>> EAST AFRICA WATCH...

Moi's Pension: Bill Now Allows Politics
By FRED OLUOCH
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
A CONTROVERSIAL clause in Kenya's Presidential Retirement Benefits Bill barring retired presidents from engaging in political activities if they are to earn their pension has been removed, paving the way for former president Daniel arap Moi to participate in the affairs of the official opposition party Kanu.
But questions still remained last week, barely a month after President Mwai Kibaki assented to the amended Bill on December 31, as to whether the government was reacting to pressure from Kanu, or whether it was seeking some accommodation with the party in view of the infighting within the ruling National Rainbow Coalition.
Pointing at clause 6 (1) of the Bill, which stated, "A retired president shall neither hold office in nor actively participate in the activities of any political party," while part (2) of the same clause stated, "A retired president shall be expected to play a non-partisan, consultative and advisory role to the government of Kenya", the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Kiraitu Murungi, had insisted that Mr Moi would have to stay out of politics or lose his benefits.
The EastAfrican has, however, established that the clauses were amended during the committee stage, leaving the clause open to interpretation and probably giving the former president a leeway to participate in political activities.
According to William Ruto, the Kanu director of elections and a close associate of Mr Moi, the provision was bound to give room to the government to use flimsy reasons to get back at the former president since it is difficult to pinpoint what constitutes political action.
"A former head of state is experienced and mature enough to restrain himself in such circumstances. But this cannot be legally enforced, given that even voting is a political action. You cannot run away from the reality that Mr Moi was a politician for a long time and had developed a Kenyan constituency in those 24 years," he said.
The amendment, however, had more to it than sheer persistence by Kanu. It had the full blessing of some faction in the ruling party who, it is understood, had realised that the former president could serve as a stabilising force at a time when the survival of the NARC coalition is increasingly in doubt. However, he is still not allowed to hold an elective party post.
The development, strongly opposed by those who would rather see the retired president account for some of the shortcomings of his 24-year rule, is bound to raise doubts as to whether part of the Narc leadership - some of whom cut their political teeth under Mr Moi - is capable of making a complete break with the past. It is also debatable whether Mr Moi will ever face any prosecutions for any alleged past misdeeds.
Kanu's Shadow Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs and Mr Moi's personal lawyer, Mutula Kilonzo, who fiercely fought for the repeal of the restrictive clause, maintained last week that the provision was likely to interfere with the former president's right to association just like any other citizen as enshrined in the constitution.
"The man has served the country for a long time and we cannot afford to put in place discriminatory clauses that isolate him from the rest of the country. It is not possible for anybody to play non-partisan politics and NARC ought not to be frightened by the former president because he means well," he said.
But despite Mr Kilonzo's brave talk, it is now emerging that some National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK) leaders have realised that the former president, who still wields enormous influence, could come in handy when it comes to future alliances.
NAK leaders, according to sources, intend to use the former president to continue influencing the politics of the expansive Rift Valley that was on the verge of falling into the hands of youthful MPs, who have little time for NARC.
With a record 48 years in politics, including 24 years as president, Mr Moi will have a great influence in Kenyan politics as long as he lives.
It is an open secret that the former president continues to call the shots in Kanu despite having officially relinquished the party chairmanship in September last year. A case in point is his key role in the recent formation of the Coalition of National Unity (CNU), that brought together Kanu and Ford-People.
Notably, during the parliamentary debate on the Bill in October, Mr Murungi, who had come to epitomise the "Moi-bashing" brigade, was a changed man.
As he put it, "We want to send out the message that there is dignified life after a president retires. There is no president who will not make a mistake here and there. Human errors can always be forgiven," said Murungi, who appealed to Kenyans to show tolerance, understanding and treat elder statesmen with respect for the sake of development and peace.
Apparently, Kenyans were surprised when the former president, who had been shunned since he handed over power on December 30 last year, attended the October 20 Kenyatta Day festivities at Nyayo stadium and was later invited to a State House party where he was warmly welcomed by President Mwai Kibaki, besides exchanging pleasantries with his hitherto "predators."
But more surprising were media reports that Mr Moi had, on the following day, a hushed one-hour private meeting with President Kibaki, where the two are reported to have discussed the recently-established Moi African Foundation and the possible role the former president could play in regional peace-making.
Yet, that does not take away the lingering apprehension within NARC that the former president still retains tremendous clout and capacity to interfere with the government of the day, even though he has continuously insisted that he cannot undermine an African government and has always wished President Kibaki well.
This perception came to the fore during the 2002 elections, where Mr Moi, by fronting the relatively inexperienced Uhuru Kenyatta at the expense of more seasoned politicians in Kanu, was seen to be seeking to maintain a tab on the affairs of the country even in retirement, just like the former Tanzanian president, the late Julius Nyerere.
Nyerere, despite his retirement in 1985, continued to play an active role in that country's politics, where he not only handpicked his successors - Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Benjamin Mkapa - but openly campaigned for his party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)
According to the Minister for Co-operative Development, Njeru Ndwiga, Mr Moi should strive to be non-partisan at all times, even as he is free to comment on political issues. "A retired president is a key figure in the country's politics and should be accorded respect by all Kenyans. But this respect can only be achieved by him staying away from partisan politics," he argued.
Also not happy with the development is the Safina leader, Paul Muite, who argued that the decision to give Mr Moi his retirement benefits without linking it to transitional justice sets a bad precedent.
"While restricting his political activities could have meant gagging an individual and denying him his human rights, it is not proper for one to destroy the country and then enjoy the benefits," he argued.
"You can only have democracy if you have the courage to confront the past. It is wrong to begin to pay him pension without making him account for past misdeeds, such as the ethnic clashes and destruction of the economy," he said.
Mr Muite, however, insisted that he is not vindictive, arguing, "If we don't address past looting of the economy, the current regime will do the same, since people will be taking office with the aim to loot, knowing that they will not be called to account for their actions."
Mr Kilonzo, on the other hand, maintained that there is need to differentiate between political and legal crimes. According to him, Mr Moi was politically punished when he witnessed his party being voted out of power as a result of his mistake to nominate Mr Kenyatta as the party presidential candidate. "But mistakes of a criminal nature have their place in the courts of law and I am ready for anybody who has one."
He argued that the decision to give the former president his benefits without conditions is for the future benefit of the country, since it will put a stop to the urge by politicians to amass wealth at any cost out of fear that they will be turned into paupers.
"Eighty per cent of the sitting president's salary is reasonable to convince anybody not to steal and plunder, knowing very well that they will be comfortable in retirement." he said.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Saudi Charity Plotted to Bomb Zanzibar Hotels, US Charges
By KEVIN J. KELLEY
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
MEMBERS OF the Tanzanian branch of a Saudi charity plotted last year to attack several hotels in Zanzibar, the US charged last week.
"The scheduled attacks did not take place due to increased security by local authorities, but planning for the attacks remained active," US officials added.
The charges came as the US Treasury Department called for international financial sanctions against the Tanzanian and Kenyan branches of the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation. The two East African organisations, along with Al Haramain affiliates in Indonesia and Pakistan, are involved in terrorist activity, the US said.
The Kenyan and Tanzanian groups are specifically linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, according to American officials. The two branches are also said to have ties to an organisation in Somalia that the US says is involved in terrorism.
Acting jointly with the government of Saudi Arabia, US officials last week asked the United Nations to order its member states to freeze assets belonging to the al Haramain groups in the four named countries. Al Haramain has denied any connection to terrorism.
Individuals associated with the Kenyan and Tanzanian branches are said to have been involved in the plots to destroy the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998.
An unnamed former director of the Tanzanian branch of Al Haramain assisted the advance team that plotted the bombings, which killed a total of 212 Africans and 12 Americans.
The US Treasury Department also revealed that an Al Haramain employee had indicated how the Nairobi embassy would be attacked a full year before the bombing actually took place. This source disclosed in August 1997 that a suicide bomber would crash a vehicle into the embassy's gate. And that is indeed how the bombing was carried out 12 months later. The allegation of the terrorist plot comes five months after the US State Department issued a travel advisory on Tanzania, which included warnings of threats in Zanzibar.
Attempts by The EastAfrican to raise the issue with the government and Bakwata - Tanzania Muslims apex organisation were unsuccessful.
A few months ago, however, two Al Haramain leaders were declared prohibited immigrants - one for cheating in his real citizenship papers. It could not be established immediately why the second one was deported.