Cosmopolitan Nairobi, Kenya’s administrative and commercial capital, remains one of the most multi-racial and multi-cultural cities in Africa. Facts on the ground, particularly in the political arena, reveal a scary prospect.
For instance, going by the published nominations line-up of parliamentary and civic aspirants in Nairobi, it seems the city remains the exclusive domain of a select group of leaders. It is a pity because the NARC wave of 2002 was wrongly presumed to have slayed Kenya’s infamous ethnicity dragon.
A casual look at the line-ups of the leading political parties in this year’s general election who have already completed their nominations leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those who have been fighting for equality and balance in the Kenyan society beginning with Nairobi.
PNU Nairobi Parliamentary Aspirants
Dick Wathika - Makadara - (Kikuyu)
Simon Mbugua – Kamukunji - (Kikuyu)
Beth Mugo – Dagoretti - (Kikuyu)
Maina Kamanda – Starehe - (Kikuyu)
Lee Kamau – Kasarani - (Kikuyu)
Betty Njeri Tett – Westlands - (Kikuyu)
John Ndirangu - Embakassi - (Kikuyu)
Stanley Livondo – Langata - (Luhya?)
It does not end there. In addition to the above, other PNU ‘affiliate’ parties, especially the Democratic Party (DP) whose Chairman is Mwai Kibaki, is fielding candidates in all Nairobi constituencies. A classic fall-back plan if you ask me, but what is the common thread?
DP Nairobi Parliamentary Aspirants
Paul Mugeke - Makadara - (Kikuyu)
Duncan Mwangi – Kamukunji - (Kikuyu)
Francis Ngokonyo – Dagoretti - (Kikuyu)
Jimna Mbaru – Starehe - (Kikuyu)
Adolf Muchiri – Kasarani - (Kikuyu)
Rebecca Mwicigi – Westlands - (Kikuyu)
Ferdinand Waititu - Embakasi - (Kikuyu)
Langata – No DP candidate but two candidates Ndura Waruinge (Kikuyu) on UDP and Nduta Mageri (Kikuyu) on KENDA are both supporting PNU and President Kibaki’s second term.
All angles, it seems, are well covered by President Kibaki’s tribal cronies.
In contrast, the ODM line-up is a refreshing mix of age, experience, gender, culture and religion.
ODM Nairobi Parliamentary Aspirants
Reuben Ndolo - Makadara - (Luo)
Fred Gumo - Westlands - (Luhya)
John Kiarie - Dagoretti - (Kikuyu)
Raila Odinga - Langata - (Luo)
Margaret Wanjiru - Starehe - (Kikuyu)
Mugabe Were - Embakasi -(Luhya)
Elizabeth Ogolla - Kasarani - (Luo)
Yusuf Ibrahim - Kamukunji - (Somali)
My opinion is that the ruling party and its affiliate parties- in this case the PNU, DP and others - are not helping matters here. Political parties must put in place systems that will ensure one group does not dominate minorities in terms of gender and other social backgrounds.
- Is it a mere democratic coincidence that PNU boast of only one out of eight non-GEMA candidate in Nairobi? Or to ask in a different way, is Stanley Livondo keeping the right political company or is he just a pawn in a well rehearsed game?
- Is it another act-of-god that all of DP’s candidates in the city share a common heritage?
- Why is there a large pool of semi illiterate ex-civic leaders running on PNU ticket bearing in mind that City Hall is a well known den of corruption and nepotism?
Ladies and gentlemen, this is only but a sober assessment of the parliamentary race in the capital city. The list of civic seat aspirants makes worse reading due to the false sense of dominance by some political parties and I shall not dare publish it here.
Kikuyu topics receive most hits and replies, don't they Chris? Genius! Those guys you mentioned didn't nominate themselves unlike ODM's list which was massively doctored. Rtd Justice Kwach has since refused to resign over that fiasco and has gone A.W.O.L into hiding. Only when a Luo will be elected in Central and a Kikuyu in Nyanza etc- shall we assume we have deep democracy in our beautiful country. We hope to get there some day but for now, anything goes. As a PNU insider, I can promise you one thing. We shall stay cool, calm, collected and elected. Kibaki, WHO IS A STAUNCH CHRISTIAN shall be sworn in AGAIN before january 2008 at 5.00AM amid tight but polite security. Check your mail box for the invitation cards!
ReplyDeleteHuman beings are capable of seeing very many things in one act. That is the beaty in perception. No wonder both pairs of our eyes connect us to the outside world but never see each other.
ReplyDeletePhil you observation may not be faulted conditionalon your original premise. If it is murk racking then I fear you lose the plot but otherwise it stands.
Come to think of it? Is NBO really cosmopolitan in the right sense of the word ama just because it is the commercial/administrative hub. Extending that argument may persuade you to revise some of your sweeping comments. But I stand to be corrected. You know you are a stride a live wire and let's hope and pray that nobody pushes you to connect the mains.
Come now Bw. Phil-there is absolutely no problem at all whatsoever for parliamentary and civic candidates representing Nairobi(indeed it is a cosmopolitan city) to all share the same common ethnic profile-surely this does not mean(as one might be inclined to mind-read from what you say)that they won't do a good job as compared to if they all came from different ethnic backgrounds
ReplyDeletePhil, you observations are right but your explanation is wrong. All the same, and at the risk of being branded tribal, ODM due to teh above sceario could come out stronger in Nairobi than any other party. All those tribesmen of mine (kikuyus) and others you did not mention,who are in the so called small parties will to a larger extent be voted by their kith and kin from a single tribal block. To borrow from Kalonzo, they will just squeeze themselves through. The kikuyus will share the votes among themselves that may not be enough to guarantee them a sit in the 10th parliament. Am almost vouching that a non kikuyu may win in Makadara and Kasarani than anywhere else in Nairobi. This is essentially because Ndolo and Omondi just like former MPs have for the last 5 years transffered and registered voters in their respective constituencies from other constituencies way before teh elections were called.
ReplyDeletePhil your observation are creating alot of nightmare to PNU - not because they have nominated kikuyus but rather becuase they are just too many. Their considered opinion was to atleast have one of their own, and ensure the other parties nominate persons whodo not originate from central kenya.
Kila la heri
The first repondant bragged that Kibaki is a staunch Christian, hehe. Kenyans would like to ask: if Kibaki is a “good” Christian, are the Mamlukis, Anglo-fleecing, corruptions, tribalism, nepotism, extra-judicial killings, segregation, inequality, tribal hate, exclusion, breach of trust, favouritism Christian acts? Let me tell you boy, the poor woman who is being raped by gangsters in Mt.Elgon due to a well choreographed insecurity or Nyeri by Mungiki, the poor man in Mandera who has nothing to eat, or the impoverished Coast-erner, the destitute in Funyula or Namanga doesn’t give damn to the purported “religiosity” of any leader. Their misery is caused by the “good” Christians who rule them today. You are very naive. And why did he sign an MoU with Muslims in 2002 and kept quiet? No wonder treachery and deceit are his tools. PANUA is a tribal den and Nairobians will crush PANUA, mark my words. Nyanza has a Somali mayor, the Migori Mayor, Nyanza has a Muslim MP, the former Kisumu City Mayor and now the ODM nominee. Nyanza has proved itself despite being a tribal province, I.e dominated by a single community. (Luo Nyanza). Even PANUA can't try that in comsopolitan Nairobi. As Kikuyus fight and divide the votes between themselves, ODM nominees will sweep the votes of the rest as a block.
ReplyDeleteNoow what should I say about this, Can I mind read?
ReplyDeleteOf all the ODM candidates in Nairobi, it was only Mugabe Were, Margaret Wanjiru,Elizabeth Ogolla and John Kiarie who were 'elected' by the people. All other four candidates are products of official rigging, runaway violence and outright dictatorial imposition. I am challenging the writer of this post to tell me who elected Gumo, Odinga and Ndolo. Please do.
In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having 210 kikuyu members of parliament AS LONG AS they are elected by the people. It should really concern anybody who cares about democracy when warlords literally fight their opponents out of the race and have that legitimised by an electoral board headed by someone whose credibility is at par with Nicholas Biwott's. It should concern you when a party nullifies the victory of a democratically nominated Dan Shikanda just because he is not Luo. It should concern you even more, assuming you are a democrat, when a party adopts an official line that no other member of that party should seek to represent Lang'ata constituency in parliament. That is outright deceit, conmanship and colonization, Mbita style.
Which Luo,Somali and Luhya (Who are the minorities in Nairobi!!!) expressed interest in a PNU ticket, went through the primaries emerging victorious and was denied the ticket? Can those on the other side of town dare challenge their opponents with that same question?
Life Lesson:"The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence but by soft landing". These are the words of the Roman philosipher, Lucretins. I dedicate them to Fred Omullo Gumo.
Surprise, surprise-Nairobi is a geographic and demographic extension of Central Kenya!
ReplyDeleteThe day we have majority MPs in Kisumu City being Kikuyu, that day dear Philemon Othieno Wesonga/ Phillip Doila, you can tell me something about 'balancing' Nairoi tribally. Otherwise we just have to let the voters decide. And embrace democracy(aka majority rule).
May i be allowed to address the first anonymous....
ReplyDeleteyour observation is wrong.. Just check on all the posts here...
Why on earth would an elected president be sworn in under 'tight but polite security" and at all 5.00am?! As you say you. Unless you are telling us somthing we are all suspecting!
Did anyone notice the question mark after Livondo's name in the PNU list? Lol, Phil good one.
ReplyDeleteRabet.
Hey Phil,
ReplyDeleteYou forgot ViKii's Ooh ndi hem Kenya.
Pls provide the list. I bet it all has Kambas like Vikii. No wonder he is saying all 210 constituencies can have Kikuyus for all he cares.
Rabet.
Vikii, in light of the discordant anger and vitriol spewing from your hot tempered but truly smooth and unblemished head, I hereby humbly offer my sincere apologies for describing the same as cut, bumpy and pot-holed. That said, there must be some other unexplained (and possibly exotic) cranial medical matter that you must address rather urgently.
ReplyDeleteMoving on. Given the cosmopolitan electorate, aspirants in Nairobi are well aware that village parties like DP are simply waiting rooms to political hell. As for conjured-up-in-times-of-distress PNU, given some time and on condition they remain intact, they can develop into a premier national party�.somewhat like ODM. As far as the faces on tickets, I'm of the opinion that the person with the most votes must win, even if they are all Luos. In this, I agree with the aforementioned, man of no dents.
That said, things like TIP, ODM-K, DP, FORD-K, KADDU and all other sub-location groupings must be buried on the 28th of this month. The best way forward is to have two strong parties. Only then will we see the true colors of all Kenyans on cosmopolitan party tickets�.as exemplified by ODM. The way I see it, there's really no point in having 33 candidates on one constituency ballot.
Get out of the lake brother, we got lots of fresh air at the shores.
ReplyDeletePhil, has it gone that bad or it is something to do with the loser effect. Chipapa, that means the Shark is on its way brother. You mean that it has taken you all this long to notice that?
ReplyDeletePhil, before Oginga Odinga fought for the Second Liberation, there was a PC called Fred Waiganjo. Waiganjo wa Mtaa, could make sure that the Kikuyu were better off than many other people in this city. He even made sure that his Hamza neighbour Daniel Kongo, now Habib Omar (ODM loser was chairman of the City Commission.
During Waiganjo’s time, the only elective post (remember it was Kanu days) that did not go to the Kikuyu was Makadara (Luhya domination) and sometimes Westlands (with Kivuitu as one of the former MPs).
Now, about Kikuyu, what is wrong with the Luo migrating to Kericho and winning all the seats there?, What is wrong with the Kalenjins/Maragolis from Gambogi or Kiboswa or Kapsengere regions of Western Kenya moving to Kisumu and winning all the seats there.? Nothing so far!
Then, answer this, why should the Manyalas, travel all the way to Mombasa to carry sacks at the port and there are people from the region. That is Kenya and they are allowed to work, invest, live and occupy any part of Kenya. You might argue, you have done it before that Kikuyus are buying shares during the IPOS (which Raila Odinga is going to review). But what is wrong with that.
They might look avaricious from the outside, but they are just hardworking Phil. They do less talk and work hard, they wake up in the morning, take a number 100 from Kiambu to the Wakulima Market, while your ilk want for a ‘decent job’. Phil get real.
What is wrong with settling in Nairobi? Don’t we have Luos fishing in Lake Naivasha? Is that part of Nyanza? We have Luos in kazi za mjengo in Athi River, Ngong and Kiserian/Rongai area are they in Kisumu. If they cannot gang up their resources to elect a Luo MP/Councillor there, then pole sana!
Phil in Taveta, there is such a big Luo community working in the Makonge plantations, just like the ones in Kilimambogo and Juja areas, are they in an off-shore city of Kisumu? Hapana. Please Phil, hii ni siasa. Just one day of voting. You are getting worked up over nothing.
The story of Nairobi being an extension of Central Province, if not to provoke emotions was irrational from you and I will have a second thought after this post. Kikuyus, have a right, like the El Molo, to come to Nairobi in the thousands, just like the Luo have a right to invade Turkana in their thousands.
Kwa hayo macahache, Kazi iendelee…iendelee…
Vikii, surely, what should one say about such a blatant piece of emotiove communication.
ReplyDeletePhil, I told you one day, you and me are MTAA guys, born in Nairobi.
Phil we dont speak tribe. Phil, I diod not know my tribe until I was in Standard Four when a teacher told me where my community lives in Kenya.
Phil, hapana, wacha hizo ukabila za pesa ndogo.
No. I said I am thinking about this answer, Phil.....
Can you say that? Dont we have an entirely Luo electorate in Kibera, electing only Luo councillors and electing a Luo MP. Phil, ninni mbaya na wewe leo?
Phil, should somebody not be nominated to make the party look democratic? No Phil. I am pissed off!
Vikii, Ziiiiing...as in miss.
ReplyDeleteI am truly amazed that people here can endorse the PNU aspirants list for Nairobi.
ReplyDeleteI will tell them one thing. Dominance of political power in an area where all communities of Kenya have settled is recipe for disaster. To suggest that it will not be a problem if all 210 MPs were to originate from one community is rather naïve. That would definitely be Armageddon.
Anonymous 1 – this post is not about receiving hits. Its about exposing the dishonesty of the so called government of national unity that is trying very hard to masqarade as the face of Kenya yet it is a well known fact that only one community is represented to the core. The rest of them, yes those fringe parties, are individuals also pretending to represent the interest of their communities, in the interest of their (own personal) development. A Christian leader who continues to watch when his own government is perpetrating genocide in Molo, Kuresoi and Mt. Elgon against its own people? Not to mention the massacre of more than 8000 young men and women whose bodies were discovered dumped in morgues and forests around the country? Give me a break! I shall e-mail the official documents about these atrocities that including very gory images that I have in my possession– and let him publish them for you guys – if Chris has the balls. We are tired of being told that Kibaki is a man of peace. We haven’t forgotten Moi used to go to church each Sunday, right? But how many political murders, tribal clashes, mega scandals and detention without trial were committed in his time?
Vikii, there is no way a party secretariat will give a nomination certificate to a candidate whom we all know has been planted to wreak havoc from within. I am not mentioning names but I can tell you that up to 50% of ODM aspirants had been financed to specifically frustrate the ODM primaries and in the event they win the ticket, withdraw their candidature after ECK deadline so as to give the next alternative party a highway to parliament.
Just because you resent anything to do with Raila/ODM should make you Vikii resent the truth. Can you tell us, what is the percentage of Kamba aspirants in ODM-K, Luo aspirants in ODM and Kikuyu aspirants in PNU and DP so we can see which party is on a tribal nomination certificate issuing spree? Arent most of those in ODM-K rejects – (read Moi spies) from ODM?
Rabet, the (?) after Livondo’s name is intentional. This guy it seems, does not even know himself. I have a copy f his ID, issued in Kibera in September 2007 and I can assure you it is a not so clver piece of forgery. It is amazing that even Kivuitu fears to disqualify Livondo and have him arrested because it is a serious offence to forge a national ID. It is even more serious to impersonate another individual with the intention for running for a public office. According information reaching me, the ECK itself has established beyod reasonable doubt that ID No. 10694331 presented by Livondo during nominations actually belongs to a female voter Ms. Shikuku Naliaka Rhoda who is a registered voter at Mavusi Primary School in Malava constituency, Western Province. Her voter card number is 155/036/05608382269 (Please check the voter card details from the ECK yourself). Infact, it is now becoming clearer that Livondo is not registered as a voter anywhere in the republic of Kenya. Where is Mwalimu Taabu to triple check this?) In the unlikely event that Livondo emerges the winner n Langata, how will the returning officer declare him a awinner yet it is public knowledge he is operating with fraudulent documents? Isnt that a recipe for disaster?
Anonymous three the list of ODM-K aspirants was intentionally omitted because this party is another of Moi’s projects and believe you me, it will not make any significant effect in the forth coming general elections. Infact; December 12 is the D-Day. Let us wait and see what secret weapon it is Kalonzo has all along been ranting about. For you benefit the ODM-K list for Nairobi is as follows:
(You will be disappointed – just like I was when I read the PNU and DP lists).
Kamukunji – James Mutuku (Kamba)
Langata – Stella M. Mbai (Kamba)
Kasarani – Mary Ndinda (Kamba)
Makadara – Joshua Kitivi (Kamba)
Embakasi – No candidate
Starehe – No candidate
Dagoretti – No candidate
Westlands – Jonathan Mueke (Kamba) and Chris’ friend who refused to respond to valid questions from Westlands residents right here in Kumekucha.
As you can see, ODM-K’s aspirant list is no better than that of PNU and DP. It is worse.
Thanks for your lengthy rant Derek. How come, Derek, you chose to ignore the commentator trying very hard to bring you attention to the fact that Migori Town has had a Mayor from Somali (NEP) as well as Kisumu (Shakeel Shabir) who incidentally beat Kisumu East MP Gor Sunguhu for the ODM ticket? Don’t you think this ian achievement which puts Nairobi and other major urban centres to shame?
I am no tribalist but I am no fool neither. It is not practical, with our current constitution, for me to accept the list from PNU, DP and ODM-K. Each and every community in Kenya yearns for political power. If parties continue issuing nomination certificates on the basis of whether one comes from the same community with the party leader or presidential candidate, it will eventually bring resentment and result in conflict if it allowed to continue. Perhaps it would be better if parties pretending to be national parties (because they have a SG from coast or Nyanza) wound up. As it is, bigger tribes will continue to dominate smaller tribes and hence deny other communities access to political power. And this political ppower goes hand in hand with economic power, access to opportunities, access to justice, access to education and access to health. And the government’s own published economic indicators prove me right on this. Lets not argue about it.
I Wonder when PNU nominations for Starehe, Makadara, Langata were held. Then speak of democracy..My foot. PNU elections for Kasarani were won by the former MP Waihenya Ndirangu but we have one Lee somebody for PNU..it is only undemocratic if ODM does that. The last thing i heard in Embaksi is a Muthama fellow crying foul in ODM K nominations. Vicki maybe Muthama might just be a luo reincarnate na kazi iendelee
ReplyDelete