Author: Nick Thiongo
Date: January 24, 2007
Source: Kenya Times http://www.timesnews.co.ke/24jan07/nwsstory/news6.html

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The World Social Forum yesterday had a messy start as youthful protesters sat while others lay prostrate on the two-way lane leading to the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, grinding the incoming traffic to a halt.

The demonstrators later matched to the stadium and stormed the offices of the World Social Council, before hijacking a press conference that was being addressed by the Organising Committee of the WSF.

The forum whose agenda is to protest against global neo-liberalism woke up to a protest within a protest as youths drawn mainly from South Africa and members of a Kenyan group christened the Peoples Parliament demanded free entry to the venue.

Chanting “amandla awethu,” a Zulu slogan for “power is ours,” the energized mob vowed to block the road until all Kenyans unable to raise the registration free were allowed to access the venue.

Kenyan delegates attending the forum were expected to part with Sh500 for the five-day forum, with their foreign counterparts paying a much higher fee.

On registration, a delegate was being issued with a free Celtel SIM card and a Sh500 top-up card. On activating the card, Sh450 was being transferred to the WSF, leaving the delegate with a residual Sh45 credit.

The group lamented that though there was a subsidised daily fee of Sh50 for Kenyans, banks declined to accept the payment insisting that Sh450 was the official registration fee.

Chanting “down with capitalism,” the crowd demanded that free water be provided for all during the forum, entry for Kenyan delegates at zero fee, and that food prices be subsidised.

On Monday, Prof Oyugi, a member of the WSF organising committee had revealed that it had cost the WSC an estimated Sh350 million to host the forum and that there were still pending bills.