East African Standard Newspaper Kenya
IV. Country Narratives: Africa
South Africa is a country of origin, destination, and transit for women, children, and men trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and girls are trafficked to South Africa for forced prostitution, forced marriages, and forced labor. Mozambican women and street children from Lesotho, women from East Asia (Thailand and China) and South Asia (Pakistan), and women from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are all trafficked to South Africa for sexual exploitation. South Africans are trafficked internally for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and forced labor, and some are trafficked to Macau, Hong Kong, and the Middle East for similar purposes. ... [Read More]
Kenya
There was no action taken against members of the security forces in the July 2001 killing of seven suspected bank robbers, and the July 2001 killing of a primary school teacher during a fight between Kisii and Maasai youths.The following cases were pending at year's end: The trial of a police officer in the 1997 killing of Catholic lay brother Larry Timmons; the trial of two police officers charged with manslaughter in 2001 for the May 2000 killings of two suspected carjackers; an inquest into the March 2000 killings of eight suspected carjackers; and an investigation into the January 2000 killing of 5-year-old Chesortich. Hundreds of prisoners died in custody due to life-threatening prison conditions, including inadequate food and medical treatment (see Section 1.c.). The Government recorded 536 deaths in prisons during the year, and the chief causes of death were attributed to pulmonary tuberculosis, gastroenteri ... [Read More]
Kenya
The Government broadly interpreted existing laws to restrict freedom of expression. Both the Constitutional prohibition of debates on issues under consideration by the courts and the ruling by the Speaker of the House against parliamentary debate of certain aspects of Presidential conduct limited the scope of deliberation on a number of political issues. During the year, the three police officers fired in 2002 for reportedly holding a private political discussion were reinstated in the police department. Charges against M.P. David Manyara, who was arrested in April 2001 and charged with "incitement" after a speech he gave at an opposition rally, were pending at year's end; Manyara was arrested on separate charges during the year (see Section 1.a.). In general, the print media remained candid and independent. The mainstream print media included four daily newspapers t ... [Read More]
Kenya
On the whole, the print media remained candid and independent. The mainstream print media include four daily newspapers that report on national politics. The largest newspaper, the Nation, is independent and often publishes articles critical of government policies. The second largest newspaper, the East African Standard, is controlled by an investment group with close ties to the Government and the ruling KANU party. It is generally, although not automatically, supportive of the Government. The third daily newspaper, The People, formerly a weekly, is owned by an opposition politician and is highly critical of the Government. The fourth daily, the Kenya Times, which has a small circulation, reflects KANU party views. Two former weekly newspapers, The Post and the Kenyan Star, did not publish regularly during the year. There also are numerous independent tabloid or "gutter" periodicals, which appear irregularly and are critical highly of th ... [Read More]
Kenya
Kenya is a republic dominated by a strong presidency. President Daniel Arap Moi, who has led the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) and served as President since 1978, was reelected most recently in 1997 in the country's second general election since the restoration of multiparty politics in 1991. Since independence in 1963, no president ever has left because of an electoral loss, and KANU has controlled both the presidency and the national legislature continuously, although other parties were illegal only from 1982 to 1991. KANU won a majority of the popular vote and a narrow majority of parliamentary seats in the 1997 general elections. While there were numerous flaws in the 1997 elections, observers concluded that the vot ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
On the whole, the print media is candid and independent. The mainstream print media include four daily newspapers that report on national politics. The largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, is politically independent and often publishes articles critical of government policies. An investment group with close ties to the former government (the KANU party) controls the second largest newspaper, the East African Standard. It is generally critical of the current government. The third daily, The People, is owned by an opposition politician and is highly critical of the government. The fourth daily, The Kenya Times, which has a small circulation, reflects KANU party news. Usually the daily newspapers provide some coverage of international affairs, mainly through Reuters, AP and AFP (Agence France Presse). ... [Read More]
Kenya
In general, the media remained candid and independent. The mainstream print media included four daily newspapers that reported on national politics: The Nation, an independent daily that has long published articles generally critical of government policies; the East African Standard, which previously reflected KANU party views, but became more independent after the December 2002 elections; the People Daily, owned by an opposition politician and highly critical of the Government; and the Kenya Times, which generally reflected opposition KANU party views. There also were numerous independent tabloid periodicals, which appeared irregularly and were highly critical of the Government. Reporting in these tabloids ranged from revealing insider reports to unsubstantiated rumor mongering. ... [Read More]
Africa and the Middle East
South Africa is committed to fighting domestic and international drug trafficking, production, and abuse. The country is an important transit area for cocaine (from South America) and heroin (from the Far East) primarily destined for Southern African and European markets. South Africa is a large producer of cannabis (the world’s fourth largest according to Peter Gastrow of the South African Institute for Strategic Studies), most of which is consumed in the Southern African region. It also may be the world’s largest consumer of mandrax, a variant of methaqualone, an amphetamine-type stimulant. Mandrax is the preferred drug of abuse in South Africa; it is smuggled, primarily from India, but also from China and other sources. Mandrax is the single most important money-earner for indigenous South African organized crime. A study conducted by the South African Police Service (SAPS) found that in 2003/04 there were 341 organized criminal syndicates (gangs) active in a ... [Read More]
Africa and the Middle East
South Africa is committed to fighting trafficking, production and abuse of illicit narcotics, both domestically and internationally. Reliable evidence suggests that the country continues to be to be an important transit area for cocaine (from South America) and heroin (from the Far East), primarily destined for Southern African and European markets. In addition to being a large producer of cannabis, most of which is consumed in Southern Africa, South Africa may be the world's largest consumer of mandrax, a variant of methaqualone. Mandrax is the preferred drug of abuse in South Africa; it is smuggled, primarily from India, but also from China and other sources. Mandrax is the single most important money-earner for indigenous South African organized crime. A study conducted by the South African Police Service (SAPS) found that in 2003 there were 226 organized criminal syndicates active in South Africa. At least 120 are known to be involved in drug trafficki ... [Read More]
Central African Republic
The Government owns and controls three newspapers, the Centrafrique Presse, which the Government created in March and reflects the views of the ruling MLPC, the Agence Centrafricaine de Presse (ACAP) bulletin, which appears sporadically, and Be Africa Sango, which was not published during the year due to lack of finances. Echo de CentrAfrique, a private daily newspaper, is close to the ruling party. More than a dozen private newspapers were published over varying intervals; eight were published on a regular basis during the year. These newspapers often were outspoken in their criticism of the President, the Government's economic policies, and official corruption. Le Citoyen, Be Afrika, and Le Democrate are the most widely read private newspapers. In 2000 both the President and Prime Minister threatened local journalists with sanctions if any newspaper transgressed the media code and went beyond journalistic propriety. ... [Read More]
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