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Friday, December 19, 2008

A Soldier As Top Cop And Why Corruption Is Deadlier Than You Think

Corruption is deadlier than most Kenyans realize.

For instance how safe can our borders be if a little bribe can get you across with all kinds of merchandise? Indeed there is a direct link between corruption and the number of Kenyans who die every year as a result of violent crime.

Not surprisingly Kenya is the number one drug trafficking country in the region and beyond. Cocaine, heroine and all manner of hard drugs flow freely in and out of Kenya. Many foreigners have quickly learnt the truism that there is absolutely nothing one cannot achieve in Kenya as long as you have plenty of cash.

One of our reporters on the ground was shocked two days ago while traveling on the Mombasa Nairobi road when the matatu he was on was stopped by half a dozen road blocks fairly close to each other. The procedure was the same at every road block. The driver handed over his driving license as the policeman (and in some instances policewoman) took it and went round the front to check their licenses on the windshield. Just before they arrived in Nairobi the driver struck up a conversation with the other passenger seated in the driver’s cabin and our source was shocked to learn that at every stop Kshs 100 had been handed over to the police. The driver grimly announced that there was no way they would have passed the roadblock without parting with the said sum of money.

This blog has been at the forefront of screaming about the extra-judicial killings the police have been accused of, more so during the tenure of police commissioner Brigadier Ali. However as painful as it is to have people killed without due process, sometimes when they are completely innocent and were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, one can clearly see the wisdom of such a policy. The latest figures show that violent crime has fallen dramatically and it seems that many violent criminals have simply been executed.

Major General Ali was appointed police commissioner from the military early in the Kibaki tenure. The difference between soldiers and policemen incase you did not know is that policemen are trained to enforce the law while soldiers are trained to kill. As much as I hate to say it and as much as there have been terrible, terrible human rights violations, it seems that Ali’s tactics have worked after all.

That is the Kenya we live in.

And as quite a number of commentators here have quite rightly pointed out, we are calling for change in our leadership. BUT that change must start with us. How can we demand an end to corruption in high places when we greatly admire that girl next day who globe-trots trafficking drugs under the cover of being an international businesswoman? Or even worse we do not mind slipping Kshs 100 to that policeman to avoid the inconvenience of going to court to answer for our smooth tyres.

Special offer Christmas offer for fridges and LCD TVs only for Kumekucha readers.

10 comments:

  1. "Chriso"
    corruption at all levels across the board is our culture and way of life and it will take the next 100 years to eradicate it from our hearts and minds not just our systems and institutions

    this is where i am focussed on-the quality of the fight against it by Dr.Kibaki and Dr.Raila and Aaron/KACC

    As for Ali even though he is to be commended that official violent crime statistics he needs to incorporate more humane and human rights tactics in doing his job to fight crime. the police don't have to be so ruthless in fulfilling their mandate-they only have to be smarter that the criminal element

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  2. Chris,

    You have put it so well:

    "We are calling for change in our leadership. BUT that change must start with us. How can we demand an end to corruption in high places when we greatly admire that girl next door who globe-trots trafficking drugs under the cover of being an international businesswoman?"

    Unless we, the ordinary mwanainchi,
    improve on our attitudes, values, norms and our sense of self(Self Respect and Self Esteem) we will not make any headway in getting "good" leadership in place at the top

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  3. Chris,
    You must be having unlimited reservoir of TEARS. Now here you are belittling INDUSTRIOUS Kenyans and you expect us to let more tears. Come on Chris, JOIN THMEOR SHUT UP. Forget all the noise about change. That is just a gimmick used to whip emotions as the smart ones cash in and kate keep Kenya.

    Experience has shown that all shout change in the thinly-veiled attempt of visibility to replace the eating chiefs. Just ask Ababu and co. Obama would be crying tears of blood if he were to see how mercilessly Kenyans have wreched his wagon. Just mention DECEPTION and FRAUD here and see the flurry of vitroil. It excavades flesh from raw wounds. Living a lie has never been so safe.

    PS: Please leave Ali alone. And if you have evidence take it to the courts or ask Rose Kimotho of Kameme-she is best positioned to help with Ali.

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  4. Taabu,

    Leave Rose's underpants alone. Kwani how many goats did you pay to co-own what they cover. Ali has they right shovel to dig the gold. Wewe piga mstari mahari ingine, you are not INDUSTRIOUS enough!

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  5. Little did you know that to stamp his authority, Ali had gone to the extent of crippling the Kenya Police Airwing. He had managed to force the Commandant to resign, a fellow army officer they were with in the army whom he sacked while in the army. When he joined the Police, Ali found this man and promised to sack him again and would even do it again in any other place. Currently Police Airwing staff are demoralised as they have been robbed of a very competent pilot. The office remain vacant and the MI-17 helicopters cannot even be used now during this x-mass to check on security. What else will Ali do to make Kenyas vulnerable to attacks?

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  6. A report card for the Grand Coalition

    Sunday Nation, By MUTAHI NGUNYIPosted Saturday, December 20 2008 at 17:50

    This is an end-of-year report card for the grand coalition. I suggest we grade it on two things; effort and achievement. Overall, the government gets a “D-plus” for effort and an “E” for achievement.

    I have two reasons for this modest grade. One, this government is built on a lie. What the two principals shared was positions, not power.

    In fact, the 50:50 power deal was a fat lie. It did not happen, it will not happen! On this account, Mr Raila Odinga was cheated yet again. The record must reflect that President Kibaki has never won a straight election.

    In 2002, he defrauded Mr Odinga through the MoU. In 2007, they had to swear him in at night. And this deceit continues to unfold in the coalition. Although ODM is in ‘power’, all they have is an illusion of power.

    The result is political impotence: they want to act, but they cannot! But my second reason is more tragic.

    In this coalition, the president has behaved like the proverbial ‘dog in a manger’.

    This dog did not eat grass, but it guarded the manger to ensure that the cows did not eat either. Its point? If it cannot have the grass, no one has a right to eat it.

    And this is President Kibaki’s approach to power. He is not interested in it, but he will not allow anyone else to have it. The result of this is paralysis in the running of Government.

    This is why I give the coalition an “E” on achievement. Similarly, and on this account, I suggest we give the president a “D minus” for effort and a “C plus” for performance. And this is because, instead of giving us ‘cruel rule’ he has given us ‘no rule’.

    Let us grade the other members of the ‘matatu’ presidency now. Regarding the Prime Minister Raila Odinga, I submit that he has done his best. And for this, I give him a straight “A” for effort.

    However, and because he is powerless, I give him a “C plus” on performance. But I have another reason for this and I want to give it by way of a story.

    A French entomologist took a caterpillar and placed it on the rim of a flower pot. Inside the pot, he placed the caterpillar’s favourite food — pine needles.

    The caterpillar began to crawl around the rim of the pot, smelling the food and desperately wanting to get closer. According to the scientist, the caterpillar crawled around the rim for seven days and nights without being able to reach the food.

    Having failed, but still attempting to, the caterpillar died of starvation. Each time the caterpillar went round the rim, it counted that as an achievement and saw itself getting closer to the food. It could not distinguish activity from achievement.

    And this is Mr Odinga’s problem. Like the caterpillar, he is busy at work alright. However, and because he is ‘powerless’, we must not confuse his activities with achievement

    As for the vice-president, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, we do not know what he does. As such, we cannot grade him. But we must also tell him the following: “…the best calculation is the absence of calculation” The fact that he is vague and ungradable is politically strategic.

    And the strategy here is simple: they must never see you coming! The Deputy Prime Ministers, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Musalia Mudavadi should be graded together.

    For effort, I give them an “E minus” and for performance, I give them an “E minus” too. The two have potential, but they lack in guts and creativity. In fact, they are condemned to the ‘curse of permanent potential’.

    In this curse, a story is told of a man who was very cautious. He never laughed or played. He never risked or dared. And when he passed away, his insurance was denied.

    The argument was that he never really lived, and so how could he have died? This is the story of the two guys.

    Regarding the other ministers, I suggest we put them in two lists. The first comprises of the performers, the other is made up of the goofers.

    From the first list, Mr John Michuki gets an unqualified “A” for effort and an “A plus” for performance. This mzee is a serious Kenyan and ‘hats –off’ to him! Mr William Ruto and Ms Martha Karua get an “A” for their diligence in ministerial duties.

    However, they get a “B minus” for their politics. And I am compelled into this grade by Napoleon Bonaparte. According to this strategist “ …in order to have ultimate victory, one must be ruthless”.

    But one must temper their ruthlessness with a streak of charm. That is why Napoleon adds that “…a good king must wear a velvet glove behind his iron fist”. And this is what is lacking in the ruthless politics of Mr Ruto and Ms Karua.

    This Christmas, I suggest that they acquire a pair of velvet gloves to cover their bare knuckles. The second list has Mr Makwere who gets a straight “F”.

    Similarly, Mr Otieno Kajwang gets an “F” for playfulness. If I was a school teacher, I would recommend the expulsion of Mr Mwakwere and order Mr Kajwang to bring his mother to school the next term!

    And now a Christmas message to our greedy MPs. As you enjoy your untaxed Sh800,000 this Christmas, I want to leave you with the words of Okot p’Bitek in “Song of an African Woman”.

    “ …I do not ask for money, although I have need for it. I do not ask for meat, although I could do with some. I have only one request. And all I ask is that you remove the road block from my path!”

    This Christmas we do not need your money and gifts. All we ask is for you to remove the obstacles you have set on our path! Is this too much to ask?

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  7. Mutahi Ngunyi, gets an A+ for being truthful and right on target, EVERYTIME!

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  8. Morons impressed by bullcrap. So what's new?

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  9. Kumekucha,

    Can we please talk about 'the continued auctioning of kenya to arabs by the MKM - this time Quatar?
    This deal stinks to high heavens. Sounds more like kibaki's personal businessn than a government affair First, why is Kabira more informed of what has transpired than government ministers and techocrats? Who will be monitoring the project once kibz is gone.
    Grand regency saga is stil fresh in our minds- will they come clean long after money has changed hands and the Arabs have started settling in?
    I find it strange that the ministries of agriculture and lands are not involved in the negotiations. Instead, Michuki and Wetangula (who is a MKM stooge/rubberstamp) are involved.
    Mumias sugar was interested in utilising the same land and we know the roadblocks that were erected in their way. More importantly why not let the IDPs and the thousands of squatters in our country be allowed to farm just a small portion of the land.
    From the little snippets of information that Kabira gave, it seems that they will farm another 100000 acres for 'the government'- REALLY?
    Folks, i feel so helpless and hopeless as a kenyan with a president who chooses to be indecisve in matters affecting ordinary kenyans, but readilly makes snappy decisions when striking personal business deals that will only benefit his family and friends.
    Let's not even think of the lie about Lamu port when the transport ministry has not been brought on board. Things just don't add up.

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  10. Corruption in this country it seems is here to stay and starts from very high up.This supported by the fact that the Kenya police,the law enforcers,are unmatched in the vice and comfortably lead the rest of Africa and the world.Its a big shame,but i bilieve it can be done.It must start with us,the common man.

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