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Guest Post By Michael Mundia Kamau
P.O. Box 58972
00200 City Square
Nairobi, Kenya
President Mwai Kibaki’s Madaraka Day outburst against the Mungiki sect was an act of escapism and hollow bravado, geared at glossing over much deeper and wider societal problems. Even in passing, his Madaraka Day remarks cannot be treated with any shred of seriousness, given the failure of his Government to take any action on the perpetrators of the multi-billion shilling Anglo-Leasing scam of 2004 and equally, the failure of his Government to take action on the criminals who caused damage to the offices and press of the Standard Group in the high profile March 2006 raid, among just two still outstanding matters.
Two of the alleged masterminds of the Standard Group raid, foreigners no less, continued to operate with impunity in the country thereafter, before being belatedly deported following another high profile holdup at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport, yet the president chose to insult the people of Kenya on Madaraka Day by declaring that his Government would not tolerate or harbour any kinds of criminal activity. Were Anglo-Leasing and the Standard Group raid the work of "Mungiki"?
Moreover, and tragically so, Mungiki is just part reflection of the near absolute manner in which this country is now overrun by marauding gangs and murderous militia, whose actions are seldom known to
the wider public. Just before the crush of KQ 507 in May of this year, a gang of thugs gunned down 11 people near Kitale town in inexplicable gangland manner. This matter was quickly overshadowed by the KQ
507 plane crush, and has not been addressed since.
Incidences such as this have in any case been happening in all parts of the country for several years now.
Numerous militia now control and administer different parts of the country, terrorizing, maiming, stealing and raping, and are no different from Congo based militia such as "Intarahamwe" or "Banyamulenge". The security apparatus in all parts of the country have
been heavily compromised by these gangs and militia, or are overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude, in areas where the security apparatus has resisted being compromised. A case in point are the July 2005 killings in Marsabit district where there stands proof of repeated memos to the central Government, both describing a deteriorating situation and appealing for assistance.
In areas such as Nairobi’s peri-urban Ngong division, it is a known fact that inebriated gangs operate in groups of up to one hundred at night and implore residents to scream as much as they want during break-ins. This only makes things worse, and co-operation is often the best defense. Numerous overwhelmed residents in areas such as Ngong have now chosen to either sell their properties, shift, leave their gates and main entrances open at night to lessen the damage, or opted to pay protection money to the gangs or militia. It is a state of futility that the vast majority find themselves in, and it is in extremely poor taste for President Kibaki to brush all this aside and instead make bombastic remarks about only part of a much more serious and much wider phenomenon.
In any case, groupings such as "Mungiki" are the result of extreme societal chauvinism, inequality, insensitivity and prejudice, going back several years.
They have grown from strength to strength, fueled by society’s failure to adapt to changing times and changing realities. The terms in generous use at the moment, such as "crush Mungiki" and "deal with Mungiki once and for all" are in themselves a grim and sordid reflection of how detached we are from reality.
"Mungiki" and other similar groupings, are the Kenyan equivalent of organised crime elsewhere in the world, such as the Sicilian Mafia, the Italian Mafia, the Mafia in America "The Mob", "Commora", the Russian
Mafia and "Yakuza" in Japan. These are powerful and lethal organisations with wide and far reaching tentacles. If the American and Italian Governments have been unable to "crush the Mafia" and/or "deal
with the Mafia once and for all," it is futile for President Kibaki to declare that he will squarely deal with "Mungiki".
The line between organized crime, big business and Government is in any case extremely blurred. One of the most celebrated cases of this involves the high profile Kennedy dynasty in America. The Mob played a
key role in the fortune that family patriarch Ambassador Joseph Kennedy made in the motion picture industry in Hollywood. Ambassador Kennedy also got heavy support from The Mob in the 1960 election victory of his son, former President John F. Kennedy.
It doesn’t stop there. Despite the Warren Commission’s dismissal of a conspiracy in the assassination of President Kennedy and the ridiculous adoption by the same commission of the zigzag trajectory of the bullet
that eventually killed Kennedy, a strong conspiracy theory of the Mafia’s role in the assassination still looms, the motive being that Kennedy had made up his mind to bring down the Mafia. What’s more is that Kennedy shared a mistress, Judith Exner, with then Chicago Mafia boss Sam Giancana, and Judith was said to be one of the key moles that the Mafia had in the White House. Besides, the Zapruder tape taken by an amateur cameraman on the day of Kennedy’s assassination, 22nd November 1963, clearly shows a clear shot to Kennedy’s head, the work of a high calibre rifle even by today’s standards, and certainly
the work of a professional hitman. There is no comparison whatsoever between Ronald Reagan’s attempted assassination in 1981, and John F. Kennedy’s assassination of 1963. Many of us reacted with scornful disbelief when the Kenya Government initially suggested that former Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Ouko had committed suicide following his February 1990 demise, and it is clearly not just the Kenya Government that goofs. One would expect much better from any American Government. What’s more is that John F. Kennedy’s younger brother, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was known to have even less patience for The
Mob, and had to be stopped even before he became president.
Another example of the large presence of organized crime in society, is the intrigue surrounding the sudden unexpected death of Pope John Paul I in 1978, as captured in David Yallop’s bestseller "In God’s Name". In the said David Yallop classic, one detects a determined effort by Albino Luciano (Pope John Paul I), to rid the Vatican of any Mafia connections and dealings, such as Paul Marcinkus ("God’s Banker"), and collapsed Italian bank, "Banco Ambrosiano". Pope John Paul I paid for this with his life, and Churches in Kenya have no idea what they are talking about when they tell the Kenya Government to immediately crush
"Mungiki".
Comparisons of "Mungiki" with the Sicilian Mafia or the American Mafia do not however start and end there, and this is probably where our greater concern should lie. "Mungiki" clearly also has far-left political leanings and can in this respect be also compared to radical organisations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Taliban, Tupac Amaru, Fatah al-Islam, Abu Sayyaf and Black September. Mungiki therefore has the combined features of an organised crime outfit such as the Sicilian Mafia, as well left wing rebels with a political cause, such as "Black September", and it is very unfortunate that we have chosen to ignore this fact.
President Kibaki, his Government and indeed all of us, should therefore desist from using terms like "crush" because we are clearly dealing with phenomenon that we clearly don't understand. We should rather engage the likes of Mungiki in talks and discussions, in the same way that the Israelis engaged the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), and in the same way that the Colombian Government engaged the Colombian drug cartels, including Pablo Escobar’s Medellin cartel.
"Mungiki" is not a fairy tale, but grim reality that can tear this country apart in ways that we never imagined. Half of this country is under the siege of "Mungiki" type militia and the other half has
put it’s money into collapsing pyramid schemes, and the best that President Kibaki can offer are hollow threats and a disputable 6.1 % economic growth rate. This country is in a terrible crisis and we are not helping matters by living in denial.
On Valentine’s Day 1929, another high profile, well known and ruthless Chicago mobster, Al Capone, ordered high profile executions on a rival gang, in what has come to be known as "The St. Valentine’s Day
Massacre", and what certainly ranks as one of the most brutal warnings and statements of intent of all time.
Mungiki has done precisely this with it’s recent beheadings and none of us should make things worse by further provoking them.
Michael Mundia Kamau
To post your article here; write it and send it to umissedthis@yahoo.com. We publish all views, just don't be boring. Write today and Kumekucha will give you the audience by publishing it here.
Why am I doing this? To promote a peaceful election and to start planting the idea in Kenyans that the thing to do to a person who has a different opinion from yours IS NOT to throw stones at him or wave hammers.
Why Is Hon Michuki bullying his youthful challenger?
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
I Found This In My Email Inbox: Very Funny
Raila, Kibaki, Ngilu and Martha Karua are traveling in a train.
The train suddenly goes thru a tunnel and it gets completely dark. Suddenly there is a kissing sound and then a slap! The train comes out of the tunnel. Ngilu and Raila are sitting there looking perplexed. Kibaki is bent over holding his face, which is red from an apparent slap.
All of them remain diplomatic and nobody says anything.
Ngilu is thinking: "These men are all crazy after Martha Karua. Kibaki must have tried to kiss her in the tunnel. Very proper that she slapped him."
Martha Karua is thinking: "kibaki must have moved to kiss me,and kissed Ngilu instead and got slapped."
Kibaki is thinking: "Damn it, Raila must have tried to kiss Martha Karua, she thought it was me and slapped me."
Raila is thinking: "If this train goes through another tunnel, I could make another kissing sound and slap Kibaki again."
The train suddenly goes thru a tunnel and it gets completely dark. Suddenly there is a kissing sound and then a slap! The train comes out of the tunnel. Ngilu and Raila are sitting there looking perplexed. Kibaki is bent over holding his face, which is red from an apparent slap.
All of them remain diplomatic and nobody says anything.
Ngilu is thinking: "These men are all crazy after Martha Karua. Kibaki must have tried to kiss her in the tunnel. Very proper that she slapped him."
Martha Karua is thinking: "kibaki must have moved to kiss me,and kissed Ngilu instead and got slapped."
Kibaki is thinking: "Damn it, Raila must have tried to kiss Martha Karua, she thought it was me and slapped me."
Raila is thinking: "If this train goes through another tunnel, I could make another kissing sound and slap Kibaki again."
Monday, July 09, 2007
Will Mary Wambui Seek Political Office?
archive
We all know who Mary Wambui is don't we?
Officially there is no link between her and the President. But nobody takes that official word seriously. Not with the huge contingent of GSU paramilitary officers who camp at her Lavington home and the security detail that follows her everywhere she goes.
Kumekucha recognizes her as our beloved President's second wife.
Emerging intelligence indicates that contrary to what most Kenyans think, all is not well at the President's campaign team. There are too many inexperienced analysts who think that just because the economy has grown by over 6% and since the President belongs to the house of Mumbi and they are so many in number that they used to give Moi nightmares whenever elections came up, he will automatically win re-election. Naturally these guys don't understand the first thing about human nature let alone politics (I recommend that they start by reading William's Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and then Machiavelli's, The Prince. You can read it online for free HERE).
Fortunately for the president, some of his aides know better and what is upsetting them is the fact that their sums don't add up to the total they are looking for. Yet they did just a few months ago. But then that is the fluid nature of politics anywhere in the world that caused Winston Churchill to say that a week can be a very long time in politics.
It is no secret that the Mungiki troubles and pressure on Kenyans at the grass roots level from the influential but usually ignored Kenyans residing overseas (many of whom religiously read this blog and sometimes leave comments when time allows) has taken its' toll on public opinion on the ground. And thanks to the excellent intelligence service at the beck and call of the president, word has already reached the inner circle that all is not well.
Some action has already been taken. You will notice that the President is being seen much more in public and his spin doctors will be trying very hard to fight the lame duck image that has come to the forefront as the Mungiki violence has exploded countrywide.
But also activities of a key political activis of the president Mary Wambui, have increased tremendously in the last few weeks. In fact looking at the itinerary of the first Lady No 2, one would easily be convinced that the general elections are being held next month and not in December. For example she was in Malindi yesterday, probably to somehow downplay the impact of the ODM rally that was going on too far away on the North Coast.
Mary Wambui is no doubt a seasoned campaigner (she did more good work for President Kibaki than she will ever be recognized for in 2002) and her failure with the infamous referendum of November 2005 can be attributed to poor strategy and infighting in the government side.
Now there are whispers that if push comes to shove, she may seek political office. The truth is that she can win any parliamentary seat she may fancy in most of Central province.
On a lighter note we already know that First Lady Number 1 is standing for a parliamentary seat somewhere (we don't know where yet). Now imagine a situation where the 3 Kibakis make it to parliament but the senior-most Kibaki loses the presidency? I would advice that his Excellency keeps his parliamentary seat and takes his place in the back benches because his chance for revenge will come before you can say "ODM Kenya." With attendance for important debates in parliament sometimes falling to a mere 7, the 3 Kibakis can easily and quietly frustrate and defeat many government bills in the house. A bloc of 3 assured votes can be very powerful if the habits of the 9th parliament persist to the 10th (which will happen for sure if we vote the same guys back).
Why Is Hon Michuki bullying his youthful challenger?
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
We all know who Mary Wambui is don't we?
Officially there is no link between her and the President. But nobody takes that official word seriously. Not with the huge contingent of GSU paramilitary officers who camp at her Lavington home and the security detail that follows her everywhere she goes.
Kumekucha recognizes her as our beloved President's second wife.
Emerging intelligence indicates that contrary to what most Kenyans think, all is not well at the President's campaign team. There are too many inexperienced analysts who think that just because the economy has grown by over 6% and since the President belongs to the house of Mumbi and they are so many in number that they used to give Moi nightmares whenever elections came up, he will automatically win re-election. Naturally these guys don't understand the first thing about human nature let alone politics (I recommend that they start by reading William's Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and then Machiavelli's, The Prince. You can read it online for free HERE).
Fortunately for the president, some of his aides know better and what is upsetting them is the fact that their sums don't add up to the total they are looking for. Yet they did just a few months ago. But then that is the fluid nature of politics anywhere in the world that caused Winston Churchill to say that a week can be a very long time in politics.
It is no secret that the Mungiki troubles and pressure on Kenyans at the grass roots level from the influential but usually ignored Kenyans residing overseas (many of whom religiously read this blog and sometimes leave comments when time allows) has taken its' toll on public opinion on the ground. And thanks to the excellent intelligence service at the beck and call of the president, word has already reached the inner circle that all is not well.
Some action has already been taken. You will notice that the President is being seen much more in public and his spin doctors will be trying very hard to fight the lame duck image that has come to the forefront as the Mungiki violence has exploded countrywide.
But also activities of a key political activis of the president Mary Wambui, have increased tremendously in the last few weeks. In fact looking at the itinerary of the first Lady No 2, one would easily be convinced that the general elections are being held next month and not in December. For example she was in Malindi yesterday, probably to somehow downplay the impact of the ODM rally that was going on too far away on the North Coast.
Mary Wambui is no doubt a seasoned campaigner (she did more good work for President Kibaki than she will ever be recognized for in 2002) and her failure with the infamous referendum of November 2005 can be attributed to poor strategy and infighting in the government side.
Now there are whispers that if push comes to shove, she may seek political office. The truth is that she can win any parliamentary seat she may fancy in most of Central province.
On a lighter note we already know that First Lady Number 1 is standing for a parliamentary seat somewhere (we don't know where yet). Now imagine a situation where the 3 Kibakis make it to parliament but the senior-most Kibaki loses the presidency? I would advice that his Excellency keeps his parliamentary seat and takes his place in the back benches because his chance for revenge will come before you can say "ODM Kenya." With attendance for important debates in parliament sometimes falling to a mere 7, the 3 Kibakis can easily and quietly frustrate and defeat many government bills in the house. A bloc of 3 assured votes can be very powerful if the habits of the 9th parliament persist to the 10th (which will happen for sure if we vote the same guys back).
Why Is Hon Michuki bullying his youthful challenger?
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
The Kalonzo-Nyundo Incident At The ODM Rally In Mombasa
archive
It is not my intention to upset any of the radical emotionally-charged supporters of various leading presidential candidates within ODM who will end up reading this, so I will report just the facts (I have evidence on tape of everything that I am going to say here).
The Mombasa ODM political rally this weekend was held at the Khadija grounds, the first time a rally of such magnitude has taken place outside the Tononoka grounds. The turn out was massive and the crowds were charged.
The candidates first had lunch at Najib Balala's house before proceeding to the rally. Interestingly the same strategy used by Narc in 2002 of using the host "tribal chief" was adopted and it is Balala who led the candidates into the grounds waving vigorously to the wildly cheering crowd.
All hell broke lose when Raila stepped forward to address the crowd who punctuated every other sentence with a resounding shout of "Nyundo." He then introduced Kalonzo Musyoka who immediately ran into problems as he was drowned out by shouts of "Nyundo" most of which were coming from the front section of the crowd. Most of his speech was a shouting march between him and the rowdy section of the crowd shouting "Nyundo." At one point Kalonzo appeared to lose his temper as he handed over the microphone to the next speaker, Musalia Mudavadi, without introducing him. No doubt this small incident will not augur well for the "bonding" of the candidates as the day when the party will have to name its' presidential candidate draws nearer and nearer.
At the end of the rally, the massive crowds almost crowded vehicles off the busy Nyali bridge, which links Mombasa island to the North Coast, as they headed back to their humble abodes, towards the island and its' environs.
I just have two comments to make.
Firstly our political leaders should encourage maturity in their supporters. Shouting down a speaker is not democracy although the same kind of behavior has often been seen in this blog and it is clear Kenyans have chosen to ignore the wisdom of the ancient Greeks. Even if you "violently" disagree with what somebody has to say, at least listen carefully so that you will have valid and powerful arguments against them when it is your turn to air your views. Even supporters need to be able to convince others to join their bandwagon with solid arguments of persuasion based on fact and what has literally "come from the horses' mouth". This is preferable to using abusive language which is the thing intellectually challenged persons tend to do. Some very intelligent Kenyans I know also occasionally sink to this level when they decide to have a few rather strong drinks before visiting Kumekucha to make comments (you know yourself--my friend).
Secondly it is clear that ODM has a head start at the Coast and Narc's recent victory in the Magarini by-election by a small handful of votes is not a reflection of how Coast voters will vote in the coming general elections. All this is assuming that the mammoth crowds at the ODM rally and their spheres of influence can be translated into votes on D-Day December 2007.
Why Is Hon Michuki bullying his youthful challenger?
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
It is not my intention to upset any of the radical emotionally-charged supporters of various leading presidential candidates within ODM who will end up reading this, so I will report just the facts (I have evidence on tape of everything that I am going to say here).
The Mombasa ODM political rally this weekend was held at the Khadija grounds, the first time a rally of such magnitude has taken place outside the Tononoka grounds. The turn out was massive and the crowds were charged.
The candidates first had lunch at Najib Balala's house before proceeding to the rally. Interestingly the same strategy used by Narc in 2002 of using the host "tribal chief" was adopted and it is Balala who led the candidates into the grounds waving vigorously to the wildly cheering crowd.
All hell broke lose when Raila stepped forward to address the crowd who punctuated every other sentence with a resounding shout of "Nyundo." He then introduced Kalonzo Musyoka who immediately ran into problems as he was drowned out by shouts of "Nyundo" most of which were coming from the front section of the crowd. Most of his speech was a shouting march between him and the rowdy section of the crowd shouting "Nyundo." At one point Kalonzo appeared to lose his temper as he handed over the microphone to the next speaker, Musalia Mudavadi, without introducing him. No doubt this small incident will not augur well for the "bonding" of the candidates as the day when the party will have to name its' presidential candidate draws nearer and nearer.
At the end of the rally, the massive crowds almost crowded vehicles off the busy Nyali bridge, which links Mombasa island to the North Coast, as they headed back to their humble abodes, towards the island and its' environs.
I just have two comments to make.
Firstly our political leaders should encourage maturity in their supporters. Shouting down a speaker is not democracy although the same kind of behavior has often been seen in this blog and it is clear Kenyans have chosen to ignore the wisdom of the ancient Greeks. Even if you "violently" disagree with what somebody has to say, at least listen carefully so that you will have valid and powerful arguments against them when it is your turn to air your views. Even supporters need to be able to convince others to join their bandwagon with solid arguments of persuasion based on fact and what has literally "come from the horses' mouth". This is preferable to using abusive language which is the thing intellectually challenged persons tend to do. Some very intelligent Kenyans I know also occasionally sink to this level when they decide to have a few rather strong drinks before visiting Kumekucha to make comments (you know yourself--my friend).
Secondly it is clear that ODM has a head start at the Coast and Narc's recent victory in the Magarini by-election by a small handful of votes is not a reflection of how Coast voters will vote in the coming general elections. All this is assuming that the mammoth crowds at the ODM rally and their spheres of influence can be translated into votes on D-Day December 2007.
Why Is Hon Michuki bullying his youthful challenger?
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Kangema Constituency Countdown To Elections 2007: Youthful Michuki Challenger Harassed By Police
archive
Is This A Sign Of Things To Come?
I have often said in this blog that the older generation of Kenyan politicians only knows how to play dirty in politics and sadly you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. The drama that is unfolding in Kangema Constituency, is a perfect illustration of this.
My heart goes out to Paul Kimani Mugo of Kangema. The 32-year old Nairobi businessman is really feeling the heat of "daring to oppose" the powerful Minister whose docket is internal security. Internal security incase you did not know, includes the police, although it is a well known fact that the Police commissioner Maj General Mohamed Hussein Ali and his boss don't see eye to eye (the latest spat between the two is over what the Minister told his constituents is police harassment under the pretext of smoking out Mungiki suspects—something that is not news to Kumekucha readers). Still, as the infamous raid on Standard newspapers proved, the Minister can bypass the commissioner and give direct orders to policemen at any time he wishes to do so.
Three weeks ago, young Mugo was arrested by police officers on the streets of Nairobi. The policemen had trailed him all the way from Kangema. Mugo was locked up for two days. The charge police were pursuing? You will not believe it. Careless driving.
In the first place it is strange for somebody to be locked up for a traffic offence after being arrested by plain-clothes policemen who most probably were attached to the CID. And then it is also very rare for people to get locked up for traffic offences.
Obviously there was no complainant (apart from probably the officers and maybe the Minister himself). The ordeal only ended when Mugo's family had the sense to hire a lawyer. Still, the last time Kumekucha checked Mugo is still following a police order to report to a city police station daily (what a brilliant way to keep an eye on your political opponent while intimidating them at the same time).
However what is exciting voters in Kangema who see the possibility of a giant-killing feat at the constituency, is the fact that over 60 per cent of the population at the constituency can be classified as "youths." I wonder if any IDs were being issued to youngsters at the constituency during the voter registration period—which ends tomorrow. Mr Mugo comes from a very humble background in Rwathia village within the constituency.
What probably irked the Internal security minister the most is the fact that young Mugo has often been heard describing him to constituents as a "brutal person" (ta nyamu for our Kikuyu speakers). And of course the fact that the aspirant has struck a chord and excited many constituents with his promises to tackle head-on the main problems on the ground including poor payments to coffee and tea farmers. Mugo himself hails from a tea-growing zone.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Is This A Sign Of Things To Come?
I have often said in this blog that the older generation of Kenyan politicians only knows how to play dirty in politics and sadly you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. The drama that is unfolding in Kangema Constituency, is a perfect illustration of this.
My heart goes out to Paul Kimani Mugo of Kangema. The 32-year old Nairobi businessman is really feeling the heat of "daring to oppose" the powerful Minister whose docket is internal security. Internal security incase you did not know, includes the police, although it is a well known fact that the Police commissioner Maj General Mohamed Hussein Ali and his boss don't see eye to eye (the latest spat between the two is over what the Minister told his constituents is police harassment under the pretext of smoking out Mungiki suspects—something that is not news to Kumekucha readers). Still, as the infamous raid on Standard newspapers proved, the Minister can bypass the commissioner and give direct orders to policemen at any time he wishes to do so.
Three weeks ago, young Mugo was arrested by police officers on the streets of Nairobi. The policemen had trailed him all the way from Kangema. Mugo was locked up for two days. The charge police were pursuing? You will not believe it. Careless driving.
In the first place it is strange for somebody to be locked up for a traffic offence after being arrested by plain-clothes policemen who most probably were attached to the CID. And then it is also very rare for people to get locked up for traffic offences.
Obviously there was no complainant (apart from probably the officers and maybe the Minister himself). The ordeal only ended when Mugo's family had the sense to hire a lawyer. Still, the last time Kumekucha checked Mugo is still following a police order to report to a city police station daily (what a brilliant way to keep an eye on your political opponent while intimidating them at the same time).
However what is exciting voters in Kangema who see the possibility of a giant-killing feat at the constituency, is the fact that over 60 per cent of the population at the constituency can be classified as "youths." I wonder if any IDs were being issued to youngsters at the constituency during the voter registration period—which ends tomorrow. Mr Mugo comes from a very humble background in Rwathia village within the constituency.
What probably irked the Internal security minister the most is the fact that young Mugo has often been heard describing him to constituents as a "brutal person" (ta nyamu for our Kikuyu speakers). And of course the fact that the aspirant has struck a chord and excited many constituents with his promises to tackle head-on the main problems on the ground including poor payments to coffee and tea farmers. Mugo himself hails from a tea-growing zone.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Most Kenyans Unwilling To Pay Even A Small Price, As Violence Against Women Escalates
archive
Top 5 Contributors so far to our campaign against political violence
1) Ritchie M. 95 emails
2) Maurice K 85 emails
3) Fred K. 15 emails
4) Identity with-held (AT THEIR REQUEST) 12 emails
5) Kumekucha 10 emails
Congratulations to all you good people from Kumekucha. Thank you for caring and thinking about your fellow Kenyans.
In order to always keep my hand on the pulse of the Nation, I usually ensure that I receive regular news dispatches wherever I happened to be at any particular time. A report on the major news items on Nation TV last night distressed me so much that somebody who was with me at the time asked me why I was so upset.
Two women in Ukunda area, Mombasa were robbed by a gang carrying crude weapons, asked to carry the household goods into the bushes by the thugs and then violently raped. In the same news bulletin there was the touching story of a young mentally-challenged girl in Kibera who was raped on her way from church recently.
Interestingly in the Ukunda case the police commissioner Major General Mohamed Hussein Ali was quick (too quick) to rule out the suspicions that the raid may have been a Mungiki operation.
The saddest thing about violent crime is that it is women who suffer most and bear the brunt. Assuming that all the escalating violence we are seeing in Kenya today is not in any way related to violence my simple question is why does it always happen in the run up to an election since the year 1991?
The reason why I was so upset (and every Kenyan should be) is the fact that nothing is being done to counter these crimes which have become "normal". While it is abundantly clear that the time has come for Kenyans to think out of the box and seek new solutions to these problems, we have a political class bankrupt of ideas who are just keen on retaining power (some of them are well past retirement age and already grandfathers many times over.)
As I publish the first results detailing the performance of our readers in our maiden campaign against politically instigated violence in Kenya, it is a good time to reflect on the general apathy Kenyans have towards doing anything to improve their political environment and especially in demanding good governance from our leaders. It is one of the main reasons why we are in the current crisis that we are facing.
The biiter truth is that talk is cheap and most Kenyans worldwide prefer it to any tangible action. I take this opportunity to urge you all to take some action today. You may think what you are being asked to do is too little but the wise old African said kidogo kidgogo ujaza kibaba (little by little finally fills the till to overflowing).
The Kenyan who has topped our score sheet this week is Ritchie who lives and works in neighboring Tanzania.
JOIN IN THE CAMPAIGN AND DO SOMETHING TODAY
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Top 5 Contributors so far to our campaign against political violence
1) Ritchie M. 95 emails
2) Maurice K 85 emails
3) Fred K. 15 emails
4) Identity with-held (AT THEIR REQUEST) 12 emails
5) Kumekucha 10 emails
Congratulations to all you good people from Kumekucha. Thank you for caring and thinking about your fellow Kenyans.
In order to always keep my hand on the pulse of the Nation, I usually ensure that I receive regular news dispatches wherever I happened to be at any particular time. A report on the major news items on Nation TV last night distressed me so much that somebody who was with me at the time asked me why I was so upset.
Two women in Ukunda area, Mombasa were robbed by a gang carrying crude weapons, asked to carry the household goods into the bushes by the thugs and then violently raped. In the same news bulletin there was the touching story of a young mentally-challenged girl in Kibera who was raped on her way from church recently.
Interestingly in the Ukunda case the police commissioner Major General Mohamed Hussein Ali was quick (too quick) to rule out the suspicions that the raid may have been a Mungiki operation.
The saddest thing about violent crime is that it is women who suffer most and bear the brunt. Assuming that all the escalating violence we are seeing in Kenya today is not in any way related to violence my simple question is why does it always happen in the run up to an election since the year 1991?
The reason why I was so upset (and every Kenyan should be) is the fact that nothing is being done to counter these crimes which have become "normal". While it is abundantly clear that the time has come for Kenyans to think out of the box and seek new solutions to these problems, we have a political class bankrupt of ideas who are just keen on retaining power (some of them are well past retirement age and already grandfathers many times over.)
As I publish the first results detailing the performance of our readers in our maiden campaign against politically instigated violence in Kenya, it is a good time to reflect on the general apathy Kenyans have towards doing anything to improve their political environment and especially in demanding good governance from our leaders. It is one of the main reasons why we are in the current crisis that we are facing.
The biiter truth is that talk is cheap and most Kenyans worldwide prefer it to any tangible action. I take this opportunity to urge you all to take some action today. You may think what you are being asked to do is too little but the wise old African said kidogo kidgogo ujaza kibaba (little by little finally fills the till to overflowing).
The Kenyan who has topped our score sheet this week is Ritchie who lives and works in neighboring Tanzania.
JOIN IN THE CAMPAIGN AND DO SOMETHING TODAY
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Former Nation Journalist Appeals To MPs To Pass Media Bill
archive
Although I do not support the passing of the proposed Media Bill in any way, former Nation crime editor has some interesting points to raise here about the hypocrisy of the so called mainstream media.
It is for this reason I could not resist publishing the following letter which has gone out to all MPs urging them to pass the media bill without being intimidated by the media houses.
Stephen Muiruri
P.O Box 872 City Square
Nairobi
Tel. (20) 3751672
Email: smuiruri2000@yahoo.com
July 9, 2007
To
1) All Hon Members of Parliament
Kenya National Assembly
Parliament Buildings
Nairobi
Through
2) Mr Samuel Ndindiri
The Clerk
Kenya National Assembly
Parliament Buildings
P.O Box 41842, Nairobi Kenya
Email: bunge@swiftkenya.com
3) Hon Mutahi Kagwe
Minister for Information and Communication
4) Hon Koigi Wamwere
Assistant Minister for Information and Communication
5) Hon. Amos Wako
Attorney General
Sheria House
P O Box 40112
Nairobi.
Email: info@ag.go.ke
6) Hon. Martha Karua
Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs
Sheria House
P.O.Box 56057-00100 GPO
Nairobi
Phone: +254-(0)20-342787
Fax: +254-(0)20-316321
Dear Hon Members of Parliament,
RE: WHY YOU SHOULD PASS THE MEDIA BILL
As the debate on the controversial Media Bill enters a crucial stage tomorrow, I wish all the MPs will have had a chance to read my letter on why they should passed the Bill into law. However, I urge the MPs to enact a law that is aimed at promoting quality journalism and hold media practitioners accountable for the news they feed the public but not one which criminalises the industry and the profession. And I’ll use my own personal experience with two top executives at Nation Media Group to illustrate the hypocrisy in the media and why media managers would prefer to continue operating under the law of the jungle.
I resigned as the Crime Editor of the Nation Media Group in February after it became evidently clear to me that the two executives had been colluding with the Commissioner of Police, Maj Gen Mohamed Hussein Ali, to arm-twist me to misinform Kenyans on the real security situation in the country. They wanted me to play down the coverage of crime and security matters but I stood my ground about being truthful. Being a professional journalist and being faithful to my employer and Nation readers cost me my job at Nation.
The two groups made various attempts – including the police chief writing scandalous letters to NMG management about me - to arm-twist me. But I refused to play ball and insisted I would continue to discharge my professional duties as guided by the principles of journalism. I had the full support of Mr Wilfred Kiboro when he was the CEO.
But things took a dramatic turn when Mr Linus Gitahi took over from Mr Kiboro upon retirement. Mr Gitahi and Mr Wangethi Mwangi, the Editorial Director, now ganged up with Maj Gen Ali and they did not hide their intentions – either I play down the growing insecurity that has continued to grip the country or else I would be shown the door. Their “requests” lacked professional legitimacy and they were driven by personal interests.
Not a single day did I give in to their demands. This did not go down well with the three and they had to hatch a plot to get me out of the way. Both Mr Gitahi and Maj Gen Ali launched simultaneous investigations – they thought it was behind my back but I was fully aware of what was going on – and on February 1, 2007, I was facing a hostile Mr Gitahi and a panel of six other top executives in his office to answer charges of why I owned a tours and travel company. I was also accused of having bought a vehicle from the Kenya Police.
Although I presented official documents from the Kenya Police, Kenya Revenue Authority and the Kenya Police-appointed auctioneer, which clearly showed I was not the owner of the vehicle, both Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi were not interested in my side of the story. The truth of the matter was that the vehicle in question had legally been bought by my relative after meeting all the legal requirements set out by the auctioneer and the Kenya Police.
The vehicle was among more than 100 unclaimed vehicles sold by the Kenya Police through a public action in 2005. Maj Gen Ali, though his representative, signed the letters for sale confirming each of the buyers had met all the requirements. The letters were copied the Registrar of Motor Vehicles telling him the Kenya Police did not have any objection to the registration of the vehicles.
Despite the documentary proof, Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi, without offering alternative proof, claimed I had bought the vehicle and alleged that that amounted to conflict of interest. Which Kenyan law bars anybody from buying a vehicle or any other property put up for public auction? In Nation, the matter is worse. All vehicles being disposed of are sold internally and the public is never invited to present bids. Isn’t that a very clear case of conflict of interest?
After the meeting, Mr Mwangi was instructed to write me an internal meeting asking me to show cause why severe disciplinary action should not be taken against me over the matters above. I opted to resign and I tendered my letter the following morning. I saw no need to continue working for an employer who abandoned his flock to please an outsider for personal reasons. I was also aware that Mr Gitahi was merely fulfilling the wishes of the police chief, whom he had met privately soon after Nation’s Board of Director announced he was to replace Mr Kiboro.
The meeting, whose agenda was to plot how to kick me forced out of Nation for continuously exposing crime and malpractices in the police force, took place weeks before Mr Gitahi formally took up the new job. The meeting was arranged by Ms Rose Kimotho, the proprietor of Kamame FM. She is known to both Mr Gitahi and Maj Gen Ali. Acting on behalf of Maj Gen Ali, Ms Kimotho had during Mr Kiboro’s made countless telephone calls to my bosses asking them to contain me in vain.
After I resigned, I reported to my company and started working there. I had not settled down before I was subjected to the worst harrowing experience I have ever suffered in my life. About 15 police officers from CID Headquarters and Parklands police station raided the offices of my company on March 14, purportedly to carry out investigations on the authors of anonymous emails that had been circulating in the internet exposing alleged sex scandals involving a section of senior Nation Media Group managers.
The squad, under the command of the then officer-in-charge of Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit, Mr Jeremiah Ikiao, was led to my offices by Nation’s Group Security Manager, Mr Sam Koskei, who personally supervised and coordinated the two-hour raid. Afterwards, I was arrested and taken to CID Headquarters on Kiambu road. Mr Koskei escorted the police convoy in his private vehicle and I overheard him ordering the officers to lock me up in custody.
After Mr Koskei left, the officers told me they were only executing orders from Nation Media Group managers and their boss, Maj Gen Ali. Mr Koskei’s presence in my office on March 14 and his conduct as the officers were ransacking drawers and cabinets was enough confirmation that NMG was totally behind the barbaric raid. He kept threatening and intimidating me.
Under the supervision of Mr Koskei, the officers turned my offices inside out, dismantled the computer in the secretary’s office and disconnected the internet. They took away the CPU, the ADSL Modem, a Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife licence, a Nairobi City Council licence, the Certificate of Incorporation and bundles of documents. It appeared the aim was to totally cripple my business since almost all the items they seized – especially the licences – had nothing to do with the matter they were investigating. The police raid was meant to cripple me financially and the operations of my company.
At CID headquarters, the police hurriedly drafted a charge sheet and I was being accused of having sent an offensive email from my company offices to Mr Gitahi, claiming he had demanded sex from one of Tusker’s project fame finalist. The offence was allegedly committed at 9.07pm on February 27, 2007. Luckily for me, the Attorney General intervened and I was released as I was being booked in at Kileleshwa police station. The AG also called for my file. I had been under arrest for close to nine hours.
I never sent the alleged email to Mr Gitahi and neither had I seen it until it was shown to me by the investigators afterwards. In fact, on the date I was alleged to have sent the email I had left my office at 4pm to take my son to hospital and I did not return to the office until two days later. This is the fourth month since the police raided my offices and they have not yet returned any of the property they seized from my offices.
I have no doubt that Maj Gen Ali, Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi were framing me with a crime I had not committed because they wanted to hit back at me for failing to give into their demands and for resigning from Nation. I was not the only party aggrieved with Nation’s leadership. Before I resigned, anger was boiling in the newsroom due to the inhumane manner in which Mr Gitahi retrenched a group of 13 journalists, three months after he replaced Mr Kiboro.
A survey that had been done amongst Nation journalists by the HR Department in the month that Mr Gitahi was appointed had passed a verdict of no confidence in the leadership of the Editorial Department. I could not understand why the employer I had served so faithfully for 11 years could single me out without any tangible evidence and treat me like a top criminal by sending a police squad to my offices.
A section of the MPs opposing the Media Bill have frequently been citing the March 2, 2006, raid on the offices of the Standard Group as a classic example of how punitive laws could cripple the media. The MPs argued that somebody could have used such a law to legitimize the Standard raid and warned that similar state-sponsored raids could be directed at other media houses soon after the new law was passed. I decided to use my experience in the hands of Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi to illustrate the hypocrisy in the media industry. Media managers in Kenya have adopted a holier-than-thou attitude but rarely apply on themselves the same moral bench mark which they measure other people.
If Nation managers could use the police to cripple a private business to settle scores, how are they different from the Government officials who sent a police squad to the Standard Group offices? The irony of it all is that Nation and its managers have been standing on a moral high ground lecturing the Government on the need to adhere to the rule of law only for them to turn around and resort to the rule of the jungle. Which other media house in the world can send a police squad to raid a private business? If the raid on the offices of the Standard Group was wrong, then the Nation-sponsored raid on my offices was equally wrong.
While other media houses covered the story of my arrest, Nation opted to give it a blackout. Nation was in the fore front in condemning the Government for raiding a media house. The Nation then relied on me to expose the police squads and the top Government officials who were behind the Standard raid. To my credit, Nation did a better job than even the bereaved – the Standard Group. Nation managers should be the last people to resort to the rule of the jungle knowing the high moral ground they have taken pretending to be the watchdog of the society.
One of the arguments being advanced by the media houses – especially Nation managers – in opposing the Media Bill is that there are other laws that aggrieved parties could turn to if they were offended by what was published or aired about them. They also cite the toothless Media Council of Kenya – which was set up by media managers – as an avenue the aggrieved parties could turn to.
From my 11 years experience at Nation, I know the Media Council of Kenya was set up by media managers to hoodwink the public that any complaints against the media were being taken seriously. The truth of the matter is that the Council is a delay tactic employed by the managers to allow the aggrieved parties to cool their tempers naturally before they loose interest in seeking legal redress.
From an insider’s knowledge, I know Nation editors never carry an apology or clarification from an aggrieved party until they get a demand letter from a tough and furious lawyer. And even in such cases, the editors ignore most complaints no matter how valid they are. They only carry hidden apologies when they realize the aggrieved party is determined to go to court.
If the argument that there is an alternative laws to punish journalists and media houses which publish or air falsehood is to be taken seriously, why then didn’t Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi (who were listed in the charge sheet as the complainant) never turn to the law on defamation if they strongly felt that I had written the alleged offensive email?
Since Nation has been so critical to the police whenever they use the law on criminal libel to punish those suspected of having defamed other individuals, why did Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi use the same police force to raid my offices over an issue of purely civil nature? Why would the energy of 15 police officers be wasted for a whole day to settle personal scores yet Kenyans are being butchered without any police presence?
I’m fully aware that Maj Gen Ali and Nation chiefs have desperately been trying to unlock the deadlock that was imposed by the AG’s office when he asked for my file. The police found themselves in a tight corner since they know they couldn’t take me to court unless they were given authority by the AG’s office. I have also written to the AG explaining why Maj Gen Ali and Mr Gitahi are so desperate to see me behind bars. I’m waiting for a response from him so that I can get my property back.
If my letter to the MPs will provoke another police raid in my offices or give Maj Gen Ali and Mr Gitahi an excuse to push through the earlier fake charges, I’m well prepared for any battle ahead. The truth must be told no matter how painful it is. We must be ready for persecution for the sake of safeguarding the truth. Media houses – more specifically the Nation - always advocate and preach the truth gospel yet the editors and managers are not willing to be measured by the same parameters.
I would not be surprised if Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi and their sympathisers dismiss this letter as a case of sour grapes. That is expected of media managers. The truth is only sweet when they are exposing public officials but it hurts them so much when the same is done to them. I’ll continue speaking out my mind until I get justice for the barbaric police raid on my offices. I hold no grudges against Mr Gitahi, Mr Mwangi or Maj Gen Ali. I’m ready for any consequences for demanding justice.
Lawyers, doctors, surveyors and other professionals have laws that govern their professional conduct and I don’t see why the media houses are so paranoid when the same is demanded of them. What is so special with media houses that they should be law onto themselves? Doctors and nurses perform noble tasks of saving lives and yet they have no problem being under legal control. But media houses want to remain a law onto themselves since they know they will use the vast resources at their disposal to frustrate the course of justice when sued. In most cases, only the mighty and the rich manage to raise legal fees to hire lawyers to file defamation cases against the offending media house. The poor majority suffer in silence when their rights are trampled upon by the moneyed media houses.
For one to be an advocate, the law stipulates the specific qualifications to be met. The Media Bill being debated in Parliament sets out clear qualifications that one should have to qualify to be a journalist. Why are media houses opposed to that? In the prevailing circumstances, anybody can become a journalist and arrogate himself or herself the sole right to pass judgment on other people regardless of their education, competence or moral standing.
In the absence of a known criteria of hiring journalists, media house opt to go for cheap labour in order to continue exploiting journalists. The worse exploited are correspondents – who contribute a majority of what is published daily. This group, which comprises journalists on casual terms with media houses, is poorly paid and they are paid per lineage of what is only published. So, if you write a story and it’s never published, you will go home empty handed while the managers are bursting with huge pay.
Kenyans might not know it but there are many correspondents in a big company like Nation who take home less than Sh5,000 after working for a whole month. This state of affair has encouraged corruption in the newsroom since the poorly paid journalists have to approach news sources for handouts to make ends meet. If only qualified individuals were allowed to practice journalism, professional journalists would negotiate better terms with their employers and quack journalists who flood the job market would find themselves looking for other careers. Can anybody be a doctor, a nurse, a lawyer or another other professional unless they are qualified to do so?
It has recently become a tradition for media houses to hire the so-called celebs as presenters and in FM stations and news casters in TV stations. First, the celebs are not trained journalists and they have no idea what fair reporting means. You can’t listen to any of the FM stations for more than 30 minutes without hearing a presenter or their participants using defamatory or vulgar language.
If we were to believe the sex scandal dossier that was unleashed by disgruntled Nation journalists a few months back (I personally believe most of the things that were said were true), it is clearly evident that few of the media managers can pass a simple kindergarten moral test. The public also have a right to judge the media managers and editors and demand they first practice what they preach.
If they can arrogate themselves the right to scrutinize both private and public lives of other individuals, why are they so paranoid to be subjected to the same scrutiny? To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, I once wrote a story on a police swoop on prostitutes in Nairobi (I wont mention the story for legal reasons) and what happened afterwards taught me some bitter lessons I had not learnt in journalism before.
The story I wrote and left in the computer had substantially been changed and foreign material added by the time it was published two days later. I later came to learn that two of Nation’s top editors had decided to add some more details in my story to make it juicier. The repercussions brought about by the story are a matter of public knowledge. What became so shocking to me is the amount of resources and time Nation has been spending since then to defeat the course of justice in the false belief the aggrieved parties will loose the defamation cases they filed in court.
By the time I resigned, I, Mr Mwangi, Mr Joseph Odindo and lawyers representing Nation had held countless meetings to plot how we were going to coach our “defence”. Since I was not to blame for the material that landed Nation in court, I was contemplating to spill the beans in court when Nation called me as its prime witness. Luckily for Mr Mwangi and Mr Odindo, I resigned before that time came and they don’t have the guts to call me after what happened in February.
As I have written before, Mr Mwangi flatly refused to take the witness box when the lawyer warned us that we would be subjected to thorough moral scrutiny by lawyers of the other parties if we were not “clean” ourselves. Mr Odindo and I were to take the witness box. Mr Odindo was jittery when Mr Mwangi insisted he had to represent him. I had not problem myself. Why did Mr Mwangi develop cold feet?
Many other stories are made juicer or facts twisted deliberately by both journalists and senior editors to suit a certain agendas. Most of the aggrieved parties who choose to register their complaints with the respective media house or the Media Council of Kenya find it frustrating after being tossed from one person to another. Finally, nothing happens and most complainants give up due to these frustrations.
I know most MPs who are opposing the Media Bill are not doing so because they know the media is as clean as snow. They are doing so either to be seen to be opposed to a Government initiative or to be in good books with media houses. Politicians depend on media to sell their ideas or propaganda to the public and most of them fear to step on the toes of media house for fear of being given a blackout or humiliating coverage.
Journalists and their editors are not angels. They in most cases choose to give good coverage or a blackout to a politician or any other person depending on how you relate with them or how generous you are with your wallet. For instance, media houses have perfected a selective approach of exposing corrupt individuals. This is what happened in Nation in exposing those behind the Anglo Leasing scandal. Powerful editors often killed damaging stories on Anglo Leasing touching on their relatives, friends and associates. What the public has never known is that there are many vested interests in the newsrooms and the news that reaches them is mostly tailored to suit certain motives and agenda.
I urge all MPs to stand solidly behind the sovereignty of Parliament and refuse to be arm-twisted or blackmailed by media managers who feel threatened by Media Bill. A classic example is a deliberate campaign that has been spearheaded by Nation chiefs.
However, I appeal to MPs to introduce amendments to protect journalists and media houses which discharge their duties professionally. The aim should not be to crimalise journalism, the freedom of press and freedom of speech. The law should hold journalists and media houses accountable for their actions and make them more responsible and accountable for their actions. Just in the same way lawyers are held accountable for all their transactions with their clients, media practitioners should not fear to be subjected to the same test.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Muiruri
Former Crime Editor, Nation Media Group
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Although I do not support the passing of the proposed Media Bill in any way, former Nation crime editor has some interesting points to raise here about the hypocrisy of the so called mainstream media.
It is for this reason I could not resist publishing the following letter which has gone out to all MPs urging them to pass the media bill without being intimidated by the media houses.
Stephen Muiruri
P.O Box 872 City Square
Nairobi
Tel. (20) 3751672
Email: smuiruri2000@yahoo.com
July 9, 2007
To
1) All Hon Members of Parliament
Kenya National Assembly
Parliament Buildings
Nairobi
Through
2) Mr Samuel Ndindiri
The Clerk
Kenya National Assembly
Parliament Buildings
P.O Box 41842, Nairobi Kenya
Email: bunge@swiftkenya.com
3) Hon Mutahi Kagwe
Minister for Information and Communication
4) Hon Koigi Wamwere
Assistant Minister for Information and Communication
5) Hon. Amos Wako
Attorney General
Sheria House
P O Box 40112
Nairobi.
Email: info@ag.go.ke
6) Hon. Martha Karua
Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs
Sheria House
P.O.Box 56057-00100 GPO
Nairobi
Phone: +254-(0)20-342787
Fax: +254-(0)20-316321
Dear Hon Members of Parliament,
RE: WHY YOU SHOULD PASS THE MEDIA BILL
As the debate on the controversial Media Bill enters a crucial stage tomorrow, I wish all the MPs will have had a chance to read my letter on why they should passed the Bill into law. However, I urge the MPs to enact a law that is aimed at promoting quality journalism and hold media practitioners accountable for the news they feed the public but not one which criminalises the industry and the profession. And I’ll use my own personal experience with two top executives at Nation Media Group to illustrate the hypocrisy in the media and why media managers would prefer to continue operating under the law of the jungle.
I resigned as the Crime Editor of the Nation Media Group in February after it became evidently clear to me that the two executives had been colluding with the Commissioner of Police, Maj Gen Mohamed Hussein Ali, to arm-twist me to misinform Kenyans on the real security situation in the country. They wanted me to play down the coverage of crime and security matters but I stood my ground about being truthful. Being a professional journalist and being faithful to my employer and Nation readers cost me my job at Nation.
The two groups made various attempts – including the police chief writing scandalous letters to NMG management about me - to arm-twist me. But I refused to play ball and insisted I would continue to discharge my professional duties as guided by the principles of journalism. I had the full support of Mr Wilfred Kiboro when he was the CEO.
But things took a dramatic turn when Mr Linus Gitahi took over from Mr Kiboro upon retirement. Mr Gitahi and Mr Wangethi Mwangi, the Editorial Director, now ganged up with Maj Gen Ali and they did not hide their intentions – either I play down the growing insecurity that has continued to grip the country or else I would be shown the door. Their “requests” lacked professional legitimacy and they were driven by personal interests.
Not a single day did I give in to their demands. This did not go down well with the three and they had to hatch a plot to get me out of the way. Both Mr Gitahi and Maj Gen Ali launched simultaneous investigations – they thought it was behind my back but I was fully aware of what was going on – and on February 1, 2007, I was facing a hostile Mr Gitahi and a panel of six other top executives in his office to answer charges of why I owned a tours and travel company. I was also accused of having bought a vehicle from the Kenya Police.
Although I presented official documents from the Kenya Police, Kenya Revenue Authority and the Kenya Police-appointed auctioneer, which clearly showed I was not the owner of the vehicle, both Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi were not interested in my side of the story. The truth of the matter was that the vehicle in question had legally been bought by my relative after meeting all the legal requirements set out by the auctioneer and the Kenya Police.
The vehicle was among more than 100 unclaimed vehicles sold by the Kenya Police through a public action in 2005. Maj Gen Ali, though his representative, signed the letters for sale confirming each of the buyers had met all the requirements. The letters were copied the Registrar of Motor Vehicles telling him the Kenya Police did not have any objection to the registration of the vehicles.
Despite the documentary proof, Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi, without offering alternative proof, claimed I had bought the vehicle and alleged that that amounted to conflict of interest. Which Kenyan law bars anybody from buying a vehicle or any other property put up for public auction? In Nation, the matter is worse. All vehicles being disposed of are sold internally and the public is never invited to present bids. Isn’t that a very clear case of conflict of interest?
After the meeting, Mr Mwangi was instructed to write me an internal meeting asking me to show cause why severe disciplinary action should not be taken against me over the matters above. I opted to resign and I tendered my letter the following morning. I saw no need to continue working for an employer who abandoned his flock to please an outsider for personal reasons. I was also aware that Mr Gitahi was merely fulfilling the wishes of the police chief, whom he had met privately soon after Nation’s Board of Director announced he was to replace Mr Kiboro.
The meeting, whose agenda was to plot how to kick me forced out of Nation for continuously exposing crime and malpractices in the police force, took place weeks before Mr Gitahi formally took up the new job. The meeting was arranged by Ms Rose Kimotho, the proprietor of Kamame FM. She is known to both Mr Gitahi and Maj Gen Ali. Acting on behalf of Maj Gen Ali, Ms Kimotho had during Mr Kiboro’s made countless telephone calls to my bosses asking them to contain me in vain.
After I resigned, I reported to my company and started working there. I had not settled down before I was subjected to the worst harrowing experience I have ever suffered in my life. About 15 police officers from CID Headquarters and Parklands police station raided the offices of my company on March 14, purportedly to carry out investigations on the authors of anonymous emails that had been circulating in the internet exposing alleged sex scandals involving a section of senior Nation Media Group managers.
The squad, under the command of the then officer-in-charge of Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit, Mr Jeremiah Ikiao, was led to my offices by Nation’s Group Security Manager, Mr Sam Koskei, who personally supervised and coordinated the two-hour raid. Afterwards, I was arrested and taken to CID Headquarters on Kiambu road. Mr Koskei escorted the police convoy in his private vehicle and I overheard him ordering the officers to lock me up in custody.
After Mr Koskei left, the officers told me they were only executing orders from Nation Media Group managers and their boss, Maj Gen Ali. Mr Koskei’s presence in my office on March 14 and his conduct as the officers were ransacking drawers and cabinets was enough confirmation that NMG was totally behind the barbaric raid. He kept threatening and intimidating me.
Under the supervision of Mr Koskei, the officers turned my offices inside out, dismantled the computer in the secretary’s office and disconnected the internet. They took away the CPU, the ADSL Modem, a Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife licence, a Nairobi City Council licence, the Certificate of Incorporation and bundles of documents. It appeared the aim was to totally cripple my business since almost all the items they seized – especially the licences – had nothing to do with the matter they were investigating. The police raid was meant to cripple me financially and the operations of my company.
At CID headquarters, the police hurriedly drafted a charge sheet and I was being accused of having sent an offensive email from my company offices to Mr Gitahi, claiming he had demanded sex from one of Tusker’s project fame finalist. The offence was allegedly committed at 9.07pm on February 27, 2007. Luckily for me, the Attorney General intervened and I was released as I was being booked in at Kileleshwa police station. The AG also called for my file. I had been under arrest for close to nine hours.
I never sent the alleged email to Mr Gitahi and neither had I seen it until it was shown to me by the investigators afterwards. In fact, on the date I was alleged to have sent the email I had left my office at 4pm to take my son to hospital and I did not return to the office until two days later. This is the fourth month since the police raided my offices and they have not yet returned any of the property they seized from my offices.
I have no doubt that Maj Gen Ali, Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi were framing me with a crime I had not committed because they wanted to hit back at me for failing to give into their demands and for resigning from Nation. I was not the only party aggrieved with Nation’s leadership. Before I resigned, anger was boiling in the newsroom due to the inhumane manner in which Mr Gitahi retrenched a group of 13 journalists, three months after he replaced Mr Kiboro.
A survey that had been done amongst Nation journalists by the HR Department in the month that Mr Gitahi was appointed had passed a verdict of no confidence in the leadership of the Editorial Department. I could not understand why the employer I had served so faithfully for 11 years could single me out without any tangible evidence and treat me like a top criminal by sending a police squad to my offices.
A section of the MPs opposing the Media Bill have frequently been citing the March 2, 2006, raid on the offices of the Standard Group as a classic example of how punitive laws could cripple the media. The MPs argued that somebody could have used such a law to legitimize the Standard raid and warned that similar state-sponsored raids could be directed at other media houses soon after the new law was passed. I decided to use my experience in the hands of Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi to illustrate the hypocrisy in the media industry. Media managers in Kenya have adopted a holier-than-thou attitude but rarely apply on themselves the same moral bench mark which they measure other people.
If Nation managers could use the police to cripple a private business to settle scores, how are they different from the Government officials who sent a police squad to the Standard Group offices? The irony of it all is that Nation and its managers have been standing on a moral high ground lecturing the Government on the need to adhere to the rule of law only for them to turn around and resort to the rule of the jungle. Which other media house in the world can send a police squad to raid a private business? If the raid on the offices of the Standard Group was wrong, then the Nation-sponsored raid on my offices was equally wrong.
While other media houses covered the story of my arrest, Nation opted to give it a blackout. Nation was in the fore front in condemning the Government for raiding a media house. The Nation then relied on me to expose the police squads and the top Government officials who were behind the Standard raid. To my credit, Nation did a better job than even the bereaved – the Standard Group. Nation managers should be the last people to resort to the rule of the jungle knowing the high moral ground they have taken pretending to be the watchdog of the society.
One of the arguments being advanced by the media houses – especially Nation managers – in opposing the Media Bill is that there are other laws that aggrieved parties could turn to if they were offended by what was published or aired about them. They also cite the toothless Media Council of Kenya – which was set up by media managers – as an avenue the aggrieved parties could turn to.
From my 11 years experience at Nation, I know the Media Council of Kenya was set up by media managers to hoodwink the public that any complaints against the media were being taken seriously. The truth of the matter is that the Council is a delay tactic employed by the managers to allow the aggrieved parties to cool their tempers naturally before they loose interest in seeking legal redress.
From an insider’s knowledge, I know Nation editors never carry an apology or clarification from an aggrieved party until they get a demand letter from a tough and furious lawyer. And even in such cases, the editors ignore most complaints no matter how valid they are. They only carry hidden apologies when they realize the aggrieved party is determined to go to court.
If the argument that there is an alternative laws to punish journalists and media houses which publish or air falsehood is to be taken seriously, why then didn’t Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi (who were listed in the charge sheet as the complainant) never turn to the law on defamation if they strongly felt that I had written the alleged offensive email?
Since Nation has been so critical to the police whenever they use the law on criminal libel to punish those suspected of having defamed other individuals, why did Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi use the same police force to raid my offices over an issue of purely civil nature? Why would the energy of 15 police officers be wasted for a whole day to settle personal scores yet Kenyans are being butchered without any police presence?
I’m fully aware that Maj Gen Ali and Nation chiefs have desperately been trying to unlock the deadlock that was imposed by the AG’s office when he asked for my file. The police found themselves in a tight corner since they know they couldn’t take me to court unless they were given authority by the AG’s office. I have also written to the AG explaining why Maj Gen Ali and Mr Gitahi are so desperate to see me behind bars. I’m waiting for a response from him so that I can get my property back.
If my letter to the MPs will provoke another police raid in my offices or give Maj Gen Ali and Mr Gitahi an excuse to push through the earlier fake charges, I’m well prepared for any battle ahead. The truth must be told no matter how painful it is. We must be ready for persecution for the sake of safeguarding the truth. Media houses – more specifically the Nation - always advocate and preach the truth gospel yet the editors and managers are not willing to be measured by the same parameters.
I would not be surprised if Mr Gitahi and Mr Mwangi and their sympathisers dismiss this letter as a case of sour grapes. That is expected of media managers. The truth is only sweet when they are exposing public officials but it hurts them so much when the same is done to them. I’ll continue speaking out my mind until I get justice for the barbaric police raid on my offices. I hold no grudges against Mr Gitahi, Mr Mwangi or Maj Gen Ali. I’m ready for any consequences for demanding justice.
Lawyers, doctors, surveyors and other professionals have laws that govern their professional conduct and I don’t see why the media houses are so paranoid when the same is demanded of them. What is so special with media houses that they should be law onto themselves? Doctors and nurses perform noble tasks of saving lives and yet they have no problem being under legal control. But media houses want to remain a law onto themselves since they know they will use the vast resources at their disposal to frustrate the course of justice when sued. In most cases, only the mighty and the rich manage to raise legal fees to hire lawyers to file defamation cases against the offending media house. The poor majority suffer in silence when their rights are trampled upon by the moneyed media houses.
For one to be an advocate, the law stipulates the specific qualifications to be met. The Media Bill being debated in Parliament sets out clear qualifications that one should have to qualify to be a journalist. Why are media houses opposed to that? In the prevailing circumstances, anybody can become a journalist and arrogate himself or herself the sole right to pass judgment on other people regardless of their education, competence or moral standing.
In the absence of a known criteria of hiring journalists, media house opt to go for cheap labour in order to continue exploiting journalists. The worse exploited are correspondents – who contribute a majority of what is published daily. This group, which comprises journalists on casual terms with media houses, is poorly paid and they are paid per lineage of what is only published. So, if you write a story and it’s never published, you will go home empty handed while the managers are bursting with huge pay.
Kenyans might not know it but there are many correspondents in a big company like Nation who take home less than Sh5,000 after working for a whole month. This state of affair has encouraged corruption in the newsroom since the poorly paid journalists have to approach news sources for handouts to make ends meet. If only qualified individuals were allowed to practice journalism, professional journalists would negotiate better terms with their employers and quack journalists who flood the job market would find themselves looking for other careers. Can anybody be a doctor, a nurse, a lawyer or another other professional unless they are qualified to do so?
It has recently become a tradition for media houses to hire the so-called celebs as presenters and in FM stations and news casters in TV stations. First, the celebs are not trained journalists and they have no idea what fair reporting means. You can’t listen to any of the FM stations for more than 30 minutes without hearing a presenter or their participants using defamatory or vulgar language.
If we were to believe the sex scandal dossier that was unleashed by disgruntled Nation journalists a few months back (I personally believe most of the things that were said were true), it is clearly evident that few of the media managers can pass a simple kindergarten moral test. The public also have a right to judge the media managers and editors and demand they first practice what they preach.
If they can arrogate themselves the right to scrutinize both private and public lives of other individuals, why are they so paranoid to be subjected to the same scrutiny? To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, I once wrote a story on a police swoop on prostitutes in Nairobi (I wont mention the story for legal reasons) and what happened afterwards taught me some bitter lessons I had not learnt in journalism before.
The story I wrote and left in the computer had substantially been changed and foreign material added by the time it was published two days later. I later came to learn that two of Nation’s top editors had decided to add some more details in my story to make it juicier. The repercussions brought about by the story are a matter of public knowledge. What became so shocking to me is the amount of resources and time Nation has been spending since then to defeat the course of justice in the false belief the aggrieved parties will loose the defamation cases they filed in court.
By the time I resigned, I, Mr Mwangi, Mr Joseph Odindo and lawyers representing Nation had held countless meetings to plot how we were going to coach our “defence”. Since I was not to blame for the material that landed Nation in court, I was contemplating to spill the beans in court when Nation called me as its prime witness. Luckily for Mr Mwangi and Mr Odindo, I resigned before that time came and they don’t have the guts to call me after what happened in February.
As I have written before, Mr Mwangi flatly refused to take the witness box when the lawyer warned us that we would be subjected to thorough moral scrutiny by lawyers of the other parties if we were not “clean” ourselves. Mr Odindo and I were to take the witness box. Mr Odindo was jittery when Mr Mwangi insisted he had to represent him. I had not problem myself. Why did Mr Mwangi develop cold feet?
Many other stories are made juicer or facts twisted deliberately by both journalists and senior editors to suit a certain agendas. Most of the aggrieved parties who choose to register their complaints with the respective media house or the Media Council of Kenya find it frustrating after being tossed from one person to another. Finally, nothing happens and most complainants give up due to these frustrations.
I know most MPs who are opposing the Media Bill are not doing so because they know the media is as clean as snow. They are doing so either to be seen to be opposed to a Government initiative or to be in good books with media houses. Politicians depend on media to sell their ideas or propaganda to the public and most of them fear to step on the toes of media house for fear of being given a blackout or humiliating coverage.
Journalists and their editors are not angels. They in most cases choose to give good coverage or a blackout to a politician or any other person depending on how you relate with them or how generous you are with your wallet. For instance, media houses have perfected a selective approach of exposing corrupt individuals. This is what happened in Nation in exposing those behind the Anglo Leasing scandal. Powerful editors often killed damaging stories on Anglo Leasing touching on their relatives, friends and associates. What the public has never known is that there are many vested interests in the newsrooms and the news that reaches them is mostly tailored to suit certain motives and agenda.
I urge all MPs to stand solidly behind the sovereignty of Parliament and refuse to be arm-twisted or blackmailed by media managers who feel threatened by Media Bill. A classic example is a deliberate campaign that has been spearheaded by Nation chiefs.
However, I appeal to MPs to introduce amendments to protect journalists and media houses which discharge their duties professionally. The aim should not be to crimalise journalism, the freedom of press and freedom of speech. The law should hold journalists and media houses accountable for their actions and make them more responsible and accountable for their actions. Just in the same way lawyers are held accountable for all their transactions with their clients, media practitioners should not fear to be subjected to the same test.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Muiruri
Former Crime Editor, Nation Media Group
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Why It Is Important That We Solve Mboya's Murder Now
archive
It is only right that I conclude my annual tribute to Tom Mboya this year by explaining the reason why this assassination of 38 years ago is so important and relevant to Kenya today. And why we as Kenyans need to face this old "skeleton in our closet" before we can expect to move forward.
Tom Mboya's assassination started a very dark and macabre trend in Kenyan politics where anybody who appears to speak for the masses gets eliminated. After Mboya's assassination JM Kariuki was never the same person and there is no doubt that he clearly saw the coming crisis in Kenya and put it into those famous words that cost him his life;
"We do not want to see a Kenya of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggars…"
It was only a matter of time before JM was murdered.
And of somebody thought that the long string of political assassinations had ended with the Kenyatta administration, they were dead wrong because Robert Ouko a cabinet minister who refused to join the gravy train of massive corruption in the Moi cabinet and by extension had the greater good of the Kenyan nation and its' people at heart was also eliminated. The fascinating thing about the Ouko assassination is the fact that Ouko was a political nobody in Kenya and mainly made his mark as foreign affairs minister (some say the very best Kenya has produced). But the dead Ouko is a totally different cup of tea because death elevated him to political heights that he never enjoyed when he was alive.
Retired Superintendent John Troon says that his investigations point to Ouko being eliminated by executive order. In Kenyan-speak his assassination was ordered from the top. (Read Kumekucha's candid interview with John Troon some months ago).
In order to ensure that this tred is broken, Kenyans have to go back to where it all started—Mboya's assassination, resolve it and then work our way forward until we reach the Ouko murder.
Let us do everything in our power to ensure that Tom Mboya's ultimate sacrifice to the cause of Kenya and Kenyans was not in vain.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site.
It is only right that I conclude my annual tribute to Tom Mboya this year by explaining the reason why this assassination of 38 years ago is so important and relevant to Kenya today. And why we as Kenyans need to face this old "skeleton in our closet" before we can expect to move forward.
Tom Mboya's assassination started a very dark and macabre trend in Kenyan politics where anybody who appears to speak for the masses gets eliminated. After Mboya's assassination JM Kariuki was never the same person and there is no doubt that he clearly saw the coming crisis in Kenya and put it into those famous words that cost him his life;
"We do not want to see a Kenya of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggars…"
It was only a matter of time before JM was murdered.
And of somebody thought that the long string of political assassinations had ended with the Kenyatta administration, they were dead wrong because Robert Ouko a cabinet minister who refused to join the gravy train of massive corruption in the Moi cabinet and by extension had the greater good of the Kenyan nation and its' people at heart was also eliminated. The fascinating thing about the Ouko assassination is the fact that Ouko was a political nobody in Kenya and mainly made his mark as foreign affairs minister (some say the very best Kenya has produced). But the dead Ouko is a totally different cup of tea because death elevated him to political heights that he never enjoyed when he was alive.
Retired Superintendent John Troon says that his investigations point to Ouko being eliminated by executive order. In Kenyan-speak his assassination was ordered from the top. (Read Kumekucha's candid interview with John Troon some months ago).
In order to ensure that this tred is broken, Kenyans have to go back to where it all started—Mboya's assassination, resolve it and then work our way forward until we reach the Ouko murder.
Let us do everything in our power to ensure that Tom Mboya's ultimate sacrifice to the cause of Kenya and Kenyans was not in vain.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site.
The New Kenyan
archive
Some people in this blog—for reasons best known to themselves—have tried very hard to draw tribal boundaries and separate Kenyans along tribal lines.
Sadly many unsuspecting visitors to this blog have been quickly sucked into the mess by the often-provocative comments spewed here by certain interests.
Let me reveal a fact that will shock some of you. The emerging Kenyan patriot does not belong to any tribe. Many of the fiercest campaigners for a new Kenya that I know belong to the Kikuyu tribe, indeed many of my most trusted informers who take tremendous risks to get vital information to the Kenyan public through this blog are from the house of Mumbi. I need not remind you what part of Kenya John Githongo's parents hail from. You can imagine how offended they feel when somebody tries to stereotype them as is often done in Kenya and in this blog.
Many of the greatest supporters of this blog from the Luo tribe have long dismissed radical Odingaism. This is the widely held belief in Luo Nyanza that any Luo who does not support the Odinga family or who chooses to go against their views in any way, is a traitor and outcast to the tribe. These guys have open minds and many of them have said they would have no problem voting for John Githongo (a Kikuyu) to be president.
And the same applies to members of all other tribes who have joined the bandwagon for a new era of tribe-less Kenyan politics. I am confident that together we will change Kenya.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site.
Some people in this blog—for reasons best known to themselves—have tried very hard to draw tribal boundaries and separate Kenyans along tribal lines.
Sadly many unsuspecting visitors to this blog have been quickly sucked into the mess by the often-provocative comments spewed here by certain interests.
Let me reveal a fact that will shock some of you. The emerging Kenyan patriot does not belong to any tribe. Many of the fiercest campaigners for a new Kenya that I know belong to the Kikuyu tribe, indeed many of my most trusted informers who take tremendous risks to get vital information to the Kenyan public through this blog are from the house of Mumbi. I need not remind you what part of Kenya John Githongo's parents hail from. You can imagine how offended they feel when somebody tries to stereotype them as is often done in Kenya and in this blog.
Many of the greatest supporters of this blog from the Luo tribe have long dismissed radical Odingaism. This is the widely held belief in Luo Nyanza that any Luo who does not support the Odinga family or who chooses to go against their views in any way, is a traitor and outcast to the tribe. These guys have open minds and many of them have said they would have no problem voting for John Githongo (a Kikuyu) to be president.
And the same applies to members of all other tribes who have joined the bandwagon for a new era of tribe-less Kenyan politics. I am confident that together we will change Kenya.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Charles Rubia Should Tell Kenyans Why Mboya Was Killed
archive
Timing in politics, we are told, is everything But the timing in which Charles Rubia, one of the champions of the so-called second liberation, has come out to speak after 17 years of political silence is ironical.
This week when a lot is on hold in this blog to honor one of the greatest men to ever emerge from the womb of a Kenyan woman, Rubia decides to speak. Of course he is secure in the fact that Kenyans are notorious for their short memories.
Who was Charles Rubia in July 5th 1969? At the time of Mboya’s death this Charles Rubia was very close to the kitchen cabinet and must have been privy to the plotting that went on. There are those who have even mentioned his name. If he is really genuinely interested in the good of Kenya and Kenyans, why doesn’t he tell us the identity of the "Big man" who ordered the Mboya hit? Or is this just the first se;fish step in his political come back?
While we appreciate the fact that Mr Rubia stood out and fought against the dictatorial Moi regime and while we will always appreciate the sacrifices he made in doing so, it is only right that he helps Kenyans solve this mystery of the Mboya assassination.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site.
Timing in politics, we are told, is everything But the timing in which Charles Rubia, one of the champions of the so-called second liberation, has come out to speak after 17 years of political silence is ironical.
This week when a lot is on hold in this blog to honor one of the greatest men to ever emerge from the womb of a Kenyan woman, Rubia decides to speak. Of course he is secure in the fact that Kenyans are notorious for their short memories.
Who was Charles Rubia in July 5th 1969? At the time of Mboya’s death this Charles Rubia was very close to the kitchen cabinet and must have been privy to the plotting that went on. There are those who have even mentioned his name. If he is really genuinely interested in the good of Kenya and Kenyans, why doesn’t he tell us the identity of the "Big man" who ordered the Mboya hit? Or is this just the first se;fish step in his political come back?
While we appreciate the fact that Mr Rubia stood out and fought against the dictatorial Moi regime and while we will always appreciate the sacrifices he made in doing so, it is only right that he helps Kenyans solve this mystery of the Mboya assassination.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site.
Kumekuch Exclusive: Interview With Person Close To Tom Mboya
archive
On Tom Mboya’s epitaph it reads.
Go and fight like this man
Who fought for mankind's cause
Who died because he fought
Whose battles are still un-won.
I am honored today to carry a candid interview with somebody who was very close to Mboya and is therefore more knowledgeable than most would be about him.
Although we welcome diverse opinion in this blog I was rather upset yesterday by somebody who left a comment here that displayed their total ignorance about this great son of Africa (and not just Kenya). The worst thing anybody can do is to pretend to be knowledgeable on a subject they know nothing about. If it were possible I would have insisted that we limit Mboya comments only to those who have read David Goldworthy’s book; Tom Mboya: The Man Kenya wanted to forget. Alas most Kenyans do very little reading but too much talking, unlike Mboya himself as you will realize in this fascinating interview you are about to read.
Some of the enemies of Mboya are still alive and well today and enjoying their ill-gotten wealth and are in fact still very powerful in the land and this is the reason why the person we have interviewed here has opted to remain anonymous. However I know them very well and have known them for a number of years now.
Read, enjoy, think and purpose to start doing something for your country today.
Kumekucha: In your opinion how did Mboya's assassination 38 years ago change Kenya?
Kenya would in my opinion be far better off today if Mboya had not been killed. Many of the socio economic problems that bedevil us today Mboya had the foresight to have seen in his day. In particular he would have been concerned with ensuring that a reasonable state of equity pertained in the country. Unlike today where the elite are so wealthy and the masses so very poor. This brings instability to a country.
Kumekucha: There was this American who insisted that his ashes be interred next to Mboya's grave on Rusinga Island. Please tell us more about this and why the strange request. Was it fulfilled?
His name was Bill Schieneman. He was a prominent businessman in the USA and was the one who first introduced Mboya to Kennedy and hence starting the first airlift. Mboya and Schieneman were best of friends. After he passed away, his son told the family that his fathers last request was to have his ashes interred beside Mboya. The Ndiege clan knowing the bond between the two consented.
Kumekucha: Mboya was not a University graduate although many people were sure that he had to be. What was his secret? How was he able to get so brilliant and knowledgeable with his limited educational background?
Mboya was an avid reader. He was a person who felt compelled to understand things. He felt there was a need for his country and as such he was determined to fulfill that need. He read because he wanted to be sure that he was doing what was in Kenya’s interests. He also enjoyed being knowledgeable. He proved that determination is just as important as education
Kumekucha: President Kibaki was a very close friend of TJs. In fact it was TJ (Mboya) who drove all the way to Makerere University in his VW to fetch him to be Kanu's first executive officer. Why do you think the President has never pursued the issue of his murder when some of those who planned it are still alive today?
I think this was because Kibaki knew the kind of people he was dealing with. The kind that Killed Tom. (he was proved right when the same group killed JM 6 years later) So I think he was afraid for his own life to challenge them.
Kumekucha: Was Tom Mboya A CIA agent?
Ha ha ha ha ha (loud laughter). Everyone is an agent of someone or something. No I don’t think he was directly an agent. The CIA may have been covertly funding some of the labour movements that Mboya dealt with, but I do not believe that he had any direct or indirect links with them.
Kumekucha: KICC belongs to Kanu and President Kibaki knows it because he must remember how Mboya organized for it to be built. Why then do you think he allowed the Kenyan government to grab it from its' rightful owners?
I believe that at the time He was just into his first few months of his presidency and as such the he may have been indecisive about how to handle the situation. Also with Raila being a key ally it may not have been politically prudent to be seen to be bringing out the Mboya name.
Kumekucha: In your view, why was Mboya murdered?
Mboya was murdered because of greed and jealousy. Some members of the Kenyatta Government could see that they were no match for him in terms of leadership and that should anything happen to Kenyatta (Kenyatta had suffered a stroke a few months before) the cabinet and public would have wanted Mboya to be the next leader. Also Mboya was not the kind of person who believed in the unjust accumulation of wealth (corruption) They realized that should he take over their chances of plundering the country were zero.
Kumekucha: There is a theory that the Americans whom Mboya was close to had a hand in his assassination and that is why they remained so aloof after he was gunned down. Please comment.
No. I would think that the British were more likely the beneficiaries of Mboya’s assassination. The Americans were keen on Mboya because they worked so well with him and could easily see the benefits of having a presence in East Africa. The British though may have been glad since it restored their grip on Kenyan politics. The Americans merely decided to wait for a more opportune time…like now.
Kumekucha: What were Mboya's strongest points, politically?
I would say his ability to strategize. That is to look ahead and work backwards in order to achieve his goals. His confidence too was a boost. The fact that he read a lot meant he understood what he was talking about and people could see the results. He was also an excellent organizer and had a genuine interest in the lives of his people and the state of the country.
Kumekucha: Have you read David Goldworthy's book on Mboya? If so what do you think about it?
I have read it. I think it’s the most accurate account of the lives and times of Mboya. It is well researched and does a splendid job of demonstrating how Mboya could use his trade union platform for political gain without the colonial Government being able to pin him down.
Kumekucha: Any other comments?
The older political elite in Kenya are fully aware of how much Mboya did for this country but choose to bury their heads in the sand. It’s a shame that none of them have the courage and integrity to come out openly and say that he was the true architect of Kenya’s independence.
To read the other numerous and fascinating Tom Mboya articles in this blog go to the top of this page and key in the words "Tom Mboya" above and before you click on "search" highlight "Kumekucha.blogspot.com."
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site
On Tom Mboya’s epitaph it reads.
Go and fight like this man
Who fought for mankind's cause
Who died because he fought
Whose battles are still un-won.
I am honored today to carry a candid interview with somebody who was very close to Mboya and is therefore more knowledgeable than most would be about him.
Although we welcome diverse opinion in this blog I was rather upset yesterday by somebody who left a comment here that displayed their total ignorance about this great son of Africa (and not just Kenya). The worst thing anybody can do is to pretend to be knowledgeable on a subject they know nothing about. If it were possible I would have insisted that we limit Mboya comments only to those who have read David Goldworthy’s book; Tom Mboya: The Man Kenya wanted to forget. Alas most Kenyans do very little reading but too much talking, unlike Mboya himself as you will realize in this fascinating interview you are about to read.
Some of the enemies of Mboya are still alive and well today and enjoying their ill-gotten wealth and are in fact still very powerful in the land and this is the reason why the person we have interviewed here has opted to remain anonymous. However I know them very well and have known them for a number of years now.
Read, enjoy, think and purpose to start doing something for your country today.
Kumekucha: In your opinion how did Mboya's assassination 38 years ago change Kenya?
Kenya would in my opinion be far better off today if Mboya had not been killed. Many of the socio economic problems that bedevil us today Mboya had the foresight to have seen in his day. In particular he would have been concerned with ensuring that a reasonable state of equity pertained in the country. Unlike today where the elite are so wealthy and the masses so very poor. This brings instability to a country.
Kumekucha: There was this American who insisted that his ashes be interred next to Mboya's grave on Rusinga Island. Please tell us more about this and why the strange request. Was it fulfilled?
His name was Bill Schieneman. He was a prominent businessman in the USA and was the one who first introduced Mboya to Kennedy and hence starting the first airlift. Mboya and Schieneman were best of friends. After he passed away, his son told the family that his fathers last request was to have his ashes interred beside Mboya. The Ndiege clan knowing the bond between the two consented.
Kumekucha: Mboya was not a University graduate although many people were sure that he had to be. What was his secret? How was he able to get so brilliant and knowledgeable with his limited educational background?
Mboya was an avid reader. He was a person who felt compelled to understand things. He felt there was a need for his country and as such he was determined to fulfill that need. He read because he wanted to be sure that he was doing what was in Kenya’s interests. He also enjoyed being knowledgeable. He proved that determination is just as important as education
Kumekucha: President Kibaki was a very close friend of TJs. In fact it was TJ (Mboya) who drove all the way to Makerere University in his VW to fetch him to be Kanu's first executive officer. Why do you think the President has never pursued the issue of his murder when some of those who planned it are still alive today?
I think this was because Kibaki knew the kind of people he was dealing with. The kind that Killed Tom. (he was proved right when the same group killed JM 6 years later) So I think he was afraid for his own life to challenge them.
Kumekucha: Was Tom Mboya A CIA agent?
Ha ha ha ha ha (loud laughter). Everyone is an agent of someone or something. No I don’t think he was directly an agent. The CIA may have been covertly funding some of the labour movements that Mboya dealt with, but I do not believe that he had any direct or indirect links with them.
Kumekucha: KICC belongs to Kanu and President Kibaki knows it because he must remember how Mboya organized for it to be built. Why then do you think he allowed the Kenyan government to grab it from its' rightful owners?
I believe that at the time He was just into his first few months of his presidency and as such the he may have been indecisive about how to handle the situation. Also with Raila being a key ally it may not have been politically prudent to be seen to be bringing out the Mboya name.
Kumekucha: In your view, why was Mboya murdered?
Mboya was murdered because of greed and jealousy. Some members of the Kenyatta Government could see that they were no match for him in terms of leadership and that should anything happen to Kenyatta (Kenyatta had suffered a stroke a few months before) the cabinet and public would have wanted Mboya to be the next leader. Also Mboya was not the kind of person who believed in the unjust accumulation of wealth (corruption) They realized that should he take over their chances of plundering the country were zero.
Kumekucha: There is a theory that the Americans whom Mboya was close to had a hand in his assassination and that is why they remained so aloof after he was gunned down. Please comment.
No. I would think that the British were more likely the beneficiaries of Mboya’s assassination. The Americans were keen on Mboya because they worked so well with him and could easily see the benefits of having a presence in East Africa. The British though may have been glad since it restored their grip on Kenyan politics. The Americans merely decided to wait for a more opportune time…like now.
Kumekucha: What were Mboya's strongest points, politically?
I would say his ability to strategize. That is to look ahead and work backwards in order to achieve his goals. His confidence too was a boost. The fact that he read a lot meant he understood what he was talking about and people could see the results. He was also an excellent organizer and had a genuine interest in the lives of his people and the state of the country.
Kumekucha: Have you read David Goldworthy's book on Mboya? If so what do you think about it?
I have read it. I think it’s the most accurate account of the lives and times of Mboya. It is well researched and does a splendid job of demonstrating how Mboya could use his trade union platform for political gain without the colonial Government being able to pin him down.
Kumekucha: Any other comments?
The older political elite in Kenya are fully aware of how much Mboya did for this country but choose to bury their heads in the sand. It’s a shame that none of them have the courage and integrity to come out openly and say that he was the true architect of Kenya’s independence.
To read the other numerous and fascinating Tom Mboya articles in this blog go to the top of this page and key in the words "Tom Mboya" above and before you click on "search" highlight "Kumekucha.blogspot.com."
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site
Working Hard Will Not Make You Money In Kenya Part 3
archive
Read Part 2 of this amazing real life experience.
Read Part 1 of this amazing real life experience.
I returned from the CID Nairobi area headquarters still numb with shock over the events of the last few hours—starting from the commando-like raid on my offices. But what was really worrying to me at the time was the fact that somebody was hitting me but I couldn't see him or her. How the hell do you defend yourself against such an invisible enemy?
The rude shock for naïve me was that after all the blood, sweat and tears that I had put into building up my business from zero into a daily five-figure revenue generating operation, it was clear that hard work was NOT enough. Not in this Kenya that we had created.
That to me was the most shocking of revelations. There is a popular saying on the street to the effect that Kenya iko na wenyewe, meaning that Kenya has its' owners and those owners are not ordinary Kenyans. They are the high and mighty and generally people from rich privileged families. And yet even the dirty tactics I was seeing I had heard about. We've all heard those stories about a multinational crushing a small indigenous operation the way you crush to death cockroaches on your kitchen floor. But I guess it is not the same thing as when it happens to you. I think there is always this thing at the back of one's mind that tells them that the story may be exaggerated and probably not even true. Naturally all that changes when it happens to you.
Many times I have been able to recognize the conflict this wide gap and difference between the two Kenyan tribes brings, right here in this blog. The two sides of the divide can never understand each other. People from privileged backgrounds who have never gone hungry one single day are convinced that slum dwellers that go hungry regularly are stupid. Or just don’t have business acumen. It does not cross their minds for one minute that those poor people are in the slums through no fault of their own.
I was brought up in a middle class family (the class that has since vanished in Kenya) and my father was a senior police officer trained in the old colonial ways who found it impossible to fit into the new corrupt ways of the young Kenyan nation and after over 30 years of service was forced out by political pressure (that is going to be my next story and I will tell it soon enough).
From my upbringing I was in an excellent position to see both sides of the divide. The stinking rich neighbors whose corrupt father also worked in the police but was "wiser" and on the other end of the scale, the poor cousins who lived in a part of town that was "stinking" whose father was probably stupid because he drunk all the time. And of course the people in that part of town were filthy. That is how I was brought up believing.
When I finished my A-levels and "romantically" opted to leave the comfort of my sheltered upbringing to make a life for myself from scratch, I was able to experience first-hand what life was like on the other side and to realize how wrong I had been.
For example I never realized that there were any pit latrines (they are actually too many) within the environs of Nairobi City and fairly close to the city center at that. I also did not know just how much of a struggle life can be when one is out of luck. I experienced all of that and I am extremely grateful for it because I am now able to understand the biggest tribe in Kenya today by far. The "10 million beggars" JM Kariuki lost his life for talking about. But the most dangerous thing is that most of the people who were previously in the middle class have rather suddenly sunk down into being beggars. Thanks mainly to corruption and government policy formulated to favor the already stinking rich privileged class.
But let me get back to my story.
My enemies changed tact and that was when I realized that I was dealing with professionals within one of the daily newspapers. The truth was that my new distribution system had "upset the apple cart" and this particular newspaper had thrived over the years by ensuring that "possible threats to their business" did not go very far. That was business and it was done in the same way in many other parts of the world.
To cut a long complicated story short, their attack that finally brought my business to its' knees was two-pronged. (I never saw it at the time but was only able to piece it together much later from the ashes of what was left of my business after they finished with it—and with the help of at least one insider who had later been forced to resign.)
Firstly they financed several competitors who produced something similar to my product in almost everything but name. These "competitors" convinced my vendors to cross over by offering to pay them a 60% commission. They then quickly implemented the second phase of the plan, which was to flood the town with cheap 10 bob papers that had all sorts of bizarre headlines written in glaring typographical errors. Bizarre headlines flooded the streets. Like; "Goat gives birth to human being" "10,000 to kill Pastor Muiru" and so on. To this day, the story that went round was that the original publisher of Update got rich and didn't care anymore, producing all sorts of shoddy rubbish. How could you convince them different when the vendors going round with leaflets and flyers were the same ones that sold the original quality product and they even told their customers it was the same product?
Later by some stroke of fate I was able to meet a former senior executive at the newspaper who was at the paper when all this drama was unfolding. The story he had to tell, really shocked me. He confided in me exactly what had happened including the miscellaneous account that had been set up for the sole purpose of putting me out of business.
By the time this well-orchestrated campaign was over, nobody in town wanted to see a 10 bob paper. Indeed in the minds of most Nairobians, a tabloid should not cost much more than Kshs 10 and is even over-priced at that price. This negative image against tabloid-style reporting is something that Patrick Quarcoo and company will have to find a way of overcoming at the Nairobi Star. But first (as a reader who says they are an expert in media advised in the comments area elsewhere in this blog) they have to find another printer other than the daily newspaper press who they are currently using.
I am grateful to God that I was able to make it through the aftermath of financial ruin that followed. One of my young children was diagnosed with ulcers, which I until that day I had never believed could touch youngsters. He has never been the same again. The collapse of my business couldn't have come at a worse time because I had also entered into a number of financial commitments, which meant that I lost everything. Most people just lie down and die and there are many examples of Kenyans I know who have done exactly that. Which is why it is a big miracle that I am still here.
As I sign off feeling somewhat relieved that I have finally been able to tell this sad story, let us get a few things right.
Hard work in Kenya does NOT make you rich, more often than not it will kill you instead.
Corruption makes you very rich in Kenya—at the expense of other Kenyans.
Coming from the right family makes you richer.
The poor in Kenya are not fools and neither are they stupid; they are just there because of circumstances and mostly because of corruption, bad governance and terrible, terrible government policies. Given the right opportunities many of them will do better than our current best.
It is for this reason that we must all fight for a real new beginning in our country that will give Kenya's largest "tribe" (the have nots) a genuine second chance. Like the second chance I could only get by leaving Kenya. We can't all leave the country can we?
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site.
Read Part 2 of this amazing real life experience.
Read Part 1 of this amazing real life experience.
I returned from the CID Nairobi area headquarters still numb with shock over the events of the last few hours—starting from the commando-like raid on my offices. But what was really worrying to me at the time was the fact that somebody was hitting me but I couldn't see him or her. How the hell do you defend yourself against such an invisible enemy?
The rude shock for naïve me was that after all the blood, sweat and tears that I had put into building up my business from zero into a daily five-figure revenue generating operation, it was clear that hard work was NOT enough. Not in this Kenya that we had created.
That to me was the most shocking of revelations. There is a popular saying on the street to the effect that Kenya iko na wenyewe, meaning that Kenya has its' owners and those owners are not ordinary Kenyans. They are the high and mighty and generally people from rich privileged families. And yet even the dirty tactics I was seeing I had heard about. We've all heard those stories about a multinational crushing a small indigenous operation the way you crush to death cockroaches on your kitchen floor. But I guess it is not the same thing as when it happens to you. I think there is always this thing at the back of one's mind that tells them that the story may be exaggerated and probably not even true. Naturally all that changes when it happens to you.
Many times I have been able to recognize the conflict this wide gap and difference between the two Kenyan tribes brings, right here in this blog. The two sides of the divide can never understand each other. People from privileged backgrounds who have never gone hungry one single day are convinced that slum dwellers that go hungry regularly are stupid. Or just don’t have business acumen. It does not cross their minds for one minute that those poor people are in the slums through no fault of their own.
I was brought up in a middle class family (the class that has since vanished in Kenya) and my father was a senior police officer trained in the old colonial ways who found it impossible to fit into the new corrupt ways of the young Kenyan nation and after over 30 years of service was forced out by political pressure (that is going to be my next story and I will tell it soon enough).
From my upbringing I was in an excellent position to see both sides of the divide. The stinking rich neighbors whose corrupt father also worked in the police but was "wiser" and on the other end of the scale, the poor cousins who lived in a part of town that was "stinking" whose father was probably stupid because he drunk all the time. And of course the people in that part of town were filthy. That is how I was brought up believing.
When I finished my A-levels and "romantically" opted to leave the comfort of my sheltered upbringing to make a life for myself from scratch, I was able to experience first-hand what life was like on the other side and to realize how wrong I had been.
For example I never realized that there were any pit latrines (they are actually too many) within the environs of Nairobi City and fairly close to the city center at that. I also did not know just how much of a struggle life can be when one is out of luck. I experienced all of that and I am extremely grateful for it because I am now able to understand the biggest tribe in Kenya today by far. The "10 million beggars" JM Kariuki lost his life for talking about. But the most dangerous thing is that most of the people who were previously in the middle class have rather suddenly sunk down into being beggars. Thanks mainly to corruption and government policy formulated to favor the already stinking rich privileged class.
But let me get back to my story.
My enemies changed tact and that was when I realized that I was dealing with professionals within one of the daily newspapers. The truth was that my new distribution system had "upset the apple cart" and this particular newspaper had thrived over the years by ensuring that "possible threats to their business" did not go very far. That was business and it was done in the same way in many other parts of the world.
To cut a long complicated story short, their attack that finally brought my business to its' knees was two-pronged. (I never saw it at the time but was only able to piece it together much later from the ashes of what was left of my business after they finished with it—and with the help of at least one insider who had later been forced to resign.)
Firstly they financed several competitors who produced something similar to my product in almost everything but name. These "competitors" convinced my vendors to cross over by offering to pay them a 60% commission. They then quickly implemented the second phase of the plan, which was to flood the town with cheap 10 bob papers that had all sorts of bizarre headlines written in glaring typographical errors. Bizarre headlines flooded the streets. Like; "Goat gives birth to human being" "10,000 to kill Pastor Muiru" and so on. To this day, the story that went round was that the original publisher of Update got rich and didn't care anymore, producing all sorts of shoddy rubbish. How could you convince them different when the vendors going round with leaflets and flyers were the same ones that sold the original quality product and they even told their customers it was the same product?
Later by some stroke of fate I was able to meet a former senior executive at the newspaper who was at the paper when all this drama was unfolding. The story he had to tell, really shocked me. He confided in me exactly what had happened including the miscellaneous account that had been set up for the sole purpose of putting me out of business.
By the time this well-orchestrated campaign was over, nobody in town wanted to see a 10 bob paper. Indeed in the minds of most Nairobians, a tabloid should not cost much more than Kshs 10 and is even over-priced at that price. This negative image against tabloid-style reporting is something that Patrick Quarcoo and company will have to find a way of overcoming at the Nairobi Star. But first (as a reader who says they are an expert in media advised in the comments area elsewhere in this blog) they have to find another printer other than the daily newspaper press who they are currently using.
I am grateful to God that I was able to make it through the aftermath of financial ruin that followed. One of my young children was diagnosed with ulcers, which I until that day I had never believed could touch youngsters. He has never been the same again. The collapse of my business couldn't have come at a worse time because I had also entered into a number of financial commitments, which meant that I lost everything. Most people just lie down and die and there are many examples of Kenyans I know who have done exactly that. Which is why it is a big miracle that I am still here.
As I sign off feeling somewhat relieved that I have finally been able to tell this sad story, let us get a few things right.
Hard work in Kenya does NOT make you rich, more often than not it will kill you instead.
Corruption makes you very rich in Kenya—at the expense of other Kenyans.
Coming from the right family makes you richer.
The poor in Kenya are not fools and neither are they stupid; they are just there because of circumstances and mostly because of corruption, bad governance and terrible, terrible government policies. Given the right opportunities many of them will do better than our current best.
It is for this reason that we must all fight for a real new beginning in our country that will give Kenya's largest "tribe" (the have nots) a genuine second chance. Like the second chance I could only get by leaving Kenya. We can't all leave the country can we?
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Annual Tribute To Tom Mboya: Why Kenya Changed Forever This Week 38 Years Ago
archive
I would like to mention one thing about my biography of Tom Mboya. The subtitle, 'The Man Kenya Wanted To Forget', was not my doing. It was imposed on the book by the publisher without my knowledge or consent. I have always disliked it, as it completely misrepresents my view of the subject. I believe that Tom Mboya was an inspirational leader who played a role of the utmost importance in Kenya's political history. I also believe that just such a view of him and the part he played has always been widely shared among the people of Kenya.
David Goldsworthy writer of the groundbreaking Mboya biography; Tom Mboya: The Man Kenya Wanted To Forget
History has knack of constantly repeating itself. When the campaign for the General elections of 1963 was going on there was no tribalism in sight and neither was there any kitchen cabinet in place.
In fact one famous photograph shows Tom Mboya in a tight embrace with Mwai Kibaki jumping up and down in sheer ecstasy as Johnstone Kamau (Mzee Kenyatta) raises his hands in a victory salute in the background. The caption says something about election results of that year being announced—which Kanu won.
But the minute Johnstone Kamau received the instruments of power and disappeared deep within State House things started changing very fast. Characters literally came out of the woodwork. Not even JM Kariuki could survive long as Johnstome Kamau's private secretary.
Soon blood oaths were being taken. Including the famous one to the effect that the leadership of Kenya would never cross the Chania River. Meaning that the issue was not whether Kenya would forever have presidents from the Kikuyu tribe, but precautions were now being made to ensure that the presidency remained in Kiambu.
Meanwhile the patriots and people who had risked so much in fighting for the impendence of Kenya were busy trying to stay alive. Characters like Tom Mboya and JM Kariuki and Kungu Karumba. They all of course lost their battle to stay alive. The question we must ask ourselves today is why????
Fast-forward to 2002. When the campaigns were going on there was no tribalism in sight nor was there a kitchen cabinet…
But the minute Johnstone Kamau received the instruments of power and disappeared deep within State House things started changing very fast…
We all know the story…
Was tribalism really the issue or just an excuse? Actually it was an excuse as it still is today where it is used only for political purposes. What was happening was that the people surrounding Johnstone Kamau were very busy making themselves fabulously rich. The land which had triggered off the violence that was later incorporated into the freedom struggle was not handed back to its' rightful owners instead it changed hands and came under the control of a new colonial master who was worse than the departed white one because this one was more ruthless and periodically murdered opponents and cut off their private parts in he process. This colonial master had a black skin and still rules today oblivious of the true feelings and plight of the common man.
The Kenyatta-Mboya era was the time when land-grabbing Kenya-style was perfected. You just simply fence off a piece of prime land and if anybody asks questions you mention the president's name and that is the end of the story.
Mboya saw all this happening and no doubt he had a strategy of what he was going to do next (he always had one). That mind that had brought the powerful colonial government to its' knees would surely have no problem with the government of Johnstone Kamau. Alas, it was not to be.
Mboya was felled before the general elections expected later that year (1969) and there are those analysts who believe that this timing was no accident. It was feared that Mboya would either challenge Kenyatta for the presidency or revive his own political party to stand against Kanu.
To Be Continued Tomorrow
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site
I would like to mention one thing about my biography of Tom Mboya. The subtitle, 'The Man Kenya Wanted To Forget', was not my doing. It was imposed on the book by the publisher without my knowledge or consent. I have always disliked it, as it completely misrepresents my view of the subject. I believe that Tom Mboya was an inspirational leader who played a role of the utmost importance in Kenya's political history. I also believe that just such a view of him and the part he played has always been widely shared among the people of Kenya.
David Goldsworthy writer of the groundbreaking Mboya biography; Tom Mboya: The Man Kenya Wanted To Forget
History has knack of constantly repeating itself. When the campaign for the General elections of 1963 was going on there was no tribalism in sight and neither was there any kitchen cabinet in place.
In fact one famous photograph shows Tom Mboya in a tight embrace with Mwai Kibaki jumping up and down in sheer ecstasy as Johnstone Kamau (Mzee Kenyatta) raises his hands in a victory salute in the background. The caption says something about election results of that year being announced—which Kanu won.
But the minute Johnstone Kamau received the instruments of power and disappeared deep within State House things started changing very fast. Characters literally came out of the woodwork. Not even JM Kariuki could survive long as Johnstome Kamau's private secretary.
Soon blood oaths were being taken. Including the famous one to the effect that the leadership of Kenya would never cross the Chania River. Meaning that the issue was not whether Kenya would forever have presidents from the Kikuyu tribe, but precautions were now being made to ensure that the presidency remained in Kiambu.
Meanwhile the patriots and people who had risked so much in fighting for the impendence of Kenya were busy trying to stay alive. Characters like Tom Mboya and JM Kariuki and Kungu Karumba. They all of course lost their battle to stay alive. The question we must ask ourselves today is why????
Fast-forward to 2002. When the campaigns were going on there was no tribalism in sight nor was there a kitchen cabinet…
But the minute Johnstone Kamau received the instruments of power and disappeared deep within State House things started changing very fast…
We all know the story…
Was tribalism really the issue or just an excuse? Actually it was an excuse as it still is today where it is used only for political purposes. What was happening was that the people surrounding Johnstone Kamau were very busy making themselves fabulously rich. The land which had triggered off the violence that was later incorporated into the freedom struggle was not handed back to its' rightful owners instead it changed hands and came under the control of a new colonial master who was worse than the departed white one because this one was more ruthless and periodically murdered opponents and cut off their private parts in he process. This colonial master had a black skin and still rules today oblivious of the true feelings and plight of the common man.
The Kenyatta-Mboya era was the time when land-grabbing Kenya-style was perfected. You just simply fence off a piece of prime land and if anybody asks questions you mention the president's name and that is the end of the story.
Mboya saw all this happening and no doubt he had a strategy of what he was going to do next (he always had one). That mind that had brought the powerful colonial government to its' knees would surely have no problem with the government of Johnstone Kamau. Alas, it was not to be.
Mboya was felled before the general elections expected later that year (1969) and there are those analysts who believe that this timing was no accident. It was feared that Mboya would either challenge Kenyatta for the presidency or revive his own political party to stand against Kanu.
To Be Continued Tomorrow
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site
Hard Work Will Not Make You Money In Kenya Part 2
archive
(Read part I of this riveting true story about what happened to Kumekucha)
I was standing in front of a senior CID officer at Nairobi area police headquarters (next to Kenyatta National Hospital). With the officer in the tiny office, were a few of his junior staff. They were in plain clothes but all were wearing those "cop type of ties" that usually scream POLICEMAN from miles away.
It was the boss who had asked me for my publishing registration certificate. Obviously the policemen were not prepared for what followed.
I told them quietly that by law, no such document exists. There was stunned silence in the room.
"My friend you want to tell us that by law anybody can publish without registering?" the boss asked, with that smile of satisfaction on his face that says; "we've nailed you."
I patiently and confidently explained to the police officers what the rather complex Books and newspapers Act is all about. To "register" to publish all a publisher in Kenya needs to do is to execute a surety bond of Kshs 10,000 and has to get his printer to do the same. In the last days of the Kanu government, that bond amount was revised upwards to a staggering Kshs 1 million, but still one does not need to produce the cash, all you need to do is prove that you have assets worth Kshs 1 million. Naturally this was one of the many attempts by the Kanu government to reign in expanding press freedom at the time. The Kibaki administration has taken the cue with the notorious new press bill now in parliament.
That day I was very grateful for my sometimes-annoying habit of photocopying everything at the least excuse and I had carried that morning photocopies of all the bonds that I had executed. I quietly handed them over to the policemen who exchanged furtive glances with each other.
One of them opened a copy of the Books and Newspapers Act and asked me where copies of my weekly returns were. He even quoted the jail term for failing to submit returns.
"The law says that every time you publish, you have to make returns." He looked at his colleagues and leaned back on his seat with satisfaction waiting for me to start stammering.
Quoting from sections of the Act, I continued with my lecture on the books and newspapers act to the cops informing them that 2 copies of each published issue were to be deposited at the AGs chambers. However the returns certificate he was referring to were usually issued (at least that is what had happened in my case) after you fill out a Returns form where you indicate how many copies you print amongst other information on your publication. I added that returns (which meant filling in the form I have just mentioned) were supposed to be made annually. I then quietly handed them my returns certificate.
But the cops were not going to take defeat lying down. The officer who had quoted from the Act started insisting that returns were supposed to be made daily. I had problems holding back my laughter but couldn't help smiling for the first time since this fascinating meeting had begun.
"OK we are going to do some further investigations." The boss said and indicated that the interview was over. That was the last I ever heard from the CID on this matter.
As I victoriously returned to my office to my huge team of anxious vendors (I will tell you a little more about those prosperous vendors in a minute) and ordered the machine operator to resume printing, I realized that I had some very determined enemy hidden in the shadows bent on destroying my business. But who was it? I still refused to believe (even with all the writing clearly on the wall) that that enemy was in some multi-million shilling daily newspaper office. Top on the list of my suspects was the owner of a monthly human-interest magazine whom I knew could play dirty when she felt threatened. I was sure that she was the culprit. After all newspaper vendors who had by now started selling my "hot" newsletter told me that at Kshs 10, I had badly impacted her sales negatively.
One of the reasons why there was no doubt on my mind that there was somebody fighting me was because almost 80 per cent of all the publications you see on the streets even today have not executed any bond and do NOT have a file at the AGs chambers, as the law requires. The CID officers were not interested in them, they had come straight for me. I would not have known then that my troubles were only just beginning.
So how come I was "registered"? Something that my enemies hidden in the shadows had not expected? I am no angel but I always try to do my things meticulously always anticipating the worst. In this case I had always anticipated some cops going round publications look for "lunch money" with threats on those who were not registered. And since I DON'T bribe, I have no option but to ensure that everything is in order. To be honest I had never anticipated that the things would happen the way they did. Even before publishing stories in this blog I usually go to great lengths to ensure as far as possible that the information I have is fairly accurate. It is not always easy, but I try.
Now before I sign off for today, let me say something about the prospering vendors of my publication; one of whom had bought land somewhere in Rift Valley and even sunk a water well for his mother from his commission income. I gave my vendors a very generous commission and that was one of the reasons why my network had grown so fast. This was made possible partly by the huge profit margin I was enjoying. The fact that I understood printing came in very handy. I purchased my own printing plates and my own paper and inks and cut a deal with the printer for a very small fee for every 1000 impressions they printed. The printer was happy because in a day they accumulated to a good figure and kept his previously idle press very busy. I did all the pre-press work myself. I had learnt how to do graphic design on a computer, which I kept at home and worked late into the night on. I also had a laser printer from which I could print out my final artworks and would usually leave the house going directly to make printing plates. Because of all this, my cost per printed copy was therefore kept very minimal.
I passed on some of these huge savings to the vendors who sold the paper and I gave them a whooping 40 per cent commission. The average vendors would have no problem selling 100 copies daily, which would make them Kshs 400—a decent amount of money in the year 2000. Other more serious vendors who had mastered my selling technique of using flyers would sell as many as 500 copies in a day, giving them a cool Kshs 2,000 in commissions in just one day. Many of them had previously been very desperate and jobless and had had their lives transformed selling my tabloid newsletter. I even had a few young ladies amongst the vendors selling the publication. You can now begin to understand why they were all so anxious when they heard that the CID had come calling.
This was the time I was supposed to put more effort into expanding my business and creating even more employment with the satisfaction that my old school friend who had mocked me when he met me selling my publication on the bus had been dead wrong and I had the cash to prove it. Instead I found myself obstructed by a very corrupt local authority and fighting unseen enemies in the shadows out to destroy me at all costs.
I didn't know it then, but the big question was how long I was going to last.
To Be Continued Tomorrow Read Part 3 of 3 NOW
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site
(Read part I of this riveting true story about what happened to Kumekucha)
I was standing in front of a senior CID officer at Nairobi area police headquarters (next to Kenyatta National Hospital). With the officer in the tiny office, were a few of his junior staff. They were in plain clothes but all were wearing those "cop type of ties" that usually scream POLICEMAN from miles away.
It was the boss who had asked me for my publishing registration certificate. Obviously the policemen were not prepared for what followed.
I told them quietly that by law, no such document exists. There was stunned silence in the room.
"My friend you want to tell us that by law anybody can publish without registering?" the boss asked, with that smile of satisfaction on his face that says; "we've nailed you."
I patiently and confidently explained to the police officers what the rather complex Books and newspapers Act is all about. To "register" to publish all a publisher in Kenya needs to do is to execute a surety bond of Kshs 10,000 and has to get his printer to do the same. In the last days of the Kanu government, that bond amount was revised upwards to a staggering Kshs 1 million, but still one does not need to produce the cash, all you need to do is prove that you have assets worth Kshs 1 million. Naturally this was one of the many attempts by the Kanu government to reign in expanding press freedom at the time. The Kibaki administration has taken the cue with the notorious new press bill now in parliament.
That day I was very grateful for my sometimes-annoying habit of photocopying everything at the least excuse and I had carried that morning photocopies of all the bonds that I had executed. I quietly handed them over to the policemen who exchanged furtive glances with each other.
One of them opened a copy of the Books and Newspapers Act and asked me where copies of my weekly returns were. He even quoted the jail term for failing to submit returns.
"The law says that every time you publish, you have to make returns." He looked at his colleagues and leaned back on his seat with satisfaction waiting for me to start stammering.
Quoting from sections of the Act, I continued with my lecture on the books and newspapers act to the cops informing them that 2 copies of each published issue were to be deposited at the AGs chambers. However the returns certificate he was referring to were usually issued (at least that is what had happened in my case) after you fill out a Returns form where you indicate how many copies you print amongst other information on your publication. I added that returns (which meant filling in the form I have just mentioned) were supposed to be made annually. I then quietly handed them my returns certificate.
But the cops were not going to take defeat lying down. The officer who had quoted from the Act started insisting that returns were supposed to be made daily. I had problems holding back my laughter but couldn't help smiling for the first time since this fascinating meeting had begun.
"OK we are going to do some further investigations." The boss said and indicated that the interview was over. That was the last I ever heard from the CID on this matter.
As I victoriously returned to my office to my huge team of anxious vendors (I will tell you a little more about those prosperous vendors in a minute) and ordered the machine operator to resume printing, I realized that I had some very determined enemy hidden in the shadows bent on destroying my business. But who was it? I still refused to believe (even with all the writing clearly on the wall) that that enemy was in some multi-million shilling daily newspaper office. Top on the list of my suspects was the owner of a monthly human-interest magazine whom I knew could play dirty when she felt threatened. I was sure that she was the culprit. After all newspaper vendors who had by now started selling my "hot" newsletter told me that at Kshs 10, I had badly impacted her sales negatively.
One of the reasons why there was no doubt on my mind that there was somebody fighting me was because almost 80 per cent of all the publications you see on the streets even today have not executed any bond and do NOT have a file at the AGs chambers, as the law requires. The CID officers were not interested in them, they had come straight for me. I would not have known then that my troubles were only just beginning.
So how come I was "registered"? Something that my enemies hidden in the shadows had not expected? I am no angel but I always try to do my things meticulously always anticipating the worst. In this case I had always anticipated some cops going round publications look for "lunch money" with threats on those who were not registered. And since I DON'T bribe, I have no option but to ensure that everything is in order. To be honest I had never anticipated that the things would happen the way they did. Even before publishing stories in this blog I usually go to great lengths to ensure as far as possible that the information I have is fairly accurate. It is not always easy, but I try.
Now before I sign off for today, let me say something about the prospering vendors of my publication; one of whom had bought land somewhere in Rift Valley and even sunk a water well for his mother from his commission income. I gave my vendors a very generous commission and that was one of the reasons why my network had grown so fast. This was made possible partly by the huge profit margin I was enjoying. The fact that I understood printing came in very handy. I purchased my own printing plates and my own paper and inks and cut a deal with the printer for a very small fee for every 1000 impressions they printed. The printer was happy because in a day they accumulated to a good figure and kept his previously idle press very busy. I did all the pre-press work myself. I had learnt how to do graphic design on a computer, which I kept at home and worked late into the night on. I also had a laser printer from which I could print out my final artworks and would usually leave the house going directly to make printing plates. Because of all this, my cost per printed copy was therefore kept very minimal.
I passed on some of these huge savings to the vendors who sold the paper and I gave them a whooping 40 per cent commission. The average vendors would have no problem selling 100 copies daily, which would make them Kshs 400—a decent amount of money in the year 2000. Other more serious vendors who had mastered my selling technique of using flyers would sell as many as 500 copies in a day, giving them a cool Kshs 2,000 in commissions in just one day. Many of them had previously been very desperate and jobless and had had their lives transformed selling my tabloid newsletter. I even had a few young ladies amongst the vendors selling the publication. You can now begin to understand why they were all so anxious when they heard that the CID had come calling.
This was the time I was supposed to put more effort into expanding my business and creating even more employment with the satisfaction that my old school friend who had mocked me when he met me selling my publication on the bus had been dead wrong and I had the cash to prove it. Instead I found myself obstructed by a very corrupt local authority and fighting unseen enemies in the shadows out to destroy me at all costs.
I didn't know it then, but the big question was how long I was going to last.
To Be Continued Tomorrow Read Part 3 of 3 NOW
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site
Starving Mother Pimps Lame Daughter To Stranger For Cash
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The Luke Admirable Economic Growth Index Special Feature
In honor of one of our disgusted readers and regular commentators, Luke, I launch today the Luke Admirable Economic Growth Index Feature. This will consist of case studies to illustrate the admirable and dramatic economic growth rate that the country has enjoyed under the Narc Administration.
KTN lunch time news, I am reliably informed has just reported a bizarre case in Luo Nyanza that will bring tears to the eyes of even the most hardened of hearts. A starving impoverished Kenyan mother who has a lame disabled daughter said to be about 17 years old received cash from a stranger in return for allowing him to defile her daughter. The KTN clip showed the girl dragging herself in the dirt (she can't walk) while trying to fend for her newly born toddler—the result of the paid-for defilement. A woman on the scene asked the million-shilling question; how can she look after a child when she can't even look after herself?
Cases of pimping are rampant in places like India where the poor husband goes round student hostels offering his wife for sex in exchange for cash to put food on the table. The man then humly waits outside as some sex-starved student ravages his wife. REALLY SICK!!! But it seems that this practice is rapidly slipping into Kenya as well as our countrymen get more and more desperate amid the rapid economic growth. This is yet more evidence confirming the admirable and unprecedented-in-many-years economic growth that the country has achieved over the last few years.
* * *
Remember the controversial rise in sugar prices, which everybody has forgotten about now? Well, the price never went back to its' previous levels and has now settled at around Kshs 90 per kilo (about 30% higher than where it was before all hel broke loose. But it set to rise yet again to about Kshs 95 when the new Amos Kimunya excise tax on polythene paper products takes effect in October.
Will somebody explain to me where this extra mark-up is going? Is it to those notorious middlemen, mainly based at the Coast? It is certainly not going to cane farmers, many of whom are very frustrated now.
Alas, the fact that many impoverished struggling jobless Kenyans can NO LONGER afford to take solace in at least a cup of tea, if nothing else, at the end of a hard day is yet more evidence confirming the admirable and unprecedented-in-many-years economic growth that the country has achieved over the last few years.
Appeal to our readers: Have you noticed a recent case that illustrates the admirable Kenyan economic growth rate—in the way Luke admires it? Please post your observations here in the comments section below, or if you want it to be a main post kindly email to the editor at umissedthis@yahoo.com mark clearly in the subject area the words; Luke Admirable Economic Growth Index Special Feature.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site much more profitable today.
The Luke Admirable Economic Growth Index Special Feature
In honor of one of our disgusted readers and regular commentators, Luke, I launch today the Luke Admirable Economic Growth Index Feature. This will consist of case studies to illustrate the admirable and dramatic economic growth rate that the country has enjoyed under the Narc Administration.
KTN lunch time news, I am reliably informed has just reported a bizarre case in Luo Nyanza that will bring tears to the eyes of even the most hardened of hearts. A starving impoverished Kenyan mother who has a lame disabled daughter said to be about 17 years old received cash from a stranger in return for allowing him to defile her daughter. The KTN clip showed the girl dragging herself in the dirt (she can't walk) while trying to fend for her newly born toddler—the result of the paid-for defilement. A woman on the scene asked the million-shilling question; how can she look after a child when she can't even look after herself?
Cases of pimping are rampant in places like India where the poor husband goes round student hostels offering his wife for sex in exchange for cash to put food on the table. The man then humly waits outside as some sex-starved student ravages his wife. REALLY SICK!!! But it seems that this practice is rapidly slipping into Kenya as well as our countrymen get more and more desperate amid the rapid economic growth. This is yet more evidence confirming the admirable and unprecedented-in-many-years economic growth that the country has achieved over the last few years.
* * *
Remember the controversial rise in sugar prices, which everybody has forgotten about now? Well, the price never went back to its' previous levels and has now settled at around Kshs 90 per kilo (about 30% higher than where it was before all hel broke loose. But it set to rise yet again to about Kshs 95 when the new Amos Kimunya excise tax on polythene paper products takes effect in October.
Will somebody explain to me where this extra mark-up is going? Is it to those notorious middlemen, mainly based at the Coast? It is certainly not going to cane farmers, many of whom are very frustrated now.
Alas, the fact that many impoverished struggling jobless Kenyans can NO LONGER afford to take solace in at least a cup of tea, if nothing else, at the end of a hard day is yet more evidence confirming the admirable and unprecedented-in-many-years economic growth that the country has achieved over the last few years.
Appeal to our readers: Have you noticed a recent case that illustrates the admirable Kenyan economic growth rate—in the way Luke admires it? Please post your observations here in the comments section below, or if you want it to be a main post kindly email to the editor at umissedthis@yahoo.com mark clearly in the subject area the words; Luke Admirable Economic Growth Index Special Feature.
The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.
Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison
Are you a Kenyan? Do You love your country? Join in this noble campaign to change things. Do something instead of just complaining.
Discover how the exciting new video web conferencing can make your business or web site much more profitable today.
Even Kumekucha Feared To Publish These Photos
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Regulars of this blog know that I never shrink from saying or publishing anything. However there are limits.
I have an arrangement with this particular site to use their photographs in Kumekucha and give credit to them. But I couldn't just bring myself to re-publishing these particular photographs here.
Let me warn you that you are about to view some rather explicit photographs. And yet it all happened in the streets in Mombasa in broad daylight.
If you have kids around I suggest that you ask them to leave the room before you click on the link below.
Two of these photos were first published in The Weekly Citizen but you are about to view the whole lot including many that were not used in the Citizen.
The story goes that the man was a driver at the Kenya Posts Authority and the woman is the wife of a senior man at the company (the driver's boss). The two lovers parked the car in what they thought was a peaceful part of town, but hawk-eyed wananchi (including the increasing number of Islamic fundamentalists in the town) noticed that there was something strange happening in the car which appeared to be shaking rather vigorously. They then pounced on the couple and caught them red-handed in the act.
The cell phone cameras that are everywhere these days did the rest.
N.B. I have since established that the incident did in fact take place in Kitengela. The confusion was probably brought about by the Kenya Ports Authority link.
See photos of senior KPA manager's wife caught in the act with all the graphic gory details
And more explicit photos here.
Regulars of this blog know that I never shrink from saying or publishing anything. However there are limits.
I have an arrangement with this particular site to use their photographs in Kumekucha and give credit to them. But I couldn't just bring myself to re-publishing these particular photographs here.
Let me warn you that you are about to view some rather explicit photographs. And yet it all happened in the streets in Mombasa in broad daylight.
If you have kids around I suggest that you ask them to leave the room before you click on the link below.
Two of these photos were first published in The Weekly Citizen but you are about to view the whole lot including many that were not used in the Citizen.
The story goes that the man was a driver at the Kenya Posts Authority and the woman is the wife of a senior man at the company (the driver's boss). The two lovers parked the car in what they thought was a peaceful part of town, but hawk-eyed wananchi (including the increasing number of Islamic fundamentalists in the town) noticed that there was something strange happening in the car which appeared to be shaking rather vigorously. They then pounced on the couple and caught them red-handed in the act.
The cell phone cameras that are everywhere these days did the rest.
N.B. I have since established that the incident did in fact take place in Kitengela. The confusion was probably brought about by the Kenya Ports Authority link.
See photos of senior KPA manager's wife caught in the act with all the graphic gory details
And more explicit photos here.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
The Day Mboya Was Shot At Lunch Time: What Has Changed In Kenya Since?
Annual Kumekucha Tribute To Tom Mboya
Exactly 38 years ago today (July 5th 1969), on a Saturday at lunch time a great Kenyan Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya better know as Tom Mboya was gunned down outside a city chemist in broad daylight.
Today is a good day to reflect on where Kenya has gone since this still unsolved murder. I say unsolved because the man accussed of gunning him down went to the gallows (supossedly) still talking about being ordered to kill Mboya by a big man whose identity he never revealed.
Not only has Kenya gone backwards a long way from the day Mboya was elected to office as the first indegenous black African legislator in Nairobi by a mostly Kikuyu electrorate (he was Luo) but worse has happened. Today we hear it often said by the children of those Kikuyus who voted so enthusiastically for Mboya that some certain Luos are "unelectable" to the highest office in the land. I have often been accussed of favoring Luos in this blog (although recently I was accussed of being insensitive to them). The truth is that I am tribal but I ONLY recognize two "tribes" in Kenya, the Haves and the Have Nots. I greatly favor the latter voiceless tribe. I strongly believe that every political candidate should be judged based on their character and ability rather than from what part of Kenya they happen to come from.
Read about the emotions that run high on Saturday 12th July 1969 during the funeral
In the next few days we will carry a number of features in this blog to commemorate, as we always have since the inception of this blog, the anniversary of his death.
Why do I do it? Because I strongly believe that if Kenya has lost her soul (which I am convinced she has) then it all started that fateful afternoon when those two revolver shots rang out in Nairobi. And the truth is, we cannot face the future if we do not understand our past.
I warn the faint-hearted that this year I am little more upset than usual and I will not tone down any dosage of truth that has to be said and understood by all Kenyans. So it may be advisable for some of you not to read the Mboya tribute this year.
Those who are interested in learning the uncensored truth, please stay with me. I have a lot to say that nobody has dared to say before.
God save Kenya.
Other articles in this blog about Tom Mboya
The popular young politician who kept the wazees guessing
This man had something to do with Mboya's death
Mboya murder, JM's brutal Killing and the Standard Raid all have something in common
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