As the ICC prosecutor continues his investigations into the Kenyan Genocide, he should be aware that he has the power to plunge Kenya back into violence or end impunity. Only a true quest for justice guided by at most good faith will help put a dent on impunity and avert violence.
In the past few weeks, politicians have embarked on taking Kenyans as human shields to frustrate their impending prosecution. Individuals that have a hint that ICC may be coming after them have started to rope in their ethnic kin setting a stage for the next big explosion. In Rift Valley, politicians are making an argument that the Kalenjin politicians were only minor players in the planning of the violence and heaping the blame on ODM leader Raila Odinga (and his Luo ethnic group).
To vindicate himself, Raila Odinga has totally removed himself from the violence and delinked it from the elections leaving the Kalenjin leaders holding the can. He has presented the Luo tribe as victims of carefully planned ethnic cleansing carried out by Kenyan and Ugandan security officers. He has blamed the same forces for the sacking and burning of Kisumu. Raila claims that he called for mass action and not mass killings.
In Central Province, Kikuyu leaders are talking about attempts to victimize the Kikuyu tribe for its role in self defense. They have accused the UN and ICC of demonizing the Kikuyu tribe resulting into double victimization.
In the media, facts on the violence are being altered and public opinion is consciously being reshaped. The effect on this effort is very clear in Ocampo’s pre-trial presentation at the ICC. Ocampo ignored very crucial facts in the case in what looks like an attempt to shelter President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga from any prosecution. Through out the investigations, Ocampo has regarded the President and the PM as his partners and not suspects when it is clear that the two politicians were the reason we had bloodshed in Kenya.
Ocampo should withdraw the cases if his plan is for a semblance of justice. He will only be handing a keg of gunpowder to the masters of impunity and asking them to blow Kenya into smithereens.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Kenyan Genocide Perpetrators
| ALLEGED PERPETRATOR | BACKGROUND | ALLEGATION/S | SUPPORTING INFORMATION ON THE ALLEGATIONS |
| The late Hon. Lorna Laboso | M.P, Sotik Constituency | Planning and incitement to violence | On the thrid week of January 2008, she attended a purpoted peace meeting at Manaret Society, and incited the local community after which a vicious attack against the Kisii was instead intesified. together with Frankline Bett, they talked to and incited about 700 youths at Sotik Tea Estate and immediately they left, the youths began to burn houses belonging to the Kisiis. |
| Hon. Franklin Bett | M.P, Bureti Constituency | Planning, incitement, and financing the violence | During a public meeting in Kiptororo in Kuresoi in December 2007, he reportedly urged the Kalenjins to fight Kikuyu until they leave Molo area. Before the elections, he and other prominent politicians attended a meeting in the interior Ndoinet forest. After the said meeting, the group that attended attacked and destroyed properties belonging to the non-Kalenjins. It is believed that they incited the locals to attack non-Kalenjins. He brought young men (boys) in groups of more than 300 from Bomet who worked with Luo locals to attack the Kikuyu. Together with the late Kipkalia Kones and the late Kimtai Too they financed the Kalenjin youth who attacked the Kikuyu and Kisii in Kericho. He organized youths to attack the Kikuyu and Kisiis in Kericho. He gave them transportation, fuel and food and held meetings at Kericho Tea Hotel and other places. He told supporters that "all the investors in Kericho and in the estates will be either Kalenjins or Indians." This statement is said to have given the youths motivation to attack all other tribes especially the Kisiis and Kikuyus. He is said to have been explaining to the people who attended a meeting in Kipkatet that no one can take what belongs to the Kalenjins, especially land. In a meeting held in Chopkiobet in Bomet, he is quoted to have said that he "will beat up Kikuyus till they leave Molo. Together with the late Kipkalia Kones and the late David Too, they organized and facilitated the youths to be transported from Transmara and Bomet in Lorries through Silibwet and go to chase Kikuyus from Kuresoi. He intimidated people at the Kericho Police Station and told them that those that give information to the investigators on the post election violence will be lynched. Eye Witnesses have reported that on the 30th of December 2007 at around 10.00 am, at the Caltex Petrol Station in Kericho town, he gave unspecified amount of money to some Kalenjin and Luo men who immediately after the said payment started stoning anf burning kiosks perceived to be owned by Kikuyus but were in actual fact owned by the Kipsigis and Kisii people. |
| The late Hon. David Kimutai Too | MP, Ainamoi Constituency | Planning, incitement, and financing the violence | On the 23rd November 2007 went to Stagemart in Kericho and addressed a crowd asking residents to remove all stains/spots (Madoadoa) from the region. In January 2008 he asked that all the stains/spots (Madoadoa) be removed from the region. Together with Kipkalia Kones and Frankline Bett they financed the Kalenjin youths who attacked the Kikuyu and Kisii in Kericho. |
| The Late Hon. Kipkalia Kones | Former MP, Bomet Constituency and Minister | Planning, incitement, and finacing the violence. | In January 2008 while addression youths he is reported to have tolf the youths: "When we tell you to block, make sure you block the roads, and when we tell you to remove, make sure you remove them." Kalenjin raiders were hosted at his residence in Sirikwa from where they launched attacks against the Kikuyu and Kisii. Together with Frankline Bett and the late Kimutain Too they financed the Kalenjin youths who attacked Kisiis in Kericho. |
| Hon. William Ruto | MP, Eldoret North Constituency, Minister | Planning, incitement, and financing the violence | In August 2007 he held a meeting with the other senior ODM leaders in Kipkelion near Kericho including Sotik MP the late Lorna Labodo, the late Kipkalia K. Kones (Bomet), Kiprono L. J. Magerer (Kipkelion), and Franklin Bett (Bureti) where the leaders resolved to carry out mass evictions of non-Kalenjins from 'their' Rift Valley areas, particularlly the Kikuyu and Abagusii. During the oppening ceremony for the Seventh Day Adventist Church in a place called Mailing, he is alleged to have said that they would uproot the "sangari", 'shake off the soil,' 'gather it together' and 'burn it', in reference to 'outside' communities. He is alleged to have addressed the public at Bisabil shopping center in Turbo near Burnt Forest and incited the local Kalenjin and Luhya communities against the Kikuyu. At a meeting on 22/12/2007 at his home in Sugoi he said that his headache was Mr. Jonathan Bii, his opponent, who supported Kikuyu on the land issue and directed that they should be attacked if they dared campaign in the areas. |
| Hon. Boaz Kaino | MP, Marakwet West Constituency | Inciting violence | At a meeting he said that he would remove Kikuyu and Kisii from the area after the elections. |
| Hon. Dr. Sally Kosgey | MP, Aldai Constituency and Cabinet Minister | Planning, incitement, and financing the violence | With Hon. Henry Kosgey, they attended meetings to aorganise violence. They are alleged also to have funded violence. |
| Hon. Fred Kapondi | MP, Mt. Elgon Constituency | inciting violence | He attended and addressed a rally at Ziwa where violence was planned. Alleged to have said that Luhyas should be expelled from Trans Nzoia. |
| Hon. Henry Kosgey | MP, Tinderet constituency and Cabinet Minister | Planning, incitement, and financing the violence | He held several meetings with the Nandi Hills area councillors and other opinion leaders at Septon Guest House within Septon Eastate. The meeting, it is believed, was for planning and organization of violence. |
For the full list download this PDF
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
No reconciliation possible without release of protesters
Story by RAILA ODINGA
Publication Date: 6/3/2008
FEW ITEMS OF POLITICAL discourse in post-crisis Kenya have been as misunderstood, and as deliberately distorted, as the issue of protesting youths who have been incarcerated for five months now in Rift Valley, Nairobi and western Kenya.
A number of leaders of various hues are demanding that there be no impunity with regard to the terrible violence that swept our nation after the disputed presidential election results were announced at the end of December.
Astoundingly, these anti-impunity leaders are referring only to youths whose only “crime” was staging lawful protests in their anger over the ECK’s criminal conduct of the elections.
These leaders have never once talked of there being no impunity for the security forces responsible for more than half of the killings.
Equally astoundingly, the only police officer charged is the one in Kisumu, whose wanton killing of two youths was captured on television cameras.
POLICE CULPABILITY IS CLEARLY indicated since most killings resulted from gunshot wounds, as pointed out by the highly respected Independent Medico-Legal Unit (Imlu).
And let us also remember that the police actions, initiated at the highest level of its command, were done at the behest of the State, which then was under the control of a contending political party in the election.
The vast majority of youths who are in custody killed or raped no one. They were defending
democracy and electoral justice in the only manner available to them: demonstrations which enjoy the protection of our Constitution.
The protests turned bloody primarily because of a grossly disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by security agents, who had been given orders to shoot to kill.
Yes, there were killings, rapes and violent robbery by enraged citizens. Such individuals must face the law, but surely a Police Force which was responsible for many of the deaths cannot be trusted to be the investigator and prosecutor for these crimes. The police are trying to cover up their own killings by laying the blame on the innocents.
It is because of the serious doubts over the impartiality of the police and our judicial system that the National Accord established a commission, now headed by Mr Justice Philip Waki, to look into the entire spectrum of violence that swept the nation.
Surely, trying to rush through police investigations violates the Accord and also gives them the opportunity to fix the evidence. The police themselves will be actually in the dock in front of the Waki Commission.
Indeed, there are clear instances whereby youths have been or are facing trumped-up charges of robbery with violence, which is a non-bailable offence, in order to punish them.
And in instances where bail is applicable, it is set at such an exorbitant amount that the youths are unable to go home to their families.
In addition, thousands of the arrested protesters have still not been charged, which is a violation of the rule of law, since charges need to be brought within two weeks of arrest, at most. These demonstrations took place nationwide, but the police used maximum force in the Rift Valley, western Kenya and selected parts of Nairobi in order to portray the violence as coming from specific ethnic groups.
Indeed, this use of brutal force was pre-planned by stationing large police contingents in these areas, as it was known that protests would erupt when the fraudulent election results were announced.
These police officers who killed innocent Kenyans in Western, Nyanza, Rift Valley and the Coast looked the other way as ODM supporters were hacked to death or burnt in their homes in Naivasha, Nakuru, Nairobi and Central Province.
WE IN ODM HAVE DEMANDED THE truth in the election dispute and justice for all Kenyans who were killed, attacked or affected in whatever manner by neighbours or the police, which acted as an armed wing of PNU.
The only logical way to proceed is to let the Waki Commission on post-election violence proceed with its work without interference by the police. Otherwise this Commission is entirely redundant, and its work will be only for the history books.
The national reconciliation, as well as the headway we urgently need to make in our common coalition programmes, cannot take place when there is so much legitimate anger over these wrongly incarcerated youths.
The Right Honourable Raila Odinga is Kenya’s Prime Minister.
Publication Date: 6/3/2008
FEW ITEMS OF POLITICAL discourse in post-crisis Kenya have been as misunderstood, and as deliberately distorted, as the issue of protesting youths who have been incarcerated for five months now in Rift Valley, Nairobi and western Kenya.
A number of leaders of various hues are demanding that there be no impunity with regard to the terrible violence that swept our nation after the disputed presidential election results were announced at the end of December.
Astoundingly, these anti-impunity leaders are referring only to youths whose only “crime” was staging lawful protests in their anger over the ECK’s criminal conduct of the elections.
These leaders have never once talked of there being no impunity for the security forces responsible for more than half of the killings.
Equally astoundingly, the only police officer charged is the one in Kisumu, whose wanton killing of two youths was captured on television cameras.
POLICE CULPABILITY IS CLEARLY indicated since most killings resulted from gunshot wounds, as pointed out by the highly respected Independent Medico-Legal Unit (Imlu).
And let us also remember that the police actions, initiated at the highest level of its command, were done at the behest of the State, which then was under the control of a contending political party in the election.
The vast majority of youths who are in custody killed or raped no one. They were defending
democracy and electoral justice in the only manner available to them: demonstrations which enjoy the protection of our Constitution.The protests turned bloody primarily because of a grossly disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by security agents, who had been given orders to shoot to kill.
Yes, there were killings, rapes and violent robbery by enraged citizens. Such individuals must face the law, but surely a Police Force which was responsible for many of the deaths cannot be trusted to be the investigator and prosecutor for these crimes. The police are trying to cover up their own killings by laying the blame on the innocents.
It is because of the serious doubts over the impartiality of the police and our judicial system that the National Accord established a commission, now headed by Mr Justice Philip Waki, to look into the entire spectrum of violence that swept the nation.Surely, trying to rush through police investigations violates the Accord and also gives them the opportunity to fix the evidence. The police themselves will be actually in the dock in front of the Waki Commission.
Indeed, there are clear instances whereby youths have been or are facing trumped-up charges of robbery with violence, which is a non-bailable offence, in order to punish them.And in instances where bail is applicable, it is set at such an exorbitant amount that the youths are unable to go home to their families.
In addition, thousands of the arrested protesters have still not been charged, which is a violation of the rule of law, since charges need to be brought within two weeks of arrest, at most. These demonstrations took place nationwide, but the police used maximum force in the Rift Valley, western Kenya and selected parts of Nairobi in order to portray the violence as coming from specific ethnic groups.
Indeed, this use of brutal force was pre-planned by stationing large police contingents in these areas, as it was known that protests would erupt when the fraudulent election results were announced.
These police officers who killed innocent Kenyans in Western, Nyanza, Rift Valley and the Coast looked the other way as ODM supporters were hacked to death or burnt in their homes in Naivasha, Nakuru, Nairobi and Central Province.
WE IN ODM HAVE DEMANDED THE truth in the election dispute and justice for all Kenyans who were killed, attacked or affected in whatever manner by neighbours or the police, which acted as an armed wing of PNU.
The only logical way to proceed is to let the Waki Commission on post-election violence proceed with its work without interference by the police. Otherwise this Commission is entirely redundant, and its work will be only for the history books.
The national reconciliation, as well as the headway we urgently need to make in our common coalition programmes, cannot take place when there is so much legitimate anger over these wrongly incarcerated youths.
The Right Honourable Raila Odinga is Kenya’s Prime Minister.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Identity and Violence
Written by Daniel Waweru
In Kenya, violence abounds, as do analyses of its causes and consequences. An efficient way of dividing opinion on the matter is to ask four questions: Was the violence planned? Was it 'ethnic'? Was there ethnic cleansing? Was it 'political'?
We aren't short of people who will answer no to all save the last for boring political reasons; we needn't worry about them. But others, for presumably non-political reasons, will do likewise. 'Unless names are invidiously named', as Timothy Williamson once said, 'sermons like this... tend to cause less offence than they should, because everyone imagines that they are aimed at other people'. Maina Kiai, Tavia Nyong'o, here's looking at you.
A must read by http://www.kenyaimagine.com/index.php?option=com_alphacontent§ion=30&cat=197&task=view&id=1284&Itemid=29
In Kenya, violence abounds, as do analyses of its causes and consequences. An efficient way of dividing opinion on the matter is to ask four questions: Was the violence planned? Was it 'ethnic'? Was there ethnic cleansing? Was it 'political'?
We aren't short of people who will answer no to all save the last for boring political reasons; we needn't worry about them. But others, for presumably non-political reasons, will do likewise. 'Unless names are invidiously named', as Timothy Williamson once said, 'sermons like this... tend to cause less offence than they should, because everyone imagines that they are aimed at other people'. Maina Kiai, Tavia Nyong'o, here's looking at you.
A must read by http://www.kenyaimagine.com/index.php?option=com_alphacontent§ion=30&cat=197&task=view&id=1284&Itemid=29
Friday, February 29, 2008
Donald Payne: There is no ethinic cleansing in Kenya
"What is happening in Kenya is not—I repeat not an ethnic conflict.", Donald Payne
Yes, those were the words Congressman Donald Payne used in his opening statement in an hearing by the Sub-Committee on Africa and Global Health. Donald Payne supported his thesis by claiming that he had visited the Jamhuri Park camp and met internally displaced people from different ethnic groups. How I wish he had visited the killing fields of Rift Valley!
Payne tore into the US Department of State for its statement that exposed ethnic cleansing in Kenya. US envoy Jendayi Frazer said what was happening in Kenya "was clear ethnic cleansing." The Department of State refused to withdraw the statement in its daily brief to the press.
The term ethnic cleansing is defined as "The systematic elimination of an ethnic group or groups from a region or society, as by deportation, forced emigration, or genocide."
That is exactly what happened in Kenya. It all started with the slaughter of and burning to death of Kenyans who are from the Kikuyu and Kisii ethnic groups. Entire villages were destroyed and resident forcifully evicted from areas where the Kalenjin and Luos were the majority. Evidence that this happened is detailed in several entries I have made in this blog - http://kenyangenocide.blogspot.com/
Former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan visited the Rift Valley in Kenya and reported that what he saw as the violence "may have been triggered by the electoral result, but it has evolved into something else where there is gross and systematic abuse of the rights of citizens."
"It is essential the facts be established and those responsible be held to account.... Let us not kid ourselves and think that this is an electoral problem. It is much broader and much deeper... We have to tackle the fundamental issues that underlie what we are witnessing today. If we do not do that, three, five years from now we may be back at this," Dr. Annan said.
Somebody should tell Payne that the Kalenjin militia has followed Kikuyu and Kisii refugees into Uganda and attempted to poison food in a refugee camp. This in my opinon is a quest to annihilate people from target ethnic groups. The Kalenjin militia burned people taking shelter in a church. They tossed little children who had escaped back into the fire. These are not actions of people who are protesting an election as Payne is implying.
The militia attacked a university in Kenya and demanded that students from target ethnic groups be handed to them for slaughter. This is a clear indication of ethnic cleansing.
It is in the public domain that Raila Odinga is using the services of American spin doctor Dick Morris (Watch video of Dick Morris addressing the press). Lobying congressmen in Washington is part of Raila's deal with Dick. It should not surprise us that Payne may have received a visit from Dick Morris and was given a script to sanitize those behind the genocide in Kenya using the US House of Representatives.
Donald Payne ignored many facts that point to ethnic cleansing in Kenya.
In an interview with the BBC, (click to listen) Jackson Kibor -a prominante Kalenjin leader- said, "We will not sit down and see one tribe lead Kenya. We will fight. This is a war. We will start a war. One tribe cannot lead 41 tribes. This is a war. Now we are fighting for power."
In response to a question if they Kalenjins would let the Kikuyu come back to their land Kibor said, "No we will not let them come back again because they are thieves. We will never let them come back. Kikuyus should be on their own. We will divide Kenya." (Click for verbertim)
If such a statement was made by somebody in the US while racial wars are taking place, the person could be charged with with hate crimes. It is a shame that congressman Payne is supporting such statements and actions.
Human Rights Watch released a report indicating that the opposition was behind ethnic cleansing in Kenya. "We have evidence that ODM politicians and local leaders actively fomented some post-election violence, and the authorities should investigate and make sure it stops now," The report said.
Raila Odinga can afford the services of lobyist Dick Morris to sanitize his name. This is a service that Kenyans who have been evicted from their homes and have had their children killed cannot afford. Residents of District 10 in New Jersey (Essex County, Hudson County and Union County) should contact Donald Payne and give him facts on the case.
Kenyan Americans in the state of New Jersey should say no to the impunity and special interests that Payne is serving. Payne should remember that a majority of Kenyan Americans in the US reside in his district. Payne cannot -without shame- deny that the slaughter of his constituents' families in Kenya.
Please contact Donald Payne
Click on link to email Payne: http://www.house.gov/payne/IMA/issue.htm
Washington Office
2209 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone (202) 225-3436 Fax (202) 225-4160
Newark District Office
50 Walnut Street, Room 1016
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Phone (973) 645-3213 Fax (973) 645-5902
Jersey City District Office
253 Dr. Martin L. King Boulevard
Jersey City, New Jersey 07305
Phone (201) 369-0392 Fax (201) 369-0395
Elizabeth District Office
333 North Broad Street
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07208
Phone (908) 629-0222 Fax (908) 629-0221
Yes, those were the words Congressman Donald Payne used in his opening statement in an hearing by the Sub-Committee on Africa and Global Health. Donald Payne supported his thesis by claiming that he had visited the Jamhuri Park camp and met internally displaced people from different ethnic groups. How I wish he had visited the killing fields of Rift Valley!
Payne tore into the US Department of State for its statement that exposed ethnic cleansing in Kenya. US envoy Jendayi Frazer said what was happening in Kenya "was clear ethnic cleansing." The Department of State refused to withdraw the statement in its daily brief to the press.
The term ethnic cleansing is defined as "The systematic elimination of an ethnic group or groups from a region or society, as by deportation, forced emigration, or genocide."
That is exactly what happened in Kenya. It all started with the slaughter of and burning to death of Kenyans who are from the Kikuyu and Kisii ethnic groups. Entire villages were destroyed and resident forcifully evicted from areas where the Kalenjin and Luos were the majority. Evidence that this happened is detailed in several entries I have made in this blog - http://kenyangenocide.blogspot.com/
Former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan visited the Rift Valley in Kenya and reported that what he saw as the violence "may have been triggered by the electoral result, but it has evolved into something else where there is gross and systematic abuse of the rights of citizens."
"It is essential the facts be established and those responsible be held to account.... Let us not kid ourselves and think that this is an electoral problem. It is much broader and much deeper... We have to tackle the fundamental issues that underlie what we are witnessing today. If we do not do that, three, five years from now we may be back at this," Dr. Annan said.
Somebody should tell Payne that the Kalenjin militia has followed Kikuyu and Kisii refugees into Uganda and attempted to poison food in a refugee camp. This in my opinon is a quest to annihilate people from target ethnic groups. The Kalenjin militia burned people taking shelter in a church. They tossed little children who had escaped back into the fire. These are not actions of people who are protesting an election as Payne is implying.
The militia attacked a university in Kenya and demanded that students from target ethnic groups be handed to them for slaughter. This is a clear indication of ethnic cleansing.
It is in the public domain that Raila Odinga is using the services of American spin doctor Dick Morris (Watch video of Dick Morris addressing the press). Lobying congressmen in Washington is part of Raila's deal with Dick. It should not surprise us that Payne may have received a visit from Dick Morris and was given a script to sanitize those behind the genocide in Kenya using the US House of Representatives.
Donald Payne ignored many facts that point to ethnic cleansing in Kenya.
In an interview with the BBC, (click to listen) Jackson Kibor -a prominante Kalenjin leader- said, "We will not sit down and see one tribe lead Kenya. We will fight. This is a war. We will start a war. One tribe cannot lead 41 tribes. This is a war. Now we are fighting for power."
In response to a question if they Kalenjins would let the Kikuyu come back to their land Kibor said, "No we will not let them come back again because they are thieves. We will never let them come back. Kikuyus should be on their own. We will divide Kenya." (Click for verbertim)
If such a statement was made by somebody in the US while racial wars are taking place, the person could be charged with with hate crimes. It is a shame that congressman Payne is supporting such statements and actions.
Human Rights Watch released a report indicating that the opposition was behind ethnic cleansing in Kenya. "We have evidence that ODM politicians and local leaders actively fomented some post-election violence, and the authorities should investigate and make sure it stops now," The report said.
Raila Odinga can afford the services of lobyist Dick Morris to sanitize his name. This is a service that Kenyans who have been evicted from their homes and have had their children killed cannot afford. Residents of District 10 in New Jersey (Essex County, Hudson County and Union County) should contact Donald Payne and give him facts on the case.
Kenyan Americans in the state of New Jersey should say no to the impunity and special interests that Payne is serving. Payne should remember that a majority of Kenyan Americans in the US reside in his district. Payne cannot -without shame- deny that the slaughter of his constituents' families in Kenya.
Please contact Donald Payne
Click on link to email Payne: http://www.house.gov/payne/IMA/issue.htm
Washington Office
2209 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone (202) 225-3436 Fax (202) 225-4160
Newark District Office
50 Walnut Street, Room 1016
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Phone (973) 645-3213 Fax (973) 645-5902
Jersey City District Office
253 Dr. Martin L. King Boulevard
Jersey City, New Jersey 07305
Phone (201) 369-0392 Fax (201) 369-0395
Elizabeth District Office
333 North Broad Street
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07208
Phone (908) 629-0222 Fax (908) 629-0221
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Kibor: We will divide Kenya
At last Jackson Kibor arraigned for incitement despite protests to realease his led by Raila Odinga and ODM. In a report titled Kenya in Crisis, the International Crisis Group said "A powerful tribal elder was heard making statements that would have seen him prosecuted in many countries. Jackson Kibor, a prominent Nandi elder and politician in Eldoret, was unapologetic over the violence and said to the BBC that the Kalenjin have a right to kill Kikuyus. He described the violence in the Rift Valley as “a war” and said Kikuyus will never be allowed back. This chilling message from the traditional elders is widely shared by most ordinary Kalenjin."
ODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga (centre) with party members
Dr Oburu Odinga (Raila's Brother) (left) and Mr Jackson Kibor at Pentagon House yesterday.
Kibor, who was released from police custody recently, congratulated Raila on signing
Kibor, who was released from police custody recently, congratulated Raila on signing
the peace deal. Picture by Dominic Odhiambo
The Standard, March 2, 2008
(Update: The article has since been deleted from The Standards' Website)
(Update: The article has since been deleted from The Standards' Website)
In the last few days ODM leadership has openly called for the issolation of the kikuyu community into their own country. Najib Balala promised to reduce the Kikuyu to Lesotho a sentiment that was reaffirmed by a statement by ODM MPs read by Ababu Namwamba saying that the Kikuyu should be isolated into their own country. Definately a lot of violence has to be used to round up the Kikuyu and send them to the Lesotho that ODM is building for the Kikuyus. And that is where Jackson Kibor and is army come in.
In an interview with the BBC, Jackson Kibor said, "Kikuyus should be on their own. We will divide Kenya."
Anthony Kimani with his baby saved from the burning church
The following is part of the interview. You can also listen to it by clicking here.
Note: Some people have called the interview a fabrication by me. Their doubts are understandable considering the fact that Kibor's words are outrageous. It is unbelievable that in this time and age somebody can still judge and call for the exetermination of another citizen based on the citizen's ethnic identity. Those disputing the fact that the interview was done by the BBC should note that the link comes from the bbc.co.uk domain owned by the BBC. You can access the page that contains the link to the audio by using google. Copy/paste this phrase that is in bold: site:bbc.co.uk "Eldoret from where Pascale Harter" End of phrase.
I prepared the transcript below from the audio.
Interviewer: Why target your neighbor? They didn’t rig the election.
Kibor: People have to fight the Kikuyu because Kibaki is a Kikuyu. People felt that all the Kikuyus were supporters of Kibaki so they have to fight them so that Kibaki can feel the pinch. We are 42 tribes. The other tribes are supporting ODM. The Kikuyu are the only ones supporting Kibaki. How can one tribe defeat others. That was the Kikuyu plan.
Interviewer: So targeting the Kikuyu, holding them responsible for the actions of Mwai Kibaki and his PNU Party is a political strategy for you? So when was that decided?
Kibor: It was nobody’s plan to beat the Kikuyus… no … it was a reaction. People just reacted and thy chased the Kikuyu.
Interviewer: What about now? What is the plan now? What would you tell the Kalenjin to do now?
Kibor: We will not sit down and see one tribe lead Kenya. We will fight. This is a war. We will start a war. One tribe cannot lead 41 tribes. This is a war. Now we are fighting for power.
Interviewer: Can you live in peace again? Will you as a Kalenjin leader tell your people to accept the Kikuyus coming back to their home and living here again?
Kibor: No we will not let them come back again because they are thieves. We will never let them come back.
Interviewer: Do you want to drive them out of Rift Valley, out of Western Kenya altogether?
Kibor: Correct. Correct. Kikuyus should be on their own. We will divide Kenya
Raila Odinga -a man who claims to be a Pan Africanist and a statesman- cannot see anything wrong with what Kibor said. He wants Kibor to be freed. A man who is promising to unite Kenya should he be PM is acusing the police of being overzelous. And that is why he stormed CID offices to demand Kibor's release.
Kibor's supporters are demanding his release on the grounds that he is an frail old man who doesn't deserve to spend a dail in jail. God has blessed Kibor by giving him 72 years on this earth. Some of Kibor's victims were not luck enough to see their 3rd birthday. Kibor may be a frail old man but his resolve to call for the slaughter of innocent Kenyans was not a frail. Age is supposed to make us wiser but this in not the case with Kibor.
The international community seems to be thinking that Kenya will be at peace once power is shared and ODM is rewarded with seats in the government. Not when the Kalenjin militia follows refugees to neoghboring countries to poison them; not when refugees are tossed into a river and left to down in what reminds us of River Kagera in Rwanda. The hate behind these and many other massacres cannot be erased by a PM seat. The seats that the international community is bargaining for Raila Odinga's ODM will be used to shelter people who have committed crimes against humanity.
In the West people who commit crimes against humanity are labeled terrorists and hunted down to the last man. In Kenya, the West wants us to reward criminals. In the West, staments issued by Osama Bin Laden calling for the slaughter of innocent people are taken as serious. Western governments use sophiciticated equipment to acertain authenticity of the voice. In Kenya, the opposition is calling for anhilation of the Kikuyu but the West is calling it freedom of speech!
Kass FM openly called for the Kalenjin to cut Kikuyus like grass but the station has to be kept operating lets the international comminity accuses the Kenyan government of dictatorship.
Bill Clinton said, “Genocide can occur anywhere. It is not an African phenomenon. We must have global vigilance. And never again must we be shy in the face of the evidence.”
There is evidence of a genocide but the world is shy to face it. It will take the slaughter of 1 million people for world leaders to stand in line waiting to shed their share of crocodile tears.
Friday, February 22, 2008
ODM's anti-Kikuyu campaign gains momentum
A few days ago, Najib Balala threatened that ODM was going to reduce was going to introduce a debate on boundaries and reduce the Kikuyu in to a dually-landlocked country like Lesotho. Today, ODM legislators have said, “If there is any community in Kenya unwilling to co-exist with other Kenyans in a manner that reflects the popular will of Kenyans; then that community is at liberty to exercise the principle of self-determination as is well-enunciated in the U.N. Charter and other international legal instruments.”
The above statements are in line with ODM’s pre-election campaigns that portrayed the Kikuyu tribe as an impediment to equitable distribution of wealth and peace in Kenya. ODM successfully managed to reduce what is a class issue to a tribal issue. Surprisingly, those pushing ethnic discrimination and ethnic cleansing as a way of addressing equitable distribution of wealth are very wealthy.
If you looked at the hotspots of ethnic violence in Kenya, you will notice that it is violence is concentrated in the slums where the poorest of the poor reside. Raila Odinga’s anti-Kikuyu campaign has pitted the members of the Luo community against the Kikyu community. The Lou are accusing the Kikuyu –who are equally poor- of dominating the economy. In this melee, Raila Odinga who is very wealth has found a way to effectively deflect attention of poor Kenyan workers from his wealth.
Those familiar with Kenya will agree with me that we have a few very rich Kenyans –drawn from different tribes and races- and a majority poor Kenyans. The notion that Kikuyus are wealthy while other Kenyans are poor is propaganda meant to justify ethnic cleansing.
Immediately after the 2007 elections, ODM started to spread propaganda that Kibaki managed to be elected by winning one province; Central Province. Offical results show that Kibaki and Kibaki won in 4 provinces each. Kibaki had Central, Eastern, North Eastern and Nairobi while Raila had Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western and Coast Provinces. Using ODM's data that puts Kibaki at 44% and Raila at 48%, it is still clear that Kibaki got more than the Kikuyu (22% of the population) vote. ODM's militia has been slaughtering the Kisii -who hail from Nyanza- accusing them of voting for Kibaki.
ODM legislators have doused fuel into the fire by suggesting that there is one community in Kenya (the Kikuyu) unwilling to co-exist with other Kenyans.
The last time I checked, Professor David Habel Odongo (a Luo) was happily living with his Kikuyu wife and running a successful hotel business in Kisumu until some goons from the Luo tribe attacked their business, looted it and razed it to the ground. The Last time I checked, Raila Odinga’s son Fidel Castro Odhiambo Odinga (a Luo) was married to Veronicah Wanjiru Ng’ang’a, a Kikuyu relative of Uhuru Kenyatta. Those are just but a few Luos and Kikuyus who share a bed.
In the slums, Mama Akinyi (a Luo) and Mama Kimani (a Kikuyu) borrowed sugar and salt from one another until Raila Odinga told them that they were enemies.
Raila Odinga is busy pushing the anti-Kikuyu campaign yet ODM has two Kikuyu MPs - Margaret Wanjiru and John Kiarie. There are several Kikuyu MPs elected on other party platforms. No Luo was elected on a PNU ticket (or any other party). Raphael Tuju (a Luo) who had brought a lot of development to his constituency was voted out because of eating with the enemy (the Kikuyu). Despite all that, Raila is calling for the isolation of the Kikuyu tribe into a Lesotho!
Raila Odinga’s case around the globe is being pushed by the Kenya Commission on Human Rights chief Maina Kiai (a Kikuyu). Maina Kiai has testimonies and interviews in major world capitals explaining why special seats should be created from Raila Odinga’s ODM while failing to use the mandate given by Kenyan commoners to push for the interests of Kenyans who have been evicted from their properties because of their tribe. Still Raila Odinga and ODM have the audacity to claim that the Kikuyus are unwilling to co-exist with other Kenyans.
I wonder where the ODM spokesman Tony Gachoka (a Kikuyu) is as his party calls for the extermination of the Kikuyu. I would have expected him –not Lawyer Ababu Namwamba- to issue the statement that called for the extermination of the Kikuyu. Isn’t that what a spokesman is there for?
The war cries that we hear today are no different to the anti-Tutsi propaganda that Rwanda was treated to. ODM’s propaganda that the Kikuyu are an impediment to peace in Kenya are akin to Kangura’s -a Hutu extremist newspaper- article titled “A cockroach cannot give birth to a butterfly.”
Raila Odinga may be made the King of Kenya; his lieutenants may be appointed to the highest seats in the country; but that will not erase the perception that the Kikuyu are the main problem in Kenya. There will always be a reason to chop off a peasant Kikuyu’s head.
ODM’s tribal anti-Kikuyu rhetoric has been taken too far. When the world wakes up, it will be time reach into the garbage can and retrieve Bill Clinton’s speech in Rwanda where he said, “Genocide can occur anywhere. It is not an African phenomenon. We must have global vigilance. And never again must we be shy in the face of the evidence.”
The above statements are in line with ODM’s pre-election campaigns that portrayed the Kikuyu tribe as an impediment to equitable distribution of wealth and peace in Kenya. ODM successfully managed to reduce what is a class issue to a tribal issue. Surprisingly, those pushing ethnic discrimination and ethnic cleansing as a way of addressing equitable distribution of wealth are very wealthy.
If you looked at the hotspots of ethnic violence in Kenya, you will notice that it is violence is concentrated in the slums where the poorest of the poor reside. Raila Odinga’s anti-Kikuyu campaign has pitted the members of the Luo community against the Kikyu community. The Lou are accusing the Kikuyu –who are equally poor- of dominating the economy. In this melee, Raila Odinga who is very wealth has found a way to effectively deflect attention of poor Kenyan workers from his wealth.
Those familiar with Kenya will agree with me that we have a few very rich Kenyans –drawn from different tribes and races- and a majority poor Kenyans. The notion that Kikuyus are wealthy while other Kenyans are poor is propaganda meant to justify ethnic cleansing.
Immediately after the 2007 elections, ODM started to spread propaganda that Kibaki managed to be elected by winning one province; Central Province. Offical results show that Kibaki and Kibaki won in 4 provinces each. Kibaki had Central, Eastern, North Eastern and Nairobi while Raila had Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western and Coast Provinces. Using ODM's data that puts Kibaki at 44% and Raila at 48%, it is still clear that Kibaki got more than the Kikuyu (22% of the population) vote. ODM's militia has been slaughtering the Kisii -who hail from Nyanza- accusing them of voting for Kibaki.
ODM legislators have doused fuel into the fire by suggesting that there is one community in Kenya (the Kikuyu) unwilling to co-exist with other Kenyans.
The last time I checked, Professor David Habel Odongo (a Luo) was happily living with his Kikuyu wife and running a successful hotel business in Kisumu until some goons from the Luo tribe attacked their business, looted it and razed it to the ground. The Last time I checked, Raila Odinga’s son Fidel Castro Odhiambo Odinga (a Luo) was married to Veronicah Wanjiru Ng’ang’a, a Kikuyu relative of Uhuru Kenyatta. Those are just but a few Luos and Kikuyus who share a bed.
In the slums, Mama Akinyi (a Luo) and Mama Kimani (a Kikuyu) borrowed sugar and salt from one another until Raila Odinga told them that they were enemies.
Raila Odinga is busy pushing the anti-Kikuyu campaign yet ODM has two Kikuyu MPs - Margaret Wanjiru and John Kiarie. There are several Kikuyu MPs elected on other party platforms. No Luo was elected on a PNU ticket (or any other party). Raphael Tuju (a Luo) who had brought a lot of development to his constituency was voted out because of eating with the enemy (the Kikuyu). Despite all that, Raila is calling for the isolation of the Kikuyu tribe into a Lesotho!
Raila Odinga’s case around the globe is being pushed by the Kenya Commission on Human Rights chief Maina Kiai (a Kikuyu). Maina Kiai has testimonies and interviews in major world capitals explaining why special seats should be created from Raila Odinga’s ODM while failing to use the mandate given by Kenyan commoners to push for the interests of Kenyans who have been evicted from their properties because of their tribe. Still Raila Odinga and ODM have the audacity to claim that the Kikuyus are unwilling to co-exist with other Kenyans.
I wonder where the ODM spokesman Tony Gachoka (a Kikuyu) is as his party calls for the extermination of the Kikuyu. I would have expected him –not Lawyer Ababu Namwamba- to issue the statement that called for the extermination of the Kikuyu. Isn’t that what a spokesman is there for?
The war cries that we hear today are no different to the anti-Tutsi propaganda that Rwanda was treated to. ODM’s propaganda that the Kikuyu are an impediment to peace in Kenya are akin to Kangura’s -a Hutu extremist newspaper- article titled “A cockroach cannot give birth to a butterfly.”
"We began by saying that a cockroach cannot give birth to a butterfly. It is true. A cockroach gives birth to another cockroach...The history of Rwanda shows us clearly that a Tutsi stays always exactly the same, that he has never changed. The malice, the evil are just as we knew them in the history of our country. We are not wrong in saying that a cockroach gives birth to another cockroach. Who could tell the difference between the Inyenzi who attacked in October 1990 and those of the 1960s. They are all linked...their evilness is the same. The unspeakable crimes of the Inyenzi of today...recall those of their elders: killing, pillaging, raping girls and women, etc,"The Tutsi were cockroaches in Rwanda while the Kikuyu are Madoadoa (spots/stains) in Kenya that need to be cleansed. In Rwanda they had Radio Rwanda and Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM); in Kenya we have Kass FM. In the run up to the elections, Kass FM and its listeners (predominantly Kalenjin) called on the people of milk (Kalenjin) to cut the grass that was growing too tall (Kikuyu). The station issued false warnings of impending attacks by “government sponsored” Mungiki. This should remind us of the false warnings that Radio Rwanda issued. In 1992 Radio Rwanda issued several false warnings that the Tutsi were going to attack the Hutu in the area of Bugesera citing information from a Nairobi based human rights group. The false alarm triggered the massacre of Tutsis.
Raila Odinga may be made the King of Kenya; his lieutenants may be appointed to the highest seats in the country; but that will not erase the perception that the Kikuyu are the main problem in Kenya. There will always be a reason to chop off a peasant Kikuyu’s head.
ODM’s tribal anti-Kikuyu rhetoric has been taken too far. When the world wakes up, it will be time reach into the garbage can and retrieve Bill Clinton’s speech in Rwanda where he said, “Genocide can occur anywhere. It is not an African phenomenon. We must have global vigilance. And never again must we be shy in the face of the evidence.”
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