Feeds
8973 items (0 unread) in 56 feeds
Welcome to Mashada Blogs! Read all your favourite blogs in one place.
«
Expand/Collapse
-
-
19:13
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
We've proved our brand of politics-made-in-Kenya has the ability to bring out the worst in not just our dishonourables (bungled elections) but even you and me the common mwananchi (we were the main actors in tragic post election filled month-long violence)
Every village has its mad men, and where mayhem and anarchy are left to reign in place of the rule-of-law, mentally-deranged people come crawling out of the woodworks in droves-why should a gang of youths in Naivasha harass women wearing trousers because according to them african women are supposed to wear skirts and dresses only?
Obviously not on the agenda for these common everyday street thugs is the on-going fight for justice that has consumed the life of our nation and left our streets overflowing with blood of innocent kenyans whose lives were cut-short and democratic victory stolen from them in the wake of a massive power struggle between architects of past decay and charismatic bullies
Just as fish die without water, there is no country in the world whose people can survive without obeying the rule of law and order. Messrs Raila and Kibaki, only both of you SINCERELY working together for the good of the land can solve the current political impasse that is impeding the establishment of justice and the flow of peace and social progress throughout our great country.
In the past one month Kenya has already paid more than her fair share(don't you think?) of the price for sacrifices that may not have had to be made in order for us to achieve the far-reaching great and revolutionary changes that the people of Kenya have long been aching and yearning for the past 45 years of our eventful but colorful existence. All eyes are on you (even in Addis Ababa) please don't make kenyans begin harassing (wo)men who wear trousers in every street of every province
Its justice, peace and integrity stupid
-
14:21
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
Why US Warnings and French Appeal To Security Council Could Signal An External Solution… Maybe Even Of The Military KindPresident Paul Kagame’s idea that Kenya should turn to the military for a solution was received with silent shock by most Kenyans. Still there is no denying that President Kagame as young as he is knows a thing or two about stopping genocide dead on its’ tracks. Somebody has to stop the killings, in Kenya… PLEASE!!! (See photo below of woman who was killed in her house in Nakuru in the presence of her wailing son) Photo courtesy of pandashuka.wordpress.comIn fact Kagame has gone beyond that and is now firmly at the helm of a country that many see as the most progressive in the region despite having gone through the worst ethnic cleansing recorded in history. A closer look at what the President of Rwanda was saying reveals plenty of wisdom. He said (in front of journalists who had mostly dropped their jaws in shock) that when institutions fail, then bringing in the military to restore order makes plenty of sense. If we are brutally honest with ourselves, the truth is that we currently do not have any leaders in the country and our institutions are literally dead in the water. What we have are plenty of selfish politicians on both sides of the political divide who are only hungry for power at whatever cost. To our current political class human life is absolutely worthless. I beg you fellow Kenyans to forget your political affiliations for a moment and even if you are paid to make your political party look good remember that at the rate we are going, your (blood money) will not help you much in the rapidly emerging new balkanized Kenya where human life, even that of toddlers who don’t know their tribe yet is not worth 2 cents. Ladies and gentlemen let us sober up for a few minutes and take a very sober look at our country. Both Baba Jimmy and Baba Castro have let down Kenyans badly. These two gentlemen both have blood on their hands. Patience please so that I can explain myself. Baba Jimmy went ahead and did what he did with the presidential elections on live TV and in full view of the world. And to make matters even more sickening he went to great lengths to prepare the security forces to quickly quell down any rebellion. The most dangerous thing that can happen to a country is when very intelligent people who happen to be political idiots are in power. Baba Jimmy’s team of very intelligent persons who have clearly shown how politically naive they can be, came up with the reasoning that people will usually quickly cool down when faced with the threat of death. So the idea was to shoot rioters and swiftly scare them into submission. What a terrible miscalculation these otherwise intelligent guys made!!! They did not realize that the lives of a substantial number of Kenyans are so miserable that death under certain circumstances can even seem attractive. The rest is history. Actually the latest is that Baba Jimmy while in Ethiopia has bluntly blamed the opposition for instigating post election violence when the whole world knows who started the fire. This is a clear demonstration by Baba Jimmy that the Annan talks mean nothing to him. After all he left the country (as the duly elected president who cannot solve the crisis in his own country) to go to the AU summit to help solve the problems of other African countries like Sudan and Somalia. What a big joke. But Baba Castro is not innocent either. Yes, the election was stolen from him. Yes, it must have been terrible when he had already started “smelling” the sweet aroma of the lawns of State House. But he missed a golden opportunity to go down in history for courage and maybe he would even have won occupancy of State house in the process. What he should have done is tell the people of Kenya that he valued human life more than his ambitions and as a result he should have stepped down from his “protest” to save human life. He would then have resumed his fight for justice in a non-violent manner after things cooled down. Heard of a guy called Mahatma Gandhi? He proved that peaceful protest can be much more effective than powerful guns and the then mighty British empire. What Baba Castro and many ODM supporters do not realize yet is that if he was to take over as the president of this country, there is a high possibility that we may end up in a much worse crisis than we have at the moment. The truth is that many Kikuyus are being held back by the fact that Baba Jimmy is still president. If he is replaced by a person that most of them don’t trust, then chances are that they will go ballistic. The neat solution is to divide the country into the Republic of Mount Kenya (to be ruled by Baba Jimmy) and the Republic of 6 and half provinces to be ruled by Baba Castro. However since the majority of Kenyans seem to be against this solution, then Baba Castro will never be president of the country called Kenya. Very sad because I personally believe that he was robbed of a clear victory, but that’s life. Surely Kenya is bigger than Baba Castro and his ambitions. Which brings me to the military solution that can save Kenyan lives and bring us all to the new political dispensation that we all so eagerly desire. The Kenya army should be invited to take over and then ALL members of the 10th parliament should be placed under house arrest. The Kenya army should then invite International forces sanctioned by the UN to help them restore order and sanity in the country. The country will then be ruled by a neutral military council or committee whose task will be to stop the killings, restore order and prepare the country for a new general elections in the next one year or so where all those who have held public office before, including those in the 10th parliament will be barred from running. The military will also oversee strict rules for the elections where candidates using any form of ethnicity will be promptly barred from running. Note that in this kind of arrangement whoever wins the presidency will have to be acceptable to a sizeable number of people on both sides of the political divide, meaning that such elections can play a very important role in healing the country. This may not be a very far fetched eventuality considering the fact that the United States has already warned about implementing an external solution while the French have appealed directly to the UN Security Council to intervene in the Kenyan situation. Not to mention the fact that a UK Minister has called for the deployment of the Kenya Army to bring back order. Read between the lines, folks. P.S. President Kibaki’s statement in Ethiopia blaming the opposition for instigating the post election violence is extremely reckless when you consider that events of the recent past have clearly showed us that violence tends to escalate during weekends. It happened in Nakuru and it happened again in Naivasha. P.S. 2: Wild But Persistent Rumours that we are unable to confirm at the moment...That Lucy Kibaki injured Jimmy Kibaki in an incident in State House after the latter suggested that his dad should step down. That Gitobu Imanyara is in critical condition from injuries sustained from beatings by security agents after he hit back at first lady shortly after receiving one of those famous slaps. What we have confirmed…The First lady is currently under “lock and key.” Impeccable sources told Kumekucha this evening that nobody is taking any more chances with her. But the same sources have refused to confirm or deny whether anything happened to justify the “lock and key policy”.
-
14:06
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
I have sincerely been overwhelmed by the flood of kind words from all you good people out there who are responsible for the one million plus hits (and rapidly climbing) that this blog achieved yesterday.
My ribs are aching from the hilarious comments about Form 16A’s and Kivuitu announcements.
To be sincere, I was completely taken by surprise by the way in which the congratulations poured in. As you can imagine this is a lonely and thankless job where encouragement is rare.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the other main bloggers who have contributed immensely to the success of Kumekucha like Taabu, Phil, Luke, Ritch, Sue, Sayra, Kalamari, Proud Kikuyu Woman, Danlieve, Karol, Derek and even the missing in action, Vikii (I hope I haven’t left out anybody). Thank you so much my brothers and sisters. I would never have done it alone.
To be sincere, without these folks, readers would have had to suffer the dictatorship of my ideas and biases. But these guys are such an effective “check and balance” on my “presidential powers”. I want to encourage them by telling them that the service they have rendered to our beloved (albeit currently burning) motherland is more than they will ever realize.
Somebody has asked whether I ever imagined getting one million hits. To be honest, although I am extremely ambitious, I never dreamt that it would come this quickly. Once again, a big thank you to all you guys out there who made it possible.
Can we now join hands (across the political divide) and selflessly help solve the current crisis in our motherland?
-
11:12
From: White African
Read This Entry & More At White African
If you are interested in attending a conference focused on ideas, ingenuity and creativity in Africa, then there is no better choice than the upcoming TEDAfrica conference in Cape Town from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 of this year. Inspired by TEDGlobal in Tanzania last year, and operated under a license from TED, this is an event to watch.
I don’t know the people behind TEDAfrica, but if it’s anything like what we experienced at TEDGlobal last year, then I’m sure it will be worth every penny spent to attend. They are handing out 50 TEDAfrica Fellowships (fully paid), so make sure you sign up for one of those soon too.
 
-
8:48
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
seeking bloggers: Mediation talks are going on in Nairobi, and we hope for a better month than January. The last post I did was on winners - one of whom was Kenyans online who have been inspired by the political crisis to start blogging. I’d like to add new bloggers to the blog roll (the list on the right, below the advertisements) - an update of the list is long overdue and some blogs there have since become dormant. Regular readers are invited to submit any interesting blogs they have found (and which are likely to be running for the next few months at least) and I may do a write up of them Other opportunities most from the daily papers this weekTED Africa registration opens today Import finance: the Government of Japan has through Kenya’s ministry of finance come forward with a 1.5 billion yen (884 million shillings) facility for Kenyan businesses to import raw materials and finished goods from Japan. Applications are on a first come, first served basis, minimum amount is 5 million shillings, maximum 40 million ($560,000) ; terms are down payment of 10% and finance is up to 90% to be repaid over 1 year and secured by a bank guaranteed. Info is from crown agents (crownagents@ke.crownagents.com) Ford foundation scholarships: The 7th round of the Ford foundation international fellowships program is up and running. 48 scholarships are available to Kenyans – details online and D/L is 7/3 Jobs- Credit analysts at Africa trade insurance companyConsolidated bank: branch manager, credit manager, credit admin manager, credit analysts. Apply though snail mail by 15/2 - Regional learning & development coordinator at Deloitte. Apply to hr@deloitte.co.ke KCB: divisional director HR - apply through hawking associates by 11/2. Also investigators (frauds-forensics) and head of central services. Apply to recruitment@kcb.co.ke by 8/2 - Kenya Airways: Ramp Bus Operator, Sales & Ticketing Agent, Multilingual In-Flight Attendant, Customer Service Agent, Qualified Pilots Nimble Africa: industry experts (hospitality, financial, retail). Apply to recruitment@nimbleafrica.com by 10/2 - Safaricom: Area sales representative, M-PESA new business sales officer. D/L is 6/2 - Standard group: financial & commercial services director, group managing editor. Apply through PWC at ess.ke@ke.pwc.com by 15/2. - USIU; management accountant, financial accountant. Apply to jobs@usiu.ac.ke by 15/2 - Independent financial advisors at Winton investments: Apply to jobs@wintoninvestments.com.
-
8:27
From: What An African Woman Thinks
Read This Entry & More At What An African Woman Thinks
The American Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, is fast becoming known as DJ Ranneberger on account of his frequent appearances on various TV and Radio stations in Kenya to speak about the ongoing crisis. At first it was difficult to distinguish him in the cacophony—it was all too loud, too frenzied, too much. To his credit, however, he’s continued to speak reason, moderation, resolution and reconciliation. Slowly I’ve began to distinguish his voice above the din.
I’ve been re-evaluating my stance on the role of the international community in helping resolve the Kenyan crisis. I’ve said before that I think that if we get our act together, we’re well able to cultivate a homegrown solution such as no one can deliver to us from abroad. I still subscribe in principle to this point of view. I have always been wary of the hidden agendas and ulterior motives of purportedly neutral parties. “Selfish political interests” do not suddenly dissipate into thin air when you flash a different passport.
But.
Ranneburger makes a convincing argument when he contends that although we theoretically have ample capacity to cultivate a homegrown solution in Kenya, that capacity has been compromised by a high level of mistrust between the opposing parties and that because of the nature of the issue at hand, every Kenyan is considered to be Either Or, there's little or no room in the middle.
Some people have made commendable effort to remain above the fray, but in the current impasse, rightly or wrongly, every Kenyan is assumed to have taken a side. It is nigh impossible to be neutral and harder still to convince anyone of your neutrality in the unlikely event that you are neutral.
We make assumptions about people’s leanings in the first instance on the basis of their surnames, which is why we glance at bylines before we read the article now, so that we “know what to expect”. And then when people surprise us with what they say, we do not allow for a middle ground. To hear Maina Kiai booed when he went to tour the camps for displaced people in the North Rift was to realize that we’re living in a “you’re either for us or against us” era.
Enter Kofi Annan as Mediator stroke Facilitator, as the case may be. The image of Kofi Annan as the stern, no-nonsense Headmaster has wormed itself into my consciousness and I find I cannot wipe it out. I was not sold on the value of his coming on the heel of what seems to be a botched mediation effort by Ghanian President, John Kuffour. But, he has really grown on me. He seems to mean business and brook no nonsense. I take comfort in his seeming to have pitched tent, and effectively signaling that he is not going anywhere until our leaders become leaders and begin to lead. If the human species isn’t extinct by then, that is. But don’t let’s be too pessimistic.
Back to Ranneberger: yesterday, he made two statements that served essentially to throw water on my week of borderline hysteria and compel to get my act together already.
First, he dismissed comparisons between what is happening in Kenya and what happened in Haiti, Liberia or Somalia. And by dismissed I mean he pooh-poohed and raised his hand in disdain at these comparisons in what seemed a very strong response from a diplomat. He argued that unlike these countries when they went through their respective crises, Kenya has a vibrant civil society, a wide democratic space, a robust media and one of the highest levels of literacy and civic awareness in Africa, adding that “Kenyans should hold up their heads,” and feel proud of what they’ve achieved, “especially in the last five years.”
Second, he insisted that whereas things have been far from perfect and problems such as high-level corruption and ethnic tensions and regional imbalances are cause for concern, we have made significant strides forward as a country in the past five years. The economy has grown, even though its benefits have not trickled down to the bottom of the pyramid. Healthcare has been made more widely available. Education has improved and Kenya’s literacy rates are now some of the highest in Africa. In other words, there have been hiccups, but, there has been progress.
I took the cue: it was time for me to exhale. Time for me to get a grip.
We’re in an extremely difficult place, there’s no denying that. It is not going to be easy to get from here to where we were, let alone from there to where we want to be. But, difficult is not impossible. We have the right ingredients to make a success of this, and the world is rooting for us, unwilling to allow us to fail for fear of the ripple effects of such a failure.
If we don’t get out of this quagmire we’re in and get back on track, it’s not because we couldn’t but because we chose not to.
Upwards and onwards, then.It's my window, but I don't own the view.
-
7:51
From: Walk of Kings:
Read This Entry & More At Walk of Kings:
2 Corinthians 5:12-21 (New International Version) 12We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[ a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-
7:45
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
strange times these: The leadership forum has brought some great talks with great Q&A sessions with leaders like John Gakuo and Michael Joseph; but when we invite the Nation Media Group CEO Linus Gitahi to talk about Africa’s Competitive Advantage In The Global Market Place – he will respond to questions posed by the audience in advance. - strange change of format, and we don’t even know what he will say.
-
7:02
From: Eyes on Kenya
Read This Entry & More At Eyes on Kenya
On Saturday Feb. 2nd 2008 a Charity Concert- One Kenya One Voice- in Boston, Ma, USA will take place at “The Roxy”. All proceeds will go to the Kenyan Red Cross. Headliner Artist Eric Wainaina and others will be performing. For more information see [www.vumakenya.org]
On the same day a peace rally will be held in Hamburg, Germany, organized by a Kenyan culture organisation Chawema e.V.. Meeting point is the the Hamburg Main Station (Kirchenallee-Hachmannplatz) at 2 o’clock.
At 6 o’clock there will be an discussion round at the DGB building at Besenbinderhof 57a (close to ZOB Hamburg) with Emily Imunde about the present situation back home. M. J. Obeto from Chawema e.V. will moderate in both English and German.
-
6:36
From: Afromusing
Read This Entry & More At Afromusing
The TED Africa conference in Capetown South Africa, promises to build on the magic of TED Global 2007. The concept for this years’ conference makes that quite clear.
What if Africa had no borders? What if her boundaries extended as far as those living in the diaspora, or even further? What if you could fly directly from Cape to Cairo, Lagos to Luanda, Bujumbura to Abuja? Or what if you could drive to every city and every town and every village? What if the Internet was a reality for every African? What if you could call the world from atop the Kilimanjaro, or from deep in the forests of the Congo? What if a lingua franca was spoken and understood by every African? What if we could halve the number of poor Africans by 2015, or eradicate poverty altogether someday? What if there was a cure for every disease and the average African could live beyond the age of 33? What if Africa embraced innovative thinking, and in the process, reinvented her future?
I would recommend registering early for this exciting event, and if interested in the African Fellows program, to apply for it as soon as possible. There are 50 fellowships available this year.
-
5:28
From: Black Looks
Read This Entry & More At Black Looks
Out of the ashes…………..
****I was listening to BBC’s breakfast show, “Today” on Friday morning. There were interviews with various pundits and the UK foreign affairs minister. The show ended with a brief interview with a woman resident of on Kiberia settlement in Nairobi. The last question she was asked [...]
-
4:51
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
The Citizen Pathway Group is made up of professional Kenyans from all walks of life. Regular readers of this column may remember them as the 'Cellar Group'. Ever since the start of the violence in Kenya the CPG have had numerous meetings in a bid to find a middle-ground so that peace and civilized behavior can return to our country. The CPG has also visited many parts of the country affected by violence and provided significant humanitarian assistance to Kenyans who are now being referred to as IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons). The CPG is now pleased to welcome all Kenyans of goodwill to their next meeting in order to allow any one with any positive idea can put it forward. The meeting aims to focus on how to arm Kenyans in developing strategy to co-exist within this beautiful country. CITIZENS PATHWAY GROUP Venue Shelter Afrique Center Saturday, February 2, 2008 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. Agenda - Opening/Introductions/Agenda/Time-keeping
- What is CPG/Mission/Progress so far
- Personal Impact: recognizing trauma/depression in yourself
- What we expect of you (by end, you will all be equipped with positive messages to drown out the negativity)
- Understanding our narratives/deconstructing myths
- Success story: speaking to hardliners
-Developing content – current myths and counter-messages to different groups (aggressors, politician, media, average Kenyan) - Disseminating content - how does CPG get its message out? - Reporting to larger group on messages and outreach strategy
- Conclusion: How to have impact as a Luo, Luhya, Kikuyu, Kalenjin moderate
-
0:56
From: Mshairi
Read This Entry & More At Mshairi
we hear a woman’s raped every
30 minutes this fact needs to be
adjusted as 56 & more
many more were assaulted
inside the first 2 days of
premeditated brutality
of the elephants’ skirmish
their bodies are the frontline
where foes are belittled
& age-old grudges viciously settled
meanwhile rallies sermonise
peacemakers negotiate &
dealmakers mediate
they play the blame game who instigated
what who killed whom [...]
Read the complete article at
|
|
