Kenya Imagine

Stonewalled: US House rejects war crimes report

2009-11-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

Edward Said once said,' it is is part of morality not to be at home in one's home.' This is the challenge for those who believe in the universality of human rights, especially when the charge of infringing on them, treads uncomfortably close. On the afternoon of November 3, 2009, the United States House of Representatives voted in favor of House Resolution 867 (H.Res.867), an AIPAC-backed bill that urges both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to "oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the "Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict," referred to commonly as the "Goldstone Report." With this vote, the US Congress has not only enshrined its opposition to investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity found to be committed during last winter's Israeli massacre of over 1,400 Palestinians in the closed-off Gaza Strip, but has also affirmed its outrageous and unconscionable commitment to Israel's continuous unfettered aggression and singular unaccountability to international law, rules of military engagement, human rights, and basic morality.

Read more from Nima Shirazi.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell (Review)

2009-11-23T22:40:00.000-08:00

The rebels fought for resources. Charles Taylor fought to stay in power. Young boys were recruited to fight in a war they barely understood. And the women of Liberia, they fought for survival, theirs and Liberia’s.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is a gripping, tear-jerking, yet empowering story of the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity of our survival instinct to triumph over the greatest challenges.

Read the rest of Nekessa's review here.

Homosexuality and the Myth of Choice

2009-11-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

We continue to publish content setting the tone on the discussion on the rights of Kenya's gay community.

Today Stephanie Migot shows why arguments that homosexuals do not deserve equal rights as do heterosexuals are both misguided and wrong.

Homosexuality is no more a lifestyle choice than being born with straight or curly hair. People do not wake up one day and decide that they want to be a member of a threatened and oppressed minority. While scientific research continues its search for a definitive “gay gene,” at present the only potentially reliable indicator is the number of older brothers a male child has . LGBTQ people are born, not made or “converted.” Despite the attempts of a number of misguided anti-homosexual groups in the USA, there is no scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.

Why Justice Must Be Served

2009-11-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

Perhaps, at the end of the day when we are done debating politics and laughing at the idiocy of the political elite, perhaps then we will think of Njeri and thousands of IDPs whose only wish is that their lives might return to some normalcy and that those who masterminded the PEV would pay.

Nekessa on Ruth Njeri's tragic story.

The UnaAfrican African

2009-11-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

What is African? What isn't? What defines who we are? Our identity? From our archives is an article by Stephen Wanyama on why he finds little identity with Africa. The comments that follow are a lively debate.

Read here .

Ngog shows Gerrard he is a good student

2009-11-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Steven Gerrard remains inspiring.

Gifts for Mama

2009-11-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

This woman's daughters' misfortunes know no bounds. Sandra Mushi is back on our pages with a story about a woman who's daughters come back home, first with gifts, and then to stay. And they are not alone.

More.

Post-independence land-grabbing in Kenyan uncovered

2009-11-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

Business Daily publishes a must-read report on land grabbing and settlement schemes (not the noun) in post colonial Kenya. Alcohol and greed feature prominently.

I am a little irritated right now

2009-11-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

One of our bloggers Amina Mohamed read a disturbing blog post. She says why.

Freedom for the thought that we hate

2009-11-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

Individuals and groups have a right to their opinions and beliefs. There is absolutely no compulsion for anyone to participate in or even approve of any of these acts. If you don’t like it, don’t do it. But that doesn’t give you the right to impose on someone else.

Gathara's libertarian streak is showing.

Uganda is “under attack”

2009-11-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

Uganda is under attack and, as always, it’s the mothers of the nation who are to blame.

An anti-homosexuality bill has been tabled before the Parliament of Uganda. Many have risen to denounce and oppose it, both within the country and from across the globe. Many others have risen to support it. Some in the Church have argued in favor of the capital punishment in the Bill, others have argued for life imprisonment. The ones arguing for life imprisonment are actually considered to be in opposition to the Bill. After all, in Uganda “homosexuality is already an offence under the Penal Code of Uganda as is same-sex marriage, which is prohibited by the Constitution.”

Dan Moshenberg shows why Uganda is NOT under attack.

Constitutions don't make Homophiles

2009-11-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

...if the written law and social values were two cats, gay rights a mouse and we had only one bell, which one ought we to bell first? The more vicious one of course...

Matathia on priorities.

Gay Census; useful first step

2009-11-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

My honest opinion, and I will accept chastisement for my ignorance, is that homosexual Kenyans are far safer, far far safer with the government than they are with the Kenyan public. This is one of those issues like the Mau debate, or caning in schools, or the death penalty where the state will be more likely to defend and protect human rights than the public, the media or even civil society leadership will be to sue for it.

Syzygy Mandaea explains why he thinks gay Kenyans are safer with their government than they would be without: human rights, healthcare and violence.

Tribal Democracy of one man one vote and one Kilometre one vote

2009-10-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

"One man one vote" is not an unreasonable request, so GEMA should have it, but GEMA should accept a federal system with regional assemblies catering to the needs of the other communities, two houses of parliament, the current house which is reorganized to reflect "one man one vote" and an upper house with equal representation from all regions. This should be modeled in such a way that while the main tenet of universal suffrage is adhered to, the rights of some Kenyans are not trashed in favour of others.

Salah weighs in on Kenyanness and the representation debate.

Reformed Church erred in hosting ethnic caucus

2009-10-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

My father is an ordained minister of the RCEA, and has served it in various parts of Kenya since the mid 1970s. I am also as Kalenjin as anything else I might be, owing to my blurred ethnic heritage and command of some Kalenjin dialects. I grew up in the RCEA, and remain committed to its confession of the Christian faith, even when I'm part of faith communities outside the North Rift, where the Church's presence is strong.

Jesse Masai testifies.

Deconstructing and Reconstructing Gender

2009-10-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

When the Jamaican reggae maestro, Jimmy Cliff sung “Many Rivers to Cross” in far-flung Jamaica in 1972, the philosophical thread was certainly universal binding all struggling people who may or may not have envisioned the connection. But as one decodes the encrypted archeological relics of the living legend and the Noble Peace Laureate, Wangari Maathai , in her memoir: “Unbowed,” there is no doubt that she has wandered across many rivers—the pain, the frustration, the persecution and the humiliations finally gave way to the authentic and infectious smile on the back page of her book.

A review on Wangari Maathai's Unbowed.

Scar

2009-10-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

A casual doctor's appointment yields unexpected results. She is diagnosed with breast cancer. She slumps into her seat in shock and sadness. Her heart sinks into her abdomen with a thud! Her first instict is denial. 'No.. This cannot be. I eat healthy and exercise regularly.. How can this be? I cannot have cancer.'

"Don't worry, we caught it in its early stages," the doctor tries to reassure her, 'you'll be fine."

Read more on a breast cancer diagnosis, and details on breast cancer in Kenya.

The Patriot

2009-10-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

I can still hear J.MKariuki speaking from the grave, saying that "it takes more than a flag and anational anthem" to make a nation.

Jesse Maasai on patriotism this Kenyatta day.

Why I do not read Kenyan newspapers

2009-10-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Kenyan press have reduced their journalistic investigations to harmless rumours and their analysis to regurgitation of corporate press releases and boring belches from aging technocrats.

Salah returns to KI politics with a scorcher.

A Report on NextLevel: Interviews

2009-09-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago we launched Next Level, a mentorship program for the arts. We were overwhelmed and excited by the number of applicants.. and the range in talent.

Published hereis a progress report on the process: the interviews of the finalists, and what next.

Kenya Should Invest in Sports

2009-09-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

In his inaugural article for Kenya Imagine Nicholas Oyoo Ochieng makes a case for Kenyan sportsmen and women. Sports, he argues, is a very lucrative business, and Kenya should harness the opportunity since we have some of the world's best athletes.

More.

Major-General Ali demoted

2009-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Major-General Mohammed Hussein Ali, Police Commissioner since 2004, has been relieved of his duties and appointed to head the Postal Corporation of Kenya. (KBC, Reuters, Daily Nation). The new Commissioner of Police is Matthew Iteere, the immediate former Commandant of the General Service Unit.

Updates has a quick report and analysis of the Police Commissioner's demotion.

Our Negotiated Reality

2009-09-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

He is quite possibly in this legislative reversal to ensure that he extracts from Lucy Kibaki, or any of her male relatives, the goat which the Njuri Ncheke adjudged to be his due. Thus, his Bill is compromised.

Eric Ng'eno returns; the red rag this time is Gitobu Imanyara.

Pfizer

2009-09-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

Pfizer has just been forced to cough up a couple billion dollars. The fine wasn’t because of a lawsuit, but because the company had been marketing drugs illegally. This is utter madness. What happened to the good old days when some idiot claimed that the writing on the labels was so small that he ended up taking Viagra instead of vitamins and almost… this and the other, you finish the line.

Mengo and his wit... .

I watched Mau Forest go up in flames

2009-09-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

This story is a true manifestation of stark cruelty towards natural resources and the environment at large. It gives a small window to examine the extent of damage that human beings can put themselves into while pioneered by greed and selfishness. It sheds light into the fast-growing culture that society; knowing or unknowingly promotes o ignoring impunity. The direct result of bad decisions, bad leadership and graft is evident in this story bringing forth complete destruction and environmental degradation.

Boniface Gachugu narrates.