A half year after Diamond Trust , it’s now KCB conducting a second rights issue in the span of a few years. This comes at a time when international banks raising capital are facing more scrutiny than before.
KCB are back to ask their shareholders to chip in. In June 2004 they exceeded the 2.45 billion target and this time they are set to raise 5.54 billion ($86.6 million). How else is this issue different?
What has changed?
Then ; Now
June 04 : June 08
Focus – then Kenyan expansion & rebranding ; now East African expansion, Bank ESOP
New shares 50 million ; 222.1 million [but just 22.1 million in pre-split [PS] 2007 terms]
Price 50/= ; 25/= (actually 250 PS - pre-split 25% discount each time)
Market cap 8.7 billion ; 66.4 billion
2003 PAT 486 m ; 2007 2,974 million
Ratio 1:3 ; 1:9 (1 new share for 9 owned)
Result: oversubscribed; ? (Likely to be the same)
Cost of the offer
Budget:2004 offer – 104 million ; 2008 offer – 220 million
What costs more? : CMA approval fees – up 125% (13.75m), Transaction advisor – up 103% (8.1 million), PR/advertising – up 34% (17.4 m), Printing – up 30% (15 million), Reporting accountant up 26% (3.7m)
What costs less? Legal advisor down 58% (756,000), NSE fees down 50% (250,000)
Market players changed
NSE members 17:19
In Genghis Capital (new stockbroker?), Renaissance Capital, Bob Matthews, NIC (was solid) Afrika Investment (was Ashbhu)
Out: Francis Thuo, Nyagah, Solid, Ashbhu - stockbrokers
Morphed: Faida, Kestrel Standard Suntra (from brokers to investment banks)
IPO financiers: 2004 memorandum mentioned 10 banks and two building societies offering Rights Loans ; this time no mention as share loans are a touchy subject in 2008
Shareholders: Anchor shareholders - then and now : Government of Kenya (35%:26%), NSSF (1%, 7.8%), ICDCI (4.3%, 3.5%), Sunil shah, (2.06%, 2.33%) staff pension fund (4.12%, 2.32%)
Calendar: Record date 4/6, rights start trading 23/6, last day trade rights 11/7, last date to pay for rights 18/7, new share trade 15/8, [to stave dilution, investor accounts will be credited 10 days before new shares are listed]
Investment Decision: Advice on investing in KCB rights comes from the Nairobist newsletter.
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17:40 Orengo: Somebody Done Fooled Me….
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com What can I say? The Grand Regency Larceny hotel has been sold for 2 Billion shillings and Orengo was caught unawares. Poor Orengo. Did he actually believe the grand coalition illusion was real? (Did Ghosts buy this hotel?) Like I’ve said before, Kibaki is now a dictator and at the presidential and executive level, [...] -
17:20
The Entrepreneur President - Part 2
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com -
17:19
The Entrepreneur President - Part 1
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com Paul Kagame in his own words talking about entrepreneurship (will kenya ever have a president like this?)
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16:50
Grand Economic Vultures, Deception Galore
» You Missed This 
Just how much must a country stomach before her back breaks from the weight of DECEPTION? The politician may be grudgingly excused for expediency purposes but then how can you excuse one high court judge, the dragon slayer, KACC director Justice Aaron Ringera lying on oath through all spaces in his dental formula? NO, NO, NO. This is UNACCEPTABLE to have the troika of Ringera, Ndungu and Kimunya fleece Kenyan in broad day light.
Even some decorum and pretence of smartness is needed in times of grand deception. No singular word can aptly describe what this action by Kibaki through his Finance Minister Kimunya portents for Kenya. Haki you mean you can serially RAPE you own country even when already on her knees? May be Kiraitu knew something we didn’t know with his analogy of raping the willing. This sickens the stomach andleaves its contents threatening to EXPLODE. I just hope nobody pretends to defend this despicable and unforgivable act with grave and long lasting economic consequences.
You don’t engage in juvenile game of figures with a nation’s resource. Mathematics to any base never equates 2.9m to 2m even when you round off to the nearest million. So here we are LAZY mortal left to discuss the political amnesty smokescreen while brother Pattni bartered the Grand Regency for economic and judicial amnesty in the corruption courts. And AG Amos Wako provided the official government seal of approval with his trademark smile. The charge of abdication of duty and conspiracy to DEFRAUD disabuses him of the excuse to claim ignorance. May be after over 17 years of being a political AG makes him complacent and consequently sleeping on the corrupt wheel.
Economic aphrodisiacs
We attribute our failure as a nation lack of institutions but even the few that exist are run roughshod with IMPUTY. Now we understand why last years polls couldn’t have gone otherwise. The stakes were too high and the deals too SWEAT. Toss all the watchdog through the next available window. Poor Okemo! Him together with his PAC can continue retracing their circular paths inside the kraal while the horse bolted long time ago.
It appears Anglo Leasing and the Goldenberg scams were not BIG enough to sink Kenya. And the Grand Regency rip off is just the tip of a massive iceberg. Maybe the contemptuous kindergarten rider that FISHY deal would deepen relationship between Kenya and Libya is all the deceptive therapy we needed as a nation to offer our back for eternal pounding. Throw in the equally FISHY SafariCON IPO and we have the potent aphrodisiacs concoction to keep us economically and emotionally hallucinating for the next many years.
You are judged by the company you keep. First came Daudi Mwiraria whose career and reputation were smoked by the ghosts of Anglo Leasing and now Kimunya is gleefully edging for the trophy of integrating Anglo Leasing and Goldenberg both put together. And cap it all by tracing some of the most corrupt deals minted in NOSTALGIC 1970s under the reign and watch of one and only one DURY ERECTED. Folks, we are in a deep hole and the sooner we stopped digging the better otherwise Mugabe would look a saint for at least he brutalizes and rapes his people overboard.
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16:17
Migritude, a cultural spirit of our times
» Kenya Imagine Justus Siboe Makokha writes on East African Asians and their contributions to the arts here.
In the past month, lovers of literature in Nairobi and Mombasa have had the exceptional chance of celebrating the official homecoming of Migritude , a powerful, one-woman oral poetic performance by Shailja Patel. The gifted artist entertained and educated enthusiastic spectators for four days at the Phoenix Theatre, Nairobi, 3 weeks ago. She then staged her show in Mombasa at the Aga Khan Academy, Likoni in late July. Her homecoming performances are courtesy of Ford Foundation, which is doing a laudable job supporting the revival of the arts and literature in post-Nyayo Kenya. -
This week's imagine diaries
» Kenya Imagine - It's Vogue to Be Black-- Amina on Vogue's Black issue-- on newsstands this week.
It is certainly a departure from the usual white models (who all look alike if
you ask me). However, as we know fashion is cyclic and these women will soon not
be in vogue. Although the fashion industry reflects some on society, we
cannot rely on it to direct the trends on who is beautiful and who is not. Even
with white women, models hardly represent true society. - Reapology-- Sembe after killing someone writes the deceased a letter from prison, apologizing.
I have sat for long hours in this confined facility and reflected on how my actions have landed me in the place of collective solitude. I believe in the rehabilitation process, and it requires me to take responsibilityof my deeds. - Dating Escapade #1-- Johari describes a date that did not go so well.
- Mwangi cross-blogs his interview with Mashada founder and Ushahidi co-founder, David Kobia.
- It's Vogue to Be Black-- Amina on Vogue's Black issue-- on newsstands this week.
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15:04
"... Mugabe still wins"?
» Marian's Blog "Even if we vote for the opposition, Mugabe still wins." - Woman refugee from Zim (Zimbabwe) Hard on the heels of January's tragedy passing as Kenya's 'presidential elections', it is equally as nauseating to observe the speed and trajectory of...
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12:04
Displaced African Review: Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
» The Displaced African This is day 2 of My 4 Hour Work Week Journey
Now, below I will mention 4 things I liked about the book, the 4 hour work week and won’t talk about any negatives because I’m sure those will become self-evident as I work through the book over the coming days. That, and I don’t want to psyche myself out too early in my 4 hour work week journey.
4 Things I Love About the Four Hour Workweek
1) He is Empirical: To name a book ” 4 hour workweek” screams:
Hyperbole! Hype!B.S. !
So when I began to read about Tim, I expected his writing and his work to sound like a circus director or a car salesman: a lot of sales talk with very little substance to back it up.
Boy was I pleasantly surprised. If I could summarize one of Tim’s oh-my-goodness-that’s-genius-approaches-to-life-it-would-be:
Test your assumptions
Don’t automatically assume the limitations placed upon you by society, your background or yourself are true. Instead, conduct small tests and see what happens. As a result of Tim doing this, a lot of what’s in the four hour workweek isn’t an abstract manual but rather:
2) A Fascinating True Story: I want to do a lot of great, oddball things with my life before I die. I think I have found a person with an equally quirky spirit in Timothy Ferriss.
The man has, and is, revolutionizing the Western approach to work. He is the Chinese National Kickboxing Champion. He has won international tango competitions. He is a break dancer. He has been on television in Hong Kong. He has done all this while running a multinational company.
He didn’t accept what others took as the norm or limitations. He lifestyle supersedes any limits society might have imposed on him and this is part of the reason that I’m so drawn to him. It’s also the reason that:
3) He Has Backup from Heavy Hitters: I became a fan of Tim when I heard an interview he did with my blogging go-to-mentor Yaro Starak.
Among his mentors are the man who has sold 130 million books worldwide, Jack Canfield. He has been invited to give talks to everyone including the numero uno themselves, Google-check out the video at the very top of the article.
He isn’t some marginal rebel who is hated by the greats in society. His work appeals to a broad spectrum of folks from lone contractors to CEOs of Fortune 500s. Lord knows I’m African and authority figures influence me big time.
Finally I like the fact that:
4) He Teaches Us How to Separate Hours from Income: Now many Africana will tell you that this idea is simply preposterous. I watched my folks clock in 8-12 hour days 6 days a week and that’s the only way that folks can make a living right?
When I interviewed David Kobia and he spoke about the way his mother couldn’t understand how he could not be working in an office and could be doing all his work online.
I think I kinda went through the very same thing when this idea was presented by Jay Abraham, Yaro Starak and Tim Ferriss that your income didn’t have to be linked to the hours you work but rather the value you provide. Now however, I have embraced that this in fact possible: Me likes and I want a piece of that.
Anyway, someone left me a comment saying that I should do more posts where I present the options available for immigrants in regards to economic stability and prosperity.
So here goes: the trial continues. I have spoken to a few of you who are trying and living out alternatives to the bread and butter mill that is the 9 to 5. Together let’s build a library full of options that future immigrants can use to thrive in so far as the dollar is concerned.
I’m rambling now, but I ramble because I’m excited. Anyway either:
i) Click here to buy a copy of the 4 hour work week from Amazon.com
ii) Pay a visit to his blog and learn a little more about the man and his great book.
And enjoy the rest of your day or night,
Mwangi
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10:04
Drip Friday
» bankelele 
This started out as a post on DRIP’s – but went on to become a ramble about other drips (leaking taps) where small/retail shareholders and their companies lose hundreds of shillings individually and collectively lose millions of shillings from the investment fund pools in a vicious circle:
(a) DRIP’s are automatic dividend reinvestment programs. They are available in advanced financial markets and enable dividend cheques to be automatically re-applied to buy shares in the company - this would be very useful for the nearly 100,000 shareholders of Eveready who got 60 shilling ($0.93) dividend cheques this year that may cost more to clear than they are worth (the amount is so small, KRA can’t get their 5% withholding tax) local alternatives/solutions - small dividend cheques can be (i) processed through DRIP’s or (ii) Companies like Scangroup now have an arrangement where dividend cheques under 10,000 shillings can be cashed over the counter at no charge to investors at any Equity Bank branch. Shame that KCB branches doesn’t allow the same for their own dividend cheques (iii) More NSE companies should push for DRIP clauses for their owners (shareholders) as vigilantly as they do on corporate issues for their own employees (ESOP’s) and the Government (unclaimed dividends).
(b) Post-Safaricom Drip
big leaks
(i) There are investors who got no shares in the IPO because their stockbrokers did not place their orders, misplaced them, or for some other unthinkable (and perhaps sinister) reason. They are now chasing refunds of idle funds that have missed many opportunities over the last three months
(ii) There are investors who got 21% allocation, but because they took bank loans for the IPO, now owe the banks more than their shares are worth (and whose price is sliding). In addition to being charged interest, they have to pay for loan statements, transfers, and other fees for many months - and most can’t sell their shares until they pay off the loans.
(iii) The banking sector whose rules on Safaricom IPO refunds seem to change every other day – from forcing people without bank accounts to open accounts to receive their money (there was no obligation going into the IPO, so why should there be coming out? to not allowing encashment of IPO cheques (a DRIP formula would have been handy here) , to specifying which banks people could encash their cheques. solution M-Pesa the cash to investors - which was a clause in the initial IPO prospectus and would have boosted Safaricom’s 2009 revenue and profits
(iv) The Capital Markets Authority has imposed a Kshs. 1,000 charge ($15) for every transfer/consolidation of shares. This fee will be borne by thousands of Safaricom investors when they eventually pay off their bank loans
(c) Companies Laws & Registrars:
(i) Stale dividends: Thanks to vague laws that don’t specify how long companies can take between the time they announce dividends and eventually pay them. It’s so long that some companies may not be able to afford the dividends they announced months ago as they are still recovering from post-election events.
(ii) Company Registrars: NSE companies complain about having too many shareholders and the cost of mailing them accounts each year. The KCB rights issue is on now and I have received five copies in the mail in the last week. So how many of KCB’s 150,000 shareholders are genuinely different? Many times the problem is borne out of IPO’s where people apply in multiple names and accounts in the hype hope of getting higher allocations. But once the euphoria dies down, and after chasing numerous refund cheques, they forget or make no effort to consolidate their accounts. This leads to them getting five smaller dividend cheques and five sets of accounts - which are very expensive for the company to mail out to every shareholder. There are also another class of (reluctant) shareholders - who sold some of their shares, but because of the minimum trade lot order amounts (100 shares minimum per trade) are now left with a balance of shares that they can’t sell, get meagre dividends for, but still get the same reports mailed out to them.
local solution/alternatives (i) Allow people to consolidate their accounts with the company registrar (but see b (iv) - the CMA has imposed an additional charge [after the Safaricom IPO] for account consolidation (ii) The NSE/a broker/or agent should set up an odd lots board where investors can sell their small lots of shares – 3, 10, or 50 shares, provided that they are liquidating the entire holding ( I hear one stock agent does this, but would like to hear from more and confirm that they do offer this service) (iii) Proactive share registrars: - who should realize they are sending out 5 bulky letters to the same address, and perhaps initiate a consolidation process with investors (iv) e-mailing of accounts & reports to shareholders: Several companies have amended their laws to allow for e-mail of information - but so far, the only one I have ever received by e-mail was from across the border (Stanbic Uganda).
So there’s a long rambling post; not meant to blame or criticize, but to inspire other ideas and debate. What are your suggestions on other ways to cut costs of serving the small investors?
Other corporates
Safaricom day 14 and 15: After just three weeks of dominating (actually killing) trade at the NSE, the company has been given a waiver to be admitted to the NSE index, punting Serena Hotels (TPSEA)
Friday: Deals 4,858 Turnover Kshs. 564 million ($8.81 million) Average 7.26 High 7.40 Low 7.20 Last 7.30 Volume 77.8 million - Strong session. Very constructive. We based out at 7.05 yesterday [v. positive on the charts because the post listing low was 6.65 and whenever got near there]. We are still witnessing some de-leveraging and therefore, sellers did scatter until half way through yesterday’s session. However, given the turnover since its listing, we must be nearer the end than the beginning of that process.
Thursday: Deals 5,342 Turnover Kshs. 410 million Average 7.29 Closing 7.25 High 7.50 Low 7.05 Last 7.20 Volume 56.2 million - Intra day low was 7.05, but we appear to be basing out. Sellers tipped their hands and chased the market down over the last three sessions. Near term, we have seen the bottom. [Commentary and data provided by Rich.co.ke - Nairobi Stock Exchange Authorized Data Vendor]
Housing drip: the Housing Finance rights issue closed today. I hope they realize their target, but they tried to time it to coincide with Safaricom refunds, with its delays in refunds and clearing cheques, then they got caught up by the KCB rights issue.
No purr? What’s up at Marshals? They have almost 100 vehicles (Kia and Peugeot - whose franchise has ended) vehicles currently at Mombasa Port that the Customs Department wants to auction. At least their former flagship branch in the city (& rumored new PM’s office) on Harambee Avenue has now become a Stanbic Branch.
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9:38
For Matyaka
» Black Looks Unable to move, she watch them drag him from the house into a donga and beat him, one goon opening his body to pour blood into the off-colour ditch, like wine seeking the whiteness of cloth that cover the brains of boys and redden their eyes with joy. Everyone try not to look but go their way into the dim June dusk to their [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "For Charity and Francis Matyaka", url: "http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/06/for_matyaka_by_rethabile.html" });
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8:36
Live blog session 4- Frontline activists meet the academy: tools and knowledge
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Live blog session 4- Frontline activists meet the academy: tools and knowledge
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7:47
Mid 2007 Green List Performance
» KA-INVESTOR Last year I picked some stocks that I expected to perform exceptionally and placed them into my ‘green list’. A year later out of the four stocks I picked only one performed dismally while the other three have performed exceptionally, surpassing the market average of 12.30%. In fact they are the best performers for the period. They performed as follows:Stock
Start
price
End
Price
%
Gain
Other
information
AccessKenya Group
13.35
35.00
+162.17%
The only post election effects survivor
Equity Bank
139.00
300.00
+115.83%
Eminent split
KCB
24.00
31.50
+31.25%
Issuing rights
E.A.Cables
46.00
41.50
-9.78%
No known activity
1,000 shares in each counter would have made you Ksh.185K richer, a whooping 83% gain. Who ever says last year was a bad year is a speculator. Considering the little effort it took to analyze the stocks I picked for the green list, then only a speculator could have made losses last year by buying stocks blindly. All an investor need to do is understand the counter he intend to buy in – management, business strategy and numbers (though I’ve discovered that historical numbers don’t count that much)
Soon I will post "the 2008 green list" after some analysis. I feel that after the Safaricom IPO there is a small ‘breath’ in the market that may lead to a correction like the one experienced in 2007 March. But no cause for alarm, I could be wrong.
{Disclaimer - this is a personal market opinion and list of my preferred stocks. It does not indicate certainty and anybody reading this should consult their investment advisor/ broker before making any investment decision}
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7:13
Its Britain which Turned Mugabe into a vicious dictator!
» The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business Polls have already opened in Zimbabwe, and Mugabe is headed for sure landslide win. Not because Zimbabweans adore his leadership but because Britain wants him to win. He is the most popular president the world has ever known and has great hope for Zimbabwe....READ MORE
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Live blog session 3- Living with censorship
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Live blog session 3- Living with censorship
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6:05
PlanetGreen needs clues on race & gender
» Marian's Blog I applauded when Discovery Channel's "Discovery Home" recently evolved into Planet Green TV - planetgreen.com - specialising in sustainable, ecological living. But the line's been crossed with Planet Green repeatedly airing promos that insidiously stereotype Black people and disappear and...
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The Last Man Standing
» KA-INVESTOR 
I have no words for this guy...............................................
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The Country That Never Was……Zimbabwe, ……………..wait before you……………….!
» Black Looks Excitement gripped me when I was able to go back across the border to visit my family in Zimbabwe. Pleased as I was, I tried to ignore all the media reports on the country’s disregard of acceptable and proper treatment of human beings. Before going home, I braced myself for whatever the hell was to [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "The Country That Never Was......Zimbabwe, ……………..wait before you……………….!", url: "http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/06/the_country_that_never_waszimbabwe_wait_before_you.html" });
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Live Blog - Session 2 'Citizen Media and Online Free SpeeAch
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Live Blog - Session 2 'Citizen Media and Online Free SpeeAch -
Question time
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Fellow bloggers and apathy, do they have time for cyber activism. They think that some bloggers write bad stuff and if they are censored, whats the big deal? But when you have international attention, they get interested.
What can other bloggers do to help, first support, especially mainstream media and the internet.
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4:07
Business As Unusual
» Cock And Bull I had been noticing it much too often for a while, and so when I saw another blind man, I asked the business man from whom I was making a purchase, “Am I the one who is seeing too many blind people or is it a fact that there is an influx of blind beggars in town?” The business man straightened and walked towards me from the back of his shop as he said, “You are right that there is a sudden increase in the number of blind beggars in the streets.”
If you live in Nairobi, you must have noticed the blind beggars being dragged by hand from place to place by young school going children. The beggars usually have a small plastic container with a few coins that they juggle periodically in order to attract the attention of any sympathetic well wisher. Perhaps you might even have been bothered by the fact that the young children seem to be wasting their school going days after being forced to accompany their ageing relatives on begging missions from street to street, inside businesses, and from drivers stuck in traffic jams.
As he smiled, he added, “Begging has become a business just like this one I run.” And as he laid down the merchandise I had requested on the counter he continued, “Don’t be fooled into thinking that the children are relatives of the beggars. The are usually hired for the day to accompany the baggars.” And on seeing the bewildered look on my face he added, “There is a place where the beggars pick the children every morning for a standard fee, and so you see, both that boy and that blind old guy are in business.” He finished as he made a gesture with his lips towards the duo that was disappearing down the corner. With that, I made my purchase and walked in the direction opposite the one that the blind beggar and the boy had walked. Without a doubt, I knew I would be seeing many others in the course of the day. In Kenya if it is not business as usual, then it is business as unusual.
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Don't block the blog!- Pakistan (Awab Alvi)
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Awab is a dentist from Pakistan, you may wonder what he is doing in blogging, and he will say, he leads by example.
Blogspot ban-drawmuhammadweek.blogspot.com was the blog that led to a blanket ban on all blogspot bans.
Pakistan has an aggregator now, an attempt to help people read blogs in a more effective way. www.pkblogs.com helped where bogspot had failed.
Google also changed the Blogspot IPs which helped with the ban, because people were able to access blogs again.
Musharraf was given the middle finger salute for his efforts (laugh)...hahhahhoo
He wanted Pakistanis not to hear any truth, see or read, he was determined to block everyone.
Sms was used to blog especially after Bhutto assassination and the first days of martial law. pklongmarch.blogspot.com was used for email and sms blogging.
If the number is compromised, one can be tracked down and blocked, so its still a challenge. -
Censorship in Japan- Chris Salzburg
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Net bullying, mobile phone content is restricted in Japan.
This guy who killed people in Akihabara shopping mall confessed online that he was going to killing people. Now the ISP can give the IP address to the police, now that people have come up with phony threats.
Filtering by the ministry to protect children from all harmful stuff on the internet. A survey found that 67.8 support internet regulation and 76 % said they support filtering.
Others say regulation/censorship will stop innovation and Japan will be left behind by other countries, that the regulation was contradictory and the regulation process is not transparent.
The government loves to be told to filter the web. Web censorship means different things to different people, awareness is key.
Its funny the society is supporting the government on censorship. Thats Japan for you! -
Using the courts to censor in Egypt--Alaa Abdel
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG The Kenyan courts may not know what is blogging and how it relates to defamation but Egypt has a different story.
They do not filter the internet using firewalls but they torture blogs and use the courts to jail. They create an atmosphere of fear, beat you up so that you can reveal your facebook, blogger or you tube account.
www.tortureinegypt.net covers torture in Egypt and tags the posts with the names of the police officers, and raises the stakes. When you go to court, the evidence is there, which means the same courts will also be used to block the blogger.
A lady blogger had to lose her job, after efforts from her family to stop her from blogging failed. She stood up to her father, which meant she lost a place to stay. Now she works at a radical newspaper/site.
Libel laws in Egypt were designed to protect the system, its criminal and the onus is on the blogger to prove.
for instance, a blogger blogs about a company dumping waste into a public water space. elhakika.blogspot.com was blogging about the environmental effects and was sued for libel.
The laws require the blogger to prove the company is emptying waste into the lake, if you prove 3 out of 4 allegations, you still go to jail for failing to prove one allegation.
In other jurisdictions, the onus would have been on the company to prove that its not emptying waste to the lake. The company would have to prove its clean.
The upshot- use of fear and courts to silence bloggers.
But are bloggers above the law. Should they be supported whether they make mistakes or not? Food for thought......
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3:06
The Jon Stewart Show
» intricately me Did i mention how much i love this show...I think you should watch it. Take a minute out of your busy schedule and have a giggle...or rather roll on the floor laughing
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
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Torture, cat and mouse game
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Sami Ben Gharbia shows a video about torture and police violence in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia. It represents so many African countries, it has become acceptable and its now wished away. of course the police deny.
The mainstream media denies existence of the incidences but the bloggers and you tube videos are changing repressive regimes.
It reminds me of the stories in Kenya's Mt Elgon area, the cat and mouse games games between the army, the Sabaot land defense forces and the residents. people have come out, stripped in public, showing torture marks, yet the government and the army denies, so who is fooling who?
Now that we have Googlemaps, youtube and other online services, the residents can provide such evidence online, now that its their word against that of the army.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission, instead of empty talk, should empower the residents with technology, to burst the bastards.
I wonder what the police and the army will say, if such videos stream online. Will they vilify the commission and anybody else castigating the army and torture of Mt Elgon residents.
We need to embarrass the security forces.
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2:53
GV Summit Budapest
» Afromusing 
I am at the Global Voices summit, regarding citizen media, democracy and technology.I will be covering the following sessions using the live blogging tool CoveritLive on this blog and also on the GV summit blog. Please bookmark the event homepage [summit08.globalvoicesonline.org]
- Twitter feed is [twitter.com]
- The timezone for the live sessions is GMT+1
June 27, 2008
11:30 - 13:00 Session 2: “Citizen Media and Online Free Speech”
MODERATOR: Mary Joyce.
SPEAKERS: Ory Okolloh (Kenyan Blogger), Wael Abbas (MisrDigital, Egypt), Mehdi Mohseni (jomhour.org, Iran), Amine (digiactive.org, Morocco), Oiwan Lam (Global Voices, Hong Kong), Au Wai Pang (Singapore)
Citizen media allow for more active and open participation in political processes, but threats of censorship and oppression discourage citizens from expressing their own opinions. This session will present case studies from Kenya, Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
15:30 -16:30 Session 4: “Frontline Activists meet the Academy: Tools and Knowledge”
MODERATOR: Ethan Zuckeman.
SPEAKERS: Roger Dingledine (Tor), Nart Villeneuve (Citizen Lab), Isaac Mao (Digital Nomads project, China), Robert Guerra (Privaterra, Cuba), Danny O’Brien (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
The tools to circumvent web filtering and other methods of online censorship exist, but they don’t always reach the people who need them as easily as they could. How can we facilitate better coordination between the developers of these tools and the anti-censorship activists that need them? And how do we facilitate the flow of feedback from the activists back to the developers so the latter can design more appropriate tools?June 28th 2008
11:30 - 13:00 Session 2: “The Wired Electorate in Emerging Democracies”
MODERATOR: Solana Larsen.
SPEAKERS: Daudi Were (Kenya), Onnik Krikorian (Armenia), Hamid Tehrani (Iran), Luis Carlos Díaz (Venezuela)
The rise of blogging, social networking and micro-blogging services like Facebook and Twitter, video- and photo-sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr, and the spread of mobile technology have given ordinary citizens the means, at least potentially, to participate more fully in the democratic process. This session looks at the impact these tools have had on recent elections in Kenya, Venezuela, Armenia and Iran and poses the question: is citizen media having an actual impact on democracies in transition?
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By Ethan Zuckerman
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Future
GV now translated to Malagasy, spoken in Madagascar.
Translation, lingua has incorporated many other languages.
GV advocacy, led by Sami Ben Ghabia from Tunisia. He leads the underground bloggers, how people can use online media to speak out, governments are also working hard to control what is coming out.
People doing stuff to protect online speech and the technical improvements to beat the tough firewalls. -
Global Voices summit By Rebecca MacKinnon
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG Intro by Rebecca MacKinnon
The desire to improve coverage of international news, increased research and the need to improve use of internet inspired Global Voices online.
From 2004, the group has grown and more continue to volunteer services.
from 2006, it has grown from just being a website to a forum against censorship, advocacy and community media, beyond the educated elite. Rising voices reaches to voices that may be underrepresented in the mainstream media.
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San Francisco Part 1
» intricately me I wanted to go for the Gay parade this weekend and take pictures but i didn't get to it so im sorry guys... This year's parade would have been Particularly interesting because they legalized gay marriage in California...However here are some popular images from San Fran...
The courthouse...
This is one of the coldest cities in the world. Im not joking.... In the summer you still have to wear a jacket. But it is one of the most amazing cities i have been to. As i mentioned before i live in Oakland but Oakland is only a stone throw away from San Francisco. To be more precise; its a 15 minute drive. Here are some of the images that i will miss... I love this bridge... This is the bay bridge... It joins the East Bay [oakland and other places] With San francisco...
This is the Golden gate Bridge...
This is San Fran at night... it beautiful...
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Hardware Hacking: Handmade Tools in Africa
» AfriGadget I’ve written about handmade tools in Africa before, but it didn’t generate a ton of interest, so I’ve not followed-up on it very much in my travels. I was really happy to see that another person was intrigued by this though, Kevin Kelly has a post where Tom Ritchey, master bike frame builder, sent him pictures of hand-made tools he spotted at bike shops in Rwanda.
Fabrication is an important skill in developing nations. Along the whole process you see reuse taking place, even down to the tools being used to create the items in question.
A Kenyan micro-entrepreneur recently told me:
In the sixties, during the space race between Russia and the U.S.A the Russian Engineers, when told there was no more money for the budget philosophically said “now we have no money then we can think” and they were able to be tremendously creative when compared to the Americans despite the limited funds at their disposal. This is the same approach I use in my initiatives.
As I’m not the only one who thinks these are pretty cool, I’m digging into the AfriGadget Flickr Group to pull out a picture that I never published here on the blog. These are small engine repair tools built to work on motorcycles, generators and lawnmowers (among other things):
And finally, a video of Bernard, one of the local small engine repair guys in Nairobi (who’s shop has since disappeared) talking about how he makes some of the tools:
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Presidents, Passaris and Mama Supu
» You Missed This Jeff Koinange has a great show on K24 where he interviews political personalities while mostly seated on some park bench so that he has to fold one of his knees sometimes as he faces them. This creates a very intimate atmosphere and usually his guarded guests end up opening up considerably. He started the show at the Norfolk Hotel but I have just viewed a tape that indicates in the credits at the end that he has now moved to the Fairview Hotel.Jeff is of course an excellent journalist, one of my favorites and recently he did not disappoint because he had a rather “hot” guest on his show.
Esther Muthoni Rosana Passaris talked at length about her election petition against Ferdinand Waititu after the recent Embakassi by-election. Passaris alleges that the election was rigged in favor of her opponent. She further said that she was NOT moving to any other constituency and that she had pitched camp at Embakassi so to speak. The only other political office that she would be interested in, she said was that of a mayor directly elected by the people (apparently both the president and the Prime Minister are eager to change the law ASAP to make that possible.) Passaris called herself a “city girl” to emphasize the fact that she was interested in only this single city constituency or the city Mayor’s seat.
Dwelling at length about Kenyans having to elect “quality leaders”, she openly named most of the people who have been going out of their way to frustrate her every move. That was a little shocking because she even said that Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta had spent a lot of his own money at Embakassi to ensure that Mama Supu (as her supporters in Embakassi now call her) did not win. She even went as far as jabbing Uhuru under the belt so to speak by making a quip about “Uhuru Kenyatta and land.” She was of course referring to the rather thorny issue of the land that the Kenyattas own which is bigger than the size of some provinces in the country. Naturally this land was acquired under obviously questionable circumstances.
I am in total agreement with Passaris views on quality leadership if we are to achieve the change we all desire so much. However they say charity begins at home and Passaris did not bother to prove that she herself is one of the “quality leaders” she was referring to. Regular readers here know that I have a detailed dossier that talks about Ms Passaris' past and her real motivation for going into politics. Sadly Mama Supu’s reason for getting into city politics is too similar to the same age old reason why the current dinosaurs got into politics in the first place. That is a much bigger problem than the question of her character (although the two are related) which most readers here seem to believe is a non-issue. Incidentally “Supu” is the Eastlands slang for a “beautiful girl,” a clue as to why Passaris seems to love this nickname so much. Admittedly for a woman in her 40s she is still strikingly beautiful.
Quite clearly had retired President Moi and his associates had this information about some of the electorate’s controversial views on a politician’s personal life, there is a possibility that Dr Robert Ouko would still be alive today. Still unknown to most Kenyans is the fact that the slain foreign affairs minister (the best that Kenya ever had according to most people) did not die because he was working on some corruption dossier. Rather he died because of this information he had about the then president and some women. It was felt at the time that under no circumstances should the information which Dr Ouko happened to have get out to the public. By extension the long list of witnesses who were privy to some details on the Ouko murder who also promptly lost their lives, died because of this rather explosive piece of information.
P.S. There is just too much anger in the country at the moment and both sides of the political divide are much more interested in outsmarting the other side rather than in the cooling down of emotions and genuine reconciliation. For a long time now the raw anger and personal insults flying back and forth between the two sides that have been witnessed in the comments area of this blog have been a matter of great concern to me. Mainly because I am aware of the fact that they reflect the general mood and feelings in the country (despite the many NSIS planted comments mainly designed to divert attention and deal a blow to the credibility of this blog). But to make matters even more worrying, during the last two days that the Kriegler commission has held public sessions at the KICC, members of the public have almost come to blows over their differing views on what caused the chaos in the disputed presidential elections last December. At one point the rather elderly South African judge had to stand up and reminded the participants; “We are not animals.” Yesterday the poor old judge walked out at least twice, once as a scuffle ensued on the floor.
It is clear that national healing and reconciliation is not a priority of the current crowded grand coalition government. This is a deadly ticking time bomb that will go off in our faces sooner rather than later. Months ago I said in this blog that the IDP resettlement programme was going to badly flop and even result in loss of life. Some commentators retorted by calling my sentiments “rubbish” and asking me if I preferred that the IDPs remain in the camps in the inhumane conditions. I also pointed out the fact that the re-settlement was being forced on the IDPs. Readers of this blog who have been reading the news recently will have realized that they had the information that is coming out now months ago. Yet another good reason to keep it Kumekucha.
In the same way Kenyans need to push their elected leaders to address this serious national problem of emotions and the raw hatred that many Kenyans now have for each other over the disputed presidential elections ASAP before it is too late.
Interesting snippet on unsolved murder of Trent Keegan;
Some evidence suggests the attack was not a simple robbery. Although Keegan’s Mac laptop and cell phone were stolen, his wallet with 3,848 Kenyan shillings (US$62) was found on him. According to colleagues who visited the crime scene, Keegan’s body was carefully dragged into a hidden area in a ditch, concealing him for almost 12 hours, suggesting that the murderer or murderers did not flee the scene immediately. Read the rest of the post.
Kumekucha wrote all about the truth behind the hurried Grand Regency Sale about 2 months ago. Read the explosive story HERE if you missed it.
99 brilliant Online moneymaking ideas anybody can implement part-time/fulltime
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0:14
Friday............
» My part of the world....... There is something empowering about a Friday. There is nothing as encouraging as the feeling that you wont be going to work the next day (or at least that is the case for most of us). But then as soon as Saturday morning rolls in, somewhere deep inside it hits you that your weekend is almost half way gone. I would recommend 3 day weekends be the norm but usually after a 3 day weekend I am not good on the first work day that comes around to be honest.
I don't know if it's just me but time just seems to move so much faster nowadays. I remember when I was in high school, my Swahili teacher seemed to be the most powerful woman in the universe since her voice in my opinion would make time stop. The days of when I was bumming and time seemed to move like molasses are long gone. It is believed by some religions that when the end times come close, time shall begin to move much faster and who knows; at times I actually think that could be the case. Anyway I'm beginning to sound too morose for a Friday.
One thing that really bores me about working here in the West is fake office friendships. People at work like to really act super chummy and like they are bosom buddies but once they step out of the office environment, that's it. Like there was this chica who used to work for the company and she seemed to be close with almost everyone other than a few other chicas (you know how women just dont seem to all get along). So anyway she had been planning her wedding for a while and would go on and on about it and her fiancee. Do you know when she got married I think only one person was invited despite her making the whole office feel like they were part of the process? I knew I wasn't getting invited so it didn't bother me but it was funny though, were it in Kenya I doubt the office would have known she was getting married till she did her name change. But anyway that's life in the West for you.
I have also been working on a series of posts about the experience in the States that is called living in an apartment complex. Anyone who has lived abroad can tell you how that is a unique experience in itself most of the time. I'm sure some of you out there have your own stories to share.
In other news,I hear the cost of electricity in Kenya is going up. This would be a good time to invest in solar power even if its just for lighting your home the only thing that put me off is the initial high cost of solar panels and set up. You have to have quite a bit, last quote I got was like around $4,000/= the good thing though is that that by the 3-4 year mark that investment shall have paid for itself and since Kenya for the most part has sun most of the year you won't have to worry about power shortages when you need the power most.
Anyway time to prepare to get back on the grind...............
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