Raila Hands Kenya Football A Lifeline

Prime Minister manages to reinvigorate Kenyan patriotism that is reminiscent to the 2002 NARC dream

Through the personal intervention of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the circus that has been Kenyan football seems to be on its way to sanity and recovery.

Raila has in the space of only one month (something that the GNU/PNU government could not do in five years) managed to have the stars back to winning ways and consequently also given the sharply divided Kenyan population what is, in my opinion, the single most important unifying factor since the disastrous elections in 2007. While some ethnic chauvinist and rookie politicians refuse to accept the reality that the PM did this country a big favour when he accepted to drop political demands and is now in an equitable partnership in the coalition government, the youth of this country have found a national bond in sports and are rallying behind the national team and the prime minister – whose name, together with that of Senator Obama and Oliech, they chanted whenever Oliech raced towards the Zimbabwean defence last Saturday. The red-hot Dennis Oliech put Kenya on the road to a World Cup and African Nations cup qualification on Saturday with an 88th minute goal against the Warriors of Zimbabwe. Oliech’s goal two minutes from the final whistle plus a 12th minute goal scored by MacDonald Mariga took Kenya to a 2-0 victory over the Zimbabweans. Oliech ended the game as stand-in goalkeeper after Origi was stretchered off with a knee injury. Kenya are now at the top of their group with six points.


It is no secret, but the hottest ticket in any man’s wallet in Nairobi today is not a ticket to the movies and what-have-you but a ticket (and a miniature Kenyan flag) to watch any of the Harambee Stars matches. Tickets to these matches are selling-out two days before D-day and crowds are filling the 30,000 capacity Nyayo Stadium hours before kick-off. While it is clear the PM and the country has moved on from Kivuitu’s antics, it is a pity some politicians still want to play power games humiliating the PM in have been caught flat footed and are a busy criticizing the Prime Minister for accepting to be installed as a Gikuyu elder.

Even more importantly, and in accordance with the ODM manifesto, the recent grand coalition government budget allocated Kshs. 1 million to each of the country’s 210 constituencies for development of soccer and purchase of sporting goods. During his recent trip to Germany for an eye surgery, Raila not only met Sepp Blatter (FIFA President) whom he convinced to allow him (Raila) time to sort out the mess in management of soccer, he also had the German government pledge to support the stars by way of supplying technical support to KFF, even if it meant seconding a qualified coach to head the stars technical bench. A similar pledge was made recently when Raila met South African President Thabo Mbeki during the World Economic Forum in Cape Town. No doubt the PM, himself a former player with disbanded premier league side Luo Union, having recognized the importance of sports in economic development and has made it his business to give hope to the youth of this country through sports.

During his meeting with Mbeki, Raila also managed to set up a crucial appointment for Sports Minister Hellen Sambili. The minister will this week be visiting South Africa where she will attend a summit in Durban which will strategize on how Africa can explore the many socio-economic benefits arising out of soccer. This good news was delivered to media through a news dispatch from the Prime Minister's Press Service in which Raila said Sambili would also visit Johannesburg to meet South African government officials and the National World Cup Committee to explore better cooperation, technical assistance and sponsorships. Additionally, and in what will sound like sweet music to rural communities who have no access to pay channels DSTV or GTV, Raila also revealed that South African government will provide giant screens for 2010 World Cup live matches to urban centres in Kenya. Details of this arrangement will be handled by KFF.

It is hard to imagine that just early May 2008, the country was staring at the prospects of an indefinite football sanction when World soccer governing body, FIFA, angered by the a court ruling barring KFF officials, gave the country a 72-hour ultimatum to rescind the move or face a total ban. This was after the High Court in Nairobi kicked out the KFF executive led by Mohammed Hatimy for being in office illegally. High Court Judge, Justice Hatari Waweru, ruling in a suit filed by the faction led by Sam Nyamweya that had demanded the removal of the Hatimy group, said Hatimy and his group were "strangers" who were in office illegally. The court ruled that the Hatimy group, which enjoys the backing and recognition of FIFA, could not be entrusted with running the federation. "Football is a serious sport in this country and it cannot be left in the hands of strangers," he said, technically giving the Government-recognized Nyamweya team the mandate to manage the sport. But FIFA Secretary-General, Jerome Valcke, in a letter to Hatimy, accused the Nyamweya group of "colluding with a former sports minister (read PNU’s Maina Kamanda) to orchestrate the crisis in the federation to maintain their control of Kenyan football". Last week, the High Court, on receiving Hatimy’s appeal and recognising the folly of antagonizing FIFA, overturned its own ruling and reverted the management of soccer to the Hatimy group as per the KFF constitution and FIFA statutes which provide for elaborate mechanisms of dispute resolution and even bar football officials from recourse to courts of law.

The prestigious FIFA World Cup is due to take place in South Africa and for the first time ever on the continent in the year 2010. All African countries have their sights set on sending a team to this event, and indeed all of us have a patriotic duty to drop the politics and support the PM in his efforts to ensuring Harambee Stars qualify for this event. This may sound like a dream to many people out there, but I have every confidence that Harambee Stars may just surprise you!

Hands Dripping With Innocent Blood

Guest post by Sam Okello

After the sudden and very depressing deaths of the Hon. Kipkalya Kones and the Hon. Lorna Loboso, I've found myself reflecting on the trail of death that has stalked Kenya since independence. The sad thing about these deaths is that they are never resolved, which only encourages the men who plot the murder of others to think they can always get away with the next murder. Is it any wonder they are now talking about bringing the curtain down on these murders? Does that mean killers will go free?

Just so we are clear, Kenyans are not dumb. Whenever a high profile murder is committed, we always know who's done it. With fairly accurate fingers, we can point at the man responsible for the murder of another. So for the sake of history, let's point those fingers.

J.M. Kariuki
This was one of the most flamboyant politicians the House of Mumbi ever gave us. He was known to have had an independent mind. He spoke as a Kenyan and shunned the politics of tribe. Indeed, it's because of his independent streak, and his ability to see all Kenyans as one people, that the administration of President Kenyatta had a problem with him. So in the mid-seventies, he was killed by men in that government. Since Kenyatta is dead, and Kanyotu just died, there is only one man who can tell us with certainty who killed JM. The man is Dr. Njoroge Mungai. Can he tell us the truth, or does he plan to die with it like Kenyatta and Kanyotu?

Tom Mboya
Mboya was a brilliant young man. The history books and the historians I've consulted say that he became a key rival of the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and allowed himself to be played against Jaramogi by the Mt Kenya elite. It was because of him that Kenya Peoples Union came into existence...after he came up with the regional vice presidency scheme. The rest is history, as they say. What I want to point out is that once the Mt. Kenya elite accomplished their mission to silence Oginga Odinga, they killed Tom. The man who pulled the trigger gave us the name of the man who sent him. The sender was Jomo Kenyatta. So who killed Tom? Again, if the nation wants the truth behind this murder, ask Dr. Njoroge Mungai.

Dr. Robert Ouko
Because this death took place when people my age were relatively grown up, it marked the first time we witnessed the messy nature of politics. It opened our eyes to the fact that there were greedy and dangerous men in our midst, people who could kill any of us with impunity. But what became even more shocking than the murder was that the people who killed Bob are still walking free. If you buy the bull that it has not been proven Nicholas Biwott and Daniel Arap Moi did it, dream on. What I know is that many people lost their lives because they knew or witnessed an aspect of Bob's murder. But there are three people still alive who were principals in the sordid scheme. These were characters who were directly responsible for eliminating Bob. I've given you the names of Moi and Biwott. The third name is Marianne Briner. This woman has always presented herself as one who was a victim of the evils of the Moi administration. What I know today, this very moment, is that had Marianne Briner not passed on to Biwott and Moi the private conversations she had with the man, and had she not overly hyped them, Bob would be alive today.

Horace Ongili Owiti
Horace Ongili is said to have been a rising politician in Kenya. By the time he was brutally murdered and his body discarded in a maize plantation, it was rumored that he was set to be named vice president. At that time, the seat was occupied by an Othaya MP called Mwai Kibaki. In swaths of Luo land, it was believed that Mwai Kibaki used the late Ambala to kill Horace. Since the Othaya MP is still alive, why can't one courageous journalist ask him about his role in this death? And while at it, can he also tell us what he knows about the murder of Dr. Crispin Odhiambo Mbai? Can you, Mr. President?

Bishop Alexander Kipsang Arap Muge
This man of God was one of the most influential church people in Kenya. I had the privilege of meeting him in Eldoret just weeks before his murder. I was struck by how soft-spoken he was. It was difficult for me to see in the painfully soft-voice prelate the fearsome character the press had turned him out to be. In any case, because of his pronouncements, he was killed. There are those who thought Peter Habenga Hokondo was the killer. That's absurd. The killer was a man I've called in my novels Nick Boit.

Ladies and gentlemen, those were the big five. But others have died too. Here are their names:

Pio Gama Pinto
He was a rising politician of Indian descent. Does anybody know who killed Pio?

CMG Argwings Kodhek
Those who were born a number of years after independence know very little about Argwings. What I know for sure is that he was killed. I challenge whoever knows the story behind this murder to lay it out for us. Look, there's some crap they've written about Argwings in Google and Wikipedia, what we need here today is the inside story. Who killed Agwenge?

Masinde Muliro, Hezekiah Oyugi, Dorothy Randiek, A Nakuru Nurse... These people were killed by the same men who killed Dr. Robert Ouko.

Melitus Were and Kimutai Too
If you want to know who killed these young men, ask Police Chief, General Ali.

Finally, we have Kones and Lorna. Were they killed? Like the rest of the above murders, these ones will not be solved. We have one of the best police forces in the world and yet when it comes to these political murders, they behave like a bunch idiots. Giggling sissies.

Will there come a time when they can follow the trail of the murders and tell the nation this:

'Fellow Kenyans, you gave us the task to find out who killed_______. After a thorough investigation, we can now report that though Mr. so and so pulled the trigger, he acted on behalf of the Hon______.'

Will that day ever come? Because when it does, the murders may finally end.

For Love of Country.

Sam Okello