Pros And Cons Of Majimbo in Kenya

Disadvantages;

Majimbo may cause tensions between tribes
PNU are right when they suggest that devolution may cause tensions in certain parts of the country. The community that will be worst hit will be the Kikuyu who have invested heavily in almost every corner of the country which is a good thing. In some areas there has been resentment towards them and the re-introduction of Majimboism may affect a few of them. However it is NOT true that the problem will be rampant all over the country. And besides the constitution clearly protects every Kenyan wherever in the country they may wish to settle.

Will weaken the Central government
It is also true that the system will weaken the Central government in many ways including its’ ability to collect revenue. In all likelihood this will be the initial effect, however over time the Central government should be able to re-position itself and find a new role that will restore power and strength to it as the central overall governing authority. One can also argue that to strengthen the government in the medium term and long term devolution is vital so as to fully exploit the massive untapped potential we have in the country.

Certain areas in the country will be bankrupt before they start
It is also true that while certain regions will be very strong and prosperous, others will not only be weak but totally unviable. Take most of the vast North Eastern as an example. Prospects of raising revenue there are gloomy at best. The population is too low and there is not much in terms of viable commercial activity that can take place there. However this is not entirely a disadvantage because it will present the devolved government in that area with a challenge that they have to find a solution to.

If we can abandon the 60s thinking for a minute, the North Eastern province has vast potential to do many things. For instance lots of solar energy can be generated from the province to be sold to the national grid (energy is a major problem worldwide and we are going into a serious deficit in the next few years). Wind generators for the same purpose can also do extremely well in the province. Even agriculture can be successfully practiced (the soil and climate there is not very different from what there is in Israel today and that nation produces a huge amount of agricultural produce and most of it is exported). Without a Majimbo system North Eastern will never change but with devolution it stands a fighting chance of changing it’s fortunes. Just look at what the Americans did with Las Vegas (also a desert).

P.S. Here is yet another idea for revenue generation in the North Eastern province. It is clear that our cities are drowning in garbage (our politicians will only take note when people start drowning in it), the wide open spaces of the North eastern province are ideal for the operations of a waste disposal company that will concentrate on recycling as much of the waste as possible for environmental reasons. There is also plenty of space for landfills and no huge population. Enforcing city bylaws will be enough to guarantee such a company plenty of business from the 3 major cities in the country and many other towns.

P.S. 2 The traditional income generating activities in the province can also be enhanced. For example goat rearing and in some areas cows and other livestock as well. The ideal place to create beef-related factories. Also if it is successful in becoming a major energy generation area can attract IT and Internet-related businesses which are on the increase worldwide.


Advantages

The only way to ensure equitable distribution of wealth
Apart from ensuring equitable distribution of wealth countrywide, Majimboism is the best chance Kenya has of narrowing the gap between the rich and poor because many more opportunities will be created at location and even village level.

Poverty is something that has to be fought and this is much more urgent than many in the political class seem to realize. Because poverty can be directly linked to so many other serious problems in our society like crime and HIV Aids.


Will dramatically speed up development
There is no doubt that devolution will dramatically speed up development countrywide.

Will dramatically reduce corruption
A Majimbo system will help fight corruption. When ordering supplies for the whole country, it is much easier to play all sorts of games and overprice things. However when each region is responsible for its’ own supplies it will dramatically reduce and ultimately eliminate corruption because each region will be able to clearly see exactly what is going on on the ground and vote accordingly in the next elections. With the current structure of the country it will be much easier to prosecute corrupt persons in the district level than it has been to deal with the national heavyweights.

In the long term has a better chance of dealing with tribalism
In the long term, a majimbo system is ironically the best chance the country has of dealing with tribalism. What will happen is that there will be more interdependence between regions and a greater appreciation of each other over time.

Will solve rural to urban migration problem
Devolution will create a lot of jobs at the village and location level as well as small business opportunities and will therefore help reverse the current massive ruiral to urban migration that is of great concern and worsens many other problems the country is facing in its’ major cities and towns.

Conclusion
There seems to be a very deliberate effort to confuse ordinary Kenyans about Majimboism and to create fear. However majimboism as spelt out in the Bomas draft presents great opportunities for Kenya. We need to shun old ideas and old leaders who are bankrupt of new ideas and embrace the future. We cannot embrace that future by looking at the past and the way things have been done in the past.

Excited (Kenya Betrayed)

Chapter 24

I was excited - the prospect of going back to Kenya, of stepping on the red Kenyan soil again, lifted my spirits wildly.

Because of the trip, I decided to go down to the galerias and buy some items I would need in Kenya. Before leaving, I called my girl-friend to accompany me.

Sue had been living in Zambia where her parents had a farm. Over the last years, she had become my best friend with whom I could exchange ideas and thoughts about Africa.

Minutes later, I was on the two-lane street that linked my neighbourhood to the main highway leading to Marbella. Here my friend was already waiting.

I told her about the developments of the last days and that I had decided to go to Nairobi.

When I finished, Sue looked at me curiously, "Why are you taking this risk? Are you not afraid that these goons may start accusing you to have had also a love affair with Dr. Ouko? That you are responsible for his death? Just think about all the lies which especially this crook of Nicholas Biwott has been distributed about you all these last years...."

I sighed, I knew Sue was right, still I said, "I will survive also that. I know - and so does Mrs. Ouko - that Bob was my best friend. The only person I could trust in that Government - and nothing else. And if I am responsible, then because I have given him the information and the documents regarding the corruption because I wanted him to beat their schemes...... and this is on my conscious and I will have to live with it forever. But exactly for this reason, I want his killers brought to justice - it's as easy as that."

"But what about all the projects you were involved with? All the money you have lost? All the money you have spent during your time in Kenya? You told me that you have paid all preliminary expenses out of your own pockets..... this must have been quite a big amount. What are you doing about that? Would you be willing to go back and continue your work if you would have a chance?"

"These are many questions at once," I said, sipping my coffee. "But let me reply one by one. - You know, I had been involved in the revival of the Molasses Plant which was a stalled project and Dr. Ouko wanted to revive it since Kenya was loosing a lot of money. The project had been financed in asking private loans by Swiss Banks - with the guarantee given by the Kenyan Government. So it was Kenya which had to take over the repay the loan - and I think the interest rate agreed was reaching more or less 12 % per year........ when I got involved the debts with the Swiss Banks had reached abt. 200 Million $ ........ this was the reason why they asked me to help.....

..... I started to work on this based on an official Mandate issued by the Government with Parliament and Attorney General approval - so by no means just because Dr. Ouko had asked me even calling the Molasses Project his 'pet' project - as certain people now try to say .......... my Mandate authorized me to look for a reputable Company to do this project and to arrange for the financing.......... and I was successful in both......

..... the Group I brought to Kenya was even willing to invest their own money and presented a document to the Kenyan Government in which they not only guaranteed the repayment of the loan but also an annual net profit for Kenya of min. 2 Million $ for its share of 51 % in the plant.......

..... everybody seemed to be happy - even President Moi. At least that's what he told a gathering in Kisumu ......

..... but there was one who hated the idea - and that was Nicholas Biwott. He feared that Dr. Ouko - who had already emerged as the most charismatic leader not only in Kenya, but mainly abroad - could get too much influence. So he started to boycott all our efforts......... I do not want to bother you with all details. But I will certainly disclose them in Nairobi ...... because there is one very important point which still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it:

..... besides the Molasses Plant - by the way my Mandate also included the construction of a new Cement Factory and also here I had already introduced a leading Cement Producer from Italy who was also willing to bring in own capital and form a joint-venture with the Kenyan Government ............

..... there was one project which I had set all my heart on and which was the real reason why I accepted Moi's request brought to me by his private Secretary, Abraham Kiptanui, to come back to Kenya ........

..... and that was the building of low- and medium rent houses to wipe out the slums not only in Nairobi like Kibera but also in other parts of the country .......... I had been able - together with some big international Groups - to secure the incredible amount of more than 300 Million US-$. We were planning to build decent houses for all the poor people living in the slum areas now, arrange for decent sanitation facilities, water supply, electricity etc.......

..... you remember, I left Kenya in April 1981 after Biwott had tried to kill me. I was almost hit by a car and narrowly survived a good poisoning. Biwott had envied my relationship with Moi and feared to loose the grip on him. At that time, Biwott had been used to spend the evenings with Moi where he could resume the day and make sure that at the end his own decisions were the ones ruling the following day .........

..... this had worked up to them very well. Mainly because he had planted all his people in State House - so he was in total control ........ no wonder, they started to call him 'Total Man' ...... he had warned me to stay away from Moi. He also told me about the Ugandan girls which he had selected for Moi (even claiming that he was 'testing' them first before passing them to Moi and that I should not even dream that I could 'compete' with them) ................

..... and just to show you, how dirty and how sick this man is ............

..... when I left, Biwott had told Moi that I had decided to go back to Dr. Mungai....... and it seems, Moi first also believed him - as he usually did - but then much to my surprise Moi has sent Abraham Kiptanui to meet me in Switzerland. Kip - how I called him - made the proposal that I should come back to Kenya and work officially for the Government. This would give me the necessary protection - also from Biwott.....

..... but again Biwott found a way to warn me and for some years I did not got ...........

..... then in 1985, I received this request for the Low Cost Housing Scheme ..... Moi knew my weak point .... and he was successful since I started to work on it. It was not easy because this is not a 'normal' business - this is a social matter not very much in the interest of companies here ........ but I was successful and found a big international Group willing to get involved with the private money of its owners ........... unbelievable ....... to find rich people willing to help Africa ..... Kenya ...... to help the poor people to come out of their misery ....... but sometimes also miracles are possible .....

..... and then I went back to Kenya for the first time together with some leading Company Representatives .....but again I had to face Biwott and his hate for me from the very first moment we arrived in Nairobi.....

..... he was especially furious because Moi had not informed him and he had to find out via his own 'sources' that I was coming. And he made sure that all our meetings were cancelled until I had not settled his 'demands'................

..... so for the first time I was confronted with corruption and asking bribes .........and latest at that moment I realized how much had changed during the last years - or was it just because I never had known about this before? Anyway, I got to know how much influence Biwott had gained .......

..... I tried to get into contact with Moi ..... with Kiptanui ......... but I was always told that none of them was available........

The 5 Most Popular Stories in Kumekucha Today

The 5 Most Popular Stories in Kumekucha Today

1. Kenya's forgotten tribe

2. Are you married?

3. Jimnah Mbaru and NSE expose

4. Gor Sunguh (Kenya Betrayed)

5. Otieno Kajwang gets life line from Raila, but...

Kenya’s Forgotten Tribe

Next to the Luo you will not believe the other Kenyan tribe that has suffered the most neglect in terms of development assistance from the central government. It is of course the Kikuyu.

Most people reading this would be incredulous at my assertion, but let me explain.

Contrary to what most Kenyans think many areas in Central province are the most underdeveloped in the country and things would have been much worse was it not for the enterprising and creative spirit that most of our Kikuyu brothers seem to possess naturally. The community has also been greatly aided by their proximity to Nairobi.

Under the Kenyatta regime, the president was very careful to be seen as a national figure and was uncomfortable about taking development projects to his Gatundu constituency. The result is there for all to see even today as this is one of the most backward areas in the entire Central province.

During the Moi era, the president did everything to sabotage the revenue generating activities that were perceived to give the Kikuyu economic might. Even at the expense of national interests. Just ask a few farmers what really happened to the coffee industry and the tea industry. To date things have never gone been the same again.

The situation during the Kenyatta years was replicated in uncanny detail during the Kibaki administration of the last 5 years but to make matters worse the house of Mumbi now finds itself in a precarious position where other Kenyans are claiming that they have had too long a time at the centre of power enjoying the national cake. Many members of the Kikuyu tribe get very angry at that suggestion and quite rightly so, because there is really nothing that they have enjoyed or benefited from directly from producing two of Kenya’s 3 president’s so far.

Sad;ly the truth is that most members of the community are gladly taking the flak on behalf of very few individuals who have used their position to rob the country blind but who are very quick to fall back on the community for support whenever they feel threatened.

Most Kikuyus are highly intelligent people, in fact exceptionally so and this is one reason why they have been able to survive many things and still come pout looking like they are on top of the situation. However now is as good a time as any for our Kikuyu brothers to disentangle themselves from those few wealthy individuals and draw a clear line. Now is as good a time as any for our Kikuyu brothers to join the rest of Kenyans in saying “No” to bad governance and many years of being lied to. Now is the time for them to realize that Kenya really has ONLY 2 tribes. The corrupt wealthy and the majority who are without wealth.

It is time they said “No” to being used by a few people to achieve their political objectives.

The Implications On The NSE Of The Chairman's Political Affiliations

Guest post By John Maina

Many have been quick to politicise comments made by ODM Presidential Candidate Raila Odinga about the NSE. They have singularly associated the share index downward trend to his earlier comments on drug money finding its way to NSE also his concerns of share manipulation by a few well connected individuals. Paul Muite the chair of (Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs) similarly expressed the latter concerns albeit both politicians did not give details.


Chairman of the NSE, crafty Jimnah Mbaru

On Raila Odinga’s comments many have castigated him as an anti-development, alleged he is a communist, thus he would nationalise the listed companies. Others have even argued that he is a propagandist seeking political mileage.

However, many have overlooked the fact that Raila himself owns various private businesses and has strongly argued against his distracter that he has heavily invested at the NSE

Moreover, many people have glossed over others factors likely to be impacting on the downward trend. Such include, investors disposing of share in readiness to safcom IPO and the Christmas festival.

Other reasons as recently pointed by the NSE board are the rising inflation resulting in disposal of stocks so as to buy basic commodities.

Jittery investors holding back in anticipation of the political transition and uncertainty on the direction that the stock market is taking cannot be ruled out either.

One significant but overlooked factor that might also be contributing to the share index downward trend is that of the NSE chairman’s political affiliation and utterances.

Though as a presidential candidate Raila utterances and policies will have an impact on NSE, so too would the utterances and associations that the NSE chairman makes.

It is worth noting that, apart from being the current NSE chairman, Jimnah Mbaru also owes the largest investment bank/stock breakage firm in Kenya. His firm has won very many lucrative contracts from the current government. He is also a member of the presidential national advisory council on socio-economic issues. Also a member of T.C.L an investment clubs whose members are who is who in the current regime. This club has clinched top notch deals within a short period.

Contentiously, the NSE Chairman is also a staunch support of the current regime and is rumoured to be eying a parliamentary seat. He was recently in London with the president daughter and Equity bank CEO vilifying Raila. Not long ago he commented that an O.D.M win at the general election would cause the market to tumble. It is said that he has the regimes eye and ear.

Above issues may be interpreted by investors as resistance to changes likely to be introduced by and ODM government if it comes to power.

Yet it is clear to anybody that has been investing at the NSE that, just like the Capital Market Authority, both are screaming for revolutional transformation from the gentlemen’s club they are, into a modern efficient, effective and transparent stock market and regulatory body.

Other investors may foresee a conflictual relationship between NSE (If led by the current chairman) and a future ODM government when the chairman refuses to be politically neutral.

There are also concerns the chairman has not come out to strongly condemn recent alarmist and false remarks attributed to the finance minister on the NSE losing 200 billion whilst the actual figure was 5billion.

Ironically, the chairman’s has neither come out to reassure anxious investors about the increasingly politicisation of the NSE

From this one can conclude that the chairman cannot hold onto his seat and at the same time engage in politics without impacting on the share index. Indeed, stand presents a conflict of interest. Therefore, the best the chairman can do to reassure investors is to stick to one role rather than apportioning blame where it is not due.

The writer is a member of Kenya Capital Investment Group, www.mjengakenya.blogspot.com

Gor Sunguh (Kenya Betrayed)

This morning, Chairman Sunguh did not feel like waking up at all.

He was mad at himself - mad at Moi - mad at Biwott - mad at Parliament - and strangely, he was mad at life in general. Of all the people in Parliament that fate could have placed this enormous responsibility on, why did it choose him?

He was bothered.

But then his wife - as normal the first to wake up - tapped him on the shoulder with a smile. She said, "Don't worry about last night."

"I am scared," he whispered.

She pushed away the comforter, "If I told you, I had slept this past night, I would be lying. I have been thinking."

He turned, "About what ?"

"This enormous responsibility. I have been wondering why God placed you in the middle of it."

He looked at her absently.

"Maybe the Lord wants the world finally to know who killed Dr. Ouko and why. Maybe it is the last best chance this nation has to deliver justice to those who robbed Kenya and Africa of one of the best brains this continent has ever produced."

Sunguh came up on his elbow ..... sat next to her, "So you really think, God has anything to do with this?"

She smiled at him, "No doubt."

"Then how do you explain the threats? The intimidation? The letter? How could God sanction this and subject my family to this kind of fear?"

She took his hand and gave it a light squeeze, "All I know is that if God was not in this, you could have been dead by now. You are up against devious forces, against one of the most dangerous creatures in the world."

"You mean Nicholas Biwott?"

She nodded, "Yes. And don't ever underestimate him."

"I won't".

"Even so, I want you to be focused. I want you to make your family proud. To make our Community proud. To make Kenya proud." She kissed his cheek, "Go out there and make Dr. Ouko have the last laugh."

"What if they harm us?" he asked.

She got up, "You would rather face harm and walk away with your dignity than live permanently with the scar of betrayal. I admit, I am scared. But I have to encourage you to go out there and do the right thing. God expects nothing less."

That got him up. He walked to the bathroom and showered. He had a hurried breakfast. An hour later, he was in his office.

***

On the other side of the city, Biwott was having breakfast at the New Stanley Hotel. He was aware that this was the day Christabel was going to make her appearance in front of the Committee.

Because he wanted to try to find out what would be said at this much-anticipated session, he decided to call Chairman Sunguh.

On a third ring, there was a reply, "Hello?"

"It's Nicholas Biwott."

Chairman Sunguh was baffled, "What do you want?"

"What I want is not important - what is important is what you want."

"And what would that be ?"

Biwott laughed. He drew a deep breath, then exhaled sharply. Finally, he said, "I take it, you want to live?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"I take it, you want your family to be safe?"

"Is that another threat?"

"I take it, you want to protect your property?"

"Is this intimidation?"

Biwott whispered, "I do not care what the hell you think this is. If you want to keep things safe and normal around you, don't ask Christabel Ouko anything beyond what she has already said before."

....... you would rather face harm and walk away with your dignity ......

"Chairman Sunguh, did you hear me?" Biwott asked - mad that the man was ignoring him, "Are you still there?"

.........than live permanently with the scar of betrayal ........

.... of betrayal .....

betrayal ......

"Chairman Sunguh?"

Sunguh stood up. He pulled the phone to this mouth, his hand shaking, then he barked, "Go to hell, Nicholas Biwott. I will do what is right." ........Click.

***

Chairman Sunguh sat down, trembling with unalloyed rage. .....how dumb is this guy? ...... Then he grabbed his briefcase, threw on his coat and was about to walk out of the office when his phone rang.

Thinking it was Nick again, he picked it up and said, "I do not want your shit anymore, Nicholas Biwott."

My breath stopped for a moment, then I said, "It's me, Chairman Sunguh, Marianne."

"Oh, I am sorry."

I hesitated - unsure that to make out of Chairman Sunguh's outburst, I said, "Is Biwott there with you?"

"No, he just called."

"I know, it is none of my business, but can you tell me what he wants?"

Chairman Sunguh rubbed the handle on his briefcase with his thumb, "I would love to tell you, but it would be unprofessional. I can only say this much - it is not about you that he called."

"Christabel?"

Sunguh's eyebrows went up in surprise - how could I have guess that - then he asked, "Well, what can I do for you?"

"It is only a couple of days till I come to Nairobi. I would like to know which arrangements you have made for my security."

"We have not finalized the details yet." he told me.

That was my cue, "Can I make a suggestion?"

"What is it?"

"My son-in-law is willing to accompany me. He is a licensed security man with the German Special Forces. If you could approve of it, he would come with me."

"Taking charge of your security here?"

"Yes."

"How will he work with the security on our side?"

"He has done similar jobs in other countries. That's his profession to protect endangered persons, mainly high-profile German politicians when they travel abroad. But if you mean specifically Nairobi, that's what I want you to figure out," I said, "If it is feasible for him to come, I would feel a lot more comfortable having him around."

"Does he realize how dangerous it may be out here?"

"He does."

"Does he know, he could get killed?"

"He does."

"And he would still risk?"

I cleared my throat, "He is doing it for me - and for my daughter."

"Then look, I will pass your request to the Committee and the CID and then get back to you. I am sure, there will be no problem."

"Thank you, Chairman Sunguh ....... and good luck today."


****************************************************************




Christabel Ouko was ready. All the preparations she needed were in place. Last night, she had gone through all the files, the press clippings and the pictures related to her husband's disappearance and subsequent murder.

That was all she had needed.

At 9:30 a.m., her lawyer, a hard-hitting criminal defence attorney, appeared at her gate. He was in a silver Toyota Land Cruiser. The truck had tinted windows, a power sunroof and some other security outfit installed on his request before the car was delivered. It was rumoured that this lawyer was the only one in the country having this special model.

He parked at the gate and hooted twice.

Christabel ran out.

Within minutes, they were gone.

***


At this office, Moi's attorney, Mutula Kilonzo, thought about the former Head of State's proposal which he had issued just before their meeting finished the day before......... arrange for a meeting with Marianne ......

Was Moi really seriously intending to meet Marianne? It sounded so unwise ..... and also impractical.

How in the world was he going to do it? And would she agree?

Realizing that there was no other way than to find out from myself, he dialed my number. When I answered, he hit it on, "We need to talk!"

I was in the middle of doing some laundry, so I had to shut the door first to keep out the sound of the washing machine, then I said, "It's you, Mr. Kilonzo? What do you want?"

Surprised he said, "So to recognize my voice?"

"That's because I have heard it many times," I said, "All right, what is it about?"

"My client wants to to meet you when you come down here."

"Moi?"

"Yes."

"That's not going to be possible," I replied.

"I will personally arrange it."

I sat down and after a short while I told him, "Look, I am coming in as a guest of the Committee. If anything must be arranged, it will therefore have to be through Chairman Sunguh. And given how worried he is about my security, I doubt he will let a meeting happen between Moi and me."

"You could request it." he suggested.

And when I did not respond immediately, he continued, "You can say, you want to have Moi clarify some issues from the past, even private ones."

I had to laugh, this was typical Kilonzo, "Very clever idea..... anyway, I would definitely love to meet Moi - have him to answer some questions I have kept inside for a long time. But I cannot request the meeting. You would have to do it. And if Chairman Sunguh agrees on it, I will accept."

"We will work it out," he promised, "And one more thing ..... I hope, you won't broaden the scope of your testimony."

"What do you mean with that?" I asked.

"In the past, you have only spoken about the business angle of this case, tied Dr. Ouko's death to the Molasses Plant .... are you going to do the same this time around?"

I tried to stay calm and said, "I cannot tell you that I will say - neither can I tell you what I will do."

"But you can limited your testimony," he insisted.

Again I had to control my anger and replied, "Don't you think, it is time for everything to come out? I do not see what Moi has to fear ......... after all, he is no longer in power..... so the moment to talk has finally come."

"So you have really decided to talk and say everything?"

And when I did not answer, the added, "Then look, if you are coming to talk, I want to let you know that I will have to mount a spirited defense of my client. We will attack your character, your credibility and your morals. We will make sure when you leave Kenya that nobody will ever believe anything coming out of your mouth again. I am sorry, but that's what my client will ask me to do ......"

I understood - it was not his personal opinion - but more than Moi I heard Biwott talk through this ........ my old enemy had started the war already ..................

***

After finishing his phone call, Kilonzo sat down at his desk ......was Marianne coming to finally reveal everything? ......

He stood up, eyed the phone oddly, then dialed Kabarnet Gardens. When Moi answered, he said, "Bad news!"

Cough, "How bad?"

"She won't do the meeting with you unless Chairman Sunguh agrees. So it will not be possible to do it secretly. She insists that it has to be okayed before by the Committee."

"Then talk to the Chairman."

"I will do that ..... but that's not the only reason why I called you."

"What else?"

"Marianne is coming to talk ......"


******************************************************************************


Christabel and her high-flying attorney arrived at the Parliament Buildings to a round of flash and clicks. There was a huge scramble by the Press to get the best view of her.

It had been years since the public had seen her, so the journalists knew that the pictures and the description of her they ended up putting in their respective outlets, were going to matter.

And because it had been announced that she would be here, many Nairobi residents - eager to catch a glimpse of her - had come also out in droves.

Suddenly, here she was.

As stately as ever.

Her hair was meticulously palmed. It looked shiny, and it felt flat on her head like is was painted there. Her eyes remained as sharp as they were before the tragedy. She wore a flowing African Kitenge .... it added to the sense of honor and dignity she had cultivated ever since the death of her beloved husband.

Noticing the curious public, she lifted her right hand and waved.

People waved back ..... screamed her name ..... and then that of Bob.

Right there she knew, Kenyans had not forgotten him. He was still loved. It made her proud. Gave her energy.

As she started her slow walk into the Parliament Building, shielded by a beehive of security personnel, she hoped she would have the courage to face the Committee. She still could not understand why they had summoned her. She had said all there was to say in the previous investigations.

She had also informed Chairman Sunguh that the men who killed her husband remained just as dangerous - that they could still kill her too.

But he had not listened.

She walked into the building, holding her attorney's hand, and headed straight to the Old Chambers where Chairman Sunguh together with all other Committee members were waiting.

When they saw her, they stood up.

She was immediately led to her seat ... handed the Bible. Within minutes, she was ready.

She went on to recount the events as she could recall them. She told the Committee how Bob had sent her back to Nairobi from Koru, insisting he needed some time on his own since he had to work on some papers which he had brought from Nairobi and some others which Marianne had sent to him directly to Kisumu.

She revealed how uneasy she was with the way things had played out between Bob and Nicholas Biwott in the last couple of years.

She told them that her husband had also spoken about the problems created by Nicholas Biwott and that he feared not only for himself but also for her and the children with a friend - Marianne Briner-Mattern - whom they both had trusted and who was like family to them.

"Mrs. Ouko, can you recall what happened the day after it was announced that Dr. Ouko's body had been discovered at Got Alia ?" Chairman Sunguh asked.

Before she could reply, Mutula Kilonzo got up raising an objection, "That was fifteen years ago, Chairman. Do you really expect her to remember that deep in time?"

"Let the Committee hear what she can remember," the Chairman insisted.

"Even if it is speculation?" Kilonzo pressed.

Chairman Sunguh brought down the gravel, "You may proceed, Mrs. Ouko."

"A lot has happened that day...... I cannot recall everything. But I can remember vividly that President Moi came to Loresho to console my family."

She remembered the picture ...... Moi's arms around her ...... tens of dignitaries in her living room ..... hundreds of mourners in her compound ....... her children looking dazed ......

"Mrs. Ouko?"

"I can remember seeing Nicholas Biwott and wondering what he was doing in my house."

"Let's back up a little," one of the female members of the Committee said. "Can you recall when you first had an inkling your husband was dead?"

Christabel nodded, "The very night he died."

Now Biwott's attorney, normally quiet throughout the proceedings, got up and asked, "What night are you talking about?"

She replied, "February 13, 1990........... and what I have always found strange is that only person has ever mentioned that date with precision."

She found the attorney's eyes and held, "Not even Supt. Troon and the forensic expert of Scotland Yard could say the exact date Bob died .................. but that one person did!"

Biwott's attorney leaned forward, "So what you are saying is that all you had was an inkling? Don't you think, your inkling might be ...... wrong?"

She shook her head, "I loved my husband. We were soul-mates. The minute he died, I felt it. Even when statements were coming from the KBC that he had gone to Gambia, left the country, I never bought the crap." She wiped a tear, "I knew, my husband was dead."

"Were you fearful?" Chairman Sunguh asked.

"I am still fearful."

"Why?"

"Because my husband's killers are still alive. And I don't have to tell you how many witnesses have died. You will recall that one of the killers said ...... only dead people don't talk ....."

Chairman Sunguh then said, "Mrs. Ouko, I appreciate your coming before this Committee. Before you leave, I would like to ask you pointedly - do you know who killed your husband?"

She looked down,......everybody knows who killed Bob ...... Gicheru as good as dropped their names ...... Supt. Troon from Scotland Yard pointed us in their direction ....... Marianne has trumpeted for years who she believes the killers are ............... I am sure that all of you in this Committee exactly know who did it and why.........

"Mrs. Ouko?"

She looked up, "We all know who killed Dr. Ouko."

***

As soon as Christabel Ouko wound up her testimony, she stood up. She shook hands with Chairman Sunguh, then whispered in his ear, "Be very careful!"

On that note, she left.

***

After the long day, Chairman Sunguh was ready to bring the Committee's business to a close, but before doing so, he informed the members that there was one more issue to handle.

He quietly told them, "The former Head of State wants to meet Mrs. Marianne Briner-Mattern in private if this Committee can okay it."

Mutula Kilonzo took it from there, "My office stands ready to facilitate the process. And let is be known that both parties are interested in this meeting."

"So ...... there it is, Ladies and Gentlemen, what do we do?"

They voted for it.

The 5 most popular stories in Kumekucha today

The 5 most popular stories in Kumekucha today.

1. Story of woman who loved 2 men that depicts presidential elections in Kenya Part 2

2. What is the ECK up to in Kisauni?

3. Why Raila will lose Langata Parliamentary seat

4. Otieno Kajwang gets life line from Raila but...

5. Why Kenya is in big trouble.

What Is The Electoral Commission Up To?

The Electoral Commission has at this eleventh hour adjusted the constituency boundary between Kisauni in Mombasa and neighboring Mvita consitituency in a move that affects close to 10,000 voters.

ODM has gone to court to block the move and as the electoral commission asked for more time to prepare their case, an incredulous High court judge yesterday bluntly told the ECK that they have no case.

Meanwhile in Kisauni there have been demonstrations over the last 3 days against this puzzling move by the ECK. The voters on the ground are very clear in their mind where all this is coming from. They blame the outgoing MP of the area Anania Mwaboza for ganging up with the government to ensure that he is voted back to parliament in an area that is rabidly ODM. Interestingly the part of Kisauni ceded out to Mvita by the ECK is a stronghold of Mwaboza’s main challenger Ali Hassan Joho.

Could this have been one of the reasons behind the recent appointment of a new commissioner who has been practicing law in Mombasa?

I am getting a very bad feeling here. Many strange events reported recently remind me very much of Moi’s arithmetical games in those shams that Kenyans dared call General elections in the 90s. The idea here is to not only get Mwaboza back into parliament but to mainly secure the incumbent president’s 25% in the province, which is looking increasingly remote as the majimbo debate heats up.

I will deal with this Majimbo issue here soon but what you need to know now is that Coast voters will hear of nothing else but majimboism. The last nail on PNU’s coffin in Coast province came earlier today when the Shirikisho party distanced itself from Ali Mwakere’s support of the President and announced that they would officially withdraw from being a PNU affiliate party at a Shirikisho delegates conference slated to take place soon.

Some PNU officials may not be very sad to see Shirikisho go. The PNU campaign at the Coast, led by Uhuru Kenyatta has been very confusing for voters because PNU are breathing fire against Majomboism while Mwakere stands up in the same meeting and supports the majimbo agenda but says that Shirikisho are supportinmg President Kibaki instead of supporting the presidential candidate pushing for Majimboism or devolution of government as spelled out in the trashed Bomas Draft.

Story Of Woman Who Loved Two Men Depicts Kenyan Presidential Elections Politics Perfectly -Part 2

Dorothy was now in a real panic. She tried his cell phone again. The mobile phone subscriber could still not be reached.

She decided to send him a message so that when he finally switched on his phone, he may just be able to get it.

PLEASE CALL ME BACK VERY, VERY, URGENTLY-DOROTHY.

Then the real agony began. She was sure that Rai was dead by now. Kib came late in the evening as usual. Naturally he could not understand her mood and got even more confused when she gave herself to him. But it was all mechanical. The way you would go to the toilet for a long call. Her heart was with Rai, if he was alive that is.

She kept her mobile phone on the whole night. She got up to go to work in the morning more exhausted than she had been going to bed the previous night. She was now sure that Rai was dead. He had probably committed suicide. She blamed herself and quietly mourned for him.

What was wrong with her anyway. When women everywhere would have given anything to be with such a sensitive man as Rai, she had rejected him. Look where it had landed her, she chided herself repeatedly.

The call came in at 9:45 when she was in a meeting. She had forgotten to switch off her phone and everybody looked at her angrily. She quickly reached into her purse and was just about to switch off the phone when her eyes caught the caller ID. It couldn’t be. She must be seeing things.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this one, it is a matter of life and death,” she said getting up hurriedly from the table and breaking every company rule and risking everything to take this one call. “It’s an emergency. A matter of life and death,” she repeated before slamming the door to the board room and hurriedly walking towards the reception and the lifts.

“Rai?” was all she could call out into the phone. Not knowing quite what to say

“Dorothy. Is There a problem?” his voice sounded anxious.

“Why did you switch off your phone?”

That one caught Rai off balance. What was wrong with this woman?

“Why were you looking for me?” Rai asked directly.

That caught Dorothy off balance too. She panicked.

“I’m really sorry to bother you.” She hang up.

He called back immediately. She did not take his call. By this time she was in the ladies. She walked into an empty cubicle placed the cover down and sat. Her mobil;e phone was still ringing. She disconnected the call and Rai called again. When she had disconnected the call for the fourth time she started crying again, feeling very confused.

SO NOW YOU HAVE DECIDED TO PLAY WITH MY HEART? Was the SMS she suddenly received from Rai.

I’M NOT PLAYING WITH U, I WAS SO WORRIED 4 U. she replied finding messaging a much easier way to communicate.

THEN CAN U TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON?

CAN WE MEET?

I AM IN MALINDI

She got the idea suddenly and it grabbed her so that she could not let go.

PLS TELL ME EXACTLY WHERE U ARE?

She went back into the office and locked her desk. She told one of her colleagues that there was an emergency situation she had to deal with, ignoring all the company rules and procedures. She felt good as the morning sun bathed her the minute she stepped out into the streets. She felt happy fopr the first time in a long, long time.

* * *

There was a young attractive woman with Rai in the hotel room in the Malindi hotel where Dorothy had gone to surprise him. Rai was so shocked to see her there that he was lost for words when he opened the door. He just opened and shut his mouth like a fish that was out of air.

He finally recovered and leaving the woman in the room gently guided Dorothy to the Hotel restaurant. Three stiff drinks later she felt a little giddy and started telling him off.

* * *

To date Kib doesn’t know what hit him. How his bride of two months moved in with that struggling accountant called Rai. A man whom Kib would have easily employed in his company. What really got to him was the loss of face. A woman leaving you was not good for any man’s CV.

Once he met them at a restaurant somewhere in the Kilimani area, behaving like some high school kids in love. He was totally disgusted. What he did not know and would never know is the fact that he was the one who had pushed his wife to Rai and in just two months flat of marriage had caused Dorothy to fall passionately in love with Rai.

He would never know that had he not come along Dorothy would never have loved Rai the way she did now. Let alone taken a bus all the way from Nairobi to a Malindi hotel to be with him.

...Ends

The President's Lawyer (Kenya Betrayed)

And then she thought about her speech during Bob’s funeral service – trying to hide her tears - and her pain - because she had believed to owe it to him and their life together not to show her real feelings in front of the public…….

So she had said in her own mother tongue:

…. Your Excellency the President. I am not going to speak in English and I ask you that you bear with me if I am not coherent.

But first of all I would like to appeal to all peace-loving Kenyans and all those who are gathered here to please keep the peace. As the wife of the man lying here, I am pleading with you with tears in my eyes to please let us send him off in peace.
Because he was a peaceful man. He loved his country and if you genuinely love him as you say you do and as I do, I appeal to you with tears. Please! Please! Let us be peaceful.

Do you agree with me? Please, I beg you, let us give him a good send off.

My husband was a good man.

I lived with him for 25 years. I got married to him while I was at the University of Nairobi. He did not let me finish my degree work but I have no regrets because what I learned by living with him is more than I would have learned if I would have been at the University.

Why do I say that? I say that because Dr. Ouko was a man of exemplary intellect. Our house was a big library with books of all kinds and he was a man who would share everything worth knowing with me.

I didn’t know anything about economics, but now I have some knowledge of what economics is all about. Now when people talk about Resolution 435 or whatever, I know what it is all about.

And I learned from Dr. Ouko the art of humility……..he was a humble man. He was a down-to-earth man.

I learned from Dr. Ouko to enjoy life to its fullest because he loved life. He was a man who liked people. He was a sociable man. Ouko would laugh wholeheartedly.
I learned from him that it is good to be mindful of other people’s welfare. He cared for his people.

I learned from him that it is good to be truthful - and my husband liked truth and if there was anything that could hurt him in this world, it was that somebody would lie about him or would claim that he had told a lie.

And therefore there is a lot I learned from him and I thank God that I had the opportunity to share these years with him.

My husband had a clear mind. He knew where he was going. He knew his priorities. And his first priority was his relationship with God. He believed in God totally ……
And his second priority was his President …..

But his top priority was his country …….. Kenya ……

He had visions for his country. He had dreams for his country and he was prepared to die for his country!

I think everybody knows that and we as a family knew that. We as a family came a poor fourth in his priority and he made us understand that.

I used to say that I was a widow of the government…….. because many times he would be gone for so long and sometimes he would just telephone me to pack his suitcase for the next journey…..

God blessed us with seven children. I think, five of them I had while he was away.
But we understood. We knew what he liked and we let him do that.

So as a family we will miss him dearly. He loved his family.

But what amazed me most about him was his sense of duty. Duty for him was paramount. If duty called, whatever - even when one of the children was in the hospital or I was hospitalized - he would go.

Because what pleased him most was that he had done his duty for his country and for his President …………..

So – in conclusion - I would say that I am happy that we had him and that we as a family, we have tried to follow his good example but I am happy that he knew his God, so I know where he is.

Last Sunday only, we were in church with him together, here in Koru. A small church, he was trying to build here - African Inland Church.

I went to church with him and that day he was the preacher. And my husband preached a moving sermon. He preached from the Book of Jeremiah, and the Book of Job ……

And for his people, let me not stop before I say this, Ouko didn’t go into politics by choice. He was born a civil servant and he used to say that politics was not for him. But once he entered politics, he told me:

“I want to do politics with a difference. I will try to be truthful to my people.
What I cannot do for people I’ll tell them: “sorry” this one I cannot do. But what I can do, I will do it gladly.”

And he has always done that …..

He swore that he will not involve himself in magendo (corruption) and I am proud to announce that Dr. Ouko never involved himself in any magendo.”

***

All of the sudden, her phone rang. She got up, dragged herself to the corner and picked it up, “Hello?”

“Christabel, this is Musila.” A senior member of the LPD, and now a relative after his son had married one of her daughters, she had asked him to use his connections to thwart her Summon to appear before the Committee.

He had failed.

“But I can tell you what – it will be difficult for Biwott’s and Moi’s lawyers to come hard on you. It will look unseemly.”

“So I must appear?” she asked.

“Chairman Sunguh insists on it.”

Christabel shrugged. “Thank you for trying.”

***

Mutula Kilonzo was one of the most accomplished attorneys in the country, he was the only personal lawyer Moi had kept.

He was of medium height, and a little stoop. He always kept his hair long. His face was clean-shaven. And because of his impeccable dressing, he was one of the spiffiest men in all his court appearances.

This afternoon, upon getting to Moi’s study where the former Head of State was waiting, he opened his briefcase set on the desk, sat down and then cut to the chase, “How do we handle this?”

Cough. “That’s why I called you here.”

The attorney plugged his eyes on Moi’s. “We have obviously failed to stop Marianne from coming, and we have failed to limit the scope of her testimony.”

“So what else can we do?”

Mutula leaned forward, “The best I can do is to raise objections whenever something threatening comes up. I will be on guard.”

“What if the Chairman allows her to talk freely?”

“I will use all kind of legal manoeuvre to stop her. And even if I have to use tactics that will derail the whole process, so be it.”

Moi coughed. He liked that resolve. Satisfied, he said, “One more thing - Mrs. Ouko appears before the Committee tomorrow …. Go easy on the poor woman.”

“That will depend.”

“On what?” Mzee asked.

“On how far she streches her testimony. If she limits it to what she has said in the past, all will be well. If she tries to break new grounds, I will have to stop her.”

“Won’t that look back? Won’t if look like I am doing a battle with a widow? I cannot let it look like I am that cold.”

Mutula nodded, “All right.”

He knew the former Head of State was very keen on his legacy. He did not want anything that would blot his image.

“But what if she says something about …..”?

Moi interrupted him, “Don’t come after her. The woman has suffered enough.”

On that note, Moi wished him good luck and saw him to the door.

Two hours later, Mutula Kilonzo was back in Nairobi.

5 most popular stories in Kumekucha today

5 most popular stories in Kumekucha today.

1. Story of woman who loved two men that depicts presidential polls in Kenya

2. Otieno Kajwang gets life line from Raila but...

3. Why Raila Odinga will lose Langata

4. Why Kenya is in big trouble

5. Long suffering Kenyan beauty complains about "useless man"

The Campaign Gimmick Behind Today’s Unique Dissolution of Parliament

The 9th parliament is no more. And for the first time in the history of the nation the president addressed the entire nation on live TV to dissolved parliament, officially paving way for the general election later this year. The live broadcast started at 4 pm (local Kenyan time).

To justify going on air, president Kibaki took time to summarize the achievements of the controversial own-perks-and-remuneration-hiking 9th parliament noting the important bills it had passed into law during its’ life.

This was a smart move and one of the few things that the embattled president’s handlers have gotten right in a very long time. The psychological effect of the power behind the throne personally dissolving the 9th parliament is not without impact and paints a picture of a president fully in control of the country and one who surely deserves a second look by voters for possible re-election. That live broadcast alone must have captured at the very least tens of thousands of votes countrywide for president Kibaki. As to whether those “captured” hearts will remain with the president until polling day, only time can tell.

Story Of Woman Who Loved Two Men Depicts Kenyan Presidential Elections Politics Perfectly

If truth be told, I have never really liked Raila Odinga.

Nothing personal, but I have never been particularly endeared to his personal style and way of doing things. However one man in this country has changed all that in recent years for many Kenyans.

I will tell you a story that illustrates my point here perfectly and will explain the mystery of how this man called Raila suddenly became so popular.

Dorothy was in that dilemma that some women find themselves in. Two men had proposed to her and she had to make up her mind whom she was going to marry. The two men in her life were burly muscular and very handsome Kib and passionate but possessive Rai whom she had known for a longer time.

Kib was a wealthy man and all signs were that he was going to be a wonderful provider. He had some really funny jokes and was a very polished man. Dorothy laughed a lot during their dates and she felt that she was going to be very happy with the man. It did not bother her that she did not know him that well, she thought she was deeply in love with him and that’s all that really mattered.

Rai she knew better, especially his weaknesses. He was too emotional for a man and very possessive. That irritated Dorothy a lot. Like many so-called modern women about to be married she had slept with both men and even in that and very possessive. That irritated Dorothy a lot. Like many so-called modern women about to be married she had slept with both men and even in that and very possessive. That irritated Dorothy a lot.

Like many so-called modern women about to be married she had slept with both men and even in that area Kib was the better man between the sheets by far. Very powerful, very strong and yet tender. He was a very skillful lover. He took her to that place she had never reached with any man. She later learnt that the guy had read a lot on the Internet about pleasing women and being a skillful lover.

Actually the crux of the problem was that Rai loved her too much and she did not have such passionate feelings for him. To make matters worse during lovemaking Rai would sometimes cry out in passion and call out her name repeatedly; something that Dorothy thought was crazy coming from a man. To her it was a sign of weakness. Men were supposed to be strong. In many ways Dorothy was very conservative in these matters.

Much to her surprise the ugly confrontation that she had anticipated happening when Rai discovered that she was marrying somebody else did not happen. She saw a side of Rai she did not know existed. She could see that he was hurting badly inside, over her decision to get married to Kib instead of him, but he was taking it surprisingly well. He even bought her a very expensive wedding gift and delivered it at the wedding reception where he gave a moving speech basically declaring Kib Tosha and wishing them the best.

Dorothy even started feeling a little guilty at the shoddy way in which she had treated Rai. But alas, that passed quickly with the excitement of the wedding day and the honeymoon that followed.

The two weeks honeymoon in Malindi was just too short and Dorothy wished that it would go on forever. She was very happy.

But everything suddenly changed when they both went back to work. Kib, a businessman with a hectic schedule, did not seem to have any time for her and got irritated when she merely suggested that they needed to talk. Matters came to a head when one evening Kib came home and found his wife already in bed and without saying a word started mounting her.

“What’s wrong with you. I am not a horse.” Dorothy screamed at Kib.

“But you are my wife and sex is my right,” Kib shot back, visibly irritated.

That triggered off a row that lasted over an hour. Kib was very angry at Dorothy and could not understand what else she wanted from him. He paid the rent put food on the table and was basically a good provider. What else would a sane woman surely want when so many other desperate women out there couldn’t make ends meet?

Dorothy saw Kib’s insensitive side for the first time. The selfish nature in him where he did not care about other people’s feelings as long as he got his way and did things HIS way. Dorothy could not believe that this was the same man that she had married. The man she had spent two heavenly weeks with in Malindi. Kib felt that because he was a good provider his wife was supposed to do everything he wanted, when he wanted, including giving him his conjugal rights even when there were issues between them.

At the height of these problems Rai suddenly called her on her cell phone out of the blue. He started off soberly enough, asking after her health and even Kib’s. Then he quickly moved to the reason why he had called.

“I am sorry to have called you. Consider this my last call. The reason why I called is I wanted to tell you that I love you so much that I have decided if I can’t get married to you, then I will never get married in my life.”

That was the usually emotional Rai, Dorothy thought to herself. And how sweet of him. But Dorothy was not going to let him get off so easily.

“How dare you… you know I am a married woman now. If you really loved me, you would not have called.”

“I’m sorry but this message was too important and…”

Rai suddenly heard Dorothy sobbing over the phone. That was something he could not bear. He quickly hang up.

He then sent off a text message to the woman he loved. It was very brief.

ONCE AGAIN I’M SORRY YOU WILL NEVER HEAR FROM ME AGAIN.

When Dorothy had pulled herself together again and seen his text message. She sobbed some more.

When Kib came home that night it took him a long time to notice his wife’s red eyes. He was very concerned;

“What bill has not been paid?” he asked her, deep concern written all over his face. To him that was the biggest nightmare for a woman. To have a provider who did not meet his obligations in the house.

But his question saddened his wife even more and once again the tears started flowing. I will never understand women, Kib thought to himself.

Still, he found it in himself to hold Dorothy in his arms as she sobbed over his shoulders. The TV was on but with the sound muted and as Kib held his wife close to himself for the first time in a long time, the familiar signature logo of the 11 pm late night KTN news suddenly flashed across the screen Kib gently disentangled himself from his wife and grabbed the remote to increase the sound. For the next 15 minutes he was engrossed in the news of the day completely forgetting Dorothy and her problems.

That was the moment Dorothy made her decision.

The next morning she dialed Rai’s number on her Nokia. She received a message that the caller could not be reached. She panicked and after a few frantic calls to some of his close friends, she was told that he had literally disappeared from the face of the earth. Nobody knew where he was.

What made her even more worried was the fact that she knew Rai was the suicidal kind. What was she going to do now?

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW.

Otieno Kajwang Gets Life Line From Raila But…

Towards the end of last week some very fascinating meetings were taking place at the Professional Centre in Nairobi. The characters in the meetings call themselves “islanders” based in the city and are mostly supporters of an aspirant for the Mbita parliamentary seat called Sammy Wakiaga.

The latest news is that Wakiaga has been “persuaded” to step down in favor of the incumbent Otieno Kajwang. Yet he had already quit his job with the NSIS (National Security Intelligence Services) where he was the chief accountant to vie for the Mbita seat.

The gentlemen were particularly incensed that Raila appears to be using his usual, underhand means to ensure that those close to him retain their parliamentary seats and yet, the group claims, the people of Mbita have had more than enough of Kajwang.

These die hard ODM supporters then went on to invoke the name of Tom Mboya’s widow, Pamela Mboya claiming Mrs Mboya was a supporter of Wakiaga and was questioning why Raila will not leave the Mboya family alone and is instead pushing his hand into Mbita politics all the time.

This blogger has established from the Mboya family that Mrs Mboya does not even know Wakiaga or his so-called supporters and the group was just using her name to rock the boat and get some impact going over their objective of ensuring that Kajwang does not see the inside of the 10th parliament.

The late Tom Mboya hailed from Mbita constituency and his brother Alfonse Okuku even represented the constituency before his death in a road accident in the 80s. Interestingly Okuku once introduced Kajwang to his constituents during a campaign rally in Mbita shortly before he took the then young Kajwang to Dar-es-salaam University in Tanzania to complete his legal studies after he had been expelled from the Nairobi University.

It appears that despite having friends in high places, Kajwang is not yet out of the woods because the group at the professional center in their last meeting on Thursday vowed to prevail on Wakiaga to stand and if he does not they have sworn that they will back a non-ODM candidate for the Mbita parliamentary seat.

Widow Still In Mourning (Kenya Betrayed)

Fifteen years after her husband’s brutal murder, Christabel was never the same person she used to be. She had become a different woman - wiser, tougher and a lot more protective of her children - and she had learned to hide her deep sorrow.

But one only had to look into her eyes to realize her still existing pain….

Because she had endured so much agony over the years, there was a glacial stare in her eyes, a certain plain look that came out of her deep sorrow. Even when she outwardly tried to project an image of toughness ….. of normalcy ….

Unlike in earlier years, when she was rated by many Kenyans as one of the best political wives, she had receded into the background, drastically reduced her public appearances.

In fact, it became known in circles around Nairobi and Kisumu that she longer wanted to appear in public, to do interviews or meet anybody linked to her husband’s murder.
And she had learned to endure those long lonely evenings – and mainly those nights where she craved for his carresses – the warmth of his voice and mainly the tenderness of his touch.

She was still glad that she had refused to see his tortured body. In her memory and that of her children, he could therefore continue living as the husband and father they had seen last ….. a loving and caring and very proud man ……… she had therefore asked on that fateful day when his mutilated body was found that his brother should identify him …. and neither she nor her children had ever seen the ‘empty’ shell exhibited in that coffin ……….

This evening, in her Loresho home, she looked at the documents sitting in front of her. It was a pile of papers, most of them evidence and annexes she had brought to the two previous investigations.

She went through each of them methodically, refreshing her memory, trying to stay true to what she had said in the past. As she went through the exercise, she was stunned by how fresh, how raw the emotions still were.

She combed through all the evidence other witnesses had presented, what top officials in the Kenyan Police had said. She looked at the statements made by Senior Government Officials. She perused the papers describing how the herd-boy had discovered her husband’s mutilated body behind a hill.
It was wrenching.

Putt off, she reached for the family album sitting on a shelf. She opened it.
On the first page, she came face to face with Bob. He was as handsome as ever with his sincere open smile. He was tall and proud. And so full of life ….
She knew, most people had regarded him not only as the best Minister for Foreign Affairs Kenya could have had, but also as one of the most brilliant and charismatic leaders of all Africa.

But to her he was simply ….my love and my life …..
All those things some people had said about him having affairs with other women, she didn’t buy it.

This rubbish was put out there by Bob’s enemies to undercut his credibility.
She then looked at some pictures of her children. They were all grown now. She was struck by how her eldest son looked so much like his father.
It made her smile.

Then she came across a picture of a family friend. A white woman. She remembered the evenings they had spent with her. How kind she was, how driven she was and how much trust Bob had put in her. How close she had been to both of them and to their children.

She had read that she was coming to Nairobi to testify. Christabel smiled …… you have really courage, Marianne.

Finally, on the last page, she came to the one picture she had always wanted to burn, but had somehow not done it.

The former Head of State was next to her, his arms around her. All over the living room, Senior Government Officials were smiling at her.

She looked at it closely, brought it to her face. And for the first time, she saw something she had never seen before. President Moi was crying!
Crying ?

Christabel could not believe her eyes. Why was the man crying? Could it be that he had nothing to do with her husband’s murder? Could she have believed wrongly all these years?

And then she thought about her speech during Bob’s funeral service – trying to hide her tears - and her pain - because she had believed to owe it to him and their life together not to show her real feelings in front of the public…….

The 5 Most Popular Kumekucha Stories Today

The 5 Most Popular Kumekucha Stories Today

1. Why Kenya is in big trouble

2. Why Raila will lose the Langata seat

3. Christobel Ouko (Kenya Betrayed)

4. Why Kibaki deserves no second chance.

5. Long suffering Kenyan beauty speaks out about "useless man".

Why Kenya Is In Big Trouble

I just want to make two quick points today.

Firstly, the events of Kenyatta day have sadly proved what I said here just a few days ago. And that is the fact that the President and his men have taken this battle against Raila Odinga and ODM very personally. That should be very bad news for ALL Kenyans across the political divide.

Who wants to be involved in a personal battle? I certainly don’t and no person in their right mind would want to. What this means is that there are no rules. This is personal. The whole idea is to make sure the other man loses come what may.

Again armed with this information, the reports we have been receiving concerning the Langata voter’s register start to make a lot of sense. Basically my dear fellow Kenyans, there is very big trouble ahead of us. May the good Lord have mercy.

Secondly, there is something else that has now clearly come out about the current political situation in Kenya. President Kibaki is fighting the political battle of his career and the only problem is that he has nothing from his past to prepare him for what is already happening and will continue to unfold in the next few weeks.

Let me explain.

President Moi had a nightmare of a time as the country’s VP and he survived it for 12 long horrible years. This man was right there at the centre when the murderous blood-thirsty Kiambu Mafia of President Kenyatta ruled and did what they felt like. I am sure that it was not fun for Moi and he must have cried in bed at night many times because he was between a rock and a hard place. He couldn’t resign and go away because he knew too much and would have almost certainly been murdered and yet staying on was a horrible never-ending nightmare.

Moi found that he had to be very careful and think ahead before doing any tiny little thing. It was very good political training for what lay ahead of him as President and is what enabled him to rule Kenya for 24 years always out-thinking and outmaneuvering the enemy and basically surviving unscathed every time.

Tom Mboya had to organize a Union under very difficult conditions in the mid 50s, but somehow managed to raise the membership considerably and re-organize things despite a hostile colonial government. That experience catapulted him to national union politics and prepared him for his later political career where he will forever be remembered as an organizer without equal who would fix problems long before anybody even realized that there was any problem.

So what has prepared President Kibaki for what may well be his Waterloo?

It is widely known that at the first sign of danger when he represented a Nairobi constituency in the 60s Kibaki fled to Othaya where he has been since. His seat there has never really been threatened and he has never done any wrong in the eyes of his constituents who see him as the village boy who made good and should never be troubled.

In fact it is now emerging that had Kibaki been an astute politician and campaigner, he would have won the presidency much earlier than he did. Instead he had to go through the embarrassing loss of face to his junior Kenneth Matiba in 2002. Interestingly President Moi’s handlers had judged him the main threat to Moi’s presidency and went to work with crude character-assassination tactics like full page ads in the daily press carrying past quotes like the (Mugumo tree and razor blade one) and the infamous Kanu briefs propaganda campaign. Alas it was soon realized that he was never going to be a threat politically.

The president had his best opportunity to win in 1997, but again despite massive support from central province, he was unable to put together a winning campaign. Many other politicians given half of a similar chance would have easily won the presidency. In 2002, his campaign was handled by others and he won. This time round those “others: are all in the challenger’s side fighting him.

In sharp contrast Raila Odinga is a seasoned campaigner with a track record. Years of fighting president Moi have hardened the man into a considerable political entity on his own. In other words there is plenty from Raila’s past to prepare him for this battle.

That’s life. Even I was prepared well for my work here in Kumekucha.

I got into trouble with the special branch political police in the 80s when I was a youngster fresh from high school all due to a mistaken identity mix up details of which I have never found out to date.

My dad could not stop talking about Tom Mboya and his political brilliance, so I was forced to read his biography and the history of Kenya in great detail not knowing of what use it would be to me. Finally I had the opportunity of “fighting invisible enemies in the shadows” after I launched a very successful alternative press publication. All this and many other experiences have prepared me very well for Kumekucha which I believe with all my heart is my destiny. I was born to help fight for a better Kenya through this humble blog.

So even as you consider my political analysis of today, what about you? What have your past experiences and tribulations prepared you for?

The 5 Most Popular Stories in Kumekucha Today

The 5 Most Popular Stories in Kumekucha Today.

1. What do strange secret meeting meetings between Moi, Kalonzo and Kibaki handlers mean?

2. Christoble Ouko (Kenya Betrayed).

3. Why Raila Odinga will lose the Langata seat

4. Why married women have affairs

5. Masai Sex Secrets nobody will ever tell you about

What Do The Strange Secret Meetings Between ODM Kenya, Moi And Kibaki Aides Mean?

Is Kalonzo Musyoka About To Cross Over To PNU With His Hoo Ndii Emm?

Please put on your thinking caps on for this one. The question is really simple. Why else would Kalonzo’s people, Moi and Kibaki’s people have a meeting?

To discuss the runaway economic growth (are you there Luke)? Or perhaps to chat about the changing weather patterns in the country?

As you can clearly see it is difficult to come to any other conclusion except that the meeting must have had something to do with the forthcoming general elections and most probably a possible merger between the groups represented. We can therefore speculate that what was being thrashed out was the thorny issue of joint nominations for parliamentary and civic candidates in the event of such a merger.

You may disagree with my conclusion and suggest that perhaps the trio were discussing a coalition merger after the general elections and you could well be right. Chances are high that whoever wins the presidency, a merger between Kanu, PNU and ODM Kenya will give that side the majority of MPs and control over what happens in the 10th parliament. Meaning that if Raila wins they can still send Kenyans back to the polls with a quick no confidence vote.

Control over parliament is something that is proving to be increasingly important as Kenya’s infant multi-party democracy starts to teeth. A mother will tell you that when a toddler goes through the issues and problems related to teething it can be quite a challenging time for mother and child.

More evidence that a merger of sorts is in the works are the chilling words of Baba Giddy recently. He said; “This ODM honeymoon is about to end.” Is this what he meant? Because the truth is that whenever the old man makes statements like that, experience has shown me to have sleepless nights. I remember only too well the similarly chilling remark he made shortly after the re-introduction of multi-party democracy in Kenya (something that he was forced to do under enormous pressure). The Mzee said “Hi multi party itawachoma!” (This multi party will burn you.) Shortly after that knowing remark, houses and human corpses were going up in flames in large numbers all over the Rift Valley and a new term—ethnic clashes—found itself into the daily news vocabulary in Kenya. It has not quite left to date but only appears around election time.

So I fely a chill go up my spine when the old man recently said in the Rift Valley; “Hii Honeymoon ya ODm inaisha hivi karibuni.” I did not feel this way because of being a die hard ODM supporter (because I AM NOT). But I felt the way I did because I feared the repercussions on the country as a result of the method that was going to be used to accomplish that prophecy.

But still there are those observers who would ask you the question; who is fooling who here? After all the links between Kanu, Ho Ndii Emm and PNU are tight and have always been. Consider the following;

Chairman of Hoo Ndii Emm, Daniel Maanzo’s school fees and expenses right through to university and law school is rumored to have been paid for personally by President Kibaki. Apparently he hails from a very poor family.

Mutula Kilonzo, another top official of Hoo Ndii Emm has remained the preferred personal lawyer of retired President Moi and has successfully handled some very sensitive issues for Baba Giddy especially after he left power. Baba Giddy also has some crazy secrets on Mr Kilonozo and thus the respect at this point has to be mutual. So if politically speaking push came to shove and Baba Giddy today asked Mutula to leave everything and cross over to Kanu, Mr Kilonzo’s only possible reply would be; “I’m on my way sir.”

What is fascinating is that opinion on the ground is divided over what voters in Ukambani would do if Kalonzo crossed over to PNU. Some say that he would lose a few thousand presidential votes. Other insist that most of Ukambani will vote against Raila, meaning that whatever side kalonzo goes to other than ODM, will not change his prospects of the 620,000 Kamba votes he is targeting.

But what the gifted dancers, alleged colour clashing dressers and natural sex athletes of Ukambani seem to be unaware of is the fact that Kalonzo’s independent candidature is helping Raila’s presidential bid a lot because otherwise Kalonzo’s votes would have ended up with President Kibaki and PNU.

Incidentally I am a Kamba myself and I can tell you that the Kamba no longer have problems with their colours—have you seen the impeccable way in which media personalities like KTN’s ravishingly beautiful Lilian Muli and Kiss FM’s desirable Caroline Mutoko dress? As my hilarious Tanzanian friend would have said “hawa watoto… sio mchezo.”

About the dancing bit, this is in every Mkamba’s blood. Sadly I am not at liberty to comment on the third allegation about sexual prowess, in the interests of my personal security (because Mrs Kumekucha reads this blog occasionally) and also in the interests of peace in this blog from such friends as Vikii.

P.S. My man on the ground in Machakos assures me that Kalonzo will go it alone until the elections and that the coalition merger will come in after the elections. He also claims that anybody who is against Raila currently is Baba Giddy’s bosom buddy and he will always have plenty to discuss with you at any time. So those guys who have always dreamt of meeting Moi personally, this is your chance. Kioko of BC are you there?

But I don’t agree with his verdict on this issue. I can’t help feeling that these guys are up to something and that whatever they are up to, we will see before the elections and it is also something that will deal a major blow to Raila Odinga’s ODM.

Christobel Ouko (Kenya Betrayed)

I was the first to recover. I tiptoed to the peephole and took a peek. I saw a middle-aged man. He was in a red T-shirt, a new blue pair of Jeans. He wore really dark shades. Who was he?

Unsure that his mission was, I asked, “Who are you? Are you sure, you are at the right address?”

The man said, “Mrs. Marianne Briner-Mattern? I am from a special courier service - I have a message for you.”

“From where?”

“Please open the door.”

Philipp shook his head vigorously, “Don’t!”

Of course, I was not going to open, but I had to find a way to get to know what this message was.

“Do you want your message or not?” the man pressed.

I finally decided to open the door.

“Look I have been sent to deliver this,” the man said and handed me an envelope.
“Sent by whom?” I asked.

But he did not reply. He just handed me the envelope, then turned and left.

Sandra and Philipp watched the closed-circuit TV as the man left. They saw him walk away. Within seconds he was gone.

*****************************************

It was 11:30 a.m. when Biwott arrived in Kabarnet Gardens. This morning the former Head of State had no visitors. In fact, once news of Marianne’s Summon had broken, he had cleared his desk. He was not going to deal with any other issue but this.
The minute Biwott’s driver brought the Mercedes Benz 500 S to a dist-trailing halt in front of Moi’s sprawling country home, he immediately opened the door and stepped out instructing his security details to stay behind. They were former Mossad officers from Israel whom he had hired since he did not trust Africans with his security.

Biwott hurried to the front door and knocked.

Moi, eager to hear what his devious cousin wanted to discuss, opened himself. He quickly led him through the hallway and brought him directly to his study.

Unlike his living room, this study looked rather serious. The desk in here was curved out of mahogany. The black swivel chair was leather. The wall had only to pictures - one of his grandchildren - and the other showing him inspecting a Guard of Honor during a State Visit to London. Those were the only pictures that still meant something to him.

He invited Biwott to sit down, then went straight to the heart of the matter, “What do you want us to do? What can we do?”

Biwott cleared his throat. He felt sad that it took the threat of Marianne’s return to Kenya to get them together again. He remembered the days he used to visit this man at the State House. How they used to strategize together. Run the country together.

He recalled the night he had pleaded with Moi not to give up the Presidency in spite of the constitution requirements. To fight it out, if necessary. “We won’t be able to protect our wealth or the agenda of this nation,” he had warned.

But Moi had only replied, “Don’t worry, I have settled this. If we pass the power to Uhuru, we will be fine.”

But things had turned out different. There was somebody else at State House now. And looking at Moi, Biwott knew just how right he had been. He should have listened to him and followed his advise like so many times before.

“I asked what you want us to do,” Moi repeated.

Biwott leaned forward. He clasped his hands across the desk. Finally, he said, “I have been thinking about Marianne ….. about her coming.”

Cough, “Okay?”

“I have thought of a way to keep her from saying anything damaging.”

Moi held his chin, “Do you really think she will say anything ….. crazy?”

Biwott found his eyes and held, “I am certain.”

He knew what he was talking about. It had been him who had derailed all her efforts not only for the Molasses Plant’s revival, but also for any other project she got involved with.

It had been him who had ensured that Marianne’s messages and phone calls never reached Moi.

And finally it was him who had clandestinely caused the rift between Moi and her, details of which he had never told to anybody, not even to his wife.

What if Moi found out now? If Marianne spoke also about that? This was actually the main reason for him to be worried.

Moi sat back, “So ….. what are your plans?”

“Obviously, we cannot keep her from coming. It is too late for that. And we cannot keep her from talking wither. It is too late for that, too.”

“Which options does that leave us?”

Biwott loosened his tie, “We can put pressure on some Committee members. We can identify two or three of them and have them work for us.”

“How are we going to do that?”

“If you authorize me, if you tell me to set it up, I can go back to Nairobi and talk to the guys we can trust.”

“Like who?”
“The members of our Community.”

Moi smiled. Right there, he remembered why Nick had always been his eyes and ears. Why he was his Mr. Fix-it.

Impressed, he extended his hand across the table and shook Biwott’s. He then said, “You have my blessings. But do it right.”

Bullshit !

As Biwott made his way back to Nairobi, he remembered a crazy guy he used to work with in the past. The man was called Bozo.

Bozo was the most dangerous, vilest creature in all Kenya.

His teeth were brown, a result of years of living off the slopes of Mr. Kenya. He wore frazzled dreadlocks. His clothing consisted of sagging Baxter Jeans and a T-shirt that was once white.

Where has the rascal been during the last years? Biwott wondered.
He fished his cell phone from the pocket, flipped it, then dialed Bozo’s old number.

Hope he didn’t change it.

He hadn’t. He answered immediately. “Hello?”

Biwott laughed, “Bozo?”

Bozo was in his maskan when he answered the call. He had not spoken with Biwott in years. In fact, once Biwott and his team had fallen out of power, relations between him and his former bad boy had suddenly ended. Biwott had ceased calling him.

Till today.

“It has to be big,” Bozo blurted.

Biwott said, “Look, man, I know I have not talked to you in years,” He laughed cynically. “But I hope you understand why I had to be cautious.”

“What do you want?” Bozo asked.

“I want you to come to my office.”

“When?”

“This afternoon.”

“It’s that urgent?”

“I’ll expecting you at four o’clock sharp.” Click…

***

Back in Kabarnet Gardens, the former Head of State dialed his personal attorney’s number. There was an immediate reply, “Hello?”

Cough, “Mutula, we need to talk.”

“Of course, Your Excellency.”

“When are you available?”

“Could be there this afternoon. I come by private plane.”

“Then let me know the exact time. My driver will pick you up.”

“All right.” Click ….

********************************************

“You can’t open that envelop,” Philipp said, hurrying to grab the sugar-paper envelop from me. “You don’t know what could be in it.”

“Let’s open it outside,” I suggested.

We went on the terrace. Once there, I handed the envelope to Philipp, “Open it!”

He took it and looked at it curiously turning it upside down ….. then sideways.

Unable to make out what was in it, he held it away from him, then ripped it open.

There was just a small piece of paper in it.

It only contained a few machine-typed words.

It said, Don’t come to Nairobi !

Sandra took the paper from Philipp. Was there anymore evidence her mother needed to realize how dangerous going to Nairobi was?

Instead of talking, she took a bite …. followed it with a sip of juice.

Philipp looked at Sandra and realized at once how upset she was. He took her hand and gave it a gentle rub. “What’s up, Malaika?”

She looked uneasy, “Don’t try to cheer me up.”

I looked at them with sincere admiration. I thought how lucky my daughter was to have a man like Philipp in her life.

But concerned about my daughter’s worries, I said, “Let me tell you what - I will make special security arrangements before I go.”

Sandra cast a sideway glance, “You promise?”

I nodded, “When I said I was not scared and worried about my safety in Nairobi, I had been lying.”

“Then why are you going at all?” Philipp asked.

For a man who regarded the whole African continent as a wasteland full of corruption, disease and hunger, he just could not understand why his mother-in-law had such a loyalty to Kenya.

What good did she expect to come out of that God-forsaken-continent?

So he smiled at me saying, “Let’s go to Hawaii …… the Bahamas ….. I don’t even mind to go as far as Bali - if I can keep you from going to Nairobi.”

I winked, “My mind is made up, Philipp.”

“So you have decided to go?” Sandra asked.

I nodded.

“But you will keep your promise to make sure that you are safe?”

“I promise.”

Two hours later, Sandra and Philipp hit the road to the Malaga Airport.

They had finally accepted what Biwott and some of the Kenyan politicians Marianne had done battles with in the past had always known.

She was a fighter!

***

Biwott went straight to the Parliament Buildings. He had just come back from Kabarnet Gardens armed with express authority from Moi to target some Committee members who could be ‘peeled off’.

He was ready.

As soon as the Committee broke off for lunch, he went straight to two of them. They were from his Community. He asked them to come for lunch with him.

They did.

At the Intercontinental.

Biwott led them to the roof-top restaurant. He ushered them to a corner that was unofficially always reserved for him. The waiters in here were always careful not to let anybody occupy this space during lunch hour. There was also a separate table for Nick’s security details from where they could watch over him.

“Now, gentlemen,” he said, dropping into his seat, “I have a message from Mzee.”
They nodded.

“He has asked me to tell you to look after his interests.”

One of them asked, “Let’s see, it has been weeks since this Committee began its deliberations. Why should Mzee suddenly feel compelled to have his interests watched? And why send you?”

Biwott ignored the last question. To the first he said, “There are a couple of hostile witnesses slated to appear later this week …..”

“You mean Mrs. Marianne Briner-Mattern?” one asked.

Biwott nodded, “Yes – and Christabel Ouko.”

“So what do you want us specifically to do?”

He cleared his throat. “The most dangerous of the two women is Marianne. We have tried to stop her from coming ….. it failed. We have tried to limit the scope of her testimony ….. that failed too. So now we have only one more option.”

“What’s that?”

“You guys will have to act - together with Mutula - as Moi’s protectors. You will also have to look out for me. Whenever anything comes up that could embarrass Mzee …. or me …. stop it cold on its tracks. Don’t let Marianne say anything outside of what came already out at the Gicheru Inquiry of the Troon mess. That’s your assignment.”

One of the Committee members, a normally quiet man on a wheelchair, fidgeted. He hated that it was Nick delivering this message. Why had Moi chosen to work with this rascal again?

Only three months ago, he remembered campaigning against Biwott when the position of chairman of KANU was up for grabs. He had campaigned for Biwott’s opponent. Voted for Biwott’s opponent. And essentially written Biwott’s political obituary. Why was Moi resurrecting this monster?

Unable to keep his cool, he said, “Mzee should have picked a better messenger.”

Biwott’s eyes hardened, “Meaning?”

“Go to hell,” the reply was, “Kenya has had enough of you. If you killed Dr. Ouko, you should own up ….. ask the Nation to forgive you.”

Biwott could not believe this fool, “Are you ….. crazy?”

“You are carzy,” the man shot back. “You are responsible for all the horrible things that have happened in this country for more than two decades. You messed up things for Moi and for our party.•

He then slapped a stern look at Nick, “Frankly, Nicholas Biwott, I don’t understand why Mzee sent you to us. I, for one, will not do your bidding. I will watch for Mzee ….. as for you, you can just catch a ride to hell.”

Biwott laughed, “I don’t care what you think. Just make sure you don’t let anything come out of that Committee that Mzee won’t like. In case you have forgotten, Mzee and I still call the shots in the Rift Valley. We can make your life a nightmare.”

The water came around and asked what they would like to eat.

They shook their heads. No thanks!

Biwott turned right back to them. He said, “Like I said, don’t let Marianne say a thing. As for Christabel - judging by how reluctant she has been to appear before the Committee – I think we have nothing to worry about…… but just in case she gets tempted, do your part.”

That did it. Biwott stood up and left.

They were all looking at each other: it was so bizarre ……

Top 5 Most popular stories in Kumekucha today

Top 5 Most popular stories in Kumekucha today


1. Why Raila Odinga Will Lose The Langata Parliamentary Seat

2. Too dangerous to go to Nairobi (Kenya Betrayed)

3. Love made in the slums of Kenya

4. Biwott's Australia wife (Kenya Betrayed)

5. Hosea Kiplagat: Defection or Deflection