US embassy cable - 05NAIROBI4128

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, Referendum 
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. 
 
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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