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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Is Kenya Hurtling Towards A Revolution?

The rolling strikes in Kenyan secondary schools have caught most of us by surprise. We are stunned that the kids we sent to school to learn have turned into stone-throwing, book-hating thugs with the capacity to wreck untold havoc on property and their own future. We've watched with dismay as boys and girls have gone on the rampage ostensibly to avoid doing some exams called MOCK. And since the start of this shameful orgy, we've all watched as politicians, from the president down, have peddled prescriptions that serve no useful purpose except to remind us of their infuriating lack of depth.

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At this point it has become clear that the strikes rolling through the undulating landscape of the Kenyan secondary school has absolutely nothing to do with MOCKs. The only mock-thing about them is that they are mocking us for having such a limited understanding of what goes on in the mind of our youths. Lest we forget the example we have set to them, I want us to look ourselves in the mirror and see what those boys and girls have seen in us. Are you ready?

The Mirror:
1. Lack of Opportunity. These kids have grown up in a nation where they've been repeatedly told that opportunity comes to those who stick it out in school, work hard and play by the rules. These are lofty ideals that sound noble even to the youth. Except that when they look around them, what they see is their brothers and sisters who've worked had, graduated from universities across Kenya, but are now reduced to roasting corn/maize at the bus stops and marketplaces in the nation. Some have even seen their parents fired and out of work for months. In the face of such reality, do we expect the kids not to despair?

2. Tribalism. Since the sixties, our nation has struggled to eradicate this very negative vice. We have failed. And now, just when things started looking up, Kenya has regressed into one of the worst periods as far as tribal relations in the country go. As the boys and girls in our schools look at the picture we've presented to them, what they see is a father in Kisumu cursing that Jarabuon father in Kiambu. They see the mother in Nyeri calling the mother in Tinderet something ugly. They see their brothers and sisters bite their lip in anger every time some one from a different tribe is on TV saying something. Hate, hate, hate. That's what we've given them. These are the kids we've sent to school to study next to that boy or girl they heard being cursed and called ugly words at home. And we wonder why they mock us?

3. Corruption. Most of these kids came of age in the days of John Githongo. When they read the newspapers, what they see is stories about massive corruption in the country, and the vice is perpetrated by men who should be the example. When they read about Anglo-Leasing, Goldenberg, Turkwell, Ken-Ren and now the Grand Regency, what these kids see is a society where the rules don't matter. What seems to matter is how high up you can go by literally looting from Kenyans...and this only when you are well connected. Now, how many of these kids are well connected? Do we put ourselves in their shoes and wonder how they see Kenya? Do we?

4. A Culture of Impunity. Mta Do? Folks, whether we like it or not, the kids have only us to learn from. It would be nice if they followed the example of the penguins, which form binding communities where the young are cared for and trained to be effective adults. Unfortunately for our youth, what they have as an example is a president who blatantly steals an election and asks Mta Do? They have a police commissioner who sits at the Waki Commission and proclaims that he'd do everything exactly the way he did it if what happened in January happened today. Does he remember that people were killed by his forces? Does he recall the shoot-to-kill order by Grace kahindi? What should the kids learn from a man like that? And how about the fact that Kiraitu Muriungi is a minister after the Githongo tapes? Look, what the kids learn from this is simple. Impunity pays. Can we blame them when they get discouraged? Or when they think they can get away with burning dorms and classes?

5. Violence. Unfortunately, when confronted with a deaf and blind leadership, most societies resort to violence. That's what we did after the elections were stolen. But have we stopped to wonder what the kids saw when Kenya went through that meltdown? In those classrooms where we sent those kids, there were some of them who saw a friend killed, a father hacked to death, a sister burnt alive, a brother kill someone, a child left hungry, a home burnt. The list is endless. Yes, those kids saw a lot. But again, have they been given any counselling about the trauma they faced? At what point are we going to realize that our continued inability to do things right is creating a society of future delinquents and felons? Through our violent ways, we've legitimized violence as a means of resolving issues. So why are we stunned when the kids do what they've learnt from us? They are looking at our condemnation of them now and saying...what a bunch of hypocrites!

Fellow Countrymen, that's what the kids see when they look at us. We stink, don't we? But what makes it worse is that we now sit in judgement of them. We must take away their cell phones, we say. We must cane them. We must charge them in a court of law. Their parents must pay. We must expel the ringleaders. This is all bullshit. What must be done is for us adults to start acting our age, and be a good example to these kids. But that is a long-term solution. Here is what can be done to have an immediate impact in schools.

Prescription:

I. Let's avail books in schools in equal measure throughout the country. When I went to Kanga High School in the late eighties, the late Hezekiah Oyugi made sure our school was well stocked with books, excellent teachers and even good food. I turned around and looked at neighbouring schools like Rakwaro and Iterio and wondered how the kids in those other schools were expected to compete with us. It seemed unfair. If the government implemented a blind policy that treated all schools equally, in terms of resource allocation, the kids might actually fall in love with the MOCKs. What's keeping us from doing this?

II. Parents must start being there for their children. Admittedly, it's hard to be an effective parent when you must struggle to even put food on the table. Still, parents must be proactive in their children's lives. A father must teach his son how to be a God-fearing, law-abiding citizen. A mother must teach her daughter how to take good care of herself and handle herself with dignity. We must all remember that what society teaches our children is in addition to a foundation of learning started at home.

III. Family Planning must be brought back as a means of managing our resources and enhancing effective parenting. Whatever it takes, we need to work toward a society where we bring into this world only that number of children we can take good care of. It doesn't make much sense to have a third child when one can't take care of the first one, does it?

IV. We can make the MOCKs a school-specific issue. Let Kanga High School carry on its MOCKs. Let Lenana carry on its. And let Chebwai carry on its. That way the pressure to compete bigger schools right now, at a time when those bigger schools are more well endowed and resourced, is eliminated.

V. Finally, let me suggest that a society where God is not worshipped with the humility and reverence He deserves is hurtling toward self-destruction. There was once a time when the name of God, uttered in our presence, made each of us sit and take notice. Today God is just another name. I pray that we can focus the attention of our youths on God once again. We must do all we can to make God relevant. The best thing that can and will ever be said about the youth in Kenya is...They know Jesus christ as their personal saviour. That's when Kenya will have arrived.

This is not a conclusive or exhaustive prescription by any means, it's just my way of weeping for a nation that must turn a corner right now, or watch as we all hurtle toward a revolution!

For Love of Country,

Guest column by Sam O. Okello

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Uhuru Rents a Mob for Kibaki Succession War

Kibaki succession is taking interesting and heated shape. With Iron Lady Karua shooting from the hip and calling Prof Kiarie Kinuthia's bluff, Uhuru has reverted to Kanu’s time tested and tried rend-a-mob theartics. And Jomo Jr has an able hand in one David Murathe to do the ground work in ferrying mouths to hotels to shout a prepared script. Boy, it never stops being interesting as the delegation gimmicks of yore are replayed right before our eyes for a seat that is more than 50 months a way.

Karua is out with all her guns blazing and she seems aware and prepared of the consequences. You have to understand anger and sense of betrayal burning inside the lady from Gichugu. She stuck her neck out making herself the intellectual and visible face of Kibaki during the post election violence only to receive a generous kick in teeth as Jomo Jr pick the trophy. Martha has made her intentions known and damn the consequences. Firing her now may just turn her into a hero and a magnet for sympathy votes.

Karua has STUCK Uhuru with the most lethal venom and no amount of shadow boxing will wash UK’s design as fashioned by the old geezers behind the throne pushing for his coronation. Watching Mama Ngina’s boy ducking HARD TALK’s point blank question on how much land Kenyatta family owns only confirms why his only political option lies in PROJECT PHASE II. Karua’s has dropped the gauntlet that Uhuru would rather face her than use surrogates. Will he pick it? Your guess is as good as mine. Such a challenge would demand an astute political spine which is a rare commodity in UK’s closet.

Political top-up
Kibaki meanwhile is staring open rebellion that threatens to consign him to premature political menopause. Emilio’s minders and cronies are not doing the old man any favour in pushing him to secure their financial interests in advance. These vultures have left baba Jimmy in the middle of fires started from all directions. They won’t stop at anything in their mission to auction Kenya and new deals are popping up everyday despite array of commission of inquiries already in place to cover previous FRAUD that are embarrassingly crawling out of the wood works.

Deception in whatever shape is unsustainable and like lies its consequences are damn costly. Trying to actively micro manage a political that only exists on paper is a sure recipe to expose the rot and incompetence hitherto glossed through fraud. True to the adage whatever goes around comes around, Kibaki is destined to have eggs and tomatoes plastering his face during this time in his political sunshine. This will be sooner rather than later when the first brick comes off the political tower of Babel that is PNU.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Titus Naikuni, Kenya Needs You, Will You Ignore Her?

There is no doubt that history will judge many prominent Kenyans very harshly indeed. It will be said of them that they stood and watched as the motherland went to the dogs… and they did absolutely nothing.

Is it the selfish streak so many of them seem to have of minding their own business and making money and staying away from the very murky waters that are politics in Kenya?

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It is instructive that in recent times many of them have discovered that if you stick to business and ignore the politics, the politics will not always ignore your business and sooner or later it will end up affecting your business. A perfect example of this happening was the beginning of this year when post election violence brought the entire country to a halt and nobody could transact any business.

I assume that I am talking to some of the most intelligent members of our society and it does not take a rocket scientist to tell that Kenya is not far from shut down the way our politics is going at the moment. So those who are determined not to have any involvement in Kenyan politics should make sure that they make all the money they can as quickly as possible over the next few months because the end is nigh.

Some very clever Kenyans in the run up to the 2007 elections had started floating the name of Titus Naikuni as a possible presidential candidate. Mr Naikuni who is the CEO of the national carrier, Kenya Airways dismissed the rumours and said that he had no interest in politics. He failed to get the hint or totally ignored it, I have no idea which.

If truth be told, Mr Naikuni is a great Kenyan who has done the country proud. Anybody who understands the airline industry will know that it is easier for a River Tana crocodile to ignore easy prey when it is hungry than for any airline in the world to make a profit. Indeed many have shut down and gone into bankruptcy in the recent past. However under very difficult circumstances the national carrier has consistently made profits under the guidance of Mr Naikuni.

Not only that, Mr Naikuni’s leadership skills have been tested time and again. Who will forget the KQ Doula (Cameroon) air disaster of last year and how Mr Naikuni offered leadership at a very difficult time for the airline?

It is clear that the leadership skills the KQ CEO has already displayed can be put to great use charting a new course for the ship called Kenya.

One of the great fears younger Kenyans have of getting into politics is that they always fear the extremely “dirty” nature of Kenyan politics. And with good reason. You see the rules were made by the current dinosaurs and were clearly designed to keep those more gifted and talented than themselves from making any headway in the Kenyan political arena. But as US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has proved, it is possible to change the rules. So effective was Obama during the democratic primaries that at the end of the contest Hilary Clinton’s dirty tactics boomeranged back on her and proved completely ineffective.

What Kenya needs is a revolution and young Kenyans running multi million shilling corporations need to get involved pronto in mapping out a new direction for the country.

And don’t forget folks, we are already in injury time.

Over to you Mr Naikuni.

More information on Titus Naikuni

P.S. If they still have cold feet in this time of great crisis, prominent Kenyan CEOs can still play a key role by helping to identify appropriate candidates and then using their skills and resources to support them. They must realize that the entire crop of people calling themselves political leaders in Kenya today need to go home and pave way for a new generation, preferably born after independence in 1963. My two cents.

Made in Libya: Gaddafi Call Kibaki's Bluff

Kibaki must have seen it coming. Leader Gaddafi knows his turf and with the hindsight that there is NO MONEY to refund he is shamelessly reading a sitting president riot act in his own backyard. This must be the ultimate price for serial DECEPTION and FRAUD. Boy, and the bravado with which it is delivered beggars no remorse.

Diplomatic etiquette has been tossed out of the window. The head of Libyan delegation, a Mr Bashir, didn't even have to wait for the PPS to release a briefing. He went ahead to address, nay warn, Kenyans that the GR deal is a done deal and we can do nothing about it, file closed. Vintage Muamar Gaddafi is turning the knife deep inside where it hurts most. And his delegation couldn’t have come at a worse time just when the Cockar commission is starting to stage-manage an enquiry whose outcome is already typed and proof read. Okemo and his team can breathe all the fire under their belly but the the lever rest with Kibaki and and with embarrassment starring him right in the face, Parliamentary committees can go to hell on a one way ticket.

Mr Bashir couldn't have mastered his script so well. His brand of brinkmanship with which he delivered is akin to paying Kibaki with his own coin. The CBK boss will soon see his lid blown off after LYING to Okemo’s committee that the money paid for Grand Regency is there. Never mind the fact that the same good professor previously denied sell of the same. Gaddafi must be feeling vindicated in his LOW opinion of black African leaders. He has turned our marionette inside out and now he is airing him out to dry in shame.

Expoiting fraudulent leadership
The present drama is an act performed in arrears to complete the bloody script of ELECTION THEFT. Those who have been gleefully asking for proof of the same don’t have to ask any more. We haven’t see anything yet. The Libyans have proved to be smart economic mercenaries and they are out for a BIG KILL. With the CEO right in the mix, there is no escaping and they are surely having their way. Only in Kenya do we get a foreign country trashing on going investigations and commissions. Bashir has categorically dismissed outcome of any of these probes in advance by declaring that Libya is not bound by any such niceties. With the CEO under AUTO life, the looting and auctioning of property Kenya is guaranteed to gain momentum in earnest. Kazi na uporaji iendelee.

Poor Barrack Hussein Obama


After roaming up and down Europe in a serious bid to illustrate his international credentials, our favorite son is only leading by 5%. If the elections were held tomorrow, Hussein would loose terribly. Especially if you recognize the fact that white voters usually lie when responding to poll questions in contests where a black candidate is facing one of their own. The other known fact is that a very high percentage of blacks who respond to polls will definitely not vote….if history is anything to go by. Most Kenyans will be pulling doubles so they wont vote. Things are tough folks. Some reputable political analysts have opined that Barrack must be ahead at the polls by 15-20% for him to win the vote by 2-3%.

So what are these Americans trying to teach Kenyans when they reject Barrack? Here we are listening to Condoleezza Rice and trying to emulate every aspect of American democracy, music, style, way of life etc… and they turn around and reject our progeny. Hii ni mambo gani bwana?

How much harder must our guy try? I mean, how can Obash anticipate loosing to a guy who will most likely die in office due to very bad health. Our friend's campaign kitty is over twice that of McCain but he's still being received shabbily. Currently, the political correct reason for anti-Obamaism seems to boil down to his inexperience. The bolder player haters have even started talking about the wife's un-presidential qualities. Some are saying charisma and handsomeness (kama ya Kalonzo) is not going to fix the economy and stop the war in Iraq.

This is what I say; if Obama looses, it will be because the election will have been rigged. I will demonstrate in Washington DC and throw stones relentlessly…or until Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran is called in to mediate the power sharing talks between Obama and McCain. Kenyans must be prepared to send the holy and magnificent cardinal Njue to help in coalition talks. You see, our boy is a Kenyan and he must act like a Kenyan. The way I see it, when the time comes, he should not accept anything less than royal executive premiership with imperial leadership in congress plus chairmanship in the supreme court. No bill shall become law without our (or is it 'his') signature.

What do you say?

Why John Githongo Would Be The Ideal President For Kenya

Since the ill-fated referendum of 2005, the country has rapidly sunk into an abyss of tribalism that climaxed in the ugliest spate of violence ever seen on the continent last January. Surely even in the bloodletting in Rwanda they did not burn women and children inside churches, did they?

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Two men will be judged harshly by history for what has happened in our beloved motherland. The first one is Mwai Emilio Stanley Kibaki who ignored advice from several quarters, including the church, to postpone the referendum until tribal tensions cool down. Instead his blundering administration has continued on a steady path of taking Kenyans to the slaughter. The second man whom history will judge harshly is the director general of the NSIS, Michael Gichangi. Of all spy chiefs in the history of the region the man has made too many mistakes and Kenyans should now be asking themselves why he is still in office. His remaining at the helm of the NSIS is a threat to national security. See the long list of deadly blunders Gichangi has made (it is FREE) that have brought the country to its’ knees.

Most people fail to appreciate that one of the advantages of having a free speech zone on this blog (although some folks have badly abused the privilege to further their own selfish agenda) is that one gets to see a clear reflection of what is happening on the ground. Complete with the emotions and prejudices. If this is true (and I have plenty of evidence to prove that it is) then the comments here tell you that the country is very far from being healed. So why should anybody discuss 2012 and the presidential elections when clearly the country will never be ready for another general elections at this rate? More so when our so-called leaders are ignoring the clear danger signals that tell us all is NOT well.

Am informed that in the ongoing spate of secondary school strikes, disciplined schools that have previously had excellent reputations like Machakos Girls, Machakos Boys and Hospital Hill high in Nairobi amongst others have now joined the rapidly growing list of schools where students have gone on the rampage destroying property worth millions of shillings. As usual the government is busy treating the symptoms rather than the disease by arraigning many youngsters in court to face criminal charges.

If there ever was a clear and obvious hint for our leaders to prove that all is not well countrywide, then it is the current spate of school strikes. But still they ignore all the fires being lit in schools all over the country. The latest statement from the duly elected president is that parents will have to pay for the damage their children have caused in schools.

You see the truth is that Kenya currently has no leaders. What we have are some immature and very selfish men and women thinking only about themselves and others jostling for power and the presidency ahead of 2012, even as the country continues to spiral dangerously towards disaster.

Now is the time for a new generation of leaders to emerge. Their time and their chance is NOW. Currently the younger people of Kenya, born after independence are busy chasing money in various corners of the world. Many of them read this blog on a regular basis. And sadly many of them have been dragged down into the ongoing silly and primitive “tribal wars.”

The young people of Kenya need to come back to their senses now and take back their country from the hands of “the wolves” that now have it firmly held in their grasp for selfish ends.

One man whom I see as vital in getting Kenyans to rally around this noble cause irrespective of their party or tribal inclinations is former ethics PS John Githongo. We need somebody with a track record of saying “NO” to corruption and John is exactly that person. I mean the guy risked his life when it would have been easier to take the money and look the other way. We also need somebody whom we are sure will never fall back to his tribe in a crisis. John is that person. The guy cannot even speak Kikuyu properly. For all intents and purposes, he is tribeless. Above all we need somebody young and born after 1963 and yet somebody who has the experience to make things happen. John has that and already works with various worldwide organizations and lobby groups.

I stand to be corrected but I cannot think of any better qualified person to rally all Kenyans from all tribes to do something like yesterday for the motherland before it is too late.

I am of course keenly aware that this post will upset many of my dear readers who are staunch supporters of the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga. These guys don’t want to hear about any other president for 2012.

But my dear beloved brothers and sisters, please let us reason for a moment. I need to ask a very simple question. Will a Raila Presidency unite a country that is badly torn right down the middle? The answer to that question is NO. Raila is a great man, but he cannot pull this one off. Let him prove his greatness beyond any reasonable doubt by making the greatest of all sacrifices and stepping aside for a new generation of Kenyans to take over.

I must also ask if a Martha Karua, Uhuru Kenyatta or George Saitoti presidency is capable of uniting the country. The answer again is a resounding NO. We need a fresh start and that that start needs to have its’ foundation in fighting corruption.

My dear fellow Kenyans we need to start thinking outside the box and it needs to happen NOW. This is very very urgent.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Please Do Not Marry Fat Pot-Bellied White Women!!

.......why Githongo must come back home very fast.

We are all aware of the thousands upon thousands of able Kenyan men who cannot resist marriage to very fat white women when they are in pursuit of makaratasi. I'm sure some of you reading about this phenomena are victims of the same. The plan is usually to avoid any children for the two or three years it takes to receive that precious document. Unfortunately, some of these extra wide voluptuous white women become very crafty and indeed end up producing one or two babies. Many Kenyans have reached that crossroad; do you stay and enjoy that extra white mattress of a woman for the rest of your life or do you take off knowing that you will pay child support for the next 18 years? In retrospect, many Kenyan men wish they had a referee in the bedroom to ensure that no unwanted goals were scored at all costs.

Folks, it is at this very timely moment in our history that we need 'Githongo the Referee'. It's my hope that this man heeds the PMs call to come back to Kenya. You see, in the coalition marriage between ODM and PNU, it is quite clear who the very fat pot-bellied white woman is. It is also clear who the do-what-it-takes Kenyan man is. My friends, If we are not careful, we will find ourselves with very many babies. These babies will continue to have names such as Anglo-Leasing, Goldenberg etc. If we allow this very bad behavior to happen, Kenyans will have no option but to pay child support bills for very many years. Our paychecks will be garnished by the taxman until we are very old men and women.

I will remind you that we have recently paid child support bills in blood. Yes fellas, the post election violence, land disputes etc was actually a backdated child support bill resulting from the children brought into this world by our married post colonial leaders (the ones who stole all the land).

The way I see it, we need 'Githongo the Referee' to be in the State House bedroom at all hours. We need him there to ensure that this coalition marriage does not get too cozy and comfortable. Githongo must ensure that the bedroom lights remain brightly lit…...even at night. We need Githongo to thwart any efforts or schemes that will lead to fat white women with pregnant bellies. He must make sure that no champagne or changaa is drunk in the bedroom because we all know where that leads to.

For the love of country, Githongo must accept to be the prophylactic that prevents the conception and delivery of corruption.

Otherwise, babies will continue popping out very rapidly….as in the case when you make popcorn from scratch.

Eventful Weekend Where Nasty Snakes Were Smoked Out Of Their Holes

To be perfectly honest with you I did not really realize just how sensitive a topic I was touching on in my weekly special feature this past weekend. That was until some rather strange comments (some of which I deleted started popping up).

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How a small business was rescued from bankruptcy to prosperity. Copy the tips.

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What would you do if you have been a strong anti-corruption activist for many years and then you are suddenly confronted with the question of how your own family acquired the wealth that was used to pay for your education to enable you to be where you are today?

There is no doubt that the topic of how the wealthiest Kenyan families made their money has rubbed many up the wrong way. But it is a reality that we MUST face. And for many reasons but mainly because for the war against corruption to be successful, justice cannot be dished out selectively. And yet for that justice to be done, one would have to touch virtually every prominent respectable wealthy family in Kenya today. This cuts across both the so-called old money and the newer money and it also cuts across political parties and tribes.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the top 5 wealthiest Kenyans are all names from Kenyan politics.

My report this weekend certainly smoked many “snakes” out of their holes. And they come out firing from the hip, both barrels desperately blazing. One commentator claimed that by offering sensitive information via email, I was collecting email addresses to sell to Nigerian scam artists. Now that is somebody who is really running scared over the information that is now being widely distributed to Kenyans. Let me tell you a secret. One of the reasons why I favor email is that emails get forwarded all over the place and a vast number of Kenyans will end up getting information in the safety of their email inboxes that many rich Kenyan families would do anything to keep from them.

I take this opportunity to reassure all those who request for my free sensitive information via email that I highly respect their privacy and will NOT pass on their email addresses to anybody (let alone Nigerian conmen). I urge you all to trust me on that one, in the same way you have trusted me to bring you political information that you cannot possibly find anywhere else. In fact the issue of privacy and security is one of the reasons why I have opted to use Yahoogroups the most reputable email opt-in service in the world who also have a reputation to protect. I have done this rather than use many of the other options including my very own software. Yahoogroups is also very easy to opt out of and you can stop my emails coming to you at any time (no questions asked). I therefore urge those readers who are yet to register to do so as recent developments are going to force me to increasingly reveal the most sensitive information I have via email. The service is of course free, send your email Now.

The other ominous threat that I have taken very seriously is that of a man who has said that he intends to shut down this blog in two weeks. You see how desperate folks are?

But I will not be stopped and this is one of the reasons why I have decided that I will continue with this hot topic on how the wealthiest Kenyan families acquired their illegal wealth in my weekend special, next weekend. Don’t miss the second and final part of this important feature which is bound to be even more sizzling hot than last weekend’s.

I would urge all Kenyans to be brave enough to face the truth, however terrible it is. It is the only way we are going to save the motherland.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

A Generation Ruined by Deception and Fraud

The revelation that cheating in national examination is the principal reason behind the present spate of destruction in our secondary schools paints a very bleak future for the Kenyan youth. We may choose to live in denial but after last year’s examination debacle, the Kenya National Examination council (KNEC) lost its credibility and the present unrest is doing the institution’s name no good. The first casualty will be the authenticity and quality of KNEC certificates and their acceptance by other institution and employers both locally and abroad.

Blaming the current riots in schools on illicit drugs and poor parenting is akin to immaculately dressing a festering wound. Granted, these two factors together with erratic communication between students and their teachers outside the classroom are symptoms of a dysfunctional system. Well, the Minister for education has not disappointed either by jumping to such cosmetic measures like banning DVDs and music from school buses. But again you don’t expect the good minister to prescribe a noose for his own neck after renewing KNEC CEO’s tenure oblivious of the examination fiasco characterized by historic TOP UPS.

If you thought Kimunya’s head rolled because he lied on camera think again. Amos was only unfortunate to have not spiced his untruths with enough bravado and impunity. He should have consulted Minister Ongeri who denied any cheating in last year’s KCSE neither recourse to mock results despite the emerging facts that dead and sick students who never sat their exams have results similar to their mock outcome.

Impunity and self-deception
Despite media highlighting exam frauds every year the ministry and her dinosaur PS have been on a mission to destroy a whole generation with their irresponsible acts of impunity and deception. Head teachers have confirmed large scale cheating in exams since 2005 and now the then form ones who are his year’s candidates cannot afford the pain of being subjected to rigorous assessment while they know cheaper way to examination success awaits them anyway. Give it to them, these students are smart and won’t risk jeopardizing guaranteed superlative performance by sitting mocks whose results will only expose their schemes. After last year’s use of mock exams to moderate fraudulent KCSE results you cannot fail to see and feel the students’ fears.

No commissions or task forces will help us address our corrupt culture that singularly and exclusively define our socio-political setup in Kenya. It may have started with Moi meddling in everything under the sun including hasty and unprofessional introduction of the 8-4-4 education system. But IMPUNITY and DECEPTION by the Kibaki regime has accelerated the decay so much so that nothing within our borders is sacrosanct any more. While Moi had his tentacles spread anywhere to have his presence felt, Kibaki has DELEGATED impunity and fraud to his cronies who milks the cow even after she has dropped dead.

Education has lost its pride amidst poor Kenyans as the only avenue to make a mark on individual and community lives. Primitive wealth accumulation is our singular obsession and the rich are busy buying exams for their kids. School heads have been threatened if they fail to facilitate cheating. Lack of focused leadership is our bane and our wrong education system focusing exclusively on academics is not spared this malady. Until such a time that we stop electing leeches for leaders and impunity and deception are banished from national psyche, we are unwittingly hurtling towards self destruction.

How The Kenyatta And Moi Families Made Their Dirty Money


There was a time I was naïve enough to believe that it is the political class who rule Kenya.

Not really. Allow me to give you a simple example to prove my point.

When president Kenyatta died in Mombasa in August 1978 and his then Vice president took over the presidency, many did not realize how crafty a political player Moi really was. Indeed late into the Moi presidency there were still many Kenyans who did not think he was very intelligent. Ironically that is how Moi won his greatest battles, by people underestimating him. The minute folks stopped taking him for granted (most notable in 2002) was the minute Kanu was removed from power. But I digress.

Moi was clearly very frightened as he hesitantly took over the reigns of power in 1978. Who was he scared of? The Kiambu mafia? That is laughable because the kitchen cabinet is only operational when the owner of the kitchen (in this case the president) is around. The minute the “owner of the kitchen” dies or leaves office, that powerful kitchen cabinet is dead in the water.

A clue as to who Moi may have been terrified of can be figured out from the rallying call he came up with very early on. He promised that he would “fuata Nyayo” which means “follow in the foot-steps” of President Kenyatta. This was to reassure all those wealthy powerful folks who held the purse strings of Kenya that they had nothing to worry about over their ill-gotten wealth.

Another example. I am persuaded that on that memorable December day in 2002 at Uhuru Park, as President Kibaki took the oath of office to become Kenya’s third president, deep in his heart he was determined to root out corruption. I have plenty of evidence to support this including an intimate meeting I attended with the then presidential candidate and a certain organization at Mfangano House in Nairobi in early 2002. At the meeting Kibaki kept on repeating that the money collected from taxes was more than enough to take care of plenty in the country with very little recourse to foreign Aid. H also convinced me and many others at the meeting of about 30 people that he was serious about fighting corruption. The truth is that the president was well-intentioned but amazingly, rather naïve.

I also have plenty of information and other evidence to prove that reality hit Kibaki a few months after he had taken office and caused him to change his entire thinking on a lot of things. This is what led him to sanction what we now know as the Anglo Leasing scam—further proof that the people with real power in Kenya are the people with the cash.

Indeed a very similar trend can be seen in President Moi who on taking over office was not a rich man. He was merely a simple farmer with one small company called Lima Limited that sold agricultural machinery. Moi quickly realized that a poor man cannot rule Kenya for long. As you read this, the two wealthiest Kenyans are Daniel T. Arap Moi and Gideon Moi in that order.

Those who have been calling for a new constitution have a point because going by the current constitution, cash is the real ruler of Kenya. Just look around you, if you are in Kenya. “The message” always flies at you from all directions. It simply says this; “woe unto you, if you DON’T have money.” The thread of that message comes right from the top to the ordinary mwananchi down there who is terrified of any sickness visiting their household during this cold season. (Am told it has been exceptionally cold in Kenya this year.)

Never cheat yourself that it is Presifent Kibaki who is ruling Kenya. The name of the real ruler of Kenya is President Cash Money.

This explains the reason why business and politics can never be separated in Kenya. And I am not talking about small business here. And it is also for the same reason that the list of the top 100 wealthiest Kenyans always reads like a who-is-who in Kenyan politics past and present.

The Kenyatta family made it’s vast weath from grabbing land. Pure and simple. It was often said that the old man (Kenyatta) never saw a fertile piece of land that he could resist getting his grabby old hands on. In fact at public meetings, Kenyatta would often talk of “shamba iko na rotuba nyingi sana” (fertile land) and you could see the saliva literally oozing out of his mouth in excitement. It is said that every time the Kenyatta family gets cash broke, they simply sell off a small parcel of the vast land they own countrywide.

This is the reason why it was very juvenile for any Kenyan to have expected both the Kenyatta and Moi family to support the new constitution during the historic referendum of 2005. How do you cut your own two feet with an axe as you watch? If you are still confused just find out what the proposed constitution said about land and a truth and reconciliation commission.

Another corruption technique used by the Kenyatta family to acquire vast wealth was what was popularly known in those days as the “10 per cent rule.” Before any foreign investor opened for business on Kenyan soil, it was mandatory that 10 percent of the shares of his company would have to go to a member of the Kenyatta family. This explains the family interest in numerous tourist hotels at the Coast for example. Of course Moi and the Kalenjin brigade came later and adjusted that rule to as high as 90 per cent in some instances. I kid you not. And in the process caused people to discover what had been going on.

The Moi family did indeed do exactly what Moi promised on taking over power—walifuata Nyayo za Kenyatta. They followed in the footsteps of Kenyatta, albeit with some major adjustments. Somebody decided that being rich mostly in assets, as the Kenyatta family are, was not for the Mois. This family needed to see the cash, literally. And that was one of the reasons why it was mandatory that if you wanted to see Moi you carry with you a briefcase (strictly no cheques please) containing a million shillings or more in hard cash. This fact has been confirmed by various sources including Kamlesh Paul Patttni and jailed businessman Ketan Somaia who both gave evidence separately under oath saying that they had left briefcases full of cash when they went to see Moi for the first time. So let us say that the president (who was very energetic, and now we know part of the reason why) had like 10 appointments a day, each lasting less than 5 minutes…WOW!! Before an hour was up, he would have made a cool Kshs 10 million, which was a lot of dough in those days.

The story of how Kenya lost out on a very sweet deal concerning the Kenya Meat commission illustrates how business decisions were made by the Moi family during president Moi’s long reign.

A Japanese company was interested in financing the revival of the then stalled Kenya Meat Commission. They would bring in the machinery, train staff and finance the day to day operations. The meat would then be exported and sold in the world market and from the proceeds the Japs would deduct their investment and when that was done, ownership of the factory would revert back to Kenyans. Very sweet deal and all the government needed to do was to sign on the dotted line. But there was a problem. In fact a very big problem. Somebody asked the question: “Where is the cash?” They couldn’t see immediate cash in the deal so they were NOT interested.

Later when President Kibaki took over, he was aware of the deal and he has since tried everything to revive it. But as they say, time and tide wait for no man and this saying is especially true in business. The Japs I am sure got their meat elsewhere. Kwani Kenya has a monopoly as the only source of beef worldwide?

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I have painstakingly prepared a special report titled; How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight. To be honest the contents of this report made me cry tears. The safest way for you to read such explosive information is in your email. Get it FREE as well as regular Updates and other hot Kumekucha special reports by sending me a blank Email right away
N.B. My special report does NOT beat about the bush and I also name names.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Sharp Shooter Cop Who Suddenly Became A Billionaire



Try going to the Carnivore restaurant on any Friday or Saturday night and chances are that you will get to brush shoulders with some of the wealthiest families in the land. Families which matter in Kenya.

Sadly there are very few self-made families. Just too few. Eti people who worked their way up from rags to riches? Very few indeed.

At the Carnivore, you will look around and see the son of a very corrupt former official who worked for the immigration department for instance. His father’s ill gotten wealth enabled him to get a first class education and now they are professionals doing very well somewhere. And you can tell from the way they are so comfortably leaning on the bar stool and sipping their drink like royalty itself.

One day recently I found the tears quickly gathering in my eyes when I thought about it. The truth is that children of non-corrupt Kenyans more often than not end up absolutely nowhere. Their parents don’t have the contacts and even if they sell everything to see them through university abroad, they will come back and there is no job. The family just doesn’t have the contacts. Kenya, as they say, iko na wenyewe na upende, usipende, it is controlled by the corrupt and the thieves of public property. Uta-do?

Even a substantial percentage of my dear precious readers on this site have been educated and are web savvy today thanks mainly to corruption money and stolen cash. The children of none corrupt Kenyans and those who did not have an opportunity to steal, are rusting away in the rural areas drinking changaa and other lethal stuff that is killing them slowly but surely.

I know this is sensitive but even as we criticize corruption here in this blog, it may be useful to ask yourself the million shilling question, how did your family make it’s vast wealth? That is the right place to start if we are going to fight corruption successfully in Kenya.

But some fortunes are from criminal activity pure and simple.

In the 70s a fascinating disciplinary case came up for consideration at the police headquarters. A police constable had disagreed with an Assistant commissioner of police. Constable is the lowest possible rank in the police force and assistant commissioner is the highest. The name of that assistant commissioner of police was Bob Morgan (now deceased) and the name of the constable was John Harun Mwau. The two gentlemen were incidentally both members of the Kenyan shooting team and admittedly the latter was better with a rifle, a sharp shooter whom few have been able to equal since.

The incident was an open and shut case and the fact that constable Mwau survived was a clear indication that he had powerful friends somewhere. But a few years later Acting Inspector Mwau was in yet another problem with his superiors. He had been appointed an instructor to pass on some of his talents with a rifle to trainee policemen at Kiganjo Police Training College. Ordinarily he would have stayed at Kiganjo in the accommodation usually provided for instructors. But instead the acting chief inspector chose to stay at an expensive 4 star tourist hotel at a nearby town. The bill he would run in one night was about half his monthly salary. So where was the acting inspector getting money to live so lavishly?

In fact today Mr Mwau is easily one of the wealthiest men in the land. So how did he make his money? Clearly he seems to have launched his business when he was still in the police force. Indeed the man got so arrogant towards the end of his police career, that he decided that he should not shave like other policemen (right up to the police commissioner himself) and got a doctor’s letter indicating that shaving his beard would be harmful to his health and well-being in some way. So you would see this shaggy-looking policeman with hir all over his face.

Now I know for a fact that there are a few Kenyans who have gotten asylum in the United States and elsewhere because of their fear for Mr Mwau and what they say he can do to them. So details of the exact business the man deals in can only be read via email. Get my SPECIAL REPORT on exactly how the man made his money. It is FREE. And you will get all the details to solve this mystery.

I also happen to know a number of corrupt journalists who never miss any press briefing or press conference called by Mr Mwau. When I ask them why they run so much when Mr Mwau whistles, they insist that their relationship is professional but admit that the man is very generous without giving details.

For those who may not know, Mr Mwau who is now an assistant minister in the grand coalition government was one of the chief financiers of the ODM’s Raila Odinga’s presidential campaign last year. In fact he was offered a full cabinet post on the ODM side by the PM, but declined saying that it was because he makes frequent trips abroad “on business” and he felt that his hands would be tied because the procedure is that a cabinet minister has to seek permission from the president every time they want to make a trip out of the country.

If you are continuously getting a sinking feeling even as you read this, then let me welcome you to this “sinking feeling club” because the truth is that the deeper you dig into how the wealthiest Kenyans made their money, the more the tentacles of corruption come nearer your very own door step and even touches those you love and believe are NOT corrupt. Money, the say makes the world go round and I can tell you that money also makes Kenya go round.

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I have painstakingly prepared a special report titled; How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight. To be honest the contents of this report shocked me to the bones and made me cry tears at the same time. The safest way for you to read such explosive information is in your email. Get it FREE as well as regular Updates and other hot Kumekucha special reports.

N.B. My special report does NOT beat about the bush and I also name names.

How Respected But Corrupt Kenyans Made Their Stinking Wealth

The following incident a few years ago caused me to despair like I never have before.

It was the time that, after a number of years away from the rugby scene, I made a come-back. One day we were out of town for a rugby tournament and the youngest member of the team, a son of a long-time and well-known corrupt Permanent Secretary in government (later long-serving MP) was asked what he intended to be when he finished school. His reply came swiftly and without hesitation. He said he wanted to be a PS. Everybody at the table understood immediately that what he really meant was that he wanted to be a “corrupt PS” when he finished school, just like his dad.

I despaired because this was a clear demonstration that role models we have given to our youth and children will ensure that corruption and ill-gotten wealth will remain with us for many years to come. You just have to look at how the young people of Kenya have been divided along tribal lines after the 2007 elections to realize that they have been good students to everything terribly wrong that the older folk have been doing for decades which has brought the republic to its’ knees today, sagging under a very heavy weight of seemingly unsolvable problems.

The reality is that Kenyans hold in high esteem anybody who is wealthy and it really doesn’t matter how they made their money.

To make matters worse, virtually all the wealthy and highly respected folks we have in Kenya today all made their money through dubious means. Let us start with the so-called “older money.” Take just one example from that fold.

Respected Nairobi businessman who holds directorships in dozens of multi-nationals and local companies, Chris Kirubi, made his money transporting smuggled coffee using his employer’s trucks. Kirubi was a mere manager at Kenatco (Kenya National Transport Company) in the 70s, a once prosperous parastatal. Kirubi’s big break came when he was able to identify with a member of Kenyatta’s powerful kitchen cabinet. Kirubi’s record with public companies speaks for itself. Shortly after he was appointed chairman of Uchumi Supermarkets, the once prosperous supermarket chain came crashing down in circumstances that resemble what happened to Kenatco in the 70s when he was an influential manager.

There are some fantastic rags to riches tales from the heady coffee boom days. An assistant manager (name with-held) of a prominent branch of Barclays Bank in Mombasa who hails from Central province is said to have “borrowed” money from the bank’s strong room to buy a huge consignment of coffee from Uganda. He took the money on Friday knowing that the strong-room would be kept closed throughout the whole weekend. But the consignment was delayed and people were chasing him all over the place for the keys to the strong-room moments before the bank was due to open for business on Monday morning. Despite suspicions, when the cash was finally counted, everything was found to be in order and it was difficult to pin anything on the man. But he had done his deal. Apparently the consignment arrived in the nick of time and he managed to return the cash before anybody discovered that it was missing. This individual never looked back and is today one of the wealthiest Kenyans (in the old money group).

There are dozens of other wealthy Kenyans who made their money in the 70s using their positions to “borrow” huge amounts of cash. Stanley Githinguri was a National bank branch manager in Mombasa. He not only “borrowed” money to purchase beach plots but using his contacts at State House, Nairobi he rose through the ranks at lightning speed to head the entire bank and that was when he gave himself the “mother of all loans.” A whooping Kshs 300 million. A crazy, crazy, crazy fortune in those days. Interestingly he is one of the few people at the time whose investment of dubious funds did not go too well. Still it was a lot of money to miss completely even if one made mistakes and a few of his investments finally worked out. He is today a fairly wealthy individual, a Member of Parliament and busy preaching against corruption. By the way the loan from the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) was NEVER repaid and is one of the reasons why the government ended up bailing out the Bank when it was on the brink of collapse in the 90s. Simoen Nyachae was the Finance Minister then.

A few other crafty Kenyans used their tribal accents to commit serious crimes and get away with it to date, emerging as very wealthy individuals. All they would do was to approach a business or land owner after doing a little research. They would introduce themselves and say that they are from State House Mombasa (where President Kenyatta used to spend a lot of time) and that they had instructions to take over the said business or piece of land and compensation would be worked out later. Now there was no way for the hapless person to verify how true what he was being told was. Surely he couldn’t pick up the phone and call President Kenyatta to ask him if it was true he wanted their precious beach plot. In fact in those days people were terrified of the government and those close to the president. You just needed to mention his name and most people would promptly start urinating on themselves. And with good reason. There were many terrifying tales of what happened to those who dared to defy those close to the president. Many ended up being found dead with their private parts cut out and stuffed in their mouths. Others just disappeared never to be seen again.

If you are in Mombasa just do a little research and find out who owns most of those beach plots. The list reads like a who-is-who from Central province and most were acquired by grabbing and mentioning the name of President Kenyatta.

For those who don’t know, it is very easy to convert property you own into cash, especially in Mombasa in those days when people were scrambling to build hotels on the beach front.

It is also true that the Kenyatta family owns a substantial amount of property at the Coast which was also acquired in more or less the same way. It includes numerous buildings as well as numerous valuable properties on the beach. There is in fact a property management company owned by the Kenyatta family that has a very busy office at the Coastal city. I was shocked to discover that only one client keeps them so busy, the same client who owns the property company.

Another well known family with substantial property at the Coast is the Kibaki family.

Next Post in this Weekend series: The junior policeman who made himself a fortune from his criminal contacts. Today he is a well-known nice guy


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I have painstakingly prepared a special report titled; How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight. To be honest the contents of this report made me cry tears. The safest way for you to read such explosive information is in your email. Get it FREE as well as regular Updates and other hot Kumekucha special reports by sending me a blank Email right away
N.B. My special report does NOT beat about the bush and I also name names.


Most popular Kumekucha link yesterday: How do super-earners make $100,000 online?

Friday, July 25, 2008

Where Art Thou, Kibaki?

Alarming reports emerge about the duly elected president

Where is the President?

Most people would assume that he is as usual holed up in State House Nairobi. The imposing address along State House road, where President Mwai Kibaki has spent most of his time since taking occupancy in January 2003. The place that he could not bear to bid goodbye to last December and therefore sanctioned a plan to stay put whether or not he was re-elected. A scheme that anybody could see was destined to cause blood shed in the country (which is exactly what happened).

The duly elected president of Kenya with his first of two wives, serial-slapper Lucy.

But if that is really where the duly elected president is at the moment, then my next question would be what his health status is?

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The truth is that President Kibaki has not been seen in public for a number of days. Nothing out of the ordinary about that, of course. Kibaki has been known to drop out of sight for 2 weeks and even longer. However this time round this blogger is receiving reports from various sources that are alarming. Unfortunately I cannot publish them here because I make a big effort to publish in this respected site, only information that has been verified from several independent sources. However you can receive my email report reproducing the reports that I have received so far. And it is FREE. Just Email Me Now

It would be a good idea of the government came clean and issued a statement on the exact position concerning this matter of national interest and indeed national security.

Gone are the days when the health of the president would be a carefully guarded secret. In fact when one considers the ruthless behavior of certain politicians in recent months, who are embroiled in the ongoing circus that is the Kibaki succession battle, the reports I have received become rather frightening. Clearly any health problems that the president may have can be very disturbing news to Kenyans.

Although the president has always been pretty good at masking his health problems during his long career in public life, experts say that he has never really recovered from the road accident that almost took his life in December 2002, barely weeks before the General elections of that year.

Previously in the 70s while still Finance Minister Kibaki suffered a serious stroke during a public function somewhere in Nyanza province and had to be rushed out of the country for emergency treatment. His recovery then was remarkable and he was back with his sharp wit and mind within a matter of weeks.

I am still pursuing various contacts and sources and will update this post if and when I receive more information.

Get my detailed Email (it is FREE) of what the reports and rumours are saying about the President’s current health status.


Another Kumekucha article written last year about the president's health. Read the last 3 paragraphs HERE

Don't forget your hot date for the weekend tomorrow, right here with Kumekucha Weekend Special. This weekend my articles reveal some of the dirty ways in which the richest and most respected Kenyans made their money. You will be shocked. Don't dare stand me up. I will be here waiting to spice up your weekend.


Thursday, July 24, 2008

MAU FOREST COMPLEX: Raila Odinga’s Real Acid Test

Isaac Ruto & Company playing disgraceful KANU politics with Kenya’s livelihood

Sitting some 250 kilometers North-West of Nairobi, the Mau Forest Complex covers approximately 400,000 hectares (about 900km2) straddling no less than ten administrative districts in the Rift Valley Province. At independence in 1963, it was the single largest block of montane and moist indigenous forest in East Africa but thanks to partisan party politics it has now been sadly depleted to about 22 patches of forest.
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As the country’s biggest water catchment area, the Mau forest occupies a central place in the economic and ecological lifeline of the people of Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza provinces. Indeed, the national economy stands to lose over US $300 million to the tea, tourism and energy sectors alone if the forest of the Mau Complex continues to be degraded. The Tanzanian government has already formally protested about the effects the Mau degradation is costing her environment and economy, while the Uganda and Egypt governments are said to be closely watching how Kenya will resolve this Mau fiasco that has now taken an international dimension.

Past political expediency resulted into systematic illegal excision of huge parcels that reduced forest cover in Kenya from approximately 1.7 million hectares in 1963 to 1.4 million hectares as at 2005, which translates to only 2.5% of the total land area and a meager 1.7% under closed canopy. A country with less than 10% of its area under closed canopy forest is considered “environmentally unsecure”.

At the height of his autocratic rule, President Moi’s KANU government de-gazetted huge tracts of forest land to irregularly reward party supporters. The infamous Ndung'u land report revealed that there are more than 200,000 illegal and irregular title deeds which were fraudulently issued in the Mau Complex, most of them to politically connected personalities, some of whom later sold the land to unsuspecting investors and members of the public.

Lately, the Mau has been turned into a nasty political tug of war for supremacy between MPs from the Maasai and Kipsigis communities, and this war is already threatening to degenerate into ethnic clashes. To make matters worse, some of the Kipsigis MPs led by Isaac Ruto are using the Mau as a tool of blackmail for settling political scores (read: cabinet appointments) within ODM. The Kipsigis MPs are throwing needless roadblocks into efforts to reclaim and restore the Mau forest as they know it is their people who are occupying and destroying the forest while, a little further downstream, Maasai communities are watching in horror as rivers are drying up and weather patterns are becoming harsher. Others hypocrites opposing the Mau evictions like Franklin Bett are themselves beneficiaries of the fraudulent Mau allocations by Moi.

The very nature of our politics has effectively turned the Mau Forest into very hot political potato as well as a massive environmental time bomb. The reality of the matter is that there is only one solution to the Mau problem: TOTAL EVICTION

Considering the loud war-cries emanating from the Kipsigis axis, it seems pretty obvious that we are heading for confrontation and it goes without saying that the restoration of the Mau Forest will mean forcefully uprooting thousands of squatter families, compensating them and re-settling them elsewhere. This may sound inhuman to our so-called human rights lobby groups, but it certainly guarantees the future of millions of Kenyans for whom the waters provided by the Mau mean life. Already, the commissioning of the Japanese funded Sondu Miriu hydro power station in Nyanza province has aborted due to low water levels on the river which is as a direct result of the destruction of the Mau Forest. In the already battered tourism sector, the world famous annual Mara Wildebeest migration, dubbed the 7th Wonder of the World, is also severely threatened by human settlement in the Mau.

In 2005, the then NARC government unilaterally sanctioned Kenyan security forces to forcibly evict an estimated 3000 families (about 15,000 people) destroying seven primary schools and affecting thousands of students. The displaced people were left with no access to food, shelter, sanitation facilities or education, and physical infrastructure was also destroyed. According to IDMC, allegations of rape and theft of harvested crops by evicting officers was reported. The brutality in which the evictions were carried out led to the suicide of three people, and one man suffered a heart attack when his school torched. A repeat of these unfortunate events is probably what Kipsigis MPs are concerned about when demanding for acceptable compensation and resettlement. President Kibaki has said that the resettlement will be conducted humanely. PM Raila has also assured that this time the evictions would be given a human face to ensure the fundamental rights of the affected individuals are not violated.

The latest initiative by Prime Minister in forming an all inclusive Mau Forest Conservation Task Force deserves the express support of all Kenyans. The 22 member all-inclusive task force is firstly expected to draw up its own terms of reference through consultations with all stakeholders including residents and then proceed to develop a time-bound implementation plan of evicting, compensating and re-settling those who currently reside in the Mau Forest. Ultimately, government plans to re-demarcate the forest boundaries, fence off the forest and also put in place an effective long-term management plans to reclaim and sustain the jewel that is Mau Forest. The success of these plans will mean that the country will have averted a major economic disaster and unthinkable environmental catastrophe. It will also mean another feather on to RAO's already thickly feathered political cap.

The Government also ought to prosecute all those politicians and public servants who were adversely involved in illegal demarcation of the forest in the first place. I mean, if President Moi ordered these illegal allocations, he must be called into account and made to answer charges of abuse of office!

The recommendations of the Ndungu Report may have been too drastic in suggesting amendments to sections of the constitution to facilitate the formation of a Lands Title Tribunal to enable the revocation and rectification of all irregular title deeds in the Mau and other forest., but it I think is time for us to bite the bullet for the sake of future generations.

Resources: Mau Complex Under Siege: Continuous destruction of Kenya’s largest forest, UNEP, 2005

Secondary School Strikes: Grand Coalition Government Courts More Disaster

It has been fascinating researching into the real causes of the current wave of school strikes that has left many Kenyans numb with shock. The first thing we have realized is just how complex the problem is. The truth is that those looking for a single reason to heap all the blame on will be disappointed because there are actually a number of reasons that have led to the current crisis. However many of them are related.
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Fascinatingly, despite the fact that we are now told that over 300 schools countrywide have been involved in strikes, few Kenyans realize just how serious the problem is. For instance many do not know that in the course of this term alone Upper Hill School students have been on strike twice. The unrest that led to the death of a student was the second one. And so has Sunshine School in Langata.

It is interesting how the local media which has rushed to talk to teachers has generally heaped all the blame on parents who are said to dumb their unruly children in school and leave them to “terrorize” teachers. Surely how can this be true when youngsters spend most of their time at school (a minimum of 9 months out of 12). Would the reverse not be a little more accurate in that teachers who have mostly despaired in many schools across the country are molding the kind of youngster who end up terrorizing parents whenever they are at home. But having said that it is not a smart thing for all the blame to be heaped on any one party. Both share responsibility and it is supposed to be a team effort. Sadly these days, rather than co-operation the two key groups are busy mostly fighting and second-guessing each other at most schools, my investigation has revealed.

From my 3 day investigation I am forced to announce that the number one reason for the current problems in schools is that teachers have mostly abandoned their responsibilities in schools and are too busy trying to make extra money. While it is true that there are various other factors that have contributed to the current crisis including the withdrawal of the cane without an adequate discipline system to replace it, the truth is that if teachers were on the job, they would have sounded the alarm long before the first can of petrol was purchased to burn down anything.

What has in fact happened is that teachers have despaired and are only in schools to do the bear minimum to enable them earn their salaries so that they can re-invest in all kinds of enterprises that occupy their mind and indeed most of their time. There is nothing wrong with a teacher being enterprising, the only problem is that teaching is the kind of profession that does not work with anything less than total dedication.

The reaction of the government to the wave of strikes is bound to make the situation worse. As usual they have rushed to address the symptoms (so that they are seen to be doing something) and nobody is interested in digging out the root cause of this unprecedented crisis. That is why the ministry has banned DVD and CD players in school buses (what does that have to do with the problem?). Indeed they have also opted to charge as many of the students as possible in courts. While I agree that no mercy should be shown to arsonists, the reality is that quite a number of innocent students will get a chance to mix with hard criminals in police cells and you can be sure that they will never be the same again.

A more productive approach would be to start with the teachers and ask them where they were when the students planned and launched their attacks. This will hopefully lead to teachers admitting about their current state of despair which will in turn lead to the issue of the cane (which must be re-introduced). This will be much more useful than banning music in school buses and locking up barely legal youngsters.

P.S. 1 :

In your weekend special this Saturday: How prominent Kenyans made their money. Kenyans worship money and they really don’t care how their leaders made their cash as long as they have plenty of it so that during election campaigns, they can distribute Kshs 50 or even Kshs 5 to voters (when some of them have stolen thousands from each individual Kenyan countrywide). For those interested in the way in which these wealthy well known Kenyans made their money my detailed series of articles this weekend will amaze and surely disgust you. Dump your girl friend or boyfriend for yours truly this weekend (I promise not to disappoint). And let’s meet right here in your one and only Kumekucha Weekend special.

P.S. 2

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P.S. 3

I appeal to regular readers of Kumekucha to remain on high alert and to refuse to be taken in by common trickery, especially in the so-called comments in this blog (and I am NOT talking about the ones coming in from a mental asylum in Spain). I have visited every single blog and web site reporting Kenyan news and I can authoritatively tell you that no other site invites more criticism than this one. But why? Just ask yourself the simple question; why don’t these “unhappy readers” move elsewhere instead of spending the whole day here trying to prove that our articles are either NOT factual or that (this is the latest one) I am recycling old Kumekucha articles. There was an especially amusing incident 2 days ago when some well-trained-in-propaganda-techniques-Kenyan pounced on a single statement in an authentic email I reproduced here, talking about photographs, to suggest that the personal account on a sexual assault by the Kenya police was pure fiction. Co-incidentally on the same day the Daily Nation carried an article (with much less details) confirming that the assault actually took place.

It is also fascinating that the attacks are mainly focused on articles that I write myself and not so much on the other contributors. Some of this chaps lack reading skills because they also pounce on guest posts written by others that I post myself. Anything with Chris’ name at the bottom is earmarked for scrutiny with the intention to attack.

Heheheheheheehe. I know you guys are terribly worried at what I know. Lakini pole sana, I have no intention of holding anything back from my dear readers. So… bring it on!!

I am not one to brag but there is only one possible explanation as to why Kumekucha is the most attacked Kenyan blog on earth. Folks, they fear us too much and with good reason. Keep it here and if you are easily confused by clever propagandists, just skip the comments area and read the posts only and then wait for as long as 2 months for the story to break in other media.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Did Visa Ban Force Kibaki to Skip London Trip?

While Prime Minister Raila Odinga is currently on a high profile working tour of the United Kingdom at the invitation of his British counterpart Gordon Brown, questions are now being raised as to why President Kibaki opted to snub an official invitation of a foreign government to attend an exclusive investment conference in which leading European investors will be present to network with Kenyan businessmen and listen to the Kenyan delegation present the country' s case as 'open for business' and as the region's investment hub. Even more importantly, the Kenyans are expected to outline opportunities under the recently unveiled and ambitious Vision 2030 aimed at driving Kenya into the middle economy.

Despite belated explanations by government spokesman that that the President Kibaki had ‘mandated’ Raila to lead the delegation of seven cabinet ministers, it is emerging that the president was advised to opt out of the trip due to failure by the British government to recognize his government earlier this year and noting that to date no official recognition has been forthcoming.

Secondly, Kibaki’s advisors are of the opinion that the overzealous British press was waiting to ‘pounce on Kibaki like vultures’ given their government had announced they do not recognize him. Additionally, Kibaki’s handlers feared constant harassment from the media (in a similar manner Mugabe has been relentlessly pursued each time he travels out of Zimbabwe) may have ended up in a confrontation with his guards and consequently embarrassed the head of state.

Thirdly, the highly publicized visa bans on politicians whom were linked to post-election violence and also to individuals whom were accused of subverting democracy have also never been officially withdrawn. Precedents exist where even some Heads of State have been barred from entering the some Western countries. Sources reveal that foreign governments have so far not rescinded their decisions on visas because they are monitoring the GCG while awaiting the successful completion and implementation of the all important agenda 4 of the Koffi Anan peace talks.

Fourthly, the PM’s trip to Europe included a scheduled address the House of Commons, a privilege normally reserved to Heads of State and respected statesmen. It will be recalled that in February this year, two senior British ministers had given ministerial statements in the same House of Commons where they reiterated that the British Government have not recognised the Kenyan Government. Kibaki’s advisors feared that some House of Commons MPs may boycott his address to protest the way in which the disputed elections were conducted.

Although names have never been revealed, senior personalities in both PNU and ODM have been expressly barred from entering Europe and the US since 2006. With the passage of time, those who have been barred from leaving Kenya have slowly but surely been sieved from the rest. For instance Uhuru Kenyatta was recently in the US and is currently in London as part the PM’s entourage. Musalia Mudavadi is in Geneva leading Kenya’s delegation to the Universal Postal Union Congress whereby he is expected to preside over the official opening of conference. William Ruto was in Rome about two months ago to represent Kibaki at an UN-FAO food conference. Interestingly, all ODM pentagon members have been to Europe on official and personal visits in the last few months, while a good number of the 40-strong grand coalition cabinet and members of their families have never dared to set foot out of the country inspite of the relevance of their individual ministerial portfolios or business interests overseas.

When one takes a casual glance at Raila’s official itinerary, then considers the size of his entourage and that the main purpose of the trip was to attend a significant investment conference organized by the British government; all these seem to suggest that this was a far too important trip for the president to skip. Indeed, going by past experience where the first lady Lucy Kibaki has always been by the side of the president during all his international trips, this time she is prominently missing in action and curiously, the government took it upon itself to announce that Raila would be accompanied by his wife Ida Odinga.

The high profile visit coupled with Raila’s elaborate motorcade and British bodyguards, have already resulted into some major international news channels erroneously referring to Raila as the President of Kenya.