The Kenyan Cogitator

KISUMU, Kenya, Oct 29 – Two protesters were killed and five other people – including a police officer wounded in a violent confrontation with security forces, following the murder of ODM politician Shem Onyango Kwega. The four were shot and wounded as police battled demonstrators in Kondele slum while the officer was hit by a stone hurled by the protestors near the Nyanza Provincial General Hospital, our correspondent said. The chaos broke out soon after Kwega was shot and killed by suspected gangsters on Monday morning as he drove in the town accompanied by his wife. Source:  http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/10/2-dead-in-protests-over-kisumu-politicians-murder/ A scientist working with CDC/KEMRI in Kisumu was on Saturday night killed at his residence in Tom Mboya Estate by armed gangsters who also injured a night guard. Joseph Odhiambo was attacked as he drove his vehicle into the compound at around 9pm by three men who made away with at least Sh50 thousand. NTV’s

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ( IEBC )  has been in the limelight recently for all the right or wrong reasons depending on how you view it in regard to the acquisition of the Biometric Voter Registration Kits. But what struck me the most is how ignorant Kenyans are concerning these kits. The acronym BVR is on the lips of every Kenyan but few know what or how it works and even fewer have seen it. I have therefore taken upon myself to try and gather as much relevant info about these strange kits that promise to eliminate polling result disputes by creating a “rig free environment” if that’s even possible. The kit is designed to capture  fingerprints or iris (of the eye) or both when registering for these are unique to each individual. These bio-data is collected and stored on one main server. During the voting period it is what the  registered voter  presents that the collected bio-data will be compared against come the day of voting. Advantages ·      

The visit by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to Kenya has elicited mixed feelings and many are questioning the real motives behind her visit few months prior to the general elections. Two of the remaining four post election violence suspects Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and William Samoei Ruto have declared their interests to vie for the presidency come next general elections.  It is without doubt that the majority of Kenyans and especially those who were directly affected by the post election violence of 2007/8 expect to see justice served. But, ICC is shrouded by political intrigues, sentiments and under hand dealings by Western interests that brings to doubt the Court’s prosecutorial process. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has focused on the continent because most of the atrocities have or are being perpetrated here in Africa. This is my presumption of course and I stand corrected. A few institutions across the globe have questioned ICC’

NAIROBI, Oct 25 – Kenyan security forces must end the abuse of residents in crackdowns and reprisal raids in the hunt for suspected backers of Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militants, Human Rights Watch warned Thursday.  Since Nairobi invaded southern Somalia last October to attack Shabaab bases, a string of attacks have rocked the volatile northeastern region, including grenade blasts targeting both the security forces and civilians.  In response, security forces have beaten and shot at civilians, as well as looting and destroying their property, the New York-based rights group said in a report.  “Kenyan police officers are apparently responding to attacks on their forces with abuses against entire villages,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at HRW. http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/10/kenya-police-abuse-residents-in-hunt-for-islamists-hrw/ The human rights bodies are probably the most absurd if not ridiculous. They remind me of the infamous fire bri

The quality and genuineness of Kenya’s ability to investigate the PEV suspects came into sharp focus, rendering the Court’s decision last year to dismiss Kenya’s application challenging the admissibility of the case against six prominent Kenyans following the contested 2007 Presidential Election. The Court adopted a process where the quality of a State’s investigation or prosecution is always subject to the Court’s consideration. This was meant to deter States from merely opening unsubstantial investigations or prosecution so as to stall ICC investigations. Who is to blame? Kenya was set to establish its own tribunal at the national level to prosecute those who were responsible for the post election violence. However the government failed to meet the set deadline to establish a local tribunal. Being party to Rome Statute, Kenya inadvertently (used loosely here) created a loophole for ICC to intervene and is now obligated to co-operate fully with the Court in investigations and pr