Ujima

 September 29, 2007

September 28: In the most recent poll, the Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) candidate, Raila Odinga, leads incumbent President Kibaki by nine points. 47% of respondents said they would vote for Odinga, while only 38% would vote for President Kibaki. The third candidate, Kalonzo Musyoka of the ODM-Kenya party, had only 8% of respondents’ votes. Odinga is supported in both urban and rural areas. Since March, Odinga’s popularity has been steadily rising while President Kibaki’s has been falling, from 51% in March to 5% in July and now to 38%. Former President Moi, who has a very high approval rating, is supporting President Kibaki, and many people believe that his support will cause President Kibaki to win the election. Like its candidate, ODM is the favored party among voters; President Kibaki’s new party, PNU, is supported by only 20%.
The poll was conducted by Steadman Group’s Managing Director George Waititu. It was conducted in all of Kenya’s 53 districts from September 21-25. However, there isn’t uniform awareness all around Kenya – 3% of respondents did not know that President Kibaki was a candidate, compared to 6.25% for Odinga and 10% for Musyoka.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200709281185.html

September 15, 2007: President Kibaki has named the Party of National Unity as his re-election party, and is scheduled to make the announcement today on radio and television. His is the third party to enter the presidential race, following the Orange Democratic Movement and the Orange Democratic Movement – Kenya. The most recent polls show President Kibaki in the lead with 42% of the vote. He has support from three high-profile Cabinet Ministers as well as fourteen parties. President Kibaki is going to base his campaign, which will officially start on September 29, on bringing the nation together. To be elected, a candidate needs to receive the majority of the votes as well as at least 25% of the votes in five of eight provinces.
In his first term, President Kibaki has helped the economy, made primary education free, and improved health care. He has also helped bring electricity to more rural areas of Kenya, as well as “re-energised civil service” (source 1). However, much of Kenya does not agree with his positions. The MP from Wajir West, for example, greeted the President when he went there last week by saying that he has no support in that district.
Organization is key to winning the Presidential race in Kenya as anywhere, and yet there is still confusion as to who is running President Kibaki’s campaign. President Kibaki also must show Kenya that he is not being influenced by any interest groups and must “pacify political parties who are also fighting for space in his court” (1).

1. http://allafrica.com/stories/200709150154.html
2. http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3071&Itemid=5822

September 15, 2007: Professor Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Peace Laureate, defends Parliament’s decision to limit the powers of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) (source 1). Prof. Maathai said that the KACC had not accomplished much and had not fulfilled its intended purpose. The KACC’s powers were drawn back earlier on September 12, when Parliament decided that the KACC would not be able to investigate “grand corruption committed before May 2003” (source 2). Ms. Martha Karua, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, disagrees with Prof. Maathai, saying that Parliament’s decision is letting down the people of Kenya, since corruption is a problem that needs to be solved in order for Kenya to grow as a nation.

1. http://allafrica.com/stories/200709150160.html
2. http://allafrica.com/stories/200709120976.html

June 23, 2007: On the night of June 21 and the morning of June 22, 2007, four people were beheaded and seventeen were shot in a Mungiki strike in Nairobi and Kiambu. Five people were killed in by grenades in a bar, contributing to the same wave of Mungiki attacks. Mungiki is an illegal sect that values traditional practices. Its creation was inspired by the Mau Mau revolts of the 1950s, violent demonstrations that ultimately succeeded in gaining Kenya’s independence. Many believe that it was formed in 1988 against former President Daniel arap Moi. It now focuses less on religion and more on violence. Two main suspects have been arrested for the grenade attack. Though the police are still investigating the motive of the attacks, they believe it could be related to a Nairobi court’s decision to jail Maina Njenga, a former Mungiki leader, earlier on June 21.

1. http://allafrica.com/stories/200706230048.html
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6685393.stm

June 23, 2007: Tourism and Wildlife Minister Morris Dzoro and his assistant, Kalembe Ndile, publicly clashed over a few issues. Ndile asked for more duties and for vehicles to complete these duties in; Dzoro said that he has already given him vehicles, which he has crashed, and that Ndile is not in the office enough to be given more duties. Ndile also asked that answers to parliamentary questions be translated into Kiswahili, one of the most widely spoken languages in Kenya. English is the official language of Kenya; Kiswahili is the national language. This means that education and government use English. Dzoro said that he had already asked for a translator. Ndile subsequently said that he has raised these issues privately with Dzoro and with Kenya’s President Kibaki, but it was Dzoro that brought them up publicly. The clash ended with Ndile “leaving in a huff” (source 1) and not attending a dignitary luncheon.

1. http://allafrica.com/stories/200706230142.html
2. http://www.kenya.com/language.html