WEEK 3: Political troubles for Foreign Minister and agreements on the International Criminal Court on Kenya's 2008 violence

This week shows how busy Kenya can be in its political life and in the news in general.

Since Tuesday, Kenya Foreign Minister, Moses Wetangula has been under increasing criticisms, especially from the members of Parliament. A few of them even ask for his dismissal on Wednesday, accusing him of misleading the government in an affair of diplomatic fields' acquisition in Tokyo... He has also been accused of nepotism in the recruitment of staff at

Kenya

’s missions abroad. Bad week for the Foreign Minister. I had interviewed him last week, on the Somali President's visit. Difficult to say who is a corrupt politician and who is not from the first meeting... Wetangula denies all this accusation. But the Parliament still intends to examine the report on the Japan affair and to hear the minister next week in a special audience. 

The other topic making headlines this week in Kenya is the preparation for the International Criminal Court investigations in the country to begin soon. The prosecutors will investigate on the post-electoral violence that followed the general and presidential elections on December 27, 2007. The riots led to the killing of about 1,200 people early 2008. Hundreds of thousands were displaced.  

A breaking happened this week; on Tuesday a Cabinet team approved that a set of minutes of security meetings had to be handed over to the International Criminal Court. This measure will considerably speed up the trials of the violence.

Then on Wednesday, media revealed that a prominent Kenyan personality had written to the International Criminal Court. He apparently volunteered to surrender to the court if he is cited as a suspect in crimes against humanity during the election violence. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo declined to name the person or indicate whether it was a politician, businessman or security official, for legal reasons. Ocampo will come to Kenya next week. He promised that the Kenya case would be an unprecedented example of international justice.

Weel, to end the week softly, I am now working on two stories on health and nutrition. Today is the 3rd Global Handwash Day, and a lot of events are to take place all over Eastern and Southern Africa, especially organised by the UNICEF. The goal is to teach children to wash their hands with soap and at most critical moments to avoid fatal diseases as diarrhoea and pneumonia.

And tomorrow will be the World Food Day. For the occasion, I interviewed directors of various programmes at MSF (Medecins sans frontieres / Doctors without borders) from Kenya and Djibouti.

There is so much more to say about Kenya... I'll do my best.