The Real Deal in Kenya

[RWalker]

The real struggle in Kenya is over the question of the theft of Kenya's land and the general role of neo-colonialism in that country...the truth is that British elements such as Delamere are the point men for US led imperialism in that part of home. We must oppose neo-colonialism everywhere it exists, for as Dr. King said "neo-colonialism is the worse form of racism." It is this struggle that fuels the conflicts over elections and other social-economic-political matters, not only in Kenya, but everywhere in the world where neo-colonialism holds sway.

The Delamere Court Case in Kenya
Articles,opinions and comments about the Delamere Court case in Kenya .
Saturday, 8 December 2007
Kenyan landowner kills black man on land(source:Zimbabwe political analyst)
Kenyan landowner kills black man on land
01.14, Thu July 26 2007

Nairobi - A Kenyan court ruled on Wednesday that Thomas Cholmondeley, descendant of one of the country's most famous white settlers, should present his defence in a murder case that has stoked longstanding racial tensions.

The great-grandson of Lord Delamere has admitted shooting black Kenyan stonemason Robert Njoya, whom he accused of poaching on his 22 000ha Soysambu farm in May 2006.

Cholmondeley, who is the son of the fifth Lord Delamere, denied murdering Njoya, saying he was acting in self-defence.

The aristocrat's family is one of Kenya's largest landowners and is famed for its association with the wealthy white settlers of colonial east Africa's Happy Valley set whose passions for big game hunting, adultery and lavish parties inspired the book and film White Mischief.

'Second murder case against the aristocrat'

Kenya's judicial system allows a court to terminate a trial before a defendant presents his case, if the judge deems that prosecutors do not have enough evidence to make their case against the accused person.

"After carefully considering the evidence adduced by 38 witnesses, the prosecution has established a prima facie case for the accused to be put on his defence," Justice Muga Apondi told a packed Nairobi courtroom.

Defence lawyer Fred Ojiambo told the court he would present seven witnesses including a police officer from the national firearms bureau.

The trial is the second murder case against the aristocrat, who was also accused of killing a black wildlife ranger in 2005.

That case was dropped for lack of evidence, to major public outcry and suggestions from many Kenyans that there were still two sets of laws - one for whites and one for blacks.

"Famed for his gin-soaked antics'

The cases have fanned simmering colonial-era resentment against white settlers who carved out large swathes of land for themselves during British rule in Kenya.

In the Njoya case for which he is now on trial, Cholmondeley told police he and a friend were walking on his ranch when he saw five men with machetes, bows and arrows and a dead impala.

Cholmondeley told police he shot at Njoya and a dog after he asked the men to stop but they set their dogs on him instead. The men however say he fired as they fled from him.

The original Lord Delamere was famed for his gin-soaked antics and his name was given to a bar at the Norfolk Hotel that was one of his favourite haunts and remains a must-stop for European visitors to Nairobi.

Although many Kenyans complain about white farmers, many others are also resentful of wealthy black Kenyans who allocated themselves massive tracts of land after independence from Britain in 1963.
http://delamere-court-case-kenya.blo...ck-man-on.html


From the AP
Kenya President, Opposition Leader Meet
By MALKHADIR M. MUHUMED – 2 hours ago
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's president and the rival with whom he has agreed to share power after weeks of bitter negotiations held a two-hour meeting Tuesday about how to move the country past postelection violence that killed more than 1,000 people.
President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga both claim to have won Dec. 27 presidential elections. Their dispute unleashed weeks of bloodshed, exposing divisions over land and economic inequality.
International and local observers say the vote was rigged and it's unclear who won, and they accuse politicians of fomenting the violence.
"We agreed that we want to heal the wounds which were inflicted during these last two months," Odinga told reporters as he left the meeting, which he described as "very productive."
It was the first meeting between Kibaki and Odinga since they struck a political deal last week to share power, with Odinga serving as prime minister.
On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised his predecessor, Kofi Annan, for his role in mediating. Annan had shown "great leadership" in defusing two months of postelection conflict in the east African nation, Ban said.
Despite the deal, many fear the fighting — much of it pitting longtime neighbors against each other — will not wane easily.
On Monday, 13 people were burned alive or hacked to death in what police described as one in a series of clashes over land in the region at the foot of Mount Elgon in Kenya's fertile Rift Valley, some 300 miles northwest of Nairobi.
Bernard Muli, a police chief in the area, blamed the Sabaot Land Defense Force, a militia group fighting for the redistribution of land in western Kenya.
There was no claim of responsibility. A member of the SLDF, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said his group is simply trying to "correct historical injustices."
Some 800 people have been killed in land clashes in the region since 2006, said Ken Wafula, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Democracy in the Rift Valley.
The tensions trace back to Kenya's colonial era, when white settlers seized land in the western Rift Valley. The Kikuyus who lived there were dispersed throughout the country, and the British ruled by keeping the groups divided.
At independence in 1963, Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, helped his Kikuyu kinsmen by appointing them to top government posts and easing the way for them to buy land from white settlers.
The Kikuyu quickly prospered, growing into the most powerful ethnic group in the country, running business and politics. The favoritism shown to Kikuyus fueled a simmering anger among the nation's 41 other tribes.
The old bitterness regularly erupts over land, particularly at election time.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i...s4NHAD8V6LE8O0


and from the BBC,

Land clashes break out in Kenya
At least 12 people have been killed in land clashes in west Kenya, police say.
Ten houses were razed to the ground and some people burnt to death, while others were shot, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told the BBC.
It is unclear if the overnight clashes are linked to election clashes which killed some 1,500 people this year.
The political crisis also reignited long-standing land and economic disputes in parts of Kenya. A deal was signed last week to end the violence.
Rabson Mbuya said his wife, three children and housekeeper were among those killed after the attackers knocked on the door of his house in Embaskasi village at the foot of Mount Elgon.
"There was no response," he said, weeping, according to the AP news agency.
"One spilled petrol on the roof before torching it. I heard my wife and children scream but there was no way I could go near and rescue them."
He said he also saw a three-year-old boy hacked to death as he ran from his parents' house.
'Message of Hope'
Armed police have been deployed to the area in pursuit of the raiders but no arrests have been made.
The dispute between the Soy and Ndorobo clans of the Sabaot ethnic group has lasted for more than a year.
The local police commissioner told the BBC that the victims were accused of not paying protection money to the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) militia.
Land disputes are one of the issues to be tackled as talks between the government and opposition were to resume in the capital, Nairobi.
Parliament is to convene on Thursday to discuss the deal under which opposition leader Raila Odinga is to become prime minister and share power with President Mwai Kibaki.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who brokered the peace deal, left Kenya on Sunday after more than a month.
On Monday, the Daily Nation newspaper published a "Message of Hope" from Mr Annan, in which he urged Kenyans to make sure their leaders stuck to the terms of the power-sharing deal they had reached.
"You and your country can move forward and find some solace in healing, if there are processes of justice, truth and reconciliation that will take leadership from your new government, but it will also take commitment from all of you," he wrote.
Former Nigerian Foreign Minister Oluyemi Adeniji is taking over as the chief mediator.