"Kenya’s worst drought in decades creates humanitarian crisis" PBS NewsHour 1/14/2022
Excerpt
SUMMARY: The worst drought in decades is gripping eastern Africa -- parching landscapes, killing livestock and creating a humanitarian crisis. Driven by climate change, it's also leading to civil strife, as shepherding communities battle each other for scarce resources. Special correspondent Jack Hewson and producer Georgina Smith report from the Wajir province of northern Kenya.
SUMMARY: Some 1.3 billion people around the globe don’t have access to an electric grid. But solar startup companies say harnessing an abundant resource -- the sun -- can light up some of the world’s most remote areas. In this Kenyan village, rooftop panels are becoming a cheap, popular and promising source of light. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports.
SUMMARY: A massive HIV test-and-treat study is underway in Kenya and Uganda. Migratory men in the fishing industry there have been hit especially hard, and researchers are trying creative ways to encourage them to get tested. William Brangham reports from Mfangano Island with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting for our series, “The End of AIDS?”
HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour): Finally, as the International AIDS Conference convenes in Durban, South Africa, this week, we continue our End of AIDS series.
As we have been reporting, public health officials believe that getting the overwhelming majority of HIV-positive people tested and consistently treated is a crucial step to ending the epidemic. But that's proven a difficult goal.
But in Western Kenya, on the border with Uganda, there's a small island where researchers are finding remarkable success with even the hardest-to-reach groups.
Correspondent William Brangham and producer Jason Kane continue our series, with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM (NewsHour): It's late on a Monday night.
Fisherman Kevin Opiyo and his crew are heading out onto Lake Victoria on the very western edge of Kenya. They throw out their lines and stretch out their nets, hoping the tiny omena fish are schooling below.
Fishing these waters is long, grueling, dangerous work. It's also become one of the main pathways for the growth of the HIV epidemic in this part of Kenya.
Opiyo himself is infected.
KEVIN OPIYO, Fisherman (through translator): I'm confident that I got it through sexual intercourse and can say it was the time I was working in Remba.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Fishing crews often have to travel long distances to other islands on the lake, and into neighboring Uganda.
DR. MOSES KAMYA, Makerere University/SEARCH Co-Principal Investigator: I think there's a mentality among fishermen that life is not as important. Therefore, you can enjoy it and have as much sex as you can.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Dr. Moses Kamya is an HIV researcher who's been working with fishermen in the region for years.
DR. MOSES KAMYA: You know, fishermen tend to have a lot of disposable income, and, you know, they can buy sex very easily. And, of course, where fishermen are, there are, you know, sex workers who hang around them.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The fishermen live on Mfangano Island here on Lake Victoria, near the border with Uganda. The island's 25,000 residents live clustered in homes near the water, and fishing is the main industry.
Largely because of this migratory fishing, it's estimated that nearly one out of every three adults here is infected with HIV.
SUMMARY: Nearly one in five people infected with HIV globally lives in South Africa, and only half of those individuals are on treatment. But the nation has made major strides against the virus in recent years and now is aggressively moving to implement a plan to "end" the epidemic. William Brangham reports in the final installment of our series "The End of AIDS?"
SUMMARY: One year ago, Burundi's president announced he was running for a third term, which triggered a failed coup, protests and a violent crackdown. Hundreds died and at least 220,000 have left the country. Special correspondent Nick Schifrin reports from Nairobi, where some Burundian refugees from the opposition have fled for safety, but instead are being hunted down by men sent by the government.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): It has been one year since Burundi's president, Pierre Nkurunziza, announced he was running for a third term, a move widely considered unconstitutional. His announcement triggered a failed coup, a questioned election, mass protests, and a violent crackdown on the opposition.
Since then, at least 400 people have been killed and 3,500 arrested. More than 220,000 people fled the country. Divisions between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups have characterized past violence in Burundi, but, on Sunday, Marguerite Barankitse was honored for her work helping Burundian orphans and refugees, regardless of ethnicity. She received a million dollars from an Armenian group. The money will be donated to the organization of her choice.
Still, ethnic identity can be a matter of life or death for Burundians, even those outside the country.
Special correspondent Nick Schifrin, partnering with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, found Burundian refugees 900 miles from home, in Nairobi, Kenya, where they thought they'd be safe. But their enemies have tracked them down.
NICK SCHIFRIN (NewsHour): It's just past midnight. We're in Nairobi, Kenya, and this isn't only a cornfield. This is a kind of protection because, right behind me, there's a house full of men, and all night, every night, two of them are in the field standing guard, using old weapons like a crowbar and a rusty knife.
They are too scared to sleep, and too scared to show their faces. They are Burundian refugees who say they're being hunted.
The men who are guarding the house, can they really defend you from the people who are hunting you?
MAN (through interpreter): The weapons you see here can only be used against the dogs you hear barking. If there were an enemy coming here with a grenade or a machine gun, we wouldn't be able to resist.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Twenty-year-old Arnold is a Burundian refugee. He lives in this tin shack with seven other refugees. It's a 150-square-foot church library.
MAN (through interpreter): We have no mattresses, no food. As refugees, we can't find jobs, and we are scared of being arrested and sent back from where we were.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Where they were was Burundi's capital, Bujumbura. A systematic campaign targeted the government's political opponents, leaving some of their bodies in the street.
The U.N. warns that President Nkurunziza is helping lead the country to a second civil war by transforming politics into ethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis. That's the same ethnic divide in Rwanda that sparked the 1994 genocide.
In the last year, 225,000 Burundians have fled the violence to cities they hoped were safe. But, even here, they hide their faces.
Today, here in Nairobi, which of you is afraid?
All of these men escaped from Burundi. Kenyan activist Tom Oketch brought them together to discuss their rights and try to calm their fears.
SUMMARY: In Kenya, corruption and bribery are commonplace in law enforcement and the government. Many police officers seem more interested in keeping citizens' cash than keeping the peace, allowing criminals to get off. Meanwhile, the government has "misplaced" $999 million. Special correspondent Nick Schifrin and producer Zach Fannin report in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): Now we continue our series Inside Kenya.
The World Bank says Kenya is growing faster than any other sub-Saharan African country. But there is one major impediment to the country’s continued growth.
Tonight, in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, special correspondent Nick Schifrin and producer Zach Fannin examine the reality of Kenyan corruption.
NICK SCHIFRIN (NewsHour): In Kenya, even the world’s fastest men can’t outrun corruption.
The Rift Valley is known as the Valley of Champions. The best marathon runners are born here and train here.
Mind if I join you?
Hillary Kiplimo runs three times a day. He is tireless and fast. He averages about 4.5 minutes a mile. It’s tough to keep up.
Whoa. He’s good. And that’s slow for him.
After years of training, he finally broke through. He finished third in last year’s Nairobi Marathon.
HILLARY KIPLIMO, Marathon Runner: This is for position.
NICK SCHIFRIN: So, it says number three, because you came in third.
HILLARY KIPLIMO: Yes.
NICK SCHIFRIN: He and his wife thought he’d finally fulfilled his dream of running his way out of poverty. But his dream’s been denied.
So, you got your medal, you got this number three, you got the jersey and you got this, but you never got a cent.
HILLARY KIPLIMO: I never got a cent.
NICK SCHIFRIN: On the results Web site, his name was replaced. And his $3,500 winnings vanished.
So, where’s the money going?
HILLARY KIPLIMO: I think those people, they kept the money.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Athletics Kenya, the race organizers.
HILLARY KIPLIMO: Yes.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Last November, dozens of runners protested at Athletics Kenya. The group has exclusive oversight of all Kenyan athletes.
Kenyans hold records in nearly every distance. They say, as they run faster, Athletics Kenya steals more. Athletics Kenya didn’t respond to a half-dozen e-mails from “PBS NewsHour.” Hillary suspects there’s only way to get their attention.
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BONIFACE MWANGI, Activist: They tear-gassed innocent kids who only wanted to access their playground. Other countries have mafia. In Kenya, the mafia have a country.
SUMMARY: Kenya is the U.S.'s primary ally in the fight against east Africa's deadliest terror group. Its long war against al-Shabaab has taken a heavy toll and there are fears that reprisals from Kenyan security forces against ethnic Somalis are only breeding more enemies. Special correspondent Nick Schifrin and producer Zach Fannin report in a collaboration with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): But, first, tonight we begin a series, "Inside Kenya."
The East African nation is the United States' primary ally in the region, and in the fight against the deadly terror group Al-Shabaab, based in Somalia. Al-Shabaab attacks government and military institutions in Somalia, but it has also launched major attacks in neighboring Kenya.
Special correspondent Nick Schifrin and producer Zach Fannin traveled extensively throughout Northeastern Kenya, along the Somali border.
Tonight, with the help of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, we start our series with a look at how Al-Shabaab is targeting Kenya, and how Kenya is fighting back.
And a warning: The story contains images some viewers may find disturbing.
NICK SCHIFRIN (NewsHour): On Kenya's front line against Al-Shabaab, police on patrol are armed like soldiers. They search traditional straw houses, checking I.D.s at the barrel of a gun.
JULIUS KIRAGU, Kenyan Army (through interpreter): The main threat here is the Al-Shabaab. That is terrorism, because they are associated with al-Qaida, and you know what al-Qaidas are.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Officer Julius Kiragu heads Kenya's administrative police in Wajir, only 70 miles from the Somali border. Every night, they search for smuggled weapons and hiding fighters.
JULIUS KIRAGU: They pretend they are selling milk and all these things, but they are waiting for the appropriate time to strike.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Most of his officers are ethnic Somali, like the majority of the local population. Some officers wear civilian clothing and ride around in unmarked cars. They work with local tribal chiefs, like Zein Abdulla.
What kinds of weapons have you found here?
ZEIN ABDULLA, Tribal Chief: There were guns. There were grenades. There were ammunitions and such things.
NICK SCHIFRIN: So, Shabaab has supporters even here?
ZEIN ABDULLA: So, they have representatives at least in every district.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Al-Shabaab has waged a decade-long war in Somalia. In 2011, Kenya invaded Somalia, in a campaign called Protect the Country.
Emmanuel Chirchir was the face of the campaign in Somalia, and on Twitter.
SUMMARY: Al-Shabab, an Al Qaeda-linked militant group based in Somalia responsible for a shopping mall attack in Kenya that killed 67 in 2013, is enlisting more recruits from Kenya than any other country. In the second part of the NewsHour series “Inside Kenya,” young men talk about why they joined.
GWEN IFILL (NewsHour): Now, the attack in Kenya that sparked a daylong siege and killed 147 people.
It began at daybreak and finally ended after dusk, when security forces killed four Somali gunmen and freed their remaining captives.
All day long, ambulances and military vehicles raced the wounded away from Garissa University College. It was the bloodiest terrorist attacks the country had ever seen, and the Somali group Al-Shabab, linked to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility.
Police said gunmen stormed the college at dawn, firing at students in their dormitories. Survivors said the attackers separated out Christians, taking some hostage and killing many others on the spot. Those who managed to escape recounted the horror.
MAN (through interpreter): I jumped out the window and fell down. I ran to the gate, and that’s when I met a biker, who helped me get to the hospital.
GWEN IFILL: Security forces quickly surrounded the college, about 120 miles from the Somali border. And an overnight curfew was imposed on the entire the region.
In a nationally televised address, President Uhuru Kenyatta urged his people to stay calm and alert.
PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA, Kenya: This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant, as we confront and defeat our enemies.
GWEN IFILL: Kenyatta also announced expedited training of 10,000 police recruits. The government identified the suspected mastermind of the attack as Mohamed Mohamud, also known as Dulyadin, and officials posted a $220,000 bounty for him.
He’s alleged to be the leader of Al-Shabab’s cross-border strikes. They began after Kenya sent its military into Somalia four years ago. Until today, the worst of those came in 2013, when Al-Shabab attacked a Nairobi shopping mall, and 67 people were killed.
SUMMARY: Al-Shabab, a Somali-based terror group, claimed responsibility for today’s siege on a Kenyan university. The militants began cross-border strikes after Kenya sent its military into Somalia four years ago. Gwen Ifill talks to Kenneth Menkhaus of Davidson College about the group’s motivations for attacking Kenya.
SUMMARY: Three days after al-Shabab militants stormed a Nairobi shopping mall, officials say 62 people have died and more than 170 have been injured. Kenyan troops believe all hostages have now been released, but the outcome of the battle is still in doubt. Gwen Ifill reports.
SUMMARY: Al-Shabab, once a disparate coalition, has evolved into a regional affiliate of al-Qaida, able to pull off attacks of greater sophistication and attract foreign fighters. Ray Suarez talks to J. Peter Pham of the Atlantic Council about the group's effort to make an impression and how prepared Kenya is to deal with the threat.
SUMMARY: The port city of Mombasa, Kenya, is at the center of a religious divide. It's a predominately Muslim part of an otherwise Christian nation, and residents say it's a region that has been neglected by the government. Special correspondent Kira Kay reports on the simmering tensions that have recently erupted into violence.
JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): And now to Kenya, a key U.S. ally.
During last month's elections, only one part of the country saw violence, the coastal region, where 12 people were killed by separatist insurgents. And the coast also suffers from a religious divide. It is a predominately Muslim part of an otherwise Christian nation.
Special correspondent Kira Kay recently traveled to the port city of Mombasa to explore the new tensions.
