EDITOR’S NOTE: What about Woyanne officials who murdered unarmed pro-democracy protectors in Ethiopia following the 2005 elections? Why doesn’t the U.S. impose travel ban on them? Head of the notorious Federal Police, Gebeyehu Workneh, who had carried the June and November 2005 massacres, was in Washington DC just a few months ago.
By TOM ODULA
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A diplomatic dispute was brewing Friday between America and Kenya over a potential visa ban for Kenyan officials who oversaw last year’s catastrophic elections.
More than 1,000 died in clashes following Dec 27’s disputed vote, which returned the incumbent president to power by a narrow margin after the opposition’s wide lead suddenly evaporated.
Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula says Kenya’s 22 electoral commissioners have been threatened with a visa ban after they refused to resign as recommended by a government commission.
“The government will not tolerate what seems now to be a pattern of activism being practiced in Nairobi by a few ambassadors under the guise of conducting their normal diplomatic engagements,” Wetangula said.
The U.S. embassy issued a statement Friday saying it did not comment on visa applications. However, the same statement said Kenyans had lost confidence in the commissioners and urged the government to replace the entire electoral board as recommended by a commission of inquiry chaired by a South African judge. The commission was set up as part of a peace deal that brought former opposition leader Raila Odinga into President Mwai Kibaki’s government.
The Electoral Commission of Kenya announced Kibaki had won the polls after riot police forcibly ejected journalists from the tallying center. He was hurriedly sworn in less than an hour later as flames and gunfire erupted from angry opposition supporters protesting in the slums. By the time the smoke cleared two month later, over 1,000 people were dead and 600,000 displaced.
“The ECK was responsible for oversight of this process and therefore bear responsibility for way in which it was handled,” said the embassy’s statement. “Fundamental changes, in every respect, are necessary.”
But Wetangula accused the foreign missions of using “shameless blackmail” and having a “colonial mind-set.”
Despite the diplomatic spat, Kenya is a strong ally of the U.S., which provides counter terrorism training for its military. American troops are stationed in northern Kenya near the border with Somalia and Kenya is a major recipient of U.S. aid.
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U.S. urges Kenyan gov’t to implement recommendations in polls report
NAIROBI (Xinhua) — The United States on Friday called on the Kenyan government to speed up the implementation of recommendations of the Kriegler report, particularly the reforms in the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK).
In a statement from the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Washington insisted that the electoral commissioners have lost the confidence of the Kenyan people following the manner in which they conducted the December 2007 presidential elections and must be held accountable.
The United States said the ECK was responsible for the electoral process and therefore bears responsibility for the way in which the whole exercise was handled.
“The U.S. government reiterates that lack of transparency and accountability in the 2007 election vote tallying process seriously compromised the credibility of the results,” the statement said.
“The U.S. notes that Kenyans have lost confidence in the ECK Commissioners, who must now be held accountable,” it said a day after Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula accused some western ambassadors of practicing activism under the guise of conducting diplomatic business..
Kenyans, including the Kriegler Commission, have blamed the ECK for bungling the results of last December’s general elections, which left over 1,000 people dead and about 350,000 displaced.
“It is unacceptable for an ambassador accredited to Kenya to physically walk into an office of a holder of a constitutional office and directly confront him with the aim of attempting to force his resignation,” Wetangula said.
“Such shameless blackmail, applied through open disregard of established norms of conduct of diplomats, in favour of a style and tone reminiscent of colonial mindset, is an insult to the Kenyan public.”
Pressure has been mounting for the overhaul of the ECK, with the latest calls coming from the European Commission.
French Ambassador to Kenya Elisabeth Barbier said the public, according to the Kriegler report, had lost confidence in the electoral body and its staff, and therefore, the need for urgent reforms.
But in a statement issued late Thursday, all the 21 members of ECK said they will not resign despite local and international pressure for them to step down. The commissioners said their fate should be decided by the president of Kenya who appointed them.
The United States has reportedly imposed a travel ban on the commissioners. But a statement from the embassy declined to comment on the saga, saying “as a matter of policy the embassy does not discuss visa applications.”
This followed reports by a section of the press that the ECK officials have been banned from visiting the United States and some EU countries.
“The focus now is to fully implement as quickly as possible the recommendations of the Kriegler report. The report speaks for itself and makes clear that fundamental changes, in every respect, are necessary,” the statement said.
ECK chief Samuel Kivuitu indicated that he may soon leave office due to enormous pressure that has been coming from Kenyans including senior government officials who accuse him of mismanaging the elections.
He said he will not run the next general elections neither will he preside over the constitutional referendum expected next year.