1st Kenyan: Mambo?
Other Kenyan: Poa.
1st Kenyan: I am sick of the corruption going on in Kenya.
Other Kenyan: So am I. My Dad lost his job as a result of corruption. Life for our family was never been the same since.
1st Kenyan: Sorry to hear about that. What exactly happened?
Other Kenyan: He refused to look the other way. All he needed to do was sign some stupid document. He flatly refused to do so, said his conscience wouldn’t allow him to.
1st Kenyan: Your dad is a hero, you know that?
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Did you know that if your hard drive crashes you reduce the chances of successful data recovery by trying to revive the hard drive on your own. It is always a better idea to call in the experts then.
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Other Kenyan: Yeah. But being a hero unfortunately does not pay the bills. Anyway, how did your dad make his money?
1st Kenyan: He is a businessman.
Other Kenyan: What business does he do?
1st Kenyan: He has a company that supplies stationary and office stuff. He started it from humble beginnings when he was still a civil servant.
Other Kenyan: I would bet you that his biggest client is the Kenyan government.
1st Kenyan: Yeah. How did you know that? Do you know him?
Other Kenyan: Of course not but I know that is how the rich make their money in Kenya, especially former civil servants.
1st Kenyan: (Getting visibly uncomfortable) My Dad hates corruption. Talks about it all the time.
Other Kenyan: Well my dad doesn’t just talk about it, he tried to do something tangible against it and look what happened to our lives?
1st Kenyan: I am really sorry to hear about what happened to your family. So you guys live in Kayole?
Other Kenyan: Yes. In a tiny room that we all squeeze into. We have to close our eyes when our parents are dressing.
1st Kenyan: GOSH!!! But at least you save money to go to the supermarket don’t you?
Other Kenyan: Supermarket?
1st Kenyan: Yeah prices are lowest at the supermarket are they not?
Other Kenyan: You obviously have no idea what living from hand to mouth is all about. You never have enough, let alone some cash to go into a supermarket.
1st Kenyan: I think I have a rough idea of what it is like to be poor. When we were young and my dad was still working for the government we used to eat Matumbo a lot. And sukuma wiki.
Other Kenyan: Did you ever go hungry?
1st Kenyan: No. But eating some things is worse than going hungry.
Other Kenyan: I see.
1st Kenyan: Well at least we agree on what needs to be done in Kenya. We need brand new leadership.
Other Kenyan: I think we need a president who understands that eating some things is NOT worse than going hungry.
1st Kenyan: Ouch!! I did not mean it that way.
Other Kenyan: What if that man is poor himself, would you elect him or her as president?
1st Kenyan: Now there is a problem there. Poor people are mostly dishonest and thieves. There was this maid from a very poor family who stole all my mums shoes and clothes when she was at work.
Other Kenyan: My dad is a poor man so are you saying he is not honest?
1st Kenyan: Well your dad is exceptional.
Other Kenyan: Not really. There are a number of people I know who did very similar things to what he did. They are his friends mostly. The ones who have stuck with him. My dad says that the difference between a rich man and a poor man is that the rich man is greedier.
1st Kenyan: Well as long as this poor president had an Ivy school education like President Obama, I think I can vote for them.
Other Kenyan: Well if they are poor chances are that they will not have had an Ivy school education. Education is expensive and mostly the children of the corrupt in Kenya are the ones who had those opportunities.
1st Kenyan: How will they rule without a good educational background?
Other Kenyan: As my dad always says, all we need is a man of integrity. Period. We just need to stop the corruption. You realize of course that stopping corruption will affect your family business negatively?
1st Kenyan: No way!!! Anyway we all want change. Change will make everybody prosper.
Other Kenyan: Nope. I think real change will cause lots of upheaval amongst the rich in Kenya.
(To be continued if you readers feel it was worth continuing. Please let me know.)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Running Scared?
Remember Joseph Kamau, former head of the CID who had a problem coping with police commissioner Major General Hussein Ali and ended up being fired?
Well the man has made a dramatic resurfacing act and is now President Kibaki’s new special advisor on security affairs. As usual the man raffled feathers the minute he landed on the job by calling for the immediate sacking of the head of the president’s security detail. I was unable to establish the reason why Mr Kamau wanted the man gotten rid of but am still doing some digging.
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Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
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Kamau’s appointment at a time when the security of the two principals has been drastically increased poses some interesting questions that beg for answers. The current political situation in the country not withstanding, why did somebody feel it necessary to increase the security detail to unprecedented levels a few months ago? This was long before the so-called terror threat on the Prime Minister. Does the intelligence community have information suggesting that the executive would be under some sort of threat? What do they know that the rest of us do not know about this matter?
Meanwhile recent surveys by various organizations have confirmed what I have reported in this blog as the general feelings of Kenyans on the ground at the moment. For instance the popularity of the principals has sunk to an all-time low with most Kenyans firm in the belief that the coalition government has achieved absolutely nothing since coming to power about a year ago. Kenyans would also like to return to the polls as soon as possible (as impractical as that may seem at the moment.)
Well the man has made a dramatic resurfacing act and is now President Kibaki’s new special advisor on security affairs. As usual the man raffled feathers the minute he landed on the job by calling for the immediate sacking of the head of the president’s security detail. I was unable to establish the reason why Mr Kamau wanted the man gotten rid of but am still doing some digging.
-------------------------00000000000
Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
============================
Kamau’s appointment at a time when the security of the two principals has been drastically increased poses some interesting questions that beg for answers. The current political situation in the country not withstanding, why did somebody feel it necessary to increase the security detail to unprecedented levels a few months ago? This was long before the so-called terror threat on the Prime Minister. Does the intelligence community have information suggesting that the executive would be under some sort of threat? What do they know that the rest of us do not know about this matter?
Meanwhile recent surveys by various organizations have confirmed what I have reported in this blog as the general feelings of Kenyans on the ground at the moment. For instance the popularity of the principals has sunk to an all-time low with most Kenyans firm in the belief that the coalition government has achieved absolutely nothing since coming to power about a year ago. Kenyans would also like to return to the polls as soon as possible (as impractical as that may seem at the moment.)
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