Exits Were Shut By The Management When The Fire Started?
It has not been lost on this blogger that the management of Nakumatt have behaved very strangely indeed over the tragedy that saw over 40 people lose their lives in a grisly fire at their Nakumatt downtown branch.
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Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
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They have been on the defensive right from the start when in fact sympathy at the huge loss should be flowing in their direction, insurance claims not withstanding.
For starters, even as the fire was going on the supermarket management rushed a statement to the press saying that all staff and customers had been evacuated safely and insisting that there were no casualties.
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Kumekucha titbits: This is a new feature offering our readers useful titbits of information on every subject under the sun. Did you know that a whooping 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster? And that re-creating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $8,000 per MB? Did you also know that we have pretty competent world class data recovery experts in Kenya?
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Now eye-witnesses insist that the huge steel shutters were shut moments after the fire started. The reason was that the management wanted to stop customers leaving without paying for their purchases and also to prevent looting. Clearly they underestimated the intensity of the fire (by late yesterday thick smoke was still bellowing from the ruins of where the supermarket once stood). Moments later when it became clear that the fire was serious, the doors were jammed and could not open. If this is what really happened then it was a rather tragic error in judgement.
Interestingly news reports on how survivors escaped seem to support this claim since many jumped from the floor above when there was really no fire around the doors when the inferno started. Suggesting that that particular escape route may have been blocked.
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Kumekucha titbits: Staying in Nairobi? Well the traffic jams have gotten totally out of hand these days. So if you are catching an early morning flight the hotel you choose could be critical. For instance if you are using the Wilson airport to Masai Mara or elsewhere then The Olive Garden Hotel Nairobi in Hurligham is a good idea to avoid the City centre traffic completely.
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Friday, January 30, 2009
Open Letter To Kofi Annan
Hi Kofi,First of all, I would like to ask for your forgiveness. I think we Kenyans have mastered the art of disturbing you in your retirement slumber much too often. But kindly sir, please realize that the following weeks are crucial to our survival as a nation of integrity; however little of which we have left. You see, we have reached the crossroads my friend. Turning left will lead us to an inconsequential special tribunal. Turning right takes us to the continuation of dilapidating impunity meted upon us by our politicians. We cannot dare turn backwards because that’s the path to sure hell. It’s clear our only redeemable option is moving forward i.e. directly to The Hague….at breakneck speed.
Now, your travels are vast and your life experiences supersede many, however, I’m sorry to say, you haven’t seen nothing yet until you have traded your space with a local mwanaichi. Only then will you understand what it means to get it in the place where the sun don’t shine. You see my friend, we are being held in bondage by a cadre of politicians armed with the power to raid our tax payer funded exchequer for the sole purpose of their own self preservation. The plight of the common man has never featured in the political agendas of these mosquitoes masquerading as MPs. I tell you buddy, if all our politicians died today and went to their designated chambers in hell, Lucifer himself will be filing for bankruptcy within a few days. Indeed, there will be an economic crisis in the underworld.
Kofi, Kenyans are tired and possibly defeated. We are immensely convinced that the vector towards Kenya’s prosperity is not pointing at Parliament Buildings; especially if it continues to house MPs who are magnificently deficient in everything that makes a good human being…..let alone the radiance of decency, integrity and legitimacy emanating from State House.
But let me update you on what they are trying to force feed us this time around. Let me give you a synopsis of the beast. Have you ever seen a congregation of drunken hyenas marching towards the lions den? Well my friend, that spectacle begins with the proposed special tribunal to try post-election violence suspects. Unfortunately for Kenyans, the lions in this case, are perpetually sky high on marijuana. Yes Kofi, it will be an all night political dance. The whole exercise is an opportunity to reward their friends with plum contracts as they boogey away the blood of the innocent lives lost in consequence of our embarrassing elections. It will be a pompous fraternity party holding court at the executive boardroom of the Laico Regency Hotel. While we have not been invited, we have seen this dance before. As we speak, there’s a stranger in the cabinet.
But you Kofi, yes you, can help us…. unless of course the Waki envelope contained a thick wad of notes of varied denominations. I think you understand where I’m going with this. Although you may have had a few hiccups here and there in your public service career, we know you as a man of impeccable propriety and decorum. It is in that consideration that we ask you to take the next available flight to the Netherlands. Please do this in solidarity with the people of Kenya.
Now we know too well that your delivery of that envelope to The Hague will not solve all our problems; but it will be the beginning to the end of impunity. After all, we are dealing with a flock of scavenging vultures who will continue stealing and causing mayhem even with a noose around their necks. Talk about the condemned to die stealing the hangman's rope. I’m sure they have sent emissaries to beg for extensions; but we ask that you refuse to listen. They will ask you what the point is in airing Kenya’s dirty linen in public for the world to see. To that I ask, what do you do when your little son messes the bed linens? Must you not put them out to dry? In Kenya, we have been housed in a dingy hut with no windows…and a lot of dirty linen. It is time for fresh air.
Kenya’s destiny must no longer be charted by a class of conmen with the least regard of our wellbeing.
Please pass my regards to your family.
Frustrated Kenyans.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Hague Beckons: 10th Parliament Springs Nasty Surprise
It is sad reading through the comments in this blog daily where well-educated Kenyans are still thinking in terms of PNU and ODM (and the gods they worship, namely Kibaki and Raila) when the vast majority of Kenyans have already moved on. More so when it looks like even most legislators have moved away from those tribal groupings as was seen yesterday in parliament. The 10th parliament sprung a stunning surprise that left many puzzled and those who understood the implications dumbfounded.
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Kumekucha titbits: This is a new feature offering our readers useful titbits of information on every subject under the sun. Did you know that a whooping 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster? And that re-creating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $8,000 per MB? Did you also know that we have pretty competent world class data recovery experts in Kenya?
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Despite the fact that President Kibaki spent a lot of time on Wednesday with the MPs lobbying for the bill to enact a special tribunal to try post election perpetrators locally, his efforts and those of Prime Minister Raila Odinga did not bear fruit. Interestingly MPs say that this was their way of replying to the president's "slap in their face" of re-appointing former Finance Minister Amos Kimunya to the cabinet despite the fact that issues surrounding his resignation are yet to be resolved.
In a smart move legislators used a simple technicality to block all efforts to fast-track the bill meaning that the country will miss today's deadline. Which means that the case is headed to the Hague (Read the full story here).
Of great interest are the new political re-alignments that are now emerging and more interestingly the motivation behind them. Despite being the person who moved the bill, Justice Minister Martha Karua obviously has a lot to gain if Uhuru Kenyatta is charged at the Hague and maybe convicted. It was difficult to miss the smirk on her face when Legislator Gitobu Imanyara blocked her bid to fast-track the bill through parliament. Everybody knows that Martha is a fighter and ordinarily would have at least protested. She did not even whimper.
Many other legislators who had nothing to do with the post-election troubles have a lot to gain by blocking the bill and causing all the suspects to end up at the Hague. It will obviously eliminate a lot of the competition for their grand ambitions.
I doubt whether most of the political class conecerned slept well last night. You see the game plan was to have a local tribunal and then intimidate all the witnesses from coming to give evidence (already a number of key Waki witnesses have received death threats). Now it seems that the Hague beckons for sure.
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Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
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Chief mediator Kofi Annan can of course save the situation by extending the deadline. However if he does so it will look like he is favouring the powerful political class and reducing the chances of ordinary Kenyans ever getting real justice on this rather painful issue. And to make matters worse the bill tabled in parliament had been "doctored" by some of the chief suspects themselves to favour themselves especially those who are cabinet ministers. So Mr Annan will be greatly endangering his image and reputation by lifting a finger to interefere with the natural course of justice that has already been set in motion. But lets wait and see what happens.
The other point that Kenyans should note is that their government moves at the pace of a snail (maybe slower), even when it is to save themselves. Why did it take so long to bring this bill to parliament? I mean the idea was to pass it yesterday when the deadline is today. Surely if somebody is so slow when saving themselves from a fire, how fast can you expect them to be when dealing with the problems of the country? Little wonder that Kenya is in such a mess. The whole lot PNU, ODM, Raila, Kibaki must go home NOW. We need fresh elections NOW!!
-------------------------00000000000
Kumekucha titbits: This is a new feature offering our readers useful titbits of information on every subject under the sun. Did you know that a whooping 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster? And that re-creating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $8,000 per MB? Did you also know that we have pretty competent world class data recovery experts in Kenya?
============================
Despite the fact that President Kibaki spent a lot of time on Wednesday with the MPs lobbying for the bill to enact a special tribunal to try post election perpetrators locally, his efforts and those of Prime Minister Raila Odinga did not bear fruit. Interestingly MPs say that this was their way of replying to the president's "slap in their face" of re-appointing former Finance Minister Amos Kimunya to the cabinet despite the fact that issues surrounding his resignation are yet to be resolved.
In a smart move legislators used a simple technicality to block all efforts to fast-track the bill meaning that the country will miss today's deadline. Which means that the case is headed to the Hague (Read the full story here).
Of great interest are the new political re-alignments that are now emerging and more interestingly the motivation behind them. Despite being the person who moved the bill, Justice Minister Martha Karua obviously has a lot to gain if Uhuru Kenyatta is charged at the Hague and maybe convicted. It was difficult to miss the smirk on her face when Legislator Gitobu Imanyara blocked her bid to fast-track the bill through parliament. Everybody knows that Martha is a fighter and ordinarily would have at least protested. She did not even whimper.
Many other legislators who had nothing to do with the post-election troubles have a lot to gain by blocking the bill and causing all the suspects to end up at the Hague. It will obviously eliminate a lot of the competition for their grand ambitions.
I doubt whether most of the political class conecerned slept well last night. You see the game plan was to have a local tribunal and then intimidate all the witnesses from coming to give evidence (already a number of key Waki witnesses have received death threats). Now it seems that the Hague beckons for sure.
-------------------------00000000000
Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
============================
Chief mediator Kofi Annan can of course save the situation by extending the deadline. However if he does so it will look like he is favouring the powerful political class and reducing the chances of ordinary Kenyans ever getting real justice on this rather painful issue. And to make matters worse the bill tabled in parliament had been "doctored" by some of the chief suspects themselves to favour themselves especially those who are cabinet ministers. So Mr Annan will be greatly endangering his image and reputation by lifting a finger to interefere with the natural course of justice that has already been set in motion. But lets wait and see what happens.
The other point that Kenyans should note is that their government moves at the pace of a snail (maybe slower), even when it is to save themselves. Why did it take so long to bring this bill to parliament? I mean the idea was to pass it yesterday when the deadline is today. Surely if somebody is so slow when saving themselves from a fire, how fast can you expect them to be when dealing with the problems of the country? Little wonder that Kenya is in such a mess. The whole lot PNU, ODM, Raila, Kibaki must go home NOW. We need fresh elections NOW!!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Will Tribunal Bill Hoodwink Kenyans Once Again?
There is a friend who keeps telling me that the glue keeping the grand coalition government together is called “corruption.”
There have been numerous instances to prove this statement 1000% correct. But there is something else that also makes politicians across the political divide stick together like brothers. It is "fear" and especially fear of a place called the Hague.
In a few hours time a crucial bill, and indeed the reason why parliament was recalled earlier than the traditional March, is set to be tabled in the august house. We all know that the president never leaves the cozy confines of State House unless he has a very good reason to do so. So it is very telling that yesterday he was in a special meeting with MPs to drum up support for the bill that our political class hope will help them avoid the Hague.
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Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
============================
However there is a small problem. Sources assure me that subtle changes have been made and some crucial Waki recommendations set aside in the final bill which was published late last night. One of them is that cabinet ministers who are named as suspects will now NOT need to step aside and will remain in office until proven guilty. For what? Well the answer is simple. So that they can continue fleecing the treasury with their corrupt deals to enable them pay the hefty legal fees and other expenses like “oiling” the right hands so that the charges and Hague goes away. It is that simple.
-------------------------00000000000
Kumekucha titbits: This is a new feature offering our readers useful titbits of information on every subject under the sun. Did you know that a whooping 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster? And that re-creating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $8,000 per MB? Did you also know that we have pretty competent world class data recovery experts in Kenya?
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Interestingly when the president was drumming up support amongst legislators yesterday he pledged that he and Raila would drop cabinet ministers who are named as suspects of the post election violence until they are cleared. This "gentleman’s agreement" reminds me of another gentleman’s agreement which the president ignored in the run up to the last general elections. Despite widespread complaints he went ahead and picked members of the Electoral commission all by himself, including his own family lawyer for many years who ended up as Samuel Kivuitu’s deputy chair.
The president’s actions seem to confirm that indeed the piece of legislation being debated in a few hours time does not contain that important clause making it mandatory for those named to step aside. Which means that this will be left to the discretion of the president, who has promised… blah blah.
Give me a break!!!
How many promises has this president broken? Starting with his cry for zero tolerance to corruption which I personally heard him say live at a small meeting near the University of Nairobi that I attended shortly before the 2002 elections.
To be honest at this rate I don’t see how our fat cats will avoid the Hague.
MPs we are watching you. DO NOT vote for this "doctored" document.
See also:
The heated debate over ministers remaining in office until proven guilty
Attempt to shield security chief fails
How can Nakumatt Downtown burn in broad daylight? Kenyans ask as relatives say loved ones who were around the supermarket are still missing.
There have been numerous instances to prove this statement 1000% correct. But there is something else that also makes politicians across the political divide stick together like brothers. It is "fear" and especially fear of a place called the Hague.
In a few hours time a crucial bill, and indeed the reason why parliament was recalled earlier than the traditional March, is set to be tabled in the august house. We all know that the president never leaves the cozy confines of State House unless he has a very good reason to do so. So it is very telling that yesterday he was in a special meeting with MPs to drum up support for the bill that our political class hope will help them avoid the Hague.
-------------------------00000000000
Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
============================
However there is a small problem. Sources assure me that subtle changes have been made and some crucial Waki recommendations set aside in the final bill which was published late last night. One of them is that cabinet ministers who are named as suspects will now NOT need to step aside and will remain in office until proven guilty. For what? Well the answer is simple. So that they can continue fleecing the treasury with their corrupt deals to enable them pay the hefty legal fees and other expenses like “oiling” the right hands so that the charges and Hague goes away. It is that simple.
-------------------------00000000000
Kumekucha titbits: This is a new feature offering our readers useful titbits of information on every subject under the sun. Did you know that a whooping 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster? And that re-creating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $8,000 per MB? Did you also know that we have pretty competent world class data recovery experts in Kenya?
============================
Interestingly when the president was drumming up support amongst legislators yesterday he pledged that he and Raila would drop cabinet ministers who are named as suspects of the post election violence until they are cleared. This "gentleman’s agreement" reminds me of another gentleman’s agreement which the president ignored in the run up to the last general elections. Despite widespread complaints he went ahead and picked members of the Electoral commission all by himself, including his own family lawyer for many years who ended up as Samuel Kivuitu’s deputy chair.
The president’s actions seem to confirm that indeed the piece of legislation being debated in a few hours time does not contain that important clause making it mandatory for those named to step aside. Which means that this will be left to the discretion of the president, who has promised… blah blah.
Give me a break!!!
How many promises has this president broken? Starting with his cry for zero tolerance to corruption which I personally heard him say live at a small meeting near the University of Nairobi that I attended shortly before the 2002 elections.
To be honest at this rate I don’t see how our fat cats will avoid the Hague.
MPs we are watching you. DO NOT vote for this "doctored" document.
See also:
The heated debate over ministers remaining in office until proven guilty
Attempt to shield security chief fails
How can Nakumatt Downtown burn in broad daylight? Kenyans ask as relatives say loved ones who were around the supermarket are still missing.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Woman Kenya Wanted To Forget
The Late Pamela Mboya: The happiest day of her life? But many tragedies were to follow.TJ’s brave woman passes on
Two days ago I was dumbfounded when I received news of the death of Pamela Mboya. Pamela is of course the widow of Tom Mboya. She died in a South Africa hospital while undergoing treatment.
What made me really sad is that she has carried with her to the grave secrets that would have helped put together conclusive evidence to charge the people who murdered her husband who continue to walk scot-free enjoying their lives greatly thanks to their ill-gotten wealth.
Even sadder was Pamela’s last ditch effort in early 2008 to get the information to Kofi Annan when he was here mediating peace after the post-election violence.
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Kumekucha titbits: This is a new feature offering our readers useful titbits of information on every subject under the sun. Did you know that a whooping 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster? And that re-creating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $8,000 per MB? Did you also know that we have pretty competent world class data recovery experts in Kenya?
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So, is Mboya’s assassination related to the post election troubles?
You bet it is. You see in my view the culture of impunity and Muta-do? Started on July 5th 1969 (the day the two shots that ended Mboya's life rung out outside a chemist's shop on Moi Avenue). Very prominent persons in government killed Mboya and Kenyans knew that but what would they do against the mighty Kenyan government?
Barack H. Obama senior. His friends insist that his problems started after he testified at the Mboya trial.You see after Mboya’s death, there were serious unprecedented chaos in Nairobi. So much so that during his funeral service at Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, a visibly shaken President Kenyatta was unable to read his speech and it had to be read on his behalf by a member of the cabinet Mr Ayodo. Outside riot police battled with angry mobs. But the Kenyatta government finally overcame that crisis and that is how impunity was entrenched in Kenya. Because it was always asked; if we killed Mboya and nothing happened, what else can we not do? That question was definitely asked when JM Kariuki was murdered in 1975 and even in the Moi days when Robert Ouko was bumped off.
Today Kenyans know that despite what the US ambassador is trying to say (President Obama, please make that change quick. We can’t stand this guy!!!) Kenyans know in their knowing that the grand coalition government is the most corrupt government ever. It makes Moi and his cronies look like saints. But Kenyans Muta-do? But even before that, Mwai Kibaki rigged the presidential vote in his favour in a less than clinical way. However he is now the president. Muta-do?
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Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
============================
An interesting aside here is that Barack Obama Senior’s friends insist that his troubles started after he testified at the Mboya murder trial where a man called Nahashon Njenga said openly, why accuse me, what about the “Big man”? Implying that he had been sent on the hit by some “Big man”. Obama of course was airlifted to the US for studies by Mboya who sourced financing and made all the arrangements.
Indeed so was young Pamela before she got married to Tom. Pamela was on the same flight as Prof George Saitoti another beneficiary of the airlifts. She was the daughter of a close political associate of Mboya’s called Walter Odede. In the photo carried on this page taken on Pamela’s wedding day, she looks extremely happy (which bride wouldn’t, getting married to such a dashingly handsome man as Mboya whom many saw at the time as the most eligible bachelor in Kenya?) However little did she know that the years that were to follow were to be no bed of roses. Incidentally Mboya’s best man at the wedding, Charles Njonjo is a prime suspect in the assassination of Mboya along with Charles Rubia and Mbiyu Koinange (Jeff Koinange’s grand dad).
The image of Pamela that stands most prominently on my mind was from a clip taken of her arriving the Holy Family Basilica for the funeral service of her husband, dressed in the fashionable minis of the time. She broke down and collapsed right at the stairs of the church.
To her credit over the years she never re-married and saw it fit to keep the Mboya name as alive as possible. Tragedies in the family were plenty. Mboya’s brother was killed in a road accident a few years later and then her first born son Peter Mboya died in a mysterious motorcycle accident along Waiyaki way in the 90s.
Pamela was a really brave woman who went through a lot. I pray that it was NOT all in vain.
So long Pamela. And Thanks. We’ll take it from here.
It Rained In Nairobi Through The Night
Rain shouldn't be a big deal, right?
Wrong.
There's something about rain that just makes me excited. When it rains at daytime, I mean the soft, silent type, the gentle tap taps of the drops always pull me to the window to watch and marvel at the sudden freshness the waters from the sky bring down upon us. The effect of that freshness is always a renewal on a thirsty, dusty earth. But more so, it's a way of nature reminding us of the need for us to appreciate the beauty of the greenery around us, the blooming of colourful flowers and the delicate dance of succulent fruits as they sprout off the branches of guava and mango trees.
Rain.
So as I slept my night away in a Nairobi suburb, I felt sweet to be in a nation the Lord has blest with so much. We have some of the most beautiful people in the world. In fact, yesterday as I walked down Moi Avenue in the city, I took my time to admire my fellow countrymen. I watched the men in their elegant suits, the women dangling on high heels and dressed to kill, the adolescents catching matatus that promised the indulgence of the loudest Jua Cali, Wahu and some Western music, and the mamas/mothers in a hurry, anxious to get home to their children, the ones they left at home with the maids in the morning.
In moments such as these, I always stop to thank God for Kenya. Yes, we have one of the most wretched governments in the world, and yes our people are starving in the countryside, and yes our children are not in school because their teachers are fighting for better pay, and yes corruption has come back to us full-force, but look on the brighter side with me this morning. Isn't it a blessing that we could wake up to a renewed city because the heavens sent rain upon us?
As we enjoy the calm and freshness of this day, may it be our hope and prayer that our leaders can see themselves in the role of rain...so that their actions may have a renewing and refreshing effect on the people of our beloved nation.
God bless Kenya!
Wrong.
There's something about rain that just makes me excited. When it rains at daytime, I mean the soft, silent type, the gentle tap taps of the drops always pull me to the window to watch and marvel at the sudden freshness the waters from the sky bring down upon us. The effect of that freshness is always a renewal on a thirsty, dusty earth. But more so, it's a way of nature reminding us of the need for us to appreciate the beauty of the greenery around us, the blooming of colourful flowers and the delicate dance of succulent fruits as they sprout off the branches of guava and mango trees.
Rain.
So as I slept my night away in a Nairobi suburb, I felt sweet to be in a nation the Lord has blest with so much. We have some of the most beautiful people in the world. In fact, yesterday as I walked down Moi Avenue in the city, I took my time to admire my fellow countrymen. I watched the men in their elegant suits, the women dangling on high heels and dressed to kill, the adolescents catching matatus that promised the indulgence of the loudest Jua Cali, Wahu and some Western music, and the mamas/mothers in a hurry, anxious to get home to their children, the ones they left at home with the maids in the morning.
In moments such as these, I always stop to thank God for Kenya. Yes, we have one of the most wretched governments in the world, and yes our people are starving in the countryside, and yes our children are not in school because their teachers are fighting for better pay, and yes corruption has come back to us full-force, but look on the brighter side with me this morning. Isn't it a blessing that we could wake up to a renewed city because the heavens sent rain upon us?
As we enjoy the calm and freshness of this day, may it be our hope and prayer that our leaders can see themselves in the role of rain...so that their actions may have a renewing and refreshing effect on the people of our beloved nation.
God bless Kenya!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Open Letter To President Barack H. Obama
Also published a few minutes ago: The sins of Raila Odinga
Dear Mr President,
Let me start by congratulating you and wishing you all the best in the herculean task you have ahead of you.
I am of course aware that you have a lot on your mind just now and the subject of this letter may look like some annoying nuisance just now, but please sir, hear me out.
There are a lot of terrible things that your predecessor George W. Bush did that will take a long time to be corrected and some may never be put right at all, even in the next 1000 years.
The subject of this letter is to draw your attention to one such mistake made right here in Kenya which is going to cause serious trouble very soon if nothing is done.
I am sure that you are aware that American policies over a long time have allowed impunity to thrive in Kenya and other third world countries and this culminated in the post-election skirmishes in December 2007. As usual the Americans took the lead in solving the problem which ironically they had played the biggest role in creating. Am sure you are already aware of what I am talking about.
Now, Mr President the poor Kenyan people who voted decisively are stuck with a coalition government that they did NOT vote for. We are stuck with an American idea created to clean up a mess which the Americans heavily contributed to. This bloated cabinet and government is a huge burden to the people especially when you add the huge salaries legislators have ordained for themselves. Not to mention the fact that this coalition government has already registered itself in the annals of our history as the most corrupt ever.
The main reason for my writing you this note is that even as you read it, dark clouds are rapidly gathering in the horizon that will culminate in such a serious blood bath in Kenya that the last skirmishes where thousands died will look like Christmas party (to quote the words of a Judge Kriegler).
The Kenyan people have been able to take a lot lying down over the years however even a cowardly dog becomes extremely dangerous when it is cornered. I am afraid that is exactly where the Kenyan people are now. And this could not have happened at a worse time because there is serious hunger and famine sweeping across the country. Add that to the deep still-unresolved-wounds of December 2007 and the aftermath and you will realize, Mr President that what we have here is a keg of gunpowder and gasoline with sparks flickering only inches away.
Your administration does NOT need an extra crisis of this magnitude in Africa and I think you can take some steps early using your good office to right some of the wrongs that have been done against the Kenyan people and in the process pre-empt what could be as big a blood bath as the Rwandan problem which co-incidentally happened the last time a democrat was in the White House.
I think you need to help Kenyans return to the polls as soon as possible maybe with a foreign or international constituted body to run the elections. The truth is that Kenyans are fed up with the current crop of leaders. One really sickening thing is that they are still thinking and planning their things along tribal lines. For example a recent cabinet re-shuffle by the president illegally in power put his Kikuyu tribesman in the powerful Finance portfolio, which his opponents have correctly interpreted to mean that he is digging in for war.
I am persuaded that after your inspiring election win against all odds, Kenyans are ready to vote out their tribal chiefs and usher in a brand new generation of leaders who will make Africa proud. I think that in planning any election, efforts must be made to register as many young people to vote as possible. Sir, the youngsters of Kenya are crazy about you and I think they are ready to do something really big here in Africa.
In writing this I know you are bold and have already demonstrated that in so many ways. So let me admit that in helping out your Kenyan brothers in this problem, I am sure your critics will be many both in America and even here in Kenya. But you will be doing the right thing. I am sure. And with a strong stable new democracy in place in Kenya, it will make your work in the region a lot easier.
Good day Mr President and thank you for your time.
Also published a few minutes ago: The sins of Raila Odinga
Why is SEO training so important?
Ever visited The Olive Garden Hotel in Nairobi?
Who is afraid of Kenyans in the diaspora?
Dear Mr President,
Let me start by congratulating you and wishing you all the best in the herculean task you have ahead of you.
I am of course aware that you have a lot on your mind just now and the subject of this letter may look like some annoying nuisance just now, but please sir, hear me out.
There are a lot of terrible things that your predecessor George W. Bush did that will take a long time to be corrected and some may never be put right at all, even in the next 1000 years.
The subject of this letter is to draw your attention to one such mistake made right here in Kenya which is going to cause serious trouble very soon if nothing is done.
I am sure that you are aware that American policies over a long time have allowed impunity to thrive in Kenya and other third world countries and this culminated in the post-election skirmishes in December 2007. As usual the Americans took the lead in solving the problem which ironically they had played the biggest role in creating. Am sure you are already aware of what I am talking about.
Now, Mr President the poor Kenyan people who voted decisively are stuck with a coalition government that they did NOT vote for. We are stuck with an American idea created to clean up a mess which the Americans heavily contributed to. This bloated cabinet and government is a huge burden to the people especially when you add the huge salaries legislators have ordained for themselves. Not to mention the fact that this coalition government has already registered itself in the annals of our history as the most corrupt ever.
The main reason for my writing you this note is that even as you read it, dark clouds are rapidly gathering in the horizon that will culminate in such a serious blood bath in Kenya that the last skirmishes where thousands died will look like Christmas party (to quote the words of a Judge Kriegler).
The Kenyan people have been able to take a lot lying down over the years however even a cowardly dog becomes extremely dangerous when it is cornered. I am afraid that is exactly where the Kenyan people are now. And this could not have happened at a worse time because there is serious hunger and famine sweeping across the country. Add that to the deep still-unresolved-wounds of December 2007 and the aftermath and you will realize, Mr President that what we have here is a keg of gunpowder and gasoline with sparks flickering only inches away.
Your administration does NOT need an extra crisis of this magnitude in Africa and I think you can take some steps early using your good office to right some of the wrongs that have been done against the Kenyan people and in the process pre-empt what could be as big a blood bath as the Rwandan problem which co-incidentally happened the last time a democrat was in the White House.
I think you need to help Kenyans return to the polls as soon as possible maybe with a foreign or international constituted body to run the elections. The truth is that Kenyans are fed up with the current crop of leaders. One really sickening thing is that they are still thinking and planning their things along tribal lines. For example a recent cabinet re-shuffle by the president illegally in power put his Kikuyu tribesman in the powerful Finance portfolio, which his opponents have correctly interpreted to mean that he is digging in for war.
I am persuaded that after your inspiring election win against all odds, Kenyans are ready to vote out their tribal chiefs and usher in a brand new generation of leaders who will make Africa proud. I think that in planning any election, efforts must be made to register as many young people to vote as possible. Sir, the youngsters of Kenya are crazy about you and I think they are ready to do something really big here in Africa.
In writing this I know you are bold and have already demonstrated that in so many ways. So let me admit that in helping out your Kenyan brothers in this problem, I am sure your critics will be many both in America and even here in Kenya. But you will be doing the right thing. I am sure. And with a strong stable new democracy in place in Kenya, it will make your work in the region a lot easier.
Good day Mr President and thank you for your time.
Also published a few minutes ago: The sins of Raila Odinga
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This Is A Quagmire
We are stuck!
Tell me, what in the world happened to Prime Minister Raila Odinga? Is this the same man we thought was a democrat and voted for in droves? Is this the man the Diaspora Kenyans welcomed to cities across the globe, hailing as the man to bring needed change to Kenya? How can it now turn out that he is railing against the media, threatening to deal with "...a certain media house?" And how did it happen that his party was not in Parliament to stop the passage of a bill that was to gag the media? Incidentally, have you heard the PM or any of his brigades talk about reversing that dreadful signature the President scribbled somewhere to bring the law to life? In my opinion, all these incidents amount to this: Raila Amollo Odinga is no democrat, and neither is he a reformer. This man may well be a dangerous dictator hiding his true colors from us until we make the big mistake of electing him president.
Let us rehearse for a moment the Raila we've come to know since he became Prime Minister. He started off by trying to betray his friend and erstwhile fighter, William Ruto. It took the threat of a serious rift in the ODM for him to change his mind. Next came the issue of unga. He went out of his way to assure us that prices would immediately go down. Tell me if they have. Then came the gas/petrol mess. Apparently we should be reassured by the fact that he didn't know what was going on there, so he is clean. And the corruption that's now roiling the Kibaki-Raila administration? The two principals have found a way to deal with it: Collective responsibility. If this is not a quagmire, what is?
In fact, what should we make of Raila's son's alleged involvement in shifting of corn/maize from its intended point of delivery to Southern Sudan? And what should we make of his younger son's involvement in crashing a government BMW when the rest of us were asleep? What, I ask, should we make of the Prime Minister's increasing agitation and his wish to shut us up? Is it because he doesn't want his increasing goofs to hit the headlines? Or is this just a man who being in the government has finally exposed his true character?
We have four more years to go with this painful load we're carrying called the Coalition Government. In that time, the full character of all the key players in this Kenyan version of a Russian Roulette will be revealed. But if what we have seen in all of them, especially my brother Raila, is anything to go by, we're in deep trouble. As we have called for in this and other forums, the time to seek new leadership has come. We must be prepared to lock horns with Kibaki's man, Uhuru Kenyatta, or we will watch as Kenya goes to the dogs in the year of our Lord 2012.
And just like Mutahi Ngunyi yesterday, let me pledge my support and admiration for the teachers who are fighting for "Haki Yetu." Teach us how to deal with and defeat the insensitivity of this cartel that has its grip tightly on Kenya's throat.
We shall overcome!
Tell me, what in the world happened to Prime Minister Raila Odinga? Is this the same man we thought was a democrat and voted for in droves? Is this the man the Diaspora Kenyans welcomed to cities across the globe, hailing as the man to bring needed change to Kenya? How can it now turn out that he is railing against the media, threatening to deal with "...a certain media house?" And how did it happen that his party was not in Parliament to stop the passage of a bill that was to gag the media? Incidentally, have you heard the PM or any of his brigades talk about reversing that dreadful signature the President scribbled somewhere to bring the law to life? In my opinion, all these incidents amount to this: Raila Amollo Odinga is no democrat, and neither is he a reformer. This man may well be a dangerous dictator hiding his true colors from us until we make the big mistake of electing him president.
Let us rehearse for a moment the Raila we've come to know since he became Prime Minister. He started off by trying to betray his friend and erstwhile fighter, William Ruto. It took the threat of a serious rift in the ODM for him to change his mind. Next came the issue of unga. He went out of his way to assure us that prices would immediately go down. Tell me if they have. Then came the gas/petrol mess. Apparently we should be reassured by the fact that he didn't know what was going on there, so he is clean. And the corruption that's now roiling the Kibaki-Raila administration? The two principals have found a way to deal with it: Collective responsibility. If this is not a quagmire, what is?
In fact, what should we make of Raila's son's alleged involvement in shifting of corn/maize from its intended point of delivery to Southern Sudan? And what should we make of his younger son's involvement in crashing a government BMW when the rest of us were asleep? What, I ask, should we make of the Prime Minister's increasing agitation and his wish to shut us up? Is it because he doesn't want his increasing goofs to hit the headlines? Or is this just a man who being in the government has finally exposed his true character?
We have four more years to go with this painful load we're carrying called the Coalition Government. In that time, the full character of all the key players in this Kenyan version of a Russian Roulette will be revealed. But if what we have seen in all of them, especially my brother Raila, is anything to go by, we're in deep trouble. As we have called for in this and other forums, the time to seek new leadership has come. We must be prepared to lock horns with Kibaki's man, Uhuru Kenyatta, or we will watch as Kenya goes to the dogs in the year of our Lord 2012.
And just like Mutahi Ngunyi yesterday, let me pledge my support and admiration for the teachers who are fighting for "Haki Yetu." Teach us how to deal with and defeat the insensitivity of this cartel that has its grip tightly on Kenya's throat.
We shall overcome!
Kimunya Shames Lynch Mob, Bounces Back Big
True to his vow Hon Kimunya never died and has ashamed the lynch mob. Forget what the Cockar report says about CBK Governor Prof Ndung’u and Kimunya that the two were economical with the truth in disposing off the Grand Regency Hotel to Libyans without regard to due process. Leaves you wondering why the truth should be generously served to a constipating country.
Justice Cockar and his commission their work and earned their pecks. But the commission must be ashamed of going outside their mandate in disparaging Prof. Ndung’u as dishonest and lacking in good faith, credibility and transparency. The really industrious only learn those in school and must be shun them like a plague in pursuit of prosperity.
Kenyans must learn to MOVE on and accept the fact that Kibaki only did what the law prescribed. All the talk about court of public opinion is nothing but hot air that only succeeds in warming the inner circumference of what burden your shoulders while the outer body is left freezing in acute impunity.
The Finance ministry is no child's play to be entrusted to minions. Hon Uhuru has all it takes to steer the portfolio to GREAT HEIGHTS in accomplishing the good work left unfinished by his predecessor and successor at Trade ministry. You don’t get power to please adversaries but to show might and rule. That is exactly what Kibaki as exercised. Our rogue parliament must be ignored for crying foul about Kimunya's reappointment to the cabinet.
The immoral fountain of corruption erected by Kanu leadership is receiving generous dose of water from experienced hands. The handy Asian connection only need smart Kimunya as Trade Minister and together with DPM Uhuru holding the purse strings, even MV Faina holding GOSS arms will soon be released by the pirates and Kenya will be left smiling with her fat commission.
Master stroke of genius
With Jomo Junior's able hands, Kibaki can practice his economic genius of yore that earned him a second undergraduate degree (first class honours) at the prestigious London School of Economics. Kibaki’s policy to adopt siege mentality in the face of corruption charges was a master stroke. Security in numbers is the best policy to spread wealth among cronies as the masses scavenge wild roots for dinner. Denial is best lived in safe numbers by joining yourself at the hip.
Well, history has a way of repeating itself albeit brutally to those who refuse to learn from it. Kenya is being run by gate keepers who perfected the art during Kenyatta’s sunset years as a senile president. The present government is run by safe clique of trusted and tested scoundrels who know just too well what is at stake. And we will be all the merrier with episodes of impunity mutating into all their known and unknown variants.
Justice Cockar and his commission their work and earned their pecks. But the commission must be ashamed of going outside their mandate in disparaging Prof. Ndung’u as dishonest and lacking in good faith, credibility and transparency. The really industrious only learn those in school and must be shun them like a plague in pursuit of prosperity.
Kenyans must learn to MOVE on and accept the fact that Kibaki only did what the law prescribed. All the talk about court of public opinion is nothing but hot air that only succeeds in warming the inner circumference of what burden your shoulders while the outer body is left freezing in acute impunity.
The Finance ministry is no child's play to be entrusted to minions. Hon Uhuru has all it takes to steer the portfolio to GREAT HEIGHTS in accomplishing the good work left unfinished by his predecessor and successor at Trade ministry. You don’t get power to please adversaries but to show might and rule. That is exactly what Kibaki as exercised. Our rogue parliament must be ignored for crying foul about Kimunya's reappointment to the cabinet.
The immoral fountain of corruption erected by Kanu leadership is receiving generous dose of water from experienced hands. The handy Asian connection only need smart Kimunya as Trade Minister and together with DPM Uhuru holding the purse strings, even MV Faina holding GOSS arms will soon be released by the pirates and Kenya will be left smiling with her fat commission.
Master stroke of genius
With Jomo Junior's able hands, Kibaki can practice his economic genius of yore that earned him a second undergraduate degree (first class honours) at the prestigious London School of Economics. Kibaki’s policy to adopt siege mentality in the face of corruption charges was a master stroke. Security in numbers is the best policy to spread wealth among cronies as the masses scavenge wild roots for dinner. Denial is best lived in safe numbers by joining yourself at the hip.
Well, history has a way of repeating itself albeit brutally to those who refuse to learn from it. Kenya is being run by gate keepers who perfected the art during Kenyatta’s sunset years as a senile president. The present government is run by safe clique of trusted and tested scoundrels who know just too well what is at stake. And we will be all the merrier with episodes of impunity mutating into all their known and unknown variants.
Kenya Nchi Yetu
It’s the desire of every normal human being to be in an environment where they can further their dreams and hopes as they go about doing their everyday business to build their lives. Be they children the very young at home or those going to school, the young adults in colleges or those starting life after school or the adults and young parents, old parents or grandparents or the older citizens. Every day is a day to improve their living conditions (or enjoy the fruits of their labour).
But when you see a people despair and reach a point where they are totally OK with all the evil going on or they are just silent doing nothing … just know that something is very wrong and they are simply at a point where they are consider “not normal”. The normal behavior of a human being to improve life at all times for the betterment of everybody around them … even when all seems pretty cool.
Of coz we can go to the details of the reasons why they despairing but that will take us no where but keep us Kenyans in the same place … experiencing the same things for decades, only that they keep getting bigger in magnitude.
The legacy of evil we see in the nation must be dealt with. As Kenyans, as normal people, it would be “not normal” to always make noise expecting noise to sort things out. What are we as the people doing to eliminate the evils? Sources of disunity must be faced and corrected by all means. Kenyans should never have room for ethnic hatred. We have experienced what hate groups can do … the hate groups that preach bigotry and prejudice. We have to use all our resources to eliminate them … to bring them down. We all know the simple rules of life. Love your neighbour as yourself, do unto others what you want done to you, work honestly for what you need, etc. Let us stop compromising these principals and standards … let us never abandon them.
Be aware of the temptations of pride, bribery, self importance, greed. These will always keep us behind. We should be accountable for each an every single thing we do. Planing for the long term as we do what we should be doing right now correctly, wholeheartedly and lovingly … and at all times upholding the marks of democracy and freedom.
We have every right to dream heroic dreams … and why not, the world is made by the dreamers. We need to dream that we can do better than before and have and keep the faith that the dream will come true. And then act and the time to act is NOW.
Let us keep the hope alive and burning … as we walk our talk. Let those that come after us say that we did what could be done to make things right ... we did what we could to make the walk easier.
But when you see a people despair and reach a point where they are totally OK with all the evil going on or they are just silent doing nothing … just know that something is very wrong and they are simply at a point where they are consider “not normal”. The normal behavior of a human being to improve life at all times for the betterment of everybody around them … even when all seems pretty cool.
Of coz we can go to the details of the reasons why they despairing but that will take us no where but keep us Kenyans in the same place … experiencing the same things for decades, only that they keep getting bigger in magnitude.
The legacy of evil we see in the nation must be dealt with. As Kenyans, as normal people, it would be “not normal” to always make noise expecting noise to sort things out. What are we as the people doing to eliminate the evils? Sources of disunity must be faced and corrected by all means. Kenyans should never have room for ethnic hatred. We have experienced what hate groups can do … the hate groups that preach bigotry and prejudice. We have to use all our resources to eliminate them … to bring them down. We all know the simple rules of life. Love your neighbour as yourself, do unto others what you want done to you, work honestly for what you need, etc. Let us stop compromising these principals and standards … let us never abandon them.
Be aware of the temptations of pride, bribery, self importance, greed. These will always keep us behind. We should be accountable for each an every single thing we do. Planing for the long term as we do what we should be doing right now correctly, wholeheartedly and lovingly … and at all times upholding the marks of democracy and freedom.
We have every right to dream heroic dreams … and why not, the world is made by the dreamers. We need to dream that we can do better than before and have and keep the faith that the dream will come true. And then act and the time to act is NOW.
Let us keep the hope alive and burning … as we walk our talk. Let those that come after us say that we did what could be done to make things right ... we did what we could to make the walk easier.
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