As Kenya continues to burn, Government Spokesman, Dr. Alfred Mutua continues to issue partisan, ill-informed and outrageous statements. Luckily for him, State broadcasters KBC and Citizen media are all ears. I am not!
Yesterday, Dr. Mutua accused ODM's Raila Odinga of 'ethnic cleansing'. Many Kenyans may not have voted for Raila but they consider him one of the leading patriots from this part of the world. Before that, Dr. Mutua was quoted as saying President Kibaki's supporters have not been 'reported anywhere' engaging in acts of violence or looting. Clearly, the government spokesman has already taken sides as has the Police Commissioner.
It would be useful for Dr. Mutua to remember he is not spokesman for PNU but a senior public servant employed to serve all Kenyans without any favour.
This blogger is close to some of Dr. Mutua's juniors whom he reportedly told to pack and look for alternative employment two weeks before the elections. This means he knew in advance that (a) President Kibaki would not be re-elected, and (b) he would be sacked by the new government that would take over.
Instead of explaining how the government is consoling and sheltering victims of violence spread all over the country, Dr. Mutua has already passed judgement on the opposition in total disregard to the civil servants code of conduct. The entire humanitarian crisis was first triggered by stolen elections, then accelerated by police violence on unarmed civilians and has now been turned into a national disaster of untold proportions by a 'government' that wants to force itself on the electorate!
Dr. Mutua's other utterances, in an attempt to justify unconstitutional actions by 'government', are completely uncalled for and only add fuel to an already volatile situation. For example, when asked why the opposition's rallies are being banned, he retorted that until the situation in the country 'normalises', all political assemblies are outlawed. What nonsense! Kenya is an independent, multi-party democracy, if I choose to assemble Kumekucha Party members at Uhuru Park, so long as I notify police as required by law, the meeting cannot be outlawed from some dingy red-carpet office in KICC! In trying to justify another massive cock-up, Dr. Mutua says that live media coverage ban was meant to prevent spreading public animosity. In reality, the media ban is meant to deny ODM a means of communicating with their supporters and is the reason why rumours and propaganda have persisted and ultimately resulted in needless violence and loss of life.
Right from the start of the elections to this day, Dr. Mutua's official website has been posting electoral results that totally contradict those purportedly released by the ECK, which we all know are fraudulent. My humble submission is that Dr. Mutua has got no business commenting on political matters and he should instead channel his energies towards helping those displaced unfortunate Kenyans whose choice of Government has been brutally taken away from them.
The Red Cross and some of the private sector like Nakumatt and Kiss100 FM have already started mobilising humanitarian help to be ferried to displaced Kenyans in the countryside and slum areas. Meanwhile, the government needs to be seen to be sheltering its disenfranchised citizens apart from sending trigger-happy security forces to tear-gas and batter hapless villagers.
If any inferences can be made of the actions of Kibaki and his clique this past week (if not throughout his previous 5-year term) is that we have been having inept and ill-equipped people running our country and that realization is more than disturbing.
ReplyDeleteThese same people that will resort to crude measures to blatantly rig an election in the information age where "human rights vigilantes" and footpath civil rights activists have been exponentiated by the easy acess of information that the internet affords us. And even after a shameful rigging of an election in broad daylight they go ahead and top it up with a media ban thus blanketting kenyans in complete darkness not knowing wither or tither.
These are the same folk that we have trusted with our coffers and decisions that affect our daily bread. I do not even want to imagine the mess that is waiting for our liberators to sort, the mess created by these simpletons in a period of 5 years. Indeed 5 days has brought Kenya to its knees. The closet must contain unbearable skeletons, the anglo leasings et. al.
I want Kenyans to think seriously for a moment, do you want these guys to remain there for 5 years? That will be putting a nail on the coffin of our dead democracy. We have a chance to revive what is left of it. The blood of our brothers and sisters calls for a finishing of this. Let us not give up until Kibaki and his goons are safe in Kingongo prison serving life sentences for crimes against humanity!
Mutua should be making conciliatory statements. His defensiveness only serves to embolden the view that PNU is in State House illegitimately. This is not the time for polemics.
ReplyDeleteMutua is history as is the rest of the clowns.
ReplyDeleteAfter Kivuitu' admission, and all the pressure, its just a matter of time before the whole house of cards come down.
BUT PLEASE WE NEED TO APPEAL TO ALL KENYANS TO DESIST FROM HURTING OTHER KENYANS, and PLEASE SHELTER OTHER KENYANS FROM VIOLENCE, Lets be different from them Thugs.
Mutua is gay , that is why he has no independent mind only repeating everything he is told to say by his boyfriend michuki, i would rather be a carpenter and ride on a bycle than be a mutua n ride in a benz.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many of you posting inciting comments from abroad, I'm stuck here in Nairobi as I type this.
ReplyDeleteThe city is packed with security agents on patrol. Many are invisible since they are in unmarked cars and plain clothes. It's very safe in Nairobi at the moment.
Matatus are on duty blaring their loud music. The streets are not normal but 50% packed. Half the shops and offices remain closed. The general feeling is that the city will remain calm.
Most of the primitive killings and rapes going on really have nothing to do with liberating the country since they are being meted on just mostly poor PNU supporters/Kikuyus who are minorities in those regions like Kisumu and Eldoret.
That's why the "liberation" cause is already lost since it has already taken an ethnic angle. It's just the poor who are busy killing each other in major slums while their leaders and their families wine and dine in posh hotels.
Kenyans have been on the biggest holiday ever, since 24th Dec up to 1st of Jan so most people are broke and just want to go back to work despite the tense atmosphere.
There are other ways of dealing with current crisis except beheadings. Koigi wa Wamwere has always told Kenyans to look around them, there's turmoil everywhere. So he always reminds Kenyans that "We have to be careful, we have not bribed God to spare us and we are not special that genocide cannot occur here!"
Let's hope that a solution is found quickly that will be a win-win situation for those concerned.
If the floodgates of hate and killings are not contained now, they will become too strongs to be stopped even later by our politicians and will also sweep them away with the rest of us.
"This is the turning point. We must not miss it."
Nation Dec 31 2007 voter turnout results released by ECK:
ReplyDeleteEmgwen 103%
Eldoret North 116%
Sigor 115%
Narok South 120%
Bondo 102%
Kisumu Rural 102%
WAKE UP they ALL have dirty hands.
IF ONLY THE ELECTIONS WERE NOT RIGGED, WE COULD BE LIVING AS ONE FAMILY! IF ONLY KIBAKI CAN GIVE BACK TO THE KENYAN PEOPLE WHAT HE ROBBED THEM, THE CALM WILL SETTLE. SO LETS PRAY KIBAKI TO RETURN TO THE KENYAN PEOPLE'S WHAT HE ROBBED THEM. NOW! AND KENYA WILL BE BACK TO ATLEAST NORMAL RUNNING. AS IN MANY PLACES IN KENYA I HAVE SEEN ON NEWS "NO RAILA, NO PEACE" ITS NOT RAILA FUELING THIS, ITS THE KENYAN PEOPLE ANGRY!!! THEY HAVE BEEN ROBBED AND THEY WANT IT BACK!
ReplyDeleteIMAGINE KIBAKI HELD HIGH A BIBLE WHILE HE WAS BEING SWORE IN? OR IS IT JUST A GESTURE?
@i love kenya, how can you claim to speak for the Kenyan people when Raila did not manage to get over fifty percent of the vote? Applying the same standard with which you exonerate Raila from ethnic cleansing, Kibaki should not be expected to accept demands such as yours so that more innocent Kenyans can be killed under the guise of an elected party that engaged in heavy rigging in its pro-ODM constituencies.
ReplyDeleteAs sad as it is, Kenya's skeletons had to be exposed before it could move forward. Kenya will never be the same, but IMO this crisis was inevitable. Not to get narrow-minded, but Central has always been insecure about leadership from Nyanza. Let's hope that some sort of compromise is reached quickly.
ReplyDeleteI think that one thing that will save Kenya is honesty. I do not condone any violence on anyone,Kyuk or otherwise, but some only lament when their tribe is targetted. People in Kisumu were being killed by Kikuyu policemen but the Kyuks on this forum did not protest. They thought it was justified since it wasn´t their people, but since the tide seems to be turning, suddenly it is ethnic cleansing. When Kenyans become honest and speak the truth, that is when healing will come.
ReplyDeleteThese are the reasons why the so called ODM "liberation" will fail.
ReplyDelete1. Kibaki is not that monster or dictator like Iddi Amin that ODM would like some to believe he is.
2. Kenyans are broke in January and after a long holiday of 7 days. They just want their normal lives back.
3. Nairobians comprise of nearly all tribes equally represented. The city will remain strong.
4. Michuki is on the offensive and breathing fire deploying troops to quell riots and at the same time containing armed Mungikis who are seething with rage.
5. Kenyans are not ready to destroy what they have build. They have seen what has happened to their neighbours.
6. Before elections, 75% of Kenyans had confidence in ECK and even ODM fought hard to retain Kivuitu who has admitted he acted under pressure from ALL sides.
7. We have some of the best mediators in Africa. Already Ambs. Bethuel Kiplagat and Gen. Sumbweiyo are working hard behind the scenes to reconcile various sides.
8. The sheer scale of barbarity which include mass rapes and beheadings has shocked to the core the whole nation.
9. Most Kenyans are generally well educated and foresighted.
10. The ECK has ended it's mandate once it announced the winner, the next battle ground should be the courts not the streets.
For Phil, the truth must be too painful to bear, a spade has been called a spade and Phil can only deny that which he knows is a fact. 50 innocent Kenyans were killed in a church yesterday all because they belonged to a particular ethnic group. Phil probably celebrated and had his day made when he heard the news and the number killed. Much to Phil's disappointment and against his wishes, the culprits just happened not to be President Kibaki's supporters but ODM supporters. Phil would like Kenyans to believe that what happened is not ethnic cleansing. Phil is totally unable to comprehend that genocide and ethnic cleansing are wrong, such people are known as psychopaths who would rather engage in ideological and verbal warfare not forgetting propaganda to justify the killing of more innocent Kenyans. No single media coverage has showed Kibaki supporters engaged in looting, the looters have been ODM supporters identifiable due to their lack of wit in giving away whom they support. The only thing Phil can claim to his credit is that President Kibaki supporters have had to defend themselves from attacks by the people Phil has been working hard to incite when is not busy blogging his propaganda and thus based on this he is able to claim that they have been part of the violence he helped instigate. Phil has been among those sending inflamatory SMS messages to provoke ethnic violence which also explains his sudden anger when Safaricom cautioned him and his co-conspirators against doing so. It is time Phil realized innocent lifes are being lost and the role he has played in doing so, however thats a tall very order for a pyschopath to meet.
ReplyDeleteSUPAFLY who posted above, have you just woken up from ghetto? All these were clarified as mistakes on Nation T.V news on monday this week. Wake up and get updated news !!! I even clarified this to some people on this forum who were sleeping like you.
ReplyDeleteWill Kikuyus suffer more if Raila takes over? Is what is happening the beginnings of the effect of Majimbo. What assurances do are there that it would be any better? What incentives are there to put pressure on Kibaki.
ReplyDeleteI don't condone the killing of the innocent but if you read comments of kikuyus acrossboard you will see why a disenfranchised poor uneducated jobless youth in a pro-ODM area will resort to "Gikuyu genocide". The insensitivity of Kikuyus to the plight of non-kikuyus is simply mind-boggling. Kikuyus live in a bubble of denial notwithstanding how Kenyans have suffered because of political situations created by their holding on to a right to be the elite of Kenya. As a very very educated kenyan (I have world class elite education) I have come to abhor the selfish politics that kikuyus play. Action when it suits them and inaction when it doesnt. The only reason Mungiki did not come enmasse to unleash on Kenyans is that their guy won. But now that they see that its not going to be a smooth ride they are coming out and being Mungiki again, most having been absorbed in the GSU and Military in preparation for a rigged election (if you are thinking they disappeared well they just changed uniforms from twigs and machettes to nice pressed uniforms and guns).
ReplyDeleteFrankly I forsee a very long-winded end to a "cycle of reconciliation" mainly because history has proved these kinds of conflicts to have recurring episodes of "peace and tranquillity" punctuated by "unrests" and sometimes, as with this situation, full-fledged all out war.
What must be done now is to put a lid on it so that the external damage is minimal. The damage in our hearts and minds is far greater and that will be passed on generation to generation and will rear its ugly head throughout our history unless a bigger enemy ensues.
I am appalled when Mutua shamelessly tells reporters that Raila is engaging in "ethnic cleansing". Lest he forgets, Luos and other tribes are also being targeted. Does that mean Kibaki is also engaging in "ethnic cleansing"? We need to stop with the blame game and find a way to curb violence. It's pretty obvious there are people out to take advantage of the political atmosphere and commit atrocities. Like Anon above said, we have a lot of tribal skeletons in the closet and these were bound to come out sooner or later. It's time we addressed tribalism as a nation and got it out of the way once and for all.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, we should not give up the fight for democracy. It's pretty obvious these elections were rigged and some of these leaders need to grow balls and do the right thing for the sake of peace in our country.
SUPAFLY who posted above, have you just woken up from ghetto? All these were clarified as mistakes on Nation T.V news on monday this week. Wake up and get updated news !!! I even clarified this to some people on this forum who were sleeping like you.
ReplyDeleteanon@12:43 you betray your lack of education if all you can think of is in hate and ethnic terms. Don't claim to be very educated when all you can do is generalize and demonize communities. Indeed your "world class" institution might very well strip you of your degree if they were to find out what shame you would bring to the institution.
ReplyDeleteAgree with anon@12:55. Anon@12:43 - most "highly educated" people don't need to state the same.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous
ReplyDeleteIm going to hold no punches. Thats what my world class education taught me to do, to think using facts and not using figments. Let me define the difference.
Thinking using figment is assuming that just because someone unleashed a panga and physically damaged another one, the situation can be bandaged by either arresting the one that unleashed the panga or feeding him with some kind of feelgood solutions that have no long-term effects. That is in effect what a lot of us are doing right now. We are appealing for "calm and restraint" when the truth is that deep inside we are boiling and cannot contain it any longer. You want me to preach "peace and unity" but this peach and unity that you want me to preach is unfortunately a figment of the imagination. When I look inside at this situation all I see is hidden resentment. Repressing this resentment is destructive in that it gives a false illusion of "peace and calm" only to rear its ugly head when anarchy reigns and there is a free ticket to express it on an unwitting neighbor who is affiliated to it.
Now here comes fact. The fact that we kenyans have to admit, and I am glad that some are finally starting to admit it on the internet is that we are hurt. Non-kikuyus are disappointed by kikuyus. Kikuyus are fearsome of non-kikuyus. The degrees of our relations to each other vary based on our experiences. For those of us who grew in plush neighborhoods and didn't really feel the effects of bad governance the degree might be reduced to a school joke about a luo schoolmate or ojinga. For those of us who lived in the dienfranchised areas that are usually prone to attacks when ethnic tensions rise it will be expressed by outright violence, an instinctive self-defensive reflex.
The reason why we should express what we really feel is that it gives us the best shot at bandaging a wound. I say bandaging because you do not have to look further than our history as mankind to see that conflicts are bound to arise when it comes to distribution of our natural resources. Some just want to feel special so that they can eat a bigger pie, it is natural and to be expected but we can control it once we identify that this is the real issue. There is nothing wrong with feeling greedy or resenting a greedy person.
Some people cannot just bear the truth! I can't believe someone dares call the elections "Free and Fair". For Christ sake, these are some of the reasons why the violence is escalating. I couldn't believe Mutua, not to talk about Martha Karua. These people simply don't care. They can still dare taunt Raila, while at the same time, pledge for an end to the violence. This kind of ridicule is going to see so many lives lost.
ReplyDeleteAnd I promise you guys; Those who laughed when they saw Raila shedding tears on camera should be ashamed of themselves. Those tears will surely be compensated!
The people spoke! We in PNU and Kalonzo's supporters who are majority don't want Raila at all.
ReplyDeleteHis greed for power, rhetorics and ethnic hatred of his supporters will only push people to the arms of Mungiki thus causing more anarchy and bloodshed in Kenya.
Let's fight in the courts, not the streets. don't forget the GSU is on our side. Je, ODM mtaweza kweli? I Don't think you have the guts, just the Domo!
Raila has called for a demo at Uhuru park tomorrow but I don't think anyone will show up unless they leave a suicide note behind.
Rumour is that Mungikis are planning an ambush! If I was an ODM supporter, I would first kiss my family goodbye before attending the rally.
Everyone is predicting chaos. I don't think the Pentagon will allow their own families anywhere near the city. What do you think?
Mungikis are junior amateurs as compared to the Talibans and Baghdad boys.
ReplyDeleteyour words of anger duly noted. do not be controlled by your. feeling this impassioned by a situation could lead you down a dangerous road.
ReplyDeletethis is not the time to be speaking of battle while people are dying.
this is the time to seek healing. Kenya has grown up and these issues can be handled in a different way.
Let us be a voice of calm and reason.
Yes the situation is unpleasant... but we can rise above it and fix it without more bloodshed through the choices we make.
We need peace, we need peace and you have a role to play in it. Listen to your voice and see whether you contribute to the passion or to the calm. May the Lord be your guide.
Mike that is too low! Can you think brighter???
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 1:09AM has hit at the heart of the matter. But now that we are where we are now, how do we get out? I have never been a supporter of Raila or Kibaki or Kalonzo and the rest of them selfish politicians for that matter and I never will.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the truth of the matter is that innocent Kenyans are dying, mostly the Agikuyu the “Kenyan Diaspora” (ie in the Rift Valley and other areas outside Central Kenya). They are being targeted by their neighbours for sins of their elitist brothers in power. On the other hand, poor Kenyans mostly Luo, from the slums of Kibera in Nairobi, and other slum areas in the towns of Kisumu, Eldoret, Mombasa etc are dying from police bullets. All for what? For two sides, one who APPEAR to have cheated their way apparently to cling onto power, while the other side THINKS that it has been cheated as they are the ones that should legitimately be in office? At the end of the day, the children and grandchildren of these politicians and their close advisors will NOT and I dare add WILL NEVER end up as bodies in the mortuaries. Let us not cheat ourselves.
Most of the bloggers seem not to see or hear any evil as long as the politician in power or out of power, is from their tribe.
So what is the solution? ODMers strongly feel that they should be the ones in power after the just concluded contraversial elections. However, I think Raila has the golden opportunity to prove himself a statesman even without ever stepping into statehouse. But to do this, the government should also step back and show that they deserve to remain in power even if others think otherwise. Why should Kibaki pull back? Because he has the heavier duty and responsibility to stop the killings
Yes, the priority right now should be to stop the killing innocent Kenyans NOW, not tomorrow, and embark on an amicable solution to break the impasse. Here is my humble submission for both sides to consider:
1. Let the government lift the ban on information flow immediately.
2. The government should agree to a re-totalling of all the presidential votes in all 210 constituencies.
3. Let the government allow the Pentagon leaders to hold a rally at Uhuru Park, to be covered live by all broadcast media tomorrow or as soon as is practicable on condition that they appeal to their supporters countrywide to stop the violence immediately.
4. Here the incentive to stop the violence will be that the re-totalling of the presidential vote is to take place transparently, in the presence of international observers and other media, and is to be completed within a given fixed timeframe.
5. If Kibaki is confirmed as the winner, then Raila should accept defeat and take up his role as leader of the opposition in parliament.
6. On the other hand, if Raila wins, then the ECK should petition the high court and have the original result favouring Kibaki nullified.
7. Raila then should be sworn in as new President, while Kibaki, as unpalatable as it may be to his followers, should accept defeat and take up his role as leader of the official opposition.
In my opinion, both sides win. Over to you Chris.
TO ANONYMOUS who has answered me above, I was just lowering myself to answer you according to your low reasoning capacity.
ReplyDeleteGEMAs continue to be mass slaughtered like hens in rift valley, nyanza, western and coast as Kibaki continues to cling to illegal power.
ReplyDeleteAlfred Mutua and Martha Karua are not interested in peace. It's a pity to see those surrounding our senile president.
ReplyDeleteThanks to the Anon. who updated us from Nairobi. It's good to know that there are those who are determined to keep Kenya moving.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mutua and Karua; they are not helping the situation. We need to end this nightmare.
Hey, nation is reporting that the gov't has ruled out any mediation. So this is clear that all they want is murdering Kenyans. Time to rise up against these inhuman murderers.
ReplyDeleteCNN just reporting that Amos Kimunya has stated that Kenya does not need any outside help to address the current crisis as it is under control!
ReplyDeleteIt`s a shame..!
ReplyDeleteThe world now understands the consequences of colonization.
These fracas have nothing to do with elections.It`s hatred, jealousy and lack of cohesiveness.
Kenyan people are on record to be smart people, but i`m beginning to doubt the level of their intelligence.
On a blog like this Kenyans should be preaching peace and harmony and ways and means of resolving these crisis. NOT Propaganda and tribal accusations. Beating of chest by ODM and PNU leadres is proof that these people have no interest of the common man at heart. They are power hungry and ignorant.
If i were a Kenyan i would advice the public to reject them and give ideas of getting the right people in government.
Does anybody remember Saddam Hussein's Information minister when the bombs were flying over his head? That is the fallacy that we have in Mutua. He is a psychophant and a court poet. Moi had a few of those - the likes of Mpende msipende. They are no longer with us. And that gives us some hope for Mutua!
ReplyDeleteKumekucha brothers and sisters, tell all the non-kikuyu people travelling to Nairobi to weigh their options as regards recurity because sources indicate that travellers are being stopped at Naivasha and being beheaded by the mungiki. Please tell all the people you can reach to weigh all options before riskimg their lives. Remember all morgues are being guarded so that nobody can tell how many are killed. Also remember the incident where the Uganda soldiers collected the youths from Kisumu and shot them at the RIAT area. Pass it to save lives!
ReplyDeletethis nganga mutua guy is the biggest joke since mwizi kibaka...who even listens to this guy's stupid press releases?
ReplyDeleteMike clearly has missed the point!
ReplyDeleteby the way i found out the Alfred Mutua is atually kikuyu!!!
ReplyDeleteHis middle name is Ng'ang'a. now you have all the answers to his consistent inconsistencies.
Kenya is dead as long as we are separated by tribal lines there is no hope. It will take a long time for the wounds to heal. Kibaki, Odinga, Michuki, Moi, Wako and Saitoti. These guys are from the same tree old me who put there needs first before the country. The next leader will have to heal the nation bring people together and uplift the economy and improve the quality of life for every Kenyan. If Odinga won so be it but we should have him deliver and if not then vote him out in five years.
ReplyDeleteDr. Alfred Mutua is just another one of Kibaki's butt lickers. Its simple...HE NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OUT!!!
ReplyDeleteWe should stop focussing on Mutua but instead focus on Kibaki. Mutua will go when Kibaki goes. As for rumours of him being gay a person's sexual orientation has nothing to do with character. It is personal and not really not an issue to me.
ReplyDelete