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### Viewing cable 09NAIROBI2338, PUSHING REFORMS: THE NATIONAL YOUTH FORUM AND

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09NAIROBI2338 | 2009-11-10 14:02 | 2011-03-18 13:01 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Nairobi

`

    VZCZCXRO4511
    OO RUEHROV
    DE RUEHNR #2338/01 3141407
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    O 101407Z NOV 09
    FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1518
    INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NAIROBI 002338

    SIPDIS

    FOR A/S CARSON FROM THE AMBASSADOR

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2019
    TAGS: KDEM PREL PGOV KE
    SUBJECT: PUSHING REFORMS: THE NATIONAL YOUTH FORUM AND
    GOVERNMENT REACTION

    REF: NAIROBI 1811

    Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHAEL E. RANNEBERGER for REASONS 1.4 (B) an
    d (D)

    ¶1. (C) Summary. Sixty-six independent youth organizations
    across the country are planning, with our support and
    encouragement, to hold a National Youth Forum on November 17
    to focus on the reform agenda and national reconciliation.
    The government feels threatened by such independent activity
    ) particularly that it is drawing youth from every
    constituency in the country -- and our support for it.  The
    President and senior Ministers raised this with me, and I
    responded (see para 11). The National Youth Forum will take
    place in a context in which youth across ethnic and political
    lines are making clear their support for reform and change.
    This growing awareness and the Forum will help drive
    domestic-driven pressure for action.  End summary.
    ¶2. (C) As part of our broad efforts to propel implementation
    of the reform agenda (to which the coalition government
    committed itself) we have been seeking to encourage peaceful
    domestic-driven pressure.  A key element of this is expanded
    outreach to youth, who constitute two-thirds of the
    population. (See reftel and previous on overall strategy
    framework and actions.) That outreach has involved meetings
    with young people around the country and expanded support to
    independent grassroots youth organizations through USAID,s
    Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), among other efforts.
    ¶3. (C) In September my team and I met with six prominent
    youth leaders to float the idea of our supporting youth
    organizations to hold a National Youth Forum to focus on the
    reform agenda and national reconciliation.  At that meeting,
    the activists indicated that plans were already underway to
    hold a national youth congress, along lines similar to those
    we were suggesting.  As a result of subsequent discussions
    between the youth activists and my team, the youth activists
    decided to expand the scope of the national meeting to
    include bringing together young people from throughout the
    nation. With our technical support, the youth activists
    reached out to over 60 other youth organizations and
    developed a plan of action to hold a National Youth Forum on
    November 17.  The 66 youth organizations plan to mobilize
    about 600 young people (including 2 representatives from each
    of Kenya,s 210 parliamentary constituencies) for a full-day
    event at the Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC)
    in Nairobi. We agreed to provide financial support through
    OTI.
    ¶4. (C) At the end of my November 2 meeting with President
    Kibaki to deliver the letter from President Obama (septel),
    Kibaki raised for a couple of minutes in a general way our
    involvement with youth, saying vaguely that it had raised
    some concerns.  Before a discussion could take place, the
    President,s permanent secretary Muthaura jumped in to say
    the President had another meeting, and the President left the
    room.  Muthaura then told me that some of the government
    Ministers wanted to talk with me.  Minister of Security
    Saitoti, FM Wetangula, and Deputy Prime Minister Mudavadi
    came into the room along with some other officials.  They
    were entirely focused on the planned National Youth Forum.
    In essence, they described such youth activities as
    &unhelpful8 and warned that &troublemakers8 could seek to
    disrupt the meeting.  I pushed back hard, acknowledging U.S.
    support for the meeting, but making clear that the agenda and
    participation were being organized by the youth
    organizations.  I emphasized that the meeting would be
    peaceful and made clear I did not appreciate the veiled
    threat through the reference to &troublemakers.8  In fact,
    I noted, if as it claims the government is committed to
    reform then it should embrace the meeting.  On November 9 I
    sent a letter (cleared by Washington) to those involved in
    the meeting making clear the parameters of our engagement
    with youth as part of broader efforts to encourage
    implementation of reforms (see text in para 11).
    ¶5. (C) Our outreach to youth and the holding of the National
    Youth Forum come at a time when there is widespread
    recognition that youth throughout the country are
    increasingly frustrated with lack of reform, which they
    correctly link to insufficient efforts to alleviate poverty
    and to empower youth economically and politically.  This
    broadening realization of the need for change is driving
    youth to work together across ethnic, religious, and
    political lines (but also driving the potential to cause
    instability and violence if youth activism is not channeled
    peacefully within the democratic system). All of the 66 youth
    organizations involved in organizing the National Youth Forum
    are inter-ethnic, and represent all the political
    constituencies in the country.
    ¶6. (C) The fact that youth are increasingly asking
    politicians hard questions and that they are increasingly
    resistant to manipulation greatly threatens the political

    NAIROBI 00002338  002 OF 004

    class.  The increasing activism of youth is one of the most
    important dynamics at play to threaten the edifice of the
    culture of impunity.  That the political class (as reflected
    by those in the meeting with me) is so threatened by a
    meeting of several hundred youth indicates that this edifice
    may be weaker and less resilient than anyone suspects.  While
    another message will analyze the broader state of the reform
    process and U.S. efforts, it is worth noting here that the
    political class which continues to resist reforms is clearly
    reeling under steadily increasing pressure from the U.S.,
    from Kofi Annan, from Ocampo, and to a lesser extent from the
    EU.  Most importantly, that external pressure is encouraging
    growing domestic pressure for implementation of reforms, and
    thus the government,s negative reaction to the National
    Youth Forum.  The external and internal pressure is also
    yielding some results (as in the commitment to police reform,
    among other steps).
    ¶7. (C) On November 10 I received a call from FM Wetangula in
    response to my letter about engagement with you.  He told me
    that &I cannot disagree with anything in your letter,8 but
    emphasized that &the government8 still did not want the
    National Youth Forum to take place. When I pushed back he
    admitted that the youth organizations had a right to meet.
    He asked me to engage again with the Minister of Youth before
    the Youth Forum takes place, which I agreed to do (and had
    already planned to do). I had already met earlier this week
    with the two Assistant Ministers of Youth to make clear our
    interest in partnering with the government on youth
    activities while also working directly with youth
    organizations.
    ¶8. (C) During the night of November 9 the offices of DAI
    (which is OTI,s primary contractor providing the funding and
    support to the youth organizations for the holding of the
    Forum) were burglarized.  In what was clearly a targeted
    operation, only 3 laptops containing information related to
    the National Youth Forum were taken (despite the presence of
    much expensive equipment and valuables).  The RSO is involved
    and a police report has been filed.  The operation has the
    hallmarks of the National Security and Intelligence Service,
    which is often used to intimidate civil society activists.
    (When I met with PM Odinga on November 3 on other issues, I
    raised the concerns expressed by Ministers in the November 2
    meeting.  Odinga said Mudavadi, Odinga,s ally, had been
    pressured into attending and that he, Odinga, was not opposed
    to the holding of the Forum.  He claimed that National
    Security and Intelligence Service Director Gichangi ) whose
    stature with Kibaki has been damaged by a number of missteps
    ) is poisoning Kibaki,s ear about U.S. efforts to promote
    reform, alleging that the U.S. is stimulating pressure rather
    than telling Kibaki the truth that he might not want to hear,
    which is that there is growing grassroots domestic pressure.)
    ¶9. (C) On November 5 I met with the youth committee
    representating the organizations setting up the National
    Youth Forum.  I relayed the comments which President Kibaki
    and then the Ministers had made to me.  I made clear to the
    committee that it was entirely up to them whether or not to
    proceed with the Forum, but that they had to be alert to the
    real possibility of state-sponsored intimidation or attempts
    to have &troublemakers8 disrupt the event.  The committee
    made clear that the youth organizations had already
    anticipated such possibilities, that precautions have been
    taken, and they are determined to proceed.  They indicated
    that I and other diplomatic colleagues would be invited to
    observe part of the proceedings, and I agreed to encourage my
    counterparts to respond positively.
    ¶10.  (C) The National Youth Forum, if held successfully, will
    raise the profile of youth initiatives to push for reform,
    will have a quantum impact in stimulating independent youth
    efforts across the country and across ethnic and political
    lines, and help galvanize domestic-driven pressure for
    change.  That said, the political class and vested interests
    feel very threatened by such independent activity, and there
    is serious potential for further intimidation.  The youth
    organizations are well-organized, have taken into account
    these issues, and are doing their utmost to ensure that the
    Forum is a model of peaceful democratic deliberation.  The
    media will likely give prominent coverage to the event.
    ¶11. (U) Begin text of my letter to Mudavadi, Saitoti,
    Wetangula, and Muthaura; the letter was also copied to the
    Prime Minister:
    I am writing to follow up on our November 2 discussion in
    which you expressed concerns about certain of my Mission,s
    activities related to youth.

    The U.S. Mission in Nairobi has for many, many years been
    engaged in supporting youth activities in Kenya. We have
    previously sponsored national youth meetings, supported
    micro-enterprise projects for youth, provided
    capacity-building training, offered scholarships, provided
    health assistance targeting the growing problem of HIV

    NAIROBI 00002338  003 OF 004

    infections
    among youth, and facilitated exchange visits to the United
    States, to name just a few areas.

    We remain engaged in a wide array of such activities. Some of
    these efforts involve supporting grassroots youth
    organizations that are working to promote implementation of
    the reform agenda. Since the coalition government has made
    clear that it intends to
    implement fully and expeditiously Agenda Four, and because
    the United States has repeatedly committed to support this,
    what we are doing constitutes a vital part of our bilateral
    partnership.
    I thus find expressions of concern about such activities
    surprising. As I made clear to you, in all contacts I and my
    team have with youth ) publicly and privately ) we
    emphasize the need for any activity to be peaceful and to
    take place with full respect for the rule of law. We
    emphasize the need to work within the democratic system as
    well as with relevant government agencies and ministries. We
    also urge the need for national
    reconciliation and state emphatically that there can be no
    place for violence. All of our activities are fully
    transparent. Provincial Commissioners, District Officers, and
    the local
    chiefs are almost always present at meetings which I or
    officers of my Mission hold(whether with youth or others)
    during travel around the country. In many instances, my
    meetings with youth and others are co-hosted with government
    officials. I also routinely invite Members of Parliament to
    join me in such visits and discussions.

    It is a very positive sign for Kenya,s democracy that
    independent grassroots youth organizations are developing
    throughout the country and are working peacefully across
    ethnic and political lines to urge and support change through
    implementation of the reform agenda, and to promote national
    reconciliation.

    I am sure you agree that in a democratic state, the
    government must not and should not seek to control the
    activities and associational life of civil society, be they
    youth,religious, women, business, or others. That said, it is
    of course appropriate and necessary for the government to
    seek to assist youth and other segments of society as they
    endeavor to contribute to the life of the nation. I commend
    the government for the initiatives it has undertaken, ranging
    from creation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, to
    expansion of the National Youth Service, to establishment of
    the National Youth Fund, to creation of the Kazi Kwa Vijana
    Fund, to cite only some of the government,s efforts with
    regard to youth.

    My government is in the process of developing plans regarding
    a new $45 million initiative for engagement with youth. This
    program was outlined as part of our new Development Grant
    Assistance Agreement signed with the Government of Kenya on
    September 12, 2009. The government has participated in the
    assessment and program design process for the new youth
    initiative and has provided valuable input. My team
    and I will contact relevant government ministers to continue
    discussing how some of this new funding could be used in
    joint programs to highlight the positive U.S.-Kenyan
    partnership. As an element of that partnership, we share the
    objective of helping to empower young people to become
    responsible citizens in order to help promote the future
    democratic stability and prosperity of Kenya. A significant
    part of our program is assisting youth to generate income and
    opportunities for a career where they can make a positive
    contribution.

    During our meeting, you specifically inquired about an
    upcoming National Youth Forum meeting to be held November 17
    at KICC. As I indicated, we have provided financial support
    for the holding of that meeting. This meeting is being
    organized by over 60
    youth organizations from across the country to focus on the
    reform agenda and reconciliation. While we have been in close
    touch with the organizers, it is the youth organizations who
    have set the agenda, who have decided who should be invited to
    participate, and who are organizing the event. I and other
    diplomatic colleagues, as well as civil society
    organizations, religious groups, the private sector, and
    others have been
    invited to observe the proceedings, but not to participate.

    Given the government,s commitment to advancing democratic
    values and reform, the meeting should be a welcome
    development. I understand that the Minister of Youth and
    Sports and the Police Commissioner have been invited to

    NAIROBI 00002338  004 OF 004

    address the youth meeting. I
    have been assured that no demonstrations or any other outside
    activities will take place in connection with the Forum. In
    that regard, it is my understanding that the Forum will be
    entirely peaceful and within democratic parameters. When you
    met with me you raised the concern that &troublemakers8
    could seek to disrupt the proceedings. I am sure that
    appropriate law enforcement authorities will ensure that such
    outside &troublemakers8 are not allowed to disrupt what, by
    all indications, will be a model exercise in democracy.

    Empowering and enabling young people to channel their
    energies into peaceful advocacy which respects the democratic
    system is the best possible way of mitigating against
    instability or unrest which might grow out of the increasing
    frustration and cynicism that many youth feel (as documented
    in Kenyan opinion polls). We see our efforts in Kenya as
    contributing towards democratic stability, which we value no
    less than you.

    My Government at the highest levels fully supports our
    engagement with youth, and this letter has specifically been
    cleared by Washington.

    I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to
    expand and strengthen the bilateral partnership, which is
    premised on shared democratic values.

    End text.
    RANNEBERGER

`