When are we going to the polls?
Now that may sound like a strange question to ask. After all we have hardly implemented the new constitution and the legal infrastructure is definitely not in place for a general election to happen. So surely I am putting the cart ahead of the donkey, am I not?
Not really. Have you not noticed how election campaigns for the presidency have already kicked off in earnest?
The sure sign that the general elections are due sooner than most Kenyans think has been the announcement by Gachoka legislator Mutava Musyimi yesterday that he is vying for the presidency. Musyimi is a meticulous planner and not the kind of person to jump the gun on a whim and go public way too early. His announcement yesterday is a sure sign that elections are just round the corner and sooner than most Kenyans may think.
But what should really concern Kenyans is the recent tendency by politicians and the political class not to say anything to the public about how soon we may be headed to the polls. It evokes memories of retired president Moi who used to use the date of the elections as a political secret weapon to his advantage. Leading presidential contenders are busy criss-crossing the country but are silent on what all the urgency is about. Their behaviour gives them away.
Actually what is happening is that other candidates are frantically trying to cancel out the huge advantage candidate Raila Odinga seems to have. Indeed if elections were to be held today, Raila would start as favourite. In fact the earlier the election dates, the more of an advantage it will be to Raila Odinga.
But as I have said here before, candidates from the old order including people like Raila Odinga, WilliamRuto and Kalonzo Musyoka will suddenly find themselves positioned out of the running as long suffering Kenyans will earnestly seek a clean break from our past. And this is precisely why the front runners for the presidency this time round will be the most unlikely names anybody would expect.
To keep up with times, I will in the next few days start analyzing the kind of presidential candidates that I feel would make excellent possibles for the highest office in the land.
Mutahi Ngunyi has been flogging a theory that elections will be forced thru by the chief justice and they will be in December 2011. Anybody heard about that one? Can I get more info as to what Ngunyi's rationale is?
ReplyDeleteRaila MUST be president whether Chris Kumekucha likes it or not. Mupende musipende Raila Amollo Odinga will be the next occupant of State house. And you can take that to the bank.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:50AM,
ReplyDeletecalm down dear, you may die of onset myocardial infraction(heart attack) if you are getting aroused so early before the whistle has been blown to start the competition
Demcracy came to Kenya for the first time in 2002 but disappeared immediately in 2003.
ReplyDeleteNo one noticed and people didn't seem to care at all that Democracy had vanished into thin Kenyan air, as long as their regional tables were readied with CDF handouts for local consumption as in "Our Time to Eat".
We should be really worried, afraid and fearful that Kenya will continue to remain stuck in a rut if the likes of Githioro wa Ngurai (spl) come lately like Mutava Musyimi and company of many other MVs Waheshimwa Vigeugeu (alumni/ae of 'Danial arap Moi University of African Politics') are elected as president.
So, the question on many people's mind is as follows; what will Mutava Musyimi do that Mzee Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga, Mzee Daniel arap Moi and Mzee Jomo Kenyatta have not done or didn't do?
And how will Mutava Musyimi do it differently than the other four leaders, for the greater good of the republic?
Is it really worth voting out one corrupt regime in 2012 only to have it replaced with a more corrupt one in 2013?
Talking of placing very old and stale KANU wine into brand new bottles for the next five to ten years.
God forbid we remain stuck with the same as from 2013 to 2017, and 2018 to 2022, thus wasting another decade in the same way we have done from 2002 to 2011.
Has Mutava Musyimi's time arrived for steering the nation into a different and better direction?
Or is he dreaming and eagerly awaiting for his turn to eat like many in PNU, ODM and others (Mtiki na Wanya) have done since December 12th, 1963?
Kumekucha, election '02 and '07 have changed very little in my home village and in the lives of many of its residents.
ReplyDeleteSo, why should we expect anything different beyond election '12, especially after almost ten years of a golden opportunity squandered by all leaders at the national, regional, constituency and village levels?
Am anxiously waiting for somebody to answer Anon@9:23 AM... PLEASE.
ReplyDeleteAnon@ 11:45 u have made my morning. I haven't stopped laughing since I woke up.
Anon 7:04 pm said;
ReplyDeleteSo, the question on many people's mind is as follows; what will Mutava Musyimi do that Mzee Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga, Mzee Daniel arap Moi and Mzee Jomo Kenyatta have not done or didn't do?
The only problem with this statement is that you have included an opinion poll president in an exclusive list of current and former presidents.
I suggest you retract the wannabes and pretenders to the throne from your statement.
Retracted, the OPP is not a president, has never been and may never be if the majority of voters decide otherwise in a democratic fashion or decisive manner given what has transpired so far since December of 2002 and December of 2007.
ReplyDeleteGrabbing of high valued properties and land in and around Nairrobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu and elsewhere doesn't seem to seat well with many voters as well as citizens beyond his two main political enclaves.
One would have thought that land grabbing had ended with the one time dictatorial regimes of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Mzee Daniel arap Moi.
Sadly, the trend still goes on and very little has changed for the common mwananchi and especially the natives living along the magnificent coastal area of Kenya.
Imagine for just a moment, that well connected "outsiders" among other "moneybaggers" flocking to your ancestral region and grabbing every piece of land on the isalnd of Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu, including every inch of acreage of costal hinterland and the front beach properties along the south coast as well as north coast, and at the same time being denied access to your one time ancestral fishing grounds and natural oceanic waters.
What would you do? Remain silent for hundred years, fifty years, thirty years or ten years?
Or just let others push you aside as if you are second or third citizens of the so called republic of Kenya?
Well, I 've been very keen on our politics and for now I am convinced the woman in the name of Martha Karua can make the best president. She has substance,leadership qualities, courage and reform record that beats the rest. Mutava comes close but his contribution in parliament has been disappointing and actually there're signs that he can be a hands-off president just like Emilio.
ReplyDeleteBut let me add that some 2 things worry me. First, like Mwarangethe has repeatedly said, nothing has really changed; we have more or less the same structure and self centred politics. And then, let not one cheat you, majority of kenyans (especially rural folks) have no idea what they want. They're the kind to be easily mesmerized by Raila's vitendawili stories or Ruto's 'it's time for youth' nonsense.
Fellow Kenyans
ReplyDeleteIts just like you to come here on a weekend and wax lyrical saying all the right words before even before the official election campaign periods have been declared but those of us who have been around long enough know what's actually going to happen on that actual day/hour/week
Maybe only 1% of Kumekuchans blogging and commenting here will actually vote for change this time next year. All the rest will retreat into the safety and comfort of their tribal cocoons and vote for mr.X or mrs.Y or individual Z
based on the mother tongue influence
Please understand i am not calling you fakes. But the truth is this next election is not going to be decided by constituents of Nairobi County, more than half of whom by the way are under the age of 30 and have vowed never to take part in voting again after the 2007/8 debacle
No the fact is this election is going to be won in the rural villages and up country under developed areas of Kenya. Specifically people like your cucu, guka, great grandmother, cousin twice removed from your father and other such fellow Kenyans who don't share our views about Bifwoli Wakoli, Mutava Musyimi, Chirau Makwere, Peter Kenneth or any other of these new presidential aspirants
This next up coming election is simply a 3 horse race between Raila Amolo Odinga, GNU/KKK/PNU(or whatever vehicle will be formed by Kalonzo/Uhuru/Ruto) and Martha Karua. Simply put we are doomed to repeat our folly of recycling old worn out political elites
Fellow Kenyans,
ReplyDeleteYou are making noise too early yet the official election campaigns have not started yet and to make matters worse when they do 90% of you commenting here won't even vote for new presidential aspirants such as Musyimi, Mwakwere, Kenneth, Karua etc.
I'm not calling you fakes but exposing you to the time tested and proven true antics peculiar to us Kenyans. In other words if Mr.X/Mr.Y/candidate Z speaks my mother tongue they are basically assured a seat in the next senate/parliament/cabinet. In other words our next president will be the same old tired recycled washed up players i.e. Raila/Uhuru/Ruto/Kalonzo
So save your tough talking and grandstanding plus chest thumping for the ballot box. Thats where tough men/strong women vote with their hands and feet. If only Kumekucha could be a fly on the wall of the 47 voting booths countrywide?
Chris what is the story behind Justice Waki's failure to be nominated into any of the new judiciary positions recently vetted, from CJ to the new Supreme Court Judges and even the much contested DPP?
ReplyDeleteAnalysis of the candidates is simple. The question is whether the presidential candidate has credibility or not. The following analysis will help the voters find an ideal leader for the nation:
ReplyDelete1)Has the leader tried to promote unity in Kenya?
2)How did the leader get his wealth?
3)Was the leader involved in the second liberation?
4) Is the leader known to be a reformer and a champ in fighting oppression and tyranny?
5)Is the leader known to be hard working and a performer?
6)Has the leader done harm to Kenya through scandals and frauds like YK92, Anglo-leas,Land, etc
7)Has the leader been mentioned in a court to have committed crime against humanity
8) Is the leader a global player, respected in EU, Asia, Africa and America?
9) Is the leader addicted to alcohol, cigarretes or drugs?
10) Can the leader be trusted to bring a real change esp. in industrial development, justice and unity in Kenya.
Whoever has more YES should be the next president of Kenya.
Anon 11:08, lets try to score the opinion poll president (OPP) using your criteria;
ReplyDelete1)Has the leader tried to promote unity in Kenya? (With his Kabila adui declaration, Kenya degenerated into anarchy whose ripple effects are felt to date. He got half the power he wanted but to get there we have thousands of IDP's in the cold.)
2)How did the leader get his wealth? (Inherited part of it and got the rest through secret dirty deals with MOI)
3)Was the leader involved in the second liberation? (He is no Matiba!! When others were trying to remove Moi, he was sleping with the enemy through NDP/KANU mergers)
4) Is the leader known to be a reformer and a champ in fighting oppression and tyranny? (In Kisumu and Kibera yes. Also in some blogs like Jaluo.com and Jukwaa where his fanatical followers congregate)
5)Is the leader known to be hard working and a performer? (Action speaks louder than words. His constituency is knows for having one of the largest slums in Africa. How is that working hard or performing?)
6)Has the leader done harm to Kenya through scandals and frauds like YK92, Anglo-leas,Land, etc (He has a court case for stealing squatters land in Malindi. Molasses plant was acquired through dubious means. His office was recently involved in loss of youth funds and maize scandal. His family was also adversely mentioned in the maize scandal..need I go on?)
7)Has the leader been mentioned in a court to have committed crime against humanity (His deputy in ODM who was his closest confidant during the 2007 elections is a suspect of having committed crimes against humanity. He fought for his boss to get some power. Only fools believe the boss was not involved.)
8) Is the leader a global player, respected in EU, Asia, Africa and America? (Global player? You mean making useless trips with his family members and relatives all over the world to deliver stale recycled speeches? No one elects a tourist. Kenyans wants a president who they respect not who thinks wazungu are everything. Case in point hiring useless Hey as a Harambee star coach and firing the performing Kenyan)
9) Is the leader addicted to alcohol, cigarretes or drugs? Addicted to women and flashy lifestyle..Hummer etc
10) Can the leader be trusted to bring a real change esp. in industrial development, justice and unity in Kenya. Hell No!! He almost made it by brewing tribal animosity and riding on that hatred. The only real change he knows is change in his pocket and hiring his family members and relatives to govt positions. Check how he hired his sister with no training in diplomacy to head a diplomatic position in Kenya while we have career civil servants who have been waiting for such opportunities forever.
Analysis of the candidates is simple. The question is whether the presidential candidate has credibility or not. The following analysis will help the voters find an ideal leader for the nation:
ReplyDeleteWhoever has more YES should be the next president of Kenya.
7/3/11 11:08 PM
xxx
Oh, Lord!
When will humanity ever wake up from STUPID ILLUSIONS, DELUSIONS and CHILDISH FANTASIES?
In the land of Dream (you must be asleep to have a dream, you know), we saw HOPIUM and CHANGE in 2008.
But, what was different between the two OLIGARCHY backed HORSES?
http://is.gd/kX3ay5
xxx
And, the results?
Growing population of the American CHOKORAS:
http://is.gd/F6IUDM
xxx
Anyway, let us continue enjoying Rise and Shine by Bunny Wailer:
http://is.gd/8rDJ90
Anon 2:26AM
ReplyDelete1)Has the leader tried to promote unity in Kenya?
(As Kenya burnt under one thief's watch, one OPP sided with the theft against the rest of the country while the other 2 OPPs rallied their communities to maim and hack each other to death with machetes like pieces of meat.)
2)How did the leader get his wealth? (one OPP inherited all of it from his late father, another OPP got his through stealing party funds while another has failed to supply clean water to his constituency over the past 30years)
3)Was the leader involved in the second liberation? (
All 3 OPPs are MOI Protegees with no track record of their own)
4) Is the leader known to be a reformer and a champ in fighting oppression and tyranny?
(refer to 3 above)
5)Is the leader known to be hard working and a performer?
(Refer to 3 and 4 above)
6)Has the leader done harm to Kenya through scandals and frauds like YK92, Anglo-leas,Land, etc
(One OPP engaged in stealing maize and has pending unresolved corruption cases in court, the other OPP presided over a multi-million shilling failed shuttle diplomacy, the other OPP owns millions of acres of land illegally obtained from the original owners)
7)Has the leader been mentioned in a court to have committed crime against humanity
(2 OPPS are suspected of having committed crimes against humanity, one of them will surely be convicted and go to jail for a long long time)
8) Is the leader a global player, respected in EU, Asia, Africa and America?
(refer to 3 and 4 above. one OPP sent a framed picture of himself to Hilary Clinton as a gift)
9) Is the leader addicted to alcohol, cigarretes or drugs?
(one OPP has constantly red eyes probably from consumption of too much alcohol, cigarettes or even drugs etc)
10) Can the leader be trusted to bring a real change esp. in industrial development, justice and unity in Kenya.
(refer to 3 and 4 above)
This is a no-brainer even for you anon@2.26
Election date or is it erection date for Railas Sychopaths?
ReplyDelete@ anon 3:24, interesting answers
ReplyDeleteAfter shagging and condemning the people who made raila get the PM position and even pushing for them to be tried in hague, now the shameless fellow sensing defeat in the upcoming elections is back to the same communities and leaders promising them useless pentagon positions. He thinks we have forgotten that its Nyanza people who have been running ODM for the last 3 years.
ReplyDeleteKweli this fellow takes Kenyans as stupid. Wacha tu atajionea..
Sang
Tinga Malo Malo! Ajwoga will make it to the house on the hill mupende musipende yawa.
ReplyDeleteTing Badi Malo!!!!!
Election Date is a no longer a secret weapon as it used to be long long long time ago before 2002.
ReplyDeleteRigging themselves in and a slew of selected loyalists and friends at the party level is still the secret weapon of choice for Waheshimiwa Vigeugeu, Wabunge Vigeugeu (WVs)Wanachama Vigeugeu and Wananchi Vigeugeu at ODM, PNU, NARC, etc.
Even other small political parties like that of Kalembe Ndile's ("Kilemba Sina"), they still use rigging as a favourite secret weapon.
That's one of the reasons why I have a mixture of hope and cynicism about the elections in 2012.
Many of the current political parties will put new faces in parliament as well as at the helm of civil service, but allow the same old groups of people to ran the show from behind the scenes.
The more things change?
Jonathan Goodluck started a good trend that's being emulated by other world leaders.
ReplyDeleteHe now has company from Thailand in the name of Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister elect of Thailand.
How Mutava Musyimiluck or William Rutoluck or Uhuru Kenyattaluck or Raila Odingaluck or Martha Karualuck.
Breaking News!!
ReplyDeleteDirector of KACC PLO Lumumba says he will not pay tax on his 2M salary.
Check easyfm for updates!!
Now Raila--Waldorf Astoria--Odinga's land grabbing is very interesting. The one that i find most interesting is the dominion farms one--where he brought in the mzungu from some boring ag company (from Boise, idaho????--heh) and forced his worshippers to give land and things to the mzungu. Can you believe that? Everything is upside down nowadays--it is people like waldorf astoria odinga mediating the dispossession of peasants that worhsip him (still). Anyway, I've lost my train of thought and will resume later.
ReplyDeleteMight anyone know whether Raila Waldorf Astoria Odinga has shares in Dominion Farms? I really suspect he does but would be happy to receive details.
ReplyDeleteNote that land grabbing by foreign investors is a global trend that must be stopped. But how can we stop this if such land deals are brokered at such high levels? I have this other question: How can the "squatters" that R. Waldorf Astoria Odinga threw out of their land gain justice? It is really hard for people right now and they should realize that queing to pay taxes will not replace the maize that his son stole.
Jonathan Goodluck started a good trend that's being emulated by other world leaders.
ReplyDeleteHe now has company from Thailand in the name of Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister elect of Thailand.
How Mutava Musyimiluck or William Rutoluck or Uhuru Kenyattaluck or Raila Odingaluck or Martha Karualuck.
Anon 6:46AM/6:57AM
ReplyDeletewhat happens if the Raila you loathe so much becomes the next President? I think its better you start making plans to get a green card and come join the rest of us exiled Kenyans here.
You know the number one reason many of us gave for wanting to become immigrants in these here foreign western nation capitals? ethnic persecution. If you fear for your life and that of your husband/wife/mother/father/children/grandmother/father then meet me in America when you get here
@ 7/4/11 7:59 AM
ReplyDeleteIf the ethnic cleansing of 2007 was a taste of what to come under a raila presidency, then we are better off seeking asylum, but then again thank god for that particular event , never again will kenyans allow such a blood thirsty power hungry person come close to the reins of power!!! You can take that to the bank
There is no Kenyan at the moment to make the best president. But the best option the country has is RAO.
ReplyDeleteWithout him the CJ would be another thug. We are proud of Mutunga. We are proud of Tinga.
Raila thinks he can fool people all of the time he tired once with the "pentagoons", rode their asses to power then kicked them in the butt, now he wants to repeat it all over again as if getting shafted once is not enough!!!
ReplyDeleteAnon@11:00 AM
ReplyDeletethe ethnic cleansing of 2007 was a under a Kibaki presidency, how come you didn't seek asylum then?And what do you mean thank god for that particular event?whatever god you worship must be a blood lusty heathen deity otherwise why would you thank him/her/it for 1500 dead Kenyans?
You sound just like the thief General Keugoya who after the peace accord was signed is on record as having uttered these words in parliament "God must love this country". Yes God must because Keugoya certainly didn't
He sat in State House as the country slid to the edge of hell thanks to his illegal swearing in at night after fudging the figures to win an election. Thank your god we will never have another like him ever again
I am tired of hearing Raila this raila that. Let me make it painless as possible - Raila Kubaff WILL NEVER EVER become the President of Kenya EVER!! take that to the bank!!!
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:00PM
ReplyDeleteKibaki will never become the President of Kenya ever again. You can take that to the Sacco/Chama/Merry-go-round
"Raila Kubaff WILL NEVER EVER become the President of Kenya EVER!! take that to the bank!!!"
ReplyDeleteSeems like the teary-eyed, stuttering, violent bumpkin from bondo will have quite an uphill taskthis time around. But have you noticed how his foot soldiers have started the vicious anti-Kikuyu rhetoric? They are now saying that all the jobs in the civil service are held by the Kikiyus. They are now saying that CGS will go to Kikuyus and so on. THAT IS HOW IT STARTS--the slippery slope to violence, mayhem and genocide. Be vigilant.
What a sleeping dog that I was for so many years, left to content with pieces of a dream and daily discarded milk bones from Ndugu's butchery located on the upper eastside of Ngara.
ReplyDeleteOh! Woof woof woof! How I wish that I had known all about what was common knowledge to millions of wise and alert Kenyans at the time.
The year 2001 was a golden age of new beginnings for the bravehearts, adventurers, risk takers, go getters, hay makers, and seasoned cut throats.
A time when there were so many opportunities to be made in the world of "money trading" with unknown entities, and "money transfers" to and from undisclosed locations around the globe for a good profit.
Here I am still lamenting how I have wasted so many golden and silver opportunities over the last ten years due to the fact that I had been made to believe that money laudering (kusongesha fedha zisizo halali, lol!) was illegal and a very serious criminal offence under the skies above the republic of Kenya.
Then along comes a belated painful reminder by Chris Okemo, MP for Nambale, stating the obvious, Prior to the enactment of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laudering Act 2009, it was not an offence in Kenya if one or a group of people engaged in laudering millions of dollars or Euros from DRC, Somalia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Comoros Islands, South Africa, Europe, India and North America.
When the government shut down the door on money laudering in Kenya, and a widow has never ever opened for the one time sleeping dog on the eastside of Ngara.
Did some concerned folks, the well connected, as well as passersby fear something about the deadly potential of constant barking by milk bone eater?