NEO KIBAKISM: IS THE OPIUM OF THE OPPRESSED KENYANS
If you are keen enough you will see of late the kind of initiatives the Kibaki administration is laying out in an effort to “upgrade” the livelihood of the people.
Notably I wish to cite the Thika road, the roads ministry has proved to be a true disciple of Macadam the father of tarmac roads by showcasing a dazzling repair works, scraping and filling pot hills and potholes respectively.
This is just a tip of the iceberg, developmental projects have become the order of the day, employing close to a million Kenyans directly or indirectly surpassing their election pledge of 500,000 jobs yearly. But hey there is a catch this being an election year according to Kenya ’s political calendar which is meant to signify political sunset for the unlucky politicians and political groupings (parties). Therefore no prizes offered for guessing why the current generosity and sweet talking (read bribery). This is no different from Moi’s era only that the package is different (size and/or type) hence the warning by Ngugi wa Thiongo “ MOISIM without MOI” ; he had a taste of his own medicine when his homecoming was frustrated.
The current Kenya ’s situation , the deepening of neo-liberal economic fundamentalism represents the most threatening stage of human development: It may even be interpreted as the apex of the patriarchal and capitalistic exchange economy, with cynical self-interest at its ideological core. This is a moment in history when the gifts of the many, of the land, of nature, the caregivers in homes, hospitals and educational institutions are not only being taken for granted but exploited and appropriated to serve the people in exchange of their votes.
Thus when Karl Marx analysed religion as the “opium of the oppressed” as an attempt to ameliorate the suffering resulting from economic exploitation and inequality by the comforting myth of an afterlife in which, according to the Christian tradition at least, the first will be last and the last will be first and the meek will inherit the earth, one can interpreted Kibaki’s government policy as an Illusion or psychotic fantasy by which the ego seeks to deny the reality of poverty levels in Kenya (position153 Human Poverty Index) over taxation ,high bribery index are the order of the day which regardless of economic status, is an inescapable facet of the human condition.
Kenyans I dare you to make a mistake and re elect Kibaki on whichever party for this will mark the end of honeymoon and usher a new era of TM diet, remember he was Moi’s best no 1 student only that he graduated early - he grasped better than others . Look at the Daudi Mwiraria’s comeback its just like the Nicholas Biwott’s come back in the early 90’ s after the Ouko saga. Plus the old man is consulting Moi a lot… kibaki is a rightists and guards status quo jealously.
This is to my fellow youth come December lets not only vote with our conscience but good intelligence "Let us do what we must do. And let us do it so well that when we are done, they may look and cry out... Lo and Behold! They have done such a great job and look at how young they are!!"
Guest post by M.S.K.
Civil Society Message On Mwai Kibaki And Grand Corruption
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Thursday, July 26, 2007
GRAND CORRUPTION: KIBAKI MUST ACCOUNT
A STATEMENT BY THE CIVIL SOCIETY TASK FORCE ON ACCOUNTABILITY FOR GRAND CORRUPTION
GRAND CORRUPTION: KIBAKI MUST ACCOUNT
Mwai Kibaki has once again demonstrated his complete lack of commitment to fight corruption and, even more, that he is a beneficiary of it. The Anglo Leasing and the corruption scandals of Moi, and Kenyatta before him, will remain unresolved so long as Mwai Kibaki is the President. His continued dalliance with Daniel arap Moi is proof enough of his going back on his word to Kenyans that 'Corruption will cease to be a way of life in Kenya'. So too is the reappointment of the disgraced Daudi Mwiraria.
Kenyans must remember that the Anglo Leasing scandal is as yet unresolved and has cost them Ksh.56 billion that we know of from the Controller and Auditor General's report. The scandal of Irrevocable Promissory Notes (IPNs) also remains with us. Undisclosed amounts in the IPN's are floating out there exposing Kenyans to pay for what they never received. In spite of the reports by Kroll and associates of 2004, which found Ksh. 79 billion stashed abroad, nothing has been returned to Kenya while the government claims its impotence to recover stolen assets.
Kenyans need to be informed now that even today the government is perpetuating further actions of corruption, no doubt related to the need to raise money for elections.
Specifically it has committed Ksh. 840 Million by a contract of February 2007 to overhaul four second-hand junk helicopters which were fraudulently purchased through Anglo Leasing type procedures in 1998. Provision has been made in the current budget estimates to pay for overhauling the junk helicopters, thus throwing good money after bad. It would be better to cancel the fraudulent deals and instead buy new, functional equipment transparently. New and cheaper helicopters are .available on the market. The purchase of faulty equipment on whose rehabilitation and maintenance ever greater sums must be spent provides a cover for continued theft of public resources.
A most suspect provision in the 2007/08 budget is for the repayment of a phantom loan incurred in the 1970's for the never built KENREN Chemical and Fertilizer factory. The provision of KShs.4.4 billion has been made for the repayment of this fictious loan incurred during the stewardship of the Treasury by Hon. Mwai Kibaki. Thirty years later, under the government of that same Mwai Kibaki, Kenyans are being asked to pay KShs. 268,626,623 million for a service that was never rendered. To this day no factory has ever been built. This is similar to the way in which Kenyans will continue to remain liable for the repayment of the illegitimate debts incurred during the Anglo Leasing looting spree.
One of the first contracts signed by this government was for a naval warship for 4 billion shillings. Then Minister for Internal Security Chris Murungaru clearly lays blame for this deal at the president's feet. Kibaki has never denied responsibility. The parliamentary committee on Defence and Foreign Relation supported this deal even though important questions remain unanswered:
• The committee does not appear to have had the technical capacity to properly assess the project
• The committee never spoke to the company that built the ship but instead contacted the brokers who were themselves under investigation by KACC
• The ship is not fitted with weapons which would make it useful for defence
• The radar and other equipment on it are without warranty
• In short it is not a warship
The conduct and the conclusions of the parliamentary committee's inquiry into this ship is suspect and, we are informed, contrary to normal parliamentary standing orders and practice. Further, the report was, curiously, available to litigants in court before it was tabled in Parliament.
Both the helicopter and the navy ship contracts should be cancelled, money paid refunded and the responsible public officers investigated and prosecuted.
There is more. The current budget makes provisions for a mysterious payment to a French bank BNP of Ksh. 603 Million this year. Kenyans must be told what this payment and many similar ones are for.
We expect in the next few days to see attempts to whitewash Anglo Leasing suspects similar to the gazette notice by KACC which purported to clear Kiraitu Murungi.
The time has come for Kenyans to finally accept that the Kibaki they have is not the Kibaki they elected. This Kibaki is prepared to enter into the most unprincipled deals to secure his hold on power. If he is re-elected, it is clear what Kenyans can expect from a Kibaki II government namely even more unrestrained corruption, abuse of power and flagrant impunity.
From 2002, Kibaki seems to have come full circle from 'Yote yawezekana bila Moi' to today's apparent slogan of 'Hakuna chawezekana bila Moi'. Let the Kenyan voter beware!
This forum recalls that Civil Society endorsed the Kibaki candidature in 2002. We now resolve to call on them to formally withdraw their endorsement of Mwai Kibaki for reasons of betrayal and corruption as cited above.
The forum further resolves to put the same case to the 2000 delegates of the National Youth Convention which will be held in Nairobi on 11th-12th August 2007 at KICC to formally do the same.
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
GRAND CORRUPTION: KIBAKI MUST ACCOUNT
Mwai Kibaki has once again demonstrated his complete lack of commitment to fight corruption and, even more, that he is a beneficiary of it. The Anglo Leasing and the corruption scandals of Moi, and Kenyatta before him, will remain unresolved so long as Mwai Kibaki is the President. His continued dalliance with Daniel arap Moi is proof enough of his going back on his word to Kenyans that 'Corruption will cease to be a way of life in Kenya'. So too is the reappointment of the disgraced Daudi Mwiraria.
Kenyans must remember that the Anglo Leasing scandal is as yet unresolved and has cost them Ksh.56 billion that we know of from the Controller and Auditor General's report. The scandal of Irrevocable Promissory Notes (IPNs) also remains with us. Undisclosed amounts in the IPN's are floating out there exposing Kenyans to pay for what they never received. In spite of the reports by Kroll and associates of 2004, which found Ksh. 79 billion stashed abroad, nothing has been returned to Kenya while the government claims its impotence to recover stolen assets.
Kenyans need to be informed now that even today the government is perpetuating further actions of corruption, no doubt related to the need to raise money for elections.
Specifically it has committed Ksh. 840 Million by a contract of February 2007 to overhaul four second-hand junk helicopters which were fraudulently purchased through Anglo Leasing type procedures in 1998. Provision has been made in the current budget estimates to pay for overhauling the junk helicopters, thus throwing good money after bad. It would be better to cancel the fraudulent deals and instead buy new, functional equipment transparently. New and cheaper helicopters are .available on the market. The purchase of faulty equipment on whose rehabilitation and maintenance ever greater sums must be spent provides a cover for continued theft of public resources.
A most suspect provision in the 2007/08 budget is for the repayment of a phantom loan incurred in the 1970's for the never built KENREN Chemical and Fertilizer factory. The provision of KShs.4.4 billion has been made for the repayment of this fictious loan incurred during the stewardship of the Treasury by Hon. Mwai Kibaki. Thirty years later, under the government of that same Mwai Kibaki, Kenyans are being asked to pay KShs. 268,626,623 million for a service that was never rendered. To this day no factory has ever been built. This is similar to the way in which Kenyans will continue to remain liable for the repayment of the illegitimate debts incurred during the Anglo Leasing looting spree.
One of the first contracts signed by this government was for a naval warship for 4 billion shillings. Then Minister for Internal Security Chris Murungaru clearly lays blame for this deal at the president's feet. Kibaki has never denied responsibility. The parliamentary committee on Defence and Foreign Relation supported this deal even though important questions remain unanswered:
• The committee does not appear to have had the technical capacity to properly assess the project
• The committee never spoke to the company that built the ship but instead contacted the brokers who were themselves under investigation by KACC
• The ship is not fitted with weapons which would make it useful for defence
• The radar and other equipment on it are without warranty
• In short it is not a warship
The conduct and the conclusions of the parliamentary committee's inquiry into this ship is suspect and, we are informed, contrary to normal parliamentary standing orders and practice. Further, the report was, curiously, available to litigants in court before it was tabled in Parliament.
Both the helicopter and the navy ship contracts should be cancelled, money paid refunded and the responsible public officers investigated and prosecuted.
There is more. The current budget makes provisions for a mysterious payment to a French bank BNP of Ksh. 603 Million this year. Kenyans must be told what this payment and many similar ones are for.
We expect in the next few days to see attempts to whitewash Anglo Leasing suspects similar to the gazette notice by KACC which purported to clear Kiraitu Murungi.
The time has come for Kenyans to finally accept that the Kibaki they have is not the Kibaki they elected. This Kibaki is prepared to enter into the most unprincipled deals to secure his hold on power. If he is re-elected, it is clear what Kenyans can expect from a Kibaki II government namely even more unrestrained corruption, abuse of power and flagrant impunity.
From 2002, Kibaki seems to have come full circle from 'Yote yawezekana bila Moi' to today's apparent slogan of 'Hakuna chawezekana bila Moi'. Let the Kenyan voter beware!
This forum recalls that Civil Society endorsed the Kibaki candidature in 2002. We now resolve to call on them to formally withdraw their endorsement of Mwai Kibaki for reasons of betrayal and corruption as cited above.
The forum further resolves to put the same case to the 2000 delegates of the National Youth Convention which will be held in Nairobi on 11th-12th August 2007 at KICC to formally do the same.
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
What Kibaki And Moi Are Planning Against Kenyans
Recently President Kibaki had yet another meeting with former President Moi that sent jitters down the spines of those in the know. (As I was posting this, news came through that Moi has been appointed special envoy to the Sudan. Still I don’t believe that this is the only thing No2 and No3 were discussing).
Contrary to common belief, the two old men have not fallen out with each other and insiders say that the meeting was designed to put the final touches to their campaign strategy.
Apparently as we head towards the polls, meetings involving the two will dwindle and disappear altogether. The idea is that the two men are not supposed to present a united front image to the voting public.
I told you here months ago that Kanu would go it alone in this general elections and that they will probably even field a presidential candidate. I stand by my story. But what Kenyans are not aware of is the intricately laid out plan by the two men to ensure that the status quo is maintained and that ill-gotten wealth acquired during the Moi Presidency and also during Kibaki's tenure is fully protected.
I find it interesting that eve after former President Moi's influence has become rather clear there are many Kumekucha readers still in denial and who keep on saying here that Moi is of no consequence in the coming general elections.
I have concluded that the reason for this shortsightedness is the fact that many Kenyans still analyze politics emotionally and use their hearts rather than their brains. Let me explain. I have my preferred presidential candidate who as you all now is John Githongo. Now imagine a situation where I analyze the presidency and allow my personal preferences to cloud my judgment. To begin with I will be of no use to my preferred candidate because I will hardly be able to see the strengths of his opponents, which means that thinking up a strategy will be impossible.
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Kenyans, it is a very useful to be able to leave emotions out of your political analysis. It is the only way you can be truly useful to your preferred candidate. However if you wish to remain a mere heckler, that is still okay and definitely within your democratic rights.
Unless Kenyans do something about it, the 2nd and 3rd President's of Kenya will have a major say on what unfolds in December this year and who will yield political power come January 2008.
Here's their game plan.
President Kibaki will run on his own with whatever party he chooses (Narc Kenya or otherwise.) Kanu under the micro-management of No 2 or Baba Gidi, as we call him in this blog (Thank you Taabu) will also run on its' own. I still insist that Kanu are the party to beat this time round. Let me list just four reasons here.
i) They are the single party that has the highest number of seats in parliament. The Narc of 2002 is a "coalition" that was formed before the elections and that is why it promptly disintegrated soon after the election victory. In African politics the incumbent always starts with a huge advantage and the party already with the majority of seats also starts with a similar advantage.
ii) Kanu is the only political party in the country that has a grassroots network the reaches out to every single constituency and district in the republic. This is a huge, huge advantage. For starters it means that just like last time, this will be the only party capable of fielding a candidate in every constituency in the nation.
iii) To the common ordinary Kenyan on the ground, life was much better under the Kanu government and Moi. Asking the folks in the villages to return Kanu to power will be a very persuasive message that many voters will see good reason to heed. I have said that it is not prudent to analyze politics with emotions, but that is exactly what the voters on the ground will be doing. I can assure you that one very emotional issue is the difficulties in getting money that ordinary Kenyans talk about on the ground. Many are saying that hii serekali na uchumi ni ya matajari (this government and economy is only for the rich).
iv) Kanu is clearly being positioned to receive strong defectors from both ODM Kenya and Narc-Kenya. Already it is clear that there are areas where ODM will not be able to penetrate where Kanu will be comfortable and will even have a decent chance of winning in certain constituencies. Most notably Central Province. There are also areas where Narc cannot dare venture where Kanu will be welcome and can easily win if the ODM get their nomination exercise wrong, which is very easy to do. You know the one place at the top of the list here—Luo Nyanza, naturally. The sum of all this is that Kanu will end up with a huge number of parliamentary seats.
The game plan is that Kibaki's political party and Kanu working separately will between them win the majority of seats in parliament. So as soon as President Kibaki supposedly wins the elections, he will simply form another GNU (Government of national unity with Kanu). Actually of all goes according to plan, he will not need any other political partner, which will give him a much more peaceful second term. This also means that in this scenario, chances are pretty high that Kenya's next vice president will be from Kanu.
Now let me get some emotions into this. Kumekucha ha a strategy to counter this. A very powerful one indeed. Sorry folks we have already entered the season of high politics and I cannot reveal my Githongo-winning strategy against this schemes. But that doesn't pevent us from discussing a few scenarios in the comments section below. A word of caution. There is mounting evidence that our brothers at the NSIS are getting desperate and one of their methods (used frequently here) is to rubbish my entire analysis and divert attention from certain truths and instead turn our discussion here into a personal thing of who is right and who is not. Beware of those kind of comments.
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Contrary to common belief, the two old men have not fallen out with each other and insiders say that the meeting was designed to put the final touches to their campaign strategy.
Apparently as we head towards the polls, meetings involving the two will dwindle and disappear altogether. The idea is that the two men are not supposed to present a united front image to the voting public.
I told you here months ago that Kanu would go it alone in this general elections and that they will probably even field a presidential candidate. I stand by my story. But what Kenyans are not aware of is the intricately laid out plan by the two men to ensure that the status quo is maintained and that ill-gotten wealth acquired during the Moi Presidency and also during Kibaki's tenure is fully protected.
I find it interesting that eve after former President Moi's influence has become rather clear there are many Kumekucha readers still in denial and who keep on saying here that Moi is of no consequence in the coming general elections.
I have concluded that the reason for this shortsightedness is the fact that many Kenyans still analyze politics emotionally and use their hearts rather than their brains. Let me explain. I have my preferred presidential candidate who as you all now is John Githongo. Now imagine a situation where I analyze the presidency and allow my personal preferences to cloud my judgment. To begin with I will be of no use to my preferred candidate because I will hardly be able to see the strengths of his opponents, which means that thinking up a strategy will be impossible.
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Kenyans, it is a very useful to be able to leave emotions out of your political analysis. It is the only way you can be truly useful to your preferred candidate. However if you wish to remain a mere heckler, that is still okay and definitely within your democratic rights.
Unless Kenyans do something about it, the 2nd and 3rd President's of Kenya will have a major say on what unfolds in December this year and who will yield political power come January 2008.
Here's their game plan.
President Kibaki will run on his own with whatever party he chooses (Narc Kenya or otherwise.) Kanu under the micro-management of No 2 or Baba Gidi, as we call him in this blog (Thank you Taabu) will also run on its' own. I still insist that Kanu are the party to beat this time round. Let me list just four reasons here.
i) They are the single party that has the highest number of seats in parliament. The Narc of 2002 is a "coalition" that was formed before the elections and that is why it promptly disintegrated soon after the election victory. In African politics the incumbent always starts with a huge advantage and the party already with the majority of seats also starts with a similar advantage.
ii) Kanu is the only political party in the country that has a grassroots network the reaches out to every single constituency and district in the republic. This is a huge, huge advantage. For starters it means that just like last time, this will be the only party capable of fielding a candidate in every constituency in the nation.
iii) To the common ordinary Kenyan on the ground, life was much better under the Kanu government and Moi. Asking the folks in the villages to return Kanu to power will be a very persuasive message that many voters will see good reason to heed. I have said that it is not prudent to analyze politics with emotions, but that is exactly what the voters on the ground will be doing. I can assure you that one very emotional issue is the difficulties in getting money that ordinary Kenyans talk about on the ground. Many are saying that hii serekali na uchumi ni ya matajari (this government and economy is only for the rich).
iv) Kanu is clearly being positioned to receive strong defectors from both ODM Kenya and Narc-Kenya. Already it is clear that there are areas where ODM will not be able to penetrate where Kanu will be comfortable and will even have a decent chance of winning in certain constituencies. Most notably Central Province. There are also areas where Narc cannot dare venture where Kanu will be welcome and can easily win if the ODM get their nomination exercise wrong, which is very easy to do. You know the one place at the top of the list here—Luo Nyanza, naturally. The sum of all this is that Kanu will end up with a huge number of parliamentary seats.
The game plan is that Kibaki's political party and Kanu working separately will between them win the majority of seats in parliament. So as soon as President Kibaki supposedly wins the elections, he will simply form another GNU (Government of national unity with Kanu). Actually of all goes according to plan, he will not need any other political partner, which will give him a much more peaceful second term. This also means that in this scenario, chances are pretty high that Kenya's next vice president will be from Kanu.
Now let me get some emotions into this. Kumekucha ha a strategy to counter this. A very powerful one indeed. Sorry folks we have already entered the season of high politics and I cannot reveal my Githongo-winning strategy against this schemes. But that doesn't pevent us from discussing a few scenarios in the comments section below. A word of caution. There is mounting evidence that our brothers at the NSIS are getting desperate and one of their methods (used frequently here) is to rubbish my entire analysis and divert attention from certain truths and instead turn our discussion here into a personal thing of who is right and who is not. Beware of those kind of comments.
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
David Mwiraria's Return To The Cabinet
The Message That The President Is Sending Forth Is That Anglo Leasing NEVER Happened
The words on the Anglo Leasing tapes are still pretty clear on the minds of many Kenyans.
"I will use my own way…" Mwiraria said audibly meaning that he would use his own way to get to the bottom of the identity of the shadowy figures said to have embezzled and then allegedly wired back huge amounts of funds to the Central Bank. Actually billions of it.
Now the man who was also heard saying in the same Githongo tape that if they were not careful, this was something that could easily bring down the Kibaki government, seems to have had his "own way" and like his tribes-mate, Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi, has bounced back into the Kibaki cabinet ahead of the general elections.
Even more interesting is the fact that not too long ago, first lady Lucy Kibaki told a meeting in Meru that she did not know exactly how to address Mwiraria, whether to call him MP or Minister, because he was going to be back in the cabinet pretty soon. And that is exactly what has happened. Meru men's views on women are well known and for sure Mwiraria's political opponents on the ground will be asking the question loudly in front of voters; who really re-appointed Mwiraria? Very petty and silly but the sort of question that can carry tens of thousands of votes in areas like Meru and Kisii to mention the most notoriously gender insensitive areas in the country.
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
The words on the Anglo Leasing tapes are still pretty clear on the minds of many Kenyans.
"I will use my own way…" Mwiraria said audibly meaning that he would use his own way to get to the bottom of the identity of the shadowy figures said to have embezzled and then allegedly wired back huge amounts of funds to the Central Bank. Actually billions of it.
Now the man who was also heard saying in the same Githongo tape that if they were not careful, this was something that could easily bring down the Kibaki government, seems to have had his "own way" and like his tribes-mate, Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi, has bounced back into the Kibaki cabinet ahead of the general elections.
Even more interesting is the fact that not too long ago, first lady Lucy Kibaki told a meeting in Meru that she did not know exactly how to address Mwiraria, whether to call him MP or Minister, because he was going to be back in the cabinet pretty soon. And that is exactly what has happened. Meru men's views on women are well known and for sure Mwiraria's political opponents on the ground will be asking the question loudly in front of voters; who really re-appointed Mwiraria? Very petty and silly but the sort of question that can carry tens of thousands of votes in areas like Meru and Kisii to mention the most notoriously gender insensitive areas in the country.
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Why NSIS And The Kibaki Administration Are Terrified Of A Githongo Candidature
The intelligence community in Kenya, as well as numerous foreign ones are pretty busy at the moment as we hurtle ever closer to the general elections.
One interesting aspect has emerged. It is rather clear that the NSIS are very wary of a John Githongo candidature in the coming general elections. There is mounting evidence that links several attempts to discredit Githongo to them. Starting with a curious newspaper article that was somehow sneaked in and ended up appearing in the Daily Nation labeling Githongo a foreign spy.
The latest is a site that has clearly been designed to discredit the character of presidential candididate Mr Githongo. Here is the link;
http://ethicsinafrica.blogspot.com
The site talks about Githongo's alleged sexual preferences amongst other things clearly designed to discredit the man who is currently the most credible presidential candidate that we can field. Those who know the former PS of ethics well, including this blogger are naturally disgusted at this shameless mud racking campaign. But now we can also suspect where those anti-Githongo comments that sometimes appear in this blog are coming from.
Just think about it. President Kibaki's think tank are not worried about a Raila candidature (they in fact appear pretty comfortable with it and would even seem to support it.) It is also instructive that the candidate who seems to support Kalonzo at the moment and will probably leave ODM with him is Musalia Mudavadi. I have published privileged information here to the effect that the president's strategist were really scared of a Mudavadi candidature in a united ODM. Now it is very clear that a united ODM with all the current players still intact is highly unlikely.
Which leaves possible presidential candidate John Githongo as the only threat.
It is really not surprising when you think about it. Githongo is the only presidential candidate who has a clear image with the electorate over what he stands for. He made his statement when he fled the country and exposed shocking details of the Anglo Leasing scandal to the world. Here is a candidate whose support transcends and criss-crosses across tribal boundaries and tribal emotions. Actually he is the only national candidate currently.
Again look out for those strange comments rubbishing this post without giving concrete convincing arguments. When you see them, it will be clear where they will be coming from.
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
One interesting aspect has emerged. It is rather clear that the NSIS are very wary of a John Githongo candidature in the coming general elections. There is mounting evidence that links several attempts to discredit Githongo to them. Starting with a curious newspaper article that was somehow sneaked in and ended up appearing in the Daily Nation labeling Githongo a foreign spy.
The latest is a site that has clearly been designed to discredit the character of presidential candididate Mr Githongo. Here is the link;
http://ethicsinafrica.blogspot.com
The site talks about Githongo's alleged sexual preferences amongst other things clearly designed to discredit the man who is currently the most credible presidential candidate that we can field. Those who know the former PS of ethics well, including this blogger are naturally disgusted at this shameless mud racking campaign. But now we can also suspect where those anti-Githongo comments that sometimes appear in this blog are coming from.
Just think about it. President Kibaki's think tank are not worried about a Raila candidature (they in fact appear pretty comfortable with it and would even seem to support it.) It is also instructive that the candidate who seems to support Kalonzo at the moment and will probably leave ODM with him is Musalia Mudavadi. I have published privileged information here to the effect that the president's strategist were really scared of a Mudavadi candidature in a united ODM. Now it is very clear that a united ODM with all the current players still intact is highly unlikely.
Which leaves possible presidential candidate John Githongo as the only threat.
It is really not surprising when you think about it. Githongo is the only presidential candidate who has a clear image with the electorate over what he stands for. He made his statement when he fled the country and exposed shocking details of the Anglo Leasing scandal to the world. Here is a candidate whose support transcends and criss-crosses across tribal boundaries and tribal emotions. Actually he is the only national candidate currently.
Again look out for those strange comments rubbishing this post without giving concrete convincing arguments. When you see them, it will be clear where they will be coming from.
The Untold story of the Mathare massacre and where the bodies were dumped
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Mathare Killing Fields: The Untold Story Of A Massive Massacre By The Kenya Police Part I of II
Kumekucha Exclusive Investigation
The blood has dried. The tears have dried too. But the hearts of the poor residents of the Mathare slums are still bleeding and crying for justice.
The violent police crackdown on people suspected to be adherents of the outlawed Mungiki sect in the sprawling Valley of Death is still fresh in the minds of many. June 2007 is perhaps the worst bloodbath the residents have ever witnessed. It was similar to what happened in North Eastern Kenya during the infamous Wagalla massacre.
The descendants of Mathare residents will forever remember June for it’s the month that armed police backed by the dreaded General Service Unit turned the slum into a killing field to avenge the killing of just three of colleagues on the night of June 4—but on innocent wananchi and not the real perpetrators. A major security operation that was launched a few minutes after the police were shot dead left a trail of blood and tears in Mathare.
By the time the police guns fell silent a few days later, at least 80 people – men, women and children—had lost their lives for a crime they were not party to. Many other residents were left nursing broken jaws and limbs. Mothers and their young children spent cold nights as State agents turned the shanties they call home into a slaughter houses for humans.
And while the police were slaughtering and brutalizing the poor and helpless residents of Mathare, other Kenyans turned a blind eye to their problems and opted to watch free police movies on their TVs. They seemed contented with the lies that were being churned out by the mainstream media that the people who had been killed were members of the Mungiki sect. Mathare residents were paying for only one crime, a dreadful one in Kenya—being poor. When did women old enough to be our mothers and young children become members of the dreaded Mungiki sect?
What happened in Mathare and the wall of silence from other Kenyans showed how Kenyans have lost value for human life. In search for the truth, Kumekucha has spent a number of days in the slums interviewing witnesses and police officers who were willing to shed light on exactly what happened—and they made chilling revelations which we promised yesterday that we would expose today. All the information published here was counter-checked with various independent sources and we believe it’ll help shed light on the evils that our police perpetuate under the cover of darkness.
According to our investigations, the Mathare massacre could be traced to the incident where three policemen were killed when they went to Mathare slums on the night of June 4. Information in our possession shows the officers had gone to the slums to collect protection fees from traders who carry out illicit businesses like brewing and selling chang’aa and selling bhang.
The three officers were not very conversant with the slum since they had just been transferred to the capital city from stations in the countryside. According to police officers conversant with the Mathare massacre, police had formed a tradition of venturing into the slum at night under the pretext of doing foot patrols to collect protection fee from the traders. When the officers attached to Mathare are transferred from Nairobi, they always make sure they induct their new colleagues to the extortion ring.
In the case of the three officers, it seemed their colleagues whom they replaced never gave them proper briefing and this cost them their lives. They seemed to have greatly underestimated the might of a criminal gang going by the name of Mungiki, which rivaled the police in collecting protection fees from the residents. The majority of poor Mathare residents live under the mercy of both the police and the ruthless criminal gang. The gang also profits from charging illegal water and power connections in Mathare, which is home to about 500,000 people. Traders who pay the Mungiki gang are assured of protection from the police. The three officers had not done their homework well.
Our investigations have revealed that when the three officers went to the slum under the cover of darkness on the fateful night, they did the usual thing - moving from one trader to another collecting protection fees. But they walked into trouble when they approached a woman who was selling chang’aa in her den and demanded to be given Sh500. A few minutes before the police called on her, the woman had parted with Sh300 to the Mungiki gang. Furious that the Mungiki had not kept their promise of keeping the police at bay, the woman ushered the officers into her chang’aa den and told them she only had Sh200. She then excused herself saying that she was going to borrow more cash.
Reflecting on how they had made good harvest that night, the officers relaxed and sat down on a makeshift bench and waited to bag in Sh500 extra. In the meantime, the woman managed to trace the Mungiki gang who were just hovering in the vicinity and voiced her protest. Without wasting time, the Mungiki gang hurriedly armed themselves and went for the officers.
Investigations by Kumekucha revealed the gang caught the officers unawares and they sprayed them with bullets as they sat on the bench. None of them had the time to cock their guns, let alone pull the trigger. Two of the officers died on the spot while the third one succumbed to bullet wounds on the way to hospital.
The officers were killed at a time when Mungiki gangs were on the loose in Nairobi, Murang’a and Kiambu and they were being blamed for beheading more than 10 people in a span of a month. At least 10 police officers had also been felled by the Mungiki power in the same period. Strangely, the police reaction was very cold, almost unconcerned when innocent people were being butchered by Mungiki thugs. In fact, different police bosses could be seen on TV re-assuring Kenyans that those incidents were isolated and that they were on top of things.
But the zeal they went about avenging the killing of their three colleagues broke every rule in the book of law and left many people baffled. How comes the police never react this way when Kenyans are being killed? If the same force was applied every time a Kenyan—regardless of whether you are an ordinary person of a police officer—was killed by criminals, the Mathare incident would have passed for just any other. In fact, criminals would have been wiped from the map of Kenya long time ago. But the police only seemed to feel the pain when one of their own was under attack.
No human being—apart from the police carrying out the operation—was safe in Mathare when the police came calling under the cover of darkness. By this time, the gang which had killed the officers had vanished long time ago with their guns. Our investigations showed that the first group of officers who raced to the scene where their colleagues were killed, interviewed witnesses and found out exactly what led to the killings. When this information was relayed to their seniors at the provincial police headquarters and at police headquarters, an execution order for the woman who contributed to the deaths was issued. The woman died under a hail of bullets and her body was among those which were discarded by the police in open fields along the Mombasa highway to be eaten by wild animals or to rot naturally.
Truck-loads of GSU officers and officers from specialized units like the Flying Squad and the Special Crime Prevention Unit were mobilized and they descended on the Valley of Death like hungry vultures. They formed a ring around the valley to ensure that no resident left the area. On the first night, police shot dead 33 Mathare residents in cold blood. The security operation went on for more than a week and at least 80 people had lost their lives by the time the police guns went silent.
Our investigations show that senior police officers held an urgent meeting after the three officers were killed and resolved that the security operation could not be effective with TV cameras rolling and journalists watching the crackdown. A senior officer was appointed to handle journalist and confine them into one corner as the police butchered and terrorized the residents on the other invisible end. They feared journalists would expose the massacre to the outside world.
It was the work of the senior officer guarding the journalists to feed them with misleading information, which most of them happily published or aired without question. Unknown to the journalists, the police were busy executing any residents they came across on the other end. They then carried the blood-soaked bodies into waiting police lorries, which were hidden on the other end. Another senior officer in charge of the bloodbath squad would occasionally order a policeman to fire in the air towards where the journalists were “waiting for news” to scare them. The officer who was with the journalists would then tell the journalists that they were being shot at by the Mungiki and that was why the police would not take the risk of allowing journalist to venture into the “battle-front”.
The Daily Nation sent shivers down the spine of senior police officers when it went to town with a headline story on the riddle of the missing bodies from the Mathare massacre. Senior officers were afraid their cover would be blown off. It’s still a mystery why the newspaper editors never took the story further after revealing how the figures of the dead given by the police had failed to tally with those recorded at the City Mortuary. All cases of police shootings or unnatural deaths in Nairobi and the outlaying districts are recorded at the City Mortuary. So, the police would not have taken the bodies to other mortuaries. Where did the missing bodies go?
Investigations by Kumekucha reveal that police only took a few bodies to the City Mortuary. The rest were loaded onto police lorries and dumped in the vast grassland along Mombasa road. Police officers interviewed said their bosses ordered the bodies to be disposed off in such a crude manner to avoid the wrath of international human rights watchdogs. They also feared the discovery of bodies of women and children would give the force a very bad image. Most residents of Mathare told Kumekucha they had not traced the bodies of their loved ones but feared going public on the issue to avoid meeting the same fate.
A similar trick by the police to dispose off bodies of five men in a grassland in Athi River three weeks ago backfired when it emerged that the victims had been removed from police custody, shot dead in an unknown place and then their bodies were dumped in the tall grass. It puzzled everyone when the police issued a statement soon after the bodies were discovered and alleged they had been killed by members of their gang even before they could carry out any investigations! How did they come across the information that they were so hurriedly feeding Kenyans? Were they witness to the murders? The truth finally came out when relatives of the dead men stepped forward and disclosed that the victims were dragged from police custody and then killed. Last week, the Daily Nation carried a story on how the executions were done but hid it in the inside pages. No journalists from the mainstream media has ever bothered to re-visit Mathare and tell the world the truth. It’s only Kumekucha who has dared to do it at great personal risk.
Read Part 2
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
The blood has dried. The tears have dried too. But the hearts of the poor residents of the Mathare slums are still bleeding and crying for justice.
The violent police crackdown on people suspected to be adherents of the outlawed Mungiki sect in the sprawling Valley of Death is still fresh in the minds of many. June 2007 is perhaps the worst bloodbath the residents have ever witnessed. It was similar to what happened in North Eastern Kenya during the infamous Wagalla massacre.
The descendants of Mathare residents will forever remember June for it’s the month that armed police backed by the dreaded General Service Unit turned the slum into a killing field to avenge the killing of just three of colleagues on the night of June 4—but on innocent wananchi and not the real perpetrators. A major security operation that was launched a few minutes after the police were shot dead left a trail of blood and tears in Mathare.
By the time the police guns fell silent a few days later, at least 80 people – men, women and children—had lost their lives for a crime they were not party to. Many other residents were left nursing broken jaws and limbs. Mothers and their young children spent cold nights as State agents turned the shanties they call home into a slaughter houses for humans.
And while the police were slaughtering and brutalizing the poor and helpless residents of Mathare, other Kenyans turned a blind eye to their problems and opted to watch free police movies on their TVs. They seemed contented with the lies that were being churned out by the mainstream media that the people who had been killed were members of the Mungiki sect. Mathare residents were paying for only one crime, a dreadful one in Kenya—being poor. When did women old enough to be our mothers and young children become members of the dreaded Mungiki sect?
What happened in Mathare and the wall of silence from other Kenyans showed how Kenyans have lost value for human life. In search for the truth, Kumekucha has spent a number of days in the slums interviewing witnesses and police officers who were willing to shed light on exactly what happened—and they made chilling revelations which we promised yesterday that we would expose today. All the information published here was counter-checked with various independent sources and we believe it’ll help shed light on the evils that our police perpetuate under the cover of darkness.
According to our investigations, the Mathare massacre could be traced to the incident where three policemen were killed when they went to Mathare slums on the night of June 4. Information in our possession shows the officers had gone to the slums to collect protection fees from traders who carry out illicit businesses like brewing and selling chang’aa and selling bhang.
The three officers were not very conversant with the slum since they had just been transferred to the capital city from stations in the countryside. According to police officers conversant with the Mathare massacre, police had formed a tradition of venturing into the slum at night under the pretext of doing foot patrols to collect protection fee from the traders. When the officers attached to Mathare are transferred from Nairobi, they always make sure they induct their new colleagues to the extortion ring.
In the case of the three officers, it seemed their colleagues whom they replaced never gave them proper briefing and this cost them their lives. They seemed to have greatly underestimated the might of a criminal gang going by the name of Mungiki, which rivaled the police in collecting protection fees from the residents. The majority of poor Mathare residents live under the mercy of both the police and the ruthless criminal gang. The gang also profits from charging illegal water and power connections in Mathare, which is home to about 500,000 people. Traders who pay the Mungiki gang are assured of protection from the police. The three officers had not done their homework well.
Our investigations have revealed that when the three officers went to the slum under the cover of darkness on the fateful night, they did the usual thing - moving from one trader to another collecting protection fees. But they walked into trouble when they approached a woman who was selling chang’aa in her den and demanded to be given Sh500. A few minutes before the police called on her, the woman had parted with Sh300 to the Mungiki gang. Furious that the Mungiki had not kept their promise of keeping the police at bay, the woman ushered the officers into her chang’aa den and told them she only had Sh200. She then excused herself saying that she was going to borrow more cash.
Reflecting on how they had made good harvest that night, the officers relaxed and sat down on a makeshift bench and waited to bag in Sh500 extra. In the meantime, the woman managed to trace the Mungiki gang who were just hovering in the vicinity and voiced her protest. Without wasting time, the Mungiki gang hurriedly armed themselves and went for the officers.
Investigations by Kumekucha revealed the gang caught the officers unawares and they sprayed them with bullets as they sat on the bench. None of them had the time to cock their guns, let alone pull the trigger. Two of the officers died on the spot while the third one succumbed to bullet wounds on the way to hospital.
The officers were killed at a time when Mungiki gangs were on the loose in Nairobi, Murang’a and Kiambu and they were being blamed for beheading more than 10 people in a span of a month. At least 10 police officers had also been felled by the Mungiki power in the same period. Strangely, the police reaction was very cold, almost unconcerned when innocent people were being butchered by Mungiki thugs. In fact, different police bosses could be seen on TV re-assuring Kenyans that those incidents were isolated and that they were on top of things.
But the zeal they went about avenging the killing of their three colleagues broke every rule in the book of law and left many people baffled. How comes the police never react this way when Kenyans are being killed? If the same force was applied every time a Kenyan—regardless of whether you are an ordinary person of a police officer—was killed by criminals, the Mathare incident would have passed for just any other. In fact, criminals would have been wiped from the map of Kenya long time ago. But the police only seemed to feel the pain when one of their own was under attack.
No human being—apart from the police carrying out the operation—was safe in Mathare when the police came calling under the cover of darkness. By this time, the gang which had killed the officers had vanished long time ago with their guns. Our investigations showed that the first group of officers who raced to the scene where their colleagues were killed, interviewed witnesses and found out exactly what led to the killings. When this information was relayed to their seniors at the provincial police headquarters and at police headquarters, an execution order for the woman who contributed to the deaths was issued. The woman died under a hail of bullets and her body was among those which were discarded by the police in open fields along the Mombasa highway to be eaten by wild animals or to rot naturally.
Truck-loads of GSU officers and officers from specialized units like the Flying Squad and the Special Crime Prevention Unit were mobilized and they descended on the Valley of Death like hungry vultures. They formed a ring around the valley to ensure that no resident left the area. On the first night, police shot dead 33 Mathare residents in cold blood. The security operation went on for more than a week and at least 80 people had lost their lives by the time the police guns went silent.
Our investigations show that senior police officers held an urgent meeting after the three officers were killed and resolved that the security operation could not be effective with TV cameras rolling and journalists watching the crackdown. A senior officer was appointed to handle journalist and confine them into one corner as the police butchered and terrorized the residents on the other invisible end. They feared journalists would expose the massacre to the outside world.
It was the work of the senior officer guarding the journalists to feed them with misleading information, which most of them happily published or aired without question. Unknown to the journalists, the police were busy executing any residents they came across on the other end. They then carried the blood-soaked bodies into waiting police lorries, which were hidden on the other end. Another senior officer in charge of the bloodbath squad would occasionally order a policeman to fire in the air towards where the journalists were “waiting for news” to scare them. The officer who was with the journalists would then tell the journalists that they were being shot at by the Mungiki and that was why the police would not take the risk of allowing journalist to venture into the “battle-front”.
The Daily Nation sent shivers down the spine of senior police officers when it went to town with a headline story on the riddle of the missing bodies from the Mathare massacre. Senior officers were afraid their cover would be blown off. It’s still a mystery why the newspaper editors never took the story further after revealing how the figures of the dead given by the police had failed to tally with those recorded at the City Mortuary. All cases of police shootings or unnatural deaths in Nairobi and the outlaying districts are recorded at the City Mortuary. So, the police would not have taken the bodies to other mortuaries. Where did the missing bodies go?
Investigations by Kumekucha reveal that police only took a few bodies to the City Mortuary. The rest were loaded onto police lorries and dumped in the vast grassland along Mombasa road. Police officers interviewed said their bosses ordered the bodies to be disposed off in such a crude manner to avoid the wrath of international human rights watchdogs. They also feared the discovery of bodies of women and children would give the force a very bad image. Most residents of Mathare told Kumekucha they had not traced the bodies of their loved ones but feared going public on the issue to avoid meeting the same fate.
A similar trick by the police to dispose off bodies of five men in a grassland in Athi River three weeks ago backfired when it emerged that the victims had been removed from police custody, shot dead in an unknown place and then their bodies were dumped in the tall grass. It puzzled everyone when the police issued a statement soon after the bodies were discovered and alleged they had been killed by members of their gang even before they could carry out any investigations! How did they come across the information that they were so hurriedly feeding Kenyans? Were they witness to the murders? The truth finally came out when relatives of the dead men stepped forward and disclosed that the victims were dragged from police custody and then killed. Last week, the Daily Nation carried a story on how the executions were done but hid it in the inside pages. No journalists from the mainstream media has ever bothered to re-visit Mathare and tell the world the truth. It’s only Kumekucha who has dared to do it at great personal risk.
Read Part 2
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Mathare Killing Fields: The Untold Story Of A Massive Massacre By The Kenya Police Part II
Kumekucha Exclusive Investigation
THIS IS PART 2. Read Part 1 First
Kumekucha has reliably been informed that a key Mungiki figure, Kimani Ruo, met the same fate that befell the five men shortly after he was acquitted by the High Court on charges of being in possessing of a firearm and drug trafficking.
We have been informed that Ruo was abducted by plainclothes detectives from the Special Crime Prevention Unit outside the High Court and bundled into a police car and handcuffed. The car sped off towards Mombasa road. Police officers privy to what took place informed us that Ruo was shot dead and his body thrown into the Nairobi National Park. It’s believed the body was mauled by lions and other wild animals and there will never be any trace of him. Ruo’s abduction was captured by KBC cameras but senior police officers ordered the state-owned station to destroy the tapes fearing it might betray them.
When Ruo’s family started exerting pressure on the police by filing a case in the High Court for him to be produced in court, Superintendent of Police Richard Katola, the head of the Special Crime Prevention Unit, added a new twist to the saga by filing an affidavit in court claiming they did not know his whereabouts. In a desperate attempt to cover up the execution and divert attention, Katola claimed the police were also looking for Ruo over other criminal matters! The trick worked and gave the police a much-needed temporary reprieve.
It has since emerged that police had gotten wind before the judgment was read in court that Ruo was to be acquitted. Ruo did not know detectives in plain clothes lay in wait for him outside the High Court when he was acquitted. As he strode out of court in a jovial mood eager to be re-united with his relatives, he did not know that death lurked in the shadows. Ruo’s co-accused, John Kamunya, alias Maina Njenga, ended up being the luckier one as he was sentenced to five years in jail for possessing a gun and nearly 5kg of marijuana.
Ruo’s saga will one day haunt the police like the 1987 Mbaraka Karanja execution riddle.
For those of you who might not recall the Mbaraka Karanja riddle, the man was picked up by the CID on April 4, 1987, on suspicion that he was a top criminal. Eight days later, Mbaraka had “vanished” from police cells and police were unwilling to reveal his whereabouts or produce his body. Interestingly, his body "disappeared" and police later claimed it was buried in a mass grave at the Eldoret Municipal cementry after nobody turned to claim it! Police had picked him from his Limuru home and they knew it very well. Secondly, relatives of Mbaraka started looking for him from the first day of his arrest and police kept sending them on a wild goose chase. The killing led to a protracted court battle. Mr Justice Derek Schofield, who was hearing an application by the family demanding the police either produce Mbaraka or his body, courageously stood his ground that police should honour the family’s demand. Judge Schofield opted to resign when the Executive ordered that he release the case file to another judge.
Before Schofield resigned, he was sent on a wild goose chase by the police when they lied in court that the body was buried in the Eldoret cemetery while they knew very well that it was not buried there. The police, pathologists and mortuary officials faked documents to show that the body had been booked there. In compliance with the judge’s orders, the police dug up one grave after another as grieving relatives of Mbaraka choked in stench. Finally, the police told the judge that they couldn’t find the body!
It emerged years later that Mabaraka was actually killed by police in Karura Forest in Nairobi and his body set ablaze in the forest. By then, nobody could remember the exact spot in the dense forest where Mbaraka’s body was burnt. It appears the police have resorted to their old habits of gangland-style executions after failing to contain the Mungiki.
Even before the blood in Mathare could dry up, police were at it again. Police got wind that there was a group of youths who were taking oaths to be recruited to the Mungiki sect. In what has become an apparent shoot-on-sight policy against mungiki suspects, police sealed off the house where the youths were and sprayed everyone who was inside with bullets. Police guns claimed 60 lives from that house that night. The first statement given to the press by police claimed they had shot dead seven men who were caught in an oathing ceremony. The figure then rose to 27. Strangely, the incident was highly downplayed by the mainstream media.
Reliable information availed to Kumekucha shows that among the 60 dead were six pupils from the neighbouring primary schools. It has emerged that a few Mungiki sect members invited innocent youths of that locality to a goat-eating party without disclosing what it was all about. Knowing how neighbours back in the villages relate in brotherhood, no one could resist the temptation of roasted meat. And when the police descended on the village, they were not interested in making any arrests. Their mission was to send all the occupants in that house to their early graves. The Mungiki sect members and the innocent majority died in that single incident.
To avoid causing a storm, the police decided to scatter the bodies in public mortuaries all over Central province. A heap of 60 bodies taken to one mortuary would have caused a major storm. Relatives had a rough time trying to locate the bodies of their loved ones. And the provincial administration ensured that the relatives did not give them a descent burial. Burials were hurried and no speeches or prayers were allowed.
Officers who have been given the task of monitoring the Mungiki sect members disclosed that the police crackdown on suspected sect followers had claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in Kiambu, Nairobi and Murang’a since June. Although a number of Mungki sect diehards have been killed by the police, the brunt of police brutality has been borne mostly by the innocent majority. Daily Nation last week carried a story of two police officers who were taken to task in court over how they arrived at the conclusion the people they had charged were members of the sect. The formula used by the police to identify and condemn one to be a member of the banned sect baffles even the police themselves! If they can’t prove in court how one belongs to Mungiki, what of the hundreds of those who have been summarily executed unheard?
It is emerging that police were given express orders from higher authorities to execute any Mungiki sect suspects after Internal Security minister John Michuki and Chief Justice Evans Gicheru went on a warpath in June over who was to blame for frustrating the police war on the dreaded Mungiki. The minister is on record as having ordered the police to shoot on sight anyone suspected to be a Mungiki follower.
But by a stroke of bad luck, Michuki ended up shooting himself in the foot when the killing of 60 people in his backyard attracted a backlash from his constituents. Knowing what is at stake with the General Election around the corner, Michuki made a surprise public appearance in Murang’a and condemned the police action. But his scathing attack on the police did not go down well with commissioner Hussein Ali, who called a press conference and dismissed the minister’s remarks as unfortunate.
And in an attempt to please Michuki’s constituents, at least six GSU officers were dismissed over the Murang’a killings. It’s still unclear who sacked the officers since it’s public knowledge that Michuki and the police chief rarely see eye to eye and the latter rarely takes orders from the former.
The Mathare massacre will go down in history as one of the worst incidents of human rights abuse by the Kibaki Administration. And it’s a big shame that human rights watchdog organizations—which were so vocal against every single incident of human rights abuse during the Moi regime—have now decided to turn the other way as state agents arrogate themselves the role of the police, prosecutor, judge and executioner.
The Kibaki Administration has for a long time been accused of only being mindful of the rich. The Mathare killings prove this beyond any doubt. The police action in Mathare demonstrated that the Kibaki Administration criminalized poverty. It is highly likely that some of Mungiki adherents sort refuge in neighboring Muthaiga when things got hot. Why did the police operation not extend to Muthaiga then?
We know the answer to that one. Even if the three police officers had been killed in Muthaiga, it is highly unlikely that police would have reacted in the same way. We would be happy to see brutal police bursting into every home in Muthaiga in search of criminals next time a crime is committed in the neighborhood.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
THIS IS PART 2. Read Part 1 First
Kumekucha has reliably been informed that a key Mungiki figure, Kimani Ruo, met the same fate that befell the five men shortly after he was acquitted by the High Court on charges of being in possessing of a firearm and drug trafficking.
We have been informed that Ruo was abducted by plainclothes detectives from the Special Crime Prevention Unit outside the High Court and bundled into a police car and handcuffed. The car sped off towards Mombasa road. Police officers privy to what took place informed us that Ruo was shot dead and his body thrown into the Nairobi National Park. It’s believed the body was mauled by lions and other wild animals and there will never be any trace of him. Ruo’s abduction was captured by KBC cameras but senior police officers ordered the state-owned station to destroy the tapes fearing it might betray them.
When Ruo’s family started exerting pressure on the police by filing a case in the High Court for him to be produced in court, Superintendent of Police Richard Katola, the head of the Special Crime Prevention Unit, added a new twist to the saga by filing an affidavit in court claiming they did not know his whereabouts. In a desperate attempt to cover up the execution and divert attention, Katola claimed the police were also looking for Ruo over other criminal matters! The trick worked and gave the police a much-needed temporary reprieve.
It has since emerged that police had gotten wind before the judgment was read in court that Ruo was to be acquitted. Ruo did not know detectives in plain clothes lay in wait for him outside the High Court when he was acquitted. As he strode out of court in a jovial mood eager to be re-united with his relatives, he did not know that death lurked in the shadows. Ruo’s co-accused, John Kamunya, alias Maina Njenga, ended up being the luckier one as he was sentenced to five years in jail for possessing a gun and nearly 5kg of marijuana.
Ruo’s saga will one day haunt the police like the 1987 Mbaraka Karanja execution riddle.
For those of you who might not recall the Mbaraka Karanja riddle, the man was picked up by the CID on April 4, 1987, on suspicion that he was a top criminal. Eight days later, Mbaraka had “vanished” from police cells and police were unwilling to reveal his whereabouts or produce his body. Interestingly, his body "disappeared" and police later claimed it was buried in a mass grave at the Eldoret Municipal cementry after nobody turned to claim it! Police had picked him from his Limuru home and they knew it very well. Secondly, relatives of Mbaraka started looking for him from the first day of his arrest and police kept sending them on a wild goose chase. The killing led to a protracted court battle. Mr Justice Derek Schofield, who was hearing an application by the family demanding the police either produce Mbaraka or his body, courageously stood his ground that police should honour the family’s demand. Judge Schofield opted to resign when the Executive ordered that he release the case file to another judge.
Before Schofield resigned, he was sent on a wild goose chase by the police when they lied in court that the body was buried in the Eldoret cemetery while they knew very well that it was not buried there. The police, pathologists and mortuary officials faked documents to show that the body had been booked there. In compliance with the judge’s orders, the police dug up one grave after another as grieving relatives of Mbaraka choked in stench. Finally, the police told the judge that they couldn’t find the body!
It emerged years later that Mabaraka was actually killed by police in Karura Forest in Nairobi and his body set ablaze in the forest. By then, nobody could remember the exact spot in the dense forest where Mbaraka’s body was burnt. It appears the police have resorted to their old habits of gangland-style executions after failing to contain the Mungiki.
Even before the blood in Mathare could dry up, police were at it again. Police got wind that there was a group of youths who were taking oaths to be recruited to the Mungiki sect. In what has become an apparent shoot-on-sight policy against mungiki suspects, police sealed off the house where the youths were and sprayed everyone who was inside with bullets. Police guns claimed 60 lives from that house that night. The first statement given to the press by police claimed they had shot dead seven men who were caught in an oathing ceremony. The figure then rose to 27. Strangely, the incident was highly downplayed by the mainstream media.
Reliable information availed to Kumekucha shows that among the 60 dead were six pupils from the neighbouring primary schools. It has emerged that a few Mungiki sect members invited innocent youths of that locality to a goat-eating party without disclosing what it was all about. Knowing how neighbours back in the villages relate in brotherhood, no one could resist the temptation of roasted meat. And when the police descended on the village, they were not interested in making any arrests. Their mission was to send all the occupants in that house to their early graves. The Mungiki sect members and the innocent majority died in that single incident.
To avoid causing a storm, the police decided to scatter the bodies in public mortuaries all over Central province. A heap of 60 bodies taken to one mortuary would have caused a major storm. Relatives had a rough time trying to locate the bodies of their loved ones. And the provincial administration ensured that the relatives did not give them a descent burial. Burials were hurried and no speeches or prayers were allowed.
Officers who have been given the task of monitoring the Mungiki sect members disclosed that the police crackdown on suspected sect followers had claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in Kiambu, Nairobi and Murang’a since June. Although a number of Mungki sect diehards have been killed by the police, the brunt of police brutality has been borne mostly by the innocent majority. Daily Nation last week carried a story of two police officers who were taken to task in court over how they arrived at the conclusion the people they had charged were members of the sect. The formula used by the police to identify and condemn one to be a member of the banned sect baffles even the police themselves! If they can’t prove in court how one belongs to Mungiki, what of the hundreds of those who have been summarily executed unheard?
It is emerging that police were given express orders from higher authorities to execute any Mungiki sect suspects after Internal Security minister John Michuki and Chief Justice Evans Gicheru went on a warpath in June over who was to blame for frustrating the police war on the dreaded Mungiki. The minister is on record as having ordered the police to shoot on sight anyone suspected to be a Mungiki follower.
But by a stroke of bad luck, Michuki ended up shooting himself in the foot when the killing of 60 people in his backyard attracted a backlash from his constituents. Knowing what is at stake with the General Election around the corner, Michuki made a surprise public appearance in Murang’a and condemned the police action. But his scathing attack on the police did not go down well with commissioner Hussein Ali, who called a press conference and dismissed the minister’s remarks as unfortunate.
And in an attempt to please Michuki’s constituents, at least six GSU officers were dismissed over the Murang’a killings. It’s still unclear who sacked the officers since it’s public knowledge that Michuki and the police chief rarely see eye to eye and the latter rarely takes orders from the former.
The Mathare massacre will go down in history as one of the worst incidents of human rights abuse by the Kibaki Administration. And it’s a big shame that human rights watchdog organizations—which were so vocal against every single incident of human rights abuse during the Moi regime—have now decided to turn the other way as state agents arrogate themselves the role of the police, prosecutor, judge and executioner.
The Kibaki Administration has for a long time been accused of only being mindful of the rich. The Mathare killings prove this beyond any doubt. The police action in Mathare demonstrated that the Kibaki Administration criminalized poverty. It is highly likely that some of Mungiki adherents sort refuge in neighboring Muthaiga when things got hot. Why did the police operation not extend to Muthaiga then?
We know the answer to that one. Even if the three police officers had been killed in Muthaiga, it is highly unlikely that police would have reacted in the same way. We would be happy to see brutal police bursting into every home in Muthaiga in search of criminals next time a crime is committed in the neighborhood.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
ODM's Illegal Line Up: All Animals Are Equal But Some Are More Equal Than Others
George Orwell was a journalist and a struggling unknown author until he wrote a little harmless-looking book titled Animal Farm. The book just sold and kept on selling and today almost 60 years later, the damn little book is still selling like crazy. He went on to write the big brother book, 1984, which he is also well known for, but it has never beaten Animal Farm in sales.
So, what is so special about Animal Farm? It is the fact that it struck a chord with many about what goes wrong with so many revolutions, which start with good intentions until human nature kicks in. Animal Farm, many believed talked about communist Russia.
This is an excellent time for Kenyans to read and re-read this small book, because they will recognize a lot of what is going wrong in the motherland in that book.
In Raila Odinga's efforts to clinch the ODM presidential nomination, he is said to have had a breakfast meeting at William "YK92" Ruto's house. The timing of course was perfect, because Ruto seems to be feeling the heat of Baba Gidi's political chess games in the Rift Valley. Interestingly quite a number of armchair analysts who called themselves experts on the Rift Valley here have told us that Baba Gidi is of no consequence in Rift Valley and no longer has any influence. Ngoja Mutaona!!. I have been saying it for months here to ridicule from some of you and now even the mainstream media have finally picked it up. Sjhock of all shocks, even Mutahi Ngunyi is warning Kenyans about it. Very laughable this move by a well known Kibaki think tank operative.
Ruto is the guy who has been pushing Raila hardest to accept the non-existent Prime Minister's seat and leave the Presidency to somebody he and others are insisting is "more electable (whatever that means). Now several sources on both sides have confirmed that the two have hammered out a deal where Raila will be President, Kalonzo Vice President and Ruto will take the yet-to-be created position of Prime Minister and Musalia "Goldenberg" Mudavadi would be deputy to Ruto.
The painful thing to Kenyans is that this deal was being done at a breakfast table in some overpaid MP's house in a posh neighborhood, most probably over a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit juice etc. products that are today a rumor in bad taste on the breakfast tables of most Kenyans who are fortunate enough to even afford to take this initial meal of the day in the first place.
In other words, the electorate has no say in it even as people with dubious pasts are put in potentially powerful positions. You tell me how President Raila Odinga is going to deal with corruption in high places when he has folks like Ruto, Mudavadi, Ntimama, Sally Kosgei, Henry "killed Kenya National Assurance" Kosgei, Kalonzo "hide in the toilet whenever any significant vote is being taken" Musyoka etc are in his line up as the main guys.
So just like in Animal Farm the people's party has reached that point where decisions are being made on behalf of the people by "animals who are more equal than others" and who therefore know what is good for the people, although all animals are still equal (very laughable that).
I hear you when you say this is sound political strategy by Mr Odinga, using the various tribal chiefs to clinch votes in various tribal blocks. But this is wrong. It is wrong because no concrete issues are being discussed raised or addressed now. What are the chances that they will be when all the corrupt tribal chiefs are in one neat coalition government? You tell me.
In fact Kenyans at the moment do not have any say in Kenyan politics. We emphatically voted against Moi and his project but now President Kibaki tells us it is okay for Moi to call political shots in the country, in fact I feel cheated because after President Kibaki's excellent speech on that memorable day December 30th 2002 about the past corrupt regime and it's evils, Emilio Stanley seems to have changed his mind now and the clearest sign of that is the fact that he is using the very same tactics Moi used to stay in power, for his survival. And so is Raila, because already his cabinet will have to be huge to accommodate all the tribal chiefs. So far the vice presidency and PM and deputy has taken up 3 persons already and even if they all double up handling various portfolios (which is unlikely), Kenyan tax payers will have to foot the bill of a prime minister and his deputy and all the trappings of power that go with those offices as well as that of a bloated and long presidential motorcade.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
So, what is so special about Animal Farm? It is the fact that it struck a chord with many about what goes wrong with so many revolutions, which start with good intentions until human nature kicks in. Animal Farm, many believed talked about communist Russia.
This is an excellent time for Kenyans to read and re-read this small book, because they will recognize a lot of what is going wrong in the motherland in that book.
In Raila Odinga's efforts to clinch the ODM presidential nomination, he is said to have had a breakfast meeting at William "YK92" Ruto's house. The timing of course was perfect, because Ruto seems to be feeling the heat of Baba Gidi's political chess games in the Rift Valley. Interestingly quite a number of armchair analysts who called themselves experts on the Rift Valley here have told us that Baba Gidi is of no consequence in Rift Valley and no longer has any influence. Ngoja Mutaona!!. I have been saying it for months here to ridicule from some of you and now even the mainstream media have finally picked it up. Sjhock of all shocks, even Mutahi Ngunyi is warning Kenyans about it. Very laughable this move by a well known Kibaki think tank operative.
Ruto is the guy who has been pushing Raila hardest to accept the non-existent Prime Minister's seat and leave the Presidency to somebody he and others are insisting is "more electable (whatever that means). Now several sources on both sides have confirmed that the two have hammered out a deal where Raila will be President, Kalonzo Vice President and Ruto will take the yet-to-be created position of Prime Minister and Musalia "Goldenberg" Mudavadi would be deputy to Ruto.
The painful thing to Kenyans is that this deal was being done at a breakfast table in some overpaid MP's house in a posh neighborhood, most probably over a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit juice etc. products that are today a rumor in bad taste on the breakfast tables of most Kenyans who are fortunate enough to even afford to take this initial meal of the day in the first place.
In other words, the electorate has no say in it even as people with dubious pasts are put in potentially powerful positions. You tell me how President Raila Odinga is going to deal with corruption in high places when he has folks like Ruto, Mudavadi, Ntimama, Sally Kosgei, Henry "killed Kenya National Assurance" Kosgei, Kalonzo "hide in the toilet whenever any significant vote is being taken" Musyoka etc are in his line up as the main guys.
So just like in Animal Farm the people's party has reached that point where decisions are being made on behalf of the people by "animals who are more equal than others" and who therefore know what is good for the people, although all animals are still equal (very laughable that).
I hear you when you say this is sound political strategy by Mr Odinga, using the various tribal chiefs to clinch votes in various tribal blocks. But this is wrong. It is wrong because no concrete issues are being discussed raised or addressed now. What are the chances that they will be when all the corrupt tribal chiefs are in one neat coalition government? You tell me.
In fact Kenyans at the moment do not have any say in Kenyan politics. We emphatically voted against Moi and his project but now President Kibaki tells us it is okay for Moi to call political shots in the country, in fact I feel cheated because after President Kibaki's excellent speech on that memorable day December 30th 2002 about the past corrupt regime and it's evils, Emilio Stanley seems to have changed his mind now and the clearest sign of that is the fact that he is using the very same tactics Moi used to stay in power, for his survival. And so is Raila, because already his cabinet will have to be huge to accommodate all the tribal chiefs. So far the vice presidency and PM and deputy has taken up 3 persons already and even if they all double up handling various portfolios (which is unlikely), Kenyan tax payers will have to foot the bill of a prime minister and his deputy and all the trappings of power that go with those offices as well as that of a bloated and long presidential motorcade.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Is Raila That Popular In Mombasa?
An excited Raila Odinga fan based in Mombasa got in touch with me this morning and very excitedly revealed that a popular radio station on Mombasa did a call-in survey to measure the popularity of thre presidential candidates, namely Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Mwai Kibaki. Raila got 120, Kalonzo 1 and President Kibaki 10, by the time he send me the information at around 10 am Kenyan time.
He says, no the radio station in question is not a Luo vernacular station and neither is it listen to by many Luos. In fact most listeners are chaps he describes as waswahili and Mombasa natives.
He says that this is proof that Raila will win Coast Province hands down, if he ends up being the ODM candidate.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
He says, no the radio station in question is not a Luo vernacular station and neither is it listen to by many Luos. In fact most listeners are chaps he describes as waswahili and Mombasa natives.
He says that this is proof that Raila will win Coast Province hands down, if he ends up being the ODM candidate.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Bombshell Revelations on Both The Kenyatta Family And Moi Family Corruption Rackets
A very knowledgeable and credible source who was close to the inner workings of the Kenyatta administration and then the Moi presidency as well has made a bombshell of a revelation into the way things have been run in Kenya for a long time.
Makes one wonder about the mysterious 5 per cent Safaricom ownership, does it not?
This is what they have told Kumekucha;
I know you are going on a 'corruption circus' of "Kenyatta Times" but that is too easy while also not being fair to some other major players. So allow me to give you some information you do not obviously don't have.
During the Jomo Kenyatta administration, foreign companies and Investors had to give away about 15 % of their shares to the Kenyatta Family (read very carefully: 'shares' in the Kenyan company being set up, Not money. Shares.)
That was a guarantee that among other things they would not have any problems when applying for import licenses, work permits etc.
Most companies willingly agreed—and that's still the basis of the Kenyatta Family Wealth today (Banks, Hotels, etc. etc.). This was corruption but it was "reasonable corruption" and made for thriving and positive business in Kenya with foreign investors pouring in in droves.
During Moi's first two years after assuming power, Moi and his most ambitious 'servant' (Nicholas Biwott) stuck to the Kenyatta rules. i.e. 15 % shares (I have seen letters and confirmations about this when Biwott was still Minister of State in the office of the President).
But then things changed. Somebody got greedy and soon it was not just shares but also cash here and mostly in foreign bank accounts as well.
And that was when things started going downhill and the bottom fell out in the end. At the end of it companies pulled out, licenses were cancelled and Kenya started threatening Nigeria's reputation for corruption. TOTALLY CORRUPTED .......... and the trail always, always led to two names only: Nicholas Biwott and Daniel arap Moi.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Makes one wonder about the mysterious 5 per cent Safaricom ownership, does it not?
This is what they have told Kumekucha;
I know you are going on a 'corruption circus' of "Kenyatta Times" but that is too easy while also not being fair to some other major players. So allow me to give you some information you do not obviously don't have.
During the Jomo Kenyatta administration, foreign companies and Investors had to give away about 15 % of their shares to the Kenyatta Family (read very carefully: 'shares' in the Kenyan company being set up, Not money. Shares.)
That was a guarantee that among other things they would not have any problems when applying for import licenses, work permits etc.
Most companies willingly agreed—and that's still the basis of the Kenyatta Family Wealth today (Banks, Hotels, etc. etc.). This was corruption but it was "reasonable corruption" and made for thriving and positive business in Kenya with foreign investors pouring in in droves.
During Moi's first two years after assuming power, Moi and his most ambitious 'servant' (Nicholas Biwott) stuck to the Kenyatta rules. i.e. 15 % shares (I have seen letters and confirmations about this when Biwott was still Minister of State in the office of the President).
But then things changed. Somebody got greedy and soon it was not just shares but also cash here and mostly in foreign bank accounts as well.
And that was when things started going downhill and the bottom fell out in the end. At the end of it companies pulled out, licenses were cancelled and Kenya started threatening Nigeria's reputation for corruption. TOTALLY CORRUPTED .......... and the trail always, always led to two names only: Nicholas Biwott and Daniel arap Moi.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Monday, July 23, 2007
August 1st 1982 Coup Attempt: Unanswered Questions Linger
The nation will mark the 25th anniversary of the failed Kenyan coup attempt of 1982 this August in the face of a number of unresolved
questions.
Amongst this is the fate of the dramatic broadcast by the de facto head of the coup attempt and Chairman of the self-styled Peoples’ Redemption
Council (PRC), Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka. The said broadcast was made at 6.00 a.m., Sunday morning, 1st August 1982 on the General Service of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (then Voice of Kenya – VOK).
It is unclear how many people across Kenya heard Ochuka speak that morning, but those who did will certainly remember the broadcast for it’s eloquence, good voice intonation, conviction and clear articulation. I fall into a category of people who got to hear the broadcast by coincidence.
In those days, the Voice of Kenya state monopoly began radio broadcasts at 6.00 a.m. in the morning and television broadcasts at 2.00 p.m. in the afternoon on weekends, and 4.00 p.m. in the afternoon on weekdays.
24 hour radio and television broadcasts by the state and privately owned stations that we have today, did not exist in those days.
On Sunday mornings in those days, Voice of Kenya (VOK), began the 6.00 a.m. commencement of broadcasting with a brief news bulletin, followed by a interlude of music that went on to 6.15 a.m. After this would be a 15 minute session/interview with a studio guest, as I recall.
One of my older brothers liked listening to the then Sunday morning interlude of music that followed the brief 6.00 a.m. news broadcast. I didn’t care very much for the news bulletin and/or the music interlude
in those days, and therefore only intermittently listened to both when I happened to be awake. Sunday morning 1st August 1982 happened to be one of those times. I remember my older brother switching on the radio we then had at about 5.55 a.m.
On this occasion however there was just silence from Broadcasting House. The National Anthem was not even played before daily commencement of radio and television broadcasting, as was the practice at VOK in those days.
Then came Ochuka’s voice out of the blue, announcing that the KANU Government had been overthrown and that the Peoples Redemption Council (PRC), had taken charge. It took a few seconds for both my older brother and I to register what was unfolding, but we both remained silent as we continued to keenly listen.
The address must have lasted no more than two minutes, and much of what Ochuka said that morning is blurred and obscured in both our memories. Other than the announcement of the takeover by the Peoples’ Redemption Council (PRC), four other things I distinctly remember Ochuka mentioning were “…the economy is in shambles…”, “…Government ministers have grown rich overnight…”, “…the KANU regime has impoverished the masses…” and the decree of the immediate disbandment of the Kenya Police Force, and immediate replacement of the same by the Military.
Ochuka must have been reading a prepared speech, but the striking feature that will remain forever embedded, is the resolve, eloquence and articulation that he spoke with. His voice was neither raised nor
angry, and the delivery was made with good voice intonation and the clarity and conviction of a revolutionary who believed in the cause that he was pursuing. There was no flamboyance and no use of complex vocabulary. The brief morning address on 1st August 1982 by Ochuka, certainly revealed a man who had committed himself to a cause.
What became of the master tape of this recording…? Is it still intact or was it destroyed in the heavy exchange of fire later that morning between Ochuka’s Air Force men and Kenya Army Officers under the
command of then Army commander Brig. Mahmoud Mohammed…? If it is still intact, is it in the hands of either the Court Marshall instituted thereafter, the National Security and Intelligence Service (the
then Special Branch), or the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (then Voice of Kenya)? Will the recording ever be made available to the public? These questions need to be asked on the floor of Parliament, to enable
official responses from the Minister of State in charge of Internal Security and the Minister of Information.
The US Government for instance, will only release classified information on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on or after November 22nd 2063, 100 years after his assassination. During the
Ghanaian Golden Jubilee celebrations of independence that began on 6th March 2007, the BBC World Service did a series of programs covering the momentous event, on which were aired the national broadcasts made in
Ghana at the time of their military coups in 1966, 1979 and 1980. This was certainly done with the express authority of the Ghanaian Government. The British Government also declassifies sensitive information every forty years. Out of these continuous declassifications the Kenyan public has for instance come to learn about how the British initially intended to grant independence to Kenya in 1973, and about how nearly all movable and immovable assets of the
outgoing British colonial Government were forcibly transferred to the incoming independent Government of Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta, at an unreasonably high financial cost. So will the public be able to access
Ochuka’s famous broadcast on or after 1st August 2022, 1st August 2032 or 1st August 2082…?
History should not forget Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka, Senior Private Pancreas Otenyo Okumu and the attempted coup of August 1st 1982 as a whole. Was Hezekiah Ochuka a driven idealistic Marxist revolutionary who stood for an egalitarian society as did Che Guevara, or was he a deranged despot like Pol Pot, Jean Bedel Bokassa, and Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier…?
Guest post by Michael Mundia Kamau
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
questions.
Amongst this is the fate of the dramatic broadcast by the de facto head of the coup attempt and Chairman of the self-styled Peoples’ Redemption
Council (PRC), Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka. The said broadcast was made at 6.00 a.m., Sunday morning, 1st August 1982 on the General Service of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (then Voice of Kenya – VOK).
It is unclear how many people across Kenya heard Ochuka speak that morning, but those who did will certainly remember the broadcast for it’s eloquence, good voice intonation, conviction and clear articulation. I fall into a category of people who got to hear the broadcast by coincidence.
In those days, the Voice of Kenya state monopoly began radio broadcasts at 6.00 a.m. in the morning and television broadcasts at 2.00 p.m. in the afternoon on weekends, and 4.00 p.m. in the afternoon on weekdays.
24 hour radio and television broadcasts by the state and privately owned stations that we have today, did not exist in those days.
On Sunday mornings in those days, Voice of Kenya (VOK), began the 6.00 a.m. commencement of broadcasting with a brief news bulletin, followed by a interlude of music that went on to 6.15 a.m. After this would be a 15 minute session/interview with a studio guest, as I recall.
One of my older brothers liked listening to the then Sunday morning interlude of music that followed the brief 6.00 a.m. news broadcast. I didn’t care very much for the news bulletin and/or the music interlude
in those days, and therefore only intermittently listened to both when I happened to be awake. Sunday morning 1st August 1982 happened to be one of those times. I remember my older brother switching on the radio we then had at about 5.55 a.m.
On this occasion however there was just silence from Broadcasting House. The National Anthem was not even played before daily commencement of radio and television broadcasting, as was the practice at VOK in those days.
Then came Ochuka’s voice out of the blue, announcing that the KANU Government had been overthrown and that the Peoples Redemption Council (PRC), had taken charge. It took a few seconds for both my older brother and I to register what was unfolding, but we both remained silent as we continued to keenly listen.
The address must have lasted no more than two minutes, and much of what Ochuka said that morning is blurred and obscured in both our memories. Other than the announcement of the takeover by the Peoples’ Redemption Council (PRC), four other things I distinctly remember Ochuka mentioning were “…the economy is in shambles…”, “…Government ministers have grown rich overnight…”, “…the KANU regime has impoverished the masses…” and the decree of the immediate disbandment of the Kenya Police Force, and immediate replacement of the same by the Military.
Ochuka must have been reading a prepared speech, but the striking feature that will remain forever embedded, is the resolve, eloquence and articulation that he spoke with. His voice was neither raised nor
angry, and the delivery was made with good voice intonation and the clarity and conviction of a revolutionary who believed in the cause that he was pursuing. There was no flamboyance and no use of complex vocabulary. The brief morning address on 1st August 1982 by Ochuka, certainly revealed a man who had committed himself to a cause.
What became of the master tape of this recording…? Is it still intact or was it destroyed in the heavy exchange of fire later that morning between Ochuka’s Air Force men and Kenya Army Officers under the
command of then Army commander Brig. Mahmoud Mohammed…? If it is still intact, is it in the hands of either the Court Marshall instituted thereafter, the National Security and Intelligence Service (the
then Special Branch), or the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (then Voice of Kenya)? Will the recording ever be made available to the public? These questions need to be asked on the floor of Parliament, to enable
official responses from the Minister of State in charge of Internal Security and the Minister of Information.
The US Government for instance, will only release classified information on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on or after November 22nd 2063, 100 years after his assassination. During the
Ghanaian Golden Jubilee celebrations of independence that began on 6th March 2007, the BBC World Service did a series of programs covering the momentous event, on which were aired the national broadcasts made in
Ghana at the time of their military coups in 1966, 1979 and 1980. This was certainly done with the express authority of the Ghanaian Government. The British Government also declassifies sensitive information every forty years. Out of these continuous declassifications the Kenyan public has for instance come to learn about how the British initially intended to grant independence to Kenya in 1973, and about how nearly all movable and immovable assets of the
outgoing British colonial Government were forcibly transferred to the incoming independent Government of Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta, at an unreasonably high financial cost. So will the public be able to access
Ochuka’s famous broadcast on or after 1st August 2022, 1st August 2032 or 1st August 2082…?
History should not forget Senior Private Hezekiah Ochuka, Senior Private Pancreas Otenyo Okumu and the attempted coup of August 1st 1982 as a whole. Was Hezekiah Ochuka a driven idealistic Marxist revolutionary who stood for an egalitarian society as did Che Guevara, or was he a deranged despot like Pol Pot, Jean Bedel Bokassa, and Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier…?
Guest post by Michael Mundia Kamau
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Why Do Kibaki, Raila And Kalonzo Want To Rule Kenya On Borrowed Time?
Fellow Kenyans, countrymen, lend me your ears and please leave your hearts out of this weighty matter before us.
Let us start with the facts. Tony Blair took over as Prime Minister of one of the major Western powers of this planet in 1994 when he was a tender 41 years old. Looking at his tenure and even despite criticism, he has done a reasonably good job. Mr Blair is now retired at the age of 54. That age in Kenya is way too young to become president.
Bill Clinton was 47 when he was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the most powerful nation on earth in 1993. To date he is one of the most successful democrat presidents in the history of the US.
This November 15th Mwai Kibaki, baptized Emilio Stanley by Italian missionaries (but he never uses those names), will be 76. If elected to another term as President of an almost obscure 3rd world country, he will complete that second term at the age of 81. Age is nothing but a number, but surely@#! Assuming that we do this thing the Kenyan way where the presidency is some sort of monarchy that hands down power to the VP (that’s why George Saitoti was so angry that Moi did not hand over the presidency) then Moody Awori should take over the reigns in 2012. He will be a “youthful” 85 years old.
Raila Amolo Odinga who many believe is currently the front runner challenger for the presidency, is 62 years old and if elected at the end of this year, he will finish his term aged 67.
Kalonzo Musyoka whom the Akamba people are fond of calling “baby face” because he looks deceivingly young is 54, one year to the mandatory retirement age from the Kenyan civil service. But you can bet your lunch for the next month that the job he is after is many times more stressful than that of most civil servants.
All these folks want to be President of Kenya at all costs. But where were they during all those years which most Kenyans refer to as the Nyayo error? There time to rule was during that 24 years and is now past and gone forever. If these kenyans and their supporters really love their motherland, they should all make way for a younger generation of leaders.
Save for Raila who tried out the bad idea of a military coup in 1982, the rest were all cowering behind the Nyayo skirts. What do they expect now?
At this time when they should all be at their rural homes playing with their grand children and reminiscing, they want instead the presidency of Kenya. Little wonder that most government policies these days are excellent reminisces of the 70s when for instance the way to create jobs was to attract a couple of foreign investors to set up one or two big factories.
But the more scary thing is that if younger Kenyans (that is me and you) continue with their coward ways of wanting to cross the mud paddle that is Kenya today in a white suit and land on the other side spotless, then we may just find characters like John Githongo and John Kiarie (of redikyulas fame) fighting over the presidency when they are about 90 years old. That is because at this rate, that is the earliest that the present generation of jokers will all be through with dreaming of traveling in a long motorcade of vehicles. And it will not be because they are tired.
Kenyans need to wake up and realize that the challenges facing us in the world today are best suited to be handled by a new generation of Kenyan leaders. I hear people talking about experience and I get sick because when one considers the experince one Johnstone Kamau had when he took over as president, it is just laughable. The man had never been councilor even one day and the only institution he had led briefly was a school. Let me not talk about Moi because I will sopund abusive and I don't want to.
But you know where all this brainwashing of the young has come from don't you. It's from the guys who fear to come anywhere near a PC and who are ruling Kenya today telling you you need lost of experience. Experience doing what? Embezzling public funds and being corrupt and tribalistic? When all this is going on, younger Kenyans like the forty-something year old managing director of Barclays Bank Kenya are doing wonders generating profits for a foreign bank.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Let us start with the facts. Tony Blair took over as Prime Minister of one of the major Western powers of this planet in 1994 when he was a tender 41 years old. Looking at his tenure and even despite criticism, he has done a reasonably good job. Mr Blair is now retired at the age of 54. That age in Kenya is way too young to become president.
Bill Clinton was 47 when he was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the most powerful nation on earth in 1993. To date he is one of the most successful democrat presidents in the history of the US.
This November 15th Mwai Kibaki, baptized Emilio Stanley by Italian missionaries (but he never uses those names), will be 76. If elected to another term as President of an almost obscure 3rd world country, he will complete that second term at the age of 81. Age is nothing but a number, but surely@#! Assuming that we do this thing the Kenyan way where the presidency is some sort of monarchy that hands down power to the VP (that’s why George Saitoti was so angry that Moi did not hand over the presidency) then Moody Awori should take over the reigns in 2012. He will be a “youthful” 85 years old.
Raila Amolo Odinga who many believe is currently the front runner challenger for the presidency, is 62 years old and if elected at the end of this year, he will finish his term aged 67.
Kalonzo Musyoka whom the Akamba people are fond of calling “baby face” because he looks deceivingly young is 54, one year to the mandatory retirement age from the Kenyan civil service. But you can bet your lunch for the next month that the job he is after is many times more stressful than that of most civil servants.
All these folks want to be President of Kenya at all costs. But where were they during all those years which most Kenyans refer to as the Nyayo error? There time to rule was during that 24 years and is now past and gone forever. If these kenyans and their supporters really love their motherland, they should all make way for a younger generation of leaders.
Save for Raila who tried out the bad idea of a military coup in 1982, the rest were all cowering behind the Nyayo skirts. What do they expect now?
At this time when they should all be at their rural homes playing with their grand children and reminiscing, they want instead the presidency of Kenya. Little wonder that most government policies these days are excellent reminisces of the 70s when for instance the way to create jobs was to attract a couple of foreign investors to set up one or two big factories.
But the more scary thing is that if younger Kenyans (that is me and you) continue with their coward ways of wanting to cross the mud paddle that is Kenya today in a white suit and land on the other side spotless, then we may just find characters like John Githongo and John Kiarie (of redikyulas fame) fighting over the presidency when they are about 90 years old. That is because at this rate, that is the earliest that the present generation of jokers will all be through with dreaming of traveling in a long motorcade of vehicles. And it will not be because they are tired.
Kenyans need to wake up and realize that the challenges facing us in the world today are best suited to be handled by a new generation of Kenyan leaders. I hear people talking about experience and I get sick because when one considers the experince one Johnstone Kamau had when he took over as president, it is just laughable. The man had never been councilor even one day and the only institution he had led briefly was a school. Let me not talk about Moi because I will sopund abusive and I don't want to.
But you know where all this brainwashing of the young has come from don't you. It's from the guys who fear to come anywhere near a PC and who are ruling Kenya today telling you you need lost of experience. Experience doing what? Embezzling public funds and being corrupt and tribalistic? When all this is going on, younger Kenyans like the forty-something year old managing director of Barclays Bank Kenya are doing wonders generating profits for a foreign bank.
Nasty men habits that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Saturday, July 21, 2007
How Corruption Was Launched In Kenya By The Executive
Some Kenyans believe that it is impossible to ever bring down corruption to manageable levels in the country. It would be useful at this juncture to take a closer look at the two incidents both approved by the executive that launched serious corruption in Kenya.
The first is the much-talked about Ndegwa commission that recommended that civil servants be allowed to indulge in business. The excuse of course was that there weren't too many qualified Kenyans then and the idea was to speed up development. What followed was chaos. How many civil servants since independence have become multi-millionaires by influencing the dishing out of key contracts to their own companies?
The second happened in parliament where an MP asked the government to release the names of those involved in a Cloves smuggling scandal in neighboring Zanzibar (part of Tanzania) where some prominent Kenyans had been involved. A courageous assistant minister then, Burudi Nabwera named names in parliament that included individuals very close to the Kenyatta cabinet. President Kenyatta had an opportunity then to make a firm statement against corruption in high places by sacking all those who were named. Instead they not only kept their jobs but became even more powerful in the country. In fact one of those named a Mr Mathenge slapped the scape goat charged in court and jailed over the incident, right along the corridors of the high court, in full view of dozens of witnesses. The rest as they say is history. By the time President Moi had established himself in the seat of power as the second President of Kenya, everybody knew that it was impossible to get any major investment into the country without bribing a cabinet minister or two.
As you read this, the vice is widespread and continues to slowly but surely squeeze the life out of the nation.
So how does the next administration start to deal with it? Is it a priority to deal with this? Or should tribalism and unemployment be tackled first? Those are the tough questions that the next administration needs to answer.
Can the incumbent's administration handle these crucial questions at hand? Kenyans can judge for themselves from what has happened over the last five years in which corruption rose to new heights with the Angle Leasing scum.
Can the ODM brigade handle it if they form the next government? With the likes of Henry "killed Kenya National Assurance" Kosgei, William "YK92" Ruto, Sally "Pending court case" Kosgei, Musalia "Goldenberg" Kosgei, Kalonzo "Hide In The Toilet To avoid taking a tough vote" Musyoka, William "corrupt tribal clashes inciter" Ntimama etc., you tell me if it will be possible. If it is possible to change a lion to a gazelle by putting a "gazelle coat" over them, then I am sure that ODM will tackle the major issues before the nation which cannot wait.
In my view two things stand in the way of genuine change in Kenya;
I) The belief by most Kenyans that not anybody can be president of Kenya, just like not anybody can be queen or king of England. You have to be born in the right family—in the case of England, the royal family.
II) Talk is cheap and Kenyans are mostly whining cowards who talk a lot and want change but are not prepared to pay even a fraction of the price required of then for that change.
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
The first is the much-talked about Ndegwa commission that recommended that civil servants be allowed to indulge in business. The excuse of course was that there weren't too many qualified Kenyans then and the idea was to speed up development. What followed was chaos. How many civil servants since independence have become multi-millionaires by influencing the dishing out of key contracts to their own companies?
The second happened in parliament where an MP asked the government to release the names of those involved in a Cloves smuggling scandal in neighboring Zanzibar (part of Tanzania) where some prominent Kenyans had been involved. A courageous assistant minister then, Burudi Nabwera named names in parliament that included individuals very close to the Kenyatta cabinet. President Kenyatta had an opportunity then to make a firm statement against corruption in high places by sacking all those who were named. Instead they not only kept their jobs but became even more powerful in the country. In fact one of those named a Mr Mathenge slapped the scape goat charged in court and jailed over the incident, right along the corridors of the high court, in full view of dozens of witnesses. The rest as they say is history. By the time President Moi had established himself in the seat of power as the second President of Kenya, everybody knew that it was impossible to get any major investment into the country without bribing a cabinet minister or two.
As you read this, the vice is widespread and continues to slowly but surely squeeze the life out of the nation.
So how does the next administration start to deal with it? Is it a priority to deal with this? Or should tribalism and unemployment be tackled first? Those are the tough questions that the next administration needs to answer.
Can the incumbent's administration handle these crucial questions at hand? Kenyans can judge for themselves from what has happened over the last five years in which corruption rose to new heights with the Angle Leasing scum.
Can the ODM brigade handle it if they form the next government? With the likes of Henry "killed Kenya National Assurance" Kosgei, William "YK92" Ruto, Sally "Pending court case" Kosgei, Musalia "Goldenberg" Kosgei, Kalonzo "Hide In The Toilet To avoid taking a tough vote" Musyoka, William "corrupt tribal clashes inciter" Ntimama etc., you tell me if it will be possible. If it is possible to change a lion to a gazelle by putting a "gazelle coat" over them, then I am sure that ODM will tackle the major issues before the nation which cannot wait.
In my view two things stand in the way of genuine change in Kenya;
I) The belief by most Kenyans that not anybody can be president of Kenya, just like not anybody can be queen or king of England. You have to be born in the right family—in the case of England, the royal family.
II) Talk is cheap and Kenyans are mostly whining cowards who talk a lot and want change but are not prepared to pay even a fraction of the price required of then for that change.
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Friday, July 20, 2007
Sudden Smoking And Plastic Ban Are Clear Proof That This Government Is Disorganized...
...And It Does Not Care For The Common Man Nor Understand Him
The reason why Kenya is in a mess became abundantly clear last week when several things happened at the same time.
The government had already increased taxes on the plastic paper bags that have become a nuisance to our environment during Kimunya's latest budget speech in June. The new excise duty is however supposed to become applicable in October thus jacking up the prices of virtually every consumer product that you can think of (but that is a story for another day). But before consumers and manufacturers of the nuisance products that employ and support hundreds of thousands of Kenyan across the nation could recover, the Nairobi City Council banned the plastic bags in the city and its' environs.
But before Kenyans could say "what?" smoking too was suddenly banned in the CBD and limited smoker’s zones designated within the city. There has even been pressure on the Mombasa City Council to implement the same sudden draconian directives dubbed bylaws.
While it is important for us to preserve our environment and it cannot be denied that both moves are good in the long term, the only problem is that nobody has sat down to calculate the impact of the two directives.
At least tens of thousands of Kenyans eke out a living from plastic paper bags. What are they doing for food currently? At least one major factory employing hundreds of Kenyan directly and tens of thousands indirectly has been shut down this week. Apart from the huge numbers joining the jobless, there is the issue of investors. Which investor will think of investing in a country where decisions that can put them out of business are made so suddenly and with little or no consultation?
We also know that many other petty traders rely heavily on cigarette sales for survival. The smoking ban has definitely impacted cigarette sales in a very big way. Has anybody though about what they may no be going through?
Alas, this is the “thorax way” in which the country is run and an MP earning Kshs 850,000 a month and other well-paid decision makers, cannot picture what may be happening to ordinary Kenyans as a result of the sudden decision. Would it not have been good to give everybody a grace period of say one month at the very least, so that they look for alternatives?
In these matters timing is everything and there would not have been a worse time to implement the bans and why at the same time? Is the government trying to put out the maximum number of people out of a job suddenly?
Then what angers me even more is the fact that those darling preferred presidential candidates whose praises are sung here at the least excuse have not said anything. Instead they are talking about minimum reforms and the issue of more constituencies. Not a single one of them has said anything about the impact of what has been done. Why should they care, in a few days time they will be collecting their hefty cheques for doing nothing for the people. This is why I want to start a campaign to vote the whole lot out. And I mean each and every one of them
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
The reason why Kenya is in a mess became abundantly clear last week when several things happened at the same time.
The government had already increased taxes on the plastic paper bags that have become a nuisance to our environment during Kimunya's latest budget speech in June. The new excise duty is however supposed to become applicable in October thus jacking up the prices of virtually every consumer product that you can think of (but that is a story for another day). But before consumers and manufacturers of the nuisance products that employ and support hundreds of thousands of Kenyan across the nation could recover, the Nairobi City Council banned the plastic bags in the city and its' environs.
But before Kenyans could say "what?" smoking too was suddenly banned in the CBD and limited smoker’s zones designated within the city. There has even been pressure on the Mombasa City Council to implement the same sudden draconian directives dubbed bylaws.
While it is important for us to preserve our environment and it cannot be denied that both moves are good in the long term, the only problem is that nobody has sat down to calculate the impact of the two directives.
At least tens of thousands of Kenyans eke out a living from plastic paper bags. What are they doing for food currently? At least one major factory employing hundreds of Kenyan directly and tens of thousands indirectly has been shut down this week. Apart from the huge numbers joining the jobless, there is the issue of investors. Which investor will think of investing in a country where decisions that can put them out of business are made so suddenly and with little or no consultation?
We also know that many other petty traders rely heavily on cigarette sales for survival. The smoking ban has definitely impacted cigarette sales in a very big way. Has anybody though about what they may no be going through?
Alas, this is the “thorax way” in which the country is run and an MP earning Kshs 850,000 a month and other well-paid decision makers, cannot picture what may be happening to ordinary Kenyans as a result of the sudden decision. Would it not have been good to give everybody a grace period of say one month at the very least, so that they look for alternatives?
In these matters timing is everything and there would not have been a worse time to implement the bans and why at the same time? Is the government trying to put out the maximum number of people out of a job suddenly?
Then what angers me even more is the fact that those darling preferred presidential candidates whose praises are sung here at the least excuse have not said anything. Instead they are talking about minimum reforms and the issue of more constituencies. Not a single one of them has said anything about the impact of what has been done. Why should they care, in a few days time they will be collecting their hefty cheques for doing nothing for the people. This is why I want to start a campaign to vote the whole lot out. And I mean each and every one of them
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
What Grown Men Do When Their Wives Say, "Not tonight sweetie"
Men, it is said are really babies who never grow up. I am a man but unfortunately there is too much evidence to support that allegation.
The excuses wives come up with to avoid submitting to their husbands' conjugal rights are centered on the nagging headache that magically and conveniently appears the moment the man of the house wants to get "heavily romantic."
All hell breaks loose in many Kenyan homes mainly because trouble starts with the way the man asks for it. When he was dating the girl that is now mama watoto, the asking was an elaborate well thought out affair. It would usually start with a nyama choma session at he favorite joint, conveniently close to where all the action would take place later. "Just one drink" would follow but actually it would end up being many drinks. You know the drill.
But now that the chic has become mama watoto and supposedly his property, the drill changes dramatically. After he has complained about everything from the moment he got home the brute orders Mama watoto to turn over in a gruff voice the minute they are in bed. Others even give silent instructions military style with only signs of the hand.
But the subject of this article is based on the fact that the women of Kenya have come a long way and these days many put their foot down and refuse to be treated like some overused doormat. Now how some men react when they have failed to receive the "goods" the night before. Ladies read the following different case studies below and see where your man fits in;
a) Wakes up the following morning in a very bad mood, leaves the house without leaving any food money because clearly he looks like he will explode the moment anybody makes any attempt to ask for any money from him.
b) The moment he is told "Not tonight sweetie." In a very nice way, he sulks and moves to the sitting room sofa where he spends the night. Inevitably he wakes up with a stiff painful neck in the morning and of course its' all the fault of the wife.
c) Calls his mother and converses in his vernacular for a long time until Michael Joseph disconnects the call until more air time can be purchased.
d) Some silly men actually get violent. Former Ugandan VP and the first woman to be appointed Vice President in Africa used to do this and left the VP's security detail in great difficulties over what to do. The beating was such that the VP's life was often in danger and they were forced to intervene.
e) Goes to sit in front of the TV flipping channels looking for steamy sex scenes.
f) Calls the new Maendeo ya Wanaume secretariat to file a complaint.
g) Sulks in the house for a week, all the time maintaining a face that closely resembles those huge mandazis cooked in kiosks in rural areas that have excessive baking powder and this "swell" to abnormal proportions.
h) Despite the protests rapes his wife (actually most Kenyans—including unmarried women swear that rape is not possible on the marital bed) Her bitter tears are not a deterrent. When he is finished, he then taunts her to report it to the cops, the chief or anybody else she would like to.
Any other unique reactions out there that you, my dear readers would like to share?
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
The excuses wives come up with to avoid submitting to their husbands' conjugal rights are centered on the nagging headache that magically and conveniently appears the moment the man of the house wants to get "heavily romantic."
All hell breaks loose in many Kenyan homes mainly because trouble starts with the way the man asks for it. When he was dating the girl that is now mama watoto, the asking was an elaborate well thought out affair. It would usually start with a nyama choma session at he favorite joint, conveniently close to where all the action would take place later. "Just one drink" would follow but actually it would end up being many drinks. You know the drill.
But now that the chic has become mama watoto and supposedly his property, the drill changes dramatically. After he has complained about everything from the moment he got home the brute orders Mama watoto to turn over in a gruff voice the minute they are in bed. Others even give silent instructions military style with only signs of the hand.
But the subject of this article is based on the fact that the women of Kenya have come a long way and these days many put their foot down and refuse to be treated like some overused doormat. Now how some men react when they have failed to receive the "goods" the night before. Ladies read the following different case studies below and see where your man fits in;
a) Wakes up the following morning in a very bad mood, leaves the house without leaving any food money because clearly he looks like he will explode the moment anybody makes any attempt to ask for any money from him.
b) The moment he is told "Not tonight sweetie." In a very nice way, he sulks and moves to the sitting room sofa where he spends the night. Inevitably he wakes up with a stiff painful neck in the morning and of course its' all the fault of the wife.
c) Calls his mother and converses in his vernacular for a long time until Michael Joseph disconnects the call until more air time can be purchased.
d) Some silly men actually get violent. Former Ugandan VP and the first woman to be appointed Vice President in Africa used to do this and left the VP's security detail in great difficulties over what to do. The beating was such that the VP's life was often in danger and they were forced to intervene.
e) Goes to sit in front of the TV flipping channels looking for steamy sex scenes.
f) Calls the new Maendeo ya Wanaume secretariat to file a complaint.
g) Sulks in the house for a week, all the time maintaining a face that closely resembles those huge mandazis cooked in kiosks in rural areas that have excessive baking powder and this "swell" to abnormal proportions.
h) Despite the protests rapes his wife (actually most Kenyans—including unmarried women swear that rape is not possible on the marital bed) Her bitter tears are not a deterrent. When he is finished, he then taunts her to report it to the cops, the chief or anybody else she would like to.
Any other unique reactions out there that you, my dear readers would like to share?
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
Kibnaki's Second Term?
President Kibaki's declaration that he will now seek a second term in office is yet another betrayal of the NARC ideology in which he had assured his NAK partners that he, as DP Chairman, would be strictly a one term president. Michael Kijana Wamalwa must be turning in his grave!
This is not to mean that Kibaki does not have a constitutional right to go for the second term. But we must ask ourselves, what is it that has motivated Kibaki to reiterate his desire for a 2nd term? Does he have any new policies to introduce to the nation? Or does he want to continue the legacy of his first term? Either way, it is still not a foregone conclusion that he will be re-elected, although he does enter the race as a front runner with a clear head start.
But first Kibaki has to contend with identifying a political party and then form a pre-election coalition to carry his candidature. His once moribund DP party - in which he is still the registered National Chairman - has suddenly resurrected and is attracting high profile defectors, although Kibaki himself has expressly rejected the party's presidential nomination ticket. Interestingly, despite of this public rejection, DP appears to be reaping benefits in Mt. Kenya Region at the expense of NARC-K, and not ODM-K as some people would like us to believe. Kibaki has to be careful not to upset his present tribal coalition partners (FORD-P, FORD-K, NPK, SHIRIKISHO). He has to take even more caution not to sideline his close associates who have ganged up in NARC-K. And if his attempts to land one or two of the leading lights in KANU and ODM succeed, Kibaki will require all his political skills to accommodate all the regional kingpins in his government without rocking the boat.
This confirms that Kibaki's cabinet after the elections will be made even larger than it already is, so to make space for his supporters, since there will be numbers required on the floor of the house for parliamentary business to keep the regime going. Uhuru, Ngilu, Kombo, Mwakwere and Nyachae who are tribal party leaders in every sense, have openly declared that they have to be active members of the next government. In other words, if Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga or Kalonzo Musyoka wants votes from their tribes; then they have to be ready to include them and their cronies in government (read cabinet). It is open and shameless blackmail, and it essentially means tribalism and inequality will continue to be entrenched and the scarce state resources will continue be misdirected to maintain a humongous cabinet.
ODM-K remains the most popular party on the ground. It also offers the best chance to block Kibaki's ambitions. But what options do they offer.
Each of the luminaries, going by their visions, have some radical and positive ideas for the country. However, each of them has a history behind them too. They also carry excess baggage from previous regimes. They also have to contend with Moi's persistent interference and the fact that a third force that has been waiting in the wings, will eat into ODM-K support base first, before touching on Kibaki's.
Comparing the alternatives open to Kenyans today, I still think ODM-K has an edge over Kibaki's coalition. ODM-K may just be the party / coalition required to give Kenyans the change they want. It should be recalled that the Kibaki regime was elected on euphoria and resistance to Moi's impositions. After making a mess of the constitutional review process, the Kibaki regime has achieved a little economic recovery which has unfortunately been trashed by inflationary spiral. Primary education is allegedly free, but parents continue to pay approved levies and other hidden costs, while the students themselves, majority of whom are from poor rural families absorb very little education because of hunger and over crowded class rooms.
Official corruption is now worse than during KANUs rule and the government appears to have sanctioned underhand dealings among its officers. It is extremely embarrassing to the country that a good number of Kibaki's allies and sitting cabinet members are now multi-billionaires and have been denied visas to most donor countries. We now hear a favourite line of chest thumping; Kenya can (or will soon) do without donor support. Kibaki himself seems hell bent on undermining multi-party democracy by killing opposition parties and using his official powers to promote tribalism. The press has not had an easy time either, and if Kibaki has his way, the proposed Media Bill will seriously compromise press freedom and curtail freedom of information and expression in Kenya . I don't believe these are what Kenyans want for another five years.
On the other hand, all the ODM-K needs to do is to control their egos, stay united, nominate a strong candidate, maintain grass root campaigns akin to those of pre-referendum, get elected to government and most importantly give Kenyans the changes they require. One on one, I doubt whether the Kibaki team has the capacity to match a united ODM-K. Kibaki must be defeated with a gap of votes that will comfortably absorb any possible double voter registration in his stronghold areas - just as in the referendum, a million votes or more.
Guest post by Phil
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
This is not to mean that Kibaki does not have a constitutional right to go for the second term. But we must ask ourselves, what is it that has motivated Kibaki to reiterate his desire for a 2nd term? Does he have any new policies to introduce to the nation? Or does he want to continue the legacy of his first term? Either way, it is still not a foregone conclusion that he will be re-elected, although he does enter the race as a front runner with a clear head start.
But first Kibaki has to contend with identifying a political party and then form a pre-election coalition to carry his candidature. His once moribund DP party - in which he is still the registered National Chairman - has suddenly resurrected and is attracting high profile defectors, although Kibaki himself has expressly rejected the party's presidential nomination ticket. Interestingly, despite of this public rejection, DP appears to be reaping benefits in Mt. Kenya Region at the expense of NARC-K, and not ODM-K as some people would like us to believe. Kibaki has to be careful not to upset his present tribal coalition partners (FORD-P, FORD-K, NPK, SHIRIKISHO). He has to take even more caution not to sideline his close associates who have ganged up in NARC-K. And if his attempts to land one or two of the leading lights in KANU and ODM succeed, Kibaki will require all his political skills to accommodate all the regional kingpins in his government without rocking the boat.
This confirms that Kibaki's cabinet after the elections will be made even larger than it already is, so to make space for his supporters, since there will be numbers required on the floor of the house for parliamentary business to keep the regime going. Uhuru, Ngilu, Kombo, Mwakwere and Nyachae who are tribal party leaders in every sense, have openly declared that they have to be active members of the next government. In other words, if Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga or Kalonzo Musyoka wants votes from their tribes; then they have to be ready to include them and their cronies in government (read cabinet). It is open and shameless blackmail, and it essentially means tribalism and inequality will continue to be entrenched and the scarce state resources will continue be misdirected to maintain a humongous cabinet.
ODM-K remains the most popular party on the ground. It also offers the best chance to block Kibaki's ambitions. But what options do they offer.
Each of the luminaries, going by their visions, have some radical and positive ideas for the country. However, each of them has a history behind them too. They also carry excess baggage from previous regimes. They also have to contend with Moi's persistent interference and the fact that a third force that has been waiting in the wings, will eat into ODM-K support base first, before touching on Kibaki's.
Comparing the alternatives open to Kenyans today, I still think ODM-K has an edge over Kibaki's coalition. ODM-K may just be the party / coalition required to give Kenyans the change they want. It should be recalled that the Kibaki regime was elected on euphoria and resistance to Moi's impositions. After making a mess of the constitutional review process, the Kibaki regime has achieved a little economic recovery which has unfortunately been trashed by inflationary spiral. Primary education is allegedly free, but parents continue to pay approved levies and other hidden costs, while the students themselves, majority of whom are from poor rural families absorb very little education because of hunger and over crowded class rooms.
Official corruption is now worse than during KANUs rule and the government appears to have sanctioned underhand dealings among its officers. It is extremely embarrassing to the country that a good number of Kibaki's allies and sitting cabinet members are now multi-billionaires and have been denied visas to most donor countries. We now hear a favourite line of chest thumping; Kenya can (or will soon) do without donor support. Kibaki himself seems hell bent on undermining multi-party democracy by killing opposition parties and using his official powers to promote tribalism. The press has not had an easy time either, and if Kibaki has his way, the proposed Media Bill will seriously compromise press freedom and curtail freedom of information and expression in Kenya . I don't believe these are what Kenyans want for another five years.
On the other hand, all the ODM-K needs to do is to control their egos, stay united, nominate a strong candidate, maintain grass root campaigns akin to those of pre-referendum, get elected to government and most importantly give Kenyans the changes they require. One on one, I doubt whether the Kibaki team has the capacity to match a united ODM-K. Kibaki must be defeated with a gap of votes that will comfortably absorb any possible double voter registration in his stronghold areas - just as in the referendum, a million votes or more.
Guest post by Phil
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
Yvonne Khamati And Big Names Dominating Kenyan Politics
Reading an article in today’s Daily Nation weekend magazine on Yvonne Khamati. Her career, the rumors (about her affairs with some prominent politician) and politics. I admired how she’s risen in social life and career at a very young age of 26 years only.
At only 21 years she contested on SDP Party ticket for Makadara constituency seat, after she lost the Narc nomination to Reuben Ndolo. She was nominated for EALA assembly, was appointed ambassador to African Union in May but was recently recalled. She is now the CEO of Musikari Kombo foundation and also working in the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The other notable thing about her is that she schooled in the UK. Her grandfather was a senator John Lawrence Khamati. Has worked with UN though this could be because she represented the youth in various UN conferences around the world from age 16.
This is a familiar story with most of our politicians, some are former Presidents sons, former Vice Presidents sons, former MPs sons, former chiefs sons/daughter etc.. and the list continues.
Due to their social standing in the society; they and their relatives got good jobs, big posts in government, their children went to good schools locally and abroad, hence this trend has continued generation after generation.
This trend in Kenya, and Africa as a whole, is the root cause of the continued increase in poverty because of inequality. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer because those with connections in high places hold more than one job, yet so many qualified people are jobless or take any other job they can find.
It is sad that one can only rise in politics being a descendant of a former politician or a relative. If not one must have a political godfather to push for a nomination to be elected.
Being an election year, we hope to see some change from this trend. We should elect leaders for their performance or what they stand for but not because they are a son/daughter of so and so. Leaders should not be forced on us because they are related to anyone. I also hope to see more women in parliament and civic seats no matter what party they stand on.
Enough is enough!
Guest post by Sue
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
At only 21 years she contested on SDP Party ticket for Makadara constituency seat, after she lost the Narc nomination to Reuben Ndolo. She was nominated for EALA assembly, was appointed ambassador to African Union in May but was recently recalled. She is now the CEO of Musikari Kombo foundation and also working in the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The other notable thing about her is that she schooled in the UK. Her grandfather was a senator John Lawrence Khamati. Has worked with UN though this could be because she represented the youth in various UN conferences around the world from age 16.
This is a familiar story with most of our politicians, some are former Presidents sons, former Vice Presidents sons, former MPs sons, former chiefs sons/daughter etc.. and the list continues.
Due to their social standing in the society; they and their relatives got good jobs, big posts in government, their children went to good schools locally and abroad, hence this trend has continued generation after generation.
This trend in Kenya, and Africa as a whole, is the root cause of the continued increase in poverty because of inequality. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer because those with connections in high places hold more than one job, yet so many qualified people are jobless or take any other job they can find.
It is sad that one can only rise in politics being a descendant of a former politician or a relative. If not one must have a political godfather to push for a nomination to be elected.
Being an election year, we hope to see some change from this trend. We should elect leaders for their performance or what they stand for but not because they are a son/daughter of so and so. Leaders should not be forced on us because they are related to anyone. I also hope to see more women in parliament and civic seats no matter what party they stand on.
Enough is enough!
Guest post by Sue
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Political Party To Beat In Elections 2007
Here's a quick quiz for you.
Which is the party to beat in 2007?
My good friend Phil will say that the answer is obvious. It is ODM-Kenya.
Wrong!
There are those who see Narc-Kenya as the party to beat. What with all the resources of the provincial administration that reaches every little tiny village in the republic fully behind it. Surely this is the political party that will easily grab the vast majority of seats in parliament.
Wrong!
Both political parties are missing a vital ingredient for winning at anything and not just elections. Unity and in this case, party unity.
The party to beat in 2007, it is now clearly emerging, will be Kanu.
Yesterday party chairman and his bitter enemy since 2002, Nicholas Biwott held lengthy discussions (that were of course closed to the press) at a Nairobi hotel. For over 5 years the two politicians have hardly had a word to say to each other. The climax of this rivalry was the bitterly contested Kanu chairmanship at Kasarani where the older man left in a huff before the results were even announced.
Alas, all that is now water under the bridge. Script written and directed by Baba Gidi. All these guys already knew exactly what they were going to do (when Uhuru was practicing his passionate speech in secrecy in London, nay lecture on the difference between a coalition and a merger), it was clearly just a matter of time. I was amused about 2 weeks ago when Mr Biwott said that his condition for reuniting the splintered Kanu was that the party completely removes itself from ODM Kenya. The whole situation of ODM and Kanu is not very different from that of a woman who already knows that she is going to give in to you know what, but is just going through the motions of last minute resistance and pretences of doubts so that nobody says she is an easy lay.
I told you here that Kanu were out of ODM-Kenya, weeks ago. I also told you that Kalonzo Musyoka would be the presidential candidate that Kanu will back. It is still not clear whether he will stand for the presidency in a partner party or within Kanu. The reason why I say this is that the professor of politics puts a high premium on party unity and it is unlikely that Kanu will form a coalition (opps I meant Alliance. Lecturer Uhuru reminded us all that coalitions are formed ONLY AFTER elections) with any other major political party. In fact what other major political party is left to form an alliance with? Although you cannot rule out KANU swallowing a number of smaller political parties in some sort of unity pact.
I will also repeat what I have said here often. The fact that the void that separates ODM and Narc is too wide, meaning that a leap from one of the two parties to the other, though possible, will always be highly unlikely. Meaning that any smart political party that positions itself in the middle of the wide void will receive lots of strong disgruntled candidates from both sides of the divide. Kanu under the careful direction of Baba Gidi has done just that. And don't forget that the older Moi hardly has anything else to do these days but to play political chess.
There is one other huge advantage that Kanu has. The party has the three richest Kenyans most capable of financing a fully-fledged political campaign without breaking into a sweat. Namely Daniel Moi, Gideon Moi and Nick Biwott. Most Kenyans re not really interested in how these fortunes were amassed. They prefer to just gawk in admiration.
The saddest thing of all is that Kanu represents all that is wrong and has gone wrong in this country since independence and returning this evil party to power is a strong statement in support of retaining the status quo. What Kenyans will be saying is that basically nothing has changed in Kenya and nothing will ever change.
Putting ODM Kenya into power is hardly any better because that party is more Kanu than Kanu itself. The top political minds in the party that many argue is the most popular political party in Kenya today (although winning political contests is not just about being the crowd puller) are all from the old school and as was clearly displayed in their vision launches, none of that crowd is capable of thinking outside the box. They can hardly think of anything more than free secondary school education and generous tax reductions. And the saddest thing of all is that nobody wants to tax their minds to find a way to pay for it all. Guess what the result is; the over-burdened ordinary Kenyan is left holding the bills in one way or the other. Ordinary Kenyans have paid more dearly for free primary education than they will probably ever realize.
The stage is set for the new initiative, which Kumekucha supports passionately to step in and get our country back. I have been told that Bwana John Githongo is listening. Watch this space.
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
Which is the party to beat in 2007?
My good friend Phil will say that the answer is obvious. It is ODM-Kenya.
Wrong!
There are those who see Narc-Kenya as the party to beat. What with all the resources of the provincial administration that reaches every little tiny village in the republic fully behind it. Surely this is the political party that will easily grab the vast majority of seats in parliament.
Wrong!
Both political parties are missing a vital ingredient for winning at anything and not just elections. Unity and in this case, party unity.
The party to beat in 2007, it is now clearly emerging, will be Kanu.
Yesterday party chairman and his bitter enemy since 2002, Nicholas Biwott held lengthy discussions (that were of course closed to the press) at a Nairobi hotel. For over 5 years the two politicians have hardly had a word to say to each other. The climax of this rivalry was the bitterly contested Kanu chairmanship at Kasarani where the older man left in a huff before the results were even announced.
Alas, all that is now water under the bridge. Script written and directed by Baba Gidi. All these guys already knew exactly what they were going to do (when Uhuru was practicing his passionate speech in secrecy in London, nay lecture on the difference between a coalition and a merger), it was clearly just a matter of time. I was amused about 2 weeks ago when Mr Biwott said that his condition for reuniting the splintered Kanu was that the party completely removes itself from ODM Kenya. The whole situation of ODM and Kanu is not very different from that of a woman who already knows that she is going to give in to you know what, but is just going through the motions of last minute resistance and pretences of doubts so that nobody says she is an easy lay.
I told you here that Kanu were out of ODM-Kenya, weeks ago. I also told you that Kalonzo Musyoka would be the presidential candidate that Kanu will back. It is still not clear whether he will stand for the presidency in a partner party or within Kanu. The reason why I say this is that the professor of politics puts a high premium on party unity and it is unlikely that Kanu will form a coalition (opps I meant Alliance. Lecturer Uhuru reminded us all that coalitions are formed ONLY AFTER elections) with any other major political party. In fact what other major political party is left to form an alliance with? Although you cannot rule out KANU swallowing a number of smaller political parties in some sort of unity pact.
I will also repeat what I have said here often. The fact that the void that separates ODM and Narc is too wide, meaning that a leap from one of the two parties to the other, though possible, will always be highly unlikely. Meaning that any smart political party that positions itself in the middle of the wide void will receive lots of strong disgruntled candidates from both sides of the divide. Kanu under the careful direction of Baba Gidi has done just that. And don't forget that the older Moi hardly has anything else to do these days but to play political chess.
There is one other huge advantage that Kanu has. The party has the three richest Kenyans most capable of financing a fully-fledged political campaign without breaking into a sweat. Namely Daniel Moi, Gideon Moi and Nick Biwott. Most Kenyans re not really interested in how these fortunes were amassed. They prefer to just gawk in admiration.
The saddest thing of all is that Kanu represents all that is wrong and has gone wrong in this country since independence and returning this evil party to power is a strong statement in support of retaining the status quo. What Kenyans will be saying is that basically nothing has changed in Kenya and nothing will ever change.
Putting ODM Kenya into power is hardly any better because that party is more Kanu than Kanu itself. The top political minds in the party that many argue is the most popular political party in Kenya today (although winning political contests is not just about being the crowd puller) are all from the old school and as was clearly displayed in their vision launches, none of that crowd is capable of thinking outside the box. They can hardly think of anything more than free secondary school education and generous tax reductions. And the saddest thing of all is that nobody wants to tax their minds to find a way to pay for it all. Guess what the result is; the over-burdened ordinary Kenyan is left holding the bills in one way or the other. Ordinary Kenyans have paid more dearly for free primary education than they will probably ever realize.
The stage is set for the new initiative, which Kumekucha supports passionately to step in and get our country back. I have been told that Bwana John Githongo is listening. Watch this space.
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
The Kalonzo Musyoka Comedy Of Errors in ODM
"…I am probably your most serious challenger for the presidency."
In welcoming President Kibaki to his Mwingi North constituency this week, area MP Kalonzo Musyoka said those words in his brief speech delivered in his usual style of speaking in Swahili polluted with big English words which one wonders whether the majority of the simple village people that make a huge percentage of his constituents ever understand. In fact the quoted part was fully delivered in English.
Now let us reverse roles a little and put Raila Odinga in Kalonzo's shoes. What do you think would have happened in a similar situation of Raila Odinga hosting the president in his Langata constituency? Bwana Nyundo would have probably delivered the whole sentence in Kiswahili jerking his forehead forward for emphasis as he usually does. No doubt a brief soccer commentary where he scores the goal with President Kibaki as the hapless goalkeeper would have followed.
But what would have followed?
You guessed it, CHAOS.
Kalonzo would have cried foul and would have immediately called a press conference to say that some candidates wanted to give the public the impression that the ODM presidential candidate has already been decided in their favor. And he would have whined and complained and protested—as he usually does. And no doubt the ODM high command would have scrambled to make amends (as they usually do).
But I guess it is okay when Kalonzo says things that give the impression that he is the leading ODM presidential contender.
NTV Swahili news bulletin have a fascinating new series where they give ordinary folks a platform to talk politics. A clip yesterday featured various views on the controversial Steadmann poll. One man summarized the whole Kalonzo fiasco in ODM perfectly. He said that Kalonzo had been a Raila project all along (and that is why he scored highly in the Steadmann polls) because many people believed that Raila would leave the presidency for him this time round. Actually Raila is on record as clearly telling wananchi "Kalonzo tosha" in Ukambani in the run up to the referendum where he emphasized in several meetings that if the Kamba voted against the then proposed constitution, he (Raila) would ensure that Kalonzo would be the opposition's presidential candidate. Alas that may have been just one of the many lies told for the sake of defeating the government in the referendum. They were so many other blatant lies that were told to wananchi that to this day Justice Minister Martha Karua cannot stand the site of Raila.
But what goes round comes around. Kenyans, the majority of whom see the only hope for the country in ODM, are about to be deeply disappointed. ODM has already lost most of Kanu and contrary to common belief the party never really had Kalonzo Musyoka, and they are about to realize why.
Yesterday party secretary general Prof. Anyang Nyong'o put a strong face when journalists asked him about Kanu's now clear intentions to officially withdraw from ODM. Nyong'o said that the ODM high command were like the Chinese, they genuinely do not interfere with the internal affairs of others (in this case constituent parties of ODM). Still the truth is that an ODM without Kalonzo Musyoka and most of Kanu is bound to be a much weaker ODM.
Kumekucha has learnt the hard way that there are some people within the ODM high command that are masters of planting propaganda, half truths and blatant lies within the press all disguised as exclusives. I have since established through a spokesperson for John Githongo that the issue of him being a contender in the party HAS NEVER been discussed with him.
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
In welcoming President Kibaki to his Mwingi North constituency this week, area MP Kalonzo Musyoka said those words in his brief speech delivered in his usual style of speaking in Swahili polluted with big English words which one wonders whether the majority of the simple village people that make a huge percentage of his constituents ever understand. In fact the quoted part was fully delivered in English.
Now let us reverse roles a little and put Raila Odinga in Kalonzo's shoes. What do you think would have happened in a similar situation of Raila Odinga hosting the president in his Langata constituency? Bwana Nyundo would have probably delivered the whole sentence in Kiswahili jerking his forehead forward for emphasis as he usually does. No doubt a brief soccer commentary where he scores the goal with President Kibaki as the hapless goalkeeper would have followed.
But what would have followed?
You guessed it, CHAOS.
Kalonzo would have cried foul and would have immediately called a press conference to say that some candidates wanted to give the public the impression that the ODM presidential candidate has already been decided in their favor. And he would have whined and complained and protested—as he usually does. And no doubt the ODM high command would have scrambled to make amends (as they usually do).
But I guess it is okay when Kalonzo says things that give the impression that he is the leading ODM presidential contender.
NTV Swahili news bulletin have a fascinating new series where they give ordinary folks a platform to talk politics. A clip yesterday featured various views on the controversial Steadmann poll. One man summarized the whole Kalonzo fiasco in ODM perfectly. He said that Kalonzo had been a Raila project all along (and that is why he scored highly in the Steadmann polls) because many people believed that Raila would leave the presidency for him this time round. Actually Raila is on record as clearly telling wananchi "Kalonzo tosha" in Ukambani in the run up to the referendum where he emphasized in several meetings that if the Kamba voted against the then proposed constitution, he (Raila) would ensure that Kalonzo would be the opposition's presidential candidate. Alas that may have been just one of the many lies told for the sake of defeating the government in the referendum. They were so many other blatant lies that were told to wananchi that to this day Justice Minister Martha Karua cannot stand the site of Raila.
But what goes round comes around. Kenyans, the majority of whom see the only hope for the country in ODM, are about to be deeply disappointed. ODM has already lost most of Kanu and contrary to common belief the party never really had Kalonzo Musyoka, and they are about to realize why.
Yesterday party secretary general Prof. Anyang Nyong'o put a strong face when journalists asked him about Kanu's now clear intentions to officially withdraw from ODM. Nyong'o said that the ODM high command were like the Chinese, they genuinely do not interfere with the internal affairs of others (in this case constituent parties of ODM). Still the truth is that an ODM without Kalonzo Musyoka and most of Kanu is bound to be a much weaker ODM.
Kumekucha has learnt the hard way that there are some people within the ODM high command that are masters of planting propaganda, half truths and blatant lies within the press all disguised as exclusives. I have since established through a spokesperson for John Githongo that the issue of him being a contender in the party HAS NEVER been discussed with him.
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
Teachers and the Cane: Reminisce
Guest post By Ritchie
Of late, there have been cases of teachers accused of inflicting untold suffering and injuries on students and pupils. Instrument of torture? The good old cane.
One is left wondering what the intention of the teacher was prior to the 'accident'. Did the teacher intend to correct a misdoing (by use of corporal punishment-which is now illegal in many places) or to maim the student to show that he/she is in control of the class. These thoughts are doing their rounds in my head.
I remember when I was in school in the eighties, the cane was the trademark of any 'proper' school. In other words, cane and school were twin brothers. When I was in Standard Four, for instance, my Mathematics teacher used to 'burst' into class, a nyahunyo (Maasai whip made from car tyres) dangling under his arm and he would menacingly blurt, "Stand up...Tables!" By this he meant that we were to start reciting the Mathematical multiplication tables. Anyone showing signs of not knowing what was going on would be descended upon by his whip.
I was a victim of the swish of his whip almost every day: numbers and mathematical signs were Greek to me. We got used to such treatment and never at one time thought that our rights (what were children's rights at that time – they were gathering dust in the United Nations books – or were they?) were being infringed.
When I was in Standard Eight, my English teacher decided that using the cane was a thing of the past and instead resorted to using his fists and legs. He would get into the classroom (the sight of him would send chills of terror down our spines) and we would stand in unison. Our greeting to him would reverberate throughout the block: "Good Morning Mr. Mbugua." He would look at us as if we had insulted him and, with the ferocity of a bull, he would come towards us.
For no reason at all, he would rain blow after blow on our small forms (especially around our stomachs) and no one would dare cry out for fear of stoking his latent fury. All that was in the name of corporal punishment. In retrospect, that was terrorism!
Sometimes I doubt whether some of that was punishment to rectify behaviour or an avenue for someone to vent his/her pent up heartaches on young, innocent and undeserving pupils.
Fast forward to the present...
Most of those dubious forms of corporal punishment have died down, thanks to Human Rights activism. 'Exploded' cases of a teacher punching and kicking a student are few and far between. But, of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
Carrying of canes, let alone using them, in schools is not allowed. This is a trend that is catching on in Africa. But sometimes you find some teachers carrying 'small canes' (literally folding them to fit in their coat pockets) for emergency, as some are heard to say. Circumstances for such 'emergencies' are as ambiguous as the word "emergency" itself.
Although this is the status quo that teachers in Africa are trying to come to terms with, we still hear of some isolated cases of teachers 'beating to the point of death', 'injuring', or even 'killing' students. The 'crimes' that warranted such outbursts range from not respecting the teacher (rudeness), failure to attempt assignment, an untoward brush with the teacher and so forth.
The Nyeri (a district in Kenya's Central Province where President Kibaki hails from) incident last week where a pupil collapsed after being punished, speaks volumes of such a state of affairs. I don't think that those were just 'some' inconsequential strokes on the bums. There must have been some brutality somewhere somehow.
I know of a case where a teacher was so irked by a student that, in a stroke of 'genius', he reached for his leather belt and let out his steam on the student. Unfortunately, the metallic buckle hit the student on the head with such a force that the next thing the teacher knew was the student reeling and falling to the ground, head first. He was rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.
Although banning corporal punishment is not a cure-all, it sure will save our children from emotional trauma and fear. (I found out that a bigger percentage of the fear I had, emanated from the crude forms of punishment I received when I was in school!).
This ban will also help mould students and pupils who can think on their feet (by this I mean that there is no coercion used to initiate decisions).
A better Africa is what we need and this is the way forward.
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
Of late, there have been cases of teachers accused of inflicting untold suffering and injuries on students and pupils. Instrument of torture? The good old cane.
One is left wondering what the intention of the teacher was prior to the 'accident'. Did the teacher intend to correct a misdoing (by use of corporal punishment-which is now illegal in many places) or to maim the student to show that he/she is in control of the class. These thoughts are doing their rounds in my head.
I remember when I was in school in the eighties, the cane was the trademark of any 'proper' school. In other words, cane and school were twin brothers. When I was in Standard Four, for instance, my Mathematics teacher used to 'burst' into class, a nyahunyo (Maasai whip made from car tyres) dangling under his arm and he would menacingly blurt, "Stand up...Tables!" By this he meant that we were to start reciting the Mathematical multiplication tables. Anyone showing signs of not knowing what was going on would be descended upon by his whip.
I was a victim of the swish of his whip almost every day: numbers and mathematical signs were Greek to me. We got used to such treatment and never at one time thought that our rights (what were children's rights at that time – they were gathering dust in the United Nations books – or were they?) were being infringed.
When I was in Standard Eight, my English teacher decided that using the cane was a thing of the past and instead resorted to using his fists and legs. He would get into the classroom (the sight of him would send chills of terror down our spines) and we would stand in unison. Our greeting to him would reverberate throughout the block: "Good Morning Mr. Mbugua." He would look at us as if we had insulted him and, with the ferocity of a bull, he would come towards us.
For no reason at all, he would rain blow after blow on our small forms (especially around our stomachs) and no one would dare cry out for fear of stoking his latent fury. All that was in the name of corporal punishment. In retrospect, that was terrorism!
Sometimes I doubt whether some of that was punishment to rectify behaviour or an avenue for someone to vent his/her pent up heartaches on young, innocent and undeserving pupils.
Fast forward to the present...
Most of those dubious forms of corporal punishment have died down, thanks to Human Rights activism. 'Exploded' cases of a teacher punching and kicking a student are few and far between. But, of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
Carrying of canes, let alone using them, in schools is not allowed. This is a trend that is catching on in Africa. But sometimes you find some teachers carrying 'small canes' (literally folding them to fit in their coat pockets) for emergency, as some are heard to say. Circumstances for such 'emergencies' are as ambiguous as the word "emergency" itself.
Although this is the status quo that teachers in Africa are trying to come to terms with, we still hear of some isolated cases of teachers 'beating to the point of death', 'injuring', or even 'killing' students. The 'crimes' that warranted such outbursts range from not respecting the teacher (rudeness), failure to attempt assignment, an untoward brush with the teacher and so forth.
The Nyeri (a district in Kenya's Central Province where President Kibaki hails from) incident last week where a pupil collapsed after being punished, speaks volumes of such a state of affairs. I don't think that those were just 'some' inconsequential strokes on the bums. There must have been some brutality somewhere somehow.
I know of a case where a teacher was so irked by a student that, in a stroke of 'genius', he reached for his leather belt and let out his steam on the student. Unfortunately, the metallic buckle hit the student on the head with such a force that the next thing the teacher knew was the student reeling and falling to the ground, head first. He was rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.
Although banning corporal punishment is not a cure-all, it sure will save our children from emotional trauma and fear. (I found out that a bigger percentage of the fear I had, emanated from the crude forms of punishment I received when I was in school!).
This ban will also help mould students and pupils who can think on their feet (by this I mean that there is no coercion used to initiate decisions).
A better Africa is what we need and this is the way forward.
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Why are cheating spouse private investigator services on the rise?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Another Tremor And SMS Messages Cause Panic In Nairobi
The Nairobi earth tremors recorded their first damage to the Kenyan economy today when the entire city of Nairobi virtually came to a stand still this morning with hundreds of thousands of man hours lost because Nairobians were too scared to go up to their offices in high rise buildings to work.
It all happened shortly after yet another tremor ocurred in the early hours of this morning followed by a flurry of SMS messages which caused such panic in the Nairobi Central Business District today that it was impossible for any work to be done.
Nairobians milled in the streets unaware of the fact that there was more danger on the streets in the event of a major quake from falling debris and glass.
The government moved quickly to allay fears by emphasizing that it was impossible for anybody to predict if and when there would be a major quake following the dozen or so tremors that have been felt over the last 3 days or so. Still the Local government Minister Musikari Kombo ordered the City Council to inspect all buildings in the city center to establish how safe they would in the event of an earthquake.
Experts from the Nairobi University brought in by the government warned that buildings were extremely vulnerable to an earthquake because regulations requiring geological reports have been ignored for years and "some buildings are actually built on fault lines."
Still the government accused unnamed people for spreading rumors of an impending earthquake and emphasized that the only credible source of information about any impending natural disaster was the government.
What was lost on everybody was the fact that the high alert will save many lives if the said earthquake actually happens.
Read the First Nairobi earthquake story in this blog almost 4 months ago...
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
It all happened shortly after yet another tremor ocurred in the early hours of this morning followed by a flurry of SMS messages which caused such panic in the Nairobi Central Business District today that it was impossible for any work to be done.
Nairobians milled in the streets unaware of the fact that there was more danger on the streets in the event of a major quake from falling debris and glass.
The government moved quickly to allay fears by emphasizing that it was impossible for anybody to predict if and when there would be a major quake following the dozen or so tremors that have been felt over the last 3 days or so. Still the Local government Minister Musikari Kombo ordered the City Council to inspect all buildings in the city center to establish how safe they would in the event of an earthquake.
Experts from the Nairobi University brought in by the government warned that buildings were extremely vulnerable to an earthquake because regulations requiring geological reports have been ignored for years and "some buildings are actually built on fault lines."
Still the government accused unnamed people for spreading rumors of an impending earthquake and emphasized that the only credible source of information about any impending natural disaster was the government.
What was lost on everybody was the fact that the high alert will save many lives if the said earthquake actually happens.
Read the First Nairobi earthquake story in this blog almost 4 months ago...
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
Trial Of Man Who Shot Mboya Should Have Been Declared a Mis-trial, New Evidence Now Reveals
Evidence unearthed by one of Kumekucha's researchers has revealed glaring and gaping holes in the trial of one Nahashon Njenga (the man convicted of firing the fatal shots that killed Mboya). Loopholes that may have been enough to declare a mistrial.
The then powerful attorney general, Charles Mugane Njonjo, led the prosecution in the trial, and he deliberately refused to follow up on the "big man" allegation that Njenga made. Njenga's bizarre defense was that he should not be asked about the assassination as he was just following orders and the person to be asked should be the "big man." He did not elaborate who the "big man" was and neither did he reveal his identity.
Actually had Njonjo investigated the allegation further he would have actually been investigating himself and other members of the kitchen cabinet then (some of whom are still alive today.) Is it not ironical that this old man, (Njonjo) is now going around the country criticizing the current government and giving everybody advice? Why does he not start by first telling us who killed Tom Mboya?
An even more glaring injustice was the fact that the Mboya family lawyer a Mr Fritz De Souza was not allowed to cross examine the accused.
Other Related Mboya stories in this blog
Political assassinations in Kenya
The man called Uncle Ben and political hits in Kenya
If you don't become president in those days... you'd be dead
-------------------------------------------
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
The then powerful attorney general, Charles Mugane Njonjo, led the prosecution in the trial, and he deliberately refused to follow up on the "big man" allegation that Njenga made. Njenga's bizarre defense was that he should not be asked about the assassination as he was just following orders and the person to be asked should be the "big man." He did not elaborate who the "big man" was and neither did he reveal his identity.
Actually had Njonjo investigated the allegation further he would have actually been investigating himself and other members of the kitchen cabinet then (some of whom are still alive today.) Is it not ironical that this old man, (Njonjo) is now going around the country criticizing the current government and giving everybody advice? Why does he not start by first telling us who killed Tom Mboya?
An even more glaring injustice was the fact that the Mboya family lawyer a Mr Fritz De Souza was not allowed to cross examine the accused.
Other Related Mboya stories in this blog
Political assassinations in Kenya
The man called Uncle Ben and political hits in Kenya
If you don't become president in those days... you'd be dead
-------------------------------------------
Nasty men habit that women hate with a passion
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