The Truth About Esther Passaris

Read the very latest; Esther Passaris landlord and second wife saga

Kumekucha Exclusive

This blog has always had a tradition of publishing what others will not touch, and doing so without fear. This is one of the reasons for the events of the last one month or so where the life of the founder of this blog has been threatened.

The story you are about to read illustrates more than any other that I have written in recent times, how the politics stinks in our beloved country.

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Last week, Chris received an anonymous email dossier and on perusing it, asked me to cross check the facts since I am on the ground and he is not. Not only did the dossier turn out to be accurate but I was able to dig up additional information that just amazed me and most of which cannot be included here. The anonymous person who sent the original dossier said in his email; “Chris, this is too hot even for your raw notes.” That assessment too turned out to be accurate. However Chris has bitten the bullet and reproduced the dossier in full in this week’s raw notes.

In this article I will attempt to highlight a few facts from that sizzling hot dossier.

In the recent past in this forum various readers have tried to suggest that the private lives of people in public office and those who seek public office should NOT be investigated let alone written about. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard in my long years in journalism. Indeed it is one of the reasons why the country is in the serious crisis it is in today. Kenyans have fallen into a pit of insanity because we keep on electing the same kind of leaders (without putting them under a microscope) and then we sit back and expect different results. How absurd. In many cases we even repeatedly send the same old “relics” who were in parliament when Senator Barack Obama was being born believing their “long stories” about bringing change this time round. This is not even laughable it is simply a tragedy.

The founder of this blog has been a consistent supporter of Esther Passaris for a very long time however he too agrees that we cannot ignore the truth for the sake of saving face for utterances or writings of the past. Today we tell Kenyans that although the current MP elect for Embakassi is a weird choice that the long suffering constituents are bound to deeply regret electing as he continues to make court appearances, Ms Passaris too has her own serious problems that clearly make her inappropriate for any public office, anywhere.

Ms Passaris’ extremely long list of lovers which reads like a who is who in Kenyan high society and politics is the first stop of the dossier and clearly illustrates what kind of character we are dealing with here. Instructively an interesting thread runs through most of that list and includes mostly powerful persons who were in a position to make certain decisions in her favour.

Admittedly a woman’s past lovers is no big deal and many readers here may feel offended about that last paragraph. But what about the following suit that is still in court;

Esther Passaris with Pius Ngugi in Monaco

In her suit-which is still in court-Passaris claims that Pius Mbugua Ngugi had not only deceived her into having three children with him but had also backtracked on a promise to marry her. While Passaris says she had cohabited with Ngugi at Spring Valley in Nairobi since 1992,the latter denies promising to divorce his wife and marry her. Ngugi is alleged to have misrepresented himself in 1993 to Passaris that he was divorced from his traditionally wedded wife. Passaris claims Ngugi took her for a leisure trip to France's Monaco in August 1995 and repeatedly told her he was going to marry her and that he had been divorced for a decade. Ngugi allegedly made Passaris believe he had a vasectomy operation and induced her to stop using birth control pills resulting in the conception and birth of three children.
 

The law makes it perilous to analyze a case that is still in court, so I leave you to make your own deductions about that.

But one thing that can be said here is that Ms Passaris biggest mistake which will haunt her for years to come was to embarrass Mr Pius Ngugi (her former come-we-stay lover) by filing the case above. Not only is the man one of the richest individuals in the land, but he is also very influential in political circles (names of political contacts with-held here but revealed in Chris’ raw notes). It will not surprise anybody if the said individual and those close to him go out of their way to make sure that only for this single apparently grave error Ms Passaris gets absolutely nowhere.

However the most disturbing aspect in this entire sordid affair is how Ms Passaris was able to penetrate the ODM high command so quickly so as to get the nod for the mayoral seat which she would easily have won had her name not been mysteriously omitted from the list of gazetted councilors. Anybody who reads the Passaris dossier will understand why there was never a chance that her name would have been included even if she was the last eligible councilor left in Nairobi. Again she effortlessly got the ODM ticket to run for the Embakassi parliamentary seat recently. This is most disturbing because this woman’s methods of gaining favor are well known and clearly documented in the dossier with numerous witnesses to back it up. Sadly it is bound to be deeply distressing to the millions of Kenyans whose only hope for a future in Kenya is the ODM political party. Now they will have to either bury their heads in the sand and call this post anti-ODM propaganda or face the truth. That truth is that the ODM top brass seems to have a certain weakness that makes it very easy for some members of the fairer sex with dubious pasts to penetrate it and influence important political decisions. Surely, had reason prevailed in the ODM pentagon the much-loved party would not have lost the Embakassi seat to PNU. A seat which had already been delivered to it by the late Hon M. Were.

 Esther Passaris on How Uhuru frustrated her political bid

Torture for Saboats as Genuine IDPs Exploited

The world has eventually been awakened to the mini genocide taking place Mt. Elgon as perpetrated by the Kenyan army. Reports of systematic torture of the Saboats by the army turned investigators (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7396412.stm) is another proof of the shepherd turning on his own flock. Selective logic will rush to the sanctity and respect of rule of law while conveniently glossing over the double standards practiced by the Kibaki government.

Reports of rape and gruesome practices to Saboat males by the military bent on making these people confess to owning guns and being members of the Saboat Land Defence Force (SLDF) reminds one of the fates of prisoners of war. First the military are the least qualified in investigating domestic militias. As much as two wrongs never made a right one cannot fail to smell a big rate why the exclusive concentration on SLDF while other deadlier urban and village militia are left to roam and terrorize Kenyans throughout the country.

The fact remains the army was sent to Mt. Elgon at the height of post-election violence as a show of political/force might. Kibaki wanted was sending the message that through the army (and police) he had the monopoly of force. Formation of the Grand coalition government never watered this original objective as evident in the army operation mutating into a mini genocide.

Shameless commerce
Meanwhile the official DECEPTION watch takes a new twist as genuine IDPs find themselves outmanoeuvred by their SMART kinsmen. IDPs funds drawn in cheques through Equity Bank are propping up established business with the surplus going to entertainment along the coast. Industrious (never LAZY) Kenyans smell money miles away and registered promptly in camps and within no time it is harvest time. Meanwhile the REAL IDPs still remains hosted in the sordid camps with bloggers here turn blind eye to fellow ENTERPRENEURING Kenyans do brisk commerce with their plight. And why not when blaming LAZY Kenyans is the cheaper option?

Morality is a never a virtue for good business. Ordinary IDPs is ready cannon fodder and not good for business. Join the dots and see why the fund for resettling the IDPs was never streamlined. Prosperity the Kenyan way stops for nothing. And why not, we have done it before killing others through deals meant to save their lives and giving amnesty to architects of the same scams. You can hit the keyboard spewing all the vitriol in defence all the mush you fancy but these two issues of Mt Elgon genocide and IDPs being short-changed are recipes of a looming larger crises that negates all the hollow intents of national reconciliation and healing.

Raila Hands Kenya Football A Lifeline

Prime Minister manages to reinvigorate Kenyan patriotism that is reminiscent to the 2002 NARC dream

Through the personal intervention of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the circus that has been Kenyan football seems to be on its way to sanity and recovery.

Raila has in the space of only one month (something that the GNU/PNU government could not do in five years) managed to have the stars back to winning ways and consequently also given the sharply divided Kenyan population what is, in my opinion, the single most important unifying factor since the disastrous elections in 2007. While some ethnic chauvinist and rookie politicians refuse to accept the reality that the PM did this country a big favour when he accepted to drop political demands and is now in an equitable partnership in the coalition government, the youth of this country have found a national bond in sports and are rallying behind the national team and the prime minister – whose name, together with that of Senator Obama and Oliech, they chanted whenever Oliech raced towards the Zimbabwean defence last Saturday. The red-hot Dennis Oliech put Kenya on the road to a World Cup and African Nations cup qualification on Saturday with an 88th minute goal against the Warriors of Zimbabwe. Oliech’s goal two minutes from the final whistle plus a 12th minute goal scored by MacDonald Mariga took Kenya to a 2-0 victory over the Zimbabweans. Oliech ended the game as stand-in goalkeeper after Origi was stretchered off with a knee injury. Kenya are now at the top of their group with six points.


It is no secret, but the hottest ticket in any man’s wallet in Nairobi today is not a ticket to the movies and what-have-you but a ticket (and a miniature Kenyan flag) to watch any of the Harambee Stars matches. Tickets to these matches are selling-out two days before D-day and crowds are filling the 30,000 capacity Nyayo Stadium hours before kick-off. While it is clear the PM and the country has moved on from Kivuitu’s antics, it is a pity some politicians still want to play power games humiliating the PM in have been caught flat footed and are a busy criticizing the Prime Minister for accepting to be installed as a Gikuyu elder.

Even more importantly, and in accordance with the ODM manifesto, the recent grand coalition government budget allocated Kshs. 1 million to each of the country’s 210 constituencies for development of soccer and purchase of sporting goods. During his recent trip to Germany for an eye surgery, Raila not only met Sepp Blatter (FIFA President) whom he convinced to allow him (Raila) time to sort out the mess in management of soccer, he also had the German government pledge to support the stars by way of supplying technical support to KFF, even if it meant seconding a qualified coach to head the stars technical bench. A similar pledge was made recently when Raila met South African President Thabo Mbeki during the World Economic Forum in Cape Town. No doubt the PM, himself a former player with disbanded premier league side Luo Union, having recognized the importance of sports in economic development and has made it his business to give hope to the youth of this country through sports.

During his meeting with Mbeki, Raila also managed to set up a crucial appointment for Sports Minister Hellen Sambili. The minister will this week be visiting South Africa where she will attend a summit in Durban which will strategize on how Africa can explore the many socio-economic benefits arising out of soccer. This good news was delivered to media through a news dispatch from the Prime Minister's Press Service in which Raila said Sambili would also visit Johannesburg to meet South African government officials and the National World Cup Committee to explore better cooperation, technical assistance and sponsorships. Additionally, and in what will sound like sweet music to rural communities who have no access to pay channels DSTV or GTV, Raila also revealed that South African government will provide giant screens for 2010 World Cup live matches to urban centres in Kenya. Details of this arrangement will be handled by KFF.

It is hard to imagine that just early May 2008, the country was staring at the prospects of an indefinite football sanction when World soccer governing body, FIFA, angered by the a court ruling barring KFF officials, gave the country a 72-hour ultimatum to rescind the move or face a total ban. This was after the High Court in Nairobi kicked out the KFF executive led by Mohammed Hatimy for being in office illegally. High Court Judge, Justice Hatari Waweru, ruling in a suit filed by the faction led by Sam Nyamweya that had demanded the removal of the Hatimy group, said Hatimy and his group were "strangers" who were in office illegally. The court ruled that the Hatimy group, which enjoys the backing and recognition of FIFA, could not be entrusted with running the federation. "Football is a serious sport in this country and it cannot be left in the hands of strangers," he said, technically giving the Government-recognized Nyamweya team the mandate to manage the sport. But FIFA Secretary-General, Jerome Valcke, in a letter to Hatimy, accused the Nyamweya group of "colluding with a former sports minister (read PNU’s Maina Kamanda) to orchestrate the crisis in the federation to maintain their control of Kenyan football". Last week, the High Court, on receiving Hatimy’s appeal and recognising the folly of antagonizing FIFA, overturned its own ruling and reverted the management of soccer to the Hatimy group as per the KFF constitution and FIFA statutes which provide for elaborate mechanisms of dispute resolution and even bar football officials from recourse to courts of law.

The prestigious FIFA World Cup is due to take place in South Africa and for the first time ever on the continent in the year 2010. All African countries have their sights set on sending a team to this event, and indeed all of us have a patriotic duty to drop the politics and support the PM in his efforts to ensuring Harambee Stars qualify for this event. This may sound like a dream to many people out there, but I have every confidence that Harambee Stars may just surprise you!

Hands Dripping With Innocent Blood

Guest post by Sam Okello

After the sudden and very depressing deaths of the Hon. Kipkalya Kones and the Hon. Lorna Loboso, I've found myself reflecting on the trail of death that has stalked Kenya since independence. The sad thing about these deaths is that they are never resolved, which only encourages the men who plot the murder of others to think they can always get away with the next murder. Is it any wonder they are now talking about bringing the curtain down on these murders? Does that mean killers will go free?

Just so we are clear, Kenyans are not dumb. Whenever a high profile murder is committed, we always know who's done it. With fairly accurate fingers, we can point at the man responsible for the murder of another. So for the sake of history, let's point those fingers.

J.M. Kariuki
This was one of the most flamboyant politicians the House of Mumbi ever gave us. He was known to have had an independent mind. He spoke as a Kenyan and shunned the politics of tribe. Indeed, it's because of his independent streak, and his ability to see all Kenyans as one people, that the administration of President Kenyatta had a problem with him. So in the mid-seventies, he was killed by men in that government. Since Kenyatta is dead, and Kanyotu just died, there is only one man who can tell us with certainty who killed JM. The man is Dr. Njoroge Mungai. Can he tell us the truth, or does he plan to die with it like Kenyatta and Kanyotu?

Tom Mboya
Mboya was a brilliant young man. The history books and the historians I've consulted say that he became a key rival of the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and allowed himself to be played against Jaramogi by the Mt Kenya elite. It was because of him that Kenya Peoples Union came into existence...after he came up with the regional vice presidency scheme. The rest is history, as they say. What I want to point out is that once the Mt. Kenya elite accomplished their mission to silence Oginga Odinga, they killed Tom. The man who pulled the trigger gave us the name of the man who sent him. The sender was Jomo Kenyatta. So who killed Tom? Again, if the nation wants the truth behind this murder, ask Dr. Njoroge Mungai.

Dr. Robert Ouko
Because this death took place when people my age were relatively grown up, it marked the first time we witnessed the messy nature of politics. It opened our eyes to the fact that there were greedy and dangerous men in our midst, people who could kill any of us with impunity. But what became even more shocking than the murder was that the people who killed Bob are still walking free. If you buy the bull that it has not been proven Nicholas Biwott and Daniel Arap Moi did it, dream on. What I know is that many people lost their lives because they knew or witnessed an aspect of Bob's murder. But there are three people still alive who were principals in the sordid scheme. These were characters who were directly responsible for eliminating Bob. I've given you the names of Moi and Biwott. The third name is Marianne Briner. This woman has always presented herself as one who was a victim of the evils of the Moi administration. What I know today, this very moment, is that had Marianne Briner not passed on to Biwott and Moi the private conversations she had with the man, and had she not overly hyped them, Bob would be alive today.

Horace Ongili Owiti
Horace Ongili is said to have been a rising politician in Kenya. By the time he was brutally murdered and his body discarded in a maize plantation, it was rumored that he was set to be named vice president. At that time, the seat was occupied by an Othaya MP called Mwai Kibaki. In swaths of Luo land, it was believed that Mwai Kibaki used the late Ambala to kill Horace. Since the Othaya MP is still alive, why can't one courageous journalist ask him about his role in this death? And while at it, can he also tell us what he knows about the murder of Dr. Crispin Odhiambo Mbai? Can you, Mr. President?

Bishop Alexander Kipsang Arap Muge
This man of God was one of the most influential church people in Kenya. I had the privilege of meeting him in Eldoret just weeks before his murder. I was struck by how soft-spoken he was. It was difficult for me to see in the painfully soft-voice prelate the fearsome character the press had turned him out to be. In any case, because of his pronouncements, he was killed. There are those who thought Peter Habenga Hokondo was the killer. That's absurd. The killer was a man I've called in my novels Nick Boit.

Ladies and gentlemen, those were the big five. But others have died too. Here are their names:

Pio Gama Pinto
He was a rising politician of Indian descent. Does anybody know who killed Pio?

CMG Argwings Kodhek
Those who were born a number of years after independence know very little about Argwings. What I know for sure is that he was killed. I challenge whoever knows the story behind this murder to lay it out for us. Look, there's some crap they've written about Argwings in Google and Wikipedia, what we need here today is the inside story. Who killed Agwenge?

Masinde Muliro, Hezekiah Oyugi, Dorothy Randiek, A Nakuru Nurse... These people were killed by the same men who killed Dr. Robert Ouko.

Melitus Were and Kimutai Too
If you want to know who killed these young men, ask Police Chief, General Ali.

Finally, we have Kones and Lorna. Were they killed? Like the rest of the above murders, these ones will not be solved. We have one of the best police forces in the world and yet when it comes to these political murders, they behave like a bunch idiots. Giggling sissies.

Will there come a time when they can follow the trail of the murders and tell the nation this:

'Fellow Kenyans, you gave us the task to find out who killed_______. After a thorough investigation, we can now report that though Mr. so and so pulled the trigger, he acted on behalf of the Hon______.'

Will that day ever come? Because when it does, the murders may finally end.

For Love of Country.

Sam Okello

Kalembe Ndile for Bomet Seat

What a bunch of hypocrites Kenyans are? Results from Kilgoris and Wajir in last week’s by-elections captured the brand of cheap ETHNIC/CLAN based politics we stand for but shamelessly deny and condemn. The general reactions couched in bravado and chest thumbing aptly exposed how entrenched PRIMITIVE TRIBALISM is among Kenyans. The rabid ethnic gloating trashes all the colourful suggestion people often list here as blueprints to realize vision 2030.

Kenyans remain unrivalled masters of SELF DECEPTION. We only mouth objective platitudes when it serves our selfish agenda. Like warthogs in no time we shamelessly retreat to our egocentric shells once the coast is clear. What is more, we readily don the victimhood gab anytime we are confronted by a challenge that demands focused and selfless sacrifice.

Both PNU and ODM were the losers in Kilgoris and Wajir North. Instead negative ethnicity and clanism respectively won both seats. The Masaais were reminded to protect their tuff and resist domination. In effect the monster we have fed will promptly come for our won heads soon. Simply put the by-elections exemplified both TRIBALISM and DECEPTION as our national forte. We have inadvertently massacred all our pretence to national integration and cohesion. Otherwise what do you make of one gloating on how Ntimama has lost his grip on Masaai kingship because he supported a Kipsigis if not taking full dose of the poisoned chalice we have been ridiculing albeit at lip service level?

Just extrapolate the glee and brinkmanship to the counterfactual (what if?) scenario that awaits the IDPs when the Kipsigis go back HOME and demand their ancestral land back. By these belligerent actions we are latently manufacturing the best recipe for continued tribal tension within our borders. And shamelessly enough we are the first people to cry wolf when the monster we zealously created mutates and come baying for our collective blood. We have immaculately made the bed and must lie on it.

Illusions and visions
Even lies need some sheen of intelligence to fly and fiction must be made plausible to sell. For example the brand of DECEPTION and FRAUD then was deceitfully packaged to portray Esther Passaris as an ODM mole planted to advance a tribal agenda. All the unqualified attacks on the personal character of Passaris was a poor distraction from issues that betrayed our patriarchal mindset. Nobody bothered to dissect the political agenda and difference between Passaris and Waititu. Well, the devil is in the details and who cares provided plastic kites can be flown higher even if the skies only prove to be distance separating the nose from the mouth.

It may sound like a stuck record but until and unless we confront the national cancer that is TRIBALISM we are engaging in circular motions soothed in ego trips. Only a HONEST national retrospection will suffice. We may delude ourselves with all the clever antics to trivialize weighty issues oblivious of the truth that all such efforts only succeed in steadily steering us to the jaws of self destruction.

It is our national past time to selectively blame our politicians oblivious of the fact that they embody our selfish personal ideals. We are only cheating ourselves with pseudo slogans of national unity when all we aspire for is to dominate and ridicule others. No wonder our leaders take cue and launch all colourful visions which they mean to make ILLUSIONS. I rather the unsophisticated Ndile anytime over such scoundrels.

Kenya and Nigeria in Diplomatic Standoff after ex-Assistant Minister Grabs Man’s Wife

Many readers have left varied comments regarding the secret sex lives of current and former members of parliament. As has been said here, anybody who digs a little deeper into the personal lives of Kenyan legislators will be shocked at what they will find. This is just a tip of the iceberg.

For the last one month, Hon Raphael Wanjala former MP for Budalangi and former Assistant Minister for Water & Irrigation (pictured) has found himself at the centre of a love triangle that is now threatening to lead to a nasty divorce case involving a 38 year-old Nigerian national and his 24 year-old Kenyan wife together with the couple’s property estimated to be valued over Kshs. 350 million. The flagship of the family business is the popular Deep West Resort off-Langata road where, these days, Wanjala spends most of his evenings together with his new lover.

What is strange about this steamy relationship is that the former assistant minister is already a polygamist with two wives. His rich Kenyan girlfriend, is only just twenty four and claims to have been married to the Nigerian for the last ten years during which time they got two children (Akinyi yawa?). The woman claims the Nigerian abandoned her with her two children and she met and fell in love with the former assistant minister during her husband’s absence.

The case has now turned into an embarrassing diplomatic row between Kenya and Nigeria with the local Nigerian Embassy set to deliver a protest letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula this morning to complain about the police harassment of their national and to demand assistance for their national to access his children and his vast property.

Wanjala was rejected by Budalangi voters in the last general elections. He was first elected into parliament in 1997 on a FORD-K ticket but his dismal parliamentary record shows he never brought forward any bill nor asked any question during the 10 years he was an MP. Wanjala was recently appointed by V-P Kalonzo Musyoka as part of an eight man committee to investigate the problems that precipitated a prison officers’ strike that crippled the department and caused a security scare for one week.

See Todays Nation: Diplomatic row over love gone sour

Secret Letter To George W. Bush From Kanu Think Tank Man

Dear Mr President,

I have watched with mounting alarm as your party stares defeat in the face in the forthcoming polls and I have decided to send you this valuable advice that I assure you will save the situation.

My name is not important but I am one of the key people in former President Moi's think tank that helped him stay in power for 24 years. If you ask your dad he will tell you that this man called Moi, who speaks English falteringly and with the wrong accent outsmarted your guys several times including your dreaded CIA in all your efforts to get him out of power in the 90s. I was one of the main reasons for that stunning success against great odds. I am sure your CIA people know me very well. In short, I have plenty of practical experience in these matters and you should therefore take my advice with all the seriousness it deserves.

Mr President the really alarming thing here is that I see that Obama Mujaruo making it into that State House in Washington that you call the White House and throwing your party into the political cold maybe for 8 long years. I am sure you guys do not want this. You must therefore act decisively Mr President and you must act now.

My first suggestion is that you appoint our very own Mr Samuel Kivuitu to be the chairman of the Electoral Commission of America (ECA). Mr President, this is the only man I know who can announce the loser as the winner and still keep a straight face. What is more is that he can even throw in a joke at the moment of the theft. Tell me Mr President have you ever heard of a thief who cracks jokes as he robs a whole nation blind? I therefore wholeheartedly recommend this man to help you keep the democrats out of your 'State House'.

This man will be key in your strategy to rig out Obama and the Democrats because no earthquake will make him resign. Even the so-called pressure from your media across the country will be nothing to this man. He will simply ask CNN correspondents who ask him to resign whether he has killed anybody. What is more, Mr President, after his great success with Obama's relative here, the young senator will be a breeze for him. I need not remind you that in this game you need strong people and Kivuitu is as strong as they come, a man who despite invoking the name of God has no conscience whatsoever.

I know I am writing this to somebody who understands something about election rigging. Mr President, I am sure you remember a man called Al Gore and I am sure you also remember the decisive vote counting in a certain state where your relative was the big man then. My point is that you must now do the needful for the Republican political party otherwise things may get out of hand. I am sure you do not want to see your beloved America flooded by the Senator's fish-eating relatives from Africa. Your own CIA will confirm what deadly disease is prevalent in that area where the senator's relatives come from.

Bottom line Mr President you badly need this Kivuitu guy to save the day.

P.S. Mr President have you thought of going for a third term? I am aware that the son of Bin Laden has given you many sleepless nights and has really made you age quickly in your brief 8 years tenure in office, but you need to face life like a real man because you have a lot of unfinished business like the Iraq thing and even capturing Osama. Why not organize to change the law and run for a third term? Si your predecessor, a man called Franklin D. Roosevelt got elected so many times and even died in office? Why not you? I sense there are many Americans today who know how tough you are and who wonder what will happen to the country without you at the helm. In case you are interested in a third term (which I strongly recommend) please give me a shout and I will email you another valuable dossier on how you can do this in 4 easy steps. Nothing is impossible in politics and I can tell you that we are organizing a similar move for our Njamba down here. (opps, I meant our man down here).

Warning: This is a tongue-in-the-cheek post

Efforts to Reclaim Kenya Once Again

Brainstorming can be a paradox of sorts. On one hand lies the beauty of open mindedness fro you brilliant superb ideas originate. While on then other hand pragmatism nags you into exploring the naivety of exhausting yourself into re-inventing the wheel. So what am I upto? Posts here at Kumekucha that touch on the cancer of TRIBALISM elicit the most vitriol and heated debates. The last one twining our clergy to their tribal leanings was no exception. The gem is that in the din of all the heated exchanges often emerges some challenges like this one from one blogger Kimi:

……….in the spirit of thinking outside the box what do you think of the idea that young people should now form their own strictly issue based political party in readiness for 2012, deliberately limited to those between 18 and 50 years old who desire political office? Even an 18 year old can have leadership qualities. Many of the current leaders(wazees) and their political parties were leaders in their late 20s many years ago, are now too tainted and untrustworthy and do not really understand the aspirations of younger Kenyans or even the modern world in the 21st century.

Social engineering not domo
This brilliant idea underscores the need for social engineering despite what many deride as mere politicking. Human beings can never prosper without a vehicle that galvanizes their collective aspirations and ideals. A political party is one such vehicle. The problem comes whether and EXCLUSIVE age restricted edifice would deliver this need. In my book age is not the problem and Kenya is not in the present hole because of lack of ideas. Instead we are prisoners to our sectarian mentality couched in DECEPTION.

This suggestion may look a revolutionary idea worth pondering. But on retrospection (am not pouring cold water) one’s intellectual nerves immediately gets jaundiced and fatigued given the litany of such related great ideas littering our political landscape that ended croppers thanks to competing self interests. We may have all it takes but measuring up to the challenge is a different kettle of fish.

Granted, FOCUS and PERSISTENCE are ingredients guaranteed to disabuse failure in the face of challenges. Success for this promising endeavour must be singularly premised on our undergoing a NATIONAL RENEWAL. No amount of pretense will wash if we chose to continue perfecting our tradition of rewording high sounding ventures than only succeed in soothing our individual and selfish egos.

The BIG question is, as a nation are we ready to look at our past straight in the eye and HONESTLY roll up our sleeves collectively to rescue ourselves in chatting the path for a prosperous and united Kenya? Or are we simply engaging in another charade of ego trip? Let Kenyans and bloggers out there dissect and decide. The jury is out and please keep it relevant and civil for our motherland.

DNA Lie In Kabuga Arrest

Was DNA test carried out in record time?

Something very fishy is going on in Kenya.

Last night within hours of the announcement of the capture of Felicien Kabuga (a story that we broke here in Kumekucha) the government announced that they had established that the man in police custody was NOT Kabuga.

Now the government needs to answer one simple question. How quickly did this DNA test come back to establish that the man was not Kabuga? 8 hours? That is laughable because we know that the country does not even have the facilities (they are normally sent down to South Africa) and even if they did, you want to tell me it took one day to get the samples into the country from Arusha and then test and compare them to what was obtained from the suspect?

The truth is that if Kabuga were to be arrested, the number of big names in Kenya that would go down with him would shock the world. Pure and simple.

One of our readers left an interesting comment that I hereby include here but I dare say that Mr Cheruiyot is small fry fronting for much bigger names;

Kabuga's point man, protector, shelter and front in Kenya is none other than ODM's Zakayo Cheruiyot, this is fact that has been stated by the US State Department and through diplomatic channels over the years. It is time to arrest and charge Zakayo with harboring and aiding a international fugitive who is wanted for the murders of over 800,000 innocent Rwandese citizens.

Zakayo Cheruiyot, a former civil service chief and one of Mr Moi's closest advisers, was last month accused by America of harbouring Mr Kabuga.

"Our information indicates that this individual, Mr Cheruiyot, has used the government infrastructure to maintain the fugitive status of Mr Kabuga," said America's special ambassador for war crimes, Pierre-Richard Prosper.

"In the last few months information has really come in pretty concretely and focused on Cheruiyot and his apparatus."

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Anybody who digs a little deeper into the personal lives of Kenyan legislators will be shocked at what they will find. Frequent sex with under-age prostitutes along Koinange street is just a tip of the iceberg. Interestingly I have passed on to Chris some rather shocking revelations (all confirmed by several independent sources) about the love lives of the two legislators who perished this week in an air crash and I have already been informed that the startling details have been included in this week's raw notes.

The Growing Tribal Kenyan Church

A look the composition of Kenya’s present church's leadership leaves one wondering whether the men (sorry no women so far) of the cloth have borrowed everything divisive from our politicians. Starting with the Catholic Church as the largest denomination you get all her dioceses headed by HOMEBOY clergy. Leaves you wondering must the archbishop share the same tongue as his congregation? Or better still can the flock be only effectively served in their mother tongue?

As a nation Kenya is so tribally programmed so much so that odd happenings are often taken as the norm. Ages are gone when a Mr. Mwita would be the head teacher for Mogotio primary school. Instead almost all rural primary schools are staffed by homeboys and ladies who operate from their ancestral homes. This must be the most cogent recipe against national integration. The young minds have been gifted with the most able hands to implant TRIBAL SUPREMACY. No wonder some secondary readily and shamelessly prescribe local tribal rites for their form ones.

Moi may have perfected the art of tribally aligning every region in Kenya. But only our low benchmark and failure to think outside the box justifies the sectarian defence of the present incompetence. What is more, Kenyans unequivocally united in breaking from this destructive streak in 2002. But again here we are more than six years later comparing between Lucifer and the devil who is more deadly.

A church worth its name and calling is a beckon of integrity and SELFLESSNESS. The principled, steady and vocal Kenyan clergy of the 1990s makes the present TRIBAL PRIESTS look like devils undergoing slow painful conversion. No clergy in the present Kenya is beyond reproach. They all supplicate to the whims of the tribal king ruling their regional roost. Leaves you wondering whether Rome and the Vatican is following suit or they are innocent enforcers of selfish local advice.

Breaking News: Felicien Kabuga Arrested in Nairobi

Kabuga's FBI Most Wanted poster

Hardly a month after this blog exclusively revealed the revocation of the Kenyan diplomatic passport(s) of one of the world’s top 10 most hunted criminals by immigration minister Otieno Kajwang, FELICIEN KABUGA, arguably Africa most wanted fugitive, has been reported arrested in Nairobi and is currently being held at the Gigiri Police Station.

Kabuga was arrrested at undisclosed location in Nairobi yesterday (Friday) afternoon. Kenya Police investigators say that they have a positive ID on the elderly Rwandese fugitive and forensic tests are underway to determine the true identity of the man.

Last month, this blog reported how Kenya’s new immigration minister had cancelled Kabuga’s Kenyan diplomatic passport(s) and accordingly informed Interpol of the same.

During the same month, the editor of Norwegian-based African Press International (API) told a Kenyan newspaper that he had interviewed Kabuga in an Oslo hotel room. Editor Sammy Kipterer Korir told newspaper Sunday Nation that he'd been invited to the hotel room by a friend from Sudan. At that time, Kabuga was reported to be seeking to negotiate amnesty with the Rwandese government.

The Kenyan government have in the past been accused to be a stumbling block to FBI investigations efforts to apprehend Kabuga, as he has strong links to ex MP Gideon Moi, the son of ex President Daniel arap Moi. The fugitive had a whopping US$5million bounty on his head.

Kabuga most recent image

If the reported arrested is confirmed to be correct, then the two month old Grand Coalition Government will have done what eluded successive Kenyan regimes for nearly a decade and a half.

Felicien Kabuga was an influential businessman who used his wealth to outfit the Interahamwe, a violent Hutu militia, who massacred thousands of innocent Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Few militia gangs in history have banded together to act with such swift brutality. In only 100 days Interahamwe contributed significantly to the death toll of over 800,000 Rwandans. Kabuga purchased vast amounts of machetes, hoes and other agricultural tools for the Interahamwe, fully aware that they would be used to hack men, women and children to death. For these and other cold-blooded calculations, he has been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva convention.

Update: 21.30 hrs Kenya Time

We are under estimating the power Kabuga and his Kenyan friends wield.

News reaching this blogger indicate that the person arrested by police is now being touted as "a case of mistaken identity and is afterall NOT Felicien Kabuga".

Kenyan police intelligence is known to be thorough and capable of cracking just about any crime without external help. There is NO WAY police could have arrested a stranger and run DNA and fingerprint tests on the suspect if they were not sure they had their man.

IT IS OBVIOUS SOMEONE HAS PRESSED THE RIGHT BUTTON(S) AND ONCE AGAIN KABUGA IS ABOUT TO BE SET FREE.

Updates to follow

What Does Chris Kirubi’s Appearance In Court Mean?

Analysts are still puzzled and scrambling around for answers after one of the most political savvy businessmen in Kenya appeared in court yesterday morning over charges related to his ill-fated stint at the helm of the once immensely profitable Uchumi chain of supermarkets.

Those who understand this territory well are aware of the fact that Kenyan politics is in the strong vice-like grip of a certain clique of politically-correct businessmen. These gentlemen are determined that their gravy train does not end abruptly after President Mwai Kibaki leaves office in 2012. Many of these businessmen have broken all sorts of laws but if you expect to see them arraigned before court any time soon, you will grow old waiting.

It is also a well known fact that Mr Chris Kirubi despite his dark past related to the way he accumulated his vast fortune, has managed to play his politics intricately over the years. Probably the biggest test of this was during the tenure of former President Moi. Moi who had a rabid phobia for Kikuyus and went to great lengths to destroy their businesses even where it meant bringing down entire industries, oblivious of the impact that his actions had on the country’s economy. The coffee and tea industries in the country bore the brunt of the anti-kikuyu Moi purge.

Many prominent entrepreneurs from the community ended up in ruin. Not Mr Kirubi, he not only emerged unscathed but his business empire grew immensely and at the same time he managed to cultivate an enviable image as a principled businessman who did not touch corruption. This was not only amazing but very laughable to those who knew Mr Kirubi’s past and especially his antics at Kenatco during the coffee boom of the late 70s which changed his life. (See this article Chris wrote about Mr Kirubi’s dark past)

Some are beginning to point to the troubles, of a police kind, that former Juja MP William Kabogo ran into last year. That storm passed and analysts are saying that this one too shall pass and it is probably just some characters exerting their power to show everybody who is boss. Let time be the judge.

An Open Letter to President Jakaya Kikwete, Chairman of the AU

Kikwete most useless President Tanzania has ever had and why Nyerere saw it 15 years ago

I hope this finds you well, Sir. I must say, you have taken up a responsibility that is overly daunting and heavy. Having all African countries under your arm and constant watch is no mean feat.

As you, and I, know only too well, Africa is a continent that is dogged and bedeviled by all manner of ills that you can and could mention:

Bloodshed (and blood letting); wars and rumours of wars; extensive “rape” of human rights; the world’s top-class dictators; lack of democracy; elaborate election rigging schemes (otherwise known as “stealing of elections” and “doctoring of election results”); disregard for human lives even by the bodies that have been charged with the mandate to protect them (e.g. the police).

These, I wish to believe, are but some of the stories that you have to contend with everyday (the running of your country, Tanzania, notwithstanding).

Sir, let me direct your attention to one present problem that is sticking out like a sore thumb. This is none other than the Zimbabwe (and Mugabe) issue.

Zimbabwe is a country that is going through harrowing problems. Its people are suffering and dying. People are banned even from speaking out their minds and freedom of expression has been curtailed.

These are people who cannot, in normal circumstances, share what they are going through in their country with the rest of the world. Only the very courageous (who put their lives on the line) usually do so.

These people are going without the basic necessities of life: food, shelter and clothing. Unemployment is very high in Zimbabwe. The spiralling inflation has driven the prices of commodities to sheer “mad” levels.

In this background, how can the common person in Zimbabwe, (someone without a job), be expected to meet their bills? Most jobs, too, just pay a pittance. So the situation is plain impossible for virtually everyone. Mr. Kikwete, this is just too much for these people.

Thousands, nay, millions of Zimbabweans have fled their country to seek for ‘economic release and relief’ elsewhere, especially farther down in South Africa. But recent developments in South Africa, which many people have called xenophobic attacks, have forced these ‘economic refugees’ to go back to the fire they thought they had bidden farewell to: Zimbabwe, the home of their tyrannical leader, Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe is a man who is ready to do anything just to remain in power. His pronouncements two days ago just revolted me. He said something to the effect that Zimbabwe is a country that was liberated by the gun and it won’t just slip through the fingers of ‘Zimbabweans' by the result of a mere ballot. He says he is ready to engage in war to remain in power.

Some weeks ago, his wife told the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, that he should not dream of taking over as president while Mugabe was still alive. She reiterated that that would only happen when Mugabe dies and not in any other circumstance.

Mr. Jakaya Kikwete, these are things that should not be allowed to happen. In fact these are some of the things that the AU, and African leaders as a whole, should stand up against. This state of affairs should not be allowed to continue.

Questions

But why is there no African leader (except for few) telling Mugabe to his face that what he is doing is WRONG?

Why is the AU not baring its fangs at such dire times for the people of Zimbabwe to be saved from their almost imminent, tumultuous demise?

Or

Are African presidents silent because they see a part of themselves in Robert Mugabe? (And that talking up against him, and what he is doing, would be a case of cutting the nose to spite the face?).

Mr. Kikwete, Zimbabweans go to the polls later this month for a run-off of the presidential elections. And Mr. Mugabe is not ready to leave office if he loses these elections. And Morgan Tsvangirai is being given a hard time, holding a campaign rally for him has been made increasingly difficult.

There have also emerged claims that Mugabe is using the army to forge his cause: winning the elections even if it involves breaking a few bones.

Against this background, Mr. Kikwete, I present my plea to you: Zimbabweans are looking up to you, other African leaders and the international community to come to their rescue and save them from the rush decisions and mad actions of their no-white-nonsense leader: Robert Mugabe.

Though this is a tall order, it is the right course to take. Mind you, Zimbabwe is greater than their tyrant of a leader, Mugabe. It is time for change. The people’s voices should be heeded and respected.

With that, I rest my case.

Yours truly,

Ritch.

Kones, Laboso Plane Crash: Independent Investigators Should Take Charge

The bodies of Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones and Assistant Home Affairs Minister Lorna Laboso are wheeled away after they arrived at Nairobi's Wilson airport, Wednesday, June 11, 2008 after being recovered from a crash scene.

Yesterday, transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere released a statement that said initial investigations into Tuesday's tragic plane crash in which Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones and Home Affairs Assistant Minister Lorna Laboso died reveal that the aircraft was flying in POOR VISIBILITY at the time of the accident. The minister was in effect implying that the pilot could not ‘see’ where he was flying to.While I do not want to speculate nor claim to be an aviation expert myself, but any frequent flyer knows that many aircraft take off, fly and land in the darkest of the night when visibility is NIL and yet they do NOT crash.

Through the same statement, the minister also informed the public that investigators on the ground had established that the aircraft LOST HEIGHT and hit trees and a roof of a house before crashing. The minister’s went to say preliminary investigations had also indicated that the German pilot flying the aircraft was fairly new in the country and might not have mastered the terrain.

Aircrafts have sophisticated instrumentation and communication gadgetry on board that provides the pilot with necessary navigational information. What the hell, some aircraft fly on auto-pilot, that is with minimum human input! Again, aircraft are not manufactured to fly in low altitudes unless they have technical faults. It seems to me that the ill fated light Cessna 210 aircraft registration 5Y-BVE operated by Skytraders Limited had SERIOUS TECHNICAL PROBLEMS for it to fly low and hit trees.

Interestingly, it has been widely reported that the ‘inexperienced’ pilot radioed the control tower hardly 30 minutes into the flight to report unspecified technical problems then lost contact. If this is correct, then definitely the minister’s statement is not only premature but also widely off the mark.

Even before ascertaining the cause of the communication breakdown; somebody in Wilson Airport made an early decision to send a search and rescue team. The pilot had reported technical problems but had not sent a mayday distress signal. The million dollar question is; what made them so sure the aircraft had already crashed so as to warrant a search and rescue mission?

Mwakwere’s statement is reminiscent of the unresolved Ouko murder saga. The late foreign affairs minister Dr. Ouko was killed and dumped while set alight on Got Alila in the early 90s and the then Police Commissioner – Philip Kilonzo - had put up a spirited attempt to advance a suicide theory into the gruesome murder. How could a man kill himself then set himself ablaze?

Meanwhile the government is already inviting suspicion on itself. The Nation Newspaper quoted eye-witnesses saying that the aeroplane burst into flames after it hit a building. On the other hand, agriculture minister William Ruto speaking after visiting the site nearly 24 hours after the crash was insisting that the aircraft did not burst into flames as reported. Ruto also ruled out possible engine failure and explained that the Kenya Civil Aviation (KCA) team on the ground had indicated in its preliminary report that the engines of the aircraft were still running, but were ripped off by the time of the crash. Live TV footage at the scene reported ‘bodies were burnt beyond recognition’. So, why is Ruto contradicting eye-witness testimony and making an amateurish attempt to change facts on the ground, even before the victims themselves are buried?

I find it strange that the ODM has been quick to accept that Kenya government agents take charge of investigations and yet it is the same government’s responsibility to carry-out airworthiness tests of all aircraft and issue certification. The same government licences the pilot it is now calling ‘inexperienced’ to fly within Kenyan airspace. The same government allowed its senior officials to be airlifted by the inexperienced pilot. Clearly, these facts outrightly disqualifies the government from being in-charge of investigations. It would have been fair to the deceased families, ODM supporters and worried air travellers all over Kenya if ODM would have insisted on an independent, preferably international, full investigation into all aspects surrounding the Kones and Laboso air crash.

In anycase, the families of the victims retain the right of suing the government for damages should investigations implicate government for negligence that contributed to what we now call an accident. Therefore, it is easy for government investigators to manipulate investigations and cover-up its own shortcomings.

Additionally, the ODM must either confirm or deny that there was no plan for some members of its pentagon to board the plane on the same trip that killed Kones and Laboso. Anyone roaming in Nairobi will have already heard the rumour that the entire pentagon was scheduled to travel soon after attending the Vision 2030 launch to campaign in Kilgoris and Ainamoi in a show of unity. The loud silence coming from ODM in this accident is only but fuelling these rumours. Let the party know that although reading messages of condolence and consoling the bereaved families are considerate actions, ODM remains a mass movement that enjoys massive support and the 'accidental' death of any of its leaders (and they are too frequent now) deserves thorough investigations as well as transparency and open flow of information in public interest.

Yet Another Bus Hijacked on Nairobi Mombasa Road

Passengers on a TSS Express bus destined for Mombasa from Nairobi last night had a harrowing ordeal in the hands of at least 5 heavily armed gangsters who hijacked the bus at the Machakos junction.

The gangsters robbed passengers of cash and mobile phones before abandoning them stark naked in the bushes off the Nairobi Mombasa highway. The annual chilly weather usually experienced in June and July in the area has set in and this writer cringes to imagine being out there in the cold completely naked. Police were reluctant to release details but it is believed that some female passengers in the bus were also raped in the ordeal that lasted about 4 hours.

Interestingly buses destined for Mombasa from Nairobi are the ones that are much more frequently hijacked than those headed to Nairobi from Mombasa. Frequent travelers on the route told this writer that the reason is that people tend to carry a lot more cash going down to Mombasa for both leisure and business which is usually related to releasing goods from the Coastal port. However most tend to come back completely broke and short of cash after spending it all in Mombasa, which is popularly referred to as Mombasa Raha. This piece of information seems to be well known to the highway hijackers.

Read a chilling eyewitness account of another recent hijacking incident on the same highway.

Chris Kirubi Charged Over Uchumi

In a welcome move that is bound to send shockwaves right across the country, well known businessman Chris Kirubi was this morning charged in a Nairobi court with conspiracy to defraud Uchumi supermarkets.

The charge sheet says in part that Kirubi who holds directorship in various companies in the country sold a building belonging to Uchumi supermarkets along Aga Khan Walk and then leased the same building back to the same supermarket. He was charged along with a former managing director of Uchumi and a number of former directors as well.

Mr Kirubi denied the charges and was released on a cash bail.

What Happens To Sane People When They Go To Parliament?

Anybody who digs a little deeper into the personal lives of Kenyan legislators will be shocked at what they will find. Frequent sex with under-age prostitutes along Koinange street is just a tip of the iceberg. Interestingly I have passed on to Chris some rather shocking revelations (all confirmed by several independent sources) about the love lives of the two legislators who perished this week in an air crash and I have already been informed that the startling details have been included in this week's raw notes.

Will Proposal To Tax MPs Be Passed By The Same Legislators?

…and the expensive and shocking love lives of MPs revealed

In the budget proposals tabled by Finance Minister Amos Kimunya yesterday was the populist but timely suggestion that members of parliament and holders of constitutional offices be taxed for the first time in Kenya.

There was some enthusiastic foot-thumping in the august house when Hon Kimunya made the proposal, but one wonders if the same members of parliament are capable of voting through such a radical proposal that would affect them directly. The tradition of the Kenyan parliament thus far has always been to increase its’ own perks and not to decrease them.

Indeed this would be the perfect way of reducing the MPs fat pay cheques which has been an issue of great concern by the Kenyan public quite often eliciting great anger.

But public outcry has never concerned MPs too much and the vast majority of them have done as they wished. Increasing their own salaries as a matter of priority and quickly forgetting the needs of the voters who sent them to the house in the first place.

In fact anybody who digs a little deeper into the personal lives of the legislators will be shocked at what they will find. Frequent sex with under-age prostitutes along Koinange street is just a tip of the iceberg. Interestingly I have passed on to Chris some rather shocking revelations about the love lives of the two legislators who perished this week in an air crash and I have already been informed that the startling details have been included in this week's raw notes.

Is Embakasi Cursed To Always Be Led By Thugs?

By Oscar

Is it the curse of Embakasi that it will always be led by a thug and that when a non-thug is somehow elected they will always be quickly cut down to size?

This was the feeling amongst many Embakasi constituents who voted for Esther Passaris as news came in this morning of Ferdinand Waitutu's stunning victory in yesterday's by-election.

Just last week it looked like the constituency was going to get not only it's prettiest parliamentary representative yet, but one woman who has already clearly demonstrated that she is amongst the crop of new younger generation politicians that Kumekucha is always talking about and which the country needs so badly just now.

In fact when senior officials of Kanu and PNU at the constituency threw their weight behind Esther Passaris days before the polls, it looked like Ms Passaris was already home and dry. In a move that shocked many, the officials announced that they were backing Ms Passaris rather than their own candidate, Ferdinand Waititu who was endorsed by the likes of Kanu chairman Uhuru Kenyatta.

However politics is politics and the final tally a few hours ago showed that Waititu trounced his rival by about 10,000 votes. So what happened?

Analysts are still groping around for answers. However it is useful to remember that the reason why the immediate former MP Melitius Were won in December 2007, was because the all important Kikuyu vote was split between a number of strong candidates including the now deceased David Mwenje and Ferdinand Waititu himself. This is the reason why the ODM high command cleverly went for a candidate who could be identified as Kikuyu in Ms Passaris whose mother is a Kikuyu born and bred in Embakasi constituency. Some sources tell me she was probably not Kikuyu enough and maybe not rough enough to convince the crucial college of extremely traditional Mungiki-sympathizer-voters who rule this vast Nairobi constituency. The clincher must have been the fact that she is not circumcised, something the Mungiki-types take very seriously indeed.

ODM officials will not be happy that they have lost this parliamentary seat that was previously there's in the strategically important Nairobi province. The fact that they have won Wajir North as a replacement will hardly console supporters of the party.

Additional Writing By Chris
Personally I would have been extremely surprised had Embakasi constituents elected Esther Passaris as their new legislator. I love Ms Passaris and I believe that she would have made the perfect member of parliament for this constituency that has so many problems.

However in my heart I wondered if the ODM high command in backing Passaris had considered all the facts on the ground. Top on the list is the strong Mungiki influence in the constituency. Everybody knows that these guys will not vote for women who do NOT dress conservatively, let alone one who is NOT circumcised. So whilst the Passaris candidature created a lot of positive buzz in the press and amongst voters countrywide, winning on the ground in Embakasi was another issue altogether.

If truth be told, I was fairly impressed that Ms Passaris was able to garner over 26,000 votes. Clearly this was a credible effort and the experience will no doubt be pretty useful next time because I am sure that this is not the last that we have heard of this determined Passaris lady.

Introducing Our New Kumekucha Man In Nairobi

…plus what exactly is happening this July 5th?

After my rather hurried departure from our beloved motherland I have felt that it is important that we still have as many contributors as possible who are within the borders of Kenya. If for nothing else then for the simple reason that they should at least be able to get a better "feel" of the situation on the ground. I am more determined than ever that this blog remains right at the top as the most reliable source of accurate information on what is exactly going on in our beloved home country.

It is for this reason that today I introduce a new major contributor, Oscar. I believe that Oscar will together with our beloved and very reliable Phil, be able to keep us very much updated on developments right on the ground. Including breaking news as it happens.

Incidentally Oscar's maiden post is about the just concluded by-elections where he focuses on the controversial Embakasi constituency.

What Is Happening on July 5th?

Readers who have been regulars of Kumekucha for a long time will know that since inception we have always commemorated the assassination of Tom Mboya which happened one lazy Saturday afternoon July 5th 1969. I hold a very firm conviction that that single event did more to alter the course and direction of Kenya for the worse than any other. And what distresses me even more is the fact some of those involved in the murder of this great son of Kenya are still walking around scott free, and within the borders of Kenya. In fact some of them are very wealthy today mainly because their heinous crime went unpunished. But alas, that's Kenya for you.

This July 5th I have a very pleasant surprise for Kumekucha readers. You can call it my gift to you for the great support you have given to this site. Ironically this July 5th will be a Saturday (just like that fateful first Saturday).

Don't miss Kumekucha this July 5th.

By Elections: Preliminary Results Update

These are the preliminary results, top two candidates, of the by-elections conducted in five constituencies on Wednesday 11th June 2008.

KILGORIS
PNU wins
Gideon Konchella: PNU 33,440
Johanna Kipyegon N’geno: ODM 26,088

WAJIR NORTH
ODM wins
Mohammed Hussein Gabow: ODM 5,759
Abdulahhi Ali: KANU 4,729

AINAMOI
ODM Wins
Benjamin Langat: ODM 17,242
Paul Chepkwony: UDM 15,454

EMUHAYA
ODM Wins
Dr. Gilbert Otichillo: ODM 10,947
Sikalo Ochiel KADDU: 8,488

EMBAKASI
PNU Wins
Ferdinand Waititu: PNU 36,536
Esther Muthoni Passaris: ODM 27,339

Updated 11h00 local time

Vision 2030: Reality or Mirage?

President Mwai Kibaki flanked by PM Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, VP Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka and Minister for Planning Hon. Wycliffe Oparanya unveils the Vision 2030 Logo after he officially launched the vision and its First Medium Term plan at KICC, Nairobi.

Government of Kenya launches the most ambitious development plan since independence

The Kenya Vision 2030 has finally been launched after the successful harmonization of the 2007 pre-election manifestos of ODM, PNU and ODM-K, which are the three main political parties forming the grand coalition government. The vision is planned to be implemented via 5 year medium-term rolling plans that will run concurrently with electoral cycle, and the first phase starts from June 2008 to 2012.

According to an upbeat Planning Minister - Wycliffe Oparanya - the government plans to invest a staggering Kshs1.6 trillion (approx. US$25.2 billion) over the next five years so as to transform Kenya into a middle-income earner in the next 22 years. In other words, Kenya wants to play in the same league as the famed Asian ‘tigers’ – all very laudable.

Information released yesterday indicate that Vision 2030 development plan is based on what the government calls three "pillars" namely; economic, social and political pillars. I must admit however, I have not exhaustively read the full version but sneak previews reveal that:

The ECONOMIC PILLAR aims at providing prosperity of all Kenyans by the year 2030. In conservative terms, and this is the target government has given itself, Kenya must achieve a GDP growth rate of 10% per annum for the next 25 years beginning next year! Bearing in mind that the growth rate for the last five years was somewhere between 2% to 6% (and these are Kimunya’s figures), and that even the current rate is expected to reverse back to 4% as effects of the post election skirmishes sink in, is a 10% growth rate really feasible within the next financial year? Unlikely I say, and even if Kenya achieves this, is it sustainable?

The SOCIAL PILLAR seeks to build “a just and cohesive society with social equity in a clean and secure environment” whereas the POLITICAL PILLAR aims at “realising a democratic political system founded on issue-based politics that respects the rule of law, and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual in the Kenyan society” – again all very laudable...... after all this is what ODM has been trying to teach PNU ever since the NARC/LDP days when they were busy hatching anglo-leasing deals!

Even to the most optimistic Kenyan, it is hard to imagine that Kenya as a country will actually raise the prerequisite investment, maintain political stability and achieve national cohesion all of which are required to pave the roadmap to the year 2030. And why not, one may ask?

Well, for a country led by such self serving politicians who are also anti-reform, this plan is already doomed even before it starts. It is obvious even to a casual observer that the GCG is teetering at the edge of breaking down. Just two days ago, senior ODM member and cabinet minister called a press conference in the company of Spokesman Salim Lone and warned the PNU partner to ‘tread carefully’.

Before Ntimama’s warning could be digested, the bitterly contested parliamentary by-elections in five constituencies were already scheduled and are underway as I type these lines. The very strange coincidence here is that ODM lost two of those seats in the most violent manner earlier this year. These murders are still unresolved! The third had to be annulled when ODM was in the lead and a hired mob barricaded the counting hall while the fourth, in one of the strangest coincident and in what should be the world’s first, was called a ‘tie’ when the ECK announced the elections results. Only the fifth was voluntarily given up by ODM. As if this is not enough, two ODM members died yesterday in a yet to be explained aircraft accident. What is so wrong about being an ODM MP? Are they ‘marked’ men and women or these deaths are mere coincidences? My take is that 10% economic growth rate and foreign direct investment running into billions of dollars hardly ever comes when only ODM MPs are dying like flies. What’s your take?

On top of this political minefield, even the minister Oparanya conceded, Kenya has still to overcome humongous challenges such as high unemployment, widespread poverty, gross inequalities in income distribution and development disparities in different regions of the country and gender inequalities. One wonders whether ODM (then LDP) was talking to walls during the initial years of the NARC regime because these are the same issues that have always been highlighted on the national agenda, and are the force behind calls for a peoples’ driven reform process!

It has taken a bungled election, over a thousand five hundred deaths and massive displacements to harmonize these manifestos. Hopefully this time, ODM (Chungwa Moja Maisha Bora) is in partnership with reasonable gentlemen!

Why Is Murder In The Air?

Murder it seems is in the air.

Some people seem to have gotten pretty upset with this blogger for reasons that are still unclear and this comes shortly after threats on his life. Then yesterday something horrible happened that we can not speculate about yet. Two high ranking government ministers were killed in an air crash. (see earlier posts).

Finally there is this murder enquiry nobody seems to be interested in (but mark my words is related to the reason why there seems to be murder in the air in Kenya.)

I hate to say I told you so about this murder, but Kenyans need to wake up pronto.

Investigations by the Kenya Police into the murder puzzle of photojournalist Trent Keegan seem to have hit a blank wall, sources close to the investigators revealed yesterday.

It emerged that investigations into the murder of the Irish national who was born in New Zealand, which are being carried out by Nairobi’s Central Division Criminal Investigations Department, have failed to unearth his killer(s) and the motive behind the killing.

Although detectives have questioned several people in trying to piece together Mr Keegan’s last moments, they appear to have no credible clues that could resolve the murder mystery.

Consequently, detectives have reverted to their original theory that the 33-year-old Keegan could have been knocked down by a hit and ran motorist, the sources said.

The photojournalist’s lifeless body was found dumped in a ditch in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi on the morning of May 27 and it had visible head and hand injuries. A wallet which contained some dollar bills and a driving licence bearing his photo were intact in his pocket. Police identified him using the documents and the photograph.

In keeping with their tradition, the Kenyan police quickly came up with a theory that the world-renowned photojournalist could have been killed by a hit and ran car. They came up with the theory even before they had carried out any investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death.

Many killers in Kenya often get away with the crimes they had committed because the Kenya Police are notorious for jumping into hasty conclusions even before they have carried out investigations into a crime or due to sloppy investigations.

The murder was given a lot of attention by the international media. Surprisingly, the mainstream media like Daily Nation, The Standard, The Kenya Times, People Daily, NTV, KTN, KBC, Citizen TV etc gave it a blackout. The Daily Nation could only afford a news brief after the body was discovered but there were no subsequent follow ups. Only the popular Kumekucha has kept the story alive.

But after it emerged that Mr Keegan was a renowned international journalist, the Kenyan police hurriedly changed their mind regarding the car accident theory and promised to pursue a murder angle.

“We are treating the case as murder,” police spokesman Eric Kiraithe was quoted saying then. “It does not appear to have been a robbery. If it was a robbery, the logical thing is that the robbers would have also taken his money. Let us not speculate.”

Police sources yesterday told Kumekucha that detectives appeared to have relaxed in their investigations when the murder failed to excite local journalists and their media houses and they had no one to pressurise them into action. Kenya Police are known for their laziness and shoddiness in carrying out investigations and the blackout the crime got from the local media was their blessing.

During the funeral service for the photojournalist, Mr Keegan's "little big sister" Nikki McKinnon, said they had received numerous offers of help to find out what happened to her brother and she was confident they would soon know the circumstances surrounding his death.

She said the New Zealand Consulate in Nairobi was liaising with the Nairobi police but as yet they had no new information.

As it is a common phenomenon with other homicides in Kenya, Mr Keegan’s killers might roam the streets for the rest of their lives as they continue committing other string of heinous crimes with impunity.

Even if Mr Keegan was killed by a car, why haven’t the police arrested the motorist and arraigned him in court? There is no doubt that police are either unwilling to pursue the murder theory to its logical conclusion or they are incapable of carrying out professional investigations like a modern police department.

Extra: Safaricom shares

It looks like today is my I-told-you-so day.

Safaricom shares started off at Kshs 8 and have now dropped to Kshs 6.70cts the last time I checked. My prayer is that the rest of my prediction does NOT come true. I will be delighted to be wrong on that one.

Victims of Jinx and Selective Calamity

With the death of Ministers Kipkalya Kones and Lorna Laboso Kenya enters another mourning phase of its legislators. ODM must be smarting from serial human loses after the death of four of its MPs in as many months. The present tragedy wouldn’t have visited at the most politically trying moment given the shaky and untrusting Government of Grand coalition Kenya is grappling with.

Granted, conspiracy theories abound. Add that to today’s five buy-elections and the tension couldn’t have been more palpable. The first question that comes to mind is why would two ministers fly in the same chopper given the past Marsabit experience that coincidentally happened 26 months ago to the day? Even in commercial flights they warn of unlikely events. And just how safe and airworthy are these choppers outside the military ones that our politicians ride in while running political errands? Well, these are politically charged times and the present tragedy only succeeds in opening more questions than answers.

Painful circumstances are conspiring to prescribe constant electioneering mood for ODM. Their majority status in parliament is under constant threat. Add to that the clamour for grand opposition and you get is a party with her threads all stretched out at the seams. But again being the scavengers they are, the noisy politicians (specifically from South Rift) will be circling the empty seats even before the two late ministers are lowered six feet under.

Universal equalizer

So are we jinxed or are the two Ministers simply unfortunate victims of elite death? Well, you don’t have to be superstitious to understand Kenyans’ general discomfort with anything left to the fate of official investigation. The stones are never touched leave alone lifted. Commercial aircrafts are exclusively owned by typical SURVVY Kenyan entrepreneurs whose forte is CUTTING CORNERS. So there you have it DECEPTION and all its variants is never too far away in our hell-for-leather philosophy to wealth creation.

Death remains the universal equalizer and may the two late Ministers earn what they deserve in the life thereafter. They may not have been saints but fought the life war by serving their people the best way they knew how. We are no better either. We are left at the mercy of political vultures continuously scheming to feather their nests. Fare thee well Lorna and Kones.

PS: True to the adage that calamities come in doubles, more than 100 people are feared dead Tuesday at Khartoum Airport when a plane burst into flames after skidding off the runway when landing from Amman Jordan in a stormy weather. And this is hardly a month after Sudan lost 24 people including a minister in a plane crash last May. Obtuse coincidence/s or are we dicing with death?

Breaking News: Two ODM Ministers Die in Air Crash

Unconfirmed news just in indicate that Minister for Roads Kipkalya Kones and Assistant Minister in Office of the Vice President Lorna Laboso both of the Orange Democratic Movement are reportedly feared dead in an air crash together with pilot in the Narok area.

More information to be published as police releases more details.

Update 17h45 Kenya Time:

Kenya TV news channels flashing breaking news.

Kones and Laboso, together with their pilot are feared dead. Light aircraft went down in Enoosupukia 100km from Narok Town. The duo were in the area to campaign for ODM candidates in tomorrow's by-elections in Kilgoris and Ainamoi.

Update 18h00 Kenya Time

Kipkalya Kones and Lorna Laboso have NOW BEEN CONFIRMED DEAD.

Kenya Police also confirm that plane went down at 14h00 local time.

It is still unknown how many passengers were on the aircraft.

Salim Lone confirms that the plane left Wilson Airport for Kericho campaigns.

The incident is has thrown ODM into a spin and Lone has described it as a devastating blow to the party and too bad to be true.

Update: 18h14

Police are at the scene of the air crash. There are no survivors. There has been bad weather in the lower Rift Valley area and the aircraft is reported to have crashed on a hillside.

ODM Captain, Prime Minister Raila Odinga is reportedly at a unknown location and said 'to be badly shaken' and cannot be raised on his cellphone.

Update: 18h25

Narok Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) Patrick Wambani confirms from the scene of the crash that there were three passengers of African descent plus one white Caucasian. The fourth African passenger is being assumed to be Kones' bodyguard.

Country in shock as police confirm deaths. Police suspect bad weather or mechanical fault as cause of plane crash. Raila and his wife Ida are said to be badly shaken by the news.

There has not been official government statement as at the time of going to press.


Update by Chris

What Is Going On?

The first question Kenyans must ask themselves is why two cabinet ministers were riding in the same plane. Basic common sense tells you that you never do that.

Somebody needs to answer that question before we discuss anything else about the death of the two ministers earlier today.

Still what has happened has happened and cannot be reversed. The right approach now is to remain calm as we await answers.

My hope is that the ministers did not die in vain and that Kenyans will now wake up to the full implications of the Kibaki succession and what it entails, knowing our politicians and those who make money from politics.

Update: 20h05 Kenya Time

Raila has read condolences on behalf of the ODM. Raila was flanked by the ODM top brass including, Ruto, Ntimama, Mudavadi and others.

ODM is urging it supporters to remain calm.

The party is also saying the by-elections scheduled for tomorrow should not be postponed and that wananchi should come out it large numbers to vote for ODM candidates.

Update: 20h30 Kenya Time

ODM top brass, reeling from the shocking tragedy, are reported to be locked in closed-door meeting. A statement is expected later tonight or early tomorrow morning. Some party officials have been dispatched to go and console the families of the deceased ministers.

The ODM statement is expected to shed more light about the ministers' ill fated trip and also about the condition of the aircraft which this blogger has been informed has been previously chartered for campaign purposes by ODM officials, actually as recently as this past weekend.

Update: 21h00

Bodies of the deceased are still lying at the crash site nearly eight hours after the crash. A parliamentary committee led by Hon. William Ruto has been set up by government and are expected to accompany a high powered government security team that is expected to travel to Narok early tomorrow morning to commence investigations and retrieve the bodies of the ministers.

Can Kenyan Voters Do The Shocking Thing American Voters Did?

...Or did they already do it in December 2007?

Guest post by Barry O.

It is very interesting that in the United States political analysts and pollsters have not noted based on exit polls and other surveys that the majority of Democratic Presidential Candidate Barrack Obama supporters are considered wealthy educated Americans. Hilary Clinton who recently conceded defeat to Senator Obama, drew her support from America’s working class and rural voters.

Why is this worth noting?

Well to begin with Hilary Clinton is a educated and very wealthy American, who was able to loan her campaign some $11 million to keep it afloat. Barrack Obama on the other hand is by all means very educated having attended Ivy League schools such as Columbia and Harvard, he is however not wealthy.

In the United States as in most countries in the world higher education, particularly post-secondary education requires financial resources. In Kenya access to higher education is even more cumbersome and relative wealth is often needed to secure the fees necessary for a student to be able to afford higher learning. As they both share nearly the same views on most issues, from a Kenyan perspective one would argue that Hilary Clinton would be the more favourable candidate (her being a female notwithstanding) compared to Barrack Obama. The reason for this is because she is white first and foremost (from a Kenyan lense think tribalism), she is older, she is wealthy, she is very educated and she has a famous name.

Obama on the other hand only has his education in comparison, as he is Black (from a Kenyan lense think un-electable) he is rich, but not wealthy and he does not have a popular name. So how then does a man who lacks many of the characteristics Kenyan voters look for in their preferred presidential candidates win the nomination in the Democratic Party?

He takes a bold stand against a popular cause that he, like the majority of Americans feel is not right and takes up the cause for change. Americans have shown they can look past irrelevant issues and focus on what counts and matters. If the same thinking is applied to Kenyans how can you not vote for Prime Minister Odinga ( majority of Kenyans did vote for him in 2007 any way) when, this marriage of convenience/coalition government ends?

Who introduced the bill to make Kenya a one party state? Who argued for maintaining this policy when Moi indicated he was going to repeal section 2a of the constitution? What in heavens name has Uhuru done since he was plucked from obscurity by Moi to make him a serious candidate for President or even an MP? Kindly let me know because I know Raila fought for democracy, I know Raila exposed the Artur brothers, I know Raila led the campaign against the Wako Draft amongst others, I know Raila has been fighting for the de-centralization of government, I know Raila led the second liberation which was essential for Kibaki to become president in 2002. I know Raila is the only mainstream politician in Kenya who represents a cosmopolitan constituency.