Police Chief Admits to Shooting Kenyans Dead.

Not exactly whistle blowing but contradicting Ali.

By KATY POWNALL
KISUMU, Kenya (AP) — The police chief in this opposition stronghold said she ordered her officers to fire on a rioting crowd, saying she was forced to because police were overwhelmed during protests over disputed elections.
The comments from Grace Kaindi, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, were the first to acknowledge police fired on crowds. Previously, police had denied shooting anyone in the turmoil.
"It was an extreme situation and there was no other way to control them," Kaindi said of the Dec. 29 clash in Kisumu. "I gave the order to open fire myself when I heard that my officers were being overwhelmed. If we had not killed them, things would have got very bad."
The toll, according to hospital records: 44 shot dead, 143 wounded. Kaindi said one police officer was hurt by a rock hurled from the crowd.
Human rights workers say Kisumu, 200 miles northwest of Nairobi, suffered the worst police brutality because it is a stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accuses President Mwai Kibaki of stealing the Dec. 27 election. International and local observers say the vote count was deeply flawed.
The acknowledged use of deadly force by police was likely to further inflame protesters who believe they are fighting a government that does not represent them, adding to the volatile mix of grievances in a conflict that has political and ethnic overtones. Clashes have pitted members of Kibaki's Kikuyu people against Odinga's Luo and other groups; most of those shot in Kisumu were Luo.
The Dec. 29 clash came a day before the election results were announced.
As it became clear Kibaki was going to claim victory, people in Kisumu armed with clubs and stones broke into stores, looted and set them ablaze, according to reporters at the scene. Protesters set up roadblocks of burning tires and stoned police, the reporters said, giving wildly varying accounts of the numbers of police and protesters.
"We tried tear gas, but it didn't calm them," Kaindi said. "Police felt their lives were in danger because there were very few of them, so they opened fire and controlled the situation."
She would not say how many officers or rioters were at the scene.
The U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch said in a weekend statement that police were behind dozens of killings and that they fired on both looters and opposition protesters under an unofficial "shoot-to-kill" policy.
Human Rights Watch said even people who did not attend rallies were shot, hit by police gunfire on the fringes of protests. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe denied the Human Rights Watch accusations, saying officers have "acted strictly within the laws of this country."
At a news conference Sunday, national Police Commissioner Hussein Ali insisted, "We have not shot anyone."
Of the 612 deaths government officials have attributed to election violence, 53 were in Kisumu; hospital records show 44 of those were killed by police bullets. Kaindi's comments came Tuesday, a day before a new round of protests called by Odinga, who has ignored pleas from church leaders and others to cancel the demonstrations that have fueled much of the violence.
Kaindi said her officers would not again fire on protesters, but on Wednesday police in Kisumu let loose volleys of rifle fire into the air over rock-throwing demonstrators.
One of them, Dickson Oruk, said he saw the body of a man, apparently shot in the head, lying on the ground near three men who each had been shot in the chest. Kaindi said she had no regrets about her Dec. 29 order to fire, charging all those shot were "looters and thieves."
On that day, Robert Owino, a 21-year-old mechanic, said he was walking home from work when he was shot in the chest. "I'm very angry about what has happened because I am innocent," he said from his hospital bed. "So many people were shot and, like me, they were doing nothing wrong."
Hospital records seen by the AP show 44 of 53 bodies taken to its morgue after the Dec. 29 riots had bullet wounds. Fifty-nine people were admitted with gunshot wounds; 84 others were treated as outpatients for minor wounds. Seven of the 53 were burned to death and two apparently were beaten to death with "blunt objects," the records show.
Nurses at the run-down hospital said the beds soon filled and they treated patients in the corridors. Many people bled to death for lack of blood for transfusions, nurses said.
The Rev. Charles Oloo K'Ochiel, a Roman Catholic priest who collated an independent tally of those shot from visits to the hospital and its morgue, told the AP he counted 68 dead and 56 wounded.
"When you go into a hospital ward and see that 95 percent of the patients are victims of bullet wounds, you have to wonder if the police were brought here to bring peace or to shoot every human being that comes their way," he said. All those with bullet wounds were from Odinga's Luo tribe, the priest said. Victims burned and beaten to death were assumed to be Kikuyus, he said. One body had eight bullet wounds, according to Oloo K'Ochiel.
"This is Raila's place," the priest said. "The police have been overzealous, fearing that people will react more violently to the election fraud than in other places."
In Kisumu, shattered windows and the blackened, twisted remains of cars, shops and gas stations testify to the anger of the city's residents.
Brad Onyango does not deny participating in the violence.
"We didn't want to hurt anyone, that wasn't our aim. We didn't have guns. Our aim was to show the world that we are angry and tired of this government and its corruption," the bus driver said.
George Odhiambo, a student who said he was caught up in the chaos, accuses the police of acting out of "pure malice and they opened fire on anyone."
Onyango accused police of stealing after breaking into shops with their rifles. Oloo K'Ochiel, the priest, said he also saw police stealing from shops.
Chief Kaindi denied her officers were looting.
Associated Press Writer Michelle Faul in Nairobi contributed to this report.

Kenya Parliament: On Your Marks.....Get Set....

Emuhaya MP-elect Kenneth Marende (right) is sworn is as Speaker of the 10th Parliament by National Assembly Clerk Samuel Ndindiri after he defeated Mr Francis Kaparo by 105 votes to 101 during third round of balloting. Photo/PETERSON GITHAIGA (NMG)

The newly elected speaker of the national assembly Hon Kenneth Marende last night survived a baptism of fire. Or so it seems?

Close political observers who have followed Marende's political career since his days as an advocate to an Rainbow/LDP activist and finally as rookie NARC MP for Emuhaya in the 9th parliament agree that Marende has what can be called smooth political career. This is mostly attributed to two facts. The first is that Marende publicly shunned spirited attempts by Kijana Wamalwa and Musikari Kombo to lure him to FORD-K when the party was being touted as the party to unite all Luhya's after Musalia Mudavadi re-defected back to KANU. Marende's second luck seem to stem from another angle. His close relationship with Musalia Mudavadi who incidently enjoys even closer relations with ODM kingpin Raila Odinga have also worked in Marende's favour.

The questions that quickly comes to mind is: Why did the ODM pentagon back the nomination of Marende, already an MP-elect, as Speaker ahead of other worthy and highly experienced candidates who had also expressed an interest within ODM like Martin Shikuku and Oloo Aringo? In a national assembly where close numbers will determine the direction of most business, it is telling that ODM sacrificed one of their own, and a rookie at that, to be elected Speaker of the house and in the process automatically relinquish his parliamentary seat. Indeed, Speaker Marende did not participate in the voting of Farah Maalim (also nominated by ODM) as Deputy Speaker, which means ODM have already lost one vote.

As thrilling events unraveled in parliament late into this morning, another critical unanswered question that kept coming up was that what (if any) agreement did the ODM pentagon have with the new Speaker? The answer may be found in an interview ODM pentagon member Najib Balala had with foreign media a day before the Speaker's election. Balala said: "With PNU 'controlling' the executive and judiciary arms of government, the ODM will 'control' the legislative arm and use it to reclaim what was stolen from the people of Kenya." As if to confirm this, the new Speaker himself in his inaugural speech indicated that "parliament must be taken back to the people." Does the Balala's prophecy spell doom for PNU and its affiliates now that the Speaker and his deputy originate from ODM stables? Incidentally, Balala swore his allegiance to the presidency (urais in swahili) rather than the president (rais). Raila on the other hand, swore his allegiance to "the country of Kenya."

It took the Speaker's ruling to stop the PNU further embarrassment from a barrage of loaded Points of Order by lawyers Orengo, Namwamba and Nyongo as regards the "open" secret balloting as well as the oath of allegiance. Opinion is divided but the entire PNU side led by Kalonzo Musyoka all seemed content hiding behind the wits (skirt?) of Gichugu MP Martha Karua. At one point, President Mwai Kibaki seemed ready to give up and walk out of the chambers after enduring a barrage of scathing attacks from Orengo, Namwamba, Ruto and Nyongo. It took several comforting handshakes from ministers Karua, Michuki and Wetangula for Kibaki to recover his composure.

At one point, before the election of the speaker, Kalonzo said: "We cannot participate in a flawed process in front of international media. Proceedings should be adjourned altogether." Nyongo retorted: "You (Kalonzo) accepted being a Vice-President in a flawed process. Stop being involved in contradictions. Be clear in your mind!" What a blast! It took Kalonzo at least four hours to recover and stand up to "empty" talk on another point of order. Empty because he had attempted to lecture the house on the need to uphold "traditions" but then again Nyongo silenced poor Kalonzo by asking where he was when the former president and MP for Othaya did not "respect tradition" when appointing ECK commissioners in total disregard to IPPG agreements of 1997! Luckily for Kalonzo, Martha Karua was always coming to the rescue of the Leader of Government Business.

Kenya's parliament is in for interesting times. Meanwhile ODM's press conference this morning will give the general direction which the party will embark on.

Watch this space!

Kibaki's Beautiful Monster for Kenya

How do you contain a revolt you have unwittingly help create? Or better still, how do you stop a monster you have propped up gobbling you up? Kibaki’s prescription for Kenya’s present political problem amounts to offering a placebo to cure a malignant cancer. And hell hath no furry than a citizenry scorned.

It takes wheels of steel to weather a political storm especially a self-minted one under influence from cronies with selfish interests to protect. What was crafted to look like a Kikuyu-Luo conflict has gained a life of its own and the resultant ogre will no doubt not spare her creators.

Brinkmanship and bravado exhibited by Kibaki’s henchmen is only succeeding in fuelling the inferno. His apologists may spin all the much they care by painting Raila red with sin (rightly or otherwise) but the buck stops with Kibaki, period. Kenya is in flames fuelled by blood and only Kibaki has his hands on the fire extinguisher. Will he press? Your guess is as good as mine.

It is the height unparalleled naivety and selfishness to jump into a political bed without any pretence to the requisite foreplay. No amount of washy-washing or pussyfooting will wash. Desperate situations call for desperate measures. All the political unions hurriedly crafted to prop up ILLEGITIMATE regime is a killer slap on the collective cheeks of Kenyans. You can launder and sanitize illegitimacy but the smell of illegality wont vanish, never.

It is obtusely insensitive to assault our ears with songs on economic loss and call for peace without acknowledging the root cause of the present political fraud. The stolen elections are REAL and the resulting sustained pain has galvanised Kenyans to rise up in revolt against a tyrannical government. Disgusted Kenyans won’t listen until they reclaim their country back. Yapping about ruined economy is to play a stuck record.

With the present level of tension founded on disgust, it does not matter what the news media say. The pain is both personal and communal. The regime’s apologist can transform their cheap escapist sermons into kites and fly them since they have the whole sky for free. The Rwanda genocide that they shamelessly bandy around was not instigated in a vacuum.

Smart thieves and tyres
When Kenya’s history is written, Kibaki will take more than a chapter. And it won’t be rosy. His contempt of Kenyans in stealing their votes is both evil and unforgivable. Mwai Kibaki has not only concocted KENYA’S GENOCIDE RECIPE, but he is busy serving it oblivious of hundreds of necks being severed. Even the devil in his schemes would have better strategies. Revolutions are driven by widespread pain, suffering and disgust besides leaving trails of (human) collateral its wake.

Kenya belongs to all of us and the supremacists would better relocate. There is no free lunch and change is priceless. Already close to 1000 Kenyans have paid the ultimate price with their lives. It must have been the height of FOLLY to imagine that Kenyans will retreat to their hovels after a flawed election. SCOUNDRELS!

Smart thieves steal but they remain alive to the fact that tyre-necklace (or its derivatives) is an apt reward for their profession. Kenyans demand unadulterated justice. Nothing more nothing less. No matter how long it takes, it will and must be realized. Blood is only useful in our veins and not flooding the streets.

Shots Run High Above Demonstrators

Demonstrations planned for 30 cities and towns across Kenya by ODM to protest last month's FLAWED elections are on. True to expectation, the police have backed their refusal to allow the same by not only terming the demos "inappropriate" but firing shots at demonstrators.

While electing Hon Kenneth Marende House Speaker yesterday was expected to take off some political heat and tension off Kenya's warring parties, the fires appear to have been given a new lease of life. Speaker Marende has told the BBC that the ODM had the constitutional right to begin three days of protests against the election of President Mwai Kibaki.

We aren't out of political woods yet. Not only have we lost more than 600 Kenyans and displaced a tidy fraction of a million but our scoundrels for politicians appear to be all smiles in this absurd drama.

No free lunch
With live bullets fired above demonstrators in Kisumu and skirmishes in Mombasa and Eldoret, yesterday's theatrics may have provided the perfect rehearsal for the gloomy times ahead. But as Bob Marley aptly captured it 'YOU CAN FOOL SOME PEOPLE SOMETIME BUT NOT ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME'.

Perpetrators of December 27 elections grossly underestimated the collective intelligence of Kenyans. Scare mongering and insensitivity while mouthing and abusing Rwanda genocide won't wash. Kenyans must emancipate themselves from these scoundrels once and for all.

Apologists may spin all the much they care but Kenya will never be the same unless the root cause of present tension is squarely addressed. You can dress the festering wound as immaculately as you can with exotic bandages but if you loathe amputation then you better seek treatment first. Justice, period.

Stand Off In Kenya Parliament

Kaparo makes a dash to be sworn in as speaker.


The election of the Speaker to the National Assembly in the 10th parliament seems to have degenerated into a heated exchange. The SNO's office is constitutionally "the third most powerful in Kenya."

Government friendly MPs were in the house as early as 9am after word went round that ODM intended to occupy government benches. ODM's Raila Odinga is presently occupying the Official Opposition Leader's seat followed in line by the rest of the pentagon members.

The Clerk of the National Assembly is having a difficult time controlling PNU MPs who are raising points of order because ODM MPs have been showing their colleagues in opposition benches how they have voted and the government MPs are opposing this.

So far, as at 3.30pm, the Clerk of the National Assembly has not been able to make a ruling but he has proposed an adjournment so as "to consult". Although VP Kalonzo has accepted they have no objection to an adjournment, this proposal has been strongly resisted by ODM/NARC MPs who say the business of the house must be conducted in accordance to the law. PNU friendly MPs have obviously been caught with their pants down by ODM MPs' move to vote publicly so as identify any traitors amongst them who may have hoped to quietly vote for Kaparo in an secret ballot.

There is tight security in and around parliament and KTN are surprisingly broadcasting events in parliament through live transmission. No MP has been sworn-in so far, and this will only be done when the SNO is elected.

Updates to follow.

Kaparo Makes A Dash To Be Sworn In As Speaker

Tongue in the cheek special

It is now 6:29 PM and yet the results of the voting for the speaker have yet to be announced. I smell something much smellier than a rat!

Does this state of affairs sound familiar? You bet it does because unconfirmed reports reaching this Kumekucha reporter on the ground at parliament buildings are that arrangements for Kaparo’s swearing have been finalized and he is to be sworn as speaker at 6:33 PM and yet the results have not yet been announced. It is expected that a KBC recording of the National Assembly clerk Samuel Ndindiri announcing Kaparo as the winner will suffice.

Other fairly reliable reports indicate that the votes counted so far are 257 (there are only 207 members in the chamber). Insiders say that there was a voter turn out well above 100% on both sides of the house but say that this is rather usual with Kenyan elections these days, especially since the last general elections of December 2007. Higher voter turn out is usually something left to the courts to sort out as bodies and individuals running elections in Kenya do not have power to deal with such weighty issues.

This reporter was able to get hold of the statement that Ndindiri is expected to read out as he announces the winner of the race for speaker in a few minutes. I hereby reproduce it here;

“In declaring Mr Kaparo the winner of the contest for speaker this evening, let me say that electoral defeat for speaker can be a very painful thing indeed, especially because the speaker is virtually the third most powerful man in the land. And also especially when your backers were prematurely so sure of a win. One does not even know what to tell them. Hon Mr Kenneth Marende we urge you to take this defeat like a man and desist from the ODM habit of being sour losers.

I am ware that the ODM side has raised weighty issues about the way the votes for speaker were tallied and counted including the fact that Mr Kaparo seems to have won with the help of votes that are way above the number of voters in the house. We urge him to seek redress in our courts and hereby direct the courts to dish out justice speedily in this matter.

Once again the power of democracy Kenyan-style has won over the empty domo strategy of ODM.

Congratulations Mr Kaparo and now I urge you to take your seat as speaker and bring some semblance of order into the house especially on the ODM side."

This reporter later spoke to Mr Marende who referred to the election as a farce, unfortunately this was not reported on the TV news because Mr Kaparo’s first action as speaker was to throw all journalists out of the house and ban any media house from broadcasting any news on the controversial elections for Speaker.

I will keep you posted.

Checkmate Politics=Speaker Kenneth Marende

Kenya's version of checkmate politics entered its finest phase when the 10th parliament convened this afternoon to elect their speaker. Boy and what a drama in the August house both of hilarious and of the absurd ilk.

With Kenneth Marende Otiato and Farah Maalim elected as Speaker and Deputy respectively Kenyans have predictably transformed themselves into spin masters at their best. Apologists from both end of the political equation are reading what they believe can sell while shamelessly displaying scant political under currents.

Until we see the high-octane political chess game for what it is, we can only succeed in fooling ourselves. Trust our SCOUNDRELS for politicians to leave us jerking off our limbs at their expense as we spew epithets and vitriol at fellow Kenyans as these chaps make deals with the devil.

Politics made in Kenya
It is ALL raw politics, stupid. No amount of sanitizing will diminish the present political tension and only self-deception can mask that fact. To some Speaker Marende is now an honourable member of LSK who will serve all and sundry fairly. My foot! Well, tell that to the birds because they can pay by flying high in the sky.

Marende and Farah's elections may have provided the much-needed cooling of political temperatures as ODM revels in the token celebration of miniature victory. But the truth remains that this may be the firm foundation of turbulent political times ahead.

We probably haven't seen anything yet. Sample this: domination of all important House committees and come June (if the political rubber band cooperates for that stretch) no budget. Simply put this may be the LULL before the STORM and we are in for interesting times. Welcome to politics made in Kenya, na bado.

Shocker: US Exit Poll Now Shows That Raila Won Presidential Race Convincingly

EXCLUSIVE: Kirui the Whistleblower Exposes How They Stole the Presidency

Amid mounting evidence that Mwai Kibaki DID NOT win last December’s general elections, a U.S. government-backed foundation has now released results of an exit poll conducting during the elections that clearly shows ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga winning the presidential race convincingly.

Indeed this is the first piece of statistic that comes anywhere near vindicating a Kumekucha poll conducted shortly before the elections that gave Raila Odinga an overwhelming 60 per cent of the vote.

Still, the kind of international politics being played out behind the scenes is very complex because it was the very same Americans who released a poll just before the disputed elections showing a Kibaki win. This was followed by an exit poll also showing a Kibaki win. The two polls raised eyebrows more so because all previous polls gave ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga a clear lead.

Even stranger was how ODM would have convincingly won the vast majority of parliamentary seats with voters clearly in an angry mood against the president’s point men, voting a huge percentage of them out. In one bizarre instant in Webuye the ECK would like Kenyans to believe that voters rejected Kibaki’s Musikari Kombo and yet gave Kibaki the winning number of votes in that constituency (Webuye).

The latest exit polls shocker proves what most Kenyans have known all along—that this was a stolen election. What this also does is to place responsibility for the hundreds of deaths countrywide squarely at the feet of Mwai Kibaki. Indeed many Kenyans are now insisting that when all this is over, Kibaki must face criminal charges, not only for rigging the elections but for the astrocities that resulted after security forces were given orders to shoot to kill. It is believed that it is this order that resulted in the deaths of so many innocent women and children. Some of these bodies were shown piled together at the main city morgue in earlier posts in this blog.

The consequences of stealing an election when Kenyan voters were obviously in a very angry mood as they voted would have been very clear to any right thinking Kenyan. Yet Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki went ahead with his circus of December 30th 2007 which has thrown the country into a very serious crisis and caused many Kenyans to lose their loved ones. Incidentaly the current post-election crisis in Kenya is one that will take decades to recover from.

The light at the end of the tunnel is the fact that some analysts believe that the Americans seem to be now doing a “Mobutu” on Kibaki. After propping up and supporting Mobutu Sese Seko for years, the Americans suddenly turned against him in the 90s.

This blogger remains skeptical of the true intentions of Uncle Sam. Only time will tell.

Read full story about exit poll that shows Raila won presidential race.

Destrcutive Prayer Come True

Joe represents Kenya’s new face. Urbane, eloquent and opinionated this chap is smart with his rights at his fingertips. So this particular Friday evening (December 28, 2007) Joe came home from the pub late one Friday evening stinking drunk, as he often did. Poor intoxicated Joe creeps into bed beside his wife who was already asleep. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and fell asleep.

On waking up, Johnny’s half-closed eyes encounter a strange sight. Standing at the end of his bed, is a heavily built man wearing a long flowing white robe. "Who the hell are you?" Demanded Joe, "and what business do you have in my bedroom?"

"This isn't your bedroom, and I'm St Peter," came the soulful answer from the mysterious man. Joe was stunned "You mean I'm dead??? That can't be, I have so much to live for, I haven't said goodbye to my family....you've got to send me back Straight away".

St Peter replied "Yes, you can be reincarnated but there is a catch. We can only send you back as a dog or a hen."

Poor Joe was devastated. But knowing there was a farm not far from his house, he asked to be sent back as a hen. A flash of light later he was covered in feathers and clucking around pecking the ground. "This isn't so bad" he thought until he felt this strange feeling welling up inside him.

The farmyard rooster strolled over and said "So you're the new hen? How are you enjoying your first day here?" "It's not so bad" replies Joe, "but I have this strange feeling inside like I'm about to explode". "You're ovulating" explained the rooster. "Don't tell me you've never laid an egg before". "Never" replies Joe. "Well just relax and let it happen", says the rooster.

And so he did and after a few uncomfortable seconds later, an egg pops out from under his tail. An immense feeling of relief swept over him and his emotions got the better of him as he experienced motherhood for the first time.

When he laid his second egg, the feeling of happiness was Overwhelming and he knew that being reincarnated as a hen was the best thing that ever happened to him ... ever!!!

The joy kept coming and as he was just about to lay his third egg he felt an enormous smack on the back of his head and heard his wife shouting... "Joe, wake up you drunken bastard, you're sh*tting in bed!!"

Moral of the story: Watch out what you wish for and don't take it for granted. In fullness of time it may turn out to be the noose around your neck.

tick tock tick tock..........

Gangs of Nairobi
Andrew Ehrenkranz and Scott Johnson
Photo: AFPLAST July, Washington made some brief, if mostly unexamined, news in East Africa when it announced a $15 million grant to the Kenyan government to help with "law and order" issues. The funding came a full six months before last December's disputed Kenyan election and the subsequent wave of violence that is now flowing, amoebalike, across the country. For outside observers the cash injection may have seemed odd, given Kenya's positive political and economic track record. But the African nation's nicely lettered signposts of progress and development masked a jarring problem. Throughout much of last spring, in part because of the run-up to the elections but also for a host of other reasons, huge swaths of Kenya were succumbing to a particularly undulant, brutal kind of gangsterism. In episode after episode, many of which were documented by Kenyan reporters, innocent people were beheaded, skinned, raped, murdered and tortured by members of a secretive outlawed sect called Mungiki. In response the Kenyan police and domestic security services began to jail thousands of young men. Human rights organisations began calling attention to the apparent "disappearances" of several of them. The "Mungiki threat" became a national, if not an international, obsession. Kenyan fears were not misplaced. The dynamics of the Mungiki sect were as compelling as they were appalling. Mungiki had deep and growing political influence. Its 1.5 million members were drawn from Kenya's largest and most powerful tribe, the Kikuyu, who controlled much of Kenya's economy. The sect was said to have as much pull with the police as it did with senior ministers. And yet for all the suspicion, the government, led by Kikuyu President Mwai Kibaki, appeared to be fighting back against the destructive creep of criminal violence by stepping up police raids in cities like Nairobi, a Mungiki stronghold and long the center of a major crime problem.And then the elections happened. Over the last several days the world has begun to focus its attention on the particularly complex web of factors -- tribal, economic and historical -- that have thrown Kenya into its worst political crisis of the last half century. US Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer has been in talks with Kibaki and his opposition rival, Raila Odinga, to find a solution to the political stalemate. On Monday both figures agreed to meet to discuss ways out of the impasse, but on Tuesday there were fresh outbreaks of violence after Odinga pulled out of direct talks. His withdrawal was in protest of Kibaki's unilaterally making some key cabinet appointments ahead of the arrival of African Union chairman John F. Kufuor, who arrived in Nairobi Tuesday to mediate the talks. Meanwhile, the Law Society of Kenya, citing the Kenyan constitution, announced Tuesday that Kibaki was in office "illegally" and called for fresh elections within 90 days. It could be weeks or months before a viable political solution is hammered out, however, and as that process wears on, the subterranean forces in the ghettos and slums of Nairobi have begun to reassert their strength. This time, though, the gangsterism of the spring is quickly morphing into an ethnic war -- a radicalisation of the tribal politics that has garnered so many headlines and cast the unity of the country into doubt. The poison is manifesting itself through what could be called the gangs of Nairobi, the swarming multitudes of young men who have begun patrolling the slums with machetes, axes -- anything they can find to protect themselves from one another and from the swelling tide of resentment that the election and its handling have cast over the city. In its crudest form the gangsterism has taken on tribal overtones. On one side are the Mungiki, the self-proclaimed protectors of the Kikuyu, but also of the disenfranchised, the poor and the outcast. On another are crowds of enraged Luo tribesmen, whose anger over the disputed election results that kept their candidate, Odinga, from taking office, have contributed to the looting, burning and killing across the country. The result, at least in the hives of Nairobi's ghettos, places like Kibera and Mathare, is a tense standoff between groups of armed men and a pervading sense of unease about the ability or willingness of either side to back off. In one such slum, known as Area 3 -- a sprawl of tin-roofed shacks, supermarkets and community centers that have been burned to the ground over the last two weeks -- a lumbering Luo man wearing a New York baseball cap and carrying a 10-inch machete tucked into his jeans, escorted a Newsweek reporter into a Luo safehouse. "Don't worry," he said, "it's safe here." The man, who called himself Titus, was a security escort for this group of Luo vigilantes, who have taken to calling themselves "Taliban," partially in emulation of the draconian tactics of the Afghan tribesmen who enforced law and order through the barrels of their AK-47s. Looking out onto the street, these Luo Taliban searched the area for the men they now perceive as their sworn enemies: the Kikuyu Mungiki gangs who have taken up positions at intersections and alleyways. Taliban members see themselves as providing security and justice. They first became active the day after the elections. Their men, typically tall and built like heavyweight boxers, light fires and sleep with groups of unaffiliated volunteers outside apartment buildings and shanty towns at night, trying to allay the fears of restless women and children. Last Saturday night Taliban members tried unsuccessfully to dynamite a small bridge that links a Kikuyu area to a smaller Luo area where a now vacant tenement building had been attacked."Those are them," whispered one Taliban member named Moses, pointing at a group of armed men down the street manning a fruit stand. He believed they were Mungiki. Earlier that morning two non-Taliban Luo had been killed walking across an adjacent neighborhood called Stage 2930. Moses believed the killers were Mungiki disguised as policemen. Without the protection of the Taliban, Moses said, the Luo are in danger. Moses claimed to have seen four people butchered and said he had had to use his own panga machete in self-defense on three of the last four nights. As the incursions and counterattacks have increased in this desperately poor section of Nairobi, many have been left without food or water. Food prices have skyrocketed. Three small potatoes stacked on a vendor's mat used to cost less than a nickel; today they are an unaffordable 50 shillings, about 55 cents. Moses said he thought the violence elsewhere in Kenya among similar groups of armed men was simply a long-suppressed desire for revenge. " If you are Luo, they chop you," he said ruefully. "So what do you think we do?"Fears about the Mungiki seem well founded. In an interview with Newsweek last summer, Hezekiah Ndura Waruinge, co-founder and former national coordinator of the sect -- it's name means multitude in Kikuyu -- said the sect had changed drastically from its original conception as freedom fighters modeled on the Mau Mau rebels who fought for independence from Kenya's British colonizers. "Mungiki no longer exists," warned Waruinge, adding that the new gangs are dangerous because "there is no more central control. There is no leadership to negotiate with, just a bunch of rogue groups taking money from the highest bidder." While much of the Mungiki's ritual and history is shrouded in secrecy, their attacks have tended to follow distinct patterns. Prior to attacking they make a bonfire and roll their pantlegs up to alert fellow members in the area. They believe that women should be circumcised -- and sometimes force the procedure on them. In other cases Mungiki behead and circumcise their victims, usually scattering body parts in different public locations. No outsiders know what all their initiation rituals are for certain, but some are said to involve drinking or bathing in blood.With postelection Kenya becoming increasingly volatile, many residents fear a brutal boost to Mungiki power. Many Luo slum residents, like 29-year-old Rachel -- who was afraid to give her surname -- are planning to flee Mathare. "We don't even talk in our own language because of Mungiki," Rachel says. "We can't sleep here, so we are staying with a relative in a Taliban area." Many others, seen filling up the backs of old pickup trucks and steering their belongings on wooden carts, are following suit, heading toward the displacement camps that are growing in number outside churches, police stations, and military bases. Hustling out toward a safer haven on Sunday afternoon, Louis Etiyang sported thick bandages on his head and machete gashes on his arms. On Dec. 30 he was walking alone through a Kikuyu area when someone shouted "Luo!" and a group attacked him. "If a KTN (Kenyan Television Network) truck had not passed, I'm dead."The conflict has pitted tribes, voting blocs and even best friends against one another. The majority Kikuyu and the Kamba tribes are together. Kenya's third- and fourth-largest tribes, the Kalenjin and the Luo, as well as a hodgepodge of many of the country's 40-odd tribes, have also forged an alliance. "Everything is different now. It's all tribes and partisans," said Rogers Wanyonyii, a 35-year-old teller at a currency exchange bureau who was hovering near a group of Luo men clutching makeshift weapons outside a barricaded restaurant in Taliban stronghold Area 4-A. "What I see isn't Kenya; it's like war." Given the tensions between the Taliban and the Mungiki, that war isn't likely to end anytime soon.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=19242

If Raila Were the President

EXCLUSIVE: Kirui the Whistleblower Exposes How They Stole the Presidency



A Christian newspaper in Tanzania, Mwamini Mungu, yesterday alleged that Kenya would be ruled by Sharia Law if Raila were the president. In fact, this was the lead story in the newspaper.

It continued to say that the arsonists who torched churches in some parts of the country were in fact venting their hatred and ire for failing to achieve their goal of turning Kenya into a Muslim state. The nitty gritty of how this would have been accomplished was set in a secret meeting that was held on 29th August, 2007 in Mombasa between Raila and a cross section of Muslim leaders.

The fact that only churches, and not Mosques, were targeted is reason enough to believe the crisis in Kenya is not only fuelled by political reasons but also by religious fanaticism.

One of the reasons that was tendered to prove this claim was the secret MOU which was signed between ODM‘s Raila Odinga and the chairman of the board of Islamic leaders in Kenya Sheikh Abdullah Abdi.

This MOU said in part that once Raila took the helm he would acknowledge Islam and accord it special treatment.

Another politician who is believed to be party to the secret MOU, which the paper claims to have a copy of, was Najib Balala (a Muslim and a leader who is very popular at the Coast especially in Mombasa).

Among the ‘demands’ tabled by the Muslims in the event that ODM won the presidency was a change to the laws of the land to set apart Coast and North Eastern Provinces for Muslims. Muslims would have complete control of the regions’ religious matters.

The Council of Muslims would be responsible to go through requests to start religions other than Islam in these regions. They would have the final say whether to accept or reject the requests. This would be for the purposes of rooting out any “imani potofu” and Satan worship.

Within six months of the ODM in power, a new constitution would be drawn. This new constitution would embrace Islamic laws (Sharia Law) to be at work in the regions set apart for Muslims.

The ODM government would sack the Police Commissioner with immediate effect. It would also ‘break’ the special Force that deals with terrorism (ATPU) which is believed to be ferrying some Kenyans( mostly Muslims) who are suspected to be terrorists to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Raila, it is said, agreed to the creation of Kadhi Courts in each and every District in the republic when he ascended to the highest office in the land. Madrasa classes (classes where Islam is taught to children) would also be incorporated in the school system. Each and every primary school would have Madrasa for the Muslim students. Religious open air meetings (such as crusades) would not be allowed in the Coast and North Eastern Provinces.

The MOU also stipulated that all areas where 40% of the people are Muslims, alcohol would not be allowed to be sold. Also preaching that is accompanied by signs and wonders of miraculous healing would be illegal in such areas.

EXCLUSIVE: Kirui the Whistleblower Exposes How They Stole the Presidency

By Kipkemoi Arap Kirui

STATEMENT
My name is Kipkemoi arap Kirui, 40 years on January 24th. I am a Clerk Assistant at the National Assembly working at the Table Office. I am a lawyer.

This is my statement of activities that took place at the Electoral Commission of Kenya’s National Election Centre at the Kenyatta International Conference, Nairobi in December 2007 during the nomination and voting exercise.

I am writing this statement on January 2, 2008 in hiding. I am not able to lay my hands on a number of documents which would provide further evidence of the irregularities that I witnessed during the vote tallying exercise.

Sometimes late in November 2007, after I proceeded on my annual leave, I received telephone and later written instructions from Principal Clerk, Mrs. Consolata Munga, on behalf of the Clerk of the National Assembly assigning me duties at the Electoral Commission of Kenya to assist in the General Elections Nomination Exercise and later at the National Tallying Centre after the voting was concluded.

The nomination exercise was orderly. At least at the ECK nominations processing centre. I was in charge of Coast and Nairobi. Though I was apprehensive about Lang’ata and Kamukunji constituencies, the exercise went on smoothly.

On December 19, 2007 I got another phone call from Mr. Mutungi a colleague from the National Assembly Hansard Department asking me to report at the KICC. He told me that I had been assigned the duties of a Team Leader of Team II (Night Duty). I was at my home in Western Kenya. I took a bus the next day for Nairobi. I arrived the same evening and reported at the KICC National Tallying Centre. Work had not started. So I proceeded to my residence to rest. I reported to work early on December 21st and found a slow briefing process going on. The officers in charge of staff were a Mr. Simon Njoroge Inegene (a nice gentleman I later learned was a Human Resource Officer with the ECK, and effectively in charge of staff at the venue temporarily hired by ECK for the election exercise), and others were Mr. Njogu, Mr. Laichena, Mr. Koech and Mr. Chepsat who I never got to interact with so much except in their course of issuing instructions. They took us through some briefing.

The staff at the National Tallying Centre were largely school leavers and students in colleges in town. They were handpicked by officials from ECK. The briefing process was haphazard and wanting in many ways. Recruitment of staff continued until the eve of the Election Day.

Duties: I was made the Deputy Team Leader of Team II (Night) under a Mr. Chris Musyoka. Things later changed and a Mr. Malonza was posted. He never stayed long and a Mr. Njuguna was posted as Team Leader. At one time on the night of 28th Mr. Njuguna admitted to the team that he did not understand what he was expected to do. He asked that I assist. I was already apprehensive because around this time, a number of my colleagues who were in other teams were smelling mischief. We went round whispering. It was tense. We were expected to make calls to Returning Officers (ROs) to start receiving preliminary results where vote counting had been concluded.

For the Presidential Elections, the ROs must deliver physical copies of the statutory declarations. The ROs are not empowered to vary results declared at the tallying level. Most of the ROs had been allocated satellite phones, mobile phones and adequate airtime for the exercise. They also had Fax machines. Each Team at the KICC also had five telephone/fax lines. The process was supposed to be smooth. We were supposed to have received the preliminary results by midnight.

I was in charge of Galole, Bura, Lamu West, Lamu East, Taveta, Wundanyi, Mwatate, Voi, Dujis, Lagdera, Fafi, Ijara, Wajir North, Wajir South, Wajir West, Wajir East, Mandera West, Mandera East, Moyale, North Horr, Saku and Laisamis constituencies as a Deputy Team Leader (Night).

On the night of the 28th we sat for long hours without any call from the Returning Officers. We attempted to call them one by one. There were 21 constituencies under my charge. There was no response until about five in the morning when some who sounded sleepy and uncooperative refused to give any information saying they had nothing to give. They would then hang up. Some rendered themselves completely unreachable. I left work at 7.00 am. Concerned.

I left the Hall to find strong General Service Unit (GSU) police officers within the building on every floor and outside the building arranged a metre a part round City Hall Way, Parliament Road, Harambee Avenue and Taifa Road. They had sophisticated weapons, namely, powerful machine guns, grenades and teargas canisters. [It was a scene of tension building up typical of what I saw in the famous movies ‘Hotel Rwanda and ‘100 Days’.

I must also indicate here that I had accompanied officials of the KNCHR and Kenyan Members of Parliament to Rwanda in 2004 on what I regarded as a ‘pilgrimage to conscience’. I still went back to Rwanda in 2006. I decided to commit myself to the course of human rights and justice]. I went to sleep. I did not have a wink. I watched the news coming in in consternation. The results were coming in too slowly.

I took some light lunch and proceeded to work at 5.00 pm. I never used my car. Matatus were hard to come by. So I left early. I alighted at the Times Tower bus stage and walked up the few metres to KICC Harambee Avenue gate. It was barricaded by the GSU. I was asked to go round to the City Hall Way gate. It took me around twenty minutes to get through the GSU stops and questioning (This would ordinarily take a minute). I got to the office at 7.15pm.

December 29th. It was tense. The day staff had left in a huff. Never handed over to me. They handed over to my new Team Leader. Constituencies received: Lamu East, Lamu West, Wundanyi and Dujis. The statutory documents Forms 16A, 17 and 17A did not accompany them. I refused to deal with them. For most of the night, we kept calling the ROs. The Ijara, Galole, Wundanyi and Dujis statutory documents were never received at all.

Why? The Day Team Leaders responsible did not sign for receiving them. They left it to us. Form 16As had not arrived. There was word going round that we do not accept results without Form 16A because my colleagues doubted the incoming data. Work stopped until around midnight when one sleepy looking guy was ushered in. He was from Moyale. He started with a quick doze. He did not have his Forms 16A, 17 and 17A. I asked him to rest while I consulted. I talked to a Mr. Chepsat who advised that I do not receive the results. I did not. Hours later Chairman Kivuitu would be going public with Moyale results.

After Moyale, we received Saku and Laisamis. No Forms 16A, 17 and 17A again. I refused to receive them. My Team Leader went ahead to receive them nonetheless. ECK Chairman went ahead to announce them. The figures were in a number of instances overstated. I was perturbed. There is no reason why the ROs did not get back to us with the statutory documents three days after the vote tallying at the constituency.

My colleagues informed me of reduction and suppression of results in some constituencies. This is when I raised the alarm. I hit the roof. I pulled my Team Leader Mr. Njuguna aside and I started by saying “My brother, this is an important national exercise. I am concerned that we are not following the law and we are letting down Kenyans …” He told me that he was recommending to his bosses that I be removed because I was proving difficult. He actually went ahead to report me to a Mr. Koech who dismissed him and asked him to cooperate and work with me. He went back to the work station. I came back to find him addressing the team members. I informed them that I regarded the work we were doing as an important national exercise and it demanded patriotism and a non partisan approach to issues. I told him that I demanded his respect and cooperation. He said I should leave if I so wished. I left in a huff…

I feared for my life. I never took the matter up with ECK Commissioners.

ODM Works Hard To Prevent Kaparo's 4th Term As SNO

After being 'awarded' presidential votes by Samuel Kivuitu, President Kibaki through his PNU party and affiliates are due to make another 'award' to Mr. Francis Ole Kaparo, as Kenya's 'permanent' Speaker of the National Assembly (SNO).

Information reaching this blogger indicates that the the vote count for the race for the speakers seat 'is already out in the open', in the same style and manner as when Kibaki was sworn-in at the presidential polls whereby Kivuitu irregularly declared him president prematurely in a secluded room somewhere in KBC studios. Indeed, the leaked SNO result shows a very close contest - much closer than the presidential polls, with less than 5 individuals separating the contestants.

Although the young Emuhaya MP Kenneth Marende would have been a perfect replacement for the older Francis Kaparo, the power of the incumbency is just too strong for Marende's backers. Perhaps Njoki Ndun'gu would have been an agreeable compromise candidate for both PNU and ODM even if only for the history of parliament as the first woman MP to be elected into the speakers seat. Despite pressure from PNU to drop her bid in favour of Kaparo, Njoki says she is in the race till the end.

In the course of this past week, well known PNU foot soldiers have been busy buying the votes from MPs elect who are only too willing to sell to the highest bidders after a strenuous and expensive campaign period. Some of the foot soldiers have been busy trying to infiltrate the ODM camp with promises of cash and cabinet appointments. With a total of 207 (206 minus the president himself) MPs already elected into the 10th parliament, it will be a very close race, because ODM has 99 MPs plus 3 others from NARC. Assuming all the rest will vote with PNU it is not hard to take a wild guess. Some ODM MPs are rumoured to have already crossed over either by coercion or compromise. It is unclear which ODM MPs have already 'defected' even before being sworn-in and it is also unclear which MPs Njoki has convinced to vote for her.

Unless ODM/NARC changes the tide and infiltrates the PNU camp tonight, it is almost a foregone conclusion that Kaparo will start his record 4th term tomorrow by swearing-in MPs and continuing to play to the whims of the executive for the foreseeable future.

Visa Ban For Kenyan Politicians?

There is talk that the International community plans to slap a Visa ban on all Kenyan politicians (MPs and the speaker) as a way of putting more pressure on the political elite to find a quick solution to the Kenyan crisis.

My informant thinks it is a brilliant idea and so do I. My informant suggests that they go a step further and also withdraw visas for the children of these politicians most of whom go to school abroad. That way they will truly feel the pinch like other ordinary Kenyans. Personally, I wouldn’t agree more.

This is a better idea than sanctions which will mostly hurt the ordinary Kenyans who are already going through so much suffering because of the mistakes of the political elite.

Kumekucha remains hopeful and positive but at the same time a little skeptical because it is clear that the Americans despite the nice things they keep on saying in public, fully back the Kibaki administration and may not support such sanctions. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out why. Sly Kibaki made a deal with them about terrorist suspects which Raila Odinga promised the Muslim community during his campaigns, that he would reverse once in power. Many Kenyan terror suspects are still held outside the country and family members do not know where they are, let alone what their fate will be.

The Americans have also been very keen to locate their main anti-terrorism headquarters in the region in Kenya. It is obvious that they are not interested in the Kenyan people’s views on this matter (which is critical) because it is bound to have long term repercussions on the country.

The latest is that America has issued a very strongly-worded statement warning the Kibaki government that it will NOT be business as usual if the government does not move quickly to end the current crisis. Brave words indeed, but just words all the same. Let us wait and see if there is some concrete actions that follows this statement. Kenyan politicians are not the only ones in the world who are good at talking and doing nothing you know... there are other countries that can be a close second.


P.S. I am strongly considering going back to moderating comments on this blog because a section of those leaving comments here have abused the priviledge of being allowed to have their say without a moderator like before.

I have received a number of petitions in favor of this action. Like the one I reproduce here;

Dear Chris,

I just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you for your blog. I appreciate all the work that you do, for us to be able to know what is really happening in Kenya and behind the scenes.

I am just upset that some people still continue to threaten and speak badly in the comments section, and I know you have asked for all to be 'grown up' about the comments but it still happens, I tell you, In this time, when I don't know if my parents back home and my fellow Kenyans will come out ok, I hate to read all the stupid, ignorant, hateful, threatening comments. Chris would it be censoring if you moderate the comments so these people don't have a place to spew their poison. The angry people who can't control themselves in this time should be ignored they are not contributing anything and their negative energy is not helping.

God bless you Chris and your family.

Sincerely

Dealing A Death Blow To Tribalism: - Introduction

What is in a question? “What’s your name? Which part of Kenya are you from? Where were your parents born? Where do you live?” all seemingly harmless questions asked without forethought of malice or pre-conceived intention of harm right?Right....that is, up until now in 2008
The mask has been lowered to reveal the ugly side of the same questions but is this the true face of Kenya or is there more to those questions than meets the eye?
Over the next few weeks I will take a 3 part exploratory journey into tribalism -the silent elephant sharing the room with families right across both the have and havenots homes of Kenya- from a very limited 21^st century point of view. Those of you expecting history lessons this is not a school I am no teacher someni vijana. Those with opinions to express you are welcome whether they be divergent or in agreement with my own. Those of you with nothing constructive to add to the posts thank you for making Kumekucha traffic extremely high the past fortnight but the world wide web is unlimited don’t bother stopping to read my posts I recommend either Chris or Vikii or Taabu or Derek or Phil or Sue or Sayra or Danileve or Ritch or PKW or Kalamari's posts- any of these other excellent numerous bloggers in Kumekucha will suit you just fine
Like MLK I too have a dream-Tribalism must die a natural death in my generation
Kenya, God is on our side. Brace yourselves here we go...Kumekucha

Counting Our Blessings

Though I don’t normally make New Year resolutions I usually take the start of each year to see what the previous year has been like. What I have achieved, what I under achieved, what I should have done and what I should never have done, the good and the bad that I did and the lessons learnt.

The year 2007 goes into record as been among one of the best years I have had in my 25yrs life. And the best part of it is the fast life that I have had and the many lessons I have learnt along the way. That is not to say that all was well, there had been a few problems here and there … but I honestly thank God for them coz it’s from those problems that I have had some of the great lessons. There also many mistakes that I made, many out of arrogance, but hey … they helped me grow up and others sobered me up.

I therefore take this opportunity to share with you some of my 2007 highlights.
Social life: Well that has been among the best. I meet many new people who are now really good and treasured friends. Some are kumekuchans; MB -thank you very much for everything, you know what am talking about, Chris –you’re the boom … thanx big time for this forum, PKW –some have misunderstood you … you are a great woman big sister, Luke –I told you I like your posts and comments are great, funny and straight to the point(I had started to wonder where you had gone and you had told me you will not leave), Vikii –we understand each other very well … would love to chat with you (but we both know you deserved that attack, au sio?), Sue –I know there is a lot I can learn from you. There also other kumekuchans I have come to respect each in their own unique way like Taabu, Ritch, Kalamari, Derek and Phil, hope 2008 will be a better year for all of us.

Career wise: It’s been slightly more that 2yrs of working. I have no reason to complain but there will be radical changes this year.

Family: There have been issues, a difficult year I can say but it turned out to be one of the best years. Thank God for that … prayers really do work and miracles really do happen.

Love life: A disaster lets not even go there.

Interests: I have acquired a few new hobbies and interests … it’s an exciting life …

Politics: Will talk about that in a later post.

One of the valuable lessons I have had is to be a person who appreciates and accommodates other people in their own different ways. People are different (and that is what generally makes life interesting) and they want different things in life … therefore we can never agree in many things. We have to consciously agree that along the way we are going to disagree. We also have to appreciate the ‘little’ things of life that we take for granted like family, friends, having peace, having food on the table, having good health, etc . Then we need to learn count our blessing and thank God for them, despite all the madness around us.

Now to you … have you counted your blessings? What can you thank God for today? What are you most grateful for in 2007? And now that we are in 2008, are you going to be a better person than last year? I personally have decided to be a better person, not just for me, my family and my friends ... but also to my neighbours and my beloved country and the people in this country.

Wanted: -A Jack of All Trades

To say that Chris was right even though he was scorned when he said last months December generals would be the mother of all elections would be to make the understatement of the year, though its hardly begun. sadly in this case there are no prizes to be given out for the winner who says so
Its a mistake to think that we will solve our major political and social problem with just potatoes. Whether deliberate or not,it took alot of time, energy and thought to create the problem that got us into this mess we find ourselves in today. Reverse and apply the same and the logic will hold true.
Its arguable as to whether the brand of politics-made-in-Kenya our politicians practise has ever in its 44 year history solved any of the countrys urgent and pressing problems without creating 10 unique more. Undeniable is the fact that a solution to the current impasse calls for not saying there is no problem. Wanted are jack-of-all-trades who can strike a balance between wasting no time in revealing the truth about what happened on 27th December and pursuing a future where our past sense of shared community, of working together, and of helping each other out will not be lost again under threat of nostalgic architects of past decay, charismatic bullies or handsome cowards

Kenya Will Never Be The Same Again, Never

First things first. You don't have to be a doomsayer to see the deep hole Kenya has plunged herself into thanks to our politics. The hitherto island of peace in a sea of chaos has been shattered into smithereens. The fragile peace that defined the geographical accident called Kenya has been exposed for what it truly was.

The last general elections has left in its wake a disturbing face of Kenya and Kenyans. Even Kumekucha has been subjected to unprecedented volumes of traffic courtesy of raised political heat. The only minus to all this marvelous development is the heat generated to replace the shunned light.

Trust Kenyans to shamelessly see and smell evil even among saints. The SOUR taste that the flawed elections left is conveniently swept under the carpet with hollow justification of 'LET US MOVE ON'. What an obtuse escapism? Well, the latent message of glossing over outright theft deserves no gainsaying.

Ultimate national price
One thing is for sure: KENYA WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN, NEVER. The reverse bigotry dressed in the gab of raw rage and empty justification for status quo are smart sideshows that will only help in postponing the Armageddon.

This is not to be sensational nor insensitive. A time comes when mouthing the mantra ENOUGH IS ENOUGH only comes out in jest as we inadvertently leave mother nature to take her nasty cause with all the attendant grim consequences.

Please apologists, spare me lectures of pursuing the wider good. No trace of good is ever derived from a dishonest premise. We have seen it before here at Kumekucha. We were warned (and hence armed) that Major (Rtd) Waweru was an ex-logistic officer on a mission that came to pass.

Kumekucha blog has recorded historic hits in the last two weeks. You don't need to be a NASA scientist to discern the laced vitriol. The daggers are all drawn and their blades weilded menacingly ready to kiss our throats. The hollow justification is to rubbish all the gains and positives from 'unwanted/desirable' quarters.

Slavery and tribal chiefs
Kenyans are a unique political breed. Apologists hide under pseudo facts that are nothing but rebranded stereotypes. Genocide and Rwanda have never been abused. Enjoy the warmth of the liquid you are swimming in provided it is not made up of the contents expelled from your guts.

The unpleasant truth remains the fact that we Kenyans have been transformed into collective pawns in the political game among our respective tribal elites. Another ugly truth is that these same tribal chiefs are held hostages to vested interest of close advisers and hundreds of influential individuals fighting over the spoils of State. We the hollo polloi have no stake in this high-octane charade.

No viable solution lies in any of the cheap condemnation of one another that is often driven by enlightened self-interest. My heart bleeds for Kenya. No amount of brinkmanship and grandstanding can save us from the present political embers. Our predicament is founded on deception and contempt built of collective prejudice albeit clothed as wider good.

The Press Stands Accused

Never has there been a time in Kenya’s history when the press has been needed so badly in the service of our beloved bleeding nation.

Yet when you read our daily newspapers carefully you will quickly notice that something is very wrong somewhere.

A few days ago ECK chair Samuel Kivuitu called a press conference to announce that somebody had forged his signature and issued a paid advert of the presidential elections, which Kivuitu knew nothing about. By the way everybody seems to have missed the point that if what the ECK chairman is saying is true, a criminal offence has been committed. Still the suspects in this case will never ever be arrested or charged in court. That's Kenya's highly selective justice for you.

But I digress. My point is that the Kivuitu story was not published by the Daily Nation. My question is why? Even if Kivuitu is now a mental case, this was still front page news. So why was it not published? Later I was informed that the story was published on page 9. In my edition of Daily Nation, purchased outside Nairobi, there is no such story on page 9. But if I may ask another question, if indeed the story was published in some editions, why page 9? Why not the front or back page or the very least page 2 or 3? Wasn't it important?

And there are plenty of other examples where our press has remained mum even as the country staggers on the edge of an abyss that drops straight into the horrors of hell itself. Of course the excuse everybody is using these days is that they do not want to incite. Phrases like responsible journalism are used a lot, even in this blog by our critics who incidentally insist on keeping on reading this blog full of alleged propaganda instead of moving on and shutting up. Common sense dictates that if a blog is spewing lies and propaganda all the time, then it will die a natural death as readers shun it. However our traffic figures have been climbing steeply because not only do we seem able to predict things accurately but we say it as it is.

Judging from the steep rise in our readership since the press in Kenya went quiet and became an extension of government in-house publications, another blogger would have used this post to thank the press and tell them, na mkae hivyo hivyo.

In many ways let me be the first to admit that this post is rather naive in many ways. Firstly it ignores the high stakes game being played behind the scenes. We know that Americans are doing one thing in public and quite another in private. In fact they are amongst the international powers fully backing Kibaki and giving him that so-much-confidence look. Or as my friends in the estate would put it; that mta-do? look.

It also ignores the fact that the Kibaki administration went out of its’ way to ensure full control of the press right from day one. Apart from the record number of bills touching on the media that were presented in the 9th parliament, it is believed that State House influenced the appointment of a very senior executive in the Nation group who in fact comes from the President’s home district. Little wonder that despite having some of the best staff in the region and beyond, the Daily Nation in the last few weeks has sadly degenerated to a shadow of its’ old self. It is now difficult to tell how much of it is due to “state control” and how much of it is voluntary self censorship.

My message to the dear members of the fourth estate is this; how will history judge you? What will they say the press were doing in Kenya when the nation was facing its’ most serious crisis ever?

Why We Are All Missing The Point About The Media

Guest post by Dr. M. Yusuf

I have taught Journalism for the last six 1/2 years. Many of you have condemned these bloggers in Kumekucha for being irresponsible; I don't agree. We must stop burying our heads in some virtual sands and pretend that nothing bad has been happening in Kenya since 30/12/2007. When politicians go round preaching "PEACE" they don't seem to believe in while disregarding the atrocities already committed against a section of the population, it's both wrong to the dead and the relatives of the dead.

Let's visit the victims in Eldoret who took issues with Kibaki when he tried to tell them that local Chiefs would look into their problems... that's how victims feel... "their sufferings is NO BIG DEAL and should just be brushed off as politicians have bigger issues to deal with..."

The denialists on this blog are no different from the politicians living in fortified homes and posh hotels who pretend that those who have died (killed or committed suicide) didn't, don't and will never matter...

If we were to rewind a bit, when the war in Iraq started in 2003, most American media shied away from providing the true casualty figures. This led to most Americans and the rest of the world failing to truly understanding the real effects of the Iraqi war. It was until 2005 that NBC decided to air the names of US service men and women who were dying, killed or otherwise in Iraq, that the support for war died off. It is thus irresponsible of the local media to join the denialists' bandwagon. Such blogs are just providing the aspect of information to the public that has been ignored by the self-serving media. Responsible journalism also means providing the truth... burying the status in the country at some dark corners of our newsrooms is and will never be the answer.

Reconciliation also means people knowing and understanding what exactly happened. DON'T HIDE THE INFO

THOSE CALLING ON THIS BLOGGER TO REMOVE THE PICTURES ARE CULPABLE AND THIS EXPLAINS WHY THEY REMAIN ANONYMOUS...

DR. M YUSUF
SENIOR MEDIA CONSULTANT
MANE CONSULTANT
www.maneconsul.com
Email: M.Yusuf@maneconsul.com

Looters Hurriedly Return Stolen Goods In Mombasa Fearing Witchcraft

After posting some pretty grim articles and pictures here over the last few hours, it is only fair that we now try something on a lighter note.

Believe it or not, some Kenyans who had their property looted at Mombasa have had it returned. It is said that looters on hearing that the property owners were going to consult witchdoctors to get their things back, hurriedly fell over themselves in a desperate attempt to return looted property.

According to sources, even Kikuyu entrepreneurs who generally have no interest in visiting witchdoctors took advantage of the fear in the people and started dropping names of a few famous ones at the Coast. The result has always been instantaneous. One owner of a wood furniture workshop in Mwandoni was shocked to see a huge queue of looters returning raw timber and furniture items one morning recently.

But according to some reports not all looters were so lucky. For instance some rowdy youths who raided a bar in the Likoni area landed in hospital soon after. The problem? For some unexplained reasons, they could not pass urine or stool. If this continues for a certain length of time it can be life-threatening.

All the victims believed that they had been caught in some “witchcraft trap” set by the owner of the business where they stole. If you have lived in Mombasa for any length of time you will always hear people saying that businesses are “protected” by some invisible forces.

In another episode some looters who had raided an Arab’s shop selling cloth materials died after suddenly falling sick soon after the incident. Their colleagues who were hospitalized only recovered after their relatives returned the looted property and the owner accepted to forgive them. One regular Kumekucha informer assured this blogger that people who were sick to the point of death recovered instantaneously when so called quick thinking relatives rushed to the owner of the looted property.

Despite the fact that there are many superstitious Kenyans who live in the Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western, Mombasa is the only area in the country where a lot of looted property has been voluntarily returned to their rightful owners by looters.

A Sober Proposal of The Way Forward

By Guest writer

I’m glad to see from your blog how involved Kenyans have become in their country’s affairs…we have come a long way.

But let us not get lost in the detail for too long; who rigged, how, when and where. Let us rise above discussing people and events that have taken place, and begin to discuss issues and propose ideas on how we can move this country forward

And on that note, here are my proposals:

There can and there must be BOTH justice (fairness, integrity) and peace (harmony, reconciliation, freedom from strife) in our country… not one or the other. Certainly, we should not let this matter go without justice being done, for obvious reasons. But at the same time we cannot allow that process to be enforced through violence.

The older generation is largely tribalistic…and unfortunately they’re the majority in leadership positions in government and business in this country. I look forward to the day when we can elect fresh leaders who’ve never participated in previous governments; people who’ve intermarried with other tribes (like I’m planning to do J ), and who therefore will not share the same animosity that our parents’ generation seems to be harbouring. Intermarriage is one way we can rid this country of that disease forever.

The other thing that will move this country forward is civic education. We’ve got to teach our people to discuss issues and value ideas as opposed to personalities. We can set very specific standards by which our leaders can be judged, and then aggressively educate our people in the grass roots on those standards and insight them to demand that the standards be met! Do people even know what MPs are supposed to do in parliament? Information is power!

We ought to run this country like a business; there must be working systems in place that enable government institutions to run efficiently no matter who’s in power…if one does not perform, they just get fired! No one should be able to hold this country at ransom…whether they’re in opposition or the government.

Long live Kenya !

Kenya Post Election Deaths: A Photo Essay

Preamble:
Following publication of an article in this blog titled “Charles Taylor Now, Mwai Kibaki Next?” a number of readers have challenged the author to publish all photographs of victims of police brutality. Note that the bodies are intact but with head/body injuries inflicted by gunfire or other means as opposed to crude weapons. Another reader has aptly suggested “……that this forum provides substantiated facts and insist on use of civil language when exchanging opinions. Otherwise you will find people quoting from it and spreading untruths which will not help us heal the land.”

Other readers may find these photos disturbing but the author’s considered opinion is that the truth shall set us free and put this country on the path to justice.

Related Links:

• KNCHR Releases Report on Disappearance and Extra Judicial Executions in Kenya

• Kenya Red Cross Society: Electoral Violence in Kenya-Information Bulletins

• Death Toll in Kenya Reaches 486 Following Disputed Election

• Kenyan Police Fire on Protesters

Election Riggers Get It Wrong... Again!

Two things have shocked me today.

1) The realization that the people who were involved in the rigging (cooking) of figures during the just concluded general elections are still at it.

2) The realization that some of the people involved read this blog religiously.

On Monday Jan 7th 2007, I posted the following remark in one of my posts;

Monday, January 07, 2008

Nime-RIG, Muta do?

Excerpts of Richard's email to Kumekucha;

"Are you aware ECK is yet to release the final tally to Kenyans? The 1 million votes that gave Kibaki the final figure are yet to be broken down. The Meru and Central Kenya 90% turnout was never carried by the press..."

Kumekucha's comment: They're probably still cooking.

Yesterday a notice (paid advertisement) appeared in the newspapers finally releasing those results. They were signed by disgraced ECK Chair Samuel Kivuitu.

But wait a minute...

Today Kivuitu has denied that he had anything to do with the notice or the figures.

The piece that appeared in today's Standard says in part;

"I wish to say I did not submit this report or authorise my name to be used for its publication. The use of my name is a falsification," said Kivuitu.

"It seems like some outside force has pushed for its publication otherwise whoever published it would have sought my consent for the use of my name," he said of the paid-up advertisement booked by the commission’s secretary, Mr Joel Tsola.

Wow!!! Gosh!!! What the??!!!

Well, folks, the plot thickens.

Despite strong but secret support from the Americans, the credibility of this Kibaki administraion is being bombarded every day. Just how much more punishment can it take?

I must say that I am very surprised at the clumsiness of the election riggers. Even now when there is no pressure from anybody, couldn't they get something as simple as publishing figures which the ECK chairman does not agree with, right? This clumsiness is what has brought blood shed in the country. My take is that if they wanted to rig they would have done it intelligently and neatly so that nobody has any proof. I thought retired president Moi was on their side, why didn't he give them a few tips? Had they gotten that detail right, hundreds of Kenyans, including children who are now dead would have been still alive.

Read the full Standard article here.



Some of the images that can't leave my mind. Dead toddlers from the election violence at the City Morgue in Nairobi.

Was This About A Rigged Election? Was It About Fight For Justice?

Monday, January 24, 2000 Orengo's Crying Wolf, Fangs at his ThroatBy JOHN GITHONGO Kenyan politicians are given to claiming from time to time that their "political enemies" have hatched plots to kill them and/or have "poured money to finish them politically." The idea is to enhance their "profile," to show that they are a serious political threat to the powers that be. Kenyans no longer take such claims seriously. The problem with this is that it is easy to overlook genuine claims by politicians whose lives are indeed in danger. I for one now believe that James Orengo, the Ford-Kenya MP for Ugenya and Shem Ochuodho, the National Development Party of Kenya (NDP) MP for Rangwe, are in mortal danger. Both leaders hail from the Luo community and have been locked in an acrimonious political tug-of-war with the undisputed political giant from that part of Kenya – Raila Odinga, who heads the NDP. On the face of it, the disagreement is essentially over Mr Odinga's "strategy" of "co-operation" with the ruling party Kanu. Orengo and Ochuodho, with their contrarian views, have served to diminish Raila's stature as the political supremo of Luoland, thus also denting his credibility as someone who can bring a large and totally solid bloc of support to the table when negotiating with President Moi politically. The political contest between Raila and the two MPs, Orengo in particular, has been probably the most intense internal opposition slugfest since the reintroduction of political pluralism in Kenya. It has also been the most violent. Several times in the past couple of years, Messrs Orengo and Ochuodho have found themselves confronted by stone-wielding gangs of Raila supporters baying for their blood. Many of these incidents have happened upcountry but have been unique for the violent intent of these gangs. A keen survival instinct would appear to have saved Orengo from nasty injury or worse on a number of occasions. In the second week of January, Jim Orengo and Shem Ochuodho were attacked outside parliament by a gang of youths carrying knives, whips and stones. They had just left a meeting of the Stakeholders Support Group (SSG) – an informal grouping of MPs and civil-society activists who are questioning the impending resumption of aid to Kenya by the IMF. Orengo's driver saved the day when he did a quick U-turn and fled the stone-throwing gang. Meanwhile, Shem Ochuodho's car had been rammed by the Mitsubishi Pajero of an NDP politician. The People Daily described the youths as NDP supporters, saying they were heard shouting the party's slogans. The fracas coincided with an attempted demonstration by university students opposed to the parliamentary select committee on constitutional reform, who were also attacked by the thugs. Passers-by were caught up in the melee, notably Leonard Ng'an'ga, an insurance salesman whose brutal beating was captured on television. Wananchi and MPs who spoke to the press after witnessing the attack on Orengo and Ochuodho were shocked by its viciousness and concurred that the aim appeared to be the murder of the two MPs. The problem for Orengo and Ochuodho is that the authorities don't appear unduly perturbed that someone is trying to bump them off. When a group of politicians rushed to the CID headquarters to report the crime, the officer on duty told the Kabete MP, Paul Muite, "If you know that not much will be done, why are you here?" Something was done last week. Orengo was charged with "incitement" and appeared in court, while five of his attackers "recorded statements" with the police and were released. It would be sad if after what we know and after all that has happened, a few months down the road we find ourselves writing obituaries or "get well soon" cards for people whose fears were so justifiable and so apparent to all Kenyans.

Breaking News: Kuffuor Led Crisis Talks 'Breaks Down'

According to information posted on the BBC website a few moments ago, the crisis talks led by Ghanaian President John Kuffuor have broken down.

For this to have happened even before Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga met face to face is bad enough and spells doom for the future of this country. This is also extremely terrible new for all Kenyans who cherish peace and justice and whose hopes were all on the success of Kuffuor as AU Chairman.

Both President Kuffuor and US Assistant Secretary of State, Ms Jendayi Frazer, were yesterday forced to extend their visits by a day after initially having failed to reach an agreement with the two Kenyan political parties. Both of them had been locked in lengthy meetings attended by a hoard of diplomats plus about four former African Heads of State and these meetings were still on going at the time of posting this.

Since yesterday, Kuffuor and his team had been shuttling between the Pentagon House (Upper Hill) and State House Nairobi talking closed door meetings with the ODM and PNU teams. Yesterday's sessions went into late night and begun again early morning today.

Press reports from Kampala had initially indicated that Government side (PNU) and the ODM had "agreed on a power sharing deal and the possibility of creating the post of prime minister. They had, however, differed on whether the holder should be given executive or ceremonial roles."

Interestingly, yesterday the US Department of State sent a protest note to the Government for the naming of half of the cabinet before talks with the Orange side could commence. All those appointed to cabinet were sworn-in at state house this morning. At the same time, the former African Heads of State, led by Joachim Chissano of Mozambique, have termed recent events "an injustice on the people of Kenya". It is not clear what is the status of the initiatives of another peacemaker - Archibishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa who has also met both parties.

PS: It looks like President Kuffuor is leaving the country (the government has announced) but Kuffuor has also indicated that a group of eminent persons (sounds familiar) lead by former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan (also a Ghanaian) will be taking up from where he left. Kuffuor says both parties are willing to talk.