Comrades,

Thanks a lot for the support, Sam has been keeping us updated. All the members of People’s Parliament who were arrested were taken to court on Monday afternoon and charged with “Obstruction” and “malicious damage to property”.

They were released on bail yesterday at 6pm and they are scheduled to return to court on April 19, 2007. We have, therefore, embarked on an effort to get the Attorney General to drop the charges as they are unwarranted and untrue.

More importantly, we are actively working towards ensuring that the Jeevanjee Gardens Park in which we operate is not compromised. The Park, you may be aware, is being threatened with unnecessary development for profit at the expense of the public. Jeevanjee Gardens is the only park in the entire country that is directly owned by the public, having been given to the people by a philanthropist, A. M. Jeevanjee over a century ago.

To that end People’s Parliament is organizing various actions, including but not limited to sensitization of the media, especially local media about the issue, creation and distribution of informative pamphlets to the public, a protest scheduled for some time next week, mobilisation of both local and international organizations and movements to help us exert pressure both to the City Council of Nairobi and to UN HABITAT who are the main funders of the initiative that has threatened the park.

We understand that to protect the rights of the weakest members of the society some of us must make sacrifices, so as our colleagues are released, the People’s Parliament recognises that their release is not a victory- we will have won when the Jeevanjee Gardens Park is no longer threatened.

For us, Aluta Continua.

From all the members of People’s Parliament, please accept our heartfelt gratitude for the solidarity and support you gave us. We know how much it has meant, and in a very big way your interventions have provided us with the kind of support that we have craved for years.

With solidarity, we will trudge on, and no doubt, the oppressors will feel the pinch. We will inform you on the progress of the actions planned.

For the time being, a public demonstration is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday March 21, 2007. To be able to have the protest licensed we need to give notice to the police on Friday. The only requirement is that we give notice, the police do not have a right to refuse the notice, though they often do. Once that happens, we will update all of you.

Thanks once more for reminding us what power there is in a people united. The world belongs to all of us, and in the last few days we experienced the very best result of being in a global village. We value the comradeship and are certain that we are all in the process of making this world a better place. For People’s Parliament, during the past few days, despite the troubles we had, we felt that the world is certainly getting better.

Thank you!

For and on behalf of People’s Parliament &

The Kenya Network of Grassroots Organizations (KENGO)

Wangui Mbatia

TEL: +254 728 330 823

+254 722 747 575

+ 254 20 204 0192

Email: tfosa yahoo.com