[A NOTE for the record, I it is appreciated the "government sector" has not censored online communication in these complicated times for information handlers--AlexG] /FYI ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Jan 9, 2008 2:49 PM Subject: FW: KPTJ Press statement on Naming of Cabinet Subject: KPTJ Press statement on Naming of Cabinet Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice Statement from concerned citizens and governance, human rights and legal organizations We speak in the name of Kenya's governance, human rights and legal organizations, as well as the concerned citizens who have contacted and chosen to work with us over the last two weeks. In our previous statement, we noted that, at the heart of the three forms of violence now being experienced across the country—disorganised and spontaneous, organised militia activity and disproportionate use of force by the Kenya Police Force and the General Service Unit—is the violation of fundamental freedoms and rights directly related to the electoral process. It is clear that the electoral anomalies and malpractices experienced during the counting and tallying of the presidential vote were so grave as to alter its outcomes. Some of those electoral anomalies and malpractices were, in addition, illegal—thus rendering the supposed presidential outcome not only illegitimate but also illegal. We therefore consider Mwai Kibaki to be in office still on his first term. We note now, with grave concern, the announcement yesterday by the man sworn in as President of his supposed Cabinet. We consider this announcement to have been made by a man in office illegitimately and illegally and therefore to be null and void. We further note that this announcement has, in fact, aggravated and inflamed the current violence—as evidenced by the disorganised and spontaneous protests witnessed yesterday in reaction to the announcement. We consider that the announcement has thus seriously compromised the environment for mediation. We refuse to allow the man sworn in as President to continue presenting the nation with what is, in effect, a series of 'faits accomplis.' We therefore reiterate our demands that, in particular: 1. African states and the rest of the international community, particularly the United States given its currently unhelpful unilateral approach, to continue to pressurize for mediation by the region under the leadership of President John Kuffour of Ghana, current head of the African Union, between the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement on addressing the electoral travesty that has occurred; 2. The mediation process to, as its first priority, agree upon an interim electoral oversight body to conduct a forensic audit into the polling, counting and tallying process with a view to recommending, depending on its findings, a re-count, a re-tallying or a re-run within a specified time period; 3. African states and the rest of the international community to, in the interim, deny official recognition to the man sworn in as President and his supposed Cabinet; and, in addition; 4. All those supposedly announced as Cabinet members to refuse to take up their positions upon their swearing in so as to enable the mediation process to proceed. Signed: Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG) Awaaz Centre for Law and Research International (CLARION) Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD) Centre for Rights, Education and Awareness for Women (CREAW) (CRADLE) Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO) East African Law Society (EALS) Haki Focus Hema la Katiba Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) Innovative Lawyering Institute for Education in Democracy (IED) International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Kenya) Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) Kenya Leadership Institute (KLI) Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Kituo cha Sheria Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Media Institute Muslim Human Rights Forum National Constitution Executive Council (NCEC) Release Political Prisoners (RPP) Society for International Development (SID) Urgent Action Fund (UAF)-Africa Youth Agenda Annex 1: previous demands Our previous demands were for: 1. All efforts and initiatives to consistently stress that peace cannot and will not be achieved without electoral truth and justice; 2. All Kenyans to stand up to be counted not just for peace but also for electoral truth and justice; 3. The state to respect and uphold the rights to the freedoms of expression, assembly and association so as to ensure Kenyans protest only legally, legitimately and non-violently; 4. All politicians and political parties to immediately desist from the re-activation, support and use of militia organizations such as those active in the Rift Valley, Mungiki and Chinkororo; 5. The Ministry of Internal Security, the Police Force and the General Service Unit to exercise their duties within the boundaries of the Constitution and the law and desist from any extraordinary use of force and, in particular, extrajudicial executions; 6. The Electoral Commission of Kenya to immediately resign for having participated in and condoned a presidential electoral process so flawed as to result in our nation's current crisis; 7. African states and the rest of the international community to pressurize for mediation between the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement on addressing the electoral travesty that has occurred; 8. The mediation process to, as its first priority, agree upon an interim electoral oversight body to conduct a forensic audit into the polling, counting and tallying process with a view to recommending, depending on its findings, a re-count, a re-tallying or a re-run within a specified time period; 9. African states and the rest of the international community to, in the interim, deny official recognition to the man sworn in as President; 10. African states and the rest of the international community to immediately revoke any and all visas for any and all of the PNU's and ODM's leadership—as well as all of their immediate family members—to ensure they remain in this country to resolve the electoral travesty that has occurred; 11. The man sworn in as President to desist from announcing a Cabinet and otherwise aggravating and inflaming the current violence. Contact Linda Ochiel Principal Human Rights Officer Media and Communications Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) CVS Plaza, Lenana Road P.O.Box 743559-00200 Nairobi -Kenya Tel 254-20-2717908/2717928/2712664 Cellphone: 254-722-583-200/254-727-642193 haki@knchr.org _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers@bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers