Kibaki and Raila: Political Conmen Leading Kenya To Hell

Also posted a few hours ago: Then.. it got really ugly

By GUEST WRITER

The Saturday Nation has a good story about the appointment letter Prime Minister Raila Odinga signed for his job. Only few men would be so willing to display their letters of appointment – and a good majority of the male flock lock them up in a safe custody where their wives have no access.

But in our beloved Kenya, anything that doesn’t include creating jobs for the youth, providing food for the hungry, offering visionary political leadership, creating and distributing wealth to all regions in Kenya, fulfilling campaign pledges, being corruption free, not stealing maize for hungry Kenyans etc is possible. For now, all Kenyans of goodwill have to stop looking for ways we can all uplift and develop our country and focus on the letter Raila signed with Kibaki. Fate has made us peg our precious lives on the two conmen.

The letter could have been leaked by either side (Kibaki’s or Raila’s) with intention of projecting themselves in better light and mud-slinging the other party. After reading the story, my opinion was the letter exposed both Kibaki and Raila in good and bad light on 50/50 basis.

The letter could have been leaked by Raila’s aides (with his blessings) to “prove” to his fast decreasing supporters that he is gagged and hence he can’t play the role he knows best – criticizing the Govt even the one he serves. If letter was leaked by Raila’s aides, intention could be to earn him some public mileage in his falling political star.

He recently revisited his pet lies that his life was in danger. This time threat did not come from “assassins” shooting seven bullets on ONE SPOT of windscreen of his car cruising from Garissa to Nairobi at over 100km/p, but from “terrorists” wanting to blow up PM’s plane. I have lost count number of times Raila has went public saying his life is in danger. Which stupid terrorist would want a third-rate PM from a humble country like ours? Terrorists are people with a clear big missions. And I highly doubt Raila fall under their mission. But the police dossier (which was in Raila’s favour) could have achieved what Raila, through his aides, wanted – military helicopters for the PM. A PM should not use those misfit aircrafts at Wilson while Kibaki uses military choppers. Aren’t they “equal” partners in the Grand Coalition Government? So, the law says.

On the other hand, if Kibaki’s aides unleashed the Raila appointment to Saturday Nation, they were trying to fix Raila by showing he has all the executive powers he needs and he should squarely be blamed for the Government’s poor performance. Furthermore his job is that of a very powerful PM and the law expects him to formulate and enforce the implementation of all Cabinet decisions. So, Kibaki can come out clean and say, I seceded a big chunk of executive powers to the PM and he should take blame for any mess.

Knowing Raila’s chameleon politics, Kibaki outsmarted his “equal” partner. Kibaki’s letter to Raila says: “Outside these close government circles, you must, at all times, support the policies of the government both in public and in private.” As long as Raila signed the document, he can’t jump from a burning ship and blame Kibaki. Both of them are in it.


If you read the Saturday Nation story and look at it from both Kibaki’s and Raila’s angles, you will see how both can use the document to throw mud at each other or score political mileage. However, Kibaki’s, not Raila, political career is not at stake on or before 2012. Kibaki is on his way out and he cares little about the problems he has blindly led us into. Unlike period between 2002 and 2007 when all sins both real and imaginary (including somebody fighting with wife) were squarely blamed on Kibaki, under the current arrangement, both Kibaki and Raila are in same cage. But Kibaki doesn’t care as he’ll go home 2012.

As long as Raila agreed to be duped by Kibaki to drop his quest for a “stolen” presidency and agreed to sign a conmanship PM deal, he has no business whining all the time. On paper, Kibaki and Raila are “equal” partners. But in reality, Kibaki calls the shots. If they are “equal” partners, why did Raila swear an oath to Kibaki and accept a letter of appointment written and signed by Kibaki? Why didn’t Kibaki swear to Raila? Kibaki’s letter says: “I have no doubt that you will do your best to discharge your duties diligently and wholeheartedly for the benefit of the people of Kenya.” Why not other way round where Kibaki’s letter being drafted and signed by Raila or both having their letters signed by a neutral authority?

Apart from RECOMMENDING ODM ministers to cabinet, how comes all ministers swore to Kibaki as President and no mention of Raila or his PM post? How comes all ministers received letters of appointment signed by Kibaki and not Raila and no mention of PM in their letters? Raila’s role is JUST WATCHING as ministers swear to the dinosaur that is Kibaki. If they are “equal” partners, how comes Raila is only one who RECOMMENDS to Kibaki and not other way round? Why is it only one partner (Kibaki) who can call, chair or dissolve the cabinet?

In his protocol tussle with the VP, how comes Raila waits alongside Kalonzo and other dignitaries for Kibaki to arrive at every public functions? Why not other way round Kibaki waiting for Raila to arrive in other functions or arriving same time?

Who between Kibaki and Raila holds key to real power? Can Raila dissolve Cabinet or even sack a minister? What if Raila RECOMMENDS sacking of his own ODM minister and Kibaki rejects it? What if Kibaki fires an ODM minister and use state machinery under his firm control to enforce his move? What can Raila do? Can Raila sack an ODM (leave alone PNU) minister. He can only recommend in respect to ODM only! Can Raila appoint a Chief Justice and judges?

Can Raila sign any law passed by Parliament? Wasn’t he humiliated by Kibaki the other day when he received a memorandum from media owners protesting about a new law that had been passed in Parliament? Raila was gleaning on TVs assuring them the “Government” would look into their grievances and that he would present their memo to Kibaki for consideration. In an open show of contempt, Kibaki signed the law three days later! It had not dawned on Raila that the law on signing of laws passed by parliament was not amended and the president did not need to consult the PM.

If Kibaki and Raila are “equal” partners, how comes Kibaki’s salary is clearly set out in the constitution and Raila cannot use his own executive powers to determine his own salary and all he can do is whine in secret leaks to the media and in public that he wants a salary at par with his “equal” partner? How comes we have not heard Kibaki demanding to be paid the PM’s “higher” salary?

How comes it is only one partner who has the key of the vehicle (Kenya as a country and overall executive powers) and the other “equal” partner cannot drive it and the only thing he can keep doing is to keep RECOMMENDING to the other, “please drive we go”? Kibaki’s letter says: “Neither are you at liberty to announce major policy decisions without having to put the matter in question before the Cabinet.” But Kibaki can make all manner of roadside declarations, like Moi perfected, including making a village a province, if he likes, without consulting PM, Cabinet or PM. Maybe, he can consult Lucy Kibaki to make Othaya Kenya’s ninth province.

How comes Raila depends on Kibaki to provide him with security and not vice versa? We all see it. Whenever Kibaki is in same function with Raila, Kibaki’s guards are fully in charge and Raila is reduced to level of other dignitaries. Why do the bodyguards of Raila coil their tails and fight for space with the crowd?

If Kibaki drops dead today, what does the constitution say? Does it even mention the PM in any role after death of President? It says the current VP takes over. Raila’s and Kalonzo’s public gimmicks to be next to Kibaki are a result of bloated ego and signs of inferiority complex. It’s only Raila (not his “equal” partner Kibaki) who struggles to be next to Kibaki. Why that if both “equal”? Shouldn’t we be seeing a drama of Kalonzo jostling with Kibaki to be next to Raila and to invite Raila to speak last?

If Kibaki dies today, Kalonzo would automatically take charge as a caretaker president for three months before fresh polls are held. Kibaki’s death would bring an automatic death to the Accord he signed with Raila. Hence, Raila needs Kibaki alive to keep his job! But VP who would be in office then would be the sole beneficiary of Kibaki’s death as he would assume power and there would be no deal with a PM. Raila would then find himself jobless and he would most likely stay in the cold for three months trying to endear himself to his disillusioned supporters (if at all he still has their grip today) before a General Election is called by the interim president.

Bearing in mind Kibaki would not be a candidate, the political landscape we saw in 2007 (which favoured Raila and I believe he deserved it) would shift and Raila would have an uphill task marshalling the frenzied support he got in 2007. In fact, a big majority who voted for Raila were doing so in protest against Kibaki but not their love for Raila. Raila was the only strong DUME capable of flooring Kibaki and that is why we saw all sorts of characters of divergent political (criminals included) and ethnic backgrounds gang up in ODM to defeat Kibaki and his PNU.

On the other way round, a big majority who voted for Kibaki did not do so because they loved him. They did so due to the Raila Odinga presidency fear phobia that Moi put in Kenyan minds. Raila is regarded by some Kenyans, GEMA in particular, as a big threat to their survival. We saw all sorts of thieves and tribal political chiefs gang up behind Kibaki to secure the unfinished culture of eating and guarantee their seats in Parliament (and possible plum cabinet posts).

Kibaki out of the way, even in 2012, Raila will have the biggest test of his political career. Unless Kibaki openly backs him in 2012. Can Kibaki for once shelve his selfishness? I doubt.

But if Raila dies today, Kibaki would hold a state funeral for him and shed crocodile tears of how he had lost a brother! Afterwards, he would appoint a new PM from Raila’s ODM and he remains in office till his term ends in 2012. None of the other ODM heavyweight as Raila’s political muscle and Kibaki would have even an easier ride. If mighty Raila failed to shake Kibaki (apart from “sharing power to save Kenya”, the Mudavadis, Rutos, Henry Kosgeys, Balalas of this world would dance to Kibaki’s tune while wiping Kibaki’s shoes with their tongues.

The “executive powers” Raila “shared” with Kibaki are just an illusion and Raila was so hungry for power to see the con trap Kibaki had placed on him. In fact, the PM should thank his stars Kibaki wants to have title of president and cares little about running Kenya. If Kibaki and Moi were to swap places in the current arrangement, Raila would find himself dancing to a different tune. Moi would frustrate him and make his work a nightmare. This thing works because Kibaki wants it to work. Raila is Kibaki’s hostage.

It is, therefore, too late and pointless for Raila and his aides to keep whining over spilt milk. Raila has two choices – move out of Govt to force it collapse and or stay inside, shut up and fly in the same smelly oil with his “equal” partner.

The article is not intended to ridicule Raila and please Kibaki’s henchmen but the bitter reality. I have never been in support of this Grand Coalition (42 ministers, a PM, a VP and President!) as it does not fulfill my interest and desires and that of the majority of Kenyans. It only serves the pockets and egos of Kibaki, Raila and their equally greedy friends. Since both camps claimed there was theft of presidential votes, the best thing would have been to conduct fresh polls or one takes one for 2.5 years and the rest finishes. You can’t have two husbands sharing one wife and expect all will be well.

The Kibaki-Raila Govt will be another wasted five years. Time for Kibaki and Raila and their foot soldiers to go to Hague and leave us to charge destiny of our beloved country is now.

Then… It Got Really Ugly

Also published in the last few hours: The Fallacy of Two Principals

Fresh from his sweet victory in defeating the censure motion against him, Agriculture minister William Ruto seems to be on the offensive.

Ruto spent the weekend saying that Kofi Anan should hand over the list of suspects to the Hague and the suspects should all be tried there. Ruto’s name is without doubt on that list. So why is Ruto suddenly such a big fan of the Hague option? What games is he playing?

Actually the truth is that the political class is getting real nervous about an idea for trying post election violence suspects that is rapidly gaining currency. This is the one of setting up a UN-run-court in a neighbouring country similar to what was done to try the Rwanda genocide suspects in Arusha, Tanzania. Such a move would mean that perpetrators of violence will face justice much quicker than earlier expected. Naturally this does not go down well with Ruto who has big ambitions for 2012 and is hoping that he can get elected president (or Prime Minister at the very least) before he stands trial. Hence his big campaign to ride on the public popularity for the idea of trying the suspects at the Hague.

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It is also clear that Ruto is getting increasingly irritated with Martha Karua breathing down his neck and making things rather difficult for him and he has decided that it is now time to hit back. Using his errand boy and a man whom he helped make a killing from the NCPB maize scandal, Cyrus Jirongo, Ruto has revealed a number of things about Karua to the public. Jirongo has come out to confirm what Ruto has been saying and Karua has been denying. Namely the fact that the two have met several times to discuss politics and specifically 2012. But what is the point of this current circus? It seems the idea is to paint Karua in poor light as a desperate political novice in the high stakes game of going for the presidency. And somebody who has got a personal grudge against Ruto. Secondly it is assumed that by keeping Martha busy putting out small fires, she will stay out of the way long enough for Ruto and company to execute their game plan for the next few months.

Actually what has now began is a bare-knuckles-no-holds-barred fight for the presidency of Kenya. This can be noted from the fact that unlike before when both protagonists were not referring to each other by name, now names are being mentioned and specific direct attacks being made.

William Ruto has never been more confident in his life, more so after his stunning parliamentary victory last week.

Let’s see what unfolds in the next few weeks, however I would like to remind you to keep your eyes on those 3 gentlemen I mentioned. Ruto, Uhuru Kenyatta and Bonny Khalwale. Anybody doing this will be able to read the politics of the day very accurately indeed.

The Fallacy of Two Principals

Kenyans are better advised to see the reality for what it is that no two principals can effectively deliver on anything. The national lie of being governed by two principals is just a red herring cleverly designed to soothe political egos. The truth be said, what is on paper is simply meant for the eyes and the ears that chose to listen to those very words.

The LEAKED letter of appointment of the prime minster must disabuse us of notion to entertain any mirage of equality. First nobody appoints you to be his equal and only a fool would knowingly allow you to pull a rag under his feet. An authority can only appoint subordinates.

Forget about the so-called NATIONAL ACCORD agreement that birthed this GCG. The superlative verbs supervising and coordinating where were never meant to leave the paper they were written on. The PM has been exposed for throwing a tantrum on pay. How can he dare demand higher pay than the president’s principal assistant? He would rather brace himself after the juvenile protocol wars early last year.

Even a rudimentary understanding of the old Swahili saying of FAHALI WAWILI would be adequate enough to disentangle this fallacy of two principals. Just look hard enough around the success story of FALSE SECURITY IN NUMBERS. By signing on the dotted lines, the gagging was sealed and delivered.

Competing interests
With more faces to apportion blame, even the TRIBALLY INFECTED churches have the canny audacity to attempt re-inventing themselves by playing to the gallery. Deception mutates into various forms and Kenya’s gate keepers will readily draw from their reservoirs built since independence to create smokescreen for their apologists to chase. Meanwhile the entrepreneurs continue to auction the next available piece of body Kenya.

Leaking and publishing the PM’s letter of appointment was a masterstroke. That single act will succeed in inciting Kenyans for his lack of action and helplessness by cleverly melting Githogo’s hitherto apology of hands firmly tied at the back in the boxing ring.

Above all else the letter exposes the fallacy of two principals where one hires the other with no authority to fire the same. Speak of an oxymoron packaged as a political charade. And the beautiful circular motion continues as Kenya sinks steadily towards abyss. The fourth president will surely inherit a lifeless skeleton for country.

No Shame As Kenya Receives Food Aid From Sahara Desert

I am surprised that President Kibaki did not look at all ashamed receiving a donation of relief food from Egypt a few hours ago. See story here.

I mean Egypt is literally a desert and gets much less rain than Kenya (actually the country hardly receives rain and South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years.) However they have been able to use their limited resources to become self sufficient in food to the extent where they can afford to donate food stuffs to the Kenyan government worth Kshs 10 Million. To be honest I hung my head in great shame when I saw this news clip just now. I was so ashamed I just had to make a post.

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Kumekucha titbits: After your long flight into
Kenya, do you want to seat in a traffic jam for
hours as you try to get into chaotic Nairobi? Or
would you prefer a budget hotel in the outskirts of Nairobi?
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Actually apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a desert. The country includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. Compare that to Kenya with Lake Victoria (the source of the great River Nile that passes through Egypt) and several rivers and lakes in the country. Not to mention plenty of fertile soil in idle land that if utilized properly can create great wealth for the country.

I have said it here before and will repeat it for the sake of our newer readers. By simply making serious efforts to harvest rainfall and creating enough storage facilities, the lives of Kenyans can be revolutionized. Digging boreholes is not the best solution for the environment and depletes underground water resources with devastating long term consequences.

See also: No Ugali? Why Don't the People Eat Chapati?

What future for Kenya?

No Ugali, Why Don't The People Eat Chapati?

Also published in the last few hours: Defeated Ruto Censure motion saved lives by Taabu

Final Warning: A Bloody Revolution Is Coming

Yesterday President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga sat visibly uncomfortable as they received a well-deserved dressing down from religious leaders from virtually all faiths united in their view that the trio has failed Kenyans. Even more telling were the wild cheers the clergymen received from the crowds.

Indeed many of the points they put forward will be extremely familiar to Kumekucha readers but the bottom line is that the principals have remained tribal chiefs who just wanted the big seat and have failed to provide leadership for the country and to unite all Kenyans at a very crucial time. They have no business leading a cattle dip, let alone a whole nation.
Read The Full story of what happened.

Personally what I find to be the saddest thing of all in Kenya today is that many leaders and indeed other Kenyans who live a comfortable life have failed completely to see where we are headed. Too many Kenyans are asking the question that shows they have no clue; if there is no ugali, why don't the people eat chapati, after all it is now cheaper? In other words they have failed completely to understand the masses and what is really going on now as you read this that can only end in one thing--bloody chaos.

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Do you suspect your spouse is cheati9ng on you? Well, you can easily find out for sure by recovering deleted sms messages on their cell phones. Hehehehehehehe.
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This was very well illustrated here last week when I gave a my predictions for the future based on careful analysis (and not witchcraft as some commentators believe). My predictions were greeted with anger, especially the one about a coming bloody uprising by the hungry masses. Folks just couldn't stomach that. Not after the bloody post-war chaos that we are yet to recover from.

Ladies and gentlemen let us not be the proverbial ostrich that buries it's head in sand and ignores the rapidly approaching forest fire, believing that if they cannot see it then it does not exist.

Actually since I made those predictions numerous other political analysts have concurred including Mutahi Ngunyi on an interview aired on national TV and in his Sunday Nation column. So I think we have reached that place where it is important to understand why all these sane people are talking war.

Since I penned the controversial words in my prediction, the situation has in fact badly deteriorated. One of the ways that we would have been able to avoid violence was if the 10th parliament had continued on the same path and in the same spirit they had in rejecting the constitutional amendment bill to create a local tribunal. That spirit was perfect because it echoed the feelings of the people on the ground. That would have easily saved the situation. However in defeating the Ruto censure motion, the current parliament showed it's true colours and alienated itself from the people. Even as you read this interest in the live parliamentary broadcasts is waning rapidly. And sadly so because some interesting things happened in the house yesterday (parliament failed to pass the list of new interim electoral commissioners simply because somebody whispered that the chairman is a wife-batterer).

In other words because parliament has failed to articulate the true feelings on the ground, the people will be left with no other option. And get me right, not that anybody will plan it it will all be spontaneous. And don't call me an inciter because the real inciters are parliament and our leaders.

Sample this; in replying to the very genuine points of constructive criticism brought against the grand coalition government President Kibaki jeered at them and told them to stop acting holier than thou because everybody is to blame. Kalonzo Musyoka repeated the same sentiments quoting a verse from the Bible out of context that says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. What does that tell you? It is clear that Kibaki and Raila will do nothing. It will be business as usual (wacha wale wanataka kupayuka wapayuke). So what do you sincerely expect?

Please tell me what we should do? A commentator here yesterday criticized me for not offering solutions. How can you offer solutions when people are in denial and are saying that actually there is no problem. What problem will your solution be designed to address?

Ohhh and I almost forgot. The staple Maize flour that so many Kenyans rely on for food is already selling for as much as Kshs 90 per 2 kilogram packet (Kshs 120 in some places), however it seems that Kenyans ain't seen nothing yet because prices are set to rise yet again. Read the reason why here.

Defeated Ruto Censure Motion Saves Lives

Ruto may have weathered the political storm but most pedestrian pundits are ignorant of the heightened tension on the country side outside the city and our keyboards. North Rift was one place nobody wanted to be before the censure motion.

Te mainstream newspapers and TV stations conveniently avoided telling the story behind people glued to screens keenly watching parliament proceedings live in every joint in Eldoret. Maybe it was responsible of the journalists to practice guarded caution lest they be accused of being alarmist and RATTLING SNAKES.

Anybody with a keen eye on his/her surrounding must have witnessed a near exodus from the outskirts to town centre the day before the motion. Once beaten numerously shy and with the IDP wounds still festering and becoming septic, people were not taking chances after WORD WENT ROUND warning that Bonny Khalwale and Martha Karua and all associated with them by dialect must either shape up or ship out.

Forget about the empty gloating of security for all. The hot balloon has been pierced and deadly militia continue to roam our villages waiting for DEPLOYMENT. Kenyans have reason to fear for themselves. With no moral authority to order anything or anybody around except brute state force, the government lost Kenyans long time ago.

The faint hearted will wax patriotic and chest thumb about raw power oblivious of the potent tinderbox waiting to have its pin off. We all love peace that separates us from other apes but ours is exclusively premised on our love to live a collective national lie. Kenya has never been fractious and if you doubt it from the relative comfort of your keyboard then you better continue dreaming hard and please don’t wake up to the harsh reality.

Politics is no game for saints and Kenyans must brace themselves for the long haul with the present scoundrels on wheels. A few good people may be in it for the wider good but only until the shit hits the fan of expediency and self-preservation. Feathering their nests at our collective expense must be the unwritten memorandum which most appear to water with their blind loyalty.

Cheap politics of emotions
Thank God for small mercies albeit for all the wring reasons. Defeat of Khalwale’s motions may have restored short term peace in the PEACE VALLEY but not for long. Anytime political temperatures soar, the villagers see the flames engulfing the tinderbox. It remains a matter of when and not if the pin gives way.

In the meanwhile those weaned on newspaper and emotional politics can drink from their time tested cups with their heads deep inside the sand. Reality will eventually strike them hard on the face soon.

10th Parliament Crashes And Burns Shortly After Take Off

After taking off beautifully last week (over the Hague bill) in the eyes of Kenyans, the 10th parliament crashed and burnt before completing take off a few hours ago as Agriculture minister won a stunning victory against a censure motion brought out against him over the maize scandal.

In other words our dear legislators voted to support corruption and impunity.

Kenyans on the streets and everywhere we managed to interview them are now saying that the true colours of this parliament that has refused to pay taxes has now clearly come out for all to see.

Ruto enjoyed a landslide victory of 133 MPs voting against the motion and only 22 supporting.

What has greatly angered the people further are the numerous meetings held at various city hotels last night whose agenda was today’s censure motion that would almost have certainly seen Ruto resign had it succeeded. Sources tell this blogger that the agriculture minister hosted a huge contingent of legislators at the Nairobi Casino and then for some unclear reasons the “party” was moved to the Safari Park Hotel later. It is said that MPs were making their way home at 3 am this morning. Money is even said to have exchanged hands and that is why a motion that at first seemed to have huge support suddenly fizzled out. Even the man moving the motion, Ikolomani legislator Bonny Khalwale was a pale shadow of himself at the crucial moment and the gynecologist by profession failed “to deliver the baby safely” for the anxious Kenyan people. Indeed the evidence Khalwale tabled against Ruto was so weak that he did not seem to believe it himself. So what happened to the convincing points he has been raising over the past 2 weeks or so? Was it so hard to back it all up?

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In retrospect it was one motion that Ruto would not have afforded to lose. With all sorts of accusations leveled against him concerning the post-elections troubles, the man probably felt that only his stay in the seat of power could protect him adequately from the many troubles ahead. And so if it is true he spent the fortune that people are saying he spent, then he must be sleeping well tonight, secure in the fact that he spent his money well.

But the biggest loser in today’s debate was the Kenyan people some of whom have already lost their lives due to starvation. Ruto says the maize sold was too little to feed starving Kenyans. Of course he is carefully ignoring the fact that his actions triggered off heft price increases in the marketplace. So the question of how many bags were sold irregularly does not really arise here. The truth of the matter is that Ruto's action have had a devastating effect on the price of the Kenyan staple of Unga.

Impunity has once again won the day. But mark my words it has only won one of the many battles with most still to come. The war proper is another matter altogether.

P.S. Just a reminder folks... I told you to keep your eyes firmly fixed on 3 individuals. William Ruto, Uhuru Kenyatta and Bonny Khalwale. The big question I have on my mind tonight is; did Khalwale attend the Casino and Safari Park bashes?

In Case We Go To The Hague

Winners:

Kenyan Tax Payers: In these tough economic times, we should be happy that our tax shillings will not be used in the formation of a kangaroo court.

Kamiti Residents: The way I see it, all prisoners in Kenya must ask their respective wardens to open the prison gates and set them free. After all, the judicial system that locked them up has lost all confidence. The journey to The Hague vindicates all of those who’ve been in front of a Kenyan judge.

Raila Odinga: In about two weeks, we shall start hearing some fantastic stories about how Raila really and truly never wanted a local tribunal…even though he voted for it. Come campaign time, the people’s president will take credit for sending chaps to The Hague. His vote as recorded in the gazette will be seen as a tactful political chess move to hoodwink some people who we really don’t know yet.

Mwai Kibaki: Now that this thing is pretty much over, my friend can go back to State House and rest. The trips to Parliament Buildings were not only cumbersome but also very tiring. Rather than listen to hecklers saying ‘no’ to his face, he would rather sit in his backyard listening to birds chirp and feeding bananas to the monkeys of Arboretum.

Ruto and Uhuru: Wacheni kupapatika wasee. Fifteen years is a long time to prepare a defense…. and even if they lost the case, current ICC prisoners eat eggs and sausages for breakfast. As we speak, there are some Rwandese prisoners in Tanzania playing badminton in the lush ICC prison yard. Life as an ICC prisoner is not too shabby.

Phillip Waki: For the first time in Kenya’s history, a commission’s report may mean justice. Praise be to Waki…even though his list left out a huge number of suspicious tax payer fattened MPs.

IDPs: It’s going to take a while but justice will come…someday. Just the sight of Kenyan suspects shivering behind the bullet proof glass should provide some solace.

Kalonzo Musyoka: He’s probably the only person in Kenya who can claim he did not cast a stone…so if he goes to The Hague, it will be as a witness or a tourist. That alone should allow him some kind of relevance in future.

Major Ali: Much as he’s willing to divulge all the details of the much publicized police killings, the man simply does not have a case to answer.

Lords of Impunity, Return of the Arturs

Like father like son so they say. Al Saadi Gaddafi came to Kenya and secure in the knowledge that we have sold our soul to his father he ran roughshod right from the airport after disembarking from the private jet with his mother in tow.

That Gaddafi Senior has total contempt for Kenya is not in any doubt. After auction our country to him before the last bungled elections, the King of kings treat us as the rag that we are. And why not when the highest bidder came to our rescue at the time of dire traits in need of election funds?

Al Saadi had our security men eating from his hand. The prince was accorded all the state security and even extended the handshake past the elbow when he demanded to use his riffle to shoot game at Maasai Mara. And the visit couldn’t have come at a better time for Kenyan get keepers when artificially engineered hunger fraud consumed all our attention.

Gaddafi is on a mission to bastardize the BLACK CONTINENT with his grandiose pet project of United States of Africa. In true Kenyan spirit he bought 200 tribal chiefs from all over Africa to crown him KING OF KINGS just before assuming AU chairmanship. And when he did he dropped the bombshell from Libyan template of democracy dolled in single party.

One can only imagine what OBJECTIVE role Gaddafi would have played were he the AU chair during last years PEV. Thank God for small mercies for the LEADER would have done everything to protect his interests and prop up those owing him plenty in hitherto glamorous Grand Regency deals and all its derivatives.

Moral authority
Fraud strips you of all traces of moral authority and Gaddafi knows it better. He came to Uganda early last year not only to open the regions biggest mosque but he had his eyes singularly trained on payback cheque from his Kenyan debtors. Damn the grim bloodshed then within out shows and the beneficiaries knew better than upset supreme king. They went to Kampala to negotiate postponement of pay. No wonder the GR couldn’t wait to be rebranded LAICO despite the intense heat it generated from within.

Armed with the right dossier of our culpability, Al Saadi came calling the shots. His bravado and trashing of our security apparatus was a re-enactment of Artur brothers II. Well history is unkind to those who refuse to learn from it in making sure such poor souls repeat it at a painful cost.

We haven’t seen anything yet from the ENTERPRISING rulers and their cronies. Al Saadi just outdid the scoundrel in the obtuse impunity game..

Mutahi Ngunyi Recycles Kumekucha As Raila Says Coalition Government Is Not That Corrupt

Mutahi Ngunyi is a well know political analyst and a fascinating character for those who know him better (but that is not a story for today). An interesting aside here that comes to mind is that Ngunyi was being interviewed on live TV as Kenyans anxiously waiting for the results of the presidential elections in December 2007. His careful analysis of the results trickling in showed that Raila had won and he said on the programme that Kibaki should concede defeat and hand over power. In effect if there was any court case or investigation to try and find out who really won the 2007 presidential elections, then Ngunyi has to be a key witness in the proceedings.

But I digress. Towards the end of last week he was interviewed on K24 and he repeated a lot of the predictions that I made here in a controversial post that was not too well received. He repeated the same sentiments in his weekly column in the Sunday Nation yesterday. Ngunyi says that it is not a question of if Kenya will explode but when. You can read the full article now.

It seems that most people do not understand why the country will explode or why it seems inevitable that we cannot escape another round of violence and blood letting, as much as we want to. This just illustrates how wide the gap is between ordinary down and out folk now paying a record Kshs 120 per 2 kilograme packet of maize flour through no fault of their own and the lucky few Kenyans who decide what they want to eat today and where they will eat it.

People also don’t have a clue why the coalition government is finished, including senior politicians in it. So let me give you a small illustration to help us all understand.

Imagine this school where some of the school prefects have rebelled and defied the school administration. The rest of the students are very excited about this naturally. So as headmaster what would you do? Would you just relax and pretend that everything was okay? Of course not. The thing to do would be to sack the prefects who defied you immediately and restore order and authority right away. Indeed in any management situation you don’t stomach rebellion, you cannot afford to.

Jomo Kenyatta understood this well and so did Daniel arap Moi. But Mwai Kibaki does not seem to have the slightest clue. While there is more democratic space, thios does not change human nature and the fundamentals of politics and governance.

This is one of the reasons why the coalition is doomed. It is really just a matter of time.

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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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There are those who say that corruption is the glue holding the coalition government together and for this reason it will survive until 2012. While it is true that corruption is a strong glue, there is yet another motivating factor (and much stronger factor) that will help break the GCG much quicker than most people think. It is prize much more valuable than the corruption currently going on. It is the presidency of the republic of Kenya which means billions and billions of shillings. Politicians are ambitious and very greedy. That combination is deadly. Many in the 10th parliament are already scheming and planning how they will come out tops in the next general elections. That is what caused the embarrassing defeat of the government in the house over the Waki bill and that is what will roast William Ruto if the censure motion against him comes up for discussion in the house this week (as is widely expected). Don’t forget that I talked about the power of those TV cameras and radio micropones in the house that are causing MPs to play to the gallery and to echo the feelings and sentiments of their constituents unlike the situation before.

* * * *

These days every time Prime Minister Raila Odinga opens his mouth to speak it ends up being a political disaster and the support he once had continues to be eroded by the day.

The latest is that Raila has disagreed with most Kenyans and said that the Grand Coalition government is NOT that corrupt. In fact he told off the church for criticizing the government. Read the whole story here.

Wow!!! That is all I can say about that.

Sunday Quip: Impunity, Word of the Moment

I was looking at the word impunity the other day and it suddenly dawned on me that it is made up of two short words (I don’t know whether it is by design or by ‘accident’).

The two short words are: i) Imp and ii) Unity

My dictionary defines an imp as a little devil. A little devil really! So it logically (?) follows that people who commit atrocities with impunity are simply united, little devils. And, boy, what damage and havoc devils (whether little or big) can unleash, is unsearchable.

God knows how many united, little devils we have in this country. The past one year or so has seen the emergence of the handi-work of these “little devils” on the fabric of the Kenyan society.

Yeah. And these are the very same people who should face the heat for their cold, steely hearts! The perpetrators of the post-election violence (these “little devils”) should face the knife of justice Hague-style.

Kenyans are tired of the culture of impunity. “United, little devils” should be served with the kind of “justice” that they know only to well: they should not be let to breathe the fresh air like the rest of us guys.

They should be stripped off their leadership positions and their case hearings and judgement dates should be “fast-tracked”. Impunity must be dealt a death blow.

For how long are Kenyans going to be led by “united, little devils”?

God, please save us from ourselves.

Elsewhere:
Albinos in Tanzania: Legislators should Stand up for the down-trodden

Do people really understand…?

Is Raila’s Life Really in Danger From Terrorists?

Politics is a dirty game, they say. The main reason why they say this is that many times the end justifies the means when it comes to decision making in politics. Meaning that a politician will do anything to win an election and the same for their survival. And when I say "anything" I mean anything in the full sense of the word.

The local media made a curious report yesterday which appears in today’s dailies. We are told that the police are on a high alert over a terror attack threat on Prime minister Raila Odinga. We are told that terrorist kingpins are upset over Kenya’s continued support to America in their fight against terror. We are even told the exact nature of the planned attack (something unheard of when it comes to terror attacks). It is said that the evil plotters plan to bring down a helicopter that the PM will be traveling in.

Of course it is possible that terrorists have suddenly gotten extremely rusty and have allowed information on their exact plans to filter out (when we know even the people carrying out the terror missions never have the full details until the last possible minute). But it is also possible that this whole thing is a hoax designed to achieve certain political objectives.

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Kumekucha titbits: Laptops get dropped all the time. Did you know that this can easily cause your hard drive to crash with vital data and information trapped inside? Hard disk recovery in Kenya exists and could be your only option if such misfortune befell you.
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All my warning bells went off when I read this report and further inquiries amongst those who understand this business concurred with me. Terrorist are first and foremost politicians and the current situation in world politics with a brand new administration in Washington is NOT conducive to a terror attack anywhere in the world just now. To make matters worse the man sitting inside the White house now has a Muslim name “Hussein” and is much admired amongst a vast majority of the people whom terrorists will always seek sympathy from for their heinous actions.

Then to target Kenya just now would not make any sense at all. Further it is imperative to note that one of the reasons why the Americans got very nervous about a Raila Odinga presidency stemmed from the fact that his presidential bid received enormous support from a number of Arab countries. This makes it very difficult for me to believe that terrorists would want to target the PM of all people, even if they wanted to carry out an attack on Kenyan soil.

So what would the possible motive of this curious report be?

Every politician knows that public sympathy is an extremely powerful weapon. It wins elections and can magically turn the tide of public opinion. There are many examples where politicians the world over have used sympathy to win public support but let me give an amazing example from a neighbouring country.

When president Jakaya Kikwete was running for the presidency in 2005 on a CCM ticket, a curious incident happen during a public meeting in Dar-es-salaam. It was clear even at that point that Kikwete was going to win. But his handlers probably wanted to leave nothing to chance. So the presidential candidate was invited to speak and he just said a few words and then fell and passed out in full view of TV cameras and the mammoth crowd. Later he held a press conference to say he was okay and was probably just a little tired. He also added that he had been fasting. I was in Tanzania at the time and I can tell you the mood of the country changed dramatically after this drama and in the end rather than winning my a simple majority, Kikwete won the presidential vote with a staggering over 90% of the vote.

We know that politically Raila Odinga is struggling at the moment. Indeed he has entered the political struggle of his life. Some analysts even say that he is finished politically.

If we take these facts and put them next to the alleged terror scare on his life, things begin to make a little sense.

Because after all, any serious security person will tell you that it is a big mistake to reveal the fact that you are aware of an attack on a person you are protecting. The best policy would be to pretend that you have no idea. That way you will be more prepared. In the Kenyan situation we are even telling the terrorists that the PM will now be using military helicopters which are harder to target. Wow!!!!

Why Kibaki And Raila Must Go

What is ODM? What is PNU? What do those strange abbreviations mean?

There was a time in the 10th parliament when things were pretty predictable. If ODM voted in a certain direction, you would be sure that PNU would vote in the opposite direction. So if the two principals wanted something done they rallied their troops and then came to parliament and everybody would obediently rubber stamp what they wanted done. That is how the crucial Anan bills were passed in record time.

Now all that is ancient history. The only place where people are still divided along those old party lines is here in Kumekucha. Go out and talk to the Kenyan people on the ground and you will quickly discover that "ODM" and "PNU" are very very dirty words these days.

Yesterday the 10th parliament embrassed the two principals by defeating a constitutional amendment bill in their faces, whose intention was to establish a local tribunal to try post-election violence suspects. Some MPs have been heard saying that Raila and Kibaki should prepare themselves for more nasty surprises and embarassments. This was only kionjo.

I hardly ever agree with what Mutula Kilonzo says. However what he said yesterday I agree with 1000%. He said that Kibaki and Raila should now resign because their troops have lost all confidence in them. Mutula was being kind because what we saw in parliament was a clear message from the people of Kenya. They are tired of impunity and they want justice. They want big names behind bars for their crimes and they do not not trust the local justice system. And most of all they are tired of the grand coalition government.

I would go further and say that a government as divided as the grand coalition government is at the moment is a serious threat to our national security. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for us to approach the threats against our country with a divided multi-agenda-laden cabinet? What kind of things to these guys get involved in individually in private to further their own selfish motives?

If Kibaki and Raila really loved mama Kenya, they would heed Mutula's call and resign right away, paving way for us to look for a way to hold general elections ASAP.

Fresh elections are the only way we can avert disaster which hangs like a dark and persistent cloud over our country.

Let me end by saying that the way the politics in Kenya is shaping up, anything can happen and the 10th parlaiment looks like the parliament most likely to move a successful vote of no confidence in this government and thus send themselves back to the electorate for a fresh mandate. Naturally any MP who appends their name on such a motion would guarantee their place in the 11th parliament.

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Lest you take comments in Kumekucha too seriously;

What I said 2 weeks ago;

Excerpts;

It is sad reading through the comments in this blog daily where well-educated Kenyans are still thinking in terms of PNU and ODM (and the gods they worship, namely Kibaki and Raila) when the vast majority of Kenyans have already moved on. More so when it looks like even most legislators have moved away from those tribal groupings as was seen yesterday in parliament...

Of great interest are the new political re-alignments that are now emerging and more interestingly the motivation behind them...

Many other legislators who had nothing to do with the post-election troubles have a lot to gain by blocking the bill and causing all the suspects to end up at the Hague. It will obviously eliminate a lot of the competition for their grand ambitions.

I doubt whether most of the political class conecerned slept well last night. You see the game plan was to have a local tribunal and then intimidate all the witnesses from coming to give evidence (already a number of key Waki witnesses have received death threats). Now it seems that the Hague beckons for sure...

What a Kumekucha commentator said about the post;

Anonymous said...

Chris, Please come back from fairy land. The bill will be passed and there will be a local tribunal.

Read the full post Here

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Between the Rock and the Deep Blue Sea

Which Way For Confused Kenyans; Hague Or Local Tribunal?

It was fairly easy for some nasty Kenyans to fuel the horrors of the post election violence in Januray 2008 by inciting angry Kenyans and by paying for the chaos to happen. Sadly it is proving to be extremely complex to get justice for the dead, raped, maimed and traumatized folks who through no fault of their own will carry terrible scars for the rest of their lives.

My heart goes out to all those Kenyans in agony over this frustrating turn of events.

For those of us who wait for the foreign ambassadors and heads of mission to speak first before we form an opinion on anything, it has been particularly difficult and confusing time as most locally based envoys seem to favour a local tribunal over taking the cases to the Hague.

Then there has been all the technical issues of entrenching bills in the constitution and votes in parliament that cannot be taken due to lack of quorum.

Well, I love to simplify complex stuff and so let us cut to the chase of this matter in a few brief sentences.

It is true that if all the cases to try post election perpetrators ended up at the Hague it would take ages. Decades actually. Conservative estimates put it at 15 years but most likely it could easily go over 20 years for many of the major suspects to be tried and hopefully convicted.

It is true that a local tribunal would take a much shorter time. However knowing the Kenyan judicial system it is NOT unrealistic to estimate that a suspect with the right crafty “well connected” lawyers can keep the thing in court for over 15 years (ask Brother Paul Pattni of Goldenberg fame for tips on this).

My view is that a local tribunal would be a big waste of time and taxpayers money. We just need to look at what has happened in the past in this country even in big criminal cases to pass the accurate verdict that justice in Kenya is extremely selective and notorious for being "bent" to favour the rich and powerful over the poor ordinary folk. Those foreign envoys and civil society guys pushing for a local tribunal are in dreamland. Kenya bado mapabano.

So what would be the solution?

Glad you asked.

The way forward would be for us to go to the Hague for now. Even if it takes 100 years. At least victims have a fighting chance that their unborn ancestors will be around to one day reap the satisfaction of finally receiveing justice.

Of great urgency are fresh elections?

What do fresh elections have to do with the post election justice issue?

Well it is very simple. What we have in Kenya now is a case where some suspected violent robbers and key suspects are acting as consultants in the manner in which they will be tried and making all the rules and laws that will control their trials. So what do you expect?

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Kumekucha titbits: Laptops get dropped all the time. Did you know that this can easily cause your hard drive to crash with vital data and information trapped inside? Hard disk recovery in Kenya exists and could be your only option if such an eventuality emerged.
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Is it surprising that one of the popular clauses on both sides of the house currently that is being pushed for is the ridiculous idea of having suspects continue to serve in public offices until proven guilty. The suspects of course already know that it will take decades for their cases to be determined and are looking at maybe two terms as a cabinet minister as the case continues. Incidentally this is another reason why some of the same suspects are pushing for the cases to go to the Hague where they will obviously take longer.

So we need an election to rid us of as many of these nasty characters as possible. While it is true that many of the undesirables will still find their way back to parliament, the truth is that there is enough evidence on the ground to suggest that a vast majority of them would shockingly be sent home if an election were held today. Hopefully the next government will be in a much better position to seek swifter justice for post election victims.

The second reason is that Kenyans are keen to halt the current massive stealing going on with the grand coalition government. Not only that. The expenses to "keep this monstrr fed” are crippling the country’s economy and well-being. So it is very urgent that the grand coalition government goes ASAP. Hopefully the ridiculous project of building the Prime Minister an office whose cost will ultimately touch the one billion shilling mark can be halted.

So despite all the many obstacles that stand in the way, a general election is a very urgent issue in Kenya just now.

P.S. A blogger gave us an amazing insight yesterday about how virtually every single presidential election we have had in Kenya since the advent of multi-partyism has forced the Kenyan people into a protest vote. It is very important that this time round we avoid this situation and the way to do it is to seek possible candidates early.

Khalwale’s Sinister Populist Agenda, Playing Politics with People’s Lives.

Guest Post: By Denis Otingo-Onyango

Also published earlier today: Open Letter To Phil of Kumekucha



Last weekend Nation’s article ‘Khalwale: Is he a political gun for hire or reformist?' was very catchy in its title on the backdrop of the ‘Unga Saga’ proceedings but was less intriguing to read though after fulfilling a much punier task of deciphering what the subjected Member of Parliament stands for or represents. In my humble view, he is not a political gun for hire but the ‘new-kid-on-the Populist Political block’ without any real reform agenda. Even more sinister, he can be viewed as a pretending reformer but for popularity sake but at the expense of the deeply vulnerable and clinically disenchanted Wananchi. I might be wrong but spare me your judgement before reading this.

At least now it's official. Let all the media outlets and the public be warned that "Political Populism” of the eighties is back with a big bang and it’s the new flavour in politics, and the Unofficial Opposition is lapping it up. Clouding the citizenry with mixed feelings also in the process, because the "populist" stories have a perennial quality in style and rhetoric but however leaves one wanting if you are in search for true substance. It’s more about grabbing the next headline and making news than speaking for the downtrodden in bid of real reforms, and doing so with anyone or anything whose appeal ‘seems’ down home, down to earth or down market right. Khalwale has not stolen anybody’s show, apart from Kalembe Ndile, Wafwoli Bwakwoli and Ramadhan Kajembe. He is effectively the new Martin Shikuku and Kamau-wa- Nyoike hecklers type but only just without a bow-tie. His Budalangi counterpart has chosen a pocket handkerchief rather than a bow tie.

Notwithstanding, the unofficial opposition and with its new ‘political populism’ as championed by Khalwale, Bwafwoli, Namwamba and et al have been fortunate to have gigantic scandals like Grand Regency and The Unga Saga play into their hands promising great hopes to the oppressed of possible breaking of the yoke of Poverty institution. If they could have fully capitalized on them in their submissions and deployed the stick ability endurance in a seeking to convert them to bold Bills that can bring amendments and subsequently fundamental reforms. Comparatively with what presidents have been impeached about in similar other cases are realistically whimsical in proportions compared with our sagas.

The Maize Scandal in retrospect is an example of classic case that exposes the ‘Populist Politics’, here Khalwale and Co failed to see the inextricable link between ‘Ugali’ hunger of the common voiceless mwananchi they claim to speak on behalf with the Sangwachan Tanker Disaster only to let the culprits of other sagas that have taken bread out the hand of suffering like Kroll Saga and Anglo Leasing go and lecture peoples on totally peripheral issues on how to avoid similar catastrophes. I’m sorry these people do not know the pain of losing a loved one and not to have a grave to remember them with because of poverty and they should leap back into their choppers of X-4’s back to their palatial homes. A ‘Sangchangwan Bill’ would have been a progressive populism move of forcing the government to renew its commitment in fighting endemic graft that is killing its citizens with poverty, luring some of them to death like a mouse to a mousetrap. The sub-sections of the bill would suggest that, it would be a criminal offence punishable with two years imprisonment if one is found guilty of trying to siphon petrol from a Tanker illegally because the thought of serving a term might give one hind sight with the care of their loved ones in mind.

In ‘The Grand Regency Saga’ and ‘The Kimunya must go’ rendition, Khalwale in my view did not fair better than the state house draft players live alone some other chess players. He could not predict the shuffling of the furniture and his unrepentant return as if to say ‘Kwani uta do?’ meaning ‘I don’t care attitude’. With apparent signs of sending Kimunya packing, Khalwale preferred glorying in stealing the show from Bwafwoli Wakoli and his new title of the ‘Bullfighter’ from Ikolomani than considering fully the implications of his motives whether it’s about publicity or reforms. If it was for the latter rather than the former, he could have checkmated the government by tabling a positive ethnic discrimination bill for the any further appointments to the sensitive Finance docket in the spirit of New Accord and the desperation for healing following the events of last year. In my opinion with this second example, Dr.Khalwale is like a wicked Gynaecologist inducing labour in a birth process and walks away leading to still baby deaths’. He and his cohorts have lacked a hot headed analysis that can confront a national decline from top-down with all their ugly manifestations.

In a more pragmatic sense, may be some of these ‘new populists politicians’ like Gitobu Imanyara yearn to begin the kind of broad-gauged assault on the status quo as the real reformers of our historical past in the seventies and eighties such as the ‘Seven Bearded sisters’ George Anyona, Koigi Wamwere, Mwashengu-wa-Mwachofi and James Aggrey Orengo just to mention a few. They had a genuine concern about the paupers and the gap their opulent ‘masters’ lived in and did not stop at anything or anybody. They were fearless bullfighters who were not shy on taking the state machinery head on even with detention gates within sights. Here the begging question is , where is the ‘Unofficial Opposition’ party's comprehensive critique of the delay of Agenda 4--not just the wild indifferent delay but the corrupted nature of it that has left all the state security apparatus in the hands of an elite Kenyan society. It’s a factual statement that such state machinery is the primary sustenance of inept leadership with all manner of ‘Muppet Show’ presidents like in our neighbouring African countries.

Nowadays, ''power to the people'' is a slogan used even by both Microsoft and I.B.M. and '' a man of the people'' by a man who with his several wives cannot go without his favourite ‘Ugali’ and ‘mrenda’ usually has a sarcastic inflection. Dr Khalwale was reported in the article as a staunch opponent of taxation of MPs’ perks. He was also quoted to be s saying that such a move would render legislators “as poor as their constituents’’. I rest my case, this is tentatively playing politics with people’s lives and leaving the historic meaning of reform politics corrupting and trivializing it with as a sentimental oddity known as ‘New populism’ invoked by the press and embraced by powerful interests operatives. They are not any different from Newt Gingrich and George Galloway of western world’s politics who leapt at any ‘hot potato’ media issues to be relevant with the latter even going to a greater length of dining and seizing a photo opportunity with Saddam the tyrant.

The ‘Progressive Populism’ which I subscribe to is exemplified by the Obama’s ’08 Movement; it was creative and robustly defiant of the entrenched power. Giving hope to the disillusioned people in their bleakest of circumstances and with their five, ten dollars, they forged their own politics and audaciously took on the Washington’s establishment and Wall Street. Setting their eyes on the ‘big price’ and armed with one solid agenda that was ultimately going to change their nation. It was rich in big ideas about how they were going to use government to protect their society from further depredations of concentrated wealth and corporate power. They then incorporated the intellectual seedbed of socialist scholars like David Axelor to influencing the change agenda with tangible health, social and economic justice policies. Climaxing with a delivery strategy that culminated to the ‘New America’ they are now experiencing.

Hey, let us be warned, these ‘new populist politicians’ are just talking as if they might actually do something for the common folks. How quaint or daft, it is all ‘domo’ meaning rhetoric and impossible in our current political system that is accustomed to serving a particular interest. If they are absolutely serious, they should stop these media antics or risk being branded as ‘‘wild-eyed, rattle-brained fanatics'' or disparage demagogues hecklers without any concept of sustainable strategy. They should then start advocating for the breaking of the corporate power, the chief perpetrator of the quagmire we have found ourselves in with a ‘hands-tied-in-the-back boxer’ Prime Minister Raila Odinga as graphically describe by the former Anti-Graft tsar and an Oxford Scholar John Githongo.

The writer is a UK Based Kenyan, Progressive Populist Political Activist.

Open letter to Phil Of Kumekucha

My dear brother and fellow lover of the motherland,

I hope this note finds you well. You are lost. It is so long since you did a post and I have been wondering what is wrong.

Let me start by stating once again that I sincerely have the deepest respect for you. I can assure you that if the situation was otherwise, I would not have bothered to pen this note to you. Am sure many oldies will agree with me that you did an excellent job leading up to (and after) the botched up presidential elections of 2007.

I read your latest reply to my previous post and it worries me to no end for various reasons.

You said;

Yes Bwana Chris, Ruto must Go, but for God’s sake Kiraitu Murungi Must Stay! Right?
Now where did you get that one? My position, I thought, was clear. The whole LOT should go home. To be honest I have no idea why Kiraitu is in the cabinet in the first place. The latest Triton scandal is just a confirmation that this is a man who has no business being responsible for a cattle dip project, let alone a multi-billion ministry that is vital to the country.

If you have been following the saga of maize in this country, you would not be make such outrageous claims as you have made today. Whatever happened to the real authentic Kumekucha who towered above all blogs including mainstream media?

Obviously, Chris - like thousands of many other clueless (and ohhh yes voteless) diasporans, you have chosen to be drafted into that club which believes that bashing ODM and its leaders will take away the problems bedevilling this country. How sad and unfortunate. As far as I can see bashing ODM only increases web page hits!

To begin with, according to Kumekucha jungle laws, Kenyan ministers are now supposed to resign because there was once Kimunya’s censure motion in parliament which was successful and that he went ahead and resigned. How laughable!


Laughable? Is it? What happened to the old fearless Phil I knew? Are you now siding with known thieves like Ruto? For what purpose? To keep ODM intact so that Raila Odinga becomes the next president? Tut! Tut!

I have a theory my brother. I believe you love Kenya with all your heart, the only problem is that you love Raila more.

And I also believe that the biggest political mistake Raila has ever made is to fail to realize that Kenyans did not vote for him in 2007, they voted against Kibaki. With kibaki out of the picture this time round, things will be very different I assure you. By the way I also voted for Raila but I love Kenya more.

What is amazing is NOT that it has taken so long for someone to come up with the idea of sending Ruto home. What is actually amazing is that Chris imagines 10 million Kenyans are starving because Ruto purportedly sold two million bags of strategic grain reserves (SGR)! It is truly a pity Chris because if you would have taken time to research a bit deeper you would have discovered that ;

One – Kenya depends 100% on rain fed agriculture. In this era of global warming and unpredictable weather patterns, this was the first major cock-up of the Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki regimes. It is as if Ruto is God the almighty so as to dictate how the weather will be in Kenya!
Two – the current food shortage was predicted as far back as 2007 (yes the election year), but Kibaki and the then Agriculture minister Kipruto arap Kirwa were so busy night running and dancing PNU songs to imagine Kenyans would need food in beyond 2008.

You are right my brother. What I admire about you is the research you apply to many topics before you write. However I put it to you that you are completely ignoring other pertinent facts here. There is actually a lot that Ruto, Raila and Kibaki would have done in March last year which would have helped things a great deal. I mean any primary school child would have told you after the post election troubles that there was going to be a serious food crisis in the country. Have you forgotten those TV clips of maize being burnt? And everybody knows that farming activities have not gone back to normal in Kenya’s bread basket.

But the problem is that Ruto, your beloved Raila and Kibaki should NOT be leaders in Kenya because they are utterly irresponsible and selfish. What were they doing forming a bloated cabinet that is costing us a fortune when they should have been making arrangements in March last year (not now!!!! Surely!!!) to ensure that no single Kenyan (the folks who lined up for hours to vote for them) would die of starvation.

So my answer is that while Ruto cannot control the weather, he should have planned ahead otherwise he has no business being in-charge of the ministry of agriculture. Let us not even go into the maize scandal for now.

Three – and perhaps most importantly, the SGR was just 2 million bags. How on earth Chris was this going to be enough to feed 10 million starving Kenyans, even if it was to be distributed for free to deserving cases?

Four – Of the total 2million bags of the SGR, 1.6 million bags was sold to millers and 0.4million to the so called individuals including the First Lady Lucy Kibaki trading as Gangilly Kenya Ltd (jangili kweli). What is unlawful about this to warrant the resignation of the Agriculture Minister? The fact of the matter is that the SGR was released to the market late last year in a cabinet approved plan aimed at moderating the skyrocketing prices of UNGA.

What are you saying Phil? That because the maize in question was not enough to feed the country, it was okay for people to make money selling it and to cause prices of maize flour to shoot up? Please confirm because this is what comes through from your writing.

Incidentally, prices of food have sharply risen globally over the last two years so this situation is not unique to Kenya nor is it a creation of ODM! I would be pleased if you could please quote for us the relevant LAW/S OF KENYA that says selling or trading in maize is illegal? Or it is the usual yada yada of mere talk and no solid proof to back up claims?

Five - According to the Global Information and Early Warning System of the UN-FAO, their report on Kenya food security situation first anticipated in the early part of 2008 and also indicated that our country would face a serious food insecurity situation due to a combination of factors: Displacement, insecurity, poor rainfall, rising food and other commodity prices, reduced cereal production and livestock diseases; The resignation and/or sacking of the Agriculture minister will never mitigate these problems! Please.

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Kumekucha titbits: Have you ever gone through the horrifying experience of having your server crashing? Server recovery in Kenya exists.
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Six – contrary to your assertion that Ruto must resign and that there is no other option to alleviate the starvation of Kenyans, there are indeed countless alternatives government can do in order to improve the tragic situation. You further seem not to be aware the government has already declared food shortage as a national disaster and in the process asked for international help on the same. It is an admission that we play too much politics and forget to plan for our very livelihoods. I am hoping that the goodwill of this blog will one day be used to educate Kenyans on issues of that will bring positive change into their lives rather than what is happening now.

Ruto’s resignation is a good place to start because he did nothing. Since March last year he did nothing. It would have been better if he tried and failed. But did he even try? Let us be honest with ourselves Phil. The guy did not have the time of day to do anything about the crisis he knew was coming. How would he when he was already making plans to profit from it. Sorry Ruto must GO!!

By the way the factors that have caused food prices to shoot up globally have nothing to do with what has been happening in Kenya. The Kenyan crisis was created by profiteers in government and everybody knows that.

FYI- Odinga need not to have been Mboya’s political friend. One does not attend the funeral of one’s enemies. Perhaps you could care to tell us why Mboya’s life friends (Kenyatta, Koinange, Njonjo, Moi, et al) kept away from his funeral and only what you call his friends in death (Odinga, JM Kariuki, et al) attended it? Fear of the unknown? You bet!

Mboya and Odinga represented a stark difference in ideologies. It is like trying to mix oil and water! You and I know which side Mboya represented. You and I also know the public service record of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga (may God rest his soul eternal peace) is equal to NONE – dead or alive.

Public service record of Jaramogi???? What??? Anyway let me not say anything about that for now. Wacha I go re-read my history because there is obviously something major I missed here. Strange how ythis public service record is NOT reflected anywhere I know of. Not even in Nyanza. The good and evil that Mboya did can be seen everywhere.

Ohhhh I forgot. I know you love Kenya Phil, the only problem is that you love the Odingas more.

By the way let me end this open letter with a question for you Phil. Don’t you think the fact that the country wants to spend close to a billion shillings on a new office for the prime Minster confirmation that our leaders have lost it? How do you beg for food with one hand while with the other you sign contracts with contractors and pay out hefty suns of public money for an office that will cease to exist when we go into the next elections.

Please answer that one, my brother.

P.S. I hope you will not take this letter personally. You are still my friend and I am really looking forward to the day you will resume your posts in this blog so that you may help us return to that “fearlessness” you keep talking about. As always you are free to post what you want because I do not have to agree with what you say.

Is this what Kenyans are really saying on the ground? If so most bloggers should be ashamed of themselves.

Why Ruto Must Go

William "NSSF plots" Ruto, the current minister of agriculture and ODM kingpin.

How times change.

The other day it was Kimunya and now the troubles of agriculture Minister William Ruto are mounting even as some parliamentarians led by Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale are preparing a censure motion against him in parliament. You will remember that the last censure motion caused one Amos Kimunya to reluctantly let go of a job that he had began to view almost as a birthright.

Actually it amazes me why it has taken so long for somebody to come up with the idea of sending Ruto home. The agriculture ministry made a very bad move that will result in over 10 million Kenyans being faced with starvation. Whether Ruto was personally involved or not, he must surely take responsibility for what went on in his turf (how can he not?). Who else can be held responsible other than him? Fascinatingly this is the gist of what Assistant Finance Minister Oburru Odinga has said. It also suggests that this is the position of the Prime Minister which seems to have been further confirmed by the fact that he has ordered an audit by a foreign firm on the goings on in the national cereals Board to cover the period from July last year to date. Some political analysts say that the PM will not be sad when Ruto goes. But that is besides the point. The issue here is that Amos Kimunya stepped aside to facilitate investigations into the Grand Regency saga last year, albeit under considerable pressure. So why should Ruto be treated any different?

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What Kimunya did was bad but what Ruto is alleged to have done is tragically terrible, because it will result in a few Kenyans dying the most terrible death—by starvation.

For those still in the dark over what the maize scandal is all about, let me explain. The Agricultural ministry authorized the Cereals Board to sell maize to brokers who in turn sold it to millers at inflated prices thus creating both a shortage and also causing the prices of maize flour (a critical staple for Kenyans) to suddenly skyrocket. Ordinarily the Cereals board should have just sold the commodity directly to millers, as it is the transaction was such that in many cases the millers ended up collecting the maize themselves from the Cereals board but after paying an inflated price for it to middle-men who added no value whatsoever and seemed to have been introduced as a way for somebody to make a lot of money from the transaction at the cost of ordinary Kenyans.

Sources have mentioned two names to me of people who were the main architects behind the maize scum. They are Cyrus Jirongo and Ababu Nwamamba. Little wonder that the latter used brilliant diversionary tactics of introducing other prominent names to divert attention away from Mr Ruto, probably fearing that too close a scrutiny of the scandal would lead to the unearthing of his own name.

Ruto must now resign to pave way for serious investigations into this maize scandal. I am afraid there is really no other option here.

Interestingly, looking into Ruto’s past, the man made a lot of money being allocated and then selling off public property in broker deals fairly similar to what went on at the Cereals Board.

So do people really ever change? You tell me.

P.S. I have abandoned my predictions on the future of Kenya for now. Apart from upsetting my dear readers, a few believe that I am using voodoo or witchcraft to make these predictions. This is of course NOT TRUE. My predictions are all based on analyzing all the information I receive daily (both what is in the public domain and what is NOT). Of course many readers here do not want to hear about any kind of chaos happening in Kenya. Actually neither do I, but what do you expect as impunity continues even as the suffering of Kenyans increases? I will of course continue with my usual hints at what the future holds in my normal posts.

P.S. It seems that Raila Odinga is a liar. His father and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Tom Mboya were NOT friends. What was Raila trying to achieve with his remarks at Pamela Mboya’s funeral? Jaramogi and Mboya were sworn political enemies? That is the truth.

Jaramogi only sided with Mboya in death and was appalled at the way he had been assassinated by the very people he had been working closely with to not only destroy Jaramogi’s political career but to push him completely out of politics.

The Hague: Proven Euthanasia to Impunity

The engines of The Hague express are revving and rearing to go. Kenya’s GATE KEEPERS are scared to the bone marrow.

True, impunity mutates and in Kenya it has a price tag. Thank Mother Nature to small mercies. By one stroke of genius, Justice Waki sealed all the loopholes and the rats are enjoying the run to no where inside the maze.

The political savages are out renting MPs. The big boys weaned on Kenyan’s blood and sweat are doing only what they know best, throwing KES 1m loose change to rookie MPs salivating to gobble as much as they can fearing for their political future. Given this poisoned political environment, Hague remains our singular refuge from this bunch of scoundrels.

With phase I of the GCG premised on entrenching SECURITY IN NUMBERS with regards to corruption and grand looting almost accomplished, it is time to scheme big with eyes singularly trained on the ultimate political trophy come 2012. So why not rent mouths to take Kenyans one more circular round doled in a local tribunal as the vultures cycle carcase Kenya for the choicest of remaining skeleton.

You don’t need to be a NASA scientist to see what the attempts to trash KNHRC findings amounts to. Forget the street rants packaged as pedestrian justification of the right to be hard. The war lords were unreachable and untouchable when they were busy marshaling their militia to decapitate fellow Kenyans. Emptying Nakumatt shelves of all machetes was more of a priority than appearing before civil shenanigans masquerading as seekers of justice.

Judicially failed state
Make no mistake. No Kenyan big gun is comfortable with the Hague where Moreno Ocampo reigns supreme with his meticulous and ruthless prosecution that no wallet can buy. When push graduates to a shove even our local Pol Pot is not sure when the Khmer Rogue generals will spill the beans detailing the massacre organized at his address. Al Bashir may soon be in good company and benefit from Kenyan version of security in numbers.

Most of the MPs are only playing hard ball to hike the value of their lips. Inadvertently Kenyans stand to gain immensely in their selfish plot to derail the formation of a local tribunal which only flag off Hague Express. Speak of unintended wider gain.

Let the faint hearted and smaller version of the present political vermin wax patriotic all the much they wish. We are already a failed state except in name. Let the Hague help sort us out from our perennial mess. We already have our national bum aired to the world and no more share in exposing the smelly rot underneath to the international arena.

In our collective and shameless penchant to live a national lie, we have slept so long with fleas oblivious of the danger thereof. Well, only The Hague can comprehensively disinfect us as a nation.

Engineered Hunger is Crime Against Humanity

Mama Ethuuko Nangole has become the sad face of a starving Kenya. The grim pictures from other part of the country epitomize the VALUELESSNESS that singularly defines our national leadership.

The guilty are VERY AFRAID running scared and shadow boxing. Following Kimunya’s steps, besieged Ruto has retreated to drumming ethnic support from his political backyard to ward off culpability in the maize scandal. The adage of those refusing to learn from history being condemned to repeat has never been apt. Caught with pants dangling below the knee Bill still shamelessly still borrows Kiraitu’s hitherto sturdy noose in declaring the maize fraud as THE SCANDAL THAT NEVER WAS.

Well, it is true every Kenyan has a right and freedom to buy cereals from NCPB. But you don’t con Kenyans by reverting to painful old corrupt ways of offloading to brokers subsidized grain meant for millers. Samoei should have upped his game to the league of REAL GATE KEEPERS who milk us dry without pedestrian trace of evidence.

Also true is Kiraitu’s neck deep involvement in the Triton oil scandal. But Ruto must know better than poorly mutating the SECURITY IN NUMBERS gimmick. Kibaki and his cronies may have perfected that vice it to an extent nobody in the GGC is left is with any scent, but Ruto’s cheap shots just fell below par. You don’t run after the second thief before dealing with the one already caught.

And Ababu Namwamba’s juvenile jibe of detraction was the last straw that must disabuse us of the deceptive and hollow pride anchored in generation change. Bony Khalwale the bull fighter permuting his political price till the right bidder comes calling but so far he is the only one MP in the company of Imanyara left standing.

Eyes on 2012
The maize scandal may be the eye opener to gullible Kenyans who recycle scoundrels to parliament after every five years. Now they are smarting and earning at individual level the wages of national corruption. The big problem lies in cheap politicization of such grave crimes just like Jimmy Kibaki is doing with thinly-veiled campaign to succeed his father in 2012. If Jimmy thinks Nithi MP deserves full cabinet post, he is better placed to canvass for him from his own dad.

Corruption is what feeds impunity that is presently chocking Kenya. What part of its anatomy can be uprooted that must start from somewhere with somebody. Even Martha Karua’s sermons atop hills is hollow knowing that hers is premised on expediency and self-preservation both disguised to mask her political tantrum. We live in politically volatile and interesting times. The pangs may be painful but the future is promising.