Cabinet: Finance Docket is Reserved!

PIC: Will see you soon; Kimunya, Mbaru, Kibaki and Nganga

Let’s face it. The country is being held hostage by vested interests in the Kibaki succession. In failing to fill vacant cabinet posts, the very reasons attributed to the post election violence by Kriegler and Waki are being put into play!

Long after the Bomet and Sotik by-elections, and Kimunya’s ouster, the ODM was ready to refill its dockets soon after the Mps-elect were sworn in, but the cabinet reshuffle is being held back by fierce infighting in the PNU camp. The heat arising out of the secret envelope of the Waki report is not relenting and the President’s indecisiveness is not helping matters either.

The country continues to go without a sworn-in Finance Minister who holds the constitutional mandate to sign certain bills, bilateral agreements and gazette notices. The current holder of the post, John Michuki, also doubling as Environment Minister, is only acting capacity and therefore unqualified to discharge duties of a finance minister effectively.

Reports are emerging that John Michuki has declined an offer to permanently take up the Finance position because the former holder Amos Kimunya has been declared innocent by the Commission of Enquiry set up by the president to investigate him. Never mind that, unlike other commission reports so far compiled this year, the Kimunya dossier is known only to the President, the commissioners themselves and a few individuals around state house, plus of course friendly pressmen at Royal Media and Nation Media. Never mind also that a parliamentary committee has already declared Kimunya as unfit to hold a cabinet position.

Perhaps most worrying, is that it is apparent that the Finance docket has been reserved and will only go to individual(s) whose origins are not just PNU coalition but also from a certain part of Kenya. Did the president not pledge to heed the advise in the Waki and Kriegler reports? The names being dropped by PNU-friendly media have mentioned MPs sharing more than one commonality with the President. Even during Moi’s dictatorial regime, there was never a finance minister who hailed from Moi’s backyard for a whole 24 years, 10 of those in multi-party politics. Phew!

Although there are numerous individuals within the currently full-capacity National Assembly who are more than qualified and can be appointed Finance Minister, it is obvious that they are technically disqualified because they do not share any commonality with the president and are therefore are unfit to hold the finance docket.

Meanwhile, the country continues to be served by acting ministers, contrary to the constitution and contrary to the NARA accord. All because, the kitchen cabinet is working on a Kimunya rehabilitation plan and the president is seemingly not in full control of an increasingly hostile parliament.

Another spanner has been thrown into the succession works by a stubborn Martha Karua. Being the person who single-handedly saved the PNU coalition during the inauguration of the tenth parliament, she is herself pushing for an end to what she calls politics of anointment and has challenged those interested in the presidency to face her in the field, instead of running to Kibaki because they hope to be declared his successor.

Further to this is that the fiercely independent Justice minister is edging closer to ODM this is causing panic within the PNU wing of government given that most of the reform agenda lies in her docket. The only solution it would appear is to transfer her to another less glamorous ministry or sack her altogether but, just like in the finance docket, PNU are desperately short of qualified individuals to take up this critical docket. Quite surprising considering it is now a grand coalition with a full parliament to choose from.

My suggestion: Appoint Prof. Anyang Nyongo as Finance Minister, transfer Prof. Ongeri to the health docket and promote Dr. Mwiria as Education minister. Kazi kwisha.

Heard About Regular Hijackings And Rape On Kenyan Roads?

One of the things that has gone terribly wrong with the mainstream media in our beloved country is that they deliberately hold back a lot of information from Kenyans. Some of it would save lives or help many Kenyans stay safe. It seems that the policy is NOT to cause panic.

Inside a Coast bus similar to the one that was hijacked by gunmen in harrowing incident on the Nairobi Mombasa Road. (Read the story HERE. Be warned. The graphic nature of this tale may be upsetting.)

Let me give you an excellent example of what I am talking about. Statistics show that every day the Kenya police receive at least half a dozen reports of hijackings of public transport vehicles by gun totting thugs. Hardly any of these cases are reported in the media. In a significant number of these cases female passengers are raped. (Read this harrowing Kumekucha exclusive of a hijacking early last year on a Mombasa-bound bus where torches were used to examine women’s private parts before rape.)

Some of the routes most notorious for hijackings are the Nairobi-Kisii route and the Nairobi-Mombasa route.

We are already in the holiday season and you can be sure that these incidents are bound to go up as the concerned parties look for cash for Christmas. What precautions are the Kenya police taking to keep Kenyans safe? Are the numerous Police checks and road blocks all over the country as efficient in smoking out gun-carrying passengers as they are in collecting 50 bob notes from every public transport vehicle that passes their route? A Kumekucha informant was in a bus late at night recently and saw a policeman who was NOT a traffic cop receive cash from a matatu (so all cops now take cash from public transport vehicles and not just the traffic police.) The same informant witnessed the vehicle he was traveling in defying an order by the police to stop and speeding on. The driver quipped “Huyo amekula mia saa hii anataka nini tena?” (That one has taken a bribe of Kshs 100 just now what else does he want?).

As usual Kenyans are on their own. So my dear Kumekuchans please take the necessary precautions as you travel during this festive season. Avoid traveling at night. (be careful about early morning as well because there have been recent reports of early morning hijackings on major highways and even within Nairobi. Mercifully these incidents hardly ever involve the rape of passengers)

Secondly be very observant in the vehicle you are traveling in. Look out for young innocent-looking guys carrying big bags. Sometimes they communicate on cell phones telling somebody their exact locations. Usually Hijackings will be executed with some gang-members in the vehicle while their colleagues are on the route somewhere ready to ambush. Those in the bus or matatu then ask to be dropped off exactly where their colleagues are waiting.

Do have a safe holiday season and thank you for being part of the rapidly growing Kumekucha family.

Are you in Kenya or would you like to work in Kenya? Choose from plenty of Kenyan jobs available at this site.

Dream beach holidays near Mombasa this Christmas.

To Avoid Acrimony On Waki, Here's The Way Forward

Big names are about to drop.

By now we all know that a pretty decent number of names are sealed in an envelop that Judge Waki submitted to the Hon. Kofi Anan. That the names are there is neither an indication of guilt nor a witch-hunt. What the judge is saying is that in the course of his hurried and time-pressed investigation, he reached the conclusion that there are some Kenyans who need to be further investigated because their names came up in relation to the funding and abetting of the post-election fracas. It is only fair that they be given a chance to defend themselves...and be cleared or convicted and punished for causing such a serious loss of life and property.

As one who has strongly called for a local tribunal, to preserve and strengthen our sovereignty and our nascent institutions, I'm gratified that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga have found a formula to give our judicial system a stab at resolving this matter. I hope we all realize that the credibility of our nation is on the line here. Whoever is selected to lead this tribunal will need the full support and the goodwill of all Kenyans. We will follow closely how he/she leads the tribunal and decide whether the body will do Kenya proud or will embarrass us and set us on the demeaning path to the Hague.

Given the gravity of the charges the people who's names will drop face, it is time to agree on the way forward. This is important if we are to avoid unnecessary acrimony within our perpetually fractious parties and the nation in general.

This is what must be done:

1. Immediate and unconditional Resignation. This is the honorable thing to do. The ladies and gentlemen mentioned need to pave the way for effective and thorough investigations to take place. To achieve this, they must resign as a matter of principle. Their voluntary resignation will make their absence in Government palatable to their rowdy followers and avoid the impression of persecution of any group of people.

2. The Process Must be seen To Be Free And Fair. Kenyans will be watching very closely how this tribunal is handled. As sad as this is to say, there are thousands of Kenyans who lost their relatives and property and are still trapped in the unending cruelty of the IDP camps. Equally disturbing, there are Kenyans in refugee camps in Uganda who are too traumatized to even contemplate a return to Kenya. This is sad and unacceptable. To such people, this nation owes a credible tribunal, one that will fairly convict the culprits and fairly dispense justice. We must be sensitive to the fact that should this thing be perceived to be bungled, we'll have created an opportunity for our unscrupulous politicians to present themselves as martyrs to their gullible followers, who will seek vengeance and create a situation where animosity and grievance is recycled without end.

3. Outstanding Grievances Must Be Simultaneously Dealt With. I sense an inexplicable foot-dragging when it comes to matters related to land and the constitution. One year after the electoral fiasco how can we explain this slowness? Are we waiting to start handling these matters in the run up to the 2012 elections? We have to realize that by then Kenya will be too charged up for anything to be done effectively. So at this time, when we are in the mood for dealing with our problems head on, let's ruthlessly deal with the issues of land distribution and the unbalanced constitution. Waiting is an option we don't have.

4. The Hague Must Be Our Last Resort. Fellow Kenyans, going to the Hague will be one of the most humiliating things to happen to Kenya in recent memory. It will be a tacit admission of failure on our part, a statement to the world that we are incapable of handling our affairs. Even so, we must agree that if our local tribunal is seen to be failing, the ICC will have to step in. In the end, what we are saying as a nation is that we will no longer tolerate impunity.

5. Reconciliation Must Follow Punishment. Like most trials, the verdict of the tribunal...or God forbid, the ICC...will inevitably create animosity in the country. President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga will have to move swiftly, literally hours after the verdict, to unify the nation. They will need to lead the nation to bury the past and see in the verdict a necessary cleansing, an atonement for the sins of the nation.

My fear, Fellow Countrymen, is that if we carelessly handle this tribunal, a perception that certain communities were targeted will emerge. That would be regrettable. Indeed, it would be better if we neither formed the tribunal nor went to the ICC if all we end up accomplishing is setting the stage for future animosities...that will lead to fresh antagonisms.

I pray for Kenya!


Has Obama not stopped smoking?

Dream Beach holidays on private island in East Africa at affordable rates this Christmas. Avoid crowded Mombasa.

Be sure to check out this mouth-watering African dishes in Nairobi