A secret tank deal by Kenya’s Army would have gone unnoticed if Somali pirates hadn’t hijacked a Ukrainian ship ferrying the 33 tanks to the port of Mombasa.
diesel, benzene and kerosene.
Its not clear when the Department of Defence placed an order for T-72 tanks from Russia. The Army has not explained how much it spent on the equipment, neither has it explained the role of the 33 tanks in Kenya’s security strategy.
Apart from tanks, Somali pirates found tons of ammunition and auxiliary equipment within the ship, which they have threatened to offload for use in their country’s civil war. The pirates are demanding US$35 million in ransom before they release the vessel and its cargo.
Typical of most African governments, Kenya’s leaders are spending billions of dollars on security while ordinary people die of hunger, disease and poor shelter. Kenya ranks at the bottom of international social and economic indicators.
A growing population is putting pressure on neglected infrastructure. Public hospitals lack drugs as thousands of Kenyans perish each year on a road network broken to the point of tatters. Kenyan cities are going without fresh water due to lack of investment in water production.
The capital city of Nairobi is getting less water today than it was receiving a decade ago after a colonial era dam collapsed at Sasumua. The port city of Mombasa gets water from a supply system built by the British when the town’s population was less than a third of current figures.
Lack of investment in electricity production has made Kenya’s electricity tariffs the highest in Africa. Industries suffer from constant power blackouts which have undermined economic growth, leading to massive losses and job cuts.
Agricultural production in Kenya is far below demand. The country is producing less coffee, maize, tea, wheat, millet and everything else compared to twenty years ago. Sugar milling companies in Western Kenya, stuck with 19th century technology, are creaking out low quality sugar in significantly less quantities than when Kenya was a British colony.
Amidst all these, the Kenyan government has seen it fit to invest billions of shillings in military equipment. As stated earlier, if it wasn’t for Somali pirates, majority of Kenyans would never have known that tanks were about to get imported into the country. But, lack of priority in government procurement appears to be the norm these days.
Its been announced that Kenya will spend about $23 million in the purchase of second-hand fighter jets from the Kingdom of Jordan. The F-5 fighter that the Kenyan Airforce is so fond of went out of production in 1989, meaning that the jets Kenya is buying are at least 19 years old. Kenya will also pay Jordan to train its pilots in using the junk aircraft.
Meanwhile, other branches of the security forces are on a shopping bonanza. Regular and Administration police have enhanced their recruitment drives to boost numbers. They are receiving modern equipment, weapons, 4-wheel drive trucks, uniforms and riot gear. Considering the conduct of police during the post-election violence, its obvious that this enhanced expenditure is not for the benefit of ordinary men and women.
The Kenya Police has just finished rehabilitating giant Russian-built helicopters fitted with night-vision equipment, gun detectors and communications technology. The helicopters will carry a team of quick response officers assisted by highly trained dogs.
Just this week, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights – a government body – blamed police for the execution of 500 Kikuyu youth and the disappearance of scores of others. According to survivors, the dead and the disappeared were all abducted by people identifying themselves as police officers. A man whose dramatic arrest in Nairobi was shown on the front page of the Daily Nation, was later found dead in the city mortuary.
For most Kenyans, the acquisition of helicopters, night vision equipment and vicious dogs can only portend doom as far as personal freedoms are concerned.
By purchasing bigger weapons to arm a greater number of police and soldiers, the Kenyan government is treading a path set by authorities in situations of high wealth inequality. Kenya is among the top three most unequal societies on earth.
On one hand there is an extremely wealthy minority whose standard of living can comfortably secure them a place among the world’s rich and famous. On the opposite extreme is a majority of people without access to adequate food, housing, health care and education. These are people whose future is so bleak that the only options are crime, prostitution, alcoholism and violence.
Amidst this depressing scenario, authorities seek to preserve the status quo by unleashing greater surveillance of the disadvantaged majority. The objective is to make life safer and easier for the rich minority.
The fruits of economic growth are used to buy guns instead of building roads. Public funds are used to buy tanks instead of medicines for government hospitals. In an unequal society, the government will find it better to employ soldiers and police rather than employing doctors and teachers. Instead of facilitating constructive engagement between the rich and the poor, the system is designed to keep them apart.
Such trends have happened elsewhere and Kenya is blindly going down the same path. Unfortunately, that particular path usually ends up in self-destruction, for the human spirit cannot tolerate oppression forever.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – United States Ambassador to Ethiopia Donald Yamamoto traveled to Bahir Dar on September 26-27 to celebrate Ramadan and Meskel. The Ambassador’s visit was part of the U.S. Embassy’s ongoing outreach to faith communities, which play an important role in bringing development and a better tomorrow to Ethiopia.
On the evening of September 26, Ambassador Yamamoto, in cooperation with the Selam Ber Mosque, hosted an Iftar dinner for 200 community members. At the meal in the mosque compound, the Ambassador thanked the community for sharing the celebration, and said, “We are blessed this year to join Ethiopia in celebrating its rich faith traditions. This shows us how much we all have in common and how much faith strengthens us and helps us all to be better people, better neighbors and better citizens.”
On Saturday, September 27, in cooperation with St. Giorgis church, the Ambassador hosted a Meskel lunch for 200 community members, including those in need, according to the holiday’s traditions. Speaking at the St. Giorgis church grounds, the Ambassador noted Ethiopia’s long history of building and maintaining bridges of understanding between faith communities. He told community members, ”Ethiopia is really a crossroads for all religions and I think Ethiopia stands as a model for the entire world for harmony between religious groups. We want to play a part in supporting and honoring these activities and these festivities, and to show our appreciation for the people of Ethiopia.”
The U.S. Embassy delegation appreciated the warm welcome offered by local leaders and the community in Bahir Dar. In addition to hosting the two holiday meals, the embassy staff attended the Meskel Demera celebrations, visited the American Corner Library at the Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organization, and met with Peace Corps Volunteers working in the town.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – Millions of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians at the weekend celebrated the founding of the true cross where Jesus Christ was believed to be crucified.
The cross on which Jesus crucified is found in one of Ethiopian monastries while the other part is believed to be in Israel.
On Friday, the celebration was held in Addis Ababa at Meskel (cross) Square in the presence of around 100,000 people including the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church.
Also in attendace, was the Ethiopian president Girma Woldegiorgisse, foreign diplomats and religious leaders from different countries.
The gathering people attending the ceremony wishes each other a happy new year.
Ethiopian patriarch, Abune Paulos, Patriarck of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches told the gathering to keep the country’s history and culture alive as their fore-fathers’ did.
Ethiopia – which follows its own ancient Coptic calendar is celebrating the day on 26 September each year.
Twenty year old Alemayehu Shumye of Ethiopia won the Warsaw Marathon, Sunday, an event which attracted around 3,000 runners from many countries.
It was the 30th edition of an annual event launched in 1979. Seventeen runners have taken part in all 30 marathons. The oldest of them – Albin Czech – is 76. The oldest participant in Sunday’s race, however, was 82.
The special guests of the event included the director of the London Marathon Dave Bedford. His previous visit to Warsaw was 39 years ago for the Poland-England track-and-field match.
The marathon began in a carnaval atmosphere with performances from the capital’s Police Representative Orchestra. Under Warsaw’s palm tree, the salsa school of dance – Latin Groove and the retro Backyard Folk Band
The run started at 9:00 a.m. on Krakowskie Przedmieście Street near Plac Zamkowy Square.
ADDIS ABABA (ST) – The state owned Ethiopian radio and TV agency (ERTA) reduced drastically earlier this month the majority of airtime of the Affaan Oromo TV program. The decision left some 60 Oromo journalist jobless and raised anger.
The Tigriga and the Afaan Oromo TV programs, which were run through the federal TV on a separate desk within the only national TV station, were made their airtimes shrunken on September 12 and transferred to the hands of regional states under a new agendum called “localizing” TV programs that allows regional governments to take control of the medias.
Two Oromo opposition groups told Sudan Tribune by telephone from Addis Ababa that the move is politically motivated and violates the ruling party’s, self own constitution and to the international treaties it has ratified too.
“This is a political motivated action of the ruling party which targets to put the Oromo people’s national political role out of the game by weakening their role from every angle by such undemocratic acts” Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement(OFDM) Chairman and parliament member, Bulcha Demeksa told Sudan Tribune.
“We are talking about the liberty of a language of more than 40 million people” Bulcha said. “This once again reveals the at most hatred and contempt the regime has for the Oromo people and their language Afan Oromo” he added.
The Oromo oppositions believes that the regular Oromiga programme was deliberately replaced by a local program known as STVO, which completely prepared by OPDO — one wing of the ruling coalition — cadres and used by the regime to broadcast propagandas of Meles-led government.
The Oromo People’s Congress (OPC) echoes the action as discriminatory and as having political agenda.
“The ruling party of Ethiopia has taken the Afaan Oromoo TV programme off the air without any consultation or prior notice” OPC chairman and MP Merrara Gudina said.
“The Oromo people were not given a chance for self-consultation ahead of practicing the so-called ‘localizing’ policy” he underscored.
“The ruling party fears that offering the huge Oromo people a wide and strong voices to the public will heighten political consciousness” Merrara said. He added that “the move as it, is clear like a crystal is aimed to paralyze the propagandas of the Oromo people by silencing them from every possible doors.”
The opposition groups said shrinking little of the Tigriga programme is to pretend that the measure doesn’t target only to the Oromos.
The Afaan Oromoo TV programme was launched in 1991 following the toppling of the Communist Derg regime as a part of the package of the then newly introduced democracy and freedom of expression.
As a result of the pressure from the Oromo people in general and the OLF in particular, the regime opened a one hour TV program for Afan Oromo as a gesture of attempting to restore freedom and justice for the suppressed Oromo nation.
Although this was seen as one positive step forward when compared to the previous Ethiopian regimes, it was clear for the Oromo people that this was no justice yet since the same amount of air time was given to the Tigriga language which is spoken by less than 7% of the population of the empire simply because the current rulers come from Tigray region.
A real justice for the Oromo people is to give the maximum air time for Afan Oromo, radio or TV, than any other language.Oromo oppositions strongly argue.
The fate of the former 60 employees of the Afan Oromo desk, who were said to have been laid off and have been holding demonstrations in protest at the action, is not known. Most of them have been placed under surveillance and their movements have been restricted within the Capital.
Opposing to the unjust decision the journalists, now off duty, have appealed to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s office, to the Ethiopian Parliament, to the OPDO office and to the so called Oromian president for the reversal of the decision.
Afan Oromo, is spoken by over 40% of the entire population of the nation. The Oromiya region is believed to house about 80 or so different languages.
Please Join Us…
at Drexel University School of Public Health Grand Rounds with
Mehret Mandefro, MD, Director of Truth Aids
Physician, Medical Anthropologist, Filmmaker
“The Use of Digital Media in Public Health”
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008, 4:30 PM
Geary Auditorium A (245 N. 15th St., First Floor, Philadelphia, PA)
Mehret Mandefro is a physician, medical anthropologist, filmmaker and Founding Director of TruthAIDS, a preventative health non-profit that uses digital media to teach about the societal determinants of health. As a public health trained physician her primary research interests includes the connection between health and human rights, the application of digital media in translation efforts.
She has worked as a public health practitioner in Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Washington, D.C., and NYC on issues of access to care, community education efforts, and health workers training. Her prior fieldwork was conducted in Ethiopia analyzing HIV-positive women’s experiences with stigma, and the South Bronx, where she completed her internal medicine residency at Montefiore Hospital.
Mehret’s qualitative work about HIV/AIDS and gender equity in the South Bronx and Ethiopia is the subject of a feature-length documentary entitled All of Us that had its theatrical release in September 2008.
As a Health and Society Scholar, Mehret is advancing film as a method to teach and communicate about societal determinants of health. She directed, edited and wrote two short films as a first year RWJHSS Scholar for community based groups engaged in HIV prevention work in NYC and D.C. She is currently directing and writing a feature length documentary about the connection between violence prevention and cities as told through African American men in Philadelphia, and developing a TV pilot series for WYBE Channel 35 in Philadelphia on the societal determinants of health.
She received her M.D. from Harvard University, MSc in Medical Anthropology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Fulbright Scholar, and A.B. in Anthropology from Harvard University.
