KENYA SOCIALIST DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE (KSDA)


 

BREAKING NEWS: OSEWE’S PASSPORT ISSUED!!

 

June 16th 2004

 

Just as the signatures hit the 99th mark, I received news from Mary Musasia, the Public Relations Officer at the Immigration office in Nairobi that I had been issued with a brand new Kenyan Passport number 858032. As I write, I have been informed that the Passport is on its way to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for onward transmission to Sweden.

 

The news  came as plans by Kenyans in Stockholm to send a delegation to the Kenyan Embassy were also being finalized. With the new development, the visit to the Embassy that was scheduled for Friday June 18th has been called off.

 

Once again, I take this opportunity to thank everybody who has been involved in this campaign. A process that has taken me one and a half years without results has suddenly been completed in less than 8 working days – thanks to the campaign. The anger that has been expressed by Kenyans and friends alike together with the new fronts that were on their way to being opened over a small issue such as a Passport must have prompted the authorities in Nairobi to act quickly.

 

Politically, the prospect of the issue being raised in Parliament or being picked up by the media could have added an extra and unwanted embarrassment to the government over a petty issue when other bigger issues like the Constitutional crisis, corruption in the government, LDP-NAK crisis, starvation of hundreds of Kenyans across the country and overt tribalism in the government have already deprived Narc of the mass support it enjoyed just before the Moi dictatorship was defeated in December 2002. I wish to thank all those who have shared their tribulations at the Immigration department with me and all those who contacted the Immigration department directly to exert pressure.

 

I am now happy that I will soon be in Kenya to reconnect with reality on the ground after more than a decade in exile. The unity and solidarity I have seen from people from different walks of life during the short period when the petition has been active has been humbling. The era of confiscating or denying Kenyans Passports for political reasons is gone just like the era of single Party dictatorship is also dead and buried. As I prepare for my trip home, my message to all those who have been involved in this campaign is simple: The struggle continues.

 

Okoth Osewe

Secretary

Kenya Socialist Democratic Alliance (KSDA)

Tel: ++46736533068

osewe@chello.se

osewe@hotmail.com

 

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June 14th 2004

 

So far, 63 signatories have signed the petition and made lots of good comments. I have been contacted by the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm and requested to present a copy of my UN Passport for further action.

 

Secondly, I have today been contacted by Mary Musasia, the Public Relations Officer at the Immigration Office in Nairobi. She said that she has instructed the Registry to dig the file containing my application so that she can get “to the bottom of the matter”. She has requested that I supply her with reference numbers for the application for her immediate action.

 

I have since contacted the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm and obtained the details Mary has asked for. An email has been sent to Mary in Nairobi with what she needs so that she can take action.

 

I have also received several emails from Kenyans and friends attacking the government for frustrating my passport application. Many Kenyans and friends have circulated the petition to their contacts.

 

A group of Kenyans in Stockholm are planning to send a delegation to the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm on Friday June 18th to present to the Ambassador the list of those who have signed the Petition for further transmission to the Narc government. The target is to collect at least 100 signatures by Friday when the first installment of the petition will be handed over to the Embassy.

 

The group also intends to use the Embassy visit to exert more pressure on the government to streamline work within the Department of Immigration so that Kenyans can stop going through hell just to get a passport. The delegation will also seek to establish the exact status of my application and when the Passport is likely to be issued. I have received many phone calls from friends in Stockholm and abroad pledging solidarity with me over the issue and asking if there is anything they can do to help. To beat the target of 100 signatories by Friday, I am requesting all those who have not signed the petition to do so in the name of struggle and solidarity.

 

At least two MPs who have come into contact with my Petition have promised to raise the issue in Parliament and to question what is going on at the corrupt Office of Immigration. One of them has promised that he will follow the issue very closely in the next few days with a view to taking action. Both MPs have promised to take the Vice President to task because the Department of Immigration falls under his docket. 

 

Based on the result so far obtained, the Petition seem to be working quite well and the government is beginning to feel the heat. Bosses at the Immigration are running up and down and after the petition went out, there seem to be light at the end of the tunnel. The government should be ashamed that I had to shout from the roof tops for action to be taken over a petty issue like a Kenyan Passport.

 

I take this opportunity to thank everybody who is involved in putting pressure on the Kenyan government to act.

 

Many thanks to Mr. Onyango Oloo in Canada, Mr. Martin Ngatia “GG” in Stockholm, Dr. Matunda Nyanchama in Canada, Mr. Peter Ngunyi, Mr. Kimani Nduati in Australia, Mr. Owino Obuom in Seoul, South Korea, Rev Mark Matunga of Nairobi, Mr. Dickens Kwama, Dr. Wellington Otieno in Kenya, Mr. Njuguna Mutahi, Mr. John Voster in Kisumu, Njeri Kabeberi of Amnesty International in South Africa and Mr. Edward Mwiru, all of whom have given valuable tips and comments on how to confront the issue. Thank you for the pressure you have put in so far and the good contacts helping to move things in Kenya. I will continue updating all those supporting me on this issue until victory is achieved.

 

Okoth Osewe

Secretary

Kenya Socialist Democratic Alliance (KSDA)

Tel: ++46736533068

osewe@chello.se

osewe@hotmail.com

 

website: http://kenyasocialist.org

 


Published by Kenya Socialist Democratic Alliance (KSDA)
email: harakatips@hotmail.com


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