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The Paradox of Devolution and Nationalism

2009-11-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

Kenyans are poring into the draft constitution starting from the top. They have collectively identified the cancer of unchecked powers exclusively resident at State House which they want tamed. On the same frequency they abhor reserving the weighty task of choosing PM to selfish politicians.

The CoE would kill many birds with the same stone by amending that clause to indicate that the PM will be the leader of the party with majority MPs. That single provision will sound the death knell of briefcase parties while promoting policy-based parties. What is more, voters will vote with be priori knowledge of whom their prospective PM would be. That will minimize political wheeler dealing and arm twisting.

That said the prospect of two centres of power MUST be addressed if the present inertia and tension is to be eradicated. Instead of narrowing power sharing to two offices, the executive authority is better best executed from one office with empowered independent institutions as watchdogs. Independent institutions rather than gullible MPs are a safer bet to objectivity and continuity devoid of electoral tensions.

While Kenyans rightfully remain fixated to the proposed two centres of power, chapter two of the draft constitution is a study in paradox per excellence. First the chapter spells out devolution which captures the hitherto loathed majimbo in all but name.

With devolution come deserved superlatives like sovereignty of the people and supremacy of the constitution itself. The three layers of governance is just too costly for a poor country like Kenya. But again, the CoE must have been alive to our ethnic loyalties and regional disparities.

The draft declares that the governments at the various levels will be distinct and interdependent. Then comes the rider that the same governments must conduct their mutual relations on the basis of consultation and cooperation. That paradox must be clearly spelt out to avoid any regional conflicts that will inevitably impact on the national fabric.

Also chapter two of the draft hits a masterstroke by reducing national holidays to three: Madaraka, Mashujaa and Jamhuri days. Makes sense if only they would do away with the obsession to specific dates and instead opt for days of the week (e.g first Monday of June ....) to avoid disruption of economic activities.

But this structuring and reduction of holidays is a first step to kill deity and destructive sycophancy that saw previous presidents patent Kenya in their own names. Besides disabusing previous imperialists of personalized rule, this is a recognition of all who selfishly contributed in different ways to liberating Kenya.

In a nutshell, while all are tackling the draft head first, the document provides us with the best opportunity to RECLAIM Kenya for ourselves and the future generation. We must not allow the pettiness of the present politicians to take us back to MISRI. The first generation leaders failed big time to steer Kenya to her right heights and we are paying the painful consequences.

Let us seize this unique moment to retrace our steps and redefine the glorious Kenya for posterity. We owe it to ourselves and the future generation.

Draft Constitution: Good-Looking Juice Laced with Poison

2009-11-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

By Guest Writer

Dear Committee of Experts (CoE),

First, let me commend the CoE for a job well done in coming up with a harmonized draft that is middle ground for advocates of presidential and parliamentary system of Government. However, in my view, the draft looks like a good-looking orange juice but laced with a dangerous poison.

I have gone through all sections of the draft and I like all, especially one on devolution. However, I have a borne of contention with the aspect of executive authority. Kenyans need to take a critical look at the executive authority aspect since this is the nerve centre of any nation. It is make or break of any country. My argument is this:

1. Kenyans wanted powers of president reduced but not transferred to another centre of power. What will stop the new centre of power from abusing power like happened under the imperial presidency? Executive authority should be shared with other institutions like Parliament and Judiciary and not shared amongst politicians.

2. Kenyans wanted to vote for the person to be the CEO of their country regardless of whether the person is a premier or a president.

3. Creating two centres of power – executive premiership and president – will create permanent tensions in Kenya due to power struggle between the competing forces. The lessons of Kibaki and Raila putting Kenya on permanent tension since the signing of the 2008 National Accord should have informed your decision. The same situation happens in Zimbabwe. The good thing is that the National Accord comes to an end with the expiry of Kibaki/Raila term. But the draft you came up with will become law, if Kenyans vote YES for it, and it will guide Kenyan generations for many years. Who will invest or visit as a tourist a country that is permanently gripped by tension arising from power struggles? Many tour operators and other business have suffered greatly after the 2007 disputed presidential polls. The National Accord was signed to bring peace and it achieved that. But the country has remained tensed due to bickering by politicians and the tourism and hotel industry has suffered heavily. The country’s economy is in limbo.

4. I do not know of any country in the world which has a hybrid system of Government like the one you propose. Why do you want Kenya to experiment a suicidal system of Government that is likely to lead Kenya to war and extinction?

5. I favour one centre of power, but weakened – either presidential or premiership. The current Constitution is abused because the presidency overrides everybody else and other institutions. The president makes any appointment and he imposes his personal views on the rest of Kenya. In the new constitutional order, I propose we can have a president or premier elected by Kenyans but have strong institutions for checks and balances like Parliament and the Judiciary. Like in US, the country’s CEO should not make unilateral appointments or major decisions. All appointments must be subject to Parliament approval and you must seal loopholes like the ones Kibaki exploited in re-appointing Ringera for an illegal second term. This will ensure the CEO doesn’t fill public offices with his cronies, tribesmen and women, friends and relatives. This has been the borne of contention with an imperial presidency. Another is sharing of Kenya’s resources and you have addressed it well in the devolution chapter.

6. A country’s CEO should derive his mandate from Kenyans and not MPs. Going by the history of our Parliament, a PM elected by MPs will be a hostage of the same people who elected him and not be accountable to Kenyans. If Kenyans have always opposed the election of mayors by councillors why do we want to do the same for a PM who will run Kenya and make major decisions affecting our lives? Mayoral candidates have for years been herding councillors to secret locations and held them like hostages so that they vote for the person who held them hostage. There has been a clamour for mayors to be elected directly by Kenyans. Why do we want to reverse the way we elect our country’s CEO? Do we want candidates to turn out be civic authorities? If mayors elected by a college of councillors have failed miserably, why do you want Kenyans to be ruled by proxy?

7. You propose stringent voting process for a president but a PM will be elected by MPs. Yet the PM will appoint Cabinet, chair Cabinet meetings and run the Government. Why should a president go through a rigorous campaign and voting process and end up performing duties that look purely ceremonial? The Government – composed of the Cabinet – is what makes major decisions on behalf of the electorate. Why should Kenyans go to vote for somebody whose work will be to the commander in chief of armed forces, receive foreign guests and other ceremonial duties? Yet the person who makes decisions that affect their lives will be elected by a caucus of MPs. Where is the logic and wisdom in this school of thought? What democracy is this?

8. Kenyans need one centre of power – whether premier or president – who will be accountable to them. As long as that CEO derives the mandate to rule from Kenyans, will never make appointments or major decisions unless ratified by other arms of Government, Kenya will remain a stable nation. Such a CEO will be the country’s symbol of unity and stability. Two centres of power is recipe for chaos and anarchy due endless power struggles.

9. A constitution is for posterity and not for short time fix to solutions. We can’t afford to risk with a trial and error constitution or gamble with our lives. The power games played out by Kibaki and Raila are a lesson to all. Who wants such kind of power games and tensions through out his/her lifetime? In Israel, the Government led by the PM collapses now and them. For them, they have resources to conduct new elections and attract investors. For our struggling economy and deeply tribal nation, an unstable Government will erode all the gains we have made since independence and make Kenya isolated by investors, donors and tourists. There is a saying that when two bulls fight, it’s the grass that suffers. When politicians engage in power struggles, ordinary folks will suffer. Let’s not rush to adopt what looks like a suicidal form of Government in our hurry to address an imperial presidency abused by Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki. There is no doubt the constitution making process is heavily influenced by Kibaki and Raila. Kenya is larger than Kibaki and Raila and it’ll be suicidal to form our thinking based on the two men. I would rather remain with the current Constitution than vote for one that will drive us into the grave a few years later.

10. The draft by CoE looks like it is tailored for certain politicians and political parties in mind. Kibaki and Raila and ODM and PNU should not form the basis of a new Constitution. Anyone who wants to rule Kenya should get our mandate. I care less who or what tribe the country’s CEO comes from - as long as he/she has a mandate of a majority of Kenyans to rule us and rules by the Constitution. CoE can make that happen by refining the draft to reflect that. In a true democracy, the losers concede defeat and agree to be ruled by the person who has won the majority vote. To ensure the winner doesn’t take all, you can borrow Rwanda example where the Opposition nominates people to Cabinet. The winner can take ¾ while the Opposition can take ¼. Why did Kenyans fight for multipartism? The remaining Opposition can keep the Government on its toes in Parliament.

11. I humbly appeal to CoE to cast their eyes 100 years ahead. Let’s make a Constitution for posterity and for future generations and not one to suit the power greed of certain politicians, tribes or selfish groups.

12. Lastly, I favour one Parliament since two chamber parliaments will be creating more jobs for MPs at tax payers’ expense. A constitution should not reward greedy politicians. A constitution should help govern a country and at the same time give key priority to those being ruled.

What I have against a new constitution

2009-11-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

Guest post by Lucas Mboya

For some reason. We, Kenyans have believed...fallen for the hype that a new constitution is the panacea for the problems bedeviling our nation.

Much as I can see the need for change and a re-examination of our constitutional dispensation, I have a certain unease with a new constitution and the promises it offers. I do think that our real problems are far more related to the loss or erosion of our values than to poor legislation and outdated laws.

There is an inherent and very real danger about the way that we are approaching this issue.

African and indeed our traditional values, honesty, sincerity, hard work, generosity and more have been under attack by the advent of capitalism for the last 50 odd years. Constitutions worldwide have been adopted as the best way to ensure the proper functioning of a nation and or republic and the equitable distribution of resources as well as the inalienable freedoms of all people, the right to create wealth and many other checks and balances in a free society.

But try as I might I do not see how better legislation will improve our values. Values can only be instilled. They cannot be legislated. Legislation may be there to guard our collective values as a nation and can be improved and moulded over time to adapt with the fast changing pace of life....but can never be a substitute for an inherently good value system.

Japan is a wealthy country and one of the most ancient civilisations on earth with what would undoubtedly be one of the most diversified and vibrant economies on earth. We associate this country with good governance and all that comes with it. But I want to point out that despite laws being in place for the detection, and effective prosecution of crime and more so in this vein corruption, those implicated in the same often choose to take their lives.

This stems from a deep seated sense of justice in society ,such that one who has gone against the ‘moral code’ even in a moment of weakness finds more ‘honour’ in self inflicted death than the indignity of a public trial. I use the example of Japan because it also has in its constitution a official dynasty, in fact the very one that unchecked, 50 years ago, led to their involvement in the second world war and their subsequent ‘punishment’ by the USA being the only country to date to have seen the devastation of atomic bombs.

The point I am making is that it is very dangerous for us to put more reliance on a constitution, than on our own moral and ethical codes. Why limit ourselves to what is written in law. Shouldn’t we have in all of us our own ‘law’ that has a higher bearing on how we live than a written code?

What did Jesus tell the Pharisees when they accused his disciples of ‘working’ by ‘harvesting’ on the Sabbath day when they ate grains of wheat from the fields as they walked. Laws are made for man not man for laws. Let the overriding law be that in our own values rather than a constitution. It’s safer that way. A constitution or law should never be superior to your own value system. They should work in tandem to create a cohesive society. But your own values come first.

More so. In trying to find the ‘perfect’ legislative environment we run the greatest danger of alienating ourselves community from community, region from region than ever before.

Comments attributed to a number of Mp’s recently show what a deep seated problem we have. Some from both Rift Valley and Central province (not limited to) have openly said the next president should be from their communities/regions. With what has so recently put us at each other’s throats and a new constitution in the offering which advocates albeit in a ‘sober’ tone, the much discredited ‘majimbo’ system, are we not as Kenyans putting the cart before the horse?

Doubtless some will argue that a new constitution guarantees the equitable distribution of resources so it’s a prerequisite to the next election but who and what guarantees our morality? Laws have been broken before and will again.

Additionally we have complained that the current coalition is bloated and a drain on public resources. Pray what then is this new Constitution? Have we honestly looked at how multi layered it is and considered the cost of implementation of the required changes to our governance. More important to me though, is that while our priority right now should be how we can become more cohesive as a nation and rediscover our sense of patriotism from which possibly the seeds of a better value system may be sown, we are busy discussing a document that will undoubtedly divide us more along ethnic and community lines than ever before.

While I agree that changes and reform are necessary I would much rather an incremental change (amendments) to our current constitution that would allow us to go to an election as a unified nation and continue with the process of constitutional reform and or change after that point. Not to mention the fact that a referendum is still an option that would put more strain on our national psyche than we can now bear.

We have yet to identify and try the masterminds of the post election violence which will open up old wounds, the TJRC is supposedly underway, more and older wounds, a referendum possible, new constitution, then an election in 3 years time. Isn’t this too much to bite, chew and swallow at one go considering that in 2012 most of these will still be underway?

Rather than try to enter a long treatise for which in neither qualified nor inclined. I urge my fellow Kenyans, citizens to examine, not the new constitution but our own society and ask whether legislation can bring about or indeed is the appropriate tool, to bring us to the point of a new moral and ethical awakening which is the only sure way our guaranteeing the future of this nation.

As for me my view is that this effort is too little too late. I do not think it is the answer to our problems.

All things considered. I respect the fact that many will disagree with my position. Time will tell.

The writer of this post, Lucas Mboya is the son of the late Tom Mboya.

The Kibaki succession: The whispered reason for the great interest in the powers of the PM and President

2009-11-15T21:38:00.000-08:00

There are things you can hear whispered around inner political circles that are easy to dismiss as nonsense. Like this persistent rumour I have been hearing.

I have realized that too many times “nonsense” and propaganda turns out to be true. Let me remind you folks of a deadly mistake many Kenyans made in the run up to the 2007 general elections. The story started with political columnist Mutahi Ngunyi warning in 2005 that he did not believe that Mwai Kibaki was capable of handing over power peacefully. Then as the elections rapidly approached there was talk that the president’s men were planning massive rigging to keep him in power at all costs. Many people dismissed this as pure nonsense. How could the gentleman golf-playing former don of Makerere University do such a thing? That had to be pure propaganda by ODM fanatics.

This view persisted even when evidence started cropping up all over the place. The most memorable for me was when an angry Musikari Kombo told his constituents in an unguarded moment; “you are wasting your time. The outcome will not be what you think.” I still hear his voice and shudder at those words.

Well we all know what happened next. Mwai Kibaki will go down in history as the president who brought the country to the brink of total disintegration. The mess caused by the honorable member for Othaya will take at least a century to heal—maybe more.

But now other whispers have started emerging.

The story this time sounds like pure fiction. The first time I heard it, I laughed loudly and dismissed it. But it has persisted and now I have started taking it seriously. I have to admit that the motive is there (that is the first thing you look for in a murder and in politics too).

It is whispered that Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki have made a deal concerning the Kibaki succession. Bearing in mind past experiences, there are some kind of irrevocable guarantees that both sides have made to each other.

There are some interesting things that have happened that seem to confirm this. Top on my list is the behaviour of one Kalonzo Musyoka at around the time I am told this deal was sealed. The Vice president was suddenly eagerly talking about 2012 and the alliances he had in place. It seemed that the statement (which angered many Kenyans) came out of the blue. However those who know the VP better will know that he is the kind of politician who always reacts and hardly ever initiates anything. What triggered the VP to suddenly start talking about 2012? Was it this deal that had just been concluded between the president and PM? Was this his move on the political chess board in an attempt to remain relevant?

But even as we seek answers to those questions, what is the essence of this deal?

The idea is that Mwai Kibaki will not retire from politics in 2012. Instead he will leave the presidency but defend his Othaya seat. He will then support Raila Odinga for the presidency and Raila will support Kibaki for the premiership. The rationale here is that the political class has a lot to lose if things go wrong in 2012 and so it is a choice between sticking together or hanging separately.

I promptly stopped laughing at this theory when I read the screaming newspaper headlines about the last hurdle to a new constitution being the division of powers between the PM and the presidency which will be ironed out by the two principals. What is not public yet are the hurdles that have been put in place to block the possibility of any pumbavu ever rising to the presidency. What the political class wants is to retain as much control as possible over what will happen in 2012.

The whole problem about this new Kanstitution (as the late Kijana Wamalwa used to call it) is that it is being put together not for posterity as it should but for the benefit of the current political class. If these guys had their way the clause for the presidency would read something like this; the president must either have a gap between his front teeth or be a pot belied golf playing former don of a well-known university. The presidency may (with consultation between the two types stated) descend to some soccer loving MP who represents a Nairobi constituency, but only with assurances that he will not be controlled by a pumbavu public that cannot be trusted to make wise decisions for the country.

Cabinet ministers and their famous girlfriends

2009-11-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

I think we should start with the drama that unfolded on Koinange street a few years ago where prominent cabinet ministers were caught red-handed and almost literally with their pants down breaking the law by picking up girls who were under 18 years of age.

Cabinet minister Soita Shitanda

The really disgusting thing here is that these honorable cabinet ministers already had both wives and mipango mingi ya kando (several mistresses). All these were apparently not enough and the men who could be president wanted some really young girls. Chirau Mwakwere and Mwangi Kiunjuri were the folks caught with their fingers in the cookie pie.

While we know that older men really get turned on when they can make a much younger girl squeal in delight between the sheets (thanks partly to Viagra and Cialis wonder pills but mostly to some pretty good acting from young girls who know how not to get forgotten by a man) the Koinange street saga left many naive Kenyans in deep shock. Have you ever wondered why those burly old members of parliament swagger in pride the way they do in parliament looking pretty invincible?

But this game did not start recently, it actually started a long time ago. It seems that the August house and being a matatu tout have something in common. And that is innocent well behaved shy men always seem to turn into womanizing demons the minute they enter both occupations. Touts can’t help it because young girls throw themselves at them with abandon, is the same true with politicians? You tell me.

Cabinet Minister Charity Ngilu

I was talking about the early days. There was this cabinet minister called Paul Ngei (now deceased) who never saw anything in skirts that he did not want horizontal on his bed right away. In fact the good late minister got into trouble pretty early when he seduced a Mzungu girl. Unfortunately in those days it was a criminal offence to sleep with a white woman (even if she was your wife and that is why Arwings Khodek a prominent Kenyan lawyer on returning to Kenya with his British wife whom he married in London was almost arrested at the airport. Being the good learned friend he was he presented he proved that English law superseded the law in any colony that belonged to her majesty). Mr Ngei’s circumstances were vastly different and he thus got into a lot of trouble. However the biggest problem for Mr Ngei came long after independence via a strikingly sexy beauty from Meru that he fell for. The woman happened to be the daughter of a cabinet colleague of his called Jackson Angaine. The girl was also in the military and had a serious boyfriend there (some major whose name I forget, was it Kisilu?). The major discovered that he was not the only man making love to Miss Angaine and one day in the mid 70s, she was found dead in the bath tub of her Nairobi home when Mr Ngei had visited earlier that day. The major was charged with her murder but was acquitted due to lack of enough evidence. Kambas swear that the man went to see the right witch doctor otherwise he would have been cooked. Other observers like myself noted that he had hired this old Kenyan-Jewish lawyer called Byron Georgadis who never lost a case. In law there is something called “beyond any reasonable doubt” so all a good defence lawyer has to do is to create enough doubt which Georgadis was a master at doing. Interestingly the mystery of who killed the Meru beauty by strangling her has never been solved to date.

This post would not be complete without mentioning the name of one Thomas Joseph Mboya. During his short but very eventful political career he rose to the cabinet as Minister of Labour, Justice and finally economic planning. A real lady’s man, women found him irresistible and he had many girlfriends all over the world.

But let’s get to the present and why not start with current housing minister and MP for Malava, Soita Shitanda. Names may mean nothing but if you remove the “Sh” from the beginning of the minister’s second name and replace it with a “K” you may just change your mind. The ministers’ hot escapades with a Kamba sex goddess have recently ended up in court where she is demanding cash for the upkeep of the twins who were the result of the relationship that was ended by Ms Nduku’s request for a serious amount of cash as maintenance for herself and her children. Read story on court case HERE.

Remember the agriculture minister in the last government called Kipruto Kirwa? Up to only a few months ago he had a passionate affair with this woman in the media who also happens to be married t6o somebody else. She too hails from the same tribe as Ms Nduku. This lady is really famous but not for her unusual extra-curricular activities—at least not yet.

In this day and age of gender equality we should end this post with a case of a woman cabinet minister’s famous boyfriend. This is the story of one of the hottest lady cabinet ministers in the history of Kenya, Charity Kaluki Ngilu. To date she has not denied a story carried by the Weekly Citizen about being caught in a sex-in-the-car escapade with well known former publisher Philip Gacoka at the Nairobi Gymkhana car park. Rumours have been flying for a long time that the two have been extremely good friends. What amazes me is how a 57 year old woman manages to look so good so much so that much younger men can’t keep their hands off her.

What are the real priorities for Kibaki and Raila?

2009-11-12T21:23:00.000-08:00

Another recent post by Chris that you may have missed

How do you tell that somebody is a good manager?

It is easy to get fooled by a incompetent or lazy manager who just wants to cover their tracks and so I usually look at only one thing. That manager’s priority list. Actually this list can tell you a lot. For instance if you notice that the manager places a lot of emphasis on making sure that suppliers are paid on time and this is at the top of his priority list, what will that tell you? Unless there has been a crisis with suppliers at the company recently, this will suggest that you have a corrupt manager who is making money for himself off the company suppliers. Folks the priority list will tell you plenty, like where the real interest of an individual are.

Now let us carefully examine the priority list of the government of Kenya in recent times.

When faced with the choice of settling IDPs or going ahead with the national census the government’s choice was clear. Of course a national census is important but what harm would there have been to postpone it for even a year or two? And then some questions on that census questionnaire that the government insisted on keeping were a dead give away. Like the one about tribe. To me this is evidence that the jokers we call our leaders are already doing their tribal arithmetic for 2012 and it was very important to get the latest tribal figures. IDPs kitu gani.. SHAME SHAME.

How do you get consensus in government for something like the draft constitution? It is very simple. A meeting between four individuals; Kibaki, Raila, Uhuru and Ruto followed by other meetings between those individuals and their hecklers (oops I meant party members or supporters) would be the most effective way of doing it. Instead the government decides to spend a fortune gathering the entire cabinet (plus assistant ministers) in Mombasa for what is really a holiday at the taxpayers expense. The guys have even invited teambuilding experts (what will these experts tell warlords? This is really funny). Anyway let us wait and see what comes out of it.

And there are hundreds of other examples that would take as many posts and so let me end this by asking a few simple questions.

- What were the priorities of the first Kibaki administration when he took power in 2002? (Just to jog your memory; remember the 500,000 new jobs a year saga? Actually it was quickly changed to 500,000-jobs-a-year-just-make-sure-you-can-justify-the-figures.

- What are the priorities of the current grand coalition government? Hint: Free holidays and trips abroad at the expense of the taxpayer are very high on the list all that needs to be done is to find a good excuse.

- Priorities are what presidents and administrations are remembered for. What is Kibaki’s legacy? What will the bloated-strain-on-the-tax-payer grand coalition government be best remembered for?

- As a powerful Prime Minister and partner in the grand Coalition government what are the priorities of Raila Odinga?

Breaking News: Kumekucha Chris is back in a big way and is currently preparing a hot post for your enjoyment this weekend. The working title for that post is: Cabinet ministers and their famous girlfriends. Look out for it very soon.

Top names in Ocampo’s list

2009-11-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

I went to a high school where the students run the school and school prefects had enormous powers. It was a system that worked quite well and there was excellent discipline. Little wonder that in those days the school performed very well in national exams. The school system was based on a strict hierarchy system where you respected those who were in higher classes than you without question.

One day something out of the ordinary happened. The acting headmaster (who should have known better because he was an old boy of the school) did something unprecedented. During Monday school assembly he called a form five boy and a form six boy to the front and then produced a cane and caned the form five student in full view of the entire school. When it was the sixth form boy’s turn to receive six of the best he just couldn’t take it and he walked away in defiance.

The whole school was left aghast in shock. What the acting headmaster had just done that day was like a general in the army caning colonels in full view of corporals and non commissioned officers.

But my point in telling you this old school story is to illustrate what the ruling political class including President Kibaki and PM Raila Odinga feels every time certain words are uttered these days. Words like “Hague” and “Ocampo”. Majority of Kenyans want the Hague option and that is simply because they want to see “big boys caned in front of the whole school”. After years of impunity I myself feel exactly the same.

ICC prosecutor Ocampo has made it clear that he is going after “two or three individuals.” There has been plenty of speculation over who those three may be but today I can report authoritatively that they are William Ruto, Henry Kosgey and Uhuru Kenyatta. These are the cabinet ministers who have been reportedly holding intensive consultations with lawyers. In other words they have panicked big time.

It is no secret that these individuals are extremely influential in government and that would explain the unexpected united position that President Kibaki and PM Raila Odinga took in insisting that even after months of dilly dallying they were still keen to try the suspects locally. What the two gentlemen were saying is that they would like the individuals concerned to go scot free because even a standard two pupil in Kenya knows that there is no way that any court in the country is going to successfully prosecute these “big boys.” It just won’t happen. That does not rule out the usual play-acting happening for the benefit of the public. Something similar to the time that Nicholas Biwott was briefly arrested and detained (in very luxurious surroundings at GSU headquarters) in connection with the murder of former foreign affairs minister Robert Ouko. In other words there can be no justice in a local tribunal. Not in a hundred years.

Fortunately Ocampo is still pressing ahead with a Hague prosecution but he will do so against colossal odds. Witnesses in Kenya have a habit of vanishing without trace and more commonly will usually end up dead (of course their death will always be from so-called natural causes). To make matters worse the kind of witnesses in the post-election violence cases are very humble simple people who scare very easily. You need evidence to convict a person in any court and I worry that evidence in this case will be “unavailable” when it is most required.

What has puzzled many Kenyans is why the Kenyan cases are being hurried along so fast and why there seems to be so much international pressure. The international community cannot afford a repeat of January 2008 and the clock is ticking fast towards the general elections of 2012. Then there is this man called President Barack Hussein Obama. The matatu-riding president of the United States must have been very touched by the plight of Kenyans when he first visited here as a nobody and seems very determined (even with his full plate of things to do as president) to be at the forefront of bringing about change in the beloved motherland. Hence the visa bans and tactics that just fall short of plain old bullying. Well I am with you on this one Mr President (and so are the vast majority o Kenyans). In this case the end fully justifies the means.

P.S. About the story I started this post with; there is something I would like to add. Tradition aside I watched that poor boy that was caned in front of the whole school and his juniors, literally fall apart. His self esteem melted and by the time we completed our sixth form the following year he was just a shadow of his former self. If I were him I would have sued that headmaster and the school. In retrospect what the acting headmaster should also have known is that you don’t change any system before you find a viable alternative to replace it. That school went to the dogs partly because of what happened that memorable Monday morning sometime in 1982.

Imanyara's Local Tribunal Bill Dead on Arrival

2009-11-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

Kenyans must have seen it coming. The voluble MPs predictably and conveniently dissolved in thin air leaving parliament chambers empty. Result, the popular Imanyara Bill meant to create local tribunal to punish perpetrators of PEV was pronounced dead on arrival.

To compound matters, the Kenya clergy are already proposing minimum reforms after prophesying failure in enacting new constitution. But you cannot fault men of the cloth given our penchant to kill any progressive idea that doesn't serve present political interest.

Give it to Minister Michuki for shooting straight from the hip. At least the snake rattler is forthright in telling off Imanyara to separate local tribunal from his obsession in targeting the president. Kimendero is a go-getter who knows what brings results and what amounts to hot air bereft of any meaningful movement.

For results, Michuki has promised Imanyara his vote provided the provision stripping the president of immunity is deleted from the bill.

A+O+O=Fire or meddling?
So here we are paying over 200 MPs to desert their work stations and still expect progress from their collective inertia. The political stakes have never been higher and the forest is getting even more crowded.

It appears we haven't sunk to the bottom of abyss but we are steadily headed there.

The eloquent inaction, rudderlessness and official indifference are the trinity arsenal we need to exterminate ourselves come 2012.

No wonder only the fire of A+O+O shakes the scoundrels off their boots.

Re-discovering the old Kumekucha

2009-11-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

I crave for the old Kumekucha. The real Kumekucha that built such a formidable reputation that I received several reports that people were saying that there was no other place to be online or offline if you wanted to understand the politics of

Kenya

and know what was really going on.

The old Kumekucha is desperately needed just now as our beloved Kenya stands at a cross roads desperately seeking a firm hand to lead it in the right direction.

I have sifted through many of the old posts in this blog that I consider classics and in the spirit of re-discovering the old desired Kumekucha I have pasted one of those posts below. It was a brief post but what really stands out is the informative sober debate that follows the post. There are no tribal comments only a decent debate that is a joy to read even now.

So what went wrong?

One of the things that went badly wrong and caused the old Kumekucha "to be lost in the sea" was an invasion (still ongoing) of this blog by what I would refer to as “paid hands”. Their objective was (and still is) to discredit this site and thus dilute any power it may have in Kenyan politics. Can the rest of us refuse to be dragged down by these very clever and well trained chaps and urgently address the immediate and desperate needs of mother Kenya?

I hope so.

But meanwhile I, Kumekucha cannot escape blame. I want to admit that I lost focus and departed from the straight and narrow path that carried this blog from obscurity to worldwide fame within such a short time.

Today my fellow Kenyan I re-dedicate myself to my original mission statement. I do it selflessly with the realization that despite the risks involved we will all probably never live to enjoy the new Kenya we fight so passionately for. Not even our sons and daughters will. It is for our grand children and great grand children. Even if they don’t remember us, it is a dream worth fighting for.

Oh God of all creation bless this our land Kenya.

Here is that old "classic" post;

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Biggest Risk Taken In Posting A Comment: Kumekucha Nomination For Comment Award

I would like to nominate this reader for the award of post made at greatest risk to the personal security of a Kenyan but for the good of the motherland.

This post pointed me in the right direction for research that led to new evidence and angles published only here in this Kumekucha blog that have never before been presented anywhere else in the still unsolved riddle of the Mboya assassination.

This same reader made a number of other very illuminating comments with pointers which I will not reveal for security reasons (to protect the commentator). Obviously this is a person who has worked with the security aparatus in this country in the past if not in the present as well.

It is interesting how many younger generation Kenyans who have never studied the history of Kenya and especially the life and death of Tom Mboya get upset when we mention that tribalism exists in Kenya and it is a dangerous monstor that should be faced and not swept under the carpet (like they want us to do). It is impossible to understand Kenyan politics if you have no idea who Mboya was, a man who relied on almost 90% Kikuyu votes during his entire political career... that was before the Kisumu riots and deaths and the propaganda that followed. My friends I do not peddle lies here, only very carefully researched truths that you are free to investigate on your own an verify.

Please my dear readers, study the history of your country and don't come to this blog to get upset over things you do not understand. PLEASE.

Congratulations to this annonymous blogger. Whoever you are, thank you for loving your country enough to have given us these and other vital leads.

Anonymous said...
On the right track Chris. To describe Kingsway House as eerie confirms that I was not the only one who shuddered when I entered that building. I visited it when it was Kenya's hub of intelligence and indeed Nyayo or Nyati houses pale in comparison. Blood curdling is the phrase I would use. You have explored TJ's threat to the status quo very well. Let's rummage abit further, who were the intelligence apparatchiks at that time (1969)? Indeed one very relevant observation you made is that there were no mobile phones then, so that 'wet job' involved considerable operational and communication resources. Only the security organs had these resources. I believe this matrix holds the key...a garden path that keeps getting missed year in year out.

The original post can be found here;

http://kumekucha.blogspot.com/2006/07/kingsway-house-building-in-nairobi.html#comments

Posted by Chris at 7:17 AM

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chris, thank you very much for that. But have you ever thought of an idea that has been largely circulated that TJ was a CIA agent.
It was at the height of the ideological Cold War between America and USSR and anything could have happened, to any one.
TJ was opposed to Oginga Odinga's communism ideolgy and with the history that us younger Kenyans have been able to read, TJ was the one who coined the infamous 'there shall be no other political party in Kenya' thus giving Kanu the armophous powers that it enjoyed for over three decades.
Well, in Nyanza, TJ and Odinga divided the Luo along imaginary ideological and political boundaries, something that the government of the day enjoyed and even split the massive Nyanza province in South Nyanza, while the boundaries could not be defined up to this date.
As I said earlier, let the spirits of this great man rest.
He could ganner all Kikuyu votes at that time. Why? He was in a cosmopolitan province that drew most of the inhabitants from the tribe, and he was not wrong at all. He was popular. It is not a lie.

3/31/07 8:01 AM

chris said...

Hi Annonymous,

You have much more knowledge on the man than most. Now I encourage you to dig deeper. Find out the following;

During the famous Lancaster house talks that led to independence, who was the chief negotiator on the Kenyan side and what were his tactics?

Who first told bewildered Kenyans; "Uhuru sasa"

From the deep research I have done, I too am convinced that Mboya was a CIA operative. However in my book, that does not downplay his achievements.

It was not any easier for a Luo to get Kikuyu votes in 1958 than it is now. Mboya's charisma and political craftiness was just exceptional. By the way there were Kikuyu candidates he beat in 1958. One of them was called Munyua Waiyaki.

Oh and please note that Mboya was despised in Nyanza and practically had no following there. It was said that he looked down on the Luo (I agree). The man was brought up in Thika amongst the Akamba and traveled widely. Spend a lot of time in Tanzania and was a great friend of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere (the front he used at the Kanu financier for the 1963 elections. The real source as you may have guessed was from America). Also perfected his Kiswahili in Tanzania and Kenyatta borrowed many words from him.

Ironically Mboya became very popular in Nyanza only after his assassination.

The rivalry between TJ and Jaramogi is a joy to study and much more complex than just a difference in ideologies. The most fascinating final analysis is that of David Goldsworthy author of the only Mboya biography so far who points out that in dealing with Jaramogi so effectively on behalf of Kenyatta, Mboya paved the way for his own assassination, because his job was well don and now he remained the only threat.

Also ask yourself the question why Goldsworthy called his biography on Mboya “The man Kenya wanted to forget.” Hidden somewhere there you will find the source of today’s tribal woes.

Finally although other Kikuyus did not benefit from the Kenyatta grabbing and wealth, they swallowed the anti-Luo propaganda hook line and sinker and me and you were brought up on the same. I remember as a kid being told that Luos were too proud to rule Kenya.

Once again I have nothing against Kikuyus or any tribe in Kenya, my desire is for Kenyans to discuss what they usually don’t dare discuss. It is very important for our national healing.

Thank you for being such a frequent visitor here. I really appreciate it. And never think for one day that you have to agree with me for me to like you and appreciate your visits.

Have a nice weekend my brother and God bless the people of Kenya.

-Kumekucha-
P.S. By the way for anybody reading this who wants to take a short cut and avoid them books just ask any older person irrespective of their tribe or even nationality who was a grown up in Kenya in the 60s what they thought of Mboya.

3/31/07 9:17 AM

Anonymous said...

Chris, thank you for that. Sorry, I dont want to divulge id in this forum, i fear the repercussions of the Kenyan media, nomenklatura, and not at this time that Kumekucha is being said to be behind the back-stabbing at The Nation.
I agree with every word that has been said about TJ. I once spoke to a British lecturer who once taught at Makerere. He is very old now (may be dead). His wish was to visit TJ's grave before he departs to the ancestors.
He told me something that i thought only my grandfather told me, thereby confirming it. "We (they) argued for three hours in the Commons that the young man was not a university graduate. I am convinced he was hiding something". This old man says that Mboya's address at Makerere broke with tradition. 'the first non-graduate to lecture' (I dont know, i stand to be corrected whether the first Kenyan, east african or black man'.
But Chris, if you go back to benefits that the Luo got from Mboya, apart from the 'flights' which Oginga Odinga answered with the Russian ones, and the first beneficiaries were Oburu, Osewe and Agola, his three sons, what else did the luo get from TJ.
Yes, California estate in Nairobi was out of his infleunce as MP there, but what do you think happened. the Causeway leading to his Rusinga home remains as it was, the famous Homa Bay-Kendu Bay Road remains as he left it.
I have said before, thanks to the two luo greats but what are we, the current generation reaping from them. This is my bitterness with Raila and His family. Still the Homa bay Road remains as it is and he was the minister for roads. Instead, his first priority was to slap Nyachae on the face by completing the Kisii-Chemosit Road.
Chris with respect and sober arguments only. Dont take it personal. I might be wrong and stand to be corrected.
NB: Have you read the Steadman latest. I think they are very right.

3/31/07 11:50 AM

Taabu said...

Granted, TJ was a great leader and apolitcal organzer per excellece. But with due respect (may God reast his bones in peace) aren't we losing the wider plot by glorifying the dead and leaders of yore? If anything, what dynamics and relevance has the Makerere model of the 1960s as myopically practiced by the present regime achieved apart from tokenism and plastic growth only justfied inself denial?

True, a drowning man clutches to a straw to stay a float. Similarly we are gropping in the dark looking for foccused leadersip that is presently but a mirage. The truism that no future exists without a related past is no excuse to be slaves to the past. In effect we are simply being blinded by nostalgia and living a lie of counterfactual (what ifs) proportions.

To be brutally honest, who knows, maybe TJ's death was a blessing in disguise for he would part of the dinosaurs and gang now driving us to political oblivion, nay abyss. That bullet stoped may have been the silver kind that literally created a martyr and political hero out of a scheming opportunist.

TJ's brialliance, political and otherwise, remains undeniable. But to extrapolate genuis of the 60s to the present millinium is to turn intellectualism on its head.
Mboya died and got intered with all the values he lived for. To imagine that he would win in Thika today, were he to resurect, is the height of political naivity. The guy would look for the next available noose were to wake up to the monster they inadvertently and invariably nurtured.

Lest I appear ignorant of our history and heroes, I couldn't agree and appreciate more with their ideals which we must retrace and live in their honor and respect. Their era is long past and time waits for no man. Let souls of TJ, JM et al rest in peace. Equally, we the leaving must stop propagating their negative traits of tribalsm and regionalism.

3/31/07 4:19 PM

Anonymous said...

Yes, TJ was and remains part of the problems we have in this country today. He inserted the words 'there shall be no other political party in Kenya' remember the Section 2 (a) that Oginga Odinga continued hitting at, more than three decades after TJ was dead. It showed Odinga still held the grudge mentioned above.
Again, 'the president is above the law'. Who said that? TJ Mboya. Taabu, you are dead right. He is part of the calamity that we face in present life. Let his soul rest in peace.

4/1/07 3:33 AM

Progressive or New Activist Draft Constitution?

2009-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

A look at the proposed new draft constitution leaves you wondering whether you are listening to an NGO seminar presentation. While the draft captures the heart of most of the salient issues like devolution and judicial overhaul, the finer prints smacks of activism devoid of any trace of tunnel vision to anchor national foundation and values.

The return of two chambers may appear to rewinding the clock to 1960s but at least it is an honest reflection to help us retrace our steps towards disabusing the godfathers of impunity like Jomo and his STUDENTS who patented Kenya for themselves. The senate will ensure no region feels marginalized by either default or design as we re-invent ourselves into a modern state.

Hopefully the provincial governments will comprehensively tackle the regional militias presently roaming and BEHEADING fellow Kenyans. At least the regional authorities will be knowledgeable and armed with experience to stop the murderers at their doorsteps.

Perhaps the most progressive suggestion in the draft constitution is the provision of dual citizenship. Kenya has been blind to her Diaspora despite their enormous contribution to the economy. This development is a step towards disabusing the old guards of their primitive nostalgia and contempt towards modernism. The ball will squarely fall on the Diaspora’s court to walk their lofty talk should the dual citizenship proposal pass muster.

Saving ourselves
But predictably, the draft does not fail to inject a bitter taste onto the lips with its academic legislation on gender. While NGOs win donors with their gender campaigns, legislating that no gender should occupy two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly turns the whole theme of equity on its own head.

On the whole the so-called committee of experts has correctly diagnosed our collective ailment. Their prescription may not be the best but at least it will keep us alive to either accept reality and reform or revert to our destructive pettiness that will only see us perish collectively.

It is incumbent upon us to rise to the occasion and save ourselves from stewing in our won blood, shall we?

Blink Again, Another Smart Typo at Treasury

2009-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Their creativity is so amazing and they won't stop. After the BUDGET typo now comes CMC's 2003 loan being paid in style via Volkswagen Passat cars.

Competitive bidding must have been a preface in syllabus of yore. Value for theft is only guaranteed via sour be single sourcing. And at KES 3.7m per VW unit, don't ask the difference from KES 1.8m from the truly industrious lot.

You see we have to retrospectively finance the hither phantom 6% growth that was exclusively anchored on deceit. In addition to paying the previous debts, the kitty must be replenished for 2012.

Make no mistake, the fraudsters are not naive. They packaged the fraud so smartly the public was left asking for more. Denouncing fuel guzzlers must have been a superlative PR while the scoundrels scouted for next prey. And the game goes on and on..........

Wako to Enter Nolle Prosequi on US Visa Ban

2009-11-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

Smiling Wako must be wishing that impunity could be exported and made universal. But hell NO.

Well, the smile has vanished to be replaced by a long face. Amos needs to CLONE himself to have a chance of testifying against the US. He would better ask one Chris Murungaru on the futility of such bravado.

Living national lies must be damn expensive in the long run. Now Amos Wako can shamelessly claim to be the point man who ushered in multipartysm during the fall of the Berlin wall. That amounts to hawking fake credentials, and smart Amos knows it. Whoever said lawyers are legal scoundrels wouldn't have been more apt.

Extrapolate that lie to the hitherto 6% national growth in the face of more Kenyans joining the poverty bracket and you define our national fabric of deception. NA BADO.

Why I Am So Grateful For The Post Elections Violence

2009-11-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

Things have never been worse in Kenya. That is something most Kenyans agree with whatever side of the political divide they come from. What has actually happened is that Mwai Kibaki has made the terrible Moi years look like the golden age for this long suffering nation called Kenya.

But despite everything, I will, like that great English writer called Charles Dickens, say that although this is the worst of times, it is also the best of times. In fact I would even go further and say that I am delighted that the post election violence happened. Oh yes I am painfully aware that people died (official figures are still at 600—which would be laughable if we were not talking about deaths. Actually that was about the figure that the police managed at Kisumu within the first 48 hours when the violence broke out. But that is a story for another day). I am also keenly aware of the horrible scars that were left on the minds and bodies of the survivors, indeed I have re-published some of the most gruesome parts of the Waki report in this blog.

So why am I glad that all that horror happened?

Simply because it set in motion a chain of events that can only have one conclusion and one conclusion alone. And that is the end of impunity in Kenya and the birth of a brand new nation that we can all be proud of. In other words our dear fellow Kenyans did not die in vain (bless their soul and memory).

If you take the time to read the posts in this blog before the 2007 elections, you will realize one very interesting and yet shocking thing. There were strong arguments here telling me off for bringing up a non-existent crisis in Kenya. Commentators here sometimes very convincingly told us that there was no impunity in Kenya and that the record economic growth during Mwai Kibaki’s first term was a mere Kionjo of great things still to come. Reading some of those old posts today it is easy to get pretty angry.

BUT after the chaos of 2007 and early 2008, Kenyans are much wiser. I noticed a fascinating trend where Kenyans in the Diaspora are much more informed about what is happening back at home. Gone are the days when gullible Diasporans left everything to their relatives back home including managing their properties. I met this guy managing property for numerous Kenyans in the diaspora and he told me some very interesting things. My point is that this new wave of alertness is not limited to politics.

We are also much less tribalistic in our political thinking (ignore the false impression created in this blog by a small group of notorious commentators). What really makes me happy now is that gone are the days when folks needed a post from me to see through politicians and their real motives. Let me illustrate exactly what I am talking about here. The other day Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka made a few remarks about his plans for 2012. Considering the deadly poison that this man is capable of spewing out of his mouth (even as he continuously licks his lips in glee) what he said was extremely mild. But what reaction did he get? All hell broke loose. Kenyans were mighty angry. Even some folks who had supported him during those fateful 2007 elections were very upset. So why were the good folks of Kenya so annoyed at those few seemingly harmless remarks made by the learned friend from Mwingi? It was simply because it was crystal clear to everybody that Mr Musyoka in his bid for the presidency has his eyes fixed firmly on the office and has totally ignored the task ahead. The man must be getting orgasms just thinking of himself in a presidential motorcade with those numerous motorcycle outriders and being called Mutukufu rais (your Excellency). It will not matter that the people lining up the road by then will be very frustrated hopeless and poverty stricken Kenyans. Actually there is already plenty of that in his own constituency and the man still looks at his so-called handsome self in the mirror every day.

But Mr Musyoka is not alone in his approach to politics. He is in fact a typical Kenyan politician in a typical Kenyan government (grand coalitition government means nothing). A government where urgently doing a national census is much more important than re-settling IDPs. And more specifically in that “urgent” census taking the latest counts of tribes (in readiness for the grand scheme in the elections of 2012 to ensure that Mwai Kibaki stays safe and out of prison).

So my dear friends that is why despite all the despair all around Kenya, I am happy. Yes, it is still business as usual but I can see that there is a dead end ahead for all the old politics and politicians of the land. And that is what I want to focus my eyes and mind on even as chaos prevail all round.

The Noose Tightens, Uhuru, Ruto on Their Own

2009-11-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

There is a very thin line between EXECUTIVE INDIFFERENCE and leadership fraud. The buck must stop with the CEO when the company he is entrusted and paid to watch over comes down tumbling. But not in Kenya.

Those making noise and taking sides must be strangers to Kibaki's political modus operandi. When the heat becomes unbearable, Emilio never helps anybody fight his political battles once you hit your-sell-by date. Not even if you staked you head for him. If in doubt Martha and octogenarian ambassador Muchemi are living testimonies. And so UK and Bill will soon find out that they are on their own.

The good news is that when The Hague Express finally leaves the station, it will acquire its own momentum that will only stop when Kenya is eventually cleansed of bravado, brinkmanship and above all else IMPUNITY.

Political sell-by-date
Prof Alston came and declared his unflattering verdict on the three musketeers. Well, they vilified him but look who is smiling from ear to ear now. Ali is cooling his heels at Posta, Wako's lips are fatigued from plastic smiles and next will be CJ Gicheru. The noose is tightening quite fast.

Prof Luis Moreno Ocampo has set his own agenda and demanding that the script be followed to the letter. While his actions would smack of neo-colonialism to apologists, many Kenyans are cheering him on for taking on the might and doing what they wish but can never do given the suffocating impunity.

So is it the beginning of the end for kings and princes of impunity? But again this is Kenya and king Louis XVI may choose to ignore the impending heat while his wife Marie Antoinette asks Kenyans to eat cake if they cannot afford githeri?

Well, the die is cast and the real fire and curse of the three dread vowels A+O+O is here.

The Curse and Fury of A+O+O, Pride in Poverty

2009-10-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Why do hitherto brilliant brains MUTATE into porridge once in government? Lord Acton must have been a genius with his time-tested adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely. A look into our cabinet would leave the late Rogue Ambassador Smith Hempstone turning in his grave for wasted efforts to protect pretenders for champions of good governance and democracy.

So it appears Obama's utter contempt for Kibaki's protest letter is to send an Assistant Minister to deal with Kenya. And our chief diplomat Wetangula has threatened to reciprocate the humiliation to President Kibaki. Maybe Renneberger will be declared persona non grata soon.

But Wetangula appears to know something we don't when he names Fidel Castro and Ahmednedijan's trip to UN despite their respective hostility America. His comparison leaves you wondering who is the Kenya's equivalent of the two and if he is a target of BAN.

It must have sounded intellectually stimulating and sense of pride for Weta to mention Nairobi, Geneva, New York and Vienna in the same sentence. We are sovereign and independent, so what? The US are doing what ordinary Kenyans would wish to do were it not for saffocating IMPUNITY. Any form of pressure to release us from the yoke of impunity is more than welcome. Well, apologists will rush to the next rooftop to shout neo-colonialism.

The US pressure for reforms has been reduced to the predictably PNU vs ODM tiff. The hitherto champions of good governance shifted the goalposts immediately they tasted power. As one PKW noted here in the previous post the political foot is now squarely stuck in the other foot. Flashback to 2000 and see Kibaki and the present brigade lambasting Moi on imperial presidency and now?

Edible sovereignty
The latest poverty index has shamed the national lie about phenomenal growth during the 2002-7 period. The increase in poorer Kenyans is once more living testimony of the resulting embarrassment of living a national lie. Anything premised on this vice is simply unsustainable.

Wetangula and Mutula's rush to see every criticism directed at the ruling class as an agenda to embarrass the president smacks of sycophancy of yore. Speak of hollow pride from a beggar who cannot feed himself while living in darkness.

Meanwhile the pressure is on and the lid may not hold it any more when Ocampo lands within our shores next week.

Equity: One Kilometre, One Man, One Vote

2009-10-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Here we go again. The magic word EQUITY is back on everybody's lips. Digging in for a fight, MPs are breathing fire to scuttle the yet-to-be born constitution. The war pits Central-MANIACS against Central-PHOBICS. All else is pretence at best and denial at worst.

Make no mistake, our problem is not exclusively due to the present bad constitution. The real problem is that we have and make laws with no intention to obey them. Impunity, another magic word rules supreme.

Looking at PNU and ODM MPs shouting their love for EXECUTIVE presidency and parliamentary governance respectively leaves you wondering what a bunch of AIRHEADS we have as leaders. The truth is that PNU thinks of presidency and Kibaki as synonymous while ODM entertains that fertile imagination that they will remain the majority party forever.

Nobody would have put EQUITY better than Muite. A country is not merely the sum total of its population. True, population is a factor among many others towards creating constituencies. But our mad rush-past-the-post spares us no room to think of tomorrow. All we have and fight to die for is here and now.

We have leaders whose loyalty to anything objective is as good as a dog to fidelity. Their selfish and never-ending petty wars makes Kenya be in a permanent state of tension and they don't care a hoot. What is more, they remain secure in the knowledge that many will buy their pettiness hook, line and sinker.

The word POSTERITY must mean nothing to these scoundrels. Instead of putting their heads together to mend a tattered country, they are busy shearing at every remaining thread. But not for long.

Kenya and Kenyans are far ahead of this lot and very soon they will be put where they belong. It only remains a matter of time.

Wako’s US Visa Ban is Megaphone Diplomacy

2009-10-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

The curse and heat from three vowels A+O+O is back. And now they have gone a notch higher and Kenya government’s chief legal officer is banned from visiting US. After defying President Kibaki’s official protest, Obama’s contempt for both our country and leaders continue.

Kenya is for Kenyans and Obama must stop his proxy wars for influence our 2012 elections. Barack must avoid double standards by putting undue pressure on our government. He must not insult Kibaki’s mature diplomatic approach and resort to MEGAPHONES handed to one Johnny Carson and his sidekick Michael Renneberger.

Obama must stop listening to the jobless ex-UN chief Koffi Annan. You cannot fail to see their evil intention to intensify the pressure just ahead of Moreno Ocampo’s date next week. Obama must measure up to his NEWEST Laureate status and stop fanning tension at the slightest excuse within Kenyan borders.

Cheap 2012 proxy wars
Kenya must be suffering from the curse of Obama by association. US needs to be ashamed of meddling in every aspect of Kenya’s government. They have spitted on our face by promoting the loudmouthed Renneberger when we demanded he be recalled. What is more, Johnny-come-lately even has the cheek to deride Ali’s exit as police boss as good riddance.

More than 60% of Kenyans know no other AG in their lifetime except the brilliant and ever-smiling Wako. Amos is NOT GOING ANYWHERE. He is the only experienced hand who knows when to tamper justice with political reality.

Wako's measured doses of nolle prosequi when militia bosses threaten to soil prominent names by spilling the beans is just what the doctor ordered. He is impunity personified. He provides the much-needed legal cover for kings of impunity.

Obama must leave us alone to sort ourselves in the best way we know how. We need neither prodding nor babysitting. Just like Annan before him, Ocampo will come and gleefully kiss every camera and microphone thrown at him and go.

The US of A is not heaven. They better know that all their present theatrics and megaphone diplomacy is not new, we have seen all these casts before. We are firm and happy in our own skin.

Mungiki Leader is Back, Cholmondeley Freed

2009-10-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Kenyan government owes Maina Njena and his 18 co-accused both apologies and handsome compensation for unlawful incarceration. The injustice meted against the Mungiki leader that saw him being denied the opportunity to even bury his late wife is unforgivable.

And now that the executive have taken over the court's jurisdiction to free Maina, the power that be must brace themselves for the Njenga’s threat to disclose names of the mighty Mungiki collaborators. The ever-smiling Amos only did what he knows best by lending authority to prodding from political quarters.

BOXER from George Orwell's Animal Farm saw it all. If only we could all see the smokescreen for what it is. As you concentrate on the slap on the wrist for Cholmondely, the real deal below is off the hook after threatening to UNDRESS the KING.

Brother Maina is back and is soon headed for BAPTISM. He has ordered the beheading squad to follow suit. We can only hope and pray that when the two profitable professions of religion and politics combine, Central Kenya will regain their peace.

At long last Mungiki can now restructure and be more EFFECTIVE with their leader back. If only all were equal and so lucky?

KCSE Exam Cheating Reflects Rotten Values

2009-10-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

Our filthy national fabric is being aired for all to see and marvel at. Past students who scored As and waiting to join campus are being hired to RESIT exams so as to boost schools’ profiles. The single fraudulent objective being to attract more money from gullible parents. But who is fooling whom here? No prizes for guessing.

Granted, the cheating may not be that widespread but only concentrated in the usual pockets of regions. And there lies the crux of the matter, why would a parent or guardian sent a student to mark time in school for a whole four years with the singular objective of buying his/her way to SUCCESS? This evil ritual is so annoying and demoralizing to the majority hard-working students.

And as they say a society is its own mirror. Honesty and integrity are virtues for the less industrious who sweat for their food. Why soil your fingers if a shortcut is available at the right price? We are our won worse enemies when we cheer thieves and murders as they lead us to the next available cliff.

The KCSE exam fiasco is another reminder of our rotten values. The same parents complaining about corruption will be the first ones to troop to the schools enrolling past candidates in search of admission. And here we are admonishing abstract impunity while watering the fruits of eternal self-destruction. OLE WETU.

Forget about a new constitution all we need is a NATIONAL REBIRTH OF BASIC VALUES. Generally what we consider success is nothing but primitively accumulated wealth by few individuals at our collective expense. And what is more, they have rented our mouths at no fee.

Most of Kenya’s maladies are self inflicted. Just look at the limping economy, predictable floods and at the top IDPs. Until we have a honest look at our national conscience and mend our ways, all the lofty talk about DELUSION 2030 amounts to nothing but baying at the moon.

Best Wishes for KCSE But You’re on Your Own

2009-10-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

We live in interesting times, don't we? First it is OFFICIAL, you are on your own as a Kenyan in terms of security. Forget about whining about government when your neighbour resorts to extortion and macabre beheading.

While the government disowns its principal duty to provide national security, it is yet another season of exams starting Wednesday. And reading about the predictable tales of leakages going for as low as KES 2000 in addition to KNEC’s painful and expensive tasks of hiring helicopters and boats to overcome elements of adverse weather leaves you wondering why we continue inventing paths to self-destruction.

Examinations have been reduced to loose all or win all platform to success. And what is more, our national deceptive mind has not spared the evaluation either. We have made deceit our second name so much so that success by any dubious means is an end unto itself.

How nostalgic the Chiromo days when a grade A came after sleepless nights. That was then when industry meant each of its letters. But not anymore when scoundrels re-invent you in their minds and peddle a lie about you here at KK. That is Kenya’s fabric at its purest for you.

Civilized societies would have exams posted to their schools who would post directly to the markers. But not in Kenya where any valuable item will never reach its designated postal address. Our parents are so ready to buy success they wont bat an eyelid purchasing fake or real leakages.

Industrious beheading
Having known first hand a copy typist who attained C- in form 4 but now a city lawyer after using the boss, a college Principal, to rig admission into parallel degree, I know the quacks we are breeding in our streets.

The extra security and financial measures taken by KNEC are NOT a reflection of how industrious but fraudulent we are as a nation. Our national fabric seems to be exclusively made of threads of deceit. And we iron the gab with a hot steam of self-denial. Woe unto a country whose foundations are anchored on primitive and plastic success that is not sustainable.

All the best wishes to the many candidates who adequately prepared for their KCSE exams. They are guaranteed to earn their marks and grades but unfortunately compete against the rotten lot weaned on the doctrine of SUCCESS BY ANY MEANS.

Kenyatta Day Present: Uhuru Settles IDPs

2009-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Acting just in time to celebrate his dad's day, the DPM and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta has proved himself a doer and not the mere talker that other leaders are. UK personally witnessed resettlement of hundreds of IDPs in Rongai from their Mawingu camp. What is more, the land used to resettle them was previously owned by the Kenyatta family.

If only other leaders would follow in Uhuru's footsteps and donate part of their obscene acreage to resettle the remaining domestic refugees. Uhuru’s gesture must be emulated by others if leaders are to earn their votes. It is the height of insensitivity to own a whole PROVINCE of land and refuse to donate a negligible fraction to miserable and deserving souls. That the government buys it from you is even a greater selfless motivation to sell.

Kenya needs true leaders like Uhuru who lead by example and from in front. Forget about the noisy elders from Rongai with their misplaced complaints that the government favoured the IDPs and has done little for the 25,000 squatters in the area.

Professional squatters are better left to continue living the life they know best. Let the IDPs have roofs over their heads and a place to call HOME. Kudos to UK.

Only Kalonzo Can Guarantee Kenya Peace

2009-10-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

The Honourable VP Kalonzo Musyoka has been erroneously and selfishly put on the defensive mode about his quest to unite Kenyans. Kalonzo is only being truthful and saying-as-it-is unlike the majority politicians who mask their tribal modus operandi.

Kenyan politics is tribe-based and Kalonzo’s KKK alliance is nothing but testimony to that truism. Many may deride him as spineless but no Kenyan politician can hold a candle of GODLINESS and HONESTY to the MP for Mwingi North.

After wrong footing pretenders to the throne in PNU, now Brother Stevo is whipping ODM’s backside. What is more, the God-fearing and saved VP is the MOST POPULAR and ELECTABLE among the masquerading lot.

Reverse logic informs you that the VP would not be receiving so many brickbats were it not for his popularity which his opponents are cheekily bent on diminishing. The KKK Juggernaut is one hell of a political edifice that leaves others shaking in their boots. With the other two Ks already associated with power, only one K deserves the presidency. Calculative Kalonzo knows when to strike it rich and hot.

Saintly mien
Kalonzo’s political track record spanning over a quarter century speaks for itself. He should know better when he warns us against negative ethnicity drawing out attention to two million Sudanese killed from such heinous acts. He is unparalleled ambassador of peace and a DIPLOMAT to boot.

Kalonzo’s detractors give wings to the old adage that a prophet is never revered at home. While Sudan and Somali owe their PEACE to his singular efforts, we cage him into our narrow tribal jingoism. Stevo proved that charity begins at home when he SWALLOWED his political pride and saved Kenya from stewing in her won blood.

Only Kalonzo’s honesty can save us from our own evil selves. Look around you and see fake witnesses at Waki’s commission seeking protection with the singular intention to make hay. Add that to con IDPs parking SUVs next to their tents and you get a country blissfully mocking God's wrath unto them.

Our politics feeds exclusively on deception and ONLY Kalonzo can dissolve the burden of imperial Presidency and its attendant impunity. Go Stevo go and unite the willing majority of Kenyans.

Ding ding, a licky licky licky bong!!!

2009-10-18T04:46:00.000-07:00

Watu hapa nikulia tu, which at times its understandable. But the doing of some people should not keep us sad 24-7. Here is a special for all of you that have forgotten how it feels to have a good time from Lucky Dube (the late).

Nawapenda nyi wote ... tu sana.

it seems like it only happened yesterday
now that I think about it
tears cannot bring you joy
but joy can bring you tears
even though I cry today
I will not hide it
it is for a different reason - joy
that is why I'll shout it out
for the world to hear
I say hello, hello happiness
oh Jah, thank you
for another day, I say

Chorus
Ding ding licky licky licky bong (x3)

another tear drop falls
but I don't care
I took a wrong turn in life before
but I've paid my dues
objects in the rear view mirror
they appear closer than they are
if you don't talk the talk
don't walk the walk
if you won't please, don't tease
another lesson learned
I'm gonna shout it out again
hello, hello happiness
oh God, thank you
for another chance

Ding ding licky licky licky bong (x3)

Nation Group Crisis: How Serious?

2009-10-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

For years any visitor to the old Nation House (along Tom Mboya street and opposite the Fire Station) would not have missed the aura of arrogance and invincibility that was very much present at Kenya’s highest circulating daily newspaper. Reporters walked with their heads high and enjoyed the effect that they got from the public whenever they introduced themselves as being from “The Nation.”

Well, we are told that pride comes before a fall and those who have been rubbed the wrong way by this arrogance have been waiting for the downfall of the Nation in vain. Instead the newspaper has grown into a multimedia giant stranding the entire region. But now, according to information and alarming figures that I have had the privilege of looking at, things have never been so bad at the Nation. The Nation group I am afraid is struggling and will face some very tough decisions in the very near future. So critical are these upcoming decisions that one wrong move could easily bring down this giant media company.

But what exactly went wrong?

Actually two major factors.

Firstly rapid changes in the way people receive news which executives at the Nation group brushed off with the usual “this is the Nation” arrogance, meaning that the newspaper and group was invincible to whatever else that would crash smaller less famous media companies. The situation has of course now changed with a much more sober look all round but many observers believe it may be too late. Newspapers and in particular the Daily Nation have always ruled (as far back as most people can remember) when it came to enjoying the lion’s share of advertising spend. Today Radio has taken over the throne and you can be sure that it is not radio stations owned by the Nation media group that get most of this advertising. Then the Internet came and caused so much chaos. (I was amazed the other day to discover that some locally-based Kenyans are now at the forefront of providing cheap traffic generating content for websites the world over). Coupled with cell phones which the vast majority of the Kenyan population own, the news frontier has completely changed and left old fashioned executives at the Nation stranded. Nothing illustrates this better than what happened shortly after the disputed 2007 presidential elections. At first most media houses were slow in reporting unfolding events (The Nation group is most guilty of this and to date nobody has explained why and how the accurate tallies of votes countrywide that were being compiled at the Nation Centre suddenly disappeared into thin air moments before the hurried “bedroom swearing in” of President Kibaki for a second term). But as the media hesitated, cell phones were still working and forwarded sms messages from citizens on the ground kept many Kenyans very well informed. Email carried these real time messages further and out to influential Kenyans in the Diaspora.

Secondly too many Kenyans have lost faith in the group as a neutral and independent media company and events leading up to and after the 2007 presidential elections fiasco have led many to position the newspaper as biased and even partisan and tribal in its’ approach to reporting news and informing the public. On this last point even those working at the Nation are convinced that many decisions at the media giant are made based purely on tribe. For instance a careful study of lists of senior staff layed off from the newspaper in recent months is extremely revealing. It shows clear and obvious favoritism for a certain leading tribe. Meaning that if you worked for the Nation and were not from a certain tribe your fate was more or less sealed long before the lists of those who were to be laid off were even compiled. A casual observer may disagree because the powerful position od Editorial Director has changed hands recently from long-serving Wamgethi Mwangi (A Kikuyu) to Joseph Odindo (a Luo). However the truth is that Odindo should have held this position at least 20 years ago but was overlooked because of his tribe. Now there was really no option (with sliding circulation changes and rapidly emerging challenges that can only be dealt with by an experienced old hand). Some insiders insist that even then Odindo will never enjoy the power of his predecessor. This dent in the image of the Nation group has been ruthlessly reflected in Daily Nation newspaper sales which in turn have also impacted on advertising sales.

Well, the buck stops at the desk of Chief Executive Officer Linus Gitahi (no mistaking what tribe he comes from—Kikuyu of course). Mr Gitahi has been trying to sell the “warship business strategy” to the board. The idea has been to protect the most valuable core brands by fighting small battles with small niche challengers and keeping them well away from the mother ship. Clearly this is hardly the strategy for the times, if the sales figures at the Nation group are anything to go by.

Then there are other unfolding events. The US government is at advanced stage of spreading their dreaded Visa bans to corporate individuals (my impeccable sources inform me). Top on their lists currently are Linus Gitahi and former Nation CEO Wilfred Kiboro. The reason why these individuals are listed is the subject of a post for another day. But for today, it is clear that developments like these will put the Nation group principal owners (like The Aga Khan) under increasing pressure to effect changes and go for a clean break with the current leadership that has only led the Nation media group from one crisis to another. Time will tell.

For now I must end this post by answering my own question. How serious is the crisis at the Nation group? Answer: More serious than most Kenyans would like to believe. Creative accounting can NOT mask dropping sales forever (one thing Nation accountants must be very grateful for right now are the numerous foreign subsidiaries that Wilfred Kiboro established) and sooner rather than later we will start to see the ominous signs on the balance sheet.

Kumekucha articles in the recent past about the Nation group;

Nation Media Group in Post-Election Genocide Conspiracy With The Police!
Insider Speaks Out

Why Nation Media’s Daily Metro failed

Incompetence and university degress at the Nation media group

Big changes at the Nation and what they mean

Kenya Must Opt Out of ICC's Death Trap

2009-10-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Desperate time calls for desperate measures and for Kenya that time is NOW. With IDPs being forced from the camps into hostile localities, we need HEALING in all forms and shape. And the starting point must be the cabinet to lead by example in renouncing Kenya's signature to the Rome statute enjoining us to ICC.

Ocampo and his brigade have generated more heat than light. His noise together with lectures from Annan have detracted our diligent ministers from their core duties. We cannot afford to have the two key ministries of Finance and Agriculture suffer as their holders look over their shoulders shopping for international lawyers at our collective national expense.

Kenya is for Kenyans and only we can save our country from stewing in her own blood. What is more, we are blessed with a REFORMIST president who will spare no effort to shame doomsayers.

We are in dire need of reconciliation and healing. The suicidal ICC's milestone around our collective neck is one catastrophic baggage we can safely do without. Kibaki must lead by example and from in front in signing Kenya out out of the ICC statute.

The loudmouthed and ever-patronizing US opted out of ICC, so why not Kenya? Their moral balloon is busted and we must be left to chat our own peaceful and unique destiny as we match towards vision 2030. Down with ICC and Ocampo