Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05NAIROBI4128
2005-10-03 15:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nairobi
Cable title:  

ANTI-FOREIGN RHETORIC HEATS UP KENYA'S "YES"

Tags:  PGOV ASEC PREL KDEM KE 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 004128 

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2025
TAGS: PGOV ASEC PREL KDEM KE
SUBJECT: ANTI-FOREIGN RHETORIC HEATS UP KENYA'S "YES"
CAMPAIGN

REF: A) NAIROBI 4080 B) NAIROBI 3988

Classified By: Political Counselor Michael J.Fitzpatrick for reasons
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 004128

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2025
TAGS: PGOV ASEC PREL KDEM KE
SUBJECT: ANTI-FOREIGN RHETORIC HEATS UP KENYA'S "YES"
CAMPAIGN

REF: A) NAIROBI 4080 B) NAIROBI 3988

Classified By: Political Counselor Michael J.Fitzpatrick for reasons 1.
4 (b,d)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The foreign diplomatic community -- and
the U.S. Ambassador in particular -- came under fire October
1 for their criticisms of the referendum campaigns for and
against a new Kenyan Constitution. The U.S. was singled out
among the foreign missions accused of funding the "No"
campaign in an alleged effort to destabilize the Kibaki
government. "Arab absentee landlords" also came in for
public rebuke. Elsewhere, the Maasai and other pastoralists
convened to formally declare their opposition to the proposed
new constitution. END SUMMARY.

--------------
Fallout From the Press Statement
--------------


2. (SBU) The "Yes" campaign in support of a new Kenyan
constitution was "relaunched" October 1 in friendly
territory, Nakuru. Poloff attended the public outdoor rally,
which was led by 41 Members of Parliament, including 11
ministers, and featured Vice President Moody Awori. The
speaker line-up was dominated by ethnic Kikuyus, in
predominately Kikuyu Nakuru. Whereas a number of previous
rallies (both pro- and anti-) have encouraged ethnic
divisions and promoted tribalism, the Nakuru rally took a
different tack -- and focused on alleged foreign influences.
In addition to the ad hominem attacks on their domestic
opponents, the "Yes" speakers expanded their efforts to taint
the "No" campaigners by launching into incendiary attacks
against the international community in Kenya, and the U.S.
Ambassador in particular.


3. (SBU) Security Minister John Michuki took to the podium
to denounce the September 27 meeting between foreign envoys
and the Electoral Commission of Kenya Chairman Samuel
Kivuitu. He decried the 26-Embassy press statement released
after that meeting, which cautioned both camps against
inciting violence and criticized the inappropriate use of
government resources (ref A). Michuki referred to the
"audacity" of the envoys, actions and emphasized that the
envoys did not seek permission to meet with Kivuitu. Michuki

further denounced what he termed foreign interference in
Kenyan domestic politics and likened the action of the envoys
to colonialism.

--------------
The U.S. Implicated in &Plot8
to Overthrow Government
--------------


4. (SBU) Minister Michuki was followed by an un-planned
speaker, Assistant Minister for Finance Mutua Katuku, who
further flamed the anti-foreign sentiment. He specifically
accused the U.S. Ambassador of funding the No campaign.
Katuku stated that he had heard it with his own ears that
&that white man8 intended to spend as much money as
necessary to overthrow the Kibaki government. Katuku accused
foreign diplomats of providing Sh 5 billion (NOTE:
equivalent to USD 67 million! END NOTE.) to the "No" campaign
leaders. Katuku alleged foreigners were intent on blocking
the new constitution, asserting that foreigners benefit from
the current constitution and will lose out under the new
draft. He then repeatedly encouraged the crowd to chant that
they reject foreign (also referred to as &white men8)
interference. At this point, Poloff, the only non-African
present at the rally of several thousand, found herself the
subject of much interest from her neighbors in the crowd.
Fortunately, the crowd appeared more confused than incensed
by the politicians, fury. The mainstream news media largely
glossed over Katuku,s accusations against the U.S.
Ambassador, and spoke of allegations of foreign financing
only in general terms.

--------------
Arabs on the Coast Also Come Under Attack
--------------


5. (C) Foreign diplomats were not the only group to come
under fire. Earlier in the morning, at a separate "Yes"
rally in Machakos district, Assistant Minister Katuku accused
"Arab" non-governmental organizations of funneling money into
the "No" campaign. During the Nakuru rally, MP Kalembe Ndile
pointed an accusing finger at Arabs on the coast for
financing the "No" campaign. Ndile also accused foreign
diplomats of acting to protect white landowners. (NOTE:
Presidential advisor Stanley Murage complained to PolCouns
October 2 that "Yemeni absentee landlords" are funding the
"No" campaign to protect their landholdings. In the same
conversation, Murage accepted the Ambassador's protest over
Katuku's incitement based on lies of U.S. funding of the
opposition, and promised to speak directly with Katuku. END
NOTE.)

-------------- --------------
Pursuit of MPs Raise Specter of Moi Era Persecution
-------------- --------------


6. (C) MPs David Mwenje (Embakasi) and Reuben Ndolo
(Makadara),both vocal "No" supporters, were arrested on
September 30, following their storming of a September 29
pro-"Yes" meeting held in Mwenje,s home constituency. Shots
were fired. The two MPs had subsequently fled to Parliament,
where they remained overnight under the threat of arrest. An
estimated 50 police officers kept vigil outside Parliament to
prevent their escape. The MPs managed to evade the police,
escaped Parliament, and presented themselves before a
magistrate where they applied for preemptory bail.
Nevertheless, the police discovered the MPs' location at the
court and promptly arrested them amidst very heavy security.
After spending the weekend shuffling from police station to
police station, much to the dismay of their concerned family
members, the two MPs were charged with destruction of
property and released on bail on October 3. (NOTE: During a
September 30 meeting with the Ambassador, Security Minister
Michuki stated he personally ordered the two MPs, arrest.
END NOTE.) While the MPs, actions in disrupting a peaceful
gathering are cause for concern, the government,s
"overreaction" has been decried by many as politically
motivated persecution. In the eyes of many, the
government,s actions have turned into martyrs those who
would otherwise be deemed troublemakers.

--------------
Pastoralists Pledge Support to the "Nos"
--------------


7. (U) Simultaneous with the October 1 Nakuru rally, the
small town of Suswa witnessed the largest gathering of Maasai
in living memory. Pastoralists from Narok, Transmara,
Kajiado, Laikipia, Samburu, Isiolo, Marsabit, and even West
Pokot attended the gathering to formally declare their
opposition to the proposed new constitution, in what they
termed the Suswa Declaration. The communities, identified
land issues, in addition to executive power and devolution,
as fatal flaws in the proposed constitution. The No stance
was arrived at despite the government,s announcement the
previous day that Amboseli National Park would revert to
Maasai community ownership. A former Narok city counselor
asserted to poloff that such a transfer was illegal and
amounted to little more than an empty promise given that the
proposed new constitution, if adopted, would supercede any
legal notice from the Minter for Tourism. The proposed new
constitution, he argues, would adversely impact the rights of
community landholders by the establishment of a National Land
Commission which would have some jurisdiction over the use
and development of community land, and might even require
community land revert back to government control. Needless
to say, the government,s attempt to placate the Maasai
community did not have its desired affect. (See septel for a
review of enticements being employed by the government to win
more voters to their side.)


8. (SBU) COMMENT: It is perhaps not surprising to hear
some "anti-foreign" reaction from the "Yes" campaigners after
the envoys' press statement. But it is dismaying -- and a
cause for concern. It represents a disturbing trend in
referendum campaigns already characterized by violence and
deepening tribal divisions. The verbal attacks against
diplomats in Kenya is designed primarily to discredit
domestically the "No" campaigners, by painting them as slaves
pandering to foreign masters; we do not believe it reflects
any real anti-foreigner sentiment on the part of government
leadership. The anti-foreigner rants to discredit the "Nos"
may be a sign of the "Yes" campaign,s increasing desperation
in the face of the growing momentum of the "No" campaign. Or
maybe they just think they can get away it.
BELLAMY