Grand Economic Vultures, Deception Galore

Just how much must a country stomach before her back breaks from the weight of DECEPTION? The politician may be grudgingly excused for expediency purposes but then how can you excuse one high court judge, the dragon slayer, KACC director Justice Aaron Ringera lying on oath through all spaces in his dental formula? NO, NO, NO. This is UNACCEPTABLE to have the troika of Ringera, Ndungu and Kimunya fleece Kenyan in broad day light.

Even some decorum and pretence of smartness is needed in times of grand deception. No singular word can aptly describe what this action by Kibaki through his Finance Minister Kimunya portents for Kenya. Haki you mean you can serially RAPE you own country even when already on her knees? May be Kiraitu knew something we didn’t know with his analogy of raping the willing. This sickens the stomach andleaves its contents threatening to EXPLODE. I just hope nobody pretends to defend this despicable and unforgivable act with grave and long lasting economic consequences.

You don’t engage in juvenile game of figures with a nation’s resource. Mathematics to any base never equates 2.9m to 2m even when you round off to the nearest million. So here we are LAZY mortal left to discuss the political amnesty smokescreen while brother Pattni bartered the Grand Regency for economic and judicial amnesty in the corruption courts. And AG Amos Wako provided the official government seal of approval with his trademark smile. The charge of abdication of duty and conspiracy to DEFRAUD disabuses him of the excuse to claim ignorance. May be after over 17 years of being a political AG makes him complacent and consequently sleeping on the corrupt wheel.

Economic aphrodisiacs
We attribute our failure as a nation lack of institutions but even the few that exist are run roughshod with IMPUTY. Now we understand why last years polls couldn’t have gone otherwise. The stakes were too high and the deals too SWEAT. Toss all the watchdog through the next available window. Poor Okemo! Him together with his PAC can continue retracing their circular paths inside the kraal while the horse bolted long time ago.

It appears Anglo Leasing and the Goldenberg scams were not BIG enough to sink Kenya. And the Grand Regency rip off is just the tip of a massive iceberg. Maybe the contemptuous kindergarten rider that FISHY deal would deepen relationship between Kenya and Libya is all the deceptive therapy we needed as a nation to offer our back for eternal pounding. Throw in the equally FISHY SafariCON IPO and we have the potent aphrodisiacs concoction to keep us economically and emotionally hallucinating for the next many years.

You are judged by the company you keep. First came Daudi Mwiraria whose career and reputation were smoked by the ghosts of Anglo Leasing and now Kimunya is gleefully edging for the trophy of integrating Anglo Leasing and Goldenberg both put together. And cap it all by tracing some of the most corrupt deals minted in NOSTALGIC 1970s under the reign and watch of one and only one DURY ERECTED. Folks, we are in a deep hole and the sooner we stopped digging the better otherwise Mugabe would look a saint for at least he brutalizes and rapes his people overboard.

Presidents, Passaris and Mama Supu

See also: Esther Passaris second wife "clande" saga

Jeff Koinange has a great show on K24 where he interviews political personalities while mostly seated on some park bench so that he has to fold one of his knees sometimes as he faces them. This creates a very intimate atmosphere and usually his guarded guests end up opening up considerably. He started the show at the Norfolk Hotel but I have just viewed a tape that indicates in the credits at the end that he has now moved to the Fairview Hotel.

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Interested in intimate details on Esther Passaris including the controversial list of BIG men she has dated? It is way too sensitive to dare publish here. It can only and be sent direct to your inbox.  

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Jeff is of course an excellent journalist, one of my favorites and recently he did not disappoint because he had a rather “hot” guest on his show.

Esther Muthoni Rosana Passaris talked at length about her election petition against Ferdinand Waititu after the recent Embakassi by-election. Passaris alleges that the election was rigged in favor of her opponent. She further said that she was NOT moving to any other constituency and that she had pitched camp at Embakassi so to speak. The only other political office that she would be interested in, she said was that of a mayor directly elected by the people (apparently both the president and the Prime Minister are eager to change the law ASAP to make that possible.) Passaris called herself a “city girl” to emphasize the fact that she was interested in only this single city constituency or the city Mayor’s seat.

Dwelling at length about Kenyans having to elect “quality leaders”, she openly named most of the people who have been going out of their way to frustrate her every move. That was a little shocking because she even said that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta had spent a lot of his own money at Embakassi to ensure that Mama Supu (as her supporters in Embakassi now call her) did not win. She even went as far as jabbing Uhuru under the belt so to speak by making a quip about “Uhuru Kenyatta and land.” She was of course referring to the rather thorny issue of the land that the Kenyattas own which is bigger than the size of some provinces in the country. Naturally this land was acquired under obviously questionable circumstances.

I am in total agreement with Passaris views on quality leadership if we are to achieve the change we all desire so much. However they say charity begins at home and Passaris did not bother to prove that she herself is one of the “quality leaders” she was referring to. Regular readers here know that I have a detailed dossier that talks about Ms Passaris' past and her real motivation for going into politics. Sadly Mama Supu’s reason for getting into city politics is too similar to the same age old reason why the current dinosaurs got into politics in the first place. That is a much bigger problem than the question of her character (although the two are related) which most readers here seem to believe is a non-issue. Incidentally “Supu” is the Eastlands slang for a “beautiful girl,” a clue as to why Passaris seems to love this nickname so much. Admittedly for a woman in her 40s she is still strikingly beautiful.

Quite clearly had retired President Moi and his associates had this information about some of the electorate’s controversial views on a politician’s personal life, there is a possibility that Dr Robert Ouko would still be alive today. Still unknown to most Kenyans is the fact that the slain foreign affairs minister (the best that Kenya ever had according to most people) did not die because he was working on some corruption dossier. Rather he died because of this information he had about the then president and some women. It was felt at the time that under no circumstances should the information which Dr Ouko happened to have get out to the public. By extension the long list of witnesses who were privy to some details on the Ouko murder who also promptly lost their lives, died because of this rather explosive piece of information.

P.S. There is just too much anger in the country at the moment and both sides of the political divide are much more interested in outsmarting the other side rather than in the cooling down of emotions and genuine reconciliation. For a long time now the raw anger and personal insults flying back and forth between the two sides that have been witnessed in the comments area of this blog have been a matter of great concern to me. Mainly because I am aware of the fact that they reflect the general mood and feelings in the country (despite the many NSIS planted comments mainly designed to divert attention and deal a blow to the credibility of this blog). But to make matters even more worrying, during the last two days that the Kriegler commission has held public sessions at the KICC, members of the public have almost come to blows over their differing views on what caused the chaos in the disputed presidential elections last December. At one point the rather elderly South African judge had to stand up and reminded the participants; “We are not animals.” Yesterday the poor old judge walked out at least twice, once as a scuffle ensued on the floor.

It is clear that national healing and reconciliation is not a priority of the current crowded grand coalition government. This is a deadly ticking time bomb that will go off in our faces sooner rather than later. Months ago I said in this blog that the IDP resettlement programme was going to badly flop and even result in loss of life. Some commentators retorted by calling my sentiments “rubbish” and asking me if I preferred that the IDPs remain in the camps in the inhumane conditions. I also pointed out the fact that the re-settlement was being forced on the IDPs. Readers of this blog who have been reading the news recently will have realized that they had the information that is coming out now months ago. Yet another good reason to keep it Kumekucha.

In the same way Kenyans need to push their elected leaders to address this serious national problem of emotions and the raw hatred that many Kenyans now have for each other over the disputed presidential elections ASAP before it is too late.

Of Kass FM and Moi’s Revenge Mission

The threat to suspend Kass FM’s broadcasting licence must be seen as wider failure of our institutions. The strongly worded letter to the radio station is another classic case of selective application of the law. Those Kenyans who are gifted to speak and understand numerous local dialects will readily attest that Kass’s case is blown out of proportion to serve political and selfish interests.

It was no surprise that the threat to Kass came in the heat of Moi’s warning to ban vernacular stations claiming they preach hatred. Well, the truth is that Toro is crying foul for being outwitted in his own game. His stands on his plastic moral pedestal oblivious of his own neck deep partnership to fertilize the same malice he is condemning. By using proxies Moi is simply seeking political revenge on the Kalenjins whom he thought were at his beck and call. The old man is is livid with anger at the trashing of his reputation and subsequent thrashing of his sons at the last polls. How I wish he knew we live in a different age and era where elites can reach villagers in the first tongue. Uncle Dan’s antics through his connections in the present regime simply amount to a passionate poisoned Kiss to Kalenjins.

Besides exposing failed institutions the reprimand to Kass is a shameless case of double standards. There is no worse tribal incitement that what is packaged as parables aimed at denigrating others as lesser human beings. Fear of the elite brainwashing the villagers using their mother tongue doesn’t wash. Which is more threatening and demeaning between Kass letting callers contribute to amnesty debate and Ngugi campaigning in his mother tongue to warn his tribesmen never to allow WOLVE to take charge of the flock?

Coloured deception
The government is only acting smart in glossing the fear of unity amongst the Kalenjins. How paradoxical it is that Kass is being accused for mobilizing the Kipsigis to vote for their own in Kilgoris while the government unwittingly falls for the tribal bait in reminding the Masaais to reject domination by outsiders? Replicate the government’s cheap politics in the wider Rift Valley and see the hypocrisy and futility of the so-called reconciliation and healing.

The government’s fear is premised in the fact that radio is a vital tool of communicating to the villagers. Radio does not only entertain the rural folks, it educates and mobilizes them into a common course. The political and ruling elite is simply running scared of the fear of reverse domination. Fear mongering has no place in the present political dispensation. Moi tried demonizing the opposition by running Rwanda genocide strips and it didn’t fly. Similarly demonizing the vernacular FM stations by drawing the misplaced 1994 Rwanda analogy must be told to the birds so that they fly high in the sky. We must disabuse our rulers of deception in its shades.

Government Threatens to Revoke Broadcast Rights for Popular Kass FM Radio

Station accused of inciting the Kalenjin against the Maasai following Kilgoris by-elections

Popular and controversial Kalenjin FM station – KASS – might be off air beginning today if the CCK decides to go ahead and close it down for broadcasting what government called inciting and inflammatory material.

In a letter circulated to media houses, reproduced below and signed by Information PS Bitame Ndemo, the government has asked the station’s management to ‘show cause’ why its broadcast licence should not be withdrawn for endangering peace and tranquility.

---++++---+++----

PS Bitange Ndemo's letter to KASS FM Management
BY BITANGE NDEMO,
PS INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
Ministry of Information and Communications
Office of the Permanent Secretary

24th June 2008

Ref No. MIC/A.11/03 (93)

Mr C.K Joshua
Executive Chairman,
Kalee Ltd
P.O Box 2536-0063
NAIROBI

Dear Joshua

RE: NOTICE TO SHOW CAUSE WHY YOUR BROADCAST LICENCE SHOULD NOT BE SUSPENDED FOR AIRNG INCITING AND INFLAMMATORY LIVE BROADCAST THROUGH KASS FM

It has come to the attention of the government that KASS FM has been involved in broadcasting material that is prejudicial to national security, national healing and the national peace, healing and reconciliation.

It is noted that on several broadcast aired by your station during the past few months ,and even including today, you failed, ignored or neglected to observe that the programmes do note incite the audiences, cause breach f peace ,defame or otherwise upset individuals groups, other corporate bodies and, or the state.

We also refer to numerous complaints filed by the government to the media council of Kenya concerning your broadcasting style and lack of standards, which you have ignored .in particular, on Saturday May 31, 2008, you contrary to the stipulations of your license of you licence, and in blatant breach of ethical practice, aired the following broadcast under the topic "lawlessness in Kenya," with a studio panellist, one Sammy Kemei saying:

"Ngamwa agobo bikchok chekipa barabara en ng'alekab bolatet.Bichotok ko mi jela rani.Icheget go maab kobay bik.Ichek go kigaba komach haki nenywa.kiip kobolya kityo eng ng'alegab bolatet.Go bichotk go kimagat kimut kotini haraka go kaginam.Lakini agot kimamagat kanam chito amun kenam chito go kitamoche kenai kabisa gel kiyai makosa ne u ni ag ni ak ni…ng'olyot amnesty inegei go ne gilen onyochi gaat chito,lkaini an anee abwotii ole kinyochi gaat chit ne kiyai makosa..Ang bikchok ii,kesomchini nyoetabgaat amu kiyai makosa nee.Ma magat kenyhochikat bichotok,magat kityakta amu kigirat en buch….moche kigoch pressure policesi karon mutai komarat chi buch."

The gist of the above broadcast is that the Kalenjin do not need amnesty as they committed no crime. The or caused to be broadcast material that was inciting caller said that those who killed were only fighting for their democratic right and those who stole the elections are also murderers.


Further on Monday June 16, 2008, you broadcast or cased to broadcast material that was inciting. Your panelist spoke at the beginning of the programme about the agitation for the release of the youth arrested following the post election violence. He said people must ascertain the presence of the youth in police custody instead of assuming that any missing person was arrested and is in custody. He said many families were sitting back in belief that all the missing persons in their families were arrested by police and were in custody, without verifying the true position of the situation. He said the missing persons 'could have long been killed'

In a separate broadcast, this time on the subject of the by-elections in Ainamoi and Kilgoris, a caller had the following to say, without moderation from the studio:

"…the by-election was so full of irregularities that many people were forced to vote for Konchella forcefully. I urge the community to gear up for a serious s confrontation with the Maasais…. I appeal to the Kalenjin people to get prepared for something serious….even if it means our children and women are moved out of Trans Mara.

Another studio presenter, Kipchumba arap Sergon, expressed unhappiness saying police spokesman Eric Kiraithe has said the 14 days provided for in the constitution are not to carry out investigations. He said Attorney General Amos Wako "is not doing his job well". He added: "we have heard and seen many scandals taking place in Kenya and the AG is not dealing with them sufficiently .that is why we feel there is unfair application of law in Kenya"

The consequences of this irresponsible and inflammatory broadcast are likely to inflame passions and cause tensions, including fear and despondency, among large groups of listeners ,especially among communities in the rift valley province .this coming hot on the heels of the tragic post election violence ,does not augur well or the peace building process and only helps to accentuate animosities ,again among large groups of people.

Your station's lackadaisical attitude in the face of the most dire warnings an cautionary notes from the government and objections from many concerned listeners of all walks of life in the rift valley and further afield,amounts to a presumption of impunity. This will no longer be tolerated by the government.

You will recall, on several occasions, we have held meetings with government officials where these issues were brought o your attention. Regrettably, despite your oral commitment to upholding journalistic ethics and promotion of peace and harmony, your station has continued to broadcast undesirable material.

Your attention is drawn to Clause 11, Section C of the second schedule of the Media Act, 2007 n the code of ethics and Conduct of Journalism, which sates: "News, reports or commentaries should not be written or broadcast in a manner likely to inflame the passions, aggravate the tensions or accentuate to the strained relations between the communities concerned.Equally, so articles or broadcasts with the potential to exacerbate communal trouble should be avoided".

We also refer to our letter which granted you a license to operate a radio station and remind you that the government reserves the right prescribe such conditions as are deemed necessary for the safeguarding of peace and national security.

While the government upholds freedom of expression, including an unfettered media sector and Kenya has long played host to the largest corps of foreign correspondents on this continent outside post-independence South Africa, including world-class broadcasters, it is expected that every broadcaster shall balance this freedom wit responsibility. By dint of your license the government expects you to observe the highest professional standards and avoid broadcasts that are likely to inflame tensions and, or encourage acts of violence or militate against good taste and civilized behaviour. We are very concerned indeed with the trend your station has taken.

In view of the forgoing therefore, you are required to show cause, within seventy two hours of the date hereof, why you broadcast license should not be withdrawn for endangering peace and tranquility. In the event hat no written response is received within the stipulated period, the government will proceed to institute appropriate action without further reference to you whatsoever.

In the meantime, you should desist forthwith from broadcasting inflammatory material.

Yours sincerely

Signed

Bitange Ndemo, PhD, CBS
PERMANENT SECRETARY

CC

Mrs. Peris Nkonge
Ag Director General
Commission Communications of Kenya

Mr.Wachira Waruru
Chairman
Media Council of Kenya
Nairobi

---++++---+++----

The Media Council of Kenya has already reacted furiously to the threat to close down the station because, as an umbrella media regulatory body, it says it has the capacity to act as an arbiter between government and media houses. The council’s chairman Waruru Kanja also added that the last thing they ever want to see happening is to have broadcasting licences withdrawn and that the council was not happy the government wrote directly to Kass rather than the media council.

In a rejoinder letter to the PS late last evening, the management of KASS FM has denied the charges level against it by government. Meanwhile, the media council is investigating the allegations.

In 1995, the broadcast licence of Kass FM was suspended by the CCK for seven days over allegations of incitement to violence during the heated referendum campaigns for a new constitution. The station was only then allowed back on air after it gave the CCK copies of the next three months programming.

Kass FM is very popular among younger listeners in the larger Rift Valley area.

Update 13h00 Kenya time

The deadline to close down KASS FM expired one hour ago but KASS FM is still ON-AIR.

The Media Owners Association (MOA) spokesperson Hannington Gaya has come to the defense of KASS whom he revealed are crying of being victimised because of a former partner/employee who has strong links in government. The station has denied any wrong doing and complain about constant government harassment saying that other vernacular FM stations are broadcasting worse content yet they have not been warned by authorities.

The MOA have said they want to listen to the alleged programming before passing any judgement.

To all Kalenjin speakers in Kenya, you can tune to KASS on the following FM frequencies:

Nairobi: 89.0
Eldoret: 90.0
Kericho/Bomet/Kisii 91.0
Kisumu: 91.0
Nakuru: 92.5
Kakamega: 102.6

International listeners can catch Kass FM online on the website at the link provided at the top of this post.

Meanwhile, the issue has now taken a political angle when some members of parliament (mainly from ODM) called at press conference at bunge this morning and criticized the government move terming it an affront to press freedom.

Ababu Namwamba, who spoke on behalf of the MPs, criticised Bitame Ndemo's threat to pull KASS FM from the airwaves saying that what Kass was being accused of has been in the public domain for the last six months and has actually been repeatedly uttered by politicians and members of the public, including being published in newspapers and other media outlets and yet the government had not arrested anyone.

Ababu added that YES indeed the elections were stolen and it does not amount to inciting the public by 'merely expressing an opinion' on issues of public interest.

More later.

Want to be Rich? Grow Grey Hair and Belong

Our national priorities often negate the very tenets of what we stand and aspire to become. Here we are as a nation crafting glossy vision 2030 which in light of what we practice is unwittingly designed to be an illusion at best and mirage at worst. Kenya is not drifting in the doldrums because of want or lack of policies. Far from it since almost every government office has its shelf suffocating from dusty white papers. The problem is these blueprints were all designed with the singular objective of not being implemented. Instead they were authored to create impressions of motion bereft of any real movement.

We live in a dynamic world that demands progressive leadership from in front and by example. Sadly for Kenya our fate rests with dinosaurs who are so allergic to new ideas they will readily and summarily dismiss any attempt to infuse creativity as insubordination. Our penchant to fall for TOKENISM for progress is infectious. When confronted by challenges we often seek quick fixes to wriggle ourselves out. In the meantime we leave the problem unresolved and on a worse scenario festering underneath to reappear with full furry at a later date.

Old is wood

The adage that old is gold is frequently used to intimidate or even cover up incompetence. What is passed as experience may as well be a catalogue of past failures that clouds your vision for a better and efficient route to success. At independence we correctly identified poverty, ignorance and disease as our primary enemies. But almost half century later we are still shamelessly shifting goal posts with coloured targets which are nothing but functions of the original malices.

Only in Kenya do you find greying technocrats who owe their positions exclusively to their native tongue. Just imagine only four permanent secretaries of strategic ministries share close to 250 years between them. And they are in good company starting with the civil service boss who has clocked more than 20,000 days on this planet and still counting while directing technical levers of the government. Smart Muthaura even knows how to draw an MP’s salary and more without the headache of campaigning. All he needs is a circular and hurrah a PS’s remuneration hits seven digits per month.

Road to nirvana

In the meantime, the most important cogs in the wheel of national wholesome development are relegated to the back banner. Getting rusty never killed or so it seems. Only when we start from the basics by squarely addressing the pillars of EDUCATION and HEALTH CARE will we mark a departure from our hitherto circular dance with tokenism. We must make no mistake is substituting quantity for quality. Making our dinosaur PSs millionaires every month is the epitome of inverted priority. Instead we could chose to permanently pave the road to nirvana by competitively remunerating our teachers, nurses and doctors.

Kenya Stands With Zimbabwean People

Prime Minister Raila Odinga (right) confers with Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula during an open forum to discuss the Zimbabwe crisis in Nairobi. Photo by HEZRON NJOROGE.

Resolutions & Communique' From The Public Forum Held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi On June 25, 2008 On the Tragic Developments in Zimbabwe

We the representatives of the Government, political parties, civil society and the public of Kenya;

Having gathered at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 to deliberate on the escalating political, economic, social and security crisis in Zimbabwe;

Having affirmed our unity and solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe;

Cognizant of the consensus of African and World Opinion expressing serious concerns on the tragic and deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe;

Desirous of entrenching democracy, peace, sustainable development and national healing in Zimbabwe do make the following resolutions:

RESOLUTIONS:

1.
The government and people of Kenya stand in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe as they struggle for democracy, peace and development.

2.
The people and government of Kenya demand the postponement of elections in Zimbabwe until conditions are created that will enable free and fair elections - in the event that the run off proceeds under the current conditions, the Kenya government and its people shall not recognize a leadership under a flawed process;

3.
We condemn the blatant violations of human rights and demand that Robert Gabriel Mugabe and ZANU-PF take immediate steps to end the campaign of state terror and violence against peaceful, democracy seeking people of Zimbabwe;

4.
We call for the immediate release of Tendai Biti MP and Secretary General of the MDC and the party's chief mediator; all MDC leaders, lawyers arrested because of their defense of political, constitutional and human rights freedoms and all other Zimbabweans currently languishing in prison on trumped up charges;

5.
We condemn the gagging of the media, the harassment and repression of journalists in Zimbabwe and demand that the illegitimate Mugabe regime immediately restore the freedom of the press, freedom of expression and other fundamental rights;

6.
We support the efforts of the African Union to broker peace and foster democratic development in Zimbabwe but call for change of approach. Specifically we call upon the AU and its member states:

a) Not to recognize Robert Gabriel Mugabe's illegitimate presidency;

b) Declare the purported run off scheduled for June 27, 2008 as illegal, illegitimate and inconsequential;

c) Note that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is discredited and should be reconstituted for a fresh election;

d) Take decisive action to intervene in the Zimbabwe crisis up to and including the "Anjuan Option";

e) Send in a peace-keeping force to stop the spate of violence, atrocities, especially crimes against humanity;

f) Replace President Mbeki from spearheading the negotiations because of his overt bias towards Mugabe and dismal failure to oversee a credible mediation process.

7.
The AU must take immediate steps to adequately address the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe among them;

a) Put together a major regional fact-finding mission on gross human rights violations; with special attention to questions of sexual violence and abrogation of the rights of women and children;

b) Call upon the Peace & Security Council of the AU to hold an urgent and special session on Zimbabwe;

c) Demand for the postponement of t he run off election of the 27th June, 2008.

8.
The people and government of Kenya are fully behind the recent UN Security Council unprecedented and unanimous decision to censure the Mugabe regime's anti-democratic determination to hold fraudulent elections in a climate of fear and intimidation as he holds the people of Zimbabwe at ransom;

9.
We call upon and encourage the victors and the losers in the March 29 elections in Zimbabwe to embrace dialogue in order to work out a framework for a sustainable democratic transition on the basis of electoral results, truth and justice;

10.
We pledge to use all democratic methods to protest the human rights violations and repressive policies of the discredited Mugabe-ZANU PF regime And we will take all steps within the law to promote the human rights, political freedoms and peace in Zimbabwe;

11.
We reaffirm our solidarity and support for Zimbabwean IDPs inside the country and Zimbabwean refugees and exiles outside the country. In this connection we call upon the AU member states to make special provisions for any Zimbabwean asylum seekers and refugee claimants seeking protection anywhere within the continent.

12.
We call upon the international community to impose targeted sanctions on Mugabe, and his coterie both in government and ZANU PF and their immediate families by:

1.
Revoking and or denying visas of any kind;
2.
Freeze their assets anywhere in the world;
3.
Hold Mugabe culpable for the violent use and abuse of Zimbabwean youth in perpetrating violence, crimes against humanity, repression and economic sabotage in the country;
4.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) should institute investigations against Mugabe for crimes against humanity.

13.
We condemn all the world leaders and states that are coddling and condoning the pariah Mugabe regime while African citizens in that country are dying and languishing in Mugabe's dungeons;

14.
We call upon all democracy seeking human rights defenders around the world to pitch camp outside the diplomatic missions of Zimbabwe around the world on Friday June 27th, 2008 in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe;

Signed for the Government of Kenya;
Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya
Hon. Moses Wetangula, MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs

Signed for Centre for Multi-Party Democracy-Kenya
Prof. Larry Gumbe, Chairperson
Njeri Kabeberi, Executive Director

Signed for the National Civil Society Congress
Ann Njogu
Kepta Ombati

Signed for Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice
Harun Ndubi
Mugambi Kiai

Signed for Bunge la Mwananchi
George Nyongesa
Kelly Musyoka

Is It Okay For A Drug Baron To Be In Government?

See the more recent: Visa Ban And Drug Barons in Government

Even as thousands of Kenyans flee the country mainly as economic refugees, many others know this republic as a land of unlimited opportunity and potential. Several continue to grow fabulously rich literally overnight.

Sadly this does not happened from doing legitimate business. And as the leaked Kroll report confirmed, the business of illegal drugs is very closely linked and intertwined to the politics of the land. The Kroll report names one of retired President Moi's sons as a major drug dealer during his dad's long reign in power. Actually the contents of that report came as no surprise to those who know Kenya well.

Take the town of Malindi as an example. What kind of business do all those fabulously wealthy Italians do there exactly? What is it with the numerous planes that land and take off on the exotic Kenyan holiday town every day? What are they carrying? Does anybody bother to search them? Who cares that the aroma of narcotics will hit you in many parts of the town at any time of the day or night? Is the government aware of all this? Of course it is. Please don’t ask the naïve question of why they are not doing anything about it. This is Kenya.

Indeed one has to be extremely careful when asking such questions and even writing about them in the public domain as Kumekucha’s own Chris found out recently. Even an anonymous blogger writing too deeply about the drug business in Kenya and naming names cannot quite stay hidden within the borders of our republic. In fact one of the quarters Chris suspected that threats on his life were coming from was from drug kingpins he has written about in the past.

But the question I would like to pose in this post is this; Is it okay for drug barons to be in government and to even sponsor major political parties in Kenya (name with-held here because I plan on staying in Kenya)?

We have seen in this forum that most Kenyans do not think that the private life and behaviour of a public figure has any bearing on their possible performance in office. Indeed if the comments posted in this blog in recent times are to be believed then Kenyans would care less if they are led by a high class prostitute or international drug dealer as long as the person is charismatic and well-liked and must absolutely have plenty of cash. Ethics and a good name count for nothing in these shores. Perhaps that is why total man Nicholas Biwott once said that the only thing he fears is poverty. Implying at the time he made the remarks that a good or bad name was of no consequence as long as you had the money. Time has proved those remarks to be fairly accurate. Although he is out of parliament Mr Biwott continues to run the businesses he did not have when he took public office and allegations against him (some of which adequate evidence exists to prosecute according to people who should know like retired Scotland yard sleuth, John Troon) are not being pursued by anybody. In sharp contrast people with a good name like former ethics PS John Githongo remain in exile. So it is true. Whatever you do in Kenya, just don’t be poor.

More evidence that Kenyans care less about the character of those who lead them can be found in the composition of the 10^th parliament. Although the electorate did the commendable thing of throwing out one well known drug dealer, Kenyans elected numerous other crooks to replace him.

Yesterday I felt like throwing up (as Chris would put it), as I watched legislator Stanley Githunguri tell a local TV presenter (on Citizen or K24, can’t quite remember which TV station) that we must now fight corruption in the country as a matter of urgency. He added that a fortune can be saved by dealing with corruption. How did Mr Githunguri make his money? When most readers of this blog were either unborn or too young to know what was going on, this man embezzled a fortune in public funds from the National bank of Kenya. He stayed out of the courts and jail because of corruption. Indeed corruption got him where he is today.

So now the same chap wants to fight corruption? Give me a break!!

The most frightening thing in all this is the fact that politics in Kenya is controlled by money, meaning that nobody really cares where that money has come from. Drug money, blood money, money from human trafficking? Who cares?

Lete pesa.

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PNU’s Tower of Babel Fate with Reality

Political events in the recent past and new future may expose the vulnerability of many top shots. Ford-K has just REDISCOVERED itself and promptly ditched PNU following hot in the heels of Narc Kenya and remnants of Kanu. So what will be fate and face of PNU as a party?

Uniting singularly from fear of the opponent is a hollow premise that is not sustainable in the long run. The truth is PNU was and is not a political party in the strict sense of the word. Instead it is a conglomeration (nay patch work) of selfish and scared political entities whose common denominator was fear of the unknown. The chickens are coming home to roost and the typical DECEPTIVE Kenyan brand of politics is eventually crawling out of the word works. Poor Gabriel Kombo! He chairs a party with MPs who consider themselves more valuable than him. Muskari had even to resort to his stock in trade of political black mail, threats and canvassing to get nominated to parliament.

But the real fireworks kick off this weekend in Naivasha when Kibaki succession in disguise takes centre stage at the Narc-K convention. The iron lady is leaving nothing to chance and already has the professor of mathematics boxed into a political corner. But not so fast because you only write off the George at you own peril. Prof Kiarie Kinuthia already has feelers in DP as a fall back position just incase things turn out nasty. The professor of topology can ill afford a rematch reminiscent of the Kasarani drama of the (in) famous KIMYA PROFESA and THERE COMES A TIME……..
Facade of unity
We are already into the season of political positioning and realignment. The casualties will predictably reactivate numerous moribund 100+ parties to sustain the nauseating Kenyan political circus. Forget about the so-called the government of grand coalition which was a detour in the political ego trip. The race has just begun pitting Martha, George and UK. All have their eyes on the ultimate price. The facade of unity and hard ball politics exhibited so far will soon melt into oblivion as each pursues his/her individual trophy.

PNU supporters will soon pay the ultimate price of owning a shell as the elements scatter into the four wings of the world. Well, the truism that the easiest way of uniting people is to create a common enemy (real or perceived) couldn’t have been more apt. The tragedy comes when the elements eventually split away from that enemy in pursuit of individual glory/goals. By then you have got no reason to be together until you start looking at each other by which time you start again looking for another enemy within your ranks. And the circular motion continues.

Strange Twist In Journalist’s Murder

The very latest shocking information about the investigations of slain Reuters journalist Trent Keegan is that police have confirmed that Mr Keegan decided to walk to the city centre from Capital Centre on Mombasa Road.

He decided to walk after he complained that taxis were charging him too much. Interestingly it is said that the police got that information from a woman whom Mr Keegan had an intimate relationship with.

Investigators now suspect that Mr Keegan was ambushed near Railways, and hit with a blunt object on the head. He slumped to the ground and hit his forehead on the pavement.

The attackers are believed to have taken Mr Keegan’s mobile telephone and a laptop. But it is still a deep mystery why they never ransacked his pockets because his wallet, passport, credit card, cash driving license and shoes were all found intact, something very unusual in a mugging.

Apparently the police also believe that Mr Keegan re-gained consciousness and limped and staggered to the spot where his body was found. The head injuries had taken a heavy toll on him and he dropped dead, police now believe.

A watchman and a taxi driver are being held at the Central Police station in connection with the murder. Interestingly the police tracked them down through Mr Keegan’s stolen mobile phone. Many Kenyans still do not know that the police use mobile telephony technology to track down suspects.

Police arrested the watchman first because he was the first to use the stolen phone. He was of course using a different SIM card, an indication that the attackers had discarded Mr Keegan’s SIM card in the false belief they were safe.

The watchman told detectives from Central police division, who are investigating the murder, that he had found the phone to be too expensive and he had re-sold it to a taxi driver. The watchman claimed the phone was sold to him by a stranger.

The taxi driver was also arrested and he in turn told the detectives that he had sold the phone to another person. Police established from Safaricom that the phone was still in use. However, it seems the third buyer got wind that police were looking and he has since gone underground.

Police are yet to unmask who attacked Mr Keegan and for what motive.

Meanwhile Mr Keegan’s family is seriously considering launching their own investigations into his mysterious death. The family has refused to accept the mugging theory.

The slain journalists’ sister Nikki told a newspaper in New Zealand over the weekend that there was no reason for the body to be where it was found because it was nowhere near the flat where he stayed and was in fact out of the way. He also still had his wallet, passport, credit cards, cash, driving license and shoes, which is very unusual for somebody who has been mugged.

She also revealed that Trent Keegan had been seen by a friend in a bar at about 9:30pm on the night he disappeared. He also phoned his girlfriend 10 minutes later.

The International Committee to Protect Journalists is now investigating the case.

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The New African Leader

Guest post by Sam Okello

This past week has been like no other in the recent past. For the first time since the wave of nationalism that swept African leaders to power across the continent, the world witnessed the emergence of a new, super intelligent, deeply pragmatic and sincerely hopeful leadership in Africa. By visiting Washington D.C. and displaying the best of African pride and wisdom, Prime Minister Raila Odinga told the global community that the continent was turning a page. Africa is moving forward with dignity and hope. The era of begging for handouts is over. The era of hard work, partnerships and reciprocal trade agreements is in.

Those of us who support Prime Minister Raila Odinga have been accused of doing so blindly. Worse still, we've been labeled tribalists who seek to see a Luo presidency in our lifetime in Kenya. Bull. It's easy for those who are loath to the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister to twist what we say and spin it into something more parochial and foolish. But how do such people argue with the charisma of a man who came to Washington and declared that what we need today is not give-outs, but investment? How do they argue with the diplomacy of a man who respected President Kibaki even as he reminded the world that the truly elected President of Kenya had not yet been inaugurated? And how do they argue with the sense he left in official Washington...that the new African leader was emerging?

But while the Hon Odinga was projecting the new face of Africa to the world, in Zimbabwe we were witnessing the brutality of discredited and myopic leadership. Robert Mugabe was going around the nation unleashing terror on his own people, maiming women and children, killing fathers and brothers, literally raping the economy. Isn't there just one bullet someone can lock in his head to end this misery for our people in Zim? How long will his madness be allowed to go on? And then there is Thabo Mbeki. The man has gone from a respected world leader to an idiot. Remember his position on AIDS? And did you know that he is the reason Mugabe feels he can get away with impunity? Is it any wonder the South Africans went with Jacob Zuma as his replacement? Hhmm!

While all that was going on, Kalonzo Musyoka was back in Ukambani asking Kenyans to stop debating amnesty. You see, to people like Kalonzo, this is a debate. To him this is a matter of who wins an argument. What this traitor needs to be told is that we are not debating. We are calling on the government to release the freedom fighters locked up in our jailhouses. The boys who fought the police and Kibaki's thuggish forces fought for the nation. They are not criminals. They are freedom fighters. It's because of them that we have a government of national unity. To continually keep them in jail is unethical. So, once again, for the sake of putting the final block on the reconciliation house we've been building, let the boys go. Let the sons and daughters of Nyanza, the Rift Valley, Western, Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi and the NEP go. Let our people go. The alternative, as you'll soon find out, will be a deal-breaker.

Be reminded, once again, that the chief culprits in the election debacle are: Mwai Kibaki, Samuel Kivuitu, John Michuki, Gen Ali and others. Their crimes are listed in my earlier posts.

That said, let's thank God that Kenya is blessed to have one of the new breed of African leaders in our own country. With leaders like William Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi, Najib Balala, Joe Nyagah and the indomitable Madam Charity Ngilu, Kenya is marching to a better place.

The golden age in Kenya is at hand!

For Love of Country,

Sam O. Okello

Seeking Amnesty and Justice for the Dead

The mystery of missing youths who were arrested following post election violence is promising to drag Kenyan politics to its dark immediate past. Those shouting justice and due process of the law are busy butchering the same principles by not charging these youths in court. More than six months and no mention of these cases in TRAVESTY of the same flawed justice they mouth.

Make no mistake. This is no amnesty call for murderous, arsonists and rapists who must be promptly charged. But the paradox crops in when the same police force that arrested these youths claim to be unaware of their whereabouts. This unfortunate announcement by one RAMBO MOVIE LOVER for police spokesman Eric Kiraithe is a recipe for heightened political temperatures. The implicit implication is too grim to contemplate. I hope I am wrong but I fear otherwise that this joker is cleverly confirming the nasty rumour doing the rounds that the youths were OFFICIALLY extra-judicially executed.

Game of numbers
The amnesty debate is one issue that will either make or break this so-called government of grand coalition. One wonders why one side is so sensitive to the word do much so that when mentioned even in a funeral the village tantrum speedily replaces any sober etiquette befitting such an occasion. Major Ali has no two ways about this grave matter. He has to account for every head his force arrested. The unrepresentative indication that 103 case files, involving 137 suspects, are being handled in various Rift Valley towns, mainly Nakuru and Eldoret, 77 suspects have been charged in Nyanza, 98 in Nairobi, 50 in Western Province and 63 in Mombasa can’t wash.

The government’s tally of 300 is a laughable attempt to TOP-DOWN at best and playing a game of numbers with peoples' lives at worst. It leaves you wondering whether Kibaki was doing a Mugabe in arrears. All attempts by his cronies to peddle the lie of courts will surely backfire when it is eventually proved that the missing youths were brutally dispatched to their maker without the benefit/right of a trial. That will mark the beginning of another round mayhem. All the government’s talk about reconciliation and reconstruction are not sustainable because they are simply DISHONEST. Saying otherwise is to soothe egos with pretense. Only the bitter pill and illusive HONESTY can successfully diffuse the ticking time bomb.

Tsvangirai Seeks Refuge in Dutch embassy

If Morgan Tsvangirai believed he was saving people’s lives by withdrawing from the coming FRAUDULENT polls he didn’t factor in his own safety. Now he has sought refuge in the Dutch Embassy (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_re_af/zimbabwe) in Harare after police raided this MDC headquarters and carting away supporters who had themselves sought refuge there from murderous ZANU-PF gangs.

Mugabe in on the war path and is not leaving anything to chance. He has nothing to lose and not listening to anybody except himself. Leaves one praying why God whom Mugabe taunted recently doesn't do Zimbabweans divine favour by calling his bluff. Meanwhile confronted with challenges posed by MAD MUGABE and his ilk we still shamelessly fall for the cheap excuses of external interference. Well, that must be civilization at its purest as practiced in Mars.

Thambo thumbed
Besides the police force officially doing Mugabe's hatchet job of hounding the opposition at every corner he has the roped in the so-called war veterans MANY of whom were born after Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. And Bob has no apologies in extending the terror to the election observers. Again it is difficult to conclude whether Zimbabwean are reaping the fruits of cowardice or civilization. While cowards die severally before their real death, being civilized by religiously providing your back for eternal piggy ride is definitely not worth the sacrifice.

With the hitherto blue-eyed boys of FAKE new generation African leaders turned despots graying, who will save Africa? One may be tempted to excuse bigotic and sweeping statements from western academic that Africans are genetically programmed to primitively. With Thambo's nose thumbed, no African leader dares hold a candle to Mugabe lest he reminds them that he is only accelerating to catch up with these fellow DINOSAURS. After suffocating intimidation Bob will soon graduate to TOP-UPS.

Updates (2200 hrs local time)
Meanwhile following opposition withdrawal from the polls and the attendant violence, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged that Zimbabwe's presidential elections be postponed. The security council is meeting in an emergency session but whether this will culminate into any decisive action only time will tell. UN is on the spot and the echoes from its inaction during the 1994 Rwanda genocide are ringing even louder.

Are Two Women Going To Parliament To Replace A Man And A Woman?

According to the late Kipkalya Kones’ second wife, Lily Kones, one of the things to prove that the late minister for roads was indeed a very brave person was the fact that he married a second wife barely within one year of marrying his first wife.

Impeccable sources have informed this blogger that wife number three was on the way for the Kones family and only the cruel hand of death stopped that from happening.

Lily Kones caused prolonged laughter when she told this to mourners on Saturday and halfway through her speech many were convinced that she would easily be the next legislator representing her late husband’s Bomet seat.

But that was before the first wife Beatrice Kones spoke. She was even more convincing and was promptly sanctioned on the spot by another speaker to take over the Bomet seat and shortly after Prime Minister and ODM party leader, Raila Odinga appeared to bless the decision.

What emerged from the Kones funeral on Saturday was that if ever there was a serious Kenyan political family then it has to be the Kones family. Both wives are interested in their late husband’s Bomet seat. Not to mention on of his son’s who instead of going back to complete his studies abroad wanted to run for the seat. It is still not clear whether the impassioned pleas of his mother and relatives will dissuade him.

There is bound to be a little more dust and controversy kicked up before the ODM candidate for the Bomet by-election is settled but there is no doubt that Mrs Betarice Kones, widow of the late minister for Roads is the most likely candidate to take up the Bomet baton.

Meanwhile in Sotik the feeling amongst many is that constituents should take a woman to the august house to replace the departed Lorna Laboso. Water Minister Charity Ngilu was the first to make the request when she made the controversial speech at Lorna’s funeral in Sotik which worked up the crowd so much so that they shouted down Justice Minister Martha Karua who happened to be the next speaker after Ngilu. Read Kumekucha's detailed account of the incident.

It will be a great idea to have at least 50 more women in the 10^th parliament although one additional one is much better than none at all. Analysts believe that the sympathy vote in both cases makes the chances of this happening much higher.

According to various sources, including the Prime Minister himself, the financial situation of the Kones family is precarious and they will need help from the government as well as well wishers to pay off debts and keep things on track. It is claimed that the later Minister was a believer in serving the people rather than grabbing and this is the reason why he was wealthy as some of his colleagues who served in former President Moi’s government.

Kones funeral was attended by President Mwai Kibaki and there is no doubt that everybody had been briefed to steer clear of the rather sensitive so called amnesty-for-post-election-offenders debate. Still there were loud jeers and a little resistance from the crowds when the President finally stood up to speak. However this quickly petered off and the duly elected president was able to do the very rare thing of making a speech in the heart of Kalenjin Rift Valley.

Divine Coup Disappoints When Needed Most

So it came to pass Robert Mugabe will be competing against himself on Friday’s election after his main challenger who thrashed him in the first round pulled out of the contest. No fair person can fault Mr Morgan Tsvangirai for advising MDC supporters not to risk casting their votes which will definitely cause them their lives.

Mugabe made it clear late last week that he cannot be removed from power by a mere CROSS on a piece of paper. What is more, Bob declared only God who APPOINTED him would dethrone him. Leaves you wondering aloud why is DIVINE BLOODLESS COUP through a massive heart attack so selective? Kenyans prayed and continue praying for this illusive silver bullet and now Zimbabweans would enormously benefit from the same.

Zimbabwe may have been the last African country to get independence in 1980 but Mugabe has outdone all his fellow DINOSAURS. Robert Gabriel must have integrated and synthesized all the brutal scripts from Mubarak in the north to entitlement's mindset of our own Mwai in the horn. Mugabe just can’t fathom the imagination that Zimbabweans gave Tsvangirai (he publicly calls him SON OF A BITCH, reminds you of pumbavu?) more votes hence the open brutality and uprooting his own people for voting the wrong way.

You cannot fault Tsvangirai given his tribulations at the hands of police on the campaign trail this past week. He was arbitrarily arrested and detained severally sometimes more than twice a day while enroute to his campaign rallies. But the final straw that broke MDC’s back was today’s (Sunday) rally scheduled for Harare that never was. Fist the police maliciously banned the rally and MDC successfully challenged it in court but it was never to be when they woke up to find the Stadium venue of the rally overwhelmed by Zanu-PF gangs baying for their blood. And the goons didn’t disappoint they clobbered even election observers.

Guilt by association
As Rwanda's Kagame asked early in this week why would one pretend to call elections when he the results won’t bind him? And Tsvangirai aptly summed it that there is no point in contesting when the outcome is already determined by a fellow aspirant (Mugabe himself). Mugabe is a sour thumb to the African continent to say the least. Guilt by association galore since he knows majority of African leaders cannot dare lift a finger against him since they are equally guilty of the same ills on a grandiose scale. So are we cursed as a continent to live at the mercy of tyrants and despots like Mugabe? Well, you won’t be surprised that just as Mugabe uses youths to kill their fellow Zimbabweans, out here some will shamelessly fall for his prank of imperialism.

Plenty of parallels can be drawn between Zimbabwe and Kenya. All lie in the truism that the easiest way of uniting people is to have an enemy, and if you then split away from that enemy, then you've got no reason to be together until you start looking at each other, and then you start looking for another enemy within your ranks. By then it may be too late. Our own Simba Makoni went for the spoils long before even the electoral battle began. All else has been WIPED into history.

That Kenyan is mentioned as a preface to Zimbabwe’s hell is a painful truth. Zimbabweans may be civilized and Mugabe knows and takes advantage of their placidity. But cowardice and indifference can be so expensive especially when you may never live to tell the tale. It is a delicate and defining week ahead for Zimbabwe and Africa in general. This may mark the beginning of the end Zimbabwe as we know it today. But will the global community to step in to prevent the imminent genocide? Only time will tell. God save Zimbabwe from itself.

Article Will NOT Be Published

The story I had promised today on the new twist in the Trent Keegan investigations, will NOT be published after all. This is for reasons that are unavoidable.

I will advice further by Tuesday.

I humbly apologize for all the inconveniences caused.

I also promise that I will be able to tell you next week why I could not publish the information today.

Kumekucha will NOT be sold for any price.

Goodbye Lorna, Kenya Will Miss You

Kumekucha Pays Tribute To Lorna Laboso

It was clear from yesterday’s tearful (and yet also controversial) send off of the late assistant minister in the ministry of home affairs, Lorna Laboso that this was a woman who was in many ways very special and will therefore be sorely missed. It is clear that she will be missed by not only her relatives, close friends and constituents but also by many whom her short life touched.

The tragedy of man is that we will tend to sing the praises of fellow mortals only when they are departed and many times people exaggerate stuff at funerals. This was hardly the case with Ms Laboso who has a string of solid achievements she made within her short time in this place where we are all on transition and in Kenyan politics.

For instance the late MP for Sotik had already started setting aside Kshs 100,000 from her remuneration in the August house every month to benefit her constituents.

Amazingly it also emerged that Laboso was down and out only a few short years ago but firmly believed that she would make it to parliament and the cabinet even after an earlier attempt in 2002 badly flopped. Apparently she was known to urge friends who were going through a difficult time to read or listen to the best selling inspirational “The Secret.”

There is really no doubt that this was a very special woman. Little wonder that a well known respected personality could not help falling in love with the late Laboso and they had a love child together.

Kumekucha salutes a great departed Kenyan, amongst the breed of the kind of leaders that our beloved motherland badly needs just now.

The Quiet Rise And Rise Of Amos Kimunya That Kenyans Still Ignore

“Blind-side winger” gunning for the presidency?

I love the game of soccer, but I think I love rugby more.

Amos Muhinga Kimunya the current Finance Minister and a Kibaki insider, was once a student at the Nairobi University and he no doubt used to watch the wildly popular varsity rugby team, Mean Machine in action. One of the most devastating tactics in the game of rugby (which Mean Machine has occasionally employed for years) is the use of a blind side winger. The game generally flows in the opposite direction to where the blind side winger is positioned (well-hidden) somewhere behind the crowded scrum. It is only at the very last split second when the direction is switched and usually a long pass is hurled in the opposite direction and by the time the opposition team get to see the winger coming in at a terribly high speed on the blind side, it is too late for them to do much and he easily scores.

Finance minister Amos Kimunya reminds me of some of the great blind side wingers I had the pleasure of both watching in action and playing with. On the political front this guy nobody had heard of as late as 2002 is coming in on the blind side at a terribly high speed and the crazy thing is that nobody has seen him yet.

This is more than a little surprising because at the height of the political crisis over the disputed presidential elections, early this year, Amos Kimunya's name popped up a little too frequently in intelligence reports circulating amongst Western powers who were critically weighing their dwindling options as the country threatened to degenerate into another Somalia. At the time I must admit that I was fairly puzzled and wondered why there was no mention of stronger and more prominent PNU faces that would be possible successors to Kibaki like George Saitoti or Uhuru Kenyatta. I have since wizened up.

But let us tell this tale chronologically for better clarity.

When the still unresolved Anglo-Leasing scum rocked the Kibaki government in 2006 and forced the then unprecedented move where Finance Minister Daudi Mwiraria resigned, very few people would have guessed that he would be replaced by the little known Lands and Settlement Minister, Amos Kimunya. It is no secret that Mwiraria and the president have always been very close and there are those who still say that the entire “brains” behind Mwiraria’s tenure at the Treasury was the president himself. Hardly surprising when you consider that the President is a world renowned economist and a man whom historians consider to have been the most successful Kenyan finance minister, both under founding father President Jomo Kenyatta and then briefly in President Moi’s government. Indeed it is now emerging that Kibaki had some very firm text book ideas in mind about how he was going to handle the economy as he took over as president and so what he required most in the finance portfolio was a person who could take instructions more than anything else.

This explains why Kimunya ended up in pole position to take over the Finance docket. Between 2002 and 2006 the shrewd Kimunya had wormed his way...

Read more

Tomorrow in Kumekucha: Update on Trent Keegan (foreign Photo journalist killed in Nairobi) murder as investigations take a surprising new twist. Don’t miss it.

Justice Minister Heckled at Lorna Laboso Burial Ceremony

Marco Kiprono, 8, is helped by an unidentified member of the Orange Democratic Movement's Young Women Democrats to carry the portrait of his mother, the late Lorna Laboso, after her funeral service at the Good Shepherd Church on Ngong Road, Nairobi, on Thursday. The remains of Laboso are due to be interred at her Manaret home in Sotik, this afternoon. Picture: Andrew Kilonzi (The Standard)

The funeral of former Assistant Minister has been rudely and temporarily interrupted after a huge crowd that is attending the funeral heckled justice minister Martha Karua. The mammoth crowd threatened to storm out of the ceremony if Hon. Karua was allowed to address the gathering.

It has taken the intervention of Agriculture minister William Ruto who has pleaded with the masses to allow the justice minister to eulogise the late minister. The justice minister, clearly upset at the turn of events, has only said a few words insisting that justice will be applied ‘both ways’, in response to calls for amnesty by some of the speakers who addressed the gathering before her. She has also accused some unnamed individuals of inciting the crowd against her.

The casket bearing the remains of Lorna Laboso, drapped in an Orange cloth, are due to be laid to rest this afternoon at her Manaret home in Sotik District. Lorna died in a plane crash last week at Konjonga area in Narok District alongside Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones and his bodyguard Kenneth Bett whose remains were interred yesterday at his Ndaraweta home in Bomet District. Raymond Moi has read a message of condolence on behalf of his father former President Moi.

The ceremony is proceeding and an anxious Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, cabinet ministers, MPs and provincial administration officials are listening to William Ruto's speech. ODM Captain and Prime Minister Raila Odinga is currently overflying the Atlantic Ocean following his highly successful state visit to the US and is expected to arrive in Kenya later tonight. Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende is also attending the burial ceremony.

Strangely, for yet to be known reasons, President Mwai Kibaki has kept away from the burial of Lorna Laboso.


Update from Oscar written by Chris @ 4:55 pm Kenyan Time
Whoever organized the programme at Lorna Laboso's funeral in Sotik a few hours ago must bear some of the blame for the heckling that threatened to get out of hand a few moments ago.

Charity Ngilu the minister of water spoke immediately before Martha Karua, the justice Minister. This should not have happened because it is a well known fact that the two are bitter rivals and more so hold very different views concerning the thorny amnesty issue.

True to form Ngilu in her speech brought up the subject of amnesty for the youths still being held in connection to post election violence. Ngilu played to the crowd and was wildly cheered when she said that justice must be done and leaders who called for mass action must also be arrested and if this could not happen then the youths should be released immediately. The truth is that this worked up the crowd and set the stage for what happened next.

When Justice Minister stood up to speak moments after Ngilu had sat down, there was an immediate commotion in the crowd with loud jeers and a section of the crowd even got up to leave. The minister's alert security detail immediately surrounded her fearing that something could easily be hurled from the direction of the surrounding trees from where scores were following the proceedings. Meanwhile the minister could be heard saying; "this was planned."

The late Lorna's mother was quickly brought forward to try and calm the crowd, to no avail. It took the efforts of agriculture minister William Ruto who had to plead with Karua to sit down first while he calmed the crowd. At one point he could be heard telling her, please sit down, I will call you, I promise, I will call you, I promise." Karua appeared determined to address the mourners whatever the consequences.

Ruto managed to calm the crowd and spoke to them at length in Kalenjin. Just as he finished Karua had again rushed to the microphone where she unwisely and emotionally started castigating "the few" who had organized the disruption without naming them. She made matters worse by contradicting what her cabinet colleague had said earlier and saying that justice has to be equal to all because that is what the late Laboso whom she called a friend, stood for. Karua attended her homecoming celebrations barely 2 weeks ago.

Interestingly when Ruto returned and started talking about the same subject of justice and amnesty for the scores of Kalenjin youths being held by police, sources say that the KBC live transmission was mysteriously "cut off" and the live broadcast only resumed when Ruto had finished that "sensitive" part of his speech.

Judging from the mood of the crowd it is rather clear why President Kibaki gave the funeral a miss.

Statement on Kumekucha Rumours From Chris

It is said that the way to tell that you are making an impact in politics in Kenya is from how quickly you make enemies. If this is true then Kumekucha has had a major impact since inception but more so in recent times.

Over the last few weeks many of those enemies have shown their faces and indeed their "fangs" on this blog in many different ways. As a champion of free speech I find it extremely difficult to censor anybody. Everybody has a right to their opinion even when their views are pure insanity

However for the sake of the rest of our readers who are still wondering where all the venom is coming from, I would like to make a few facts clear.

* Kumekucha has not been sold and I have no plans whatsoever of selling it at whatever price anybody is capable of offering. It seems to me that I am one of the few Kenyans left who DO NOT believe that money is everything and sometimes there are things which are much more important than one's bank balance.

* I have gone to great lengths to get Oscar on board and he is essentially an investigative reporter, it seems that many of our commentators would prefer that he becomes extremely selective in what he publishes here. I do NOT share that view and I have urged him to ignore negative comments and to continue doing what he is so good at. This blog is not fashioned after some prestige media and therefore if he comes across information on some politicians romantic activities, he will quickly publish it here and if it is too hot I will keep it for the raw notes which I want to report is more popular than ever despite the best efforts of some of our enemies to discourage new subscribers. I take this opportunity to thank you all for your unwavering faith in me and the infomation I work so hard at great risk to my life to bring to you.

* I take this opportunity to announce that I have this day despite my current sorry situation vowed to you all to re-dedicate myself to the core principals I had when I launched this blog in May 2005. Kenya needs those of us who can fight without fear for a better tomorrow. If we will not be there to enjoy it then let us do it for our children and grand children. This is something that I believe in enough to fight for until my last breath if necessary.

You see I love my country... very very much

As always for the love of the motherland.

Chris.

Kenyans Must Emulate 'Civilized' Zimbabweans

Zimbabweans go back to the polls next week to either apologize and re-elect one Robert Bob Mugabe after a first round THRASHING or confirm Morgan Tsvangirai as their new leader. But comrade Bob together with the army have both vowed never to concede the presidency to anybody no matter the election outcome. That sounds quite familiar, doesn't it? Yes, Africa is still populated by DINOSAURS who think of their countries as personal property with their names gracing the title deed.

Mugabe grossly underestimated the power of a fatigued and battered citizenry. They showed him dust by voting Tsvangirai in the first round of voting and no amount of historic vote rigging for a whole historic month would turn the tables. That has left Mugabe to perfect what he knows best. Zimbabwe is suffocating under INTIMIDATION and brutality meted out to any perceived and real opposition sympathizers. Grandmothers are paying with their head and limbs should their grandchildren be suspected not to be ZANU-PF compliant.

Industrious Kenyans envy Zimbabweans for their civility. In fact Kenya would have registered the magical 10+% growth rate this year if they didn’t protest last year’s FLAWED POLLS. You only need to conveniently forget the Zimbabwe analogue of where we would have been were we to give room for a re-run. We had our home bred Simba Makoni wiping and salivating for the spoils. But again Mugabe is just learning the ropes albeit devoid of our style and sophistication in delivering FRAUD and DECEPTION. Why employ Moi's terror tactics when you can top up with zeroes? Bob only needed the creative mind to add the zeroes truncated from the Zimbabwean dollar to the vote's tally and he would be home and dry without the pain of spewing threats.

Tested, proven Kenyan script
So Zimbabweans may be going through HELL on earth with inflation figures that bust computer’s memory BUT we better learn CIVILITY from them. What is more, better have peace with nothing to eat rather than bloodying your hands to reclaim a country from the grasp of her owners. We leave in interesting times where selective application of logic reigns supreme with eyes singularly trained on feathering our nests.

Well, Robert Mugabe is many things to many people. We have Kenyans who will selectively praise him for standing for the colonialists oblivious of the pre-historic battering he is visiting on his his country and her people. The Kenyan version of patriotism is truly unique. Zimbabwe may have been the last African state to get independence but Mugabe is doing very well in accelerating the speed to MISRULE like his local comrade.

Revolutions the world over germinate from the seed of readiness to die for what you believe in. Deciding whether Zimbabweans are cowards or civilized is to trivialize a grave matter. I only pray that Mugabe doesn’t live to sink Zimbabwe after June 27. But with Kenyan tested and proven script before him that prayer is akin to selling ice cream to an Eskimo. May God save us from our tormentors for leaders?

Sneak preview of the last week's raw notes:
"Indeed it is quite likely that it was the subject of puzzled gossip within the August house where most burly politicians prefer sexual encounters with underage girls picked up mostly along Nairobi's notorious red light district of Koinange street. Most would have wondered what Kones was doing smitten by this over 40 Kalenjin woman when there were so many young and willing girls hanging around daily at the legislators' favourite street of sin in Nairobi..."
- Get your Kumekucha raw notes.