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23:38
From: You Missed This
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Executive Blood Harvesting Season is Here - Taabu in his element. Yesterday was a very sad day for Kenya with the assassination of an opposition MP under circumstances that are still very far from being clear. But something worth celebrating also happened yesterday and I had just began to write this post, when the news of the assassination broke. Yesterday the Kumekucha counter on our main site registered ONE MILLION HITS. 1 , 0 0 0 0 0 0 !!! We thank you all wonderful people out there for making this happen. It is a proud moment not only for me but for all those who blog here regularly. It illustrates the victory and sheer power of citizen journalism at a time when our country's media is more opressed and intimidated than it has ever been in the history of Kenya. My joy is that many times it has been our readers and visitors who have broken major stories here. Congratulations, Kumekucha and Kumekuchans. P.S. Kindly note that the moderator will prompty delete any comments that attempt to advertise any product or site in the comments section. If you want to advertise anything to the captive ad mainly Kenyan audience here, our rates are dirt cheap and there is no need to behave so crudely. Just send an email to umissedthis at yahoo dot com for details about our rates if you're interested in reaching a million eye balls and counting. We are also willing to listen to your story if you feel that we should allow you to advertise here for FREE.
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21:12
From: You Missed This
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Two MPs down in under 36 hours. With the death of Ainamoi MP David Kimutai Too, the sharks have their jaws wide open ready to claim their next suitable victim. Kenya is paying the ultimate price of having IMPUNITY as a national and official policy. Why then can't murders take cue from the top and do the necessary to squeeze a life and another there for either speculative passion or official reasons?
Kenya remains a country in both self denial of national deception and steady grand match to self-destruction. No parent cannot stop his kids from misbehaving if he fails do lead by example and from inform. So why would a police constable not execute an MP given a template of a President getting away with daylight ELECTORAL THEFT. For those doubt that fact and shamelessly asko for proof please go back to Mars, you are aliens here on earth.
Ours is a country that has become a theatre of contradiction. Just look at policemen now partnering Mungiki who were hitherto chopping the cops' head a few months ago. Instead the ordinary Kenyan who were up in arms against Mungiki's beheading are now the cannon fodder aka STOPPERS of both police bullets and matchetes. Political fortunes can really change drastically for the less 'INDUSTRIOUS'.
By the way the Kibaki government does no need a manual on political assassination given its composition. They have been there since Pio Gama's death in the 1960s. And with 21st Century technology their work is even make much lighter.
With an 'EFFICIENT' police force that knows the cause of death before it even happens, it couldn't get much politically manageable. Mark you only Kenyan police can afford to tear gas the dead and mourners. Now they have graduated to prescribe infedelity to the dead. That is reversed honour Kenyan style for you.
Well, that is two votes less and woe unto you if you are an ODM MP whose blood attracts and has higher affinity for stray bullets. We haven't seen anything yet, BADO.
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7:40
From: You Missed This
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  Senior police officer and wananchi mingle around the car belonging to the late MP David Kimutai Too in Eldoret at the scene-of-crime where he shot and his partner serious wounded. Following the news of the murder, there have been reports of tension in Western Kenya towns of Kericho and Kisumu, while in Eldoret demonstrations have been held outside the Eldoret Police HQS. ============================ The ODM /P NU crisis talks that were launched yesterday by both President Kibaki and Raila Odinga have been postponed to Friday. The convener of the talks Kofi Annan did not give any reasons for the postponement which came against the backdrop of the murder of Ainamoi Member of Parliament David Kimutai Too in Eldoret earlier today. At the same time, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in an apparent change of mind, plans to visit Kenya tomorrow (Friday) to add his weight to the efforts of Mr. Annan toward ending the crisis. Kibaki is presently in Addis Ababa attending the AU summit while Raila Odinga spoke at an ODM press conference in Nairobi (Pentagon House) where he termed the murder of the ODM MP "The second killing of an MP belonging to Orange Democratic Movement is part of a plot to reduce our majority in parliament". Meanwhile, the Police Commissioner has announced that the assailant, a unnamed police constable, has been arrested in Turbo along the Malaba - Eldoret Road and is currently in police custody in Nakuru. The alleged murderer will appear in court tomorrow, the police commissioner promised.
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4:16
From: You Missed This
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Hon David Kimutai the MP for Ainamoi constituency has been shot dead. His body is lying at the Moi Teaching and Referal hospital in Eldoret.
It is not clear exactly what happened but Kenyans are in shock because the other slain MP Mugabe Were is yet to be buried. It is believed that he was shot outside an Eldoret hotel by a police officer. Unconfirmed reports claim that the death may have been linked to a love affair.
We will give you more details as we get them. I am also expecting some details from Phil.
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15:56
From: You Missed This
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Kumekucha asked to predict what will happen in Kenya in 2008 Regulars of Kumekucha have noted that nine out of ten times, I tend to correctly predict exactly what is going to happen next. My analysis which most readers start by disagreeing with, always end up being spot on. I am not one to brag; rather I wanted to give our numerous new readers a little background before I dive into today’s rather detailed post. ----------------------  Yet another victim of the raging post-election violence and it looks like the attackers "cut him" as well as attacking him. Police in Naivasha check for any signs of life.====================== Actually a reader has asked me what I think will happen in Kenya over the next few months. Before I dive into that question, here are 3 examples out of many where my posts have ended up being spot on. - When everybody else was calling political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi a mad man, Kumekucha agreed with him that it was doubtful that Kibaki would hand over power in the event that he was defeated. - Kumekucha kept on calling the 2007 elections the mother of all general elections. Some readers mocked him unbelievingly. You decide if I was right... Read more
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15:53
From: You Missed This
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The question on everybody’s mind is when will the current crisis end? My answer: Not quickly enough. As you read this my firm belief is that the peace of Kenya is now out of the hands of the two major protagonists, namely the MP for Othaya Hon Mwai Kibaki and the MP for Langata Hon Raila Odinga. PNU are nervously cheering on Mungiki and ODM are nervously cheering on the Kalenjin, Luo and Luhya militia. Both parties hope that these violent groups will help them achieve their objectives. What they don’t seem to realize is that even if they sign an agreement today, ending the current violence will be very difficult. You see the problem with violence is that it begets more violence and it becomes an endless spiral or bottomless pit of violence and more violence. The truth is that negotiations should involve representatives of ordinary Kenyans. Back to answering the question. The violence will drag on for a number of weeks at the very least and for a couple of months at the most. It all depends on how quickly those involved in the negotiations move to address the core underlying issues that are the cause of the violence and were only triggered by what many saw as a stolen election. To understand the three classes of Kenyans and what they wish for, please read my next post. For those who understand spiritual things, this is judgement for Kenya and all the evil and injustices that have taken place in our country. It will not stop until every stiff (proud) neck has been humbled. Going by some of the comments I receive in this blog, it will take a lot to humble some of our brothers and sisters. What will happen to the economy? Finance minister Amos “the stock exchange is not a fish market” Kimunya said with a straight face the other day that the Kenyan economy will hardly feel the effects of the violence... Read more
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2:05
From: You Missed This
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 Kibaki, Annan and Raila seen here observing a minute of silence in honour of those Kenyans who have needlessly died since Kivuitu declared Kibaki as the winner of the presidential polls. The call to stand-up was aptly made by none other than Raila Odinga. Kenyan problem will be half-solved the moment we treat each other as equals Even before the nominated teams begin negotiations, signs are already emerging that the Annan led mediation talks are doomed to fail. Yesterday, the talks were nearly sabotaged by Office of the President protocol officers who were insisting that Kibaki sits alone on the ‘high table’ because he is the ‘supreme presidential authority’. The ODM and Mr. Annan on the other hand, would hear none of it and in the end, Raila and Kibaki occupied the same ‘high table’ flanking Annan on both sides as equals. This was after Annan and the Speaker of the National Assembly as the convener of the meeting over-ruled the OP protocol officials. Such pettiness, emanating from the PNU side, clearly shows that they are treating their political adversaries as junior partners. Protocol officials who do not appreciate that it is the very presidency that is in contention nearly exchanged blows with ODM officials prior to Annan/Marende's intevention! The PNU had already started showing bad faith by nominating ODM-K members who have unashamedly already endorsed the legitimacy of the presidency as their representatives in the mediation process. The ODM has been clear in its demands that it does not recognize the 'government' and will only negotiate with the other side as PNU. Even worse, on the same day talks were due to begin, PNU government insiders were desperately trying to hide from accusations of complicity in the assassination of Embakasi ODM MP Mugabe Were. Similarly, Kenya police were groping around for excuses after tear-gassing innocent mourners at the late MP’s residence. The mourners included the widows and infant children! Barren Foreign Affairs Policy Thanks to Kenya's barren foreign affairs policy and scant respect for global affairs, the Annan talks will, in all probability, not see the light of day. As it is, although the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been in the region in recent days and is due to attend the African Union summit in Ethiopia later this week, he has given Kenya a wide-berth. Ban Ki-moon has been heavily criticised by human rights group for ignoring the Kenyan crisis. The UN-SG seems caught in a serious dilemma because he does not want to be seen upstaging the African Union under whose umbrella the Annan team is operating. As if to add insult to injury, the all powerful UN Security Council has been quick to wash its hands off the Kenyan crisis ostensibly because the crisis does not meet its rules and regulations governing its response to issues of peace and security. Back to the Addis Ababa AU summit, PNU’s Kibaki has ignored official requests to stay away and is insisting he will attend the meeting as Kenya’s duly elected head of state. This obviously will adversely affect the direction of the mediation talks back in Kenya. Although the Kenyan deaths and displacements are painful to most people, international sympathy is not too much as to warrant an UN peace keeping intervention. Moreover, the Annan team lacks real powers to enforce some of the pre-conditions it has listed on the MOU that was signed last evening. It is apparent even to Mr. Annan himself that this will not be the first MOU for PNU to disregard MOUs. President Kuffuor (Chairman AU) and President Museveni (Chairman Commonwealth & EAC) have both been in Nairobi to try and resolve this crisis, but both have been largely unsuccessful. Several former African heads of state plus Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Desmond Tutu and our own Wangari Maathai have also been given a cold shoulder by PNU. What options does this leave the ODM? - Resign to fate and accept that it is the official opposition and continue its mandate? Obviously NO!
- Revert to its mass action and economic boycott calls? Maybe, YES!
- Hope that someone somewhere has the absolute power to force Kibaki/PNU out of statehouse and organise presidential re-elections in the shortest time possible. Hopefully, YES!
What options does this leave the PNU? - Continue to bury its head in the sand, assume that it is rightfully in power and proceed with discharging its mandate? Pray, NO!
- Accept that the presidential vote tallying was deeply flawed and Kibaki’s purported swearing-in highly irregular? Of course, YES!
 - That both a vote-recount and a legal process are not viable options because the votes are already interfered with and that the judiciary in Kenya is impartial? Please, YES!
- Accept to form a transitional government with ODM with the sole purpose of re-constituting the ECK and re-organising fresh elections? Hell YEAH!
Let the people decide.
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15:34
From: You Missed This
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Is There Any Link Between MP Mugabe Were’s Killing and the Recent Reshuffle in the Kenya Police?Kenya may be known for many positive things including world-class athletes but the BOTTOMLESS PIT OF VIOLENCE we find ourselves in following last year’s stolen elections by Kibaki makes it a first in many realms. Many things happening right now defy any trace of logic or acceptance and must be uniquely Kenyan. Kenya is indeed a very special and unique country bereft of humanity. Many things that happen in Kenya have never been witnessed anywhere else in the world. Only in Kenya do you get a police force so determined to crash demonstration that they won’t mind lobbing teargas at coffins bearing remains of what they had earlier killed. The sight of frail old mothers choking under the fumes is no reason enough to be human. Kenyans can kill a body twice if only to prove a point. Tear gas the bereaved to aid them mourn better. Kenya is the only country which can insist on being called a DEMO(N)CRACY under the rule of the barrel of the gun. Add to this the fact that in the whole wide world only in Kenyan do you find an Electoral Commission boss who declares that he doesn't know who won a presidential poll he was tasked and paid to run. The icing on the cake lies in the fact that statehouse continues to be occupied nonetheless. Lose to win Only in Kenya do you win elections by losing it. Truly prophetic because the first shall be last. Besides Kenyans have their own sense of basic counting (NOT BASE 10) where two is LARGER than six. If you doubt and get embarrassed please sue your kindergarten mathematics teacher for intellectual damages to your integrity and fame. Ours must be the only country exclusively populated by geniuses, ehe? Kenya’s transport and communication network puts Japan’s fidelity and premium to punctuality to shame. Sample this: electoral officials in far-flung areas like Wajir, Funyula, Budalangi, Isiolo, and Lodwar relay their results to KICC overnight yet results from Kiambaa (just past Muthaiga estate in Nairobi) take more than 70 hours (three days) to ‘reach’ Nairobi. Kenya’s sense of political humour is unparalleled. Consider this: only in Kenya do you count 95,000 votes from a constituency with 70,000 registered voters. Numbers surely don’t lie but we can COOK them into a delicious meal albeit poisonous. Still on the electoral front, only in Kenya do you find a presidential candidate’s name missing in the Voters register in his own constituency on polling day. Derivatives of selective amnesia can be stretched into other facets of life with a little bit of political entrepreneurship. Reversed popularity must have been invented by ingenious Kenyans. Only here do we the most "popular" party SCOOPING 35 MPs while the "unpopular" hides in shame with a paltry 100 parliamentary seats. MOU my foot! Trust Kenyan voters to pay their politicians with their own coin. These scoundrels can form all GRAND COALITIONS they can dream of but lofty tags like PARTY CHAIRMAN means absolutely nothing to the Kenyan voter. How else do you explain the political Tsunami that swept Kombos, Nyachaes, Tujus, Muites, Ndiles and Koigis of this country? Finally, who said history repeats itself? For who, by whom and for what? Learning from previous mistakes is an alien concept to us Kenyans. Ati the KANU-LDP MOU was dishonoured by Moi. So what? And then the NAK-LDP MOU was trashed by Kibaki. Common, take a walk and smell the coffee. We live miracles and don’t dream them. ODM-KENYA/PNU is union made in heaven and meant for eternal bliss. Naivety is for the politically faint hearted. Deception is the brighter side of industry and grabbing is a constitutional right to stay anywhere. Kazi iendelee.
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10:12
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Guest Post by Peter Ngugi
This is an open letter to Messrs Mwai Kibaki, the President of the Republic of Kenya and Raila Odinga, the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement.
Sirs, I know that you must be too busy to get time to read this letter but I am very sure that one of your many lieutenants will read it in your stead and convey the message to you.
Sirs, I – like millions other Kenyans – am very angry with you for plunging our country into an abyss of tribal turmoil. I hold you solely responsible for all the mayhem engulfing our beloved country. If this country goes to the dogs, your names and those of your progenies will forever be associated with tribal tyranny and downright barbarism.
I am really saddened by your role in the creation of value systems that have blatantly divided us along tribal lines and thus made us slaves and refugees in the land of our birth. It is high time that you understood that the fundamental tenets of true Kenyanness lie not in tribes and empty political talk but in the ability to spiritedly strive to invalidate schemes whose principal aim is to cause ethnic animosity.
Sirs, it is upon you to start the healing process for, we the citizenry, are sick and tired of your political bickering, empty rhetoric and chest thumping. The Nation hurts- nay it is bleeding profusely and is almost in its deathbed. Sirs, is this the Second Liberation we so intently fought for? Did we strive to kick out the draconian leaders of yester years so that you can set the stage for sacrificing the integrity of our country at the altar of pettiness and outright demagoguery? How much more innocent blood do you want spilt so that you can see the graveness of the matter?
Sirs, you must not allow our country to sink lower than it has already sunk. You have held our country to ransom for far too long as the humanitarian situation deteriorates by the minute.
I beseech thee to put the interests of Kenya before your own. You have got to act swiftly to restore our national integrity.
Faithfully,
Mwalimu Peter N Ngugi
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5:03
From: You Missed This
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The tragic shooting of Mr Mugabe Were, ODM’s Embakasi MP-elect, puts into sharp focus the real motive behind the recent reshuffle of top officers in the Kenya Police.
It’s too early to conclude if the killing was political assassination or the politician was a mere victim of the breakdown of security in the country. Whatever the case, the killing is bound to evoke deep anger and be a source of great concern within the ODM ranks and all Kenyans of their right mind.
Some may argue the killing was not political since Mr Were was little known and he posed no threat in the dangerous power games being played out with our lives by the illegitimate President Mwai Kibaki and the People’s President, Raila Odinga.
But criminologists will tell you that a cleaver person would not go for Mr Odinga because the consequences would be too tragic to image or comprehend. In the current state of affairs, any politician with a killer’s mind would target Mr Odinga’s foot soldier to send shivers down the spines of the ODM leader and his vocal MPs. In fact, there has been talk that Eldoret North MP William Ruto was a marked man for elimination.
The casual manner in which our police conduct serious business that involve human life often leave a wide room for speculation. Shortly after Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe visited Mr Were’s scene of the shooting, he addressed a Press conference and declared the police were treating the issue as murder!
Since the police had not done any investigations, gotten any lead or arrested any prime suspect who had confessed the motive by the time Mr Kiraithe spoke, how did the spokesman (or the Commissioner of Police he said he was speaking on his behalf) arrive at that early conclusion?
Did the police have prior information about the intended crime? International standard police procedures require that the police should approach any criminal investigation with an open mind. You don’t rush into hasty conclusions.
Police who are first to arrive at the scene of crime have the duty to seal off the scene to preserve vital evidence. But from the TV footage we have been seeing since morning, no effort was done by the police to seal off the scene where Mr Were was killed and the scene has been badly violated by the feet of journalists, the police and other curious residents. No pathologist was called to the crime scene contrary to international standard procedures.
Mr Kiraithe recently shocked and angered Kenyans when he claimed that the police gang-land execution of a young demonstrator captured by KTN camera and aired on TV slightly over a week ago was Rambo Movie! Surely, such careless and heartless statement should not have come from the mouth of the spokesman for Kenya’s 36,000 police officers and the spokesman of the security of Kenya’s 35 million population!
If what we watched in horror in our sitting rooms with our children was Rambo Movie, how can then believe Mr Kiraithe’s word that Mr Were’s tragic shooting was a simple act of murder? There is no doubt that there is a serious problem with our security machinery.
From the look of things, this was not an ordinary killing. It was a clear case of gang-land style execution since nothing was stolen unarmed MP and there is no indication he posed any threat to his attackers. Is this another Rambo Movie, Mr Kiraithe?
Contrary to the repeated assurance by the Commissioner of Police, Maj Gen Mohamed Hussein Ali, last week’s abrupt changes in the Kenya Police, when the country was already on fire triggered by the theft of the presidency, was not an ordinary administrative reshuffle of officers.
There was more than meets the eye. Already, the mainstream media – especially the Nation Media Group which was previously regarded as the voice of the voiceless – have entered into a dangerous conspiracy with Maj Gen Ali and Kibaki’s ruling elite to cover up the truth to quench personal desires. Kenyans are living under the mercy of Kibaki and the media and they have to live on lies.
The mainstream media are in the firm grip and control of managers and editors from the Kikuyu community and Kibaki’s ruling clique has had an easy tenure compared to former President Moi who was bashed by the combined media even for trivial crimes.
Kibaki’s administration has committed crimes of international magnitude for the short period it has been in power but the Kikuyu-dominated media has opted to look the other way. This media cover up scheme is spearheaded by Maj Gen Ali and his allies NMG’s CEO, Linus Gitahi, and Kameme FM’s proprietor, Ms Rose Kimotho.
It’s for this reason that no inquisitive journalist from these media houses dared dig beneath the surface to establish the real motive behind the reshuffle of top officers. Brave journalists who dared dig the truth have lived to tell harrowing stories.
Fresh details gathered from the corridors of power by Kumekucha indicate the reshuffle targeted the removal from the Force of the soft-spoken Director of Operations for the Kenya Police, Mr David Kimaiyo, because he was being regarded as an ODM mole in the heart of Kenya’s security.
The reshuffle was carried out in a very clever way to make it look like it was an administration reshuffle affecting several senior officers. It has emerged that Mr Kimaiyo was the prime target of the reshuffle but Kibaki’s ruling elite had to make cover up changes to avoid raising eyebrows in the ODM ranks. The Kelenjins and ODM would have bitterly protested had he been the only one struck off the top leadership of the Kenya Police.
The changes – announced by Maj Gen Ali – were the work of Kibaki’s men and not entirely the Commissioner, as he wants Kenyans to believe.
Mr Kimaiyo was kicked out of the Kenya Police and posted to the Ministry of National Heritage as an Under Secretary, where his police skills are likely to rot for the rest of his life, because he was being perceived as an ODM mole in the Kenya Police.
Kumekucha has established that Mr Kimaiyo’s fate in the Kenya Police was sealed by the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) over his alleged links with ODM’s William Ruto – who is being fingered as the prime culprit in the mass killings of Kikuyus in the vast Rift Valley Province by his own Kalenjin community.
According to confidential and reliable sources, Mr Kimaiyo and Maj Gen Ali had been put on a 24-hour surveillance by the NSIS for being suspected to have links with the ODM. They were accused of leaking sensitive state secrets to the ODM in the ran-up to the General Election in the event that Kibaki lost the presidency.
Maj Gen Ali, having served in the Military Intelligence Corps in his Army career, was wiser than Mr Kimaiyo. He played his political infidelity safely, although the NSIS had him nailed by bagging his phones. He was reported to have been so furious when he discovered NSIS had been listening to some of his telephone lines he had regarded to be safe.
To digress a bit, Maj Gen Ali made himself Mr Odinga’s Public No.1 in October 2005 when his officers shot dead four people in riots triggered by the bogus new Constitution Kibaki was pushing down the throats of Kenyans.
Maj Gen Ali hurriedly called a Press conference at Vigilance House and declared the four victims of police shootings were hooligans who had gone to overran Kondele police station and that he had no apology to make for the police killings.
It later turned out that three of the dead were young pupils mowed down by police bullets on their way home from school and the fourth person was an innocent milk vendor. None of the dead was anywhere near the police station. A thoroughly embarrassed Maj Gen Ali turned to the media to cover up the truth.
A furious Mr Odinga demanded that Maj Gen Ali should be returned to the barracks where the Army was trained to kill. But sensing that Mr Odinga was gaining popularity and he might trounce Kibaki, the shrewd Maj Gen Ali warmed up to the ODM leader by leaking damaging state secrets on the Artur brothers to him. With a powerful weapon to hit his political rival Kibaki, Mr Odinga softened his heart for Maj Gen Ali and their lukewarm relationship continued towards last year’s General Election.
But the police chief quickly stopped his clandestine activities with the Odinga camp when he sensed that the Kibaki elite were determined to hang onto power under what circumstances.
But the poor Kimaiyo was so convinced by the ODM wave that Mr Odinga would win and he threw caution out of the window. He stood a good chance of being the police commissioner if Mr Odinga’s presidency was not stolen.
It has emerged that the NSIS closely monitored every move Mr Kimaiyo made. The NSIS are reported to have established that Mr Kimaiyo was leaking state secrets to Mr Ruto, through former GSU Commander and Presidential Escort Commander (under former President Moi), Mr Samson Cheramboss. This gave the ODM an edge over the Government since they were always ahead of every plot and trick being hatched by Kibaki’s inner circle.
But Mr Kimaiyo failed to read the signs on the wall to make him make an early retreat like Maj Gen Ali. He was convinced Mr Odinga would be president and he would take over from Maj Gen Ali.
As fate turned out, Mr Kibaki stole the election and he was back to State House illegally. It’s being said that Mr woes in the Kenya Police came back to haunt him when the NSIS betrayed him by presenting a dossier on his clandestine activities with the ODM to Mr Kibaki.
Maj Gen Ali and Brig Michael Gichangi, the NSIS chief, are still serving military officers. Maj Gen Ali is senior than Brig Gichangi and they are reported to be in good terms. It’s being said Brig Gichangi opted to save his military colleague as they sacrificed Mr Kimaiyo.
But Maj Gen Ali is not off the hook yet. Kibaki’s inner circle knows that the Commissioner, too, had clandestine dealings with Mr Odinga. But the prevailing national tragedy has turned out to be a blessing for Maj Gen Ali and he is likely to keep his seat a little bit longer.
The removal of Mr Kimaiyo from the Force was good news to Maj Gen Ali since he posed the most serious threat to his police career, which he desperately want to cling to due to the power that goes with that office. Maj Gen Ali and President Kibaki have one thing in common – unquenched greed for power.
Were it not for the blunder Mr Kimaiyo committed, his name was being floated as the most likely successor of Maj Gen Ali by Kibaki’s kitchen Cabinet. Mr Kimaiyo’s star in the Kenya Police began to shine again (it had dimmed soon after Kibaki took over power in 2002) when President Kibaki warmed up to Mr Moi in the run up to the Dec 27 General Election to rescue their sinking political ship.
Apart from being a Markwet, a sub-tribe of the Kajenjin community, Mr Kimaiyo enjoyed wide respect within the Kenya Police than Maj Gen Ali who has always been regarded as an outsider.
The difference between the two men is wide. Mr Kimaiyo is humble, diplomatic, young, intelligence and has the full grasp of the management and operations of the Kenya Police. On the other hand, Maj Gen Ali is crude, arrogant, uncivil, undiplomatic, is a poor manager and knows little, if any, about police management and operations.
The fate that befell Mr Kimaiyo last week was a repeat of what had happened to him weeks after President Kibaki rode to power in 2002 under the strong Narc wave.
When Kibaki became Kenya’s third president, Mr Kimaiyo was the Commander of the paramilitary General Service Unit. Soon after Mr Kibaki was sworn in, Mr Kimaiyo was removed from the command of GSU and posted to Police Headquarters. He was later forced out and posted to the same ministry he was pushed to last week. His crime then? He was regarded as being close to Mr Moi and he was also a Kalenjin!
Moi and the Kalenjin were then being regarded like raw sewage by the solid Narc wave that swept Kibaki to power. Nobody wanted to associate with them due to Moi’s mis-rule for 24 years. No one sympathized with Mr Kimaiyo or his tribe then.
Months after Mr Kimaiyo left the Force, the country started experiencing a high wave of crime and the top police chiefs who were then in office appeared to have ran out of ideas. By then, Kibaki’s popularity had started to wane due to the unmasking of the Ango Leasing scandal and pressure from Mr Raila Odinga and his LDP over his failure to honour a pre-election power-sharing deal in the famous MOU.
Kibaki’s men were forced to eat a humble pie and they brought back Mr Kimaiyo to the Kenya Police and appointed him the Director of Operations, the most powerful post within the force. There was talk that Jebii Kilimo, who was then in the Cabinet, lobbed for Mr Kimaiyo’s return since they both hail from Marakwet and are believed to be related.
The office of the Director of Operations is the pillar of the Kenya Police. The Commissioner is a mere figurehead comparing him with the Director of Operations. All provincial police chiefs and formation commanders report directly to the Director of Operations. He collects and collates national crime and security data from all those senior police chiefs and then presents it to the Commissioner.
The Commissioner relies on the word of the Director of Operations in laying strategies on the every day running of the Force. The Director of Operations takes full charge of all security operations in the country, for instance the nationwide security operation brought about by Mr Kibaki stealing the election from Mr Odinga. The success or failure of such operations largely depend on the plans put in place by the Director of Operations.
On the crime front, Mr Kimaiyo performed very well. He’s the man behind the achievements Maj Gen Ali keeps boasting about. Tribalism aside, Mr Kimaiyo was the best police commissioner Kenya is unlikely to have (at least under the Kibaki regime).
As the Director of Operations and formerly being in the GSU and in State House as the Presidential Escort Commander, Mr Kimaiyo knows the Kenya Police and Kenya’s security system like the back of his hand. He knows almost ever secret of President Kibaki, the First Family and Kibaki’s ruling elite.
Mr Cheramboss, ODM’s unofficial chief security advisor, also took charge of the GSU and Presidential Escort . These two men are not the ordinary product of the Kenya Police College in Kiganjo. They received specialized commando training in Israel and in the US.
With Mr Kimaiyo out of the way, Kibaki’s ruling class believe they have a firm grip of the Kenya Police and they believe state secrets will remain under lock and key. Kibaki’s homeboys in the Kenya Police have taken key positions. For instance, office of the Director of Operations, the GSU, Presidential Escort, CID, Coast province, Nairobi province, Nyanza province, Western province and other key units within the Force are under the command of Gema plus Kambas (after Kalonzo decided to betray the Opposition by taking up the VP’s post).
This move is a dangerous for Kenya since Kibaki’s men – within the security agencies and in the kitchen Cabibet – can easily execute an assassination or any other thoughtless crime against political rivals which can plunge this country into an all out civil war. Perhaps, Mr Kimaiyo was edged out of the heart of Kenya’s security machinery to pave way for Mr Were’s type of executions. God forbid if that is the thinking of those who want to rule by the gun.
Any right-thinking Kenyans – apart from Kibaki’s fanatical blind followers who see and hear no evil as long as their kinsman is in State House – should see the killing of Mr Were to be a wake up call and the time bomb that is likely to explode in the distant near future – IF ALL OF US DON’T USE OUR HEADS AND REASON LIKE HUMAN BEINGS AND KENYANS.
UNLESS WE RISE ABOVE TRIBES, WE’LL ALL SINK TOGETHER IN THE KENYA WE HAVE KNOWN AS OUR COMMUNAL HOME.
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22:47
From: You Missed This
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The newly elected Embakassi MP Mugabe Were of ODM was shot dead in the early hours of this (Tuesday) morning (Kenyan time) at the gate to his house in Nairobi as he was arriving back home. The legislator who has barely served for 1 month was shot 3 times in the head by assailant(s) who did not steal anything from him. The late MP lived in Woodley estate, Nairobi and the incident took place at 1 am. There are very few details emerging, but this blogger will give you more information as he gets it. Phil, do you have any more info on this killing of the ODM legislator? Brief report quoting AP on this story.More detailed report on shooting
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13:39
From: You Missed This
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The present turmoil is the ultimate prize Kenyans must pay for their obsession with deception and dishonesty disguised as industry. Remove tribalism and its sidekicks depravity, sleaze and Corruption from our map and all you remain with is a pure nation devoid of pretenders of national unity with a sharp eye for any back to ride on to economic prosperity.
Mention trickery, fraud and hoaxes and already specific images and names form in the eye of your mind. And these Kenyans will never remain contended with practicing these vices at the local level. They shamelessly export them to other places with impunity. First they come in silently in search of ‘SUCCESS’ and before the host says welcome they are all over lording and emasculating the generous native. Asante ya punda could as well we a fatal kick.
Extrapolate this supremacist mentality to the national stage and the equation is completed with the present bloodbath. Behind all the mayhem is the mentality of ‘KWANI MTADU?' The late Shariff Nassir could have been a loudmouth with his wapende wasipende declaration but the son of Taib was honesty a harmless turn coat out to please an ego and make a living. Contrast that with the later day kaburu whom you sell a plot in Mogotio and the next day an estate named Gituamba emerges and before you say Ngai he wants to be your councillor and even worse your MP.
Masked evil
An enterprising devil worth his salt will never contemplate coming out with a suspicious face. He hides under national unity to cover his evil domineering intentions. He sups with the real devil and co-opt any willing sell out to cobble up a plastic union disguised as an objective impression. Lakini wapi! Kenyans have been fooled before and they are miles a head of these cheap tricks.
The church’s stoic stand against injustice in the 1990s is a nostalgic case study. Once the trophy was delivered, the goal posts have become firewood and the useless ashes tramped underfoot. Muge and Okullu must be violently turning in their graves.
The present power elite had their ultimate trophy in 2002 and no amount of blood will shame them to let go. They are the greatest master of disguises, lies and illusions. Manipulations and conning other Kenyans are their stock in trade and forte. They have become political and ethnic actors extraordinaire with apologists in tow ready to sanitize the resulting rot.
The truth is if you intend to deceive the public then make sure your agents originate from Mars. Since 2002, Kibaki and his cronies have seamlessly eased themselves to shameless scams. With a bouyant tribal supporting cast, they have created token economic growth decoys which their apologists use to detract other Kenyans from exposing the underlying evil schemes. Well, no scam or deception lasts forever. Kenyans are out both in flesh and blood to reclaim their birth right. No amount of force will stop them, NEVER.
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1:39
From: You Missed This
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The answer to this question is an absolute NO! Infact, sources close to PNU have revealed that the party is in the process of finalising plans to dismantle the top hierachy of the ODM as a way of legitimizing presidential elections that had Mwai Kibaki sworn in as Head of State. One such sign emerged this weekend when individuals who identified themselves as police officers visited Raila Odinga's Karen home twice in a bid to serve him poll petition papers filed by one Stanley Livongo Livondo. Strangely, the Langata OCPD has confirmed that he did not send any police officers to Raila's home. The question remains; who did? Even out of this world were claims by Raila that he met Livondo in the Office of the President VIP lifts on the same day Kofi Annan had facilitated a three man meeting between Raila, Kibaki and Annan. TV footage had shown security men barring cabinet ministers, including VP Kalonzo, from entering Harambee House. One wonders why Livondo, a private citizen, is accorded the benefit of state security to run personal errands on his behalf. Livondo claims he received 68,000 votes against Raila's 39,000 in the just concluded elections. The ECK had announced that Raila beat Livondo by a staggering 35,497 votes! You can read the Kumekucha post that announced the Langata results here. Those who have been following Langata politics know that Livondo's is a political mercenary and that his ambitions to unseat Raila as Langata MP failed miserably even after a massive voter importation exercise into Langata from parts of Central Province prior to the elections and at a time when ECK had officially closed the register. What is intriguing is that Livondo's petition is rumoured to have been agreed upon immediately Kibaki was hurriedly declared president. The plan is to fast track the petition and have a friendly high court judge nullify Raila's election as Langata MP. Soon after, police will move in and quickly arrest Raila and Ruto and have them charged in court for organising and inciting violence in parts of Rift Valley against certain ethnicities. A Langata by-election will then take place without Raila being one of the candidates! He will be disqualified on grounds of committing electoral malpractices. PNU will have killed two birds with one stone. Raila and Ruto who form part of the prestigious ODM pentagon will be out of parliament and safely behind bars, and even more importantly, there will be no one to challenge the 're-election' of Mwai Kibaki as president. Whether these plans succeed is another thing altogether.
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1:31
From: You Missed This
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I talked to my people on the ground this morning at 6am and I could hear gunshots over tha phone. They are fine though. Till now (its now 9.20am) bado there are gunshots.
Guys are still burning other people's things. I have been told that they are taking the things outside the houses and burning them. Already two of my friends houses are down.
A police friend just told me that things are very bad ... and the fightings are spreading further into tha rural areas like a place called Kongoni (the place is in the south past the lake). Here there are many from the west and its confirmed its the Mungiki. He could not give me much info, its like he was running, he said he will call back ... will update you.
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22:48
From: You Missed This
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You cannot, and I repeat cannot RULE an unwilling population... Guest post by our regular Michael Mundia Kamau The gloom, doom and utter uncertainty that this country has been plunged into following the callous theft of the general election of December 27th 2007, is the direct responsibility of the fascist regime currently in power and the irredeemably tainted Electoral Commission Kenya. If the illegitimate fascist regime currently ruling Kenya is allowed to get away with this felony by it's continued stay in power, then this country is doomed forever. There cannot be and should not be any attempt to negotiate an obvious violation and abuse of office. Doing so will only further worsen an already deeply troubling situation. None of the so called high profile mediators currently in Kenya, voted in the general election of 27th December 2007, and their presence is of no value whatsoever to the masses who voted for the “de facto” President of Kenya Raila Amolo Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). The continued presence of these impostors on Kenyan soil and their empty attempts at purported mediation, only serves to further infuriate and insult the overwhelming majority that voted for Raila Odinga and ODM. It is only those that voted for Raila Odinga and ODM, almost an entire nation, that should be consulted for any mediation or negotiation whatsoever. Such "consultations" were however concluded by way of the ballot box on the 27th of December 2007, before a thief known as Samuel Kivuitu callously reversed the peoples' decision on Sunday, 30th December 2007. In the interest therefore of posterity, this country, it's people, it's institutions and it's future, Mwai Kibaki should immediately step down as President of Kenya, to pave way for the legitimately elected President of Kenya, Raila Amolo Odinga, to be sworn in, and immediately form an ODM government. Nothing else whatsoever can restore and/or sustain any semblance of faith in this country, it's future or it's institutions. The power to effect regime change squarely lies with the citizens of this country and no one whosoever has the right to stand in the way of this right. This right was jointly violated on Sunday, 30th December 2007, by a bunch of hooligans known as the Electoral Commission of Kenya and the illegitimately sworn in President, Mwai Kibaki. Faith in this country and it's institutions had already been severely strained prior to "Black Sunday", 30th December 2007, and the announcement of Kibaki's "victory" came as a devastating blow to the vast majority of desperate masses who had anticipated hope and change by overwhelmingly backing Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) It is clear that the last five years were a lie and a nightmare for the majority of Kenyans. Nothing else whatsoever can be held to be the case, given the bitter manner in which the majority of Kenyans shut out the so called Party of National Unity (PNU), and it's affiliates. The hyped up government campaigns of economic improvement, growth and development and of massively increased government revenue from improved tax collections, were clearly nothing more than empty propaganda. It is clear that Mwai Kibaki's five year regime miserably failed to bring about the reform and change anticipated by the majority of people who voted him President on 27th December 2002. An unfeeling and insensitive Mwai Kibaki locked himself up at State House Nairobi for five years only appearing towards the end of this five year reign with a hastily constituted party known as the Party of National Unity (PNU), numerous decrees for extra districts to be created, a decree for an additional public holiday for the primary benefit of Muslims, a decree that crew of public service vehicles be no longer required to wear uniforms, and a decree that hawkers be allowed back on the streets to sell their wares. Mwai Kibaki genuinely believed that these were sufficient placating tokens for a population that he openly ignored for five years, and was a clear demonstration of the contempt with which he holds the people of this country. Mwai Kibaki totally failed to touch base with the people of this country, establish what the real issues were, and facilitate genuine programs on how they could be addressed and resolved, in similar manner to F.D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" of 1933 in the United States. Mwai Kibaki clearly failed to deliver the "New Deal" and the same majority that elected him to office on 27th December 2002, therefore chose to grant this mandate to Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement on 27th December 2007. The majority of Kenyans exercised the right to elect in a regime that they felt would deliver the greatly desired "New Deal" Mwai Kibaki has no right whatsoever to stand in the way of this resolution, and he will surely and certainly destroy this country by doing so. He and several others misread the peoples' mood. He and several others, including this writer, underestimated Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement. In a classic re-enactment of David vs. Goliath, Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement skillfully triumphed over Mwai Kibaki and the chauvinistic Party of National Unity (PNU). These are the facts as will always be remembered by history. Unless Mwai Kibaki steps down immediately in favour of the legitimately elected President of Kenya, Raila Amolo Odinga, this country is lost forever. Things will rapidly degenerate until this country becomes ungovernable, and eventually splits up. Clearly, the last forty five years, and the last five in particular, have been a lie in which things have gotten worse rather than better. Even amongst Kibaki's revered tribe, the Kikuyu, things are in mayhem, turmoil and utter disarray. The community's wealth has been severely depleted and squandered by current generations of Kikuyus who are heavily in debt and who try to conceal this by showy expensive lifestyles and heavy consumerism. A glance at the obituaries in Kenya's dailies shows the heavy set backs that Kikuyus have suffered, and continue to suffer. The obituaries are glorifying and paint a picture of accomplishment, but the revealing details come at the end... "to be buried on father's farm" or even more demeaning, "to be buried on grandfather's farm", a terrible indictment for a Kikuyu and a reflection of the true state of affairs in the Kikuyu community. The sad thing is that these obituaries are for people in their 40s and 50s. If Kikuyus who are forty years old and above are being buried on either "their father's farm", "their mother's farm", "their grandfather's farm", "their grandmother's farm", "their father-in-law's farm", or "their mother-in-law's farm", then it is a clear that even Kikuyus are in serious trouble, and indeed have been for the last forty five years. Even if this writer were to fall down dead today, then it would also be the the humiliating and shameful "to be buried on father's farm", if not "to be buried at Langata cemetry". So there is nothing special about Kikuyus, even though they are now under siege both internally and externally because of terrible mistakes committed by themselves and by Mwai Kibaki. Mwai Kibaki has revealed his true colours. He is no democrat or nationalist, and nor does he believe in freedom, equality and civil liberties. He is a liability to this country, a fascist, a bigot, a hooligan and a thief. Nothing other than him immediately stepping down to pave way for Raila Amolo Odinga to be sworn in as the legitimate President of Kenya, will keep hope alive, and save this country and ourselves from perishing. ...And Another View From Another Kumekucha Regular I am writing after weeks of soul-searching. Just as many I thought Kenya, having earned the title ,exemplary , in many things can handle with sagacity the aftermath of the disputed elections. Living thousands of miles away from what I proudly hold as my motherland, things are not easy to me either. I am depressed. I cannot stand the shame and the pain. Here in Costa Rica we have had news about Kenya that rival the Kenyan ones. So extensive. I am left flattered and desperate for answers to thier numerous questions. I started as a strong supporter of Raila. I even begged people at home to vote for him. Now as we speak I will give my verdict without blinking and with convictions. Raila and Kibaki and their cronies OUT OF THE FACES OF KENYANS !! I do not want to hear these names again. They both showed poor leadership and we cannot trust them in power. How can Raila and Kibaki trade accusations in Nairobi while children and women die in horrible circumstances. What can they tell us about the lives we lost. Who is that who deserves death next while Kibaki and Raila continue to "talk". To talk what? how can two supposed servants decide what they will do for their really poor masters. I know the fight are not anywhere near stopping. They will continue not because I said or you said or the politicians said but vindictive spirits are almost immortal and revenge is endless. What we need to take control of is the talks they are doing. Kibaki and Raila. Annan should meet the people. And the people should send the whole group ODM top body and PNU top body home immediately. Nomad
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18:30
From: You Missed This
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Tribally programmed police bullets are gracing the skies of Naivasha and the embers are spreading fast to the capital Nairobi. What next? Only Kenyans can afford the luxury of making peace with friends and not enemies as the laws of nature demands. The war is on and the faint hearted are better advised to keep their self-serving cheap sermons to themselves and be real.
The thin thread holding Kenya together is threatening to snap, and very soon. The facade that is national unity has been shattered by one single blow. Don't ask me by who because Kenyans unrivalled in the shameless act of self denial. We are a unique human bread who gloss over historic and systematic injustice while hiding under such buzzwords as market economy.
Truth hurts and is very ugly. The genesis of our present problems lies in deep seated tribal rivalries over LAND, BUSINESS and POWER. We have a ruling elite with a willing supporting tribal cast who will stop at nothing to maintain status quo. To them other Kenyans seeking equity are power hungry and must be decimated with all bullets Kenya can buy.
One thing is for sure KENYA WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN, NEVER. Unless and until we drop pretense and boldly confront the existing INEQUALITY and deception sown more than 44 years ago, we are cheating ourselves by engaging in half measures that will only make the fundamental problem mutate with devastating consequences sooner rather than latter.
Regional deception
Kenyans are up in arms against abuse and trashing of their birth right. You cannot, and I repeat cannot RULE an unwilling population. We have deceived ourselves all these years creating decoys of unity. A time comes when deception is revealed for what it is. Now the world knows why there is no lasting peace in both Somalia and Sudan - the mediators and their country lacked what it takes to be peace brokers. The same goes to our churches and their loud silence. They have not been spared the tribal poison and the mission was delivered with Moi out of the way.
Make no mistake. No blood is shed in vain. Liberation comes a dear price of blood. Call it death of honour if you so wish. Faint hearts never won any decisive war and you cannot wipe out Kenya before you get consumed by the inferno yourself. We are in the 21st Century which has no room for tribal supremacists. It was an obtuse miscalculation to imagine Kenyans would either be intimidated or fatigued to submission by violence.
The election theft has acquired a life of its own and no amount of force will stop it from reaching its equilibrium - EQUITY. Call incitement if you wish but Kenyans are ready to die for justice. Let the next generation prosper in a country bereft of ethnic apologists wanting to dominate others at the drop of a coin. Never and not in Kenya any more. Kenya is big enough for all of us but too small for few of us.
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11:35
From: You Missed This
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Breaking News: Serious Skirmishes Now Reach NaivashaI am hurting inside. I am in mental and emotional pain. What I feel cannot possibly be put into words even by the most prolific wordsmith in town. The pain, the anguish, the distress, the confusion, the desolation… (A concoction of insalubrious feelings)! The killings, the murders, the lootings, the torchings, the lashings, the perfidy, the larceny, the … (my mind is going round and round in circles). Someone please do help bring sanity to my being. I have seen it: my dear Kenyan brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and children cut down by the machete; shot to death and left to rot in the streets; burnt in their houses and in the churches; thousands of men, women and children bounding, with whatever belonging they could salvage, to God knows where; the hopelessness and despondency pasted on the faces of my country men. I have heard it: the wails of terror made by the children; the screams of horror made by the women; the sighs and stifled screams made by the men; the shouting, screaming and struggle of the women who are being raped and left for dead. Someone please do tell me that I am just dreaming. Please tell me that this is just a bad dream and were it not for the long night, then, it would be over. This is not the Kenya I knew; and, optimistically, is not the Kenya I‘ll wake up in tomorrow. And before I pen off, please don’t ask my tribe; I am a Kenyan.
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10:27
From: You Missed This
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A frightened school boy interviewed on K24 just a few moments ago told the press how the bus he was on, turned hurriedly, and abandoned its’ trip to Western Kenya when confronted by a road block of rowdy youths. The young man wonders what will become of his education because he was meant to resume his schooling 3 weeks ago and now it looks like the first term may not happen. As you read this fierce fighting is raging in Naivasha and once again, the Kenya Army has been sent in (rather than the police). Many people wonder why. The truth of the matter is that we are now seeing militias arming themselves with automatic weapons. When you have a war going on between two groups using guns as well as machetes, it is probably much more than the police can handle. Already we have seen situations where Kenyans have lost their lives after heeding appeals from the government to go back to areas that have been affected by clashes. The busload with the student that was forced to hurriedly turn back at Naivasha would have raised the statistics even higher had it not been for the alert driver and his quick life-saving action. It is believed that well over 10 people have lost their lives in the Naivasha skirmishes pitting Kikuyus against Luos and Kalenjins that erupted late on Saturday night and continued through most of today. Meanwhile reports of fighting are still coming in from Nakuru. Late Extra 1: News just in indicates that police are now turning motorists back to Nairobi on the Naivasha highway advicing them against proceeding further. Late Extra 2: Kumekucha can confirm that Stanley Murage is back at State House. It is not clear exactly what is happening and why he was ejected in the first place although insiders say that it is "normal" for officials who get on the wrong side of Mrs Lucy Kibaki (former first lady of former president Kibaki) to be ejected from the house on the hill. They usually sneak back in later when things have cooled off. It is a well known fact that Mrs Kibaki does not like Mr Murage. However other sources say that this time there is something major afoot although they have no idea exactly what it is. Read more about the Naivasha skirmishes.Emails I received earlier from trusted sources monitoring the situation on the ground: Hi Chris, hope your okey. Am told that Naivasha is burning. That place has been having mungiki and they are now teaming up with tha once from kinangop and they are tha ones who are on a revenge mission just like in nakuru. Yesterday they killed 2 luo men and they have just killed another. They have also blocked tha roads and stopping all tha cars demanding the luos & kales out. Have been told that there are police but i aint sure that they are doing ... but apparently in tha town things have cooled down. Lakini huko kijijini ni kubaya. My family are okay as of now. Second email:Things are getting worse. There are people who have been burned alive in a house have been told they were 40 ... i dont believe it but if its true then am in denial. Many more houses are been burnt down, those that are presumed to be luo or kale houses. At the rate that they are been burned ... in like another 2hrs my neighbours hse whom we are sharing a fence will be up in flames. All tha roads to naivasha have been blocked, including tha one for mai mahiu (and here around seven people have been killed as till now). Things are definitely out of hand. And am sure now the masais will also try to attack from mai mahiu down to naivasha. Am told there are police & GSU who are trying to contain the situation. There is a curfew as i write this. Nobody is allowed outside ... very many gunshots been heard ... so you can imagine how many are dead by now. Very sad.
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18:29
From: You Missed This
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 With Stanley Murage fired from State House, the Kibaki succession is ragging oblivious of the national haemorrhage. The daggers are menacingly drawn as Muhoho warms himself to succeed Murage. Other predators think that Uhuru will gain undue advantage to prey Kenya from his uncle. Well, scavengers are strategically circling carcass Kenya. Woe unto those cheap schemers wo think that either George Kiarie Kinuthia Muthengi (aka) Saitoti or Martha Karua are church ministers and flower girls respectively from Matasia Ngong and Gichugu. In by the sword out by the same blade. Murage filled the void left by Kireri and before he could say Artur he is out of favour. Granted, his intentions to patch a ceasefire document using Collin Bruce may have been honest and noble. But a time comes when costly political sacrifices must be made and his head fell on the chopping block. Mutahi Ngunyi saw it as early as December 2003 if we thought Moi was the political devil incarnate then we haven't seen the mother of all evil in Kibaki. Using the ordinary Kikuyu to pamper their political egos, Kibaki's cronies are busy scheming on the scramble and partitioning of Kenya (ala Bismark) as blood rains on our streets and villages. While Nakuru smolders, Kibaki's apologists may thumb their chests in self-delusion that it is a square deal. Well, we haven't seen anything yet from the Wanjohi-Muhoho-Wanjui troika. To these leeches Kenyans are nothing but guard flies who cannot and will NEVER stop them from their selfish schemes. But wait a minute! This is the 21st Century and Kenyans far smarter than these Makerere dinosaurs with their sole agenda of domination. Never, not again. Na bado.
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12:32
From: You Missed This
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Insider Speaks Out The tragic tribal divisions that have almost driven the country on its knees have not spared the largest media house in East and Central Africa region – the Nation Media Group. The loyalty of journalists and editors in NMG’s editorial department is sharply torn between bitter protagonists PNU and ODM camps putting into sharp focus the credibility and the accuracy of the news being fed to the public by the once-independent and reputable media house. In principle, journalists all over the world are supposed to be professional, neutral and independent in their reporting, thinking and public conduct. Sadly, this is no longer the case in the Kikuyu-dominated and controlled Nation Media Group. The once-respected media house is fast evolving into another KBC. As an insider, I can tell you that NMG has been rocked by deep tribal divisions in the run-up to last year’s General Election and the tribal tensions have reached fever pitch high in the on-going post-election violence that threaten to drive Kenya on the brink of a civil war. Although NMG has been under the firm control of Kikuyus – looking at the appointments and promotions across all the ranks – tribal resentment was mute during the long tenure of Wilfred Kiboro. Things have taken a dangerous turn since Linus Gitahi replaced Kiboro. The pro-Kibaki coverage of news by all the media outlets owned by NMG have been subject of public heated debate at homes, bars, offices and in matatus. It has been argued that NMG had lost its independence and credibility in the coverage of political events and other issues of great public concern. Nothing can be further from the truth. I’ll attempt to give an insider’s view of what has been happening at the heart of our newsroom. First, the independence of the Editorial Department has been greatly eroded since Gitahi took over from Kiboro. Gitahi, being from President Kibaki’s Nyeri District, set a very bad precedent by turning up in editorial meetings and placing calls to senior Editors with an intention of manipulating and dictating the content of news that was to be fed to the public. For the sake of those who don’t know, Gitahi has never stepped inside a journalism classroom, therefore being less qualified to lecture trained and professional journalists on what they should write. He went up the corporate ladder at SmithKline Beecham previously GlaxoSmithKline. Gitahi has never hidden his deliberate and systematic intentions to ensure only news content that was music to President Kibaki’s inner circles was churned out by NMG products since he arrived in Nation Centre slightly over a year ago. In the run up to the Dec 27 General Election, Gitahi often banged tabled in editorial meetings when professional and seasoned editors differed with him or defied him on the coverage of political events. He often turned up in the meetings to ensure President Kibaki got better coverage over his rivals Raila Odinga of ODM and Kalonzo Musyoka of ODM-K. Another wing headed by the Group Managing Editor, Mr Joseph Odindo, openly showed their loyalty was with Mr Odinga. Mr Odindo, who has a big title which lacks any portfolio (in fact, he was given the post when the Standard wanted to poach him and offer him the post of Editorial Director some three years ago), always hovered in the newsroom changing stories to ensure they favoured Odinga. Most of the Luo editors and journalists and a few other colleagues from other tribes were fully behind him. Some of them are Jaidi Kisero (Managing Editor, The EastAfrican), Macharia Gaitho (Managing Editor, Investigations and Special Projects. Just like Odindo, his post has no portfolio but he owes it for being Odindo’s foot soldier), Lucy Oriang’ (Managing Editor formerly in charge of Magazines), Emman Omari (Political Editor), Owino Opondo (Parliamentary Editor), Odhiambo Orlale (journalist), etc. However, Gitahi’s camp carried the day in pushing its agenda for President Kibaki. NMG’s Editorial Department, and most other departments within the group, suffers from imbalance in key appointments. Key posts within the Editorial Department are headed by the Gema. Look at this: Editorial Director - Wangethi Mwangi (Murang'a), Managing Editor (Daily Nation) - Bernard Nderitu ( Kiambu), Managing Editor, (Sunday Nation) - Mutuma Mathiu (Meru), Managing Editor (Business Daily) - Nick Wachira (Nyeri), Managing Editor (Daily Metro) - Julius Maina (Central province) and Managing Editor (Taifa) - Wainaina Kiganya (Kangemi). NMG's only publication not headed by GEMA is The EastAfrican. With a strong tribal army like this behind him, Gitahi’s wishes flooded NMG publications. Journalists from the minor tribes, who are also a minority in the newsroom and where I belong, have no say and we only just watch helplessly as the two camps try manipulate news to suit the ears of their preferred political godfathers. The consequences are clear – the Circulation Department has been reporting a marked drastic drop in sales of newspapers. Daily Nation’s rival, the Standard, has taken advantage in the tribal infighting within NMG and gained a big market share in Nairobi, Rift Valley, Coast, Nyanza and Western provinces. Readers predominantly ODM regions prefer buying the Standard rather than the Daily Nation. The worst manipulation of news by the Gitahi-Wangethi axis has taken a dangerous precedent in the post-election period. Gitahi and Wangethi have taken it upon themselves to go through stories before they are published to ensure President Kibaki’s interests were taken care off. We have seen a deliberate and shameless campaign to misinform the public by doctoring the real truth on the ground or the number of ODM supporters and other innocent people shot dead by the police. The news gathered by reporters on the group is doctored with the direct instructions of Gitahi and Wangethi to cover up the truth. There’s already an unofficial policy that the figures of the dead published by NMG must be those from the deceitful Kenya Police! Even in cases where our colleagues were in the field and witnessed first-hand police shooting people and did their own tally, such news can’t be published in NMG until the police gave their own doctored figures. For instance, there a day Daily Nation and NTV journalists counted 14 bodies of victims shot dead by police in Kibera. Wangethi insisted that journalists had to call the police spokesman. Know what? The spokesman gave a figure of ONE person being killed and that is the story Daily Nation published! There has been talk in the newsroom that Gitahi has been holding frequent meetings and is in constant telephone communication with Police Commissioner, Maj Gen Hussein Ali, and Kibaki’s ruling elite to help them play down the insecurity situation in the country. We understand all the other media houses have been co-opted into this scheme. Significantly, Gitahi has been prevailed upon to ensure NMG outlets carried few figures, or nothing at all, of the ODM supporters being executed by the police to ensure the other tribes don’t rise up against the illegitimate Kibaki regime and his Kikuyu tribe. It’s feared the rest of Kenya would rise up against the Government if the real death toll – which reliable police sources now estimate to be above 2,500 – was made public. On the other hand, Odindo and his camp have been rejoicing every time non-Kalenjins, especially the Kikuyus, are reported butchered in parts of the Rift Valley province by ODM supporters. Odindo and his Co. have taken it to be their responsibility that news that paint ODM negatively in the ethnic cleansing was muzzled or killed. Odindo and his camp could not hide their disgust when Kibaki was declared winner on Dec 30 through a stolen election. In fact, a few journalists from the Kikuyu community have been accusing Odhiambo Orlale of acting like the spy boy for Odinga and ODM. They accuse him of reporting Editorial’s in-house matters directly to ODM. The Kikuyus openly complain that Orlale’s action posed a serious threat to their lives in case the rowdy ODM hooligans decide to strike. This problem is not confined to NMG only. Odinga has recruited spies in all the newsrooms and he gets a first-hand account of what goes on there. The sad state of affairs in NMG came just months after it suffered a serious moral credibility after some of our colleagues exposed shocking sex scandals involving Gitahi, Wangethi, Odindo and other top managers. The fall out in the top NMG ranks over the sex sleaze leakage has been severe and some of the key figures linked to the scandal have left NMG in mysterious circumstances. But Gitahi, Wangethi and Odindo are still hanging on and the reputation damage they have done to this company will take years to recover. The wounds inflicted by the sex leak are far from over from healing. However, journalists behind the sex leak made a major achievement since the management was forced to improve better terms for journalists – especially the correspondents who had been turned into modern slaves by NMG despite making huge profits. All news correspondents in Nairobi were given a minimum monthly retainer of Sh17,000 while their colleagues in the bureaus got Sh12,000 plus a medical cover. The rate for paying stories published by the correspondents was also improved. A number of long-serving and qualified correspondents were given permanent jobs. Previously, most correspondents didn’t have a retained and they only relied on the poor rate that was paid for every story published. A majority of them earned an average of Sh5,000 every month. The on-going tribal animosity in our newsroom is sickening and it’s time to lift the lid and let the entire world know the lack of impartiality in news coverage. Should Kenyans and the world continue relying on distorted news being churned out by Nation Media Group?
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12:23
From: You Missed This
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Mayhem in Nakuru as a Catholic church-holy cross in the outskirts of the town burned down and people literary walking with crude weapons.
Mungiki group arrested on a lorry in the Nakuru-Nairobi road,a 7-6 curfew has been reinfoprced and there is more Kikuyu exodus to the ASK Nakuru showground.
The Nakuru showground fence was burned in the morning by members of the Kalenjins,Luos and Luhyas militia combined,demanding that the Kikuyus vacate the town.
More bloodshed expected today as a lorry full af vigilantes have arrived from West part of Kenya with bows and arrows.
Report received in the morning Kenyan time.
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9:07
From: You Missed This
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 Kofi Annan may be passionate and committed to his mediation mandate but oblivious of the quality of principal characters he is dealing with. If only the former UN boss knew that INTEGRITY is one word that our leaders mouth only for expediency and never mean any of the letters spelling it! Annan has visited Kenya's war zone and his verdict of systematic human rights abuses is apt. But there starts the problem and not solution. The events of the last three weeks are results and consequences of smouldering HISTORIC injustices accumulated over 40 years old school leadership - imperialism and impunity. Ridding tiger With Kibaki is playing Russian roulette with the lives of Kenyans, Annan has witnessed first hand how a true African leader can single-handedly destroy and sell his country down the path of civil war. Kibaki is riding a tiger and soon the beast will have its prey seated atop. Land lies at the heart of this turmoil and Kenyatta is the root. An honest evaluation will leave the Kenyatta family bloodied with guilt. Jomo went on a land LOOTING spree as Kenyans smarted from uhuru hangover. Before they realized it Kikuyus were scattered all over Kenya in token appeasement to the disgruntlement of natives of their new homes. Dishonesty and deception are no pillars to true leadership. The present SYSTEMATIC inequality clothed in TRIBALISM was planted by Jomo, watered by Moi and nurtured to maturity by Kibaki. The end product is the perfect tinkering time bomb which Kibaki belligerent ignited on December 30, 2007. We haven't seen anything yet and until and unless the root cause is exhaustively addressed we remain collective victims of five-year cycle of violence. Pretending otherwise is to bury our heads in the sand. Kenya's past and present problems requires LEADERSHIP and not the rulership we have been subjected to since independence.
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