No, no, you’re not imagining things. Oh yes, the one and only Samuel Kivuitu, Kihara Muttu, Muturi Kigano and the rest of the crowd, are all set to supervise elections in June, just six months after bungling the general elections!
With the country deeply divided, upwards of 1500 Kenyans dead; more than half a million others living as refugees in their own country and the constitution having had to be amended so as to accommodate a power sharing deal, one would imagine that the individuals responsible for this unfortunate turn of events would be sitting at a remand jail awaiting to be taken to court to face criminal negligence charges. And how WRONG one would be.
Sure, there are some positive things that have arisen out of Kivuitu’s massive cock-up, but the negative aspects far outweigh them. The 2007 election failure impacted on many lives, affected businesses, disrupted education and agriculture plus much more, not just in Kenya, but throughout the Eastern African region. Yet, the clumsy and inept ECK commissioners who are 100% responsible for this tragedy still sit pretty in their red carpet aircon offices enjoying hefty emoluments on tax payer account. All this while thousands of Kenyans mourn their dead relatives and many others sleep in rain soaked tents. What an insult!
Out of step with the real world
Admittedly, there is urgent need for constituencies without MPs to get representation in parliament. But should current ECK commissioners, now hiding behind constitutional security of tenure, be allowed to oversee by-elections, let alone hold public offices? Personally, recalling events at KICC in December 2007 and Kivuitu’s arrogant attitude ever since, I wouldn’t trust any of those ECK commissioners to serve as members of a village borehole committee.
Flashback: Towards the doomsdayIt would seem that Kivuitu’s fate and that of his fellow commissioners lie in the hands of Mwai Kibaki as president. The ECK is governed by Chapter 41 of the Constitution of Kenya which inter-alia says: “....... 5) A member of the Commission may be removed from office only for inability to exercise the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or from any other cause) or for misbehavior, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with this section.
(6) A member of the Commission shall be removed from office by the President if the question of his removal from office has been referred to a tribunal appointed under subsection (7) and the tribunal has recommended to the President that he ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or for misbehavior.
(7) If the President considers that the question of removing a member of the Commission under this section ought to be investigated, then—
(a) the President shall appoint a tribunal, which shall consist of a chairman and four other members selected by the President........” The big question is whether the president will listen to the voices of reason and appoint the tribunal. Highly unlikely!
The Independent Review Commission headed by Justice Johann Kriegler set up to investigate general elections fiasco will hold countrywide meetings to gather evidence and has given interest groups up to 16th May to submit their written memoranda.
The influential Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Chairman, Mr Maina Kiai, has called for the Kenya Government to seek assistance from the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD) to oversee the by-elections. Maina reckons that the fact that there is an official inquiry into the conduct of the ECK is enough reason to ask for international assistance. He adds that the ECK lost credibility and integrity to conduct other elections after they messed up last year's polls.
On their part, the Secretary General of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya Sheikh Mohammed Dor has said that the Government ought to abolish the ECK and create a new representative commission so as to ensure free and fair elections.
Safina Party Leader and former Kikuyu MP Mr Paul Muite has also called for the reconstitution of the ECK before the June by-elections. Muite said it would be unacceptable for the ECK as currently constituted to run the repeat polls. "A majority of the commissioners are partisan, having being handpicked by one side of the political divide. Elections are like justice - they must not only be free and fair, but they must also be perceived to have been free and fair," said Muite. Instead, he urged for "an urgent constitutional amendment" to be fast-tracked in Parliament to put in place a professional ECK to conduct all future elections. Muite is foreseeing violent protests ahead citing Embakasi constituency which has the potential to easily become a flashpoint constituency to trigger off fresh violence if the outcome of the repeat polls was disputed.
It might be recalled that the European Union (EU), the Commonwealth and the African Union election observers all condemned the ECK saying that it failed to meet "international standards of transparency in key areas of its mandate".
All the international observer reports recommended that ECK be completely overhauled to build confidence in its independence and professionalism and also to ensure that it is credible, transparent and impartial.
I can only see more trouble for this country if the ECK, as currently constituted, goes ahead to oversee the by-elections in June.
Mombasa businessman faces the wrath of a stripper
Isn't it ironic that the same MPs declared winners by the 'inept and corrupt' ECK are now calling for it's blood? You just can't but wonder why they did not decline to take up their seats in bunge hence kissing goodbye their Ksh 1M monthly paycheck.
ReplyDeleteMoi stole elections a million times yet we never came anywhere near the genocide we witnessed in 2007. Some MPs would like us to believe these savage attacks were as a result of stolen elections. Others claim it's historical injustices and some bloggers heap the blame on only one man- Kivuitu. Everyone knows quite well the barbarity was well financed by prominent politicians from both sides.
Kivuitu is obviously being used as a political football by those with something to hide regarding financing and inciting election blodshed. I'm sure the courts would like to listen to your arguments regarding Kivuit's guilt but so far, the man remains innocent.
Labels: Innocent till proved otherwise.
honestly phil, i am not holding out my breath for kibaki on his own volition to appoint any tribunal to investigate anyone!!
ReplyDeletein my opinion, it is obvious that if he does...it means he will also be writing himself a ticket out of that office because what other thing will the tribunal be investigating other than the ECK's misbehaviour that reinstated him to the presidency? that investigation will open a whole new can of worms my friend.... ama, are people expecting that after the ECK is adjudged guilty of misconduct, kibaki will continue to stay pretty in statehouse? he is, after all the major beneficiary of their misebehaviour and he will have to go home with them.
in any case si the ECK has so much dirt on how he managed to get back into office? what can kibaki tell them? why else are they so confidently sitting pretty in their offices after all those people died? they know for sure they are not going anywhere! unless kibaki is willing to treble or quadruple the bribes he paid last year those guys are here to stay.
the security of tenure nonsense is just that, nonsense!!.....and i shudder to think that its only in kenya where someone can get away with crimes such as those commited by those goons and still have the audacity to hide under the constitution....quoting sections and all.....aki people have no shame at all!!
my opinion, is that we should follow maina kiai's suggestion...let the UN handle the by-elections and lets move on with our lives. tribunal kusema kweli mimi singoji.
Kwani Kivuiti has got no conscience?
ReplyDeleteThe graves of close to 5,000 Kenyans, toddlers, pregnant women etc are still fresh. (those who are disputing these figures should prove to me why 1,000 Kenyans dead is much better than 5,000 dead. In my book even one Kenyan dead is too terrible.)
The issues is not that the parliamentary elections were seen to be generally free and fair (wewe George Saitoti na kaka yako), surely Martha Karua is more intelligent than that and understands that the issue is that ECK has lost ALL credibility kabisa and leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth for a vast majority of Kenyans. More so in the constituencies where the by-elections are due to be conducted.
My humble view is that my tribes-mate, Kicuitu, is provoking Kenyans and whatever happens let him know that he seeks more blood on his hands when they are already soaked in the stuff.
I know we Kaos are generally desperate for cash, but surely Mr Kivuitu that beloved salary of yours could put you in a terrible situation.
Wa kwitu....eka uthauka na andu!!!!!!
-Kumekucha-
P.S. I hope speaking to him in mother tongue as I have above works. I have told him to stop playing with people.
The civil society promised to take the ECK to court, when are they going to be civil and keep their promise.Or was it just BIG TALK for TV cameras?
ReplyDeleteKongo
That's what Kivuitu does best...flashing his ass at us!
ReplyDeletePhil,
ReplyDeleteGet a life! If you have any evidence take Kivuitu to court. If not, just shut up! Kazi ieendele.
anon 4:55
ReplyDeleteThe only proof that kenyans have right on video and all news media !national and international is the mungiki genocide in nakuru and naivasha paid for by Kibaki and his cronies after the meeting they had with the mungiki gang members before and after the 27th December 2007 election at kibaki's residence!!!.
2 of the members who were at that confirmed meeting have been recently executed by kibaki's orders- stop mixing odm with your PNU blood thirsty path!!
anon5:25 AM
ReplyDeletei understand they have to be removed by a vote in parliament like Muite said- so i think MP's are preparing that vote!!PNU yeeahs!! and ODM Naays!
si they serve at the privilege of kibaki the thug!!
@M-PESA,
ReplyDeleteObviously you did not read the confessions of Kipkemoi Arap Kirui (now living in exile) about how Kivuitu and his commissioners conspired to deny Kenyans their president. Please take some time and read this sad story.
EXCLUSIVE: Kirui the Whistleblower Exposes How They Stole the Presidency
I also remind you, that bureaucracy and corruption at the ECK made impossible for any of the numerous local and international observers to confirm WHO ACTUALLY WON the presidency. Hell, Kivuitu himself made the damning confessions indicating that he himself was not sure if Kibaki won the elections (yet he had declared him president). I was at KICC that day filing reports for this blog and i remember ODM implore Kivuitu to resign rather than announce fraudulent results, only for him to be kidnapped by armed GSU officers and a few moments later appear on TV to declare Kibaki president.
This is the main issue that triggered violence, and everyone knows that!
I will not comment on your allegations about Moi era. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Anon@6.08: I have printed for YOU what the law says about removal of commissioners. It your president who needs to act, NOT me. Please keep your idiocy at bay.
This is unbelievable - ECK muddle up elections, thousands die and hundred thousands end up as IDP's as a result, and these same characters are going to organise and supervise another election!!!. What impunity.Please can somebody kick them out.
ReplyDeleteKongo
MUNGIKI IS A PRODUCT OF LOW MORALITY and PRIMITIVE CULTURE IN KIKUYULAND.
ReplyDeleteALL PNU members are also Mungiki members.
No MP, No powerful Minister from Central Prov has made a single comment on this dangerous illegal grouping.
Central Prov is the richest province in Kenya. People own planes. The excuse that the youth is starving in CP is a wrong excuse and should not justify the formation of a killer society.
It is known that a Kikuyu loves money more than God and anything else on earth. There are no morals, when it concerns money. Nowonder 90% of prostitutes in Kenya are Kikuyus.
History proves that a sick Kikuyu was thrown to hyenas, a dead Kikuyu was never burried. The body was thrown away.
Kikuyus dont have a culture based on morals, it is based on wealth. This wrong culture has over the years created this aggressive momentum in Kikuyuland to acquire wealth, no matter how much it costs. Kenyatta showed the way. He told the sons of Mau Mau to go to the bank and take the money piled there. "I'll get you weapons", he said. The first Kenyan daylight bank robbery started.
Bloggers, the gov cant eradicate Mungiki using weapons or creating jobs for the youth.
THE KIKUYUS MUST GET CULTURED, get moral upbringing. That is the cure.
It is only in Kenya where a man with blood stains on his both hands embark on his duties, as if nothing has happened.
ReplyDeleteKivuitu has no rights to supervise anything. RAO should nominate one upright man to show Kivuitu, how fair elections are being conducted.
Phil - You and your ODM should be the last people to complain about Kivuitu. Were it on for ODM Kivuitu would have gone home. They put a condition - either Kivuitu or no election. If Kiabki had appointed another chairman - today kibaki would have had no face and the ECK. Kivuitu was tbe bet of ODM and ODM-k. When he refused to sing to your tune - we bastardise the guy. Common guys.
ReplyDeleteIn my school of parenting - i learned appreciative management. Appreciate what the guy has done and the bite.
All the same, i share your thoughts. The man should not chair ECK. Me thinks he should have been honourable enough to resign with dignity unless he has a dossier of who won that you and me dont know. All the same, i bet the guy suffers from depression. His act and talk do not belong to an elder. Lakini ODM are the major culprits - from referendum you cheered the guy - yet he has swallowed you proper.
I beg to digress but i will certainly revert back to the post at hand.I watched during the one oclock news One Njenga Karume,declare that because Maina Njenga had appealed against the ruling made by judges he should be released on bail.I was lost for words but because so much has been and will be said about Mungiki here,it is now very candid that Njenga Karume patronises mungiki and so shameful for a man who headed defence of our beloved country until not so long ago.So we now know what sort of country we are living in.
ReplyDeleteBack to the ECK,what we are witnessing is Impunity at its peak.It seems Kibaki is sitted somewhere saying Mtado!!!!!I expected someone like Kivuitu to have led from the top and resigned although i dont expect the likes of Muturi Kigano and Kihara Mutu to reason given their otherwise obvious and loud penchant for Money and easy money at that.
Like it is put in the post,if your conduct is brought into disrepute willingly or otherwise one should step aside to pave way for investigation and once cleared one can always go back to work.By letting Kivuitu hold office this long,is actually allowing him to wipe the feaces he is percieved to have used to smear Kenyans with.Again its a very very bad precedent that Kibaki as the appointing authority is setting.
I have this feeling that he seems to find no fault in Kivuitu's actions being the guy that benefitted wholesale from Kivuitu's demeanours.This makes me believe kivuitu is not going to move an inch anytime soon.That brings me to what i have been pondering about the Kriegler comission.I think we are not going to have anything from that team after all unless RAO is recieving the report to make it public.Thats just another walk in the park.In Tanzania our next door neighbour so many roles have rolled in the recent past just at a mention of their name in this or that deal,i wonder why heads cant roll in Kenya?????When Mwiraria&Co Cohorts stepped aside sometime back i felt Kenya had come of age but one or so years down the line i dont know where the rain began beating us!!!!!Long live Githongo.
We need LSK or some other lawyers to charge Kivuitu&Cohorts on "pro-bono" basis very soon!What Happened to Omtatah and group or were they pleasing the Donors purses open????????? I stand to be corrected as usual!
anon7:39 AM
ReplyDeleteI can see the kikuyu moral issue in your argument! ODM SUPPORTED KIVUITU BECAUSE OF MORAL OBLIGATIONS- ODM DID NOT BRIBE KIVUITU(SH 50 MILLION) IS SITTING IN HIS FOREIGN ACCOUNT TODAY- SOURCES CONFIRM- AND ALL THE REST OF THE ECK AGENTS SH 5,000,000 EACH WAS PAID TO THEM- THE FORMER KIBAKI'S ,LAWYER SITTING ON THE SAME ECK BOARD RECEIVED MORE ($10,OOO,000)
PNU and kibaki bribed ECK agents to rig the elections and especially presidential elections this are facts!This agents made a pact with the Devil himself and sources say they were told if they talk death is the answer!! why do you think the other ECK officer the whistle blower had to leave the country?? you think he would be alive today??? NOPE! KIBAKI AND HIS CRONIES ARE BLOOD THIRSTY MURDERERS AND IF ANYONE TRIES TO GET IN THEIR WAY THEY ASSASSINATED OR EXECUTE THEM IN BROAD DAYLIGHT-
BUT SOON YOU WAIT AND SEE THIS THUGS AND ALL THEIR FAMILIES WILL BE WIPED OUT!! KIBAKI'S NAME WILL HAVE NO BODY TO CARRY IT ON!!
Anon 7:39
ReplyDeleteYou raise a valid point that ODM and ODM-K indeed lobbied intensely for Kivuitu to be retained as chair of ECK. I believe am a realist and therefore do not deny truth.
But the only problem I've had when issues like this are raised is who puts his hand on that time dial to rewind, and when s/he decides to rewind that time dial, who decides where to stop and for what reason? Let me clarify, if rewind that time dial to a few months before the lobbying and you'll see that Kibaki was riding shotgun, single handedly appointing his cronies/buddies to senior positions in ECK (Muttu, et al), rewind a few more months and you see a tough talking no nonsense Kivuitu (none could have anticipated that this was just an empty hot gun wannabe shooting blanks, but sigh.. hindsight vision is a perfect 20/20). rewind a few years back 2002 and we willingly elected the current thug Kibaki (if only we knew better but again hindsight vision a perfect 20/20)
i think you get the drift. if we rewind that time dial, lets comprehensively capture, explore, evaluate and completely understand each step that preceded that time dial and the results generated. We should be able to take that time dial back and forth many times and subject the events to the same objective reasoning. Only then can we make much needed progress i.e acknowledge any mistakes made as well as take note of any good and hopefully build on the good and in the very least avoid repeating "the same history of mistakes" over and over. Surely we need to learn from the past to do better today for a brighter future tomorrow. Only then can we believe in making any meaningful progress, n'est ce pas?
Mrembo said...
ReplyDeletehonestly phil, i am not holding out my breath for kibaki on his own volition to appoint any tribunal to investigate anyone!! ...
Now that about sums up that case.
Anytime i hear Kibaki, Decision, "right thing to do" in the same sentence i get nauseated and start to gag.
its an obscene unimaginable horrifying event and should be rated as extreme adult fiction or fantasy
UrXlnc
Kivuitu is a monster he is a creation of the ODM and ODM-K. When Kibaki wanted to show him the door ODMers and the Wazungu ambassadors were up in arms and threatened mass akson and withdrawal of donor funds. Kibaki the coward went along and re-appointed Kivuitu. The problem with these DOMO DOMO people is that they thought Kivuitu would hand pick Raila for president. Now that he didn't they are after his neck.
ReplyDeleteTime will show whether Kivuitu did any deliberate wrong. But, there is one thing Kivuitu and the ECK didn't do; they did not kill people in the RV. Those people were kill by the barbaric supporters of ODM. The "reason" given by the barbarians was that the victims voted the wrong way by not supporting Messiah Raila. Now the story has changed and we are told by some Kale MPs that the victims were killed to avenge some "historical injustices." Tomorrow, I won't be surprised to hear that they were killed because there was a "poor harvest" that year. On and on and on!!!! The problem is that we have an ODM culture developing in the country that believes that one can only lose an election if he is rigged and that unleasing death and destruction on the defenseless is a short-cut to victory. It was very much in evidence during their ODM parliamentary nominations where a few tribal warlords sat at the party headquarters and decided who got nominated. They wanted Kivuitu to follow the same script. That is why these autocrats are mad and don't want to wait for the Independent Review Commission to finish their work before they hang Kivuitu out to dry. They need to remember that a nation based on the rule of law is built brick by brick and not by shouting abracadabra or uprooting railways when you lose in a competition.
All those who have "proof beyond any reasonable doubt" regarding ECK's wrongdoing should follow the due process of the current law, or alternatively they should go to their parliamentary majority and have the law (or the constitution) changed to suit their whilms. Short of that, they are advocating mob rule where all are losers.
Did KIVUITU inflate Kibaki's votes like the way CHRIS is inflating Mungiki's deaths? If yes, then both have no conscience and neither can advice the other, not even in their mother tongue. Both need some mental theraphy.
ReplyDeleteAllow me to change the topic. Have you realized that by the time the RAILA-MUNGIKI summit is held, the venue might have to be changed from Naivasha to Hell. Why? Because that is where majority of the leaders of the pro-ODM Mungiki wing will have been dispatched to by the leaders of the anti-ODM wing. Just a realistic thought.
ReplyDeleteI am so ashamed of being Kenyan! I find it very difficult to accept some of the naive things that happen in Kenya and no one takes responsibility for these naive things!
ReplyDeleteHow come Kenyans leaders never Resign even if their short comings are as glaring as the stars in a clear night or as the sun along the equator!
How come Kiviutu can NOT resign even though his and team's shortcoming caused death, massive destruction of property and shame to Kenya?
In other countries of the world leaders named in scandels resign at mare mention of their names! Look at the TZ minister who resigned because he was mention in connection with corruption!
Yet in Kenya, their names are written in Kenyans blood and they will NOT resign!
Who will save us from these Hyenas!
Chris
ReplyDeleteCan you defend ur self
anon 10:06 claims you are now topping up figures ECK style,
I suggest you call a press conference chase out all member of the public and especially the press, surround ur self with GSU and declare, that you honestly don't know
UrXlnc
Anon 9:54
ReplyDeleteplease read my previous comment 9:02am
... Only then can we make much needed progress i.e acknowledge any mistakes made as well as take note of any good and hopefully build on the good and in the very least avoid repeating "the same history of mistakes" over and over. Surely we need to learn from the past to do better today for a brighter future tomorrow. Only then can we believe in making any meaningful progress ....
Anon at 9:54. You need to analyze things before spewing out ignorance. When ODM and ODM-K were supporting Kivuitu's retention, the circumstances of the time warranted that. Firstly, of all the commissioners he was the only person, then who understood the working of the ECK. Am sure the 2007 elections were a very disturbing nightmare, but they would have been worse had there been any other hand-picked moron picked by you know whom.
ReplyDeletetnk, at 9.02 a.m summed everything up. Lets not be too short sighted.
Rhyymemaster