What Was Moi Meeting Kibaki About?

Retired president Moi held a closed-door meeting with President Kibaki recently – once again. Kenyans have learnt t be extremely wary of these meetings. The last time the pair met, some earth-shaking political events quickly followed that swiftly left Messrs Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto without a political party. Mercifully the courts recently halted that daylight coup of Kanu, but the matter is yet to be resolved conclusively.

So what were the two discussing?

It is highly likely that the Somalia crisis featured very high on the agenda. It may even have been the only issue discussed. Keen observers will have already noted that the recent bold and decisive steps taken by President Kibaki is not really the Kibaki we have come to know and suffer. His style is to take much longer to make decisions, even where there is a crisis and when the decision is finally made, he favors piece-meal actions. That is why many are seeing another hand in the bold, rapid-response decisions we have seen over the Somalia crisis. Apart from the obvious influence of America, the real decision-maker over Kenyan foreign policy currently, especially in the Somali crisis could well be retired President Moi.

Nothing wrong with that. Indeed it is good for the president to get expert advice on issues and the handling of the Somalia crisis so far, in my view has been excellent, decisive and the right thing for the country, given the prevailing circumstances. However when the advisor is Moi and when most Kenyans understand that the motives, of the two, especially concerning the long-term political future of the country, is based purely on self-preservation, then you can't really blame people for being anxious.

Jim Bailey And Drum Magazine

All Kenyans on the continent and beyond who have access to DSTV may have caught a rather captivating real-life drama movie last night based on the story of a magazine that had a huge impact on the continent of Africa, called Drum.

Today's glossy and gossipy Drum magazine is a far cry from the Drum of the 1950s that stood against Apartheid in South Africa when nobody else would dare to. Drum did not start out as a political magazine, but Jim Bailey loved playing the circulation game and he inevitably found his magazine veering deeper and deeper into politics. But not without casualties. The very first Mr Drum, was violently murdered for his incisive inside stories and the movie last night was mainly based on this.

I had the good fortune of meeting Mr Bailey several times in Nairobi. Drum had an East African edition based in Nairobi and he always flew in when circulation figures showed the slightest signs of wavering. By that time (mid-80s), Bailey was an old man and must have been extremely battle-weary and was much more interested in circulation figures than in changing the world. So his magazines stubbornly refused to take on Moi and his excesses. Bailey died a few years ago, a frustrated man.

Still it was difficult for me to fail to draw parallels last night between the battle against apartheid and the current war Kenyans have in their hands against the political ruling class that wants to cling to power at all costs so as to protect their ill-gotten wealth.

The Kalonzo Musyoka You Do Not Know

Who Is Financing Kalonzo Musyoka's Bid For The Presidency?

A comment in Mashada posted yesterday about Kalonzo Musyoka and John Harun Mwau caused this writer to go back and do some serious research to ascertain the truth of the same.

The comment was to the effect that John Harun Mwau has financed Kanu for many years and is currently also financing Kalonzo Musyoka. We should be able to find out the truth in the next couple of days from our contacts.

However I would like to point out the fact that this new information does not contradict our coverage on the Kalonzo-Mwau rivalry in Ukambani. In politics, there are no permanent enemies and as somebody here quite rightly pointed out by asking a question, this possibility cannot be ruled out and would make plenty of sense.

The question is simply this; what would you do if you were a drug baron in Kenya? Who would you support for 2007? The answer is very simple. You would give money to all the candidates that have a chance of winning the presidency. That is what Paul Goldenberg Pattni did in 2002. Apart from heavily financing the Kanu campaign, he also made hefty donations to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga's Ford Kenya and God knows who else.

One question that Kenyans voters must ask this time round of all those seeking high office is where their campaign funds are coming from. And if no straight answer is forthcoming then that candidate must be rejected. We already know that sending anybody to State House with such excessive baggage will not serve the interests of the country and will certainly not give us the Kenya we want.

We will continue with our deep analysis of Kalonzo Musyoka tomorrow.