Guest post By Barry. O
There is something that has to be said about Kumekucha, whether you agree or disagree with bloggers on the site it truly is a great forum for debate and discussion. With that said, there are a number of issues that I have been waiting to discuss here but was mainly waiting to see if history would be with the election of Barrack Obama. Now that history has been made there are a few things that I took from the recent US election that I feel would greatly benefit the electorate in Kenya and indeed the country as well.
For the most part it still seems as though most Kenyans support leaders based on two main characteristics: tribe and personality. Going by the looks of things this has not augured well for Kenya. If I am a member of the Kikuyu community without ties to any powerful leader be it politician or businessman/woman, how has having a Kikuyu president benefited me? Have my living standards improved, does my family have better access to education and healthcare? The community where I live, is it now safer or do I feel more secure now that one of my “own” is in state house? What about employment are my chances of employment significantly better now that one of my “own” is in power? This is not to single out the Kikuyu people as the same question can be posed to members of the Kalenjin community or hypothetically by any other community that should happen to have one of their “own” ended up in state house. If the answers to the above questions are yes, then I must ask if you are content to succeed amongst those who suffer largely through not fault of their own but because one their “own” is not in power knowing full well that in the next election your circumstances could end up in the opposite direction(unless you manage to have your guy in power for 24 yrs!)? If you are someone who prefers a leader who all KENYANS can call “OURS” then let me suggest a few things.
One thing that I took a way from the US elections was that each candidate, whether it was Mc Cain, Clinton, Obama, Romney or even Palin had a record that could be identified, analyzed and evaluated against another. A great portion of this information was PUBLIC, that is to say that even a high school student with a keen knowledge for politics could go online or to the library and look up how each candidate voted on important issues or if the candidate voted at all. Most importantly perhaps, is that each candidate has a fairly identifiable ideology, be it conservative, liberal , moderate, republican or democrat. In Kenya we seem to just have parties and rhetoric. I can recall a few months ago before we were consumed by the waki report, a comment by Kiraitu where he said he and Raila had no differences just different ideologies. I asked myself what are those ideologies? Are they self evident, and perhaps I was just too blind to identify them? Back to US election analysis, because US politicians know that a record is important as well as having a message that resonates with the people it is extremely rare you find a candidate come from obscurity to make a bid to run for the Presidency. The reason for this is because the American voter has no record to evaluate that candidate, and if your record is without substance and thin, like say Sarah Palin your fate is quite often sealed the moment you announce you are running. We Kenyans need to be the kind of electorate that looks beyond rhetoric, let us know which MPs refused to be taxed, If the Waki report is brought to parliament let us know who voted for its implementation who did not and why who is alleged to have done what and why, who was not mentioned and why. Let those who wish to run for the Presidency explain to us how they have voted in parliament on other sensitive issues of the past, then we can have something to consider, evaluate and vote for or against.
When ODM was clamouring for Majimbo I really wish they had chosen another term, something simple like devolution of power or de-centralization. Kenyans would be much better off. In my eyes devolution would make becoming an MP that much harder. Councillors and local government would be strengthened and have more power to address local issues and based on how people performed in these roles would be a good indicator as to how they would perform as MPs or even President because now there would be an identifiable RECORD for voters to examine. Devolution would not mean each province would govern itself exclusively, there would be some room for Provincial authority but this would be subjected to the supreme laws of the Republic. Devolution would not mean the exclusion of certain communities in different provinces on the contrary each and every KENYAN could live where they pleased and own land by RIGHT. What it would mean perhaps, is that certain towns may determine through referendum that for example night clubs close by a certain time, schools in certain towns may determine which languages teachers are allowed to teach in and other unique laws provided that they were not discriminatory against any one community or tribe. I think if we had this in Kenya the electorate would no longer be held captive by tribal leaders who drive around Nairobi in expensive cars and lavish houses and only come home to visit or to ask for votes!
In closing I want to add my two cents to this whole Waki Report debate. As many people have commented and indeed witnessed, the post election violence of 2007 was one of the darkest days in Kenyan history and for us to act like we can just wish it away is not only immoral and foolish it is extremely insensitive to the innocent families who were victims and lost loved ones. I join Raila, Martha Karua, Mudavadi, Orengo, Kilonzo, Uhuru and others who have called for the full implementation for the report. I like many others Kenyans voted for ODM and even when the controversial if not fraudulent results were announced I saluted the call for MASS ACTION by Raila Odinga and others. Peaceful demonstrations should never be banned and disrupted in the violent manner in which they were by the police. At no time can I remember Raila or any other ODM member call for MASS VIOLENCE. I do not recall Raila calling for the forcible evacuation of Kikuyus or Kisiis. So if you fought for Raila and ODM, I am assuming you fought against election fraud and the POLICE who used live bullets, if the calls for MASS ACTION were misinterpreted than I think Raila should apologize for those who misinterpreted him and nothing else as far as MASS ACTION goes in response to the fraudulent election. If there is evidence that shows Raila incited violence by suggesting certain communities be evacuated from certain areas, than I would hope to see Raila and other names amongst those on Waki List. Even in Kenya you are innocent until proven guilty and given the fact that our MPs have the resources to hire the best lawyers in the land, proving their innocence in a Kenyan tribunal would be elementary compared to having to go before the ICC. By coming out and dismissing a report that has only made suggestions you make yourself seem as if you have something to hide in the court of public opinion. As to those threatening to quit parties over INDIVIDUAL stands taken on the report I would recommend that those people fight from within their parties as it is for the party’s ideals and philosophy that you are a member in the first place or is it the individual? I hope my ramblings have not stirred up too much and I have tried to be as non-partisan as possible I look forward to feedback positive and negative.
How Moi used music to rule Kenya for 24 years
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21:32
Country First
» For Love and Money This morning while I was looking at the US Dollar Index chart I asked myself "What will Obama do when he becomes president next year?" I needed to know whether I should change my investment strategy of focusing on emerging markets.
If you look at the chart you will see that the U.S. dollar has appreciated by 22% in a span of 3 months and it doesn't look like it is about to stall.
This means that imports are cheaper, U.S. exports are more expensive, overseas profits are shrinking and the manufacturing sector is becoming less competitive. Combined together, all this effects would drive U.S. companies to offshore their operations.
It didn't take long for me to find out what Obama would do regarding the situation at hand. Just after 3 pm Eastern Time, someone in Washington leaked to the Wall Street Journal Obama's choice for the Treasury Secretary.
So now we know how Barack Obama will deal with the currency situation. He's going to do exactly what the president is expected to do. Restore the competitiveness of the United States.
And the markets now understand that the president will do all it takes. The end will always justify the means.
I guess this proves that Barack Obama cares a lot about America and I don't think I would be any different if I was in his shoes.
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The Beat Goes On
» For Love and Money One thing that I have discovered, is that the stock market operates like a cough. You can't hold it back. And if you try, you may end up chocking.
The markets coughed loudly yesterday but we held in the cough today.
For the better part of the day, the major indices refused to bulge from yesterday's low. As the day proceeded, it looked like we were headed into another ugly close. It was not going to be any other close but a weekly close. You have to understand that not all closes are created equal.
A new weekly low close would have caused many a trader some serious bout of insomnia over the weekend. And that is why the powers that be decided to inject a dose of 'good' news into the markets.
It did not matter that President-elect Obama is 59 days away from occupying the White House. Rumours, or news as the media likes to call it, of his choice of Treasury Secretary is all it took to lift the Dow above the psychological 8,000 level.
In less than an hour, what looked like a horrible close was turned into a spectacular finish complete with fire works and champagne.
Unfortunately, the numbers beneath the headlines are clear. We are now back to the usual and it's going to be more of the same until the market finally lets the cough out.
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Casino Royale, Part II
» For Love and Money You'd have to be in it to believe it. We just closed 6.55% on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on rumors that New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner will be nominated as President-elect Barack Obama's Treasury secretary.
I guess everyone is relieved that Hank Paulson will depart when George Bush leaves office early next year.
None the less, we have to go through the motions of finding a bottom before this market can stabilize.
I'm disappointed that I only got to buy UYG and missed out on the other companies which have been trading higher today. I'm already up 19% on this position as I got in close to the all time lows.
Now I guess I'll have to spend the rest of the weekend trying to figure my next move in the casino that is now known as the stock market.
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Cliff Hanger
» For Love and Money We are less than one and a half hour to the close of the market on this sunny but cold November afternoon. The market has been gyrating around yesterday's low and 6.7 billion shares have so far changed hands on the NYSE.I just took my first position in UYG. Boy, did I get the chills when the message came through my blackberry. For a minute, I froze when I realized my limit order has been filled at $3.35.
I say we are on track for a lower close because a lot of people did not sleep well last night and I don't think traders can bear two more sleepless nights. It now feels like we are attending a wake for a burial that never comes.
Here's to the next 80 minutes. Never Say Die!
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11:47
Of Circumcision and Taxes
» Startups in Kenya With Barack Obama's successful election and the hope and inspiration it ignited in Africa, it was only inevitable that forgotten conversations would be remembered, radical arguments would be renewed, and people would have more enthusiasm in proposing and debating ideas.
It is with this background that I recently found myself in a hearty discussion about the greatly flawed (italics mine) notion of black inferiority. And by black I mean people of African descent. As conversations go, ebbing and rising with the passion of each speaker, changing course rapidly as new insights or defeated rationale are encountered, so did this one. Eventually we ended up on the very delicate topic of female circumcision.
Now, I was having this discussion with a very smart, very liberated lawyer who also happens to be a woman. Needless to say, such discussions can very quickly and very easily go off track unless the words that are coming out of one's mouth are considered carefully and sensitively before their utterance.
The precursor to the discussion on female circumcision was a statement to the effect that "The white man helped Africans by causing the abolition of practices such as female circumcision."
It is an oft repeated statement varying only in the degree of praise accorded to the 'white man'. As stated previously I was having this discussion with the enlightenment of the AO (After Obama) era. I therefore started thinking harder about the statement. What would we feel about the practice had the white man not colonized us? Was the practice inherently abhorred by women? What was the actual raison d'etre for the practice?
With this discourse I share with you my surmise, warning beforehand that it was conceived in the over-active imaginative part of my brain and that I do not forward it as an argument but rather as the result of me challenging myself to think harder about things (even if the conclusion is not necessarily right).
Most citizenry accept taxes as a necessary although, not enjoyable obligation owed to the state. Tulipe ushuru, tujitegemee broadcasts Kenya Revenue Authority from their website. A neat argument which goes on to say how there would be: no roads, no hospitals, no schools; were it not for taxes. Simple enough and thus every year billions of shillings are collected from wananchi and funneled through the state coffers towards public expenditure.
Of course it helps that there are massive structures and institutions set up to facilitate collection and dissuade avoidance. From ensuring the employer pays his employees' taxes before he pays them their salaries, to banks insisting that companies wishing to open bank accounts have a Tax PIN certificate, to the ETRs, upfront custom duty payments, and a host more set ups. And where these don't suffice, a prize is always at hand for the top tax payers.
And for the wily, uncooperative, or just plain evasive we (through our "elected" representatives) have passed a number of laws to punish those that do not adhere to this "self-evident" tax argument.
In summary, we have a practice that is institutionalized, accepted though unwanted, suffered by the individual for the good of the community.
Of course it would be incomplete if I neglected say that the tax regime is not free from abuse, and by broad consensus most of us believe it is designed by and favoured for the rich and powerful.
So what does all that have to do with female circumcision?
Is it possible that female circumcision was designed with a similar rationale?
Picture this:
It is 1805, the Ameru community has been living on the Nyambene hills, growing bountiful crop and protected from their enemies by altitude and geography. Water is plenty, streaming down from the snow capped mountain where Murungu resides. Yet their community is waning, year by year, becoming smaller and smaller, forgetting their customs and losing their identity.
The Njuri Ncheke (council of elders) are constantly worried in their deliberations. It was not long ago that their people escaped from bondage from Arabs at the coast and migrated to this place. Others came from the North, pushed by Oromo warriors whereas still others came from farther south, seeking arable land. They managed to cobble together a community who called themselves the Ameru. Although there are now five clans who are part of the Ameru, their diverse origins mean that it is a loose coalition. Looser now as wandering Borana from the hinterland with their herds of Zebu and Chuka from the south with their bronze hoes are marrying Meru girls.
Girls are leaving Nyambene to go and increase the clans of others. Whole generations of future Ameru never to be, as the women shun their Meru men in favour of the warriors from other tribes.
Soon the Njuri Ncheke fear, there will no longer be a Meru identity, once again the Ameru will be dispersed like the wind to the four corners of the earth to suffer the same wandering homeless fate as their bajuju (ancestors.)
They need to do something quickly, to come up with a way of coalescing the community, of making sure that the vessels of the next generation (young women) marry within the community and abide by its tenets, of perpetuating the customs and beliefs of their people. They consider many options, and realize that the best option would be something which the whole community can participate. It must have a reward and punishment mechanism to induce people towards it and penalize those against it. It must require personal sacrifice yet ensure communal benefit.
The Njuri Ncheke love their community and would like to see it live on for many more years, strong, proud and self-sufficient. Their decision is made, even though they know that some will come to say it is designed by men to favour them.
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10:01
Summer goodness…
» Kenyan Pundit Gabi at 20 months, and full of storos. She’s always been a happy child and I’m thankful for that.
Gabi 20 months
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8:38
Kachumbari Band live Concert - Acapulco Bar, 22nd Nov, 9.30pm
» Kenyanpoet There will be a live concert and party with Kachumbari - an afro-asian fusion band @ ACAPULCO BAR AND RESTAURANT on Muthithi Road, Westlands.Get rocked to scintillating 45 mins performance by DJ Gupz!
Date: Saturday 22nd November
Time: 9:30pm
Entrance: 300ksh
Kachumbari Seven is a new musical group for Kenya. It aims to create original new music to celebrate the diverse mix of African, Asian and European cultures found in Nairobi.
Amongst the group, our musical backgrounds represent North Indian and Nepalese classical and folk traditions, the European classical tradition, the English folk tradition, and African music tradition from parts of Kenya and beyond.
The music is a colourful mixture of sounds, moods and atmospheres, created by flowing from improvised music to sections with strict rhythms, melodies and ragas.
Kachumbari Seven gave its first performance on 18th November 2006 at the GoDown Arts Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. You can listen to clips from the concert here. Watch their performance here
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7:09
Something fishy about Somali pirates
» Black Looks All the media hype around the $100 million crude oil tanker seajacked by Somalia “pirates” - I just cannot find anything within me to remotely sympathise with the cargo, it’s owner and owners and the crew are just as much victims of exploitation as workers everywhere if not more. Knowing there is a [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Something fishy about Somali pirates", url: "http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/11/something_fishy_about_somali_pirates.html" });
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6:34
5 Investments for 2009
» bankelele The year is about done and its time to start planning for 2009, with alternatives to build alongside the shares portfolio that will be carried into the new year.
1. Money Markets: Unit trusts are currently offered by African Alliance, Old Mutual, British American, Stanbic, CBA, Suntra, Zimele, ICEA. The bare minimums for signing up are about Kshs. 100,000 (~$1,300), initial fee of 2% and annual fee of 2.
2. Real Estate: It’s time for to undertake a real estate investment that should be done in 2009 following the Pesa Tu’s blueprint though financiers have gone rather shy and some developments appear to have stalled. Have we reached a real estate peak after which it becomes a speculative bubble?
3. Social Networks: Need to invest more in offline social relationships – with buddies, friends, mentors, peers, chama societies and sports for spiritual, social, and physical health.
4. Travel more: My passport has grown mould this year and the need to breathe a different sort of air, see new sights and meet new people - locally and internationally is imperative for 2009. I had always wanted to visit Sauri – the Jeffrey Sachs millennium village, now I must add Kogelo to my travel plans for western Kenya
5. Become a pirate?: Investing is about risk and reward and the numbers are there for the new hot profession of late 2008. It’s not very different from what is my daily bread anyway.
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5:28 What Is In A Name, Really?
» Cock And Bull My Mom joined a church sometime ago that is headed by a woman who has the gift to ‘see’. And recently at the behest of my parents, I agreed to pay her a visit. When I went to her place, we had a chat and this is what she told me: that my given name ‘Njuguna’ has a curse associated with it. The reason is because of the history of the man that I am named after; my grandfather from my mother’s side. He had two wives, and my grandmother was the second. The first wife was so bitter that she consulted powers of the darkness and in the process putting a curse on all the ‘Njuguna’ that will come in the lineage of her rival. She said that the curse has the power to affect the lives of all those named ‘Njuguna’ in our family negatively. I happen to be one of them.
And so I asked the seer, what the solution would be. And she jokingly suggested that I could change my name. But then she said that in her next fasting and prayer session, she would present the issue to God for a resolution. She also instructed me on how to pray in order to break that curse – not just for me but also for the other males names ‘Njuguna’ in the family. I did as she instructed and believed that it was done. That was about a month ago.
A friend of mine actually changed her name some time ago. She went about it through the legal system. When I asked her the reason why she changed it, she said that because it meant ‘The one who keeps going back, or going round and round’ – which is what she believes she has been doing all her life, and which she didn’t like. That is why she changed her name to one more in line with what she wants out of life. I remember that at that time, she asked me if I knew what my name means.
What’s in a name? I would have to say everything and nothing, depending on who you are.
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5:05
Walk In The Spirit
» Cock And Bull I got the following story from a friend this morning. I want to share it with you:
Today God has taken me for a walk. It all started when I asked Him questions early this morning. “Why do you not answer my prayers?” “Why are you so silent?”…questions flowed and so did my tears. Then the answers came, not the ones I wanted to hear, but they came. He told me that Monday was still days away, it was not late…that Xmas was still a month away, so why the tears?
Then came my frustrated answer, “Because I need reassurance God that all will be well.” And he took me for a walk…..in a ‘matatu’ on my way to town.
The first seat I took, I felt that I had to move. And so I went and sat at the back seat where I had a view of everyone. Usually I would have reasoned that I am inconveniencing others by changing seats but I didn’t. A few minutes later, a lady entered the ‘matatu’ and she was wearing a blouse similar to mine which got lost months ago. I was even convinced it was the one. It was a unique blouse and all I was thinking about was that I needed to check one little mark and confirm it was indeed mine.
Then the voice came to me again and started a revelation by answering some of my most persistent questions to God: “How do I know that you will answer my prayers? How do I know I am not doing this in vain?”
He told me this; “Just listen to your heart, for your mind sometimes will work against you by starting to have reasons and logic. When you pray or do something and in your heart it feels right, then it is right. There should never be reason to question your actions if they feel right in your heart. You will just know it.” And for the first time in many days, I felt that whatever I was doing was right, that He is listening to me….I felt it in my heart.
Then came the reassurance I had asked for: He made me realize that He has our life story before we even start living it. By taking the case of the blouse, he made me see sense. When I was given the top, I had sawn it at the back using a very bright thread which was visible against its black color. And all the time I considered re-sewing it with black thread, but I did not bring myself to do it. So, that bright thread was today going to help me identify this blouse. “You see, months ago when you sew the blouse with the bright thread, you had no idea why you did it, but I did, for I knew this day would come….and this is the same way that I know your life story. You may not know why some of these things happen today this way, but they happen for your life story to be. And you should not worry, for I know your future.” As I alighted from the ‘matatu’, the blouse didn’t seem to be important anymore, for the lessons I have learnt are worth much more.
You may not understand my point or story, but it was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. The conversation and the walk in the spirit.
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4:43
A Favorite Shirt
» Cock And Bull My favorite shirt has a plain beige color, is short sleeved and has a light material. It is not my most expensive and neither is it at the top of my most spectacular outfit list, but still I often choose it over all my other shirts. And this is because it is just right for Nairobi on a sunny day. Unlike the long sleeved shirts, it enables me to directly feel the sunlight on my forearms and unlike the heavier shirts, I like the way it allows the air to circulate over my upper body.
For God to use you, you do not require to be very smart, or wealthy, or good looking. For when God has work for you, you are the right person for the job. When God uses you, it might seem like you have to go through more trouble than other people. That just means that He needs to sanctify you a little bit more than others – just as a favorite shirt goes through more washing that all the other shirts.
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4:18
Being Straightened
» Cock And Bull When I picked up the shirt that I wanted to wear today, it was creased and needed to be straightened out. And so I rigged up a temporary ironing station by spreading a towel on top of my dining table, and plugged the iron box into the socket. As the iron box was heating up, I laid out the shirt on top of the towel and was soon passing the hot box over the shirt. With each pass, the material would flatten and all the creases would magically disappear. And as I passed the iron box over the shirt and in different sections, I could see it transforming into what I wanted.
As I thought about what I was doing to the shirt, I realized that this must be what God does with us each day we come to Him. When the many cares of the day crease our spirits, the temptation we cannot resist creases our resolve, the doubts that creep upon us crease our faith, and the disappointments of life crease our hope, God is there to straighten us out using the hot iron of his word, our prayers, and communion with Him. And as I ironed one shirt after another, I realized that the different types of cloth required different treatment in order to be straight. Some were easy and required minimal heat, while some were tough and required the iron box to be set to maximum heat. Some stubborn ones even needed to be sprinkled with water in order to straighten. Isn’t this just like the days that we have? In some days all our affairs are in order and our interaction with God is easy, some days are flaky and we need to spend a bit more time presenting our grievances to God, other days are simply unmanageable and we surrender and break down in His presence. Whatever the day might be like, He is capable of straightening us out, just as I managed to straighten out all those different clothes this morning.
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1:26
Why Kibaki and Raila Should Lead the Hague Trail Suspects
» You Missed This The on-going debate on the dreaded Waki List lacks any serious substance. Every politician who shoots his mouth to contribute to the debate are defending themselves (the listed names are still top secret but the guilty ones are already afraid), defending their kinsmen/community or trying to circumvent the truth. These are the fruits of our collective worshiping of our tribes and failing to reason with our heads.
The stinking debate on the Waki List shows that Kenyans never learnt a single lesson from the bloodbath we witnessed early in the year. It is either we are all foolish like the proverbial warthog, which escapes from the jaws of a charging lion once and immediately forgets the looming danger and stops to continue eating grass. The lion’s second attempt is often successful and tragic. If we sit on our brains, we will all sink in this country which we all falsely believed was an island of peace! We thought what our neighbours were going through was a Rambo movie.
When will Kenyans rise above tribes and reason rationally? If Kenyans will refuse to see no evil or hear no evil in their quest to adore their tribe and blindly defend their tribesmen and women implicated in serious criminal acts, then what is happening in DRC today could soon happen in Kenya but on a bigger scale to make the Congo war look like child’s play.
What is amazing is that every time a politician urinates on the law (committing crimes against humanity or being involved in theft of our taxes – which they have stubbornly refused to pay) they rush back to their community shouting their tribe is being finished. Yet, the loot they stole is not shared amongst the tribes but amongst their own wives, children and the lucky concubines. Yet, the community – wallowing in abject poverty – often end up being fooled by the politicians and take the frontline in defending “our own” politician.
Some are even ready to bite the bullet on behalf of their greedy and well-fed politician and yet they themselves have difficulties putting a decent meal on their table. When the politicians manage to hoodwink their tribes they are being finished, the law is often bent to favour the politicians who get away with the crimes and the cycle of the culture of impunity, stealing, theft, corruption and murder continues. Who suffers? Who becomes more and more impoverished? Definitely not the fat-bellied politicians and the “duly” elected president. In all the African countries which have been gripped by turmoil, their leaders often flee to safe havens in other countries and leave the foolish subjects slaughtering each other.
Let’s face the truth. Anyone who was in Kenya in the past three years know the truth of what triggered the violence after the December polls – but we have all sat on our brains due to the stupid loyalty we have for our tribes (read stupid politicians). We never use our brains but prefer to sit back and allow politicians to think for us. And we blindly swallow any rubbish and crap they vomit to our ears without questioning it.
Before the elections were held, the country was so charged – torn between communities supporting OMD and PNU. Anyone wise enough knew this was a recipe for chaos and it was a bomb waiting to explode. Before the election was held, ODM started crying foul that PNU were planning to rig elections. ODM leaders, led by Raila himself, made toured the country making inciting remarks against tribes that were perceived to be supporting Kibaki and his PNU. This heightened tensions in Kenya. And we all sat there cheering our politicians as they armed themselves with their razor-sharp tongues tearing our country into pieces. Already ODM had declared they would not recognise a Kibaki win long before the elections were held? This meant that only an ODM win was a genuine win. Why then go to the polls if you already knew the outcome of how Kenyans were to vote? African elections are never won depending on which side you support. They are rigged.
The election was held. All leading media houses, state-owned KBC included, had figures from the grassroots showing Raila was leading Kibaki throughout. On the 3rd day of counting votes, a MAGIC happened and all the media houses simultaneously removed the figures they were showing us on their TV screens and used ECK figures which showed Kibaki had miraculously overtaken Raila. A few hours later, Kibaki was hurriedly declared winner and sworn in like a thief at the lawns of State House as darkness fast approached. If Kibaki knew he had won fairly, why the haste to be sworn in at night in the GSU protected confines of State House? If he was the people’s president and he had won the popular vote, why not wait to be sworn in the following day at Uhuru Park like it happened in 2002? Surely, a president who has won a popular vote should give a chance to people who voted for him and his opponents to share his glory!
ODM queried the “huge” turn out of voters in parts of Central province. Maragwa constituency, for instance, recorded 115% voter turn out! Only God knows how the voters who cast their ballots could be more than the registered voters. In their defence, PNU accused ODM of electoral malpractices in their strongholds on the voting day. Some constituencies in ODM strongholds in Rift Valley and Nyanza recorded 98% turn out. It was alleged the poll officials and ODM agents voted for the voters who were dead or who failed to turn up. The same claims was made after ODM won the Referendum vote. But how can an Opposition steal votes where there is a functional Government in place? Only in a country where the “duly” elected president is Emilio Mwai Kibaki!
After the “duly” elected Kibaki was sworn in, Raila and other ODM leaders called for mass action and mobilised their communities against communities perceived to have voted for Kibaki. The slaughter of innocent Kenyans began as the “duly” elected president retreated into his preferred cocoon of State House and heard no evil and saw no evil as the country burnt and Kenyans swarm in their own blood.
When they saw Kibaki was not going to yield, ODM cried to the international community and Mr Koffi Annan was dispatched to Kenya to mediate. In fact, Mr Annan was the choice of Raila and ODM leaders. Kibaki and his PNU were reluctant to have international mediators claiming Kenyans were mature enough to solve their own problems. Due to the international pressure, Kibaki and his allies backed down and agreed to meet the Raila team at the negotiating table.
Backed by the international community, Raila pushed the “duly” elected president to the wall and he reluctantly agreed to share power (on 50/50 basis? That’s an illusion) and the slaughter of innocent Kenyans eased off. At the time, Raila and his ODM and communities which supported them were full of praises to Mr Annan, Ambassadors Michael Ranneberger (US) and Walter Lindner (Germany) and all foreign countries that backed the meditation.
Both the Waki and Kriegler commissions of inquiry were the product of the Koffi Annan-led mediation talks. The power-sharing pact signed by Kibaki and Raila endorsed the two commissions and everything else they agreed upon. Both PNU and ODM were bound by the signatures of Kibaki and Raila. Nobody in both PNU and ODM rejected the pact or the subsequent commissions.
When the Kriegler report was unveiled, ODM hurriedly endorsed it and called for the speedy disbandment of ECK, which was criticised by the commission for the poor manner it handled the elections. On the other side, PNU led by Kibaki were urging caution in disbanding ECK. Why? The likes of Martha Karua and Kibaki were against ECK during Moi’s reign. Kibaki’s contempt for competitive democracy was evident when he trashed the gentleman’s IPPG agreement of 1997 and single-handedly picked commissioner to oversee the 2007 polls. Why the sudden change of heart? Did Kibaki and Martha Karua know something the rest of us didn’t know? Why not implement the Kriegler report recommendations, which Kibaki had committed himself on paper to support? Were Kibaki and Karua returning a certain favour to the ECK the rest of us don’t know?
The Kriegler report did not mention any politician. Apart from Kibaki and Karua who were urging caution on the implementation (due to the favour they were returning to the ECK), the Kriegler report is a 100% safe document to any politician and that is why the likes of William Ruto were shouting from the rooftop for the speedy implementation of the report. The Kriegler report did not create any dust since ECK commissioners are not politicians and Kenyans care little if their careers were sacrificed. But should they have been politicians, the story would be our tribe is being finished!
To understand the hypocracy of our politicians, the debate on the Waki report is the complete opposite of the Kriegler report. Why? Because the Waki report identified politicians who financed/contributed to the slaughter of innocent Kenyans! Although nobody knows the names that were handed over to Koffi Annan by Judge Waki in a sealed envelope, the guilt in our politicians has given them sleepless nights and they have retreated to their tribal cocoons to mobilise their community for support in the most likely event that their names are in the envelope. Unlike before when Ruto frequently appeared on TV in his office or in the field talking agriculture, his face is today on TV in all manner of public barazas in his backyard trashing the Waki report! Why is he so jittery that he can’t wait for the names to be made public? Does he know something the rest of us don’t have a clue?
Just to veer off the debate, why did Ruto get all his wealth? Where was he employed after university? How did he make all his money if he was never employed like the rest of us and we don’t have so much money? Have Kenyans forgotten the YK92, Moi’s machine that looted state coffers to fund Kanu during 1992 polls under Ruto and Jirongo? Isn’t Ruto an accused in court for grabbing a forest land in Ngong Forest and selling it to KPLC at inflated prices? Yet Ruto and Jirongo appear on our TVs lecturing us on how we have been made more poor by others (not seeing themselves first)! One feels like puking when we listen to all the lies on TV and digest them like the gospel according to St Luke.
Mr Ruto’s stand on the two reports clearly illustrates the hypocracy of our politicians. Mr Ruto was very vocal that the Kriegler report should be implemented 100% and even told ECK chiefs, led by Mr Kivuitu, they should not wait to be shown the door but should resign immediately if they had any little conscience remaining in them. The Kriegler report was sweet music to Mr Ruto and his ODM. But the Waki report turns out to be a bitter pill for Mr Ruto and a section of ODM and they want it trashed. Why? They suspect their names are in the sealed envelope!
Initially, Kibaki was categorical that any killer/mastermind of the post-election violence should not expect any mercy from Kenyans. On the other hand, Raila and his group were demanding total amnesty for the suspects. That was around June. Today, Kibaki and Raila have swapped positions. Kibaki is calling for forgiveness – suggesting we sweep the Waki report under the carpet and not even place it on the shelves to gather dust! Why the sudden change of heart? Is his inner conscience being pricked by some guilt? And Raila is now calling for the total implementation of the Waki report. Kibaki and Raila both expressed their opposing views on the same platform. Who is fooling who here? Aren’t Kenyans being taken round some circus they don’t know anything about?
Let’s face the truth Kenyans. If the post-election violence was the work of small timers and villagers like most of us, those involved would have been ruthlessly hunted down and those who were luck to escape Maj Gen Ali’s live bullets would be languishing in jail not knowing what hit them. Our jails are bursting to the brims due to congestion. Who have filled the jails? Isn’t it small time crooks? And where are the big time crooks who have milked us dry and made us to slaughter each other and swim in our blood? Aren’t they the ones we vote into leadership and Parliament because they have a lot of money to bribe our conscience – with the same money they have looted from us? Kenyan parliament is full of thieves and murderers. The crooks in Parliament have committed crimes that are collectively bigger than all the crimes committed in the people languishing in jails. Yet, the MPs are walking free with their fat bellies while the wanyonge are languishing in the prisons! Why don’t Kenyans see this when politicians rush to them seeking protection from their tribes?
If post-election violence was the work of the small fish, there would have been no need to form the Waki and Kriegler commissions. The small timers would have tasted the full force of the law on the same day they committed the crimes. The BIG BOYS in Kenya are untouchable and we have to form commissions to investigate what is common knowledge to us. This is a tactic to buy time to give the BIG BOYS a soft landing. When did we ever hear of a commission of inquiry to investigate cries of the wanyonge and the down-trodden? When did we ever hear calls to FORGIVE the wanyonge and the down-trodden? When did we ever hear DIALOGUE being encouraged to determine the fate of the wanyonge and the down-trodden?
If Kenyans want the culture of impunity to end in this country, then we must take hard decisions and tough choices. Anyone who contributed to the post-election violence – either by stealing votes or calling on Kenyans to fight – should carry their own cross regardless of their tribe. Let’s all forget our tribes if we all want to secure a good future for our children and future generations. The post-election violence was directly triggered by both Kibaki and Raila and they must lead the pack going to Hague for trial. That is the surest way to end the culture of impunity and re-unite our country. Why take foot soldiers to Hague and leave out the two masterminds of the violence? Kibaki and Raila diehard supporters can frown over that but the truth is always a bitter pill to swallow. While you are wallowing in poverty and paying huge taxes, Kibaki and Raila don’t know of your sufferings. Think outside the box before you hurl insults for telling the truth.
Kenyans should vehemently demand that no tribunal should be formed in Kenya. All killers and masterminds of the post-election should be frog-marched to Hague which is neutral. If the trials are held here, we will start looking at the tribe of the judge, prosecutors versus who is on trial. Due to our polluted minds, the outcome of the trial will be measured in our minds on the basis of tribe of the judge and the accused. Why are both PNU and ODM against the Hague trial? Because they know they can use their money and influence to have a trail that is favourable to them? They want the Waki List tabled in Parliament so that they trash it like the List of Shame they trashed in the 8th Parliament, which had listed MPs who had stolen public land.
As I have stated above, the Waki commission was the product of Koffi Annan mediation talks which were backed by the international community. The European Union and the US paid bills for the Annan team. ODM knew this all along. Kenya did not pay a cent for their upkeep and allowances. By then, Koffi Annan and European Union and the US were regarded as God-sent angels in ODM ranks because they had forced the Kibaki mountain to move to the negation table.
After the Waki report was out, ODM brigade now shouts from the rooftop they don’t want the Waki report and that the international community has no business lecturing to Kenyans on how to conduct their affairs! Good Lord! Why was it in order in January for the international community lecture to Kenyans on how to conduct their affairs? Koffi Annan did not have any business coming to Kenya in January if he was not invited by ODM. This is why ODM’s latest twist in the Waki debate stinks. ODM wants local trial of suspects.
In Dec, ODM called Kenyans to revolt against the “duly” elected president and told us they would not challenge his election in court because they did not have faith in Kenya’s judicial system. What reforms have taken place in the judiciary since then to make Ruto and other ODM leaders have faith in our courts? Isn’t it hypocritical? ODM’s invite of Koffi Annan and the international community is like a person who sharpens a knife not knowing it will end up cutting him afterwards.
ODM and all the others should face the international knife which we sharpened together because we cannot manage our elections and the best way we know to contest an election defeat/theft (whichever side you stand) is to slaughter each other – when those who are ordering the slaughter are safe in the confines of their well-guarded Nairobi homes. They poured and continued adding more petrol in the villages as they watched the bloodbath on TVs from the comfort of their secluded homes – together with their wives and children. We never saw them, their wives or children leading the battle fronts. We did not hear any casualties in Kibaki, Raila’s, PNU’s and ODM ranks. But close to 3,000 (police doctored figures put it at around 1,700) Kenyans lost their lives. Helpless families were burnt alive in an Eldoret church as they cried for mercy.
Poor Kenyans lost their jobs, business, homes, property, animals, dignity and pride – they are still refugees in their own country. Poor Kenyans live in tents miles away from their home – which offer them little protection from rain, disease and cold weather at night – as Kibaki and Raila sleep under the warm hands of their wives in their electric heated bedrooms. The poor Kenyans are suffering – not because they did anything wrong but because they were perceived to have voted for the wrong presidential candidates. Yet, all of us Kenyans have forgotten the cliff we stood watching our country almost exploding into a bonfire. We are now cheering when our OWN politicians come to us seeking our support to OUR communities (read the politicians) over the looming Hague trial. Why do these politicians come to us only when their careers are threatened and not when they receive their fat salaries to share with us?
Kenyans, rise above tribes and allow every politician who contributed to the bloodbath to carry their own cross and not drag your communities into a selfish debates aimed at protecting their careers and families. Kenyans should tell all politicians – Kibaki and Raila included – that the Waki report was funded by our money and we collectively own it as 37 million Kenyans. The document is not the exclusive property of MPs, Kibaki and Raila for them to decide on their own what they want to do with it. The collective will of the Kenyan people should prevail over the selfish interests of these damned politicians.
We either stand together as Kenyans and not as tribes or we will all sink together.
Guest post by a friend of Kumekucha
How Moi used music to rule Kenya for 24 years
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Cheap Can Get Cheaper
» For Love and Money At today's levels it's hard to imagine that stocks can get cheaper. From last year, analyst after analyst have been saying that stocks are cheap. It's no wonder that thousands are being laid off from the financial sector.
All the logic has been thrown out of the window thanks to fear. Even the Feds have discovered that all the liquidity in the world is no match against fear. A testament to the power of human emotions.
Like with all bubbles, the fear bubble will one day burst. And when that happens, you'll see the equity markets explode. With all the money sitting on the sidelines and then some, we'll get one of the most viscous rally on the upside.
My money is on financials. The problem is that they'll spike up and then come down. It for this reason that I'm interested in UYG, a financials Exchange Traded Fund that has been battered 90% year to date.
The ETF consists of some of this year's worst performing stocks and the also some Credit Default Swaps. In other words this is one of the most toxic ETF available out there.
If we are to consider the NYSE McClellan Oscillator, we are barely into oversold territory. The index closed the day at -99.97, just shy of the -100 level that is considered to be oversold conditions and a couple of points higher than the October 10 reading. This means that we still have room to move lower in the coming days.
My guess is that stocks will close in the negative on Friday because traders don't have the nerve to hold onto stocks over the weekend. In the current situation, it's like traders are afraid of sleeping over their holdings because no one knows what news the night will bring.
If this plays out and UYG drops lower tomorrow, I'll pick up several hundred shares towards the end of the day for a speculative trade.
I could get burned like in AIG but that is a story for another day.
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