The Possible Rebirth of Kenya

A call for a transitional government

Honesty in the face of despair is the rarest commodity in Kenya today. The reality is that our jealously guarded cultural and tribal biases have manifested into the most painful event in the history of our nation. Through excruciating personal experiences of loss, pictures of bludgeoned and bleeding children and the circulation of death infested video clips; we have become accustomed to visions of dead or dying Kenyans. The sound of rapid gunfire, the wailing of mothers and the screaming of toddlers no longer disturb our heavy sleep.

This is the Kenya of today….but for how long? Let us not seek solace in the Kenya of yesterday; for it was dogged by tribalism, corruption, ineptitude and suppressed feelings of hate, resentment and impending atrocities. As we live amidst this explosion of tribal hate, we realize that many of our neighbors, classmates, colleagues and friends were in deed living on borrowed time. The demon is us has been awoken.

It is the fire that burns Kenya today that must also provide the light that guides our future. Let no burnt churches or bullet riddled bodies reduce us to hopelessness.

It is clear that the current administration, one of questionable character, unclear mandate and doubtful legitimacy, cannot successfully pursue an inclusive agenda of justice, national healing and reconciliation. It is these overwhelming evidences of deficiencies that call for a transitional government. If Kibaki accepts, we could use the opportunity provided within the transitional period to heal and unite as Kenyans. This would be an opportunity to reconstitute the ECK providing it the capabilities to efficiently and fairly conduct a presidential election….thereby providing Kenyans a properly elected president.

If Kibaki refuses, then he must use his forces to suppress all manner of uprisings with an aim of ‘moving on’. Kenyans are now tired. Let him jail us all if that would mean that our children return to school and our wives find peace. Let him maintain a heavy police presence in every street corner, after all it will also deter carjackers and common pickpockets. Let him espouse his Moism traits and bring order by intimidation and detention; civil order if through fear is better than violence and destruction. Let us in fact tremble at the sight of the presidential motorcade. Kenyans, the ‘half’ that apparently didn’t vote for Kibaki must be hammered into submission. Wameze wembe na kazi iendele.

-Question: If the current real or imagined tribal hate has resulted in the bloody fracas of today, what will happen five years from now when, in addition to the current resentments, that of a stolen presidency is added?

Chasing the Rat as the House Kenya Burns

Summoning of the UK's envoy by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to demand a forced recognition of Kibaki's government is an apt case of reversed priorities. Wetangula may be doing his job by soothing the ego of whoever pays and butters his bread. But on the same breathe the good 'lawyer' must not be NAIVE to demand recognition of an ILLEGITIMATE government.

The British government was told of a Mr Kibaki whom they urged to dialogue with his competitor a Mr. Odinga and there lies the bare facts. Playing games with such weighty diplomatic matters is definitely a lose-lose situation. This is one war Wetangula is destined to lose even before he starts. In retrospection he is unwittingly providing a face for egg plastering.

One would be occasionally tempted sell ice cream to an Eskimo. Instead of addressing sideshows, how I wish the MP for Sirisia would put his brilliant legal acumen to good use by advising his boss Emilio to face the truth and save Kenya from the furnace he started on December 30, 2007. But agian you don't expect a goat to appreciate the melody from a guitar no matter expertise of the maestro strumming the strings.

As Kibaki and his cronies shamelessly and insensitively chase after rats escaping the burning house, more Kenyans continue to be butchered across the country courtesy of his belligerence. Speak of insensitivity at its zenith.

Make no mistake, human blood is never shed in vain and one day (no matter how long) it will be time to met justice and it will surely be served cold and unadulterated.

The Unanimous Declaration of the SIX United Provinces of Kenya

The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

IN THE KENYA PARLIAMENT, MARCH 1ST, 2008.

The unanimous Declaration of the SIX united Provinces of Kenya

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
-That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
-Such has been the patient sufferance of these Provinces; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present President of Kenya is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these Provinces. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

1. He has refused his Assent Bomas Constitution, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
2. He has forbidden his Members of Parliament to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
3. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
4. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
5. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
6. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the Province remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
7. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these Provinces; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Empowerment of people; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
8. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers, and by installing a Chief Justice who is his Kinsman.
9. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
10. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
11. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
12. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
13. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
    

• For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

• For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these Provinces:

• For our votes through an impossed electral commission:

• For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

• For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

• For transporting our muslim brothers beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

• For abolishing the free System of Assembly in the world, establishing therein an Arbitrary police government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Provinces:

• For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

• For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

14. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
15. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
16. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
17. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
18. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Kikuyu Savages (Mungiki), whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Mount Kenya brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their leaders to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our existence here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the Orange Republic Of Kenya, in General Parliament, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Provinces, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Provinces are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent Country; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the Mount Kenya Mafia, and that all political connection between them and the Province of Eastern and Central (Banana Republic of Kenya), is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent Provinces, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent Countries may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Western
Rift Valley
Nyanza
Nairobi
Coast
North Eastern

www.ODM.gov
21.Nov.2008

Kenya Polls Crisis: What PNU And ODM Are Secretly Planning

Kenyans Should Prepare Themselves For A Nightmare Where Their Worst Fears Become Reality



---------------------------
Quote of the day

It is important for the President to come out and meet Raila. Kenya is bleeding and people are suffering.

Why is Kibaki not ready to meet Raila? After all Raila campaigned for him in 2002 and I believe they can still sit down and talk. What is too difficult for the two to talk about?

In 2003, I warned the leaders, that their misunderstandings would lead to something bigger, but they did not listen. I was a lone ranger and now this is the result.

I am now urging the international community to put pressure on President Kibaki and his Government, without which innocent Kenyans will continue to suffer.

Wangari Maathai
---------------------------

Since Mwai Kibaki and a few handlers fiddled with presidential election votes and stole the election plunging the country into chaos, many Kenyans have come out calling for peace.

Even the media has been convinced to censor itself in many instances (to avoid incitement) for the sake of peace. So far nothing has worked and peace in Kenya has continued to be elusive.

Few have really bothered to ask themselves why Kenya has stubbornly refused to return to the peace and tranquility we had all taken for granted, and the media has continued to play games. Let the world know today that when the police chase rioters into the slum area of Kibera and spray bullets into houses with rather “porous” walls, according to the Kenyan media, this is not news. Only the Standard newspaper under considerable pressure occasionally dares to include such occurrences in a major article somewhere in the newspaper.

Naturally everybody is eager that things should go back to normal as soon as possible. After all our children need to go to school and we need to earn a living and therefore anybody who does not promote peace is the enemy (like Kumekucha. Only that most people do not know that Kumekucha wants peace more badly than most, that is why I have been warning about tribal tensions in this blog for over 2 years now).

It is yet to dawn on the minds of most peace-seeking Kenyans that there is no way that peace will come unless we address the root cause of the problem. I challenge you to tell me how else peace can come. I hear somebody saying; by telling the Luos and Kelenjins to shut up. (That is the “ingenious suggestion” of some commentators in this blog).

It is also yet to dawn on most Kenyans that the biggest hindrance to the restoration of peace are not violent Luos or angry Kalenjins. It is not the mass action called for by Raila Odinga and his gang.

It is the gentleman whom most of you saw seated taking notes as he listened to a carefully selected delegation of private sector personalities (most of whom helped fund his campaign) the pother day in State House. That man calls himself the president of the republic of Kenya. If this was not such serious business, that is laughable. This is the same man whose wife slapped a civil servant in public in front of the poor man’s family. Rumours have persisted that the same woman (who obviously needs medical help) slapped Gitobu Imanyara...

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Who actually owns Equity Bank?

Who Actually Owns Equity Bank?

By a Guest writer (Mark)

Besides the fact that Transcentury holds a direct stake in Equity bank, it also holds a stake through Britak which in turn has a large shareholding of Equity Bank.

Recently, Transcentury also bought the maximum stake allowable for one shareholder of a bank in Kenya (24.9%) though their holding in Helios EB Partners. Helios Partners is a foreign incorporated company that recently got new investors in the form of Transcentury and more than half the money invested by Transcentury ($300M = Ksh 19.5B) came in to increase the capital of Equity Bank (This amount was approx Ksh 11B). The Finance Minster decided to look the other side as this transaction happened right under his nose. He even gave this group the exception from any scrutiny of who the shareholders are for 9 years.

Essentially, we will never know who the investors are for 9 years in this bank. Why would the government official make an unprecedented decision to exclude them from a regulation to protect consumers in such a sensitive sector? The reason could be to be to hide the fact that the ‘foreign investment’ is actually local investors and the fact that the same local investors have violated the max. Shareholding rules for banks. Picture this…

• Maximum Shareholding allowable to a shareholder who is not an executive = 24.9%

• Equity bank holding through Britak = 10%

• Equity Bank holding as Transcentury directly = aprox 3+%
Clearly, Transcentury now holds more that 38% of Equity Bank!

Proof of this available on: http://www.transcentury.co.ke/transcentury/portfolio.asp

For the government officer involved… what was in it for him? For the government? Think of Equity bank chairman in London with PNU chaps openly campaigning for PNU and rubbishing ODM… do you start to get the answers?

Issue with Diversity at Equity Bank:

We have established that the majority shareholder is Transcentury, now other issue is almost all senior managers of the bank are from one community. Over 85% of the employees in the bank are from the same community. The converse is that more than 50% of the banks customers are drawn from all the ethnic communities of this country. How do you support a company that does not promote diversity? There are multitudes of Private companies that do not promote diversity, but the duty for a listed company is to represent all Kenyans in its workforce and Equity is not exempted. If they exempt themselves, then we tell their customers so they can choose if that’s acceptable.

Business Model:

Most people defending Equity bank never fail to mention that it has helped the poor and I support that, but this particular business model targeting the millions at the bottom of the pyramid is no longer unique to Equity Bank. We have leading financial institutions like Barclays, KCB following suit and doing it well with their deep pockets. KCB as a local bank and deserves our support, Barclays too because in as much as it’s about capitalism for its shareholders, they promote diversity internally in their recruiting.

IPO (initial Public offer)

Please note that Equity bank is the only listed company that got listed on the NSE without selling any new shares, so it wasn’t an initial public offer per se but a listing. The difference is it retains the exact shareholding when on the NSE as before with no dilution at all. These and only these shareholders were able to benefit with this listing, and later, the secondary buyers and sellers on the NSE. The best way to say this is they got credibility out of the listing without offering anything to the public.

Tell tale signs of the success of the Boycott:

• A day after word spread around on this, I had a chat with some staff members and one mentioned that they stopped 2 days ago paying cash against uncleared cheques even for a fee.
• Share starts the downward trend and will be a good sign that ODMs strategy is working.
• Few to no deposits in Equities branches in Western and Rift Valley. The first sign of a run on the bank and I am sure the CBK will come and rescue them by closing these branches due to the ethnic connections they have.
• Equity bank website www.equitybank.co.ke is now down. Reason? You and I can speculate that they have something to hide… I was looking for the IPO briefing document that listed the largest shareholders, but doubt you will find it again. I had to revert to an earlier download.

Eventually really, if they can balance the staff and hiring to represent the face of Kenya without bias, and I am sure they can find skilled talent from all ethnic communities, though they choose otherwise, then the boycott should be re-considered.

(Kumekucha: Please publish this as a contribution article to kumekucha instead of a s a comment. Hopefully this will provide a forum to justify the reasons why these institutions have been selected for the boycott and you can call on more articles on Brookside, Citti Hoppa etc

Another suggestion on the boycott campaign is to brand it a “Kenyan Company Diversity” campaign to show that this is not about one community but ensuring a better Kenya for all)

-Mark-

Economic Vultures Feasting on Kenya's Carcass

The MYTH created by Kenyan media and business people in preaching peace has been exposed for what it truly is: SELFISHNESS. Seeing the so-called private sector and businessmen trooping to State House to preach peace betrays their thirst for profit in 'missed opportunities'.

And predictably Kibaki never disappointed the chaps. Emilio knows who oils his political wheels when he sets eyes on those who paid one million shillings for a plate of fish and chips or mokimo to finance the elections that he ended up STEALING anyway. Confined to the walls and lawns of State House after selective visits to the internally displaced, Emilio looked all academic in taking notes. In truth he may have been reconciling and prioritizing which accounts (election debts) to settle first.

The truism that image is everything particularly in the service industry has no exception. Contrast that fact with the sight of Equity bank chairman sojourning to London in a PNU delegation. The chap then gets embroiled in partisan escapades rubbishing ODM whose supporters sustain his bank.

So after roasting their geese, it defeats even basic tenets of imagination to see these economic mercenaries shamelessly start asking where the rain started drenching them wet. They dug the hole which they must enter. All we have are scoundrels in all shades who only speak of the 'wider good' in jest while the real motivation are grandiosely selfish.

Until and unless HONESTY reigns in Kenya, the business community will remain blinded by profit in their singular HELL FOR LEATHER pursuits. Their hollow proclamations of the wider good will remain a shell as Kenya continues to bleed profusely from all her orifices. These so-called industrialists are nothing but dogs of war in disguise. Pepo mbaya, washindwe.

Hanging on a String and Barely Holding On

There are so many people who've gone through this patch in their lives. And they can associate with what is encapsulated in the poem below – a feeling of dejection, utter loneliness and guilt. If you know people who are going through such a rough patch, talk to them and try to show them love. I promise you, they need it 'badly' and urgently…

Hanging on a String
Thoughts,
Constrict my heart,
With every thought,
My heart pains.

Thoughts,
Of what I didn't do,
And should have,
Always stalk me.

Thoughts,
Of what I did,
And should not have,
Smile at me.

Thoughts,
Of a beloved friend,
Who passed away,
Grin at me.

Thoughts, come and go,
Of an intimate friend,
Who said enough's enough,
And took her leave.

These thoughts,
Take me down,
Deep down,
To a place of no return,

I'm left,
Gasping for breath,
Gasping for air,
That really isn't there.

These thoughts, like acid,
Eat at my heart,
They eat and eat and eat,
And leave horrid, gaping holes.

These holes wear out my heart,
And with every thought added,
I do say, verily,
My life is hanging on a string.

Contact Ritch At This Email Address.

Feigned Courtship: A Lady's Woe

You bet I know what I am talking about here. I am miffed by the way some men treat ladies. You may throw all Beijing 'blue blistering barnacles' (remember Captain H*** in theTintin comic!) my way but I'll still hold my ground, look you in the face and tell you what I don't like!

Some men take advantage of the 'men-are-as-old-as-they-think; women-are-as-old-as-they-look' saying. They 'know' that looks to women are like shells to snails – they will go to great lengths to preserve their youth (at least for their 'prince charming'!).

You still don't get the drift of this piece. Let me explain.

I know of some men who have courted young, beautiful women. But after about two or so years they broke up with them for reasons best known to them. The while the courtship lasted, the ladies built so much hope in being married by the men that shared their lives.

The sad thing here is that the men were all the while not serious with 'their' ladies. They just lied through their teeth that the relationship would end up in walking down the aisle to consummate their 'fiery' love. But the converse of that was true all the while.

Put yourself in these ladies' shoes. Having put all their years and energies into the one thing that they thought would work, they are totally broken when the bombshell is exploded on their laps: "It's over between us; It just couldn't work; You were not the one for me; I made a wrong turn in the road of life; I think I now know where I am headed and you just don't fit in the bigger picture."

This is very 'brutal', to say the least. Why couldn't you just tell the truth as it were before the bud blossomed into a flower. Yes, you knew it all along that all you wanted were the stolen moments with the lass. You should have painted this aim in black and white before things became 'major' between you.

It would go something like this:
Man:I don't foresee us walking down the aisle. I just want you by my side to satiate my ego and sexual desires. What do you think?
Woman: Thank you for being upfront with me. Most men wouldn't do half as much. But no, I don't wish to be party to your whims!

Talk of being true and never coming to rue!

Men, if you don't wish to marry a lady with whom you have entered into courtship, then let the lady know.

It is painful for the ladies when you take them for a ride, waste their years and dump them at the junction of desperation. If no one has ever told you, then let me tell you: Time, to women, when viewed against the backdrop of marriage, is of utmost importance. Don't waste their time. Be straight with them and save them the searing pain.

Contact Ritch At This Email Address.
(undaunted_2006 at yahoo dot com)

What Kind of a Person are You?

There many ways you can use to determine what are some of your major strengths and/or weaknesses. Hundreds of books and numerous sites use many ways different ways from questionnaire, to IQ tests, to handwriting, to how you dress, talk, the kind of things you like, etc etc. But the best and the most reliable is by how you fart. I can confidently tell you that the description of how you fart is one of your major character traits.
Here are the different types farts that we have ... where do you fit?

Shy farters- those who let out silent farts.

Clever farters- Those who fart and cough at the same time.

Miserable farters- Those who cannot fart.

Dissappointed farters- Those who's farts do not emit odor.

Dishonest farters- Those who fart and then blame the dog.

Mean farters- Those who fart in bed and shake covers over spouse.(this is not recommended)

Vain farters- Those who love the smell of their farts

Amiable farters- Those who love the smell of others farts.

Strategic farters- Those who fart and smile at the same time

Acute farters- Those whose fart smells and indicate their recent diet.

Confident farters- Those who let out really loud farts.

Scientific farters- Those who bottle their own farts.

Nervous farters- Those who stop in mid farts.

Honest farters- Those who confess their farts.

Foolish farters- Those who keep their farts inside.

Unfortunate farters- Those who start to fart but poop instead.

Insecure farters- Those who compare their fart quality to others.

Jealous farters- Those who claim the fart of others.

Prompt farters- Those who always have a fart ready.

The farters farter- Those rare farters whose farts clear moving vehicles.

So where do you belong?

Does Kumekucha Hurt The Election Thieves Where It Counts?

Kumekucha Reader's comment of the Month;

Kenya nchi yetu said...
Chris, the only reason why people would want to sabotage this blog would be because they are feeling threatened or insecure. These are not people of lesser means. For them to go to the lengths that they are tells me that it is now hurting where it counts. I agree - State House may now be realizing what they have unleashed. I'm sure the incumbents just want people to go back to their lives - which they will. Food has to be put on the table. Children have to go back to school. But I don't believe that Kenyans who feel robbed are going to let it pass this time.


Kumekucha's reply;

The general feeling amongst those who handle Mwai Kibaki's image is that blogs like Kumekucha have contributed to their resounding defeat on the International stage. Hence the sensitivity about Kumekucha and the attacks (which now involve clogging up the comments system with gibberish).

While this is very flattering (I had no idea we can be that powerful) it is NOT TRUE. The Kibaki gang shot itself in the foot when they banned live media broadcasts. That single decision guranteed their defeat no matter what. Secondly the truth tends to come out in the end no matter how much "spinning" is done. The truth as the world knows now is that Mwai Kibaki rigged himself back to power. Period.

Congratulations the commentator using the apt name Kenya nchi yetu, your comment hits the nail on the head. (Or shall I say "hits the hissing snake that rattles on the head.")

Behind The Scenes: What Really Happen In The Rift | 2008 tribal clashes in Kenya | Kibaki and 2008 clashes | Post election violence Kisumu, Migori and North rift

Here is what our special informant on the ground could accurately gather about what really happened during the post-election violence in Kisumu, Migori and North rift. A story of heartache, headache, collusion, conspiracy and death.

Basically in Eldoret and environs, including burnt forest. The so called Karamajong warriors are correctly identified. Since the karamajong and Pokot are actually the same tribe but to safe guard themselves from retaliation the Pokot called their Ugandan neighbours (brothers) to do the dirty work. They were being paid by a combination of people closely linked to top brass politicians.

Their reputation and ruthlessness is legendary (ask the Samburu) and as such in one incident only 7 warriors raided a town in Nandi and all the police barricaded themselves in the police station with rifles facing out and let the warriors torch houses and kill to their abandon.

They warriors were (are) under instruction to kill all Kikuyu and Kisii torch their business and take away or give away their belongings. The unwritten agreement is that No Kikuyu or Kisii will live or work in Uasin Gishu at all. Not one.

One lady I know personally who lives right in a high class surburb in Eldoret was visited by the warriors. Fortunately she and her family were away. Her guards (maasai) and fierce dogs managed to keep the raiders at bay. That's how serious the situation was. Had she been found at home they would have killed her. She lectures at a nearby university.

It is clear that word had got around in North rift that an ODM government was going to finally address the injustice the Kalenjin feel has been visited on them since Kenyatta's days when a lot of their ancestral land was allocated to Kikuyu's and Kisii's. During Moi's time they thought that Moi would address the issue but Moi looking for his own survival actually allocated more land to Kikuyu and Kalenjin elite.

ODM's majimbo stance (never mind that ODM had intended to effect a constitutional and staggered move to majimbo) was misinterpreted by grassroots as a Government move (ODM Government) to reverse this and find other land for non indigenous people to settle or have them return to their own ancestral land. As it became clear in the run up to the election that it would be to close to call word went round that if ODM failed (and elections were rigged, that's the only way they believed or had been convinced that ODM could fail) then they would take matters into their own hands. So those who claim that the killings in North rift were not spontaneous but orchestrated are right. It was planned from way before the elections.

A respected Nandi elder had this experience. He went to Kisumu on 29 December morning from Nandi to buy spares for his tractor. He says he did not expect things to get out of hand. This is what he witnessed. On arrival at the Kisumu/Kakamega junction he met the first roadblock manned by youth demanding 200 bob from each car. Of course one had to act like a total ODM supporter to get through besides the money.

Firstly. The rape (looting) of Kisumu town began on Saturday morning from 9pm. Way before results were in contention. Other sources say that tensions due to suspicion of rigging caused by the delay in the announcement of the results triggered this early violence.

The interesting thing is that this was going on for whole day until 5pm when the government finally realized the severity of the situation and flew in GSU troops to restore order. People just waited for shops to open then all hell broke loose.

Folks went straight for supermarkets and petrol stations, liquor stores, electronics and shoe shops. There was major collusion from the police force. Once shops were open and being looted, police at times mingled with the looters and carried goods to their own landrovers. In other incidents the police would arrest people carrying looted goods and load them into landrovers. Then as they drive they would ask, 'unataka kuenda stationi' of course people would decline and they would stop the vehicle and order them out. Of course the goods would remain with the police.

Kisumu is devastated far more seriously than even the media have shown. A week ago prices of foodstuffs had shot up to double and even triple their old prices. There is a shortage of water and food and some face the real possibility of starvation as Kisumu is a net importer of foodstuffs from Kakamega and North rift which have been interrupted by the fighting.

Recently Kisumu businessmen have been seen in Eldoret buying maize and other wholesale foodstuffs to take back to Kisumu.

The man who had gone to purchase the tractor spares then tried to leave Kisumu but the police told him it was too dangerous to travel. This man moved on to Bureti. He was stopped at Awasi. Again youth extorted money from him. He noted that just outside Kisumu the two petrol stations adjacent to the Nakumatt mega were burnt and looted. One belonged to a Kikuyu and the other to a Kisii.

In Bureti he heard rumours that a contingent of AP's were on the way to Migori with stuffed ballot boxes. This is what raised the hackes of Migori residents and they waited in ambush. This rumour is what led to the killing of the AP's. Meanwhile KASS radio were asking people to go to the aid of their brothers who were being killed in Migori (the AP's were stationed in Bureti and most were Kalenjin).

With hindsite the man says that the rumour was started by KTN when Njoroge Mwaura said in a news broadcast that buses had been seen driving from Nairobi with AP's and ballot boxes (City Hoppa and KBS). Later KTN called government spokesman who clarified that due to a shortage of transport the buses had been hired to take AP's to different parts of the country to enhance security operations. Well the damage was done. One AP in Migori even pleaded with crowd saying that if they could find a single ballot paper he would resign there and then.

The man traveled back to Nandi. From Kisumu to Chemelil there were a number of roadblocks but he noticed now that it was the enterprising Kenyans making a living. Especially towards Nandi, those who live along the roadside were getting a few youths and setting up their own road blocks basically family affairs (trust Kenyans) then extorting money from motorists. The mzee of the house would sit a distance away and watching his sons and nephews work.

Meanwhile other "enterprising" Nandis took advantage to set Moi's Nandi tea farm on fire. They just spread a rumour that Moi was actually there and the crowds did the rest. They then moved in to pick up the spoilts and loot the place. Same thing happened to former president Moi's Kipkabus farm

Back in Eldoret it was the Luos who were doing the looting after hearing what was going on in Kisumu. Eldoret has a huge resident Luo community. The Kalenjin themselves are not so interested in household goods. They were busier in the outlying areas burning and looting Kikuyu and Kisii owned properties. Their pride was any livestock they could find. In Uasin Gishu there was feasting for days as they said they should kill and eat as much of the livestock as possible so there would be no evidence.

Meanwhile in upper North Rift the Samburu were having it rough. They supported ODM while the Pokot (who now have 2 ministers) were PNU. The Pokot have started their raids again. Their youth have also found a new trick. Believe it or not. My man witnessed it, they have discovered a way of changing permanently the colour of a stolen cow.

They dig a pit and fill it with still-warm ash. The cows are forced into the pit and kept there for a whole day only being fed water. When released, voila, the colour has changed and even if washed it remains a grey shade. So those who come to check for stolen cattle will see a familiar head but different colour.

Of Kenya's Political and Religious Scoundrels

Kenya's enterprising religious industry saw any opportunity they never cashed in. While the country is bleeding to the last drop, religious zealots are at their best foaming at the mouth in selling CHEAP dogmatic theories with eyes singularly and selfishly trained at exploiting the present hopelessness and insecurities.

Here at Kumekucha, one such peddler, a pastor Douglas Muchiri, posted some concoctions of justification of the present political predicament qualifying it as God's punishment to Kenya. The good (actually fake) man of the collar shamelessly spinned the facade that God in his infinite wisdom saved Kenya Armageddon by using Kivuitu to declare Kibaki the present following the flawed elections.

The REAL God must be very mad as us for invoking his name in vein. No wonder our streets are painted red in our own blood. Reminds one of the miracle campaign to House that ended up being nothing but political con games.

Kenyans must lean to take responsibility of their own political actions and stop seeking cheap and hollow divine refugee after setting their own country ablaze. God for one abhors SLEAZE and you cannot expect HIM to take kindly to our tasteless religious cries.

Seeing Machakos DC Mr John Litunda abdicating his administrative responsibilities and instead admonishing Kenyans for having disregarded Rev Owuor's pre-election warning to repentance as the root cause of the present bloodbath is to extrapolate high school CU sermons into hell. We thought the era of PC Raburu preaching every morning to his juniors in Nyeri were long gone. How things remain the same the more they appear to change?

Kenya's present problem has a known cause which is ELECTION THEFT. No lasting solution will ever be reached if we choose to delude ourselves with cosmetic ventures while skirting the naked truth. Even religious repentance first demands acknowledging your sins.

Justice must and can only be served in black and white. No amount of colouring can wash any of its derivatives. Our God must be really mad us for killing His people and dishonestly turning to him for mercy. Speak of unwittingly inviting a curse unto yourself?

How Long Can Mwai Kibaki Survive?

Breaking News: ODM has announced that mass action will continue next week after all. This will be coupled with economic boycotts.



The angry reaction from a section of suspect readers of this blog illustrates the current mood in State House perfectly.

Why do I call the readers of a blog suspect? For the simple reason that their behaviour is bizarre to say the least. Their comments clearly suggest that they abhor and strongly disagree with the content in this blog. Ordinarily when you do not like something that you see on the web, you move on. Time is precious. And yet this group of readers have stayed on, saying everything they know how to discredit every story published here. They have refused to leave. Make your own conclusions as to who they really are and what their real objective is.

When I re-introduced comment moderation yesterday, this group was extremely angry. Threats poured in as I moderated and I deleted most of them. It was easy to sense the frustration at the fact that things did not go their way. The carefully and well thought out damage they had planned for the most popular Kenyan blog had been thwarted.

The mood is the same inside Mwai Kibaki’s State house as handlers scramble to find a way to keep the Kibaki administration going for another couple of months. Their plan to enforce the daylight vote theft has met with much stronger resistance than they had imagined. Despite the largest deployment of security forces countrywide in the history of the country, the situation is much worse than it was on 30th December, the ill-fated day when a few individuals inside State House decided to bite the bullet and...

Read more

Omtatah Okoiti: A Kenyan Hero

This week I want to nominate Omtatah Okoiti as my Kumekucha Man-of-the-Week.

On Thursday January 17 2008, playwright, civil society and human rights activist Omtatah brought activities at Vigilance House (Kenya Police Headquarters) along Harambee Avenue to a standstill after he chained himself to the gates of police headquarters in what he called the "protest of justice" to end the merciless killings of innocent people by security agents.

Specifically, Omtatah was protesting the widely condemned TV footage that captured a police officer shooting two unarmed civilians in Kisumu. During his "protest of justice", Omtatah yelled: "Action and inaction of a police officer on duty are not supposed to be motivated by any other interest other than public interest. This was not the case in the Kisumu murder". By this time a large crowd had gathered to cheer him on. Omtatah was armed with his national ID card, a statement to the police commissioner and a catholic rosary that he held in the air as he protested the loss of innocent lives at the hands of Kenya Police. It took 5 police officers about two hours to unchain him and another 50 paramilitary GSU officers to frog-march him to the KICC police station.

In August 2007, Omtatah was among a group civil rights activists calling themselves the "Yellow Movement" who were arrested and later released by the high court after marching to Parliament to protest against a move by MPs of the 9th parliament to increase their own allowances and pay themselves a hefty gratuity. During the incident, the arrested activists were injured in a road accident involving the police car that was ferrying them to various police stations and a matatu.

The latest protest took place on the 2nd day of ODM mass action protest and when the Nairobi CBD was a no-go zone because of running battles between security forces and ODM supporters. Yesterday Omtatah was released on a bond of Kshs. 10,000/- after pleading not guilty to a (trumped-up) charge of "causing public disturbance." He had spent the night at the Central Police Station in Nairobi.

This country certainly needs more Omtatahs. Kudos bro.

Kofi Annan Suffers Diplomatic Flu

Video footage of policeman shooting and killing unarmed protestor in Kisumu.

So the hemorrhage continues unabated. As violence continues to suck the last drop of blood from our veins leaning Kenyan morgues teaming with close to 1000 bullet-riddled bodies, Koffi Annan seems to have developed cold feet that is clothed as DIPLOMATIC FLU. The emerging different versions explaining his failed mediation visit attests to the latent reason behind his change of heart.

Michuki must have surely rattled the poor Ghananian. Officially Annan is down with a bout of severe flu but other media reported him collapsing before boarding a plane to flaming Kenya. His advance party comprising Mkapa and Graca Machel must be enjoying REAL theatre of the absurd here in Nairobi.

Where it hurts most
Meanwhile our enterprising scoundrels for politicians wont disappoint and they have new threats on the pipeline as the third consecutive day demo draws to a close. The target now is to boycott products from companies whose ownership are twinned with Kibaki. Equity bank, Brookside dairies (Kenyattas-Uhuru)and Citi Hoppa (Michuki + Thuo) vehicles must be scratching their heads real hard.

Whether this new strategy will work is not within my ambit to predict. But your guess is as good as mine that the intention is to hit where it hurts most. Did I here somebody mention 6% economic growth? Well is you want to get rid of a malignant cancer uproot it because cosmetic measures like chemotherapy only succeeds in painful mutations.

Well, hell hath no furry like a citizenry RAPPED and ROBBED. Justice cannot and must not be baptized and no price is big enough to get it. You only undermine Kenyans' resolve at your own peril. We saw it when they chose to walk to work to make matatus behave. That may have been the rehearsal before this real examination.

Ranting they will definitely do these scoundrels but the PINCH and enormous loss will make them stop and think. Time it may take but they will no doubt do. Nobody is rich enough to buy time. Justice no less.

Press Statement: By the Professionals and Business Forum for Peace

Video footage of policeman shooting and killing unarmed protestor in Kisumu.

18th January
Statement by the Professionals and Business Forum for Peace on the ongoing violence

“NO to deaths and destruction of property”

Who we are?
Ladies and gentlemen, we members of the Professionals and Business Forum for Peace (PBFP) would like to call for an immediate end to the current killings, destruction of property and disruption of business in the country. PBFP is a non partisan body bringing together business and professional organizations in the country to press for a solution to the current national crisis.

Background: What is happening?
The past few weeks have witnessed loss of lives, property and injuries at unprecedented levels. We would like to categorically say a resounding “NO” to these criminal acts.

The business community and professionals have suffered immensely following the eruption of post election violence in the country. The losses accruing have affected the entire country and resulted in job losses.

The economy stands to lose even more if this violence continues and peace is not restored in the country soon. It is unfortunate that what the country took decades to build is being destroyed within a few weeks.


What we Propose?

Dialogue: We would like to call upon the protagonists across the political divide, Hon. Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki to engage in immediate dialogue.

Stop Mass Action: We realize that meaningful dialogue can only happen in a peaceful atmosphere. While mass action is not necessarily bad, what we are witnessing is the creation of an opportunity for lawlessness.

Stop Killings: The Kenya Professional and Business Forum would like to urge leaders from both sides of the political divide to take charge of their followers and actively urge them to stop the killings we are currently witnessing. The police should also exercise restrain as they try to contain the violence.

Non Partisanship: We call on all parties concerned or interested in the ongoing crisis to maintain a non partisan position. Kenyan remains a sovereign state and international organizations should not make statements that fan the violence.

We therefore categorically state that we want to see peace and order restored in the country as soon as possible to allow for dialogue and the underlying issues that have led to the current crisis to be addressed.

KPBF Organizations:

The associations in this forum include:

Kenya Medical Association
Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya
Kenya Pharmaceuticals Distributors Association
Kenya Psychiatrists Association
National Nurses Association of Kenya
Marketing Society of Kenya
Public Relations Society of Kenya
Kenya ICT Action Network
Kenya ICT Federation
Eldoret Business Council
Friends of Eldoret (Residents Association)
Nakuru Business Association
Nairobi Central Business District Association
Youth Science and Technology Development Network
AIESEC (Kenya Chapter of International Association for Students interested in Economics and Management)
Kenya Health Federation
Central Organisation of Trade Unions
Association of Practitioners in Advertising
Kenya Private Sector Alliance
Institute of Engineers of Kenya
Save the Children Fund
Kenya Tourism Federation
Kenya Union of Journalists

Statement From Kumekucha: Comment Moderation Returns

Suffering Kenyan Children: A Photo Essay.

Charge Police Commissioner Ali With Crimes Against Humanity

Due to repeated abuse of the privilege of allowing readers to post comments freely here, I have been left with no alternative but to start moderating the comments once again.

Apart from blunt hate comments, we have also seen this morning the re-emergence of the notorious porn poster.

My sincere apologies to well-behaved readers who have always posted comments responsibly and now have to suffer because of the rotten few.

Charge Maj Gen Ali with crimes Against Humanity!

Suffering Kenyan Children: A Photo Essay

Video footage of policeman shooting and killing unarmed protestor in Kisumu.

By our guest writer

In an unprecedented move in April 2004, President Kibaki appointed an army soldier, Maj Gen Mohamed Hussein Ali, then a Brigadier, the Commissioner of Police.

Maj Gen Ali replaced a career policeman, Mr Edwin Nyaseda, who made history by serving the shortest period at the helm of Vigilance House.

The soldier was appointed against a backdrop of heightened insecurity across the country and his appointment was greeted with joy and relieve by Kenyans who had suffered in the hands of murderous thugs.

Kenyans had high expectations that the new police chief would borrow a leaf from the military and instill the much-desired professionalism in the archaic police force.
They had high expectations that there would be a major departure from the past leadership of the Kenya Police and that the force would live up to its motto, Utumishi kwa Wote (Service to All), and be accountable to the people it was meant to serve.

But going by the events following the declaration of Mr Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the December 27 General Election, through open theft and fraud, Kenyans have had the opportunity to know the real character heading the Kenya Police.

There is no doubt this man is blood thirsty and he has no regard for human life. Life became even more cheaper in Kenya with the arrival of Maj Gen Ali at Vigilance House. How much more blood will this man spill before he is stopped?

Maj Gen Ali’s predecessors – who had risen through the ranks in the Kenya Police – were no angels. The force was accused of being trigger-happy during their reign.
But the situation dramatically changed for the worst as Maj Gen Ali asserted his authority at police headquarters. Apart from the force still being trigger-happy, Maj Gen Ali has turned the Kenya Police into a killing machine.

There is a wide gap between the crimes committed by Maj Gen Ali and his predecessors. While his predecessors were accused of executing robbery suspects, Maj Gen Ali has taken the killings to an unprecedented perfection – he has turned the force into a killings machine targeting both robbery suspects and thousands of innocent civilians under the disguise of fighting crime and improving security in Kenya.

The volume of blood shed by police bullets during the past four years of Maj Gen Ali’s leadership of the Kenya Police will haunt Kenya for generations to come.
The graves that dot all parts of the country, being the permanent resting place for victims of police bullets during Maj Ali’s reign, has outnumber the combined tally during the reigns of all the other post-independent commissioners of police.
Unless this soldier is stopped NOW – not tomorrow – Kenya will be a mass grave of bullet-riddled bodies.

It has been disgusting watching TV clips of Kenyan Police brutally venting their anger and frustration on their fellow citizens in a bid to protect President Kibaki, who has been sitting comfortably at State House watching TV after stealing the elections. It seems the stolen Presidency has to be protected at all costs – even if wiping some communities from the face of Kenya.

The sight of enthusiastic policemen being seen on the TV pumping bullets into unarmed demonstrators protesting the stolen Presidential election has been disgusting. It appears that police have found a new sporting activity by turning human beings into shooting targets. They are on the streets to perfect the skills they failed to polish at Kiganjo.

On the first day of the mass action called by the ODM, KTN viewers were left speechless and terrified when they watched a lone policeman in a Kisumu suburb pumping bullets to two unarmed men lying on the ground injured. Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears as the policeman opened fire at them at close range. The fact that the policeman cared little that his actions were being filmed by a TV camera told a big story.

The actions of Maj Gen Ali since he arrived at police headquarters clearly shows he has no regard for human life. Life has become so cheap in Kenya and Kenyans seems happy to swim in the blood of their fellow Kenyans.

We all suffer from the collective guilt of watching helpless as Maj Gen Ali turn his guns on real and imaginary enemies of the State – to protect his own job and to protect the pretender-to-the-throne illegally occupying State House.
I’ll cite a few instances:

1: In 2005, Maj Gen Ali ordered his officers to use helicopters to hunt down and execute any Maasai tribesmen on sight as a way to end clashes in Mai Mahiu. Dozens of Maasai men were summarily shot dead by officers aboard the helicopters and the real number of the dead was never made public due to the firm grip Maj Gen Ali has on the top leadership of the main stream media. No wonder the Maa community –led by their King, William ole Ntimama, overwhelmingly voted against President Kibaki.

2: In October 2005, police shot dead three primary school pupils on their way home and an innocent milk vendor during riots in Kisumu sparked off by the referendum on the controversial Constitution being pushed by the Kibaki Administration.
Maj Gen Ali hurriedly called a Press conference to publicly thank his officers for a job well done. He said he had no apology to make and claimed those shot dead had attempted to raid Kondele Police Station. When it later emerged he had lied the public and those killed were innocent pupils who were nowhere near the police station, Maj Gen Ali tried to manipulate the media to do damage control for him.
The killer-police were not punished and they are still on the loose killing more Kenyans. Maj Gen Ali should not be allowed to get away from these senseless killings.

3: When the police was last year rendered impotent and powerless by murderous Mungiki thugs in parts of Nairobi, Central and Rift Valley provinces, the police resorted to randomly rounding up youths from the slums in Nairobi and from poor homes in Central province.

The youths were taken to forests –especially Ngong, Naivasha and others in Central province – and executed before anything could be proved against them. Their bodies were either left to rot and be eaten by wild animals in the killing fields or dumped in mortuaries across the three provinces.

In fact, most of the families – like that of Kimani Ruo – have never traced the remains of their loved ones since they were killed in remote forests and their bodies left to be mauled by wild animals.

In Mathare, young men, women and children were shot dead by the police in mid last year under the guise of flushing out Mungiki gangs from the sprawling slum village. The bodies were loaded unto police lorries and ferried to remote areas in Ngong, Kiserian and Kitengela and fed to beasts. Police ferried the bullet-riddled bodies in their lorries as their dripped blood on the roads.

The mainstream media was united in covering up the truth on behalf of Maj Gen Ali and the actual number of innocent people killed in Mathare. Kenyans and the world were fed with distorted news.

The same thing happened in a home in Murang’a. The police surrounded a house in one of the villages and executed at least 60 young men – including primary school kids – in cold blood on allegations they were taking an illegal oath.

None of the youths was armed and it’s still a puzzle why the police never arrested and took them to court to prove their allegations against them. The media first claimed only seven youth were shot dead. But they started rising the figure up to 27 when the international media and blogs like Kumekucha revealed the actual number of fatalities.

Independent investigations by Kumekucha revealed that more than 1,000 people were killed in Mathare and Murang’a in the month of July last year alone.

A damning report released by the state-owned Kenya National Commission on Human Rights in the run-up to the December 27 General Election revealed that close to 5,000 Kenyans were executed by the police in three months from July in parts of Nairobi, Rift Valley and Central under the guise of fighting Mungiki. But it has since emerged that a majority of those executed were innocent youths – whose only crime was they were poor.

If the police was effective, as Maj Gen Ali has wanted the country and the international community to believe, they would have been pro-active – gathering intelligence in advance and prevent the Mungiki gangs and other criminals from carrying out crimes against innocent Kenyans. But from the look of things, the police were always caught flat-footed by the rag-tag Mungiki gangs. All the police could do was to wait and round up youths for execution.

4: The conduct of the police in handling riots triggered by the stolen Presidential election has exposed the stuff Maj Gen Ali is made off. The police have come out in full force – a thing that has never been witnessed in Kenya’s independent history – to defend the stolen presidency. Kenya has been turned into a police state.

Being a career soldier, Maj Gen Ali knows survival tactics. It’s public knowledge that Maj Gen Ali had fallen out with the Kibaki Administration in 2006 over growing discontent within the force over his poor leadership and rising insecurity through out the country.

In fact, the bona fide president for Kenya after the December 27 General Election, Mr Raila Odinga, had been applying pressure on the Government to sack Maj Gen Ali after the Kisumu killings. Mr Odinga publicly stated that the solder should be sent back to the army where they are used to kill people.

When Maj Gen Ali fell out of favour with the system and a dark cloud hang over his head in 2006, he saw the only way to survive was to strike a deal with Mr Odinga. The commissioner seized the Golden opportunity of the presence of the Artur brothers in the country to bring Mr Odinga to his side.

It is widely known within the security agencies that the information that Mr Odinga used to reveal in doses about the Arturs came from Maj Gen Ali. In fact, the two often held private talks. Mr Odinga’s backing was a major boost to the Muslim police chief since Mr Odinga enjoys a fanatical support of Muslim community. The Government would have shot itself in the foot had they sacked Maj Gen Ali in the run up on the crucial General Election.

Soon, Mr Odinga was to change his hard line stance on Maj Gen Ali and he started giving him public backing every time Kibaki Administration made a move to sack the commissioner. Not leaving anything to chance, Maj Gen Ali cleverly lured First Lady Lucy Kibaki’s support by taking advantage of the Arturs saga.

Lucy’s marital bitter rival, Ms Mary Wambui, was said to be backing the Arturs. By appearing to be against the presence of the Arturs in Kenya, Maj Gen Ali managed to win Lucy’s support and this cleared doubts about his future in the Kenya Police due to Lucy’s influence on President Kibaki.

Word which has been spreading round was that President Kibaki intended to drop Maj Gen Ali after the elections when he formed his new Government. But the loss that President Kibaki stared in the face against Mr Odinga seems to have given Maj Gen Ali a new lease of life. Between the two, Maj Gen Ali knew he stood better chances of remaining the police chief under a Kibaki presidency.

Due to the anxiety that had gripped the country, Kenyans missed an incidence that happened a KICC a few minutes before Mr Kivuitu declared Mwai Kibaki the winner. When the ODM got wind of the massive rigging and attempted to block Mr Kivuitu from announcing fake election results, GSU commandos burst into the media centre and cleared everybody who was there – even the media was driven out of KICC grounds save for the state-owned KBC.

Behind the scenes, Maj Gen Ali was flexing his muscles. He had been monitoring the events from his office across KICC and he knew Kivuitu was going to announce fake results. He had make arrangements for hundreds of GSU commandos to stay behind the scene and only strike when the hour of need came.

As Maj Gen Ali’s impatience grew in his office, he ordered the GSU to move in and whisk Mr Kivuitu to another room where he was forced to announce the results under police duress. In the meantime, Maj Gen Ali walked across to KICC and stood guard to ensure Mr Kivuitu did not rock the boat. What was the role of the police commissioner in the announcement of the results while that role squarely lay with the ECK chief?

Thinking that all the other independent media had been cleared from KICC ground, Maj Gen Ali walked out of front side of KICC after the results were announced and he was captured by a defiant NTV cameraman who had remained behind. Maj Gen Ali walked to his vehicle and sped off to State House where a ceremony to swear in President Kibaki had been arranged 12 hours before the results were publicly known! Were it not for Maj Gen Ali, Mr Kivuitu most likely not have agreed to announce fake results.
In order to further please President Kibaki, Maj Gen Ali has brought thousands of brutal police officers onto the streets to defend the stolen presidency. Where have all these policemen been when Kenyans are being butchered by thugs in all parts of the country?

President Kibaki and Maj Gen Ali have one thing in common – GREED FOR POWER. Maj Gen Ali has gone out of his way to defend the illegitimate president with his eye on retaining his current job. As a result, Maj Gen Ali has activated his killing machine. The number of Kenyans felled by police bullets in the post-election violence stands at more than 1,000, according to reliable security sources, contrary to the figure of less than 500 being given by police headquarters.

Kenyans have seen more GSU paratroopers on the streets that it has never been the case before. Insiders in the force say Maj Gen Ali has a soft spot for the GSU since their training is similar to the military. He has not time for the regular police and the CID.

It has been argued that President Kibaki made a very serious mistake – which can be costly- by ensuring Kenya’s three key security agencies – the The Armed Forces , the Kenya Police and the National Security Intelligence Service – are headed by military men.

There are no checks under the current arrangement since the three men - Gen Kianga (Chief of General Staff), Maj Gen Ali (Police) and Mr Gichangi (Intelligence) – are answerable to the same chain of command. Their seniority follows the order listed. This spells doom for the country if the three men opt to conspire.

For instance, the NSIS boss is supposed to operate independently and spy on everybody. He is supposed to be only answerable to the President. But in the current state Mr Gichangi is answerable to two bosses – the president and Gen Kiangi. And knowing the discipline in the forces, how is Mr Gichangi expected to spy on his military boss and report him to the President?

Maj Gen Ali has survived in the force despite committing serious crimes against humanity due to the inefficiency of the President and his ability to cow the mainstream media. Its widely known in the media circles that Maj Gen Ali has a firm grip on the top leadership in all the key media houses. He did this with the help of his lover and the proprietor of Kameme FM, Ms Rose Kimotho. The evils and atrocities committed against the Kenyan people have been covered up by the media which is the watchdog of the society.

From the way Maj Gen Ali has been dispensing “justice” and conducting the affairs of the Kenya Police, there is no need to have courts in Kenya. The Kenya Police has taken the entire role of the criminal justice system in Kenya – being the investigator, prosecutor, executor, name it.

He lacks any skills and strategy in fighting crime and the best he can do is to execute innocent Kenyans. I submit here that Maj Gen Ali should personally be held responsible for these gang-land style executions. The International Court of Justice should immediately indict him and put him on trial for crimes against humanity.
Kenya has become a dangerous place to live in since Maj Gen Ali took over the leadership of the Kenya Police and the faster he is taken to account for his injustices against the Kenya people, the better.

This blood-thirsty police commissioner should not be allowed to spill any more blood with impunity.

Suffering Kenyan Children: A Photo Essay

Today this blogger takes a break from politics to bring images of terrorized Kenyan children. Thats right. State security agents, some said to have been imported from Uganda, are unleashing violence and promoting indiscriminate killings of unarmed civilians.

Sadly some of these civilians are innocent harmless Kenyan children.



Yesterday Kisumu residents attended the solemn funeral of one master Salim Hamed,13, who was killed by three 'stray' police bullets while playing football with his friends. His death has been described as a great tragedy by human rights activists. Read Salim's unfortunate story here.




School going children have not been spared either. These two school uniform clad children are seen above taking cover on the side of protesters as opposed to side of police. As you can see from the picture, the young girl is terrified! This was after police threw tear gas canisters into the Olympic Primary School compound disrupting learning and severely affecting health of the minors (see below).

Yesterday, which was the second day of ODM protest rallies, journalists were barred from covering a paramilitary operation in Kibera slums ostensibly because news reports have painted security officers guilty of attacking women and children out of frustration of failing to arrest young men who have made spirited attempts to march to Uhuru park. The police are also accused of engaging in sexual violence (gang rape) of women who have been left behind in the slums. Yesterday, GSU officers cordoned off the entrance to the slums to bar journalists from witnessing the operation, which left four people killed.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published a shocking report yesterday indicating that more than 100,000 Kenyan children have been forced to flee their homes due to the wave of violence that swept through Kenya following last month’s disputed elections. The UN agency report said that as many as 75,000 children are now residing in over 100 camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), while many thousands more children are believed to be living temporarily with other family members.

Regrettably, these displacements have coincided with the onset of the short rains. For children who sleep out in the open, often without meals while it is wet and cold, this is a huge humanitarian catastrophe and ALL KENYAN LEADERS ought to be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen.


This blogger believes that excessive force employed by police in trying to block ODM mass action protest rallies is responsible for the suffering of these children. The President, through his internal security minister, retains the command control of the actions of all security forces in Kenya, including those who tear gassed medical staff and patients at the Eldoret District Hospital yesterday.

It is time the president invoked these powers to prevent further suffering of these Kenyan children. It is long overdue.

What's the difference between a simple Kenya Army cadet and a beautifully decorated Kenya Army commander…….other than an AK-47?

Discuss.


Well, actually before you discuss, ask yourself the following questions:

1. For how long will the military personnel continue to see their brothers and sisters murdered by foreign forces who do not speak Swahili?
2. How disciplined are our disciplined forces?
3. If Kibaki actually stole the vote, was it worth it?
4. What can you as a PNU/ODM supporter do today to avert the inevitable?

As you ponder for the right answers, I ask you to go on your knees and really pray. The way I see it, Michuki and company may have totally miscalculated the citizen’s outrage.

Video footage of policeman shooting and killing unarmed protestor in Kisumu.

Genocide Refined Kenyan Style

Another 10 shot dead by police as they dutifully follow the 'shoot-to-kill' order. In the meantime Kenyan streets and drainage is getting flooded with blood. And you know what? We haven't seen anything yet.

Today's massacre follows yesterday's jungle law that saw a heartless policeman execute defenceless Kenyans in cold blood. Slowly but surely we are unwittingly creating our local scenes of Kosovo and Rwanda of 1990s.

Nothing shames and hurts like a GUILT CONSCIENCE. To expect Kibaki to address the present skirmishes is akin to baptizing Lucifer. The buck stops right at his doorstep and fundamentally he is the genesis of the present massacres. Blaming his opponents won't wash because he has the monopoly of state violence.

No price is big enough to pay for JUSTICE and FREEDOM. No matter how long it takes, the blood of innocent Kenyans shot like birds will surely haunt Kibaki and his regime. Buying time while thinking that fatigue will crop in it to play the Russian roulette with our motherland.

Kenya will never be the same again and it won't stop till an equilibrium is reached. The INJUSTICE visited upon us must be vanquished no matter the cost. Kenyans are not fools and some people will painfully pay for the present bloodbath. The insensitive may show their post-molars in laughter but very soon it will be crying and gnashing of those very teeth. Very soon Kenyans.

Media Fails Kenyans Once Again As Man Is Shot Dead In Front Of TV Cameras

The footage shown on KTN TV last night was a heart-stopper. A young man wearing a black top appeared to be making faces or taunting a policeman who was off camera. Suddenly the lone policeman appeared on camera and aimed his gun at the unarmed protestor (he did not even have a stone in his hands).

The lone policeman fired again and as he advanced towards the two youths now prostrate on the ground, the young man with the black top gets up and takes a few steps before he falls again. He later died. His colleague is in a Kisumu hospital fighting for his life.

One would have expected that this would be the front page story on all the newspapers. This footage was confirmation that police in Kenya are deliberately shooting to kill (they have been ordered to do so. I will tell you in a minute why). It would be confirmation of what we have been saying in this blog since all this madness began. A vast majority of the people who have died so far have been felled by police bullets. It seems that the strategy was to scare the public into submission. But here Mwai Kibaki made another terrible miscalculation. He does not realize that the point of suffering that many Kenyans have reached is worse than death itself and therefore in many ways, death is kinder than life itself. A terrible thing to say, but the truth.

Many Kenyans in comfortable jobs who are reading this are more than a little puzzled as to why Kibera people knowing full well that the police have been shooting to kill, would still come out and taunt the police. To them it defies logic. Some will say it is the “usual Luo mentality.”

Many of these Kenyans are also not aware of the common practice in the Kibera slums (amongst all tribes and not just Luos) for some years now of stepping in front of a moving vehicle deliberately. The idea is to get knocked down so that you can demand for some cash from the car driver to put something in your stomach. If the impact is too much and the person dies, alas, at least they were trying to do something to get a meal. Death is kinder than life in the hell hole that is a slum.

This is the really dangerous thing about the Kenyan situation that Kibaki and Michuki will not understand in 100 years. It is exactly what can tip the scales and cause a full blown civil war to break out in this country.

Media houses in Kenya have numerous journalists on the ground who have been witnessing many of the atrocities on the ground, not a word of the true situation on the ground concerning the killings has been printed or said on air.

Why?

Part of the answer is in my next post.

KTN and The Standard are increasingly shining as the only media houses that dare to report as close to the truth as they can. Kudos, your place in history is already guaranteed.

Kibaki Rigging Plan May Have Been Hatched in 2005

There is rapidly emerging evidence that the plans to rig the 2007 presidential elections were hatched as early as 2005.

The Kibaki plotters realized quite rightly that the media would be crucial in their evils plans. Little wonder that the Kibaki administration produced more media bills or bills affecting the media than all the previous administrations since independence in 1963, put together.

The next part of the plan was to quietly influence appointments in all key editorial positions. The plan succeeded.

Nation Media Group: CEO - Linus Gitahi (From Nyeri)
Editorial Director - Wangethi Mwangi (Murang'a)
Managing Editor (Daily Nation) - Bernard Nderitu ( Kiambu)
Managing Editor (Sunday Nation) - Mutuma Mathiu (Meru)
Managing Editor (Business Daily) - Nick Wachira (Nyeri)
Managing Editor (Daily Metro) - Julius Maina (Not sure which part of Central)
Managing Editor (Taifa) - Wainaina Kiganya (A Kikuyu from Kangemi)

NMG's only publication not headed by GEMA is the EastAfrican. It's headed by a Luo - Jaidi Kisero.

The Citizen: The owner, SK Macharia, owns at least 10 radio stations, a TV, a newspaper, and some unused radio frequencies. He's from Gatanga in Thika. The owner and his media outlets are rabidly pro-Kibaki. Majority of his key staff are from Central province. The radio stations command a big following especially the Kikuyu FM radio inooro, in Central province.

Kameme FM: Owner, Rose Kimotho, is from Nyeri District and her station - plus the newly launched K24 TV channel (gosh, it looks like a Jua Kali TV station) are pro-Kibaki. Rose is also a known Kibaki damu and she was very instrumental in Kibaki's campaign for a 2nd term. Kameme FM is very influential in Nairobi and Central province and its presenters openly campaigned for Kibaki.

KBC: The -state-owned KBC has the widest reach through out Kenya.
MD - David Waweru (Nyeri)
Editor-in-chief - Waithaka Waihenya (Nyeri)

During the Dec campaigns, anyone watching KBC would have thought Kibaki was the only presidential campaign competing with himself! All the other candidates were largely given a blackout.

Before the elections, the Minister for Information was from Nyeri (Mutahi Kagwe) while his Assistant was Koigi wa Wamwere (a Kikuyu from Subukia).

Capital FM: Owned by Chris Kirubi - the political turncoat who signs to the tune of anyone occupying State House.

The above are the biggest media outlets in Kenya and from the look of things, it's evident that they are under the firm grip and control of the Gema community.

This gives Kibaki an edge over his rivals since the media only churns out what is good to the ears of Kibaki and his sychopants. In addition to having a grip on the media, Kibaki has ensured that all key ministries are occupied by Gema. Six out of the 17 ministers who were appointed by Kibaki are from Gema. Kibaki (President), Saitoti (Provincial Admninistration and Internal Security), Martha Karua (Justice), Uhuru (Local Govt), Michuki (Roads), Kimunya (Finance), Kiraitu (Energy).

The Head of Civil Service, Francis Muthaura, is a Meru while the Chief Justice, Evans Gicheru, is from Nyeri. The two influential men were very instrumental in swearing Kibaki for a 2nd term like the thief he is in the lawns of State House.

This blogger is reliably informed that there used to be fireworks in the newsroom of NMG during the electioneering period. Tribal tensions reached fever-pitch high during vote-tallying. Linus Gitahi (who knows nothing about journalism) used to attend editorial meetings to direct what was to be published and he banged tables sometimes when some editorial chiefs tried to defy him. Linus wanted pro-Kibaki stories (that is exactly the reason why he was appointed Nation media group CEO. Any naïve person who believes the cock and bull story about share holders should take another look at the shareholder’s structure of this newspaper).

The Group Managing Editor of the Nation Media group, Joseph Odindo, a mere figure-head in the midst of Kikuyu editors, is widely known to be sympathetic to ODM leader Raila Odinga. Linus and Odindo often clashed as they tried to influence publication of stories that were favorable to their political inclinations.

The NMG newsroom has always been torn along tribal and political lines. Kikuyus call the shots since they are the majority and occupy key positions. Most Kikuyus openly write stories that are favourable to Kibaki. Odindo represents the minority but some junior reporters call him a “Raila extremist.”

In this kind of set up, is it any wonder that Kenyans are not getting the true picture of what is happening on the ground from our media?

P.S. When you see the big picure of the whole evil plan hatched in 2005, it becomes rather obvious as to why people get so nervous about what is published in Kumekucha and choose to stay and make nasty comments rather than move to other blogs and news sites.

PNU Not Interested in Justice or Peace

After rebuffing the mediation mission of OAU Chairman and Ghanaian President, John Kufuor, the so called PNU government now seem hell bent on ensuring that the efforts of his nominated peace-broker Koffi Annan does not see the light of day.

Yesterday as the thriller was going on in parliament, breaking news flashed on TV screens to announce that Koffi Annan has postponed his trip to Kenya after "suffering a serious bout of flu." Other rumours contend that Mr. Annan fainted as he was boarding an aircraft to bring him to Kenya at Kotoka International Airport in Accra and had to be rushed to hospital. None of these two incidents have been reported in mainstream Ghanaian press or elsewhere.

Surprisingly, nothing has been said of the status of his two other eminent persons, Mrs. Graca Machel-Mandela and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa who were to accompany Annan to the mediation talks.

Mr Annan's sudden illness came only a day after John Michuki, while handing over the internal security docket to incoming minister George Saitoti, arrogantly questioned Annan's visit to Kenya terming it unnecessary.

Ever since Mr. Kivuiti tragically plunged this country into unprecedented chaos by declaring Kibaki president and later adding fuel by confessing that he, as ECK Chairman, did not know who won the presidency, it has become clear that the PNU government is not keen on mediation or negotiations with ODM and it does not value the lives of Kenyan citizens. While everyone else is concerned about violence, needless deaths and flawed elections, PNU seem to be saying - everything is alright. What nonsense I say!

It is also clearly emerging that the PNU is deluding itself that it is a democratically government that is fully in charge of the country and that the ODM should be the official opposition party. The PNU government largely undermined the Kufuor mission from the outset, with prematurely appointed government ministers repeatedly saying no mediation was needed since there was no problem in the country. All the while - live media broadcasting is "banned" and political rallies "outlawed" - Kenyans are not only needlessly dying. Kenyans are undergoing untold suffering in their hundreds of thousands. In addition to this, several former African heads of state have been given a cold-shoulder by the PNU government and nobody knows quite what happened to the efforts of Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu. The concerns of international community have been openly rebuffed leading to threats of imposing economic sanctions by all major donors. Is there any guilt or self-respect in government? Dont these Kenyan lives have any value?

On the other hand, ODM has been seen to be committed to all mediation processes and had even dropped all pre-conditions, including suspension of mass action rallies, in order to facilitate the negotiation with PNU in a peaceful atmosphere. According to ODM, "it is patently obvious that we do not have a partner to negotiate with."

Where does this leave helpless civilians?