Evil should never be allowed to Triumph

Our country has come (and gone) through a lot of shakeups in recent times. And in all these circumstances we have realized that we are our own worst enemies. Yes, we are enemies to our very own existence.

Well, and the ruling elite has been doing very little to steer us clear off the path of self-destruction. In fact, our leaders have been out to aggravate matters. Some of the people we let sail into Kenya’s cockpit, the driving seat, have completely forgotten what the electorate mandated them to do.

Some of them have forgotten that the common man (the mwananchi) is their employer – at least we pay their salary by being faithful to paying our taxes!

They forgot their employer (and what the employer wanted done) the minute they stepped into the “job”. The job mesmerized them. They were inundated with all manner of “pressures” that saw them forgetting that their employer wants results and not just mere babble.

When in the House, they forget that they are discussing the future of their employer, you and me. They twist issues and pass bills to save their own skins (from the flip-side of their avarice!). They fight to continue living while subjecting their employers to a life of utter doom and heartache.

This is not right!

They do not want to pay taxes like the rest of us. They don’t want a dime of their fat cheques touched in the name of paying tax. This is a case of an employee being better than the employer in the employer’s office! Quite an incongruous state of affairs.

They forget that we cried foul when they were awarding themselves “plump” pay packets sometime back. They got their way then. It pained us. And now they do not want to pay taxes. This is too much!

Are they not Kenyans? Are they not supposed to pay taxes like the rest of us? Or are they trying to say that they are better than the people who pay their salaries? Are they better than the people they represent? Are they “more equal” than us?

Oh, my head is going round and round in circles.

They forget that people in this country have not fully healed from the effects of the post-election violence that characterized the start of this year. People who lost their loved ones, property, homes, livelihoods and …hope are yet to get a respite from the physical, emotional and psychological devastation that was “visited on them”.

But our employees, our leaders, pretend that everything is okay and that, because the violence is no more, then, everything is all right.


Everything is not okay.

There are so many people who are yet to be resettled but our leaders are not doing enough to alleviate the plight of the IDPs by presenting workable solutions. The very people who are supposed to come to the rescue of the mwanachi are closing their ears to our cries and pleas. A very sorry state indeed!

And the other day these same people, the voices (nay, “noises!”) in the House, passed a bill aimed at gagging the vehicles of information in Kenya. They want to make sure that their employer does not get to know what kind of people they (our leaders) are.

How will you and I get to know them well if they strangulate the editorial process? How will you and I get glimpses of “the behind-the-scenes” if (and when) they completely gag the media? If (and when) this happens, are we going to claim to be a democratic nation? Are the members of the ruling elite waiting for 2012 to start listening to us?

This can never be allowed to continue happening. We must stand up to decry their “tyranny”. Yes, and it should be done with the needed vehemence. I like what Edmund Burke says: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
If we continue resting on our laurels and do nothing about anything, then, we could be in the same position even 100 years from today. Nothing will have changed.

You know if we continue doing things the way we have always done and then expect different results, then, if someone calls us crazy, we should take the punch humbly. It is preposterous to expect different results if we continue employing the same methods to achieve a certain goal.

The kind of people this country needs (both the employer and employee)

A time like this demands: strong minds, great heights, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honour; Men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue;
And damn their treacherous flatteries without winking;

Kenyans, we have a long way to go. A long way to true freedom and truth.

So, vaa hiyo nguo ya kazi (put on your apron) for you should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth. It is murky business…

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Harambee Stars Shoot Up in FIFA World Rankings

PIC: Kenya striker Allan Wanga (L) controls the ball as Namibia's Jammal Mohammed looks on during their 2010 World Cup qualifying soccer match in Nairobi September 6 2008.

Guys, things could never have been better for local soccer!

Sometime mid this year when this blogger decided to publish a story on this forum highlighting on the efforts of the Minister Raila Odinga to revive soccer and sporting in general, not many people took it seriously. At that time, many saw it from a myopic political point of view.

How wrong they were, because as I type these lines, it was announced yesterday that national team Harambee Stars’ FIFA ranking has skyrocketed to an all time high position 68th globally , 14th in Africa and the best amongst the CECAFA region. Needless to say, this is the highest ranking Kenya has ever achieved in history. As it is, Kenya are the biggest African movers in the FIFA world rankings table, jumping 17 places to 68th.

Even as we celebrate this remarkable achievement, politics aside, we should not forget that were it not for the personal intervention of Raila and his one-on-one meetings with Sepp Blatter of FIFA, Kenya could in all probability be serving an indefinite suspension from world football today.

What does the new ranking mean? It means that Kenya footballers can now sign for what is arguably the most exciting professional league in world football - the English Premier League - because the British government only issues work permits to players who originate from countries that have ranked 70th and below. Not only are players highly paid at this league, the standards of the game are very competitive and English teams regularly reach the finals, semis and quarters of the European Champions League – again arguably the most prestigious soccer competition in the world after the FIFA World Cup.

All this could translate into raising standards locally, like has happened to other countries whose players turn out for the EPL. Professional football is not just big business for agents, promoters, marketers and governments, it is also in today’s world a career in itself. The news comes at a time when Harambee Stars are poised to play final qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup and also when the team have just reported to camp for the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup to be held in Uganda from December 31. From the “Russia Stand” of the stadium, bloggers please join me in yelling Oliech, Obama, Odinga!!!!

Hongera to the Harambee stars and their head Coach Francis Kimanzi. Clap Clap Clap.

View Harambee Stars FIFA World Ranking History here

View the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking Table Here