Elections International is a voluntary nongovernmental organization in Kenya that strives to build peace and enhance democratic practices by empowering citizens to conduct transparent electoral processes and services. Elections International was formed this year by citizens from diverse professional backgrounds with experience as electoral officers, election observers, civic education providers, and human rights advocates. The organization’s objectives are to empower citizens to conduct and participate in free and fair elections; monitor and observe electoral processes; analyze and advocate for reforms in electoral policies and statutes; build the capacities of electoral management bodies, electoral reform organizations, political parties, legislatures, and judiciaries in matters pertaining to elections; and to build partnerships with organizations with similar objectives. For more information, contact: [email protected] (Sourced from World Movement for Democracy)

Former Ethics Permanent Secretary John Githongo says he is ready to give whatever information he has on corruption in Kenya to the Government. In a brief statement, Githongo - who resigned in February while on assignment in the UK - said he remained firmly committed to the eradication of corruption in Kenya. The former PS, who was President Kibaki's advisor on corruption, was responding to a call on him by Planning minister Anyang' Nyong'o to return to the country and tell the Government what he knew about corruption.

Kenya has begun moving 400 elephants from one national park to a larger one in what it calls the biggest transport of animals "since Noah's Ark", reports the BBC. The animals, which weigh two to four tons each, are being shot with tranquiliser darts, loaded onto special trucks and driven eight hours north. There was a serious overcrowding problem at the Shimba Hills Reserve, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said.

A Nairobi Peace Rally has been organized to coincide with and celebrate the UN’s International Day of Peace. It will culminate in a number of build up activities which have been organized to take place in various parts of Nairobi. This day will also feature the presentation of awards to the winners of the Sing a Song of Peace talent search that has been conducted countrywide by Radio Waumini. Read the press release by clicking on the URL provided.

ActionAid International is active in over 42 countries in Africa, Asia, America and Europe regions in partnership with other organisations. ActionAid Kenya has been working in Kenya since 1972 to facilitate processes that eradicate poverty and ensure social justice through anti-poverty projects, local institutional capability building and public policy influencing. ActionAid Kenya works in 20 districts of Kenya and links key international, national and local institutions in favour of poor people. ActionAid seeks to recruit a dynamic and innovative person to lead, develop and coordinate a well- resourced public policy and research strategy across the country programme.

Mbita Point, on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria, hosts a small rural community. A few minutes walk from the main town lies the local primary school, housed on the campus of a renowned research institute. In Class Five, fifty-four 11-year-old students are willing guinea pigs in an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.

The recent killing of 70 people in northern Kenya's Marsabit district demonstrates a frequent pattern of conflict between communities living in arid areas over scarce resources and inter-communal animosity exacerbated by political rivalry, an analyst said. On 12 July, hundreds of armed raiders believed to have been members of the Borana ethnic group attacked villages inhabited by the Gabra community in the Turbi area of Marsabit, near the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Some 70 people were killed, including 22 children.

When current Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki came to power in 2003 he promised Kenyans a new constitution within 100 days. The new constitution was seen as essential to prevent a recurrence of the abuses of President Daniel arap Moi's regime. But the process of developing the constitution quickly became mired in political wrangling and intrigue. The crisis came to a head last weekend, when a group of MPs made amendments to a draft constitution, sparking protests in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The amended draft constitution, which maintains the power of the president, was passed by parliament last Thursday. Kepta Ombati and Ndung’u Wainaina explain what’s behind the current crisis.

Kenya is a bundle of contradictions. It is amazing that the country has managed to maintain relative peace and managed two peaceful but autocratic political regime changes. The country has a dominant economy in the region. However, Kenya has one of the largest inequality gaps between the rich and the poor in the world and is perhaps only third to that of South Africa and Brazil.

Kenya has been an arena for flagrant human rights violations and massive corruption. Neither the human rights violations nor the corruption has been conclusively resolved or punished, creating an environment for impunity. This has often been camouflaged and hidden from the rest of the world by the complicity of western states.

Kenya waged an armed struggle against the colonizer for independence yet escaped the armed conflicts that resulted from either the post-independence leaders turning dictatorial or agents of neo-imperialism staging coups. The absence of such armed conflict has often led to the erroneous conclusion that Kenyans have been content with their government.

Some facts are needed at this stage. Firstly, active resistance against the autocratic regimes in the country since the dawn of independence are self-evident. Secondly, these long struggles that culminated in the reintroduction of multi-party democracy are too inadequate to fast track the country into a situation where the effective rule of law, democratic civic culture and the principle of accountability are dominant. Thirdly, the pre-occupation with pluralist multiparty politics and claims of increased democratic space are a scratch and not sufficient conditions for a true democracy. Fourthly, without radical and comprehensive constitutional, institutional, social and economic transformation the back of autocracy and inequality cannot be broken and no meaningful democratic change can occur.

The current governance and constitutional crisis in Kenya began immediately after independence via the introduction of executive-driven constitutional amendments to the independence constitution. The net effect was destruction of all the foundations of democratic government; the introduction of authoritarianism; the negation of the constitutionally-protected bill of rights; the subversion of the struggle for freedom; the alienation of government from the people; the consolidation of the home guard into the power structure and marginalization of the rest of the Kenyan population and the ethnicization of politics.

The state was consolidated within an autocratic mould while the evolution of the 42 nationalities within the borders of the new state into one nation was undermined; dissent was criminalized; basic freedoms were violated by the state; the people were committed to foreign debts without their consent or input and finally a client-patron system of governance was consolidated.

The National Alliance Rainbow Coalition (NARC) election meant different things to different people. For human rights activists and drivers for struggle for change, NARC was the victorious culmination of a long struggle against tyranny and neo-colonialism. To President Mwai Kibaki and his group, NARC was simply a vehicle to political power controlled and directed by neo-liberal conservatives. NARC is not a coalition but a composite party comprising disparate parties coalescing around individuals and pretending to be a single entity. Secondly, the assemblage presents a contradiction. Though elected on the reform platform, the balance of power on both sides of the imaginary divide is in favour of the conservatives and the turncoats. The champions of reforms today are the anti-reformers of yesteryear while the reformers of past years have disappeared within the conservative ranks and even become anti-reform.

Are the key political players – National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Kenya African National Union (KANU) – really interested in radical transformation and a democratic new constitution? Whereas NAK is comfortable with the current constitution because it provides the best leverages for consolidation of its power ahead of the next general elections, LDP sees the political value that failure to complete the constitution will bring to it against NAK at the next polls. Nothing may provide a more powerful campaign platform against NAK.

KANU on the other hand would be delighted if the constitution were not delivered giving it a form of retribution for its own sins of failure to deliver one. KANU’s interest is resumption of power, not constitutional reform for KANU has never believed in reforms. The sort of constitution and reforms Kenyans are seeking would send most if not all of the ranking members of NAK, LDP and KANU to Kamiti! The dominant forces in all three have no strong track record in constitutional reform. President Mwai Kibaki was a reluctant reformer since the early 90s.

The known reformers have been rapidly converted from idealists to pragmatists with an eye on power rather than an ideal democratic nation. Idealism has all of a sudden become idle dreaming while pragmatism is exalted. Principles and values are low denomination currency while wile and schemes for power are the definitive elements for excellence as former progressives come to term with the imperatives of “realpolitik”. The consequence has been the importing of narrow political interest into the constitutional review process which has resulted in the bastardization of the process.

There is no unanimity over the cause of the collapse of the constitutional review process. Some of the reasons include; President Kibaki’s failure to honour the memorandum of understanding; Raila Odinga’s rebellion against President Kibaki’s regime; and disagreement among politicians over what have been described as contentious issues. However, this is erroneous and deceptive since the original philosophy of constitution making in Kenya denied politicians the powers of determining the new constitutional order in the country. The people therefore and not politicians should decide what is or is not contentious. The real reasons include: A flawed process; capitulation of the reformers within the government; a gullible media; and weakened and paralyzed civil society. The problem is compounded by the loss of the moral authority by the religious community.

The constitutional reform crisis in Kenya is as a result of the balance of power being in favour of conservatives and anti-reformers rather than simply the war between NAK and LPD. Secondly, the popular opinion is that pushed by political parties and the media, NAK and LDP have disagreed on certain contentious issues. The popular view is not necessarily the correct view. Politicians and the media have a long history of misleading the nation over the reform process in Kenya since the advent of the campaign for constitutional reforms. This is largely due to the fact that politicians are always pursuing short term tactical objectives rather than the long term interests of the nation, while the media is controlled by a small group which is a continuum of the ruling elite rather than allies of the people.

And thirdly, the civil society (religious and secular), which has acted as a powerful catalyst and vanguard of the constitutional reform process, is not only deeply divided but also thoroughly coloured by judgments based on ethnicity and partisan positions in an unprecedented manner. This has compromised their capacity to bring NARC to order.

The failure of the NARC government will deny the African continent a new paradigm for political organization and change. Kenya became a toast of the continent, demonstrating that democratic change was possible through peaceful means. That will now be history, barring the balance of power shifting in favour of reformers in and outside government - or by divine intervention the anti-constitutionalists in and outside government becoming reformers.

Finally, it is increasingly becoming impossible to achieve any fundamental reforms – constitutional, political, economic or social – under the NARC government as it sinks deeper and deeper into the vices of the KANU regime. Even though Kenyans have not entirely written off the Kibaki regime, it is unlikely that it will be long before the nation slowly starts to adjust its sights beyond NARC. The problem is that from our experience, and that of most other African states, there does not appear any strong reason to believe that any government in power will faithfully facilitate the promulgation of a new constitution that has the interest of the people rather than the schemes of politicians for power at the center. So what is the alternative? It is now for sure that no serious democratic reforms are possible without first putting in place a democratic constitution with strong institutions; firm systems of checks and balances and sufficient guarantees against regression.

* Kepta is Chief Executive, Youth Agenda and Wainaina is Programme Manager, National Convention Executive Council (NCEC)

* Please email comments to

Civil society groups in Kenya have set their sights on an upcoming referendum in a bid to prevent government from pushing through an altered version of the country's draft constitution. This comes after parliament gave its approval to the amended draft at midnight last Thursday, by a vote of 102 to 61. The altered version of the document was initially put forward earlier this month during a retreat in the coastal town of Kilifi, attended by certain legislators.

For those Kenyans who have contracted HIV, getting access to anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) is seldom an easy matter. In the case of children, however, the situation is even more problematic. According to Health Minister Charity Ngilu, only 1,200 of the 44,000 people receiving free ARVs in Kenya are children - far below the 10 percent of HIV-positive children who are thought to be in need of treatment.

The African Union's mandated peer review body said on Friday it had halted activities in Kenya after the government blocked it from operating after a row over finances and the public's role in the process. Grace Akumu, head of the Kenyan chapter of the AU's African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), said the authorities blocked the group from accessing its offices in Nairobi, because it was questioning how the government was spending cash meant for the review. The APRM operates under the Kenyan ministry for planning and national development, which refused to comment when contacted.

Ezekiel Lang'at vividly remembers the day in early June that a group of security guards and policemen stormed his home near Mau Forest in Narok District, southwestern Kenya. "This is not your farm - you have to leave," they ordered him before torching his houses. Lang'at is one of thousands of Kenyan families who have been left homeless following a government decision to evict them, without compensation, from farms allegedly carved out of the forest.

Today (July 01) the Kenyan GCAP Coalition sent out powerful delegations of activists to petition some of the G8 Embassies with the message for debt cancellation, more and better quality aid and immediate removal of harmful conditionalities that come with any new loans. The Embassies visited were Japan, Germany, USA and Italy.

There's no disputing that computer ownership in Kenya is on the increase. Even so, the path to ensuring that the majority of Kenyans are able to benefit from information and communication technology (ICT) is littered with obstacles - something that came to the fore during a conference held this week in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Kenya requires 24 more public universities to meet United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation international standards. Prof Wanjala Kere, Unesco's lead education consultant in technical, vocational education and training, said the current number does not meet required international standards. "According to Unesco standards, there is need for one public university for every one million people and we only have six public universities for a population of approximately 30 million people," said Kere.

More than 140 cartoons from 36 countries are featured in the month-long exhibition organised by UNHCR and the Association of East African Cartoonists (KATUNI) to mark World Refugee Day. The exhibition also included a caricature competition with cartoonists invited to present their caricatures of prominent persons who were once refugees. South African President Thabo Mbeki, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Kenyan MP Koigi Wa Wamwere, former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright and South African musician Miriam Makeba were among those featured.

As the international community marks World Refugee Day, a Somali woman's tale of how she helped fellow refugees terminate pregnancies has highlighted the shortcomings of reproductive health care in refugee camps. Humanitarian assistance to people in this and other camps has understandably focused on providing food, water, shelter and sanitation. In the scramble to ensure that refugees stay alive, however, the contraceptive needs of women sometimes fall by the wayside - despite the fact that women may be more vulnerable to sexual abuse and disease, and unwanted pregnancies, in a refugee setting.

Today, women and children remain the main casualties of war and civil strife, accounting for about 3/4 of the world refugee population. Boys as young as eight years are often abducted and forced to become child soldiers. Although the current Kenyan policy regarding the protection of refugees is encampment, there are urban refugees who are recognised and mandated by UNHCR to reside in urban centres.

800 school children, 20 Kenyan celebrities and GCAP campaigners launched the African snaps and SMS campaign in Moi Avenue Primary School in downtown Nairobi. Wearing white bands, girls and boys listened to Kora award winner Achieng Abura, Kisima award winner Abbi speak about the importance of the fight against poverty and the Day of the African child.

Achieng declared at the press conference, "We do care about poverty. We are concerned about the growing gap between the rich and the poor in Kenya and very happy to be associated with the Global Call to Action against Poverty campaign." Abbi said, "We are a small representation of numerous African artists that link their music, poetry and theatre to social issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty and children". They were among prominant musicians, sportspeople, actresses and film-makers. The event was very well attended by the international and Kenyan press. Millions of Kenyans will see the advert as it goes on national television over the next few weeks leading upto the AU and G8 Summits in July. A leading television station, the Kenyan Television Network has offered free air time to the campaign.

William Kassina of Moi Avenue Primary School recited a powerful poem that called on the African adult to stop conflict, end poverty and violence against girls. He said, "although the African child goes barehanded and barefooted, I shall not mourn. We must bring this to an end". The boys and girls were treated to acrobatics, songs and speeches by the artists in front of two three-feet mobile-phones held by mannequins walking on six feet high stilts. The launch took place alongside other GCAP Kenya events in Kiandutu, Thika and Homa Bay that also celebrated the Day of the African Child.

President Kibaki would trail Kanu chairman Uhuru Kenyatta and Environment Minister Kalonzo Musyoka were elections to be held this year, an opinion poll released yesterday indicates. The Steadman Group, whose Gallup poll last October placed President Kibaki at the top, has this time put him behind Uhuru and Kalonzo who tied in the first position with a 29 per cent rating. Kibaki scored 15 per cent.