What is Ailing ODM?

William Samoiye Ruto may have made history in 2006 by defying his godfather ex-President Moi while still serving as KANU secretary general to declare that he would be vying for presidency; but this history is something Raila Odinga had done way back in 2001, while Moi was still a serving powerful president, and even went further to persuade reluctant KANU hawks like Kalonzo Musyoka, Joseph Kamotho, William Ole Ntimama, Mody Awori, George Saitoti ,et al to defy Moi and join opposition – five whole years before William Ruto could master any guts.

Sadly for those of us who held the NARC dream dear and are presently holding the ODM dream close to their hearts, the political activities of William Ruto – who was literally assisted into political rehabilitation and continues to be sheltered from powerful foes – are being interpreted in ODM circles as a direct affront to the stability of the party and a threat to the political targets of the millions of party supporters. If these fears are confirmed, then it will be a massive betrayal by one person who was selected to negotiate the national peace accord with PNU on behalf of ODM. Read this link where fearless Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo makes reference to an unnamed senior cabinet minister undermining ODM.

Whereas ODM democracy encourages fair internal competition amongst members, it is critical that party loyalty is observed given our laws and political circumstances. Unfortunately, emerging information indicates that Ruto’s underground activities are nothing but pure subversion. The fact remains that politicians commonly engage in scheming and strategy so as to retain or win powerful offices. Businesses do the same to remain competitive and any student of management will tell you that “strategy” is a core subject at any level in university. Perhaps because of panic or excitement, Ruto is assuming that strategy and subversion are two similar words.

One myth being peddled around is that William Ruto has now come of age and has set his eyes on the country’s top seat. Ruto is glorified in Kenyan press as being in total control of the expansive Rift Valley vote and that all that is now required is to revive Kamatusa, through an alliance with say Uhuru Kenyatta or Martha Karua and H.E. President William S. Ruto will be made a reality. This is the biggest joke that has now become a thorn in the flesh of ODM.

The last time I heard this myth, ex-president Moi was in ‘total control’ of the same constituency and that the votes in this province would go wherever the elder Moi led them to. To the amazement of many, the 2007 elections shattered the Moi myth to smithereens. This weekend, who-is-who in ODM are retreating to Naivasha to discuss ‘the party constitution’. Those of us in the know are aware party discipline is a major agenda. Additionally, the god-sent political parties act and the forthcoming ODM grassroot elections will be discussed.

If naivety prevails and any politician fail to strategise or scheme poorly, they will most certainly find themselves unceremoniously thrown out of the game.

Through ODM, William Ruto made an unsuccessful bid for the presidential ticket last year where he was beaten to a distant third behind second placed Musalia Mudavadi and unanimous winner Raila Odinga. That was despite the usual misinformed predictions that Raila would be given a run for his money by Ruto who was then purportedly controlling more delegates by virtue of being the Rift Valley candidate. You and I know Raila made mince meat of the Ruto myth in Kasarani historic primaries, but was then kind enough to extend a third critical lifeline by creating and drafting Ruto as a senior member of one of the most exciting and most prestigious political politburos ever witnessed since the NARC summit – the ODM PENTAGON. The first lifeline was when Ruto had to be guided into freely declaring his interest in the presidency when he was still serving as KANU SG amidst Moi’s massive shadow, while the second was when predicable Kalonzo puppets Maanzo and Chepkonga took off with ODM-K party certificate leaving many a naked souls less than six months to the general elections and no one knew where to take cover until Raila came to the rescue with his ODM scoop – a party whose ticket Ruto and many Rift Valley MPs were re-elected back to parliament and appointed to cabinet by Raila!

It will therefore come as a great surprise to many that William Ruto is the man being fingered to be behind the rebellion gripping the ODM. It is an open secret that Ruto has been unable to tame his ambition and has since January 2008, been spoiling for a political duel with DPM Musalia Mudavadi so as to upstage him as deputy captain and in the process place himself in a strategic position to, at most, run for president in the next elections or, at worst, land the PM’s seat.

But what is really driving Arap Ruto’s ambition? Is it qualification, self-belief, or the huge Rift Valley vote basket that he supposedly controls? Is it a bold attempt to keep Y2K mega-deals buried or maybe it is the fear of having to be made answerable for involvement in post election violence? Perhaps it is an attempt to keep the existing court process at arm’s length? Only time (read-elections) will tell.

If one asks Musakari Kombo, Raphael Tuju, Simeon Nyachae, Shem Ochuodho, Njenga Karume, Mukhisa Kituyi, Kalembe Ndile, Daniel arap Moi, or even Mwai Kibaki himself; poor political scheming and strategizing does have serious pitfalls. If it is intended to serve one’s individual interests without causing injury, harm or violence to others or the country, then it is all well and good. This is normally treated as acceptable behaviour that is within political ethics. But scheming to secure personal political advantages through the use of diabolical schemes such as violence, betrayal, infiltration and backstabbing is as destructive and diseased as the minds that conceptualize them. Remember gentlemen and ladies, just a few months after being sworn in, ODM – the people’s party – has already lost the lives of four sitting MPs through violence and accident(s) that so far remain unresolved.

Nairobi Java MD Faces Life Imprisonment

The Managing Director of popular JAVA Coffee House was yesterday arraigned in court and charged with defiling two Kenyan minors aged 13 and 14 years old.

A calm looking 41 year old Jon Cardon Wagner appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Stella Muketi for mentioning on Friday when city lawyer Mohammed Nyaoga pleaded with the court to grant his client cash bail. Wagner, who is an American citizen, was ordered undergo a DNA test and then remanded at the Muthangari Police Station until Monday when the magistrate is expected to make a ruling on the bail application. Officials of the US Embassy were seen taking notes in the courtroom on Friday. The case shall be heard on August 26, 2008.

One police officer speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that they made a decision to arrest and charge Wagner after they had been able to establish that hotelier paid two women a total of about US$500 to lure the girls, whose identity remains unknown, from their homes in a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi to his residence in the upmarket Lavington estate. In addition to the current charge, police are said to be investigating at least two new complaints of statutory rape against the American, which were received at Muthangari Police Station following media coverage of Wagner's arrest Thursday. A sign that police are taking the matter seriously could be seen when Wagner’s arrest was conducted in person by the Muthangari OCS while journalists from the mainstream media were summoned to witness the arrest.

According to Kenyan law, (Penal Code Chapter 145. Defilement of girls under 16 years), any person who ‘unlawfully and carnally knows’ any girl under the age of sixteen years is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment with hard labour for life. Additionally, any person who ‘attempts to unlawful carnal knowledge’ of a girl under the age of sixteen years is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment with hard labour for life.


Discreet inquiries by this blogger reveal that tens of innocent Kenyan girls have fallen victim to Wagner's insatiable sex-drive. Indeed, many of the hundreds of girls who have been employed at Java as waitresses, cashiers and supervisors have had to be forced into sleeping with Wagner before collecting their employment letters at the firm’s head-office at ABC Place along Waiyaki Way. In one shocking incident, this blogger was able to trace one of the girls – originally from Western Kenya – who confessed to having been appointed a restaurant manager in one of the Java outlets despite her obvious lack of experience or qualifications in the hospitality industry after Wagner allegedly slept with her over a period of time and also allegedly infected her with the HIV virus.

During Wagner’s widely publicized arrest, one young damsel emerged from the stately home clutching a handbag and calmly walked out of the gate and on to the road towards the bus stop. In Nairobi upper class restaurant circles, Wagner’s sexual escapades are a poorly kept secret and it is indeed surprising that it has taken police nearly a decade to catch up with this notorious sex pest.

Nairobi Java House began a culture of gourmet coffee drinking in Nairobi nine years ago and has grown to have eight posh coffee shops in the capital and around the suburbs employing hundreds of Kenyans. Java is hugely popular with upper upper-class Kenyans, tourists and expatriates. The Java group also exports Kenyan coffee to USA and Western Europe.

Breaking News: Post-Poll Violence Pre-Planned

Human Rghts Watch group had released report indicating that post-election violence in Kenya was pre-planned (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7300147.stm). According to the lobby political and business leaders organized and funded the ethnic cleansing that almost drove Kenya to abyss.

This report comes a time when alot of political ground has shifted since the signing of the peace deal between Kibaki and Raila on February 28. That Kenya will never be the same again since last year's disputed polls and the violence thereafter cannot be gainsaid. It is a tight rope we must walk in addressing these explosive past deeds as we chat the way forward. The onus is on us but are we upto the challenge?

Big Price of Uniting Political Foes

Current Kenyan political developments promise to help build political bridges and injure political and communal egos in equal measure. That ours is ethnic-based politics needs no gain saying. Accompanying this investment is the mandatory collateral to message the political egos of tribal lords.

Granted national peace is priceless and no effort must be spared to realize and sustain the same. Raila may be doing the most sensible thing in changing tact to sup with hitherto sworn political nemeses in the national interests with the wider picture as his guiding star. But before some political symbiosis takes place to have the same enthusiasm permeate to the numerous ethnic grassroots who supported him, his noble efforts may soon degenerate to disdain from the same masses who will promptly accuse him of betrayal.

Reconciling a nation still smelling embers of war is a kin to walking a political tight rope. True, you cannot please all the people all the time but time is of essence here to have all communities or at least most of their people on board. Hoping that they will eventually on their own see the need for peace through your lens without explicit explanations is to unwittingly inflame the same tensions the peace deal was designed to address.

Ticking time bomb
Kenya’s post election violence left individual communities with their own set apparatus for ‘self-defence’. Nothing has been officially done to dissuade these unofficial armies to disband. Instead some of them have transformed from rag tag vigilantes into potentially very destructive militia able to wage sustained skirmishes.

The present lull so far is premised on a satisfactory implementation of the peace deal. Our fate as a nation hangs on this fragile thread and shout fail, God forbid, trust of politicians to provide the much-need spark to the existing militia and the consequences are too grin to contemplate. This is not being an alarmist not a pessimist but our hope for sustained peace must be cognisant of the reality that Kenya is awash with militia waiting for the opportunity to be put to ‘good use’.

The only common threat joining politicians at the hip interest, nothing more. They do everything with their eyes singularly trained on votes. With out fractious ethnic voting blocks negotiating ourselves of the crisis can also be politically suicidal. The two principals in the present peace deal must redouble their efforts to rebrand Kenya as the ultimate trophy. But they must equally remain alive to the small dots that join to form final print.

Nobody is being a doomsayer here. Far from it because burying our heads in the sand of good news while conveniently ignoring explosive undercurrents is not only naive at best but to sit on a ticking time bomb at worst. Yes we want peace at WHATEVER COST but we must equally appreciate and remain a live to its ingredients.

Blowing Hot and Cold at Same Time

Political developments in the last week have left Kenyan tongues manufacturing many conspiracy theories. Rising political temperatures has seen vigilant Kenyans swearing and condemning politicians for unwittingly mocking peace. All the emotions go along way to show that Kenyans are determined to reclaim and reshape their country to what they want it to be a prosperous African nation.

But trust Kenyan politicians to belittle their electorate in their quest to serve sectarian interests. And they co-opt many of us in these evil schemes. We shamelessly invent many wild theories clothed in bravado and brinkmanship to advance these cheap brickbats. Sometimes one is tempted to dismiss this as our fidelity to the tag of being overtly political hyper.

By simultaneously blowing hot and cold in equal measure, our leaders have refused to lead from the front and by example. Inconsistency even during crisis remains their forte. We may gloat all the much we wish in support or rebuke but the bottom line remains we are a nation painfully lacking in proactive and productive leadership.

Dining and whining
To our top politicians dinning and winning one day and whining loudest using the most vile and contemptuous language is fair game. It is incumbent upon every Kenyan to resist the temptation to sanitize rot under the banner of real politics. We have a country to share and rebuilt and we must not waste this golden opportunity snatched from the jaws of Lucifer to put Kenya on the pedestal to prosperity premised on equity and justice for all.

We don’t demand honesty and integrity by denying the same. Selective application of logic is our bane as a people. Those warning us of the dangers of partisanship in the civil service best epitomize fossilized cronyism themselves. To say Kenya will NEVER be the same again is not being an alarmist. Our hope to rebuilt Kenya needs a full dose injection of reality. Otherwise we are just being smart escapists living in collective denial.

We must only support the present constitutional order and amendments as a stop-gap to a constitutional overhaul that will produce sustainable institutions. Only then will we have our collective interests objectively covered and never to be subverted by individuals bent on feathering their nests at out collective expense.

The Present Face of Kenyan Success

The recent political deal between Kibaki and Raila following two months of violence resulting from last year’s disputed elections has left Kenyans in deep reflection. Kumekucha readers and bloggers have recently initiated very insightful debates that examine our past with the singular aim of collectively chat a course for a united and prosperous Kenya.

Behind every suggestion on reshaping Kenya lies the call to foster unity in diversity. That Kenyan is a geographical accident populated by over 40 different nations is not unique to Africa. That same fact is also a principal cause of the continent’s perennial wars. Politicians have consequently exploited our ethnic differences to advance their selfish courses and resulting in very devastating tensions ready to explode at the spark the drop of a hat.

Most present great nations emerged from ashes of destruction and we can equally seize the present crisis to put Kenya on the right pedestal to EQUITABLE and sustainable prosperity. The success of such a venture is only possible with a new constitution that galvanizes Kenyan aspirations by recognizing her strengths to overcome commensurate weaknesses. But a constitution is as good as the people it is authored for. Kenyans must re-examine and define the basics to anchor their country’s success. Sample these three scenarios reflecting our sense of industry and success.

Warped sense of industry
Three Kenyan contractors (A B and C) are bidding to repair a government building. All the three are invited to view the building at the same same time by the PS in the ministry of Roads and Works. Contractor A rolls his sleeves with tools in hand then works some figures with a pencil. "Well", he says, "I figure the job will run about KES 9m – KES 4m for materials, KES 4m for my crew and KES 1m my profit."

Contractor B follows and does his thing with his tools too then says, "I can do this job for KEs 7m – KES 3m for materials, KES 3m for my crew and KES 1m my profit." Lastly contractor C makes no physical examination of the building in question but leans over to the PS and whispers, "KES 27 m." The astonished PS promptly asks, "You didn't did no examination like the other guys, how did you come up with such a high figure?". Contractor C whispers back, "KES 10m for me, KES 10m for you and we hire contractor B to do the job." To which the PS promptly responds "Done!".

Well folks unfortunately that is how it all works and we pride ourselves being industrious. True, there are exceptions to the above but that doesn’t make it any rosier. Kenyans generally live a life whose success is premised on DEALS, MORE DEALS and cutting corners. In the process we unwittingly rape our own country dry to feather our personal nests while complaining loudest about corruption. I guess this the unique Kenyan version of industry and success.

Breaking News: Mungiki Attacks Were Planned at State House

Reports have just emerged that Mungiki-led violence following last year's disputed elections were state-sanctioned. Well allow me to spoil the present party mood. These reports are categorical that Mungiki-led violence were planned and authorized from the heart of power-STATE HOUSE.

Predictably, Alfred Mutua already has all his limbs in his mouth is denial. In his characteristic self the goofing Mutua has told BBC that neither the President nor any government functionary would meet the Mungiki in darkness or otherwise. But history contracts that very proclamation, or doesn't it?

This damning report claims that meetings were hosted at the official residence of the president between the banned Mungiki militia and senior government figures. The singular aim it claims was to hire them as a defence force in the Rift Valley to protect the Kikuyu community.

According to BBC investigation a Mungiki member in hiding after receiving death threats revealed that three senior leaders of the sect were summoned to State House and singularly assigned the task of defending the Kikuyu in Rift Valley.

Ours is fast-paced politics complete with very destructive antics. The Mungiki ruse is no passing cloud. Add one plus one and you get today's demonstration by demanding Mungiki followers demanding release from jail of their leader Maina Njenga. Whether it is sour grapes or one party not honouring his side of the bargain will emerge very soon. So there comes the first wart in the festivities which Mutua has unwittingly dismissed as preposterous.