Stinging Criticism of Kofi Annan by Eric Ngeno - Uhuru Kenyatta's Speech Writer

The gloves are off and in the run up to November 12, 2013, the day President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to appear at the International Criminal Court. The administration seems to take all avenues to prevent such an occurrence. There has been lobbying of African Heads of State through the African Union Forum and I presume there has been other avenues that have been sought [diplomatic or otherwise].

However, as that goes one there seems to be a movement to injure the reputation of Kofi Annan, former UN secretary General and mediator of Post Election Violence in Kenya. Today's opinion piece in the Daily Nation by the President's speech writer is a panacea on what the administration thinks of Kofi Annan. Eric Ngeno goes ahead to call the former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan a conductor of the International Arena.

We wait for the next few days and see the play of action from all quota's.
  

D-Day: Deputy President William Ruto and Journalist Joshua Sang at the International Criminal Court

Khan, Sang and DP William Ruto. Photo Courtesy of DPPS

Ruto and Sang Case
Press Conference September 9, 2013 at The Hague


Pre Trial Reads

1. Reporting Kenya. - ICC Prosecutor, Defence Gear Up for Kenya Trial by Simon Jennings. 
2. Daily Maverick. - Analysis: Ruto and Kenyatta are still one step ahead of the ICC by Simon Alison
3. Daily Nation. FULL COVERAGE: Ruto, Sang stand trial at The Hague
4. Financial Times. - ICC under scrutiny as Kenya’s deputy president faces trial by Katrina Manson
5. Washington Post. - International Criminal Court tries Kenya deputy president Ruto for post-election violence by AP
6. RFI. - Phil Clark: "The ICC has a certain political naivete" by Olivier Rogez
7. New York Times. - Justice for Kenyan by Kofi Annan

'One concrete outcome was the Waki commission, a national inquiry into the postelection violence. It concluded that the violence was not just spontaneous, but, in at least some areas, a result of planning and organization, often with the involvement of politicians and businessmen. This was not surprising — politicians hungry for power have long exploited Kenya’s ethnic divisions with impunity.' – Kofi Annan 

Trial Watchers Kenya
The Open Society Foundation funded ICC Kenya Monitor is a good resource to track the Ruto and Sang Case.

The other site to check one's in a while is the africog site

Download OSF briefing paper of the trial here

Kofi Annan Attacks: The worrying Trend I have been observing

Reading this week’s edition of the EastAfrican one gets the impression that we have a section that is after Kofi Annan. Don’t get me wrong I am NOT against criticism but when one goes about criticizing someone just as we are about to go to the election. Then something is amiss. The timing of these criticisms looks suspicious.

This is after the head of the executive snubbed him on his most recent tour of the country with fellow elder, former president Mkapa of Tanzania. The two we’re in the country to get a view of the progress of the country in the count down to the March 4, 2012 election.

I have read Mutahi Ngunyi who has also criticized Kofi Annan’s frequent visit to the country on the grounds that they border to interference of a sovereign state. I think the good diplomat has not been reading the writing on the wall and if he has then he daggers are now out.

Attacking a Peace Envoy

Reading Gitau Warigi’s article I picked out three fonts of attack. These are

1.       Rwanda

2.       Somalia

3.       UN reform

Other attacks lines have been fronted by bloggers who are associated with TNA. They border on his latest mission to find peace in Syria which he resigned and the other is his son’s corruption deals while he was sec. gen of the UN.

@OleItumbi rt @nyarigoti KOFFI ANNAN'S SON WAS INVOLVED IN CORRUPT DEALS. @OleItumbi @TeamUhuru

Also President Mkapa is NOT left behind in this attacks which appear targeted to the mediators.

@OleItumbi rt @nyarigoti ....and Mkapa' s wife was involved in corrupt deals too. @OleItumbi @TeamUhuru

Kofi Annan's Book

I am yet to read the new book by Kofi Annan – Interventions and the memoirs by former secretary of state C. Rice to fully comment on some of these issues. However, looking at these attacks they look like cheap shots at the guy who saved our country from brink of war.

Kofi Annans 10 minutes interview with Jeff Koinange

Constitution Second Anniversary: What the Media Reported

Below are snippets of what the fourth estate featured to commemorate our constitution's second anniversary;
K24

GBS

Daily Nation

Daily Nation gave prominence to Kofi Annan Statement that he released on the eve this anniversary. His statement noted;

The adoption of the Constitution on 27 August, 2010 was a watershed moment in the history of the country; the product of a decades-long struggle to reform the way in which Kenya is governed. It also marked the most significant milestone in the implementation of the reform agenda of the Coalition Government, which both partners had committed themselves to when the National Accord was signed in early 2008.

Kofi Annan's statement also goes ahead to note the missing gaps that we should have implemented at this junction.

There are still some gaps in key areas of constitutional implementation. These include the areas of police reform, in particular the creation of the National Police Service Commission and the appointment of the Inspector-General of Police; and the conclusion of the process to appoint commissioners to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. It is also critical that the issue of gender representation within the National Assembly receives the attention it deserves and is authoritatively concluded before it affects the electoral preparedness timetable. We are confident, however, that these and other outstanding tasks will be completed.

However, he does NOT point out some of the outstanding issues which they pointed out rightly after 2007/8 disputed polls 'famously referred to as Agenda 4' which in my opinion are the reason we still not out of the woods yet. Some of this are; 

1. Unemployment, particularly among the youth
2. Land reform
3. Poverty,inequality and regional imbalances

As we go ahead we hope the other items below will be addressed before the March 2013 poll

1. Institutional reform: The Police
2. Institutional reform: The Civil Service
3. Institutional reform: The Parliament
4. Consolidating National Cohesion and Unity
5. Transparency, accountability, impunity

My eye catching event of this day is when the Prime Minister Raila Odinga led the second liberation brigade to Nyayo House [former torture chambers under Moi’s government].

The PM with other 2nd Liberation Fighters. Source PMPS

However, the sad thing to note is that on this day we had a daylight assassination in Mombasa which has left the coast province reeling with violence

Recommended

Watch Mutahi Ngunyi on the bench as he gives his views;

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4