East Africa

Details: Julius Mbaluto; East Africa; 10 April 2023; 367

A surprise truce between Kenya’s President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga last week has helped defuse the political tension that had built up in the country after two weeks of mass protests called by the opposition to push for a lower cost of living and electoral justice.

Ruto and Odinga, whose rivalry in last year’s disputed presidential election narrowly won by the latter spilled over to the streets in the past two weeks, separately announced last Sunday they had agreed to bipartisan negotiations through Parliament to address the opposition’s grievances.

As a consequence of the political ceasefire, the opposition called off further protests planned for this week while the chief prosecutor has withdrawn court charges against six opposition leaders arrested during the recent demonstrations.

The truce has also reduced the anxiety over possible violence and economic shutdowns in Nairobi and western Kenya towns where the opposition enjoys a huge following.

The decision by Ruto and Odinga to pursue a negotiated settlement of their political differences has won them praise from the international community and the local clergy who had earlier expressed concerns that the demonstrations and a heavy-handed response by the police could plunge the country into widespread violence.

On Thursday, the opposition Azimio One Kenya Alliance coalition named its seven negotiators from the Senate and the National Assembly during a parliamentary group meeting while the government side is expected to unveil its team next Tuesday, setting the stage for the talks to begin.

Rhetoric by hardliners

But clashing views over the terms of engagement, toxic rhetoric by hardliners and a distrust of Parliament by the opposition might yet rock or torpedo the negotiations boat.

Both Ruto and Odinga have set the tone for possibly ill-tempered talks in their recent public statements giving different versions of the scope of the negotiations agreed during behind-the-scenes discussions involving their two sets of emissaries.

While the President appeared to suggest that only the procedure of reconstituting the electoral commission will be on the negotiations table, the opposition leader maintains the list is longer.

The opposition coalition’s parliamentary group meeting on Thursday came up with up to 10 demands, including measures to bring down the cost of living, a forensic audit of the electoral commission’s electronic results transmission and storage systems, reinstatement of four former commissioners forced to resign or fired after they questioned the validity of last year’s presidential election results, comprehensive electoral reforms and tighter rules to enforce political party discipline.

Shifting loyalties

For their part, the President’s hawkish allies, including the House Majority leaders in the Senate and the National Assembly, have resumed their anti-Odinga rhetoric in recent days and vowed to reject most of the opposition’s proposals.

They are particularly opposed to discussions around a forensic audit of the electoral commission’s servers, which they see as a trap set by Mr Odinga to help amplify his claims that last year’s election was rigged in favour of Mr Ruto.

The Supreme Court last September upheld Ruto’s victory after hearing a petition by his main rival.

But the 78-year-old opposition leader, who lost his fifth presidential bid by a narrow margin, has in recent months reopened public debate about the outcome of the election, citing a contested whistle blower dossier showing he won.

Although he has publicly backed the bipartisan process, he retains reservations about the ability of Parliament – which is largely controlled by the Executive after a number of opposition MPs shifted loyalties – to shepherd the reforms they want.

His warning of resumption of protests if they don’t deem the negotiations meaningful suggests that Kenyans may be no much longer at ease. - OTIENO OTIENO, The EastAfrican

Details: Julius Mbaluto; East Africa; 09 April 2023; 538

The Judge President of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), Justice Nestor Kayobera, has said that as the judicial arm of the Community, the EACJ is mindful of the need for the EAC partner states to draw lessons from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in order that these events never happen again.

This was as the EAC in collaboration with the Arusha and Moshi Rwandan Community and the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (UN-MICT) on Friday, April 7, commemorated the 29th anniversary of the Genocide Against the Tutsi at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

“As we commemorate, my hope is that we shall all get a better understanding of our shared humanity and renew our collective commitment to protect and uphold fundamental human rights,” said Justice Kayobera.

Rwanda has made tremendous strides

Speaking during the commemoration, EAC Secretary General, Peter Mathuki, said that as the world commemorates for the 29th time, it was important to reaffirm the fundamental truth that all humans were created equal, each with rights that include the right to life.

No one has the right to take it away as was done 29 years ago from the innocent men and women of Rwanda, he said.

Mathuki said that 29 years later, Rwanda has made tremendous strides that have exceeded expectations and should be rightly commended for doing so.

“In just 29 years, unity and reconciliation is being realized in Rwanda,” said the Secretary General.

“‘Never Again’ should not only be a slogan but should also be translated into concrete actions as we strive to be one people for one destiny,” said Mathuki.

The Arumeru District Commissioner, Emmanuella K. Mtatifikolo, said that the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi in Rwanda was a tragedy not only to Rwanda as a country but to humanity as a whole.

“With the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, the entire humanity was put to test and the sanity of human nature was for once put into serious doubts,” she added.

Mtatifokolo said that as these barbaric acts were being carried out in Rwanda, the whole world was well aware of such terrible occurrences yet the international community did nothing to stop those killings in which innocent men, women and children were brutally murdered for no reason other than their ethnicity.

She, therefore, called upon all citizens to spare no efforts in fighting against genocide ideology and revisionism in all their manifestations.

“I therefore call upon the international community in general and the EAC countries in particular to work together at different levels to fight against all forms of genocide ideology or any slightest signal of its kind,” she said.

The stakes were high and tough decisions were needed

The Rwandan High Commissioner to Tanzania, Amb. Maj Gen Charles Karamba, expressed his appreciation to the EAC, the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals and all friends of Rwanda for standing in solidarity with the Government and people of Rwanda to remember loved ones who perished in 1994.

Karamba said that it was during this period that Rwandans take time to reflect on where the country was in 1994, on the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, and where Rwanda is today.

“The country was totally destroyed with no hope of recovery,” he said, adding that the post 1994 Government of Rwanda was faced with enormous challenges of rebuilding a deeply divided country with a destroyed political, economic, social, and legal infrastructure.

“The stakes were high and tough decisions were needed,” added Karamba.

The High Commissioner informed the invited guests that for the last 29 years, Rwandans chose a completely different path of resilience and courage necessary to get solutions for their problems, rejecting the rotten politics of hatred and divisionism, thus, rebuilding Rwanda from the ashes.

Rwandan Diaspora plays an integral role

The Chairman of the Rwandan Diaspora (Arusha and Moshi), Eng. Murenzi Daniel, informed the gathering that after 1994, the Rwandan community abroad embarked on a journey of national rebuilding and promotion of peace and reconciliation with the support from the government of Rwanda.

“Today, the Rwandan Diaspora plays an integral role in uniting the Rwandans aboard with a focus on building the nation,” said Eng. Murenzi.

The event brought together a broad spectrum of stakeholders including representatives from various religious groups, Germany Cooperation in Arusha (GIZ), the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), the African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption (AUABC) UN-MICT, and students from various universities and secondary schools in Arusha, and EAC staff. - The New Times

Details: Julius Mbaluto; East Africa; 08 April 2023; 544

Sisal plantation at Vipingo in Kilifi County.[Omondi Onyango, Standard]

Hundreds of machete-wielding youths invaded part of the Vipingo Sisal farm in Kilifi County.

They annexed a section of the farm and put up houses in the wee hours of Good Friday.

Kilifi South police commander George Madoli said the youth numbering about 500 invaded the expansive sisal plantation along the Mombasa-Malindi Highway claiming ancestral ownership of the land.

He said the intruders produced copies of title deeds which they alleged show the land that was leased by Vipingo Sisal Estate belonged to their forefathers. According to them, the lease had expired.

In a phone interview, Mr Mrima Wanyepe who claimed to be the chairman of the landless in the area said the 800-acre disputed land was supposed to be distributed at the beginning of this year.

''Vipingo Sisal Estate lease expired and we applied to have our ancestral land reverted back, we obtained the title deed for 800 acres of the land from the Ministry of Lands which was supposed to divide it for us,” he said..

A copy of the certificate of title deed shows the document was issued on December 13 last year. The Standard could not, however, independently establish the authenticity of the document.

But Wanyepe claimed the county government of Kilifi was supposed to facilitate the adjudication and subdivision of the 800 acres for the squatters. “But it has been postponing the exercise,” he said.

The police said it was not possible for them to tell the genuine title deeds produced by the squatters and the investor yesterday.

“The youth have invaded the sisal farms in Vipingo claiming ownership. The security team wants to engage lawyers representing both parties and they have agreed we meet later to discuss and resolve the issue amicably.

Mr Madoli said they had established that the warring parties met at the office of the County Commissioner of Kilifi last Tuesday but failed to agree on who between the investor and the locals owns the land.

“Yes, we met at the County Commissioner’s office. We have a mother title deed as members of the Bambani association, we do not know who else has a title to the same land,” said Wanyepe.

He said some 500,000 people have for years lived as squatters around the Vipingo Sisal plantation. The villagers are also in court seeking an extra 3,900 acres of the sisal plantation.

In January, Justice Millicent Odeny ruled that a title deed held by the villagers for the 3,900-acre land was illegal, dealing a blow to the squatters who claimed the land belonged to their ancestors.

Justice Odeny said that the title acquired by the Bambani and Kikandale community in July 2020 was superimposed on another held by the NSE-listed Vipingo Development Ltd.

The locals had sought the court’s affirmation to be declared the registered owners of the property measuring about 3,911 acres. Yesterday Wanyepe said they have appealed the matter.

Joshua Kenga, one of the squatters said the sisal farm is their ancestral land and that they will not relent until they get it.

On Thursday, President William Ruto promised to end the squatter problem at the Coast. He said the State had set aside Sh2 billion for buying land from absentee landlords where squatters will be settled. By Marion Kithi , The Standard

Details: Julius Mbaluto; East Africa; 08 April 2023; 569

An immigration appeal is won and the Home Office concedes their mistake in refusing to issue the visa, but serious obstacles arise unexpectedly when it comes to endorsing the visa vignette in the applicant’s passport. Can the passport be stamped in the UK? Does a mental health patient have to travel abroad in the company of her carer to humour a bureaucratic requirement. Kadmos Immigration Lawyers talk about their clients’ frustration after all legal battles have been won.

Last year, Kadmos immigration lawyers celebrated with their clients a victory in a prolonged and complex appeal in the Upper Tribunal. The appeal concerned refusal of an adult dependent relative visa and subsequent refusal of the appeal by the First-tier tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

Kadmos lawyers were brought in to advise on the merits of appealing against the decision of the First-tier tribunal after the previous legal team found no merit in the appeal.

Apparently, there was merit since the Upper tribunal set aside the decision of the First-tier tribunal and gave a detail guidance on how the issues had to be addressed. The case was remitted to the First-tier tribunal for a fresh hearing but the Home Office wisely reversed their own decision and decided to issue the visa.

The facts of the case may be worth reciting in brief since they are not so uncommon.

The appellant was a Ukrainian woman, widowed, in her early sixties, recently retired from her job as a hospital doctor. She lived alone in Kyiv. Her daughter, a naturalised British citizen, lived in the UK and worked for the NHS as a medical doctor. The appellant developed an acute depression with suicidal tendencies and the doctors recommended that the daughter should take her to the UK as loneliness was very much at the root of her mental health problems.

They made an application for the adult dependent relative visa which was refused after prolonged consideration by the authorities. The Home Office found that mental health problems could be treated by medication and care needs could be addressed by a paid carer in Ukraine. Nothing uncommon in this decision. The appellants disagreed and filed an appeal. There followed long months of waiting. The appellant’s condition continued to deteriorate. After the appeal was heard and the decision was reserved, she had a nervous breakdown and tried to commit a suicide. The next day after, the war broke out.

The uncommon turn of events was that the applicant travelled to the UK under the newly formed Ukraine family scheme and by the time the decision dismissing her appeal was made by the First-tier tribunal, she was already in the UK.

When the case was presented to the Upper Tribunal (IAC) the questions to be addressed were – could the appeal be pursued if the appellant was in the UK? Was the chain of events postdating the hearing in the First-tier tribunal indicative of the appellant’s needs at the time of application? Do psychological needs count in the same way as physical needs?

The Upper Tribunal answered in the affirmative and the Home Office reviewed their own decision in the light of the guidance in the judgment and decided to issue the visa.

A new problem arose out of the blue as a complete surprise to all participants: the visa could not be issued in the UK. Issuing the visa in Kyiv was not an option either because of the war in Ukraine. So why not in Paris?

The lawyers acting for the appellant thought the Home Office had completely forgotten the crux of the matter: “…the appellant was unable to live independently. She was certainly unable to go to Paris on her own. Her daughter had to take time off from her super busy NHS job and travel to Paris with her mother in order to get a stamp in the passport. How long would they have to stay in Paris? Would the daughter have to take an open leave from work? How can they book a return ticket if they don’t know how long they will have to stay?”

Helena Sheizon writes in her blog post: “At this stage, I suggested that the client should contact their MP. After all, the whole scenario sounded like a poor joke. Why would someone have to travel from Cambridge to Paris to get a UK visa stamp in their Ukrainian passport? Perhaps the passport could be stamped somewhere nearer home?” And what about carbon footprint, she goes on. “Two people will have to travel a distance over 300 miles and back for a stamp? Are we sure we are not in a Kafka novel? Is global warming no more a concern? Would cancer patients understand that the doctor has to travel abroad to collect a stamp?”

Neither the immigration lawyers nor the local Member of Parliament could override the machine designed to protect the integrity of the immigration system, part of which is to endorse the adult dependent relative visa stamp outside borders of the UK.

If there is common sense to it, it is deeply shrouded in bureaucratic mystery. In the meantime, the flights will be booked and hotel reserved, cancer patients will wait for their doctor to return from her trip, and the stamp will be endorsed no matter what.

Details: Julius Mbaluto; East Africa; 08 April 2023; 486

David Ndii, Chairperson of President William Ruto's Council of Economic Advisors during an interview on February 28, 2023 and President William Ruto addressing residents in Nakuru County on April 6, 2023.

David Ndii, Chairperson of President William Ruto's Council of Economic Advisors, on Saturday, April 8, revealed the government could have faced a dilemma days before reports on salary delays surfaced.

Ndii, while responding to a series of concerns, indicated that President William Ruto's administration was in a fix on whether to pay the debt or suffer the consequences of defaulting.

Explaining the fix, the economists revealed that the government directed almost 60 per cent of the revenue collected to service debts.

Less than 40 per cent of the collected revenue was reserved for paying salaries and supporting other government expenditures.

President William Ruto speaking at the roadside during the launch of bitumen standard of the Njoro-Beeston-Neisut, Beeston-Lawina-Elburgon and Mauche-Sururu Roads in Nakuru County on Thursday, April 6, 2023

Ndii further implied that cash resources were short in supply, whereas the demand was high from various sectors, including public servants.

Following the dilemma, Ndii asked whether Ruto should pay the loans or salaries.

"Is public finance that difficult? It's reported every other day debt service is consuming 60 per cent plus of revenue. Liquidity crunches come with the territory. When maturities bunch up, or revenue falls short, or markets shift, something has to give. Salaries or default? Take your pick," Ndii posed.

"Foreign debt is not the the issue. I'm talking about weekly maturities of domestic debt held by your banks and pension funds (80 per cent plus of debt service)," he further clarified.

However, Ndii revealed that Ruto approached him following his projection that Kenya would run broke due to debts, in 2014.

After winning the presidential election, he brought him to help his administration solve the cash crunch issue.

" I believe we can make a difference," he assured concerned Kenyans.

MPs Miss Salaries

The economic expert issued the clarification after several public servants, including members of parliament, raised concerns about salary delays.

On Friday, April 7, Minority Leader in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi claimed he had not received his March salary. The lawmaker accused Ruto's administration of failing to ensure public servants are properly and timely enumerated.

Further, Wandayi castigated the government, calling for an audit of its public coffers.

"For the first time in our history, even MPs have not been paid as we head towards mid-month.

"Only members of the security services - police and military - have been paid as we speak and the reason must be obvious to all," Wandayi claimed.

Besides MPs, the cash crunch affected Kenya Broadcasting Corporation employees. In a letter dated Wednesday, April 5, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Samuel Maina, asked staff to exercise patience as the media house rushed to solve the crisis.

The CEO pledged to unveil strategies to cushion workers them and their families.

"Management regrets to inform you that we are unable to pay the March 2023 salaries before Easter Holidays due to unavoidable circumstances," Maina stated

Treasury's Stance

On February 8, Treasury Cabinet Secretary told MPs that the country was experiencing financial constraints affecting normal government operations.

He, however, maintained that the government was keen to address the cash crunch crisis.

"The government is like a home. Sometimes you may have needs but there is no money for that. However, when you work hard, you will finally get money to address your needs," he stated. by GEOFFREY LUTTA , Kenyans.co.ke