18 January 2008
Nairobi — The Orange Democratic Movement is expected to call off mass action after today's protests and change strategy in their push for justice over the contested re-election of President Kibaki.
At the same time, sections of the rail line to western Kenya have been destroyed by mobs shouting "No Raila! No Rail" in the third day of demonstrations. Sections of the rail has been removed at Nairobi's Kibera slums and at Kibos, near Kisumu.
The Reuters news agency has quoted ODM spokesman Salim Lone saying that the protests will end after demonstrations today.
"These last three days have been very painful and we have seen a lot of needless deaths and suffering ... but today is the last day of the protests and we are now going to move on," Mr Lone said.
Kenya's rapid slide into crisis since the December 27 election has dented its democratic credentials, horrified world powers, scared off tourists and hurt one of Africa's most promising economies.
Lone said ODM would switch to other forms of action like small strikes and boycotts of companies run by what he called government hardliners backing Kibaki.
"One of the purposes is to weaken the hardliners and strengthen the moderates," Lone said, mentioning Brookside Dairies, Equity Bank and Citi Hoppa Buses as possible targets.
ODM supporters have fought running battles with police firing teargas and live ammunition since the start of the three-day protests on Wednesday.
The Government has banned rallies called by ODM despite calls from Western nations, including the United States and Britain, for it to allow peaceful protests.
The United States, in a statement late yesterday, blamed both sides of the political divide for the violence.
"That violence springs from the fact that there are clashes because of the political deadlock," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
"More than anything else they need to come together for the Kenyan people and for Kenya's future."
Former UN head Kofi Annan is due to lead the latest peace push after African Union talks failed last week. He was set to fly in this week but fell ill with flu. The UN says he is recovering but has given no date for his arrival.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Mr Gerishon Ikiara said five trains taking fuel to Uganda were yesterday halted after the rail line was destroyed at Kibera and Kibos areas following mass demonstrations.
He said transport in various areas was also disrupted. In western Kenya major highways were barricaded.
The PS said demonstrations in major urban centres were a major setback to efforts to normalize transport.
Mr Ikiara, who chairs the post election response committee on transport, said operations in the capital were initially smooth but demonstrators engaged police in running battles which restricted flow of vehicles into the central business district.
Additional reporting by Reuters and the Kenya News Agency
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The call off of the protests is a very good gesture by Odinga and ODM as it is a well-known fact that the protests cause a lot of unnecessary pains and deaths as alluded to also by ODM. This shows that Odinga and ODM demonstrates empathy for the citizens of Kenya despite any anger that the the alleged injustice of the handling of the election might have generated. It is now hoped that the temperature will cool on both sides for the Kofi Annan team to show the way out of the crisis. However, since damage to… [Read Full Text]