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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001295 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KE
SUBJECT:  The Reform Agenda - Energizing Youth and Public Support 
 
¶1. Summary. The Ambassador and members of the Mission team used a 
late May visit to Eldoret and Kisumu to support grassroots youth 
organizations to press peacefully for implementation of the reform 
agenda, and to energize other public support for this.  The 
three-day trip included inauguration of an inter-ethnic market 
reconstructed with U.S. support, discussions with community leaders, 
town hall meetings with youth, outreach through a call-in radio 
program, and installation as a Wanga Kingdom elder. The three-day 
visit was well-covered by the media.  This message also includes 
reporting on a previous visit the Ambassador and Mission team made 
to Nakuru in Rift Valley also focused on outreach with respect to 
the reform agenda.  End summary. 
 
---------------------- 
Eldoret in Rift Valley 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. The visit was the Ambassador's tenth to Rift Valley since the 
eruption of post-election violence last year.  With Catholic Bishop 
Korir (who just won a lifetime human rights achievement award for 
his efforts to promote reconciliation), community leaders, and the 
constituency Member of Parliament Margaret Kamar, the Ambassador 
inaugurated the market at Burnt Forest, which was reconstructed by 
USAID following the violence last year.  The market is used by 
Kalenjins and Kikuyus, and so plays both highly practical and 
symbolic roles. In his remarks the Ambassador emphasized the 
importance of reconciliation, and the relevance of implementation of 
the reform agenda to achieve that as well as to achieve economic 
growth.  The Ambassador stopped at the Kiambaa church burial site to 
pay his respects to the 35 people burnt in that church during the 
post-election violence. 
 
¶3. Following a meeting with community leaders, the Ambassador held a 
town hall meeting with a couple of hundred youth involved in 
grassroots non-political efforts to promote reconciliation and to 
push for implementation of reforms. The Ambassador emphasized the 
need for peaceful pressure across ethnic and political lines for 
implementation of the reform agenda.  The town hall discussion was 
organized by the grassroots youth organizations Citizens Assembly 
and Rift Valley Dialogue.  (Caroline Ruto, the head of Citizens 
Assembly, is a particularly dynamic leader and we have nominated her 
for the International Visitors Program.) The Ambassador invited MP 
Kamar to participate, and she held her own in the face of tough 
comments from the youth regarding the lack of progress on reforms. 
(Kamar is a member of PM Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement.) 
 
--------------------- 
Nakuru in Rift Valley 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. The visit to Eldoret followed another visit to Rift Valley in 
April, to Ndeffo-Molo near Nakuru, to participate in a peace event 
and town hall meeting organized by the grassroots youth organization 
Citizens Assembly (see above).  The event opened with a peace and 
reconciliation ceremony and forum involving about 5,000 Kalenjins 
and Kikuyus in a field between their respective living areas (the 
first time those communities had met together since the 
post-election violence). Religious leaders, community elders, local 
officials, war veterans, and others were involved - and the 
Administrative Police provided strong, positive support.  The 
Ambassador addressed the gathering to urge redoubled efforts to 
promote reconciliation and to highlight the importance of 
implementation of reforms in order to achieve democratic stability. 
(The local Member of Parliament, who is not progressive and was 
linked to post-election violence, attempted to crash and take over 
the meeting, which the Ambassador refused to let happen.) The 
Ambassador then held a town hall meeting with about 100 youth 
leaders at Egerton University. 
 
------------------------- 
Kisumu in Nyanza Province 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. In Kisumu the Ambassador and his team met with progressive Mayor 
Sam Okello, and accompanied the Mayor on visits to a local hospital 
supported by the Centers for Disease Control, USAID, and PEPFAR. 
(CDC operates a large facility in Kisumu; the Ambassador held a town 
hall meeting there with the U.S. and local staff.) The Mayor and 
Ambassador also visited an association of self-employed youths and 
the public market, where an impromptu town hall meeting was held. 
 
¶6. The Ambassador held discussions with an impressive group of 
community leaders (religious, private sector and other young 
professionals, elders, civil society, etc.) who have formed - with 
support through USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives - the 
Nyanza Strategic Recovery Forum. The Forum's objective is to serve 
 
NAIROBI 00001295  002 OF 002 
 
 
as a platform for people to support the economic and political 
recovery of Nyanza Province and the nation as a whole. The 
participants said that people feel a sense of hopelessness due to 
conflicting and unclear messages regarding the reform agenda that 
they hear from their leaders (President Kibaki and Prime Minister 
Odinga). The participants, though they operate on PM Odinga's home 
turf in Nyanza, said that they are increasingly seeing Odinga and 
their parliamentarians as part of the problem in Kenya, not as part 
of the solution.  They are determined to press across ethnic and 
political lines to urge implementation of reforms. 
 
¶7. The Ambassador held a town hall meeting with a group of 500 
youth. The event was organized by the Nyanza Youth Coalition, a 
grassroots youth organization formed with assistance from the Office 
of Transition Initiatives. The Ambassador urged the youth to expand 
their efforts to press peacefully for implementation of the reform 
agenda, and to do so through coordinated efforts across ethnic and 
political lines. Importantly, Caroline Ruto of Citizens Assembly and 
the head of Kikuyus for Change (a similar grassroots youth 
organization based in Central Province) were present and 
participated in the town hall discussion.  In addition to noting 
President Obama's current interest in supporting reform in Kenya, 
the Ambassador called attention to then Senator Obama's 2006 speech 
in Nairobi in which he specifically challenged youth to support 
reform. This was greeted with chants of "yes, we can."  The two-hour 
discussion explored additional steps youth can undertake, 
particularly by expanding networking and coordinated action among 
youth groups. (We followed up on this. The Ambassador participated 
in a forum in late May near Nairobi which involved dozens of youth 
groups representing more than 28 of the 42 ethnic groups of Kenya. 
The forum resulted in an action plan to press for implementation of 
reforms.) Other issues discussed included the need for the youth 
groups to work to educate young people about political and economic 
issues, particularly with respect to the fact that economic 
development (and thus employment for the 50 percent of youth who are 
unemployed) is linked to political reform. The youth also noted that 
the political elite and other vested interests are putting pressure 
on emerging youth groups because they fear their independence and 
pressure for change. 
 
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Wanga Kingdom 
------------- 
 
¶8. The Ambassador used the occasion of his installation as a Wanga 
Kingdom elder to give a presentation that focused on the need for 
Kenya to harness its diversity to promote unity and economic and 
political progress. The Ambassador discussed the challenges the U.S. 
has faced in this regard, and noted that the considerable progress 
we have made demonstrates what can be achieved. (The Wanga Kingdom 
is located in Mumias in Western Province and dates back many 
centuries.  With the assistance of the huge Mumias Sugar Company 
based there, the Wanga are preserving their rich heritage in an 
impressive cultural center.) 
 
¶9. These trips are part of continuing public and private diplomacy 
outreach efforts to energize support for implementation of the 
reform agenda, and to promote ongoing reconciliation efforts. 
RANNEBERGER