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23:50 The Tax-Eaters Are Destroying The Tax-Earners
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com Someone please give me an answer because I was watching this video about the fire at Nakumatt and the reporter mentioned that the city council fire trucks run out of water and had to go back and refill their trucks. Then, an employee at the city council mentions that they have 5 trucks (for a [...]
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21:03
The Hague Beckons: 10th Parliament Springs Nasty Surprise
» You Missed This It is sad reading through the comments in this blog daily where well-educated Kenyans are still thinking in terms of PNU and ODM (and the gods they worship, namely Kibaki and Raila) when the vast majority of Kenyans have already moved on. More so when it looks like even most legislators have moved away from those tribal groupings as was seen yesterday in parliament. The 10th parliament sprung a stunning surprise that left many puzzled and those who understood the implications dumbfounded.
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Kumekucha titbits: This is a new feature offering our readers useful titbits of information on every subject under the sun. Did you know that a whooping 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster? And that re-creating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $8,000 per MB? Did you also know that we have pretty competent world class data recovery experts in Kenya?
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Despite the fact that President Kibaki spent a lot of time on Wednesday with the MPs lobbying for the bill to enact a special tribunal to try post election perpetrators locally, his efforts and those of Prime Minister Raila Odinga did not bear fruit. Interestingly MPs say that this was their way of replying to the president's "slap in their face" of re-appointing former Finance Minister Amos Kimunya to the cabinet despite the fact that issues surrounding his resignation are yet to be resolved.
In a smart move legislators used a simple technicality to block all efforts to fast-track the bill meaning that the country will miss today's deadline. Which means that the case is headed to the Hague (Read the full story here).
Of great interest are the new political re-alignments that are now emerging and more interestingly the motivation behind them. Despite being the person who moved the bill, Justice Minister Martha Karua obviously has a lot to gain if Uhuru Kenyatta is charged at the Hague and maybe convicted. It was difficult to miss the smirk on her face when Legislator Gitobu Imanyara blocked her bid to fast-track the bill through parliament. Everybody knows that Martha is a fighter and ordinarily would have at least protested. She did not even whimper.
Many other legislators who had nothing to do with the post-election troubles have a lot to gain by blocking the bill and causing all the suspects to end up at the Hague. It will obviously eliminate a lot of the competition for their grand ambitions.
I doubt whether most of the political class conecerned slept well last night. You see the game plan was to have a local tribunal and then intimidate all the witnesses from coming to give evidence (already a number of key Waki witnesses have received death threats). Now it seems that the Hague beckons for sure.
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Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
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Chief mediator Kofi Annan can of course save the situation by extending the deadline. However if he does so it will look like he is favouring the powerful political class and reducing the chances of ordinary Kenyans ever getting real justice on this rather painful issue. And to make matters worse the bill tabled in parliament had been "doctored" by some of the chief suspects themselves to favour themselves especially those who are cabinet ministers. So Mr Annan will be greatly endangering his image and reputation by lifting a finger to interefere with the natural course of justice that has already been set in motion. But lets wait and see what happens.
The other point that Kenyans should note is that their government moves at the pace of a snail (maybe slower), even when it is to save themselves. Why did it take so long to bring this bill to parliament? I mean the idea was to pass it yesterday when the deadline is today. Surely if somebody is so slow when saving themselves from a fire, how fast can you expect them to be when dealing with the problems of the country? Little wonder that Kenya is in such a mess. The whole lot PNU, ODM, Raila, Kibaki must go home NOW. We need fresh elections NOW!!
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16:18
Raila and the maize scandal
» Kenyan Pundit So I came across this memo to Raila today that was supposedly leaked by one of Anyang Nyong’os disgruntled juniors. The memo links Raila’s son Fidel to the missing maize. The reference to Denis is to the ODM PR guy Denis Onyango. Can’t vouch for the memo’s veracity though…it doesn’t seem like Anyang’s memo to put such incriminating stuff on paper and the typos are rather amateurish. Even if it’s fake the whispers I’ve been hearing say that it’s not far from the truth.
Courtesy of Demosh (Flickr)
And then there was this “coincidental” firing of an unnamed Raila aide today for links to the maize scandal.Anyone have any more enlightening info.?
EDIT: This blogger has more names.
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16:00
Durban judge upholds 2007 Slum Act
» Black Looks On the 6th November last year, Abahlali baseMjondolo applied to have the “KwaZulu- Natal Elimination and Prevention of Re-Emergence of Slums Act 2007″ to be declared unconstitutional. Yesterday the judge ignored the argument that shack settlements are communities with a right to the city and upheld the Slum Act. “The province of [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Durban judge upholds 2007 Slum Act", url: "http://www.blacklooks.org/2009/01/durban_judge_upholds_2007_slum_act.html" });
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13:11
Nairobi Skyline
» Afromusing 
For the Nairobi architecture buffs…enjoy
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7:21
Spuds Anon.
» Memories, Sentiments, Rants and Raves Hi am Gish and am a chipaholic. Its been 2 hours since my last plate of chips, i just cant seem to walk away especially those long crispy golden brown chips with some ketchup,vinegar, some salt and a hint of pepper(esp fried pepper).Just the thought of it has my glands salivating.
The downside of all this is best said as "sweet on the lips forever on the hips". Seeing that its a bit too easy to make, they are a common feature on my menu. I love them even more when they are spiced up, you know masala chips with coleslaw.
I knew it was time to quit or reduce when nothing in my wardrobe fits.The other day i was traveling on a bumpy road and most of me was literally jiggling then i knew it was time to quit. So here goes ...
ps: The insomnia is gone.
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3:00
2nd TALENT CAMPUS DURBAN 24 - 28 July 2009 at the 30th Durban International Film Festival
» Kenyanpoet TALENT CAMPUS DURBAN 24 - 28 July 2009 at the 30th Durban International Film Festival
(22 July - 2 August 2009)
The 30th Durban International Film Festival (22 July - 2 August 2009) is proud to announce the 2nd edition of Talent Campus Durban from 24 - 28 July 2009, an intensive 5-day programme of workshops and seminars delivered by film professionals to enhance both theoretical and practical approaches to filmmaking. The 2nd Talent Campus Durban theme Roots and Shoots: Creating a New African Cinema will focus activities towards the development of new partnerships between African filmmakers.
Talent Campus Durban invites filmmakers from Africa to apply to participate in these workshops and seminars, which take place in Durban, South Africa, over five days. In addition to specific activities offered by the Campus, the selected talents will have the opportunity to attend films and events at the 30th Durban International Film Festival.
Deadline for application: 16 March 2009
Full Rules and Regulations can be downloaded from here
Talent Campus Durban is produced as a cooperation between the Durban International Film Festival and the Berlinale Talent Campus, and Berlin International Film Festival and is supported by the German Embassy in South Africa, the Goethe Institute South Africa and the Department of Economic Development - KwaZulu-Natal.
The Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN) with principle funding and support from the National Film & Video Foundation, HIVOS, SABC, Stichting Doen, Department of Economic Development - KwaZulu-Natal, City of Durban, and the Ethekwini Municipality.
For media queries contact:
Sharlene Versfeld
T: 031 201 1650
F: 031 201 1654
E: sharlene@versfeld.co.za
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Images of Nollywood
» Black Looks I am not a fan of Cape Town but the one thing the city has to offer is the Michael Stevenson Gallery. As well as an ongoing series of photo exhibitions by lesbian photo activist Zanele Muholi, the Gallery has an exhibition by Pieter Hugo which uses photography to explore the “ [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Images of Nollywood", url: "http://www.blacklooks.org/2009/01/images_of_nollywood.html" });
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1:52
Gears into Hammers
» AfriGadget 
More pictures from TMS Ruge of Project Diaspora, this time of a crude hammer used to crush stones in a quarry outside Kampala, Uganda. It’s made out of an old engine gear.
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1:08
Radio Africa Holdings IPO
» KA-INVESTOR Radio Africa the holding company to several Kenyan fm radio stations is seeking to have its IPO on the NSE this year to finance its expansion plan. The Group owns Classic 105, Kiss 100, East Fm - 106 fm (for the Asian community) and an additional three new radio stations namely Jambo Fm, X FM and Smooth Fm. The targeted amount for the IPO has not yet been disclose ( to be up dated).
The group also publishes the daily newspaper, Nairobi Star (I call it the gossip paper). The Nairobi Star, which acquired its own printing press, is set to expand to the rest of the country in the course of the year. Before acquiring the print press the paper was being printed by Nation Media Group printers. The paper does not separate its employees between radio and newspaper, with most of its radios presenters doubling up as its columnists e.g. Caroline Mutoko’s Monday column where she says whatever she likes. The paper also employs other renowned personalities as their columnists’ e.g. Aly khan Satchu’s (Stocks – Star Portfolio) and Tajudeen’s - Bio (Commentaries).
Initially the paper got some very harsh reviews but over time it has managed to prove that it's a champion in solid grapevines. On lauching the paper sold over 50'000 copies in a day but its has since dropped. Competition from Nation Media's Metro did not manage to dumpen demand by its target market of between 18 to 35 years olds.
Radio Africa Holdings IPO would bring the number of listed media firms on the NSE to three, after Nation Media Group and Standard Group. Surprisingly, neither the Group nor its subsidiaries (fm radio’s and newspaper) websites are up and running. Something, I think, they should act on before going into an IPO.
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0:52
The police helicopter....
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG 
I am not sure who it was carrying....but I was wondering why they were wasting the fuel just circling around.....
Maybe to see the level of unpreparedness..... -
The more the fire...the nearer the people got..
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG 
Ever wondered why people do some things, fall down, get injured....others get a kick out of it.... -
The gadgets came in very handy....
» REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG 
I can imagine what will happen when the fiber lands and we can all afford live streaming and real broadband.....
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Will Tribunal Bill Hoodwink Kenyans Once Again?
» You Missed This There is a friend who keeps telling me that the glue keeping the grand coalition government together is called “corruption.”
There have been numerous instances to prove this statement 1000% correct. But there is something else that also makes politicians across the political divide stick together like brothers. It is "fear" and especially fear of a place called the Hague.
In a few hours time a crucial bill, and indeed the reason why parliament was recalled earlier than the traditional March, is set to be tabled in the august house. We all know that the president never leaves the cozy confines of State House unless he has a very good reason to do so. So it is very telling that yesterday he was in a special meeting with MPs to drum up support for the bill that our political class hope will help them avoid the Hague.
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Kumekucha titbits: Did you know that corporate team building programmes have been known to turn around previously loss-making companies the world over?
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However there is a small problem. Sources assure me that subtle changes have been made and some crucial Waki recommendations set aside in the final bill which was published late last night. One of them is that cabinet ministers who are named as suspects will now NOT need to step aside and will remain in office until proven guilty. For what? Well the answer is simple. So that they can continue fleecing the treasury with their corrupt deals to enable them pay the hefty legal fees and other expenses like “oiling” the right hands so that the charges and Hague goes away. It is that simple.
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Kumekucha titbits: This is a new feature offering our readers useful titbits of information on every subject under the sun. Did you know that a whooping 60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster? And that re-creating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $8,000 per MB? Did you also know that we have pretty competent world class data recovery experts in Kenya?
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Interestingly when the president was drumming up support amongst legislators yesterday he pledged that he and Raila would drop cabinet ministers who are named as suspects of the post election violence until they are cleared. This "gentleman’s agreement" reminds me of another gentleman’s agreement which the president ignored in the run up to the last general elections. Despite widespread complaints he went ahead and picked members of the Electoral commission all by himself, including his own family lawyer for many years who ended up as Samuel Kivuitu’s deputy chair.
The president’s actions seem to confirm that indeed the piece of legislation being debated in a few hours time does not contain that important clause making it mandatory for those named to step aside. Which means that this will be left to the discretion of the president, who has promised… blah blah.
Give me a break!!!
How many promises has this president broken? Starting with his cry for zero tolerance to corruption which I personally heard him say live at a small meeting near the University of Nairobi that I attended shortly before the 2002 elections.
To be honest at this rate I don’t see how our fat cats will avoid the Hague.
MPs we are watching you. DO NOT vote for this "doctored" document.
See also:
The heated debate over ministers remaining in office until proven guilty
Attempt to shield security chief fails
How can Nakumatt Downtown burn in broad daylight? Kenyans ask as relatives say loved ones who were around the supermarket are still missing.
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