SS+Kenya+PIC

A. Death Penalty will be repealed in Kenya
Rosalia Omungo, Inter Press Service, News Agency. 7/11/07. “Kenyan politicians call for end to death penalty” http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=313528&area=/insight/insight__africa/

__Politicians from leading parties and prominent human rights activists all seem to agree that the time has come for Kenya to abolish capital punishment. But as they continue to talk, courts continue to pass down death sentences, swelling the numbers on death row.__ On June 21, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Assistant Minister __Danson Mungatana told journalists here that the government is committed to abolishing the death penalty.__ "I am aware there is an advanced plan to that effect," he said in answer to a question specifically directed at the administration's position on the death penalty. But he gave no target date for abolition, only adding: "All this is at a preparatory stage. At the correct time it will finally have to be resolved in Parliament." The last known official executions in Kenya were in 1987 during Daniel arap Moi's time in office. Among those hanged then were Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu, accused of masterminding the August 1 1982 attempted coup. Since then, thousands have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution. Inter Press Service was unable to obtain figures from the Prisons Department for the exact number on death row at the time of publishing this article. But in the five years from 2001 to 2005, 3 741 were sentenced to be hanged, an average of 748 a year, according to the department's statistics. In the same period, less than 200 death sentences were commuted to life sentences on appeal. In 2003, President __Mwai Kibaki also commuted the death sentences__ of 223 inmates. One of those passed over then for a presidential amnesty because his case file had been lost was Samson Ochanda Owuor, one of the oldest and longest-serving death-row inmates, according to press reports. He had been convicted of robbery with violence in 1988. Besides murder and treason, robbery and attempted robbery with violence are capital offences in Kenya. Abolition Environment Minister Kivutha Kibwana said that he is one of those in the government calling for the abolition of the death penalty. "I believe even if someone has killed another, you do not correct the situation by killing another person. That leaves two dead people," he said. __Prominent opposition politicians have also expressed their support for abolition in statements to the press. This suggests that a government Bill to abolish capital punishment would receive cross-party support. "The death penalty is not a deterrent and should be abolished," Anyang' Nyongo from the Orange Democratic Movement__ -- which includes members of the former ruling party, the Kenya African National Union (Kanu), and the Liberal Democratic Party __--__ __said recently__. "Convicts should be given a chance to work and get to learn skills. This way, they would get out of jail useful." Currently, death-penalty inmates are not allowed to work. This means that they have no savings or work experience to prepare them for life outside prison in the event of release. William Ruto, an MP for __Kanu -- now the official opposition party -- was even more outspoken, calling the death penalty a "vengeful" sentence that serves no helpful purpose. "__We need a rehabilitative approach," he added. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, an independent public body set up in 2003 to advise the government on protecting and promoting human rights, has also added its influential voice to the debate, recommending that Parliament urgently take action to abolish capital punishment. "Even though it is in our legal books and laws, it is not the right thing for us to be doing,"

But this depends on pressure from the government. There are no anti-death penalty lobbies and ministers are divided
Olivia **__Marsaud.__** journalist on afrik.com. 20**__02__**. “Kenya, Demolishing the Gallows” http://www.fiacat.org/en/spip.php?article251

__The Kenyan justice minister has given himself six months to remove capital punishment from the statute book. But the principle of an eye for an eye is deep rooted__. Kenya’s last executioner was called Wanjuki Kirugumi. He retired 20 years ago and was not replaced. Nobody has been executed in the east African country since 1984 but the death penalty is still enshrined in the Constitution. Kiratu Murungi, justice minister in the new government which took office in December 2002, has the job of changing that in the next few months. No sooner had he been appointed than he declared his intention of abolishing capital punishment "within six months". A fervent Catholic and father of four children, he argues that, "We believe that every man’s fundamental right to life should be respected. No human being should have the authority to take the life of another. The death penalty is a barbaric act." A human rights lawyer at Nairobi High Court, Kiraitu Murungi had tried to have the death penalty abolished previously. He worked closely with anti-death penalty activists during his time at Harvard law school in 1991. Then on his return to Kenya he served as an opposition member of parliament from 1992 to 2002, campaigning for abolition. He tried to introduce an abolition bill on two occasions. On the first, in 1995, his efforts aroused fierce opposition from other members. Some accused him of wanting to "legalise murder". He pleaded unsuccessfully that, "the death penalty is cruel act which does not prevent crime and which has not been applied for 10 years." A second attempt in 1999 also failed. Today, aged 51, he is more determined than ever to put a end to capital punishment in Kenya. "__Previous governments did not abolish the death penalty because ministers were divided on the question. They could not reach a decision although they knew capital punishment was immoral. They did not have the courage to abolish it." The implicit message is that the government of which he is a member will take that decision__. But it will take all his powers of persuasion and his knack of hitting home where it hurts to convince th eauthorities and Kenyan public opinion. __There is no powerful anti-death penalty lobby in Kenya to spread the message.__ What is worse, public stonings and burnings are common. Murungi is well aware that with crime having increased in the country over recent years, public opinion supports capital punishment. "It is true that theft, problems of law and order, and rising crime mean that some Kenyans are in favour of maintaining of the death penalty. But I think that the main reason is that people are ill-informed on the subject."

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B. Aid policies destroy government credibility – they’re seen as unable to protect their own people or negotiate effectively with donors. Eveline Herfkens, executive coordinator of the Millennium Campaign of the UN, 6-22-07 (Sabina Zaccaro: staff writer/interviewer for IPS, Q&A: "Too Few African Governments Have Had the Guts to Say 'No'" Interview with Eveline Herfkens, http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=38277 Acc: 7-25-07 [T Chenoweth]) And then the way aid has been delivered in the past has not been very helpful for improving governments' accountability to their own people. There are too few governments in Africa which have taken responsibility for themselves, for their future. The way that donors have operated was undermining whatever accountability and responsibility there was, making African countries look more at what their donors want than what their own people want. So there is a lot that needs to be changed -- but I am positive, because you are seeing an increasing number of countries where governments are taking responsibility and there is some improvement on the side of donor behaviour. What is not going well is the trade issue. IPS: At the same time we are seeing a pattern of commitments being made but not kept. The Gleneagles Group of Eight meeting has come and gone. There seems to be a lack of political will to level the playing field between the North and the South -- we are talking about global power relations... EH: But this is about ignorance, partly. It is very difficult to expect politicians in Japan, in the U.S. or in Canada to really do something about these issues if their own electorates don't see these connections. As I don't like talking about averages in sub-Saharan Africa, I don't like to talk about averages in the G8 either. Because let's be honest, the French, the British and the Germans kept their commitments on aid volumes. In the G8 Russia is not a player in the whole development field, so we're actually talking about Italy, Japan, Canada and the U.S. But even in the U.S. there has indeed been more than a doubling of aid to Africa…Of course it came from a very low level, but things are moving. The (U.S.) president has come with pledges and offers and the U.S. congress has become more generous. Here in Italy we still see little, but there is a debt problem here. Nevertheless, there is a move on the aid agenda, things like untying aid -- things that don't really cost money but that are important too. IPS: I would like to talk about policies imposed on sub-Saharan Africa. A lot of people would say that this is really at the heart of the problem -- that policies have been imposed on governments, that national agendas have been set by foreigners, and that this is why these states are unable to achieve the MDGs. EH: There are some nuances to this story. There have been African governments that are blaming the outside world for all kinds of things that they are themselves responsible for. Secondly, I would agree that there are too few African governments that have had the guts to say "no" to their donors if things were not helpful. It was a tremendous breakthrough when Tanzania told donors five years ago, "Listen guys, you are driving us crazy with all your missions and your separate reports. We're going to have three months mission-free -- you are not welcome. We really have to focus on running our own budget and getting our own act together." Partly there has been a lack of outspokenness on the African side, saying "no" to things that are not helpful.

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C. The Death Penalty is a massive violation of human rights & it increases the number of violent crimes.
Owino **__Opondo__**, Bernard **__Namunane and__** Odhiambo **__Orlale__**. Reports for The Nation (Nairobi). **__7/25__**/07. “Kenya: Leaders Split Over Push to Abolish Death Penalty” http://allafrica.com/stories/200707250856.html

__Environment Minister Kivutha Kibwana said he wants to abolish the death penalty. "I believe even if someone has killed another, you do not correct the situation by killing another person. That leaves two dead people," he said. Prominent opposition politicians have also expressed their supportfor abolition in statements to the press. This suggests that a government bill to abolish capital punishment would receive cross-party support. "The death penalty is not a deterrent and should be abolished," said Anyang' Nyongo__ from the Orange Democratic Movement, which includesmembers of the former ruling party, the Kenya African National Union(KANU) and the Liberal Democratic Party. "Convicts should be given achance to work and get to learn skills. This way, they would get outof jail useful." Death penalty inmates are currently not allowed to work. This means that they have no savings or work experience to prepare them for life outside prison in the event of release. William Ruto, a member of parliament for KANU -- now the official opposition party -- was even more outspoken, calling the death penalty a "vengeful" sentence that served no helpful purpose. "We need a rehabilitative approach," he said. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, an independent public body set up in 2003 to advise the government on protecting and promoting human rights, has also added its influential voice to the debate, recommending that parliament urgently take action to abolish capital punishment. "Even though it is in our legal books and laws, it is not the right thing for us to be doing," said Maina Kiai, chairman of the commission, at the release of a position paper on capital punishment in April. The death penalty should be removed from the constitution and lawsamended to bring them in line with this change. The commission also called for an immediate moratorium on death sentences to prevent further additions to the number on death row. It said those already facing capital punishment should have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment by presidential decree. Haroun __Ndubi__, executive director of Haki Focus, a human rights organization, __questioned whether the death penalty was helping to reduceviolent crime, which is on the rise in Kenya. Indeed, he suggested it may even be contributing to an increase in murders. There were "a lot of young people" involved in carjackings who killed their victims to eliminate anyone who could give evidence againstthem in capital trials for robbery with violence, he said. "They kill ... for fear of conviction if the witness were to live to testify__,"Ndubi said, noting that the abolition of the death penalty would reduce the number of such murders. He also raised doubts about the guilt of some of those currently on death row. __There have been claims about false accusations and convictions without adequate evidence,__ he said. Ndubi added that it was "inhuman and degrading" to convict people and then leave them on death row for years on end, living in constantfear of execution. This issue was also raised by Mungatana when he spoke to the press. He said the major issue to be decided is the fate of those already sentenced to death, suggesting that commuting these sentences could be the first step toward abolition of the death penalty in Kenya.