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Initiator of Kenyan Clean Election Campaigns Visits Solomon Islands

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Joseph Karanja

Joseph Karanja, the Kenyan lawyer who initiated the Clean Election Campaigns in his country, has been supporting a similar campaign in the Pacific

Joseph Karanja, the Kenyan lawyer who initiated the Clean Election Campaigns in his country, has just spent two weeks in the Solomon Islands.

Joseph Karanja (Kenya) receives a traditional welcome to the Solomon Islands

Transparency Solomon Islands hosted a public forum for him at the University of the South Pacific, attended by 100 people. He was interviewed on national radio, and then the radio station broadcast a roundtable discussion between him and a group of young Solomon Islanders on urgent issues facing young people. The main daily newspaper, The Solomon Star, ran a three-quarter page interview, entitled ‘Go for Gold’. ‘Clean election campaigns are not aimed at getting rid of certain political groups or politicians,’ Karanja said. ‘A good parliamentarian is someone who works with people and transforms their lives. I want to see Solomon Islands going for gold and becoming an economic powerhouse in this region.’

This was Karanja’s second visit. Last year he attended the Winds of Change (name for Initiatives of Change in the Solomons) conference in Honiara, where his experience inspired many young people to come together and launch a Clean Election Campaign for the Solomons.

Winds of Change team in the Solomon Islands meet to evaluate the Clean Election Campaign and to plan their next programmes.

Their campaign reached right across this many-island country. Thousands of people pledged that they would not be part of any electoral corruption. Many found hope that a new standard could be set in the election of their leaders.

However, when the newly-elected Parliament chose a new Prime Minister, the man they chose was seen as having been elected with the connivance of particular business interests. Riots broke out, and much of Honiara’s Chinatown was torched. Within days the Parliament elected a new Prime Minister.

Though life seems back to normal, the riots were a reminder of latent frustrations and resentments, especially amongst the youth, many of whom are unemployed.

A number of organisations have asked for help from the Winds of Change volunteers in training their staff in ethics.

The need for reconciliation between disaffected groups remains a key issue. Two women’s Peace Circles were launched while we were there, one in the office of the National Council of Women, and the other in the Winds of Change office. These are being co-facilitated by a lady who suffered greatly during the civil war. Since then she had been involved in many seminars and training programs. But this, she said, was by far the most effective and practical form of peace-building.

Joseph Karanja

Joseph Karanja had this advice for the Solomon Islanders active in the Clean Election Campaign:

“The first Clean Election Campaign is the most challenging – after that you find you have an infrastructure and you know who your allies are. You can’t just say, ‘I want to be part of this campaign.’ You must have a conviction so strong that you will do this whether anyone else comes along or not.

“You have to be fit for this campaign. In many countries, the system thrives on corruption, and issues related to elections can be very dangerous. If corrupt politicians believe that what you are doing will destabilize them, they’ll fight back. They’ll look at your character. We had to examine our own lives before going out. Quite a number of our team left. We had to put things right in our own lives. This campaign is not only a way of helping the country, but also helping ourselves become better people.

“The campaign should be ongoing so that we are ready when elections are announced. After the elections there are other issues to be tackled – corruption and reconciliation. People need to see the country as an entity, not just their own group. After the election we launched the Clean Kenya Campaign. Now we are launching a Clean Africa Campaign across the continent and addressing the question of leadership and conducting training programs.

“Those of you who have launched the Clean Election Campaign have formed a strong team. You need to keep building that team, become friends for life. If Solomon Islands gets it right, the whole Pacific region will follow.”