2011/12 Kenyan Budget: The Road Map to Neo Colonialism Feudalism/Serfdom/Debt Peonage

By Mwarang'ethe

There are two ways of conquering a nation. One by the sword. The other is by debt.
After some useless spectacle over the mode of presentation of the 2011/12 budget, Uhuru Kenyatta managed to deliver the same on 8th June, 2011. As expected, those who call themselves experts in taxation and economics gave their verdicts as they have done since 1963. By and large, according to these experts, Uhuru did a commendable job. For this communicated nonsense, see this: here and here and here. Please, note very carefully their emphasis on so called 2030 Vision.

However, with due respect, these so called experts are deceiving Kenyans because, they focus on the content, or, the data, but, ignore the context. In other words, just like the rest of Kenyans, they have totally missed the big picture. And, the big picture is this, the 2011/12 budget, is a road map to Neo Colonial Feudal Economic Order or Serfdom, or debt peonage. To appreciate the big picture, one must first understand the real objective of Vision 2030. On, March 21st, 2010, we summarised the mission of Vision 2030 in two lines as this: “Like Bastiat, we feel we have a moral duty to warn Kenyans of the greatest robbery which is a foot in the name of the so called Vision 2030.” We beseech thee to read the entire article before you proceed to read further. You will find that article here. The real title of that article should have been “2030 Vision Infrastructure and Great Robbery of Wanjiku.”

Hoping that, you have read the above piece, let us now hop to London to begin weaving the 21st Century feudal economy. On 7th February, 2011, the Guardian reported this: “To us, it's an obscure shift of tax law. To the City, it's the heist of the century.” Among other stuff, we are reading this:

At the moment tax law ensures that companies based here, with branches in other countries, don't get taxed twice on the same money. They have to pay only the difference between our rate and that of the other country. If, for example, Dirty Oil plc pays 10% corporation tax on its profits in Oblivia, then shifts the money over here, it should pay a further 18% in the UK, to match our rate of 28%. But under the new proposals, companies will pay nothing at all in this country on money made by their foreign branches. The exemption applies solely to "large and medium companies": it is not available for smaller firms. The government says it expects "large financial services companies to make the greatest use of the exemption regime". The main beneficiaries, in other words, will be the banks. But that's not the end of it. While big business will be exempt from tax on its foreign branch earnings, it will, amazingly, still be able to claim the expense of funding its foreign branches against tax it pays in the UK. No other country does this.

Please read the entire story here. If you have time, to read the primary source, see in particular, page 87 of the 100 pages document here. Let us now return to Kenya. So as to mesmerize Kenyans, Kenyatta allocated sh2.9 billion to modernize railway services in Nairobi and its environs. To ensure the plebs are informed of these wonderful developments, the DN told us that: “It’s full steam ahead for city commuter train” here. Among other stuff, we are told that, “Mr Kenyatta said it would cost Sh25 to travel from Embakasi to town and Sh35 from Ruiru to the city, down from Sh70 and Sh100, respectively, charged by PSVs.” It may be true that the fares may go down, but, we are not sure. However, even if fares will go down, will these savings translate into more money into the pockets of those who are funding the project? The answer is no. As soon as, or, even now that, this project has been announced, land rents in the affected areas will start to go higher. In others words, the few who own land will be the beneficiary of this project and not the masses who must fund it. The beauty is that, as we shall show later, these landlords are now corporate and income tax exempt.

However, there is something even more sinister for we are told that:

“A rail operator is expected to manage the proposed commuter service. Procurement of the operator is going on through an international tender advertised by the Kenya Railway Corporation and InfraCo Ltd (InfraCo Africa), a donor-funded privately managed infrastructure development company. The project will also involve the construction of about seven kilometres of a new track to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s Unit 3, and the rehabilitation or construction of stations and other facilities along the network. The multi-phased project, whose cost is estimated to hit Sh24 billion once completed, is expected to link the city centre with outlying areas like Thika, Limuru and Athi River/Lukenya. ... the project began in April 2009, when the corporation signed a joint development agreement with InfraCo. InfraCo shoulders much of the upfront costs and risks of early stage development, reducing the entry costs of private sector infrastructure developers.”

In other words, the so called donors have formed a company to invest in the Kenyan railway system. Three questions are in order. Firstly, since all the bankrupt “donors” have divested from their own railways, why the hell are they investing in third world railways? And, if natural monopolies can be privately managed, why then, did we sell out rightly monopolies like Safaricom and KPLC? And, what is this animal called Private Finance Initiative (PFI) under which the InfraCo. is being brought in? Well, in the UK, these PFI vehicles are being used to divert millions of pounds from the NHS into offshore tax havens. Please read this by the BBC: “Portsmouth hospital NHS cash 'destined for tax haven”. In simple words, it is a scam of a century.

Also, in the DN, in an article entitled: “Experts fault some tax proposals as vague and open to abuse,” we find the tax leader of Deloitte East Africa, a Mr Nikhil Hira telling us that:

“But the firm welcomed the introduction of the Real Estate Investments Trusts (Reits) to boost investments in the property market. Part of the proposals pegged on the Reits are that those registered with KRA will be exempt from corporate tax, as well as incomes earned by investors in this vehicle being exempt from tax.”

This, you can read here: What this means is that, real estate companies will now organise themselves as stock companies in the form of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS). So many things are now going to happen to mention them in a short article. Suffice to say that, we have created a perfect mechanism for real estate bubble, i.e. like that of Ireland, Latvia, Spain, UK and America, just to give a few examples. Yes, on the surface, we will appear to be doing well. However, when that bubble will burst, we will go the Latvian, Greek and Ireland way.
There are many issues we can raise about this vital question. However, for today, we wish to bring out two things. First, having exempted the land barons who are the richest men in Kenya from both corporate and income tax, we ask, who then, is going to pay the taxes for running the bloated bureaucracy we have created in the name of a new constitution? We answer that, CAPITAL and LABOUR.

In other words, should you as a capitalist wish to start a factory to create WEALTH, while creating the jobs we desperately need, you and the labor you employ will be highly taxed. When you combine high taxation and the increased land rent which will be occasioned by the land speculation, our production cost will soar. This will be the last nail on our beleaguered manufacturing sector about which we reading that, “Manufacturers map exit routes as Kenya attractiveness wanes.” This, you can read here. This is coming as the battery manufacturer Eveready East Africa is planning to close its factory in Nakuru, “because the cost of manufacturing in Kenya is high, driven by high labour and energy costs.” This you can read here. The question is, since our manufacturing base will be decimated by this policy, where shall you and your kids find work? Well, if your dream is to work in the so called Kazi Kwa Vijana projects, it is fine.

Now, the expectation of humanity was that, with industrial revolution, we should move to industrial wealth as opposed to landed wealth. However, with these policies, it is a signal that, the industrial dream and its promise is being buried. In other words, we are cycling backwards to feudal economic order. Do not worry; they have baptized this feudalism as the post industrial economy.

Now, we come to the second and most troubling issue. By real estate, we mean business entities like railways, roads, ports, and dams etc which dominate the Vision 2030. If you analyze Vision 2030, you now begin to see where the so called donor led infrastructure company fits in all this. If this is the case, does it follow that, someone in the UK, USA, Japan can now get let us say, £ 5 billion for free (0.5% interest rate in 2011), come to Kenya, buy almost all of our land, infrastructure, mineral wealth, and then, go back to London and smoke cigars as he waits for his corporate and income tax free income from the African slaves? We are saddened to say, yes, this is the future. If you want know the origins of these REITS, read the history of the first one, which was appropriately called, Foreign and Colonial Investment Trust, founded in 1868, here . If you recall the ongoing UK corporate tax reforms, the donor infrastructure company and the real estate investment trusts we are introducing, you can start to see the great game of re-introducing feudalism is afoot.

In other words, did we bitterly fight for our land, to have the same given back to the colonialists by the son of Jomo, son of Odinga and Kibaki and thereby, make us and our children the drawers of water and hewers of wood in perpetuity in our own land? If not so, how shall we recover these lands in the future? Shall we be recolonized through debt? Shall we be recolonized by our own ballot? You may be animated by the ongoing spectacle about the Chief Justice and such, but, we ask, will not it be the job of that Chief Justice to enforce these feudal laws? And, once you have taken the 2012 OPIUM, shall it not be the work of whoever you will elect to enforce these feudal laws which exempt the barons from taxation while grinding the poor?

It seems Kenyans have forgotten what Machiavelli taught us. He taught us that, a Prince conquering a republic has three options:

1. Utterly destroy it. For such an example, see Iraq or the ancient Carthage.
2. Conquer and live there. For that, recall colonialism.
3. Set up a puppet government. See the new constitution. As they say, The King is Dead. Long Live the King.
   

Remember this, know the truth, and it shall set thee free. To the extent we are not free, then, we do not possess the truth. This being the case, then, it follows that, what they teach us is not the truth. They do not teach us the truth because, such truth would threaten those who wish to imprison us and keep us dominated. As such, the imperialists profit by the lies they tell us, the false perception and the false consciousness they creates in us.

Why Is Kenya So Suddenly Broke?

Economics is a terribly boring and yet it is terribly important.

Especially at a time like this in Kenya. For all intents and purposes this should be a pure economics post. But don’t worry I will not bore you today with macro-economic policy blah blah and stuff like that. Rather I will tell you some nice stories that will help you understand the mechanics of what is happening.
Why should you care about what is happening? Because whether you like it or not you are going to get hit in a very major way by what is unfolding currently. When the exchange rate to a dollar hits the three digit figure of Kshs 100 EVERYTING YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR will increase dramatically in price. Because EVEN if it is manufactured locally there is some imported content in it. Even agricultural produce is transported from the farm using petroleum products which are imported. Let us not even discuss oil prices in this post because if we do you will probably just lie down and wait to die quickly.

There was this man who had very high costs. He made them higher himself by taking a second wife. Each wife had children in school and so you can imagine what kind of costs we are talking about here. At first it was not a problem because he was dealing in drugs. But one terrible day the police moved in and shut down his cartel. He was lucky not to end up in prison. He had taken the right precautions and there was no evidence to link him to the vice. But he often wondered whether it may have been a better thing to end up in prison where he did not have to worry about how to put food on the table for his enormous family.

That man is Kenya with the big fat grand colallition government. It is now clear that drug money has been playing a much more major role in propping up the Kenyan economy than anybody will dare admit. Even the unprecedented political crisis of January 2008 did not put a dent on the shilling but the naming of drug king pins by President Obama has had a devastating effect on the Kenyan economy. Actually it has among other scary things put the Kenya shilling on a free fall where most analysts believe that we shall see a Kshs 100 US dollar by the end of this month or soon after.

What has happened at the treasury is that all of a sudden foreign currency has become very important and there are those analysts and experts who are suspecting that the government has accordingly changed it’s policy from that of keeping a strong shilling to one of attracting as much forex as possible at all costs. So in effect the government has decided not to fight the war they know they will lose anyway of trying to prop up the shilling. For those who have never understood; how is the shilling propped up? Imagine a situation where there is a scarcity of sukuma wiki (Kales) at the nearest fresh vegetable market to where you live. What will happen? Prices will shoot up dramatically. However they will come down very suddenly if a lorry or two suddenly arrives at the market loaded with sukuma wiki. Prices will fall like a stone back to normal or even below normal. That is exactly what the government does as part of it’s fiscal policy when forex gets scarce due to various factors, it brings “lorry loads of foreign exchange” to the marketplace which has the effect of keeping the shilling strong. Clearly the situation now is that somebody has realized that even if they bring 10 lorries of sukuma wiki to the market the prices will not go down because the demand for the vegetables from the hungry vilagers is much higher than 20 lorries. let alone 10 lorries. So in this case people will buy the lorry loads of sukuma wiki at high prices and some will not get any ad rpices will continue to climb. This is the situation the fiscal planners of Kenyan economy suddenly find themselves in.

In one sentence the word on the economics streets of Nairobi is that old man Kenya is completely flat broke and very desperate. What do you do when you are broke? You borrow. But what if you snubbed the people you usually borrow from over the last few years? Kibakinomics has involved snubbing old friends like Britain and United States for new kids on the bloc like Libya, China and the Arab world. Now Gadaffi of Libya is pretty much gone, the Arab world has their own very serious political problems just now mainly caused by Facebook that need plenty of cash to keep under control. China is busy and excited doing deals in the western world and has in recent times dramatically reduced engagement in Africa which is not a priority at the moment. Kenya’s old friends may be willing to help but they are waiting with their long list of demands before they can do anything. And besides Mwai Kibaki’s pride will not allow him to grovel at the feet of anybody and beg while asking to be forgiven for straying.

So where does that leave us?

You don’t want to know...

Because everything is pointing towards unprecedented economic crisis. A depression of the magnitude that has never before been witnessed in these shores. Prepare for scenes from the Great depression in America being played out on Nairobi streets. In the days of the great depression New York city was filled with very smartly dressed men in designer suits who were hungry because they suddenly couldn’t afford a meal. Many others (also in their smart suits) were jumping off high buildings to their death below. Our old friend Mwarangethe was right after all only that even he downplayed the catastrophe that is about to unfold.

What should you do?
Rush to your bank now and open a Euros or US dollar account and if you receive money from anywhere in the world in these currencies keep it there. Even if it means borrowing Kenya shillings to keep things going.

If you have never been interested in farming in your life you had better start getting very interested pronto. At least grow your own food if you feel that it is below you to grow and sell farm produce (a business that is guaranteed to be extremely profitable in the months to come).

But even if money is the least of your worries, don’t think this thing won’t touch you. Just think about it. All those guys who were relying on the drug trade to put food on the table, what will they do now? What about all those folks who are losing their good jobs everyday as the economic crunch continues to bite? Even if just 10% of them go into violent crime we all have too many reasons to be very very worried.

Will the last person leaving the crumbling house please remember to switch off the lights.


Moinomics, Biwottnomics and what Goldenberg really did to you explained in simple standard two English

Most recent post by Chris Kumekucha (a few hours ago).

7 Unexpected Things That Attract Kenyan Men to a Woman

The problem with most people is that we tend to assume many things. For instance we assume that men get attracted to women by beauty and a great body. Even when we still go to weddings regularly where the bride has neither in abundance our mind is stuck like an old record on what we believe has always attracted Kenyan men to women. A little research by Kumekucha recently unearthed some interesting stuff that will shock most. Here are 7 unexpected things that attract Kenyan men to their ladies.

1. Your career
You may have the looks and a model's figure but if you are a mere clerk at some government office you may find that you stand no chance if the competition is a professional. One man I interviewed dates only lawyers. Granted they are in the legal profession themselves but there are numerous other examples we came across of Kenyan men falling head over heels with the career of the women in their lives. Indeed we are seeing a higher number of Kenyan couples where the woman earns three or four times what her husband earns. Or where a man who is not a professional gets drawn to a woman who is. Although we still have many men who feel threatened and intimidated by career women the statistics on the ground indicate that this is changing very fast.

2. Swearing women
Most people believe that if you are loud and you swear frequently chances of attracting a serious guy are nil. Maybe that was true in the 1960s but certainly not today. Some men like women who stand out and the louder they are the more of a turn on they seem to be.

3. Women who love soccer
Most observant Kenyans must have guessed this one already. Amazingly it was just the other day when the ladies in the room would hurriedly head straight for the kitchen when the TV was switched to some big soccer game. Not any more. In fact one couple this blogger came across in the research for this article are in a situation where the man heads to the bedroom with his laptop and leaves his wife watching Arsenal (her favourite side) in action along with her teenage son. Some smart Kenyan ladies have read the signs of the times and quickly realized that the perfect place to meet the man of your dreams is at a bar watching the Premier League. Many Kenyan men are very attracted to chics who love soccer.

4. You'd better give it to me now!!
The message that clearly came through during this little research I did was that women who remain reserved and lady like will remain alone and ignored. Men believe that there are too many similar women trying to attract their attention and it seems that they are looking for something different. I have a close friend who has this girl friend who regularly demands for sex via sms. I have seen the sms messages and some of them are pretty explicit. But what’s most interesting is that my friend is clearly jazzed big time by this boldness.

5. Your ugly thighs
Beauty truly lies in the eyes of the beholder. While men have always been attracted by great legs and especially the thighs in a woman the assumption has always been that quality is important. Surprisingly this is NOT true. Virtually any legs that are exposed will pique the interest of most Kenyan men. So if you don’t have the looks nor a model’s legs don’t despair. All you need to do is have the guts to expose enough flesh. Walk around Nairobi streets and you will quickly realize that this point is very old news to many Nairobi ladies.

6. Politicians
Politics bores most women. But the truth is that women who are actively involved in politics attract men like a magnet. You don’t even need to be an MP. Just ask the increasingly large number of women activists we have in this country and they will tell you they have a big problem other sisters don’t have. Being bothered by men.

7. Smoking women
This one is a mystery. Although few people will take home a chimney of a fiancée the reality on the ground is that the aroma of cigarette smoke with all it’s cancer related perils is irresistible to most Kenyan men. Just walk into any popular entertainment spot and observe how popular the smokers are compared to the non-smokers.

DISCLAIMER: Kumekucha is not advising well mannered Kenyan women to start adopting bad manners just to get hitched. This is simply a report on the reality on the ground. My advice is that it is best to be yourself, whatever the outcome whatever the consequences.

Latest Nigerian Con Trick: Baby Factory

What is the secret that Moi can kill for?

How to say "I love you" to a man and not cause him to bolt

Because of the Evil Monster Called 2012…

...Prepare for Tobiko as DPP mupende musipende… Mutado?

...Prepare to exchange the US Dollar At Kshs 100

I know this girl who loves to watch horror movies. The more horrifying the better. Some of the stuff she watches is capable of giving me nightmares but to her it is all entertainment. Geez!! Fascinatingly the contradiction is that she cannot leave the room alone just to go to the next room.
Now there is a really terrifying monster emerging on the Kenyan political scene who is already causing nightmares and untold terror. The bad news is that the worst is yet to come. That monster is called 2012.

Horror scene number One…
Is set to unfold this afternoon in parliament when the august house will vote unanimously for one Keriako Tobiko to be the first DPP under the new constitution. A man who has a big huge question mark over his life starting with a land deal that has forgery and impunity written all over it. A man who has been instrumental in making Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing go away.

Yesterday I could not believe my ears and my eyes when one Charity Ngilu filled the TV screen to tell Kenyans that “the best choice” in the entire republic for this job was Tobiko. If it was possible to rewind TV news I know there are many many Kenyans who would have rewinded that particular clip to be sure of what they were hearing.

But then we have discussed this issue here in Kumekucha at length over the last few days. We know that ODM and one Raila Odinga need the Maasai and Samburu vote very badly as 2012 looms large in the background. Raila must be president come 2012 so who cares if Tobiko is corrupt? Who gives a sh** if the man’s middle name is “injustice and impunity”? Raila MUST BE PRESIDENT!!! Everything else comes second. Yep including the rights of downtrodden Kenyans who have lived under a justice system that has crashed them and their rights under it’s foot. A selective justice system that asks’ “who are you in society” before it can prosecute.

Watch this horror movie at a TV screen near you starting from around 2:30PM (Kenyan time) this afternoon.

Horror scene number two…
The 2012 elections will need unprecedented amounts of cash for those who own Kenya to push through their agenda. And yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to raise cash in the old days with a very hawk-eyed public. Make no mistake, stealing is still going on even as the small fish make appearances in court. The godfathers just pick new pawns and continue to steal. But I am talking about huge amounts of cash. The kind of money that turns the tide in an election.

Keep that thought at the back of your mind for a minute as we examine the strange behaviour of the Kenya shilling.

Experts know that the shilling has been faced with a much worse scenario than the current situation. Remember the January 2008 crisis and post election violence. That is precisely the time that we should have seen a free fall of the shilling. But strangely enough the local currency held strong amid the chaos. I mean those chaos were so serious that we were just days away from a complete shut down of the republic of Kenya.

Now a few traders prepare to import some maize and the shilling sinks to it’s lowest levels in history. A Kshs 90/- dollar is just round the corner and analysts are advising their clients to prepare for a Kshs 100/- dollar and the full consequences. I have talked to various respectable analysts and all them have rubbished the reasons we are seeing in the newspapers for this. They tell me that the government of Kenya seems to be secretly pursuing a policy of devaluation. But why? And this is the worst time to do this because of the untold suffering to ordinary Kenyans that is bound to result. The answer is simple. Some deals need to be made and some cash raised. Who gives a sh** about ordinary Kenyans? Of course it is important for the political class to make the right noises and talk about the suffering of ordinary Kenyans. But talk is pretty cheap. The priority now is that cash MUST be raised for 2012.

Watch this horror movie unfold in Kenya over the next few weeks and months. The woman called Kenya should just prepare to be raped by those who are supossed to protect her from the heinous assault... and I am NOT joking.

P.S. What will happen is that the shilling will be in a free fall until the 2012 deal is complete. Then it will quickly and mysteriously recover. Prepare for the comedy of errors soon after as experts will give us all kinds of explanations as to why the shilling recovered so suddenly and so quickly.

Update: Parliament predictably approved all 3 appointments amending the motion to bypass the recomendation by the parliamentary commitee to investigate further the issues raised against Keriako Tobiko. I agree with what a few members said on the floor to the effect that ignoring the recomendations to investigate Tobiko will not help him but rather bring him to office with a lot of buggage weighing him down. Time will tell.

What is Moi's most guarded secret?

Earlier articles on Tobiko
Storm gathering fast over Tobiko debate

The dirt on Tobiko and why parliament must reject his nomination

Latest Nigerian Con Trick: Baby Factory

Our Nigerian “Brodas” are world famous for their creativity but a scheme recently unearthed at the beginning of this month has left many Kenyans numb with shock.

Somebody set up a factory and kidnapped girls between the ages of 15 and 17 and then got them pregnant and kept them captive until they gave birth. They were then paid off 25,000 Naira Kshs (14411.90) for a baby girl and 30,000 Naira (Kshs 17294.28) for a boy and told to get lost. The babies were then sold to desperate childless couples and to cults for sacrificing at prices of up to US$ 6,400 (Kshs 569,600) per unit.

Just calculate the profits this sick business idea was generating.

And that’s not all, the owner of the “factory” was a medical doctor. The Abia State Police arrested the proprietor of the organization known as Cross Foundation, Dr Hycinth Orikara and rescued at least 32 young expectant teenagers.

I have no words.

But on a funnier note the Standard newspaper’s Crazy Monday edition recently carried the following true story. I have not stopped laughing for the last 8 hours or so….

Man fakes suicide to woo back girlfriend

A man recently shocked his age mates in Tetu, Nyeri County, when he 'took poison' after his fiancée abandoned him in a matatu terminus.

The man had traveled with the woman from Nairobi to introduce her to his parents in Njoguini village.

But when the couple arrived in Nyeri town, the woman disappeared and could not be traced until the following day when she called to say she had decided to return to Nairobi.

The two met about six months ago during a family gathering at Nyahururu, where he was employed as a shamba boy. They had been communicating over mobile phone .

They then decided to visit the man’s family and declare their intension to marry. The man travelled to Nairobi to pick the woman. They shopped for items in Nyeri before boarding a matatu.

As the vehicle waited for more passengers, he excused himself to buy some items he had forgotten. When he went back, the girl was missing.

"He was assisted by matatu operators to search for her in vain," said a source.
The woman’s mobile phone was switched off.

He travelled to his rural home alone and informed his parents about the mysterious disappearance. At noon the following day, he received a phone call from the woman.

"She told him she did not want to be associated with him and they were mere friends," his friend told Crazy Monday.

Shocked, he picked some acaracides from the store and spilled it into a pit latrine and then raised alarm that he had consumed poison. His mother screamed attracting neighbours. Villagers hired a taxi to take him to a nearby hospital where he was admitted.

He pretended to be unconscious as medical personnel treated him.

He was still ‘unconscious’ by the third day in hospital. By the bedside, his mother asked friends to search for the woman’s number. At that moment, the man raised his voice saying, "Ndi nayo. Ni 0728... (I have the number. It is...)", he said and then went mute.

Efforts to call the woman were fruitless, since the mobile phone was switched off.
His friends talked to him and he revealed he lied about consuming poison to woo the woman back.

"He was later discharged and slapped with a bill of Sh60,000. It was hectic getting the money," said a source involved in raising the funds.

What is Moi's most guarded secret?

Storm Gathering Over Tobiko Debate

Parliamentary vote will be complicated over ODM’s Yes-No-No-Yes Stance on Tobiko

Let us stand back for a minute and look at what is happening in historical context. And I am talking about very recent history.

Lest you forget we are in the nation of Kenya where impunity has reigned for a very long time. Just a few short months ago, the president was the sole appointing authority for virtually each and every public office of significance. And where he did not appoint the old constitution said that all civil servants served “at his pleasure.” More recently as the reforms ship gained influence the president still had the power to make appointments and if you had any complaints you were free to go tell it to the birds. Nothing would change. Just to give you an example. President Daniel arap Moi in 1999 appointed the then DPP Bernard Chunga to be chief justice. The appointment left the legal fraternity numb with shock. That appointment was akin to appointing a student school prefect to the post of headmaster of a large national school. But there was nothing anybody could do about that (except complain to the birds). Chunga remained the chief justice until the Narc government took over in 2003 and despite the security of tenure the office enjoys the Kibaki administration found a way to replace him pronto.

Now fast-forward to 2011. A man aiming to be DPP under the new constitution has just gone through a very rigorous vetting process. And at the end of it, the public is screaming with a loud voice that the process was not rigorous enough. Wow!!! Don’t you love the fresh new air sweeping across our beloved land?

But there is more. Where ever one Keriako Tobiko is right now he has deep regrets. His desire for the DPP post has badly damaged his public image. Two weeks ago few people cared who he was. Now in the minds of Kenyans it does not matter whether the allegations leveled against him are true or not, people have already made up their minds that he is guilty and that his appointment must NOT be allowed to go through. I put it to you that the man would have been better off had he not shown any interest for the DPP’s position. I love this!!! The new constitution actually works. There is a critical lesson here for anybody who seeks public office in the new Kenya. Mambo bado.

As I stated here earlier, Tobiko was a careful and thoughtful appointment crafted by those who own Kenya to protect themselves and the evil they have done in the past. After all the man has already done an excellent job of protecting the interests of these guys. Now don’t be so naïve as to leave out names from ODM from this list. Evils of the past know no political party boundaries I assure you.

Now that the plot has been uncovered by the people of Kenya these people are running scared. Very scared. For sure they are unlikely to sleep too well tonight knowing that there will be fireworks tomorrow (Tuesday 14th June) in parliament.

But don’t pop the champagne yet because it is difficult to predict what exactly will happen in the still very corrupt August house where money een in this day and age changes hands to influence key bills.

The biggest worry Kenyans should have is ODM’s precarious position over the Tobiko issue. The party is fighting a desperate battle to get a foothold in the vast influential Rift Valley for its’ presidential candidate Raila Odinga. The PM performed marvelously well in this province in those 2007 elections that he won but he has since lost enormous ground after falling out with one William Ruto. Now nothing short of full support and backing for Tobiko will appease the Maasai community and give him a fighting chance of getting their votes in 2012.

It is very sad that political leaders in the Maasai community and elsewhere have reduced the whole complex plot that is the Tobiko appointment into a simple tribal issue where they are alleging that those against him getting the DPP post are those who believe that Maasai’s (even those well educated) are not fit for such high end offices. Imagine that nonsense!!

The whole issue of parliament and Tobiko is further complicated by the fact that PNU are also looking to gain windfall political capital from the situation by looking good in contrast to ODM’s “lack of support (or lukewarm support at best) for the Maasai”. What this means is that if the issue is put to the vote chances are high that Tobiko will win overwhelmingly easily collecting votes from both sides of the house.

The only dim ray of hope is if the bid to stop debate and the vote so that more time will be given for Tobiko to be investigated succeeds. However skeptics are also wary of that scenario pointing to the fact that Mr Tobiko is an extremely sharp legal mind and must have been very careful to ensure that he left no evidence behind anytime he may have gotten naughty.

Interesting times indeed folks. Very interesting.

Presidential candidates and witchdoctors

The Dirt On Tobiko And Why Parliament Must Reject His Nomination

Political compromise and horse trading main culprit in this new move to derail reforms

A Kumekucha informant attending the proceedings grilling Keriako Tobiko for the post of DPP last week noticed a curious thing. There was a sheet of paper that Hon Ababu Namwamba was holding even as he fielded his questions and it had the Kumekucha logo clearly across the top meaning that it was a print out from an article in this blog. This is the article the legislator was reading and referring from. Yes, this blog revealed Tobiko's evil ways almost 4 years ago.
Seeing this at County hall, my informant was upbeat and confident that all would be well and that the committee would reject Tobiko. It was not to be because as you read this the man already has a foot through the door to his new office. The devil is in the details, they say and Kenyans are about to get a very nasty surprise if parliament gives the green light to the nomination of this man to the brand new and extremely powerful position of Director of Public Prosecution DPP. Many Kenyans don’t realize it but this is one of the most powerful legal offices created by the new Constitution and enjoys security of tenure apart from being totally independent unlike in the previous constitution.

If you read the information that was on the piece of paper that Ababu was holding you and understand the contents, then you will get very scared. Mainly because a man who was involved in such a dirty deal should be the subject of a long overdue KACC investigation and not a candidate for an extremely sensitive post under the new constitution. Indeed the post in question is much more sensitive than that of the chief justice and their deputy.

The truth is that Tobiko was appointed to the old post of Deputy Public Prosecutor (also DPP) mainly to frustrate all and any new Anglo Leasing cases, a job that he has done extremely well. Clearly the biggest strength of this man is using technicalities to stall justice. We can therefore expect technicalities to be used to frustrate the spirit and letter of the new constitution at every turn. It is therefore not too difficult to figure out why some very powerful people in Kenya (masters and promoters of impunity) are so determined to have Tobiko in office. And they may just have their way. We have a fighting chance of stopping it if enough Kenyans can contact their MPs with a simple message “we are watching you.”

What Prof Yash Pal Ghai Said About Tobiko;
“…Now that Keriako Tobiko has emerged as the front runner, I believe I have a responsibility to share my knowledge of him publicly – my private communication to the nominating committee having made no impact.

My knowledge of Tobiko is based largely on his performance as a commissioner of the CKRC. Under their oath, commissioners were to exercise their responsibilities “without fear, favour, bias, affection, ill will, or prejudice”, and without “influence by any political party, religious society or any organisation or person which may have nominated me for the appointment”. This oath, and the Code of Conduct, Tobiko repeatedly violated.

Tobiko was the leader of commissioners who on the basis of lies waged a campaign to get rid of me. He led the group which went to see President Moi, widely believed to urge him to remove me. This did much to discredit the commission, but the very publicity meant that his plot fizzled out.

He constantly reported to the President and some ministers, in clear breach of confidentiality and impartiality. He engaged in a campaign to disrupt the work of the commission to prevent the drafting and adoption of the new constitution.

A drafter prepared a mock up of a draft constitution, with a view to presenting the possible architecture of the constitution for discussion by the commission. Tobiko somehow wormed his way into my office and removed it. Tearing away the front page (with its explanation of the purpose of the document), he made several copies, one delivered to President Moi and others distributed to the media. He told them that I had secretly prepared the constitution on my own. This story appeared prominently in the media, but fortunately was rapidly discredited as the front page was shown to them.

During procedures to remove the first Secretary of the commission, for dishonesty and failure to perform his functions, Tobiko took the secretary into hiding and removed his phone to prevent the commission from contacting him. It was only when pressure was brought on him by his political masters that the Secretary emerged – and resigned.

When the commission was about to start preparing the draft constitution after consulting the people, Tobiko objected, saying that people had not been consulted! However, apart from a handful of commissioners who joined him in the boycott or sabotage of the process, the commission completed the draft. Tobiko’s sole contribution was to take copies of our confidential papers and pass them on to persons who were not authorized to receive copies of them. Although a lawyer with a good degree, his intellectual contribution was negligible. I personally have no recollection of a single idea or proposal about the constitution that he made.

He later became DPP, as a member of the system that has perpetuated impunity (most recently Ruto’s acquittal in the land case). Is he a suitable person to be appointed to the new more powerful office designed to eradicate this evil?”

CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT ON THE PROCESS OF VETTING FOR THE CHIEF JUSTICE, DEPUTY CHIEF JUSTICE AND DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS JUNE 8 2011: We have come together as a group of Kenyan civil society organisations to express our views and concerns on the process of vetting the nominees for Chief Justice (CJ), Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) and Director of Public prosecutions (DPP). While we have no problem with the outcome of the vetting for the CJ and Deputy CJ, the situation of the nominee for DPP, Mr. Keriako Tobiko is radically different. A series of disconcerting objections have been raised, which cannot be brushed aside in the apparent rush to arrive at a political compromise. They require thorough inquiry.

Approving this nomination without a thorough inquiry risks subjecting him to unrelenting contestation and opposition and hobbling him as DPP. More importantly, it also risks compromising the transition to greater accountability in Kenya. Concerns have been raised on many issues: on the process of Tobiko's nomination, which was opaque and did not meet the constitutional requirements of transparency and public participation in governance; on his track record as a prosecutor, which is appalling; on his integrity, which has been seriously impugned by, among others, Prof. Yash Ghai. A former Permanent Secretary has accused him of abusing his office and attempting extortion and bribery. He has been accused of facilitating an illegal land transfer and of sabotaging the prosecution of a case involving a former client in the same matter, while neglecting to declare his interests. Furthermore, he has in the past published extreme and anti-reformist opinions which, if he still clings to them, would show him to be unfit to occupy an office which is central to the implementation of the new constitution. These and other disturbing allegations are in the public domain.

As such, the COIC must make every effort to get to the bottom of them before making any recommendation on Mr. Tobiko's candidacy. Any attempt to engage in unprincipled political horse-trading at the expense of a rigorous search for the truth in these charges and others will be rejected and opposed by all legal and constitutional means. Kenyans have not come so far in order to compromise on the possibility of real change at this critical point in our history. The COIC must be aware; Kenyans are watching each one of you and will judge you according to your actions on this issue. In our opinion, the multiplicity of deeply troubling allegations from a variety of sources, -that seem to be increasing - would tend to indicate that Mr. Tobiko is very likely highly unsuitable for the office of DPP. However, the impression is gaining ground that those who have an interest in the confirmation of the candidature of Tobiko have no interest in the faithful implementation of the new constitution.

The aim seems to be to ensure that an individual with no apparent interest in, or appetite for, prosecuting serious crimes effectively, occupies the position of DPP, which is a centrepiece in the fight against impunity for crimes against humanity and massive corruption. An examination of his record indicates that perpetrators of serious crimes would have as little to fear from Tobiko Keriako as DPP under the new constitution, as they have had to fear from him to date. Specifically, the following objections- which urgently need clarification and investigation- have been raised to Mr. Tobiko's candidacy, among others:-

1) The Process:
The process leading to the identification of Tobiko as a candidate was not transparent in keeping with the values and requirements of the new constitution; as a result Kenyans have no idea how it was conducted, on what basis he was chosen as the best candidate, nor what criteria were used to select him. The Minister for Justice Mutula Kilonzo publicly criticized the decision to hold interviews in private. Has the COIC asked the panel for all information on the process, including selection criteria and all scores of all candidates? Have open questions on the integrity of process been answered? Have the reports which we are informed were prepared by the National Security and Intelligence Services on candidates been acquired where available? If there were any adverse findings did the selection panel make any attempt to address them during the interview process? What were the results?

2) How was Prof. Ghai's complaint handled by the selection panel?
Apart from the process, the public needs to understand if or how the selection panel chose to handle a complaint submitted to it by Prof. Yash Ghai, former Chair of the CKRC, in which he made serious allegations against Mr. Tobiko's character, integrity and independence e.g. repeatedly breaching confidentiality to report CKRC proceedings to the Moi government and receiving illegal allowances as a Commissioner. Has COIC been able to satisfy themselves that these allegations were properly dealt with by the selection panel? If not, what does the COIC intend to do about it?

3) Mr. Tobiko's Integrity and impartiality
Mr. Tobiko is accused of facilitating the illegal transfer of 4,000 acres of land in Maasai Mara. This land was confirmed by a ministerial report to have been illegally acquired. When named Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions he took over the prosecution of the same case in which he had acted for his former client, now the accused. He allegedly failed to declare a conflict of interest and recuse himself. Worse, he was accused of abuse of office and of compromising the cases to the extent that then Chief Magistrate ole Keuwa reportedly appealed to the Attorney General about Tobiko's interference and the danger of accusations of malicious prosecution. Complainants also appealed on Tobiko's alleged perversion of the prosecution. In its special Report of March 2006, (on page 42) the Public Accounts Committee notes that the appointment of Keriako Tobiko as Director of Public Prosecutions frustrated the progress of one of the Anglo Leasing cases; on the Forensic Science laboratory. The PAC notes that Mr Keriako, again, laboured under an undeclared conflict of interest, having acted as Chief Defence counsel in the matter, for Mr. Zakayo Cheruiyot among others.

Surprisingly, Mr. Tobiko yesterday to the COIC professed ignorance of an important report on a process that received wide international attention in major media outlets around the world. At the very least, it indicates a level of disregard of parliament and its proceedings, which should give the COIC pause for thought in terms of Tobiko's likely respect for constitutionalism, or his honesty. On the same issue, in an opinion piece in the Sunday Nation on March 1st 1998, Tobiko and another basically approve of and threaten to incite violent consequences to clerics who strayed away from the narrow religious bounds prescribed by Tobiko and engaged in politics by publicly commenting on the lack of meaningful participation in the then constitutional reform process. Is he committed to defending and upholding the constitution with these past attitudes? Do his actions indicate that he still holds them?

4) Mr Tobiko's Competence
Through incompetence, laxity or worse, Mr. Tobiko has been responsible for the failure of several key cases, among them the fraud case against William Ruto; the failure to appeal in time against the decision to quash sections of the report of the Goldenberg commission's report referring to George Saitoti, and prohibiting the Attorney General from pressing criminal charges against Saitoti in the Goldenberg affair. Most tellingly, the intervention of the ICC in Kenya is the ultimate indictment of Kenya's judicial and prosecutorial services. What more does the COIC need to consider arriving at the conclusion that very few, if any, individuals, who have been involved in the leadership of these institutions to date is qualified to lead them into the new dispensation? Promises of reform failed to convince the Pre-Trial chamber of the ICC, why should they convince us?

5) Mr. Tobiko's readiness to own his failures
Mr. Tobiko responds to the above criticism by laying blame either at the police's door or the Attorney General's or others. Thus he claims that it was the Attorney General and not he, who presided over the shambolic state of affairs in the prosecutorial services; it is the police, and not he, who failed to produce key witnesses in the Ruto fraud case and others. Mr. Tobiko is shirking his moral and professional responsibility. Passing the buck between institutions has for too long been used to hoodwink Kenyans. It should be a tactic of the past, those who use it belong to the past. In general, Mr. Tobiko did not respond to all the committee's questions and was often evasive. In conclusion, the committee must find that the selection of the shortlist of persons for appointment as DPP was carried out with so much opacity that it cannot be relied on to produce the country's next DPP. The selected candidate, Keriako Tobiko, suffers too many moral and professional afflictions to be relied on as the next DPP, and cannot therefore be confirmed to this office.

Nairobi, June 8, 2011.

Very latest developments in this story: Gladwell Otieno, Ghai and NGOs headed to court to block Tobiko

Earlier development in this story: ODM in new move to block debate on Tobiko

Mwai Kibaki and Laurent Gbagbo Have Something in Common...

...But life is not fair is it?

If it was then this is what we would have seen in July 2008 because Kibaki literally invemted what Gbagbo did didn't he?

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Raila To Support Kosgey At The Hague: Why The Change Of Heart?

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Fred Gumo and Henry Kosgei

What is ODM’s official position on the Hague?

The party fought for post election suspects to be taken to the Hague rather than be prosecuted locally. After a rather bruising battle, they won and got their way.

The party is also on record for saying that they will NOT support any Hague-bound suspects financially or otherwise. ODM was also against the PNU policy of using taxpayer’s funds to pay legal fees for the Ocampo 6.

But last weekend the Prime Minister and leader of ODM Raila Odinga made an about-turn, trashed all the good work the party has done in the past in seeking justice for Kenyans and pledged full support for Henry Kosgey who is one of the Ocampo 6. This was during the wedding of Kosgey’s son to a beautiful Kikuyu lass. Read the story HERE.

Kenyans are now very confused. If ODM fully supports Kosgey, why did they fight so hard for the Hague? And now that Kosgey is going to receive full support which obviously includes financial help, what was all the hullabaloo about taxpayers paying legal fees for the Ocampo 6 about?

What clearer evidence does one need to conclude that ODM has no official position on anything. Party policy depends on what mood the party leader woke up with. Or which direction the political winds are blowing. This simply means that if the party leader wakes up feelng friendly towards Kosgey and the ODM members in the Ocampo 6 then the official party line is that of support. But if he wakes up in a foul mood or if Kosgey attends a PNU/Ruto meeting and tells the people to read the sign of the times, then the party position is that of absolutely NO support.

Even former president Daniel “road-side declarations” arap Moi who used to craft government policy on the roadside was at least consistent. The former president always had a firm official position on everything, including wife-beating and ugali in sufurias. Not to mention mini skirts and KBC programming (Moi once banned a KBC sponsored programme educating the masses about family planning called Tushariane. Some hands-on president he was!!).

But I will tell you why Raila Odinga and ODM are not consistent. The problem here is the fact that Raila Odinga is very desperate to be the next president of Kenya. There is nothing wrong with that of course. It is his constitutional right. But the people of Kenya will decide if this is thye kind of president they want based on his track record as Prime Minister.

Sources indicate that Raila handlers have been very busy behind the scenes crafting ways and means for their man to politically win back Rift valley support which they see as being crucial to Raila’s bid for the presidency. And this camp is prepared to do anything to get this support. Hence the sudden warming-up to Kosgey.

Anybody who wants change in Kenya will be alarmed at the PM’s pledge of support for Kosgey. This is the man who bankrupted the once very prosperous insurance company called Kenya National Assurance. It wasn’t even mis-management, the new blue-eyed Raila man just looted the State Corporation dry. He did the same with the 4th All African games held in Kenya in 1987. These are the two main sources of revenue Kosgey used to become the stinkingly wealthy man he is today. So wealthy is he that he was one of the major financiers of ODM in 2007. This is the “good work for the party” that Raila was referring to last Saturday when praising Kosgey for contributions to ODM.

I also have to add that a successful Raila bid for the presidency is very wishful thinking indeed. Politics does not work like that. Consider the following.

In the first multi-party elections of 1992 Kenneth Matiba and Ford Asili gave a very good account of themselves and indeed there are those who believe that Kenneth Matiba won those elections. Those were the Ford Asili elections. And so in 1997 some people assumed that Ford Asili would continue to be very popular countrywide and especially in Central province. Even Kanu strategists rubbed their hands in glee secure in the assumption that the Kikuyu vote would at the very least be split between Kenneth Matiba’s Ford Asili and Mwai Kibaki’s DP. Instead the whole of Central province put their weight behind DP and Mwai Kibaki. And so in 2002 some people assumed that DP would continue to be popular. Instead what happened is that an alliance crafted by Raila Odinga called the National Rainbow Coalition carried the day. But again in 2007 some folks made assumptions and again things changed. Those were the ODM elections and everybody knows that it is Raila who triumphed.

Now some people are sure that in 2012 we will have a repeat of 2007 and that Raila Odinga will carry the day and end up in State house. This reasoning does not make sense based on what we have seen has happened in the past. Not only that. Nationally Odinga benefited from a strong anti-Kibaki wave so that the votes he received were protest votes. With Mwai Kibaki out of the way the protest votes dissappear and the scenario completely changes. What will happen is that Raila will have a strong showing in Luo Nyanza and nowhere else in the republic.

Briefly told: Strange things in the Zimbabwean Voter's register
If you thought Kenyans are good at rigging, then you will change your mind when you hear what is happening in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe. The voters register there has 40,000 voters aged over 100, "which is four times more than the number of centenarians in the whole of Britain." Then at least 16,000 of these voters all mysteriously share the same birthday of 1st January 1901, while 133,000 voters are between the ages of 90 and 100.

The voters roll also lists about 230 new voters under the voting age of eighteen, including some children who are only one or two years old.

But the biggest problem is that the current roll is based on the 2008 voters roll, which contains about 2.5 million names too many. These "ghost voters" are more than enough to decide the outcome of any election.

Recently instead of removing these fictitious entries, the Registrar-General, Mr Tobaiwa Mudede, an outspoken ZANU PF supporter, has added more than 360,500 new voters.
READ MORE

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Wanjiru’s mother in fresh bid to stop burial.

Are You A Late Bloomer And Don't Even Know It?

From far right: Mario Puzo, Poster of The Godfather, Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, Jomo Kenyatta, Mount Kenya.

A late bloomer is a person whose talents or capabilities are not visible to others until much later than usual in life.

The truth is that the Kenyan political landscape is filled with late bloomers starting with Kenya’s first president and founding father of the nation Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

Kenya as a nation is just beginning to emerge from the abyss and will no doubt be a late bloomer, just how late is anybody’s guess because she is already almost 50 years old. Still many would argue that for a nation that is still very young.

But in this post I would like to focus more on individuals and what they have achieved. I stumbled on this information and I thought it would make a nice change from all the negativity that comes with the territory that is Kenyan politics.

There is no denying that genius and creativity is popularly associated with the freshness and vigour of youth and indeed there are plenty of examples. Mozart wrote his breakthrough Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat-Major at the age of twenty-one. Orson Welles made his masterpiece, “Citizen Kane,” at twenty-five.

Closer to home Tom Mboya clocked many of his achievements while in his late 20s and early 30s. Mwai Kibaki was in the cabinet in his early 20s. 

But I guess the truth here is best described by what a friend said in a recent Facebook discussion we were having with quite a number of old school mates. He said that those destined for greatness have to finally emerge no matter how long it takes. In other words time is not a factor in true genius and creativity.

So my hope is that if you are reading this and have always felt that you have passed your sell-by-date by a decade or two or even three, then let this be the post that inspires you to turn around your life.

There are some pretty amazing things very old people have done. Jomo Kenyatta did the intricate balancing act of leading Kenya to independence with all the political jostling and set a firm foundation for the new nation of Kenya when he was already well into his seventies.

In business Irene Wells Pennington became best known in her nineties when she helped straighten out irregularities in her husband's oil business after he went senile in his own 90s. Colonel Sanders began his franchise in his sixties and can also be deemed a late in life financial success.

And then there is my all time favourite late bloomer, Mario Puzo. That’s the guy who wrote the runaway best seller called The Godfather. For years Mr Puzo struggled doing the kind of writing where he could not even afford to put food on the table for his family.

Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather, was first published in 1969 (when Puzo was 49 years old). He based it on anecdotes about the Mafia organizations that he had heard during his time in pulp journalism. He later said in an interview with Larry King that his main motivation in writing the book was to make money. By this time he had already written two earlier books that had received great reviews, yet had not amounted to much. As a government clerk with five children, he was looking to write something that would appeal to the masses and make a killing. And it happened beyond Puzo’s wildest dreams because after the huge success of this book, others followed and then the films.

The story of the making of The Godfather is another Cinderella saga. Paramount was in financial trouble at the time of production and was very desperate for a "big hit" to boost business, hence the pressure director Francis Ford Coppola faced during filming. They were determined that The Godfather should appeal to a wide audience and threatened Coppola with a "violence coach" to make the film more exciting. Coppola added a few more violent scenes to keep the studio happy. The scene in which the character of Connie breaks dishes after finding out that her husband is cheating was added for this reason.

And the list can go on and on.

Quit feeling sorry for yourself and get out there and do whatever it is you were brought into this earth to do.

What Caused Kirinyaga Road Explosion?

24 hours after a mysterious blast that rocked downtown Nairobi at Kirinyaga Road, Kenyans have more questions than answers on their minds.

Was it a terrorist attack? And if so why set off the bomb on a lazy Sunday morning when the casualties are bound to be minimal? Police have confirmed that 42 people are still admitted in various hospitals around Nairobi, six of them in critical condition.

It is not lost on close observers that the area where the huge explosion occurred has the largest concentration of illegal immigrants outside Eastleigh. Interestingly the immigrants here are mainly from Asian countries like Pakistan (coincidentally Pakistan is the country where long time terror fugitive Osama Bin Laden was finally killed.) An interesting aside here is that most of the immigrants in this district are lured to Kenya by the easy money to be made using trading skills that have been developed in highly competitive markets like India and Pakistan where the typical profit margin is a mere 5% and quite often even less than that. Traders here frequently get clean away with 50 to 100% margins and the result has been numerous cases of individuals who arrive in Nairobi paupers but turn into millionaires in a matter of months.

So is there a link between the explosion and the large population of illegal immigrants in this area? That is one of the many puzzling questions the Kenyan security forces will have to answer.

One of the alarming aspects of the explosion that is being followed up with urgency this morning is the possibility that a missile of sorts was used. Some eye witnesses claim that they saw something flying through the air moments before the explosion. Sources tell me that it is highly unlikely that a missile was used in this case but it is important that evidence is obtained quickly to rule out this.

Although no terrorist group has claimed responsibility yet, the most obvious suspicion in this case is that this is a terrorist attack and top on the list of suspects are the Al Shabab in neighbouring troubled Somalia. This bunch of unruly youngsters who have no qualms about laying down their lives have continued to gain strength in the region with successful attacks in Uganda and even on Kenyan soil with the Kampala coach bus bombing last year.

Nairobians are deeply disturbed by this recent development which may be a demonstration of just how vulnerable Kenyans are to acts of terrorism. Not surprising when every immigrant from Somalia knows that all one needs to get into Kenya is enough cash to bribe officials. Contrast this to neighbouring Tanzania where fear of radical Somalis has caused the Tanzanians to closely guard their borders against them. Indeed it is very difficult for Somali nationals (even thgose of goodwill) to gain entry into Tanzania through the Namanga border and other entry points into Tanzania through Kenya. Clearly Tanzanians have something that Kenyans don’t have. Namely the kind of patriotism that rises above the personal selfish needs of an individual to make a quick buck not caring what the consequences may be.

Because the truth is that if indeed the explosion was deliberately caused by a bpomber, chances are high that the person was a foreigner and that that they gained entry into the country by bribing an immigration official and policemen at roadblocks all the way to Nairobi.

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Warning: Most people don't often mean what they say

Warning: Most people don't often mean what they say.

This does not apply only to politicians.

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What I am about to tell you might shock you.

Many people think that the most popular way of communicating with other people is through the mouth. But what they didn't know is that actual verbal communication accounts to only around 10% (or even less) of the overall means to convey a message.

Moreover, you can never determine the truthfulness or sincerity of people by what they say alone. In fact, words transmitted verbally oftentimes do not reflect what people really think or feel. The only way you can determine their true inner feelings and thoughts is by reading their body language.

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Wanjiru Murder: Possible Suspects

Left: Wanjiru's mother, Hannah Wanjiru and Right: Teresia Njeri, Wanjiru's wife. The champion runner's mother told a local newspaper last month that her son was murdered in the bedroom.

Picture the following scenario. World famous athlete Samuel Wanjiru dies and even before his burial you start hearing about his mother’s lawyer and his wife’s lawyer. Do people need lawyers to bury their dead? I think not.

And then today (Saturday 4th June 2011) Wanjiru’s mother Hannah Wanjiru, got herself arrested when she caused a fracas at a grave marking ceremony for the burial of her son. TV footage showed a very angry and bitter woman who even threw stones at the press. She was quoted as saying: “Who is that trying to bury my son before those who killed him are arrested?” Read the story HERE.

The obvious conclusion here is that Wanjiru’s mother knows her son’s killers and that there is a vicious battle going on behind the scenes between the two most important women in the late Wanjiru’s life namely his mother and his wife Teresia Njeri. One side wants a quick burial while the other side wants arrests to be made before a burial can take place.

Any murder investigator anywhere in the world will tell you that the first suspect when a person is murdered is usually the spouse. And this case should be no exception. But then this is Kenya where money, influence and power talk louder than anything else.

It is now no longer a secret that Wanjiru was murdered. The post mortem report from the pathologists are conclusive in that respect.

So what was the motive of his murder? The most obvious has to do with the wealth this young man had managed to accumulate. But there is yet another powerful motive. Actually it is still the number one motive for murder anywhere in the world after being the motive for the very first murder that happened. Remember Cane and Abel in the Bible? The motive for that murder was jealousy.

I have heard some people say that Wanjiru’s mother is the main gold digger here. Can a parent, your mother no less, be a gold digger? I don’t think so. Although I have a problem with folks who use their mother’s name as the surname as the late Samuel did my two cents is that his second name clearly implies that this is a man who had very strong influence from his mother and must have been very close to her.

Sigh!!! Whatever happens next it is important that the truth is found about what really happened in the last moments of a great Kenyan’s life.

BREAKING NEWS: Loud powerful explosion on Kirinyaga Road (Grogan), Nairobi believed to be a bomb. Trailers and buses have tipped over and trapped several people under them. All windows at the nearby Shabbir Centre shattered and a Shell petrol station nearby on fire. Still no word on casualties and no official police statement on the incident.

Why doctor's believe Wanjiru was murdered

The Kenyan Woman On Obama’s Drug List And Why Our Women Have Fallen For The Heinous Trade

I have this friend who met and befriended this cute girl and fell head over heels in love with her without knowing what she did for a living. He ended up discovering that she was a courier of hard drugs. He was genuinely in love and so he begged her to quit the business. Being a prosperous Nairobi businessman he promised to take care of her. She just had to quit the terrible business she was in. “You will never get away with it for long,” he told her.
Harun Mwau: Pleaded innocence yesterday but failed to explain how he acquired his billions. Why would Obama or the Americans want to witch hunt a Kenyan businessman?

She pretended to play along only for my friend to receive a call one day in the wee hours of the morning from Accra in Ghana. She had been arrested at the airport with drugs and desperately needed his help. He has not seen her for 7 years now and word reaching him is that she is serving a long jail sentence in that country.

The reality is that so many young and-not-so-young women have been lured into the world of peddling drugs. The easy cash and the jet-set lifestyle of constantly flying to exotic capitals all over the world is something that not many Kenyans can easily resist.

But let me indulge in a fascinating aside here. Why get involved in a business whose tragic end for you is so obvious and inevitable? The truth is that if you deal in drugs you will either end up dead or get caught. Interestingly people get away with other crimes and indulge in them for a lifetime up to retirement. But this does not apply to drugs. Instructively the Mafia did so well in evading the law successfully and remaining under the radar for so many years. However their downfall happened rapidly when they started getting involved in drugs.

You just don’t get away with it in the drugs business. But will those involved listen? And this applies from the small timers to the kingpins. As you read this people are defending themselves and talking about their hard work and sweat but they don’t want to tell us how they rose from being lowly cops earning Kshs 2,000 a month to being billionaires literally overnight. We know how Manu Chandaria made his money (still much less than the kind of cash these guys pleading innocence have made so quickly). And we also know how Bill Gates and the Google guys made their cash, but pray tell me how did Harun Mwau and William Kabogo make their money? What business is this they do that has stretched to the United States? That million dollar question begging to be answered when people are defending themselves remains unanswered.

Anyway we were talking about women in heinous the drugs trade.

Too many Kenyan women have been enticed into drugs and that is why it was not really surprising to those who know this when President Obama named a woman amongst the drug kingpins targeted for sanctions. Ms Naima Mohamed Nyakiniywa, also known as Mama Lela is no courier or small time peddler. Police reports imply that the woman who was born and raised in extreme poverty in the majengo slums rose through the ranks to become a very major international drug dealer. Not everybody gets mentioned by the president of the United States of America and it is rather obvious he would not have the time of day to mention some small time street corner pusher.

In fact Nyakiniywa has both a Kenyan and Tanzanian passport. The Tanzanian one identifies her as Mwanaidi Ramadhani Mfundo. This lady’s luck seems to have run out because she is currently in the custody of Tanzanian authorities and is being charged in that country for drug trafficking.

Meanwhile Juja legislator William Kabogo has obtained a court order gagging the Standard group from doing articles that relate him to the drugs trade. Kabogo has oobtained an interim injunction restraining The Standard Group from publishing and broadcasting defamatory words against him in relation to violent crimes and drug trafficking. See the story HERE.

John Harun Mwau has also moved to court and yesterday exuded confidence that being named by Obama will have no impact on his international business. He prefers to trade in China these days, he says. Read the story HERE.

How exactly did John Harun Mwau (previously known as John Harun) make his billions?

How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight (not from drugs)

Harun Mwau: Obama Causes Trouble For He Who Has Caused Much Trouble For Others In The Past

Obama Directs Crippling Sanctions Against The Honourable Member of Parlour-ment

John Harun Mwau: Member for Kilome


If truth be told, the Kumekucha blog has been a long lonely and very bumpy road for me since that ill-fated day in May 2005 when I decided to launch this site after the bitter disappointment of the second liberation that never was. Over the years, many times people have scoffed at the carefully researched information that I have published in this blog. But time and time again the truth has come out.

For instance when I first reported about the extra-judicial killings going on in Kenya, supervised by the then police commissioner Major Hussein Ali, several readers scoffed at the kind of numbers I quoted here. Many still don’t believe those figures but I am not worried because you can be sure that the trials at the Hague will soon produce some very nasty shocks for Kenyans.

The information on Ali and another controversial post about a major drug lord in Kenya caused me plenty of trouble and there was a time I had to flee for my dear life mainly because of these two posts. Occupational hazards, you might say.

Still, I have always carried out my work knowing one simple truth. That in the end, the truth always comes out. ALWAYS. You can never hide it forever and history has proved this time and again. This truism was vindicated yet again yesterday when nobody less than the president of the United States himself issued a statement that is yet another deadly nail on the coffin of impunity in Kenya. I dare add that it is rather ironic that just a few months ago Chris Okemo was busy in bunge clearing Charterhouse Bank (which was associated with fellow legislator Harun Mwau) of all wrong-doing and was lobbying (almost successfully) for it to be re-opened. Who would have guessed that a few short weeks down the road both individuals would be on a serious list of most wanted criminals?

I wrote extensively on the Charter House/Nakumatt saga and simplified the technical stuff (including what money laundering means) in 2006. See the article HERE. It is one of the articles I am most proud of in Kumekucha and now the icing on the cake is that finally some action has been taken on the contents of that piece of writing, albeit by the president of a nation that is far, far away from Kenya. But at least it is a beginning. The good book tells us not to despise the day of small beginnings and with good reason I can assure you.

By the way if you did not know exactly what the term "merry-go-round" means when it comes to impunity and protecting those above the law in Kenya, then you just need to sample the following;

- The CID accuses Wako of failure to act on criminal charges against directors of Charterhouse Bank
- BUT Wako in turn accuses CID of failure to prosecute the directors of the bank.
- The Solicitor General on the other hand accuses CBK for failure to prosecute anybody at the bank.
- Meanwhile Banking Fraud Unit are asking State Counsel what this is all about.
- At the same time PLO and his KACC are calling for investigations (by whom and when? Isn’t there more than enough evidence already?)

This is the stuff that hilarious rib-cracking comedy is made of, only that the joke in this case is on Kenya and Kenyans.

See also: Sharp Shooter Cop Who Suddenly Became A Billionaire

Was Wanjiru Murdered?

Update:
Why doctors believe that Wanjiru was murdered

Dr Emily Rogena says:

“Taking into consideration the history and the postmortem finding death is attributed to head injuries, secondary to blunt force trauma to the back of the head.

“The body demonstrates a dual pattern of injuries with features consistent with conscious landing on fours (the hands and knees) and fatal injury at the back of the head.”

Chief Government pathologist Dr Moses Njue said:

“He landed on his legs and supported himself with his hands. Where did the injury on the back come from?

“We could turn into fools if we don’t ask ourselves this question."


If you are reading this and are a person of means chances are that you will feel a cold chill going up your spine. And with good reason. We live in a society of gold diggers and worshippers of the almighty shilling. Individuals with no conscience and who will stop at nothing to get what they want. People who will tell lies in broad daylight and conceal the truth without batting an eye lid. You have reason to be scared and very scared. You may think you are pretty smart to have gotten what it is you have that others want but don’t think you are too smart because it could cost you your life.

Preliminary findings from a postmortem done on the body of the late marathon star Samuel Wanjiru (pictured above) indicate that the injury that caused his death is not consistent with eyewitness reports of how the multi-millionaire died. It has been established that the injury that caused death could have come from a blunt object and not from a fall from a balcony that was only 14 feet high. Read more in this Daily Nation story.

You may murder and give a story believing that dead men tell no tales, but usually the truth comes out in the end. Chances are that we are headed for a murder trial or at the very least a manslaughter charge of sorts. Thus yet another controversial chapter in the life of Wanjiru and yet more proof of the chilling words I wrote in my last post and I quote; “It is deadly to be a poor judge of character. It can cost you your life and more.” It is one thing to make a lot of money and it is quite another to have the wisdom to protect yourself from the wolves that will inevitable surround your house made of straw looking for a way to get in and devour you.


Another bizarre murder in Masailand