KENYA: JANUARY 8 STATUS REPORT

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000076 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT PASS TO PEACE CORPS HQ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC CASC KE PREF SUBJECT: KENYA: JANUARY 8 STATUS REPORT REF: NAIROBI 61 AND 62 ¶1. (U) As of 01/08 1700 hours (Nairobi time): Security: Nation-wide, calm but tense. No skirmishes reported. ODM "postponed" planned rally for today and has indicated it may hold one on Thursday, pending outcome of international mediation of a political settlement. Police remain in force in western Kenya, Mombasa and have cordoned off Uhuru Park in downtown Nairobi, but otherwise no police lock-downs or cordons. International (Kenyatta in Nairobi and Moi in Mombasa) and most domestic airports remain open and there are seats available on flights to Europe. Embassy personnel: All USG PSC and TDY personnel accounted for. Some Kenyan FSNs, however, remain stranded in areas of western Kenya largely due to lack of transport. A few have expressed some concerns about fears of being stopped at illegal, spontaneous roadblocks on feeder roads by gangs of youth conducting so-called "ethnic screening." We have advised FSNs to contact their local police and arrange to be included in police-escorted motor convoys/buses out of western Kenya. CDC and MRU staff in Kisumu report they were able to move around town unhindered and get money, fuel, and food. Major concern is reliability of food supplies. Fuel available but prices are 10-20% higher than pre-violence. Post will assess situation on January 9, with eye to possibility of permitting those Kisumu-based CDC personnel and families now "TDY" in Nairobi because of the violence, to return to Kisumu later this week. One of the two main schools in Nairobi attended by Embassy dependents, Rosslyn Academy, has postponed its opening date from January 7 to January 14, consistent with the postponed opening date for Kenyan public schools. The other, International School of Kenya, plans to open on January 10, but will assess security situation again on January 9. The Kisumu International School (KIS) plans to open January 15. Embassy -- and CDC and MRU offices at the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi and in Kisumu -- were open for business today. Humanitarian Assistance: Ambassador and A/S Frazer traveled via US military C-12 plane to Eldoret and Kisumu today to meet with victims of the violence. They also announced USG contribution of $5 million for humanitarian needs. RANNEBERGER