How The Kenyatta And Moi Families Made Their Dirty Money

There was a time I was naïve enough to believe that it is the political class who rule Kenya.

Not really. Allow me to give you a simple example to prove my point.

When president Kenyatta died in Mombasa in August 1978 and his then Vice president took over the presidency, many did not realize how crafty a political player Moi really was. Indeed late into the Moi presidency there were still many Kenyans who did not think he was very intelligent. Ironically that is how Moi won his greatest battles, by people underestimating him. The minute folks stopped taking him for granted (most notable in 2002) was the minute Kanu was removed from power. But I digress.

Moi was clearly very frightened as he hesitantly took over the reigns of power in 1978. Who was he scared of? The Kiambu mafia? That is laughable because the kitchen cabinet is only operational when the owner of the kitchen (in this case the president) is around. The minute the “owner of the kitchen” dies or leaves office, that powerful kitchen cabinet is dead in the water.

A clue as to who Moi may have been terrified of can be figured out from the rallying call he came up with very early on. He promised that he would “fuata Nyayo” which means “follow in the foot-steps” of President Kenyatta. This was to reassure all those wealthy powerful folks who held the purse strings of Kenya that they had nothing to worry about over their ill-gotten wealth.

Another example. I am persuaded that on that memorable December day in 2002 at Uhuru Park, as President Kibaki took the oath of office to become Kenya’s third president, deep in his heart he was determined to root out corruption. I have plenty of evidence to support this including an intimate meeting I attended with the then presidential candidate and a certain organization at Mfangano House in Nairobi in early 2002. At the meeting Kibaki kept on repeating that the money collected from taxes was more than enough to take care of plenty in the country with very little recourse to foreign Aid. H also convinced me and many others at the meeting of about 30 people that he was serious about fighting corruption. The truth is that the president was well-intentioned but amazingly, rather naïve.

I also have plenty of information and other evidence to prove that reality hit Kibaki a few months after he had taken office and caused him to change his entire thinking on a lot of things. This is what led him to sanction what we now know as the Anglo Leasing scam—further proof that the people with real power in Kenya are the people with the cash.

Indeed a very similar trend can be seen in President Moi who on taking over office was not a rich man. He was merely a simple farmer with one small company called Lima Limited that sold agricultural machinery. Moi quickly realized that a poor man cannot rule Kenya for long. As you read this, the two wealthiest Kenyans are Daniel T. Arap Moi and Gideon Moi in that order.

Those who have been calling for a new constitution have a point because going by the current constitution, cash is the real ruler of Kenya. Just look around you, if you are in Kenya. “The message” always flies at you from all directions. It simply says this; “woe unto you, if you DON’T have money.” The thread of that message comes right from the top to the ordinary mwananchi down there who is terrified of any sickness visiting their household during this cold season. (Am told it has been exceptionally cold in Kenya this year.)

Never cheat yourself that it is Presifent Kibaki who is ruling Kenya. The name of the real ruler of Kenya is President Cash Money.

This explains the reason why business and politics can never be separated in Kenya. And I am not talking about small business here. And it is also for the same reason that the list of the top 100 wealthiest Kenyans always reads like a who-is-who in Kenyan politics past and present.

The Kenyatta family made it’s vast weath from grabbing land. Pure and simple. It was often said that the old man (Kenyatta) never saw a fertile piece of land that he could resist getting his grabby old hands on. In fact at public meetings, Kenyatta would often talk of “shamba iko na rotuba nyingi sana” (fertile land) and you could see the saliva literally oozing out of his mouth in excitement. It is said that every time the Kenyatta family gets cash broke, they simply sell off a small parcel of the vast land they own countrywide.

This is the reason why it was very juvenile for any Kenyan to have expected both the Kenyatta and Moi family to support the new constitution during the historic referendum of 2005. How do you cut your own two feet with an axe as you watch? If you are still confused just find out what the proposed constitution said about land and a truth and reconciliation commission.

Another corruption technique used by the Kenyatta family to acquire vast wealth was what was popularly known in those days as the “10 per cent rule.” Before any foreign investor opened for business on Kenyan soil, it was mandatory that 10 percent of the shares of his company would have to go to a member of the Kenyatta family. This explains the family interest in numerous tourist hotels at the Coast for example. Of course Moi and the Kalenjin brigade came later and adjusted that rule to as high as 90 per cent in some instances. I kid you not. And in the process caused people to discover what had been going on.

The Moi family did indeed do exactly what Moi promised on taking over power—walifuata Nyayo za Kenyatta. They followed in the footsteps of Kenyatta, albeit with some major adjustments. Somebody decided that being rich mostly in assets, as the Kenyatta family are, was not for the Mois. This family needed to see the cash, literally. And that was one of the reasons why it was mandatory that if you wanted to see Moi you carry with you a briefcase (strictly no cheques please) containing a million shillings or more in hard cash. This fact has been confirmed by various sources including Kamlesh Paul Patttni and jailed businessman Ketan Somaia who both gave evidence separately under oath saying that they had left briefcases full of cash when they went to see Moi for the first time. So let us say that the president (who was very energetic, and now we know part of the reason why) had like 10 appointments a day, each lasting less than 5 minutes…WOW!! Before an hour was up, he would have made a cool Kshs 10 million, which was a lot of dough in those days.

The story of how Kenya lost out on a very sweet deal concerning the Kenya Meat commission illustrates how business decisions were made by the Moi family during president Moi’s long reign.

A Japanese company was interested in financing the revival of the then stalled Kenya Meat Commission. They would bring in the machinery, train staff and finance the day to day operations. The meat would then be exported and sold in the world market and from the proceeds the Japs would deduct their investment and when that was done, ownership of the factory would revert back to Kenyans. Very sweet deal and all the government needed to do was to sign on the dotted line. But there was a problem. In fact a very big problem. Somebody asked the question: “Where is the cash?” They couldn’t see immediate cash in the deal so they were NOT interested.

Later when President Kibaki took over, he was aware of the deal and he has since tried everything to revive it. But as they say, time and tide wait for no man and this saying is especially true in business. The Japs I am sure got their meat elsewhere. Kwani Kenya has a monopoly as the only source of beef worldwide?

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Many Nairobians may not know this, but the Kilimani area has a lot of plain clothes policemen doing patrols round the clock. And that is not all. The input from the CCTV cameras in the area are being monitored all the time and this is not heresay or information from a trusted source.

This is in fact something I know for a fact because something happened to me once, fairly recently, in the Kilimani area that proved to me beyond any doubt that this information is 100 percent correct.

Bottom line... you don't do this kind of crime in that particular area and get anywhere... within a few meters you will be nabbed and that's for sure. Mainly because of the security setup in the area. But these people who took Jaswant Rai were super confident and they got clean away with it. 

They were also very careful in choosing their very specific spot to grab the billionaire businessman. The whole idea was to avoid a CCTV camera capturing them in great detail. The result is that any footage that may have been taken will be practically useless or of little value to anybody seeking the truth.

What all this information tells us is that the people who took the sugar magnate were not your usual criminals. They must have been State operatives. That is NOT a rumour, it is precisely what the evidence is telling us.

Don't miss: Jaswant Rai And Ruto's scary speech: The inside story

Cops may have ignored the CCTV footage of the Rai Kidnapping... and then Ruto said this

Is Nicholas Biwott corruption beginning to hit Kenya even harder?  Nicholas Biwott was a man who does not take "no" for an answer. Whether it was from a chamber maid in Auckland whom he admires or the top seat in Kanu that he wanted, the man just never gave up. 

Kenyans have accused Biwott of many things. But what they are not aware of is that this was one man who doggedly followed his objective and would not quit until he had his "prize" in his hands. Many who crossed his path and lived to tell the story, will tell you that you don't mess with Nicholas Biwott.

Towards the end of his life, topmost on his mind was to protect the ill-gotten wealth he accumulated during Daniel Moi's 24 years in power. He was successful in doing just that through the Kibaki regime and that is why behind the scenes he fought hard against ODM ever coming into power. Together with his old buddy Daniel Moi, Biwott plotted for nothing short of the obliteration of ODM. Of course it was not easy, but this tiny man would just not give up.


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Try going to the Carnivore restaurant on any Friday or Saturday night and chances are that you will get to brush shoulders with some of the wealthiest families in the land. Families which matter in Kenya.

Sadly there are very few self-made families. Just too few. Eti people who worked their way up from rags to riches? Very few indeed.

At the Carnivore, you will look around and see the son of a very corrupt former official who worked for the immigration department for instance. His father’s ill gotten wealth enabled him to get a first class education and now they are professionals doing very well somewhere. And you can tell from the way they are so comfortably leaning on the bar stool and sipping their drink like royalty itself.

One day recently I found the tears quickly gathering in my eyes when I thought about it. The truth is that children of non-corrupt Kenyans more often than not end up absolutely nowhere. Their parents don’t have the contacts and even if they sell everything to see them through university abroad, they will come back and there is no job. The family just doesn’t have the contacts. Kenya, as they say, iko na wenyewe na upende, usipende, it is controlled by the corrupt and the thieves of public property. Uta-do?

Even a substantial percentage of my dear precious readers on this site have been educated and are web savvy today thanks mainly to corruption money and stolen cash. The children of none corrupt Kenyans and those who did not have an opportunity to steal, are rusting away in the rural areas drinking changaa and other lethal stuff that is killing them slowly but surely.

I know this is sensitive but even as we criticize corruption here in this blog, it may be useful to ask yourself the million shilling question, how did your family make it’s vast wealth? That is the right place to start if we are going to fight corruption successfully in Kenya.

But some fortunes are from criminal activity pure and simple.

In the 70s a fascinating disciplinary case came up for consideration at the police headquarters. A police constable had disagreed with an Assistant commissioner of police. Constable is the lowest possible rank in the police force and assistant commissioner is the highest. The name of that assistant commissioner of police was Bob Morgan (now deceased) and the name of the constable was John Harun Mwau. The two gentlemen were incidentally both members of the Kenyan shooting team and admittedly the latter was better with a rifle, a sharp shooter whom few have been able to equal since.

The incident was an open and shut case and the fact that constable Mwau survived was a clear indication that he had powerful friends somewhere. But a few years later Acting Inspector Mwau was in yet another problem with his superiors. He had been appointed an instructor to pass on some of his talents with a rifle to trainee policemen at Kiganjo Police Training College. Ordinarily he would have stayed at Kiganjo in the accommodation usually provided for instructors. But instead the acting chief inspector chose to stay at an expensive 4 star tourist hotel at a nearby town. The bill he would run in one night was about half his monthly salary. So where was the acting inspector getting money to live so lavishly?

In fact today Mr Mwau is easily one of the wealthiest men in the land. So how did he make his money? Clearly he seems to have launched his business when he was still in the police force. Indeed the man got so arrogant towards the end of his police career, that he decided that he should not shave like other policemen (right up to the police commissioner himself) and got a doctor’s letter indicating that shaving his beard would be harmful to his health and well-being in some way. So you would see this shaggy-looking policeman with hir all over his face.

Now I know for a fact that there are a few Kenyans who have gotten asylum in the United States and elsewhere because of their fear for Mr Mwau and what they say he can do to them. So details of the exact business the man deals in can only be read via email. Get my SPECIAL REPORT on exactly how the man made his money. It is FREE. And you will get all the details to solve this mystery.

I also happen to know a number of corrupt journalists who never miss any press briefing or press conference called by Mr Mwau. When I ask them why they run so much when Mr Mwau whistles, they insist that their relationship is professional but admit that the man is very generous without giving details.

For those who may not know, Mr Mwau who is now an assistant minister in the grand coalition government was one of the chief financiers of the ODM’s Raila Odinga’s presidential campaign last year. In fact he was offered a full cabinet post on the ODM side by the PM, but declined saying that it was because he makes frequent trips abroad “on business” and he felt that his hands would be tied because the procedure is that a cabinet minister has to seek permission from the president every time they want to make a trip out of the country.

If you are continuously getting a sinking feeling even as you read this, then let me welcome you to this “sinking feeling club” because the truth is that the deeper you dig into how the wealthiest Kenyans made their money, the more the tentacles of corruption come nearer your very own door step and even touches those you love and believe are NOT corrupt. Money, the say makes the world go round and I can tell you that money also makes Kenya go round.

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I have painstakingly prepared a special report titled; How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight. To be honest the contents of this report shocked me to the bones and made me cry tears at the same time. The safest way for you to read such explosive information is in your email. Get it FREE as well as regular Updates and other hot Kumekucha special reports.

N.B. My special report does NOT beat about the bush and I also name names.

How Respected But Corrupt Kenyans Made Their Stinking Wealth

The following incident a few years ago caused me to despair like I never have before.

It was the time that, after a number of years away from the rugby scene, I made a come-back. One day we were out of town for a rugby tournament and the youngest member of the team, a son of a long-time and well-known corrupt Permanent Secretary in government (later long-serving MP) was asked what he intended to be when he finished school. His reply came swiftly and without hesitation. He said he wanted to be a PS. Everybody at the table understood immediately that what he really meant was that he wanted to be a “corrupt PS” when he finished school, just like his dad.

I despaired because this was a clear demonstration that role models we have given to our youth and children will ensure that corruption and ill-gotten wealth will remain with us for many years to come. You just have to look at how the young people of Kenya have been divided along tribal lines after the 2007 elections to realize that they have been good students to everything terribly wrong that the older folk have been doing for decades which has brought the republic to its’ knees today, sagging under a very heavy weight of seemingly unsolvable problems.

The reality is that Kenyans hold in high esteem anybody who is wealthy and it really doesn’t matter how they made their money.

To make matters worse, virtually all the wealthy and highly respected folks we have in Kenya today all made their money through dubious means. Let us start with the so-called “older money.” Take just one example from that fold.

Respected Nairobi businessman who holds directorships in dozens of multi-nationals and local companies, Chris Kirubi, made his money transporting smuggled coffee using his employer’s trucks. Kirubi was a mere manager at Kenatco (Kenya National Transport Company) in the 70s, a once prosperous parastatal. Kirubi’s big break came when he was able to identify with a member of Kenyatta’s powerful kitchen cabinet. Kirubi’s record with public companies speaks for itself. Shortly after he was appointed chairman of Uchumi Supermarkets, the once prosperous supermarket chain came crashing down in circumstances that resemble what happened to Kenatco in the 70s when he was an influential manager.

There are some fantastic rags to riches tales from the heady coffee boom days. An assistant manager (name with-held) of a prominent branch of Barclays Bank in Mombasa who hails from Central province is said to have “borrowed” money from the bank’s strong room to buy a huge consignment of coffee from Uganda. He took the money on Friday knowing that the strong-room would be kept closed throughout the whole weekend. But the consignment was delayed and people were chasing him all over the place for the keys to the strong-room moments before the bank was due to open for business on Monday morning. Despite suspicions, when the cash was finally counted, everything was found to be in order and it was difficult to pin anything on the man. But he had done his deal. Apparently the consignment arrived in the nick of time and he managed to return the cash before anybody discovered that it was missing. This individual never looked back and is today one of the wealthiest Kenyans (in the old money group).

There are dozens of other wealthy Kenyans who made their money in the 70s using their positions to “borrow” huge amounts of cash. Stanley Githinguri was a National bank branch manager in Mombasa. He not only “borrowed” money to purchase beach plots but using his contacts at State House, Nairobi he rose through the ranks at lightning speed to head the entire bank and that was when he gave himself the “mother of all loans.” A whooping Kshs 300 million. A crazy, crazy, crazy fortune in those days. Interestingly he is one of the few people at the time whose investment of dubious funds did not go too well. Still it was a lot of money to miss completely even if one made mistakes and a few of his investments finally worked out. He is today a fairly wealthy individual, a Member of Parliament and busy preaching against corruption. By the way the loan from the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) was NEVER repaid and is one of the reasons why the government ended up bailing out the Bank when it was on the brink of collapse in the 90s. Simoen Nyachae was the Finance Minister then.

A few other crafty Kenyans used their tribal accents to commit serious crimes and get away with it to date, emerging as very wealthy individuals. All they would do was to approach a business or land owner after doing a little research. They would introduce themselves and say that they are from State House Mombasa (where President Kenyatta used to spend a lot of time) and that they had instructions to take over the said business or piece of land and compensation would be worked out later. Now there was no way for the hapless person to verify how true what he was being told was. Surely he couldn’t pick up the phone and call President Kenyatta to ask him if it was true he wanted their precious beach plot. In fact in those days people were terrified of the government and those close to the president. You just needed to mention his name and most people would promptly start urinating on themselves. And with good reason. There were many terrifying tales of what happened to those who dared to defy those close to the president. Many ended up being found dead with their private parts cut out and stuffed in their mouths. Others just disappeared never to be seen again.

If you are in Mombasa just do a little research and find out who owns most of those beach plots. The list reads like a who-is-who from Central province and most were acquired by grabbing and mentioning the name of President Kenyatta.

For those who don’t know, it is very easy to convert property you own into cash, especially in Mombasa in those days when people were scrambling to build hotels on the beach front.

It is also true that the Kenyatta family owns a substantial amount of property at the Coast which was also acquired in more or less the same way. It includes numerous buildings as well as numerous valuable properties on the beach. There is in fact a property management company owned by the Kenyatta family that has a very busy office at the Coastal city. I was shocked to discover that only one client keeps them so busy, the same client who owns the property company.

Another well known family with substantial property at the Coast is the Kibaki family.

Next Post in this Weekend series: The junior policeman who made himself a fortune from his criminal contacts. Today he is a well-known nice guy

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I have painstakingly prepared a special report titled; How the 5 richest Kenyans made their dirty money overnight. To be honest the contents of this report made me cry tears. The safest way for you to read such explosive information is in your email. Get it FREE as well as regular Updates and other hot Kumekucha special reports by sending me a blank Email right away
N.B. My special report does NOT beat about the bush and I also name names.

Most popular Kumekucha link yesterday: How do super-earners make $100,000 online?

Where Art Thou, Kibaki?

Alarming reports emerge about the duly elected president

Where is the President?

Most people would assume that he is as usual holed up in State House Nairobi. The imposing address along State House road, where President Mwai Kibaki has spent most of his time since taking occupancy in January 2003. The place that he could not bear to bid goodbye to last December and therefore sanctioned a plan to stay put whether or not he was re-elected. A scheme that anybody could see was destined to cause blood shed in the country (which is exactly what happened).

The duly elected president of Kenya with his first of two wives, serial-slapper Lucy.

But if that is really where the duly elected president is at the moment, then my next question would be what his health status is?

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The truth is that President Kibaki has not been seen in public for a number of days. Nothing out of the ordinary about that, of course. Kibaki has been known to drop out of sight for 2 weeks and even longer. However this time round this blogger is receiving reports from various sources that are alarming. Unfortunately I cannot publish them here because I make a big effort to publish in this respected site, only information that has been verified from several independent sources. However you can receive my email report reproducing the reports that I have received so far. And it is FREE. Just Email Me Now

It would be a good idea of the government came clean and issued a statement on the exact position concerning this matter of national interest and indeed national security.

Gone are the days when the health of the president would be a carefully guarded secret. In fact when one considers the ruthless behavior of certain politicians in recent months, who are embroiled in the ongoing circus that is the Kibaki succession battle, the reports I have received become rather frightening. Clearly any health problems that the president may have can be very disturbing news to Kenyans.

Although the president has always been pretty good at masking his health problems during his long career in public life, experts say that he has never really recovered from the road accident that almost took his life in December 2002, barely weeks before the General elections of that year.

Previously in the 70s while still Finance Minister Kibaki suffered a serious stroke during a public function somewhere in Nyanza province and had to be rushed out of the country for emergency treatment. His recovery then was remarkable and he was back with his sharp wit and mind within a matter of weeks.

I am still pursuing various contacts and sources and will update this post if and when I receive more information.

Get my detailed Email (it is FREE) of what the reports and rumours are saying about the President’s current health status.

Another Kumekucha article written last year about the president's health. Read the last 3 paragraphs HERE

Don't forget your hot date for the weekend tomorrow, right here with Kumekucha Weekend Special. This weekend my articles reveal some of the dirty ways in which the richest and most respected Kenyans made their money. You will be shocked. Don't dare stand me up. I will be here waiting to spice up your weekend.

MAU FOREST COMPLEX: Raila Odinga’s Real Acid Test

Isaac Ruto & Company playing disgraceful KANU politics with Kenya’s livelihood

Sitting some 250 kilometers North-West of Nairobi, the Mau Forest Complex covers approximately 400,000 hectares (about 900km2) straddling no less than ten administrative districts in the Rift Valley Province. At independence in 1963, it was the single largest block of montane and moist indigenous forest in East Africa but thanks to partisan party politics it has now been sadly depleted to about 22 patches of forest.
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As the country’s biggest water catchment area, the Mau forest occupies a central place in the economic and ecological lifeline of the people of Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza provinces. Indeed, the national economy stands to lose over US $300 million to the tea, tourism and energy sectors alone if the forest of the Mau Complex continues to be degraded. The Tanzanian government has already formally protested about the effects the Mau degradation is costing her environment and economy, while the Uganda and Egypt governments are said to be closely watching how Kenya will resolve this Mau fiasco that has now taken an international dimension.

Past political expediency resulted into systematic illegal excision of huge parcels that reduced forest cover in Kenya from approximately 1.7 million hectares in 1963 to 1.4 million hectares as at 2005, which translates to only 2.5% of the total land area and a meager 1.7% under closed canopy. A country with less than 10% of its area under closed canopy forest is considered “environmentally unsecure”.

At the height of his autocratic rule, President Moi’s KANU government de-gazetted huge tracts of forest land to irregularly reward party supporters. The infamous Ndung'u land report revealed that there are more than 200,000 illegal and irregular title deeds which were fraudulently issued in the Mau Complex, most of them to politically connected personalities, some of whom later sold the land to unsuspecting investors and members of the public.

Lately, the Mau has been turned into a nasty political tug of war for supremacy between MPs from the Maasai and Kipsigis communities, and this war is already threatening to degenerate into ethnic clashes. To make matters worse, some of the Kipsigis MPs led by Isaac Ruto are using the Mau as a tool of blackmail for settling political scores (read: cabinet appointments) within ODM. The Kipsigis MPs are throwing needless roadblocks into efforts to reclaim and restore the Mau forest as they know it is their people who are occupying and destroying the forest while, a little further downstream, Maasai communities are watching in horror as rivers are drying up and weather patterns are becoming harsher. Others hypocrites opposing the Mau evictions like Franklin Bett are themselves beneficiaries of the fraudulent Mau allocations by Moi.

The very nature of our politics has effectively turned the Mau Forest into very hot political potato as well as a massive environmental time bomb. The reality of the matter is that there is only one solution to the Mau problem: TOTAL EVICTION

Considering the loud war-cries emanating from the Kipsigis axis, it seems pretty obvious that we are heading for confrontation and it goes without saying that the restoration of the Mau Forest will mean forcefully uprooting thousands of squatter families, compensating them and re-settling them elsewhere. This may sound inhuman to our so-called human rights lobby groups, but it certainly guarantees the future of millions of Kenyans for whom the waters provided by the Mau mean life. Already, the commissioning of the Japanese funded Sondu Miriu hydro power station in Nyanza province has aborted due to low water levels on the river which is as a direct result of the destruction of the Mau Forest. In the already battered tourism sector, the world famous annual Mara Wildebeest migration, dubbed the 7th Wonder of the World, is also severely threatened by human settlement in the Mau.

In 2005, the then NARC government unilaterally sanctioned Kenyan security forces to forcibly evict an estimated 3000 families (about 15,000 people) destroying seven primary schools and affecting thousands of students. The displaced people were left with no access to food, shelter, sanitation facilities or education, and physical infrastructure was also destroyed. According to IDMC, allegations of rape and theft of harvested crops by evicting officers was reported. The brutality in which the evictions were carried out led to the suicide of three people, and one man suffered a heart attack when his school torched. A repeat of these unfortunate events is probably what Kipsigis MPs are concerned about when demanding for acceptable compensation and resettlement. President Kibaki has said that the resettlement will be conducted humanely. PM Raila has also assured that this time the evictions would be given a human face to ensure the fundamental rights of the affected individuals are not violated.

The latest initiative by Prime Minister in forming an all inclusive Mau Forest Conservation Task Force deserves the express support of all Kenyans. The 22 member all-inclusive task force is firstly expected to draw up its own terms of reference through consultations with all stakeholders including residents and then proceed to develop a time-bound implementation plan of evicting, compensating and re-settling those who currently reside in the Mau Forest. Ultimately, government plans to re-demarcate the forest boundaries, fence off the forest and also put in place an effective long-term management plans to reclaim and sustain the jewel that is Mau Forest. The success of these plans will mean that the country will have averted a major economic disaster and unthinkable environmental catastrophe. It will also mean another feather on to RAO's already thickly feathered political cap.

The Government also ought to prosecute all those politicians and public servants who were adversely involved in illegal demarcation of the forest in the first place. I mean, if President Moi ordered these illegal allocations, he must be called into account and made to answer charges of abuse of office!

The recommendations of the Ndungu Report may have been too drastic in suggesting amendments to sections of the constitution to facilitate the formation of a Lands Title Tribunal to enable the revocation and rectification of all irregular title deeds in the Mau and other forest., but it I think is time for us to bite the bullet for the sake of future generations.

Resources: Mau Complex Under Siege: Continuous destruction of Kenya’s largest forest, UNEP, 2005

Secondary School Strikes: Grand Coalition Government Courts More Disaster

It has been fascinating researching into the real causes of the current wave of school strikes that has left many Kenyans numb with shock. The first thing we have realized is just how complex the problem is. The truth is that those looking for a single reason to heap all the blame on will be disappointed because there are actually a number of reasons that have led to the current crisis. However many of them are related.
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Fascinatingly, despite the fact that we are now told that over 300 schools countrywide have been involved in strikes, few Kenyans realize just how serious the problem is. For instance many do not know that in the course of this term alone Upper Hill School students have been on strike twice. The unrest that led to the death of a student was the second one. And so has Sunshine School in Langata.

It is interesting how the local media which has rushed to talk to teachers has generally heaped all the blame on parents who are said to dumb their unruly children in school and leave them to “terrorize” teachers. Surely how can this be true when youngsters spend most of their time at school (a minimum of 9 months out of 12). Would the reverse not be a little more accurate in that teachers who have mostly despaired in many schools across the country are molding the kind of youngster who end up terrorizing parents whenever they are at home. But having said that it is not a smart thing for all the blame to be heaped on any one party. Both share responsibility and it is supposed to be a team effort. Sadly these days, rather than co-operation the two key groups are busy mostly fighting and second-guessing each other at most schools, my investigation has revealed.

From my 3 day investigation I am forced to announce that the number one reason for the current problems in schools is that teachers have mostly abandoned their responsibilities in schools and are too busy trying to make extra money. While it is true that there are various other factors that have contributed to the current crisis including the withdrawal of the cane without an adequate discipline system to replace it, the truth is that if teachers were on the job, they would have sounded the alarm long before the first can of petrol was purchased to burn down anything.

What has in fact happened is that teachers have despaired and are only in schools to do the bear minimum to enable them earn their salaries so that they can re-invest in all kinds of enterprises that occupy their mind and indeed most of their time. There is nothing wrong with a teacher being enterprising, the only problem is that teaching is the kind of profession that does not work with anything less than total dedication.

The reaction of the government to the wave of strikes is bound to make the situation worse. As usual they have rushed to address the symptoms (so that they are seen to be doing something) and nobody is interested in digging out the root cause of this unprecedented crisis. That is why the ministry has banned DVD and CD players in school buses (what does that have to do with the problem?). Indeed they have also opted to charge as many of the students as possible in courts. While I agree that no mercy should be shown to arsonists, the reality is that quite a number of innocent students will get a chance to mix with hard criminals in police cells and you can be sure that they will never be the same again.

A more productive approach would be to start with the teachers and ask them where they were when the students planned and launched their attacks. This will hopefully lead to teachers admitting about their current state of despair which will in turn lead to the issue of the cane (which must be re-introduced). This will be much more useful than banning music in school buses and locking up barely legal youngsters.

P.S. 1 :

In your weekend special this Saturday: How prominent Kenyans made their money. Kenyans worship money and they really don’t care how their leaders made their cash as long as they have plenty of it so that during election campaigns, they can distribute Kshs 50 or even Kshs 5 to voters (when some of them have stolen thousands from each individual Kenyan countrywide). For those interested in the way in which these wealthy well known Kenyans made their money my detailed series of articles this weekend will amaze and surely disgust you. Dump your girl friend or boyfriend for yours truly this weekend (I promise not to disappoint). And let’s meet right here in your one and only Kumekucha Weekend special.

P.S. 2

Yesterday I published a story in my raw notes that I can NOT dare advertise here. Get the details on what it is about including a sneak preview into the hottest article I have ever penned in my over 20 years in Kenyan journalism. Email me NOW for FREE details and also regular advance information on what is going to be published here including Breaking News Alerts. And it is all FREE. Email me at; make-money-kenyans-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

P.S. 3

I appeal to regular readers of Kumekucha to remain on high alert and to refuse to be taken in by common trickery, especially in the so-called comments in this blog (and I am NOT talking about the ones coming in from a mental asylum in Spain). I have visited every single blog and web site reporting Kenyan news and I can authoritatively tell you that no other site invites more criticism than this one. But why? Just ask yourself the simple question; why don’t these “unhappy readers” move elsewhere instead of spending the whole day here trying to prove that our articles are either NOT factual or that (this is the latest one) I am recycling old Kumekucha articles. There was an especially amusing incident 2 days ago when some well-trained-in-propaganda-techniques-Kenyan pounced on a single statement in an authentic email I reproduced here, talking about photographs, to suggest that the personal account on a sexual assault by the Kenya police was pure fiction. Co-incidentally on the same day the Daily Nation carried an article (with much less details) confirming that the assault actually took place.

It is also fascinating that the attacks are mainly focused on articles that I write myself and not so much on the other contributors. Some of this chaps lack reading skills because they also pounce on guest posts written by others that I post myself. Anything with Chris’ name at the bottom is earmarked for scrutiny with the intention to attack.

Heheheheheheehe. I know you guys are terribly worried at what I know. Lakini pole sana, I have no intention of holding anything back from my dear readers. So… bring it on!!

I am not one to brag but there is only one possible explanation as to why Kumekucha is the most attacked Kenyan blog on earth. Folks, they fear us too much and with good reason. Keep it here and if you are easily confused by clever propagandists, just skip the comments area and read the posts only and then wait for as long as 2 months for the story to break in other media.

Did Visa Ban Force Kibaki to Skip London Trip?

While Prime Minister Raila Odinga is currently on a high profile working tour of the United Kingdom at the invitation of his British counterpart Gordon Brown, questions are now being raised as to why President Kibaki opted to snub an official invitation of a foreign government to attend an exclusive investment conference in which leading European investors will be present to network with Kenyan businessmen and listen to the Kenyan delegation present the country' s case as 'open for business' and as the region's investment hub. Even more importantly, the Kenyans are expected to outline opportunities under the recently unveiled and ambitious Vision 2030 aimed at driving Kenya into the middle economy.

Despite belated explanations by government spokesman that that the President Kibaki had ‘mandated’ Raila to lead the delegation of seven cabinet ministers, it is emerging that the president was advised to opt out of the trip due to failure by the British government to recognize his government earlier this year and noting that to date no official recognition has been forthcoming.

Secondly, Kibaki’s advisors are of the opinion that the overzealous British press was waiting to ‘pounce on Kibaki like vultures’ given their government had announced they do not recognize him. Additionally, Kibaki’s handlers feared constant harassment from the media (in a similar manner Mugabe has been relentlessly pursued each time he travels out of Zimbabwe) may have ended up in a confrontation with his guards and consequently embarrassed the head of state.

Thirdly, the highly publicized visa bans on politicians whom were linked to post-election violence and also to individuals whom were accused of subverting democracy have also never been officially withdrawn. Precedents exist where even some Heads of State have been barred from entering the some Western countries. Sources reveal that foreign governments have so far not rescinded their decisions on visas because they are monitoring the GCG while awaiting the successful completion and implementation of the all important agenda 4 of the Koffi Anan peace talks.

Fourthly, the PM’s trip to Europe included a scheduled address the House of Commons, a privilege normally reserved to Heads of State and respected statesmen. It will be recalled that in February this year, two senior British ministers had given ministerial statements in the same House of Commons where they reiterated that the British Government have not recognised the Kenyan Government. Kibaki’s advisors feared that some House of Commons MPs may boycott his address to protest the way in which the disputed elections were conducted.

Although names have never been revealed, senior personalities in both PNU and ODM have been expressly barred from entering Europe and the US since 2006. With the passage of time, those who have been barred from leaving Kenya have slowly but surely been sieved from the rest. For instance Uhuru Kenyatta was recently in the US and is currently in London as part the PM’s entourage. Musalia Mudavadi is in Geneva leading Kenya’s delegation to the Universal Postal Union Congress whereby he is expected to preside over the official opening of conference. William Ruto was in Rome about two months ago to represent Kibaki at an UN-FAO food conference. Interestingly, all ODM pentagon members have been to Europe on official and personal visits in the last few months, while a good number of the 40-strong grand coalition cabinet and members of their families have never dared to set foot out of the country inspite of the relevance of their individual ministerial portfolios or business interests overseas.

When one takes a casual glance at Raila’s official itinerary, then considers the size of his entourage and that the main purpose of the trip was to attend a significant investment conference organized by the British government; all these seem to suggest that this was a far too important trip for the president to skip. Indeed, going by past experience where the first lady Lucy Kibaki has always been by the side of the president during all his international trips, this time she is prominently missing in action and curiously, the government took it upon itself to announce that Raila would be accompanied by his wife Ida Odinga.

The high profile visit coupled with Raila’s elaborate motorcade and British bodyguards, have already resulted into some major international news channels erroneously referring to Raila as the President of Kenya.

How Long Will We Remain The White Man's Burden?

Many years ago, someone wrote a book by that title. The White Man's Burden. The premise of the book was that the task of bringing the world up to speed on civilization was on the shoulders of the white man. For primitive people like the Africans to see the light, the white man had to act. Then there was the book Out Of Africa, by Ms. Blixen, which went on to become a blockbuster in Hollywood when it was adapted into a movie. All you have to do is read the condescending narrative of that story to get a glimpse into the mindset of the whites in Kenya back in the years. If I say they thought we were savages, no better than the animals that roamed the vast savannah, I'm being generous.

Now, before I plod into my thesis, let me warn that this is not a piece written to bash whites. No, a nice guy like me wouldn't do that. The whites have done a lot to help us make sense of this world, and in many cases have saved us from ourselves. The least we can do is be grateful. That said, I bring this matter up because this question needs to be answered: How Long will We remain The White Man's Burden? It's understandable that some of the difficulties Africans have had to endure have stemmed from forces outside their control, like the dreadful experiments of the Structural Adjustment programs in the eighties and early nineties...and the weather-related acts of God. But on matters of self-governance, who do we have to blame?

Take a walk with me across the continent today. Let's start in South Africa. Out there, one of the world's most inspiring figures just celebrated his ninetieth birthday. Nelson Mandela is a symbol of African resilience and latent genius. Yet you go down a notch from him and you meet Thabo Mbeki. This is the man who battled the global medical community about the physics of AIDS. He's presided over an administration that has failed to spread the vast wealth in South Africa...make it trickle down to the lowly people of that nation. Is it any wonder that anti-immigrant sentiment in that country is palpable these days? One can only hope that South Africa is not about to go down the path other African nations have. But before we walk away from this magnificent nation, we must call it, as of right now, one of the brightest spots on the continent.

From South Africa, let's climb up to the Southern African region. Most nations are doing relatively well here. But then there's Zimbabwe. The latest embarrassment in Africa. This nation is emblematic of African failure. The economy has collapsed. No social life to talk about. People now worship God, but wonder about His power to save them. And in politics Robert Mugabe has found a way to pull a Kibaki. What you may not realize is that the solution President Mbeki took to Zimbabwe was crafted in capitals out of Africa. Thabo was the Kofi Annan of Zimbabwe. That's why I ask, how long will we remain the white man's burden?

Let's not dwell on Zimbabwe, though. CNN and the BBC told the story in detail. So we come to the eastern Africa region. Tanzania is moving forward at a decent pace. Uganda is a stable, strong-man democracy. Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia are nations ravaged by hunger and wars. Because of their strategic insignificance, though, nobody seems to care what goes on there. Which leaves Kenya. The elections there were a sham. They left in place a deeply unpopular president and the worse tribal relations Kenya has ever seen. When the world bulked at the possibility of one of Africa's most strategic nations disintegrating, Dr. Annan was sent in with ready-made solutions from washington, London, Paris and Berlin. Even the IMF and the World Bank weighed in. And this is the twenty first century? Just how long will it take for us to get our act together? When do we stop being the white man's burden?

Let's drive up to Central Africa. Chad, a mess. Sudan, under sanctions, a president that's more murderous than the Nazis, a nation split between the North and South. In the end, the United Nation's, under the thumb of the United States, has had to act to save the southern blacks. And the International Court has followed the UN lead by indicting El Bashir...that monster. The question is, why can't this region's leaders feed and lead its people well? Why do they have to wait for the white man to tell them what to do?

I'll leave the Western and Northern African regions for another day. What you've witnessed as we've walked across South Africa and the wider sub-Saharan Africa is a continent that's either in decline, as if we'd ever made any significant strides, or just running in place. The tragedy of what's going on is that Africa is blessed with enormous natural resources and an abundance of human resources. But more than anything, the good Lord has seen to it that Africa's sons and daughters are now well educated and capable of excellent leadership. So how do we explain the incessant decay in Africa? Why do we keep goofing around, looking to capitals outside Africa whenever we need solutions to our problems? If the African Union can't move Africa forward, why have it? Why not replace it with a more responsive body?

The time for Africa to rise up is now. We may not successfully organize into a superstate like the emerging European Union, or the big kid on the block, the United States, which has been around for years, but we can start by strengthening the regional economic blocs, integrating the financial institutions, expanding the existing markets, having a military unit answerable to a single command, and moving steadily toward the eventual emergence of the African superstate. Am I a dreamer? Well, how did man get to the moon without dreaming? How did one man in a research facility somewhere give birth to the atomic bomb without dreaming? And how did our freedom fighters kick the colonialists' butt out of Africa without dreaming of freedom?

We must dream.

Dream big.

The biggest dream of all must be that Africa has come to the point where continued reliance on the white man's brain must end. We are capable of taking care of ourselves. So let's thank the good people of Europe and America and Asian for the good they've done, but while at it, we must be firm that from now on, we'll take care of our own problems. All we have to do is...the right thing!

How hard can that be?

God bless Africa.

Guest post by Sam O. Okello

Perils of Managing Own Succession

Times have changed but not our politicians. Kibaki is finding it hard mould PNU into an outfit for his political schemes. Beholden to his club of moneyed and greying buddies it is payback time and he has to deliver before he quits State House. With Jomo Jr. salivating in the wings for coronation, Iron Lady and Prof Kiarie cannot sit down and watch.

With economic deals on Kenya at high stakes Kibaki cannot afford the luxury of experimenting with less endowed chaps around him. But true to character he is trying to keep all relevant lest they leave the king exposed for what he is – SPINELESS MARIONETTE. It appears the next four years are very short to accomplish the national looting and auction hence the early political positioning of pretenders to the throne. While the bank behind Kibaki’s politics and presidency are demanding quick results, the route is proving unpredictably bumpy.

The new wineskins have vehemently rejected the old wine. We are in new age and Kibaki’s time tested fraudulent tricks are being overtly and covertly resisted by people who would otherwise be playing ball. Ford-K and Narc-K have proved good and fast students of history and have vowed never to provide their backs for a piggy political ride for the heir apparent.

Curse of last term
Outright dissent is a known byword for last term presidents and Kibaki is no exception. His authority and spinelessness will be tested to the core and the dissenters are determined to go all the way. Already Karua and her gang have scored a significant victory in having the proposal to dissolve affiliate parties and merge them into one shelved. Forming a committee to study such a viability is just diplospeak to but time in the face of a determined opposition.

DECEPTION and FRAUD are very costly vices. Kibaki is finally paying the ultimate price of cheating his way into his second term. The truth be told, PNU was a gimmick for a party formed under the wrong premise and with the wrong purpose. Passengers boarded the vehicle for selfish reasons as evident in the present rudderlessness.

That the more things change the more they remain the same has never been an apt phrase as applied to Kenyan politics. Now the Wekesa-led PNU committee are back to the trouble laced twin proposal of individual and corporate membership. Boy, don’t we love repeating the same mistakes that previously refused to work. So Kibaki has finally discovered in his sunset political life that he needs to be the chairman of a party called PNU and for good measure have a trusted lieutenant as a deputy. Whether that will work is anybody’s guess. But the scheming betrays IMPUNITY as a defining label for the players. In their minds damn the consequences and what Kenyans think provided their wicked plans are laid no matter the human price.

Death Of Democracy In Africa

Welcome Coalition Governments

I suppose some will presume that anyone opposed to the current trend in African elections (formation of GNUs) is a person who would rather see blood spilt. Morgan Tsvangirai has termed his agreement to begin peace talks with Mugabe as historic. This is a great opportunity for peace and possible continuance of governance in Zimbabwe. All Kenyans acting prudently must by now know what is just about to happen; Morgan will become prime minister and commandeer half of the cabinet.

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In Kumekucha today Tuesday July 22nd: Will those awful stretch marks mess up your relationship?
Small business tips: Technique to grow your money quickly
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While it is true that GNUs did not originate in Kenya, we must still decorate Kibaki for being the father of all modern day African coalitions. His reluctance to change and ability to silence democracy has greatly energized this new phenomena. It is indeed his playbook that will be studied and repeated throughout the continent. Going forward, the order of the day is precisely coalition governments.

Yes folks, the short-lived African political democracy experiments are over and dead. Oh how industrious we are; we have taken democracy with all it's time tested facets of fairness and liberty, added our own greed and thievery and consequently creating our very own political system i.e. coalition governance. In this type of governance, the people vote and all opposing sides win. It does not matter if one gets 10%, you can still be Vice President. While, as Mugabe aptly puts it, the incumbent must always remain President, the actual winner becomes Prime Minister.

Outside of the impending SA elections and under the current developments, I do not foresee any other African incumbent president accepting genuine defeat at the ballot. It's over folks.

That said, there's not much wrong with our new system. In the case of Zimbabwe, loss of life has been greatly reduced and peace will indeed prevail. In the Kenyan version, the citizens are appeased for the most part. We still have a long way to go but most of the displaced are back in their homes while the assaulters are in jail and will face the law. We have set up commissions to investigate the election, violence etc. So it's all good.. right? Peace has returned and as we have seen with the Grand Regency, business is back to normal. We will wait until the next election to perpetuate thorny issues like constitutions, majimbo, land reforms etc. What do we care right now when we can sleep at night without the fear of the arsonists.

Really folks, there's a lot of things wrong with western democracy. I mean, the vote count, even in the USA, is not usually accurate. Trying to instill such, possibly flawed, principles into the African way of life is prone to disaster. So why not change the constitution to condone coalition governments going forward.

Brutal Sexual Assault: Is This What The Kenya Police Is All About?

Kumekucha Exclusive

Police recently sexually assaulted some prominent female members of the civil society who were protesting corruption in the country. I publish a copy of an email circulated by one of them giving details of the crazy assault....


Sorry I have been out of the office for a couple of days . The last couple of days have been a nightmare for me and several other civil rights activists. We were arrested in a most brutal manner after police stormed the hotel where we were preparing to hold demonstrations over Grand Corruption ( Sale of Nairobi's Grand Regency Hotel, a property in receivership and therefore owned by the Kenyan people, by a cartel led by the Finance Minister, Amos Kimunya. Kimunya has since resigned in disgrace over the scandal) .

On Tuesday, 8th July, when they arrested seven of us, the police also sexually violated and harrased me and a male colleague. One senior officer had the audacity to put his hand inside my trousers, fondle my private parts and my breasts. All this while the rest were busy brutalising us.

Upon arrival at the police station, my colleagues sought to know from the senior police officer why he had sexually assaulted me. Without warning, this police officer, who we have since learned was the deputy officer commanding the Division ( very senior position) grabbed a police batton from one of the junior officers and set upon us in a most vicious manner. Other officers joined in, hitting, kicking and insulting us. It did not matter that some of us were
already bleeding.

We were later taken to court , charged with participating in an illegal assembly (never mind that we were inside a hotel and it was the police who stormed in) , and released on bail. The police also refused to record our complaint over the violations at the police station.

We need friends of human rights, and friends of Kenya, at home and abroad, to do all you can in your various stations and networks to demand accountability from our government. The kind of police brutality and other forms of impunity that are evident in Kenya are alarming. Not only do they threaten the democratic spaces that we fought so hard to create. They are also, in my opinion, an early warning sign of things to come, and the imminent breakdown of law and order.

We shall circulate a more comprehensive report with photos for your further action."

Special Investigative Report: Car Stealing Racket In Nairobi

There's a new wave of alarming vehicle thefts sweeping across Kenya which no media outlet is keen to talk about. I’ve lost three vehicles since January and now understand how the scandal is executed. I have decided to share this with my fellow Kenyans through Kumekucha. But thanks God after the stress, pain, lost income, time and plenty of expenses, I recovered my cars.

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Also in Kumekucha today: How to say, "I love you" and not cause them to bolt

Small Business tips: Want to make money back home in Kenya?

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The alarming crime mostly targets car hire firms and middle ranking SUV's commonly known as

4x4's in Kenya which are parked in public car parks. What is shocking is that some police officers are believed to be highly involved with criminal rings as I shall explain later. A police officer based around Nairobi openly told me that some officers would not like to see this new crime go away any time soon as profits being made from the illegal syndicate are just mind blowing.

Before striking at the once booming car hire industry, taxis and parking lots, sharp minded members of the criminal underworld first arm themselves with fake IDs which are mostly being forged in River Road and sprawling Eastleigh areas of Nairobi. The fake documents look so real that they can even fool hawk eyed police officers and attendants in car hire offices simply have no chance in detecting the fake documents which mostly involve ID cards and Kenya's pathetic driving license which is written in plain ink. What is shocking is that some wanted criminals on the lose are known to use their original documents to secure vehicles. This is done with great ease since car hire firms don't coordinate in their profession in detecting crooks. They are just scattered allover town with some operating from street corners and using cyber cafes to photocopy the hirer’s particulars.

Once the criminal elements secure a vehicle for about 2 weeks and pay the charges, they go straight to KRA offices in Times Tower and conduct a search whereby you just pay Ksh 500 and present the number plates of the vehicle you want to obtain a copy of records for. This search basically produces the details of the car's owner like names and address plus important details of the vehicle like chassis number and whether duty is paid. If the details show that a vehicle is attached to a bank loan, it’s a hard sell and is dropped immediately. Once the crooks have obtained those details, they quickly contact their sources and production of the fake log book commences.

The fake logbook looks so real that even the best experts are having difficulty in telling the difference. A senior officer based in the city actually told me he prefers the old logbook which was phased out as it was harder to forge. With the car owner's name, a fake ID and Pin numbers are processed using fake digits and there's no way of verifying whether those numbers are real or fake. Armed with these documents, the conmen hit the road looking for buyers in places like car bazaars, brokers or placing a bait Ad in the newspapers. They always get a buyer quickly since they sell the vehicle cheaper than market rates and always give sympathetic excuses like “they need to settle a medical bill for their kids.,” Criminals are also known to target private homes, copy your number plates, make the fake documents and keep them ready and then when time is ripe, strike at night and by morning your vehicle has been driven all the way to Arusha!

When the car hire contract expires, the hire company has no way of getting hold of the 'hirer' since mobile phone numbers can be changed daily without any questions being asked. In fact you can even buy a thousand mobile sim cards all with different numbers without any question being asked. So the vehicle is now stolen, sold or even disposed to secure a loan from back street money lenders popularly known as 'shylocks.' If the vehicle is fitted with a car tracker, then it can be recovered and taken to the nearest police station, leaving the duped buyer in shock of his life. Some police officers are known to intimidate the conned buyer by telling them they face charges of handling stolen vehicles and being in possession of forged documents! Many conned buyers now have to be hit again when police demand a bribe to set them free.

Releasing the car to its original owner is not easy until they can produce “kitu kidogo” to the officers. What is shocking many people however is that in some cases once they sell the car illegally, some crooks are known to contact certain police stations where they have their protectors and tip them about the buyer’s location and contacts! It's also believed that some crooks take a certain percentage to their protectors to enable them 'lose' some current or future files with their cases.

As we can see, crooks are exploiting the searc' system at Times Tower where no questions are asked to anyone who wants a copy of records. Also our weak telephony system is being exploited in obtaining new lines without any form of checks. Car Tracking firms which are mostly owned by politically well connected families are also being blamed due to their exorbitant prices which scare off many Kenyan motorists. Gullible auto buyers who are so many should slow down when they see a hot offer. If you come across an Ad asking for ‘cars wanted for hire’ and claiming to pay up to 40k, please think twice. Does the hire firm have an office? How long have they been in that office? Can they refer you to some of their clients?

If the offer is too good to be true, then it probably is. I would advise they take any documents being presented as original to Times Tower or any specialist auto dealers for verification. A well known crook that is based in Ngara area is known to steal up to 10 cars per week with impunity. His favourite snatch points include parking lots and car hire firms and he's known to steal a car and sell it in just less than 3 days! Something surely needs to be done but so far, the crime goes on untamed. Shock! Shock! Auto dealers are now being caught up in this scam. Some are selling stolen cars with fake documents and if you are conned, the legal redress can take ages till kingdom come if the file doesn’t disappear! Before you buy any vehicle in Kenya, think thrice!

(Investigations carried out by raw notes subscriber who fell victim three times!!)

Breaking News: Pumwani, Aquinas And Lenana Now Join List of Striking Schools

School strikes continue to sweep right across the country.

In the last 24 hours more schools have joined the growing list of schools that have gone on strike. The latest are Pumwani, Aquinas and Lenana High school. As I was writing this post there were unconfirmed reports that two more Nairobi schools have also gone on strike this morning.

At Lenana it is reported that fourth formers are continuing with their mocks even as the rest of the school is on strike.

We at Kumekucha are doing a deep incisive piece exploring some of the possible reasons that may have caused this unprecedented crisis.

School Unrest Mirrors Our Violent Society

They say the best form of flattery is imitation. The violence presently rocking our schools can as well be mimicking our violent society. But in the face of PREDICTABLE secondary school unrest towards the end of second term our leaders borrow from the tired book of commission and task forces. Granted, the cause of student riots and arson in schools is a multifaceted phenomenon which is almost singularly oiled by corruption in its varied forms.

Second term of the school’s academic year is defined by mock exams that only succeed in straining students. These exams that are meant to provide a preface kind of feeling of the real exam later in the year are a complete paradox. While the syllabus is designed to be completed in four years, the mock exams in effect encourage rush teaching with a premium on quantity of material covered rather than quality. Add this to the preoccupation of KCSE ranking of schools and you get the best recipe for tension that only need a spark which is often readily available thanks to drugs and alcohol.

Our parents have reduced their responsibilities to biological, period. Abdicating parenting responsibilities marks the genesis and root cause of this teenage unrest. While boarding schools may be considered a colonial relic that has outlived its usefulness, disbanding them may be a quick fix that will only leave the problem to spread its destructive tentacles. The need for CHANGE in Kenya has never been more urgent especially in our education system. Teachers are overwhelmed by the twin roles of parenting gangs of energetic and often rebellious youths and imparting cognitive skills.

Lost generation
Corruption has its rightful place in the whole mess. Political influence and under hand promotions has bequeathed incompetent head teachers responsibilities they have no idea of handling. Well-performing secondary schools are cash cows for such principals whose resulting disproportional wealth leaves the other teachers demoralized when they see somebody unfairly reaping from their efforts. Corruption too also ensures steady supply of illicit drugs within schools. The untouchable drug barons hold Kenya at ransom while destroying her youth.

The present riots may be a reflection of a society steadily hurtling towards failure. Our leaders are not doing the unrest any good by falling to the old gimmick of task forces who will shamelessly end up duplicating reports from their predecessors. Lack of leadership in all shapes and spheres is our bane. When confronted with a crisis we resort to making impressions of motion with no singular actual movement. Our version of success is so warped in our HELL-FOR-LEATHER mentality so much so that scoundrels readily pass for role models for our kids. We are a country is dire traits and in critical need of RENEWAL.

School Fires: Arson or Accident?

What is happening in Kenyan secondary schools? Can someone please stand out of the whole damn mess and speak out.

Of late there have been incidents of fires breaking out (!) in our schools leaving tidy messes in their wake. Just last week a fire broke out at Nanyuki Boys’ and destroyed property worth a tidy sum. And two days ago, another fire “attacked” another high school (Upper Hill High School), destroyed property and left at least one student dead.
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Also published today by Chris: Why did Safaricom sack so many senior managers?
Kalenjin secrets: Deadly Nandi versus Arap Moi
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This recent spate of “mysterious fires” reminds me of two separate “school fires” that led to the loss of so much property and nipped many lives in the bud.

I am talking about the Kyanguli and Bombolulu fires. Remember them?

On 26th March, 2001 at least 59 male students died at Kyanguli Secondary School (in Machakos) when a fire swept through the dormitory they were in. Arson was raised as a possible cause of the fire.

Three years before the Kyanguli fire, in 1998, at least 25 female students died in Bombolulu, near Mombasa, when their dormitory caught fire while they were locked inside. A commission of inquiry was set up to investigate the Bombolulu fire and its only findings were that the fire was caused by an electric fault. Nothing concrete.

These are just some of the most horrendous fire tragedies that have ever hit our schools. But it seems school heads (and the Ministry of Education) will take a very long time to learn that a stitch in time saves nine.

Most of these schools do not have warning systems that would help to deal with fires before the worst comes to the worst. Neither do they have fire fighting equipment (nor the expertise among the students on how to handle “fire” situations).

Most of the Boarding secondary schools have sub-standard dormitory dynamics. I mean: i)the wiring system is ovyo kabisa; ii) the dorms ‘carry’ so many students than they ought to; ii) they have very small windows (and fewer too); iv) some students bring incendiary materials into the dormitories but the schools have not put in place the necessary mechanisms of making sure students don’t get their hands on such material.

But, know what, some other schools take the issue of “fire” very seriously. They have in place mechanisms of preventing incidences of fire from ever occurring. They are also very particular about the psychological health of their students. You rarely hear of riots or fires in these schools and institutions.

Seriously, this situation has to be taken care of before history repeats itself and we are left lamenting and pointing fingers (in the wrong direction!). I would hate to hear “The cause of the fire has still not been established” while at the same time counting bodies and calculating the losses incurred after a conflagration.

Deadly Nandi and Daniel Arap Moi

One reader asked a very interesting question yesterday in the comments area.

Why is it that a people like the Kalenjin with such a rich history of resistance were so quiet during the Kenyatta years as the first president of Kenya embarked on a massive program to settle many Kikuyu’s (whose land in central province was taken from them by the ruling elite then)? Indeed it is this Kenyatta policy that has caused the current crisis in the Rift Valley that is still a huge threat to national security.

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Also published today: Why did Safaricom sack so many senior managers?

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What happened was that Jomo Kenyatta used the then Minister of Home affairs and later his vice president, Daniel arap Moi to settle the large number of Kikuyu farmers in the Rift Valley. The settlement was encouraged by many other Kikuyu families who had already been farming the Rift Valley for a long time by the time Kenya obtained her independence.

Since the assassination of the Nandi Orkoiyot Koitalel arap Samoei who had united the community and won so many stunning military victories against the colonials, the Kalenjin community as a whole has always been looking for a leader to unite them and lead them to properity and success in a changed world. From the early 50s that leader was Daniel arap Moi. Moi criss-crossed the vast Rift Valley cheating his tribesmates that allowing the Kikuyu into their land would bring progress and open the floodgates for them to get direct access to the national cake. Indeed towards the end of the Moi years, some Kalenjin tribes, especially the Nandi were bitterly opposed to Moi and in the run up to the 1997 presidential elections; there was a time that it looked like the Nandi were not going to vote Moi. This is what allowed inroads into the Rift Valley by Mwai Kibaki’s political party then, DP (Democratic Party of Kenya).

But Moi used his vast historical knowledge of the Nandi to outsmart Kibaki and his DP and still get the Nandi vote despite the fact that the community was not happy with him and his many empty promises that dated back to the 1950s. Moi’s campaigners on the ground simply asked the Nandi to choose between allowing another Kikuyu government like Kenyatta’s to return or voting him back in for his last term. That was a no-brainer for the Nandi and Moi got his much-needed votes.

At this juncture it is appropriate for us to observe a fascinating fact. The British were completely unable to defeat the Nandi under their great Orkoiyot Koitalel arap Samoei even after they sent a man with a reputation for ingenious military tactics called Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen. So the British who have gained a reputation for fair play and always doing things “above board” were forced to use the kind of dirty tactics that would usually “shock them.” You see they were getting desperate and deeply embarrassed that a small group pf savages would put up resistance against them for 11 years at great cost to life and property. They had just had enough.

Now Meinertzhagen noticed that the brain behind his every move being outsmarted was Koitalel arap Samoei. So one day in late 1905 the good colonel invited Koitalel and his close advisors to a peace meeting to discuss and finalize lasting peace. It was during that meeting that Meinertzhagen himself killed Koitalel with a rifle at close range. Judging from the size of the hole in Koitalel’s skull (still preserved and now with a Japanese collector) a powerful rifle (and not a revolver) was used and Meinertzhagen stood on his left side. It was clear that the Brits were not taking any chances and wanted to make sure that this man who had cost them so much died. Military courts of enquiry were held by the British government to examine the actions of Meinertzhagen after numerous complaints were made. But clearly they were just for show because Meinertzhagen rather than being charged was in the end acquitted and quietly transferred elsewhere. He went on to become chief intelligence officer of the British army during the Second World War and left the military a highly decorated hero. Koitalel and 23 other Nandis fell and only one Nandi survivor escaped the ill-fated meeting to tell the world the truth about what really happened on that fateful 1905 day.

Meinertzhagen had laid down his plans well and after the murder of the Orkoiyot, two armored trains and the largest expedition yet was sent to deal with the Nandi once and for all. The expedition consisted of 1,500 Indian, Swahili and Somali soldiers, 1,300 auxilrries, 900 armed porters, 10 mchine guns and the two armored train wagons. Still the brave Nandis held out for 2 long months with great casualties. It was clear that things were not the same without their brilliant military strategist and leader. Finally in December 1905 Nandi elders approached the British and requested a peace deal, which was quickly finalized and the Nandi were at long last subdued just as the prophecy of the man they had stoned to death had said.

I finish this weekend's special series with a simple question; Had the NSIS and the president been aware of all this, would they still have gone ahead and played the games they played last December?

P.S.: What is in this week’s raw notes (aiii, wacha tu)!! In fact I cannot dare mention it in this public forum. That’s how HOT it is. No kidding!! However you can get a FREE sneak preview of this red hot saga from my weekly Kumekucha Confidential. Email Me right away for it. It’s FREE kabisa.