Scandals galore agency IEBC is yet again on the dwelling zone following latest audit report that has revealed how they paid up to Sh. 50M to an unnamed company to offer transport services for elections materials during the 2013 elections and the astonishing thing according to the auditor general’s report, the company was non-existent until September 12, 2014, when it was formally registered payments yet according to IEBC records were made to the firm in November 2013.
The payment was purportedly to a related company that the IEBC had awarded the tender earlier for the transport services. In a bid to clear off any trails, IEBC agreed to an irregular request through the unreferenced letter dated October 13, 2014, in which the company indicates that payments due to another firm previously contracted by the commission should be paid to it.
The company that was initially contracted for the transport failed its mandates on the initial stages according to the AG Ouko’s report, and they had inked for 27 vehicles to be used in transporting election materials and instead only five could be accounted to have been used. When the Auditor General’s office questioned IEBC on these discrepancies in draft stages of auditing, they gave additional documents for ten more vehicles instead of 22.
Verifying details of the ten vehicles revealed that some had been reported to have been in use in three different locations at the same time, making their use in assigned areas questionable. The report gives the example of vehicle registration number KAJ 482N, which the IEBC had indicated delivered election material in Malindi Region but was found to have been operating in Rongai and Bahati constituencies in the Rift Valley at the same time.
IEBC has been rocked with controversial transactions and scandals with Chickengate being the most open one where Kenyan officials including the Chairman Isaak Hassan(who has since been cleared by mischevious EACC of any involvement in the scam) alongside others like former IEBC CEO James Oswago of having been bribed by a UK printing firm as tip-off for the ballot paper printing tender award. Faced with immense integrity questions denting their credibility, the defiant IEBC team with the rock Kenyan spirit of never giving up positions have finally bowed out and will pave a way for a new team. It will, however, cost Kenya up to Sh.400M to send the commissioners home.
Water CS Eugene Wamalwa who has been causing major ripples in the now hot Nairobi political scene has added more fruits to his captivating bucket following latest endorsement by the Business community from the GEMA union.
Eugene is yet to make it public his candidature, but word on the streets that has caused much distress within the Jubilee camp is that the principals have silently endorsed him to unseat the incumbent. MPs drawn from Kiambu led by Waititu were the first to give Eugene an endorsement then Moses Kuria whom many views as Uhuru’s mouthpiece echoed the sentiments by throwing his support towards Eugene.
In a quick, expected move, Jubilee MPs from Nairobi led by Maina Kamanda rubbished the endorsement saying the Nairobi seat is foreordained for insiders not outsiders like Wamalwa. The definition of the outsider is best known to them since last time I checked Nairobi is a cosmopolitan city and constitution allow us to vie for any seat anywhere in the country, but there’s less to expect from legislators who have zero regards for the law.
My moles telling me the rebellion from the Nairobi MPs was as a result of their prior endorsement of wealthy Dennis Waweru whom I learn is financing them so that the outcry can be justified.
Eugene’s entrance into the Nairobi scene has not only thrown Dennis to the ditches but also Bishop Wanjiru, Sakaja, Sonko both of whom latest polls rank fairly well.
Kenya voting patterns are mostly determined by the tribal card, and that’s why central MPs who know the Kikuyu voting block in Nairobi is huge have been banking on this to field their own. Nairobi County receives the largest budget allocation with up to Sh.12B annually making it lucrative for most hazardous appetite politicians.
The endorsement of Wamalwa by the business community is coming at a time when propaganda orchestrated by Waweru’s Communication Team has been pushing ‘hogwash’ as Wamalwa describes it that he has bowed out of the race and shifting his focus to Trans Nzoia County to unseat Patrick Khaemba and battle it out with Noah Wekesa who is steering committee in the structuring of Jubilee Merger.
It will be interesting to watch how Eugene who is viewed by critics as a naive, spongy, diplomatic politician to hack the politics of Nairobi which requires one to get his hands dirty and putting off the fire from the wreathing Jubilee MPs perturbed by his endorsement from the high house.
While many have described the Former Prime Minister Raila as the kingmaker, the enigma of Kenyan politics, crowd puller and the best player in confrontational politics who is never short of surprises, Raila’s best moments are behind him as Prof. Makau Mutua puts it. I don’t think Tinga has more cards close to his chest to pull, his opponents have studied and known him. In fact, President Uhuru Kenyatta is causing him sleepless nights via proxies. What if he comes direct?
The former premier must be acknowledged for nurturing many politicians most of whom have turned to be his sworn enemies. He has not nurtured any from his back yard, Luo Nyanza despite Kenyan politics being so tribal. No one from Nyanza has received Raila’s blessings in case he quits the political stage which can’t be too long after 2017 polls. From where I sit, possibilities of ‘Luo Nation’ not voting as a block in post-Raila era are extremely high.
Only Kidero comes out as the Luo politician with the might to take after him, but sycophants and Raila followers from his native Central Nyanza are not ready to back any politician from South Nyanza where the Nairobi Governor, Dr Evan Kidero hails from. Raila has every right to run for president in the coming 2017 polls but after three unsuccessful shots, the experienced politician must also think of passing the Burton. Right now he comes out as one who thinks he is the only Luo who can be president.
As much as it’s said that Raila has been betrayed by the same individuals whose political careers he helped built, he must change his tactics and try new avenues. Politics is a game of numbers, but Raila has been unable to keep his house intact, he has been busy putting off rebellion fires in his party when his opponents are planning for 2017 polls. Money also plays a great deal, and Jubilee is seriously moneyed, but Odinga has been accused of sitting on the wallet when his foot soldiers are being ‘bought’ like toffees. So many broke politicians stand for nothing but gullible to shift allegiance for the love of the money.
Opportunity only comes once in a lifetime they say, and Raila let the presidency slip from his hands in 2007 and that moment will never come again. Believers in the say like Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast never allowed his win slip away from him; he fought to the very end and took over from Laurent Gbagbo, a dictator who is now facing war crime charges at the Internal Criminal Court (ICC). Raila was fixed through the deal that saw the formation of a grand coalition government that he shared with the then president, Mwai Kibaki. The deal was the last nail in the ‘coffin’ of his presidential ambitions.
They say history repeats itself, and Kibaki became President at the age of 74, and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria became president on the fourth attempt. Raila may be hanging his hopes on these thin and weak threads, but the generational change in Kenyan politics punches another big hole on Odinga’s dreams.
The incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta was elected the fourth president at the age of 51, this kind of generational change makes it hard for him to be elected to succeed Mr. Kenyatta.
He has now and after 2017 polls to give direction to the Luo nation that has strongly been with him through his political career especially the south, many will be waiting to see if Central Nyanza can back a leader from the South.
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]
Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) CEO, James Oswago
EACC cleared the IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan of involvement in the Sh.41B Chickengate bribery scandal that saw the directors of the UK printing firm sent to jail in London. The anti-corruption body had been handed the files to prosecute the case.
Isaac Hassan, the IEBC chairman, was mentioned in the dossier alongside IEBC commissioners as being part of the syndicate. After conducting investigations, EACC, the body that coincidentally had cleared Ann Waiguru of involvement from the NYS theft only for new evidence to prove otherwise, also cleared Hassan.
IEBC CEO Oswago alongside others were found culpable, and EACC recommended the ODPP to open prosecutions against Oswago and team for having engaged in bribery schemes with the UK printing firm for the ballot papers in the run-up to the 2013 elections.
Oswago who has been missing from the public limelight since the controversial general elections resurfaced from his hiding place protesting against the decision by the EACC. Oswago argues that he is being made a sacrificial lamb while people who should take more responsibility like Isaac Hassan have been exonerated.
Pressure has been mounting from the EU who are the biggest financier of elections in Kenya on GoK to act upon the Chickengate scandal. Oswago has been running around like a headless cock screaming innocence.
In several media interviews in the past week Oswago has opened the Pandora box revealing that indeed 2013 elections were flawed and rigged in favour of jubilee. In his wild claims, Oswago says the commission he headed was compromised by powerful forces and that there was nothing he could do about it at that time, going as far as saying his life was threatened.
This is a desperate sympathy seeking plot that’s not going to work amongst able minded Kenyans. Kenyans had to drag themselves through the Supreme Court for the ultimate decision that legitimised Jubilee win. It was a bitter journey for CORD supporters who felt that their glory was snatched. For Oswago to surface from his hideout years later to allege that the election was altered is an insult to human intelligence.
If his conscience was right, he could’ve come out earlier on this exposed the matter at a previous stage. If he lacked trust on the local judicial system, Oswago had the opportunity to seek political asylum and lodge the rigging plot on an international court for a public tribunal. Coming out now is an unnecessary and damaging step.
Having said that, with the former CEO now confessing that the elections were flawed the entire IEBC as currently constituted must be demolished and reconstructed. The country is in a fragile state and can’t afford to move into another election with a suspicion body as the current. Oswago and rest of the team involved in the Chickengate scandal must carry the cross and answer to the allegations against them. Jumping out of one media station to the next is a socialite syndrome that’s not going to help him or any other accused. Let the law take the course.
President Obama delivering his speech at the Democratic Convention 2016 in Philadelphia
OBAMA: Thank you!
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Thank you.
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Thank you!
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Thank you.
Thank you so much! Thank you everybody.
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Thank you. Thank you.
OBAMA: Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you, everybody.
AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can!
Thank you so much, everybody!
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I love you back!
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Hello, America! Hello, Democrats!
So 12 years ago tonight I addressed this convention for the very first time.
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You met my two little girls, Malia and Sasha, now two amazing young women who just fill me with pride.
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You fell for my brilliant wife and partner, Michelle…
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…who has made me a better father and a better man, who has gone on to inspire our nation as first lady and who somehow hasn’t aged a day.
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I know, the same cannot be said for me. My girls remind me all the time. Wow, you’ve changed so much, daddy.
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OBAMA: And then they try to clean it up. Not bad, just more mature.
And it’s true, I was so young that first time in Boston.
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And look, I’ll admit it, maybe I was a little nervous addressing such a big crowd. But I was filled with faith; faith in America, the generous, bighearted, hopeful country that made my story, that made all of our stories possible.
A lot’s happened over the years. And while this nation has been tested by war and it’s been tested by recession and all manner of challenges, I stand before you again tonight, after almost two terms as your president, to tell you I am even more optimistic about the future of America than ever before.
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How could I not be, after all that we’ve achieved together?
After the worst recession in 80 years, we’ve fought our way back. We’ve seen deficits come down, 401(k)s recover, an auto industry set new records, unemployment reach eight-year lows, and our businesses create 15 million new jobs.
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After a century of trying, we declared that health care in America is not a privilege for a few, it is a right for everybody.
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After decades of talk, we finally began to wean ourselves off foreign oil, we doubled our production of clean energy.
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We brought more of our troops home to their families, and we delivered justice to Osama bin Laden.
(APPLAUSE) Through diplomacy, we shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program, we opened up a new chapter with the people of Cuba, brought nearly 200 nations together around a climate agreement that could save this planet for our children.
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We put policies in place to help students with loans, protect consumers from fraud, cut veteran homelessness almost in half. And through countless acts of quiet courage, America learned that love has no limits, and marriage equality is now a reality across the land.
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By so many measures, our country is stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started. And through every victory and every setback, I’ve insisted that change is never easy, and never quick; that we wouldn’t meet all of our challenges in one term, or one presidency, or even in one lifetime.
So tonight, I’m here to tell you that yes, we’ve still got more work to do. More work to do for every American still in need of a good job or a raise, paid leave or a decent retirement; for every child who needs a sturdier ladder out of poverty or a world-class education; for everyone who has not yet felt the progress of these past seven-and-a-half years. We need to keep making our streets safer and our criminal justice system fairer; our homeland more secure, and our world more peaceful and sustainable for the next generation.
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We’re not done perfecting our union, or living up to our founding creed that all of us are created equal, all of us are free in the eyes of God.
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And that work involves a big choice this November. I think it’s fair to say, this is not your typical election. It’s not just a choice between parties or policies, the usual debates between left and right. This is a more fundamental choice about who we are as a people, and whether we stay true to this great American experiment in self-government.
Look, we Democrats have always had plenty of differences with the Republican Party, and there’s nothing wrong with that. it’s precisely this contest of ideas that pushes our country forward.
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But what we heard in Cleveland last week wasn’t particularly Republican and it sure wasn’t conservative. What we heard was a deeply pessimistic vision of a country where we turn against each other and turn away from the rest of the world. There were no serious solutions to pressing problems, just the fanning of resentment and blame and anger and hate. And that is not the America I know.
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The America I know is full of courage and optimism and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous. Sure, we have real anxieties about paying the bills and protecting our kids, caring for a sick parent. We get frustrated with political gridlock and worry about racial divisions. We are shocked and saddened by the madness of Orlando or Nice. There are pockets of America that never recovered from factory closures, men who took pride in hard work and providing for their families who now feel forgotten, parents who wonder whether their kids will have the same opportunities we had.
All of that is real. We’re challenged to do better, to be better. But as I’ve traveled this country, through all 50 states, as I’ve rejoiced with you and mourned with you, what I have also seen, more than anything, is what is right with America.
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OBAMA: I see people working hard and starting businesses. I see people teaching kids and serving our country. I see engineers inventing stuff, doctors coming up with new cures. I see a younger generation full of energy and new ideas, not constrained by what is, ready to seize what ought to be.
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And most of all, I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, young, old, gay, straight, men, women, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance, under the same proud flag, to this big, bold country that we love.
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That’s what I see! That’s the America that I know!
And there is only one candidate in this race who believes in that future, has devoted her life to it; a mother and grandmother who would do anything to help our children thrive, a leader with real plans to break down barriers and blast through glass ceilings and widen the circle of opportunity to every single American, the next president of the United States, Hillary Clinton.
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AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!
OBAMA: That’s right. That’s right.
Let me tell you, eight years ago, you may remember Hillary and I were rivals for the Democratic nomination. We battled for a year-and- a-half. Let me tell you, it was tough because Hillary was tough. I was worn out.
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She was doing everything I was doing, but just like Ginger Rogers it was backwards in heels.
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And every time I thought I might have that race won, Hillary just came back stronger.
But after it was all over, I asked Hillary to join my team.
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And she was a little surprised, some of my staff were surprised.
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But ultimately said yes because she knew that what was at stake was bigger than either of us.
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And for four years, for four years, I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment and her discipline. I came to realize that her unbelievable work ethic wasn’t for praise, it wasn’t for attention, that she was in this for everyone who needs a champion.
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I understood that after all these years, she has never forgotten just who she’s fighting for.
Hillary’s still got the tenacity that she had as a young woman working at the Children’s Defense Fund, going door to door to ultimately make sure kids with disabilities could get a quality education.
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She’s still got the heart she showed as our first lady, working with Congress to help push through a Children’s Health Insurance Program that to this day protects millions of kids.
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She’s still seared with the memory of every American she met who lost loved ones on 9/11, which is why, as a senator from New York, she fought so hard for funding to help first responders, to help the city rebuild; why, as secretary of state, she sat with me in the Situation Room and forcefully argued in favor of the mission that took out bin Laden.
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You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. You can read about it, you can study it. But until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis or send young people to war. But Hillary’s been in the room, she’s been part of those decisions.
She knows what’s at stake in the decisions our government makes, what’s at stake for the working family, for the senior citizen, for the small-business owner, for the soldier, for the veteran. And even in the midst of crisis, she listens to people and she keeps her cool and she treats everybody with respect. And no matter how daunting the odds, no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits.
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That’s the Hillary I know. That’s the Hillary I’ve come to admire. And that’s why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman, not me, not Bill, nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.
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I hope you don’t mind, Bill, but I was just telling the truth, man.
And by the way, in case you were wondering about her judgment, take a look at her choice of running mate. Tim Kaine is as good a man, as humble and as committed a public servant as anybody that I know. I know his family. I love Anne, I love their kids. He will be a great vice president, he will make Hillary a better president, just like my dear friend and brother Joe Biden has made me a better president.
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Now, Hillary has real plans to address the concerns she’s heard from you on the campaign trail. She’s got specific ideas to invest in new jobs, to help workers share in their company’s profits, to help put kids in preschool, and put students through college without taking on a ton of debt. That’s what leaders do.
And then there’s Donald Trump.
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Don’t boo; vote!
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You know, the Donald is not really a plans guy. He’s not really a facts guy, either.
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He calls himself a business guy, which is true, but I have to say, I know plenty of businessmen and women who’ve achieved remarkable success without leaving a trail of lawsuits and unpaid workers and people feeling like they got cheated.
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Does anyone really believe that a guy who’s spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion? Your voice? Hey, if so, you should vote for him.
But if you’re someone who’s truly concerned about paying your bills, if you’re really concerned about pocketbook issues and seeing the economy grow and creating more opportunity for everybody, then the choice isn’t even close. If you want someone with a lifelong track record of fighting for higher wages and better benefits and a fairer tax code and a bigger voice for workers and stronger regulations on Wall Street, then you should vote for Hillary Clinton.
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And if you’re rightly concerned about who’s going to keep you and your family safe in a dangerous world, well, the choice is even clearer. Hillary Clinton is respected around the world, not just by leaders, but by the people they serve.
I have to say this. People outside of the United States do not understand what’s going on in this election, they really don’t.
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Because they know Hillary, they’ve seen her work. She’s worked closely with our intelligence teams, our diplomats, our military. And she has the judgment and the experience and the temperament to meet the threat from terrorism. It’s not new to her. Our troops have pounded ISIL without mercy, taking out their leaders, taking back territory. And I know Hillary won’t relent until ISIL is destroyed.
She will finish the job and she’ll do it without resorting to torture or banning entire religions from entering our country. She is fit and she is ready to be the next commander in chief.
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Meanwhile, Donald Trump calls our military a disaster. Apparently, he doesn’t know the men and women who make up the strongest fighting force the world has ever known.
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OBAMA: He suggests America is weak. He must not hear the billions of men and women and children, from the Baltics to Burma, who still look to America to be the light of freedom and dignity and human rights. He cozies up to Putin, praises Saddam Hussein, tells our NATO allies that stood by our side after 9/11 that they have to pay up if they want our protection.
Well, America’s promises do not come with a price tag. We meet our commitments. We bear our burdens. That’s one of the reasons why almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago when I took office.
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America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness does not depend on Donald Trump.
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In fact, it doesn’t depend on any one person. And that, in the end, may be the biggest difference in this election, the meaning of our democracy.
Ronald Reagan called America “a shining city on a hill.” Donald Trump calls it “a divided crime scene” that only he can fix. It doesn’t matter to him that illegal immigration and the crime rate are as low as they’ve been in decades, because he’s not actually offering any real solutions to those issues. He’s just offering slogans, and he’s offering fear. He’s betting that if he scares enough people, he might score just enough votes to win this election.
(AUDIENCE JEERS)
And that’s another bet that Donald Trump will lose. And the reason he’ll lose it is because he’s selling the American people short. We are not a fragile people, we’re not a frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don’t look to be ruled.
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Our power comes from those immortal declarations first put to paper right here in Philadelphia all those years ago. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that we the people can form a more perfect union. That’s who we are. That’s our birthright, the capacity to shape our own destiny.
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That’s what drove patriots to choose revolution over tyranny and our GIs to liberate a continent. It’s what gave women the courage to reach for the ballot and marchers to cross a bridge in Selma and workers to organize and fight for collective bargaining and better wages.
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America has never been about what one person says he’ll do for us. It’s about what can be achieved by us, together, through the hard and slow and sometimes frustrating, but ultimately enduring work of self-government.
And that’s what Hillary Clinton understands. She knows that this is a big, diverse country, she has seen it, she’s traveled, she’s talked to folks and she understands that most issues are rarely black and white. She understands that even when you’re 100 percent right, getting things done requires compromise. That democracy doesn’t work if we constantly demonize each other.
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She knows that for progress to happen, we have to listen to each other and see ourselves in each other, and fight for our principles, but also fight to find common ground, no matter how elusive that may sometimes seem.
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Hillary knows we can work through racial divides in this country when we realize the worry black parents feel when their son leaves the house isn’t so different than what a brave cop’s family feels when he puts on the blue and goes to work, that we can honor police and treat every community fairly. We can do that.
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And she knows that acknowledging problems that have festered for decades isn’t making race relations worse, it’s creating the possibility for people of good will to join and make things better.
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Hillary knows we can insist on a lawful and orderly immigration system while still seeing striving students and their toiling parents as loving families, not criminals or rapists, families that came here for the same reasons our forebears came, to work and to study and to make a better life, in a place where we can talk and worship and love as we please. She knows their dream is quintessentially American, and the American dream is something no wall will ever contain. (APPLAUSE)
These are the things that Hillary knows. It can be frustrating, this business of democracy. Trust me, I know. Hillary knows, too. When the other side refuses to compromise, progress can stall. People are hurt by the inaction. Supporters can grow impatient and worry that you’re not trying hard enough, that you’ve maybe sold out.
But I promise you, when we keep at it, when we change enough minds, when we deliver enough votes, then progress does happen. And if you doubt that, just ask the 20 million more people who have health care today. Just ask the Marine who proudly serves his country without hiding the husband that he loves.
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Democracy works, America, but we gotta want it, not just during an election year, but all the days in between.
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So if you agree that there’s too much inequality in our economy, and too much money in our politics, we all need to be as vocal and as organized and as persistent as Bernie Sanders’ supporters have been during this election.
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We all need to get out and vote for Democrats up and down the ticket, and then hold them accountable until they get the job done.
That’s right, feel the Bern!
If you want more justice in the justice system, then we’ve all got to vote, not just for a president, but for mayors and sheriffs and state’s attorneys and state legislators. That’s where the criminal law is made. And we’ve got to work with police and protesters until laws and practices are changed. That’s how democracy works.
If you want to fight climate change, we’ve got to engage not only young people on college campuses, we’ve got to reach out to the coal miner who’s worried about taking care of his family, the single mom worried about gas prices.
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If you want to protect our kids and our cops from gun violence, we’ve got to get the vast majority of Americans, including gun owners, who agree on things like background checks to be just as vocal and determined as the gun lobby that blocks change through every funeral that we hold. That’s how change happens.
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Look, Hillary’s got her share of critics. She has been caricatured by the right and by some on the left. She has been accused of everything you can imagine and some things that you cannot.
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But she knows that’s what happens when you’re under a microscope for 40 years.
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She knows that sometimes during those 40 years she’s made mistakes, just like I have, just like we all do. That’s what happens when we try. That’s what happens when you’re the kind of citizen Teddy Roosevelt once described, not the timid souls who criticize from the sidelines, but someone “who is actually in the arena, who strives valiantly, who errs, but who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement.”
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Hillary Clinton is that woman in the arena. She’s been there for us, even if we haven’t always noticed.
And if you’re serious about our democracy, you can’t afford to stay home just because she might not align with you on every issue. You’ve got to get in the arena with her, because democracy isn’t a spectator sport. America isn’t about “yes he will.” It’s about “yes we can.” And we’re going to carry Hillary to victory this fall, because that’s what the moment demands.
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OBAMA: Yes, we can! Not yes, she can; not yes, I can; yes, we can!
You know, there’s been a lot of talk in this campaign about what America’s lost, people who tell us that our way of life is being undermined by pernicious changes and dark forces beyond our control. They tell voters there’s a “real America” out there that must be restored.
This isn’t an idea, by the way, that started with Donald Trump. It’s been peddled by politicians for a long time, probably from the start of our republic. And it’s got me thinking about the story I told you 12 years ago tonight about my Kansas grandparents and the things they taught me when I was growing up.
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See, my grandparents, they came from the heartland. Their ancestors began settling there about 200 years ago. I don’t know if they had their birth certificates, but they were there.
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They were Scotch-Irish mostly, farmers, teachers, ranch hands, pharmacists, oil rig workers. Hardy, small-town folks. Some were Democrats, but a lot of them, maybe even most of them were Republicans, the party of Lincoln. And my grandparents explained that folks in these parts, they didn’t like show-offs, they didn’t admire braggarts or bullies.
They didn’t respect mean-spiritedness or folks who were always looking for shortcuts in life. Instead, they valued traits like honesty and hard work, kindness, courtesy, humility, responsibility; helping each other out. That’s what they believed in. True things, things that last, the things we try to teach our kids.
And what my grandparents understood was that these values weren’t limited to Kansas. They weren’t limited to small towns. These values could travel to Hawaii.
(APPLAUSE) They could travel even the other side of the world, where my mother would end up working to help poor women get a better life trying to apply those values. My grandparents knew these values weren’t reserved for one race; they could be passed down to a half- Kenyan grandson, or a half-Asian granddaughter; in fact, they were the same values Michelle’s parents, the descendants of slaves, taught their own kids living in a bungalow on the south side of Chicago.
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They knew these values were exactly what drew immigrants here, and they believed that the children of those immigrants were just as American as their own, whether they wore a cowboy hat or a yarmulke, a baseball cap or a hijab.
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America has changed over the years. But these values that my grandparents taught me, they haven’t gone anywhere. They’re as strong as ever; still cherished by people of every party, every race, every faith. They live on in each of us. What makes us American, what makes us patriots is what’s in here. That’s what matters.
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And that’s why we can take the food and music and holidays and styles of other countries and blend it into something uniquely our own. That’s why we can attract strivers and entrepreneurs from around the globe to build new factories and create new industries here. That’s why our military can look the way it does, every shade of humanity, forged into common service. That’s why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end.
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That is America. That is America. Those bonds of affection, that common creed. We don’t fear the future; we shape it, embrace it, as one people, stronger together than we are on our own.
That’s what Hillary Clinton understands. This fighter, this stateswoman, this mother and grandmother, this public servant, this patriot, that’s the America she’s fighting for.
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And that is why I have confidence, as I leave this stage tonight, that the Democratic Party is in good hands. My time in this office, it hasn’t fixed everything. As much as we’ve done, there’s still so much I want to do. But for all the tough lessons I’ve had to learn, for all the places I’ve fallen short, I’ve told Hillary, and I’ll tell you what’s picked me back up, every single time: It’s been you, the American people.
(APPLAUSE) It’s the letter I keep on my wall from a survivor in Ohio who twice almost lost everything to cancer, but urged me to keep fighting for health care reform, even when the battle seemed lost. Do not quit.
It’s the painting I keep in my private office, a big-eyed, green owl with blue wings, made by a 7-year-old girl who was taken from us in Newtown, given to me by her parents so I wouldn’t forget, a reminder of all the parents who have turned their grief into action.
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It’s the small-business owner in Colorado who cut most of his own salary so he wouldn’t have to lay off any of his workers in the recession because, he said, that wouldn’t have been in the spirit of America.
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It’s the conservative in Texas who said he disagreed with me on everything, but appreciated that, like him, I try to be a good dad.
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It’s the courage of the young soldier from Arizona who nearly died on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but who has learned to speak again and walk again, and earlier this year, stepped through the door of the Oval Office on his own power, to salute and shake my hand.
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It is every American who believed we could change this country for the better, so many of you who’d never been involved in politics, who picked up phones and hit the streets and used the internet in amazing new ways that I didn’t really understand, but made change happen. You are the best organizers on the planet, and I am so proud of all the change that you made possible.
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Time and again, you’ve picked me up. And I hope sometimes I’ve picked you up, too.
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And tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me.
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I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me. Because you’re who I was talking about 12 years ago, when I talked about hope. It’s been you who’ve fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds were great, even when the road is long. Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope!
America, you have vindicated that hope these past eight years.
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And now I’m ready to pass the baton and do my part as a private citizen. So this year, in this election, I’m asking you to join me, to reject cynicism and reject fear and to summon what is best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation.
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Thank you for this incredible journey. Let’s keep it going. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairman Isaack Hassan
The incompetence of IEBC is not about chicken gate alone; the body itself admitted that there were numerous electoral malpractices in the 2013 general elections. The Supreme Court, which is the highest court of the land despite its ruling on the presidential petition, also noted that the 2013 polls had problems.
Nothing much has been done to reform the body, and the country is now 13 months to the next general elections. The opposition has held several street protests demanding the disbandment of the current IEBC; the calls have seen the formation of Joint select committee look into concerns raised about the credibility of the electoral body.
Dilly dallying can be seen from quotas that are anti-IEBC reforms. Perception has now been created by the Chepkonga led Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) that IEBC carried the day after its chairperson Issack Hassan was cleared of any wrongdoing in the procurement of BVR kits that failed immensely during the 2013 polls. Any seriously thinking Kenyan knows that the people who benefited from the 2013 malpractices cannot support the disbandment or the current IEBC or removal of its chairperson.
Clearing Hassan is a ploy to insulate him from facing prosecution. The public cannot be fooled that only the former IEBC chief executive James Oswago is responsible for the infamous chicken gate scandal alongside other three ‘small’ accomplices the committee allowed to be prosecuted. It’s a pity that EACC has also turned to be a clearinghouse for highly connected. Oswago said that he was not allowed by EACC to complete the statement he had begun making a month ago. “Any accused person must be given time to defend himself. The EACC may be trying to divert public attention from a particular matter”, said Oswago.
The electoral environment has not changed since 2013, and it’s absurd for Hassan to celebrate and sit pretty preparing for next polls. Serious reforms are needed to secure proper elections in 2017, and the reforms must go beyond the commission. Voter registration must be seriously conducted without favouring any region and issues on technology to be used must be resolved.
Leaders of IEBC must inspire the nation, and the Hassan led commission lacks public confidence, and something must be done within the timeline. Relevant teams must put the country first and work expeditiously hard to reform the IEBC and avoid pushing back the election date which can be very expensive for the country. Change of election date extends the term of the president which can only be affected through a referendum.
It’s sad to note that time wastage through unnecessary debates between JLAC and Joint Select Committees may force the nation to push back election date. AG Githu Muigai, for instance, is asking for the 2017 poll date postponed allowing proper reconstitution of the ongoing reforms including putting in place new IEBC commissioners. The constitution is clear on the election date, August 8th, 2017.
Attempts to postpone elections will be seen as a plot by the president to extend his term which may plunge the country into more arguments. There is enough time to reform IEBC and have the next elections held as stipulated in the constitution.
On Thursday the political temperatures shot high with streets buzzing with the debate sparked by Bungoma Senator and CORD’s co-principal Moses Wetangula. He had earlier in the day called out for his counterpart Raila Odinga to give up his political ambitions following his previous unsuccessful bids. Weta argued that Raila has made more than enough shots, and it’s the right time he gave up and let others like him attempt their luck.
The argument as anticipated was received with mixed reactions, Raila opponents applauded Weta for it and ran away with the story to escalated grounds. Raila’s supporters were on the other end unamused in what they say are impairing efforts by Jubilee to weaken CORD. The majority language is that Weta has been bought by Jubilee and joining likes of Ababu, the CORD rebels said to have been heavily pocketed by the monied jubilee.
While trading accusations is a political norm, I don’t see anything wrong in Wetangula calling for Raila to call off his bid. In a healthy democracy that CORD fundamentals are supposedly built on, is a good sign of maturity and free speech space. CORD supporters should take pride in having space where one is allowed to express himself and challenge the leader.
What a better time for this debate to come than now when Jubilee leadership in Central Kenya has sent a stark warning to all aspirants that vying on any party other than JAP and supporting anyone other than President Uhuru would be severely consequential. This shows the minimal democratic space within the party, exhibiting dictatorial tendencies.
By CORD having space for anyone to raise a voice and challenge the de facto leader is a good move in the right way. The times of ‘ndio baba’ Moi era politics is long gone and should never make a comeback. Presidential nominations for CORD should be fair, Raila is not the ordained candidate, the coalition’s secretariat has made it clear that the candidate would be picked through a constitutional process. Weta as a hopeful is right in fighting for his space. As an art of war, deal with the biggest threats first.
As to whether Wetangula has the muscle might to head CORD and win elections is another matter. The Senator has been fumbling with no firm position on his political future, as we had reported earlier on a Kenya Insights Weta is also eyeing the Nairobi gubernatorial seat. Close sources confide in me that he’s financially limping and would take up any attractive deal including joining Jubilee. If Ababu with all that my DNA is ODM and his blood incompatible with Jubilee shenanigans changed overnight what can stop Weta?
Talking of which politics and politicians are about securing personal interests, that’s the unwritten law, and there’s nothing wrong politicians will see in shifting allegiances as long as their interests are guaranteed. What’s wrong with joining Jubilee after all? Let Weta dance and let Raila fight for his place, and it should never be a silver plate service.
The EACC (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission) chairman, Philip Kinisu has come out strongly to defy calls for resignation after a company he owns, Esaki Communications Ltd, was found to have conducted business with the troubled NYS where Kshs.791 million was lost. His company received over 35 million shillings to supply NYS with borehole materials.
Kinisu, who is the ‘former’ director of Esaki Limited, a company associated with his wife and daughter, claims the tender awarded to the firm was won before NYS woes. He chairs the EACC, which hurriedly cleared the former Devolution CS Ann Waiguru from NYS scandals only to repeat their shoddy job after Kabura affidavit.
The structures in this country are too eroded to fight corruption, how was a controversial figure like Kinisu appointed to head EACC. Other than corruption watchdog, he also chairs ‘a nonprofit’ organisation, Africa Population and Health whose operations are being questioned by NGOs Coordination Board (NCB)
Sources close to KI revealed that NCB Executive Director Fazul Mohamed wrote to the spy chief Philip Kameru asking him to investigate the organisation for diversion of donor aid, money laundering and regulatory misconduct. The NGO received over five million shillings in the past three years.
“The allegations against the company and me are unsubstantiated. We have been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion by the deliberate manner in which these matters have been framed and orchestrated. Corruption is sophisticated and compelling. My experience through these events has shown that even those who should be on the right side are easily swayed to become angels of the devil”, Mr Kinisu said. He also added that resigning would set a wrong precedent, a classic response of ‘corrupt’ Kenyans.
There are many qualified Kenyans without ‘integrity issues’ who can serve in the capacity he is serving even better. Opportunity to serve Kenyans is a privilege and the moment one becomes a questionable character like him, the honourable thing to do is to resign. It’s insane to put the nation through a series of lame dramas quoting irrelevant sections of the law just to buy time and prevent thorough investigations.
Even if the company was not adversely mentioned in the alleged scandal that saw NYS lose 792 million, the fact it is owned by the EACC boss raises many questions about the possibility of conflict in interest. Surprisingly, companies associated with Kinisu are under investigations by the DCI, Assets Recovery Agency and the Kenya Revenue Authority over their dealings with the troubled NYS. Kinisu is not ethically fit to stay in office. Kenya is sick of individuals like him leading from behind.
L-R DP William Ruto, President Uhuru amd Ann Waiguru share a plartform during a past state function
Ms Ann Waiguru, a once powerful figure in Jubilee government where she headed the devolution ministry, is back in the news. Despite massive backing from Statehouse, Waiguru succumbed to public pressure and resigned following allegations that she masterminded theft of up to Sh.791M from the NYS coffers.
Waiguru was sold out by her proxy Kabura, a hairdresser that she planted in the syphoning scheme and later ousted her in a scathing affidavit that is still under investigations by the EACC, she particular mentioned Waiguru as the chief architect of the mass looting.
On her resignation, Waiguru went on water testing overdrive in the political world. She held several meetings and had made her interest in Nairobi’s gubernatorial race open. Her entrance into the already crowded arena with political heavyweights caused immense unease within the Jubilee faction who are determined to grab the seat from CORD- sponsored Kidero.
Jubilee is still torn on who to give the ticket between Sakaja, Waweru or Wanjiru, who’re equally strong candidates. After deliberations, Waiguru strategically drew back and went on to keep a low profile. According to Kenya Insights sources planted at the house in the hill, Waiguru was advised to drop her bid for Nairobi and promised Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat with statehouse support.
This was stamped over the weekend when a Statehouse official attached to Waiguru, Mr Patrick Ngatia, publicly announced at a function in Kirinyaga that Statehouse had endorsed her for the county’s gubernatorial seat. Even though Waiguru herself steered off from directly admitting, the subliminal message was home.
Former Devolution CS Ann Waiguru
Thanks to this meeting, the loudly mouthed Ngatia revealed that Statehouse was still treating Waiguru with executive privileges including security details, and State officers still accompany her to different functions. “The State House has not forsaken Ms Waiguru, and that is why she is always assigned an official from the seat of power to accompany her wherever she goes.” Mr Ngatia is a senior staff member in the Political Affairs Division in Statehouse.
Waiguru ceased being a State employee on her resignation and shouldn’t be legible to such a like privileges which contravene laws and exposing abuse of power. Not a single cent of taxpayers money should be spent on her in the capacity of an official unless she’s serving under unknown position.
NYS looting scandal is still undergoing investigations, and Waiguru maintains innocence. She boasts of having won over ten awards in her three-year tenure, and it goes without mentioning that it’s within these three years of her tenure that NYS lost nearly Sh 1B in fraudulent deals that sworn affidavits link her to.
Nairobi, 16th July 2016 – Kenya has started evacuating her nationals from South Sudan following a surge in insecurity and violence in the world’s newest nation.
The announcement was made by Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs PS, Monica Juma.
PS Monica Juma: Government of Kenya begins the evacuation process of Kenya stranded in South Sudan due to skirmishes pic.twitter.com/KotANBH5bd
— ForeignAffairsKenya (@ForeignOfficeKE) July 16, 2016
PS Monica Juma: Kenya Amb to S.Sudan Amb Cleland Leshore is leading the evacuation process in Juba pic.twitter.com/YAEN0xxt5d
— ForeignAffairsKenya (@ForeignOfficeKE) July 16, 2016
Kenya’s evacuation begun on Friday with one 1 plane and at least 100 people making it home. Two more flights are expected to head to Kenya with more people.
There has been growing anger towards the Kenyan Government from all corners for taking too long to act.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has also warned Kenyans against travelling to South Sudan.
PS Monica Juma: Kenyans are advised against non-essential travel to South Sudan until further notice pic.twitter.com/EdTGaiTxIu
— ForeignAffairsKenya (@ForeignOfficeKE) July 16, 2016
CCTV Africa has reported that at least 2 Kenyans have been killed in the violence.
Sudan and Uganda have been evacuating their nationals since Wednesday amidst fears that fighting may intensify between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his Vice President Riek Machar.
The recent security deterioration in South Sudan has been occasioned a conflict between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar last week July 8. At least 300 people, mainly soldiers have been killed in the latest spate of violence.
Politics is as Barack Obama would call it, silly season but in Kenya, its silliest of seasons and it would seem all year(s) long! With 2017 fast approaching all manner of games, trivia, lies and stories are being told to a bemused public. Known agents of Jubilee are standing authoritatively in CoRD press conferences waxing lyrical about political parties, communities and democracy.
This is more than ridiculous.
Ababu’s games that have been known to only but a few over the years, have progressed and now reached their crescendo and presumably climaxed. But who is this Mr Namwamba?
I love Kenyan psychology. Simple tricks are played on the unsuspecting public to hoodwink commoners and emasculate the truth. But the truth is always hiding in plain sight and people have reputations and histories.
The rumor mill in Kenya is seldom wrong, yet purveyors of impunity will lambast truth tellers and dismissively call them ‘rumor mongers’…it’s a technique well tried, tested and perfected by Moi in the KANU years who would dismiss Wangari Maathai (a great woman) as a ‘mad woman’ to the amusement and roaring laughter of wananchi at a public holiday rally.
It is through rumors that we knew Ouko had disappeared. It is through rumors we are aware Ababu was not trustworthy at the University of Nairobi and reportedly did his exams under police escort for his own safety.
During the swearing-in ceremony of early 2008, the entire Kenya was treated to pseudo comedy from a young first time MP swearing allegiance to Raila as the “elected president”, never mind Mwai Kibaki commander-in-chief was in the House, also for swearing in. Most thought “…wow what a loyal junior this one.” I watched carefully, on the face of it quite remarkable and cute but as they say time reveals everything.
The ‘establishment’ elements too have eyes and more ears, and they had taken note of this fellow. It wasn’t long before his name was all over the ‘maize scandal’ and a curious dalliance with Agriculture minister William Ruto keenly noted by all and sundry. But because politicians assume and ‘know’ that Kenyans are foolish, Ababu continued to front the ‘I am more ODM than anyone’ mask and to talk tough and to baptize himself “Generali.” And Raila allowed it.
Tinga wants to be president so bad, and is so under siege from many corners of the establishment that he’s always overwhelmed, outfoxed and in crisis. While knowing Ababu was compromised, he kept playing games with him, feeding him cookies and stroking his ego until ‘Men-in-Black’ happened on his watch. The party had been infiltrated and the take-over had to be stopped, violently and in broad daylight.
Meanwhile, Ababu had been chastised, rebuked and thrown out of the leadership of the Legal Affairs Committee in parliament and no media channel has cared to look carefully at his record and facts. Somehow he weaved his way as an ‘ODM loyalist’ and landed the plum position of chairperson Parliamentary Accounts Committee PAC a most cherished and coveted perch.
Alas, screwed up investigations ensued on sensitive topics (e.g., Hustler Jet and guess who the subject was?!) before Ababu again was bundled out in ignominy on crazy allegations of bribe taking and finger pointing in the same committee but not before going to his party leaders house to brief him on goings-on and while at it taped him secretly!
Recently, social media smoked out Ababu and mainstream media followed suit asking where is the ODM SG? Without breaking a sweat and being the liar he has proven to be the young politician quickly put out that he’s been on paternity leave, has young children and a young wife and all is honky dory.
Except that it’s not! Soon he clarified that he’s been absent because his conscience is so clear about IEBC that he doesn’t accept the unlawful methods of street demonstrations…after which he called the press to assert that he is not a cry baby, before finally declaring that he is frustrated upon realizing that his office has no powers and that the “gun he was given has no bullets!” All this, in a span of 6 weeks.
Kenyans like me are tired.
We are tired of rubbish. We abhor tribal politics and the naked manipulation, upending, blackmail and fallacy that go with it. We are well aware that our childish political culture impoverishes our people. We are tired of a lazy media that chooses to focus on Ababu carrying a mwiko and printing new tee shirts for his villagers than digging into the heart and core of issues.
Theatrics! We are tired of impunity. Of grown men, so scared like little children, unable to muster the courage to walk out of a party (any party) they fundamentally disagree with but choose to sit tight and serve two masters. We are tired of Tumbocracy masquerading as Democracy. Political players don’t care what the political parties act says, they don’t read the constitution they only want chopper rides, bags of money and big 4X4s to dazzle peasants in the constituency.
After almost 10 years, no Kenyan can identify one solid legislation crafted, drafted and advocated by Ababu Namwamba, nor any policy direction he pushed as minister or otherwise. Kenyan politics is about tricks, lies, deception and gimmicks. This must stop. Ababu is so busted. Fare thee well.
The writer is a social commentator and a governance adviser
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]
Integrity House, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Nairobi
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has apparently embarked on a cat and mouse games in dealing with the Chickengate probe- the Sh.52M bribery scandal involving National Exams Council and the electoral commission. The EACC Chairman Philip Kinisu in February promised that the investigations into the matter would be concluded in under a month.
On March 18, the EACC boss Halakhe Waqo appearing before a parliamentary committee said that the report was finished, and he would forward the files to DPP Tobiko for the prosecution of those involved by 30th June. As it turned out, this was all a bluff, and the commission seems to have done zero investigations or is sitting on the report.
The scandal involved inflation of ballot papers prices as part of the kickbacks from the UK’s printing firm, Smith and Ouzman Ltd in the heights to 2013 elections. IEBC Chairman Issack Hassan tops the list of Kenyan officials who ‘ate’ the chicken. Others named in the scandal Davis Chirchir, an IEBC Commissioner then (he was rewarded with Energy CS post in Jubilee and was later sacked over graft allegations), James Oswago, Gladys Boss Shollei.
While the Kenyan counterparts are roaming free with no fear, a London court sentenced two directors of the printing company involved in the bribery scandal to jail. UK government even handed over the files and pieces of evidence they used to imprison the bribing US firm to the Kenyan authorities. EACC was tasked to investigate then forward files to the DPP.
Mentioned in the Chickengate scandal. From left: Mr Davis Chirchir, former Energy CS; Paul Wasanga, former KNEC
EACC is yet to do what they were mandated to do. Less can be written home about EACC effectiveness, countable or no prominent graft case that they’ve successfully solved. In the latest budgetary allocations, EACC got Sh. 2B more to their kitty. Kenya loses approximately Sh. 700B annually to corruption and most, if not all of it, is never recovered.
The anti-graft commission has been actively viewed as a pro graft body with critics saying it’s not free from executive control.
In the height of NYS scandal, EACC did ‘investigations’ and gave the then Devolution CS Ann Waiguru a clean bill of health. It later turned out money was lost in NYS and the ‘clean’ Waiguru was named as the mastermind of the nearly a billion-shilling rip off scheme.
Some people jokingly refer to EACC as the clearing commission, a quick refuge for the graft kings.
They rush here for clearance after looting. The legitimacy, reputation and integrity of the anti-graft body is highly questionable and leaves more to desire. The CEO Halakhe has also been named in several scandals with many critics accusing him of being subject to compromise by the corruption cartel.
Why is it taking EACC long to act on the Chickengate scandal, what more do they need when the UK government already made work easier and handed them over the evidence for the prosecution and nailing the suspects.
From Left Kidero, Speaker Muturi and Wetangula share a platform during a functiuon
In politics, they say a day is like a century and that there are no permanent enemies, interests dictate nature of relationships in this game. Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba, who at one point in life stated his DNA is ODM/Raila that nothing other than death would change that finally resigned from the party’s top leadership organ as the Secretary General.
The youthful politician had been tipped to dump the party, kept a distance from all key events the party sketched in recent times from much hyped Saba Saba rally last year to anti-IEBC demos last months. According to the political corridors, the fashionista legislator had gone to bed with the new Mr money bags in town, DP Ruto and it was only a matter of time before he could bolt out to join him in shadows.
The two have a relationship that dates back to campus days when Ababu a then student leader at the University of Nairobi struck a deal with DP Ruto. Those privies to their relationship mumble that he supplied him with merchandise, in this case, rule out drugs and fill in the blanks. Back to the matter at hand, there has been credible dismay that CORD top organs could disintegrate in the run-up to general elections.
Governor Evans Kidero
Musyoka is resolute to be on the ballot, by all means, Raila there’s no debate about it, he’s a taking his last shot at the presidency. Wetangula on the other side according to my sleuths, is financially guillotined to run a presidential campaign to the end and feels his current stature in politics doesn’t rightfully allow him to stick to a lesser luxurious Senatorial seat.
According to my highly placed and impeccable sources in the political shells, the Bungoma litigant cum politician is scheming on taking the lucrative Nairobi gubernatorial seat currently held by ODM’s highly maintained figure, Kidero.
A very close confidant to Wetangula and his circles is telling me, the CORD co-principal is more than determined to topple Kidero. “The plot is at an advanced stage, Kidero must take a backseat, and we’re more than prepared and confident we will get the seat, and Raila must give us his blessings.” Says the mole.
The senator from information reaching me has petitioned the Cord leader, Raila Odinga to sacrifice the incumbent in his favour. This is coming at a time when Raila’s support base in Western is undergoing surgery. His close defendant Namwamba together with Otuoma latest leaders to show discontent and shifting loyalty from him and party. Wetangula could be using this as a blackmail strategy on Raila as a bargaining tool to stay in CORD.
Wetangula and DP Ruto sharing a light moment
As a crafty strategy, Wetangula has been getting close underneath with Kidero’s inner circles. “His friendship with the governor has miraculously, tightened in the past few months, funny he doesn’t have any idea Weta is salivating for his seat.” A source at city hall confides in me.
Wetangula’s entrance into the Nairobi highly contested seat now adds to the array of gun tooting candidates, Senator Mike Sonko, MP Dennis Waweru, Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja, Miguna Miguna and Margret Wanjiru, who’ve both publicly shown their interest in the seat.
Jubilee has vowed to take over the position from ODM in the coming elections in what DP Ruto described as ‘by all all means, through crook and hook’. Weta’s entrance and demands to have Kidero out introduce a new pressure within the already pressurised coalition.
Obviously, Kidero, who’s amongst biggest financiers of the ODM party, wouldn’t be naturally easy with the thought of relegation.
Whether Kidero is aware of Weta’s sungura schemes or not is but a guess, what he does with the information that he now has at determines his way forward as he gathers his strength to retain the seat of everyone’s envy.
On the 23rd of June, Human Rights advocate Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwendwa and their taxi driver Joseph Muiruri disappeared after Kimani and Mwendwa had attended court in Mavoko over police brutality on Mwendwa, who had been shot by police earlier. Having received many threats on his life, Kimani braved to assist his client in the case.
The last that it was heard, Kimani had dropped a ‘we’re in danger’ note to be delivered to his wife, whose number he had written on the note. A boda boda operator allegedly picked the note near Syokimau police container and reached the wife via phone. The boda boda operator and the note remains the only relevant links to the story
Immediately the news hit the airwaves, and pressure started pilling coming from both the civil society and lawyers’ association in which Kimani was a member, the Flying Squad, which is widely suspected of engaging in extrajudicial killings, in the past took up the case. This move doesn’t seem to have gone well with the US envoy.
FBI Agents
The Flying Squad has been checking phone records and looking at footage from roadside surveillance cameras to identify where the three might have been taken. Human rights activists predicted that several officers, including the one connected to the first shooting, would soon be arrested.
The International Justice Mission, the American legal aid group that employed Mr Kimani and had been representing Mr Mwenda in his court cases, is a well-connected Christian organisation. Within hours of the three men vanishing, the American Embassy in Nairobi received several messages from Washington asking diplomats to look into the case.
US envoy, Godec unitedly with other foreign diplomats in Kenya piled pressure on the state to speed up investigations and that no loophole should be left untouched. In the meantime, FBI agents stationed in Kenya had hit the ground running and led the investigations and search for the missing three persons. An extra troop of detectives were sent from Washington to join their colleagues.
DCI Muhoro when he appeared before the court on Tuesday
The US government funds the police in millions of dollars of security assistance to Kenya each year, including training and equipment to police officers.
One American official, talking to New York Times, said the Kenyan police clearly still had problems and that continued cooperation would be influenced by how much improvement the Kenyans make.
An estimated sixty people were killed by the police in the month of June alone, with the numbers going up instead of reducing, according to several NGO reports. UN has also added their voice to the worrying rate of extra-judicial killings in the country. They’ve called upon the government to ensure perpetrators are brought to book.
Noticeably, the West hasn’t been as vocal on extrajudicial killings until the latest event. According to sleuths in Statehouse speaking to Kenya Insights, the pressure is like never before. White House is stopping at nothing and committed to seeing those involved brought to books.
The suspected officers; Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Chebulet, Leonard Maina Mwangi and Silvia Wanjiku appeared at the Milimani Law courts on Monday
As a consequence, the Director of Criminal Investigations amongst other senior officers were forced to appear before a Nairobi court to give sureties that other extra-judicial killers will be arrested. Many contributors have pointed fingers at Muhoro’s department as being responsible for such killings. The Law Society is calling for his resignation together with the Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet.
The US government and Western community are so determined to pursue the course. FBI agents are leading the investigations and a comprehensive report tying Mavoko three killers and the killer unit expected to be available in a fortnight.
A fourth suspect, an AP was arrested on Monday now making the number of officers arrested to be four. Prosecution applied for the speedy start to the case of the murdered and appointed four prosecutors to guide investigations.
One wonders if the outstanding efforts to unravel the murderers of the three would have happened without Western intervention and more specifically the US. Ironically, when the DCI Muhoro appeared before the court on Tuesday to answer on the extra-judicial killings, he was with a purple ribbon. The ribbon is tagged on activists and lawyers to signify their support for the unlawful killings by the police.
ODM Party leader, Raila Odinga met the rebelling party’s Secretary General, Ababu Namwamba over allegations that he was decamping to Jubilee and discussing party issues in the media. The talks don’t seem to have mended emerging rift with some party MPs from Western region threatening to walk out.
Namwamba, for instance, has threatened to quit his post while Paul Otuoma has resigned from the vice-chairperson position but remains a member of the party. Otuoma has complained of being undermined, and Namwamba complained of being frustrated and said there are ‘critical’ issues that should be addressed.
It remains a mystery what the so-called core issues are that party officials at the positions of Namwamba or Otuoma cannot find mechanisms to resolve but instead opt to resign.
Ababu, who is Budalang’i MP, claims he joined the opposition party believing the people’s personal and national dreams would be fulfilled.
“If the goals of the population of Busia are not getting met in this party, we will make a different decision,” he said in Bukalama on Saturday.
What is surprising is their decisions to resign from their party positions and not quit the party immediately. If the party is failing on its agenda, the leadership of that party is to blame; Ababu and Otuoma make that ‘failing’ leadership.
Actual generals fight dangerous wars daily and not quit, Edwin Sifuna a stronger supporter of the Party Leader, Raila Odinga said in an interview. Sifuna, who also stated that Ababu is only a Secretary General on paper is a critic of Ababu and crew, he also added that the team has been ‘bought’ and are headed to Jubilee. There are no serious issues raised by Ababu but mere shenanigans and mind games.
Ababu, who had been criticised as an ‘absentee leader, ‘ has been missing from key CORD events including the protests to reform the current IEBC. He, however, responded that he is an independent thinker who does not believe in the party playing politics all the time.
A classic response of a rebelling politician. They become independent after using parties popular in their regions to get to parliament but never run as independent candidates. Ababu is a hustling politician who doesn’t seem to play his role in the party; before his selection as the secretary general he blackmailed the public and questioned democracy in the party after sensing stiff competition amid claims that he is a Jubilee mole.
He claims that he has been frustrated, and he wants to move where he is appreciated and tolerated. Everyone is waiting to see where he is headed, but the deputy president William Ruto has been linked to a plan by some ODM lawmakers led by Ababu to take over Julia Ojiambo’s Labour Party of Kenya. A source privy to Kenya Insights said that there’s a plan by the DP to have Luhya people decamp from ODM, join LPK and later to deal with Ruto’s URP.
As things stand now, Ababu’s role as the Secretary-General is substantially impaired as he looks headed to Jubilee where he will only be seen as a follower. On his own, he is ‘a small person’ who will only be given a party to bargain with Jubilee.
He was one time ODM’s rising star, but his image was dealt a blow when he was accused of receiving money from corrupt politicians to hide PAC (Public Accounts Committee) reports that he once chaired.
When he wanted to become the Secretary General he claimed to have been with the party since it was founded, he understood the challenges and how to deal with them but what happened after he tasted power and got hungrier for more? He is now more of ‘a political hustler’ looking for means and ways to bargain with those in the authority.
His stake in ODM cannot grant him that. One can hardly believe that the Ababu today is the same guy who once described ODM as their party that he cherished deeply. He claimed to be a battle-hardened individual (valour in a battle) in many ways especially when their victory was ‘stolen’ in 2007. Where is that man to deal with the frustrations or ‘crisis’? Instead, he’s exposing the country to cheap politics of a rebelling politician who can’t officially defect and face the music that comes it.
There has been telltale of the government gagging the internet citing security issues. Most recently, the system has hinted at a possible stiff Internet regulation policies ahead of the 2017 elections.
With internet accessibility in the country continuing to skyrocket and many rely on the web for information, the growing number of users, regulating content is a nearly impossible task.
NCIC has warned that social media is the new platform in which hatemongers propagate tribal hatred and are seeking ways in which to regulate social media use. Initially, oppressive article 19 was used to muzzle voices, but it has since been overruled as being unconstitutional. The government is determined to regulate the internet, and all the signs are in the air.
The move by Kenya in joining other dictatorial regimes in the bid to have the government be a key player in regulating the Internet use is causing fear for the future as Kenya heads to 2017 elections. In Uganda, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ally Yoweri Museveni shut down the internet and messaging services as the country held their general elections.
The authoritarian president claimed an open internet was a threat to national security during the period.
The United Nations officially condemned the practice of countries shutting down access to the internet at a meeting of the Human Rights Council on Friday.
A resolution entitled The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet extends human rights held offline to the web. Consensus passed it, but only after a determined effort by some countries, including China and Russia, to pull out key parts of the text.
In particular, some states – notably by their authoritarian stances – were opposed to the resolution’s focus on the need for an accessible and open internet, and its condemnation of violations against people for expressing their views online. A vote planned for Thursday was delayed until Friday after the issue became heated.
Protesters fighting for freedom of speech
Some were surprised by the 13 other countries that lined up with Russia and China to delete the text on ensuring access to the internet. Among such authoritarian regimes as Saudi Arabia and Qatar were also democracies including India and South Africa.
Likewise on a second amendment to remove references to freedom of expression. Russia and China were joined by 15 other countries including India, Kenya and South Africa.
“We are disappointed that democracies like South Africa, Indonesia, and India voted in favour of these hostile amendments to weaken protections for freedom of expression online,” said Thomas Hughes, the executive director of Article 19, a charity focused on protecting free speech. He added: “The resolution is a much-needed response to increased pressure on freedom of expression online in all parts of the world.”
Resolutions
That person has the same rights online as offline, “in particular freedom of speech, which is applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one’s choice.”
Those human rights violations enacted against people due to making their views known online are “condemned unequivocally,” and states are held accountable for any such violations.
Any measures to “intentionally prevent or disrupt access” to the internet are also “condemned unequivocally,” and all states should “refrain from and cease such actions.”
In effect, that means that the expanding use of Internet shutdowns by governments claiming national security issues or even, in the case of Iraq, to prevent exam cheating, will now go against formal UN policy.
If all these signs have anything to go by then freedom of expression and access to information on a population that consumes heavily from the internet, Kenyans should look ahead for business unusual in coming days, weeks, months and years.
Former Director of Digital communication Mr.Dennis Itumbi
Following consistent complaints from online and offline users over poor communication strategies, President Uhuru has eventually disbanded the Itumbi led a team. According to the memo signed by the deputy head of Public service, the directors were shown red card over concerns of unstructured communication and a series of gaffes.
The affected directors include The Senior Director Public Communications, Minyori Buku, Digital and Diaspora Communications Director, Dennis Itumbi, Head of Messaging docket at the Presidency, Eric Ng’eno and James Kinyua, who handled the Branding and Events Directorate in the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit(PSCU).
Reports also indicate the disbanded team has since been denied access to State House.
Manoah Esipisu retains his position as the State House spokesperson and head of communication.
According to insiders, there has been a mileage disconnection between the Itumbi’s team and Manoah’s. Critics have maintained that PSCU was an amateurish team and often used for pushing propaganda and unjust wars. The latest being the response to NY Times and Nominated senator Njoroge on 2022 COMMENT.
Veteran journalist Macharia recently described the unit as forever snapping at its heels. In a punchline directed at them, Gaitho slammed, “there’s more to communications than insults and big words.” PSCU is known for giving anger field statements primarily oriented towards the opposition. Communications analysts have faulted their strategies.
According to a highly placed source, the Presidency was concerned over the increasing cases of unstructured communications that have been sent out in the recent past.
PSCU will, however, according to State House, be reconstituted in the shortest time possible, with emphasis on more organised communication.
Elsewhere, from those close to Itumbi and team, the disbandment has been rushed following their opposition to the recommendations of the National Security Council to have the social media sphere be regulated. The council is plotting on implementing stiff regulations on online users as the country goes to elections next year. Itumbis have been arguing that such policies need public participation to draft contrary to the NSC recommendations.
Those in the circles say Itumbi and PSCU team can come in handy in discharging propaganda agenda a critical campaign tool that will come in handy for the Jubilee team. There are high chances the disbandment is a strategic move to relocate the team to another communication organ in the campaigns secretariat
Director of Digital communication Mr.Dennis Itumbi
Following the New York Times article that the Statehouse fiercely criticised for painting the President in the wrong image by linking him to Mungiki network that led to the Post election massacre, Itumbi has not been left out.
The Government’s Digital Strategist has threatened to sue the international publication for naming him in the article in a bad light. In the item, Dennis was mentioned as having been part of a network that ICC prosecution accused of interfering with witnesses.
In the collapse of all the six cases, the prosecution argued their investigations and evidence collection was dealt a blow with massive witnesses’ interference.
Most witnesses recanted testimonies either from intimidation, bribery and some disappeared mysteriously while some died in unexplained circumstances, this is according to the ICC prosecution.
In his defence to New York Times, Itumbi argues he was given a clean bill of health by the ICC over witnesses’ interference, and the prosecution accused and filed for his arrest for the same offence but he was exonerated. In the onset of the circus, Itumbi was alleged to have hacked the ICC portal and gained entry into the witnesses’ database and used the obtained information to coordinate witness interferences.
President Uhuru and his Deputy Ruto were amongst the six suspects accused of orchestrating the 2007/8 Post Elections Violence that left nearly 2000 people dead and hundreds of thousands persons displaced.
In a research conducted by Kenya Insights online, we managed to retrieve some posts made by Itumbi that dates back to 2011 when he allegedly revealed identities of witnesses publicly contrary to international standards of witness protection and right to remain anonymous.
Meshack Yebei was found dead under unclear circumstances, Prosecution said he was a crucial witness
Luis Moreno Ocampo the former Prosecutor of the ICC
New York Times’ James Verini did a month’s long investigated story looking into how International Criminal Court (ICC) embodied the hope of bringing warlords and demagogues to justice. The story then goes to see how the then Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo took on the heir to Kenya’s most powerful political dynasty. The article, which has since gone viral, is causing stomach upsets amongst those severely mentioned. President Kenyatta has bashed the magazine for being inconsiderate terming the publication a falsehood and done in bad faith.
President Kenyatta from the onset has been a fierce critic of the court where he was charged alongside the famous Ocampo six for crimes against humanity. All the suspects have since been exonerated with the last defendants to escape noose being his counterpart in Jubilee government Deputy President William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua Sang.
Uhuru Kenyatta’s rise coincided with the rise of Mungiki, the group Moreno-Ocampo would later accuse him of conspiring with in the post-election violence, writes James Verini. Started as a tribal revivalist movement, Mungiki grew into a militaristic political fraternity and then into a criminal gang. Around the time Mungiki fought to take over the lucrative private bus lines that are the primary form of transport in Kenya, in the early 2000s, the gang staged a massacre in northern Nairobi that left severed heads scattered in the streets.
Uhuru Kenyatta Follows proceedings at the ICC
By then, Mungiki was being described as a “state within a state,” with up to two million members, according to reports. They swore an oath of loyalty to the Kikuyu tribe and the Mungiki leader, a charismatic, ruthless man known as Maina Njenga. According to the ICC, new recruits “were told they would be killed if they violated the oath or left the organisation.” When clashes broke out between Kikuyu and other tribes, Njenga dispatched his men to fight.
He also persuaded politicians to take the Mungiki oath. Paul Muite, a Member of Parliament at the time and now a lawyer who represents Njenga and other members of Mungiki, which is still active, told me that almost every Kikuyu politician of consequence he knew during that era took the oath. For Njenga, it was “a way of collecting” power, Muite says. According to Muite and a former lieutenant of Njenga’s with whom NY Times spoke to, one of the politicians who took the oath, before becoming president, was Kibaki.
Some Mungiki members, including Njenga, supported Kenyatta’s 2002 presidential campaign. Kenyatta denounced the group and would later tell Moreno-Ocampo in court that “I have always publicly condemned and stated that I have no association whatsoever with Mungiki.” Njenga’s former lieutenant, however, described to me a series of meetings he attended with Kenyatta and Njenga in 2002, saying that Kenyatta was friendly with Mungiki. But, he added, Kenyatta didn’t like or trust Njenga.
In the 2007 election, Kenyatta did not run, instead supporting Kibaki in his race against Raila Odinga. By the close of Election Day, two days after Christmas, the vote was too close to call. The count was delayed. The tally centre in Nairobi was mysteriously broken into. Then on Dec. 30, the government suddenly announced Kibaki had won. He was hurriedly sworn in, and a media blackout was imposed. Odinga instructed his followers to protest. By New Year’s Day, Kikuyu were being slaughtered. Mungiki began striking back in January.
Former Mungiki Leader Maina Njenga
The government did little to stop the post-election violence, but afterwards, it set up a commission of inquiry. Known as the Waki Commission, it issued a 529-page report in October 2008. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, an autonomous government agency, published a comparably exhaustive report.
Each was damning. Officials in Odinga’s party had planned violence months in advance, while envoys of President Kibaki met with Mungiki to plan retaliatory attacks. Security agents and the police had conspired with the gang. “There were no good guys,” a Waki commissioner, Pascal Kambale, told me. “There were only bad guys.”
Moreno-Ocampo, who monitored the violence as it was happening, travelled to Nairobi to speak with Kibaki. He encouraged Kibaki to refer Kenya to the ICC, as Congo and Uganda had made referrals. Government capacity wasn’t the problem, Moreno-Ocampo knew. Kenya was capable of trying the suspects.
Uhuru Kenyatta in one of his ICC appearances at the Hague Court
The problem was as it had been in Argentina: The government was the criminal. And not only the government. The National Commission on Human Rights report listed more than 200 suspected inciters and funders of the violence, including presidential cabinet members, legislators, businessmen, shopkeepers, farmers. In a moment of collective insanity, Kenyan society had turned on itself.
Still, Moreno-Ocampo continued to press Kenyan officials to begin prosecutions. In 2009, the Kenyan Parliament voted against a tribunal — unsurprisingly, as the Parliament itself was full of suspects — and Moreno-Ocampo requested that the ICC judges allow him to open an investigation. They did. It was the first time he invoked his power to seek charges on his authority, without a referral.
In a part, the magazine reflects back to Kenyatta senior reign, After Jomo was freed and elected president of an independent Kenya in 1964, his revolutionary impulses didn’t persist. He stocked the government and businesses with family members and fellow Kikuyu.
The Waki report didn’t name Kenyatta, but the National Commission on Human Rights report did, saying that he reportedly “attended meetings to plan for retaliatory violence by the Kikuyus” and “contributed funds.” Kenyatta was considered by many Kikuyu, including many Mungiki, to be their leader, and was understood to be the richest man in the country. If anyone had the motivation and funds to back an ethnic war, Moreno-Ocampo’s investigators reasoned, it was Kenyatta.
Maina Njenga in company of CORD lEADER rAILA oDINGA SHOWING HIS WOUNDS AFTER A FAILED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE THAT LEFT HIS AIDES KILLED
The court considered charging Maina Njenga, the Mungiki sect Chairman. When Njenga was questioned by Kenyan investigators, he pleaded ignorance. But to the ICC investigators, he came clean. He detailed the structure of his organisation and its role in the violence. Njenga claimed to his lawyer, Paul Muite, that he had personally administered the Mungiki oath of loyalty to Kenyatta, though whether Njenga told this to ICC investigators is unclear. Njenga was “very forthright,” Muite told NY Times, and he later agreed to testify in The Hague.
In a punchy conclusion, the writer notes having spoken to a former Mungiki high ranked leader, like many Kenyans he was talking with, says he regrets the violence but believes it was necessary. The Kikuyu, his tribe, faced a massacre, he is convinced. The last time we met, I asked if he thought Kenyatta was guilty of the ICC charges.
A Luo PEV Victim displaying his wounds to a NY Times photographer
He recounted a meeting he attended in January 2008, in the midst of the postelection violence, where Kenyatta was the chief guest and Mungiki were present. In the meeting, Kenyatta was careful never to mention violence explicitly nor the gang by name. But he collected cash donations. I asked the former lieutenant if it was possible Kenyatta did not understand violence was being planned.
In his latest appointments, President Uhuru Kenyatta has revoked the appointment of Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Chairman David Kimaiyo. In a gazette notice dated June 24, the President appointed retired Chief of Defence Forces Julius Karangi to replace the former police boss. Mr Kimaiyo has held the position since December 31, 2014.
Former legislators have also been rewarded with positions in state corporations. Former Changamwe MP Ramadhan Kajembe, who has since fallen out with ODM and Raila, has been rewarded as the new Kenya Ferry Services chair. Former Rarieda MP Raphael Tuju will now be the head of Lake Basin Development Authority a position that he takes from TNA’s Secretary General, Onyango Oloo.
Ronald Osumba, who contested the 2013 elections as the running mate of Kenya National Congress’s Peter Kenneth, has been appointed Youth Fund board chairperson.
Former NACADA Chair, John Mututho was transferred to Transport Licensing Appeals Board. Former Committee of Experts chairman Nzamba Kitonga as the chair of Council for Legal Education. Suspended Labour Cabinet secretary Kazungu Kambi appointed as the chairperson of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF). Kambi was linked to corruption deals at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and the EACC recommended for him to be charged withgraft. He’s yet to clear his name.
Former Bumula MP Bifwoli Wakoli
Former Bumula MP Bifwoli Wakoli, who had earlier declared his support for Jubilee, has been named to chair the Agricultural Development Cooperation while Patrick Osero, a close ally and business partner to Deputy President William Ruto is the new Tourism Finance Corporation Board chairperson.
Patrick Osero is implicated in a land grabbing scandal of 1200 acres in Ruai meant for Nairobi County Gov’t Sewerage using a company called RENTON Co. LTD. Osero is also listed as one of the directors of Weston Hotel and at a point during the helm of Langata Primary School land grab fiasco, he was named as the ‘owner’ of the hotel. The Deputy President after vehement denials later owned up and admitted ownership of the hotel.
Appointments to state corporations as country gears for the next general elections in months, couldn’t have happened at a better time when the president and the opposition are strategizing on how to capture votes. Historically, such appointments have been used to gain political favours, rewarding friends and not awarded necessarily on merits since the appointed are meant to return hand by campaigning in favour during the elections.
