All south Somalia slipping into famine - U.N., Posted by Meosha Eaton

LIBOI, Kenya, July 29 - The whole of drought- and conflict-wracked southern Somalia is heading into famine as the Horn of Africa food crisis deepens, the United Nations said on Friday.

In a report for countries sending aid, the U.N.'s umbrella humanitarian agency OCHA said the "crisis in southern Somalia is expected to continue to worsen through 2011, with all areas of the south slipping into famine."

U.N. Warns of Famine in East Africa , Posted by Meosha Eaton

The threat of famine and starvation is raising it's ugly head for the first time in this part of Africa for half a century. There were some pretty harrowing images on the BBC News last night which put the Murdoch farrago into tawdry perspective.

Quote:

UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle
   
An estimated 10 million people have been affected by the drought in east Africa.  The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as it suffers the worst drought in more than half a century.

Somali pirates free German ship after ransom paid, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Cargo ship, 10 crew released; $5.7 million ransom claimed

* Expert says payment made in Kenya, ship heads to Djibouti

By Abdiqani Hassan

BOSASSO, Somalia, June 17 (Reuters) - Somali pirates have freed a German-owned cargo ship, seized in April, after they received a ransom, a pirate and maritime source said on Friday.

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Susan K, and with its crew of 10 Ukrainians and Filipinos, was released on Thursday.

International Observers Advice Nigerian Electoral Body, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Williams Ekanem

The Independent International Election Observation Missions to Nigeria has called on INEC to be truly independent and ensure transparency during and after the elections.

The foreign observer missions made the call in a statement issued in Abuja.

The statement was jointly signed by the European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria, Commonwealth Observer Group and the National Democratic Institution.

The missions advised INEC to accurately tabulate votes, saying that political parties and their supporters should also respect the code of conduct they signed with INEC.

They, however, recognised INEC’s efforts at administering the election process and the desire of the electorate to participate in genuine elections that would be free of intimidation and violence.

The missions encouraged security forces in the country to ensure a peaceful environment by maintaining the rule of law and safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.

The statement quoted the missions as saying that they “ will in accordance with the declaration of principles for international election observation, independently issue their preliminary findings on the election process.’’

Another team of monitors from the European Union arrived the country on Thursday from Netherlands. The 60 observers are joining 50 that had arrived the country earlier.

The EU had said that a group of 52 long-term observers would be deployed across the country to observe the electoral process in their area of responsibility and report back to the core team in Abuja.
It added that 60 short-term observers would join the mission shortly before the elections to observe the polls.

A member of the 50-member team, Mr. Leonerdus Den-Biggelar, told journalists that they would be in the country for about three weeks or more depending on the outcome of the elections.
He said the purpose of the mission was to provide support for the development of Nigeria’s democratic institutions and procedures.

The EU Observation Mission is led by Chief Observer, Alojz Peterie, a member of the European Parliament.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, S. B. Ozigis, said: “The Minister of Interior, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho wishes to notify the general public that the Federal Government has directed that all land borders be closed from 12 noon on Friday, April 1, 2011 to 6 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2011. This is to ensure a peaceful and hitch-free conduct of the 2011 National Assembly elections taking place on April 2, 2011.

“In the same vein, vehicular movements have been restricted nationwide from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. on the election day, Saturday, April 2, 2011. Only INEC vehicles, security operatives specially assigned for election duties as well as those on essential and emergency duties, would be allowed to ply the roads.
“The minister of Interior, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho would like to use this medium to urge all Nigerians to ensure a very smooth, peaceful and successful elections,” he said.
All the major stakeholders in the conduct of polls: INEC, the Nigeria Police and sister security services, the political parties, civil society organisations, and election monitors have said they have done what is needed to guarantee hitch-free conduct of the elections.
Officials of the electoral umpire, the police and other bodies in various states of the federation involved in the preparation for the elections told The Guardian that they are set for the exercise.
In some states, soldiers have been deployed in the streets, who were seen demonstrating their readiness to maintain law and order during the polls.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday sang an usual song when it called for the immediate removal of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Hafiz Ringim for allegedly spearheading the rigging machinery of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

ACN National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, made the call at a news conference in Lagos yesterday. He said the party’s leadership would not watch and allow a repeat of the “disgraceful and destructive conduct of the PDP, which characterised the 2007 general elections.”

Among the national leaders of the party present at the event were former Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his successor Babatunde Raji Fashola, Alhaji Yusuf Alli, Dr. Audu Ogbe, Alhaji Lawal Shuaibu and Dr. Muiz Banire, the ACN National Legal Adviser.

Kenya police seize heroin valued at $5 mln, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Police working with U.S. drug enforcement officers


By Celestine Achieng

MOMBASA, Kenya, March 25 (Reuters) - Police in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa said they seized 196 kg (432 lb) of heroin valued at about $5 million and arrested six people in the latest step by authorities to end drug trafficking in the country.

Officers acting on a tip off said on Friday they had arrested three Kenyans, two Iranians and a Pakistani, who oversaw the offloading of the drugs from a fishing boat into two waiting vehicles at dawn.

Both Iran and Pakistan are major transit countries for heroin from Afghanistan which produces more than 90 percent of the world's supply of the drug.

The drugs were concealed in dog food packaging, police said.

The United States has said Kenya's position makes it an ideal destination and transit point for both heroin and cocaine.

Last year the United States said it had permanently banned four senior government officials and a businessman from travelling to its territory over allegations of trafficking narcotics. [ID:nLDE6AF1GF]

The Criminal Investigations Director, Frank Muhoro, said Kenyan authorities were working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to investigate who was behind the heroin.

"We are working with them for the purposes of investigations on the drug menace. We are not relenting on the fight against narcotics. This is a major breakthrough," he told Reuters.

The heroin, suspects, two pistols and ammunition were flown to the capital Nairobi, Reuters witnesses said. ($1=84.95 Kenyan Shilling) (Additional reporting by Humphrey Malalo in Nairobi; Editing by George Obulutsa and Jon Hemming)

AFRICA MONEY-Wobbly currencies take shine off the carry trade, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* African bond yields rising as inflation takes hold

* Weakening currencies deter foreign t-bill interest


By Ed Cropley, African Investment Correspondent

JOHANNESBURG, March 25 (Reuters) - African central banks have started to train their sights on inflation bubbling up across the region, although wobbly currencies are making foreigners think twice about chasing lofty domestic debt yields.

From Ghana to South Africa to Kenya, concerns about rising prices have pushed yields higher across the curve, even though most central banks have dithered over dropping a semi-official focus on promoting growth above ensuring monetary stability.

Short-term debt yields in many frontier economies are now more attractive than they were in 2009, when they were sucking in buckets of foreign cash seeking something juicier than the dismal returns on offer in developed markets.

However, an imminent repeat of the influx by outsiders that pushed short-term borrowing costs in countries such as Nigeria and Uganda to below 4 percent a year ago looks unlikely given the jitters that have beset many African currencies.

So far this year, the Kenyan and Ugandan shillings and Ghana's cedi have all hit record lows against the dollar, and Nigeria's naira has sorely tested the weaker limits of a 145-155 trading band it has maintained since a devaluation in late 2008.

A mixture of politics and economics were behind the initial drops, but sluggish responses by authorities in meeting unforeseen dollar demand, and a basic misreading of inflation in the case of Kenya, has caused investors to question the ability or desire of policymakers to keep matters on an even keel.

Uganda's shilling hit a string of record lows in January as fears of violence -- that did not materialise -- in a February presidential election caused companies and rich Ugandans to stock up on dollars.

But the Bank of Uganda, either through choice or because of a lack of reserves, failed to inject dollar liquidity at levels it had previously intervened, resulting in a market that still can't see the bottom despite an 8-month slide.


DOLLAR DEMAND

Unusually high dollar demand from foreign exchange bureaux in Lagos suggest wealthy Nigerians are doing the same as their Ugandan counterparts before an April 9 election in Africa's most populous nation.

The central bank in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, has considerably more fire-power to defend the currency than in Uganda, but outside investors are still too worried to pile into a bond market offering a tempting 10 percent on 3-year paper.

"In Nigeria the election prospects are weighing into sentiment even though the yields are quite attractive at the moment," said Yvette Babb, an African debt strategist at Standard Bank in Johannesburg.

"People are not willing to take the risk because the currency might rise as it did in Uganda in the run-up to the election."

Crunching the numbers makes it clear how a small currency drop trashes the logic of putting dollars or euros into African debt -- typically 3-12-month paper where liquidity is easier to find.

An investor who stuck $10,000 into Uganda shillings at the beginning of the year would now have just $9,669, while the same amount deposited in naira would be worth only $9,967, according to the Reuters FX Carry Trade Calculator -- and that is before brokerage fees and commissions are taken into account.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For Graphic on African carry trade yields, click on http://r.reuters.com/dad78r ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

"The yields definitely make treasury bills attractive from a foreign investor point of view, but you've got to make sure you're comfortable with the currency risk," said Africa analyst Leon Myburgh at Citi in Johannesburg. "You've got to pick you entry level."

Against this backdrop, Zambia, whose 3-month bills yielded 6.5 percent at auction this week, stands out as an exception -- its currency, the kwacha , has managed to post a gain of more than one percent against the dollar this year.

(Editing by Ron Askew)

MACTV News: Kenyans see little change after new constitution, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

* Politicians' old habits die hard

* Kenyans say impunity condoned, 2012 vote may be violent


By James Macharia
NAIROBI, March 9 (Reuters) - When a new constitution was adopted six months ago, Kenyans yearning for change looked to a new era of progressive politics; but many, such as Dickson Owili, feel the ruling class is dancing to the same old tune.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor raised hopes when it named six suspected masterminds of the slaughter that followed the disputed 2007 elections. The fight against impunity might just have started in earnest.

But parliament voted to withdraw Kenya from the ICC, and President Mwai Kibaki said he would keep the suspects in his cabinet for now.

Tribal alliances that fuelled the post-election violence have re-emerged in the run up to the 2012 vote, and many are now asking: is Kenya really changing?

"We had hoped for change, but now is when we are suffering even more. As for the politicians, there has been no change. It's the usual story: bickering and power games. Look at the judicial row, they were behaving like little children," said the 54-year-old painter at the bustling Burma Market in Nairobi.

"Even if they know something to be right, they oppose it just because they want their side to win," said Owili, having lunch at the market made famous for nyama choma, or roasted meat, the meal of choice in the east African nation.

Owili sees the row over the nomination of judicial figures between Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who opposed the appointments, as a sign of just how little the leaders have changed their old wrangling ways.


The dispute helped weaken the shilling to an all-time low and foreign investors fled the stock market, driving it to a 10-month low.

The new constitution aims to check presidential powers and curb the corruption, political patronage, land-grabbing and tribalism that have plagued Kenya since independence in 1963. It requires about 40 new laws to be enacted to become operational.

East Africa's biggest economy risks losing international goodwill, and even funding, if it fails to implement the constitution fully and in a transparent manner.

"It's just noise, they can't focus on building the economy. We talk about the violence after the 2007 elections, it could be worse in 2012. People are divided along tribal lines," said Owili.


2012 VOTE VIOLENCE FEARS
The former British colony's reputation for stability was shaken when the tribal violence erupted, but peace was restored by a power sharing deal brokered by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, creating Kenya's first coalition government.

The country of 40 million people holds elections next year, and lobby groups have voiced concern the vote could be pushed back from the set date of the second Tuesday of August because of the snail-paced implementation of the basic law.

Located in a congested, dusty and tired-looking working class sector of the city, Burma market is a stone's throw away from the Kamkunji or meeting grounds -- the symbolic launch pad for Kenya's struggle for multi-party democracy in the 1990s.

Traders and customers at the market are angry that Kenya has missed certain deadlines in implementing the new constitution, including the failure to have a new chief justice after the former one resigned by law at the end of February.

"Our leaders are selfish, they only look out for their own interests," said 32-year-old butcher Martin Mbithi.
Mbithi said political leaders refused to set aside their partisan and ethnic interests and were stuck in their old ways.

Some said the focus had shifted from enforcing the constitution to efforts to block the trials of the ICC suspects.

"They are trying to derail the ICC, because their friends are in the mix. They want to protect them," said 38-year-old Juma Chando, a trader who specialises in leather shoes.
Kibaki wants to shield key members of his inner circle from trials that could damage their political careers, and throw up evidence that may incriminate other senior government figures and taint his legacy, analysts say.


DREAM DEFERRED?
"We don't see the kind of momentum on constitution-making such as what we are seeing on the ICC effort," said Alice Nderitu, an official at National Cohesion and Integration Commission, formed to mediate after the tribal violence.

"But the plus is that we have independent oversight bodies outside of parliament to ensure that it is implemented."

Political commentator Kwamchetsi Makokha said the hiccups were expected, but would not block the basic law, citing similar hitches in stronger democracies such as the United States and South Africa which took years to bed down their constitutions.

Makokha said the implementation exercise was being hobbled from within by those who opposed the basic law during the referendum and those who were lukewarm in their support, but was still optimistic the new law was the start a new era.

"The question we have to ask is this: Is it possible to sabotage this constitution to the point where it is inoperational? In my view this is not possible, it may take long to implement, but its implementation is inevitable," he said.

"A lot of people are despondent because they had hoped for faster implementation ... but these delays do not mean the new era is a false dream, we can say it is a dream deferred." (Editing by David Clarke and Ralph Boulton)

Africans fleeing Libya say they were attacked, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Africans accused of being mercenaries
* Evacuees robbed of phones and belongings
* Libya a stepping stone on migrants' route to Europe

(Adds quotes from Nigerian evacuees, background)

By Wangui Kanina and Abraham Archiga


NAIROBI/ABUJA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Kenyans and Nigerians fleeing unrest in Libya said on Monday they faced attacks and hostility from Libyan citizens and officials who branded them as mercenaries supporting Muammar Gaddafi's rule. A Kenya Airways flight landed in Nairobi with 90 Kenyans on board, and 64 other people from South Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Burundi, officials said.

Nigeria said it had flown 1,035 of its citizens back to the capital Abuja on two chartered flights on Sunday, with about 1,000 more to follow in the coming days. "We were being attacked by local people who said that we were mercenaries killing people. Let me say that they did not want to see black people," Julius Kiluu, a 60-year-old building supervisor who arrived back in Nairobi, told Reuters. "Our camp was burnt down, and we were assisted by the Kenyan embassy and our company to get to the airport."

Libya's former ambassador to India, Ali-al-Essawi, told Reuters last week African mercenaries were being used by Libya to crush protests, prompting some army troops to switch sides to the opposition. Another Kenyan worker said government officials were confiscating mobile phones, tearing open bags and throwing their contents on to piles at the packed airport in Tripoli.

"When they saw a black person, they immediately saw a mercenary, and if you dared use your telephone in public, it was grabbed and the SIM card removed. If your telephone was cheap you got it back, but if it was expensive it was pocketed," said Kenyan worker Francis Ndung'u. Nigerians arriving in Abuja told similar tales. "We are all slaves in the hands of the government over there," said one returnee, James Ugochuku. "Nigerians are hiding inside the bush. They don't eat, they die because if they come out, they kill them."


MIGRANT ROUTE
Libya is a stepping stone on one of the oldest and most dangerous migration and smuggling routes to Europe. Thousands of people from countries including Senegal, Mali, Ghana and Nigeria have tried in recent years to cross the desert in the hope of reaching Italy or Spain's southern shores, a perilous journey of about 40 days by truck from Agadez in northern Niger to Sabha in southern Libya.

Besides being a gateway to Europe, the north African country offers higher wages for low-skilled work and higher prices for tobacco smuggled through Benin or Nigeria, and there is still a thriving black market trade along its ancient desert routes. The Nigerian authorities suspect some of the returnees may have travelled illegally, and NEMA has set up a camp in Abuja where they will be accommodated and screened for valid travel documents before being discharged.

Muhammad Sani-Sidi, head of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency, told Reuters it was a voluntary evacuation and the 2,000 were Nigerians who had registered a desire to leave with their embassy in Tripoli. He estimated there were 10,000 Nigerians in Libya. Antony Mwaniki, Kenya's ambassador to Libya, was among those on the flight to Nairobi.

"The situation in Tripoli right now is calm ... but it would be difficult to know what will happen today, tomorrow or in a few days' time, so it was paramount and critical that we leave," he told reporters at Nairobi airport. Many Kenyans said they would return to Libya if it stabilised because they were earning good money in the North African country's construction sector.
"If there is peace tomorrow I will go back, there are no jobs here and I was making a good salary," Kiluu said.

(Editing by David Clarke and Nick Tattersall)

Athletics-Kenya drop Komon from world cross country team, Posted by Meosha Eaton

EMBU, Kenya, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Kenya have dropped Leonard Komon from their World Cross Country championships team after he defied orders not to take part in the World's Best 10km road race in Puerto Rico on Sunday. "We have taken this decision to give him leeway to compete in Puerto Rico and for the best interest of the team since he would be burned out," Kenya team leader Joseph Kinyua said.

Komon, who had been set to take part in his sixth successive world championships, became the first man to dip under the 27-minute mark for 10km on the road when he ran 26:44 in Utrecht, Netherlands, last September. Komon's management team said the 23-year-old would comment on his exclusion on Monday.

"Athletics Kenya should always act in the best interest of athletes," said a spokesman. "Komon has done his country proud and he should not be sacrificed for the interests of a few." The athletes are training in Embu at the foot of Mount Kenya some 190 km (118 miles) north east of Nairobi for next month's event in Spain.

Komon's place has been taken by Paul Tanui. Vivian Cheruiyot, the women's world 5,000 metres track champion, and Linet Masai, the women's world 10,000 metres track champion, pulled out of the lucrative Puerto Rico race after being told to concentrate on the cross country worlds. (Reporting by Jack Oyoo; Edited by Brian Homewood

Kenya eyes revamped legislation for sukuk this year, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Central bank governor sees Islamic finance growth in Kenya
* Legislation for sukuk could be in place by year-end

By Shaheen Pasha

DUBAI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Kenya may pass legislation to eliminate tax barriers to Islamic bond issuance by the end of the year with the government looking to launch Islamic treasury bills and bonds, known as sukuk, bankers said. Kenya, the largest economy in east Africa, has yet to tap international markets but is eyeing Islamic bonds as an option to raise funds from sharia-compliant investors, central bank Governor Njuguna Ndung'u said in an email. "We have received requests for a project to be identified so that finance can be raised through the issuance of a sukuk bond," Ndung'u said.

"Discussions are still ongoing with the Debt Management Office at the Treasury as to how this can be progressed." The central bank had previously issued an infrastructure bond with a sukuk portion in 2009. But the lack of accommodative tax legislation has been a hindrance to the development of the sukuk market. A source familiar with the central bank's discussions, said there is a push within the government to get appropriate legislation in place by the end of the year. "Once the regulatory framework is there we can promote a listing of sukuk on the local exchange," the source said. "Kenya wants to tap the international market but they are still determining whether to do it conventionally or Islamic. Once the legislation is in place, they'll consider a sukuk."

Africa has become a growth market for the Islamic finance industry with countries from Senegal to South Africa exploring Islamic banking and sukuk offerings. Kenya is keen to become a hub for Islamic finance in Africa with more Islamic operations expected to launch this year. "Globally there is positive sentiment towards emerging markets and particularly trade between Africa and the East is growing," said Rizwan Kanji, debt capital markets partner at King & Spalding in Dubai. "It would be fair to say that Africa is looking east." Kenya's relative political stability and strong growth prospects, especially given turmoil in North African states like Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, makes it an attractive investment spot.

By developing its Islamic finance industry, the nation is likely to attract further investment from the oil-rich Gulf countries MORE ISLAMIC BRANCHES With a population of 4 million Moslems, Kenya has already made strides in the industry, being the first country in eastern and central Africa to allow Islamic banking in 2007. There are currently two standalone Islamic banks in operation - First Community Bank and Gulf African Bank - that make up roughly 1 percent of the banking sector's market share, central bank governor Ndung'u said.

A handful of conventional banks also provide interest-free current accounts to compete with the fully-fledged Islamic banks. The industry will likely see more conventional banks opting for Islamic branches this year, said Gulf African Bank Chief Executive Najmul Hassan. But Islamic banking will not just target the Moslem community. "The Moslem population is relatively small, roughly about 15 percent," he said. "Islamic finance targets the mass population because the products and services are good for all Kenyans."

Hassan said there is significant growth potential in the Islamic insurance, or takaful, market. Takaful Insurance Africa, the first fully sharia-compliant insurance company in Kenya, was launched last month.

(Reporting by Shaheen Pasha; editing by Stephen Nisbet)

Clashes in KENYA, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Three rebel bases seized
* At least 20 civilians killed on Wednesday
* Clashes also erupt on border with Kenya


MOGADISHU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Somali troops backed by peacekeepers seized three rebel bases in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, the government said, in a new offensive against hardline Islamist militants.
The country's interim government -- whose mandate ends in August with no firm plans in place for what will follow -- has struggled to end a four-year insurgency that has killed at least 21,000 people.
From early morning, Burundian troops from the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, advanced block by block on foot along the city's industrial road, which leads to the Bakara market, a major insurgent hideout.

"We have captured three al Shabaab bases," Defence Minister Abdihakim Haji Fiqi told reporters. "Our enemies have been weakened and the fighting will continue until we have captured the city. AMISOM says its soldiers have now secured more than half of Mogadishu covering more than three quarters of the population. It was not possible to reach al Shabaab for a comment. An al Shabaab suicide car bomb killed at least 17 people near a police training camp in Mogadishu on Monday. Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said there could be further bomb attacks by the rebels loyal to al Qaeda.

"We understand the weakened al Shabaab may plan bombings. But we are very vigilant and have brave forces," Mohamed told a news conference in the rubble-strewn capital, unusually dressed in military fatigues.
Ali Muse, coordinator of ambulance services, reported that at least 20 people had been killed. Residents said Wednesday's clashes were the heaviest since the latest bout of violence began on Saturday. "Stray bullets pour like rain," Muse said. Separately, a Kenyan official said security forces were on high alert along the border with Somalia because al Shabaab and government-allied militia were fighting in the Somali border town of Balad Hawa. East Africa's largest economy has long cast a wary eye at its anarchic neighbour where first clan warlords and now Islamist insurgents have reduced government to impotence.

"We are on alert and aware that rebel groups are fighting. They are fighting inside Somali territory," said David Ole Serian, provincial commissioner of the frontier North Eastern province. Kenya closed its border with Somalia in January 2007. However thousands of Somalis still cross the desert frontier each year to reach refugee camps in Kenya. "Families living close to the border have moved away with their belongings. People are scared. School children have been sent home and many Somalis have crossed the border," said primary school teacher Ibrahim in Mandera, a Kenyan town little more than a stone's throw from Balad Hawa.

(Additional reporting by Sahra Abdi in Nairbi and Noor Ali in Isiolo; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing Helen Nyambura-Mwaura and Elizabeth Piper)

MACTV News: U.S Cautions Kenya on New Constitution

Picture by Menelik Zeleke

By Williams Ekanem

The United States have cautioned the Kenyan administration on the full implementation of the country’s new constitution so as to realize the promise of a democratically stable and prosperous future for all Kenyans. 

A position statement from the Department of State at the weekend signed by Assistant Secretary of state for Public Affairs, Philip Crowley said that this informed by the differences in opinion between the Kenyan Parliament and that of President Kibaki on the nomination of individuals into key judicial and budget positions.

 Speaker of Parliament Kenneth Marende ruled on February 17 that President Kibaki's nominations to key judicial and budget positions were not consistent with the provisions of the new constitution, highlighting the importance of moving forward on reform transparently and cooperatively. 

In reaction, the United States stated that “Progress can only be achieved if the President and Prime Minister work together in a collaborative way to implement the constitution, particularly to ensure that appointments are made in a transparent and credible manner.”

 According to the statement, “adoption of Kenya's new constitution in August 2010 was a major milestone in implementing sweeping democratic reforms set out in the National Accord.  The National Accord – which is written into the constitution's transitional provisions – calls for the two principals to consult with a view to achieving compromise on key issues.  We also encourage the coalition leaders to involve civil society in the constitutional implementation process in order to achieve national consensus.”

The 2010 Constitution of Kenya was drawn up to replace the first constitution of Kenya. The constitution was presented to the Attorney General of Kenya on April 7, 2010, officially published on May 6, 2010, and was subjected to a referendum on August 4, 2010. The new Constitution was approved by 67% of Kenyan voters.

 The constitution was promulgated on 27 August 2010.

The new constitution of Kenya comprises of a preamble, 18 chapters, and six schedules. The preamble affirms the acceptance by all Kenyans to adopt the constitution for themselves and for all future generations.

Among other functions, the six schedules describe the national symbols of Kenya and also prescribe the oaths of office for holders of different constitutional offices.

The Kenyan Constitution is comprised of the following 18 Chapters.

UPDATE 4-Over 99 percent of south Sudan votes to separate, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* First official announcement confirms early reports
* Southern leader hails Sudan's president as "champion"
* Independence to take effect on July 9 (Adds details on overall vote)

By Jason Benham and Jeremy Clarke JUBA, Sudan, Jan 30 (Reuters) -

South Sudan overwhelmingly voted to split from the north in a referendum intended to end decades of civil war, officials said on Sunday, sparking mass celebrations in the southern capital Juba. Thousands cheered, danced and ululated after officials said 99.57 percent of voters from the south's 10 states chose to secede, according to the first official preliminary results. "This is what we voted for, so that people can be free in their own country ... I say congratulations a million times," south Sudan's president Salva Kiir told the crowd.

The vote was promised in a 2005 peace deal which ended decades of north-south conflict, Africa's longest civil war which cost an estimated 2 million lives. Kiir, the head of the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), praised his former civil war foe, Sudan's overall president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for agreeing to the 2005 accord. "Omar al-Bashir took the bold decision to bring peace. Bashir is a champion and we must stand with him," said Kiir, speaking in a mixture of English and the local Arabic dialect. "The project has not finished ... We can not declare independence today. Let us respect the agreement. We must go slowly so we can reach safely to where we are going," he added.

According to the terms of the accord, south Sudan will be able to declare independence on July 9, pending any legal challenges to the results. UNRESOLVED ISSUES Leaders from the SPLM and Bashir's northern National Congress Party (NCP) still have to agree on a list of politically sensitive issues, including the position of their shared border, how they would split oil revenues after secession and the ownership of the disputed Abyei region. "I am so happy. Imagine having schools, no fear, no war. Imagine feeling like any other people in their own country. At least now we feel this is our own land," student Santino Anei, 19, told Reuters. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised north and south Sudan for the peaceful vote but said he was concerned about the unresolved issues. "Peace in north and south Sudan will require statesmanship and patience," he said addressing an African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

Secession campaigners described the vote as a chance to end years of perceived northern exploitation. Bashir, who campaigned for unity, later announced he would accept the widely-expected separation vote. Chan Reek Madut, the deputy head of the commission told the crowd the south had voted 99.57 percent for separation. He later told Reuters the results for the entire vote including southerners in north Sudan and eight other countries -- the U.S. Australia, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Canada and Britain --, would be calculated and released early in February.

The commission's website reported on Sunday the overall vote was 98.83 percent, but added that this could change. Five of the 10 states in Sudan's oil-producing south showed a 99.9 percent vote for separation and the lowest vote was 95.5 percent in favour in the western state of Bahr al-Ghazal which borders north Sudan.

(Additional reporting by Richard Lough in Addis Ababa; Writing by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Matthew Jones)

Kenya reforms judiciary, AU backs ICC trials delay, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Reforms prescribed by new constitution
* Judicial changes to cement Kenya's plea over ICC trials
* AU vote may embolden Kenya's in its pursuit of deferral
* ICC seen as targeting Africa by many on continent
* More than 1,200 people killed in post-election violence


By James Macharia
NAIROBI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki on Friday named a new chief justice as part of planned reforms and to cement the east African country's case to have The Hague allow it to hold trials of post-election violence suspects.
Kenya wants to block the International Criminal Court (ICC) from holding the possible trials of six suspected masterminds of the deadly fighting that erupted after the opposition accused Kibaki of rigging the Dec. 2007 presidential election.

The country won the support of the African Union at a summit in Addis Ababa where foreign ministers backed Kenya's plan to suspend criminal proceedings against the suspects.

Kenya is now likely to call for the U.N. Security Council to defer or suspend the trials from taking place for a year while it overhauls its judiciary to handle the cases.
Kibaki nominated Justice Alnashir Visram as the next chief justice. He also named lawyers Githu Muigai as attorney general and Kioko Kilukumi as director of public prosecutions. The appointments are subject to parliamentary approval.

Kenya's post-election violence, which saw hundreds of thousands uprooted from their homes, was sparked when Prime Minister Raila Odinga, then opposition leader, accused Kibaki of rigging the vote. The two later agreed to form a unity cabinet to end the bloodshed after weeks of negotiations.

Odinga, who is attending the AU summit in Ethiopia, said he was not consulted on the nominations of the judiciary officials.

This is a further sign of a widening split in the cabinet, which emerged after Odinga criticised Kenya's move to seek the AU's backing in delaying the ICC trials, which Kibaki supported.

"No, I was not consulted," said Odinga when asked by Reuters if he had spoken to Kibaki regarding the nominations.

"I will deal with this when I get back to Nairobi," he said.

Kenya's suspended higher education minister William Ruto and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, are the most prominent suspects on the ICC list. They have both declared they will run for president in elections next year.

Ruto was suspended to defend an unrelated corruption case.

AU VOTE
One African diplomat said the AU vote had been unanimous.
"There was a vote and we decided for it, for Kenya's position," Djibouti's Foreign Affairs Minster Mahamoud Ali Youssouf told Reuters on the sidelines of the summit.
The vote has to be formally passed by African heads of state at the AU summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The U.N. Security Council helped set up the ICC and has control over its mandate, enabling it to postpone cases for one year, especially if the prosecution of such cases could cause further upheavals in the country where crimes occurred.

It can however refuse, as it did when Sudan sought a delay in the case against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

(Additional reporting by Richard Lough, Aaron Maasho and Patrick Muiruri in Addis Ababa; Editing by Matthew Jones)