This past week has been like no other in the recent past. For the first time since the wave of nationalism that swept African leaders to power across the continent, the world witnessed the emergence of a new, super intelligent, deeply pragmatic and sincerely hopeful leadership in Africa. By visiting Washington D.C. and displaying the best of African pride and wisdom, Prime Minister Raila Odinga told the global community that the continent was turning a page. Africa is moving forward with dignity and hope. The era of begging for handouts is over. The era of hard work, partnerships and reciprocal trade agreements is in.

 

Those of us who support Prime Minister Raila Odinga have been accused of doing so blindly. Worse still, we’ve been labeled tribalists who seek to see a Luo presidency in our lifetime in Kenya. Bull. It’s easy for those who are loath to the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister to twist what we say and spin it into something more parochial and foolish. But how do such people argue with the charisma of a man who came to Washington and declared that what we need today is not give-outs, but investment? How do they argue with the diplomacy of a man who respected President Kibaki even as he reminded the world that the truly elected President of Kenya had not yet been inaugurated? And how do they argue with the sense he left in official Washington…that the new African leader was emerging?

 

But while the Hon Odinga was projecting the new face of Africa to the world, in Zimbabwe we were witnessing the brutality of discredited and myopic leadership. Robert Mugabe was going around the nation unleashing terror on his own people, maiming women and children, killing fathers and brothers, literally raping the economy. Isn’t there just one bullet someone can lock in his head to end this misery for our people in Zim? How long will his madness be allowed to go on? And then there is Thabo Mbeki. The man has gone from a respected world leader to an idiot. Remember his position on AIDS? And did you know that he is the reason Mugabe feels he can get away with impunity? Is it any wonder the South Africans went with Jacob Zuma as his replacement? Hhmm!

 

While all that was going on, Kalonzo Musyoka was back in Ukambani asking Kenyans to stop debating amnesty. You see, to people like Kalonzo, this is a debate. To him this is a matter of who wins an argument. What this traitor needs to be told is that we are not debating. We are calling on the government to release the freedom fighters locked up in our jailhouses. The boys who fought the police and Kibaki’s thuggish forces fought for the nation. They are not criminals. They are freedom fighters. It’s because of them that we have a government of national unity. To continually keep them in jail is unethical. So, once again, for the sake of putting the final block on the reconciliation house we’ve been building, let the boys go. Let the sons and daughters of Nyanza, the Rift Valley, Western, Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi and the NEP go. Let our people go. The alternative, as you’ll soon find out, will be a deal-breaker.

 

Be reminded, once again, that the chief culprits in the election debacle are: Mwai Kibaki, Samuel Kivuitu, John Michuki, Gen Ali and others. Their crimes are listed in my earlier posts.

 

That said, let’s thank God that Kenya is blessed to have one of the new breed of African leaders in our own country. With leaders like William Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi, Najib Balala, Joe Nyagah and the indomitable Madam Charity Ngilu, Kenya is marching to a better place.

 

The golden age in Kenya is at hand!

 

For Love of Country, 

 

Sam O. Okello

———————

African Press International – api

Higher cigarette taxes discourage teen smoking

The African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” reminds us of the role of governments and communities in supporting our youth. When schools, communities and government work together, we can more effectively tackle the problems facing our youth.

On June 3, the state excised a cigarette tax increase by $1.25 a pack. Studies have demonstrated that higher cigarette taxes are one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking by both youth and adults. According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, New York can expect this increase to prevent more than 243,000 kids alive today from smoking.

Every time a person quits smoking, or chooses not to smoke, it helps relieve the monetary burdens taxpayers currently incur as a result of smoking. The annual health care cost in New York State directly caused by smoking is $8.17 billion. The state Medicaid program covers $5.4 billion of that expense. If you are ready to quit using tobacco, call the New York State Smokers Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS or visit www.nysmokefree.com . Kathryn Huber, Mark Kessler and Alan Rubeck

——————

API. source.news of the world

Story by RASNA WARAH
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL last week voted unanimously in favour of a resolution that could change how war is defined around the world.

The resolution, sponsored by the United States, declared rape and sexual violence as a “war tactic” that aims to “humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group.”

The recognition of rape as a weapon of war by the international community is significant and historic because it acknowledges what has been described as “one of history’s greatest silences” — the sexual violation of women and girls during periods of conflict.

Ever since men started fighting other men for territory and resources, rape has been used as a weapon to subdue and conquer the enemy.

Soldiers, war-mongers and combatants know that one of the most effective ways to destroy a community is by raping its women and girls.

Rape and sexual violence not only emotionally damage the victims, they destabilise affected populations, and destroy bonds that keep families and communities together.

In many cases, victims contract sexual diseases that further isolate them from their communities. In a study of 1,000 widows who lost their husbands in the Rwandan genocide in 1994, for instance, 67 per cent were found to be HIV-positive.

For years, human rights organisations have been raising the alarm on the growing numbers of women who are sexually violated during conflict but their pleas to have rape recognised as a war crime have been largely ignored.

In 2004, for instance, Amnesty International warned that in conflict zones such as Colombia, Iraq, Chechnya, Nepal and Afghanistan, governments had failed to protect women and girls and that violence against women was not just a by-product of war in these countries, but often a deliberate military strategy, with women particularly targeted in ethnic cleansing campaigns.

In its report ‘‘Lives Blown Apart’’, the human rights organisation reported 36 countries where women were being deliberately targeted by male combatants.

Closer to home, that terrible “Heart of Darkness” known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been engaging in what one human rights organisation has referred to as “a war against women” for more than a decade.

The UN’s Integrated Regional Information Networks (Irin) reports that rape has become so extensive in this conflict-ridden country that it is locally referred to as “a war within a war”.

It is estimated that some 40 women are raped every day in the DRC. The Shame of War, a book published by Irin in 2007, describes in horrific detail the kinds of atrocities women and girls have to face in this mad and murderous country.

IN ONE INSTANCE, A CONGOLESE mother walked into her house to find a soldier raping her 10-month old baby. Fighters are also known to abduct girls and keep them as sexual slaves.

Amnesty International says thousands of women fail to report these crimes because there is no government mechanism or political will to address the issue.

Often, violence against women continues even after peace returns. In Kivu in the eastern DRC, women and girls continued to be raped and maimed even after the peace process had been initiated in 2002.

In the Balkans, forced prostitution and human trafficking escalated in the aftermath of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. In this case, criminal elements replaced fighting factions by continuing with the sexual victimisation of women and girls.

In some cases, reports Irin, the presence of peacekeeping forces actually makes the situation worse, as they “comprise a notable portion of local demand” for prostitutes in places such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Timor Leste and the DRC.

While it is difficult at this stage to know what impact the UN resolution will have on what happens on the ground, by breaking the silence on what can only be described as the longest war against women, the UN has forced governments to acknowledge that rape is being used systematically as a weapon of war, and must be dealt with as such.

This acknowledgement may also lead to more accurate reporting of crimes against women and girls and may force governments to act more decisively in conflict zones.

However, to be effective, the resolution needs to be translated and adopted as a war crime under international law.

Rape and sexual violence during conflict must be viewed in the same light as genocide and other crimes against humanity.

Only then is there hope that the perpetrators will face any judicial system or be tried under national and/or international justice systems.

UN resolutions can only guide member states to act in certain ways; they are not legally enforceable. The next step for human rights organisations and governments is to lobby for an international law that would put in place measures and legal instruments that would make rape during conflict as punishable as torture or genocide.

Ms Warah is an editor with the UN. The views expressed here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations. (grasp@nbi.ispkenya.com)

———————–

API.source.nation.ke

In an earlier story, see below – cited as related story, API wrote that the leaders calling for amnesty are trying to cover up the attrocities committed during post election violence. The leaders are afraid to be named in court by those who they encouraged to commit crimes by going on a killing spree. The US ambassador in Kenya is an agitator. API is of the opinion that the US ambassador Ranneberger is fooling Kenyans. Read the Story. API

——————-

Amnesty: Karua says leaders afraid of truth

The Baringo North MP was speaking in Eldoret town during an inter-denominational dinner to foster peace and friendship among religious organisations in the area.

Cheptumo challenged the religious leaders to take a leading role in reconciling displaced people and the host communities.

“Eighty per cent of the population are Christians and if our religious leaders were sincere, we would have resolved this issue. I challenge you to walk the talk and let us unite Kenya,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has censured his Cabinet colleagues who introduced the amnesty debate at the funerals of Kipkalya Kones and Lorna Laboso.

The VP said it was wrong for politicians to have used the funerals of the senior Government leaders to make statements that incited wananchi.

The Mwingi North MP said the funerals should have been used for reconciliation, not condemnation.

He said it was wrong for politicians to try to campaign for the application of the rule of the jungle rather than the rule of law.

The VP was talking at the funeral of the father of Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi, Mzee Daniel Mwarania Kiraitu, at Murungurune in Imenti South District.

Related story:

• US Ambassador in Kenya Ranneberger is fooling Kenyans all the time

—————-

API.source.standard.ke

Harambee stars 0-0 Zimbabwe

Written By:Vereso Mwanga 

Why are Kenyan leaders allowing the foreign amabssadors to dictate in the running of the country? Why are they allowed to act like small kings in Kenya when in their countries, they have no voices at all? Many Kenyans who have not lived with the white people seem to continue thinking the white are better than the black people. It is shocking. A white ambassador dictating in Kenya all the time as if he is the head of state! Is there no way to stop him? When there is anything being discussed by Kenyan politicians that is not good for ODM and the Raila group, the US ambassador takes a neautral stand and if it is against PNU then he is loud-mouth!

Now when PNU politicians have talked about punishing those who killed during post election violence, the ambassador takes a neautral stand because he knows that those who killed more people are ODM supporters. Any US support for punishment would harm Raila, Ruto and ODM and that is not what Ranneberger and the US want to see. This is double standard against the Kenyan people.

The Ambassador says that the two leaders – Kibaki and Raila should find an amicable solution. What is amicable? Those who killed must be punished. There is fear in some circles including the US embassy. If some people are taken to court, they might reveal who in ODM leadership paid them to go out and kill other people.  API editorial

US not to take part in the debate: Ranneberger

Written By:KBC court reporters