A generator rumbles behind the two-roomed building, which looks like one of the maize mills that dot Kenya's rural landscape. But, you're not likely to find a harvest of any sort in here - rather, food for thought. This is an internet café in a sleepy, rural part of Emuhaya constituency, about 500 kilometres from the capital, Nairobi. Information and technology experts estimate that only two percent of Kenyans with access to the internet live in rural areas. For those who have managed to log on, however, life has never been the same since.

"We have produced a Special Issue of Mapambano which contains much of the material we have circulated on the on going campaigns on the Referendum in Kenya set for November 21st. We are on the "No" side although we believe that neither the "No" nor "Yes" sayers are an alternative to the political crisis in Kenya."

The Yes (Banana) and No (Orange) campaigns go head-to-head October 18 in a 70-minute live radio and television debate. Prof Anyang' Nyong'o, Mr Chris Okemo and Mr Mutula Kilonzo will front the Orange platform while Mr Paul Muite, Mr Raphael Tuju and Dr Mukhisa Kituyi will speak for the Banana campaign. The debate seeks to refocus attention on the issues that have given rise to the differences over the proposed constitution and divided the Cabinet and country and paralysed Parliament.

Internews Network is currently seeking a Program Associate to provide technical and administrative support in our Nairobi, Kenya office. This is a local hire, with no relocation or expatriate benefits

The post holder will be responsible for providing technical and programme support at the regional and country level on the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the regional component of the Medium Term Strategic Plan 2006-2009 on HIV/AIDS and Children.

Date: 21 October, 2005
Time: 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: Nairobi, Kenya – Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC)

Kenya is going through a very public process of constitutional debates. Nevertheless there appears to be a fundamental absence of political space for women to make their opinions heard significantly, despite the fact that women have consistently provided leadership to safeguard the processes of constitution making. A key concern is what women stand to gain or lose by voting either ''Yes'' or ''No.'' The National Commission on Gender and Development seeks to provide the women of Kenya with a space to have and construct a voice that articulates their concerns. The forum will host panelists from both the ''Yes'' and ''No'' campaigns, who will address the substantive women's issues in the draft constitution and the consequences for women should they vote either ''Yes'' or ''No.''
In attendance will be more than 100 women from the eight provinces to lend their insights into this important process.

Kenya appears to be losing the war against corruption with the country’s perception index continuing on a downward trend, Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2005 report has indicated. In a survey conducted by TI in a total of 159 countries worldwide, Kenya is ranked 144th with an index score of 2.1, behind 36 African countries including Robert Mugabe’s debt-ridden Zimbabwe.

More than 20 wildlife groups have urged Kenya's president to reverse a decision made the week of October 3 to downgrade Amboseli National Park to a game reserve. This means control of the Rift Valley wildlife haven will move from the Kenya Wildlife Service to a local authority, run by the area's Maasai community. Opponents of the change say it is an attempt to win Maasai votes ahead of next month's constitution referendum. But supporters say the Maasai will now benefit from Amboseli's revenue.

A World Bank loan of 30 million dollars established Kenya's first EPZ in 1990. There are now five around the country containing about 40 firms - with plans to build two more in the near future. The zones are intended to increase foreign currency earnings for the impoverished nation of almost 34 million people through exports to the United States and Europe. Almost 40,000 Kenyans, mostly women, are employed in the EPZs (up from some 26,000 in 2002), no small matter in a country where official statistics put unemployment at almost 15 percent. This success has been undermined, however, by persistent allegations of poor working conditions and human rights abuses in the zones.

The arrest of David Ochami, a Kenyan journalist, by more than 10 policemen at the premises of Kenya Times Newspaper because of an opinion article he published in the paper was significant in two ways. It was the second major arrest of a journalist since Narc took power while it also confirmed that President Mwai Kibaki is on a downward spiral towards authoritarian dictatorship that his predecessor Daniel arap Moi spent 24 years perfecting.

One thing Kenya is certainly not short of is good weather. In one of Nairobi's poorest neighbourhoods, people have started working to make the best of the free energy potential of the sun. Orders are already beginning to flood into the Kibera Community Youth Project (KCYP) for solar panels built in a small workshop in the heart of one of Africa's biggest slums.

“Kenya aims at being an industrialized nation by 2020. For this to happen crucial sectors of the economy need to be revived and promoted. And attempts are underway. But they will all be nullified if Kenya signs an EPA with the European Union”, warns Peter Aoga from EcoNews Africa. On 27th September 3 years ago, negotiations on so called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and ACP regions were launched. These negotiations aim at creating Free Trade Areas between some of the world’s richest countries and some of the poorest – and it is obvious who will benefit.

The Government has handed back Amboseli National Park to the Maasai in what appears to be a move to woo the community into the Banana camp before the November 21 referendum. President Kibaki on Thursday directed that a legal notice be issued to ensure the park was returned to the community as trust land. Through a special gazette notice issued on the same day by Tourism and Wildlife minister Morris Dzoro, the park now becomes a national reserve and will be run by Olkejuado County Council.

A new project managed by AfriAfya and supported by Exchange is using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to communicate about health and development. A health communication project engages the knowledge of marginalised people in Kenya. The project started in February 2005 and the first phase included intensive planning and training workshops. It builds on AfriAfya's experience of managing a central health communication "hub" in Nairobi and setting up regional field sites, which are based in locations ranging from primary schools to ministry of health offices.

An MP has asked the Government to suspend trials on Genetically Modified (GM) crops, pending development of strong biosafety policies and legal framework. Mr David Nakitare (Saboti) also said further field trials on genetically engineered crops should be stopped until the technology was proved safe to the environment. He said many people in Africa would be affected if the technology was found dangerous to man and the environment. "At least 85 per cent of people in the continent practice small-scale agriculture. This is why it is important to tread cautiously on GMO crops," he said.

Advocates of changes to land ownership in African countries often promote increased privatisation of land rights, giving ownership to individuals. This contrasts with traditional tenure systems which keep key land rights, including the right to sell, in the community.

Cabinet minister William ole Ntimama has said "a lot of looted money" was being used to bribe support for a proposed constitution. He urged President Kibaki to give Kenyans more time to study the constitution. Ntimama, a minister in the Office of the President, said looted money was being used to confuse people ahead of the referendum slated for November 21. He said Kenyans were being "lured" into voting for a document they do not understand yet it could affect them for more than 100 years.

Scientists have announced an outbreak of a devastating wheat disease that could wipe out the entire crop in Kenya. The stem rust disease has affected farms in Njoro and was spreading fast, raising fears of a food shortage. A panel of experts working under the Global Rust Initiative sounded the alarm after a study to evaluate the threat of the disease first detected in Uganda in 1999. The initiative, which includes the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, said the disease had the potential of spreading worldwide, causing a global catastrophe.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has been told if he campaigns for a "yes" vote then November's planned referendum for a new constitution will be a farce. Electoral Commission head Samuel Kivuitu said no-one could compete with the government and their allies. "The people should be left to decide for themselves," he said. The proposed new constitution has been criticised by the opposition and five members of Mr Kibaki's cabinet.

Kenya's former president, Daniel arap Moi, has rejected a draft new constitution, saying it would cause animosity and mistrust among Kenyans. The proposals, to be voted on in a referendum in November, are dividing the political establishment. Five cabinet ministers have broken rank with President Mwai Kibaki, calling for a 'No' vote in the referendum.