Kenya Insights

Tag: Politics

  • OLAMBO: Is Ababu’s Star Dimming or About To Shine Brighter?

    OLAMBO: Is Ababu’s Star Dimming or About To Shine Brighter?

    ababu-namwamba-raila-1

    By Nicholas Olambo

    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.

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  • Kenya Joins Other Authoritarian Regimes in Switching off the Internet vote, UN Furious

    Kenya Joins Other Authoritarian Regimes in Switching off the Internet vote, UN Furious

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    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
    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.

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  • Uhuru Fires Dennis Itumbi, PSCU Team Kicked out of Statehouse

    Uhuru Fires Dennis Itumbi, PSCU Team Kicked out of Statehouse

    Former Director of Digital communication Mr.Dennis Itumbi
    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

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  • Are Fire Incidences In Kenyan Schools Orchestrated By Some Unseen Forces?

    Are Fire Incidences In Kenyan Schools Orchestrated By Some Unseen Forces?

    Education CS Fred Matiang'i during an assessment of Itierio boys' dormitories that were burned down
    Education CS Fred Matiang’i during an assessment of Itierio boys’ dormitories that were burned down

    In a single night, Itierio boys managed to reduce to ashes seven of their dormitories and then extend the destruction to public property. Reason? They were denied a chance to watch a Euro match because it was past the time allocated for entertainment.

    That would make sense, since we are an intolerant country and deal with vengeance anything that does not favour us, except there are a few questions that beg to be answered.

    For one, each day has seen a match being played past 10 pm ever since the Euros started. Why didn’t they go on a rampage to watch these other games that were being played past ‘lights off’? Secondly, and interestingly, you need more than just a box of matchsticks to bring SEVEN dormitories down to the ground in a single night.

    We will begrudgingly accept the fact that our children experiment with drugs and therefore would be well equipped with a box of matchsticks for their bhang escapades, but it is almost impossible to raze down seven buildings in a fit of anger if it is not pre-planned. There’s little we can do apart from waiting for the investigations to be concluded.

    Thirdly, and upon which this article is based, is that over 10 Kenyan schools have experienced fire incidents in the past three months plus numerous reports of student unrest. Is it a mere coincidence or there is some dark unseen forces inciting our students to turn against their institutions? If we are to go to the second school of thought, there is one fundamental question that must be asked- what do the dark forces stand to gain by having students burn down their schools? Or what message are they trying to send to the major players in the Kenyan education sector?

    Let us look at one of the cancerous problems engulfing the Kenyan education system and us as a country are almost accepting and moving on- exam cheating. In 2015, cases of exam cheating rose by over 70% from the previous year and saw the Kenya National Exams Council (KNEC) disbanded. Over 5,000 students had their results cancelled and most of them have re-registered to take the exams this year.

    Blame games sufficed and nobody seemed ready to accept responsibility for the scam. We were playing Ping-Pong with a generation’s future. But it would be stupid to claim that there are aggrieved exam cheats out there going around burning schools in a revenge mission. So let’s go deeper into the scam and look at the source of the problem, exam racketeers.

    Remains of Iterio Dorms after burning by students
    Remains of Iterio Dorms after burning by students

    The education ministry has shown enthusiasm in curbing exam cheating and has come up with punitive measures to deal with the menace. Prayer days have been banned, no half-terms in the third term, visiting days are not allowed, and there will be no social activities for boarding schools in the third term.

    While this doesn’t bother the big fish in the racket as they deal directly with the schools and teachers, it is atrocious news to the small time crooks (mostly university students) who use such forums to establish links with their targets.

    The bans are bad for business. To add salt to an injury, the exam period has been shortened from six weeks to four weeks, thereby giving the little time between papers to look for leakages for the next paper and send it to the candidates.

    In an ‘eye for an eye’ move, this group of people are travelling around the country inciting students to go on a rampage at the slightest provocation by their institutions. They do this during visiting days when schools open their gates, and there is little or no regulation as to who gets in.

    On the eve of Butula Boys’ visiting day for this term, a guy posted in a Whatsapp group- SONU Secretariat, that he was going to incite the students to strike the prayer day ban and wanted to know if anyone else would be going. There may be no hard evidence (for now) to prove this trail of thought, but it is a trail worth investigating.

    When people call themselves names such as ‘Bishop of Violence’, you must not underrate the extent of the damage they can cause.
    We can only speculate on how many schools have been checked into. For now, let’s hope that Education CS Fred Matiangi’s ban on transfers will be a deterrent on any yet to be carried out an arson attack on our schools.

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  • ARCHIVES: Did Dennis Itumbi Engage in ICC Witnesses Interference

    ARCHIVES: Did Dennis Itumbi Engage in ICC Witnesses Interference

    Director of Digital communication Mr.Dennis Itumbi
    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.

    itumbi1

    itumbi2
    Meshack Yebei was found dead under unclear circumstances, Prosecution said he was a crucial witness

    itumbi10 itumbi3 itumbi4 itumbi5 itumbi6 itumbi7 itumbi8 itumbi9

     

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  • President Uhuru Kenyatta Rise to Glory Coincided With Rise of Mungiki; New York Times Rattles Statehouse

    President Uhuru Kenyatta Rise to Glory Coincided With Rise of Mungiki; New York Times Rattles Statehouse

    Luis Moreno Ocampo the former Prosecutor of the icc
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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.

    “No,” he said, “it is not possible.”

    I asked again.

    “No,” he repeated. “With capital letters.”

    Adapted from New York Times Magazine

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  • Season of Rewarding as President Uhuru Recycles Old Guards in New Appointments

    Season of Rewarding as President Uhuru Recycles Old Guards in New Appointments

    President Uhuru Kenyatta
    President Uhuru Kenyatta

    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

    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.

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  • The Pangani Six Detentions Were Necessary for Sanity

    The Pangani Six Detentions Were Necessary for Sanity

    The 8 MPs when they appeared before the Milimani Law Courts
    The 8 MPs when they appeared before the Milimani Law Courts

    In the heights to the arrest of now FAMOUS Pangani Six, the political temperatures were hitting high grades, and hate speech taking the toll, and tribal hatred appeared to be at its peek. While the contributing factor was IEBC, which bred other scandals, incitement, hate speech overshadowed the core factor.

    It all started when Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri mobilised and led a group of youths to storm a planned Rally in Nakuru to be attended by Raila. Ngunjiri in a lethal recorded address is heard calling for the immediate evacuation of Luo community from Nakuru. He argued that the Luos in Kisumu destroyed Kikuyus properties, and so the revenge was to send Luos in Kisumu away.

    Before the cloud and wind winds could settle down on Ngunjiri’s inciting speech, his Jubilee counterpart Moses Kuria and Ferdinand Waititu kilometres away in Kasarani were in full gears with tribal hatred and inciting bigotry. Moses Kuria called for the assassination of CORD leader Raila Odinga as the only option to silence the problem.

    Senator Boni Khalwale offers MP Ngunjiri first aid when he nearly collapsed inside the court
    Senator Boni Khalwale offers MP Ngunjiri first aid when he nearly collapsed in the court

    Combatively, legislators from the CORDside, didn’t take the claims by Kuria and Ngunjiri lightly, went ahead and delivered a warning press address calling for the immediate arrest and investigations into the claims by the Jubilee MPs. Unknown to them, the call to action to the police presser is what would, later on, land them in detention for four days.

    MPs Junet Mohammed, Timothy Bosire, Florence Mutua, Johnstone Muthama and Aisha Juma from the CORD side landed themselves behind bars. At the heights, demos on Kuria’s statements were reported in different parts of the country. The temperature was hostile.

    Charge sheet
    Charge sheet

    As hours turned into days and the MPS faced the wrath of cold nights and deplorable conditions in the cells where they were being detained. Reconciliations, real or perceived were ongoing in the cells, the MPs from the political divides made peace with themselves, and their ties became tighter.

    Tales from the cells saying, the Jubilee affiliated MPs tried in vain to reach their principals, but nothing was forthcoming. They were left on their own. Using a smuggled in the phone, the CORD MPs were constantly in touch with their leader Raila.

    Surprisingly, Raila talked with the Jubilee MPs, and they made peace particularly with Kuria, who had prayed for his death. It is Raila who kept talking to them giving them encouragement to brave the cold nights. Ngunjiri, Waititu and Kuria promised to visit Raila, eat together and attend peace meetings together to preach unity.

    Moses Kuria and Muthama reconciled
    Moses Kuria and Muthama reconciled

    The magic of detentions would show more during their court hearings where the MPs were later on released on bond. At one point, Ngunjiri was near to collapsing in the courts when Senator Khalwale from the CORD side and a doctor by profession swung into action, offering him emergency aid.

    In a rare occasion, CORD leader was pictured shaking hands exchanging hearty emotions with Kuria and the Jubilee MPs. On learning they had secured bond and getting released, all the 8 MPs joined hands together singing solidarity songs in the court.

    Moses Kuria follows the proceedings
    Moses Kuria follows the proceedings

    Demos and hostile remarks have toned down if not died off ever since. The detained MPs are singing peace songs since release. The state of tranquillity is what Kenya needed most, and if it had to take detention for it to be realised, then the end justifies the means. Even though some of the charges were crafted as analysts notes.

    How long will the currently enjoyed state of sanity stay? Will this be a long term or a short term effect on the politicians embarks on their full force venom utterances? Either way, lessons learnt and that unity is possible if we drop down our differences and live together in harmony. As everything calms down, we can’t forget the realities that we have IEBC to deal with as we move ahead and other matters of national interest. Decorum in addressing all these, vital.

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  • VIDEO: Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and Senator Mike Sonko Engage in a Physical Fight

    VIDEO: Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and Senator Mike Sonko Engage in a Physical Fight

    A fight broke out between the senator and governor during a SENATE accounts committee sitting. The fierce exchange started when the senator accused governor Kidero of being a murderer. Sonko raised an issue where a businessman Hawa was forcefully evicted from his property in Ngong Road.

    Sonko further revealed that Hawa’s wife was killed during the forceful eviction despite the businessman willing to pay the Sh.6M that the county government had demanded. Kidero accused Sonko for being drunk during the sitting a claim that the senator encountered,”even if i am drunk that’s none of his business.”

    In the clip, Sonko is seen as being more aggressive and spoiling for a fight as fellow legislators moved in quickly to separate the two from blowing it all up. Kidero on the other hand, appears as more reserved calling Sonko his brother, at the moment the senator was spoiling for a fight.

    Members of the press were thrown out during the brawl. However, an exclusive clip has emerged from one of the legislators inside. Watch to see what ensued below. Video courtesy

  • Forget What the War Mongering Leaders Say, Worry More About the Cheering Crowds

    Forget What the War Mongering Leaders Say, Worry More About the Cheering Crowds

    The political temperatures are rapidly rising, hitting high scales as the country nears the general elections set for next year August. CORD’s weekly demos that have since been called off by the opposition to give way for dialogue ended up in reported five deaths and scores of injuries including a five-year-old boy in Kisumu. The deaths are from police bullets.

    The protests attracted sharp criticisms from the government and its supporters who have branded the demos as development derailleurs. In a statement that was used as a backup to cancel the demos, National Security Advisory Committee alleged that CORD was working with President Magu86fuli and Riek Machar of South Sudan to topple the Jubilee regime.

    The Tanzania President was unamused by the sentiments made by the government that a delegation was dispatched to Nairobi’s statehouse to discuss on the matter. It’s in that same week that violent protests were witnessed in parts of Nyanza where police shot dead three protesters and in Nairobi’s Mathare estate a bus belonging to a woman from the President’s community was torched.

    Jubilee supporters under a leadership of MPs Moses Kuria, Maina Kamanda, Dennis Waweru and Bishop Margret Wanjiru, mobilized hundreds of youths who staged a demo taking the shell and dumping it at the Prime Minister’s office in Capitol Hill, Nairobi. The tension was high when supporters of Raila stood firm guarding the premise, and the Jubilee supporters charged to storm into Raila’S office.

    Maina Kamanda
    Maina Kamanda

    The leaders issued stern warnings promising severe repercussions on CORD supporters and their leaders should they continue with ‘destructive’ demos. “We will protect our empire at all costs, don’t awaken the silent majority,” Maina Kamanda is quoted saying.

    On the 11th, Saturday, Raila held a rally in Kisumu and was marred with heat. Police were forced to shoot in the air to disperse the rowdy youths who had stormed Raila’s hotel in a bid to evict him. However, the efforts were repulsed, and he went ahead with the rally.

    Later on, Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri led a group of weapon-wielding youths to disrupt Raila’s rally. The youths from the grapevines were bankrolled by the governor, Kinuthia Mbugua, and the Bahati MP.
    The Bahati MP, in a recorded audio clip that went viral, is heard, calling for ejection of Luos from Nakuru. He argued that Luos in Kisumu destroyed their brothers(Kikuyu) hence they shouldn’t have space in Nakuru.

    Elsewhere, in an estimated 60,000 crowd at Kasarani where celebrated and openly pro-Jubilee radio presenter for Kameme FM, Njogu Njuguna was celebrating his 15 years in service, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria shocked the ground. In a speech he delivered in Kikuyu since the audience was entirely from Central, Kuria called for the assassination of Raila Odinga whom he terms as the country’s biggest problem.

    Loosely translated Kuria said, “they want to stage a gunman tasked to murder Raila and then put the blame on me. Raila should be careful as he can still bite the bullet.” Amidst deafening cheering from the crowd, Kuria went on, “we won’t allow ourselves to be troubled by one person forever.

    He can as well bite the bullet, and we bury him next Monday. His supporters will just throw stones for one week and life continues. If it’s the war that they want, it’s that they’ll get. Tell Raila he can bite the bullet.

    Interestingly, the crowd at Kasarani that was loudly cheering Kuria as he delivered the assassination speech is primarily drawn from a religious background since a man of the day Njogu hosts religious shows and brands himself a man of God. The event was publicized as a prayer rally.

    In a quick rejoinder, ODM MPs held a press conference where they threatened to mobilize and stage a one million match to police HQs if by Monday police would not have arrested Kuria following his remarks.

    The MPS led by Suna MP, Junet Muhammed, and Timothy Bosire. They said even CORD members won’t keep silence if they feel threatened and will stand up to defend their interest’s whichever ways.

    Nairobi's ODM Chairman George Aladwa
    Nairobi’s ODM Chairman George Aladwa

    Another ODM affiliated leader Aladwa is under police investigations following remarks he made in Kibera that should Raila’s votes are stolen in 2017, and people will have to die. As these leaders continue to spew venomous inciting, tribal hatred, warmongering speeches, their supporters are always in the background cheering.

    What this is worrying is the cheers a confirmation of endorsements of such remarks. This should worry us more than what exactly is said; they speak the hearts of the majority. For Aladwa supporters they’re okay with shedding blood should Raila be rigged out and Ngunjiri’s safe with evicting Luos and so does Kuria’s happy with the assassination of RAILA.

    Levels of tolerance continue to dwindle by the day, disintegration along tribal lines heightens. Kenya learned less or nothing from the 2007/8 PEV. NCIC, which CORD has dismissed as partisan and unfair in acting on hate speech, has not adequately prosecuted a single high profile hate speech case.

    The war drums are getting louder and the big two, Uhuru and Raila are maintaining a resounding silence as their attack dogs continue to keep reckless stands.

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  • Auditor-General Audit Report Reveals How Angela Angwenyi Was Part of NYS Fraud in A Sh. 302.46M Contract

    Auditor-General Audit Report Reveals How Angela Angwenyi Was Part of NYS Fraud in A Sh. 302.46M Contract

    The latest, The special audit report by the Office of Auditor General under Edward Ouko, presented before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, has outlined how the Kenyan taxpayer might have lost Sh.1.9B in fraudulent deals in NYS.

    The report also reveals Businesswoman Josephine Kabura, a close associate of former devolution CS Anne Waiguru as the biggest beneficiary.

    Josephine Kabura received Sh1.3 billion on account of 11 companies that did business with the NYS and was to receive part of the fraudulent payment of Sh675.4 million that flopped. In her much-publicized affidavit, Kabura said she was acting and making transactions on Waiguru’s blessings whom she describes as the NYS fraud mastermind.

    In the report, Ouko notes the genesis of NYS fraud started when the then NYS Director- General Nelson Githinji was replaced with Mr. Adan G Harakhe. Subsequently, instructions were issued to the director IFMIS at the National Treasury to define Mr. Aden G Harakhe as the A.I.A holder for the NYS.

    Interestingly, it was during this time that Sh460.9 million of the stolen Sh791.4 million was fraudulently paid out.
    In October 2015, renown whistle blower and anti-corruption crusader, the late Jacob Juma in one of his many exposing posts, revealed how former Nation FM’s Angela Angwenyi was involved in a Sh.90M fraud.

    FROM HIS UNNAMED BUT HIGH VOLTAGE INTELLIGENCE, Angela had registered Out of Box Solutions a company that within 30 days, she had been fraudulently paid Sh.90M.

    Reacting to the accusations, Angela, who by then had retired from the lucrative radio job with NMG, dismissed the claims citing Juma’s remarks as falsehoods.

    Angela by the time used to host the morning show, SOTN alongside Jimmy Gathu on Nation FM, noticeable, she passionately defended Waiguru of any wrongdoing as NYS scandal fire blew up.
    From the intel available, Angela with the blessings of Anne Waiguru via access to government procurement opportunity defrauded NYS Sh.90M.

    In accordance to Juma’s intel, Mr. Samuel Odhiambo, an insider in supplies department at the devolution ministry ganged up with Angwenyi in the Sh.90M fraud.

    Now, the auditor report confirms the claims by detailing how Angwenyi’s Out of the Box Solutions LTD is being investigated over a publicity contract for the planning department at an exorbitant cost of Sh. 302.46million.

    From the report in Kenya Insights hands and before the parliament, Out of the Box Solutions Ltd was contracted for consultancy to give users support services and perform sensitization campaigns to 30% reservation of government procurement opportunities for the women and persons with disabilities.

    Ouko’s report rubbishes off the long title aside claiming it was a vague job, and no evidence could ascertain whether the schedule of activities put out had been achieved before payments were made. “It was, therefore, possible to make payments as provided in the schedule of activities without the purpose of being delivered.

    Fees ought to be based on achievements of measurable impact of the sensitization campaigns,” laid out the special audit report.
    August 13, 2015, auditor general notes a suspicious payment of Sh. 90.74M to Angwenyi’s company.

    Her bank got suspicious with the sudden massive transactions made through the central bank that they called Planning department to confirm if they were dealing with the right client (Angela Angwenyi).

    In conclusion, Ouko’s report say, “No document was provided to confirm that indeed the beneficiary and details of the payment were meant for Out of the Box Solutions Ltd.”

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  • Kimani Ngunjiri: The man who assaulted a law-enforcement officer and bit Simba Arati’s Thumb wants Luos

    Kimani Ngunjiri: The man who assaulted a law-enforcement officer and bit Simba Arati’s Thumb wants Luos

    We have been pitted against each other using hollow narratives and on the basis of tribe, political affiliation or social status by the 1% that continues to deprive us of a livelihood that we deserve.

    It is time Politicians realized that Kenya belongs to all of us. Fear mongering between Luos and Kikuyus has always been prompted when elite Kikuyus or Luos want to reap big using their community’s name. When will Kenyans wake up?

    Consider Kimani Ngunjiri the Bahati Idiot who is spewing hatred against Luos. This is why I have always told Kenyans that we have two tribes in Kenya- The poor and the rich. It is time Poor Kenyans refused to be used by nincompoops whose aim is to score political points at the expense of peace Kenyans enjoy.

    Kenyans are losers because they elect people with a dark past like Ngunjiri Kimani. This Chap was recently accused of assaulting a law-enforcement officer with impunity. His gun license was later to be withdrawn after the confrontation with the lady.

    What is more interesting is that the Same Mp was behind the Parliament battle where he shamelessly bit Simba Arati’s thumb. The people who voted for him are losers because the Mp has also been accused of being Uhuru’s attack dog as his constituents suffer. Sometimes you wonder whether he was voted by his people to be Uhuru’s Attack dog or deliver to his people.

    All the cases mentioned above show that this is a goon masquerading as a leader. The NCIC that is headed by political rejects like Francis Ole Kaparo is toothless. Just like EACC, The nincompoops and political losers at NCIC take orders from the state house.

    Kimani Ngunjiri addressing a crowd
    Photo: Mp Kimani Ngunjiri who is now wanted by the police for hate statements against Luos. The Mp was once involved in a confrontation where he assaulted a lady officer leading to his gun license withdrawal

    All these Kikuyu leaders creating enmity between the Kikuyu community and Luo Community or other Kenyan communities must know that Kenyans are tired. They fear monger then loot and blame Raila. Look at the coffee sector where Old Kikuyu men plundered the industry and blamed Moi yet we all know Moi was not responsible for the collapse of the Coffee sector. The task force that was formed to come up with solutions to the ailing industry was just an avenue to loot from poor Kenyans coffers.

    The enemies of the Kikuyus are fellow Kikuyus’ using Raila’s name to fear monger then Loot. Kikuyus are now the most shortchanged as they worship their tribal King Uhuru Kenyatta, who has refused to condemn the Nakuru Violence of Mungiki protests that happened in town a few days ago.

    The Kenyan media has also lost it. The media should stand up with the people and preach peace after justice, but we all know that is impossible because they are busy hosting socialites as if being a socialite is an achievement. Media should also blackout petty political confrontations that may promote enmity amongst Kenyans.

    We now demand that Kimani Ngunjiri be Arrested, Arraigned in court and jailed if possible. It is time revolutionary Kenyans championed for harsher laws that will deal with hatemongers like Aladwa and Kuria that was recently exposed as a hustler who goes to William Ruto begging for money instead of asking for the handouts from his master- Uhuru Kenyatta. But the Kenyatta’s won’t let any Kikuyu leader prosper, once you start having some voice and economic power, they dehorn you.

    We urge President Kenyatta not to intervene as Kimani Ngunjiri faces the law even if he was speaking on his behalf. He should let his brainless barking dog face the music alone.

  • Peter Kenneth’s obvious call to Issack Hassan and IEBC Commissioners

    Peter Kenneth’s obvious call to Issack Hassan and IEBC Commissioners

    09 June 2015 – Peter Kenneth (PK), a 2013 General Election Presidential candidate who is thought to be yearning for the Nairobi Governorship seat has written to IEBC Chairman Isaack Hassan begging with him to vacate office.

    PK urged the under-fire chairman to read the mood and know its to quit rather than keep clinging on to a losing cause.

    Peter Kenneth is the latest to join the #IEBCOUT! chorus that has been speareheaded by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD).

    Here is the letter by PK.

    An open letter to Issack Hassan IEBC Commissioners

    “It’s time

    It’s time for you to step down and let the country move forward, how many more people shall die, get injured, businesses destroyed?

    There are serious doubts over IEBC’s ability to preside over a free election in this country, without the results being clouded with doubts.

    It you have not noticed the political debate is no longer about whether you will leave but the mechanics of your exit and how to replace you.

    Forget the politics; forget the protests-the ultimate truth is your exit is already a foregone conclusion. It is a matter of when not if.

    Do the honourable thing. EXIT

    Save the government the tear gas and the bullets; save the protesters the energy and tears and the country the pointless drama.

    Do the honourable thing. EXIT

    Put country first; The country is Greater.”

    Peter Kenneth

    The current IEBC office bearers has been under extreme quit calls from all quarters including the government.

  • IEBC Standoff: Gentlemen Hold on And Lets Talk

    IEBC Standoff: Gentlemen Hold on And Lets Talk

     

    Police putting off fire lit up by rioters in Kisumu during the demos
    Police putting off fire lit up by rioters in Kisumu during the demos

    Weeks continue to pile and so has CORD’s anti-IEBC demos that have intensified and spread through the country. The standoff is over IEBC that the opposition wants bundled out, and the ruling party Jubilee is vowing with a clenched fist to retain.

    In their stand, CORD says IEBC marred with integrity issues backdating to flawed 2013 elections that allegedly flocked with fraudulent stints. The chicken-gate scandal that has been haunting the Isaack Hassan led commission for the longest time with their UK counterparts serving jail time.

    As clock ticks towards 2017 general election, the stakeholders i.e. CORD and Jubilee have resorted to standing their grounds despite calls for them to loosen up. Last week, the president had invited the CORD principals for a luncheon in the Statehouse where they are said to have discussed the contagious IEBC topic and struck a deal.

    In a quick twirl, the Jubilee divide rubbished off claims by CORD that they had hit a deal. Further stirred confusion making CORD stage another demo having called it off a week earlier to give room for dialogue.

    Demonstrators in Kisumu carry away body of one of their own shot dead by police
    Demonstrators in Kisumu carry away body of one of their own shot dead by police

    Demos staged countrywide would see a terminal end in Kisumu where two protestors were confirmed dead and scores injured. The number adds to the previous fatalities in the Luo Nyanza region to five, previously police had killed three people.

    With the two parties maintaining stiff standpoints and the only persons landed baggage being the citizens who suffer casualties, a voice of tranquility is highly needed. It’s worth noting that, as it stands, the IEBC turmoil is way beyond constitutionality, reduced to supremacy and dick measuring battle.

    Puffed ego between state who are determined to show the opposition who runs the show and has the muscles. The opposition who are hell bent to put the state on its toes with pressured demos until they give in.
    But really, do we have to continue counting the dead bodies, shed more blood, watch mothers mourn their sons to wake up to the reality?

    Shattered walls of Tumaini Supermarket in Kisumu by rioters
    Shattered walls of Tumaini Supermarket in Kisumu by rioters

    Historically, rough demos resulted not only in deaths but humanity deliberating policies. However, as one Martin Luther King, Jr. once put it, “violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem, and it merely creates new and more complicated ones.”

    As a country we can’t solve IEBC impasse with violence and think it will solve it, we’re simply breeding more problems given the sensitive period we’re in heading to 2017. It is time as one the late Prof. George Saitoti once put it that it comes a time when the interest of the nation is more important than the individuals.

    A pledge goes to the president and the opposition leader, call a cease-fire, let’s sober down, put aside our personal interest and put the nation ahead. Swallowing pride might be a hard one to swallow, but history will judge you right as having statesmanship spirit.

    A demonstrator in Homabay
    A demonstrator in Homabay

    IEBC standoff will not go away, and apparently the commission has lost almost half of the country’s confidence given political dynamics. For a free and fair elections that will be acceptable and paramount to peace, an electoral commission must be seen trustworthy and of high integrity, something current group lacks.

    As of my recent article on the IEBC topic, a political solution, as opposed to constitutional, will bail out the botheration. Now more than ever Mr. President and Rt. Hon, the country needs you, don’t allow a single drop of blood.

    homabay

    As I ink this, a kid in Kisumu has had a bullet removed from his back after being shot by a police officer who apparently opened fire in the residential areas. This young boy will never live a normal life, apart from trauma, his physical condition is bound to twist.

    I watched the photos of the kid wreathing in pain and I didn’t like it, and I want to believe it disturbed you too. Gentlemen, swallowing your pride doesn’t equal weakness, leadership requires wisdom and knowing you hold livelihoods of many at your hands, sobriety is vital.

    Rise above your egos and don’t abscond to the call of leadership and save the nation. Lastly, Swallow your pride occasionally, it doesn’t fatten.

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  • Jacob Juma’s Personal Security Measures in His Last Days

    Jacob Juma’s Personal Security Measures in His Last Days

    jacob-juma
    Jacob Juma during a court session

    It would’ve easily passed the public’s eye the legislation banning ordinary citizens from having armored cars were it not for Jacob Juma who on his Twitter feed rushed to accuse his enemy DP Ruto as the mastermind and sponsor of the bill.

    He sensationally stated that the legislation was done with him in mind since he was an elimination target and was driving around in an armored car.

    With his boastful nature, Jacob didn’t hide it from anyone that his vehicle was armored, Cheryl Kitonga the last lady he was seen with and who claims it was their first meeting, in a recorded phone call confessed that Jacob had told her his car was armored.

    Some his friends that have contacted Kenya Insights say Jacob felt safe in his vehicle, there was no way anyone would get to him since he was aware many were baying for his blood and more so the state that he kept pointing fingers at.

    He perfectly painted a picture of an immortal being, and a fly couldn’t even land on him. Fetched from his public chest thumping and exultant talks with his peers and associates. Despite all these, he was caught off guard and killed.

    Concerned about his safety, close friends including one who talked on anonymity conditions to us, warned JJ and advised him to boost his security. Jacob had earlier in the week called on CORD’s Moses Wetangula where they met at a restaurant in Karen, he confided to him on his assassination plot. Apparently, he had gotten wind of plans to take him out.

    His wife, Miriam also said he had expressed to her his fears of being killed. However, despite all these red signs and beseech from his friends, JJ didn’t change much.

    According to confidants Jacob never had with him any security detail, he was a one army man. Trusted no one except his taxi driver who we learn tripled as his errand boy, a close confidant and a friend for many years.

    He walked around with his licensed gun wherever he went and once in a whole would show it off to his friends at sometimes his concubines. “He never allowed anyone in his car, and he told me it was out of my security as he was a target” a source intimates to Kenya Insights.

    Being cautious, Jacob always drove himself, and he didn’t have a driver a fact that his wife Miriam affirms. With his armored Mercedes Benz and a gun on his hip, JJ felt safe.

    jacob_juma_car
    Shattered windows of JJ’s Car

    Singly, on the day that he got killed, Jacob did not have his gun with him. From sources, he had just renewed his license two weeks before. This was unusual for him as the friends say. The only explanation would be death beckoned. When the police found his body, he had with him the gun license. Regulations require a holder to have the license with him whenever you have the gun.

    The gun has since been handed over to the police. According to an anonymous publication doing rounds in the social media secret groups, a close associate of Juma is enjoying round the clock security with lethal commandos drawn from Israeli special forces since he’s also a target.

    Many have questioned as to why he couldn’t have assigned one of his guards to him. Going back to earlier confessions, JJ didn’t want any security detail. He didn’t have his gun with him at the time of his murder, and he was totally unarmed.

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  • The Die Is Cast For Isaack Hassan And His IEBC Team

    The Die Is Cast For Isaack Hassan And His IEBC Team

    Following prolonged and weekly anti-IEBC demos spearheaded by CORD, the coalition at last called off the protests that in the last phase turned tragic with more than five people fell by police bullets and scores injured in the countrywide demonstrations.

    CORD leadership in retreating said they were giving the government side a window period to consider dialogue on the smooth transition of the electoral body. However in a quick rejoinder, legislators allied to the Jubilee party laughed off opposition’s demands saying parliament is the only deciding factor in the IEBC turmoil, this given their monopoly in parliament will provide them with a smooth sail.

    Elsewhere, despite the deafening loud cries, the Isaak Hassan led commission has stood its ground vowing never to resign come Jesus or devil. In the latest pompous assertion, the IEBC chairperson said they would rather go to jail than quit; this was in line with the chicken gate scandal.

    Like most of past public interest cases like that of former finance minister Kimunya who famously said he’d rather die than resign, to Waiguru, who rubbished off resignation calls, Isaack, and his team has adopted the familiar sound of standing firm despite public pressure.

    protest
    Police going after a protestor during the anti IEBC demos

    As history would have it, most of those who publicly defied the pressure did so just for a moment before the kitchen caught fire and they stormed out. The die is cast for Hassan and his team. However, much high and hard faced they might want the public to see.

    As an electoral body, public trust and integrity are a significant factor in upholding its existence, and as things stand, IEBC doesn’t meet the threshold.

    Demographically, half of the Kenya’s electorate figures given political factors that are CORD vs. Jubilee and rest who are pro-IEBC have lost trust in the electoral body. This in the spirit of public interest disqualifies the current IEBC as it is to oversee the incoming elections.

    IEBC still have a corruption scandal, the chicken gate to deal with, while the corrupt counterparts I the UK are in jail surrounded by police, in Kenya the chicken gate fellows are also having police protection only that they’re inside their offices, free.

    Translucently, IEBC is still under focus following the failures of the BVR kits during the last elections that was highly contested and recently according to sources, and the same tools loaned to Burundi where again the elections were allegedly marred with inconsistencies.

    Adding up all these fundamental issues makes IEBC, not one of the best to go on with into the next elections. Integrity is critical and also given Kenya’s history with post-election violence blamed on skewed polling system, the country can’t afford to gamble with its existing or assumed peace.

    Alternatively, away from the unending fiasco, the debate can be brought to rest with a political solution. We must agree as a constitutional body, and IEBC should only be removed within the constraints of law, but that won’t be possible given the political temperatures and legislative composition which will give one side an open upper hand.

    Kenya must adopt a political solution rather than constitutional in ending the IEBC standoff.

    An old lady trapped in the lethal smoke of teargas lobbied by the police during the demos in Nairobi
    An old lady trapped in the lethal smoke of teargas lobbied by the police during the demos in Nairobi

    Synchronically, the opposition, CORD, have called off the weekly demos to give space for a dialogue a political path that should move towards untying the tight knot. Giving their demands, CORD proposed for Jubilee to nominate their choices to IEBC, and they will also do and bring in a neutral body, advising UN to oversee the incoming elections that the opposition have largely accused the government of plotting to rig. This system applied in South Africa during the post-apartheid period when Mandela came home from jail. Like a hen whose head has been cut off, Isaak Hassan and his team can jump up and down but it’s only moments before they go silent.

  • Opinion: The Gender Balance Debate Let Nature Take Course

    Opinion: The Gender Balance Debate Let Nature Take Course

    Women can be as determined and ambitious and career driven as their male counterparts, but it is their different perspective on life that’s been the detriment to their success.

    “I am a woman, a mother, and a wife.” Women will-will blubber in almost all conversations revolving around the debate for equality and gender balance.

    This morning, compelled by the raging debate in parts of social media and our very own National Parliament, I “googled” what Gender Equality means:

    “Gender equality, also known as sex equality, gender egalitarianism, sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the view that both men and women should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on their gender.”

    I again inferred from my good friends, GOOGLE, what they would mean by “equal”:

      <- >Being the same in quantity, size, degree, or value.
      <- >(Of people) having the same status, rights, or opportunities.
      <- >Uniform in application or effect; without discrimination on any grounds.
      <- >Evenly or relatively balanced.

    Whether the 2/3 gender rule is legally binding for us as a people and a country whose Constitution in Article 27 (3) states that women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres I cannot tell.

    Of course, the society we live in hasn’t demonstrated this.

    Take for instance a case of a seven-year-old boy falling and he’s reprimanded not to shed a tear. Why? Because he’s male. That man is not supposed to cry! And they grow up believing so. A child (male) brought up with such a notion till adulthood will walk away from a marriage that makes him cry like he’s got onion on his face.

    gender
    Such a child will cringe at the idea of sharing his pains with anyone, especially female, and would rather resort to drinking his ass off in a bar than entertain the notion of talking it out!

    If only the society will change the very fabric it has used overtime to nurture the boy child, and create the same atmosphere as early as possible, we can dream of achieving this elusive gender balance.

    Having the ability or resources to meet (a challenge).
    It has gone without question that what a man can do a woman can do even better. Still University Placement for our women folk, here in Kenya and all over Africa, is pegged lower compared to the male fork. This happens with a backdrop of similar curricula, like teachers and similar examinations.

    Our women must, then wake up and challenge this act of mistreatment against them since it authoritatively implies their weak gender. As Plato said, “If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.”

    The “ladies first” fuss, as people get into queues is another balderdash that our women must first fight off. Let us be candid and openly compete; it is the only way! And women are better placed to deal with it.

    The tag, in its entirety, clearly outlines woman’s inability to compete favourably in a competitive environment and if not checked would delineate them from whatever it is the rest of humanity is scavenging for.

    Of a person or thing considered being the same as another in status or quality.
    We got to treat each other as equals. If it comes to rent and family issues, we are to pretend that men are to be breadwinners? Seriously?

    I was hoping that our women folk would demand as well to contribute equally to rent and everything else that appertains to bringing up a family.

    I was praying that our mothers would break the ceilings and go into jobs traditionally left for the male folk.

    I was hoping, beyond hope, that women would as well offer to pay the dowry for this gender balance issue.
    Why?

    Because humanity is carved the same way and men and women, have to balance.

    I’ll be very honest with you: the cultural transformation that we are wading into is not easy. If it must be a success, it will require rigour and determination from both governments and those traditional barazas you ignore in the village.
    To the proponents of gender balance, there are underlying issues that need to be addressed before this becomes a national debate.

    We must go back to the very smallest unit of our lives, family, and have a very honest discussion about balancing the gender sheet off.

    Myths such as boys are preferred to girls as families talk about children liking must be done away with. (Some my girlfriends prefer to give birth to males)

    Mary Wollstonecraft said, “I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.” It is in so doing that they will compete astutely for the scarce resources that the men hold dear, and we men will support them.

    After meeting with Sheryl Sandberg (current Facebook COO), Cisco’s John Chambers admitted that he hadn’t quite “gotten it,” and communicated this admission widely to his employees. He said, “While I have always considered myself sensitive to and effective on gender issues in the workplace, my eyes were opened in new ways and I feel a renewed sense of urgency to make the progress we haven’t made in the last decade… while I believe I am relatively enlightened, I have not consistently walked the talk … What we have been doing hasn’t worked, and it is time to adjust.

    “To call the woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man’s injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then a woman is immeasurably man’s superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she, not greater courage? Without her, the man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with a woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than woman?” Mahatma Gandhi

    In a nutshell, to achieve the balance, we ought to dedicate more time to understanding our cultural, social and right now technological challenges than just writing pieces of legislation. We must rethink, as remotely as possible why God intended man to dominate woman!

  • Corruption in Kenya… and the president is always watching

    Corruption in Kenya… and the president is always watching

    The story of corruption in the post independent Kenya is a long one.

    Ever since attaining her independence in 1963, Kenya has suffered from widespread corruption not only in the public but in the private sector too. The ominous part of it is that the scandals have in a way or the other touched on the Presidency. This has overtime degenerated into a monster-like culture of impunity where the elite have notably whizzed their way out of obvious corruption allegations scot-free! I look back and here’s what historians have;

    Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the corruption founder and grand land thief

    Kenya has many problems but land is capital and has always been the Elephant in the room.

    All this land problems in Kenya emanate from one man – Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s 1st President after independence.

    See when the white Settlers came came in Kenya, indigenous Africans were displaced and their land converted to large commercial farms. The MAUMAU led pro independence war erupted forcing the Britons to hand over power to Kenyans. Jomo Kenyatta took advantage of the confusion and awarded himself the relinquished land.

    Secret papers of the late Sir Michael Blundell, the white settler leader who acted as the liaison between Kenyatta and the British government indicate that Mr. Jomo Kenyatta backstabbed his fellow war comrades and signed secret pact with the British government not to interfere with the skewed land distribution at independence. The narrative is corroborated in the secret notes of Kenya’s second vice-president, the late Joseph Murumbi, deposited at the Kenya National Archives.

    The land question haunts the country to this day, an entire generation after Jomo Kenyatta’s death. That was Kenya’s foundation – Land grabbing and corruption.

    Moi the Golden-berg Kingpin

    In 1978 Daniel Moi took over as Kenya’s second president. During Moi’s reign, corruption was honing. Notable enough was the 1990s Goldenberg scandal and subsequent cover-ups. The Goldenberg scandal is thought to have cost Kenya the equivalent of more than 10% of the country’s annual GDP. Half-hearted inquiries that began following pressure by foreign aid donors but they never amounted to anything substantial during Moi’s presidency.

    Kibaki, the man who is thought to have rigged his way to the presidency

    Kenya’s third President, Mwai Kibaki, was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2002. During his two term regime, his regime suffered several corruption scandals, some at the heart of the presidency and earlier than imagined.

    We all recall in 2007, when Kibaki was declared a victor in the presidential elections amidst unending allegations of electoral manipulation and bribery involving the election officials. What followed was a historic violent turmoil causing the deaths of more than 1000 people.

    I will not go into other scandals that followed suit.

    Uhuru Kenyatta – The president who even knows that Kenyans are corrupt

    In 2013, another regime change was beckoning and another round of presidential elections were held. This time under a new constitutional dispensation. Relative peace was experienced but again, there were further allegations of vote- rigging. Notable enough are the allegations that the Supreme Court Judges accepted bribes to rule against Uhuru Kenyattas close rival, Raila Odinga in 2013 Presidential Petition.

    More than a dozen corruption scandals have dogged Uhuru’s regime. All at the heart of the presidency.

    “experienced in stealing and perpetuating other crimes”

    Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta seems to be fully aware of this shameful and damaging statistics. His recent public rebukes say it all; During an address in Israel while on a state visit, Mr. Kenyatta himself said that Kenyans are “experienced in stealing and perpetuating other crimes” in an address during a state visit to Israel. From the speech in Israel, many argued that the president’s speech was rhetoric, and the comments were seen as an attempt to encourage Kenyans to develop their country like Israel.

    In a renewed attack, this time during a burial ceremony of former MP and Assistant Minister George Ndung’u Micigi in Muranga County, Mr. Kenyatta accused Kenyan leaders of going against the wishes of their people.

    This are just two instances I have selected indicating that he knows the corruption levels in a country he is leading. The worrying bit is that Mr. Kenyatta is just talking about it hence concerns that even the president is not serious about tackling corruption.

    So what can be done?

    The president needs to realise that he has been doing a lot of mouth service. His first term is almost over and there is still no effort that convince anyone that he is ready to swipe against corruption!

    The president needs to stop talking and instead let the actions speak for themselves. Everybody is tired of the empty talk. Somebody needs to take out the vultures devouring Kenya before it too late.

  • The International Women’s Day: Blame game masks gender parity in Kenya

    The International Women’s Day: Blame game masks gender parity in Kenya

    The International Women’s Day was marked on 8th March 2016 under a global theme that was to push for 50-50 gender parity.

    Like the rest of the world, Kenya marked the day set aside to reflect on the gains and challenges that women face. Several events were held by different organisations and persons. Social media was awash with #IWD messages in a myriad of angles. Common to all these events was the fact that Kenya is not yet there and more importantly, we are doing nothing apart from a ping pong like blame game.

    The statistics

    Lets face it, Kenya is struggling to meet an even smaller quota envisaged under the two-thirds gender rule.

    Amongst the “Executive tire” in which there are 57 publicly listed companies with 467 Directors, only 54 Directors are women. Widening the gap even more is the fact that of the 57 firms, 23 have no women Director(s) on their board.

    On the political front, where the important decisions are made, Kenya has been an eyesore. The parliamentarian women falls below the constitutionally set threshold – both elected and nominated women in the National Assembly and Senate stands at 19% and 27 % respectively.

    In the region, Kenya has been overtaken by “younger states” in the region such as South Sudan and Rwanda who have all achieved gender parity. Currently Rwanda is leading globally with about 64 percent of its members of Parliament being women. South Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda have all achieved the 30 percent threshold. This means that in their Parliaments, the not more than two thirds of the same gender rule is already in effect.

    What we are doing – Blaming

    So far playing the blame game is what we have been doing. It is also what we seem to plan to do in the near future! It’s literally a blaming contest

    1. While commemorating the 2016 IWD at Serena Hotel, Female executives in Kenya hipped the blame on the ‘old-boys syndrome’ Business Daily Africa. These Execs said that the male dominated boards and public entities openly included women as a sign of tokenism totally disregarding laid down criteria of seeking competent women to fill in the positions.
    2. You also recall AG Githu Muigai and The Constitution for the Implementation of the Commission (CIC) being stoned and accused of laxity in the drafting of the Third Gender Rule law. See Video.
    3. The CIC also blamed and accused the Parliament’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee for usurping its mandate in the implementation of the two- third gender principle. All Africa.
    4. Everybody blaming everybody in power for reluctance in implementation of gender equity.
    5. Women blamed for waiting to be spoon fed with freebie affirmative action posts as women.

    What we can do

    The Constitution of Kenya 2010, has domesticated Kenya’s international commitments such as; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, The African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, hence has to uphold these principles and pull up their socks to attain equitable gender representation not only in all spheres.

    One way to go about it is to remember that blame game doesn’t count. Nobody has an actual problem with the constitutionally entranced gender balance rule. However, the bone of contention since promulgation of the Constitution is the matrix, logistics and formula in ensuring that each House of Parliament is constituted properly.

    The blame is too much. First stop blaming and genuinely work towards the realization of the dream. 50-50 gender parity is the ultimate goal remember.

  • Kenya is too forgetful

    Kenya is too forgetful

    Kenya the forgetful nation
    There is no honest discussion about the state of things in Kenya today. A country that has not totally healed from 2007/08 post poll chaos has its institutions rotten. Corruption runs deep in every arm of the government, The Executive, The Judiciary and The Legislature. The head of the judiciary, CJ Willy Mutunga is expected to retire in June; The Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal’s fate hangs in the balance. She is embroiled in a retirement battle with the Judiciary Service Commission. One of the senior judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Philip Tunoi is facing graft allegations. Tunoi is accused of receiving a two million dollar bribe from Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero to rule in his favour in an election petition case that was filed by Kabete Mp, Clifford Ferdinand Waititu.

    The allegations against Justice Tunoi stain the entire judiciary. It’s already in the mind of Kenyans that rulings in the Supreme Court, which is the highest court of the land, depend on the depth of an individual’s pocket. People are now calling for the disbandment of the court, Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) that is mandated to fight corruption is a toothless bulldog. Where will the nation turn for arbitration in case of a dispute? That is the million dollar question that everybody is turning a blind eye to.

    Kenya with its memory of a mosquito is never proactive. It is still deeply divided along tribal lines, divisions that the politicians use to the best of their advantage. The country is headed to yet another election that will be strongly fought. The opposition have vowed to set up their tallying centre, what will happen in case of conflicting results? They have also vowed not to go to the court again in case the elections are rigged. Kenya has forgotten what happened when it never chose the court way after 2007 disputed election results.

    Dr P.L.O Lumumba says that Kenya has always been in a campaign mood since 1992. That is very true and the president’s one month ‘development tour’ of the coast set the pitch to its all time high, eighteen months before the elections. The coming polls are going to be strongly fought and do or die indications are already evident from both sides of the political divides. Deputy President is on record saying that the ruling coalition must win Nairobi gubernatorial seat in the coming polls by hook or crook. These kinds of unpalatable verbal diarrhoea are common with the likes of Moses Kuria and former Nairobi Mayor, George Aladwa. Nothing can be done to them, they have the power and might to delay and deny justice.

    The rain is beating this nation hard but it won’t mind when it began, it will only try to unite when it gets stormy. To unite or come to a table for unity talks require facilitators but who will when all the institutions are rotten? ICC was the last fire wall but unfortunately Kenya is the crafter of a proposal that may see Africa’s mass withdrawal from the Rome statute. When the nation was burning after disputed polls in 2007/8 The then AU chairman John Kufour who had come to mediate was treated as a mere tourist who had come to enjoy Kenyan tea, Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa was turned away. Former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan who brokered the peace was later accused of baby seating the nation.

    They say history repeats itself, who will come this time round? Religious leaders especially the church has been turned into political dens at the price of fundraisers. African Union is a busy body, one wonders what their priority is, a union of 54 nations that can’t send troops to Burundi just because Nkurunzinza has threatened to attack AU troops. Burundi has not known peace since May last year when President Pierre Nkurunzinza forced himself into a controversial third term. Hundreds die in that poor nation daily, leaders of the region are doing nothing.

    Heads are deeply buried in sands, the electoral body; IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission) is too broke to even carry out voter registration, its credibility is questionable with a section calling for its disbandment, the term of its commissioners expires two months after elections institutions should be fixed. Instead, this ‘democratic’ country with slimming media freedom is busy equipping its police with APCs (Armoured Police Cars).

    It is preparing to deal with violence rather preventing it. Rogue politicians are on their roof tops shouting hate speech, making two or three court trips and then it is business as usual. Their case files are left catching dust at the court shelves, Kenyans with their roach memory forget and move on. This is that place where politics overshadow everything. A hotbed of a vibrant culture, accused politicians are never brought to book. Their cases are rushed before it tartars their integrity.