- Kenya has been granted two more months extension to establish a special court to try those implicated in the post election violence, Prime Minister Raila Odinga has announced today.
Kenyan parliament voted against the Bill which was expected to pave way for the formation of a post election tribunal saying they had no faith in Kenya's justice system, further indicating that they would rather have suspects tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.
Prime Minister Odinga said Mr Kofi Annan, chief mediator who brokered Kenya unity government, has hinted the willingness delay handing over the violence perpetrators to the ICC until the government has exhausted all the possible avenues.
An inquiry into the post election violence had ordered that the special court be set up by 1 March, or else face the ICC trial in the Hague. The rejection of the bill last week by the parliament was yet another hurdle in President Kibaki's administration that is left with little choice but to allow the ICC to take over the cases.
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga who fought for the bill in parliament including intensive lobbying, are still pushing for the tribunal as both local and international pressure intensifies.
The 2007 violence broke out after Mr Odinga claimed that the polls results had been rigged, but after weeks of talks, the rivals agreed to share power in February 2008. The violence killed almost 1,500 people and over half a million people were uprooted.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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