Simplicity is the name of WordPress and so is the upgrades - still! I am astonished about how easy and flawless the upgrades has been and upgrading our system to v2.6 is no exception! My hat of to the team on WordPress.org - I salute you!

The visitor may still not see much of a change but for us who delivers the news of Mombasa and Kenya it will be even easier now!

Peter

Malaria No More is a nonprofit organization located in New York, NY that aims to end deaths caused by malaria in Africa. It was founded in 2006 at the first ever White House Summit on Malaria by leading non-governmental organizations such as American Red Cross, Unicef, Global Business Coalition, United Way, Millennium Promise, The Global Fund, and the United Nations Foundation.

With prevention and treatment methods, the United States was able to eradicate malaria by 1951 with the establishment of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the 21st century, however, the disease is still endemic to 106 nations, threatening 50% of Earth’s population. It claims almost one million lives per year in Africa, and 3,000 lives of children per day. The hardest hit population are children under 5 living in poverty. The lack of money to buy bed nets and treatment combined with the humid, tropical environment preferred by mosquitoes and the malaria parasite put people in Africa at an enormous risk for contracting and dying from this treatable disease. It isa chief reason that of 20% of Zambian children die before age five.

In Kenya, approximately 90 people die daily from malaria. Said a Uganda doctor to Dr. Mark Grabowsky of the CDC and the Global Fund, “If you get rid of measles, we can close the measles ward. If you get rid of malaria, we can close the hospital,” illustrating the enormity of the problem of malaria. It is the one of the most deadly and prevalent diseases in Africa, yet also the most preventable and treatable.

Sources:

http://www.malarianomore.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria_No_More

Malaria No More In Madagascar (Video)

By reading this post you will get a good insight of Kenya - “the truth behind the scene” and you should (read this article) as it may affect you if you’re gonna be in Kenya. The source (found at the bottom) includes much more information in each topic - it was just too much to publish in this “small” article.

The topics included is: Police corruption, Denial of Fair Public Trial, Freedom of Speech and Press, Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, Discrimination (of children and women).

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Kenya 2003 (Released feb. 2004)

The spread of HIV/AIDS, estimated to have infected approximately 14 percent (aprox. 4,312,000) of the population between the ages of 14 and 49 (and in some areas up to estimated 30% is infected), had increasingly adverse effects on the country’s wage-earners, including teachers and other professionals. A weakened infrastructure–unreliable power and telecommunication systems and roads in disrepair–exacerbated economic problems and disinvestment.

Police corruption

Police corruption was systematic and widespread. A July survey conducted by The Public Service Integrity Program found that the police force was viewed as the most corrupt entity within the society of the country. In May, the SCHR reported that police arrested petty offenders over the weekend “probably with the sole purpose of extorting bribes” and that police in conjunction with prosecutors resorted to “unexplained illegal confinements, extortion, torture, and the preferring of highly questionable and fabricated non-bailable charges” as a cover-up for malpractice. Police often held such detainees for lengthy periods without trial.

Impunity was a serious problem. In its May report, the SCHR noted the “systematic cover-up or attempted cover-up in cases involving allegations of torture, excessive use of force or extrajudicial shooting.” Officers were rarely prosecuted for using excessive force. Investigations by SCHR of numerous cases alleging torture revealed that “there was a code of silence under which officers failed to report brutality, destroyed evidence, or threatened witnesses in an effort to cover-up abuses, contributing to a climate of impunity.” Public officials at times made pronouncements calling on security forces to discharge their duties responsibly and to use restraint; however, such pronouncements had little effect on police behavior.

To reduce inducements for corruption, in July, President Kibaki announced a 115 percent increase in police salaries, effective January 2004 and pledged to improve the living and working conditions of police. The starting salary for a police officer was $61 (4,654 Kenyan shillings) a month.

Denial of Fair Public Trial

The court system consisted of a Court of Appeals, a High Court, and two levels of magistrate courts, where most criminal and civil cases originated. The Chief Justice was a member of both the Court of Appeals and the High Court, thus undercutting the principle of judicial review. Military personnel were tried by military courts-martial, and verdicts may be appealed through military court channels. The Chief Justice appointed attorneys for military personnel on a case-by-case basis.

Civilians are tried publicly, although some testimony may be given in closed session. The law provides for a presumption of innocence, and defendants have the right to attend their trial, to confront witnesses, and to present witnesses and evidence. Civilians also can appeal a verdict to the High Court and ultimately to the Court of Appeals. Judges hear all cases. In treason and murder cases, the deputy registrar of the High Court can appoint three assessors to sit with the High Court judge. The assessors are taken from all walks of life and received a sitting allowance for the case. Although the assessors render verdicts, their judgments are not binding. Lawyers can object to the appointments of specific assessors.

Defendants do not have the right to government-provided legal counsel, except in capital cases. For lesser charges, free legal aid rarely was available, and then only in Nairobi and other major cities. As a result, poor persons may be convicted for lack of an adequate defense. Although defendants have access to an attorney in advance of trial, defense lawyers do not always have access to government-held evidence. The Government can plead the State Security Secrets Clause as a basis for withholding evidence, and local officials sometimes classified documents to hide the guilt of government officials. Court fees for filing and hearing cases were high for ordinary citizens. The daily rate of at least $25 (2,000 Kenyan shillings) for arguing a civil case before a judge was beyond the reach of most citizens.

The country has Islamic courts that resolve disputes, adjudicate inheritance questions and marital issues, and handle other civil matters where all parties are Muslim and accept the court’s jurisdiction.

Freedom of Speech and Press

On March 9, GSU officers reportedly assaulted BBC and Daily Nation reporters, who were covering a peaceful protest in Turkana, and seized their equipment (see Section 2.b.). The journalists reported the incident to police; however, apart from the transfer of one GSU officer, no action had been taken by year’s end.

On September 29, police arrested East African Standard journalists Tom Mshindi, David Makali, and Kwamchetsi Makokha for publishing an article about the confession of suspects in the killing of University of Nairobi professor Crispin Mbai (see Section 1.a.); the three journalists were charged with violating a Penal Code section which precludes the publishing of “any false statement, rumor or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or disturb the peace.” Police subsequently interrogated the journalists to determine the source of their report on Mbai’s killing, which some observers believed was politically motivated. Several M.P.s criticized the arrests, which the Kenya Union of Journalists charged were an effort by the Government to intimidate the press. Mshindi and Makokha were released the day of their arrest. Makali, who was charged with stealing public property–a cassette containing the transcript of a police interrogation–was eventually released.

No action was taken against supporters of the now defunct National Development Party, who in March 2002 beat Nation journalist Odhiambo Orlale with clubs, or in the September 2002 beating of a television crew by persons attending a political rally organized by the opposition “Rainbow Alliance.”

There were no developments in the investigation of the April 2002 beating in Nairobi of People Daily photographer Collins Kweyu by city council guards.

In May 2002, Parliament passed a controversial bill regulating the media. Under the act, commonly known as the “Media Bill,” publishers were required to purchase a bond of $12,800 (one million Kenyan shillings) before printing any publication and to deposit copies of their newspapers and books with a registrar within 2 weeks of publication. The bond amount was a 100-fold increase over the previous bond amount of $128 (10,000 Kenyan shillings). The law makes it a crime to sell or distribute publications not deposited or bonded, under penalty of a fine of $256 (20,000 Kenyan shillings) or 6 months’ imprisonment. Some members of the media were concerned that the Government would use this law, the Books and Newspapers Act, and the Official Secrets Act to stifle freedom of expression.

Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

On March 13, security forces arrested an IMLU employee and 30 other persons for holding an illegal assembly and inciting violence; the group had provided local police with advance notice of their meeting.

On September 15, police mounted roadblocks and fired tear gas into 3 buses carrying approximately 300 university students, who were traveling to a demonstration to protest the September 14 killing of Crispin Odhiambo Mbai (see Section 1.a.). Police reportedly whipped the students as they fled the buses to escape the gas.

Discrimination

The law prohibits FGM, also referred to as “female genital cutting,” for girls under 18 and forced FGM on girls or women of any age; however, FGM was practiced by certain ethnic groups and remained widespread, particularly in rural areas. According to a 2001 report by the Government and UNICEF, 38 percent of women nationwide have undergone FGM; however, according to the women’s rights organization Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (”Development of Women” in Swahili), the percentage of girls undergoing the procedure was as high as 80 to 90 percent in some districts of Eastern, Nyanza, and Rift Valley provinces.

Prostitution is illegal; however, it was a problem and was perpetuated by poverty. Prostitution has contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS, which affected approximately 13 percent of the population. In June 2002, the U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported that 30 percent of pregnant women in Embu District in Eastern Province were HIV-positive, making it the area with the highest rate of infection in the country.

Child rape and molestation continued. There were repeated reports of molestation or rape of children by schoolteachers, mostly in rural areas, and there were frequent press reports of rapes of young girls by middle-aged or older rapists. For example, in February, a police constable was arrested for the defilement of a 14-year-old girl; the constable was awaiting trial at year’s end. Legally, a man does not “rape” a girl under age 14 if he has sexual intercourse with her against her will; he commits the lesser offense of “defilement.”

Child prostitution was a major problem in Nairobi and Mombasa, often connected with the tourist trade. Child prostitution has grown considerably due both to economic contraction and to the increase in the number of children orphaned because of the spread of HIV/AIDS. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), approximately 30,000 girls under the age of 19 years were engaged in prostitution in the country.

The Standard also reported that there were an estimated 250,000 children living on the streets in urban areas–primarily Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru–a figure that it said was a conservative estimate. These children often were involved in theft, drug trafficking, assault, trespassing, and property damage. Street children faced harassment as well as physical and sexual abuse from the police and within the juvenile justice system.

Sources:

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2004)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2005)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2006)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2007)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2008)

Sydsvenskan

A new report conducted by UNICEF and the Government of Kenya finds that thousands of girls in coastal tourist areas are being exploited in the sex-for-cash industry. Here is one girl’s story.

By Pamella Sittoni

MOMBASA, Kenya, 20 December 2006 – “If my father knew that I do this, he would kill me,” says Annie (not her real name). “But he does not provide enough for me and my daughter, so I have to do this to make some extra cash.”

Annie is from a lower middle-class family in Mtwapa, a coastal township near Mombasa. Kenya. She lives with her parents, who put food on the table and pay rent and other bills. As far as the family is concerned, Annie is an obedient child who is never out of the home beyond the 8 p.m. curfew set by her father.

But what they do not know is that Annie goes out almost daily in search of men. “Most of the men are Kenyans,” she says, adding that they pay her from $3 to $8 for sex.

Occasionally she has had sex with tourists, who pay up to three times more. “But it is not easy to get tourists. I can’t go to the beaches to hunt for tourists because police are always on patrol and they would arrest me,” she notes.

Influenced by peers

Annie is barely fifteen. Her daughter is 11 months old.

Her troubles began when she got pregnant while in Standard Eight. “My parents started treating me like an outcast,” Annie recalls. “If I asked for anything, they would ask me to find the man who gave me the baby to buy whatever I needed. They always reminded me that I had let them down in school.”

Like many other teenagers in Mtwapa, Annie was introduced to sex-for-cash by her peers. “They told me I could earn money easily by simply having sex with men,” she says.

‘I will forget about this life’

But Annie is aware that what she is doing is dangerous. “This is not a good life,” she admits. “Sometimes the men treat me badly. Sometimes they refuse to pay me and chase me away. Sometimes they do terrible things to me which I can’t even describe.

“The most horrible ones are the bouncers, who demand that I have sex with them before they allow me into the club where I could meet the tourists,” she adds.

“My father has said I should go back to school next year and repeat Standard Eight. Once I go back to school, I will forget about this life,” Annie says hopefully.

Source:

http://www.unicef.org/

Another 2,000-3,000 girls and boys were involved in full-time prostitution, said the study - carried out jointly with the Kenyan government.

European men represented half of all their clients, the report said.

The 15,000 girls are said to live in the resort areas districts of Mombasa, Kilifi, Malindi, Diani and Kwale.

Poverty is the reason, Unicef says: many families see the sex industry as the only way of putting food on the table.

Local clients

Clearly, what is going on here is unacceptable. Unicef feels that it’s time for zero tolerance… especially of sexual violence against children,” a spokesman said.

“Kenya should be seen as a no-go zone for sexual exploitation of children,” he added.

Italian, German and Swiss nationals are the most common clients of child sex workers among tourists - at 18%, 14% and 12% respectively.

Kenyan men are the largest single group of clients, comprising 38% of the total.

A “staggering” 75% of people involved in tourism thought it was acceptable for girls to exchange sex for cash, and 60% said the same for boys, the study showed.

Many were also implicated directly in the exploitation of children, it added.

“Child sex workers are often compelled to deliver sexual services to Kenyans - beach boys, bar staff, waiters, and others - in order to access tourists. During the low tourist season, the local market for child sex workers keeps the system going,” the report said.

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

http://www.unicef.org/

Sydsvenskan

http://sydsvenskan.se/

Sincerely,

Peter Frank

June 9th 2008 will be a very interested date when Apple CEO Steve Jobs will open up WWDC and tell the world.. what!? To begin with we hope it will be the second generation of Apple iPhone - so simple to use as all other gizmos should be! And it has been announced already that Orange is the telecom company that will sell it in Kenya. If you can get you hands of one, then you will be lucky as you will not need no other gizmo/phone/computer to make your life a bit happier and easier when it comes to communicate, taking picture and even getting a bit of education as Internet will be even easier to use thanx to the browser in iPhone that just whipes the competition away! I know that for a fact!

This will really open up to mobile internet usage for the masses! Together with the upcoming sale of Apple iPhone we will have lowed the bars even more to the masses of the people of Kenya.

Source:
TelecomPaper

Note:
WiMAX , the W orldwide I nteroperability for M icrowave Ac ces s, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access.

Source:
TelecomPaper
Wikipedia about WiMAX

The Cabinet, with a total of 41 ministers in addition to the President and the PM, is also the largest ever in Kenya’s history.

The ceremony at State House, Nairobi, was witnessed by the chief mediator in the peace making process, Mr Kofi Annan and several diplomats.

Mr Odinga, who was first to take the oath of office, first swore allegiance to the presidency as a member of the Cabinet then took another oath as PM, undertaking to “counsel and advice” the President.

Next on line for the swearing in were Mr Odinga’s two deputies, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Musalia Mudavadi. In addition to being Deputy PMs, the two also have ministerial portfolios, with Mr Kenyatta being responsible for Trade while Mr Mudavadi is responsible for Local Government.

Churchill Otieno
Nairobi

Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804170174.html