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Sunday, August 01, 2010

Why does Bishop Wanjiru support the very constitution that has given her a raw deal?

Plus... Will there be peace during the referendum vote?

I have watched with interest the court battle over the Starehe parliamentary seat that ended recently with Bishop Margaret Wanjiru losing her parliamentary seat.

As usual Kenyans have a very short memory. Of all constituencies in the country none can compete with this one when it comes to the dirty tricks that were employed in 2007. Most of them were targeted at Bishop Margaret Wanjiru. You will remember that he ex-husband suddenly and unexpectedly emerged from the woodwork and caused all kinds of troubles for the brave woman candidate.
Bishop Wanjiru with former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga at her church, Njenga is in the YES camp.

But of greater interest should be what happened after the election winner was announced and everybody forgot about the ballot boxes. Sources assure me that there was massive ballot box stuffing which is the main evidence that was used to enable Maina Kamanda win his petition against Ms Wanjiru. How the court would recognize votes from ballot boxes that had clearly been tampered with is beyond me. But then that is Kenya under the current constitution for you.

But then that is one of the things about the current constitution. In simple terms under it what matters most is who you are and who you knew and coupled with a little cash there is nothing that you cannot do in this Kenya. The draft constitution gives firm ground for ordinary Kenyans with no connections as well as underdogs to fight against such devices and impunity as well as the rich and the connected.

Ironically Bishop Wanjiru is opposing the very constitution that would have saved her many of the problems that she has faced over the Starehe seat. But then I guess her hands are tied. She cannot be seen to be against the rest of the church. The church in Kenya that wants help in fighting sin from the country’s constitution. Interestingly those with this kind of thinking should study carefully what happened in the United States during the prohibition era when alcohol was banned. It proves beyond any doubt that the way to fight certain things is not to make laws against them.

To her credit Bishop Wanjiru seems to have matured enormously in politics. After the announcement of the court verdict in which she lost her seat she resisted the usual thing we see from politicians of the fairer sex. Mostly whining and crying foul. Instead an upbeat Wanjiru announced that she was ready for the by-election and had registered a victory of sorts because her opponent had failed to get the court to announce him the rightful winner.


P.S. There seems to be great fear amongst some Kenyans that the referendum will yield more violence in many part of the country and a repeat of the regrettable events of January 2008. Well for starters the circumstances are very different and what makes violence even more unlikely is the way most ordinary Kenyans have quickly grasped what the draft constitution means to them and their future and will not be fooled by self-serving politicians with an agenda to protect their ill-gotten wealth. The only exception to this are parts of the Rift Valley where the same folks who raped and murdered fellow Kenyans are still roaming free and flexing their muscles. William Ruto on sensing resounding defeat over the coming referendum has rushed back to his home turf in a bid to retain his reputation as the undisputed “tribal king” of the Kalenjin community. The methods this particular politician uses are wide and varied and therefore violence cannot be ruled out. Already there have been reports that certain residents of this province have received threats and have had to flee from their homes ahead of the referendum. It is interesting that at a recent public rally, Ruto has felt it necessary to assure Kenyans that voting will be peaceful.

31 comments:

  1. Chris,when you write,try to stick to the truth as much as possible.Your story has two untruths.1.Kamangu didnt emerge from the woodwork to spoil Wanjirus chances in the 07 elections,he had come out much earlier to claim Wanjiru as his traditionally married wife when she declared her intention to wed the South African Matjeke.Blame Wanjiru herself for that.2.If you were to stuff ballots,what logic does it make to also top up your opponents?Both exceeded their 07 tally in the court ordered recount.

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  2. Anon @ 5:37 stuffing ballots in your opponents favour (albeit much less than yours) is the most efficient way to hide stuffing and rigging.

    We saw the same thing in the presidential elections in 2007.

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  3. Chris,
    Kenya will be very different in many different ways after Wedneday. The church has to re-invent itself and the opium must be adulterated if it has to be smoked by the flock and have effect.

    Ask yourself why Africans still zealously defend some outdated church doctrines that the west who brought xtianity discarded long time ago. Reason? Poverty and preying on our collective insecurity.

    Not anymore when the flock will expose the naked king. Just as African soldiers discovered the white man's mortality after fighting in World wars triggering independence, the new Katiba will reshape the relationship between the flock and church - dogma demystified.

    As for Ruto, let the truth be tole: STATE HAS MONOPOLY of violence. Only when she choses to be an ACCOMPLISH (2007/8) can citizes suffer. Ruto knows the might of the state is in every village in his backyard with atleast 2 lorryloads of GSU camped in every RV location. No brainer but preach peace, albeit reluctantly.

    The referendum will be peaceful no doubt. After that the hard work begin. You don't regislate VALUES. We must REBOOT out corrupt and selfish national values and start on a clean slate otherwise we are only fooling ourselves.

    No need for chestthumbing or bravado, GSU will not guard us in our homes 24/7. We need a FRESH START and yes we can. Evangelical but true.

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  4. The Refferendum is not about political ambition, any person putting an article out for the public to read should emphasis this point.... We should not confuse 2007 and what we are about to do on the 4th of August. I honestly don't think God wrote the ten commandments and the constitution. Religion can stand for itself and those who believe in it can do so without the need for a religious constitution.

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  5. Wanjiru is NOT a Bishop! Get that and never again ever be fooled!

    Don't forget even Gilbert Deya the tot snatcher is an arch-bishop. These self-proclaimed Bishop and arch-bishop are using those titles for selfish gains and nothing to do with God.

    let those who have ears hear.

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  6. http://racheloduka.blogspot.com/2010/07/hon-bishop-margaret-wanjiru-study-in.html

    Read all about illuminating Bishop Wanjiru and Kamangu saga from the perspective of Rachel's Pen.

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  7. I agree. If the 2007 presidential votes are cunted now, Kibaki would defeat Raila hands down. They (PNU)stuffed the ballot boxes in anticipation of an ODM petition. That's why Karua kept on encouraging ODM to go to court then.

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  8. Wanjiru doesnt do anything different from what other women do.Even the steeliest of women fall back to men for support when the going gets tough.By trying to get married before plunging into politics,her intention was clear,to have a man by her side to ward of the mudslinging that is often thrown at single women during campaigns.So its futile to argue she has never tried to play the gender card.!

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  9. Bishop Wanjiru is a phoenix, she will rise high from the current politcal ashes that are still smoldering in Starehe.

    She will do better than Chirau Mwakwere's survival in Matuga. Whatever opposition that has failed to destroy her political career in past will only make her a very stronger woman, better prepared contender and one of the best representatives for Starehe.

    Bishop Wanjiru may not be a perfect religious leader nor a bold politician, but one thing is for sure, she is a survivor, a fighter, a good listener, a woman with a good heart and a great advocate for the people of Starehe.

    Will the people of Starehe "stick it up in the rest of the nation's face" in the same way the people of Matuga did? The voters of Starehe will deliver their verdict in due time.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Political Thuggery after August 4th, 2010.

    There will be no violence of any kind during and after the voting process for the referendum.

    Any hooliganism, thuggery, mayhem, hyena-type-harrasment of opponents around the country will be met with swift and rapid response or proportional force where necessary.

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  10. Chris,
    As long as the majimbo ya ukabila RV-style will never be in our katiba Kenya will be alright.

    Part of the reason there will be no post-referendum violence is that the Kalenjins who have caused much of the violence since 1992 may have learnt their lesson. After Raila used them to violently ascend to PM position, he abandoned them and has been peeing on them ever since (eg. he has repeatedly called some Kalenjin leaders takataka). Now, they have even lost their RV capital, Nakuru, to people they regard as "foreigners."

    Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see Frank Bett support the katiba after swearing he would never support it unless Nakuru was made part of the Greater Kericho. Also, land transactions between Kalenjins and Kikuyus in Molo and Kulesoi are still going on meaning that the "ancestral land" nonsense doesn't mean much after all. So there is likely to be peace post-referendum. And if the worst comes to the worst, the govt seems this time ready to teach any barbarian a thing or two about law and order.

    Regardless of how you feel about your neighbour, remember voting your conscience and respecting your neigbour's choice are the hallmarks of a civilized citizen.

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  11. I've been thinking about the statement that if the constitution is passed Kenyans will be divided.

    First of all all of you have noticed that the Church retreated in their fighting the constitution because of Kadhi court. I applaud this.

    We know very well that over 80% of Kenyans haven't understood the constitution, majority of who come from rural areas. Further we know that the impending fights people are talking about are concerning land, which is majorly found in these rural areas.

    The question then becomes, why should people who don't understand the constitution fight because it has been passed? The only answer I can think of is incitement. The rural people can only fight over passage of the proposed constitution if they are incited by few people.

    All in all I see that if there is going to be a fight over the constitutiton then that fight is likely to be in Rift Valley and areas adjacent to Kuria over the same issue of land and which is likely to tarnish Moi, Ruto and Machage since the rest of Kenya will coexist peacefully.

    If there were people like Machage among the Luos and Luhyas then we could have been witnessing tribal clashes between the two. Fortunately this doesn't happen. We need to see what has made the two tribes to co-exist peacefully despite the differences in culture.

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  12. Phillip Said:
    First of all all of you have noticed that the Church retreated in their fighting the constitution because of Kadhi court. I applaud this.

    I think you should have carried a more thorough research to see that the Catholic Church has, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, been speaking about EQUALITY when it comes to the Kadhi courts. The Evangelical churches were the ones waxing about Kadhi courts this and kadhi courts that. The bottom line issue: only the Catholic Church has been coherent on what they have been saying all along. It is clear in their statements. Maybe, before saying Christians, you should distinguish a bit...

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  13. Chris,

    Something is not adding up regarding the security during voting especially in RV.

    In 2007, when the govt sent lorryloads of police to provide security, some people saw it as an attempt to rig the elections. Some police officers were even killed by villagers. I believe it was because of the absence and/or intimidation of the police that violence escalated to the levels that it did.

    Now, they argue that police presence is required to ensure peace during the referendum. My view is that if 'they' were on the other side, the argument would still be as in 2007.

    Even with the new order of things on 5th August, we really need to get the change we need....that of ourselves.

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  14. Egnubo,that man writes a lot of rubbish. Nothing that he writes is researched

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  15. If kenyan do not see life change after referedum will it count as win for Ruto

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  16. @Taabu
    wewe kwenda huko, RB is over and walking alone good riddance and don't come back! The distance for GONG is shorter on his way to KOP than RB to IM but do i say??

    @Chris
    I am inviting you for a pre referenDAM YES celebration breakfast bro uhuru park 5:30am will you make it?kindly RSVP

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  17. Brother Chola, you and the rest of Kenyans who expect to "see" life change after august 4th need to be told that it will take a woeful long time to realize the fruits of katiba mpya. What we know for sure is that it will not be business as usual.

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  18. @Jeff,
    Please stop re-wrting history. The Aps who were sent to Nyanza in civilian clothes, bussed in Citti Hoppa were PNU agents. Leta ingine please, will you?

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  19. Luka,
    Niende wapi? Hakuna and BTW ever heard of Kenny Huang? Well, the KOP is toast and you will soon be all alone in the wilderness. Even if you sell Gong to Ngong rangers. Imagine if you are not careful, you will join DJ na akina BC.

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  20. Not related in any way to the "new constitution", but, an "interesting video" from one of our "friends."

    http://www.france24.com/en/20100730-video-forced-evacuation-paris-suburb-provokes-shock-tent-women-police-children

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  21. If only Ruto had not allowed himself to be used by Raila to cause post election violence and then betrayed, Ruto would have become our next president in 2012. Ruto has made a very good account of his campaign skills and persistence. he is also a very brilliant man who is goal-oriented. Like him or not, this guy carried the national burden of "NO" campaign single-handedly. He wasn't called General Ruto for nothing. I mean, he went toe to toe with the entire govt campaign machine which was assisted by the US govt.
    Unfortunately, it will take a long time for the GEMA people to forget the atrocities that were allegedly instigated by him in RV in 2008; and worse, Luos wish him the worst for ceasing to worship Raila.
    But all is not lost. If he survives Ocampo, I suggest that he starts by reaching out to the IDPs in a high profile way, and then quietly reach out to the mid-level opinion leaders of Central. I believe the Kikuyus would ultimately be willing to look past PEV because they understand that their relationship with Kalenjins if far more beneficial than with any other community.

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  22. When a Diaspora oozes ethnic blood seeing nothing like Ruto the politician but Kales/Luos/Kiuks then you know he an EXPORTED BIGOT from Kenya. Poor primitive soul residing abroad.

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  23. There is nothing to mourn about Ruto's diminished presidential prospects! In the last general elections, he led his community into a pact with the devil: They would assist the devil acquire power and the devil would help them get their lands back from "foreigners," violently if need be. Well, the devil got his "nusu mkate," but what did Ruto and Kales get? Absolutely nothing. Instead, they have been kicked out of Mau Forest and called takataka by the beneficiary of their war-mongering.

    Hopefully, they have learnt that pacts based on negative ethnicity and violence are not the way to advance community interests. But have they learnt? I see a lot of them in this referendum on the "NO" side whining about land, and I ask myself why these people are still clinging to a long gone idea of a pure ethnic ancestral enclave in this day and age? Why? Why are their leaders unwilling to tell this community that according to Darwinian law the most successful organism is the one that adapts to changing circumstances.

    Anyway, as we welcome a new dawn unveiled by a new constitutional dispensation, may all the communities understand that the key to fulfilment of life is peaceful co-existence, and that there is nothing magical about some ancestral piece of dirt.

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  24. I still find it hard to believe that even today there are some people who still insist ODM won when even the good imported judge could not determine that.

    Secondly, we ALL watched on TV (For those who were in Kenya) as Wanjiru (and ODM) pulled the rabbit out of the hat at Kenya Polytechnic to grant her the win but as usual, the ODM brigade have an explanation for everything and believe all ODM affiliated people are saints.

    Anyway, it is useless arguing with people whose only goal in this world is to worship someone so for the sake of peace let us just say Wanjiru is great and she was GREATLY wronged by Kamanda. She is a saint capable of doing no wrong.

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  25. Anonymous said...
    When a Diaspora oozes ethnic blood seeing nothing like Ruto the politician but Kales/Luos/Kiuks then you know he an EXPORTED BIGOT from Kenya. Poor primitive soul residing abroad.

    8/2/10 12:51 PM

    xxx

    Your ignorance knows no bounds.

    When Bulgarian nurses were arrested in Libya over HIV cases, didn't the whole of Europe gang up to get them back? Wasn't the present president of France who went tp get them?

    When Mugabe evicted the white farmers, did'nt the whole Western world gang up and destroy that nation's economy?

    Didn't the West develop the diplomatic protection fiction in international law to protect their people?

    If only you could think a bit and u would realise you are not as civilised as imagine you are. You are just brainwashed African.

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  26. MISPLACED KATIBA HOPES

    As we come to a close of the referendum campaigns, the main sadness is the false hopes this new katiba has give to some of the lower income brackets.

    I run a small block of rental flats in the Eastlands of Nairobi. One of my tenats is a big mouth go-lucky middle aged man who never married. Whenever I want to know what is going on in the neighbourhood I stop by his room with some sodas.

    Last weekend, in anticipation of my up-country travel this week to go vote, I passed by the rentals to collect early rent and to gauge the mood about the referendum, one last time. So I stopped by my guy as usual, and I was surprised to find him unusually happier than normal. He explained that he could not wait to vote "YES" in order to realize his life-long dream of having his own house. I asked him how it will come about. He said shelter is one of he guaranteed human rights in the Katiba and the govt will supply it or redistribute the existing housing in Nairobi. That is what they had been told at their local mabati-walled church run by a pastor from Western. They had even started forming committees with contributions so that they can petition for that right from the govt after the referendum. I wished him good luck and hoped that we would still be friends after his circumstances improve. In a triumphant voice he said that we will not only be friends but equals since he will be his own landlord.

    From there I went and pick up my cousin for a drink. By the third beer, he appeared restless saying he was going to shift base from Nairobi to the anticipated headquarters of our rural county. He started explaining in whispers that there is some money to be made soon after the referendum. I asked how; and he talked of the devolution money the govt is going to "pour."

    THAT NIGHT AS I HEADED HOME I WAS TOTALLY DISAPPOINTED BY THE MISPLACED HOPES HARBOURED BY MY BELOVED TENANT AND MY COUSIN.

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  27. The anon about the MISPLACED HOPES, this can also be called IGNORANCE. Over the campaign period, the levels of ignorance have shocked me beyond words. In fact, even with all awareness campaigns by the COE, it seems over 50% of the population did not get the issues right.Very few people in my opinion read the document.

    It is only yesterday that I listened to some animated debate while abound some matatu to Thika. One particular vocal woman annoyed me by her reasons for wanting to vote No. She said she would not like to see ‘dead unborn babies’ everywhere. Others thought Somali citizens can automatically become Kenyan citizens if we vote Yes. Yet others had scores to settle with Uhuru Kenyatta!

    The short of it is that many people are going to the ballot box tomorrow blind and ignorant as usual.

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  28. THAT NIGHT AS I HEADED HOME I WAS TOTALLY DISAPPOINTED BY THE MISPLACED HOPES HARBOURED BY MY BELOVED TENANT AND MY COUSIN.

    8/3/10 1:16 AM

    xxx

    You are not alone in your dissapointment. Kenyans are very deluded. As we have alread explained, there are specific reasons why the West has been able to "sustain" their welfare State for sometime. We do not have those features.

    More so, we think ourselves very clever. Nothing can be further from the truth.

    In Rome, they instituted WELFARE STATE to provide for the poor who were devastated by "Free Trade" with Africa and East. Does it sound familiar in 2010?

    As Rome gave them the grains looted from Africa, i.e. Egypt, the masses sunk so low such that, they could not even cook the free grains. Doesn't sound familiar in 2010?

    To prevent mass starvation, the State had to install public ovens to bake bread for the masses.

    Did this prevent the collapse of the Roman Empire? As they ate this State bread, the Empire collapsed on their heads.

    Some tell us that, the new constitution will EMANCIPATE the women. See this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqxS-5uZkcY&feature=player_embedded#!

    Well, we have watched this movie before. By 3rd Century, Rome had its own feminism to "emancipate" women. Nothing new under the sun.

    More so, we know that, divorce was made easy, she controlled her own property and she could defend it and she exercised political privileges.

    Thats why we find Julia Domna, Julia Mamaea, Soaemias and others sitting in the Senate and in the administration. Did that save Rome? No.

    They say that, history repeats itself. Thats not really true. The truth is that, there are natural laws in operation in this universe. Whenever man thinks himself so smart and tries to overthrow them, he gets the same results as his ancestors got. So, shall we.

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  29. UP the game and get productive ideas from the right quarters. Don't cheat yourself that by talking to your POOR tenant you are gauging the mood on the ground. Yours was an insulting laugh at the deprived.

    You are the type who export VILLAGERY to NBO. You own shacks and collect rent then go vote upcountry. Please stay there and leave NBO to the civilized.

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  30. Mwaragethe, what one sees in the Youtube clip is the face of poverty. In the clip, we see some Kenyans who live in extremely harsh conditions without access to the basic things like water, health, education, information e.t.c. What/who is to blame for this?

    If you asked me, though the condition can be attributed to many factors, I will say the government of the day is largely to blame. I believe one of the role of the government is to provide a reasonable and enabling environment where people can work and earn a decent living. E.g it was the intention of the GOK to provide all the people with clean drinking water by year 2000. Of course it did not happen and you know why. I guess due to lack of proper planning, bad politics, corruption e.t.c.

    Now what some of us are saying is that the proposed constitution isn’t a panacea to all these problems. But compared to the existing one, it can help alleviate poverty in some small ways. E.g funds channeled to counties can help with the provision of some basic amenities. The law is also likely to bring to an end the kind of divisive and dirty politics that have played in this country for a long time now. Simply put, the proposed law is better that the existing one in many ways and offers a better foundation as we address other priorities.

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  31. Now what some of us are saying is that the proposed constitution isn’t a panacea to all these problems. But compared to the existing one, it can help alleviate poverty in some small ways. E.g funds channeled to counties can help with the provision of some basic amenities.

    xxx

    We are alive to what you are saying. Everyone is saying it, and we hear it.

    However, what is proposed in the new document is not the solution. As a matter of fact, it SHALL make it even more difficult to address our poverty question.

    What we are saying is this. If Welfare State failed to uplift the poor in Rome, why should it uplift them in Kenya? You have to answer that question.

    More so, has the Western modern welfare state solved poverty or made it worse? It has made it worse.

    The fruits of the Western welfare state in the West are there for all to see.

    And, if you doubt the bankruptcy of the West, please open this document and u will see how insolvent the West has become.

    http://www.docstoc.com/docs/9461313/The-Worlds-top-50-banks-2009

    Wealth comes from the LAND when it is combined with LABOUR. Nothing else. We have land, and we know where to get other raw materials from land which we may not have.

    To join labour and land, all that is required is MONEY. However, since our money is not recognised, we must borrow other people's money so as to join our land and labour.

    The problem is this, when you borrow other peopl's money, it becomes a TRAP. In fact, they lend us so as to trap us. It is this trap that has led to our loss of Safaricom, Telkom, soon the port and sugal companies.

    Since we insist on entering this trap, the next thing you will see is TOLL BOOTHS on our roads to collect debts for foreigners.

    It is to escape this trap, by providing our own money that can be accepted by Japanese, Chinese, Germans as we procure INDUSTRIAL CAPITAL to industrialise the nation should have occupied our best minds.

    It is only when you industrialise a nation, you can increase the WAGES. It is also when those in the industries get higher wages, they also lift the wages of the rural people. With increased wages, people will be able to uplift themselves from poverty.

    Instead of a noble venture, we get occupied with welfare state which we do not even understand. All we are doing is expanding POLITICAL POWER and any time you expand political power, you diminish CIVIL power.

    While at it, remember this. Political power means CORRUPTION and OPPRESSION.

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