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April 28, 2008
21:04
Zimbabwe: Black America must not be silent
From: Black Looks

Read This Entry & More At Black Looks
Zimbabwe: Black America must not be silent Bill Fletcher (2008-04-17) Much of Black America stopped discussing Zimbabwe after its liberation in 1980; at least, we stopped discussing it for a while. After years of regular coverage of the liberation war, details regarding Zimbabwe became harder to obtain as attention shifted to struggles in Mozambique, Namibia, Angola and [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Zimbabwe: Black America must not be silent", url: "http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/04/zimbabwe_black_america_must_not_be_silent.html" });

18:14
US Ambassador: Michael Rannen-Who?
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com

Tags: Kenyan PoliticsBusiness

Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
I am continually amused by how much press time the U.S. ambassador to Kenya is given because here in America, he is really a nobody. If you asked any American to name the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, they would think you were high on something. The president of the United States offers ambassadorial appointments to many [...]

12:45
Zimbabwean Follies... Worth a laugh!
From: Rants, Raves & Reviews

Tags: Rant

Read This Entry & More At Rants, Raves & Reviews
Zimbabwe was a jewel in Africa but for the disregard of (just) law, bad politics and worse economics!

Minister for Agriculture Mechanization, Joseph Made, to a White farmer in recent times:
"Why do you white people always hide behind the law"

Then he goes on "We made the law we can change it"

Huh? JM, you idiot... it's the law! You made it and if you do not like it, change it! You are the government!

BTW, like Kenya there are superfluous ministries in Zimbabwe as well. There is a Minister for Agriculture as well, rugare gumbo. No wonder Africa is rich in resources but poor as hell in "wealth".

What next a Minister of Toilets - in charge of wiping mugabe's arse?

BTW, the Z$ is at Z$241mn vs US$1 (and the US$ has been tumbling of late).

12:04
Audio Interview: The Woman Who Entered a Poor, AIDS-ravaged Community and Left It as a Self-Sustaining Banana Exporter
From: The Displaced African

Enclosure: [download]
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
Posts like this are why the Displaced African was born and what I pretty much live for.

On the 5th of March 2008, an absolute angel amongst men by the name of Fidelis Wainaina died. Aside from being a simply amazing human being (as you will hear in the podcast) what was absolutely amazing about her body of work is that starting with absolutely nothing she helped the constituents of Maseno turn their community from a poor, AIDS ravaged community into a self-sufficient banana exporting constituency that is now on its way to self-created wealth.

Now, sad to say, in this day and age, an event such as her death passed without much mention from the media. However, since I am blessed to have a blog and a means to communicate with Africa and the world, I thought I would do my part to ensure that souls such as hers are never ever forgotten and are in fact celebrated. I also hope that this podcast will help spur on all the people doing good work in Africa and inspire those not in the game of service to dive in.

Before I get to the meat of this post let me give you some very quick tips on how you can help ensure posts such as this reach the most people and have the most impact.

11 Things To Do After You Read This Article

Please do AT LEAST one of the following things after reading this post and/or listening to the podcast:
1. Email it to all your friends who might be interested in it.
2. Write your opinions on Fidelis in your own blog (like Sukuma Kenya did )
3. Link to this article from your blog and share your thoughts on it.
4. Send this article to your local paper and ask them to do a write-up on Fidelis Wainaina.
5. Email world wide online publications such as Pambazuka, Black looks, Global Voices Online, Jamati and allafrica and ask them to do a feature to commemorate Fidelis.
6. Start up your own initiatives like Fidelis’ Maseno Interchristian Child Self Help Group (MICH) and let me know about them so I can interview you too.
7. Share this article with your friends on Facebook (there is a link that allows you to do so at the end of this post).
8. Stumble this article and expose it to millions of people all over this world (if enough people Stumble this article around the same time, it can be read by up to 1000s of people within the next 24 hours). There is a link that allows you to Stumble this article at the bottom of the post. If you are not a member of StumbleUpon, make sure you sign up-it’s free. It is one of the greatest websites EVER!
9. If you are a journalist or film maker or involved in any form of mass media, do a special on her and feel free to reference this post or any of its contents.
10. Do what you can to get the word out about Fidelis, her work and similar projects.
If you know anyone else who I should interview because of the good work they do, do not hesitate to contact me .And for helping me with this, I thank you a lot.

Without Further Ado

The first podcast in the history of the Displaced African (yay). Hope it inspires you.

The file is 45 minutes long so feel free to Download it and carry it on your ipod (Download it by right clicking on the ‘Download’ link below the player, selecting “Save File As”/ “Save Target As” and letting the goodness flow from the web to your computer )

Some Quick Notes About the Podcast

1) I understand that some people do not quite agree with the view presented in this interview of why the violence in Kenya broke out - i.e. that a lot of it was a direct attack against Kikuyus as either perceived revenge or to displace them. That’s fine. It’s not the main point of the interview anyway, and we were not physically in Kenya during the violence so we could definitely be wrong.

2) Any notes on how to improve my interview technique or any questions that weren’t fully answered, leave a comment or contact me and let me know.

3) Fidelis’ organization is known as Maseno Interchristian Child Self Help Group (MICH)

4) The exchange rate we were discussing was the US Dollar vs the Kenya shilling. To check out exchange rates, visit the Yahoo currency converter.

5) The Luo name for her was Nyar Okuyu.

Further Information

East African Standard article from August 28 2006

East African Standard interviews Fidelis Wainaina

Yarra Prize Laureates 2006 article

Listen to Fidelis Wainaina give a speech: “On the Front Lines of Poverty” during the Micah Conference 2007: [www.kingsu.ca]

Article regarding her death from Australian organization, TEAR (She was supposed to visit us during this Australian tour…sigh!): [www.tear.org.au]

A short story regarding Fidelis from the ONE Organization: [www.one.org]

Another brief article about her death:

From a European website.

World Evagelical Alliance also mention her death: [www.worldevangelicals.org]

For more information, also check out the Google search results for the term: Fidelis Wainaina

Please don’t forget to do one of the 11 things listed above as soon as you finish reading this article. And of course, if you enjoyed this podcast and want to make sure you receive updates when I begin doing regular inspirational podcasts, please subscribe to the site for free via either:

a) Email

b) RSS

Be blessed and bless others,

Mwangi

11:37
Dark Past Of The Man Expected To Handle Prison Warden’s Crisis
From: You Missed This

Read This Entry & More At You Missed This

Can Kalonzo Handle Catastropic Prison Warden’s Strike As Gunshots Are Heard Inside Kamiti Maximum Security Prison?
It is very normal in Kenya for people not to ask too many questions about a politicians’ past. As long as they are bwana kubwa nothing else seems to matter. For instance while covering a confidential report for my subscribers on the subject; The Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka that Kenyans don’t know in this week’s raw notes, this blogger was reminded of the bizarre circumstances under which Kalonzo first entered parliament.

The facts are that the immediate former MP for Mwingi North was killed under very mysterious circumstances that have never been explained to this day.

It happened in the 1980s when the then area MP Peter Manandu was shot dead in a bar by a rogue administration policeman under some very strange and yet to be explained circumstances.

The now deceased, Mulu Mutisya is said to have traveled all the way to Mwingi and met Musyoka, then a young lawyer who was trying into make inroads into politics. Mutisya was impressed by the young man's demeanor and his patience even for someone illiterate as Mutisya who never saw the inside of a classroom.

It is said that prior to the by elections that followed, Mutisya informed Musyoka that one had to seek supernatural protection from witchdoctors so as to avoid being bewitched by rivals during political campaigns. Musyoka understood this only too well partly because of his father’s occupation (more details available in my raw notes this week).

This is now the same man who has to deal with perhaps the biggest crisis to hit Kenyan armed security personnel in the history of these shores. Kalonzo as Vice President has the home affairs docket which covers the prisons department. This is certainly not going to be as easy as jostling to be seen as the second most powerful man in the land.

Already a committee he appointed headed by former Vice President Moody Awori to probe into the warden’s complaints has been rejected by the striking wardens. The wardens are threatening to free criminals on Wednesday if their grievances will not have been addressed by then.

As you read this, the latest reports indicate that gun shot fire has been heard outside Kamiti Maximum Security prison earlier today and GSU personnel have been dispatched and took their positions surrounding the prison.

There are a number of factors that make this crisis extraordinarily dangerous and a threat to the very internal security of the nation.

Firstly armed security forces never go on strike. Just like you can never say that the Kenyan military has gone on strike. The correct word to be used here is “mutiny.” Fellow Kenyans what we have in our hands now is a mutiny within a section of our armed security personnel.

Secondly thanks mainly to modern technology and things like the cell phone the wardens have managed to organize a countrywide mutiny, meaning that virtually every prison in the land has been affected. The seriousness of this rebellion amongst our armed prison forces is not something that can be overstated.

News just in as I was completing this post is that the government has bowed to the demands of the wardens. In a statement issued by Musyoka himself from his Jogoo house office moments ago, the VP accepted virtually all the demands of the wardens. This includes a kshs 10,000 payment for their work during the elections, a kshs 5,000 risk allowance as well as a Kshs 5,000 medical allowance.

It will be interesting to see how this story develops because some senior prison wardens were arrested yesterday after being tricked into attending a crisis meeting in Nairobi, instead CID officers pounced and arrested them at venue of the meeting. In fact already 9 of the officers have appeared in court this morning and the rest are still being held at Muthaiga Police station. It is likely that the 9 officers will be charged with mutiny which is punishable by a jail term not exceeding 10 years.

It is widely expected that all the other prison wardens in solidarity with their arrested colleagues may not go back to work until their leaders are released and the charges dropped.

All in all this is a deadly situation that could easily plunge the entire country, still bleeding from a stolen election, into total chaos. Not to mention the fact that the government is a little cash-strapped just now.

I will keep you updated about developments as they unfold.

Did woman pay for scratch cards with sex?
10:17
NEXT !!
From: You Missed This

Read This Entry & More At You Missed This

7:59
Monday Moanings Part XV
From: My part of the world.......

Tags: life

Read This Entry & More At My part of the world.......
What ever happened to this chap?

Last I heard he took up with a sugar mummy and disappeared without even doing his Form 4 exams.

I was reading the Kenyan press on-line and came across the Prison Warders' strike. I don't support their threats (release of hard core criminals) but on the other hand the press has been highlighting their pathetic living standards and working conditions for years without any change at all, even when Uncle Moody was gallivanting around the country improving conditions for prisoners. What I find even more ironic is how we have not built even one prison since Independence, surely there is no excuse at all for that!

I had my first sushi experience this weekend and I really must say it was most enjoyable, whoever knew that raw fish tasted that good? This was the perfect way to end a day that was spent at an outdoor festival (pics coming soon), that I went to with work mates and a friend of their who used to work in our organization. She left the organization under acrimonious terms so when we became cozy she had no shame in digging up and sharing the dirt of the organization with me, which was also confirmed by one of my work mates. I'll share later but let's just say I'm not going to be looking at some people in the office in the same light. One of my work mates feels she has gone as far as she can with the organization so is doing some serious job hunting, she reminds me of this crappy job that I used to have where most of the department used to spend half the day passing around job vacancies to each other. The funny thing though is how upper management seemed not to notice the low morale all over the office.

I was listening to the new Maddona album and it's surprisingly good, there is one important lesson Janet Jackson can learn from her and that is innovation and reinvention. Maddona has had misses but more often than not she goes back to the drawing board and reinvents herself, Janet on the other hand has over played the sex kitten card if you ask me.

The only word to describe this story is sick! Is it something in the Austrian air or something that is turning out these kidnapping pedophiles? I wonder if the daughter will ever recovers.

A few years ago. I had the feeling that this article was inevitable. I don't know if anyone remember a few years back in Kenya how there used to be one thousand one different fashion shows and titles, Ms Langata, Ms Eastlands, Ms Nakumatt, Ms Toyota, Ms Jam Rescue, Ms Florida 2000 etc. With no main governing organization or standards. many of these contests were just an excuse for men to ogle women and shop for their next pretty young thang.

As I had posted sometime back, our two main papers always have to post their annual article on the State of Prostitution in Kenya today. Here is what Standard came up with, it does seem the more "westernised" Kenya gets, the more brazen the advertising gets. It's this excerpt that I found interesting;
"It a thrilling business," she says. "I was forced into it due to hardship and the harsh living conditions, and now I pay my own fee and still have something left over to send to my mother who is a widow."

Her mother believes that she is the beneficiary of a lucrative internship with an international NGO in the city.
The use of the words force and thrilling in the same sentence to described prostitution. Her account makes prostitution not seem that bad. Yes the headline does sum up the whole tone of the article but even so, the writer should have at least mentioned some of the hardships or something faced by those in the trade but who knows maybe the hookers he interviewed don't face any hardships in the trade? For 1,450/= an hour maybe I too should hop onto a plan and join the trade?
Have a productive Monday people!

7:25
PNU Mandarins ‘STUNNED’ by US Support to PM's Office
From: You Missed This

Read This Entry & More At You Missed This

================================
STUNNED, STUNNING, STUNS.
1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow.
2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise.
3. To stupefy, as with the emotional impact of an experience; astound.
================================

PNU mandarins are reportedly ‘STUNNED’ by the announcement that the US government has pledged US$500,000 (Sh30.5 million) direct funding to sustain the development and smooth running of the newly created Prime Minister’s office. What is raising eyebrows is that the funds will be channeled directly to the PM's office and not via Treasury (Ministry of Finance).

One such mandarin is Kalonzo Musyoka’s sidekick and newly appointed Assistant Minister of Defence, Hon David Musila. He is quoted by the VOA accusing the government of US of behaving as if there are two governments in Kenya. You can read/listen to his remarks here.

While making the announcement, US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger was not sitting at Foreign Affairs Minister Wetangula’s office. He was infact making the politically unpalatable remarks in an interview with a local newspaper which quotes him saying that his country is putting "a lot of hope" in the PM’s office because of the role the Constitution has assigned it to co-ordinate and supervise government ministries.

"In a government this large, the role of the Prime Minister is going to be critical. We will work very closely with the Prime Minister in co-ordinating and supervising the Government," the ambassador said.

He added: "We recognise that critical role, and that is why we are ready to give money to strengthen the office."

To add insult to injury, the Ambassador also announced that the US had invited Prime Minister Raila Odinga to Washington "at a mutually convenient date" to be hosted by the State Department and meet with Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice. He was cagey whether the visit would include a meeting at White House with President George Bush. Raila, Ranneberger added, was being invited to the US because of the importance Washington attaches to his role as the one "constitutionally required to supervise and co-ordinate the activities of government". Pressed to explain why the invitation was not extended to Mwai Kibaki as Head of State, the ambassador said he remained in close touch with Kibaki, adding that the President had been on a state visit to the US before.

"We are inviting the PM so that we can review assistance here and show that we can co-ordinate closely. The US has such a large partnership with Kenya and we want to ensure it is properly co-ordinated," he elaborated.

Following the desputed elections in December, President Kibaki sent a number of envoys to foreign countries in an attempt to gain legitimacy. President Kibaki appointed Uhuru Kenyatta, Raphael Tuju, George Saitoti and Moses Wetangula as special envoys to brief world leaders on the political crisis in the country caused by his disputed election as president. Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said yesterday the envoys would visit several African states and brief their heads of state about “the genuine situation in the country,” instead of relying on the international media. Uhuru Kenyatta was reportedly kept waiting and never given audience by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who went on to support Anan’s efforts in creating a power sharing deal. It is unclear whether the other envoys made any headway because only one or two world leaders congratulated Kibaki on his "re-election". Bloggers here will also remember that Kalonzo Musyoka, as newly appointed VP, made whistle-stop tours in UK and USA in a FUTILE effort to market the Kenya Government. This was long before the National Accord had been signed.

Surprisingly, there has not been any official statement by Hon. Wetangula or Dr. Mutua on this new development regarding accredited envoys directly funding the PM.

6:12
Odds & Ends
From: tHiNkEr'S rOoM

Tags: R038R

Read This Entry & More At tHiNkEr'S rOoM

My struggle to be”significant and articulate” continues.
Paying Tax
My sympathies are with Mr. Wesley Snipes. After spending the better part of 3 years trying to keep the taxman off his assets he will be spending the next three trying to keep the ax man off his ass. Now let’s see if just like every other rich white celebrity, he’ll be on his merry way after a couple of days after a slap on the wrist. Somehow … I don’t think so. Blade will now have mundane things like dropped soap becoming a lot less mundane.
Merus Hoyee
Looks like Kiraitu Murungi and the Njuri Ncheke must be doing something right for the Meru Community. I was amazed to see this ad on my gmail

My Man Wally
I don’t read Dilbert for Dilbert. Wally is just the guy!

The Age Of Innocence
30 years ago this comic panel would not have raised any eyebrows

Barber Shop
I earlier today cut my hair. This may seem fairly mundane to you but it is a big deal to me because the last time I cut my hair was two presidents and a prime minister, one decade and 3 elections ago, in the last millennium. Yes sir, I last sat in a barber’s seat in 1997. Vox populi has been split between disbelief and mirth, weighted heavily in the direction of the latter. I must confess since the haircut to feeling a tad lethargic.
Fuel

I’m thinking of getting a nice 21 speed mountain bike. This is Kenol Koinange Street. Kenol, BTW, consistently have the highest fuel prices in Nairobi, the greedy doofi. Only gunpoint can inspire me to fuel at a Kenol/Kobil
Bummer
Like Midnight Mugithi I find the Hummer a particularly ugly monstrosity that only a mother could love. The other day I found myself driving behind one of those eyesores. The reaction from folks can only be accurately described in film

Driving
I came across this driving school the other day while en route to visit the missus. So fascinated was I by the sign I clean missed the turnoff. It certainly looks like an interesting establishment. If only MPs would pay a visit!

Groan Of The Day
Religious women have no business making coffee. The bible clearly says Hebrews.

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3:00
The Life and times of the immigrant.
From: The Diary of One Black Man

Read This Entry & More At The Diary of One Black Man
rollcall ;Kip Music; niki -Niwe wako It had been a minute since I had a free weekend afternoon in 2008 A.D Yup, the time is upon us and clothes are slowly starting to fall off. Summer time is here, the gentle summer breeze blowing into the metropolis the gateway to the Texas pan handle. The girls are dressing less [...]

2:18
Is Africa politically regressing?
From: Rants, Raves & Reviews

Tags: Rant

Read This Entry & More At Rants, Raves & Reviews
Sigh... Africa doesn't have much luck with Ms... exception being Nelson Mandela...

(dan) moi - thief, murderer, turncoat, cheat...
mwai (kibaki) - well, google the Kenyan blogosphere... 42 member cabinet...
muamar (gadafi) - nutcase but believes he is entitled to be Africa's king...
(bob) mugabe - where do I start with him? Virtually destroyed Zimbabwe....

museveni - once seen as progressive but... he is after anyone he perceives as a political opponent or critic. Sad...

Will Africa see deliverance any time soon?

Read the complete article at

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Tags: life

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