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As much as we all have different political leanings and ideas on the way forward for Kenya, we all agree about one thing; that the country is in the mess it is in today because our fathers, mothers and uncles mostly decided to do nothing, through 40 years of misrule.
Alas, they had a good excuse, with the cold war that propped up murderous dictatorial governments in Africa opposing a government in those days was a sure death sentence.
But despite the fact that you and me are in a much better position to do a lot today, most Kenyans would rather not get involved...
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Chris why are you playing a spoiler? While we are busy building an African tiger you are busy making NOISE on such non edibles like LEGACY. By the way legacy on what for whom and why?
ReplyDeleteYou can continue serving your MASTERS in reminding us of the basics while we are busy mending gutter roads. Your noise and those draw pleasure in attending ODM rallies instead of investing in NSE stocks ni kelele ya chura, STOP IT NOW.
You have refused to stop being an irritant to our peaceful sleep. While we are busy toasting success here you are shamelessly dragging us behind. Your Mathare and Kibera ilks must exist to complete the picture for we only reason best by contrast. Otherwise how do you appreciate affluence if you don't witness abject want?
For the umpteeth time stop your PROPAGANDA and concentrate on the phenomenal growth the gods bestoweed on us through able hands of HE Stanley EMK. And who said a prophet is never revered at home? Baba Gidi is the special Gift the political zoo gave us after dinosaur. Unless you are unwitingly bent of inviting my curse, stop the noise and jienjoy. Luke is smiling in his grand dreams too, join him.
OK. I reserve my comments at this juncture.
ReplyDeleteI would like to be remembered as the Kumekucha blogger, an aspiring mp and president of Kenya. With one consistent supporter in the name of Taabu. Henceforth, I will do nothing but blog.
ReplyDeleteTo Taabu:abject poverty is what you experience in Kibera, and affluence is when you are the parliamentary representative of the dwellers biggest slum in Africa and yet find absolute pleasure riding around in an expensive, fuel guzzling, un-environmental friendly Hummer. What better way to appreciate affluence?)
Since when did people start choosing what they want to be remembered for? Live your life such that when you die, no epitaph needs to be written on your tombstone, because your life speaks for itself.
The Raila campaign continues, five more months, Kumekuchans. Then, we start all over again, this round, time will be on our side, a whole five years of blogging.Na hiyo ni maendeleo.
I also would like to make 'jokes' about Kibera and other slums ,,,,, but only if and when they are a part of the past and not of the present ........ for now my heart goes out to the people living there and mainly to the children. I will never forget their faces and the sadness in their eyes .... and my mind goes back to the times (1987/88) when I had interested Governments and Institutions and Privates to 'invest' in them - seeing and realizing the need to help those people which their own Government preferred to shut their eyes ..... I could have 'erased' those slums ....... and this is still haunting me ...... 'I could'
ReplyDeleteSo - please - never again make jokes, never again make funny remarks about the pleight of these people ...... and if ever you feel, you should - go there and spend one or maybe two nights in the heat of these tin-roofed houses without water and electricity....... I am sure you will come out 'changed' ......... and then go the the Member of Parliament of Kibera (yes, it also belongs to his constitution), the Hon. Raila Odinga - living in his palatial home - and drag him out there and make him spend those two nights amongst 'his' people ...... and not just when accompanying some 'famous rich friends' of his and afterwards 'retreating' to his air-conditioned house with swimmingpool ...........
If he wants to become the President of Kenya - he will have to face also this side and not just yearn to reside on the 'house of the hill' above them ...........
Marianne Briner
Wait a minute, am I reading and seeing right? Fear yes but hope not. Making fun of tragedy is the height of being insensitive. Nobody chose to reside in Kibera and as much as you may hate their MP please spare a thought for these symbols of ordinary mortals.
ReplyDeleteEven if you don't have tears, you need not grin at the plight of the down-trodden. Trivializing such grave issues is akin to cheering the the master of glutonin oblivious of the fact that you are precariously perched on the nozzle of an AK-47.
To MB, it is never too late to realize your dreams of making a small difference in these people's lives. I know you are not naive and you have been reading this blog therefore you must be prepared for some very unfriendly and CRUDE remarks. Kenya for is big enough for all of us but too small for some of us. Long live Kenya.
Thanx for that Taabu.
ReplyDeleteI must say I admire MB's guts. Other "grown cowards" here use anonymous, she decides to use her real name. Very brave.
Which brings me to another point. Just for my knowledge I would kindly like to do a brief survey amongst ourselves. Kindly tell us if you have been to Kibera and Mathare slums. This is important because I sense that many of us here have no idea other than trying to use our imagination. I know Phil has been to Kibera many times. What about you Taabu and the rest of you good folks? Don't feel guilty if you haven't, it is not a crime and neither does it mean that you don't care, I'm just curious.
Pesonally I have been to both Kibera and Mathare many times. Nothing to show off about. But I understand a little about what our dear brothers and sisters are going through and what the Mungiki massacre by the police meant to them. I have not spent the night in either slum but have done so at another small slum area called Ngando and have also lived in some conditions that were close to those of a slum area for a year or so. Am very grateful for that lasy expereince.
-Kumekucha-
Here comes the first crude remark.... What do u mean u could have erased that slum? One,impersonation is not tolerated here and two, assuming for the sake of argument, u are Marianne Brinner, how would you have erased the slum? I mean its time people got a little bit serious about some of these things.
ReplyDeleteMarianne Brinner and godfathers here, I will tell u one thing. Influential kenyan politicians have tens if not hundreds of concubines. Marianne was not the first and neither was she the last. She was a doormat and there is no way she could have influenced any decision. Probably the only decision she could influence was the pace of the pump or the position she wanted to be rode on, nothing more nothing less.
The people of Kibera do not need the intervention of MB to have their plight straightened out. They pay taxes to the government of kenya which has a responsibility and duty to invest in uplifting their lives. There should be concrete evidence that the exchequer is funding programmes in Kibera and other slums in Kenya. There should also be concrete evidence that the CDF money is being used to fund slum upgrading projects. So far I have not seen any genuine desire and effort by either the government or The Lang'ata constituency Development Committe, and this I know is not very palatable to some people but it is just the plain truth.
MB, 'thanks for joining us' though I know who is writing under your handle and for what purpose.
And yes, I have lived in Kibera. We ran a small kiosk between Kibera market and Jamhuri. I would alight from matatu number eight heading to Ayany and plough through the market to the City council school for adult education. I have eaten boiled maize and played pool in the kibera market. I have bought fish in that market and thats how I learnt that Irokamano means thanks and king means tomorrow. Siling apar means 10 bob. Mama Akinyi taught me all these whenever I bought fish there.
ReplyDeleteYes I know it is a tramautising experience there but my question is, Where does the buck stop? We all know.
Ahh Vikii...
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it was Kibes as guys of the other side of Ngong Road called it. My mother tongue (tribe) call it erokamano-thanx; kiny-morrow. Anyway Vikii good pice. I enjoyed that.
I know that some people hate me and some may even say 'this mzungu woman does not know what she is talking about - how could she - being the lover of these big man (first Dr. Mungai and then Daniel arap Moi) -......
ReplyDeleteYou are all right in one way - but this was my private life and had nothing to do with my intervention later to change - or try to change - the life of some Kenyans.... I am not assuming to have been able to change all of Kibera - but I could have done a lot. I had 'collected' 300 Million $ for this and this I can prove and which was confirmed in a letter Hon. Darius Mbela (then Minister for Housing) had written to Prof. Saitoti (then Minister for Finance) asking him to approve my proposals ..... I had meetings in Kibera - yes directly in Kibera - I have visited these 'houses' and the people did not feel ashamed to show me around - it was me who felt ashamed to see the conditions they had to live in .......and to hear the lame excuses those 'Officials' accompaying me had who also did not understand why I had insisted to go there in the first place.
Don't forget this was 1986/87 - so more than 20 years ago ......
Dr. Ouko knew about this since he also knew that this was the original reason why I decided to come back to Kenya after I had been declared 'persona non grata' and had been asked to leave the country ..... those faces of those children had 'asked' me to come back ......
And now you can continue dragging my name and my person into the mud - I don't care - but I cared and still care for those people in Kibera and in other similar slums ..... because their situation is a shame to every decent human being, in and outside Kenya .....
Marianne Briner
Why then dont u stop wasting time here and go help those children? Moi is no longer in power now and we have a democratic government which wont mind u spending ur ill gotten $300M bucks to uplift the standards of living of the pple of Kibera. Do u still have the money by the way? What's ya phone number? we can work an MOU in which u n ya daughter can unleash 'em goods on me. What did I say? Sorry I meant your daughter, I apologize for that slip of the tongue Marianne Brinner 11.
ReplyDeleteDerek thanks for that correction. I learnt how to say a few words but not how to write them. Apenji also means nakuuliza? And yeah, we had a kiosk over there. I have never lied in my life and I will never lie.
Vikii ... with all honesty you are full of crap. You talk too much and have no idea of what is going on. You are amoung those who think that they know but in reality you know nothing. Pliz spare us ... this stupidity.
ReplyDeleteChris, I was born in Kibera and lived there most of my childhood. We stayed in Fort Jesus then moved to Olympic before my parents moved to their home. Those days Kibera was not so populated and the estates in Kibera like Olimo, Forti, Karanja and Ayany where very clean. The slums were not densely populated like it is now.
ReplyDeleteI had and still have friends, relatives and former school mates in the slums. I still visit Kibera and know how it is. Though I have not been to Mathare.
Going back to your subject. I would like to be remembered as a blogger who fought for the rights and a better life for the common mwanainchi, especially women and children.
This is why we need change and should continue fighting for it, until we no longer have Kenyans suffering in slums like Kibera and Mathare.
God help us and Kenya!
P.S: I tried in vain to comment on some of your posts this week. Hope this one gets posted.
Am amused when I read here about how much bloggers have 'experienced' Kibera. Even if we made Raila 'president for life' I doubt if he would do much to improve living conditions there. Bloggers need to understand the politics and intrigues every-day-life there, the slum upgrade project and what the residents themselves think of life in general. Some of these residents have to each day grapple with disease, hunger, crime, deliberately started fires, police harassment, joblessness, 'rent' arrears, etc etc, the list is endless!
ReplyDeleteYou guys need to remember the infamous Nyayo High Rise flats that were originally commissioned for slum dwellers, and ask why these estates are now occupied, on rental basis, by Kenya's middle class and not the poor who were meant to 'own ' them.
What you guys fail to understand is that, although there are the shanties in Kibera we all know and love to talk about, there are also many affluent families living within this slum and in very comfortable houses with running water and electricty complete with satellite TV entertainment. There are also 'landlords' who charge exorbitant rates for 8x8 mud walled shacks with no communal facilities (hence flying toilets and open air 'bathrooms'). Even the pit latrines Chris is talking about are few and available for use at a fee...which some of these guys have make a daily choice between buying roast maize as your only meal for the day or paying a 'luxury' pit latrine toilet.
Kibera is made up of many distinct villages (Kianda, Makina, Gatwikira (not Gatwick Airport!), Kisumu Ndogo, Lindi, Soweto, etc). These are the shanties. Susan, residents of Kibera DO NOT consider Fort Jesus, Ayany, Olympic and Karanja as 'slums'. Huko ni kwa ma babi - if you get what I mean. I was born there and was a long time resident too.
And as type this, I wonder (and sure Susan wonders too) if driving by on your way to A.S.K. Show is 'experiencing' Kibera? Or landing at Wilson Airport and seeing these slulms from the air? Or riding on the passenger train to/fro Kisumu from Nairobi? I dont think so.
And by the way Langata constituency is not just Kibera. It also includes more affluent estates like Karengata, Hardy, Langata, Nairobi West and Ngumo. There is also the plush Royal Nairobi Golf club next to the slums.
PS.
ReplyDeleteFunny enough Susan, Fort Jesus, Toi Market, Woodley Estate, Adam Arcade, Nakumatt Prestige, Jamhuri I and II, Joseph Kangethe Social Hall, Show ground, are all in Dagoretti constituency.
Ayany, Olympic Karanja, and the famous slums fall in Langata constituency.
Can you tell where the boundary is? Railaway line? main road?
Confused? You bet! Its all politics and meant to cutting Raila down to size!
Phil your are right residents in Kibera villages (slums) do not consider those estates within Langata/Dagoretti constituency next to them and yes the famous slums fall in Langata constituency. The other part I always wonder what method they used to draw the boundary between Langata and Dagoretti and what was the motive.
ReplyDeleteI like going to Toi Market at least I dont have to go all the way to Gikomba. I took my voters card next to Toi Primary School only to realise when I went to vote at Joseph Kang'ethe hall that I was voting in Dagoretti constituency!
syra I will spare u the stupidity. Please continue to shower me with your wisdom. That was a very articulate one and I liked it. I wish everybody had bright ideas like yours. U surely know a hell lot of stuff. Kudos!
ReplyDeleteSyra, I think that you are either out of your mind or trying to create an impression. Why on earth should you call someone 'stupid', over something that borders on reasoning? Why don’t you avoid the use of the word 'stupid' and spare this forum the decadence that it might get from your own behaviour. To me Vikii is not stupid.
ReplyDeleteSimply talk of what you know instead of inviting retribution and uncalled for language. Did I read that Marianne has collected 300m for Kibera. Please can you send it over? It will be enough to do what Raila Odinga cannot do.
For one reason or another, Daniel Moi is a constituent of Langata and from the lawn of his Kabarnet Gardens home, he can see what happen less than 100m away in Kibera. Moi could not do anything and for more than 30 years has seen the slum grow.
That money should have accrued interest by now. The interest is enough to build three police stations in Kibera, tarmac a few kilometres of road and even constructed a futuristic community centre at Woodley. Please rush that money to Kenya someone needs to use it.
Marianne,what did you do with the $300million??
ReplyDeleteSorry I took that turn and 'dragged your name in the mud'.Everyone has a "private life". I bet many Kenyans' "private lives" are not very different from yours,only maybe not with eminent persons but all the same, we would be wowed by what is done in "private".
There is no question privacy is a human right (another fight you could take up for your love of Africa). BUT, when you personally make it public, thats it.The privacy ends there. You cannot blame someone else. By the way, why did you, like some insects, try to "kill" everyone you had a "private life" with? Is there a forthcoming publication with an answer?
".....She was a doormat and there is no way she could have influenced any decision. Probably the only decision she could influence was the pace of the pump or the position she wanted to be rode on, nothing more nothing less....".
ReplyDeleteChris, those are Vikii's words that he uses to describe MB, and it is my guess that they are the words that upset SYRA. I personally find them unacceptable.
What do you say Chris?
Phil wacha kushtaki bana. BTW reason ya mine ya kuattack huu 'madhee' ni vile niko sure si yeye-----Hii ni impersonation and was just trying to scare the shit outta the impersonator.
ReplyDeleteLemmie admit that still hiyo si reason enuff ya kunipeleka overboard. Nimewithdraw hiyo remark na nimeapologize, from the bottom of ma heart.
Basically MB what we are saying here is that I was wrong. The only reason I was rough on u is coz I dont believe it's actually u who wrote that article. I am seeing a hell lot of impersonation here. I take this opportunity to extend my sincere apologies to u and hope u will find it in your heart to forgive me. I dont agree with 99.99% of what u do but then that grants me no right to load it over ya. Please forgive.
Now Phil u regard my remarks unacceptable and rightly so. But do u find this Sayra person's acceptable? If u endorse his/her/its attack on me then I am afraid u dont qualify to arbitrate on anything here.
To Sayra, I was waiting for another one of your very insightful and wisdom-full comments. Such are the only stuff that can get me to know 'at least something'. I am not sure u want me to bandy words with u. That's something u dont want to do, I am sure about it.