KenyaNews Round-Up

Not only are Kenyans very politically engaged and aware about what is happening in their own country, but I also frequently receive updates on U.S. and other international news from my Kenyan friends. So as part of our exchange here, I thought it would be good to post some current Kenyan events for those that are interested in learning some more about what's going on where I am.

1.) The climate change talks in Copenhagen. Kenya is rooting for some real change and for people to speak out about the countries that suffer the most from climate change. Kenya has suffered one of the worst droughts in its history this past year, and because of it are now suffering food and water shortages all over the country. Not to mention the huge damaging effects it has on the country's already feeble economy... I bet this lady will shake things up.

2.) Mau Forest Evictions. The Kenyan government is evicting thousands of people from the biggest green area of the country. Controversy is over whether or not the squatters have a place to go home to, or if they are being evicted to homelessness. The controversy extends to who had land rights in the first place and whether or not that matters in the name of the conservation of this precious resource for the country and for the world.

3.) Kenyans are in the process of drafting their very own constitution. Kenya has been an independent nation since 1964, but has never changed the constitution since the time of British rule. Many attempts of writing a new constitution have been made in the past decade or so, but disagreements have stalled the process tremendously. Currently, pressure from the U.S. and the U.N. following the post election violence in 2007 has helped the process the move along. Kenyans would like to put the constitution into place before the next elections in 2012. One particularly hot area of debate is what a coalition government (between a prime minister and a president) would look like and what kind of power-sharing they would have.

4.) Cholera Outbreak. Especially in areas hard-hit by the drought, cholera is devastating the country. Already, 4,700 cases have been found in the past month and 119 deaths have been reported. A very sad state of affairs. The article linked above talks about this being a "disease of poverty," as the cure for cholera is mostly large amounts of clean water- an expensive commodity during this time.

5.) A move for reform. It was only two years ago this month that Kenya broke out into one of its most violent times in its history following the election of President Kabaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Former UN Secretary General and mediator, Kofi Annan, visited the country recently to check on Kenya's progress towards reforms. The draft constitution is one avenue, reorganizing the police force is another, and making the anti-corruption committee stronger and responsible for prosecuting those that committed some of the worst crimes during the period of post-election violence are some ways that the country is moving in the right direction.