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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Political History Repeating Itself in Advance



Kofi Annan appears to have waved his MAGIC wand and viola all Kenyans are ululating with bliss. But just wait a minute? Was the Kibaki-Raila handshake the lull before the deadly storm that will make the present 1000 graves accommodating poor Kenyans look like a beautification parade? You guess right we are back to square one ala IPPG of 1997 and 2002 where deals were hammered with the sole intention of trashing them immediately thereafter.

Kibaki DOES NOT mean any good for Kenya and any motion from him is meant to generate no meaningful movement. Annan has already reprimanded him for poisoning his mediation by a belligerent and careful reference to himself as ‘your duly elected President’. You don’t STEAL an election to hand it back, or do you? Kenyans must be aliens from Mars to accept that fallacy.

Make no mistake. No everybody who goes against the current should be cheaply labelled a hardliner. By the way pessimists are not what they are demonized to be but in retrospection they are REALISTS. We cannot and will never solve our problems by sweeping them under the carpet. We must squarely address the genesis of the present turmoil. Cheating ourselves that we are looking at the bigger picture is to engage in self-deception. No forest exists without trees and the former is trivially the sum total of the later.

Short-termism may help cool political temperatures yes but failing to confront our problems head on is to latently and unwitting incubate our national problems which will surely explode sooner rather than later. Justice has no synonym and can attempt to decapitate it only to have it mutate to its original form and demand redress.

False confidence
All the talk of power sharing may look rosy in between textbook pages but not for Kenya. The level of hatred has reached irreconcilable proportions. The supremacists will shout themselves hoarse urging all and sundry to move on. Common try another one. We know the hindsight and your eyes are singularly trained on the price: status quo and subjugation.

You don’t negotiate with a serial promise broker beholden to a small clique of entrepreneurs who see Kenyans as the providers of a collective back to ride on for their selfish economic enterprises. No more and enough is enough. Raila and co have two choices: either to fight the war to its bitter and logical end or detour and win the ‘winnable’ battle with all the attendant BETRAYAL and loss of goodwill amongst majority of Kenyans.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to decipher why a section of Kenyans demonize devolution of any shade – political and economic. Simple, devolution slashes profits and wipes away domination. Once bitten severally shy.

Power games
The Kibaki-Raila handshake was nothing but a smokescreen meant to mean nothing absolutely. The only point of convergence was a hollow mention of the word peace. Otherwise while speaks of JUSTICE and TRUTH, Kibaki take is RECONCILIATION and HEALING. Who is fooling who here? Granted, whoever is right or wrong is spurious in times of war. If we were to be honest with ourselves we would see all this for what it is: POWER GAMES with a predictable outcome.

If Raila by any chance succumbs to pressure and betrays the majority he will be simply repeating history before it is even written. The NARC-LDP betrayals are still raw wounds inflicted by the same players. I wonder whether Rails is ready to jump into that cesspool of MISTRUST and BAD FAITH again. Time will tell and the time of judgment is here. Rails finds himself between the rock and the dark blue sea.

Raila has to prove that his shoulders are large enough for the troubles of his many supporters and NOT just big enough for his ego and political expediency. I don’t envy the man any little bit. But the bottom line remains Raila's position is not meant for the politically faint hearted. Good luck in the interim.

49 comments:

  1. Another photo opportunity for an isolated government and a chance to get some fresh air from the isolation that is State House. Images should not shake our resolve. Kibaki should urgently start reciprocating in kind before the second wave begins. The GoK at the moment is dysfunctional and for it start taking control there has to be a serious tribal readjustment in its ranks. The roots of the current evil should be dealt with.

    Talk about GNU is just that, a GNU, Kenyans have realised that there are urgent issues that have to be addressed quickly and NOW. For people to not only feel but believe that they belong to Kenya there are basic tenets that have to be respected, and the constitution is the foundation. When a majority of Kenyans rejected the current constitution, their wish was thrown in the dustbin and the GoK resorted to all manner of dirty tricks to make sure it remained there. That same constitution that was rejected was used to swear in an illegitimate government which had robbed Kenyans their democratic rights the SECOND time and when Kenyans shouted stop thief they were shot like animals. Now we are told that all grievances are to be addressed through courts which get its authority through the same said constitution that was rejected by Kenyans. FOOL ME ONCE SHAME ON YOU, FOOL ME TWICE .…….. I guess you are lying down waiting for the third time.

    The majority of Kenyans wanted change, there should be a deadline to talks these current talks with a minority regime. They should be told categorically that they have to accept an interim shared GoK as respect for them as fellow Kenyans, with the sole purpose of fixing the constitution to devolve power and organising a re-run so that the rightful elected president should emerge in the shortest possible time, if they fell that they rightfully won they should jump at this opportunity to show that they won. Kalonzo can be on their side from the start. We should accept the rightful winner in a fair election and we should do whatever is in our power as Citizens of Kenya to help the rightful winner achieve the wishes of the people who both voted and did not vote for him/she.

    Barring that the six provinces should go their separate ways. We should give them ample time to move their belongings, not the stolen ones to Eastern as Central is overcrowded. I am waiting to see the Kalonzos welcoming this crowd in their backyards with open arms. This coalition with thieves to help them hide their crimes and continue to pollute the collective conscious of the majority should not be accepted. The MAJORITY should start acting like the majority. WE ARE NOT IN THE MINORITY understand this and start acting like the majority.

    There is no other way out of this mess imposed on the majority. Some people will keep on yapping about about crisis this crisis that, many people have died yes and that’s very tragic but I see this as an opportunity to once and for all make a clean break from all the ills that has plagued our beloved country since independence. Markers have been set and the line drawn cross it to your own peril.

    FACT: A fraction of your money and stashed abroad through theft is enough to give all
    children who are going to die of poverty, diseases and malnutrition in the next 10 years if not more a better life and the opportunity to life that every citizen of this nation deserves.

    As part of the MAJORITY make a stand. This is your opportunity to make a difference or kazi itaendelea. Uta du?

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  2. Is there not a single person, close to Kibaki who can tell him the bold faced, unadulterated truth?? Does this man realize that he is in a different Kenya. He cannot will this one away. He needs to realize that this is not just some show of power over Raila and the millions of Kenya who feel aggrieved, he is testing the will and patience of a lot of Kenyans. His comment about being the "duly elected president" right after leaving a meeting to resolve the current crisis is as clear a show of bad faith as there ever was. I hope Raila is taking notes. Sigh!!!!

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  3. I concur once more! Most people do not support devolution because it reduces their dominance. BUT, devolution will come like it or not. Either through ethnic warfare or through respect and negotiation. I hope ODM has plan B,C and even Z. For they soon will be let down.
    Screw me once the blame is on you.Screw me twice! I blame my self. Yet Raila is exposing himself to a third time of same shit.
    It pains me but that is ok. At least the last few weeks have prepared me for the savagery that will be the birth pains of our new nation sans the mafia

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  4. Come on now, Raila has promised to walk that extra mile for the sake of peace, and healing. Time will come for truth and justice but at the moment, there are children who need to go to school, thousands are hungry and homeless, the economy is going to the dogs-just checked the US dollar with the current recession signs, it has gained against our Shilling and it doesn't look good at all.
    In short what we need is a short term solution while our eyes remain on the bigger prize-a longterm solution.

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  5. Taabu, you couldn't have said it better. I say to myself time and again that this will be the time for Raila to prove himself. PNU and Kibaki have a wonderful chance of annihilating Raila politically perhaps forever unless Raila is careful. Every human gets a chance to prove to those who support him/her why they are worthy of such a support. Kalonzo had his just few weeks ago and spoilt it. Now it is Raila's and his is even more dangerous. As you said, good luck to him.

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  6. Whose interest are these two men serving, The voters, some of whom have paid with their lives or United States and Great Britain whose investors' interests in Kenya's natural resources in exchange for foreign aids must be protected? These are the people who nullfied the voters verdict because it did not serve their purpose.Kenya belongs to them. They know more about the ins and outs of Kenyan republic than the flunkies that blindly support them including the headless NSIS who have been flooding this blog spying on other Kenyans.

    Who is protecting Kenyans? Get real people.

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  7. I concur with all the above. I really do not see Kibaki and his mafiosos honoring any agreement. He didn't honor the MOU with the man who pretty much ensured that he became President in 2002. I doubt that he will budge even an inch to let anyone take back the power he stole. The team he has put together for these negotiations is telling...Saitoti, Uhuru, etc. As for Kalonzo....talk about opportunism cloaked as divine intervention! I don't understand why ODM-K is even being counted in a power sharing deal? He has the support of less than 1 million Kenyans. Someone should whisper to him that he is not going to be the next President. The succession plan that Raila talked about last year will be effected as soon as Kibaki is out of the picture, and assuming that the current situation is not resolved.

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  8. I will digress. Anyone out there please clarify if you can. There have been a lot of rumours regarding the first lady and her slapping antics at Statehouse. First I heard that Nyachae was at the receiving end of her backhand sometime before the elections. Next was Gitobu Imanyara. Finally I hear now that her own son Jimmy has been the latest victim of her ire. Can anyone shed light to this interesting aside?

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  9. This pact didn't start on a good note...One Raila knew it was mediation..Kibaki dialogue.....Listening to Martha Karua talking on TV the other day i am not convinced that Kibaki is ready to compromise....As much as i want to dismiss Martha as one who is known for making outrageous remarks...I Can't and Taabu just as you have said it ..it is no longer abt Raila now..It is about my rights as a voter, i wouldn't want to wake up early to go out and vote and then five people sit on a round table and decide who is going to be the president of this country....I really dont envy Raila he is in a precarious situation and whatever step he makes will either make or break him completely...
    But whatever he does let him know it is no longer abt positions and ministerial jobs that are going to benefit them on a personal basis ...It is about the people wenye wamefinyangwa in their own country and as one Lamentation said in the previous article...Millions are found in the slums with no water, power, a good sewerage system...These are the ones who voted for him coz they needed change...Period

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  10. The nullification of voters verdict is be tied to American war on terror in which Ethiopia and Kenyan boys are made to fight and die. It is called proxy war using the poverty in Africa. Some of you may have heard those Americans who support Iraq War say "better fight them over there than fight them here(USA)".
    The corrupt Kenya or Ethiopian elites looking for foreign bribes will glady recruit some young men from poor homes to do their dirty work. Should these young men make it back alive, their lives will never be the same!!

    African young men are now killing one another to protect elites or fighting to make sure Foreingers are safe wherever they are.

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  11. Kibaki is a fool period...

    Our police & Army are also bloody idiots...

    That goes to our very NSIS made of failures.

    Mapinduzi yataendelea like it or not.

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  12. I equally agree with the sentiments above(how justice and peace are husband and wife etc). However, like Martha and Kibaki, i will not bulge an inch. I have a serious problem with ODM and its supporters. So far, according to them, the election was stolen. They expect Kibaki to resign or take action coz they are shouting themselves out that he stole the election. They are a standard of integrity. An independent judicial inquiry should give a report on the status of the election and make recommendations. ODM is not and cannot be a credible recommender of (re-run, coalition govt, transitional govt). They are simply complainants. They are not a court of law. When you keep talking of Kenyans being robbed etc, you are talking of the 4.3m who voted for ODM. The other 5m (Kibaki's 4.1m and Kalonzo's 0.9m) are perhaps greatful that Kibaki is in statehouse. Kenyans are more than Raila supporters. One of the ODM supporters in this blog commented that Raila and ODM can stop the mayhem in Kenya by convening a simple Press briefing. How true....and I like the way it came from an ODM supporter. ODM would do great service to this country if they took the opposition benches, a position that so well befits them, and we have normalcy return to Kenya.

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  13. I will digress here...I think the economic boycott will work just fine...On Thursday night i was listening to a vernacular radio station and guess who was advertising nation and they were promising people to unravel a code in a particular page and they will be paid 2000/= I couldn't believe my ears nation of all being advertised on a vernacular radio station....But for the guy who says mtameza wembe let me join him in saying the same to nation....My dad says at our shopping centre back at home people scramble for Standard..I think guys at home have just bought the idea of Nation....Celtel i think followed the cue and just imagine paying 4/= and 7/= per minute all day....Man what the heck will i be doing in safaricom unless they reduce their charges to 2/= per minute......I am told abt Equity in Western and Nyanza guys are withdrawing their money and none is depositing and guess what Diamond Trust Bank is there to embrace them...Same bank charges...That is what i call opportunity....Mutahi Kagwe said it is abt economics....That is where we will hurt this thieves who stole our birthright...Hit them where it hurts most...For only a month and they will stop their chest thumping and arrogance....Brookside ....That one is a gone case it is just a matter of time........Their idea of stealing the presidency was to try and control every sector of this country and make us lick their hands....All Kenyans of goodwill let us rise up and have a peaceful demo....Boycott their products and use alternative products.

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  14. I rather impulsively posted in the previous discussion (Kenya Politics Headed to a Grand Coalition) that having seen the two progenitors shake hands would give hope to many. I realize now it was just my heart getting ahead of my head.

    I am not currently in Kenya, but honestly, I believe the situation is probably the most precarious it has been since the passing away of Jomo Kenyatta. Perhaps the ‘view from the edge’ is more prescient. Will such a brazenly opportunistic outfit really give way? As much as some posts have shared that they would not envy being Raila, I believe it is Kibaki who must be under considerable pressure.

    If there is any lack of goodwill now (e.g. comments like ’duly elected prez’ at such a f*&^%%g precarious time), this could be very very bad. It would seem the person not to envy right now is Kofi Annan. Perhaps his whole career has been in preparation of this calling. I dare say he is the only person with little or no self-interest (aka the west) in seeing this through objectively. I hope he is getting through to Kibaki. Photo-ops will drop the temperature a few degrees but if Kibaki and his belligerent cohorts are unable to rise beyond their parasitic self-interests and make major concessions, this could indeed be the lull before the storm. One only has to read the post from 3.13 in the previous thread to understand that some of us armchair commentators in the Diaspora probably have no idea. Kenya needs the world and her prayers like no other time.



    3:13Am Anonymous said...
    i leave in kenya as of know i am in the office and our company in very very near to mathare so belive me when i tell you things are getting out hand. first the police the army they come from a family and thats means they come from different ethnic group so all this security agents are divided which is very bad for the country. now my workmates who stays at mathare most of them are taking loans as much as 20k to move from mathare, why do you need all that money for moving simple you need protection you either hire the police or you hire the groups that have been formed thea. when entering mathare you enter by puting your hand up and your ID on your mouth if your from the wrong ethnic group then you are in trouble. this are things i have seen and i have heard. i wish people of mathare they had computers they could have told us horific tails of what goes on there. kenya is on the brink of collapse so we better pray the talks come out positive or else the things which we are seeing know it will be child play against what we will see in the future. may GOd bless kenya

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  15. 6% annual growth in GDP means nothing when millions in the slums don't have water, power, sewer system, jobs, access to free education, free quality health care, security, adequate housing and trees; one does not have to go to the London School of Economics to know this.

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  16. An international human rights body has slammed ODM leadership for organizing ethnic cleansing. I don't believe Kibaki would even think of sharing power with this guys.

    Martha Karua was spot on when she said 'killers' would not be welcomed in government. It's foolish for the president to reward violence. It's unbelieveable that ODM has muscled it's way through power and now wants the presidency through the backdoor.

    Kibaki should realize he has the support of the majority from PNU, ODM-K and the armed forces. Time to take action and deliver the likes of Ruto to the Hague!

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  17. What a situation-I find myself laughing sarcastically although its also a fake shallow laugh of despair-now not only is history in danger of repeating itself with a pre-determined potentially ill-fated political pact about to be entered into, but finally its beginning to dawn on Kenyans that the political elite we call "our leaders" are full of so many tricks up their sleeves that we've not even seen a quater fraction of what it is they are capable of doing and in the process leaving us speechless and worse off than we were before
    Alright, lets see whether Raila is in tune with the deep-seated wishes and heart-felt desires of the people for nothing but uncompromised change-i already know the answer but for the sake of appearing to be open-minded- Kibaki i already had him pegged as an architect of past decay. here we go(holding nose tightly....)

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  18. Yes, going for kofi never helped anyone find peace ;)

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  19. Where is the first lady? Why has she left her role as president to Martha Karua? And by the way is the Gitobu Imanyara and Jimmy story true? Someone shed some light, coz if this is true, we should be afraid, very afraid.

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  20. Its becoming clear to all of us tha Raila is going to get a raw deal.The Kibaki side are not willing to compromise on anything substatial like devolution or key ministries.

    The fight is lost for those who wanted any kind of change and the status quo has just become stronger having survived its hardest fight.

    It's sad for a man who has been fighting for change his whole life to give it up in a day.

    Well, we leave it to the next generation to sort out the problems and inequalities of Kenya.

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  21. anon 11:43 - Does the name Samuel Kivuitu mean anything to you or have you been holed up in some cave for last 3 weeks?

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  22. What is also sad to have the current First Lady in a country of many educated and articulate women.

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  23. Taabu,

    The question that seems to be on everyone's mind is whether a compromise position is possible. The positions taken by Raila and Kibaki seem to me irreconcilable...Raila says he won, Kibaki says he won...Raila calls for truth and justice, Kibaki calls for dialogue and reconciliation...Raila says he is with the people, Kibaki says he is with the law...Raila calls for international mediation, Kibaki calls for local solutions, etc, etc.

    Like may Kenyans who witnessed the 'handshake' after the 'face-to-face' meeting of the two leaders, i remained unconvinced that their hard line positions had changed an inch. This was apparent from their pre-written speeches where Kibaki insisted he is "the president", while Raila addressed him as "Mr" Kibaki.

    Re-tallying, re-run, resignation are terms that for now are not in Kibaki's vocabulary, unless ordered through a ... legal process. The legal process, according to Raila, is ... flawed. (Paradoxically, ODM losers are using the same process to petition the elections).

    Koffi appears to have been setup for failure ab initio.

    The strategies used by both parties do not seem to help. Kibaki prefers taking it slow with the hope of wearing down Raila to the point of submission. This seems to have worked, somewhat, as Raila has dropped almost all preconditions for talks. Raila prefers to display the image of a besieged Kibaki. What with mass action, riots, destruction, deaths to show an out-of-control situation in order to cow Kibaki to the talking table. This also seems to have worked, somewhat. But I think Kibaki accepted the trip to Harambee House so that he could show who was "in-control".

    As to power sharing, there are suggestions of executive PM for Raila. I think the most that Kibaki can offer is a non-executive PM (the law) and the vacant cabinet positions. Raila seeks "executive" powers, nothing less.

    The cat and mouse games will continue, and Koffi will eventually jet out without a solution. You and me will continue to suffer.

    Personally i don't consider that a re-tallying or a re-run will solve our problem...not the alleged election fraud but the deep tribal fissures that have emerged post-election, though it will solve one of the protagonist's problem (to gain or retain power).

    The solution is apparent from this standoff, that one of them has to stand down, in good faith and with a passionate appeal to his supporters to back him on the decision for the sake of the country. There could be an incentive package thrown in to encourage this. For Raila, it could be an internationally supervised timetable for completing the contentious constitutional reforms, etc. For Kibaki it could be an enhanced retirement package, immunity from prosecution for him and allies, etc.I think the calls for magnanimity are informed by this point of view.The question is, who will be willing to blink, first?

    The other solution is to have another election....but without the two guys.

    If this does not happen then we are in for a long bumpy ride that will dwarf the events of the last few weeks. Some seem to be enjoying this ride, but the one who is suffering is the...you and me. Raila and Kibaki watch us on TV as we destroy ourselves.

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  24. What happened to the demos? Watu wameshiba taka taka ya odmorons.
    Anyway, Raila will be played like a guitar again. Cheza na Kibaki......

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  25. Hi Guys,

    Now we are targeting Equity Bank here in Tanzania and we would make sure as they have set up shop here.

    The Tanzanians here are very sympathetic to the Kenyan situation lest see if James Mwangi is going to succeed.

    Just keep reading the news in TZ media EQUITY BANK you have nowhere in Bongo.

    Please kumekucha alert them that we are going to make their life difficult in Tanzania.

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  26. We have just started off a campign here in Tanzania aimed at EQUITY BANK which has set up shop.

    We want to inform the Tanzania public that EQUITY BANK is part of the Mt.Kenya Mafia led by one James Mwangi and associates.

    Kumekucha just put this alert so that EQUITY people see that they have noweher to hide and we are going after them evrywhere.

    We are also planning Brookside Diaries plus other companies here in Tanzania and with the help of their competitors.

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  27. Expecting Kibaki to come up with something positive for this country is like expecting snow in Garissa.
    Apart from a few hard core chauvinists, many Kenyans feel that this old man has lost it. He may be living in a different world from rest of us.
    Even as the negotiations continue, we should have a system of effecting this economic boycott.
    It is the only way we can express displeasure, but please no more killings, we have had enough of that.

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  28. Question...how many of you who have posts here even live in Kenya? From ua comfy apartment building in a breezy Washington suburb, the crisis here may seem incredibly easy to solve...ati " its a simple matter of principle". But for those of us here, in the mother-land, Principle is a concept that died the day that both Raila and Kibaki orchestrated the murder of Kikuyus in the RV and demonstrators in Kisumu.

    So u see, my dear pop-philosophers, this is about more than just Principle...its about LIFE. OUR LIVES. Get it into your Gap-marvin wearing winter-worn heads that WE WANT PEACE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

    Some back-ground on myself. I am womans-rights activist. Up until this year I worked with saving-scheme groups based at Toi Market in Kibera. As u may have heard that market was razed to the ground. I have been unable to make contact with any of my "gals" on the ground. Are their homes still standing? Are their sons safe or lying in the morgue? How are they making a daily living without the market to lean on? How are they surviving without the loans we provide? I wake up asking these questions and I go to sleep with no answers.

    One reason I am unable to make contact is because I am Kikuyu, I LOOK Kikuyu and people in Kibera know me and that I answer to the name Njeri. Kibera has become a no go zone for me. My board of directors has been adamant that no Kikuyus return to Kibera and since our womens desk is all Kikuyu...the ladies in Kibera have to go it without the support we can provide.

    So u see as far as I am concerned, if the only way to solve the crisis is thru a false hand-shake then can the shaking begin. With any luck both these men will be dead in a short while. Underlying problems will be easier to solve without their monstrous egos and penchant for political mind-games.

    All patriotic Kenyans should be chanting...YOTE YAWEZEKANA BILA RAILA NA KIBAKI

    Njeri

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  29. Let's talk sense:
    Kenyans have to learn to be honest. Central Kenya is fighting the whole country. Why??? These people are brought up to cheat (maybe they got it from the British).

    One Example: If you want to set up a Matatu bussiness between NBI and Karatina you will be told to have a Kikuyu driver and a conductor. Otherwise NO.

    If a Kikuyu wants to run a Matatu in Kakamega, he is left in peace to employ whoever he wants.

    Build a house in Othaya and you will not survive there for 2 weeks, if you are a non Kikuyu. Kikuyus flock Kisumu, Kakamega, Bondo, Keroka even in the countryside and are welcome and respected by the Luos, Kalenjins, Kisiis, Tesos. Why is it this way?

    Unless the Kikuyus learn to be honest and their leaders too, there will be no peace. Kibaki is dishonest and will not respect any agreement.

    We want to see more Kikuyus of Githongo, Maathai and Maina types. Come up Kikuyus and follow the Christian teachings (You are not Christians the way you believe).

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  30. If Equity collapses today, it's the common mwananchi who will lose not James Mwangi the CEO. He already has a Ksh 4 Billion fortune in his name! That's just enough for him and his extendend family to live in a world of caviar, lobsters, champagne and shrimps for the next 200 years in exotic locations without a care in the world!

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  31. was Kibaki attempting to show Annan who calls the shot by this.. "as your duly elected president...." bullshit? That was the most embrassing thing he could have done. And what with the primary school prank of letting Raila address his people without the President of Kenya Stand and Kibaki getting the favour .... That old geezer lacks the use of his own mind; we all saw PNU literaly shoving him to use the stand!! So what they did they gain? Arebuke from Annan and mistrust from ODM.

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  32. Who are you to tell us we arent Christian?
    How Christian is it to organise pogroms in rift valley and coups in 1982?

    Charity begins at home.

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  33. Simon seis,

    http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=115345

    Kenya inaendelea, mta do?

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  34. annonymous of 12.13, 6.9% gdp growth is a starting point. It means the country is generating more revenue, thus eliminating the excuse for the govt to say that they cannot provide for services bcoz of budget constraints. 6.9% means greater investor confidence allowing for greater enterpreneurship, more venture capital and business development schemes, which potentially increases job creation. And 6.9% means kenyans can demand for more local development, better schools sanitation etc

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  35. sorry anon 3:55 am....If Equity collapses ..We dont care!!!! Diamond Trust Bank has opened in Kisumu and Kach and guess what the charges are exactly the same....So if i were him may he resign now and let see if he is gona do what you are suggesting to him....Anyway kuyos are not known to enjoy that kind of lifestyle....What iam saying is that we want people to engage in clean business, clean money, clean people and a clean way of doing these....We want to see people work hard and their efforts are well compensated.

    In this same forum i asked a question...Can i take Michuki, Karume, Uhuru, Gideon and put them in the same room with Donald Trump and tell them to give a motivational speech from rags to riches to 1st year students at UoN will they manage?

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  36. Museveni’s (M7) Hard talk series:

    Venue: Nairobi, Kenya

    Host: M7

    Guests: Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga

    M7: Now, Gentlemen, I’ve come to your beautiful country, not to view the wildlife or have tea, but to give you some reality check and the way forward out of your political predicament.

    Let me start with you Mheshimiwa Kibaki.

    (Kibaki shifts on his seat uncomfortably)

    M7: Speaking from my long experience in leadership, and as an African President, once you make up your mind that you are going to rig an election, you do it wholeheartedly. You just go all the way and you do it in an organized way. No half measures, no fooling around with this. You dare not appear crude or obvious to the ordinary Mwananchi.

    Kibaki: But I won fairly! I did not……(He’s cut off by M7)

    M7: We all know that you did it…..so lets not waste time talking about spilt milk.

    As I was saying, once you’ve rigged yourself back, there will be of course, the usual noise and theatrics from a disappointed opposition and the diplomatic community. Pay no heed to them.
    Move quickly and decisively to establish law and order. If it means clamping down on demos and arresting a few political inciters…so be it.
    But this has to be done quickly and systematically so that you can assert your authority as President of the republic.

    My friend Kibaki, you lost the opportunity to do all this within the first week of January 2008.

    (A weary smile crosses Kibaki’s face as he digest this information. Raila now has a silly grin on his face)

    M7: Now, let me explore the options that you have today Hon Kibaki, and their consequences.

    1. You can continue shooting demonstrators who keep turning up in the streets if your major urban centres. The frequent demos will ensure the country remains unstable for a long time to come. Nothing much will be happening on the economic front and the ethnic wars will continue brewing. The opposition will gain more sympathy as the citizens get tired. This will eventually lead to an all out assault on your government, once ODM supporters get their hands on guns.
    2. You can also choose to do nothing and wait for events to shape themselves as you watch. Check scenario no. 1 for the consequences of this inaction
    3. You can finally, choose to sit down immediately with your opponents and offer them a piece of the action – that is, power sharing in Government. That will buy you time to consolidate your position and ensure stability to finish your last term. You might even want to reform the constitution during this time, just to make Kenyans happy. Especially the parts to do with reforming the Presidency. Unknown to Kenyans, a weakened presidency will ensure you have a quiet retirement!

    M7: Hon Kibaki, are you still with me?

    Kibaki: Endelea tuu. I’m listening.

    M7: Now to you Hon Raila. I sympathise with your situation because it brings back bitter memories for me. As you may remember, former President Obote rigged our Uganda general elections of 1980. Unlike you, I did not waste much time grumbling and mourning about it…asking Hon Kibaki to step down at every opportunity.

    Let me ask you a question…would you step down if you were in Kibaki’s position?

    (Raila starts to protest but he is cut short)

    M7: No, wait, don’t answer that one yet bwana Raila. Let me have my say because I don’t have much time with this.

    Now, here are your options and their consequences:

    1. You can continue to whine and protest till the cows come home, asking Kibaki to step down. This might win you sympathy with the international community but Kibaki will not be moved. His friends and supporters will ensure he doesn’t resign. Kenyans will eventually grow tired of your noise and they’ll want to get back to their lives.
    2. You can go to court challenging the Presidential elections results. Chances are high that 2012 will find you still fighting for justice in the court corridors. You’ll have made your point anyway, just like Kibaki did in 1998 to 2001 when he filed his own petition against Moi.
    3. You can take up your cabinet seats in a coalition Government as proposed by Kibaki and bid your time for 2012. However, without constitutional guarantees, you’ll be stuck with the 2005 scenario where Kibaki still wields the big stick incase you misbehave. So, make sure you reform the constitution accordingly over the next five years.
    4. You can refuse to take your seats in Government and instead play your role as an effective opposition. Your comfortable numbers in Parliament should see you giving Kibaki a very rough time over the next five years. You can even amend a few laws to ensure rigging never takes place in Kenya again.
    5. Finally, and this decision is usually very difficult, you can forment a large scale armed rebellion across the country. Speaking from my own experience, this is a very effective way of deposing Presidents who refuse to be moved by riots or isolated ethnic skirmishes. Getting guns in this part of the world should be a child’s play. There are no guarantees that you’ll overcome the Kenyan Army in the ensuing civil war but heck, it’s worth a try.

    Consequences? I can only draw comparisons with my own country. 300,000 Ugandans died during a six year civil war after the Obote rigging. God rest their souls. I finally took power in 1986 and am still there to date. However, think carefully because times have changed. You might find yourself facing some international court charged with crimes against humanity, just like our friend Charles Taylor. That is, assuming you survive a full-scale civil war in Kenya.

    (Raila wipes away some sweat from his forehead with an orange handkerchief)

    M7: Gentlemen, I have painted for you a clear picture of how you can play this.
    My country is suffering economically because no one here seems to be making up their minds on how to proceed. I’ve done you a favour by showing you how these things normally pan out. Believe me, my experience is very extensive.

    (M7 rises up)

    Now, choose your options and proceed.

    Am going back home.

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  37. On yesterday's post about a coalition I'm one of the people who though ah well lets try this!
    Today however I doubt if we are anywhere nearer this than on Dec 30th. What we witnessed yesterday on TV has been captured clearly by many bloggers and to add insult to injury MK and his handlers love had to rub in some nonsence.
    Watching Karua, Saitoti, Kalonzo I do not see how they can blend with Raila, Charity, Mudavadi and others.
    These pple are beyond selfish and arrogant I wish there was a better word to descibe them??
    Looking at options how about boycott of paying taxes - PAYE, VAT etc since this gava has shown it discriminates and if we are stuck with these fools for another 5yrs I'd rather not contibute to their foolishness??
    By the way are there spies on this site that are trying to track bloggers here- how can one explain numerous phone calls same numbers some even neighbouring countries all trying to pretend they called in error??
    What is Kibakis game plan bcoz I doubt if he is interested in any meaningful solution- to kill all Kenyans who seem not to be happy with his theft??
    Ushindwe wewe Shetani mkubwa!!

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  38. "All patriotic Kenyans should be chanting...YOTE YAWEZEKANA BILA RAILA NA KIBAKI"

    Thank you!! finally someone is thinking

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  39. At anon 11:43AM - elections are not about aggregates but simple majorities. Therefore, combining Kibaki's and Kalonzo's votes do not give them the mandate over Kenyans.

    Anon 12:13PM - Agreed. I've asked that question several times to the "6.9% over 5 years growth cheerleaders." Let's not forget that this LSE graduate forgot the part about how infrastructure is a KEY component for growth.

    Anon 5:07 - I recommend that you read your comments about the net results of the vaunted 6-6.9% growth and compare those to the state of affairs in Kenya. There is 40% unemployment, no security, education standards have gone down (as many as 50 kids/classroom), the benefactors of this growth being business owners. Did the cost of living go down during this "explosive growth" period? Did every single kenyan (not counting MPs) receive see a bump in their earnings? I doubt that. So, spare us the bullhorn blaring statistics that mean nothing to millions of Kenyans. Oh and don't forget this formula:

    GROWTH RATE - INFLATION = ACTUAL GROWTH RATE. So going by your figures (6.9% -11%) we have a paltry growth rate of -4.1%

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  40. Anon - 8.08 am, 40% unemployment is bad I agree, but 6.9% is a starting point dont forget that in 2002 we were at -0.2%, which if you use your formula -0.2 - 11= -11.2%, means there has been relative improvement. Im not giving you bullhorn statistics. It doesnt take a day to get unemployment down you have to set the precendent for job creation so unemployment goes down! doesnt that mean that you must encourage industrial development? No sane economist expects the cost of living to go down in 5 years, it took Singapore 20 years, Taiwan nearly 30 years and as for Britain, it took themm nearly 80 years to become once again a leading developed country. As for education what do you suggest considering the budget constraints at the moment? I wish the MP's could be paid no more than 100,000, and money is pumped into more facilities but the reality is that there will be toothing problems getting every child to go to school. As I keep on saying, its a start and trust me the fact that now Kenyans know their economy is capable of growing means that they will be able to demand for those things that you mention. Unlike before where we couldnt even fathom economic growth, it just didnt exist. So make a better argument, you still can say its negative growth, and in hindsight with all economic development its a slow start, especially with corrupt politicians

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  41. Please understand my impatience but I fail to understand all this misplaced obsession with GROWTH. Where, how and when? You can be a better apologist but making tokenism as both you entry and exit points is naivity at its best. Yes Kenya can GROW damn fast but not on some low-barred premise and benchmark. Raise the bar and get out of the Nyayo hangover please. We can do better and no amount of tokenism will detract us from the ultimate prize, never.

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  42. If any of you are economists you would know that there is no one model of growth. No one has been able to prove that economic growth has been a hindrance to Kenya NO ONE! So you say that Kenya can grow damn fast why dont you propose a plan? Or do you think tackling poverty will see Kenya grow fast immediately? The honest truth is that it will be a burden first and rightly so to those who have been able to live in Kenya comfortably. This attitude that there is a misplaced obssesion with growth is unfounded. Ask Greenspan, Al Gore, Bill Gates, Mandela whomever you consider to be a progressive leader and they will have had the subject of growth in their minds. If Kenyans want the God damn honest truth then its that there is no way Kenya will ever succeed with bad leaders, a naive belief that pinpointing the problem instantly solves it and that anyone who mentions positive growth in the last 5 years is on a Nyayo hangover. Far from it, most development policy is centred on growth, and you only have to look at China, India, the EU and Latin American policies to realise that growth albeit misplaced is better than stagnation. And may I ask you taabu to clarify what you mean by tokenism? Kenya doesnt need pessimists, the visionaries are what creates a nation, not just wallowing in self pity. We are not the only country that has been dirt poor and corrupt, neither are we the only country that has experienced slow or no growth, but you dont hear other African's slating their nation and that is what many Kenyans do and that is why many of them are ashamed right now.

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  43. I'm sure there was as much weakness in gathering the national economic statistics as there was in the tallying ECK; true democracy is where all can vote/or have a say on where tax revenues should go - I am sure most would vote for a budget that spends on more services for slum and other economically depressed areas - roads, street lighting, security, running water, electricity, sewer system, education, health system rather than a budget that spends on high salaries and benefits,luxury cars for mps, civil servants, arms, teargas, bullets,hotel convention cntr in KICC, export schemes, printing press for new currency etc. See the movie SICKO by Michael Moore - all Cubans have access to free health care and cheap medicine. Peace will arrive when one sees improvement in the basics - running water, electricity, sewerage system, jobs, and security; western style multiparty democracy has not helped to reduce economic inequites but it has increased tribalism....

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  44. EVERYONE IS TO BLAME - KIVUITU could have been upfront about the "pressure" from the get go, KIBAKI over 100% voter turn out in some constituencies, come on! ODINGA he has the power to tell folks (poor, disenfranchised croonies) to stay at home, go to work and let the legal process work - He claims to be related to Obama, geez, how about he just listens to one of his speeches.
    HAS ANY OF THESE LEADERS STUDIED KENYATTA OR MLK?
    THIS IS CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT KENYA AND THE WHOLE WORLD NEEDS A GENERATIONAL CHANGE - these old goons have made their money, are drunk on power and have nothing to lose by following hardline stands.
    WHEN 2 ELEPHANTS FIGHT, IT IS THE GRASS THAT SUFFERS!

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  45. What has Raila done for his constituency - he should be the laughing stock of the parliament - KIBERIA IS THE BIGGEST SLUM IN AFRICA!
    What has Raila done for the roads as Minister for Transportation n Communication. How can any investments be made without good roads?
    Kibaki Tosha, Raila Tosha - go into retirement folks!!!

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  46. Western style democracy is not the reason that Kenya has tribalism, it is a combination of colonial favouritism and abuse of state resources a favouritism by one individual who happened to favour his own tribe. It is a artificially created concept as a result of political boundaries that create an identity few understand. What people must realise is that it will take a long time before a generation can identify itself as Kenyan, not by tribal lines. It should start now

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  47. Services can only be provided when Kenyans start electing leaders that have that in mind. If Tuju could be removed after what he did in his consituency then Kenyans can continue to have that nice pipe dream, coz right now no one is compromizing and in countries where these services run there is at least a little bit of compromise

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  48. Anon 12:34 What has Tuju done to his constituents, Did he do with his own money...Those were taxes paid for by the people of Rarieda..It was their right and not a favor. Politics of patronage i thought were supposed to end with Kenyatta....Divide and rule was supposed to end with Moi...But Kibaki perfected them all ..Period and if Tuju vies in today he will still be voted out.Period

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  49. It was their right but they did get their rightful money used in their rightful home. As for some others, even if it was their right, that right was violated. So in hindsight, Tuju did his job, and in a normal world, when a politician does his job and is commendable for it then they tend to be given another chance, hence the provisions in the constitution that state an MP can run for another term. Obviously it is their choice but If people could not even keep Tuju but they would keep Raila who is worth 4 billion Kenya shillings but has done very little for Kibera then it shows Kenyans aren't ready for serious nation building. And Raila is not the only one, even Kibaki's constituents are dirt poor, so its a question of whether Kenyans want leaders that are commited to building our nation, because despite the fact that we have some very capable individuals in the country, very few of them have the resources to participate as a political leader. Other nations have gone through bitter civil wars,executions and genocides to learn a lesson. They are pleading with Kenyans to avoid resorting to that. If it will take a war to shove respect, tolerance and a commitment to change Kenya then maybe that is what will happen unfortunately. Kibaki perfected the most interesting thing, not to divide and rule but to leave people to their own devices. This is what has opened a pandora's box, and that is why Kibaki is suffering right now. Raila was a visionary that got blinded by conquests of power, and we all know too well what happens when power gets to someone's head, rationality flies out of the window.

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