The influential Sunday Nation newspaper of Kenya seems convinced that we are headed for an early general elections 2007. Using the sort of sensational headline that would have been better suited to one of the many gutter press titles that litter the Kenyan streets these days, leading writers at Kenya's most popular Sunday newspaper yesterday gave 7 main reasons why they think the elections will be held either as early as August or in November at the very latest.
The Headline read; 7 signs of an early election.
The signs include the creation of 7 brand new districts by the president last week and the controversial appointment of new electoral commissioners.
Amid all the uncertainties over when exactly the much-awaited elections will be held, one thing is rather obvious. Whatever the opposition say about their being ready for the elections, an early election will favor Narc Kenya in a big way. By virtue of simply having government on its' side Narc Kenya already has campaign tentacles on the ground reaching into every tiny corner of the republic via the notorious provincial administration. And as was seen during the constitutional referendum in November 2005, the guys are really not shy about using this unfair advantage.
In sharp contrast, ODM Kenya and other political parties will have to set up their election campaign network painstakingly from scratch.
The election weapon of the incumbent keeping everybody guessing as to when the election date really is, has been used by many British Prime Ministers to win elections that they would have otherwise lost. It is power given to the president of Kenya in the current constitution, which the British premier has also enjoyed for years. Some people consider it to be an unfair advantage to the incumbent that gives them a huge edge because in politics timing is everything.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Tribalism At The Daily Nation: How Will It Affect The General Elections In Kenya 2007?
Insiders are only too aware of the fierce tribal office politics that has dogged Kenya's leading media house, the Nation Media group for years now. But what is of serious concern is how it will influence the coverage of the general elections expected later this year.
The public is bound to have a very short memory and therefore many have forgotten about the controversy that emerged during the November 2005 referendum that put the Nation newspapers on the spotlight with accusations of unfair or slanted coverage mainly coming from the Orange side. It took a number of closed door meetings at the Nation House with party representatives to sort that one out. But now the general elections loom large in the horizon where the stakes are much higher than they were in November 2005.
A recent incident at the Daily newspaper only serves to confirm analysts worst fears. It is said that an employee of the daily newspaper was sacked by a top editor at the newspaper who happens to belong to the Luo tribe, only to be re-instated by another senior editor who happens to belong to the house of Mumbi.
The incident sent shockwaves through the entire media fraternity and served to highlight the tribal politics that has always played out below the surface at Kenya's most popular daily and influenced many key decisions.
Insiders know that the best journalists in the profession happen to hail from the Luo community (there is a historical reason but that is a story for another day) and yet at the Nation there has always been a deliberate effort to frustrate and ensure that the influence of journalists who hail from that community is kept to a bare minimum. The chief architects of that campaign (and this may be a mere coincidence) have always hailed from—you guessed it—the house of Mumbi.
Nobody who does little research will find that talented journalists have been overlooked for promotion and other hounded to the door and the list of these injustices is rather long.
This is exactly the kind of post that convinces some casual readers of this site that the person who writes this blog is from the Luo community and that it is a Raila blog. Both allegations are false and my aim is only to expose the truth to Kenyans and I have no affiliations to any tribe ad neither do I have the slightest preferences. If I was a tribalist then Kalonzo Musyoka's bid for the presidency would have received plenty of good, positive coverage from this blog. As it is, the sort of mood that I have been forced into these days, will not allow me to spare even my own deceased mother if any whiff of corruption or past sins linked to her, emerged today. I kid you not, I would not hesitate to expose her.
The problem at the Nation has persisted for years and it is amazing how the effects it has had on the running of the newspaper have been so minimal. However as we head towards an election where the two largest tribes in Kenya are likely to face off, (just like they did in the referendum) those in the know have reason to worry. More so because of the Nation newspaper's influence on public opinion, which is powerful enough to decide the forthcoming elections.
The public is bound to have a very short memory and therefore many have forgotten about the controversy that emerged during the November 2005 referendum that put the Nation newspapers on the spotlight with accusations of unfair or slanted coverage mainly coming from the Orange side. It took a number of closed door meetings at the Nation House with party representatives to sort that one out. But now the general elections loom large in the horizon where the stakes are much higher than they were in November 2005.
A recent incident at the Daily newspaper only serves to confirm analysts worst fears. It is said that an employee of the daily newspaper was sacked by a top editor at the newspaper who happens to belong to the Luo tribe, only to be re-instated by another senior editor who happens to belong to the house of Mumbi.
The incident sent shockwaves through the entire media fraternity and served to highlight the tribal politics that has always played out below the surface at Kenya's most popular daily and influenced many key decisions.
Insiders know that the best journalists in the profession happen to hail from the Luo community (there is a historical reason but that is a story for another day) and yet at the Nation there has always been a deliberate effort to frustrate and ensure that the influence of journalists who hail from that community is kept to a bare minimum. The chief architects of that campaign (and this may be a mere coincidence) have always hailed from—you guessed it—the house of Mumbi.
Nobody who does little research will find that talented journalists have been overlooked for promotion and other hounded to the door and the list of these injustices is rather long.
This is exactly the kind of post that convinces some casual readers of this site that the person who writes this blog is from the Luo community and that it is a Raila blog. Both allegations are false and my aim is only to expose the truth to Kenyans and I have no affiliations to any tribe ad neither do I have the slightest preferences. If I was a tribalist then Kalonzo Musyoka's bid for the presidency would have received plenty of good, positive coverage from this blog. As it is, the sort of mood that I have been forced into these days, will not allow me to spare even my own deceased mother if any whiff of corruption or past sins linked to her, emerged today. I kid you not, I would not hesitate to expose her.
The problem at the Nation has persisted for years and it is amazing how the effects it has had on the running of the newspaper have been so minimal. However as we head towards an election where the two largest tribes in Kenya are likely to face off, (just like they did in the referendum) those in the know have reason to worry. More so because of the Nation newspaper's influence on public opinion, which is powerful enough to decide the forthcoming elections.
Youth Development Fund For Entrepreneurs: A Narc Kenya Campaign Tool That Will Have Minimal Impact On Unemployment
The idea of fighting unemployment in Kenya by turning the youth into employers rather than the vast majority of the unemployed is a noble one. The idea of funding good business ideas is a great one. However the manner in which the project is being run suggests and in fact confirms the obvious. This is nothing but a campaign tool designed to win aging President Kibaki re-election.
The government says that the first beneficiaries will start receiving funds by early next month.
If this was a genuine effort to create wealth amongst the youth of Kenya then the first thing that would have happened is that the fund should have been administered by specialist NGOs on the ground, of which we have numerous dotted in every corner of the republic. It would then have been much easier for the government to supervise the project to ensure that it has the desired impact, because many NGOs are also known to be corrupt.
As it is the whole idea seems to be to distribute the Kshs 1 billion to as many youths as possible so as to influence the voting in the general elections.
Everything is in line with the Narc Kenya strategy where they will ask the electorate for more time to make the effects of the economy trickle down to ordinary folk. The truth is that with the kind of policies and management style of the current government which we have seen in recent times, chances of a trickle down effect anytime soon are nil.
The government says that the first beneficiaries will start receiving funds by early next month.
If this was a genuine effort to create wealth amongst the youth of Kenya then the first thing that would have happened is that the fund should have been administered by specialist NGOs on the ground, of which we have numerous dotted in every corner of the republic. It would then have been much easier for the government to supervise the project to ensure that it has the desired impact, because many NGOs are also known to be corrupt.
As it is the whole idea seems to be to distribute the Kshs 1 billion to as many youths as possible so as to influence the voting in the general elections.
Everything is in line with the Narc Kenya strategy where they will ask the electorate for more time to make the effects of the economy trickle down to ordinary folk. The truth is that with the kind of policies and management style of the current government which we have seen in recent times, chances of a trickle down effect anytime soon are nil.
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