PM Raila Odinga has urged African leaders to remove Robert Mugabe from power after refusing to share power. After talks with Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in Nairobi today, Raila (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7764883.stm) observed that Mr Mugabe had no interest in sharing power.
The Kenyan power-sharing model seems to be a kite that never left the ground. As they said Mugabe is no Kibaki and even more succinctly Zimbabwe is no Kenya. And didn’t Kenyans refer to Tsvangirai as a democrat worth emulating? Well, a kick in the mouth that leaves you toothless must be the ultimate prize in that game. We should know better.
The misplaced mentality of ENTITLEMENT will never make Robert Gabriel Mugabe imagine Zimbabwe without him. In his mind and those of his CRONIES Zimbabwe is synonymous with Mugabe, PERIOD. And he is in good company with hollow African pride in which you serially rape your own subjects while shouting at anybody daring you to stop.
So is Raila’s call for African governments to take decisive action to push Mugabe out of power mere wishful thinking or a simple consolation to a battered colleague Morgan? Well, the jury is already out roaming and we haven’t seen the last of Bob and his myriad platoon of dinosaurs.
While Kibaki is busy sucking his thumb at State House, Raila is forming alliances with progressive leaders of change from the south of Africa in preparation to push Kibaki’s protégé out of power in Zimbabwe. It is such boldness that we need in Africa today.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, it is such boldness that we see in the people of Kibera today. Raila must not be allowed to skate through the hunger issue with comfort. He did not. I see him tackling the issue as evidenced by the drop in the price of unga. Instead of invoking tribal hate from the past, we should strive to emulate the boldness Raila is showing us. Ama?
This is what ODMErs like to read.
ReplyDelete...Raila is god.
Mwalimu Taabu,
ReplyDeleteIts not yet Mugabe's time to quit let Zimbabweans sit tight na wavumilie kuwa wazimbabwe-bado mapambano stupid
As for the so called "Kenya power-sharing model" this is a temporary measure, a stop gap ala price controls in food and fuel it won't last we are still on our way to 3rd&final liberation
Well well, talk about the kettle calling the pot black. Agwambo is also a dictator in many ways, just look how he locks out his critics on elections time. He had locked out disssenters like Orengo and Anyang' Nyong'o until they bootlicked him. They now parrot like Sharrif Nassir after being whipped into shape! Come 2012 and dissenting voices of Ababu and co will be buried in Kaburi la sahau. Ok, so vile Mugabe may have a log in his eye, but Raila does have a speck in his and on that note, he should just write to KRA and ask for his huge salary to be docked just like all of us taxpayers! Careful when pointing someone, 3 fingers are pointing back at you!
ReplyDeleteROA should be careful not to play into the hands of imperialists......Zzimbabweans are not the nicest people but once the west getsa foot hold on zim. SA is NXT and we are right back to 1885.
ReplyDeleteSir Alex
M-chapaa
ReplyDeletewacha porojo locking out is politics the guy did not do anything illegal...orengo would have sued...stop being a cry baby politics is not for the faint of heart.
Sir Alex
RAO has never put a gun on anyones head and directed them on how to vote.....Orengo was voted out by his constituents, RAO has no prison cells to lock dissidents.....so how does he dictate pray tell...the guy is the like the pied piper of hermlin he pursuades...last I checked that was legal....Orengo would know.....
ReplyDeleteSir Alex
Sir Alex,
ReplyDeleteComrade Bob is a nasty piece of work, no doubt but let's place Agwambo under the microscope. In his Bio, Enigma, he boasts how he led the botched '82 coup attempt whereby over 1000 innocent Kenyans were murdered in cold blood. He's never apologised to the families of the dead over his reckless greed for raw power.
Just juzi, his supporters who he called "freedom fighters" killed over 1,000 innocent Kenyans for their "haki yao". More were raped and maimed. In many ways, he and many others have blood on their hands over the Jan/feb genocide. His speeches on "Kabila adui" and 'don't attack our friends the Kisii' didn't help at all. What has he done for Kibesh, except cruising there in a Sh20M Hummer? A tasteless display of wealth in Africa's biggest slum!
Atleast comrade Bob is a proud hypocrite.
I'm out of this dump!
Ojwang guy is a fool.
ReplyDeleteTaabu,
ReplyDeleteZimbabwe is on the verge of collapse. I sympathize with the people of that nation, who have to put up with the shennanigans of the man who was supposed to be their liberator. I hope the Raila-Zuma talks were not just a photo op, but serious talks meant to put the squeeze on that dictator. As for Tsvangirai, all I can wish him is good luck. He's up against a monster. Let him watch his back.
MP-ESA you keep going back to coup 1980, Kibaki has killed more than 1000s young kiuks the so called mungiki and 1000s more on shoot to killed order post election.
ReplyDeleteThank God, comrade Bob is a witness to what Kibaki would have done to Raila and ODM were it not for kalenjine worries. It’s sad that in zimb there no kalenjines worries and MDC were not man enough for any chengari no peace, Bob would be singing now in different tunes, and the zimb waki could be collecting his evidence to send Bob and core to Haugh or ICC.
Robert Mugabe is an embarrassment. He has always been. He lost elections with the clearest of margins and outrightly battered opponents during campaigns for the runoff. If you cannot remove a dictator through the ballot (and I mean by winning elections not alleging so), then the use of force should be considered as an option.
ReplyDeleteIt is now up to the Zimbabwe people to take control of their destiny. It is time the people of Zimbabwe started sit-outs to kick Mugabe out. I know the consequences of this(untold deaths and suffering), but the truth is that they have already been through hell and there is no worse hell than that one. It is time they bravely seized public offices. Their offices. If that is too scary to even imagine, then a nation can do pretty well with a moment of individual brilliance; Someone should just wake up and knock him down. That someone, however, has to be Zimbabwean. Mugabe's ousting MUST be the work of Zimbabweans. It is Zimbabweans who discovered Mugabe and it is Zimbabweans who will discard him.
Back to demagogues Raila Odinga and Jacob Zuma; First of all they are entitled to their worldview of populism. They are PRIVATE CITIZENS expressing their opinions like all of us. You do not urge governments(read Presidents) when you are an outsider and expect anybody to take you seriously. More importantly, foreign governments should have absolutely no active role in the affairs of a country. These governments remit monies to both the AU and the UN. It is the UN's job to police rogue nations and that is where our "idea of leaders" Raila and Zuma should be making their appeals to. What they are prescribing right now is also dictatorial. No nation should be policing another. It's that simple. These guys have been wrong again and again and again. It hurts.
Is that Vikii talking? Same guy who criticized another blogger when he called Kenya a sovereign state that didn't need ICC judges presiding over her destiny? And since when did you become such a fire-spitting radical to call on the Zimbabweans to overthrow their government?
ReplyDeleteI like the other cowardly Vikii better.
M-Pesa,
ReplyDeleteThis is not to LESSEN any live/s but how OLD were you in 1982? You seem to entertain the mindset of murk raking in the belief that it will successful camouflage. And BTW ever heard of NECESSARY EVIL and USEFUL CONVINIENCE? Indulge.
Let Che Guevara speak for us on the question of Zimbambwe and to some extent to what happened in Kenya in Dec. 2007 elections. He observed that:
ReplyDelete"... when the forces of oppression come to maintain themselves in power against established laws; peace is considered already broken."
At that stage, he argued, people must see the futility of fighting for social change within the framework of civil debate.
8.34, did I ever talk in favour of ICC judges? On this blog? Well, I would love to read that. If you are talking about sovereignty, I am a firm believer of that. That is why I feel there is such thing as poking too many noses into the Zimbabwe predicament. That is why I laugh when a "leader" calls on nations to dictate terms to another. If a resolution to that effect is passed by the UN, that is good news. If such an idea is born at an airport lounge, by two press-happy individuals with no links to the UN (either through leadership of their respective governments or through any other conceivable way) or the country in discusssion, then such an idea can only be considered a personal opinion. A wrong idea expressed by the wrong people who admittedly have every right to vent, once again, like all of us.
ReplyDeleteRaila is always looking for publicity stunt. He knows the world loathe Mugabe and is looking for a way to oust him, and so now he is using his "non executive" Prime Ministerial post to woo people around the world. Not that he cares about the people of Zimbabwe.
ReplyDeleteNext, wait, he will tell the whole world he knows how to catch Osama bin Laden. Ha-ha not everyone is easily fooled by these cheap charades which aims in making himself (Raila) a global superstar. We know when we see a wolf in sheep clothing (Oops!)
Well spoken Vikii
ReplyDeleteVikii is the best blogger in KK.
ReplyDeleteVikii, WE LOVE YOU!!!
Vikii,
ReplyDeleteYo man, am amazed that you postulate such sentiments! Could it be that you have imbibed something that we don't know?
I agree with you on Zimbabwe. What these folks need is help and back up from their sisters and brothers in the continent.
Raila has to be commended for taking such open and bold opinions. It is high time that Africans start calling a spade a spade instead of hiding their filthy laundry from their citizens yet the rest of the world can see it. Mugabe has to be forced into exile ASAP. He has become part of the problem.
@Vikii
ReplyDeleteIt is very clear that you underestimate the powerlessness of African civilians. We have seen this movie before. The tools Mugabe uses to shut up dissent are the exact same ones that Kibaki used. Shooting demonstrators in the buttocks does the trick.
Now, would Mugabe or Kibaki negotiate with anybody without external pressure? You forget that Kibaki changed his stance after receiving a riot act from Condoleezza Rice, a woman who did not represent any entity outside of the Bush administration. Her influence did some good and today we have peace although that toad is still canvassing at State House.
It’s about time we Africans used all means to remove such people from power. It’s disingenuous that you call for civil unrest today when last January, you and your conjoined twin brother Kalonzo were hiding under the bed as Kenyans were being hosed.
Raila is a Western tool. He made a deal with them he can't get out of, now we can see he's doing their bidding.
ReplyDeleteAnd who is Raila? Obama's kassin?
ReplyDeleteSomeone tell Morgan his way off track.
I love how folks will dismiss the subject matter and venture into detailed analysis, suppositions and conspiracy thoeries concerning the the personalities around the subject.
ReplyDeleteI wonder, how did you fair in the exams?
Way too much subjectivity. At least pepper it with something concerning the topic at hand so we may benefit from your point of view, for christ sakes.
@Papa+,
ReplyDeleteLook no further. Ever heard of blind RAGE that makes you shed all pretense albeit without knowing. It appears it ischeaper to attack characters while conviniently circling the subject. Sorry but I fear you will continue with the disappointment. We have taken it to new heights as a nation.
Taabu,
ReplyDeleteI fear that you are right. Even more distressing is the fact that this is the type of reasoning and thinking that passes for serious intelligence in many of those that have access to the net and can therefore be considered educated and exposed to the outside world.
Now take my brother Kwale here. There is nothing wrong with liking/disliking a character. But once you make that statement, go ahead and qualify it with your view of the topic at hand so that we may understand your perspective. You can't merely rely on a Sarah Palin like response to carry the argument. In any case, if Raila is seeking political milage here, you have to admit that he is going about it in a very smart fashion.
Folks, Kibaki is not Mugabe. Kenya is not Zimbabwe. And thank God for that fact because we could have very easily descended to that quagmire. And if we didn't learn anything from Rwanda, it would be a shame to miss any lessons from Zimbabwe months after we were in almost the same hole.
@Papa+
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which Sarah Palin made Bush sound Shakespearian, ama? Next time you want us to take you seriously please PREFACE your post with address and some assorted exotic gem that blinds most to your nudity.
Sarah Palin is the truth. Conservative hockey mum truth. President Bush has been buffling to me of late. He came out and said he was sorry that the intel on WMDs was wrong and that he was not prepared to go to war. Now he is not moving back to Crawford to clear brush but rather to the BIG D to mingle with Kenyans chomaring nyama na beer on memorial day and kularing hepi!
ReplyDeleteHe seems very lonely. I was telling my co worker that I can't possibly see what he will fill his days with.
Thanks sereast.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1.41,I luv you too. How I wish you could get yourself a moniker.
Papa Plus, you are obviously entitled to write anything about anything--including my suspected imbibition.
I am not dismissing what the Raila/Zuma duo said. All I am saying is theirs are just opinions on the subject JUST LIKE mine and yours. I am just pointing out what is wrong with not just their suggestion, but also the notion that theirs are opinions we should jump onto, some superior opinions of sorts! One, they are not the elected heads of government in their countries (hence their clear lack of clout in shaping out any decision the elected African leaders ought to take) and two, the belief that countries should be ganging up against any undesired situation (about another country) is both sick and wrong. This popular belief that international intefernce is the new prescription sub-conciously stems out of our increasing fondness with the mob culture--that misplaced notion that assumes the majority are always right and so we should disregard the positions of existing law and 'fix' problems. Quickly.
Look, we can use any crisis situation as a springboard to fix that whih aint working. The Zimbabwe crisis, like so many others in the globe, calls for a re-examination of whether the organizations charged with arbitration of such disputes are indeed doing their job or they are there just on paper. The moment we accept the UN, for example, and the charter that ceated it, then we should have faith in it and always strive to make it effective in cases when it proves not. That is why I believe, as imperfect as it is, the UN and other similar groups like the AU are the only legitimate frameworks through which troubled nations should be helped to get on their feet. Why should we continue being members of organizations if we truly feel some problems are best solved outside those organizations? You can call this whatever you like (because I know 99% of all people probably believe like you do--that we should just bully those we disagree with out of their positions). But I refuse to buy into that.
Will, probably the best thing for me to do is to ignore you but I wont;
One, my support for a civil uprising in Zimbabwe should not be likened to the mediocrity we bore in January at home. That was not a civil unrest as you call it but an UNCIVIL one. I don't think for a moment that Zimbabweans should take pangas and go slashing the supporters of ZANU PF or raping those they disagree with. If they do that and if Zimbabwe has a police force, then that force should do what they are paid to do including shooting marauders on their buttocks--not once or twice but ten times!
Two, I, Victor, believe that even though Morgan Tsvangirai was not elected President by Zimbabweans, he at least won a pluraity of the poll in the first round. He was a clear favourite to win the run-off (and thus constitutionally become President) but government forces made it impossible for a democratic contest. So, clearly these are people who have been denied the right to choose their government. That is why they should rebel.
On the Kenyan front, I do not believe that the ODM won the election. They just came up with a fabrication that obviously sounded bewitching to you and others. Unlike in Zimbabwe, their candidate was not only free to campaign in any part of the country, but was also accorded government protection while on the trail. Since you are so keen to compare Kenya and Zimbabwe, I would be glad to see any sensible evidence that points to a clear affront on democracy in Kenya. Anything short of that, to me, is as hillarious as calls for mass action against 'the government' by a government minister. The ususal dumb stuff we are forced to live with!
That said, can someone tell me why President Bush is supposed to be dumb. While he may not be as razor-sharp as Presidents Obama, Clinton and many of the other former Presidents, HE IS NOT DUMB. He has such a long resume it would scare you. Let us not mistake popular opinions with the truth.
Vikii,
ReplyDeleteYou have tried very hard bro to stick it out. But browsing some INT100 would you do a great good. If you still believe that UN is a literal acronym for what it spells then I don't blame you. But I know you are smarter than that and just trying to mask you OBJECT. All the same cut the chase about entrusting UN and AU (and did you say Zim contributes to them?) and let the veil fly. Nice trial though.
I did not say Zimbabwe contributes to the UN. I said those countries Mr. Raila is urging to gang up against Zimbabwe are the funders of these organizations. We should instead demand that these organizations take up what is rightly their job--what was actually the primary reason for their formation. And should be even today.
ReplyDeleteIf we continue believing it is right to poke our noses into the affairs of others outside the established and recognized frameworks, then we should not be surprised when someone wakes up after a bad dream and declares we have weapons of mass destruction and should therefore be occupied!
"If you still believe that UN is a literal acronym for what it spells then I don't blame you."
I do not know what you mean by this, but if you are referring to those little "veto-power" games that Moscow plays with Washington D.C, then dont you agree it is time we did away with a UN constitution that holds us hostage? One that allows partisan international politics to frustrate what should be a noble agenda? And start embracing the positions voted for by a majority of the member states?
I know this cannot come easily, but if we profess democracy and a committment to the rule of law, there is no short cut, my brother. We will have to confront these challenges if we hope to continue living civilly.
Meanwhile we should either do away with redundant organizations or play by the rules if we dont have the guts to do that.
People here keep talking of b urning women and childrren in the church. Is that different from burning a whole family in Naivasha? Both incidents were wrong and the people from both sides who did this should be punished. Maybe Kalenjin warriors burnt the church, but did they also burn the kids in Naivasha? Did they slash people on the road to western? Did they forcefully circumcise people? A crime is a crime whether you call it retaliation or helping your own. Can you imagine if we all retaliated on bad things done to us by killing people associated with the ones who did them?
ReplyDeletePapa Plus,
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, I am not trying to undermine the seriousness of this subject or the situation in Zimbabwe, but at the same time as an internet user I may exercise my freedom of speech on a wide variety of topics, including expressing my negative opinions about another person. And this is perfectly legal... even in "oustside world".
Kwale,
ReplyDeleteOf course you may, as you do, opine on anything of your choosing.
Having done that, am eager to hear your thoughts on Mugabe and the situation in Zimbabwe.
Vikii,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that there is anywhere in the UN or AU charter that says all conflict should be handled through these entities.
There is such a thing as the good samaritan law. You can not sit by and watch your neighbour under seige. Yes, you can call the cops but if it takes the cops a week to get there, you have to do something.
Only 2 African leaders have denounced Mugabe. Kagame and I think the president late president of Zambia. It is shameful for the rest to sit by quietly and watch Zimbabwe go down the toilet. Many presidents in Africa do not aspire for greatness outside their little villages. Instead we look to the UN, US, UK for leadership.
Why?
So Raila wants Mugabe out? Fair enough, but how sincere is he really? Consider that he is issuing such statements while glowing and preening like a peacock in the company of folks like Jacob Zuma, who thinks it is okay to sleep(rape?) with a HIV woman and then shower to stop the virus, problem solved. Are these the kind of "leaders" ODM supporters would like Raila and ODM to associate so publicly with since Raila claims Zuma is a progressive leader? Zuma is the same leader who has turned the ANC into a dictatorial movement such that he brooks no opposition whatsoever from within its ranks. Or is it that if Raila says so, then it must be? This is the kind of embarrassing buffoonery and blinkered thinking most of us who are forward looking will never accept.
ReplyDeletePeople forget, either conveniently or out of ignorance, that Mugabe was a very popular leader with the Zim people at independence in 1980. Even when he started calling for the redistribution of land, most believed he had a genuine and reasonable case. Little did they know that this call was merely the trojan horse for the entrenchment of a murderous dictatorship. It is therefore ironical, nay hypocritical, for Raila to call for his ouster yet Raila's political methods are precisely the same as Mugabe's before he entrenched his power. Why should i believe Raila is any different? The man is a dangerous egomaniac given to populist slogans in order to hide his true nature. Unfortunately for him, WE DO KNOW THIS TRUE NATURE NO MATTER HIS DISGUISE, NO MATTER THE POLITICAL YOGA CONTORTIONS.
Kimi,
ReplyDeleteSave for the cheap vitroil sheen I tend to AGREE with you. Yes, one is judged by the company he keeps. Zuma is one demagogue who still reeves in activism oblivious of the responsibility that comes with office. Zuma being progressive, well I HIGHLY doubt that. However, all the above does not make RAO's admonishing Mugabe any less useful, or does it?
Taabu, i accept your point that it IS useful to condemn Mugabe, though i doubt that it will have any effect. Zuma has even called for Mugabe to step down, but once in office next year as he surely will be short of some other disaster, you can be sure Zuma will do nothing to pressure Mugabe. The political implications for dictators like him are too grave. How is he going to call on Mugabe to step down when Mugabe will just start making noises about how 80% of productive South African land is in white hands? Do you see the potent grenade Mugabe will put into Zuma's lap? It will require just one market agitator or demagogue to start demanding white land and Zuma will be in real political trouble with the walala hai he pretends to represent, not to mention that he will be precisely in the same position Mugabe was prior to the Zim land grab.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePapa Plus @ 6.05,
ReplyDeleteYou said you're eager to hear my opinion on Mugabe and the situation in Zimbabwe.
Well, I don't think I have anything to say. The situation speak for itself. What I do think though is, the situation is so dire beyond human solutions. All we need now is divine intervention, and I am sure the good Lord will not forsake the people of Zimbabwe.
I heard Gordon Brown this morning saying 'enough is enough' for Mugabe. But that is easier said than done. What can he do, I may ask? Nothing.
Unless the world is willing to deal with Mugabe the same way they did to Sadaam Hussein, I don't really know if there is anything anyone can do other than pray for the people of Zimbabwe.
At least I commend the people of Zimbabwe despite of their miseries they've maintained dignity in face of extreme difficulties and untold suffering. Instead of rushing-out on their neighbours with Machetes, raping them for stolen elections, they decided keep their cooler head.
PS: Ghana is going to polls this weekend, and they too have vowed not do anything stupid like the Kenyans
Kimi,
ReplyDeleteZuma and CO are simply filling the VACUUM you and Kwale are giving a wide bearth. Continent Africa is crying loud for leadership and people like you are conviniently refusing to measure up.
Kwale you speak of dignity and Zimbweans in the same sentence. Well I am not sure if yours is not solely driven by something lese you are not typing. But surely Bw. Kwale there is no PRIDE among the remaining Zims. You can chose to colour it but I fear it won't wash.
I am Tanzanian, i visit this blog every now and then. I think Raila has no influance at all to pressure Mugabe resignation.
ReplyDeleteRaila and Mwaikabaki caused the death of hundreds innocent Kenyan, because of their own political reasons. I don't think he is a positive figure for anything in Africa.