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Deal offers fresh hope to Kenya
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Many Kenyans had feared the imminent outbreak of renewed violence when peace talks were suspended on Monday but instead there is now fresh hope after the two rival leaders agreed to share power.

Both President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga gave ground under massive international pressure and the intervention of African Union Chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.

They unveiled a deal that is intended to steer the country towards much-needed reconciliation after allegations of rigging in last December's elections.

However, as chief mediator Kofi Annan said: "The journey is far from over. In fact it is only beginning."

A peaceful destination will only be reached only if Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga show the political will.

After such a bitter dispute, which has cost 1,500 lives, trust between the two men has been in short supply - this is why it took more than a month of tortuous talks for them to reach a deal.

Hurdles ahead

This will not be the first time that the two leaders have formed a joint government - they did it in 2002 but it lasted barely three years before they fell out.

While Mr Odinga looks set to take up the new post of prime minister, it is not clear who prevails in the event of a disagreement between him and President Kibaki.

If the deal is strong enough to overcome that hurdle, the new optimism will prove well-founded.

All eyes in a country that has been mourning for the past two months now turn to parliament, where MPs convene next Thursday to vote for the National Accord and Reconciliation Act that will usher in these changes.

The first challenge facing the two leaders once the act is operational is to appoint a new cabinet, whose members will be shared out equally.

The violence has left deep ethnic divisions and a new cabinet must be named with a regional balance to appease communities that felt left out in the last administration.

Corruption scandals

Apart from the regional balance, Kenyans are eager to see the parties merge their policies and deliver an equal share of national resources.

Economic disparities lie behind much of the ethnic tension which exploded into violence after the disputed election.

One major policy difference is that of decentralising power and therefore wealth.

This was a key campaign pledge of Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) but not Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU).

The coalition partners now have to marry these and other areas of disagreement.

President Kibaki is credited with steering economic growth in his first term in office but corruption thrived within his administration, drawing much criticism from foreign diplomats.

This is yet another hurdle for the new coalition - both sides include people linked with corruption scandals in the past.

Many doubt if the leaders will have the courage to sacrifice them and inject fresh blood into the administration since it is clear some of those tainted by scandal helped fund the campaigns and remain very influential.

Political will?

The talks which gave birth to this new power-sharing arrangement have brought to the fore the influence of hardliners on both sides.

While Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga may have shaken hands and exchanged pleasantries, observers are sceptical as to whether they will ignore the advice of some of their hardline backers.

But failure to contain their influence may endanger the new coalition.

The power-sharing agreement ends if either partner walks out and this would throw the country back into another phase of uncertainty.

Some argue that the new deal could produce a new breed of leader who would be respected for their political principles and not the wealth they possess, as at present.

But as Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete squarely put at the signing ceremony, it is the political will of the two leaders that remains central if this promise is to become a reality.
Story from BBC NEWS:

February 29, 2008 | 3:45 PM Comments  3 comments

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Go Out to Your Neighbour With Message of Peace
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I for one have always looked with pride at the Kenyan runners bearing a flag for Africa. I used to say with pride and conviction that Karibu Kenya, hakuna matata. I would hate now to say the reverse: Matata mengi. That should not and cannot be allowed to continue.

Today, I would like to encourage the youth to understand and observe one of the most important principles of the UN. That is to solve disputes through negotiations, by peaceful means, without interfering in other people's basic human rights. The United Nations condemns violence.

It also recognises that if you deny people freedom of assembly and freedom to express themselves, they resort to violence. It follows that the UN principles must be upheld by all of us, both as individuals or groups, or government officials.

It is also clear that both immediate and long standing historical grievances must be addressed, once and for all. The UN family is active in practically all these areas and stands ready to assist if and as requested.

My challenge to you is to go out to your school, to your neighbour with the message that violence is not an acceptable part of how individuals should treat each other. You must make everyone understand that the main reason people attack neighbours is because they are the soft target. You cannot reach those who are really the cause of the problem so you vent out your frustration on your neighbour.

At the same time criminals take advantage of violent protests to commit crimes. Imagine those raping women, what has that got to do with governance issues?

Imagine those murdering and robbing people? Once you are associated with these sad acts, the public gets tired and forgets your cause, which could well be a valid one. Surely, grievances must be tackled, wrong actions must be pointed out, and those involved named and shamed?

But clearly that does not happen after you have killed your neighbour, torched their homes, or thrown then out of their jobs. So please go out with the messages "Peace begins with you and me", "No more violence, lets talk". The leaders are talking.

They asked former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to come and mediate. That takes time and humility but it will pay a high reward. That is why we talk of truth, justice and reconciliation. This can be done at all levels, including in communities who want to move on. If youth groups want a facilitator in such matters, you can invite UN experts to come and help.

Dr Tibaijuka is UN Habitat executive director.

February 29, 2008 | 3:42 PM Comments  0 comments

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Untitled
Related to this project: Youth As Agents of Peace.....Kenya

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

To all members of the YAAP project,
Welcome to this Project. I urge you to go through all the documents listed on the page so that if at all you are not familiar with the initiative you can understand more.

A call to especially all the participants that participated in the youth Dialogue on February 4 and 5 2008 at the United Nations Nairobi Office. the documents are reports of the meeting and recommendation that you made to beinckluded in the forth copming trainings and activitie sgeered towards peace building in our country.
Please note that this a pilot project that is due to be replicated in other parts of Kenya in a bid to work with the TOTS who are you that will be trained.

You can post information and give your personally feedbacks related to this Projects.

In case of other questions please contact the administrator's directly

Welcome and let peace prevail in Kenya........

February 24, 2008 | 4:23 AM Comments  0 comments

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To curb violence, create jobs for youth
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Story by CHRISTOPHER HART
Publication Date: 2/10/2008


There is a time-bomb ticking in Kenya – and it is not the “issues” that everyone’s talking about. Undoubtedly, there’s a real sense of injustice about who got all the good land, for example, and how they came to acquire it; about who has all the wealth; and whether the government favours one community over the others. But there is a deeper, underlying problem.
It is the huge numbers of unemployed young men in every town and village who see no hope for the future. Without being able to earn money and status, a young man has little chance of ever being able to attract a wife, have a nice home and a family. And so they become angry – and violent. And now they have learned that it pays.
To begin with, their violence was directed towards those they saw as having stolen their land. But now, they have realised that violence gets them what they want. They loot, extort, steal, intimidate, start up protection rackets and erect roadblocks, and the state appears powerless to stop them.
Young men are always the most violent group in society as they are willing to take dreadful risks. Especially if the alternative is a life without hope. And they are most violent wherever there is a big difference in incomes. It is not poverty alone that makes men aggressive. It is the large difference between those who have and those who do not.
Young men’s aggression stays within the law if they believe in their government – and an impartial and effective police force. But if that confidence fails, then they will willingly break the law.
The core problem is that our political leaders are all well over thirty, live in plush houses and have ample security, while the average voter is well under thirty, unemployed and is almost always harassed by the police.
Kenya’s population has grown from 8.6 million in 1962 to almost 37 million now. Over half are under 19 years old. Over 70 per cent are under 30. That is 25.9 million people, of whom 12.4 million are male. Only 1.1 million men are 55 or over; and about 7.7 million men between 18 and 55 want work so that they can support a family. 3.5 million of these are between 20 and 30, and 1.9 million are between 20 and 24.
They cannot all be farmers, as Kenya has only 225,000 square miles of land, yet over three-quarters of us live in the belt of good agricultural land, which runs north-west from Nairobi. The rest is arid. The good land forms only 10 per cent of the total, which means there is only one acre for every 2.5 Kenyans. Clearly, there’s not enough agricultural land to go around.
Over three million people live in Nairobi and more arrive in towns and cities every day looking for work and better standards of living – but jobs are scarce. So the population has grown without similar growth in the number of jobs. Kenyan society now consists of a huge number of impoverished people who have little hope of ever enjoying a good life, a small middle-class and a tiny, incredibly rich elite, whose success often owes much to being in government, and the corruption in every corner of the country.
So if we want to have less violence, we must have a good government. And a police force that catches lawbreakers. Never mind the punishment, it is the likelihood of being caught that makes the difference. Above all, we need jobs – especially for young men. Because they are seething with resentment, and see t