Rigging being planned for referendum

For those who don’t know the intricacies of how rigging is usually done, I think it would be right to start with a brief appreciation of certain key points.

- Vote rigging works best when the results are close. That is one of the reasons why Mwai Kibaki’s rigging in December 2007 ended up being so disastrous. The truth is that Raila Odinga had a massive lead. In sharp contrast Moi never got caught because the results were always much closer. He did a good job of dividing the opposition at all costs.
Prof George Saitoti has perfected the art of rigging in his constituency.

- It is impossible to carry out a rigging exercise without the help of the intelligence service. Why? Because you need very precise and up to date figures to execute a vote rigging operation efficiently. The way it works is that as people are voting you are feverishly collecting figures. In the old days the votes used to be stuffed as the ballot boxes are being transported to one central place in the constituency for counting. These days it is much more expensive because the votes have to be stuffed in each individual polling station. The Kibaki guys went round that by simply ensuring that the vote count that arrives at the ECK was different from what was on the ground. Clean ups were then organized later in the individual constituencies. It is a massive and extremely expensive exercise these days.

- This national model for the country is often executed at a single constituency where the powerful MP uses his own people. One George Saitoti has perfected this system in his constituency.

Folks I am afraid that I have more bad news for you concerning the new constitution most of us are yearning for. Let me start by confessing that for a person with my years of experience I was rather naïve to believe that those who own Kenya would ever allow for an electoral system that they did not have any control over. The truth is that the so caled "tamper-proof" electoral roll has already been tampered with and non-existent voters introduced. And since it is NOT the same electoral roll that we will go to the general elections with, the only conclusion is that the intention is to rig the August 4th Referendum.

The game plan by the powerful owners of Kenya is for the NO camp to catch up with the YES majority so that the difference is around 20% or less. What will then happen is that NO will win with a very slim majority. Enough to deny most Kenyans what they are yearning for so much that they can no longer sleep too well. Those who have read the document and realize the sweeping changes it will bring into the country and the deadly blow it will deal to impunity.

What really scares me is that so far these powerful forces have been able to get things done through the NSIS and have even influenced the judiciary to make certain bizarre rulings. To me that is evidence enough that they are quite capable of going ahead with their well laid plan even as the president tires himself criss-crossing the country campaigning for a new constitution.

There is ONLY one way to stop them. And that is to ensure a landslide victory for YES. Anything less will be dicey.

Bitter enemies of the new constitution: Can Kenyans stop them?

It seems that former powerful AG Charles Njonjo needed a favour from Gideon Moi in this instance. There are hardly any photos around of Gideon's brother and forgotten Moi son, Philip. When you know what he gets up to, you won't be suprised.

There was a time when I was pretty naïve and it cost me dearly. In fact I am still paying to this day (that is a very sad story for another day).

The personal tragedy that resulted from my naïve ways has made me very sensitive these days. I know how things run and who runs them. As you keep hearing on Kumekucha Kenya iko na wenyewe.

In this post I want to focus on some of these powerful dark forces who control everything from the shadows. Naturally these guys are not happy about the draft constitution. For starters it will bring too many naïve but powerful people to positions where they can hurt some of their illegal businesses. Take the business in drugs. I hope you are not naïve enough to believe those press reports about how the police are doing a great in the fight against drugs. The truth is that Kenya in recent years has become a major drug trafficking hub on the continent. It arrives in tons on containers disguised as all kinds of stuff and it gets into the country easily and effortlessly.

The image that most Kenyans have of drug traffickers as some dirty desperate Nigerians who somehow got into Kenya and are making billions from the illegal trade. Hahahahahahahahaha. That’s really funny. Those Nigerians are mere foot soldiers. Nobody can do any drug business in a foreign country without the full cooperation of some very powerful locals.

Secondly it is NOT small people who run major drug rings. It is usually very big people. The pawns and messengers are the guys who are always getting caught and amazingly they never lead the police to the kingpin of the whole operation.

To illustrate the kind of people involved in this business let me mention the forgotten Moi son whom the famous Kroll report singled out as a major trafficker in these shores for many years.

The press hardly mention President Moi's other son, Philip Moi. Yet some of his deals would make Gideon look like an angel in comparison. According to the Kroll report, Philip's estimated wealth stands at about $770 million and he is said to control more hidden cash than even Gideon. (Other Kumekucha informants tell me that this estimate of his wealth is a mere drop in the ocean and the man is worth much more. Philip uses low key Asians and even houseboys as proxies for all his business deals and interests.

Philip rarely travels himself and chooses to use his wife Rossana Pluda instead, who is an Italian and relatively unknown in Kenya, even amongst the press. So she is able to slip in and out of the country without attracting any attention. She is also his link to many Italian underworld businesses that he works with.

According to the Kroll report, Philip Moi has dealt in Hashish, Madrax tablets and bhang grown around the Mount Kenya area with the Akasha family. But it doesn’t stop there. He has also dealt with hard drugs like cocaine, providing cover for Italian families based in Malindi on the Kenyan Coast. It is said that with his help, the drug cartel in Malindi was able to offload 20-feet containers, packed with drugs.

The Kroll report names Muzahim as Philip's business partner. Muzahim has mainly been a car dealer, drug baron and money counterfeiter. Basically Philip provided the cover and Muzahim managed the operations. They jointly made counterfeit dollars for Somalia, Zaire, Sudan and Liberia.

When Muzahim and Philip fell out, Philip paid an assassin to kill him mainly because he knew too much and had armed himself with extensive documentary proof to protect himself. Amazingly the would-be assassin approached Muzahim and confessed to him what had happened. He was promptly paid off to abandon the mission.

Now these are the kind of characters that would do anything to ensure that the draft constitution never sees the light of day because it would complicate business for them, big time. Despite denials the truth is that the No campaign team is very well funded. Now the crazy thing about all this is that the church in its’ joint NO campaign with politicians like William Ruto is getting partly funded by drug money. Digest that!!!!

P.S. Notice how angry the No team are at the recent poll results on the upcoming referendum? These guys are getting big money to do what they are doing because they are telling their financiers that it is working. That is why they are now suggesting that all opinion polls get banned until after the referendum.

People being blunt about the good and the bad in the book Dark secrets of the Kenyan presidency

The really bad news about the new constitution

Something is NOT right. Apart from the spirited No campaign, there is something wrong. There is something that is not quite right in all this new constitution thing.

I saw George “Goldenberg” Saitoti stand up yesterday and talk passionately about how the new constitution is good for Kenya and I wondered. Mwai “Anglo leasing” Kibaki to quote a local TV station “has now removed his gloves” in battling the No camp over the new constitution.

For somebody who knows the history of all these politicians fairly well and having read a substantial part of the draft constitution, there is something that just doesn’t add up. Unless human nature has suddenly changed. Or maybe the self-preservation instinct in humans has disappeared, let alone in the super-greedy politicians of Kenya.

If the draft constitution is passed, the truth is that justice will come to Kenya and many political careers will come to an abrupt end forever. The truth is that wananchi will change into wenye nchi and within a few years Kenya as you know it today will be unrecognizable.

So would a man welcome an executioner to their home and fete them knowing very well that their necks would be on the chopping block within the hour? Quite unlikely.

So what is it that the political class knows that the rest of us don’t know?

Let me try to answer that question.

Firstly it is important to note that the chain of events starting with the post-election troubles of January 2008 have removed matters from their hands. The truth is that there has been considerable international pressure. It has been clear to the world that going to the next elections without a new constitution was just plain suicide for Kenya. And many of those nations have vast vested interests in the country. The travel bans have worked miracles and put the right pressure in the right places. Have you noticed how much Wako has changed since the Visa ban? This is certainly not the same Amos “editorial changes to the constitution” Wako of 2005.

And so the political class has had little option but to support a new constitution, at least the vast majority of them. But after consultations with their lawyers and legal experts they have come up with a strategy. It is based on the fact that it will take a minimum of five to six years to fully implement the new constitution if passed. And then parliament can always employ a few delaying tactics here and there which would drag certain changes for many more years. In any event many of the most powerful politicians in Kenya do not envisage themselves still in politics in the next 10 years. And bear in mind that a lot of crucial decisions have still been left to parliament. For instance the maximum number of acres an individual can own can be kept high enough. In any case there are still countless loopholes because a large land owner can distribute his land holdings amongst his wives and sons (and believe me some of these families are huge). You see the most important thing about any constitution is the spirit of that constitution and great damage can be done by people who do not have the interests of the country at heart. There is no constitution in the world without loopholes that any smart lawyer can take full advantage of.

And so the bad news is that saying Yes on August 4th will only be the first step and the beginning of a massive battle to free Kenyans. There is still a lot to be done if we are to see the full positive effects of the new constitution. For starters we will have to vote very wisely in the next general elections and ensure that we get fresh new faces who are ready to do serious battle with old money in Kenya. People who cannot be swayed by money and people prepared to give their lives for the motherland. Tall order indeed, do such Kenyans exist?

But the good news is that if the new constitution is passed it will be the beginning of our emancipation. Already we know for sure that the train has left the station and for better or for worse it is headed in the right direction. We’ll just have to take care of the obstacles as they come. Brace yourselves for a rough ride folks but we shall surely overcome.

What people don’t like about Dark secrets of the Kenyan presidency.

This evil man called Moi

Kenyans have very short memories indeed, and they will quickly forget and forgive you—especially if you have a lot of money. And it really doesn’t matter how you earned your cash. Indeed it would seem that most Kenyans would not hesitate to sell their souls to the devil for a few miserable coins.

This is something that Daniel arap Moi knows only too well and uses to the maximum to get his way. Every time. He used it when he was president and he is still using it now in semi-retirement.

Let me jog your memory a little more (and inform younger Kumekuchans at the same time). When the clamour for the re-introduction of multiparty hit the country in the 90s there are Kenyans who gladly gave their lives so that today I am able to write this blog and you are able to read it without looking over your shoulder (or burning it and flashing it down the toilet if it was a newspaper). For those who are not aware Moi’s secret police used to hunt down government dissidents even in the West. It did not really matter where you were, they would find a way to get to you and get you.

As precious Kenyan blood was being spilt so that a day like this one would arrive where we would be on the verge of ushering in a brand new constitution, other Kenyans (like William Ruto and Cyrus Jirongo) saw the whole thing as a major business opportunity (just like the current No campaign by them is yet another business opportunity that will pay off big time).

My intention today is not to bore you by re-hashing history but to make the point that one of Daniel arap Moi’s favourite carrot sticks to pull everybody in line that is pretty effective is something called cash. Or shall I say cash incentives? And how did Moi earn his vast wealth? Did he do a Bill Gates? Or perhaps a Warren Buffet? I assure you he did not even come close to doing a Njenga Karume. Yet his net worth is up there. This is the same man who caused another Kenyan to lose his life only because that Kenyan knew about certain indiscretions of his with some women (the whole sickening story is in my book, Dark secrets of the Kenyan presidency. Get details now on how to receive the book).

Moi is not the kind of person I would buy a used blender from. Let alone a used car. He is the kind of person that would cause me to stop and think very hard if I discovered that we were in agreement over something. Let alone a constitution.

Now the self-proclaimed professor of politics has a few nasty surprises for Kenyans. Just like he warned us that multi-partyism would “burn us” and then proceeded to facilitate the same. He has been busy warning us that the new constitution is NOT good for Kenya and is about to do organize something so major that we will have no option but to agree with him.

I love this great piece I read in Bunge La Mwananchi: The 15 reasons why the ‘NO” Campaign is against the Proposed Constitution