President Mwai Kibaki

Kenyan radio shows interrupted their programming Friday and bus conductors shouted the news from the windows: President Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee stunned many with its decision to award Obama the prize so early in his presidency for his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms and defuse tensions through diplomacy. But few in Kenya were critical: The East African nation has a special regard for Obama, the son of a Kenyan economist and an American anthropologist. "When I heard it on the radio I said 'Hallelujah!'" said 65-year-old James Andaro. "It's God's blessing, this win is for Africa." ... Read Full Story

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has sent a protest note to U.S. leader Barack Obama over warning letters issued to 15 prominent Kenyans Washington says are blocking political reform, a statement said on Saturday. The recipients include government ministers, members of parliament and top civil servants on both sides of Kenya's coalition government, the U.S. embassy in Nairobi said. The letters, from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson, warned the recipients their future relationship with Washington was directly linked to their support for reforms and opposition to violence. "President Mwai Kibaki has written to President Barack Obama ... expressing ... Read Full Story

Kenya's anti-corruption chief resigned Wednesday following weeks of public protest and a parliamentary vote against his reappointment. Aaron Ringera said he and a deputy director stepped down because their reappointment by President Mwai Kibaki in August had "raised a national storm." "We have given the fight against corruption our all, we could not have done better," Ringera said. Kibaki's reappointment of Ringera and two deputy directors drew public anger because ordinary Kenyans, anti-graft activists, religious leaders and diplomats doubted whether Ringera could effectively fight graft as director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission. Critics said the commission has not successfully concluded one case of high ... Read Full Story

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Tuesday sacked controversial police chief Mohamed Hussein Ali and demoted him to the head of the country's postal services. Ali's presence at the helm of Kenya's police had been one of the main grievances of Kenyan rights groups and the international community, concerned at the slow pace of reform after a unity government was formed last year. Ali was replaced by Mathew Kirai Iteere, the former head of the General Service Unit (GSU), the police's paramilitary unit, the president's office said in a statement. Mohamed Hussein Ali was criticised for his role in the violence that left around 1,500 ... Read Full Story

The United States has threatened travel bans on top Kenyan officials if they fail to support political reform in the east African country, Washington's ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger said on Thursday. "Letters signed by Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson have been sent to 15 persons making clear that the future relationship of those persons with the United States is tied to their support for implementation of the reform agenda and opposition to the use of violence," the ambassador told journalists. "While I will not be releasing the names of those individuals, I can tell you that ministers, members of parliament, permanent ... Read Full Story