Why some Kalenjin politicians are now fleeing UDA. Shocking | Kenya news

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Violence Coming? Plus Dr Mutua: Stop messing up the peace efforts!

Update: There is this game we used to play when we were young. You twist the hand of your friend and as they scream out in pain, instead of letting go, you twist some more. The idea is to get them to scream as loudly as possible. You want to see just how far you can drive them up towards the pain barrier.

That is the game one Mwai Kibaki is playing with Kenyans. On Tuesday he appointed a cabinet and immediately there were riots across Kenya (according to the New York Times)

Interestingly on the Kumekucha post that announced this information, even Kibaki supporters felt that this was the wrong move.

Actually I fear for the worst. If the second wave of violence does come it will be worse than the first and I expect Nairobi to be affected very badly.

Who will save Kenya from this small clique of mad men (representing many tribes) that is holding the entire nation hostage?


Dr Mutua: Stop messing up the peace efforts!

By GUEST WRITER

Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua’s skills would have been badly needed during the dark days of the Kanu regime but not in modern Kenya.

He lost a good opportunity not to have been around during President Moi’s reign. Kenyans of today can’t be fooled easily.

The manner in which Dr Mutua has been discharging his public duties since he mysteriously landed on the job has been an issue of great public concern. However, the statements that have been coming from him after tragedy hit the country following the disputed December 27 General Election reveals the amateurish manner in which he handles his job.

His recent statements make him look like the spokesman for the Party of National Unity (PNU) and not a Government spokesman. There is a clear distinction between PNU and the Government. The Government – which Dr Mutua serves – is for all the 33 million Kenyans but PNU belongs to Kibaki and those who subscribe to his ideologies (if he has any). Dr Mutua’s statements are a replica of those coming out of PNU hawks.

Dr Mutua, either acting on his behalf or at the behest of the infamous Mt Kenya Mafia led by Head of Civil Service chief Francis Muthaura, seems hell bent to add more confusion to the already volatile situation in Kenya.

It has become almost a routine to see the Government spokesman addressing a media conference every day in the company of his counterpart in the police, Mr Eric Kiraithe. Nothing sensible comes out of their mouths every time they take the microphone.

Of worth noting is Dr Mutua’s repeated statements that Kenya does not require an external mediator to resolve the current political crisis. He said Kenya was not at war and the problem could be solved by us.

And when it finally emerged that Ghanian President and the African Nations Chief John Kuffuor was headed to Nairobi to spearhead international mediation between Mr Kibaki and the would-be President, Mr Raila Odinga, Dr Mutua has changed tune. He now says that President Kuffuor and Mr Kibaki are good buddies and the Ghanian leader was coming to Kenya on the invitation of Mr Kibaki and not on mediation mission.

Contrary to the filtered news from mainstream media and fake official police reports, more than 1,000 Kenyans have lost their lives in the post-election violence and hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced from their homes and property worth billions of shillings lost. What joy does Dr Mutua and his like-minded characters derive from swimming in the blood of innocent Kenyans?

Kenya is bleeding profusely and the country has been gripped by fear that has no precedent in independent Kenya. It is, therefore, callous for anyone to turn a blind eye to the current crisis and declare that Kenya was not on fire and there was no need of an external arbitrator.

If President Kibaki is not what we know him to be - a visionless fence-sitter who fears making any slight move or even make a minor decision – Kenyan would not be bleeding the way it is for now and there would be no need of external help.

But Kenyans would be so naïve to expect President Kibaki to lead the nation into resolving the national crisis or on a healing path yet he has failed to solve petty domestic squabbles with his wife, Lucy, leading to embarrassing spill-over in public!

It’s due to President Kibaki’s actions that Kenya is on fire and that is why there is a growing outcry locally and internationally that international mediators are needed to help Kenyans put out the fire before it wipes out the face of our beloved nation. It’s within Dr Mutua’s knowledge and understanding that Kenya is in the current state because President Kibaki stole the December 27 General Election.

There is no doubt that President Kibaki is occupying State House illegally after stealing the presidency from Mr Odinga. Although Mr Odinga, who had won the Presidency through a democratic and transparent process, had a constitutional to refuse to hold any talks with the illegitimate President in State House, he has softened his earlier hard-line stand and agreed to share a table with the pretender-to-the-throne.

Depending on the way Mr Odinga plays his cards, he might emerge from the talks the statesman to be remembered and envied for years to come. Already, he enjoys the sympathy, confidence and credibility of a majority of the Kenyan populace and the international community.

On the other hand, President Kibaki’s credibility and reputation has suffered heavily since he was declared winner of the stolen election. Is it then a wonder that no country has sent congratulatory messages to President Kibaki since he was declared winner and sworn in for a second term in a funeral-like ceremony at the lawns of State House?

If I was President Kibaki, I would soul-search deep in my heart and find out why he has been isolated by world leaders. He risks losing the global goodwill he enjoyed if he continue clinging to stolen presidency. The visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Dr Jendayi Frazer, on Monday told the media that they congratulated the Kenyan people and NOT President Kibaki’s “victory”.

That is why I argue that if I was Mr Odinga, I would play my cards well. This will boost his political status locally and internationally. Already, President Kibaki is feeling the pinch and that is why he has sent emissaries like George Saitoti, Uhuru Kenyatta, Moses Wetangula and Raphael Tuju to countries in Africa to beg for recognition. We wish them luck in their mission!

We need to hear voices of reason - people encouraging dialogue between Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga for the best interest of our country but not voices of doom. The likes of Dr Mutua should be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

What will the likes of Dr Mutua achive if Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga turn their backs against each other and the country explodes into a huge bonfire?

I submit here that Dr Mutua – who is Mr Muthaura’s mouthpiece – should shut up if he has nothing better to tell Kenyans. Kenyans wants peace. He should not pour cold water on Mr Odinga’s reconciliation overtones – which will be beneficial to the majority of Kenyans who are suffering from the post-election violence.

Furthermore, there is an unwritten rule that you don’t continue hitting a man when he is down. Despite being robbed of the presidency in a day-light robbery, Mr Odinga has done what many thought he would not do – agreeing to talk with the thief!

I highly doubt if the likes of Dr Mutua are feeling the pinch of the violence. Whatever method is used to restore peace and sanity in Kenya is welcome to those who don’t harbour selfish interests.

16 comments:

  1. Good piece, iam equally baffled by Mutua's unbecoming behavior so much that i did a back ground check on his credentials and i was surprised that he has good degrees from verifiable schools , however i wonder why he doesn’t use what he learnt in school to filter his mouth; his choice of words are very unsophisticated and also his views are too simplistic for a PHD fellow i.e. "you don’t form a coalition with a looser" he told Reuters during an interview , this is the kind of talk we would expect of a high school drop out , soon he will be drowned in his own arrogance. I tried to dig deeper and understand why he acts this way and finally came to a conclusion that Mutua is what we call an academician and not necessarily an intellectual, an academician is a book smart whose main goal in school is to pass exams and move to the next level as opposed to an intellectual who processes what they learn and often use their own intellect to decipher situations.

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  2. Dr Mutua's dismissive attitude is very very dangerous. Kenya needs courageous leaders who are not afraid to face reality. In EVERY broadcast I have seen, Dr Mutua comes across as being arrogant and in denial.

    I humbly implore any PNU supporters - please, for the good of Kenyans of all political persuasions - fight the good fight if you have to - but don't insult the people's intelligence by fronting the likes of Dr Mutua.

    Thank you. God bless.

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  3. This so called "guest writer" is clearly a very sad ODM mole who's day dreaming that they are the ones who should be in power and no one else.

    The fact is clear, Domos don't want peace, they want power!

    Remember the botched '82 coup attempt? The botched 2007 "peoples coup" attempt by the so called "people's president?"

    The fact is ODM has been wrong footed so many times by PNU. Politics is like a game of chess, checkmate!

    Day by day, ODM are increasingly looking like the bad guys bearing in mind that most of the shocking crimes after the results were announced have been committed by their murderous supporters.

    Dr Mutua has been persistent that aggrieved parties should go to the courts. Don't we have a rule of law in Kenya? If the Domos had so much faith in our justice system and went to court to stop Safaricom IPO, why can't they return for their election blues?

    Kindly leave Dr. Mutua out of this. It's not the guy who's holding Kenyans at ransom but your party..Hooo Ndiii Emmmm.

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  4. Every right thinking Kenyan can see that what the President is doing is wrong. Sad thing is it's like he's trying to twist the knife more and add salt to injury. One thing is for sure, now that this has degenerated into tribes. Kikuyus are much worse than they would have been even under Raila. The ones writing here have no problems at all. They're not leaving in show grounds and are not relying on relief food. Most live in rental houses in towns and at the end of the day they still have a place in Shags where they can go if forced to.

    The ones really suffering under this ridiculous Kibaki rule are the displaced. And they and their children will feel the effects of this fiasco generations to come. They dont have a voice and obviously have no access to internet otherwise they could confirm that they dont like what Kibaki is doing. They're hurting and I'm sure after voting Kibaki, they're now feeling that he's letting them down.

    I am one sad Kikuyu.

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  5. Life has to go on, Kenya cannot be held at ransom at the expense of people's lives

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  6. annoy 1:11am .... i wonder what you meant? if you meant that ODM is holding the country at ransom pole! If you meant KIbaki is doing it, they arrongancey in you is killing me!

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  7. by the way hav yo people noticed how the number of people answering posts has diminished,

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  8. macs34... Nobody is willing to be on the frontline in the march for democracy. These poor people who held the first demonstrations on the 30th had nothing to loose... life for them was already gloomy and a change of government was their last hope.

    But for you and me who really should be out there: we will scream and shout through the internet but when push comes to shove... we will do nothing.

    Until we are ready to practice what we preach (and Kenyans I dare say are not good at that) nothing will change, and that's why Kibaki is daring enough to name his cabinet. He knows that the people (ie you and me) who he really should be worried about (in terms of how we would react) will do nothing about it.

    Kenyans, if we do not think 'revolution' nothing will change. One thing I know for sure is that if I dared all Kumekuchians to meet in Moi Avenue for a peaceful protest: I will be out there alone.

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  9. anon 4.23am

    Please do. I agree with you entirely.

    I can assure you I attended about 3 ODM peaceful protests but these were violently dispersed by police. some of my colleagues are still in central police on trumped-up charges of illegal assembly, et al.

    I can assure you however, whether Dr. Mutua likes it or not, I will be at the frontline in the next ODM protest that will follow these talks that Kibaki has already sabotaged.

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  10. Mutua was elected by who? Who does he represent?

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  11. it was on july 5th 2006 you had a post about a certain prophesy which had come true about kibaki's election win in 2002-You need to revisit the website(www.thomasmanton.com) of Thomas Manton the man of God.God had shown him in september 2007 that Kibaki will win And he is the God's choice whether we like it or not.Therefore Raila will wither like a flower whose glory is short lived and few will have noticed its glory.Forgive but I think we are going to have a prosperous 5 year term under Kibaki and nobody can or will do anything about except domo domo!!

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  12. Commentary
    Lesson for Kenya: Know when to go.
    In Tanzania, Julius Nyerere set the example

    CLYDE SANGER

    From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

    January 9, 2008 at 7:41 AM EST

    Few people take easily to learning a big lesson from a younger sister or brother. It is the same with countries. The leaders of Kenya might well have saved their proud country from the carnage and misery that followed the Dec. 27 election if they had absorbed a lesson from their poorer Tanzanian neighbours: Leave office in good time.

    Julius Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania, set the example. On a farewell trip to Ottawa after resigning in 1985, he was asked by Globe columnist Hugh Winsor what he considered his greatest achievement. He might have said: bringing Tanganyika to independence in 1961, his political writings or saving revolutionary Zanzibar from being a Cold War pawn. Instead, he smiled gently and said: "Handing on my country in peace." His two successors as president have done the same.

    http://tinyurl.com/2zl9hx

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  13. Finally Kibaki visits the areas affected by violence. Looks at his facial expressions once he saw the outcome of the violence:
    http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=675711

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  14. Any courageous Akamba seeking to be remembered by his community? Make your people proud. 89 days is a long time.

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  15. When he was asked about people camping at Jamuhuri he supposedly responded by asking if they were there for a picnic. Come on now...any self respecting PR person would tell you a simple "No comment" or "We are not aware of that situation" would have sufficed. But noooooooo not for Dr. Mutua...he is above all sense of decency.

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  16. THE REALITY

    Kibaki does not care about Kikuyus, Wakamba, or any other Kenyans for that matter. Kibaki cares about Kibaki and family. Kikuyus are dying, as are Luos, but Kibaki continues on the path of destruction. Perhaps he is convinced that he will go to hell and is determined to take all of us with him.

    Raila, however, and in spite of antagonism to this from within his ranks, is still willing to negotiate with Kibaki. I seem to remember Raila also helping Kibaki win the presidency, as his father helped Kenyatta win. It should be obvious to everyone that Kibaki's lust for powe, or his wife's, far outshines Raila's but may be equal to Kalonzo's.

    Kikuyus, Wakamba and others should join the rest of Kenya in demanding a new election. They should take to the streets in peaceful protest to show that they do not support dictatorship and that they too love democracy. People may not believe them at first, but if they continue to agitate for democracy, for Kibaki's removal from office, other tribes will eventually join them. Otherwise people will assume that all Kikuyus want Kibaki in power even if it is through illegal and immoral means.

    Some are suggesting that Kibaki's plan is to allow things to degenerate so badly that he is "forced" to call a state of emergency. He will then declare even more loudly that a new election is out of the question and solidify his grasp on power.

    The US has also been trying to avoid a new election. In fact, it seems like every group aligned with Kibaki has been ignoring this most commonsense solution, even as they say that they are not afraid of a new election.

    Why? THEY ARE AFRAID OF A NEW ELECTION. THEY KNOW THAT THEY WOULD NOT WIN, especially Musyoka, and they do not want Raila in power.

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