As far as we are concerned and as far as all known sealed evidence as per this day, The US President Barack Obama is not an American citizen. Debate on the subject will continue until Obama himself decides to come out and tell the people what he himself knows to be the truth. The American people deserve to be given answers when they ask questions. Of course there is fear now. If the contrary to what the White House has said is now said then there will be a problem because The President may have to face impeachment. The country is not prepared for this because any attempt to impeach Obama will most probably cause instability in the country.

In our earlier articles, we came out near factual, according to evidence given to us, that the President is said to have been born in Mombasa in Kenya. It will not matter actually where the man was born as long as his father was a Kenyan citizen. In many countries you belong to your father’s corner when citizenship becomes an issue. There is no difference here when it comes to being born to a Kenyan father. And if one is adopted by another nationality, that does not mean you loose your father’s citizenship unless you apply for naturalization to follow your new father, a thing that has not been pointed out by the White House when they come out to tell the public that Obama is American citizen. It may now be the time for those interested to study, know and get the truth as potrayed by the Mombasa Imam’s documents in order to satisfy their curiosity on the matter thereafter putting it top rest once and for all.

Obama is doing well now in the White House. The question, therefore, is whether it is right to open up wounds by proving Obama’s citizenship, a thing that may highten temperatures in the US. May be the Americans should accept the President and wait until his term is over.

By Chief editor Korir/ API

Obama is a US citizen, says exasperated White House:

(What makes them think they are right on this – API asks?

US President Barack Obama (C) holds a basketball and jersey given to him by Detroit Shock Women’s NBA team captain Cheryl Ford (L) and MVP Katie Smith during a ceremony welcoming them at the White House in Washington, July 27, 2009. REUTERS

We, the non-violent campaigners for democratic change, firmly believe that the surest route to a secure future for this country lies in confession, forgiveness, restitution and, ultimately, reconciliation, mediated through an impartial arbitration mechanism such as the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC).

Nevertheless, our common desire for comprehensive peace notwithstanding, we are totally against the recent formation of the Ambassador Bethuel A. Kiplagat led TJRC because it does not meet the pre-requisite irreducible minimums for such commissions, among them the following:

1. Wrong environment: The history of truth commissions from Latin America where they were invented, through South Africa to, most recently, Sierra Leone , clearly shows them to be one of the vehicles deployed by societies transiting from an oppressive, corrupt, dictatorial order to a new democratic one. Truth commissions work like a bridge from the old immoral order to the new moral one. The new order has not been established in Kenya . Hence, why build a bridge to nowhere?
2. The appointing authority has no moral foundation:President Mwai Kibaki and a big part of his Cabinet have no moral foundation to set up such a commission. President Kibaki was former President Moi`s Vice President for 11 years, when Kanu trashed whatever was left of our democratic institutions. President Kibaki, who is on record scornfully dismissing progressives as children trying to cut down the sacred Mugumo tree with a razorblade, personally seconded the Bill in Parliament that amended Kenya �s Constitution to create the infamous Section 2A. That development de-legitimized Kenya �s loyal opposition, entrenched impunity, and led to the detention, exiling, torture, maiming, and even the murder of many progressive politicians, intellectuals, and ordinary Kenyans who sought to establish a democratic policy.

As insiders and beneficiaries of the system, the President and many members of his Cabinet went out of their way to secure and profiteer from the tyrannical Nyayo system. Further, the President and key members of his Cabinet were key architects and doctrinaires of the equally repressive and irresponsible Mzee Jomo Kenyatta�s administration that earlier looted, murdered, detained, exiled, and impoverished millions of Kenyans. Worse, the President and a big chunk of his Cabinet have been in-charge since 2003 when major financial scandals, a bungled election, and major violations of human rights rocked the country.

There is no way President Kibaki and his team can purport to be midwives of our reconciliation through the TJRC.

1. Conflict of interest in the composition of the commission: as has been noted in the media by many Kenyans, especially by some victims of the crimes that need to be brought to closure, commissioners who were gatekeepers of the past repressive administrations under investigation belong to the defence or the witness box. Ambassador Bethuel A. Kiplagat, the Chair, was a Moi confidant and apologist who deployed his great rhetorical, political, diplomatic and intellectual skills to explain away and defend the Nyayo Government�s excesses. Mr Kiplagat has never demonstrated that he can stand up impartially for truth and justice. Even in the raging Mau saga he is loudly silent because the situation is still far too fluid for his survival instincts. He will intervene, but as always only when it is safe to do so, and predictably on the side of power, never of principle. Since the bungled Tito Okello and Yoweri Museveni peace talks of the early 1980s, to the recently failed mediocre Somalia peace talks, Mr. Kiplagat has curved for himself a niche as a peace mercenary, profiteering from the business of conflict rather than being an honest peace broker. We will be expecting too much of him to let him preside over a process which will hold the infamous Nyayo Era to account.
2. Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Ahmed Sheikh Farah was a serving officer when Kenya �s military was implicated in gross human rights violations, like the torture by victorious loyalist forces of the defeated Kenya Air Force soldiers after the 1982 attempted coup. He was also in active service during operations such as the Wagallah massacre. He or his friends could have been involved in those infamous episodes. Then there is the question of collective responsibility where peers cover each other�s backs. How will he sit in judgement? Will the junior soldiers have the confidence to appear before him?
3. Ms. Margaret Wambui Ngugi Shavawas is the wife of one of the military officers who served in the Kenya Air Force based at Nanyuki, and is still in active service. Will she have an open mind when former colleagues of her husband appear before the commission?
4. Flawed Nomination Process: Given that people who should be in the defence or witness box are on the commission, we can only conclude that the process of their nomination was flawed to the extent that it did not have inbuilt mechanisms to lock them out. Ideally, the process must have been clear that any person who served or was/is associated with either the colonial or any of the three post-independence regimes, all which were involved in gross human rights violations, was disqualified.
5. Discrimination against the Mau Mau and others: The decision to set a cut-off date that limits the mandate of TJRC to cover only the post-colonial period is against both the Constitution of Kenya and natural justice because it is discriminative against groups like the Mau Mau and others who suffered gross human rights violations under British rule. These are citizens who are still struggling to get justice. For example, recently a group of the Mau Mau were in London pursuing their case. Many other Kenyan communities that suffered injury at this time are yet to get restitution. Hence, taxpayer funded processes cannot be just and fair if they are deliberately designed to exclude them.

The TJRC is not just supposed to be impartial but it must be seen to be so. This is important because its success depends on the goodwill of all, especially of the victims who are expected to forgive so that we can move on. Hence, we call upon the President to disband the biased commission he has established, not simply because it is poorly constituted, but also because its timing is wrong.

Ideally, the TJRC can only be put in place by a government democratically elected under the new democratic constitutional dispensation we crave. And the President should stop the many sideshows he is bogging himself down with, and focus on the urgent duty he has to see to it that we get that Constitution soonest.

If the President fails to disband the commission, we shall proceed to the High Court to pray for a permanent injunction against both the formation of the TJRC at this time before we get a new constitution, and also to bar compromised individuals from ever serving on the commission when finally it is formed at the right time.

We are already collecting airtight evidence for filling High Court petitions against Mr. Kiplagat and others who we feel should not be on the TJRC.

Signed: Agostino Neto
Date: July 27, 2009

The Wanga of Mumias had a saying- along time ago, Omulayi webuwanga ashinanga mumuse lulala. In the old Wanga Kingdom from where this was and is still widely used to teach the youth the Nabongo the pre-colonial King of the expansive kingdom had a court. Often he would entertain guests and on such special occasions he would entertain them with only the good dances. Only good dancers were to entertain the King and his audience. However, the wisdom of this saying was that however creative you were it was always good to dance once and leave it while your fame and respect was still intact. According to the saying repeats would only bore your audience. Simply put if you do something too many times you always run the risk of being monotonous and underperforming.

Bethuel Kiplaga has had his time to dance and on a number of occasions he had a good outing in the court of Kenya�s public opinion. On other occasions he has turned out to be a complete bore. His latest appointment as chair of the truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) is likely to tear his otherwise impressive CV into shreds. My argument is that he should turn down the appointment advice the president that his timing for a TJRC is wrong and retire from public life because of several reasons.

First I am not persuaded that Kenyans really need a TJRC at this time. To many a TJRC is a waste of time and an unnecessary attempt to divert attention that is now clearly focused on punishing the masterminds of the post election violence. It sounds to many Kenyans like an attempt to help the perpetrators of post election violence escape The Hague. Whereas Kenyans love reconciliation, they also know that impunity must be dealt with then reconciliation can take effect. Kiplagat will thus face the wrath of a restive public baying for the blood of the crooks who made them suffer in 2007

Second, Kiplagat- or is it usual with all diplomats- has never really shown courage. The ability to confront tough situations and take hard positions is generally averse to him. He has not been heard criticizing anything, is no defender of human rights and has hardly been an authority on matters justice. Other than the president�s usual window dressing, I do not see how a fence sitter like Kiplagat can achieve anything to satisfy the expectations and skepticisms of the Kenyan public

The last time Kiplagat participated in a similar exercise he opened a talking shop at the KICC in what Kibaki christened the committee of eminent persons. This committee was meant to have advised the politicians lead by President Kibaki on how to unlock the Constitutional impasse after the Wako draft was thrown out by Kenyans. For nearly a year Kiplagat and his committee entertained Kenyans at the plenary (now Lenana) hall of the KICC but when the exercise was over it is not clear whether the diplomat kept the� recommendations as reference material for his various peace initiatives or he presented them to his paymasters.

What if Bethuel had unlocked the gridlock after the referendum? We would probably have had a good constitution before going to the messed up polls and hypothetically we would have avoided the debacle of 2007.

And last, and if the good diplomat cares, is Kibaki himself. Like I pointed out above Kibaki has appointed many commissions like his predecessors before. Some of these commissions have come up with very good and solid recommendations on how to deal with various situations. Most notable the Ndungu land commission whose recommendations if implemented would have solved our land problems to a big extent. It is said that as soon as he appoints a commission, he actually forgets about it and moves on with other issues. Kiplagat knows this too well and should now let others dance this tune

By Peter Abwao, Mombasa – Kenya

Photo: Anna Jefferys/IRIN

Children in a village near Koidu, capital of Kono. Most Kono residents have no access to clean water or electricity

KOIDU,� – Sierra Leoneans have welcomed government efforts to redraft mineral legislation, hoping this will lead to a boost in spending on much-needed public services, but analysts say more drastic reform is needed if the people are to prosper from their diamonds.

In a two-part series, IRIN first analyses government reform of the foreign-owned industrialized mining sector, and in part two looks at improving informal ‘artisanal’ mining.

Sierra Leone�s diamond and other mineral revenues have hit a low in the global economic downturn, but the government is gearing up for anticipated growth in the long term with a reform package that includes commitments from the Ministry of Mineral Resources to publish its mineral revenues, monitor companies to make sure all payments are made, and increase government revenue accrued from mineral exports 5 percent to 7 percent.

The government has granted “extraordinary concessions” to mining companies, who pay only 3 percent in royalties and can offset 100 percent of their start-up costs against tax, said the National Advocacy Coalition on Extractives (NACE), a local grouping.

This means the government accrues just 5 percent of revenues from minerals mined in Sierra Leone, starving the treasury of up to US$8 million a year, said a group of international NGOs that includes The Justice Network, Third World Network and Christian Aid in their report, Breaking the Curse.

In Kono district, eastern Sierra Leone, where most of the diamond mining takes place, there must be much more transparency on the part of government and mining companies as to revenue flows, they said.

“This is the only way we can monitor how much ends up being spent on building roads, finding jobs, providing clean water or equipping hospitals,” said Patrick Tongu, of the Network Movement for Justice and Development, a local NGO.

Two in three Sierra Leoneans live in poverty, and one in five in extreme poverty, according to the UN; while at least 60 percent of Kono’s youths are unemployed.

To turn diamonds into wealth, NGOs say the government must raise the 3 percent royalty rate while closely monitoring company production; increase revenue targets from mineral exports to 10 percent; and boost the allocation to the Diamond Area Community Development Fund (DACDF) from the current 0.75 percent to 1.5 percent.

Jacob Quee, ex-head of administration at the Ministry of Minerals,�now transferred to the Ministry of Lands and Planning, told IRIN the 3 percent royalty is �likely� to increase when�new legislation is passed in 2010,�though he stressed the need to maintain favourable conditions for foreign investors.

�This time around all mining companies will be expected to embark on infrastructural development in their communities of operations, and to also make sure they rehabilitate the land so that it can be used for farming activities,� he told IRIN.

Decentralization

Local authorities must have�more say in how this money is spent, said Kono district chairman John Yambasu, who calls on the Mineral Resources Ministry to decentralize power from federal to district level.

A process to devolve power to the regions has been in place since 2004, but has been “slow to take hold” in the minerals ministry, Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Abdul Tejan told IRIN.

Kono has no paved roads, no electricity, no clean water on tap, and one ill-equipped hospital and two ambulances to serve 300,000 people, Yambasu said. Most women give birth at home, unable to reach a doctor, and malaria is on the increase.

The authors of Breaking the Curse noted that diamonds from Kono contributed $142 million to government coffers in 2008, of which 0.75 percent goes directly to local chiefdoms via the DACDF Diamond Development fund. However, the low level of transparency, and reporting requirements made it unclear where the money had been spent or how communities had benefited, said critics.

Photo: Anna Jefferys/IRIN

Ibrahim Kamara, spokesperson for Koidu Holdings, the largest diamond mining company in Kono

All reform discussions take place at federal level, meaning that local government is excluded. “How can I deliver my promises to my people if I don’t know where the money goes, how long [mining] companies� lease periods last, and what their contracts say? We have had mining here for 80 years, but conditions have not improved, and proceeds go to the national level, or disappear,” said Yambasu.

“I have a district development plan that I need the government to achieve, but I am not involved in talks as to where these revenues will go.” His plan includes building connecting roads, laying water pipes, providing the local hospital with basic laboratory equipment, setting up clinics in schools and having mobile health units to reach rural communities.

Providing clean water to Koidu’s residents would cost $5 million, he estimates, a fraction of the $140 million it costs Koidu Holdings, the largest diamond mining company in town, to sink a shaft. “Koidu [Holdings] has a 2.5 megawatt power plant – I need just 1.5 megawatts to give everyone here electricity!”

Ibrahim Kamara, spokesperson for the company, told IRIN that it was willing to negotiate revised contracts, including tax reform and greater transparency, but did not go into detail.

“If you work at Koidu you get a good salary, you get medical coverage for you and two children, you can get a loan from the company. We offer the best opportunity for youths in this district.” The company also contributes to school scholarships, helps polio victims, has small infrastructure projects in the area, and plans to rehabilitate its vast pit-mine once it is exhausted.

More transparency

In February 2008 Sierra Leone signed up to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a coalition of governments, companies and civil society, which aims to increase transparency of company payments and government revenues from mining, gas and oil.

We have had mining here for 80 years, but conditions have not improved, and proceeds go to the national level, or disappear

Sierra Leone must comply with its conditions by March 2010 � meaning mining companies, the government and civil society must set up an independent body to call on companies to report the taxes, royalties and bonuses paid to government; and the government to declare revenues received.

EITI deputy head Eddie Rich said this was a sign of progress, even though the public affairs ministry, not the ministry of minerals, was leading the process, giving rise to fears that the result would be a public relations display rather than a substantive commitment.

The minerals ministry is still widely believed to be the “most corrupt” in government, said an expert who preferred anonymity. Sierra Leone was ranked at 142 out of 163 countries in Transparency International’s 2008 perception of corruption index.

Rich warned that the EITI often “comes back to bite” governments, and non-compliance would bring a public relations disaster.

The local extractives grouping, NACE, said real change would not only come down to government’s contracts with mining companies, but also to its contract with the people. Though the diamond industry is currently in the doldrums, NACE estimates that minerals – including diamonds, rutile and bauxite – could bring in $1.2 billion annually by 2020, of which 10 percent should end up in government coffers if it manages reform properly.

The grouping noted optimistically: “Studies suggest that with significant institutional and capacity reform, and good government spending, nearly a million people could be lifted out of poverty.”

aj/fw/sr/he source.www.irinnews.org

Somalia president Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. Photo/REUTERS

In Summary

This is a very interesting turn of events. One that is caused by Kivuitu who caused the country to get into flames. What now Kivuitu? He enjoyed high salary until he was removed for enabling the mess in the country that led to many deaths. Now he wants to harm parliament and wants to taint the name of the Honourable Speaker Mr Marende, a man of high integrity. The court should not waste time on the case that will in the end eat tax payers money. Kivuitu is a very angry man now that he wants all the 222 MPs send home.� If he gets his wish, to send all MPs home, that means he wants new elections immediately and he knows going to elections now will most probably lead to hostilities and killings. He should be thankful that when he was send home, he was handed over a large cheque. Lucky man is now using that pay to sue, a thing he would not have managed if the MPs had not given him the money after his dismissal. He misses the high salary and the luxury that follows the job. (Chief editor Korir – API)

Here below is a nation.ke story:

By�SAM KIPLAGAT

In Summary

• The former commissioners are challenging the disbandment of ECK.

Former Electoral Commission of Kenya boss Samuel Kivuitu wants House Speaker Kenneth Marende cited for contempt of court.
Through an amended application filed in court on Tuesday, Mr Kivuitu and the 21 ECK commissioners who were sacked last December accuse the Speaker of allowing MPs to discuss a matter that was pending in court.

In particular, the commissioners say Mr Marende allowed the debate on the Constitution of Kenya amendment Bill, 2008 to proceed until passage into law, well aware that the matter was in court.

Mr Kivuitu and the commissioners also want the court to declare the said Bill illegal as it was passed in violation of the Standing Orders.

The former commissioners also want the court to declare ECK�s successor � the Interim Independent Electoral Commission, illegal.

However, the case could not proceed yesterday after it was discovered that the Attorney General, Mr Marende and IIEC were only served a few hours before the case came up for hearing.

The former commissioners are challenging the disbandment of ECK.

Justices Roselyne Wendoh, George Dulu and Ruth Sitati are hearing the case.

To support their arguments, the former commissioners said if the Kriegler report was the basis for sending them home, then all the 222 MPs must suffer the same fate.

The Kriegler report said there was massive rigging countrywide but found no evidence of vote manipulation at KICC, where presidential votes were tallied.

The Judges directed Mr Marende, the interim electoral team and the AG to respond within 21 days. The case will be heard on September 22.

source.nation.ke

Where was Ntimama Ole all the years when he should have come out and spoke the truth instead of enriching himself? Now he comes out to talk about , the no compensation talk? Is it because there are no Masai’s there in Mau to compensate and he fears those to be compensated are from other tribes? Because if there were, the man would not have opened his mouth this way. This is a man who has held positions without delivering much when he worked for former President Moi. He was only good for the song – Tufuate Nyayo ———. (API)

National Heritage minister William Ole Ntimama during a news briefing on Tuesday where he said no settler in the Mau should be compensated before leaving the forest. Photo/CHRIS OJOW

In Summary

A Cabinet minister has called for the immediate eviction of those living within the Mau Forest complex without compensation.

National Heritage minister William ole Ntimama said on Tuesday more than 90 per cent of those currently living in the forest are from adjoining districts and have �crossed boundaries, valleys and rivers� to settle there illegally.

He said more people have been encroaching onto the forest recently, hoping to get the compensation the government has promised for those who are settled there.

He also accused party and Cabinet colleagues who have lately been talking about the issue of employing delay tactics in a bid to stall the restoration of the forest till 2012.

�These people are not ready to vacate the Mau and all you see are delaying tactics to frustrate government efforts to protect Mau. It doesn�t take a person a year, a month or even weeks to pack their bags and go,� said Mr Ntimama.

Speaking at a press conference at his office, Mr Ntimama said pledges to compensate the settlers and restore the forest cover risk failure because of the lack of funding.

A deal struck between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and a section of MPs from the Rift Valley last week had set Sh38 billion as the amount of money needed for the compensation of settlers and rehabilitation of the forest.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga was pegging his hopes mainly on donors who include the World Bank in an initiative led by the United Nations Environmental Programme�and the relocation was scheduled to take two years.

The government has not set aside the money in its current budget while the Unep, which was expected to be a key donor, maintains the issue is largely a Kenyan affair.

�We have already made our contribution in terms of providing the technical, scientific and economic data necessary for evidence-based policy and implementation decisions,� said Unep spokesperson Nick Nuttall at the weekend, alluding that the Kenyan government must make available the necessary resources and political goodwill for the project.

Mr Ntimama said even if the money was to become available, using it to compensate the Mau Forest settlers would be� �setting a bad precedent by rewarding land grabbers and criminals.�

Mau Forest is Kenya�s largest water towers and 12 rivers, among them those that run through the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and others that drain into Lake Nakuru, are at risk of drying up.

The removal of settlers from the water tower has also become a hot political matter, with ODM practically divided down the middle in the debate, which began last year.

While the Central Rift and mostly Kalenjin MPs have opposed the eviction of settlers, those from the lower Rift have said they should take place immediately and without compensation.

On Monday, Mr Odinga said he is ready to sacrifice votes from the community, whose leaders have been railing against him, in support of efforts to restore the forest. Mr Ntimama supported the PM�s stand, saying the debate from the Rift Valley MPs has led to the failure of his efforts and pushed him to the precipice over the issue.

Mr Ntimama said those delaying the removal of the settlers are committing mass murder by living in the water catchment area and therefore depriving those downstream of the water.

source.nation.ke

On Tuesday, the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr St�re, talked again to the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Fassi Fihri, and pointed out Norway�s duty to protect two Norwegian minors in fear of their lives. Mr St�re listened to the Moroccan Minister�s version, and they have agreed to maintain contact on this matter.

The Norwegian authorities have been working on this extremely difficult child custody case in Morocco for several years. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been concerned about the safety of the two children for some time. Norway has been in close contact with the Moroccan authorities involved in the case with a view to finding a solution in cooperation and agreement with the Moroccan authorities.

Foreign Minister St�re commented: �The two children went voluntarily to the Norwegian Embassy after threats to their lives. They were allowed to stay there for three days, which is quite out of the ordinary, and indicates the seriousness of the case. They left the Embassy of their own accord, after which the Norwegian authorities had no contact with them, and consequently were not in any way involved with their leaving Morocco.�

Mr St�re also underlined the need to ensure adequate security for the Norwegian Embassy in Rabat and the embassy staff. Embassy employees have received death threats from the children�s father.

�We are taking the threats received by embassy staff very seriously indeed. We have therefore requested Morocco to take all possible precautions to ensure their safety,� Mr St�re added

Source.mfa