlight
Reporters on global reaction
Jesse Jackson: 'He was tough'
Glastonbury fans on Jackson death
Celebrities pay tribute to Jackson
Singer Michael Jackson dies at 50
Michael Jackson had been due to play 50 concert dates in the UK this summer
Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50.
Paramedics were called to the singer's Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.
He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Jackson's brother, Jermaine, said he was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK, beginning on 13 July.
Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.
Jermaine Jackson on his brother's sudden death
He added: "The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time."
"And Allah be with you Michael, always. I love you."
TV footage showed the star's body flown from UCLA to the LA County Coroner's office where a post-mortem is expected to take place on Friday.
Concerns were raised last month when four of Jackson's planned comeback concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.
AT THE SCENE
Rajesh MirchandaniBBC News
Michael Jackson was brought here to the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles around 12 hours ago. Earlier there were several hundred people here, before it got dark - there was a sense of grief, of disbelief.
But in the last few hours, these people have been singing his songs, dancing, there was a guy on a keyboard earlier, playing his songs for people to dance along to.
This has turned into an impromptu celebration of Michael Jackson's music. He's the king of pop as far as they're concerned. They're still shocked by his sudden death but they're here because they want to show their support.
A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.
Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: "I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.
"I'm wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.
"It was wishful thinking that, at this stage of his life, he could be Michael Jackson again."
Tributes have poured in from the entertainment industry. Sir Paul McCartney described Jackson's death as " sad and shocking".
The pair worked together on two hit tracks, Say Say, Say and The Girl Is Mine from Jackson's Thriller album.
He said " I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy-man with a gentle soul.
"His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.
"I send my deepest sympathy to his mother and the whole family, and to his countless fans all around the world."
Speaking outside New York's historic Apollo theatre, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.
"I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me," he said.
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Can't believe it. I'm gutted. RIP Michael, thanks for everything you gave us.
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"I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media."
Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of "pandemonium".
"At the moment there is a period of disbelief. He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras - it's absolute craziness.
"I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture."
Musical icon
Tributes from the world of music and film have already flooded in from celebrities including Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley.
Jackson's contribution to music
Large numbers of fans have also gathered outside Jackson's home and at the UCLA medical centre with lit candles to mourn the star while playing his greatest hits.
Facebook groups have also been set up for fans to share their memories.
The singer's albums are occupying the top 15 slots of online music retailer Amazon.com's current best-seller chart, led by his 1982 smash hit Thriller.
Paramedics were called to the singer's house in Bel Air at 1221 (1921GMT) following an emergency phone call.
They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson's death because of its "high profile", but there was no suggestion of foul play.
Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.
MICHAEL JACKSON 1958-2009
Full name: Michael Joseph Jackson
Born: August 29, 1958, Gary, Indiana, US
Also known as: The King of Pop, Wacko Jacko
Biggest hits: I Want You Back, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White, Earth Song
Obituary: Remarkable talent
Life in pictures
Tributes paid to Michael Jackson
He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad.
Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.
"He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.
Michael Jackson's body is delivered by helicopter for a post mortem report
He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.
The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.
He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings - including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8119993.stm
World reacts to Jackson death
BBC correspondents report on reaction from cities around the world
With the death of pop star Michael Jackson at the age of 50, BBC correspondents report on the reaction around the world.
ZUBAIR AHMED, MUMBAI
Television networks in India abandoned normal programmes to run news of Michael Jackson's death.
Popular news websites and portals have wall-to-wall coverage of the pop star's death. Mourners have been posting condolence messages on their favourite websites.
The singer, who was a huge name in India, had come to Mumbai 13 years ago when he performed at a packed concert.
He was invited by a right-wing Hindu nationalist party and his visit had become controversial, with some questioning how his music was connected to Hindu culture.
Regardless of the controversy, a whole generation of Bollywood music directors have been influenced by his music.
Some have been accused of plagiarising his tunes. His dance sequences have also left a deep impression on Bollywood stars of the 70s and 80s.
NICK BRYANT, SYDNEY
On the east coast of Australia people awoke to the news that Michael Jackson had suffered a cardiac arrest, and heard that he'd died by the time they reached work.
The main television networks have been interrupting their schedules to carry special programmes, radio stations are playing some of his most popular hits, and fans are leaving tributes on web and social networking sites.
Walking through the streets of Sydney this morning, his signature song Thriller could be heard coming from passing cars.
People here are likening his death to the passing of other musical greats, such as Elvis Presley and John Lennon.
There's been a conflicted response. There's enormous respect here for his musical talent and his extraordinary stagecraft, but there's been criticism too at what many people clearly feel was a sometimes unhealthy relationship with young children.
ROLAND BUERK, TOKYO
Japanese television networks broke into normal breakfast programmes to carry coverage of Michael Jackson's death, and a text alert was sent early in the morning to people who subscribe to mobile phone news services.
The singer was a huge star in Japan - a country he visited often over the years. It was here in 2006 that he made his first official public appearance, at an awards ceremony, after being acquitted at his trial.
He came again a year later and a screaming mob of fans greeted him at the airport. There were more crowds outside a downtown electronics store where he went on a shopping spree.
And hundreds of people paid more than $3,000 for a ticket for what was known as a fan appreciation event.
It featured a buffet dinner, Michael Jackson impersonators, and a chance to be in the same room as the singer himself - but not to see him to perform.
Michael Jackson's popularity was perhaps knocked less here by the scandals that surrounded him later in life.
People in Japan seemed more willing to overlook his much-publicised troubles and see him just as a great performer, and that's how he'll be remembered.
JONAH FISHER, JOHANNESBURG
Michael Jackson first visited Africa at the age of 14, as the lead singer of the Jackson Five.
Emerging from the plane in Senegal, he responded to a welcome of drummers and dancers by screaming: ''This is where I come from''.
Returning for an African tour 19 years later, the king of pop was crowned chief of several African villages.
But the trip quickly turned into a public relations nightmare, amid allegations of police beating the crowds and complaints in the local media that the pop star had been seen holding his nose.
Michael Jackson's most tangible contribution to Africa came at the peak of his career in the mid-80s, when he co-wrote the charity song We Are The World with Lionel Ritchie.
Sung by a group of leading artists, the single topped charts around the world, raising awareness and more than $50m for famine relief in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8120505.stm
Michael Jackson Dies
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Read More: Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson Cardiac Arrest, Michael Jackson Dead, Michael Jackson Died, Michael Jackson Dies, Michael Jackson Heart Attack, Micheal Jackson, Micheal Jackson Dies, Entertainment News
FILE - In this Aug. 25, 1993 file photo, American pop star Michael Jackson performs during his "Dangerous" tour in Bangkok. (AP Photo/Jeff Widerner, file)
LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" who once moonwalked above the music world, died Thursday as he prepared for a comeback bid to vanquish nightmare years of sexual scandal and financial calamity. He was 50.
Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.
"It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known," his brother Jermaine said. Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.
Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
His 1982 album "Thriller" _ which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" _ is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.
At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing hard for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13.
As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to play videos from Jackson's heyday. Radio stations began playing marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital. In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.
"No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend had sent him. "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."
The public first knew him as a boy in the late 1960s, when he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group he formed with his four older brothers out of Gary, Ind. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back," "ABC" and "I'll Be There."
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing, punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks, as was his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller." "He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time.
He united two of music's biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson's death immediately evoked comparisons to that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.
As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure _ a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He often wore a germ mask while traveling, kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions, and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, a storybook playland filled with toys, rides and animals. The tabloids dubbed him "Wacko Jacko."
"It seemed to me that his internal essence was at war with the norms of the world. It's as if he was trying to defy gravity," said Michael Levine, a Hollywood publicist who represented Jackson in the early 1990s. He called Jackson a "disciple of P.T. Barnum" and said the star appeared fragile at the time but was "much more cunning and shrewd about the industry than anyone knew."
Jackson caused a furor in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.
The case followed years of rumors about Jackson and young boys. In a TV documentary, he acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.
Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary. He was 4 years old when he began singing with his brothers _ Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito _ in the Jackson 5. After his early success with bubblegum soul, he struck out on his own, generating innovative, explosive, unstoppable music.
The album "Thriller" alone mixed the dark, serpentine bass and drums and synthesizer approach of "Billie Jean," the grinding Eddie Van Halen solo on "Beat It," and the hiccups and falsettos on "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'."
The peak may have come in 1983, when Motown celebrated its 25th anniversary with an all-star televised concert and Jackson moonwalked off with the show, joining his brothers for a medley of old hits and then leaving them behind with a pointing, crouching, high-kicking, splay-footed, crotch-grabbing run through "Billie Jean."
The audience stood and roared. Jackson raised his fist.
By then he had cemented his place in pop culture. He got the plum Scarecrow role in the 1978 movie musical "The Wiz," a pop-R&B version of "The Wizard of Oz," that starred Diana Ross as Dorothy.
During production of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, Jackson's scalp sustains burns when an explosion sets his hair on fire.
He had strong follow-up albums with 1987's "Bad" and 1991's "Dangerous," but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy's family, reported to be $20 million, and criminal charges were never filed.
Jackson's expressed anger over the allegations on the 1995 album "HIStory," which sold more than 2.4 million copies, but by then, the popularity of Jackson's music was clearly waning, even as public fascination with his increasingly erratic behavior was growing.
Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, and they divorced in 1996. Later that year, Jackson married Deborah Rowe, a former nurse for his dermatologist. They had two children together: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.
Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.
Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said Jackson's star power was unmatched. "The world just lost the biggest pop star in history, no matter how you cut it," Werde said. "He's literally the king of pop."
Jackson's 13 No. 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey, Werde said.
"He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit," he said. "People might have started to think of him again in a different light."
___
Associated Press Writers Derrik J. Lang, Solvej Schou and Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles and Virginia Byrne, Hillel Italie, Nekesa Mumbi Moody and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Today's Headlines - Fri 6/18/2009
Kenya News.Net
Saitoti asked to shed light on abuse
Sword used to stab driver, court told
Small car to pamper Kenya ministers’ egos
Deadly attack blamed on al-Qaida
Marende calls for equity on Nile waters
DAILY NATION
Most Popular
How fibre optic will have you all wired up
City scare as lions escape from park
Kibaki expresses commitment to US ties
Child sex: The cruel truth
S Sudan not scared of return to war, says Kiir
How Kenyan scooped global award
Review panel outlines contentious issues
A toast to my step-father
Islamists want Kenyan army out of border
Hillary breaks elbow after a fall
PAMBAZUKA FEED
Unfinished business: Moving Kenya forward
Korir Sing’Oei
2009-06-18, Issue 438
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/57081
With Kenya still in the throes of an entrenched crisis, Korir Sing’Oei considers the broader history behind the deficiencies of the country's political system. Arguing that there are clear similarities to be drawn between events such as the state's response to the 1963 Shifta War and today's military crackdowns at Mt. Elgon, Sing’Oei stresses that the government continues to have a single method of conflict resolution, that of state-sponsored violence. But if Kenya's dream of a new constitution is to come to fruition, Sing’Oei concludes, there must be firm resolve to see accountability for its leadership, beginning on the first day of the country's truth commission with an apology from President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the post-election violence.
FULL STORY:
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/57081
News
Child sex: The cruel truth
Father Renato Kizito during an interview at Shalom House on Ngong Road in Nairobi on Wednesday. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI
By CAROLINE RWENJI and FRED MUKINDA Posted Wednesday, June 17 2009 at 22:30
Sexual abuse against children has been on the increase over the years, but many of the cases are never reported, police have said. Information available at police headquarters shows that 1,626 cases of attacks against children were recorded in 2007. The number rose to 1,984 in 2008, representing an increase of over 300.
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‘They are out to get me, for money’
Church to use Canon law to probe sex case
The Cradle, a child rights organisation, on Wednesday said that an average of 10 cases involving child abuse have been reported at its Nairobi offices every week since January.
According to the Cradle, 74 per cent of all cases of violence against children involved defilement.
Girls between the ages of 12 and 14 were the most vulnerable. The minors are often abused by people they know and trust, particularly in whose care they are entrusted.
according to a 2007 report by Cradle, which adds, 43 per cent of the children were molested repeatedly by the same abuser.
Child abuse cases have been in the headlines this week, with police arresting a suspect with a pack of pictures of naked children. A well-known Catholic priest, Father Renato Kizito, is defending his reputation against claims that he sexually abused children under his care for 20 years.
The Catholic church, whose reputation in other countries is damaged by cases of child sexual abuse, has promised to investigate all cases and punish appropriately those found guilty.
“Children are easy targets because they are vulnerable,” said nominated MP and former Cradle executive director Millie Odhiambo.
Children’s Legal Action Network (Clan) executive director Tom Chavaga said his organisation deals with between 5,000 and 6,000 cases of child abuse each year, some of which involve defilement. His organisation’s rescue centre receives 230 victims of violence a month, with 45 per cent being children.
Cases of child abuse are rampant in urban areas especially Nairobi and the coastal region, he said.
Some are probably criminals in their own countries. They settle in low-income areas pretending that they want to help the residents.
The Nairobi Women’s Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Dr Sam Nthenya, said his hospital has treated over 12,000 cases of sexual and domestic violence in its Gender Violence Recovery centre. Child rights organisations are concerned that only a few of the cases of abuse are reported. Most abused children prefer to say nothing for fear of repercussions.
Some of these cases have, however, found their way to the courts, although there are complaints of justice being slow and sometimes compromised. In 2008, a court ordered the CID to investigate corruption claims in a defilement case.
The mother of a five year old girl who had been abused complained to the Attorney-General that the investigating officer approached her on behalf of the accused and offered Sh50,000 to withdraw the case.
==================
City scare as lions escape from park
Kenya Wildlife Service wardens comb bushes as they try to follow the footmarks of three lions which had jumped over the park fence to the main road at the Nairobi National Park near KCCT Mbagathi in Nairobi, June 18th, 2009. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI
By PAUL JUMAPosted Thursday, June 18 2009 at 10:23
Commuters along Nairobi’s Mbagathi Road Thursday morning got an early morning scare when three lions escaped from the Nairobi National Park and prowled on the roadside.
The big cats were reportedly spotted by motorists at around 6am, almost opposite the gate to the Multimedia University College, before Kenya Wildlife Service officers arrived minutes later to drive them back into the park.
However, Park Warden Elizabeth Leitoro who supervised the exercise told the Nation that the lions had returned into the park by the time KWS officers got to the scene.
She said that the the last of the cats jumped over the park’s outer barbed-wire, sneaking back into the park beneath live electric inner fence. Last April, a leopard was spotted in Nairobi’s Eastlands, causing panic among residents. It had killed and seven sheep and several dogs in the area, forcing terror-stricken residents to head for home earlier than usual.
Unlike then when the wild animal eluded KWS officers for more than a week, the Nairobi National Park’s lions went back into the bushes in less than two hours
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/612336/-/ukb0lf/-/index.html
GOOGLE NEWS
Kenyan Stocks Advance for 16th Day: TPS Eastern, Equity Move
Bloomberg - Sarah McGregor - 3 hours ago
TPS Eastern Africa (TPSEA KN), a Kenyan hotel operator, rose 11 percent to 41 shillings as the country's tourism industry recovers after post-election ...
All Share Index rises for 15th day by 1.2%: ISI - Emerging Markets
Kenyan Stocks Rise for 15th Day, Led by Infrastructure Stocks Bloomberg
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Economist
East Africa: Rwanda Lose to Physical Kenyan Side
AllAfrica.com - Ostine Arinaitwe - 2 hours ago
Kigali — Rwanda's run at this year's East Africa Military Games continued to fall apart after yesterday's 29-24 handball defeat against Kenya. ...
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Capital FM
Kenya Stock Market: Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd.
Bloomberg - Jun 18, 2009
By Eric Ombok June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Kenya's All Share Index rose for the 15th straight day, its longest rising streak since September 2007, climbing 0.83 ...
Kenyan Equity Bank to cross-list on Uganda exchange Reuters
Uganda, Kenya surveyors mark border New Vision
Uganda and Kenya headed for yet another row Business Daily Africa
UGPulse.com - Uganda Media Centre
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BBC News
Prince appeals over Kenya brawl
BBC News - Jun 15, 2009
Princess Caroline of Monaco's husband has launched an appeal against his conviction for assaulting a hotel-owner in Kenya in a drunken rage. ...
Prince Ernst of Hanover denies assault at Kenya disco retrial Telegraph.co.uk
Hotelier testifies against Prince Ernst August The Associated Press
Princess Caroline's husband denies assault at retrial AFP
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AFP
Kenya: Homosexual Catholics Back Celibate Priests
AllAfrica.com - 22 hours ago
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Kenyan Stocks Gain 14th Day as Budget Boosts Economic Outlook
Bloomberg - Jun 17, 2009
By Eric Ombok June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Kenya's benchmark stock index rose for a 14th day, its longest streak of gains in more than a year, on speculation the ...
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Bloomberg
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Interpol compiling Somali piracy suspect database
The Associated Press - Jun 17, 2009
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Interpol is compiling a database of fingerprints, photographs and other personal information on Somali pirate suspects to help fight ...
Somalia: Interpol Member Countries Respond to Calls to Close the ... AllAfrica.com
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Kenya to intervene in Somalia crisis
Daily Nation - 3 hours ago
The Kenya government has vowed to intervene in the rapidly declining Somalia crisis. Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang'ula made the remarks after a ...
Africa: Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia Top Innovation Poll
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SA one of Africa's innovators www.sagoodnews.co.za
Zim Economy Among 'least competitive' Zimbabwe Independent
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East Africa: Uganda Tops Region in Supporting Mothers
AllAfrica.com - Raymond Baguma - Jun 18, 2009
According to the report, only 18% of Ugandan women use contraceptives, compared to 32% in Kenya and 20% in Tanzania. Less than half of all births in Uganda ...
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IRIN NEWS
KENYA: Acute watery diarrhoea kills eight in Coast Province
MOMBASA, 18 June (IRIN) - An outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) has killed eight people and infected 21 others in Kenya's Coast Province, according medical sources.
Over the past two weeks two deaths were reported in Mombasa, three in Kilifi District and three others in health centres in Malindi District.
"We are still receiving more patients from various parts of the province who have been diagnosed with the ailment. However, we are doing everything possible to provide the necessary treatment needed," Helton Maganga, chief administrator at the Coast Provincial General Hospital, the largest referral hospital in the province, told IRIN on 18 June.
Maganga said a special ward had been set aside to cater for the AWD patients.
The outbreak was attributed to poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking water following heavy rain in most parts of the province which has destroyed sewage pipes and swept away pit latrines.
The most affected areas are Kilifi and Malindi districts. In Mombasa, those affected are in Mishomoroni, Kongowea, Kisauni and Likoni estates where sewerage systems have burst.
David Katana, a resident of Mishomoroni estate in Mombasa who was admitted to hospital, fell ill a week ago.
"I started to diarrhoea, vomit and was feeling dizzy but I had no idea that I had contracted the disease; when I was brought to hospital I was told that I had it," he said.
Related story: Water shortage increases cholera tollhttp://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx
ReportId=84885
jk/cb[ENDS]
SOUTH AFRICA: One in four men rape
[How many in Kenya? Uganda? Tanzania? etc]
JOHANNESBURG , 18 June (IRIN) - More than 25 percent of South African men have raped; of those, nearly half said they had raped more than one person, says a new report by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
The study was conducted in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, using a Statistics South Africa model of one male interviewee in each of 1,738 households across all racial groupings, and from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds in both rural and urban areas. Half the men in the study were under 25 years old and 70 percent were under 30 years old.
The MRC study - Understanding Men's Health and Use of Violence: Interface of Rape and HIV in South Africa - said all the men interviewed were tested for HIV/AIDS, and were "somewhat younger than men in the general population"; it found that "men who are physically violent towards their intimate partners are more likely to have HIV."
Of the 27.6 percent of men who had committed rape, "23.2 percent of men said they had raped two to three women, 8.4 percent had raped four to five women, 7.1 percent said they had raped six to 10, and 7.7 percent said they had raped more than 10 women or girls," the report said.
"Asked about their age at the first time they had forced a woman or girl into sex, 9.8 percent said they were under 10 years old, 16.4 percent were 10-14 years old, 46.5 percent were 15-19 years old, 18.6 percent were 20-24 years old, 6.9 percent were 25-29 years old, and 1.9 percent were 30 or older."
It is estimated that 500,000 rapes are committed annually in South Africa, and that for every 25 men accused of rape, only one is convicted of the crime. South Africa also has the world highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS: 5.5 million in a population of about 48 million.
Prevalence in the sample group was "striking".
"Among all men aged 25 to 45 [it] was in excess of 25 percent, and among those aged 30 to 39 years, over 40 percent. When examined by rape perpetration status, however, there was no overall difference between the HIV prevalence of men who had raped women and those who had never raped," the report commented.
"Men who disclosed having raped were significantly more likely to have engaged in a range of other risky sexual behaviours. They were more likely to have ever had more than 20 sexual partners, transactional sex, sex with a prostitute, heavy alcohol consumption, to have been physically violent towards a partner, raped a man, and not to have used a condom consistently in the past year."
Significant factors in the high incidence of rape were parent absenteeism, childhood trauma, bullying, teasing and "deeply embedded ideas about South African manhood ... which can be predominantly addressed through strategies of apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators" the report said.
Favouring rapists
Nhlanhla Mokoena, a coordinator at People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA), a gender activist NGO, told IRIN that the "law is on the side of perpetrators [of rape], rather than of the side of [rape] survivors."
Like other criminal cases, rape cases were plagued by delays, lost dockets, misplaced rape kits, and overworked prosecutors; complainants were further burdened by the "patriarchal society", which placed the burden of proof on the complainant, while questioning her style of clothing and why she was out late at night, Mokoena said. There is almost no public transport in South Africa.
South Africa's high crime rate was a burden to public prosecutors, who might have only a few minutes to consult with their clients before a case, whereas defence lawyers could spend many days with clients preparing their case.
Mokoena said police did not tell rape survivors that they could make statements when they were not so traumatized, or amend their statements the following day, and there were often years of delay before a rape case came to trial, all of which was detrimental to the success of rape prosecutions. Delays often led to complainants dropping charges, as was starkly illustrated by the Buyisiwe trial.
Buyisiwe was gang-raped in 2005 by eight men who broke into her home in Tembisa, a township in eastern Johannesburg. She was then paraded in the streets, naked, before being gang-raped again next to a pit toilet. The men were all aged between 17 and 20 at the time, and predicated their defence on Buyisiwe being a sex worker.
The case was postponed 20 times in a court dedicated to dealing with sex crimes before POWA applied to the Johannesburg High Court for the case to be moved. Eventually, seven of the men were found guilty in the High Court, but another suspect is still at large. Sentencing is set down for July 2009.
Harmful masculinity
The MRC study said that to combat rape, society had to address "ideas of masculinity ... [based] on marked gender hierarchy and sexual entitlement of men", and recommended that "rape prevention must focus centrally on changing social norms around masculinity and sexual entitlement."
Mogomotsi Mfalapitsa, spokesman for EngenderHealth, an international NGO promoting sexual and reproductive health in poor communities, told IRIN that from the cradle the boy child was bombarded with "harmful masculinity" messages, from the toy gun to the belief that men should have "multiple concurrent sexual partners", and that it was a man's "right to have sex".
Cultural traditions, such as circumcision schools, had become corrupted, with initiates engaging in rape "to test the new parts", and their crimes claimed as "culture", while the victims did not report the rapes because they were told it was "part of culture".
Changing a society deeply imbued with these perceptions by targeting the male child and extolling the virtues of gender equality would lessen the incidence of rape, Mfalapitsa said.
Since 1996, EngenderHealth has embarked on gender sensitivity programmes in schools and male-dominated environments like the security forces, and has organized "not in our name" protests by the "75 percent" of men who do not rape.
"All males are pulled through the mud [by the incidence of rape in South Africa]," Mfalapitsa said. "And it means they cannot even play with their nieces without arousing suspicion."
go/he[ENDS]
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Saitoti asked to shed light on abuse
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DAILY NATION
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PAMBAZUKA FEED
Unfinished business: Moving Kenya forward
Korir Sing’Oei
2009-06-18, Issue 438
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/57081
With Kenya still in the throes of an entrenched crisis, Korir Sing’Oei considers the broader history behind the deficiencies of the country's political system. Arguing that there are clear similarities to be drawn between events such as the state's response to the 1963 Shifta War and today's military crackdowns at Mt. Elgon, Sing’Oei stresses that the government continues to have a single method of conflict resolution, that of state-sponsored violence. But if Kenya's dream of a new constitution is to come to fruition, Sing’Oei concludes, there must be firm resolve to see accountability for its leadership, beginning on the first day of the country's truth commission with an apology from President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the post-election violence.
FULL STORY:
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/57081
News
Child sex: The cruel truth
Father Renato Kizito during an interview at Shalom House on Ngong Road in Nairobi on Wednesday. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI
By CAROLINE RWENJI and FRED MUKINDA Posted Wednesday, June 17 2009 at 22:30
Sexual abuse against children has been on the increase over the years, but many of the cases are never reported, police have said. Information available at police headquarters shows that 1,626 cases of attacks against children were recorded in 2007. The number rose to 1,984 in 2008, representing an increase of over 300.
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The Cradle, a child rights organisation, on Wednesday said that an average of 10 cases involving child abuse have been reported at its Nairobi offices every week since January.
The police figures translate to an average of five children beingCradle’s deputy director, Mr Gilbert Onyango, described the prevalence as “very high” while the deputy spokesman of the police department, Mr Charles Wahong’o, said the number of defilement cases of paedophilia was “quite high”.
defiled every day.
According to the Cradle, 74 per cent of all cases of violence against children involved defilement.
Girls between the ages of 12 and 14 were the most vulnerable. The minors are often abused by people they know and trust, particularly in whose care they are entrusted.
Eighty six per cent were defiled by someone they knew,
according to a 2007 report by Cradle, which adds, 43 per cent of the children were molested repeatedly by the same abuser.
Child abuse cases have been in the headlines this week, with police arresting a suspect with a pack of pictures of naked children. A well-known Catholic priest, Father Renato Kizito, is defending his reputation against claims that he sexually abused children under his care for 20 years.
The Catholic church, whose reputation in other countries is damaged by cases of child sexual abuse, has promised to investigate all cases and punish appropriately those found guilty.
“Children are easy targets because they are vulnerable,” said nominated MP and former Cradle executive director Millie Odhiambo.
Children’s Legal Action Network (Clan) executive director Tom Chavaga said his organisation deals with between 5,000 and 6,000 cases of child abuse each year, some of which involve defilement. His organisation’s rescue centre receives 230 victims of violence a month, with 45 per cent being children.
Cases of child abuse are rampant in urban areas especially Nairobi and the coastal region, he said.
A disproportionate number of sex abusers are foreigners.
Some are probably criminals in their own countries. They settle in low-income areas pretending that they want to help the residents.
The Nairobi Women’s Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Dr Sam Nthenya, said his hospital has treated over 12,000 cases of sexual and domestic violence in its Gender Violence Recovery centre. Child rights organisations are concerned that only a few of the cases of abuse are reported. Most abused children prefer to say nothing for fear of repercussions.
Some of these cases have, however, found their way to the courts, although there are complaints of justice being slow and sometimes compromised. In 2008, a court ordered the CID to investigate corruption claims in a defilement case.
The mother of a five year old girl who had been abused complained to the Attorney-General that the investigating officer approached her on behalf of the accused and offered Sh50,000 to withdraw the case.
==================
City scare as lions escape from park
Kenya Wildlife Service wardens comb bushes as they try to follow the footmarks of three lions which had jumped over the park fence to the main road at the Nairobi National Park near KCCT Mbagathi in Nairobi, June 18th, 2009. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI
By PAUL JUMAPosted Thursday, June 18 2009 at 10:23
Commuters along Nairobi’s Mbagathi Road Thursday morning got an early morning scare when three lions escaped from the Nairobi National Park and prowled on the roadside.
The big cats were reportedly spotted by motorists at around 6am, almost opposite the gate to the Multimedia University College, before Kenya Wildlife Service officers arrived minutes later to drive them back into the park.
However, Park Warden Elizabeth Leitoro who supervised the exercise told the Nation that the lions had returned into the park by the time KWS officers got to the scene.
She said that the the last of the cats jumped over the park’s outer barbed-wire, sneaking back into the park beneath live electric inner fence. Last April, a leopard was spotted in Nairobi’s Eastlands, causing panic among residents. It had killed and seven sheep and several dogs in the area, forcing terror-stricken residents to head for home earlier than usual.
Unlike then when the wild animal eluded KWS officers for more than a week, the Nairobi National Park’s lions went back into the bushes in less than two hours
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/612336/-/ukb0lf/-/index.html
GOOGLE NEWS
Kenyan Stocks Advance for 16th Day: TPS Eastern, Equity Move
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Economist
East Africa: Rwanda Lose to Physical Kenyan Side
AllAfrica.com - Ostine Arinaitwe - 2 hours ago
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Capital FM
Kenya Stock Market: Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd.
Bloomberg - Jun 18, 2009
By Eric Ombok June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Kenya's All Share Index rose for the 15th straight day, its longest rising streak since September 2007, climbing 0.83 ...
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BBC News
Prince appeals over Kenya brawl
BBC News - Jun 15, 2009
Princess Caroline of Monaco's husband has launched an appeal against his conviction for assaulting a hotel-owner in Kenya in a drunken rage. ...
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AFP
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Kenyan Stocks Gain 14th Day as Budget Boosts Economic Outlook
Bloomberg - Jun 17, 2009
By Eric Ombok June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Kenya's benchmark stock index rose for a 14th day, its longest streak of gains in more than a year, on speculation the ...
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OTC:NPSNY
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Interpol compiling Somali piracy suspect database
The Associated Press - Jun 17, 2009
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East Africa: Uganda Tops Region in Supporting Mothers
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IRIN NEWS
KENYA: Acute watery diarrhoea kills eight in Coast Province
MOMBASA, 18 June (IRIN) - An outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) has killed eight people and infected 21 others in Kenya's Coast Province, according medical sources.
Over the past two weeks two deaths were reported in Mombasa, three in Kilifi District and three others in health centres in Malindi District.
"We are still receiving more patients from various parts of the province who have been diagnosed with the ailment. However, we are doing everything possible to provide the necessary treatment needed," Helton Maganga, chief administrator at the Coast Provincial General Hospital, the largest referral hospital in the province, told IRIN on 18 June.
Maganga said a special ward had been set aside to cater for the AWD patients.
The outbreak was attributed to poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking water following heavy rain in most parts of the province which has destroyed sewage pipes and swept away pit latrines.
The most affected areas are Kilifi and Malindi districts. In Mombasa, those affected are in Mishomoroni, Kongowea, Kisauni and Likoni estates where sewerage systems have burst.
David Katana, a resident of Mishomoroni estate in Mombasa who was admitted to hospital, fell ill a week ago.
"I started to diarrhoea, vomit and was feeling dizzy but I had no idea that I had contracted the disease; when I was brought to hospital I was told that I had it," he said.
Related story: Water shortage increases cholera tollhttp://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx
ReportId=84885
jk/cb[ENDS]
SOUTH AFRICA: One in four men rape
[How many in Kenya? Uganda? Tanzania? etc]
JOHANNESBURG , 18 June (IRIN) - More than 25 percent of South African men have raped; of those, nearly half said they had raped more than one person, says a new report by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
The study was conducted in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, using a Statistics South Africa model of one male interviewee in each of 1,738 households across all racial groupings, and from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds in both rural and urban areas. Half the men in the study were under 25 years old and 70 percent were under 30 years old.
The MRC study - Understanding Men's Health and Use of Violence: Interface of Rape and HIV in South Africa - said all the men interviewed were tested for HIV/AIDS, and were "somewhat younger than men in the general population"; it found that "men who are physically violent towards their intimate partners are more likely to have HIV."
Of the 27.6 percent of men who had committed rape, "23.2 percent of men said they had raped two to three women, 8.4 percent had raped four to five women, 7.1 percent said they had raped six to 10, and 7.7 percent said they had raped more than 10 women or girls," the report said.
"Asked about their age at the first time they had forced a woman or girl into sex, 9.8 percent said they were under 10 years old, 16.4 percent were 10-14 years old, 46.5 percent were 15-19 years old, 18.6 percent were 20-24 years old, 6.9 percent were 25-29 years old, and 1.9 percent were 30 or older."
It is estimated that 500,000 rapes are committed annually in South Africa, and that for every 25 men accused of rape, only one is convicted of the crime. South Africa also has the world highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS: 5.5 million in a population of about 48 million.
Prevalence in the sample group was "striking".
"Among all men aged 25 to 45 [it] was in excess of 25 percent, and among those aged 30 to 39 years, over 40 percent. When examined by rape perpetration status, however, there was no overall difference between the HIV prevalence of men who had raped women and those who had never raped," the report commented.
"Men who disclosed having raped were significantly more likely to have engaged in a range of other risky sexual behaviours. They were more likely to have ever had more than 20 sexual partners, transactional sex, sex with a prostitute, heavy alcohol consumption, to have been physically violent towards a partner, raped a man, and not to have used a condom consistently in the past year."
Significant factors in the high incidence of rape were parent absenteeism, childhood trauma, bullying, teasing and "deeply embedded ideas about South African manhood ... which can be predominantly addressed through strategies of apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators" the report said.
Favouring rapists
Nhlanhla Mokoena, a coordinator at People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA), a gender activist NGO, told IRIN that the "law is on the side of perpetrators [of rape], rather than of the side of [rape] survivors."
Like other criminal cases, rape cases were plagued by delays, lost dockets, misplaced rape kits, and overworked prosecutors; complainants were further burdened by the "patriarchal society", which placed the burden of proof on the complainant, while questioning her style of clothing and why she was out late at night, Mokoena said. There is almost no public transport in South Africa.
South Africa's high crime rate was a burden to public prosecutors, who might have only a few minutes to consult with their clients before a case, whereas defence lawyers could spend many days with clients preparing their case.
Mokoena said police did not tell rape survivors that they could make statements when they were not so traumatized, or amend their statements the following day, and there were often years of delay before a rape case came to trial, all of which was detrimental to the success of rape prosecutions. Delays often led to complainants dropping charges, as was starkly illustrated by the Buyisiwe trial.
Buyisiwe was gang-raped in 2005 by eight men who broke into her home in Tembisa, a township in eastern Johannesburg. She was then paraded in the streets, naked, before being gang-raped again next to a pit toilet. The men were all aged between 17 and 20 at the time, and predicated their defence on Buyisiwe being a sex worker.
The case was postponed 20 times in a court dedicated to dealing with sex crimes before POWA applied to the Johannesburg High Court for the case to be moved. Eventually, seven of the men were found guilty in the High Court, but another suspect is still at large. Sentencing is set down for July 2009.
Harmful masculinity
The MRC study said that to combat rape, society had to address "ideas of masculinity ... [based] on marked gender hierarchy and sexual entitlement of men", and recommended that "rape prevention must focus centrally on changing social norms around masculinity and sexual entitlement."
Mogomotsi Mfalapitsa, spokesman for EngenderHealth, an international NGO promoting sexual and reproductive health in poor communities, told IRIN that from the cradle the boy child was bombarded with "harmful masculinity" messages, from the toy gun to the belief that men should have "multiple concurrent sexual partners", and that it was a man's "right to have sex".
Cultural traditions, such as circumcision schools, had become corrupted, with initiates engaging in rape "to test the new parts", and their crimes claimed as "culture", while the victims did not report the rapes because they were told it was "part of culture".
Changing a society deeply imbued with these perceptions by targeting the male child and extolling the virtues of gender equality would lessen the incidence of rape, Mfalapitsa said.
Since 1996, EngenderHealth has embarked on gender sensitivity programmes in schools and male-dominated environments like the security forces, and has organized "not in our name" protests by the "75 percent" of men who do not rape.
"All males are pulled through the mud [by the incidence of rape in South Africa]," Mfalapitsa said. "And it means they cannot even play with their nieces without arousing suspicion."
go/he[ENDS]
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