Cord to invite ICC to investigate killings during protests

Cord leaders Raila Odinga, Moses Wetangula and Kalonzo Musyoka during a press conference.


The Cord coalition says it will move to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek civil and criminal investigations over the 'brutal' killings of its supporters in Kisumu, Siaya and Homa Bay counties by the police, during the anti-IEBC protests. 

According to Cord, police have continued to brutalise, beat, maim and kill protesters despite the courts upholding its long standing argument that demonstrations, picketing, protests and presentation of petitions to public officers are protected by the Constitution. 

Cord co-conveners Senator James Orengo and MP Eseli Simiyu said Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and the Nairobi County Commander Japheth Koome will individually and personally be held liable for the killings and brutality during the demonstrations. 

''Cord resolves to begin civil and criminal proceedings against individual police officers who have beaten, brutalized, shot and killed protesters in recent days. The Coalition also resolves to institute similar civil and criminal proceedings against the Inspector General of Police Joseph Bionet and the Nairobi County Commander Japheth Koome individually and personally for the brutality meted on and murder of the protesters," said Cord. 

The Coalition also condemned in very strong terms what it termed as the seeming ethnic profiling that is being applied by police in handling the protests. 

Addressing the press in Nairobi after holding its 2nd Parliamentary Group meeting of the year at the Wiper Democratic Party headquarters, Cord resolved that a pathway to dialogue on IEBC ought to be structured and that any such structured meeting will be at the highest level and that the principals of Cord will nominate those who will engage in the dialogue, reporting to the principals.

At least four people have lost their lives since Cord started protesting against IEBC.

The coalition claimed the police are targeting supporters in its strongholds, particularly Kisumu, Siaya and Homa Bay counties. 

Several others have been injured during the demos, including the police.

Maafisa 302 wa polisi waachishwa kazi pwani

Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Huduma kwa Polisi nchini NPSC Johnston Kavuludi akiwahutubia wanahabari hapo awali. Alisema kuwa maafisa hao walikiuka sheria za nchini kwa mujibu wa katiba, na ni wazi kuwa walikuwa wakienda kinyume na utendekazi wao.


Maafisa wa trafiki kutoka eneo la Pwani waliokataa kukaguliwa na Tume ya Huduma kwa Polisi nchini NPSC, wameachishwa kazi.

Kwenye taarifa iliyotumwa kwa vyombo vya habari na tume hiyo siku ya Alhamisi, maafisa 302 walikwepa ukaguzi ambao ulikuwa ukiendeshwa na Tume ya NPSC mjini Mombasa katika kipindi cha majuma mawili kutathmini utendakazi na maadali ya maafisa hao.

Tume hiyo inayoongozwa na Johnson Kavulundi imesema kuwa imebaini maafisa hao wanakiuka sheria za nchini kwa mujibu wa katiba, na ni wazi kuwa walikuwa wakienda kinyume na utendekazi wao.

“Kukwepa kwa maafisa hao kupigwa msasa kunaashiria kukithiri kwa kashfa za ufisadi nchini zinazowazonga maafisa wengi wa polisi,” alisema Kavuludi.

Inspekta mkuu Jenerali wa Polisi nchini Joseph Boinnet anatarajiwa kuwatumia maafisa hao barua za kuwaondoa kazini.

Is ODM fighter Ababu Namwamba General missing in action?

NAIROBI: A fiery voice in the Orange brigade has apparently gone mute. And this is none other than Ababu Namwamba. 

In his political debut, the then youthful, smartly-dressed and eloquent MP-elect took the country by storm. 

He was then little known beyond ODM strongholds, until that moment when he caught the attention of the then Clerk of the National Assembly the late Samuel Ndindiri, in the thick of things as the senior parliamentary officer tried his best to control a largely divided House in January 2008. 

The newly elected crop of legislators, a large percentage making their maiden way into the august House, had only been summoned for swearing in after a disputed election, where PNU’s Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga of ODM were claiming victory, with the former sworn under controversial circumstances. 

MP-elect for Budalang’i Ababu Namwamba stood out among the Opposition heavyweights, never mind he was only new in the House and expected to learn the procedures. He took on Kibaki’s strongest defenders, including then ministers Kiraitu Murungi and Martha Karua with gusto, not showing signs of being intimidated by their long experience in the House.

He was fighting for the allegedly stolen win of his party boss, Raila, and even declined to swear allegiance to President Kibaki, as was required of him.

Ababu wondered why Kibaki was being called to take his oath of office as the Othaya legislator ahead of him, when alphabetically, he was supposed to be the first. On that day, he won some battles, just as he lost others, but Namwamba left a mark, especially to the Opposition supporters. He has for long stood out as one of Raila’s strongest defenders, in the process earning himself the distinguished position of ODM Secretary General, a position hitherto held by party bigwig Anyang’ Nyong’o.

He withstood strong voices from his critics within the party who labelled him a PNU mole. He has defended himself against the allegations of working with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee.

In some corners, whispers have it that he is secretly a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto.

But Namwamba has always defended his loyalty to ODM and consequently CORD. 

Prior to the last General Election, Namwamba was among the young leaders who shone and carried the mantle of Raila’s election bid. 

He was among the vocal leaders under the ODM Re-loaded who turned up in rallies, in complete fatigues that made him stand out from the rest.

Cord will move to the international court over "police errors"

Cord leader Raila Odinga leaves Wiper secretariat after a consultative meeting with parliamentarians allied to the party on June 7, 2016.

Cord on Tuesday asked its members to withdraw from justice and legal affairs committee until further directions are given by the coalition's leaders.

Siaya senator James Orengo, told the media after a parliamentary group meeting, that all members of the coalition withdraw from what it termed as 'bi-partisan parliamentary process on IEBC'.

The negotiations on the electoral commission are currently being championed by a cross section of members of parliament. 

But Cord posits that the ongoing deliberations do not agree with their quest that the pathway to dialogue on IEBC be structured.

Orengo said that only Cord principals will nominate those who will engage in the dialogue; those involved in such structured meetings will be reporting to the principals.

"Cord is going to withdraw the authority of its members in the justice and legal affairs committee and directs them to stop any further engagements in that committee," Orengo said.

The move is likely to make the parliamentary committee suffer setbacks following its plans to begin countrywide discussions on how to reform the IEBC for the next four weeks from Friday June 10, 2016.

The team led by Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga, composed of Jubilee and Cord MPs, wants to get views of voters on what should be done to the commission.

The meeting, held at Wiper Secretariat by leaders Raila Odinga, Moses Wetangula, MPs and senators allied to the coalition, resolved to pursue legal action against the police for causing bullet injuries to some 20 people .

And in this regard, the coalition said they want to take the matter of the six people killed during protests against the electoral commission to the international court.

The Opposition said they hold police boss Joseph Boinnet personally responsible for the deaths from the Monday demos.

They said that they will move to the international court on grounds that 'the errors committed by the police fall under the purview of international crimes'.

Orengo said they resolved to go after individual police officers who shot peaceful protesters in Kisumu and Siaya counties.

"The coalition has agreed to seek advice from their lawyers on whether to pursue the matter at international court," Orengo said.

He said that they will also mount criminal charges against government Eric Kiraithe for making an alarming statement that the demos were meant to overthrow the government.

 "We have established that the killing of people particularly in Kisumu and Siaya is a plot to profile the people and create ethnic clashes so that Luo's are perceived violent," said Orengo.

Orengo further said that the meeting resolved that Cord's weekly protests will now be conducted on Monday and Thursday every week.

60 year-old explains why she must be at CORD’s protests

The mother of the two has marked her calendar to ensure she doesn’t miss the anti-IEBC protests at the Anniversary Towers in Nairobi

 NAIROBI, Kenya, May 23 – Margaret Nganyi is 60 years old and an active participant of the CORD protest against commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

She says she has chosen to take part in the demos despite the risk that comes with it to ensure change in the country’s electoral body.

According to her, “it’s a price worth paying.”

The mother of  two has marked her calendar to ensure she doesn’t miss the anti-IEBC protests at the Anniversary Towers in Nairobi.

She’s always among the first protestors to arrive, despite the threat that comes with it – being clobbered by police and the effects of tear gas.

“Police are good people but I don’t know what happens to them at some point,” she told Capital FM News.

“I have been clobbered in all the three protests but I am never discouraged.”

Her character, among the rest of protesters, is unique since she normally takes her ‘grievances’ to the police.

She is usually seen pointing fingers at tough looking officers.

“You are all my sons,” she often tells the officers.

On Monday, Nganyi was the first protestor to arrive at Anniversary Towers for the day’s demonstration which was declared illegal.

Her motivation, she said was “last Monday’s police brutality. They almost killed one of our own.”

She has vowed to keep on attending the demonstrations until the electoral body is disbanded.

“It’s only baba (Raila) who can stop me,” she asserted.

Her sentiments are widely shared by many other supporters of the Opposition and their leaders.

Police were on Monday morning strategically positioned in various places in all the perceived entry points to Anniversary Towers.

Officers from the prison department were also deployed.

While CORD insists they’re following the law, the critics of their weekly demonstrations challenged the coalition to use Parliament to eject the commissioners from office. 

BREAKING: HIGH COURT supports anti-IEBC demos, Orders Police to Provide SECURITY

High Court Judge Louis Onguto has this morning ruled that demonstrations organised by opposition CORD cannot be declared illegal by police.

Justice Onguto consequently allowed the demonstrations to go ahead and order the Inspector General.of police to provide security and ensure the protests are peaceful.

On Friday, Nairobi Police Chief Japheth Koome rejected a notification for demonstration sebt to his office and warned that they would not permit CORD to hold protests in Nairobi against the IEBC. Koome claimed there is a court order barring the protests and the case touching on it is coming up for hearing today.

CORD petitioned the High Court early this morning leading the ruling by Justice Onguto who while making the ruling, noted that the High Court cannot engage in drawing picket lines, and places where or where not to picket. Picketing ordinarily should take place in public and not private roads.

Kenya today

Protesting youths in Kisumu, Migori block roads in Cord's anti-IEBC protests

A protestor jumps over burning tyres in Kisumu on June 6, 2016 during anti-IEBC demos.

Transport along the Kisumu-Kakamega highway was paralysed Monday morning after youths protesting against the electoral commission blocked the road at Kibuye.

Similar incidents were witnessed in Migori County, where youths blocked all major roads in Migori Town and lit bonfires in protests against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

In Kisumu, huge bonfires were set up in Kondele and Kibuye estates, in an attempt to keep off anti-riot police.

And unlike in previous protests, the youths yesterday concentrated their activities in Manyatta, Obunga and Nyalenda estates.

Supermarkets and schools remained closed ahead of the protests.

The protesters were defying an order by the police declaring the demos illegal.

Youths block a road in Migori using burning tyres and rocks on June 6, 2016 in anti-IEBC protests. 

MIGORI PROTESTS

In the Migori protests, roads were blocked with boulders and burning tyres, interrupting the flow of traffic.

Matatus and private cars were kept off the roads as their owners feared they could be torched by the demonstrators, who poured into the streets from as early as 6am.

Shops, offices and banks were closed as security officers watched the protests from a distance.

All pedestrians using the affected roads were forced to carry green twigs in order to be allowed to pass through the roadblocks mounted by the protesters.

The Migori open-air market, just like the main streets, remained deserted.

Roads leading to the county government headquarters were blocked, with many county and national government workers opting to remain at home.

A woman carries a boulder as anti-IEBC protestors block a road in Kisumu on June 6, 2016. 

BRIDGE TO TANZANIA BLOCKED

The main bridge linking Kenya and Tanzania was also blocked by burning makeshift kiosks, a move that paralysed transportation of goods between the two countries.

Curiously, there were no confrontations between the police and protesters in the early morning.

Migori County Police Commander David Kirui was still holed up in a meeting with top security chiefs as they planned how to contain the situation.

Similar protests were also reported in Rongo and Awendo towns.

Protestors use rocks to block a road during the Cord anti-IEBC demos in Kisumu on June 6, 2016. 

PUPILS KEEP OFF SCHOOLS

At the same time, a number of school heads in Kisumu County sent messages to parents and guardians advising them not to send their children to school.

Businesses along Oginga Odinga Street were closed due to fear of looting by the demonstrators.

Traders said they opted to stay at home as a security measure.

“Last time the police raided shops and started beating people. They also destroyed our goods,” said Ms Getrude Atieno, who runs a business on the street.

Courtesy of DAILY NATION