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

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Deadly Nandi and Daniel Arap Moi


One reader asked a very interesting question yesterday in the comments area.

Why is it that a people like the Kalenjin with such a rich history of resistance were so quiet during the Kenyatta years as the first president of Kenya embarked on a massive program to settle many Kikuyu’s (whose land in central province was taken from them by the ruling elite then)? Indeed it is this Kenyatta policy that has caused the current crisis in the Rift Valley that is still a huge threat to national security.

----------------

Also published today: Why did Safaricom sack so many senior managers?

----------------

What happened was that Jomo Kenyatta used the then Minister of Home affairs and later his vice president, Daniel arap Moi to settle the large number of Kikuyu farmers in the Rift Valley. The settlement was encouraged by many other Kikuyu families who had already been farming the Rift Valley for a long time by the time Kenya obtained her independence.

Since the assassination of the Nandi Orkoiyot Koitalel arap Samoei who had united the community and won so many stunning military victories against the colonials, the Kalenjin community as a whole has always been looking for a leader to unite them and lead them to properity and success in a changed world. From the early 50s that leader was Daniel arap Moi. Moi criss-crossed the vast Rift Valley cheating his tribesmates that allowing the Kikuyu into their land would bring progress and open the floodgates for them to get direct access to the national cake. Indeed towards the end of the Moi years, some Kalenjin tribes, especially the Nandi were bitterly opposed to Moi and in the run up to the 1997 presidential elections; there was a time that it looked like the Nandi were not going to vote Moi. This is what allowed inroads into the Rift Valley by Mwai Kibaki’s political party then, DP (Democratic Party of Kenya).

But Moi used his vast historical knowledge of the Nandi to outsmart Kibaki and his DP and still get the Nandi vote despite the fact that the community was not happy with him and his many empty promises that dated back to the 1950s. Moi’s campaigners on the ground simply asked the Nandi to choose between allowing another Kikuyu government like Kenyatta’s to return or voting him back in for his last term. That was a no-brainer for the Nandi and Moi got his much-needed votes.

At this juncture it is appropriate for us to observe a fascinating fact. The British were completely unable to defeat the Nandi under their great Orkoiyot Koitalel arap Samoei even after they sent a man with a reputation for ingenious military tactics called Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen. So the British who have gained a reputation for fair play and always doing things “above board” were forced to use the kind of dirty tactics that would usually “shock them.” You see they were getting desperate and deeply embarrassed that a small group pf savages would put up resistance against them for 11 years at great cost to life and property. They had just had enough.

Now Meinertzhagen noticed that the brain behind his every move being outsmarted was Koitalel arap Samoei. So one day in late 1905 the good colonel invited Koitalel and his close advisors to a peace meeting to discuss and finalize lasting peace. It was during that meeting that Meinertzhagen himself killed Koitalel with a rifle at close range. Judging from the size of the hole in Koitalel’s skull (still preserved and now with a Japanese collector) a powerful rifle (and not a revolver) was used and Meinertzhagen stood on his left side. It was clear that the Brits were not taking any chances and wanted to make sure that this man who had cost them so much died. Military courts of enquiry were held by the British government to examine the actions of Meinertzhagen after numerous complaints were made. But clearly they were just for show because Meinertzhagen rather than being charged was in the end acquitted and quietly transferred elsewhere. He went on to become chief intelligence officer of the British army during the Second World War and left the military a highly decorated hero. Koitalel and 23 other Nandis fell and only one Nandi survivor escaped the ill-fated meeting to tell the world the truth about what really happened on that fateful 1905 day.

Meinertzhagen had laid down his plans well and after the murder of the Orkoiyot, two armored trains and the largest expedition yet was sent to deal with the Nandi once and for all. The expedition consisted of 1,500 Indian, Swahili and Somali soldiers, 1,300 auxilrries, 900 armed porters, 10 mchine guns and the two armored train wagons. Still the brave Nandis held out for 2 long months with great casualties. It was clear that things were not the same without their brilliant military strategist and leader. Finally in December 1905 Nandi elders approached the British and requested a peace deal, which was quickly finalized and the Nandi were at long last subdued just as the prophecy of the man they had stoned to death had said.


I finish this weekend's special series with a simple question; Had the NSIS and the president been aware of all this, would they still have gone ahead and played the games they played last December?


P.S.: What is in this week’s raw notes (aiii, wacha tu)!! In fact I cannot dare mention it in this public forum. That’s how HOT it is. No kidding!! However you can get a FREE sneak preview of this red hot saga from my weekly Kumekucha Confidential. Email Me right away for it. It’s FREE kabisa.

13 comments:

  1. stop plagiarizing articles from Wikipedia and presenting them as "secrets". Is it a wonder Daniel Waweru correctly termed you a history lesson failure? If you were doing CPE in the 1970s, you would get a -F.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In the same way Kenyans have for many years taken the Kalenjin for granted assuming that because they cannot speak flawless English too well and always have a heavy accent, they are not really that intelligent.

    I WAS NOT SO HAPPY WITH YOU SAYING THAT KALENJINS HAVE HEAVY ACCENT YESTERDAY. ALL KENYANS HAVE HEAVY ACCENTS - SO WHAT WAS YOUR STANDARD OF REFERENCE? KIKUYUS HAVE HEAVY KIUK ACCENT, SAME TO LUOS, LUHYAS ETC. AMERICANS HAVE HEAVY AMERICAN ACCENT IF YOU ASK A BRITISH WHILE AN AMERICAN WILL SAY THE SAME THING FOR THE BRITISH, CANADIAN, IRISH, SCOTISH, WELSH, AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE, CHINESE ETC.
    IN KENYA, WE SPEAK KENYAN ENGLISH - NOT BRISTISH ENGLISH AND THAT IS WHY WE HAVE THINGS LIKE PANGA, SHAMBA, SHAMBA BOY ETC.
    ACCENT CAN NEVER BE EQUATED WITH INTELIGENCE - IT JUST SHOWS WHERE SOMEONE IS FROM. SAWA.

    HAYA, YOU PROMISED TO TALK ABOUT THE KALENJIN BUT ARE TALKING ABOUT THE NANDI, THE NANDI SPEAKING TRIBES, THE KIPSIGIS AS IF ALL THOSE TERMS ARE INTERCHANGEABLE!

    LASTLY, THE KALENJIN SPEAKERS (I AM AVOIDING THE WORD TRIBE HERE) HAVE VERY CLOSELY RELATED (HERITAGE) HISTORY, CULTURES ETC. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THE KALENJINS TOGETHER WITH THEIR COUSINS THE MAASAIS, SAMBURU AND TURKANAS WILL NOT SETTLE ON ANYTHING LESS THAN A FUNCTIONAL MAJIMBO, OR SOME AUTONOMY OR SELF RULE OR - IF THINGS GO BAD, COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE. SO, I THINK THE GOVT HAS TO BE VERY CAREFUL WITH HOW THEY DEAL WITH THEIR GRIENAVCES AND ESPECIALLY THE YOUTHS ARRESTED AND THOSE MISSING.

    OTHER, ENDELEA NA KAZI YA EXPOSITION.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THE KALENJINS TOGETHER WITH THEIR COUSINS THE MAASAIS, SAMBURU AND TURKANAS WILL NOT SETTLE ON ANYTHING LESS THAN A FUNCTIONAL MAJIMBO, OR SOME AUTONOMY OR SELF RULE OR - IF THINGS GO BAD, COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE."

    What are they waiting for? Why don't they go ahead and do so? They should declare Independence and stop holding the rest of the country hostage because of their beloved shambas.
    Only then will they see the geopolitical consequences. Otherwise they should stop threatening Majimboism because they want an excuse and a cover for when they expel Kikuyus, Kisiis and other immigrants. They should go the whole hog, declare independence and not stop at Majimboism.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Kimi (iceman),

    Long time, Uhali gani? Umepotea sana. So much have happened since that ill-fated race in Canada.
    My 'son' Lewis has gone to hell and back and is now giving you the run for the money. What's going on with Ferraris? Have they run out of speed or what? I think it's about time you switch to McLaren the hottest car in the racing circuit. Don't you agree?
    What do you think about my son? Hot! 6 races 3 wins, 6 races for you no win! Next is Hungary, another Lewis favourite circuit.

    By the way I agree with your both comments but don't worry to much about KAMSTA, they are no threat to the rest of the country. Most of them still live in 2 centuries ago.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Moi never won a single election as president of Kenya. He was either unopposed or had himself always declared the winner. Chesoni was there for him, and then of course, Kivuitu came with his tongue out and ready to lick Moi's ass.

    Moi therefore could not have needed serious campaigning in amongst the Nandi. Whichever place they put their cross didn't matter anyway. And anyway, there was no way under the heavens that any Kalenjin sub-tribe could have voted for anybody else. Wait for a day Kikuyus will vote for any other tribe, or when Luos will vote for anybody else not blessed by Hon. Molasses Raila or tell Kaos that Mr Eight-Percent 24-hour Economy Kalooser is an idiot.

    That is how mature we Kenyans are politically.

    Abdi Mohammed

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Kwale, my Man. You are well i presume? Very good. Lewis is doing very well, thats for sure, but without taking anything away from him, Ferrari are just going through one of their usual down phases. Obviously, Massa could have done much better at Hockenheim and his lack of fight does not reflect the illustrious recent tradition of those who have driven the prancing horse, from Senna to Schumacher. It is very disappointing. Kimi is obviously a much better driver than Massa, just bad luck with his cars all the time.
    I do not think that this time, Luca di Montezemollo is going to spare Massa and he is going to get a proper tongue lashing for being such a coward and so incompetent at Hockenheim. I would not be surprised if next year Alonso joins us and someone like Sutil joins Mclaren, then we shall see the truly explosive quality of Formula 1. Very, very exciting possibilities for next year i say.
    With regard to the KAMSTA, I totally agree that the thinking is so 18th century. To use the F1 analogy, while we are at the circuit admiring the pit babes, the KAMSTA are watching volleyball at Kangemi stadium, and feeling oh so hot like they are on Bondi beach!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very interesting that the EA Standard now acknowledges that whoever gets the backing of the GEMA vote block in any possible alliance is a shoo in for President after Kibaki, especially between Kalonzo and Raila. One of them as matters stand today will be the next President(Karua and Uhuru have no chance on their own). Whatever changed the EA Standards minds? Is it because their hero, the Grand Sibuor of Bondo upon Nyando, Inheritor of the shadow of Luanda Magere, heir to the small finger of the Jaramogi and conqueror of all the fishes and all the crocodiles of Nam Lolwe, has waded into the fight for this block?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aii kenyanzuri can you lighten up?

    Is it true or not true Moi spoke English with a heavy accent? Is it true or not true Biwott speaks English the same way?(Does Biwott speak in the first place?)

    Chris was not talking here about Kikuyus and other tribes he was talking about the Kalenjin! Ati you were not happy, gosh!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I had an opportunity to meet and study with non-English speakers and for quite some time I thought 'Can a non-English Speaker invent anything'? 'Can they navigate the skies, are there pilots who don't speak, write and/or read English'? How wrong I was. Look East and take note of Japan, China, India and even in Europe look at Germans and the French.

    Basically, the ideas I was brainwashed to believe in Kenya was that the UK and the USA were the most powerful economies. I had never thought that Japan were more developed and powerful than the UK. Only later after landing thence did I realise how stupid we are to accept that English and well-spoken English for that matter is important. Well, Japan is the second most powerful economy in the world, way ahead of the idolised UK (which is NOT even Europe's leading Economy. Germany is!). Japanese don't write anything in English, I mean anything including your lovely chemical names and scientific names.

    Notwithstanding their lack of English language skills, the Chinese are threatening the West with their mind-boggling development. None of what they write in school is done in English. We have to believe in ourselves, and develop excellent skills in our languages, our own mother tongues.

    Anybody with knowledge in linguistics will tell you that understanding to a non-native speaker when confronted with a question in the acquired language has to take the processing of that info thru a sequence of very rapid (but potentially distorting) translational process. A question asked in English would be translated into your mother tongue, followed by understanding what the question means in your mother tongue. The next process is to formulate an answer in your mother tongue and translate it back to English. That 'evolution' of the answer results in some attrition which explains why Japanese, Chinese, Germans, French and even the English develop much faster. Simple. Their businesses and classes are transacted and instructed in their native tongues. An African has to speak English, French, Kiswahili et cetera to look sophisticated. I am not bragging, but I banned Kiswahili a long time ago in my house. Simply because the kids had no respect for 'ngeli za lugha sanifu ya Kiswahili'. 'Nipatie chakula yangu' etc are some of the common and sadly accepted forms of Kiswahili. Besides, it is somebody else's mother tongue!

    I wanted to say, without belabouring the point, that speaking with a heavy accent (a Kalenjiin accent for that matter) is not a shame to me. Because first, I am a Nandi and then anything else. I speak the way I do because of what I am, and boy I am proud of it.

    Secondly, I recommend that we read a bit of the classic 'The Art of War'. Then you will realise that in any business and/or political strategy, it serves one to look stupid.

    Does eloquence in written and/or spoken English mean an automatic ticket to good leadership? Ask Charles Mugane Njonjo.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kimi,

    Don’t be too hard on Massa, he is a good driver. It’s just he doesn’t have an answer to Lewis power and the adrenaline. I like what he told the British media on Friday; he will never ever sign up for Ferrari. He will never be a Judas.
    As for Alonso joining Ferrari next season, I think that’s a highly possibility but I don’t see Adrian Sutil joining Mclaren. Mclaren are happy with what they got at the moment. And for Kimi being a good driver, I think that’s debatable. The guy like making silly mistakes, look what he did to Sutil in Monte-Carlos?

    You know something, I woke up this morning and am still mesmerised by Nelson Piquet performance in Hockenheim, he came from 17th on the grid to finish second. Pass Ferraris and BMW to almost snatch it away from Lewis, that’s why I like Formula 1. Super sexy sport full of thrills, speed, chase and technology capped with super sexy babes!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kwale, we should start working on how we can bring F1 to Kenya. But first, we have to get rid of the buffoons and baboons messing up our country if we are to rapidly modernize. Have you listened to the level of debate in parliament? Hilarious, and these are our "leaders"?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Kimi Raikkonen is accusing the author of this article of plagiarizing from Wikipedia. This is utter nonsense since wikipedia is an open source encyclopedia; that to say anyone can write an article about almost anything and this means not all articles are accurate!!! Please before you accuse anyone of anything, have all the facts first!!! Just a thought

    ReplyDelete

Any posts breaking the house rules of COMMON DECENCY will be promptly deleted, i.e. NO TRIBALISTIC, racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit, abusive, swearing, DIVERSIONS, impersonation and spam AMONG OTHERS. No exceptions WHATSOEVER.