There is confusion in Kenya over how to deal with bodies piled in the town of Eldoret's morgue for more than a year. The deceased died in a church burnt down by a mob during ethnic violence after elections in December 2007. Thirty-seven bodies were to have been buried on Wednesday but after the first 10 were interred they had to be dug up amid furious protests from relatives.

A galaxy of former African leaders will attend a peace c onference to discuss the political transformation of Kenya from an ethnic-divisions-ridden state, into a more tolerant democracy in the region.The conference, dubbed "The Kenya We Want," will be held in Nairobi on 2-4 February to chart the way forward for the country, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has announced.

Honourable citizens, Bunge la Mwananchi remembers with nostalgia that the very ideals that we fight for today such as human rights, equality, democracy, freedom, democratic constitution, political accountability and transparency, sustainable development and people sensitive leadership, were ideals that you once believed in, spoke eloquently about and worked hard to achieve before you entered the August house.

President Kibaki’s decision to cancel the traditional New Year’s Eve state festivities at State House Mombasa is a laudable and encouraging move towards people sensitive leadership. For a long time, the Kenyan civil society has been vocal in condemning the unnecessary, spendthrift and morally irregular expense of holding grand state festivities in the same country where citizens are suffering grand social injustices and unaccountable unresponsive leadership.

WAJIBU: a journal of social and ethical concern, is a Kenyan journal that has been published in Kenya for the past 22 years and has subscribers not only in Kenya but in various other countries in Africa and abroad. We invite submissions on all aspects of how digital technology is shaping public discourse, culture, politics and economy in Kenya.

Public buildings in England and Wales are pumping out 11m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, more than Kenya's entire carbon footprint, the Guardian can reveal. Unpublished findings of an energy efficiency audit of 18,000 buildings including ministerial offices, police stations, museums and art galleries reveal that the 9,000 buildings audited so far produce 5.6m tonnes of CO2, with one in six receiving the lowest possible energy efficiency rating.

Hundreds of girls between seven and 17 are seeking refuge in church compounds in western Kenya to avoid the ritual removal of their clitorises, a practice that remains common despite its illegality. "Local authorities must ensure that these girls are not ostracised by the community and that their education is not disrupted," Andrew Timpson, a senior protection officer for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Kenya, told IRIN on 16 December.

Margaret Sichei*, 37, discovered she was HIV positive during a routine antenatal check-up. The pregnancy, as well as the HIV infection, was the product of a gang rape deep in the forests of Mount Elgon in western Kenya, perpetrated by members of a self-styled militia calling themselves the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SDLF).

Nosa Abdalla Anglo, 19, was only a year away from joining a secondary school in Khartoum in 2005, but is still in primary school four years later and worries about her chances of going to high school in 2012. Anglo, a returnee to the state of South Kordofan after fleeing the North-South war, which ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, was in an Arabic-medium school in Khartoum but is now enrolled in an English-medium primary school in her village of Karkaraya, on the outskirts of Kadugli, the main town in the state.

Kenyan leaders have endorsed the preparation of a new Statute for the Special Tribunal bill to pave way for the establishment of the special tribunal for the post election violence, state media has reported. The tribunal, would seek justice for victims of the 2007 post election violence which killed more than 1,500 and displaced thousands between December 2007 and January 2008.

By now Ester, a 51-year-old grandmother of six, has grown tired of the people who come to scribble notes about what happened to her on the evening of Jan. 30. On that date, men kicked in her door and beat her and her sister down to the ground, tore away their clothes, and raped them. That, she says, is how she became infected with HIV.

A free and fair media is a necessary element in any democracy. The press is the watchdog of the government. They ensure that the truth be told. The government should have no power in a democracy to control news outlets. If the bill is signed the government is essentially stealing the voice of the people so they will be able to declare a "state of emergency" when it is convenient for them. Giving the government a gag hold on the media's ability to report the truth.

This conference will reflect on the diverse and changing notions of ‘the public’, in relation to the production of medical knowledge and health in contemporary Africa. We hope that an improved understanding of this basic social and political concept will help strengthen the connection between public health and social progress and confront the power imbalances in global medical research and health care delivery.

In this 100-page report, Human Rights Watch documents how the government's HIV treatment program has failed to get lifesaving drugs to the majority of children who need them. If untreated, half of all children born with HIV will die before their second birthdays. Yet, many local health facilities do not ensure that children have access to HIV tests and rarely offer antiretroviral treatment for children.

This conference forms part of a collaborative project between the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) and the British Association of South Asian Studies (BASAS). Compared to the rapidly proliferating work on China in Africa, India, the other great 'Asian Driver', has been rather neglected in academic and policy circles. This event will bring together a series of papers on India's changing relations with one region of sub-Saharan Africa.

Kenyan citizens and members of PEN International Kenya Chapter, condemn in the strongest terms possible the pattern of unconstitutional and insane legislation playing out in Parliament with the blessings of your Government. By passing your Government’s repugnant Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2008, Parliament has infringed on both our God-given human rights, and on our constitutionally recognised civic rights to representation and to freedom of expression, association, assembly, thought, communication, and even of dress.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki exchanged congratulatory messages on Sunday to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Hu said in his message that the friendly and cooperative connections between the two sides have experienced sound, steady development in the past 45 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, despite changes in the international political arena and the respective situation in the two countries.

Kenyans for Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ) evaluate the state of fundamental freedoms in Kenya, and their verdict is singularly unfavourable. The full statement is a condemnation of the record of the coalition government.

Considering the ultimate limitations of instructing Kenya’s children in ‘civilised’ acts like eating a banana with a knife and fork at the expense of an education true to the nation’s history, Wangui Kimari wonders whether the current educational system simply upholds students’ self-effacement.

With journalists and protestors in Kenya facing brutal arrests as they challenge governmental efforts to curb media freedom, Cenya Ciyendi laments the repression of groups merely demonstrating for the right to freedom of expression. At a time when the world celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the author condemns the persistence of political self-service and the use of draconian, quasi-colonial measures to quash peaceful protest.