THE KENYAN POLITICAL PROBLEM

1.0 Introduction

Kenya held another round of presidential and parliamentary elections on 27th December 2007 in a seemingly peaceful environment, following a tension filled pre-election campaign period were the opposition and observers vigilantly pointed out anomalies in the electoral process. Therefore, the long delays in tallying and release of presidential election results generated nationwide tension characterized by speculation that rigging of the elections results was on-going. The hurried announcement of the incumbent president as the winner followed by a swift swearing-in ceremony under heavily armed guard and before rivals had conceded defeat, led to public protests. The detailed results were not released in this atmosphere, sparking nationwide violence. The violence erupted immediately the presidential results were announced and was witnessed in parts of Nyanza, Western Kenya, Rift valley, Nairobi and Coast province.

The violence has led to loss of lives, injuries, displacements, damage and destruction of properties in the form of killings, rape, forceful evictions and internal displacement and seems set to continue to have similar impact as the political stalemate continues. One of the longer term unintended social effect of this violence is the break-down in trust between formerly amicably living neighbours from different tribes – as the violence broadly reflected belligerents as tribes supporting different presidential candidates and their allies in the election. Victims of the violence are living in spontaneously established camps in schools, police stations, churches as well as stadium in towns like Nakuru and Nairobi. Most of the displaced are in Rift valley, Nyanza, western Nairobi and Mombasa. The camps in Nyanza and parts of Western province around Kericho region, are more of transitory centres where people rest before moving to more secure destinations, hence the figures keep fluctuating. The exact figures of numbers of displaced victims are not known yet but it is estimated that over 700 people have been killed, over 300,000 people have been internally displaced/forcefully evicted, more than 1500 seriously injured, thousands of women and girls raped (one hospital in Nairobi has recorded 130 rape cases of girls aged 6-17 years old) and property worth millions destroyed. Most of the affected who have taken refuge in police stations, churches and other safe haven but are far removed from easy access to medical and psychological care, sanitation, food and other essentials. Due to the current political stalemate in the country the situation on the ground is not expected to go back to normal in the near future, particularly where trust will have to be re-established between different tribes who supported opposing candidates. It is likely that it will take tens of years before Kenya goes recaptures its lost glory.

In western Kenya, Kisumu in particular, the situation has had far reaching impact but more or so on the lives of street children who were separated with their members of their families who either died, were injured or displaced. The burden has been worse on the lives of street children whose homes have been the streets of Kisumu; surrounding slums and peri-urban areas which have remained battle zones, with 12 hour curfew and constant ring of police and other paramilitary personnel. Gurney (2003) estimated that Kisumu city has approximately 20,000 street children although popular belief harbours a higher figure. Establishing a more accurate figure is not easy because of: the high mobility of the children living and working on the streets; lack of central registration or meeting points; seasonal fluctuations arising from school holiday periods, arrests, or during times when they may not be needed for farm work in their rural homes.

The displaced persons are living precariously in this situation. They are victims of harassment from new police brought in to enforce curfew, they are easily excitable by the violence, looting and protest activities taking place around them; they are easy targets for manipulation during this chaotic period. For small sums of money or food, children and young people displaced are engaging in both legal and illegal activities, and in many cases are being exploited. Their vulnerable status makes them equally easy fodder for political opportunists who are now recruiting them to march in demonstrations, intimidate political leaders, and help create public disorder and unrest.

In the last few weeks because children and youth are self-organized in groups and in an established hierarchy, it has been easy to attract a few leaders who can efficiently organize hundreds of in a short period of time. Because majority of them have nothing to do during this chaotic period, they are naturally drawn to crowds and demonstrations. In Kisumu and in many cases they are being intentionally recruited to swell the ranks of participants in public demonstrations like what is going on now, to the detriment of their health and safety.

Since the violence started two weeks ago, in Kisumu alone where the biggest problems have been experienced, over 150 people have been killed. Among those killed and wounded have been the children, women, elderly and orphans from surrounding slums, some of whom had been recruited to participate in the protests and others because their homes have been and still is the battle zone. During this attack and slaughter period some as young as ten years old of children have been killed, scores of children have been wounded in the attacks, and many are afraid to seek medical attention in mainstream institutions for fear of further mistreatment. In the days that have followed, the center of Kisumu has been described as a ghost town. With a 12-hour curfew in place, the political rallies running every day of the week, and the city centre being cut off from the public, there is continuous and increasing danger for the displaced persons who now do not have the freedom to live their normal lives, they scavenge on the remains of food from restaurants and kiosks dustbins. They are exposed to malnutrition, rape, imprisonment, beatings and even shootings by the police and paramilitary.

2.0 THE APPEAL:

• The aim of the appeal is provide interim refuge centres (night and day shelters) for up to 5,000 children, women and elderly displaced people (to encompass street children and orphans)
  
• To provide them with basic sleeping facilities like mattresses and blankets, bed nets, food and other sanitary facilities
  
• To provide emergency medical and clinical care and treat cuts, gun shot wounds and ailments arising from sleeping rough and being displaced and offer post exposure ART prophylaxis to raped children,
  
• To provide psychological support through clinical counselling intervention with the aim of creating a healing process, a coping mechanism and arresting the possibility of prolonged trauma that can later result into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to the children post- election violence.
  
• To consciously start a programme of personal development with each one of the displaced and street children to understand their circumstances, ambitions and discuss different scenarios of existence, then draw up a plan of action to propel them towards their agreed objectives.
  
• To reunify displaced children with their parents/guardians to continue leading their normal lives at the community.

• African Community Partnership and its partner organisations in Kenya are appealing to donor organisations, funders generally, companies, well wishers and individuals for funding support to enable them to respond to the emergency needs of at least 5,000 displaced persons in Kisumu.

The funding we are appealing for will enable the agencies to provide:

• Temporary secure day care and night shelters for the displaced
  
• Provide hot meals and drinks
  
• • Medical and dressing materials including (antibiotics, pain killers, dressing materials)
  
• Provide beddings and clothing’s (mattresses, blankets, bed sheets, clothes)
  
• Provide sanitary and toilet facilities (showers and running water)
  
• Washing materials – soap and other detergents
  
• Provide recreational facilities – Games, television, reading and writing materials,
  
• Social care – counselling, befriending and career path planning for both adults and children
  
• Staff cost: All participating organisations will provide key staff to provide all the needed services. However, due to the current emergency, few extra staff will need to be recruited which will include social workers, project co-ordinators and a managers, security staff, nurses and clinical staff, cooks,
  

3. THE IMPLEMENTING ORGANISATIONS:

3.1 African Community Partnership
The African Community Partnership is a community-based, non-governmental organisation founded and registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 to promote health, socio-economic and cultural development among the resident African communities living in the UK, and in Africa. It aims to fight against knowledge gap, disease, poverty and social exclusion among Africans.

African Community Partnership is in existence as a direct response to an increasingly unique set of needs and challenges faced by the African communities in the UK and in Africa. These challenges include adjusting to social and cultural diversity and difference, social exclusion, undue burden of disease, such as HIV/AIDS and economic disadvantage stemming from a wide range of conditions and factors. ACP works to implement target-specific projects either independently or in collaboration with other community-based or specialist national organisations chosen specifically due to their latent potential for widening the impact in the community with regards to poverty alleviation.

In Kenya, ACP works mainly through a range of community-based organisations including women groups, people living with HIV/AIDS, orphans, and people with disabilities, fishmongers, youth and other voluntary organisations as well as educational institutions. Currently ACP works in partnership with OMEGA Foundation (OF), Nyando Orphans and Widows Association (NOWA), Port Florence Community Hospital (PFCH), Hope for Victoria Children (HOVIC) and Mama na Dada Africa (MnDA).

3.2 OMEGA FOUNDATION (OF)
Omega Foundation is a regional community organisation based in Kisumu, and run by PLWAs. Its mission is to mobilise and support vulnerable community groups (especially women, widows and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), PLWAs and youth self-help groups) in identification and utilisation of resources geared towards alleviating poverty, the impact of ill health and environmental protection. Having started as a CBO, OF was implementing programmes directly with widows groups, orphans and PLWAs. However, there has been an expansion of the target group to include other vulnerable children and youth generally, who have been organised into groups for easier administration of activities and development of local capacity to deal with local development problems. Currently OF is implementing an OVC programme with support and partnership from Academy for Educational Development (AED) and Widows and Orphans International (UK). Overtime, OF has built the capacity and developed the role of groups to carry out their work; and OF its role is evolving from being a direct implementer to facilitating other organisations outside its original geographical location to implement programmes directly and reach more people.

OF's activities include: supporting widows in claiming their rights such as property inheritance, choice of partner and attaining economic independence; OVCs and youths and the girl child in accessing education, psychosocial support, nutrition and vocational skills; supporting PLWAs to meet their physical and emotional needs, Supporting PLWAs in accessing ARTs, and fight stigma and discrimination; OF also supports community based organisations to meet the needs of their constituencies and members of their communities to know their sero-status and live responsibly.

3.3 HOPE FOR VICTORIA CHILDREN
Hope for Victoria Children (HOVIC) is a Community based organisation set up in 2003 with an aim to support vulnerable community members especially orphans and other vulnerable children and youth self-help groups, geared towards alleviating poverty, protecting their rights and environment in which they live. HOVIC has addressed needs and challenges experienced by children living and working on the streets of Kisumu city, including vocational training facilities and workshops for apprenticeships. So far HOVIC has supported more than 400 children with an average of 100 children accessing its services (education, vocational training, child psychosocial counselling etc) at its centre in Kisumu. HOVIC’s resources were obtained mainly from local supporters and is increasingly attracting national and international donors such as the medical students organised by the African Community Partnership.

HOVIC has well developed operational structures and procedures. It has a constitution which provides a clear vision and mission statement. It has an effective and gender-balanced board of six, a staff of 13, and a team of volunteers from diverse backgrounds. One of HOVIC’s strongest points is the intention to integrate its children’s committee into its formal structures and its linkages to the communities. As HOVIC’s programme is the first accessible street children’s programmes in Kisumu, it is being swamped by larger and larger numbers of street children. However, the capacity to handle this increasing number is limited by the number of staff, level of facilities and availability of resources to cater for them. The current situation is Kisumu is overstretching the capacity of HOVIC service delivery in meeting the needs of all children.

3.4 MAMA NA DADA AFRICA (MnDA)
Mama na Dada Africa (MnDA) was established in 1998 based in Kunya Village, on the shores of Lake Victoria, in Bondo District, Nyanza Province of Kenya and became operational in 2000. MnDA has a branch office in Buru Buru Estate in the Eastlands Area of Nairobi, where it runs the “Stay Alive One-Stop Youth Centre”. The organization was formed with the main aim of promoting enrolment and retention of girls in school; and economic empowerment for women. However, with the increase in HIV infections, especially among communities living along the shores of Lake Victoria, the organization up-scaled its work to include HIV/AIDS prevention education, care and support. MnDA works to help girls and women empower themselves mentally and economically, through education, counselling, mentoring, peer support, sustainable development and community sensitization. MnDA appreciates that empowerment of girls and women must be approached in a holistic manner, and that women cannot be empowered unless girls are given the tools to realize their full potential.

To contact us and make a donation you can contact us at the Wild Goose Resource Centre in London our phone number is 0207 635 9000  speak to Gerson Oloo.