SOMALIA PRESIDENT RESIGNS

Parliament speaker calls for Unity

Posted: 12/29/2008 1:08:00 PM

Shabelle: SOMALIA BAIDOA(Sh. M.Network)-Parliament speaker Adan Mohamed Nur called for unity after the resignation of Somalia’s president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed.   “I have received and accepted the resignation letter of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed,” Nur said.   “I congratulate the president for the bold step he has taken in respect of the transitional federal charter,” ha added.   Yusuf then left Baidoa for the semi-autonomous region of Puntland of which he had been president from 1989 to 2004.   Somalia’s parliament now has 30 days to elect a new president by secret ballot.   The winner must garner a two-thirds majority of the votes. If not, a second and third round of voting is called. In the last round, the winner would only need a simple majority.   Conflict in Somalia and power struggles that erupted since 1991 have Scuppered numerous initiatives to restore national stability.

FUTURE KENYAN MISLEADERS OR LEADERS?

By Daily Nation

The possibility that Kenya will have a youthful President at the next election appears more uncertain with the line-up that has filed papers at the office of the Registrar of Political Parties.

 

Barring an Obama-type upset, where a leader will emerge from obscurity to capture the imagination of a majority of voters in a break from tradition, the shape of things to come will be directed by seven personalities, who are party leaders.

 

Most of the top leaders who have been unveiled by their political parties as potential presidential candidates in the next General Election have declared that the country was ready for a young president.

 

Inspired by the election of 47-year-old Barack Obama as the US President last month, the politicians, who are now chairpersons or deputy leaders of their parties, argue that it is time Kenyans embraced a generational change and voted into office a young person.

 

The leaders cite the high number of MPs below the age of 40 who won their seats in the last General Election as a sign of changing times. They suggested that voters could settle for a leader who is young, arguing that Mr Daniel arap Moi was 54 years when he took over power. But just how young is young?

 

Those who have so far staked a claim to the presidency are Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, and Deputy Prime ministers Uhuru Kenyatta and Musalia Mudavadi. Others are Cabinet ministers Martha Karua, George Saitoti and William Ruto.

 

They are likely to run for high office themselves or marshall support for other candidates as the race shapes up and dependent on the character the new constitution assumes.

 

Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi introduced a motion seeking to set the presidential age limit at 65 years.

 

Backers of the motion, mainly youthful MPs supporting the formation of the grand opposition in Parliament, argue that old politicians are responsible for the ills facing the country.

 

Mr Odinga has repeatedly said that he favours a parliamentary system of government with a PM who holds executive powers.

 

He also favours devolution of power to the regions. On the other hand, some MPs allied to Mr Musyoka appear to favour a system where executive power remains with the President who is voted through a universal suffrage system.

 

Mr Odinga, who will be 67 years in 2012, last week retained his seat as the ODM party leader and is expected to vie for the presidency for the third time.

 

In the last elections, he put up a spirited campaign for State House on an ODM ticket, but saw his hopes fade with the disputed presidential election result. The Electoral Commission of Kenya declared Mr Kibaki the winner, sparking a wave of violence that was only brought to an end by the intervention of the international community through former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.

 

Mr Musyoka, Mr Mudavadi, Ms Karua and Mr Ruto said the youth were the majority voters and were not tied down by factors of tribalism, class and regions.

 

While describing young presidents as inspirational, Mr Musyoka argued that the ideas and policies of an individual candidate were the best determinants of a leader.

 

“There are young presidents who are very inspirational worldwide just as there are old presidents who are very successful. What Kenyans require is a servant leader who will demystify State House by pursuing policies that connect directly with the ordinary person,” he told the Sunday Nation on the phone.

 

The VP, who will be 59 in 2012, said he was proud of the historic achievements of Mr Obama, who is set to be sworn into office as the first black US President on January 20, 2009.

 

The ODM Kenya leader is expected to take a second stab at the highest political office in the land in the next polls. In the last elections, he was third after Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga.

 

POLICE STOP MOUNTAIN PRAYERS

News

Police stop mountain prayers Rating By GEORGE MUNENE

Posted Saturday, Daily Nation,  December 27 2008 at 21:31

 

Heavily armed police on Saturday stopped the much-publicised prayers that were scheduled to take place in Mt Kenya forest and arrested 25 worshippers.

The hundreds of worshippers said to be from the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru communities were intercepted by police at Kianjiru market in Kirinyaga district on their way to Mount Kenya forest to pray to their God.

However, the police declared the prayers illegal and dispersed the worshippers after arresting some of them who they claimed had been sent as an advance party to assess the security situation in the area.

Led by the area police boss, Mr Herbert Khaemba, the law enforcers barricaded the Embu-Nairobi road and ordered the worshippers, who were aboard 10 matatus, to stop.

Spiritual leader

The worshippers, some of whom wore dreadlocks and were carrying red and light blue ribbons obeyed and alighted from the vehicles.

Plain clothes detectives and two provincial administration officers mingled freely with the worshippers, most of whom wore heavy rain jackets.

The worshippers were accompanied by a man driving a Range Rover and who was said to be one of their spiritual leaders.

Tension mounted as the worshippers insisted the prayers must go on as planned. Some of the worshippers knelt on the roadside and started praying.

The standoff dragged on for an hour before the police, who were armed with guns, rungus and teargas canisters, forced the worshippers to board their vehicles, telling them to return to their respective homes.

Regroup and return

The police then escorted the worshippers to Makutano market and warned them of dire consequences should they return to the area.

In the ongoing confusion, some worshippers escaped death narrowly when one of the buses in the convoy hit a matatu as it reversed.

One of the men accused the police of interfering with their freedom of worship adding that they would regroup and return.

“We were going to the mountain to worship our God who we abandoned after being misled by the white missionaries,” he said.

They said that they want to return to their traditional way of worshipping and would not reverse the decision.

“Our ancestors used to pray on the Mountain and we must emulate them,” another worshipper who asked not to be named said.

The worshippers said they had travelled from all parts of the country and that they wanted to converge at the forest for a major prayer meeting.