Published on November 20, 2007, 12:00 am

By Anderson Ojwang’ and Amos Kareithi

Forty-three women aspirants made it to the final phase of this year’s parliamentary elections after they secured certificates in the just concluded party nominations.

Leading the pack are ODM Pentagon member, Mrs Charity Ngilu, and former Head of Civil Service, Dr Sally Kosgey.

ODM-Kenya presidential running mate, Dr Julia Ojiambo and Cabinet minister, Ms Martha Karua of PNU are also in the race.

PNU Parliamentary aspirant for Runyenjes, Ms Cecily Mbarire (left), and Kaiti`s, Ms Adelina Mwau, display their certificates at the party’s secretariat in Nairobi, on Monday. Picture by Collins Kweyu

ODM-Kenya has the highest number of women candidates with 11 aspirants, while ODM and PNU have seven each. DP and KSC have three candidates, while Kanu and Agano have two candidates each. The rest are spread among the other parties.Others are Prof Margaret Kamar, who is running for the Eldoret East seat on an ODM ticket.

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru (ODM) will battle it out in Starehe, while Mrs Zipporah Kittony (Kanu) is vying in Cherangany.

Ms Jayne Kihara of PNU has also sailed through. Also in contention are former Marakwet East MP, Mrs Linah Kilimo, and human rights activist, Ms Anne Njogu, former MPs Ms Beth Mugo, Ms Betty Tett and Ms Cecily Mbarire.

Nyanza Province maintained its tradition of locking out women from Parliament with only Ms Catherine Nyamato of Narc-Kenya sailing through in West Mugirango. Similarly, Western Province only has Ojiambo.

Nairobi Province has the highest number of female candidates, fielding 12, while ten will be vying in Rift Valley and Eastern provinces. Central Province has three candidates.

Meanwhile, leading political parties have locked Coast Province women out of the parliamentary race. Out of about 100 candidates cleared for the battle for 21 seats, only 15 are women.

ODM-Kenya has four candidates; party national treasurer, Mrs Shakila Abdala, Ms Affia Rama, Ms Quinter Omolo and Ms Esther Luganje.

Ms Betty Maneno and Ms Fatuma Galgalo in Kaloleni and Galole will represent Kaddu. Kanu has only one candidate – Dr Naomi Shaban – who will be out to reclaim her seat in Taveta.

ODM has Ms Marere wa Mwachai, a former assistant minister, as its only candidate as does PNU with Ms Joyce Mwagonji contesting the Mwatate parliamentary seat.

Ms Hababa Salim Nuri is in Kaddu Asili, National Labour Party of Kenya has Ms Penina Mwashengwa while Ms Zila Chuma is in the National Party of Kenya.

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OLATHE, Kan. — An autopsy conducted Saturday found no evidence that foul play contributed to the death of a woman whose body was found along with her malnourished 3-week-old twins, police said.

Authorities responding to a report of a foul odor Friday found malnourished 3-week-old twins under a bed in an apartment containing their mother’s decomposing remains. She was identified Saturday as Virginia Wanjiru Njoroge, who was originally from Kenya.

Her infant daughter and son were hospitalized and the girl died Friday evening. Her twin brother was in critical condition Saturday. Authorities said their 36-year-old mother appeared to have been dead for several days.

Emergency crews who found the woman’s body noticed car seats and other baby items in the apartment, leading to a more thorough search. When a paramedic bumped the bed the twins were underneath, one of the babies made a faint cry.

The other twin was too weak. “It was a miracle the paramedic noticed the child seat in the apartment and that the police questioned where the children were,” said Eric Gourley, a Johnson County Med-Act battalion chief. The discovery shook emergency crews, who asked to see a chaplain upon returning to headquarters. “Dealing with babies and small children is very stressful,” Gourley said. “The little ones get close to you.”

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Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) The UN Secretary General’s special envoy on Peace Building Commission to Sierra Leone, Daudi Mwakawago, said Sunday that Africa’s civil wars could be prevented if political leaders were determined to root out corruption, ethnic and religious conflicts, and at the same time adhere to the rule of law, good governance and democratic norms.

Mwakawago said this in his key address to participants of a one week International Training workshop on Conflict Resolution which began on Monday and ended Sunday in Dar es Salaam.

Using recently developed models of the overall incidents of civil wars in 161 countries between 1960 and 2005, he said lessons were drawn with special reference to African conflicts.

According to him, studies showed that the relatively higher incidents of war in Africa were not due to the ethno-linguistic fragmentation of its countries, but rather to high levels of poverty, failed political institutions and economic dependence on natural resources.

Mwakawago said in order to prevent civil unrest, ethnic groups should feel adequately represented by national political institutions and, if the economy permitted, by their productive activity.

“Large-scale political violence has identified important economic and political determinants, and civil wars erupt due to predominantly political grievances rather than lack of economic opportunity,” Mwakawago said.

He said leaders should rectify the problems confronting the people and under any circumstances whatsoever should not wait until they erupt into violence.

The training was organised by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) and was aimed at contributing to increased capacity building in conflict resolution, peacekeeping, peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction.

Participants from 18 African countries attended the training.

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Lagos (Nigeria) Nigerian President Umaru Yar’adua Sunday requested for the extradition of two Nigerians recently arrested in Angola for alleged gun running, according to a statement released on Monday.

The Nigerian government statement said here that the extradition request was made by Yar’adua during talks with the Angolan President, Eduardo dos Santos, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where the two leaders were attending the Third Summit of the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The statement said that Yar’adua commended his Angolan counterpart for his government’s effort towards ridding the Gulf of Guinea region of criminal activities.

The Nigerian leader, according to the statement, called for continuous cooperation by all governments for greater security in the sub-region and Africa.

It said that Yar’adua also sought Angola’s cooperation on the issue of an African Stand-by Force, stating that the concept was very necessary.

“I have already started consultations with some leaders of the continent on the need for such a force, to remove the need for external intervention forces and foreign military bases on the continent,’’ the statement quotes Yar’adua as saying.

Responding, Dos Santos said that Angola had sufficient proof of alleged gun-running against the two Nigerians as well as their links with the Niger Delta militants.

Dos Santos, who acknowledged receiving a Nigerian delegation sent to Luanda to discuss the issue, said, however, that there were “technical and legal details’’ involved in the extradition process which needed to be sorted out.

“We are trying to find a formula to resolve the issue which has nothing to do with politics but criminality; they are Nigerian citizens, so we cannot charge them in Angola.

“I assure you that we will ultimately release them to you for trial in Nigeria, but we must resolve the legal issues first,’’ Dos Santos said.

The Nigerians arrested in Angola for alleged gun running in September included a leader of a militant group in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, Henry Okar.

Since the arrest of Okar and his associate in Angola, the militants had threatened to attack Angolan facilities in Nigeria if their leader was not released by the Angolan government.

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Nairobi (Kenya) China will support Kenya in the modernization of its armed forces, Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Cao Gangcuan said on Monday in Nairobi.

Speaking at State House during a meeting with President Mwai Kibaki, Gangcuan, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People\’s Republic of China, commended Kenya\’s role in the search for lasting peace in Somalia and Sudan.

Kibaki welcomed the Chinese pledge to support the ongoing modernization of the Kenya armed forces, noting that the support would not only improve the forces\’ ability to ensure security along Kenya’s borders but also enhance the country\’s role in peace-keeping activities in Africa and beyond.

Gangcuan hailed the existing cordial relations between his country and Kenya, saying Kibaki\’s good leadership has boosted cooperation between the two countries.

Kibaki thanked China for its continued support to Kenya especially in road construction, saying China is a true friend and development partner.

Kibaki assured China of Kenya\’s support for the one-China-policy and called on the international community to assist in the reunification of China.

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Washington DC- (USA) The lack of offers from United Nations member states for key ground transport and aviation units and the Sudanese government’s unwillingness so far to approve the presence of non- African units means the hybrid UN/African Union peacekeeping mission planned for the war-torn Darfur region could fail, a senior UN official has warned.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that if the joint UN-AU operation – known as UNAMID – does not have the necessary capacities in critical areas by the start of next year, when it is due to take over from the existing AU mission; it may not be wise to deploy the force.

“It is a terrible dilemma, because on the one hand, you can say that a force, even if it doesn’t have all the assets, can make a limited difference for a number of people in Darfur, and that is something in itself which is good. On the other hand, if that force was to know humiliation in the early stages of its deployment, then it would be very hard to recover from such a humiliation. So it’s an extremely difficult decision to make,” he said.

Mr. Guéhenno spoke after briefing Security Council members on the latest developments regarding UNAMID, which is aiming to quell the conflict between rebels, government forces and allied militia that has killed more than 200,000 people and left 2.2 million others homeless since 2003.

He said Council members and UN Secretariat officials remain worried that the mission will not be able to robustly carry out its mandate without the support of both the missing units and those that Sudan has not yet approved.

“If those issues are not addressed in a timely manner, very shortly, it means that the mission in 2008 will not be able to really meet the expectations, [and] that it will not be able to make the difference that the world wants it to make, and that it may become a failure, so this is a very important moment.”

He noted that UNAMID still does not have a commitment for a ground transport unit, for 18 transport helicopters to serve as close air support and for six helicopters to be used for light tactical purposes.

“I think it tells a sad story on the commitment to Darfur, frankly. I think there is an immense tragedy that has unfolded in Darfur and now it is up to the countries that care about Darfur to really make the commitment that will make a difference. I think this is the time for concrete action,” he said.

Mr. Guéhenno also voiced concern that the Sudanese government has not clearly signaled its approval of several non-African units in UNAMID, which is to have a predominantly African character.

The Under-Secretary-General stressed that even with the provision of these units; UNAMID will be overwhelmingly African in its composition. The Thai battalion would be one of 18 battalions in the peacekeeping force.

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Lagos, (Nigeria) The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas on Monday said chief among the achievements of the institution, was the strengthening of the outfit’s capacity for financial management, APA has learnt.

He said an external funds management in the department of finance has been set up as well as an external relations department to coordinate partner support with the finance department.

Speaking at the 5th ECOWAS/Development Partners Annual Coordination meeting in Abuja, he said a monitoring and evaluation unit has been established to monitor the progress being made by ECOWAS as an efficient and effective vehicle for the processes of integration.

He however stated that the commission had challenges such as inadequate manpower and that plans to recruit were being slowed down, but did not say why.

Chambas said regional integration was receiving a lot of attention among member states and the continents and a Vice President for regional integration has been designated at the African Development Bank.

Dr Maria de Fatima Perestrello of the European Union, one of the development partners, commended the active involvement of ECOWAS on the sensitization of its member states on the need to ratify the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and its active involvement in the area of election observation.

Perestrello, who is also the Ambassador of Portugal to Nigeria, said the integration would be achieved only if policies and charts were accompanied by the adoption of internal changes by member states in view of the harmonization of the required policy network.

The resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Nigeria, Dr. Alberic Kacou, challenged the commission to extend its policy on integration to social, cultural and political spheres, not just within the realm of the economy.

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Nouakchott (Mauritania) Eight Mauritanian political parties belonging to the presidential majority have decided to boycott the days of dialogue on the return of Mauritanian refugees from Senegal and Mali slated for Tuesday in Nouakchott, APA learned Monday from reliable sources in the Mauritanian capital.

“What will we discuss about? » asked Ahmed Ould Dowmane, president of the Party of the Liberal Democrats (PDL), in an interview with APA in Nouakchott.

For him, “all decisions have already been made because the Interior Minister Yall Zakaria Alassane signed with his Senegalese counterpart an agreement specifying the number of deportees concerned, the date of their return and the methods of compensation”.

Nouakchott, Dakar as well as the UNHCR signed on 12 November an agreement on the repatriation and reintegration in their country of origin of some 24, 000 Mauritanian refugees deported to Senegal in 1989.

“We had agreed with President Sidi Mohamed Ould Sheik Abdellahi, before his election, on an identification process of real Mauritanians among the will-be returnees,” Ould Dowmane said.

He said this process included setting up a commission for the identification of people, comprising elders of the Valley, including Imams and religious leaders, as well as former administrators who worked in the region during the deportations.”

Those who are recognised Mauritanians will be welcome, the PDL leader underlined, anticipating that other political parties will announce on Monday their boycott of the days of dialogue which end on 22 November.

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