USA Africa Dialogue Series - Attack on activist exposes tension in Kenya ahead of March election

Attack on activist exposes tension in Kenya ahead of March election

Assault raises fears of repeat of violence that marred 2007 vote and
highlights failure to address corruption in political system

Clar Ni Chonghaile in Nairobi
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 November 2012 13.10 GMT

The two men in dark suits caught up with Okiya Omtatah Okoiti as he
walked in central Nairobi on a rainy November night. One man asked the
Kenyan activist if he would drop a lawsuit alleging corruption in an
election-related procurement process. Omtatah said no, and the two men
beat him so badly he lost six teeth.

"I think they were sure they were going to kill me," the executive
director of Kenyans for Justice and Development (Kejude) Trust said on
Tuesday, speaking by telephone from his home where he was recuperating
after an operation to remove loose bone from his chin.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and two other rights groups have called for a
thorough investigation into "the violent attack on an outspoken critic
of the government". In September, Omtatah filed a lawsuit to demand
accountability in the procurement of biometric voter registration
(BVR) kits for March's presidential election – a ballot that has set
Kenya on edge after early flashes of violence and fears that more
could follow.

"This vicious attack was clearly meant not just to intimidate Omtatah
but to seriously injure him – and perhaps even to kill him," said
Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at HRW. "The aim seems to be to
stop his work on corruption in the procurement of BVR kits for the
upcoming elections."

Kenyans are due to vote for a new president, MPs and county governors
on 4 March in the first election since a disputed poll in 2007 turned
tribe against tribe in politically motivated tit-for-tat killings.
More than 1,200 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were
forced to flee their homes.

The race to find a replacement for President Mwai Kibaki is reigniting
complex political and ethnic tensions, with jostling for votes already
being blamed for deaths in the volatile coastal region and in the
remote north. Many Kenyans vote on tribal lines, and candidates often
exploit existing strains on the campaign trail. The stakes are even
higher this time, as, under a new constitution, power is being
devolved to the regions, meaning local politicians are even more
determined to capture governorships in a country hoping to reap the
financial benefits of recent oil and gas discoveries. The main
candidates include Uhuru Kenyatta, a member of the dominant Kikuyu
tribe and son of the Kenya's first president Jomo Kenyatta, and the
prime minister, Raila Odinga, a Luo and the losing candidate in the
last poll.

Kenyatta is due to stand trial at the international criminal court in
The Hague in April, just when a potential second round runoff is
scheduled, for his alleged role in the 2007-08 violence. His closest
ally, the former education minister William Ruto, is among three
others also due to face the ICC judges. They all deny the charges.

The pre-election tensions, and sometimes blatant appeals to ethnicity,
have focused attention on a political system widely condemned as
corrupt and inefficient. Allegations of corruption in the BVR tender
are just the latest in a long list of alleged improprieties by the
ruling coalition.

Omtatah said he could not definitely link his attack to the lawsuit,
but he had already received anonymous telephone calls urging him to
drop the case, in which he is seeking a forensic audit of the
procurement process. He said one of his attackers asked him in
Kiswahili if he would withdraw the case. "That may be circumstantial,"
said Omtatah, who has filed numerous cases against the government on
topics ranging from MPs' pay to the post-election violence to
corruption allegations. "It is not foolproof."

HRW quoted police as saying they could not begin an investigation
while Omtatah was undergoing treatment. He told the Guardian there was
no police inquiry.

Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)
introduced the biometric kits, which use specific facial features to
identify voters, to improve the electoral process. Allegations of
fraud triggered the violence after the 2007 ballot. HRW said the
procurement of the kits "has been fraught with controversy, with
allegations of bribery, influence-peddling and irregularities in this
tendering process".

In July, the IEBC's tender committee resigned to protest external
influences. In September, the tender was cancelled and a parliamentary
inquiry launched. IEBC chairman Issack Hassan told parliament his
commission had come "under immense pressure from external interests".
Tabitha Mutemi, communications manager at the IEBC, said in an email
that there had been a lot of interference from external factors, and
that the commission was not going to get away whichever firm won.
"This question has been overtaken by events and the country has moved
on," she said. "There are 15,000 BVR kits in the country and voter
registration is ongoing with only 20 days remaining to closure," she
wrote.

After the tender collapsed, the government took over the process, with
the cost of the equipment rising from an initial estimate of around
4bn shillings (£29m) to a final bill of Sh9.6bn, HRW said. The kits,
which were finally supplied by a French company, arrived in early
November.

"My concern is that value for money must be guaranteed," Omtatah said,
alleging also that the BVR kits that were finally delivered were of
inferior quality to those required in the initial tender. "There are
so many irregularities in the contract … the IEBC must explain that,"
he said.

Mwalimu Mati, of the anti-graft watchdog Mars Group Kenya, said the
cost of the kits was a real matter of concern for Kenyans. "The IEBC
is not doing a very good job of explaining this and this is what makes
alarm bells ring over corruption," he told the Guardian, adding that
the financing of the purchase was also a worry. "Why is Kenya
borrowing to finance its elections? We are not destitute … It is an
issue, if not of corruption, (then) of mismanagement."

Omtatah said he would not be put off by the assault. He said the court
had given the IEBC until mid-December to disclose the full details of
the BVR purchase. "[The attack] has made me more determined," he said.
"These people cannot think they own the country. I will be more
careful about my security."

© 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
All rights reserved.

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