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Thursday, November 06, 2008

A Year Quickly Gone By

Well, the past 12 months have no doubt etched themselves in the minds of many and will remain permanent bitter/sweet memories.

At a glance and not necessarily mentioning all worthy events

Political Leadership

From the recent historic election of Barrack Obama as the first African-American President of USA, voted for by over 64.6 million against McCain's 56.9 million in a record turnout, winning 349 electoral votes against McCain's 163 and major wins generally for all Americans who want change and believe that "yes they can" have change.

On our own home front, in reverse chronology we have seen politicians and leaders flip flop over the Waki report and the dispensation of justice for victims of political violence.

Then there is still the issue or glaring absence of a clear statement on the hijacked ship and its cargo

Prior to that we had a Kriegler report that tried very hard to tell us in legal or official terms what we already knew and further on went to recommend and tabulate what we had all asked for many times before since 2000. Side note: I remember once being told that a consultant is the best job one can hope for. Step 1 client approaches consultant (of course with prodding from consultant) and explains problem, consultant writes it down, client approves and pays for the information. Step 2, client lists possible solutions to problem, consultant writes report, client visibly impressed approves and pays for it. Step 3, client recommends workable implementation schedule, consultant documents as before and client pays. finally step 4 client implements solutions to problems under the "watchful eye" of consultant and yet again pays for the services. step 5 consultant identifies some flaws in the process and we begin at step 1. Now please note I have nothing but respect for consultants adn the vast experience and knowledge that can be tapped into to arrive speedily at workable solutions, but there are times when we need to look internally for the consultant.

We have also seen the 10th parliament exercise muscle and "discipline" an "errant" Min. of Finance. Needless to mention that another commission with a "strict timeline of 1 month" is still yet to table the results of its findings 5 months down and still counting. I have no idea what this commission will learn, and the impact of its findings considering that parliament more or less impeached the former minister.

Recall also revisiting the Mau forest saga and the long term socio-economic and environmental impact vis a vis the short term gratification of some dubious leadership attempting to capitalise largely on community ignorance for political mileage

Then there was the song and dance of protocol, with grown men behaving like elementary school children trying to be first on the queue, complete with bands of supporters.

This of course was brought on by the historic Peace Accord that created the position of a Prime Minister in a brokered negotiation pitting the three or is it four intransigent musketeers from each "aggrieved" camp disputing or supporting the 2007 elections outcome.

And of course the unresolved but finally accepted "as is" 2007 elections fiasco

Financial

On the money scene so far we have to contend with the true dealings of the Grand Regency saga

And earlier on the Safaricom IPO and the fate of those whose deposits are yet to be refunded and those whose investment has perhaps not gone as expected so far.

More details on financial matters are best found at bankelele blogspot which does an excellent round up of the local financial scene

Social Scene

The most significant issues on the social scene are first of all the continued anguish and double or even triple tragedy of IDPs i.e.

i) the inability for IDPs to re-integrate. even todate there are reports that all is not going well with the resettlement of IDPs, notwithstanding the fact that a few unscrupulous individuals have tried to make capital of true IDPs plight, many IDPs are not safe to return and be re-assimilated back into the communities that they have lived in for a long time.

ii) dealing with and living with the trauma of atrocities visited on them every cycle of violence that peaks during elections and the unresolved underlying issues and causes.

iii) the inability or impotence of leadership to firmly and decisively deal with the criminals sponsoring, supporting and organizing ethnic and political violence and discrimination both past and current

the second social issue is the exponentially increasing recalcitrance by irresponsible persons in positions of authority as well as their influence/stranglehold on institutions resulting in rampant culture of impunity that has now overtaken the already entrenched and deeply rooted culture of corruption .

the third issue is the re-emergence of a deadly ethnic bigotry and intolerance that is both unbelievable in its stupidity and outrageous in how far, deep and fast its spreading unabated.

other issue is such as the inability of leaders to reach out to communities so as to mutually develop and map out solutions to long standing issues such as destruction of eco-systems in the case of Mau forest or bridge ethnic tensions and animosity/intolerance or foster working relationships. And even more distressing is that our leadership todate still spends enormous amounts of time dealing with historical issues and only a nominal effort on today and the future. Its very well to talk of a Vision 2030, but other projects such as Water for all by 2000, Electricity for all 200? etc have come and gone, where are the reports/commissions of inquiry seeking to find what went wrong and what should be done better even as we look into V2030. Was thrilled to read the report that last night suddenly Kenya Power was in a frenzy installing electricity at Kogelo, what a fraud, but hey its still a good sign.

No doubt you can find other high and low points to ponder about in your own environment similar to the samples listed above

But even as its easy to blame leadership, lets also look inwards at ourselves and reflect on what we as individuals or in small groups can do to hack away at some of these problems. We need to assume at some point that leadership has failed but we cannot (afford to) fail

==

Finding some mutually acceptable high points on the Kenyan public scene is comically tragic because its been a bit of a see-saw (or teeter-totter) effect, i.e what pleases one side will almost certainly offend another party & vice-versa. We can see this effect replayed almost daily in some of the near juvenile comments as contributors try to outshine or taunt each other. Sadly some of that attitude is what exploded early this year and is therefore an indicator of the social maturity of us all as Kenyans

So the purpose of this post dear friends is not to lament on the misfortune or gloat over some minor or major victory, but to see if at all its possible to find a path out of this circuitous maze or mess.

First is the success story of Obama

But am also drawn to this amazing story of courage and a willingness to forgive but even above that, the commitment and selflessness of this young man through all his pain to come up with a project that honours that memory that he holds very dear. Oh yes indeed, there are many who can relate to the pain, but how many have turned their circumstances around?

Warrick Dunn is an NFL football player whose mother was gunned down in a fatal robbery incidence. But through his grief he was able to instead give back to society by setting up a foundation that works with single mothers to provide them an opportunity (that would otherwise never exist) for their first home ownership. You can follow Warrick's story in this MSNBC article

Oh yes people, out there amongst us some real heroes and heroines who are reaching out and touching people in different ways in their communities. We all know some amazing Kenyan stories out there and it would be a new dawn if we could start exposing some of these efforts and initiatives so that we can identify and support or complement the noteworthy efforts, and hopefully in the coming years move away from all this incessant rolling around in the murk of yesterday and embrace a new dawn for Kenya.

At the same time in the little time remaining before the next election, we need to maintain pressure on leaders and not take our eyes off the ball or away from the main causes of our current tribulations largely due to an obsolete constitution, coupled with current lethargic leadership evidently playing to shadowy corrupt entities and at the same time start addressing the past and recent injustices, and this song has been played over and over.

==

So in a nutshell am asking, have you come across or heard a great story of a Kenyan or maybe someone else in Kenya who has really made or is trying their best to make a difference or making the best of a bad situation? If yes, it would really be refreshing to hear about it, if not, how about yourself, what are you doing in your small way to make a difference, or perhaps even better, is there a way we can all work towards (perhaps a non or less political or more precisely circumvent where possible some of these political warlords) approach to addressing our burning issues and come up with solutions and means to push through some of these items?

Oh well, thought I might just throw that out there.

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38 comments:

  1. Well if you are addressing a Kenyan audience the shorter the better. That said, we need to ask what positive KK has contributed to Kenya or Kenyans in the last year.KK has been a battle field all day with PNU on one side and ODM with their 'stolen election chorus' on one side. Its time we moved on from these baseline political orientations based on heritage rather than ideas.

    Yes we can do it..is KK ready???

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  2. Way to go Urxlnc

    More notable is the fact that the Luo MPs have been shown that you can still achieve greatness without having to suck up to Odinga. Hot on the heels of the Odinga flame is the Obama flame with the former dissipating faster that fast

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  4. Urxlnc;

    Dude, you have been holding out on us! Either that or an Obama win has inspired you. Thanks for the article.

    Anonymous@12:00AM,

    Lets quit the Odiga/Kibaki/or any other politician talk. I believe if we ignore these people long enough, we can actually get something done.

    Reading Kenyans opinions and those of the international community, it looks like the Waki and Kriengler may see the light of day after all. We may be on to something here. Lets keep the pressure on and avoid the back and forth i see here in KK, with everyone trying to defend their side.

    Whoever is in that list should be prosecuted, and the way things are looking, may actually be prosecuted. Has anyone noticed how they have shut up?

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  5. Urxlnc,

    I agree with Joe, u were holding out nini?? It is refreshing to realise that the direction KK seems to be taking is more progressive. Ethnic bigotry and blindly following our political leadership has never gotten us anywhere meaningful. It is time to highlight our 'mwananchi heroes', a clear alternative to our current political class.

    If Obama can did it, so can we - YES WE CAN! With this in mind, i pledge the following:

    - To actively push for the implementation of the Kriegler and Waki Reports

    - To devise ways and means of creating and fostering national
    cohesion

    - To fight all forms of ethnic bigotry

    - To attempt to influence opinion to skew towards national cohesion

    - To be ready to join any person(s) who share the same ideals - that of a greater Kenya for all

    "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Barrack Obama

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  6. @Urclnc,
    Apt recap. But are we upto the task? Obama may have inspired many and evident in Kenyans going gaga. But are we living another episode of national/global lie? Look around you and what do you see?

    Obama is no Kenyan. If he were he would have seized the earlier opportunity to accumulate wealth. While you applaud him the real Kenyan will deride you as being cheap as they cash on your stupidity (remember the 1000s T-shirts?)

    Ours is a nation firmly routed on deception. Flash back August 2006 and see Dr. Mutua trashing Obama on behalf of the quiet boss who is now pro-Obama more than even the Americans-we had holiday (we are a working naton in permanent recess) and those celebrating Obama are derided as lazy souls. Obtuse paradox.

    We are best at mouthing platitudes with no intention of living them. And lest you forget smart bullies play victim after battering others.

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  8. Urxlnc

    Thanks for this and very well said.

    However, you forgot to mention, perhaps, what is the most sought after CHANGE that has negatively affected all spheres of the life of a Kenyan and consigned a whole generation (from independence to date)to waste; that is COMPREHENSIVE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS.

    If we could, say, have the Bomas draft and Wako drafts harmonized and then looked at afresh as a single document, and a few improvements made on both (by international experts) on basis of views that were collected from Kenyans prior to the Bomas conference....and then the zero draft passes a national referendum that is free from negative ethnicity and general elections driven interests, Kenyans will have struck a huge KO punch to nearly all the problems bedeviling our society. Naturally, these changes have to include, amongst other things as governance and landlessness, devolution of executive powers.

    The executive presidency is the principal source of high level corruption, it promotes tribalism and nepotism, it promotes unhealthy political competition, it promotes impunity in the sense that some people are above the law and also deprives others of access to justice because of executive inteference with the judiciary and the AG's office.

    I need not say anything about the skewed and grossly unbalanced allocation of state resources. We all know how the executive influences this in favour of his/her tribe or political interests, yet all Kenyans pay tax equally!! I also not need remind you that the executive presidency is why a few people own land the size Nyanza province will another group of millions of citizens, purportedly enjoying equal rights under the same constitution, are in fact battered REFUGEES and poverty ridden SQUATTERS in their own country!!

    Even worse for our country is that some areas with potential to lift this this country to middle-income economy through agriculture (Nyanza, Western) or natural resources (Coast, Western, NEP) have been deliberately ignored at the expense of 'promoting' the political correct areas!

    All these problems can only be traced in the massive powers handed to one constitutional office occupied by one individual, without any legal requirement for FAIRNESS, ACCOUNTABILITY OR TRANSPARENCY!!

    Now, even before we start thinking of electing a Kenyan Obama to be president, let us first work towards adjusting the legal frame work that will promote fair competition, offer equal opportunities, enhance transparency and accountability at all levels of public leadership. Only then can another Barack Obama, regardless of his/her ethnic origins, emerge amongst the huge potential that is KENYA.

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  9. Well said Phil.

    I think if the GNU can accomplish the tasks agreed under agenda4, which is mostly what Phil is pointing out above, we will be on our way to ensuring a level playing field for everyone to be able to achieve their goals.

    We require a constitution that holds everyone accountable for their deeds, including the president, in order to defeat impunity.

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  10. SHOCK!!!!!!

    Phil has failed to mention molasses...i never thought i would live long enough to see this day.
    molasses worship has been replaced with obama's progressive attitude. Only poor mucus licking Taabu seems to be stuck in the time wrap.

    I smell a freshness in KK.

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  11. Your EXcellency,

    Any step forward begins with a believe that no matter the odds we have to move forward to achieve what we dream of. It all starts with a dream (and we as Kenyan have the dream) then from there a firm believe ... then make a decision to move forward. At the moment we are 50-50 in that we have not made the decision to move forward. That is why many will always looks to what holds us back and shout at the roof tops for all to hear and may be make us believe that we can't move past that. But we have got to drop that kind of attitude and behavior. It does nothing but eat us ... which means we are moving backwards.

    Look at all the issues you have brought up. They did not come up 2007, they have been with us since the day i started reading politics back in late 1980s. What does that tell us ... it says we have been talking of the same issues for the last 20yrs. And for all that time we have been trying to solve them with one solution that always fails.

    They say Kenyans are optimist people but i beg to differ. Right after any general elections we complain about this and that and that. Around the time of general elections we become euphoric with the idea of having new leaders and we become very hopeful. Then right after the political leaders get swon-in and they increase their salaries we start complaining again. That means we are usually positive a couple of month to the elections then the next 4yrs we doing nothing but complain. That should give you an idea what kind of people we are.

    Out of the 32 million Kenyans, I know we have at least 500 thousands of them all around the nation who have got the right attitude. These are the unsung heroes and heroines who have positive influence to others. These are the people we need to focus on and give the necessary attention. The people who should be having the attention of the media not the political leaders.

    From here I believe we can give the people the chance to see the other ways of bringing change, real positive change. The kind of change that get rid of evil ideas and ways and actions. Then from there we will have the eyes to see how unreal and fake our political leaders are.

    The moment we shift out attention from the current "cream of the crap" we will have moved a step forward.

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  12. UrXlnc,
    change is here!change is here!wake up to change!
    truly your name does not belie your blogging-this is a quality post and from now on you must stop holding out on us. Keep this up and just maybe the years ahead quickly going by in KK will be spent tasting political, social and financial sweet memories

    From now on let those bloggers making posts and leaving comments here in this blog ask themselves first before they write anything-what good to my country am i hoping writing this comment will achieve?

    Political will is ALL that is lacking AND is the missing ingredient necessary to restore HOPE to the common mwananchi like you and i.it is not a crime or taboo to belong to this or that tribe/political party/political ambition..... the REAL crime for our political elite is NOT to work together and NOT to put the country first ahead of their tribe/political parties/political ambitions and meanwhile stir up the hornets nest all over this the place by playing up accusations and counter-accusations of negative ethnicity by a few of THEIR own members of the elite political class masquerading as a whole entire tribe?

    What is so hard about coalescing 42 different tribes into one nation united under the constitution?Where our leaders fail is in uniting us and where we fail is their success
    Today i am all about change-Change is here!Change is here!
    On finances the grand coalition government must ensure that any economic performance is not just seen but benefits the majority

    new dawn is here and we cannot afford to be a foolish country EXPORT Fathers of American Presidents, world-winning athletes, highly trained manpower and real kenyan heroes/heroines left right and centre yet fail to sample fruits of these homegrown goodies for FREE within our borders!foolish hypocrisy
    Wake up to change Kenyans!Change is here!Change is here!

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  13. Anon@2:47

    You are the kind that drain our energy. Today, and hopefully everyday onwards, we need commentators who bring ideas for change. At this moment, i think i highly doubt your patriotism.

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  14. Blogger Anonymous said...

    SHOCK!!!!!!

    Phil has failed to mention molasses...i never thought i would live long enough to see this day.

    molasses worship has been replaced with obama's progressive attitude. Only poor mucus licking Taabu seems to be stuck in the time wrap.

    I smell a freshness in KK.


    Look at this OAF....aptly blogging as anonymus! Under normal circumstances I wouldn't waste my time responding to Neanderthals like you.

    But let me do you a favour and engage in your trash talk by asking; who is molasses?

    Your contribution to this post is NIL and your abusive language only but exposes your backwardness and your stupidity. If you truly disagree with what I or Taabu commented, can we see your counter argument shedding more light to us?

    I do not know what freshness you are going on about if you and your ILK, instead of coming out openly, prefer to hide behind computer screens to insult others. Like I said here before; your case is very well described at the top of this blog. I will not be surprised to see your next comment - in a gentlemanly language using one of the blogger IDs we know so well here - under the same IP address as anonymous!

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  15. Phil,

    Who is molasses?

    let me dissect for you,

    a selfish politician entered into political prostitution and sold NDP party. in return he got molasses plant and a flag..red ministers position. molasses is non other then hold ua breath...ua one and only one 'deity' dr. (stone throwing, kabila adui, circumcision whistle blower). hon. raila aka molasses.

    if it hurts, its probably because its true...beat the molasses drums all you want but truth hurts.

    with Obama, there is mature politics not village politic of Taaabu and your ilk. politics of hatred.

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  16. A good but sad recap of the eyar as it draws to an end. They say when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. In our case maybe even cancer! I wonder if the inverse holds true; when America is ebulient, does the rest of the world smile? And in Kenya's case, will it really translate to anything other than a one day or weekend of partying and then it's back to business kama kawaida?

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  17. For me, this year is probably the best, inspite of meaningless loss of innocent lives at the beginning of the year.
    I have just returned back from SAO PAULO, Brazil, to watch one of my great hero crowned as the first black and youngest driver in Formula one history. I have been an F1 fan for more than 20 years and I never thought I would witness what I saw, last lap at the last corner at the last race… and just when I was thought I reached cloud nine, on my hotel room another dramatic thing happen, I watched in complete awe as Obama was elected to be the first black president of USA. Truly nothing is impossible to those who dare believe!

    I remember predicting all this about 2 weeks ago, and if I have to die now, I think I will be a fulfilled person. (not I am going anywhere!) But, my only last wish though would be to see a unified Kenya, where all tribes live together harmoniously, a place where Luos and Kikuyus are no longer rivals. A country where tribes don't matter anymore, a safe place for our children and a prosperous nation for all!

    God Bless you all.

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  18. Phil may be angry at some Anon above but if we pause for a moment we can reflect and observe that most of the original posts here at Kk are usually of a leading nature hence the comments that follow.So do you think KK has changed?No way!Its too Kenyan for that,it is just a matter of time till some issue comes up and we go hammer and tongs at each other right here at KK.We are short of memory and long on simplicity that very soon we will forget how civilized people conduct elections and go back to our usual idol worship and tribal support for war mongers and murderers.

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  19. Railaphobic @ 5:36,

    Don't you get tired of constantly posting several comments on kk everyday about mollases this, mollases that?

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  21. UrxInc,

    I think your countdown of the year’s events is a little bit premature. Kenyans still have another two months to further mess things up. Under Kibaki, it’s only fair to expect one or two more financial scandals before the end of next month.

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  22. What an amazing period in American politics. I personally didn’t vote for Obama but am truly inspired by the positivity and global reaction resulting from his election, at least so far. His energy is addicting and his demeanor inspiring. I think Rahm Emanuel will do a phenomenal job as Obama’s chief of staffs. He’s hard nosed, stubborn, and won’t take “no” for an answer.

    Obama’s story is truly American. I’d wish to dive into Obama’s mind and discover his motives and internal dialog. To go through a year of campaigning is very difficult, but to go through a year of campaigning and deliver a speech like he did that is truly inspirational. I’m excited about to see how he really attacks global warming and the energy crisis.

    What’s also fascinating is looking at the dynamic of who voted, how they voted, and what drove them to vote. Obama’s campaign created a wave of energy that grew bigger and bigger as his campaign moved forward, engulfing (in a good way) each supporter and supercharging them. How did they do this? It all started with a vision. Obama’s vision, planted deep within his mind, began to take root almost 2 years ago today. The power of his vision can teach every American citizen about how to accomplish goals using the powers of visualization and intention.

    I looked into this vision questing further and found that many super-successful people have been using vision boards to help focus their mind and accomplish their dreams. A vision board is a collage of images pasted on a board that represent your desired outcomes, your goals, and dreams. By studying your vision board, your brain gains clarity on what is important to your success, the things you MUST accomplish. I found a site www.TheVisionBoardKit.com that allows you to download a free 8-step power plan to creating vision boards. I’d highlight recommend downloading it.

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  23. Phill,

    I don't know if Obama was talking about constitutional change or whether he was hinting at personal change.

    In the case of Kenya, I highly doubt that constitutional change will mean anything without changing our souls and minds and spirit. We have many many laws that are not implimented and therefore not effective. Although one can sue, the judiciary is completely useless and toothless and a waste of time. Cases are not handled in a timely manner. Money and access to power is what rules the day. So even if we changed our contitution to read like the 10 commandments, it would still be ignored and impunity would reign.

    Patriotism is what is needed in Kenya. For many the last time we saw true patriotism was during the Mau Amu struggle and fight for independence. For white Americans to vote for a black man who has roots from outside the USA is very telling. Men are judged by the content of their character here and the citizenry is extremely mature politically. Can you imagine Obama running for presdient in Kenya with his message of change? He would certainly get a rejoinder such as;

    - change? change kitu gani?
    - is change going to increase the plates of ugali on your table?
    - mta do?
    - change? am not going anywhere!

    Realize that these are comments straight from so called leaders.

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  24. Papa+,
    Precisely, we can continue living a national in admiring Obama's values but without HONESTY we are simply soothing egos. If Obama were Kenyan he would have used his brain and connections to accumulate wealth and become A HERO by our stds.

    The euphoria you see know can be psychologically traced to 2002. Faint hearts hate it and will come guns blazing but we had our chance then to trail blaze. The rest as tehy say is history.

    All residual hunger for change is meanwhile held hostage by the same hyenas who gobbled the prey. In the process our remain a bottled RAGE waiting to exhale. In the meantime we opt for cheap measures clothed as objectivity. OBAMANIA needs HONESTY and dicipline to be realized and the 2 vitues are alien these sides of our shores.
    After

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  25. Taabu hapo umenena.

    I am begining to think that change in Kenya will not come from Kibaki nor Raila nor Kalonzo. The same way that in the US we thought Hillary would bring change. Rather, I think it will come from someone completely from left field.

    Poverty my friend is a curse. There are many people who are willing to go into public service in Kenya but unfortunately the only way to get your foot in the door is through the same old networks. The Moi's, Kenyatta's, Odinga's, Mudavadi's etc are all in tight knite club almost like Yale's skull and bones. Furthermore, these guys are not interested in bringing in young minds. If you asked Kibaki about the youth he will tell you he has commissioned the Youth fund. This is good but what about actively bringing these guys into government? What about having a young PNU or young ODM and young KANU, where the party tenets can be foisted and teaching about governance employed?

    So while many here have interesting points of view, we might never realize them. We are still a mom and pop outfit for now.

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  26. Kwale for President!

    We have been assesing his prospects--i.e the viability of both his candidacy and his actual Presidency and we are convinced now more than ever before that he is the man for this job.

    We are serious and we will be hitting the ground running once all preparations are completed. It is time for a new era of a new leadership, new ideas and new convictions under a new President. It is time for President kwale.

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  27. hey guys

    looking at the above discussion one cant help but feel the positive energy possible, Joe, Ngunjiri, e-change, Taabu, Phil, Sayra, Papa, thelaw26. many thanks for your contributions.

    Phil i agree the constitution continues to be a bone of contention but at the same time we also need recognize that the constitution can be likened to a knife. In the hands of a butcher or chef its used to carve out bits of food and other nutritious items useful to sustain us, in the hands of a thug, assassin, madman or similar mindset its a weapon of great intimidation capable of grievous harm and sometime fatal body contact, in the hands of a storekeeper its just like any other commodity for cash sale, and in the hands of a skilled surgeon it becomes a life saving instrument

    what has happened that changed an instrument created by kenyans in a moment of joy and that made kenyans proud in 1963 to morph into a despicable instrument and has now become a burden? i think we have consistently put that instrument in the hands of people with the wrong skill and mind sets who easily fell prey to manipulation and end up misusing that instrument. we therefore need to reshape or redefine that instrument.

    as for the cynics and sceptics among us who sometimes aggravate us by "raining on our parade". i think such people can be useful in helping us identify potential pitfalls based on their sometimes sour prior experiences which they then hang on to and can never quite seem to let go. The progressive minded use these contributions to build better foundations for brighter futures, folks YES WE CAN.

    Have a great weekend

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  28. UrXlnc,

    Yes, indeed what happened to our constitution?

    I was chatting with my akata boss sometime back and I was telling him that there is something to be said regarding Africans being cursed.

    How is it that the founding fathers of the US, penned down a written document that I would argue is held in higher esteem amoung Americans than the Bible, and that this document has endured even to the challenges of today? How come our document did not endure? How come we do not uphold what we ourself wrote down as laws governing us as a people?

    Now am not saying that the US constitution has not been abused but whenever that happened, they seemed to correct it and call out the offender. The same unfortunately can not be said about us.

    It is almost as if kenyans need psycotherapy sessions to understand ourselves and our self distructive manner. And you might be suprised at just how few leaders understand that, even the very smart ones. They all want to run for presidency with dreams that everything will work once they are in charge and yet they have not even identified a handful of kenyans that share their vision and sense of public service and ethics and putting country first.

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  29. in addition...

    not to belabour the point and get off track but going back to the Waki report and ODM reaction; jameni how do you explain such a reaction?!

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  30. Vikii,
    I am flattered. Honestly I am. If you give me Taabu to be my vice president, I might consider.

    But, seriously no and that's a resounding NEVER! I love my life the way is, anonymous and simple. However, if you put your name forward for 2012, I promise I will do anything in my power e.g fundraise, campaign, security etc just to get you elected as the 4th president of Republic of Kenya. And that's a promise!

    Btw, on a very different note, what type of dog should Obama buy for his family? Remember he said during his victory speech, he would buy a puppy for his kids to take with them to the White House. What breed do you think it should be ? Any suggestions?

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  31. Change is here!Change is here!Wake up to change!Wake up to change Kenyans!

    my friends i fear we are the dog running around in circles chasing our own tail.the bullet is in front of us and bite it we must WARNING blow before biting to ease the pain of broken molars
    Cheap talk is beautiful but recreating Obama phenomenon remains the sole preserve of the integrous and honest.we don't need to travel back in time to 2002; not even to Dec 2007-Waki report is before us, Kriegler report is gathering dust on the shelves and above all constitutional reform is round the corner,put the money where the change is and stop cheap association by falsehood...it is time for change
    Change is here!Change is here!Change is here!

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  32. Kwale,

    According to Obama, it has to be hypoallergenic and from the shelter. Only problem is dogs from the shelter are mutts which aren't hypoallerginic. Poodles are hypoallergenic.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Oh, forgot to enter my preference for the 1st family pet: Rhodesian Ridgeback!

    sorry I have a cold from staying out late on tuesday hence the double posts...

    ReplyDelete
  34. why is KK feeding us on stale posts?

    now that no one is interested in kenyan 'vinyangarika' politicians, it seems likes of Taabu n Phil have become jobless.

    te he he he he eeee

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

    ReplyDelete
  36. Folks,

    I believe if we :-
    1) Fully implement the Waki report
    2) Fully implement the Kriegler report
    3) Form the proposed truth and reconciliation commission
    4) Get a new constitution

    Then an only then will we be on or way to real change.

    Remember, for the US, it started with the civil rights movement. For us, it started with the Saba Saba riots. As Obama says, change does not come easily.

    So, lets not give up.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Kwale/Papa Plus,

    What kind of puppy for Obama's kids?
    I think he should go for Snoop Dogg.

    ReplyDelete
  38. An Alaskan pitbull dog with lipstick for Obamas!

    ReplyDelete

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