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Monday, January 21, 2008

The Unanimous Declaration of the SIX United Provinces of Kenya

The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

IN THE KENYA PARLIAMENT, MARCH 1ST, 2008.

The unanimous Declaration of the SIX united Provinces of Kenya

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
-That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
-Such has been the patient sufferance of these Provinces; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present President of Kenya is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these Provinces. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
  1. He has refused his Assent Bomas Constitution, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
  2. He has forbidden his Members of Parliament to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
  3. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
  4. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
  5. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
  6. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the Province remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
  7. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these Provinces; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Empowerment of people; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
  8. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers, and by installing a Chief Justice who is his Kinsman.
  9. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
  10. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
  11. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
  12. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
  13. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
  • For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
  • For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these Provinces:
  • For our votes through an impossed electral commission:
  • For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
  • For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
  • For transporting our muslim brothers beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
  • For abolishing the free System of Assembly in the world, establishing therein an Arbitrary police government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Provinces:
  • For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
  • For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
14. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
15. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
16. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
17. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
18. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Kikuyu Savages (Mungiki), whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Mount Kenya brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their leaders to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our existence here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the Orange Republic Of Kenya, in General Parliament, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Provinces, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Provinces are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent Country; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the Mount Kenya Mafia, and that all political connection between them and the Province of Eastern and Central (Banana Republic of Kenya), is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent Provinces, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent Countries may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Western
Rift Valley
Nyanza
Nairobi
Coast
North Eastern

www.ODM.gov
21.Nov.2008

29 comments:

  1. Sounds like the only viable alternative to our 'Katiba Mpya' that the Mafia are so keen to dodge.

    Some parts of Eastern should be allowed the right to self determination (to be governed eternally by the Mafia or to be a constituent territory of the Orange Republic). So when do we stop paying 30% of our incomes (tax) to the Mafia?

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  2. well done. this will one day come, if one community thinks it has the right to rule Kenya

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  3. impractical, at the very least, this is not what we need. We need a UNITED Kenya not some six or seven provinces easily put up together. Kenya is not ready to go the way of Djibouti and/or Eritrea.

    Chris, I take great exception to that article. It is highly inflammatory, insensitive and irresponsible. Please find a way to get rid of it.

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  4. Phil:

    THis may interest you and people visiting the blogs:

    Kenya's 'mafia' feel the heat

    By Noel Mwakugu
    BBC News, Nairobi

    The plan by Kenya's opposition to boycott companies run by allies of President Mwai Kibaki in protest at the outcome of last month's presidential election is an astute political move.

    For ever since President Kibaki joined the ranks of opposition politics in 1992, he has surrounded himself with a group of close confidants and friends from his days in college.

    And it is they who are being blamed for influencing his hardline stance during the ongoing crisis that followed Mr Kibaki's controversial win.


    They ["Mount Kenya Mafia"] have realised good profits during his rule and letting go to an individual they do not trust sends a chill down their spine


    Haroun Ndubi
    Kenyan political analyst

    The wealthy old men, most in their late 70s consider themselves as the council of elders but ordinary Kenyans know them at the "Mount Kenya Mafia".

    The circle of influential Kibaki friends include Defence Minister Njenga Karume, Nairobi university chancellor Joe Wanjui, and big time investors Nat Kangethe, Joseph Kanyago and Nick Wanjohi.

    The multi-millionaires have vast business interests in commercial agriculture, real estate, tourism industry and transport industry.

    Behind the scenes

    And when Mr Kibaki ascended to power in 2002 after two failed attempts, the time had come to use their influence.






    Tribalism debate stoked

    Wary of ethnic politics

    Apart from a few appointed to prominent positions in his administration, most operate behind the scenes.

    Analysts argue that they have taken full advantage of President Kibaki's hands-off style of administration to play a key role in deciding cabinet and top civil service appointments and well paid government contracts.

    The president's inner circle has also been instrumental in ensuring who gets elected to parliament in most of central Kenya.

    However, during last elections a good number of their candidates chosen by the Party of National Unity (PNU) were defeated at the polls by candidates from smaller political parties.

    This was described by political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi as a rebellion against the old order of doing things in the region.

    Recent saga

    During President Kibaki's five year term, it is argued that their acumen in business has grown considerably.



    Many of Kibaki's candidates were defeated at the polls

    A key area being pointed out as their core business is the now active Nairobi stock exchange.

    Well informed sources there confide that the Mt Kenya Mafia are associated with companies that have in the past couple of years acquired large shares in key government concerns and other profitable companies - often through proxies.

    Just before last year's elections, Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga brought attention to their activities by revealing how underhand tactics allegedly used at the stock exchange were benefiting just a few individuals.

    Financial experts this led to the recent saga where the ODM leadership went to court in an attempt to stop Finance Minister Amos Kimunya from selling the government share of the very profitable mobile phone company Safaricom.

    Simmering temperatures

    Political analyst Haroun Ndubi argues that it is in the spirit of protecting their economic gains that produces hardline political positions within government.

    "They have realised good profits during his rule and letting go to an individual they do not trust sends a chill down their spine," argues Mr Ndubi - who is also a human rights lawyers.

    When the ODM spokesman Salem Lone announced last week that they would be targeting business concerns linked to the government hardliners, this moved quickly.

    The ODM has listed businesses in the banking, dairy, tourism and transport sector to name but a few that will be targeted for countrywide boycotts, beginning this week.

    In response, President Kibaki unexpectedly appointed a negotiating team lead by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka who came third in the race for the presidency, to try to quell the simmering temperatures.

    "I think the new tactic announced by ODM has caused some shivers among the hardliners as it would hit where it hurts most," Mr Ndubi notes.

    With pressure mounting on Mr Kibaki's disputed presidency and growing divisions within his party only time will tell how long the influence of the "Mount Kenya Mafia" continues.

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  5. Hey Phil. That is further balkanization of the country, it is counter-development. This is where the ODM Strategy is WRONG, since it is based on segregation, division and isolation. ODM should preach a united Kenya, because continued isolation of the People of Central will NEVER work. Hatred is also part of such a move, you seam to be fantasizing hatred. That is negative development in a society that is on course of improving education levels of its people. I pray such efforts come to naught and be futile. Why not preach Unity for the Whole Country? ODM is really being shameless! Open isolation of the two provinces? People of goodwill and mature Kenyans will not buy that. And by the way, remove Nairobi from the list, Nairobi is cosmopolitan.......I like this DOM blog coz I always get to see the DOM spirit and mind. Interesting. I can tell when DOM is getting it wrong, and where they will stifle, you know? That one will fail, it is evil in nature.

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  6. based on marslow heirachy of needs

    if you take a way
    shelter
    food
    clothing

    what option is left for kenyans.These are basic needs any human will first want to meet the basic needs before they can even think of an election or for that matter a rigged election.
    Government may carry the day by providing the basic needs however this are temporay fixes because their permanent residence has been taken away by unjust means.
    On the other hand while government is doing all it can to punish this violaters,it is obvious that the excess force ,unjust,ungodly and inhuman killings leave the country very polarized.
    My view is that this is a time bomb waiting to explode.The way i see it , one hungry businessman may see gap or opening in this situation, by providing means for these disturbed people to defend themselves thereby giving the same power(amunation) to the people like the government has.
    What will happen there after is unimaginable without doubt there will be alot more bloodshed.just think about it ksh 1m can buy about 800 pieces. so if 100 people raid a place how much can they make.
    This is a time for sanity and compromise not who is greater richer or in control.without level headedness and compromise there can be no peace.

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  7. Simon Sies,

    Kibaki stole the elections: he knows that, the eu knows that; the not so fake world bank knows that; britain knows that; and they prety well know thais country.

    Those attacking our kikuyu brothers and sisters should know that and consider that the fight is between the sloth and kenyans and has nothing to do withkikuyus or luos.

    Amen and let there be know peace till justice comes forth.

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  8. Is there really Kenya anymore? Kenya one people who feel they are one Country?

    Or are we talking about Kenya the adminstrative unit protected by law?

    If it is the latter then may be but if the "Government" is not careful they could lose effective control over part of that administrative unit.

    In my view, we have Odingastan and Kibakistan and it is a reality we need to deal with.

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  9. Sample this BBC excerpt from the rally in Kisumu
    Mr Odinga addressed supporters on Monday at an inter-denominational service, held to remember victims of the bloodshed, at the main stadium in his western stronghold of Kisumu.
    Supporters of the opposition leader, who believes he was cheated of victory in the 27 December election, waved banners that read: "Give us guns and they will see!"
    But Mr Odinga told them: "I'm telling him [Mr Kibaki] that my people are asking me to give them guns but I'm telling them I'll give them the ballot box instead."

    Are we seein the beginning of an armed insurgency?

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  10. This sunday was Human relations day and the scrpt below was so timely I thought I should paste it here. It summarises our current standoff.

    James 4
    Submit Yourselves to God
    1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

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  11. this is the real way forward and I support this 100%. it will diffuse the animosity and allow central/eastern to govern themselves and the other six provinces to govern themselves. we are deluding ourselves that somehow we can work together. central province have only recognized one of their own since independence and thats not going to change. so lets face it, move on and stop the hate and ethnic chauvinism.

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  12. Who would be the citizens of this country? Those who happen to be living there on Independence Day? Those who are residents? Or only members of certain ethnic groups? And if so, who will decide? What about the displaced? What about the sons and daughters of those killed in the northern Rift? Will they be welcome back home?

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  13. I support this 100%. Let those who believe they have to run Kenya OR ELSE have Central and parts of Eastern Province. The other Kenyans who believe each and everyone, NO MATTER THEIR TRIBE has a right to vie for, win an election fairly and be sworn in as President, work together to build a unified Kenya where we all have equal access to opportunity and resources.

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  14. This is what we need, lets table this in Parliament and the mps can decide which country to join, Central and Eastern cannot force Kibaki down our throat.

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  15. Kinyanjui

    Which is this country you refer to?

    Are you plaaining to be in Central/Eastern and asking about the other 6 Provs or in the 6 Provs asking about Central/Eastern or in 6 Provs asking about 6 Provs or in Central/Eastern asking about Central/Eastern?

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  16. Sincerely, this is a well thought out strategy. Kenyans have a right to choose.
    Apart from the problem of the business class, what we are seeing are effects of series of oath taking that kicked off in 1969. Hundreds of thousands of our brethren from Central Kenya have taken the oath.www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901233,00.html?promoid=googlep - 35k
    What options do you have when you are faced with a group that feel that it is their right to rule, and should any other community take over- it is their right to fight tooth and nail to take back the leadership.
    What happened to all those fiery human rights activists of the 1990's from Central Kenya. What happened to the righteous church leaders that never let Moi sleep a wink as they fought for the "rights" of Kenyans?
    Does that mean that when the leadership is in the hands of son of Mumbi, they all take a break?
    This declaration may seem funny, but it echoes what Kenyans (that are non Kikuyu) feel. It is just a matter of time...

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  17. THE HEAT IS ON PNU!!!

    This blog site is backed and run by PNU. Unfortunately, they did not expect the influx of opposition on their site! TOO BAD, the world is watching!!!

    ABUNUWASI EDITORIAL:SUSPENSION OF SITE FOR 10 DAYS TO FIGHT HATE SPEECH

    ABUNUWASI.COM will be pulled from cyber space for 10 days most probably starting today so as to clamp down on notorious IP addresses, that have made hate speech a passion of sorts.

    Being a responsible site and with patriotism as our driving point we take the painful decision to suspend the news coverage provided by this site so as to enable us hire an impartial moderator for the site and also to come up with a delayed comment section activator that will enable us to access comments long before they are read by the globhal audience.

    We may be late but we shall not be part of the tribal hate being advocated through cyber space, as we have said before the ethnic composition of the editorial board is so diverse and we refuse to be separated by political intrigues for we have not stooped that low as to define human beings by the tongue they speak.

    It is much more disheartening to see intellectuals who have found comfort outside the country participant in cheerleading for their communities to sharpen the pangas, to attack to maintain their hardline stance - yet this is the group the nation hoped would bring intellectual sanity in the whole event.

    abunuwasi.com will be joining a group of journalists who are proposing an empty cup and empty plate lunch to raise funds for those internally displaced and will also play a key part in the mediation process through creative media ideas.

    We choose to rise above the blame game and look for the truth that will set the podium for justice as says our beautiful National Anthem.

    For those of who still committed to tribal hate we wish you the best in that cause, but for us at abunuwasi.com we will ensure that is not done through this forum.

    We will be bask on 3rd February 2008, we pray peace will have been found, we also hope we will be be able to upgrade the site to take photos and videos so that we are able to take abunuwasi to the next level, we also hope to present a new look abunuwasi inter-face.

    Whatever way, we insist never again will this site allow the kind of insults, tribal branding and exchanges that we have witnessed right here - we shall be fully in charge.

    As Kofi Annan arrives we wish him the best as the eyes of the nation are on him and the ears of the citizentry wide open to listen and watch the doves fly.

    For the record, we at abunuwasi.com do support the idea of a Presidential Re-run, if that is what it takes to have peace - but that if it is accepted should be on the basis of ECK re-composition, judicial strengthening and post election violence victims resettlement.

    PEACE KENYA...perharps Kalembe Ndile was right, Tip Tip....Amani Kenya.

    During the time you can communicate to the editors through maswali@abunuwasi.com and copy the email to silenttracksters@yahoo.com..we will reply every email...

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  18. Am beautiful and wonderfully made, am a kenyan citizen and not a kikuyu as some would put it. I love my country and will continuing doing so, spread hate and violence as much as you want, live your lives drawing tribal lines, in any case i will live my life free out of jelousy and outrage. You make the innocent suffer; if our almighty Father says forgive our tresspassers. You will use and define big names to make the situation acceptable, bottom line my friend; this politicians are playing you open your eyes, if both pnu and odm cared for the kenyan citizens, we should be speaking in pasttense.

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  19. Am from central, and a Kiuk. I feel it real, that we are hated. I feel insecure. I feel like somebody will just dislike me just because I come from central. I am sure Ugandans or Tanzanians dont hate me because I come from Kenya, but there are Kenyans who hate me because I come from Central. I never knew it was like this. I used to assume that the way I love all the other Kenyans, is the way they love me. But the post election chaos have proved me wrong. There has been hatred toward me, it has only manifested itself. I have to protect myself from this seeming animosity and hatred. I never used to care about voting and who is president, but now I care. I will have to protect myself. It seems these elections were not really about democracy, but about proving a point to the people of Central. It seems they were elections to bring down the people of central. That I have to DEFEND. Any power available to protect myself will have to be utilized. This animosity in the name of democracy must be brought down.

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  20. Hilarious! Grasping at straws are we?! Good luck trying to build a nation without the "work ethic" the "EIGHTH" province brings.

    On second thoughts, maybe its not such a bad idea. Remember Israel and Palestine? While Palestinians allowed themselves to be led by a dictatorial tyrant more focused on death and politics. Israel was building. And now.......

    Bring it on JADWONG!!!!

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  21. Will we need visas to travel to the free republic of ODM? Or are we permanently banned? Please let me know. I have close blood relations in Kericho, Kisii, and Kisumu and would like to plan my travel budget for the next year.

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  22. This sounds like a good solution, after all MOST GEMA beleive Kibaki is in office legally and Kazi should endelea, while a most Non- Gema do not recognise him as their president.
    Since there seems to be no middle ground and we are all die- hards why not just split maybe we'll learn to love each other while separated?
    I do not u/stand why you shld insist on co-existing with pple you despise as violent or primitive. Also no need to live with thugs and robbers just divide this thing and lets have Visa rules from each side.
    If you need to work in the ODR - Kenya and you are from the other side( as politicians put it) then you have to be issued with a work permit or vice versa.
    On the surface it all looks ok but think about this:
    - One month down the line for instance pple in the ODR- Kenya might be using some old vehicles to try and reach their destinations- well maybe in 1 year new ones will have been purchased. On the other hand the BR- Kenya will have too many busses and prices will plummet as the number of vehicles will be more than passengers to carry?
    - The ppls in the BR-Kenya will start wishing for their friends from other parts who they could safely employ as watchmen as known fact is GEMA are not the most trustworthy as security men?? On the other previous security men in ODR- Kenya might mutate into something else for lack of jobs??
    -Since most doctors and proffessors will have moved to the other side BR- Kenya will have to engage in capacity building to fill up these posts.
    -What about the wakosa kabila. Luo/kikuyu parents, married to maasai/meru girl where do they fall or go?
    - What do we tell our children- why can they no longer see/ play with their friends?
    - Too many landlords on the BR- side houses will be rented for peanuts.
    - Increased theft in BR- you know why?
    -

    In short no one is superior to the other we are all equal and need each other in equal measures, but if this cannot work then we have to relearn how to live separately and face the consequences.

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  23. Kenyans must have the right to vote for the people they want to run the country regardless of tribes. If the people elected do not produce the results desired by the public, voters must have the right to vote them out in the next election!!

    The determination of these people to hang on to power by force indicates they do not need Kenyas--- This is an "ARISTOCRATIC REGIME".

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  24. I do not understand our these guys from Mt Kenya, they want to force Kibaki a ruthless thief and a murderer, wnted at the hague to answer charges o crimes against humanity. We are waiting to hear the results of the meeting with Koffi then we will convene parliarment and declare independence immediately. They can stay in Central for all we know, our 5 MP's in Nairobi will vote for this move which includes Margaret Wanjiru the white sheep in MT Kenya and John Kiarie our hero.

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  25. On the eve of a proposed million-man opposition protest rally in Kenya recently, a spokesman for the “Taliban” in Kenya called NEWSWEEK, asking to meet somewhere in Nairobi. The man, who called himself Abraham, said he had urgent news of an 11th hour meeting between Kikuyu and Luo tribal elders in a Nairobi market, where they were attempting to broker a truce before an all-out war broke out in the slums of Nairobi. He tried to convey the contours and severity of the situation for his Luo people, of whom the Taliban claim to be defending, but one simple question needed an answer: Of all the names in the world for a group of 100 percent Christian, mainly large African men from Nairobi, why use the name “Taliban”?

    “People already knew the name,” he said of "Taliban", reminding me that his so-called volunteer Luo defense force has nothing to do with the Afghani Taliban, or for that matter, the brand of terrorism practiced by Islamic fundamentalists. “The Taliban defended their people and their way of life. So are we.”

    Of the more than 20 gangs and their tribal and ideological affiliates reportedly active across Kenya, the dizzying list is checkered with a number of strange, and some might say confounding monikers for African gangs: the Kosovo Boys, the Republican Council, the Dallas Muslim Youth. And that’s to say nothing of the most feared and notorious of the Kenyan vigilante forces, the Mungiki, whose name is actually somewhat fitting, if even a bit tame given their affinity for decapitating people. Mungiki means “multitude”, and there really are many of them, with over a million members across Kenya.

    As Kenya has descended into a political and tribal melee following its questionably democratic elections, feared gangs of new and old have reassembled and returned to the streets. Some religious, some tribal, some ragtag and just out to burn and loot, the outbreak of violent clashes that’s killed more than 650 people across the country since the Dec. 27th elections may be crippling the Kenyan economy, but it's been good for business amongst gangs who thrive on the absence of stability. Across Kenya, vigilante forces like the Taliban are out settling scores, offering “protection” to their impoverished neighbors and standing armies for wealthy political and tribal backers.

    The presence of gangs, even ineptly named ones, is not new here in Kenya. According to William Gituru, a Kenyan academic and social counselor familiar with gangs and sectarian vigilante groups across the country, these groups tend to go for names that reflect the dark character of their activities. “These guys do nasty stuff, they are used by politicians for their dirty jobs, so they want to show their toughness.“

    According to Gituru, the proliferation of mass media, films and music also plays an acute role in this English-speaking country, especially in the slums where American hip-hop stars are youth icons and gangster culture is a new obsession. Shortly after the war in the Balkans, the residents of a notorious Nairobi slum area began calling their squalid home “Kosovo” because of its resemblance to the images of the bombed-out former Yugoslavian cities flashing on TV screens. The neighborhood nickname spawned a gang by the same name, the “ Kosovo Boys”. Another rival group in Western Kenya called their turf “Baghdad” and themselves the "Baghdad Boys" until they disbanded and members split into three different groups, the biggest of which is the modern-day Taliban. “These are usually jobless, impressionable young men; they learn to thrive on power and chaos, and want you to know, to fear, that.“

    The majority of these gang groups claim to be armed and prepared only in defense of their people and interests, but that seems to be only part of their daily operations. One of Kenya’s smaller tribes, the Kisii, that are predominantly in Nyanza province in Western Kenya, are said to have spawned not one but two groups: the Amuchuma (“piece of metal”) and the Chinkororo (“We will rain on you”), a 3,000-strong youthful protection group prevalent in Western Kenya, who have apparently played a violent support role in every election since 1992. The Republican Council, an oath-taking, Muslim group defending the Digo community, operate in and around Mombasa on Kenya’s coast. Their name stems from their desire for the coastal region to separate and form their own republic apart from Kenya. Their fighters allegedly undergo guerilla-style training in a remote southern Kenyan forest before returning to their hometowns.

    There really isn’t a fitting word, or a printable name, to describe what’s become of Kenya over the past few weeks. Even today few Kenyans--let alone diplomats--seem to have a clue how to forge a political solution, let alone what will happen next. In the meantime, the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament began in Ghana this week, which many Kenyans seem to be welcoming as a unifying, safe distraction from the problems facing their nation today.

    Kenyans are tribalisms. And the reason why Kenya is in turmoil today is because Luos were waiting patiently for their turn to practice the worst tribalism in kenya and together with all the other tribes affiliated with jaluo eliminate the Kikuyu tribe on the Kenyan map and take charge. This was an advance plan between the kalenjins and Luhyas,Kisiis and the rest. But God is a fair god.. i pity the Kikuyu's, hard working, dying for no reason.

    Kenya belongs to all kenyan irrespective of tribe. How come all this tribe never showed up when kikuyuys were fighting the colonialists. I ask?

    Can Professor Anyang Nyongo answer. Please.

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  26. MR KIINO, WHAT WE ARE SAYING IS THAT,SINCE IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO SHARE ANYTHING WITH THE MK PEOPLE, THE BEST WAY OUT WITHOUT SHEDDING BLOOD IS TO SEPERATE.AS YOU HAVE STATED ABOVE, IT SEEMS YOU KNOW VERY WELL THAT OTHER TRIBES HATE THE MK PEOPLE.WHY DO YOU WANT TO LIVE WITH THEM BY FORCE? AND BY THE WAY , HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY OTHER TRIBES HATE YOU?

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  27. SEPARATE AND MAKE SURE THERE IS A MASSIVE WALL AROUND KIRINYAGA. LET THEM KILL AND STEAL FROM EACH OTHER AND HAVE MUNGIKI TO RULE THEIR DAMNED LAND. I KNOW THEY WILL DO WELL SURVIVING ON WARU AND NGWASHE UNTIL REALITY AWAKENS THEM!!

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  28. The hatred seems real but for what? What has the poor Kikuyu farmer in Eldoret done to warrant it? What has the hard working businessman in Turbo done to be marked for death?

    Political power equals economic power. You can't have one without the other. Economic power is gained thru hard work and sheer grit. You can't have it if you're squeamish. Why should we ask foreign investors to Kenya when KENYANS can't invest freely in their own country? What hypocrisy!!

    Liwalo na Liwe!

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  29. I AGREE WITH THE BLOGGER WHO SAYS WE NEED ONE ANOTHER(EVEN THOUGH WE HATE ONE ANOTHER)
    IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE MORE KENYANS BECOME EDUCATED. THE MORE FOOLISH THEY BECOME.
    WE WANT FOREIGN INVESTORS BUT NOT LOCAL INVESTORS.
    WE HATE ONE ANOTHER WHILE THE RULING CLASS (OF ALL TRIBES) ARE WINING AND DINING AND MARRYING FROM EACH OTHER'S FAMILIES.
    THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE POOR TURN TO TRIBALISM TO VENT THEIR FRUSTRATION.BECAUSE THEY CANNOT CHANGE THINGS,THEY ATTACK ONE ANOTHER.
    AS WE ENGAGE IN BICKERING, FOREIGNERS ARE GROWING FAT FROM KENYAN RESOURCES. CONSIDER. WHO OWNS THESE COMPANIES?
    1: DEL MONTE
    2: DELAMERE FARMS
    3: KUKI GULMAN FARMS
    4: RANCHES IN LAIKIPIA
    5: SHER, HOWMEGROWN AND OSERIAN IN NAIVASHA
    5: CMC MOTORS
    6: GM MOTORS
    7: KBL (MAJORITY SGHAREHOLDING)
    8: WILLIAMSON AND FINLAY TEA
    AND MANY OTHERS.
    I THINK WE NEED TO GET A BETTER WAY OF ADDRESSING OUR PROBLEMS E.G. POVERTY, JOBLESSNESS
    FINAL WORD: KIKUYUS-STOP YOUR ARROGANCE JUST BECAUSE GOD HAS PROSPERED YOU ABOVE THE OTHERS.
    NON-KIKUYUS: STOP YOUR JEALOUSY AND ENVY TOWARDS KIKUYUS AND WORK HARD.
    SHALOM KILA MTU!

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