Category: Opinion

By Nicholas Olambo & KB

About 30 years ago the legendary record producer Quincy Jones gathered a couple of artists to create ‘We are the world.’ All time classic song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and later remixed five years ago when Haiti experienced one of the worst earth quack disasters in its history.
The remix included an array of artists of all ages and genres. Kanye was on the record, Lil Wayne, Bono, Justin Beiber, Wyclef Jean, Mary J Blige, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jenifer Hudson, and much more. They shared a common interest to help Haiti rise from the rubbles and reconstruct.

The remix formed the campaign that called on the entire world to reach deep into their hearts to help the Haitians who were affected by the disaster. Actor George Clooney also organized a concert to raise funds towards the same course; the show featured big musical acts as Jay-Z, Rihana, and Madonna. In the end, up to 13 billion dollars was raised.

During Katrina disaster in the U.S. where residents felt Bush administration pulled a racist card leaving the New Orleans natives exposed, artists rebelled. Lil Wayne was the biggest artist then and used music to attack the Bush administration over open discrimination. Now that’s proper use of art. What’s art of it doesn’t impact the lives of the society? If your worth can’t be remembered past shake your bum beats them you’re not iconic. Contribute to the movement, decades later people still remember Tupac Shakur not just for his classical music but how he used the musical tool to strengthen the black empowerment movement. Let your music stay in the hearts by impacting lives as opposed to just mouths reciting lyrics that are soon forgotten. Art is a powerful tool that is underlooked here.

Freedom fighters used the magic of music and art to unite Africa and Kenyans from colonial aggression. Eric Wainaina’s ‘Daima ‘ song was instrumental in bringing people together after tragic 2007/08 PEV. Can we have disaster prevention vocal voices in the music industry? Can we have these artists actively and openly conversing about open and credible elections? Why can’t we see them feature anywhere in typical issues? They have Kenyans ears, and that’s an upper hand. But here we have closed mouths that will only open on endorsements by IEBC, Civic Education Orgs and politicians. Does this mean our artists lack self-consciousness and mere robots?

This means artists with their followings/fan base can champion better courses to find solutions to social ills, disasters and other catastrophes the nation may face. They can also provide political direction and civic education. It has happened in the United States, Jay-Z and Beyonce supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the recently held elections, Kanye West helped Donald Trump. It has happened even closer home in Uganda and Tanzania.

And what do we have in Kenya; artists remain silent and contribute nothing even when the country is in a dilemma or facing disasters affecting their fans. Dear artists, you can give more than more music, you have enough following to be opinion leaders or lobbyists. You have the voice to speak against social injustice and lead drives like mass voter registration.

The doctors have been on strike for close to sixty days now; no single artist or a group of artists has made any attempt to put pressure on the government to solve the impasse. They are not aware that their fans are losing lives due to this. At the same time, millions are facing drought and starvation. Our artists can’t donate or champion campaigns to raise money and help the affected instead they sit back and wait for a politician with the fattest cheque.

Big musical acts as Rufftone have become bootlickers of ruling regimes that they stoop lowest and wait for political rallies and party launch events where they perform. Even that guy (Jaguar) who spoke against politicians in his bubble gum hit ‘kigeu kigeu’ went shut, became a sycophant and joined the monkeys in the political forest, he is now running starehe constituency seat. He is the Kigeu geu now.

Hip-hop head Juliani was the last of a dying breed who churned out hits that echoed activism. What happened to the dude after a little beef with Rabbit and Khaligraph? He must have been absorbed in Boniface Mwangi’s campaign team, Bonnie is his boss at the PAWA 254 and is also eying Starehe seat. This again gives him an opening to use his voice in stamping the young people’s agendas in politics.

We must break the ice; artists must come out of their hibernation pots and start living in this progressive activism charged Africa audience. They must go beyond making hits as themes for political parties and candidates to becoming strategic political voice alternatives. Look at how the black entertainment and a large number of Hollywood residents ganged up in anti-trump campaigns prior and post elections. You must make a political stand whether unpopular as Kanye West or popular as Jay-Z supporting Hillary. People will respect you more for standing for something than standing for everything.

Artists here are void of talent, one reason they don’t stand for anything and can’t speak against anything. Most of these cats are not signed to labels, giving them room to poetically and powerfully express truth through their lyrics. Legendary rapper KRS-One is known for educating and entertaining through his music, the founder of Stop the Violent Movement is known for working to promote the development of conflict resolution methods.

We are headed towards a serious election that is going to be fiercely fought; I expected artists to be leading peace initiatives, creating awareness and championing cohesion. They are waiting for violence to break to record a sad song and demand funding from NGO’s or their friends in government to promote peace.

These are loose and whack ninjas we have down here? Continue standing for nothing, the politicians you please will put you in their rear pockets and zip up. Let’s see if you will entertain their butts, Nigerians will always ride over you in your home grounds. Curtain raisers nyinyi. If you don’t identify with the reality in the country, then the audience shouldn’t have business identifying with you. Silence by the artists was only perpetuating backward mentality that has been churning garbage leadership of young people viewing politics as unfashionable and reserve for old people.

Politics impacts you whether you’re interested in it or not. Film industry fur example, we’ve had many big Hollywood productions turned away from Nairobi for South Africa given unfavorable business conditions in Kenya. Look at The disaster of Mutua of film board who has been hoarding for attention making juvenile directives as banning sexually suggestive stage names like seriously who stoops to such low levels of mediocrity. Ladies and gentlemen of entertainment what I’m saying is at the end of it all you’re the authors of your predicaments. Remember you’re a Kenyan first and an artist second. You’re at liberty to choose your conscious and support a political course that suits your beliefs or as well go with whoever butter your bread but keep in mind the books of history are written today.

By Nicholas Olambo

After winning the presidency in November 2016, American real estate mogul Donald John Trump was Friday sworn in as the 45th president of the United States of America. Trump took over from Barrack Obama who has been at the White House for two terms, Obama, 55, smoothly handed over power to Trump, 70, marking the beginning of a new era.

In Africa it was a different script, the bedrock of African politics is greed, disrespect to the constitution and hunger for power at the expense of peace and citizens’ lives. Gambian new president Adama Barrow was Thursday sworn in in a neighboring country Senegal where he had gone to seek shelter after winning elections in December.

Barrow took the oath in a hastily arranged event at the Gambian embassy in Dakar. The immediate former President Yahya Jammeh conceded defeat and later changed his and refused to hand over power smoothly. Regional troops had to be sent to cross into Gambian borders to support the democratically elected president. His afterthought rejection of Barrow’s win sparked the crisis and kicked out tourist from the small nation.

Jammeh later stepped down Friday after the expiry of mid-day ultimatum when he signed a deal marking the end of his 22 years at the grip of power. He seized power in a coup in 1994. Africa is a place where rogue leaders can choose to be lifetime presidents like the case in Zimbabwe where the over aging Robert Mugabe will run and ‘win’ every election. The same is the case in Uganda, Mugabe and Yoweri Museveni have been in power since 1980 and 1986 respectively.

In Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza forced himself into a third term contrary to the law of the land. Nkurunziza is a former leader of the Hutu rebels who has been president since 2005 but is still not willing to transfer power after the expiry of his term. His illegal third term has caused unrest in his nation with several people fleeing to neighboring countries like Rwanda, but that is the least of his concerns.

His selfish interests come first, and the cowardice actions of African Union (AU) have fostered his interests. He threatened AU’s 5000 troops and AU-backed down to the sidelines while Burundi was burning.

His neighbor, Joseph Kabila of DRC (Congo), has borrowed a leaf from him, Kabila chose to stay on when he was expected to step down after the expiry of his term causing fears that spiraled into conflicts. He has been in power for two terms, and under the constitution of DRC, he was not eligible for a third term. He pushed 2016 elections to 2018 when he says he will hand over power after plunging the country into chaos.

DRC has struggled to stay free of conflicts since gaining self-rule from the Belgians in 1960. Kabila has stolen from public coffers and is now busy sealing the holes and hiding any possible file through which he may be found capable when he leaves office. Nkurunziza may choose to ‘forcefully’ change the law to do away with the term limit like Rwanda’s Paul Kagame did in 2015 to allow him to become a lifetime president.

That is Africa for you when other Presidents like Obama, John Dramani Mahama, Thabo Mbeki and Tanzania’s Jakaya Kikwete heed to the majority voice and take backseats. Selfish and underperforming African presidents always cling to power when in some parts of the world former presidents still play important roles in the society.

America’s 39th President Jimmy Carter through his foundation ‘The Carter Centre’ is running excellent programs. The center is improving lives, health, solving conflicts, enhancing freedom and democracy. Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is a giant solving conflict on the continent, and so is Tanzania’s Benjamin Mkapa. Power hungry presidents like Kabila, Nkurunziza and the likes believe in nothing but fattening their foreign accounts. They find no better role to play in the society after retirement.

Smooth transfer of power as witnessed in America and recently in Ghana should be a lesson for many African nations where incumbents believe they can not be beaten. Kenya for is instance is preparing for one of the most consequential elections. Rigging signals can be read already, mass voter registration has been turned into unofficial campaigns, and Research companies are sponsored by politicians to release opinion polls that favor parties with dwindling support.

Power come and go, and it belongs to the people who have the choice to elect the people they feel can serve them better. Leadership is beyond being at the grip of power; former presidents have roles to help the people too. If one is beaten when defending their first term, they should do the honorable thing. Accept and live to fight another day. France’s Nicholas Sarkozy was unable to secure his first term, he was beaten, he conceded, and he is now seeking a comeback through a popular vote.

 

By Nicholas Olambo
Kenya is always in a campaign mode even a day after a general election. Two significant political divides are preparing and promising to beat their opponents hand down in the coming polls in August, preparations have been ongoing since 2013 when we had the last general elections.

Jubilee emerged winners in the 2013 elections; opposition challenged the results in court, but the verdict maintained status quo. They then resorted to poking holes in the leadership style of Jubilee, revealing every corruption scandal. The opposition has made corruption their campaign agenda.
As expected, nearing election period is when the most important political realignments are witnessed; the opposition is forging a united front to dethrone Jubilee from power, something similar to the 2002 NARC that defeated KANU’s Uhuru and ended Moi’s 24-year rule.

A fast forming united opposition (NASA) has sent strong political shock waves in Jubilee; the ruling regime is in an evident panic mode. It has slim chances of retaining power if they have to face a united opposition in the coming polls.
While addressing the nation on Jamhuri day, the president accused the West of working to influence the outcome of the coming elections by financing opposition through NGO’s. That saw the deregistration of IFES; An American organization that supports citizens’ rights to participate in free and fair elections. IFES had been in the country conducting civic education for over a decade undertaking the same exercise in collaboration with the electoral body ECK/IEBC.

These are desperate moves to create another narrative that the West are opposed to them being in power the same way ICC issue was twisted to blackmail ignorant citizens. The tyranny of numbers myth has no place in the coming election which is seen as the most consequential in the history of Kenya.

A united opposition leaves no room for vote spoiler candidates, Musalia Mudavadi who was used for the same is now in the frontline of Nasa. It’s said that elections are won way before the polling day, Jubilee while launching their membership smart card were chest thumping that they have the numbers to beat the opposition with a 70+1 % of the votes.

The launched smart card is aimed at ensuring a smooth, credible, just and fair nominations that will be conducted by IEBC. But on the other hand, the ruling coalition is fronting for a negotiated democracy to produce the candidate for Nairobi gubernatorial race. They say Nairobi is must win county by hook or crook.

The panic is intense in Jubilee, from the introduction of draconian election laws that their Speaker Justin Muturi passed in a chaotic special session, constant wrangles with the Mombasa governor Hassan Joho who has refused to be ‘bought’ by Jubilee to Majority Leader Adan Duale’s threats to ethnically cleanse members of Kamba community who will vote or register to vote in Garissa.

Even the blind can see the confusion in Jubilee, and they have now chosen to disband the presidential campaign team that included some elected leaders and aspirants who would be advantaged in the nominations to include every candidate in the presidential campaign team.

It’s a do or die contest for both sides, Uhuru saw the elections in Ghana and Gambia where the incumbents were beaten and conceded. He does not want to be another victim. Raila will be putting a strong fight to send the ‘corrupt’ Jubilee administration and he only has one ‘bullet’ to do so. Uhuru lose would also dent DP William Ruto’s dreams, he has burnt all the bridges except for a few sycophants and may have nothing to cling on to realize his 2022 dreams.

 

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump held his first ever press conference in six months and oh boy he didn’t disappoint with a straight dosage of bigotry, ego to space and back and fury burning out of his body. Trump couldn’t hide anger following the leaking of an intelligence report to the public that portrayed his dark, twisted sexual fetish and his Russian links.

On Wednesday morning, when the president-elect once again faced hundreds of reporters from around the globe gathered in his lobby — this time for his first press conference in seven months — Trump filled the room with paid staffers who clapped and cheered as he blasted members of the media as purveyors of “fake news.”

It was Trump’s method of battling back an extraordinary report that U.S. intelligence officials have presented both Trump and President Barack Obama with unsubstantiated allegations that Russia has compromising information about the incoming 45th president, including about a reported salacious encounter in a Moscow hotel room.

Trump has been on a roll attacking the land’s intelligence agencies and free press steadily. As it manifests, anything and anyone that doesn’t sing to his chorus automatically become fake and unworthy, untrustworthy. Trump has coined the perfect ways to avoid accountability questions that will most probably headline his tenure in Whitehouse. Knowing this, he’s busy destroying the bits of reasonable voices that would challenge his conduct in office.

Any hope that Mr. Trump would temper his attacks on the news media after the campaign seemed to dissipate in the marble atrium of Trump Tower on Wednesday, as the president-elect, holding his first news conference since July, turned a controversy over his ties to Russia into a deft and unrelenting attack on the journalists who reported it.

By branding media outlets that criticize him as Fake News, Trump is tactfully killing the free press. Normally, It’s the press that watches the administration, but Trump is flipping the script altogether, watching the media.

Trump is the judge, jury, and prosecutor of the truth; he’s committed to destroying and discredit the institutions that have for the time been the eyes of the society. An authoritarian is turned on by blinded society who will listen to nothing but his words. Trump is the President and The truth meter, to him he’s ever right on everything and any news contrary to him is rubbished off as Fake. So much of narcissism under one body. Trump has bigger and taller ego than his skyscrapers. If that press conference is anything to go by then Hollywood can close business since the world is about to be treated to a whole new level of drama with chauvinist Trump in Whitehouse.

For Trump to put BuzzFeed on blast for propagating “fake news” is ironic at best, given what he’s reaped from the viral spread of legitimate misinformation. And it’s troubling for another reason: It gives people license to cry “fake news” when the media reports something they simply don’t like.

The term has arguably outlived its usefulness at this point, distorted as its definition has become. But “fake news” was originally intended as a label for online articles that deliberately misled for some secondary purpose—to profit or electioneer.

Trump seem to have borrowed from his Kenya’s Counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta when he first got into office just like Trump; the first focus was on Press and how to weaken the organs. The media was treated to breakfast at Statehouse in what was clothed as a familiarizing convention but a well-thought plot to have a friendly media to the regime. What followed was the public perception that media has been compromised and in their writing, they lived to the word.

Jubilee has been enemies and friends with the media, just like Trump calling critiquing news fake, Uhuru also termed and rubbished publications criticizing his administration as useless, and that newspapers have no meaning but for wrapping meat. The attack on media publications is direct war in the free press. When the press is compromised and gagged them in that case administration can wedge atrocities with absolute peace knowing they won’t be held accountable. This is why any dictatorial regime will explore all means to muzzle the media.

We’ve had draconian rules passed against free press something that has undermined investigative journalism in Kenya. It now takes titanium balls to investigate and expose the rot in the government without facing shoulder rubs. Trump is already threatening lawsuits against Buzzfeed and it won’t be the first media house he has threatened with lawsuits. The consistent message being sent when negative stories are told followed with lawsuits and brand demonizing is simple; the press will be free if and only when the tune soothes the king. Now right there is the making of a tyrant.

Trump’s attacks on journalists have a hidden subtext that hasn’t been sufficiently discussed: He’d rather not be accountable to the citizenry, and that’s a replicated formula back home in Kenya. Irony of this era: millions of Americans don’t trust anything anymore – except a man with a long association with dishonesty

 

The doctor’s strike is getting into it’s 5th week with a total public healthcare freeze throughout the country and the administration stuck in cat and rat games with doctors leaving the poor Kenyans to keep burying their loved ones. The majority of Kenyans given poverty index are reliant on public health services and a closure of the same quickly translates into investments nation.

Doctors have stood their grounds of 100% implementation of the CBA that the government signed but have taken a turn around to dishonour. Apart from 300% salary increase, the CBA have with it beneficial cranes that would spruce the medical state in public hospitals. These include; More doctors to be employed to ensure more access by the public. The necessary drugs, medical supplies & equipment to serve Kenyans better. Better Remuneration of Doctors – More doctors available all the time at a public hospital near you (Less brain drain regarding doctors leaving for greener pastures).

With an open laxity and feet dragging by the government to end the doctors strike. A theory being advanced into factual state indicates that the doctors might have played into the hands of the system’s prayers. Prolonging the strike, demonizing the doctors while painting public healthcare as mediocre giving private providers a milestone in the market.

Khawar Mann of the Abraaj Group, an investment firm based in Dubai that specializes in developing markets, saw something else while at the Metropolitan Hospital in Nairobi, Told NYT in an interview that “Nairobi is a sweet spot for us,” he said. “You have emerging middle incomes. And there is a massive need for health care.” Just when Jubilee got into power, President Uhuru presided over a 2B ground breaking of a modernised Nairobi Hospital  health facility with the then CEO and now a CS, Dr.Mailu. First lady Margaret also presided over several alike projects. It was indeed a wet dream expecting Mailu handpicked from the exploitative private healthcare world to perform miracles in streamlining public healthcare instead of advancing the corporate health agendas. No wonder he’s less committed in bringing to an end the crisis.

Below screenshots of article on Statehouse website that has since been deleted reporting on First Lady launching yet another Private Hospital advancement.

As Ahmed Tawakal a Health Management expert notes, the scheme is to kill the public healthcare system in the long run. He goes that The current impasse between doctors and the government over the implementation of the 2013 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) may seem like a normal industrial action that is taking longer to resolve. But at its core the lack of effort to stop the deterioration of services in government health facilities due to the strike should have alarm bells ringing as to the potential for complete collapse of the public health system.

There has been a slow but steady investment in healthcare by several multinational companies and even investment by proxy by the IMF through the International Financial Corporation(IFC).The aim of the investment by the multinationals and venture capitalists is maximizing profits in the chosen ventures. This investment can only have maximum returns if a greater proportion of the population utilize the services of the for-profit healthcare providers and a nudge towards this can only come from the inaction to solving an industrial dispute pitting doctors and government run facilities.

The resulting vacuum generated by such inaction will result in an acceptability of greater privatization of even essential services that are currently available in public hospitals. Several private equity firms have in the recent past made in-roads in acquiring local stakes in local medical facilities such as Metropolitan Hospital, Goodlife pharmacy chains, and health insurance companies. These investments and also in for-profit social franchising models targeted towards the low-income communities of the slums and rural areas will be the greatest beneficiaries of a collapsed. Non-Welfare health system.

The returns from greater private insurance coverage, greater uptake of private services and increased importation of pharmaceutical and medical equipment shall tilt the curve to benefit repatriation of profits.
The government will almost robotically be willing to go along with the experiment as it will be rid of the high payroll expense of doctors and specialists who would be expected to join the consortiums that will be formed to protect their interests. This will reduce the government expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP well below 3% and ensure absorption of the difference by more politically expedient causes.

The government will even go to the extent of marketing a pro-poor medical insurance scheme under NHIF in the guise that it would reduce financial burden through pooling of resources and would allow the bottom of the pyramid (slum dwellers) to access care at the social health franchises after an enrolment fee and a few other jargon that will be added to confuse them. The new system will almost certainly be touted as a success based on a successful US or Indian model. What won’t be divulged is that the US healthcare system has the worst per capita efficiency and quality of care among OECD countries.

With this information, all will proceed so fast that we will find ourselves with a predominantly private health system modeled on the US system. The system will, however, be a success to the shareholders and venture capitalists that will get maximum returns on investment. Already there are counties that have had initial contact and alliances with private healthcare entities to set up base in their areas, allocated huge chunks of land to the private healthcare providers and thus it’s only a matter of time before the process is full completed and the vision realized.

The desperation of the doctors and need to succeed in their chosen field will also force them to either join the growing private care provision or force them to seek greener pastures in foreign lands. Either ways its win-win for the private system and a great loss for the country.

My plea is that we reform our health system to have a more robust, resilient public health system with sustainable healthcare financing model that does not take us the United States way. Several studies including some from The Commonwealth Fund have found that public, tax-funded health systems have ensured greater access to care for the populace and better outcomes than other systems.

Studies have also shown that a dollar spent on healthcare by the government has an impact in raising the GDP of that country. Therefore we need a re-think of leadership and governance of health system in the country and entrust it to individuals and structures that cater for the greater good and ensure equitable, sustainable, affordable and quality care to all. The British created the National Health Trust (NHS) from the ashes of World War II and it’s a model we could borrow a leaf from taking into consideration local variation and shortcomings of the NHS.

 

It’s self-evident that Daisy Maritim-Maina is conflicted.

She claims that she is part of my movement against the cartels and admits, grudgingly, that I’m the best candidate for the position of governor of Nairobi.

She correctly acknowledges that all my opponents are “a basket of deplorables” – a cocktail of thieves, plunderers, hypocrites and drug peddlers. However, she has not written a single line excoriating the Nairobi cartels.

Instead, Ms. Maritim-Maina has engaged in magnificent logical contortions and ploughed acres of space with her poisoned pen transfixed on the general leading a revolutionary movement to clean up Nairobi.

She states – without any shred of evidence – that I will not win. She seems pleased with her baseless prediction without realising that it sharply contradicts her assertion of being a member of my revolutionary movement.

It’s a shame that reason and logic are clearly not one of the strengths of this supposed “PhD Candidate in Political Economy!”

When a student of politics on the verge of being bestowed with a terminal academic degree argues in such a meandering manner, sensible citizens should be extremely worried. Logic is, after all, the pith and substance of academic disputations.

In elegant parlance, Daisy Maina’s inconsistencies may be termed unmeritorious. But in plain language, they are called transparent lies.

Why is Daisy duplicitous?

Why does she sound happy that the transformative vision I’ve outlined in my manifesto such as an integrated modern solid waste management system; a modern Light Rail Transit System; a Subway/Underground System; affordable housing for the poor; markets for hawkers; well-constructed roads; scholarships for bright students; and an unprecedented employment initiative for the youth will not be realised if I do not win as she has cynically predicted?

Why, indeed, are elites like Daisy Maritim Maina happy with the status quo that has plundered, exploited and impoverished Kenyans for the last 55 years?

Why do Kenyan elites feel more threatened by the visionary transformation I propose rather than the current plunder that has rendered more than 90 per cent of Kenyans destitute?

Are hypocritical Kenyan elites fearful that a cleaned up and transformed governance system will eliminate fraudulent contracts that they have thrived on for 55 years?

Ms. Maritim-Maina argues that an unemployed but well-dressed graduate who only recently got placed as an intern – not gainfully employed – is not poor.

The idea that the type of dress one wears determines his/her economic/financial security or independence is a primitive socio-economic poverty index. This unedifying third-worldview was dramatically displayed when the billionaire Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Kenya a few months ago and wore a pair of $45 jeans and $20 T-shirt but the struggling Kenyan hasslers that chaperoned him around Nairobi were clothed in expensive looking attire.

Yes; I’m not Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara or Amilcar Cabral. I’m not a revolutionary clone. I’ve never identified myself as any of these revolutionaries except as one of their loyal and committed soldiers.

Daisy argues that because I was physically attacked in Kisumu by a mob who had not read the book they claimed they were aggrieved by, I’m not a revolutionary. Set aside the issue of Daisy’s obvious confusion over the sequence and details of the incidents she purports to be writing about. One thing is crystal clear: I’ve never run away from opportunistic attacks whether they are physical or pseudo intellectual.

She derisively called my memoirs “a book of secrets.” The only “Book of Secrets” I know of is the celebrated novel by my friend MG Vassanji.

Facts are stubborn and no one is entitled to their set of facts. Che, Cabral, Patrice Lumumba, Samora Machell and Thomas Sankara were not just physically attacked worse than I had been; they were brutally assassinated by the enemies of our people. Even Fidel was repeatedly attacked, jailed and tortured before his forces triumphed in 1959.

One does not cease being a revolutionary because s/he has been physically molested, harassed, defamed, scandalised or murdered. Being physically attacked by misguided mobs is not a sign of the victim’s weakness. It’s a sign of the mob’s mortal fear of the person they are attacking. Weak people are ignored.

Although I’ve never called myself “El Commandante;” the title isn’t reserved for anyone.

I’ll not publish PR images with starving children in slums for me to prove my revolutionary bona fides.

When a supposed PhD candidate argues the way Daisy does, it exemplifies the fact that it’s not just our politics that requires urgent reconstruction; our educational system, too, needs a CPR.

The 2017 general elections will not be a selection process of picking the best clown, Machiavellian opportunist or Karl Marx clone. It will be an election!

Present coherent arguments based on facts against my ideology, vision, policies and programs.

The cartels constitute less than 1% of Nairobi’s population. I’ll win with the support of more than 99% of ordinary Nairobians who are sick and tired of the kind of excuses Daisy gives for the continuation of the plunder of public assets by the basket of deplorables.
____________________________________________________
Mr. Miguna Miguna is a Candidate for Governor for Nairobi County in 2017. He is a lawyer and author.

 

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Kenya Insights or its Editors. We welcome opinion and views on topical issues. Email: [email protected]

 

The problem with Kenya is not her patriotic people. Kenya’s most intractable affliction is caused by a tiny but viciously malicious and highly deceptive group of charlatans who use acres of space in the cartel-owned newspapers to parrot their unrefined and tainted “commentaries” week after week on irrelevant pursuits in order to mislead the people and keep them captive to the merchants of impunity.

On The Standard On Sunday, December 11, 2016, Makau Mutua published an incoherent verbiage titled, “Miguna Miguna’s personal demons come out to haunt him” in which he hurled profanities at me for daring to deconstruct my putative political opponents on live TV debates to which they had voluntarily participated – not as women or men – but as “aspirants for public office.”

I would have ignored Makau’s regular ad hominem invectives against me like I’ve done to multiple other envious charlatans. However, Makau is a notorious intellectual quack that deserves some deconstruction.

First, Makau’s quackery gets wide dissemination through a network of imbedded servile cartel media surrogates. Second, he has perfected the art of hypocrisy and in a society thoroughly suffocated of truth and constantly fed cocktails of manufactured and fake “news,” ignoring the degenerate concoctions might inadvertently result in a few people believing the falsehoods.

Makau pretends to be an erudite scholar and a “human rights activist,” however, his dubious record and longevity at the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) only rivals that of Gaius Julius Caesar of Rome. Makau is best known as the KHRC Tyrant Chairman into perpetuity who practises nepotism and dips his hands in the “humanitarian” tills to feather his pockets. Ironclad evidence of his moral decay is legion.

In 2002, Makau served briefly as one of Mwai Kibaki’s chief sycophants in pursuit of a coveted position as Chair of the ill-fated “Truth and Reconciliation” process. Like the usual fraud, Makau metamorphosed into a Kibaki critic as soon as the latter noticed his political debauchery and declined to appoint him to any position in his administration.

Between 2007 and 2008, Makau magically transformed himself into a Kalonzo Musyoka puppeteer. In successive fawning articles, he praised Kalonzo, his tribesman, as the “best presidential candidate for Kenya” and called Raila Odinga “unelectable.”

Ironically, he wasn’t doing this genuinely for a fellow kinsman; Makau was being a typical dissembler: he was opportunistically pretending to be a Kalonzo loyalist with the hope of an appointment in case Kalonzo became president.

Typical of such a political chameleon, Makau quickly became a Raila sycophant as soon as Mr. Odinga was named Prime Minister in 2008. But Makau correctly suspected that his degenerate hypocrisy wouldn’t have taken him far as long as I was Raila’s senior adviser. He had to fight me to become relevant. He conveniently overlooked the fact that he had called Mr. Odinga “Idi Amin” in his column of 5/6/2007.

The mediocre and sanctimonious chatterers like Makau obsessively focus on discussing people in order to divert the attention of Kenyans from debating concrete national issues such as the run-away plunder and theft of public resources by organised cartels comprising public/state officials and crafty “business people;” drug trafficking; poor and dilapidated infrastructure; and extremely high and unsustainable unemployment, especially among the youth.

A few days after the Auditor General released the 2014/15 audit reports showing that elected officials like the Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero have been involved in unprecedented looting of more than $20 billion of public funds, one would have expected robust opinions from self-declared “scholars” like Makau Mutua on such a horrible crime against ordinary Kenyans.

Predictably, however, not a whiff about the massive theft of public resources and the extra-judicial killings has found themselves in the retrograde professor’s Tweets and empty articles.

Instead, the short bald man with an unprecedented low self-esteem – a self-declared “distinguished professor” – (although the only ‘distinguished’ thing discernible from his mediocre opinions is the repeated use of American colloquialism) has an unmanly fetish on me.

Mutua correctly states that I’m “a very tall dark-skinned black man” – and very proud of it. He juxtaposes my hefty genuine African physique and organic intellect with his “very light-skin,” empty bald head and short constitution – and typical of “Oreo Cookies” – Makau frets about my physical appearance as some women do over their co-wives.

He has taken to defaming me on Twitter, Facebook and his column and demanding that I be banned from running for the position of Governor for Nairobi. He is envious of my integrity, vision and courage – character traits he would like to have but which he blames me for not having.

Why would a “distinguished professor” and a failed Chief Justice applicant spend so much time and use so many words to pillory “an unelectable fragile person?”

Makau knows that malicious propaganda is not a substitute for the truth, solid facts and chilled logic. His discredited crystal balls hold the gold medal for malfunctions.

Once upon a time Makau repeatedly predicted and swore in empty verbiage that Uhuru Kenyatta would never become president of Kenya. He predicted that both Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto would be convicted and jailed at The Hague.

History has recorded that it was quacks like Makau who used their inferiority complex and morbid obsession with me to convince Mr. Odinga in 2011 to ignore my prescient warnings about the IEBC’s irredeemable incompetence and malleability. Makau published sycophantic articles stating that even the chicken in remote villages knew that Mr. Odinga was going to be president.

With such legendary predictions, I’m happy with Makau’s assertion that I’m unelectable!

Make no mistake: I pose the greatest challenge to the cartels and their surrogates. The charlatans know that, hence their desperate panic.

Let that stubborn fact grind Makau’s fake intellectual and ethical innards.

As El Commandante Fidel Castro once quipped, “History will absolve me.”
____________________________________________________
Mr. Miguna Miguna is a Candidate for Governor for Nairobi County in 2017. He is a lawyer and author.

 

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Kenya Insights or its Editors. We welcome opinion and views on topical issues. Email: [email protected]

 

Politicians have discovered that many Kenyans worship in churches and believe all that is said and preached there. They have therefore devised ways of befriending the worshippers. One of these ways is attending harambees and donating huge amounts of money there. This has consequently made the religious leaders shy away from criticizing the politicians’ lifestyles and their leadership style because of those donations.

Where are the likes of the late Bishop Alexander Muge, Archbishop Ndingi Mwana’a Nzeki and other vocal church leaders who made authorities toe the line? Particularly in this looting era, a cleric receiving such amounts without even enquiring the source is a bad idea. It is the high time that churches started cash-generating activities. The churches should establish schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, farms and bookshops. This will help them stop begging donations from politicians.

Kenya’s current public debt stands at a disturbing 3.7Trillion amount that it’s the taxpayer who’ll have to bare the burden. Corruption cases have infiltrated the media spaces with everyday a new scandal and billions lost in the government ministries. The opposition has been playing its whistleblower role and at the same time facing the wrath of government proponents.

The GDP has been indexed as rising, but there’s less or nothing to show as ripple effects, companies have in recent times closing down or downsizing taskforce. Unemployment has clocked highest points with millions of youths left without employment. Corruption is largely to blame for snatching opportunities for the fresh talents that are now idling. NYS scam that has left economy robbed of close to 7B was a perfect avenue that would have created millions of job opportunities but was mauled by the carnivorous leadership.

As gluttonous leadership pounce on public funds driving Kenya to it’s knees and licking the bones dry, the church who naturally have the moral authority to call out the nyama eating spree crumbling the country has resorted to a resounding silence.

Instead, the clergy has turned the church into a money making space and rather a money laundering lounge where the politicians find a haven to cleanse their dirty money without any suspicion. The church has become the perfect devil that we know.

The church is silent when vigilant Kenyans question whereabouts of lost public funds and wait to receive bundles of notes in millions from the same politicians being challenged. One can easily say the church is part of the corruption cartel eating up this country. I’m yet to see a church that has turned down offers from politicians and better yet questioned the source of such massive amount of money. The real team mafisi of money don’t hesitate to question.

In a shocking event over the weekend the President Uhuru and DP raised 34.5M each hard cash in a church Harambee. Where do you think this money came from? Your guess is as good as mine. But the church as you guessed it clapped and received it with open hands. Ruto is known for splashing millions every weekend in harambees and anyone who date question his sources is slapped with big tackles. In this particular Harambee, DP’s PA who’s on NYS scam records taking a small loan of 1.5M suddenly is rich giving donations of 3.4M in the harambee. Clergy no longer perform miracles in churches, politicians do.

Jubilee leaders Uhuru,Ruto,His Assistant Farouk, Governor raised 80M in one minute. Raila is bad for the economy pic.twitter.com/B5XyYoskDe

— Kenya West (@KinyanBoy) December 1, 2016

When everything is going wrong in this country, the country bleeding to bear death and the clergy remain tight-lipped because they’re compromised, they lose relevance and start serving earthly gods instead of the almighty. God must be very disappointed with the money loving Kenya clergy who would rather spend weekends at The golfing club sipping whiskey instead of visiting church members in their homes. Clergy who’d rather drive too if range cars than driving the divine message of God home.

Not speaking up against numerous vices ailing this country equals to endorsing them. We have had a partisan clergy, polarized and will only speak when their divide is under attack. We have asses for clergy. Kenya being a religious country, we’re stuck with the devil we know. True clergy is dead.

 

Through the accident of conception, we gain physical attributes that place us into two main categories; female or male. When the X chromosome pairs up with another, we get a girl, and when it finds a Y chromosome then we get boys. At 2 -3 years, we are usually able to recognize that there is a biological difference between the two categories.

By six years old, we fight off the ‘baby’ title by learning, from our family, school, society and media, what it is to be a ‘big girl’ or a ‘big boy.’ This is an art we continue to learn as we pass through the confusing, unstable adolescent stages. Eventually perfecting its performance in late teens and early adulthood.
But the process is not always this clearly defined. Sometimes infants are born with ambiguous attributes and therefore cannot be directly assigned sex. This is how intersexuality comes about. The ambiguity of anatomical features that define one as essentially male or female may be apparent right at birth.

It could also become evident during puberty when the body does not develop as expected, or even much later in life when a person is unable to perform certain reproductive functions. It is a common phenomenon that has been around for many years.
While it is laudable that the Kenyan media and a government is beginning to talk about intersex, it is important that the topic is dealt with cautiously and rationally. To begin with, it is imperative to differentiate between the terms sex and gender. While the sex is assigned by biology, gender is a social condition.

The call by some MPs to have ‘multiple medical tests to determine the actual gender and later corrective surgery’ is an old concept that has already been proved by many studies as causing more harm than good. Not to mention the ethical issues surrounding what constitutes informed consent for such procedures. In the late 20th century, scientists would conduct several chromosomal, hormonal as well as measuring tests to try and determine which sex to assign to an intersex infant.

The belief was that by disambiguating the situation through surgically modifying the child’s genitalia and reinforcing it with supportive treatments (e.g. hormones), the infant would grow into the decided sex category and naturally embrace the expected gender identity. This would work sometimes, and sometimes it wouldn’t. And there would be instances where the patients returned as adults and asked for reversal surgeries because they felt they were stuck in the wrong body. The most classic case being the John/Joan case at the John Hopkins Hospital in the 1960s.This, and not the ambiguous genitalia, is the real gender identity crisis.

It would be wonderful if the government agrees to offer financial assistance to intersexed people who want to correct their biological features to fit the gender they identify with. More ideal would be if the government would, through laws, enable a supportive environment which not only illegalizes discrimination and harassment but also allows these members of our society to easily alter their official documents to fit their chosen identity without having to go through legal and medical procedures.

Kenya can learn a lot from how other countries cater to the needs of their third gender. The challenges and imperfections notwithstanding. We could go the Nepal way and prevent forced sex assignment by allowing for an ‘indetermined sex’ option on official documents. With the possibility of alteration at a later stage in life, when the person has a ‘self-feeling’ of what gender they identify with. Or we could be like Argentina, and allow anyone above the age of 18 years to choose a gender identity, or undergo sex reassignment without needing judicial or medical approval. Let the individual have the control. It is too an important decision not to.

Special schools are certainly not the right choice because then you create segregation which only severs to further widen the ‘us’ versus ‘the other’ notion. Thus more discrimination. Instead, it is better to spend our efforts in teaching the society that sometimes sexual categorization is not as clear cut as we are taught it is. And that is ok, and that is normal.

Writer: Chepng’etich Biomndo,
Gender Studies Teacher, Humboldt University Berlin

 

In Kenya’s political calendar, 2017 is a nightmare that everybody is scared about and talking in low tones. Kenya is yet to fully recover from the 2007/08 PEV destruction that left close to 2000 lives lost in police killings and organized gangs senseless murders and hundreds of thousands displaced.

2013 the year of an election after a murderous 2008’s tension was high but was minimized with the Supreme Court. As a country which had gone through PEV and people had 1st hand experience, naturally, no one was ready to go the same destructive road once again. The election was disputed with wide discrepancies especially with the electronic tallying which was faced with man-made malfunctions. The opposition in their petition before the Supreme Court accused and detailed how the ruling government rigged the elections.

2013, was a special political year and it was easy to prevent violent eruption given two factors; ICC, this institution became the second most trusted for justice and what put a stop the PEV before the formation of the coalition government by Raila and Kibaki. ICC played a significant role in the last election in that it was the big boy watching and all warlords were scared of facing the noose. The suspected instigators of the 2008 PEV were this time front-runners for the presidential post. ICC gave people the sense of hope hence the Patience and strange calm. Justice was expected to be served.

Supreme Court was the another end most useful player in a peace of the country after the highly contested presidential race. Kenyans had faith in the system with high hopes on Willy Mutunga as the Chief Justice. It was given the space to break the turmoil; ethnic tensions went up the sky as the case was ongoing but the delaying of judgment also acted in a perfect psychological control. The anger that was at the announcement of results had subsidized by SCORK ruling. The judiciary played the cooling role.

Moving on 2017 where the factors mentioned above are out of the picture, things get a little bit scary. Kenya is on a full ride to get away from ICC after all charges on all the six suspects were dropped. Faith in the judiciary is at an all time low given ‘unfair’ ruling in the last presidential election.

Analysis has placed the coming election to be one of the tightest in history with a close tie projections. This is what really should worry anyone. Africa incumbents rarely lose elections and if push comes to worse, never hesitate to use state machinery including police force to maintain staying power. If Kenyatta gets to the point he smells a loss then himself or his colleagues around Africa who’ve done it before will advise him to go dirty and if anything, there’s no ICC to worry about.

The opposition will also be super charged not to let go again the opportunity of getting into power. A tightly contested election is the worst thing that can ever happen to this country. Given heavily rooted ethnicity, a small mishap, and the country goes up in flames. Nobody, not even I want a replay of this horror. An incumbent not ready to lose power will go to the most filth heights to maintain grounds, a wounded opposition would not let go off quickly especially if the race is too close to read malice, this my friend is the perfect recipe for a damaging result.

Jubilee has in recent events displayed how they’d quell violence should there be any. The government has invested in anti-riot machinery than any other regime before. The anti-IEBC riots was a taste of the medicine, absolute brutality that led to deaths of a number of CORD supporters including a minor who was shot by Police in Kisumu and recent raiding of Kakamega by the contingent of police officers in a search for stolen guns that has seen police stamp upper hand terror on residents. If the government used absolute power including shootings on peaceful demos for electoral body reforms, what would happen if people who no longer want or have faith in ICC and Kenya’s Courts do if they stood at a point of getting dethroned?

What of the wild opposition with charged supporters who’re tired of being left in the cold and got close to ‘oil’ but being stopped from ascending to power? With the million of unemployed youths in the country ready to pick up weapons for pay by evil politicians. Ladies and gentlemen, this article, could go on and on because I’m honestly scared. Read the mood of the land, and you’ll see sense. Not even God can save Kenya, He has been. The opposition can’t afford a divided effort they need to stay together, so the contest is either a swing it nothing. The close tie is the last thing you want on the table.

Talking of opposition unity, Jubilee top priority from insiders is ensuring the opposition leaders get divided since a unified team of NASA is proving a hard nut. Jubilee could go as far as sponsoring individual CORD leaders to run separately in tune of billions this is a divide and rule tactic that has been happening since B.C.

 

By Nicholas Olambo
Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Mbuvi Ngunze has announced that he will retire in the first quarter of 2017. Ngunze who joined the airline in June 2014 has been facing a solid push from the Kenya Airline Pilots Association for his dismal performance. The association was also pushed for riddance of his incompetent team and former Chairman Dennis Awori.

Awori resigned in October before the half year performance updates, and his position has since been taken by the former Safaricom boss Michael Joseph. Mr. Joseph welcomed Ngunze’s resignation with respect and promised to have his successor in the next three months alongside the board and the nominations committee.

The loss-making airline faced several hitches and forced flight delays that Ngunze’s incompetent team could not fix. The soft-spoken Exec has nothing to the right home; he was brought in to save a collapsing giant airline, but he failed terribly to get the airline from its financial woes. But was the problem Ngunze or his management skills?

I doubt if you ask me. African governments got it all wrong after kicking out their colonial masters. Nearly every African nation was left was with a railway line that they failed to manage or improve by building even an inch after several decades. We kicked out white settlers, reclaimed our lands but used them to produce what we don’t consume.

Every African government got into the airline business, making massive losses and using taxpayer’s money to bail out these airlines that continue to make more losses. Heads must roll, it’s the same poor management disease that brought that railway to its knees that is now killing the airline.

KQ has been in the death bed for a minute, and signs of recovery are not visible. Appointing Michael Joseph to chair the board and kicking out stressed Ngunze are not enough. The airline sold its milk cow, Boeing 777 and called it a good move. It also sold its coveted prime landing slot to Oman Air for Shs. 7.5 billion in March and its still stuck in its financial crisis. A complete turnaround is necessary.

 

It was set to be an objective debate bringing together contestants for the Nairobi Gubernatorial seat, but things could not end up that way. First, most of the contestants kept off the debate with Miguna and Passaris being the only candidates who showed up for the Koinange Live show. Word on the streets is after the previous debate that went up in flames with Miguna tearing into his opponents and Bishop Wanjiru being the most torn causality, most kept off facing him off. But one woman braced the intimidations and showed up, Passaris.

Miguna who has engraved his campaign on dismantling the corruption cartel comes out as one of the candidates with clearest manifestos and a firebrand with a spirited fight to dismantle the wall. Being a braggart by nature with self-praise intellectualism, Miguna who’s now self-baptized himself as Kenya’s Trump version is a man you need iron pants to debate with. Miguna is authoritarian his physical attributes intimidating, he’s disturbingly loud and has one of the fastest mouths in the market. A bully by nature, you have to prepare like it’s a world war before you take on him in a debate or end up being run over.

Passaris on the other hand who is so far the only female candidate in the male-dominated field to make a mileage in pursuing the governor post came collected even though she knew exactly what to expect when debating with Miguna. In a society where male dominance is still in full glare and women squeezing their ways through, it was commendable she braved up to a face off.

The debate was going well until Miguna was served with a defamatory demand letter from Passaris over his persistent attacks on his social media page. He laughed it off before going full army attack on her deviating from the core discussion issues and drowned into personal attacks on the lady.

He went ahead calling her names that shouldn’t have been aired on national t.v. Miguna was consumed in emotional fury hurling unprintable words. This was happening at a prime time when families of both parties were watching you can imagine the pain and disturbances caused on them. Just like his copy Trump made jokes about grabbing women pussy, Miguna made an omelet out of Passaris with insensitive rape jokes. He alluded that Passaris is a good digger and beauty that everyone wanna rape, does this then mean all beautiful women should be raped? He said he’s success is entirely on her beauty and light skin nature does it mean to Miguna that women can’t go up the ladder without sexual prowess? Is that his stamped mindset and tool he uses to uplift those in his scope?

Miguna came out of that debate as a chauvinist, insensitive, disrespectful, distasteful, improper family values, bully, braggart, sexist and the list could go on and on. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Miguna poking holes into Pasaaris integrity but content and delivery are two different things, how he delivered his attacks threw him to the gutter. He was outrageous; he looked microseconds away from going physical with her if he’s like that on national t.v. Then let’s not start imagining how he could be in private.

It’s time Jeff Koinange started reviewing his guests and moderate with no chains before his show completely looses the little remaining credibility. Watching the battery on women on t.v. is clearly disturbing. Jeff had the chance to call off the show to save the helpless woman who was being attacked by a misogynist and big time bully.

The issue with Miguna is not his policies by the way I’ve read, and I’m impressed by what he has to offer the city but when you touch a woman you move the entire town. Miguna must swallow his pride or better yet swallow himself but he must apologize for an improper and disrespecting act he put against Pasaaris which is a clear manifest on how he treats women in his life. Sad to think with all that education he still looks down upon women, and I was here thinking education is expensive, ignorance is off the balance. You can tell more about a man’s character how he handles the waiter and women around him. Nairobi you have a picture.

You don’t look great by looking down upon others and something about pride and fall. Think over it .

The late Prof. Ali Mazrui once said that Africa is a continent that produces what it does not consume but consumes what it does not produce. Kenya is not an excuse; the country is in dire need of real leadership but elects thieves instead. Crooks who forge anything to steal from the public coffers, trivial matters like ICC and Amb. Amina Mohamed becoming the Chairperson of AU Commission is given every attention.

We are also conversant with the DP’s shuttle diplomacies through the infamous ‘Hustler’s Jet’ that cost the tax payer over a hundred million for petty reasons. The DP is at again; William Ruto is leading a team to put a strong diplomatic offensive across the 53 African nations to lobby for Amina to become the next Chairperson of AU Commission to replace South Africa’s Nkosazana Zuma.

The move like the 2013 ‘hustlers jet’ will cost the country hundreds of millions with the VIP jet costing between 1.6 to 2.3 million shillings every hour. This was not factored into the budget by the way, and the country has more important things to spend on like the starving families in Turkana and regions that have been hit hard by drought in Tana River County. The regime of the day has portrayed clear misplaced priorities.

And what’s DP’s job description if I may ask? Chief Campaigner? The last time I checked the country had ambassadors in these countries that can help lobby for Amina. The fourth function of the deputy president states that he should not hold any other state or public office, he is now the cap of ‘a chief campaigner.’
The world has enough to satisfy everyman’s need but not enough to satisfy everyman’s greed – Mahatma Gandhi. This is yet another proper scheme to siphon from the public coffers; taxpayers will be milked dry by the ruling elites.