A Political Kenya in 2012: Latest Breaking News and Politics

Charles Onyango Obbo on ICC Ruling - A shared history of colonial injustices

2012-01-23T17:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the International Criminal Court at The Hague reduced the “Ocampo Six” to the “Ocampo Four”.

It confirmed charges against four of the six Kenyans charged with crimes against humanity following the 2008 post-election violence.

Deputy Prime Minister and minister of Finance Uhuru Kenyatta, former Higher Education minister William Ruto, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura, and Kass FM programmes chief Joshua arap Sang might have to defend themselves at the court.

Former Police chief Maj-Gen Hussein Ali and suspended Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey were let off the hook.

The four are appealing, and the ICC Chief Prosecutor, as he usually does, will probably appeal the decision in favour of Mr Ali and Mr Kosgey.

Whatever happens, all the four were merely players in the great political drama of Kenya that will continue years after they are off the political scene and have been forgotten.

This is because one of the many ways to understand the ICC case is to reflect on the big Kenyan drama.

Kenya’s history of the last 100 year has produced several key currents, which all played out in the ICC case. Two of them were on play yesterday.

British colonialism and white settlement was particularly devastating for Central Kenya. They
resulted in massive displacements of the people from their land and an intense cultural struggle that led to founding the first independent churches in Africa and the bitter Mau Mau rebellion.

From an outsider’s reading of Kenya’s history and discussion with the more reflective individuals
from Central Kenya today, this history has produced, first, a near permanent millennial movement in the Mountain region (which the outlawed Mungiki sect that was allegedly mobilised by Uhuru for attacks in the Rift Valley loosely represents).

Secondly, it makes the colonial experience a deeply felt form of invasion for Central Kenya. It seems to drive the region to hanker for a Messiah, a Saviour who will restore to the children of the House of Mumbi the lands of their ancestors.

The Mountain region has never really found the perfect Messiah. In some ways Uhuru seemed to fill that void during the height of the chaos.

Whether Uhuru survives or not, the current that propelled him to power will not die out. There will likely be more Messiahs from Central Kenya, and there will be a lot more successor movements to Mungiki.

The other side of this complex tango is in the Rift Valley. While the Central Kenya psyche is both
driven and distorted by alienation, the Rift Valley’s is fuelled by dispossession.

From wherever colonialism displaced Kenyans, it seemed to send most of them to the then vast and fertile hills and valleys of the Rift.

The notion that the “immigrant” Kenyans were pioneer Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who
would eventually go back when calm returned to their villages, and return the places they had settled back to the “rightful owners” seems to have been bubbling underneath the Rift Valley for decades.

There is an inescapable sense of self-righteous right to repossession one gets from even the most
left-wing liberal Rift Valleyian when it comes to the region’s land, and the place of the other Kenyans who settled there.

Whether or not they see themselves that way, people like Ruto have about them the appeal of a Robinhood. Designer rebels crusading to repossess the commons for their people, who have been driven to suffer in the woods by grabbing outsiders.

For this historical reason, there is now in Rift Valley a market for a heroic Robinhood, a protector of the Nilotes’ pastures against acquisitive Bantu hordes.

twitter: @cobbo3

Can ICC Prosecutions Stem Electoral Violence?

2012-01-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

With Kenyan and now Ivory Coast suspects charged, some commentators see international court as deterrent to political violence.

By Timothy Chepsoi

The arrest of the former president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, last week, means the International Criminal Court, ICC, has now charged leading officials from two African states with orchestrating violence following elections.

The ICC cases in Kenya and Ivory Coast pose the question whether orchestrated electoral violence could be a thing of the past in Africa.

The ICC has summoned six Kenyan public figures, including the deputy prime minister and the former police commissioner, who face charges of crimes against humanity for the violence that erupted after the country’s 2007 presidential polls.

Approximately 1,100 people were killed and over 3,000 injured during violent uprisings that were eventually halted by a power-sharing deal between the Orange Democratic Movement, ODM, and the Party of National Unity, PNU in early 2008.

The former Ivory Coast leader Gbagbo is charged with four counts of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape allegedly perpetrated against civilians in Abidjan and the west of the country between December 2010 and April 2011, as he refused to cede power to the incoming president, Alassane Outarra.

Experts believe the action the ICC has taken in Kenya and Ivory Coast will go a long way towards deterring future unrest on the back of elections in Africa. However, both countries will need to carry out long-term reforms to underpin the deterrent value of criminal justice.

“The ICC intervention in Kenya and [Ivory Coast] can show how international justice has a positive impact on trying to address some of the consequences of electoral frauds and disputes,” said David Donat Cattin of the non-government group Parliamentarians for Global Action.

He also pointed to the need for countries to conduct their own criminal investigations alongside those of the ICC in order to complete the justice process – something Kenya has so far failed to do.

“In [Ivory Coast] the statements of [President] Outarra are really good, because he is saying he is going to investigate the crimes of Gbagbo and other economic crimes, whereas he will leave it to the ICC to investigate [alleged] war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Donat Cattin said.
Experts believe that as a result of the ICC’s intervention in Kenya, there is less likelihood of a repeat of the systematic, planned violence seen in 2007.

“If, in another election, [Kenya’s leaders] are going to plan or to organise or to finance people to engage in criminal activity the fact that you are likely to be prosecuted at the international level is going to act as a deterrent,” Nina Okuta, senior human rights officer at Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, said.

The summoning of six Kenyan suspects to The Hague appears to have calmed the febrile political atmosphere in the country, but more lasting effects will only become apparent once the charges against them are confirmed, and if convictions are secured.

Another constraint on the deterrent factor of cases brought before the ICC is that the court’s reach is limited – it seeks to prosecute only those who are held most responsible for crimes. In Kenya, only the six most senior alleged perpetrators have been brought before the court, so that hundreds if not thousands of others will escape similar legal action.

“In the long term, [deterrence] could be a problem. We can’t hope that the court is going to provide a solution,” Okuta said.

In Ivory Coast, critics have accused the ICC of missing an opportunity to prevent the atrocities committed in 2010 by failing to intervene earlier.

The ICC gained jurisdiction in the Ivory Coast in 2003 following the internal armed conflict that split Ivory Coast in two, but it did not take action against those responsible for abuses.

“The ICC didn’t intervene and wasn’t seen as much of a threat [in 2010],” Donat Cattin said. “Maybe the ICC could have had a much more preventive and dissuasive role [in the 2010 violence] if it had intervened in the previous [2003] conflict.

“The sooner international justice can intervene, the better the impact is on the leaders on the ground, who receive the warning that certain acts of violence are intolerable and should not be committed any more.”

The ICC has also attracted criticism for not intervening even-handedly in all the countries where it has jurisdiction and where prosecutable crimes may have taken place.

Kenya was the first case in which ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo used his powers to initiate an investigation, without the conflict being referred either by the state itself or by the United Nations Security Council.

“If this [deterrent factor] is to be continued and sustained, it needs the ICC to be credible, to be persistent, to be coherent, to be consistent, to intervene in all situations in a similar way, [and] to apply justice in a way that is predictable,” Donat Cattin said.

Experts are cautious about the extent to which ICC prosecutions alone will deter future atrocities.

“We have, in various contexts where conflicts have occurred, the realisation that prosecutions in and of themselves are not sufficient to deter criminal conduct within a society,” Christine Alai of the International Centre for Transitional Justice in Kenya said.

“While [impunity] thrives at the top levels of the executive, that impunity also thrives among us, as members of society. So addressing the question of impunity at the topmost level is critical, but other measures must also be put in place to guarantee that there will not be a recurrence of violations or violence every electoral year.”

In Kenya, the real deterrent against future electoral violence lies within the country’s own legislative structures. The 2007-08 violence took place amid a lack of a robust electoral and judicial systems to settle disputes and thus prevent violence, experts say.

“A country with a trusted judicial system and a trusted electoral management body is very likely to have very peaceful elections. because people know and trust the system,” Njeri Kabeberi, executive director of the Centre for Multi-Party Democracy in Kenya, said. “In Kenya we had a crisis because the electoral management body failed the country, but also our judicial system was not to be trusted. So anyone with a dispute could not trust that going to court was going to assist them.”

In addition to ICC intervention, reforms to national systems should reduce the risk of violence and lower the incendiary power of elections, in which the stakes are high for those in, or seeking, office.

Kenya’s new constitution, passed in August 2010, makes provision for some of these reforms, including changes to the judiciary and the security services, and devolution of some powers from the central executive to county level. According to Alai, “If we can begin to achieve a level of reforms within those institutions, then we begin to guarantee our people that we will never again have to face similar occurrences in our country.”

Alai argues that it is Kenya and other states, and not ultimately the ICC, that must act to prevent abuses.

“The bulk of the work remains to be done, and it is not the responsibility of the ICC,” she said “It is the responsibility of the government of Kenya.”

Timothy Chepsoi is an IWPR-trained journalist in Nairobi.

http://iwpr.net/report-news/can-icc-prosections-stem-electoral-violence

Kenya Accused of Hampering ICC Outreach

2012-01-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

Some believe court must bolster activities on the ground to counter politicisation of cases.

By IWPR contributor

Amid an intensifying campaign by supporters of six senior public figures facing charges at the International Criminal Court, ICC, the Kenyan government is being accused of frustrating the court’s outreach efforts inside the country.

Meanwhile, questions have been raised about the success of the ICC outreach programme, and about whether its intervention in Kenya has been sufficiently robust.

Local and international rights groups say that while the ICC started its outreach programme in Kenya at a fairly early stage, the delay in establishing a permanent local office left a gap that has been exploited by politicians allied to some of the suspects.

There is also concern that the ICC outreach unit is not receiving the political support it needs to help correct gross misconceptions about the court’s work among communities affected by the post-election violence of 2007-08.

At least 1,100 people died and 3,500 were injured during two months of violent unrest that followed a disputed presidential election in December 2007.

The court has charged six prominent figures, including deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former education minister William Ruto, with crimes against humanity for their alleged role in planning the attacks.

Two cases have been filed by the prosecutor, with three suspects in each.

The deputy head of the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights, Hassan Omar Hassan, says a section of the Kenyan government has been deliberately blocking the ICC’s attempts to give the public accurate information about matters relating to the two cases.

“We raised concerns about [outreach activities] from the outset, after we realised that political actors involved in the two cases were misinforming the public on the impact and consequences of the initial appearances and confirmation of charges stages [of court proceedings],” Hassan said.

The court’s outreach activities started in Kenya in December 2009 after the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requested authorisation to launch an investigation into the 2007-08 violence. The outreach office was not set up until August this year, following a visit to Kenya by the ICC’s registrar, Silvana Arbia.

The International Centre for Policy and Conflict, ICPC, a Kenyan non-government organisation working on transitional justice and conflict resolution, says the ICC’s failure to establish an outreach office as soon as the investigation started meant local organisations were forced to step in, more often than not without adequate resources.

“Many NGO’s have received threats after being seen to be working closely with the ICC,” the ICPC’s executive director Ndungu Wainaina said.

Experts say that outreach activities alone are not the ultimate solution to the mass of misinformation and politicisation surrounding cases before the ICC, but they can help to counter the problem.

“We cannot say that outreach will automatically cure the politicisation, but it can make it harder to do that because if your everyday person on the ground already has information about the ICC process – that it is an independent judicial process – then it will be hard for people who want to spin it as a biased process to make their argument,” Elizabeth Evenson, senior counsel at the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said.

Both of the Kenyan cases at the ICC involve high profile politicians, as well as the country’s former police commissioner. The ICC’s outreach coordinator in Kenya, Maria Mabinty Kamara, says these high-profile cases have attracted great interest in the court’s workings, but at times also misinformation.

A failed attempt by Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka to lobby other African countries to support a deferral of the Kenyan cases is seen by some as a clear example of how the government is trying to undermine the ICC’s mandate.

President Mwai Kibaki has also been seen as taking sides by writing to ICC judges in a bid to exonerate one of the suspects, civil service chief Francis Muthaura, during the recent confirmation of charges hearings.

“This is a clear example of how the government does not in any way support the ICC,” Wainaina said.

Kenya’s justice minister Mutula Kilonzo admits the government is walking a tightrope – it is aware of the propaganda put out about the ICC cases, but is reluctant to engage in civic education for fear of being misunderstood, or accused of bias towards either victims or suspects.

“My mandate is to the victims and to the suspects,” he said. By engaging in civic education it might be construed to mean I am supporting one side [over the other] which is [far] from the truth,” Kilonzo said.

He strenuously rejected charges that the current coalition government, formed after the clashes ended in 2008, is itself hampering ICC outreach efforts.

“Those making such allegations are busybodies who don’t understand what the government has done in terms of cooperating with the ICC. We have agreed to all requests by the ICC registrar, including granting visas for their staff and facilitating the setting up of an office here in the country,” he said, noting that a special cabinet subcommittee had been set up to liaise with the court.

Amason Jeffa Kingi, another cabinet minister and a member of the ICC liaison subcommittee, disagreed. He said there were people in the cabinet who were obstructing the ICC process with a campaign to smear the court.

“While the position of the coalition government is that we will cooperate fully with the ICC, as demanded of us by the Rome Statute [the founding treaty], it is however unfortunate that some senior individuals in government issue statements that [call] into question the mandate of the ICC,” Kingi said.

Justice Minister Kilonzo acknowledges that there are deep-seated differences between the coalition partners regarding support for the ICC. After the suspects were named by the court, some officials publicly called on President Kibaki to withdraw Kenya from the Rome Statute. Kilonzo says such statements have sent out contradictory messages to the public as to whether the government fully supports the ICC.

In terms of outreach on the ground, some parts of Kenya that bore the brunt of the violence are barely aware of the court, despite outreach activities that began more than a year ago.

At the Mawingu Camp where more than 1,000 displaced families are still living three years after the violence, people say they have not seen any of the court’s officers in the area.

“We have been waiting to see these officials and talk to them, but none have been here so far. Politicians come here and demonise the ICC, and we have so many questions but no answers are forthcoming from Ocampo and his team,” Rose Wanjiku, chairperson of the Mawingu Camp, said.

The outreach office says it faces financial challenges and cannot do everything expected of it all at once. “Most of the funds we had were directed to media initiatives, but it is not as much as we would have liked,” Kamara said.

Nevertheless, she says, the outreach office has been able to engage with some local NGOs, media and leaders of affected communities to promote a better understanding of the court process.

The ICC office has yet to start the next phase of outreach activities, which will be aimed at explaining what the outcome of the confirmation of charges hearings means, correcting misconceptions, and addressing the expectations of victims and the wider Kenyan public.

“The Kenyan case is one of the earliest interventions in terms of outreach initiatives,” Kamara said. “Unlike other situations where it took a lot of time before the [ICC’s] outreach programme was initiated, for Kenya we have been closely working in line with the judicial process.

Right from the outset when the prosecutor launched investigations, we closely followed what the media was reporting, and we realised the level of inaccuracies that needed to be addressed.”

The ICPC says the ICC office will have to engage with the public much more effectively if its outreach activities are to have any impact amid the challenges that face the court.

“In Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo there has been a robust and open engagement of the victims. But in Kenya the situation has been completely different. One reason why there is so much misinformation is because the outreach unit [of the ICC] has not been very proactive in providing information to the general public,” Wainaina said.

Human Rights Watch has praised the ICC for setting up an outreach office in Kenya at a relatively early stage compared with other countries where the court has charged suspects. It believes the challenge now is to ensure that the office builds on some of the lessons learnt from earlier efforts elsewhere.

“We acknowledge that there are of course security challenges, but the team must now start having face-to-face meetings in places that were most affected by the violence,” Evenson said. “The Kenyan team can learn from the Democratic Republic of Congo where the ICC has initiated listening clubs among womenfolk. These clubs have had a huge impact in informing and stimulating debate among the public.”

Other international human rights groups such as the Open Society Justice Initiative believe that the ICC outreach team in Kenya does not need to look far for lessons on how to carry out a successful programme.

“Sierra Leone was a huge success. It successfully engaged Sierra Leoneans about the work of the court generally, and the trial process,” said Alpha Sessay, of the Open Society Justice Network. “The Sierra Leone model can successfully be adopted by the Kenyan outreach team as it is largely acknowledged as a blueprint for how such courts can work with the community.”

Kamara says the outreach office is expecting more funds soon to conduct what she calls a “massive mass outreach campaign” to prepare the ground for the verdict of the confirmation of charges hearings.

“One of our greatest challenges will be to manage the huge expectations of the public regarding this phase of the Kenyan case. We will have to clarify what the court can do at this stage, and what it cannot do,” she said.

Kenyan Police Criticised Over Election Violence Cases

2012-01-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

Police insist they will continue looking into alleged abuses despite concerns about lack of capacity and political will.

By IWPR contributor

Campaigners seeking justice for the perpetrators of Kenya's 2007-08 post-election violence have raised serious concerns about the way the national police force has investigated cases, amid allegations of government interference.

The Kenyan police say they are actively investigating 400 out of 6,000 reported cases stemming from the violence.

At least 1,100 people died and 3,500 were injured after a presidential election in December 2007 as violence erupted between supporters of the Party of National Unity, PNU, and the Orange Democratic Movement, ODM, which are now in a coalition government.

Rights groups say that the police investigations lack credibility and that the parties allegedly behind the chaos have colluded to circumvent justice.

"Our investigations have revealed that a huge number of youths who were being held in police cells for various crimes related to the violence were released unconditionally after a deal was struck between the PNU and ODM," Neela Ghoshal, a researcher with the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch, told IWPR.

The allegations have been strongly denied by government spokesman Alfred Mutua, who says no such agreement ever existed.

"Anyone who was set free at that time was released by the courts. When a crime is committed, you cannot decide its outcome using politics,” he said.

But government chief whip Johnstone Muthama acknowledges that such a deal was made, although he accepts this was ill- advised.

"It was wrong for those who were arrested to have been released without following the due process of the law," he said.

Six prominent public figures, including the deputy prime minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, and former education minister, William Ruto, have been charged with orchestrating the violence by the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague.

The international community has called on Kenya to prosecute middle- and lower-level figures accused of involvement in the violence, and try them at a special tribunal in Kenya as they will not be brought before the ICC.

Legal experts are calling for investigations to be halted until much-needed reforms of the police force are carried through. Kenya's new constitution, voted into law in August 2010, provides for such reforms.

"No one has got any confidence that [this police force] can carry out credible investigations or prosecute anyone [for post-election violence]. We have to wait for police reforms," Paul Muite, a human rights lawyer and former legislator, said.

Kenya's director of public prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, says that even as police pursue the 400 ongoing investigations, 550 more have already reached court. However, he concedes that some of these cases have been thrown out.

"Of the 550 cases taken to court, 258 have been concluded and the accused persons found guilty and sentenced. However, 87 suspects were acquitted due to lack of evidence while a further 138 cases were withdrawn," Tobiko said.

Rights groups have raised concerns as to whether the cases are being investigated properly and fairly.

"There are serious problems with police investigations," Ghoshal said. "Victims, magistrates and state counsels have all expressed dissatisfaction at police investigations of these cases. We have had instances where police have failed to carry out identification parades, police files have gone missing or were lost, and the list [of irregularities] is just endless."

In a report released on November 9, Human Rights Watch questions whether the cases cited by the department of public prosecutions are in fact related to the 2007-08 violence.

"After visiting most of the law courts where these cases were heard, we believe that only ten cases that the [director of public prosecutions] claims are before courts are actually related to the violence," Ghoshal said. "But at least two murder cases in Nakuru and Kericho towns that were related to the violence resulted in convictions."

The report also underlines that no member of the Kenyan police has been brought to justice for the violence, despite an estimated 962 police shootings and dozens of rapes in the aftermath of the 2007 election.

It is unclear why information about ongoing and completed cases is not readily available.

Florence Jaoko, chair of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, said attempts by organisations like hers to receive updates on the investigations have proved futile.

"These investigations are not genuine, as it has taken over four years for them to begin," she said. "At the local level, we have never had information on such cases. It is important for the state to give that information to the public, if at all they are investigating them."

Soon after the violence, Jaoko’s commission released a report called “On the Brink of the Precipice” accusing several high-ranking former and serving politicians of being behind the violence.

Jaoko says these individuals are among those who should be prosecuted in Kenya, if the authorities are "really serious [about] fighting impunity".

Some argue that the police cases are merely a publicity stunt aimed at persuading the ICC to hand back the six suspects to be tried in Kenya.

"There is no evidence that these cases are genuine," said Ghoshal. "They are but a show in front of the International Criminal Court to try and convince them that the Kenyan authorities are doing something about the violence."

Earlier this year, Kenya sought to convince the ICC that it was prosecuting cases of post-election violence itself, and that there was no need for the court put the six suspects on trial. Judges in The Hague rejected the appeal.

In August, two of the six suspects facing charges at the ICC recorded statements with Kenya’s criminal investigations department, which said it was conducting parallel investigations to those at the international court.

Former cabinet ministers Henry Kosgey and William Ruto recorded statements just weeks before appearing at the ICC for confirmation-of-charges hearings in September.

The Kenyan police reject claims that their efforts are not genuine, though they admits that the investigations have taken longer than anticipated. They say they will not back down from investigating the cases, most of which involve alleged lower-level perpetrators of violence.

"These [investigations] must of necessity be a slow process, but with persistent and professional handling I know we shall get there. We can't sit back and let people who killed others and danced before the cameras walk away. They have to be prosecuted," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said.

The chairman of the National Task Force on Police Reforms, retired judge Philip Ransley, supports investigations wider than those at the ICC. But he says the police force as it is currently constituted is unable to carry out these investigations.

"I expected police reforms to be well under way by now, but obviously they are going to take some time to complete. The criminal investigations department would have been better suited to investigate these cases, but until the reforms are under way, they cannot do very much," Justice Ransley said.

The task force he heads was appointed by President Mwai Kibaki in May 2009, following recommendations by a national commission of inquiry into the violence, chaired by Justice Philip Waki.

Tobiko, the director of public prosecutions, rejects claims that ongoing cases are just meant to impress the ICC, and says they will go on irrespective of the outcome of confirmation-of-charges hearings in The Hague.

In September 2011, Kenya's attorney general Githu Muigai led a high-ranking mission to The Hague to ask ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to share the evidence he had on lower-level perpetrators. The request was quickly dismissed by Moreno-Ocampo.

Muite says the trip was a clear indication that the police had not conducted any investigations or gathered evidence to prosecute cases.

"The police should stop making these statements, as they are insulting to the intelligence of the Kenyan [people]," Muite said.

On December 5, former justice minister and member of parliament Martha Karua told the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Conference, chaired by former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, that no such investigations were ongoing, despite reports to the contrary from the police.

"Almost four years down the line, victims of the 2007 post-election violence are still crying [out] for justice and police are yet to start investigations or prosecute anyone," Karua said.
The Kenyan parliament has twice tried and failed to set up a local tribunal, with most members voting to have the cases taken to the ICC.

Despite repeated calls from rights groups and the international community, Tobiko says that Kenya does not require a special tribunal to prosecute middle- and lower-level suspects.
Kenya has now adopted the legal principles of the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statue, into its domestic code, allowing it in theory to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in its own courts..

"With the reforms going on in the judiciary, I am quite confident that some of the cases can be tried in the local courts without much problem, especially considering that Kenya has enacted the International Crimes Act," Tobiko said.

But Human Rights Watch says the fact that some of the cases "amount to crimes against humanity" makes it impossible for the local courts to deal with them.

"Some of the crimes were planned in one area and then committed in another area. The local courts do not have the capacity to deal with these complexities, despite the ongoing reforms in the judiciary," Ghoshal said.

Pointing to the international support that has been provided to other justice mechanisms implemented in Kenya, such as the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, Ghoshal said,

"The local tribunal should have international input for them to be credible. At the moment, Kenyan institutions don't have the capacity to prosecute these cases, and they need international help."

http://iwpr.net/report-news/kenyan-police-criticised-over-election-violence-cases

Kenya Politics in 2012

2012-01-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2012 in Kenya. This will be one of the most interesting and engaging years in Kenyan politics.

Once the ICC at the Hague puts Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto on trial (or dismisses their case) the political gear will be engaged and political temperatures will rise. Whichever way these cases go will determine who will be the next president of Kenya. It is Raila Odinga's last chance to be Mr. President and with him enjoying the benefits of incumbency, it is his presidency to lose. There are high chances that if Raila were to lose the elections, he will be beaten by Uhuru Kenyatta. A Raila versus Uhuru presidential campaign will most likely take us back to 2007.

The next big thing in 2012 is who will be the governors of the 47 counties. Other than the vast financial resources to be controlled by the governors, there is the "mini-president" and the "president-in-waiting" prestige associated with this newly created post. The main "war-zones" for the governorship will be rich and volatile counties like Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Meru, Nyeri, Kiambu, Kajiado and Kisumu. The governor position will also be fun to watch as level-headed corporate heads and green horns battle it out with the no-nsense and no-holds-barred characters like Sonko with bottomless easily-acquired campaign pockets.

The senator position may not elicit much emotions as many people have resigned to the fact that for its first term the senate will be an enclave of the rich octogenarians who need a little snooze from active politics.

Whichever the case may be, 2012 is bound to be another election year in Kenya when tribalism, corruption, misuse of government resources, voter bribery and violence reign.

Release of the 2011 KCPE Examination Results

2011-12-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

1.0 The Kenya National Examinations Council wishes to inform parents/guardians, candidates, stakeholders and the general public that the 2011 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination results will be released on Wednesday 28th December 2011.

The ceremony will be officiated by Hon. Amb. Prof. Sam K. Ongeri, Minister for Education, at Mitihani House, off Denis Pritt Road, opposite St. Georges Secondary School starting from 9.00 am.

2.0 All Provincial Directors of Education (PDEs) are requested to be present during the ceremony and to pick the results for the schools ¡n their provinces for distribution to their respective District Education Officers.

Invitation to relevant stakeholders has been sent through separate letter and they are advised to confirm their availability to the address given in the letter.

3.0 Candidates are advised to collect their results from the respective centres where they registered for their examination.

The examination results will also be available on the KNEC website: www.knec.ac.ke and can also be received by sending the candidate’s index number through a short text message (sms) to 5052 immediately after the announcement by the Minister for Education on 28th December 2011.

Please note that each sms will be charged and subscribers are advised to send one SMS and wait for the results before sending another one to avoid jamming the system.

4.0 Upon receipt of their results, the candidates are advised to thoroughly scrutinize them for correctness.

In particular, they must ensure the accuracy of the following:

4.1 Candidates’ particulars i.e. names, index number and gender;

4.2 school names and codes;

4.3 Individual subject grades and mean score.

5.0 Any discrepancy MUST be communicated to the Council within one month (30 days) after the release of examination results. This includes appeals for remarking. The Council will not accept any queries on the 2011 KCPE examination results after 31st January 2012.

6.0 Candidates who have their results withheld will receive a letter through their head teacher explaining why their results have been withheld until they submit the required documents e.g. birth certificates for their results to be released.

Such candidates must submit the documents through their respective school and NOT directly to the Council, by 31st January 2012 failure to which it will be deemed that the candidates does not have the required document and their results will subsequently be cancelled.

7.0 The Council does not issue result slips for KCPE candidates. Instead the result slips are issued by respective schools.

8.0 All candidates must note that a result slip is not a certificate. The Kenya National Examinations Council reserves the right to correct the information given on result slips which will be confirmed by the issue of certificates.

COUNCIL SECRETARY/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Nyandarua County: A county without a single court

2011-12-04T22:54:00.000-08:00

Nyandarua county should have courts of law

Access to justice and fair administration of justice is one of the fundamental rights of the citizens as envisaged under Article 48 of the Constitution of Kenya. It is inconceivable that Nyandarua County with a population of 596,268 (per the 2009 census) has no single court of law.Nyandarua county is one of the five counties of the former Central province.

Compared to the rest of the other counties namely Nyeri, Kiambu, Muranga and Kirinyaga, Nyandarua is the least developed in terms of institutions and infrastructure despite its vast geographical size and economic potential particularly in agriculture.

Nyandarua County residents remain a troubled lot as they look for justice in the neighboring counties. The county headquarter situated at Olkalao has no single judicial institution to adjudicate emergent social economic and political conflicts.

None of the four county parliamentary constituencies namely Kipipiri, Kinangop, Olkalao or Ndaragwa has a single court of law establishment for provision of judicial services to the locals. The resident travels hundreds of kilometers to Nakuru and Laikipia counties to shop for justice.

The nearest court is at Naivasha or Nyahurururu depending on the end of county one resides.

This is unfortunate. Such a scenario depicts a high water mark of underdevelopment.

Institutions and agencies of Justice should be proximate and within the governance and administrative units of each region. Lengthy distance from seats justice provides room for gross miscarriage of justice and waste of vital hours of production. Residents arrested for various allegations are held long hours before they are transported to neighboring counties courts for prosecution. The situation is made worse by horrible impassible roads.

Lack of institutions of justice facilitates sprouting of primitive mechanism of conflicts resolution such as kangaroo courts and repugnant cultural practices.

Courts are symbols of justice in areas they operates. They guarantee adherence to law and order. Importance of forum where citizens can prosecute and defend their interests cannot be emphasized more.

Poor people who cannot afford judicial services due to long distances, travel costs and other logistics find their rights trampled on becoming victims of discrimination.

The administration of justice takes into account the social economic dynamics of specific areas in pursuit of equity and fair application of law. In criminal jurisprudence the severity of sentencing considers realities and challenges facing the locality and its people. Neighboring county courts may not be able to appreciate the unique needs of Nyandarua residents.

The ever increasing land disputes, poverty related incidences and general civil disputes must be adjudicated within the County. The local residents cannot afford to make long journeys to Laikipia and Nakuru for elusive justice.

For purposes of comparative analysis Kiambu County with a population of 1.6 million people have six magistrates’ courts located at Kiambu, Githunguri, Kikuyu, Gatundu, Thika and Limuru towns. Muranga County has courts in Maragua, Kigumo, Kangema and Muranga for a population of 942,581.

Kirinyaga County has not less than four court stations in Kerugoya and Baricho for a population of 457,054.Nyeri with a population of 661,156 has courts in Nyeri, Karatina, Othaya and Mukurweini towns not to mention the High Court.

While the aforesaid counties are now demanding for establishment of High court stations, Nyandarua County has no single magistrate court. It is time that courts are established at Olkalao, Engineer, Ndaragwa, Njabini and Magumu towns of the Nyandarua County.

The current Kenya constitution rules out discrimination in so far as distribution of state institutions, establishments and opportunities are concerned and indeed it give the citizens right to demand and agitate for equal opportunities without relaying on ineffective political leaderships whose priorities may not be development but other considerations. This is the reason I will not

shy away to seek solution within the law for the concerned residents who have sought my legal service on the issue.

It is of no value for Nyandarua residents to blame the under development and lack of vital infrastructure on the past or present political leadership, however it is pertinent that they seize the opportunity to discard the unfortunate culture of subservience and take advantage of constitutional guarantees to demand equal opportunities .

The people of Nyandarua have all the rights under the law to petition for creation of court network within their county. This process has begun in earnest. Justice and development goes hand in hand. No region can boast of development without established institutions of justice. To the concerned authorities, take justice to the Nyandarua people.

George N. Kimani, Nairobi (The writer is a lawyer of the High court of Kenya-Email –

gkihingo@yahoo.com)

The Tribulations of a Kenyan Doctor

2011-11-20T22:42:00.000-08:00

Kenyan doctors and health professionals are set to go on strike citing poor pay and deplorable working conditions. They are demanding a 300% pay increase from the government. This strike closely follows the recent strike by University lecturers that led to the closure of some universities.

It is only recently that the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret was closed due to lack of essential supplies and management wrangles which made the specialists there to stop offering all specialist clinical services as a result.

Public health facilities in Kenya are deplorable. It is notable that the Medical Services Minister could not trust Kenyan hospitals and doctors to treat him after he was diagnosed with prostrate cancer and had to go abroad for treatment. Ironically, the government (via the Medical Services ministry) expects Kenyans to rely on the same health services and expects the poorly paid doctors (and other health professionals) there to be happy and content.

Got this comment by Allan from The Informatics Daktari Blog written by a Dr Judy, a Kenyan Doctor on her post Letter to the Kenyan patient…….(from the Kenyan Doctor)

" Am a doctor too and this is well too familiar a story. Apparently the profession is noble but to be honest Ii don’t feel appreciated or noble. We are unfairly under remunerated compared to our fellow professionals. I could get better terms if I quit today and become a house help in an MP’s house.

We have to toil to make ends approach not even meet and for that we sometimes shamefully run all over town to work for private hospitals that pay as low as 200 bob an hour, even the oldest profession pays more surely, no pun intended. I have never seen a KCB employee doing locum at Equity on weekends or nights.

We are human beings, we need safe and conducive work environments and better terms to motivate us so that we can spend our little time off work to read and do research to improve health care. we need motivation not condemnation.

I have been loyal to the public sector this being my seventh year of practice but all I have is a few shillings at a Sacco and loans to clear. My banker says am not credit worthy. We are paid very late. Our minister doesn’t listen to us. We serve in remote areas and am frustrated every timeI have to give up on a patient because there is no ICU facility and the nearest doesn’t have a space for my patient.

If I have two who need the only available bed at the referring facility you can imagine what am made to do…to decide who to give the bed to based on who is likely to benefit from it…who am I? God? NO!!!!!!!! am a human being. What do I tell the relatives and loved ones of the patient who loses in my God play? That he is going to die because I picked someone else? And worse still am bonded( yes this is bondage) to the government so I cant really leave since they trained me…I was one of the lucky ones since now they don’t.

My fiance being a colleague is stationed 654 kilometers from me and there is nothing I can do about that. We are expecting our first baby and I would just wish she can move to a facility near this one. The ministry of medical services has some really nice staff but as many will testify, most of them will make you dread visiting there to make such requests….

Enough said…we just need some respect from our caller( this is a calling I heard a long time ago), our employers, our patients who are the clients who give us something we love to do and we need better working conditions so that we can serve them better and look at what other people are doing in the currently rapidly changing world of medicine, surgery, pharmacy, nursing and dentistry"

Ahmednasir Abdullahi on K24 Capital Talk with Jeff Koinange

2011-11-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

Ahmednasir Abdullahi is a commissioner with the Judicial Service Commissioner (JSC) and the editor of Law Monthly Magazine.

On the Ocampo Six ICC cases at the Hague he had this to say:

"I have always said and I am saying it, I mean, the Hague is a political process, it is a European court for Africans and if you look at the legal issues, I don't think there is a case really.....there was no investigations. I think that came out very clearly in terms of the evidence or alleged evidence that he (Ocampo) has is very poor, very poor.......Ocampo should be charged with professional misconduct, because he hasn't done a proper job as a prosecutor.

When you are prosecuting you must have a water tight case. If you don't have a water tight case, you must not prosecute and I think that history will judge him very harshly in my view no matter how the case goes because I think he has let down both the suspects and the victims in terms of what kind of investigations he did.... He is a drama queen really, he really enjoys when he talks on camera, but as a lawyer, I think he was very poor."

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Miguna Miguna on K24 Capital Talk - Raila is a political conman

2011-11-05T00:36:00.000-07:00

Miguna Miguna is a former political advisor to prime minister Raila Odinga who was recently unceremoniously suspended from his duties by the office of the prime minister without pay. This may be informing his recent outbursts against the presidential candidature of Raila Odinga. However as a former insider of Raila political machinery, his interviews and articles exposes the weaker side of Raila Odinga. Will Kenyans listen?

Sample this:

"What I regret is the fact that to be honest Raila is a conman, a political conman. Yes, the facade that he puts forward, the quips, the soundbites, this theatrical performance on the stage is all but a facade. There are contradictions that are so fundamental, that unless Raila resolves and untangles them, it would be dangerous if such a person actually ascends to the presidency of this country....and I am not the only one talking about them (contradictions). His own strategists are talking about it, behind closed doors....and I have said in my article, resolve the contradictions, otherwise you either end up nowhere or if you do, you will be a dangerous person to be there."

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Shortlisted Applicants for the Position of Chairperson of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission

2011-11-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

The Selection Panel for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, having reviewed the applications to determine their compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2011, shortlisted for interview a total of nine (9) candidates for the position of Chairperson as follows:-

1. Bishop Dr. Bonifes E. Adoyo

2. Mumo Matemu, MBS

3. Mary Kimotho M’Mukindia

4. Dr. Arbogast K. Akidiva

5. Dr. Sarah M. Kilemi

6. Erastus Iguna B. N. Rweria, MBS

7. Catherine A. Kola

8. Erick O. Mogeni

9. Job Ogonda

It is notified for general information that the Selection Panel for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission will be conducting interviews for the post of Chairperson of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on 8th and 9th November, 2011 at the Public Service Commission of Kenya, Commission House, Off Harambee Avenue, next to KICC.

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Commissioners

2011-11-05T00:09:00.000-07:00

Isaack Hassan - Chairman

Commissioners

1. Yusuf Nzibo

2. Mohamed Alawi Hussun

3. Abdullahi Sharawe

4. Lilian Mahiri-Zaja

5. Thomas Letangule

6. Muthoni Wangai

7. Albert Bwire and

8. Kule Galma Godana

Shortlisted Applicants for the Position of Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)

2011-09-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

The IEBC Selection Panel has shortlisted the following (8) candidates for the position of Chairperson of the IEBC who are invited for interviews on the 11th and 12th October 2011

1. Consolata Wanjiku Ngondi

2. Onsando Osiemo

3. Koki Mercy Muli

4. Murshid Abdalla Mohamed

5. Ahmed Isaack Hassan

6. Wakahiu George Njenga

7. Kinuthia Mwangi Wamwangi

8. Wanja Ann Kariuki

The IEBC Selection Panel which is mandated to nominate persons qualified to be appointed as Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) received a total of 15 applicants as follows:

1. Ahmed Isaack Hassan - LLB; Dip (Law); CPS (K)

2. Consolata Wanjiku Ngondi - LLM; LLB; Dip (Law)

3. Koki Mercy Muli - MA (Understanding & Securing Human Rights); LLB; Dip (Law)

4. Kelong Titus Kipkoech - BSc (Applied Statistics)

5. Murshid Abdalla Mohamed - LLM; LLB; BA(Arts); Dip (Law)

6. Wakahiu George Njenga - LLM; LLB; Dip (Law)

7. Nalwelisie Chrisantus - MSC (Procurement); MBA (Finance); BA (Business)

8. Calistus Wanjala - MA (Business Administration);BA (Marketing)

9. Ingwero Japheth Mwange - MBA (Strategic Management);Bed (Arts)

10. Agola Auma Osolo - No degree certificates attached.

11. Chelong Alex Kipkosgei - No IEBC form; No degree certificates; No Law degree

12. Onsando Osiemo - LLM; LLB; Bachelor of Social Legal Sciences; Dip (Law)

13. Kinuthia Mwangi Wamwangi - LLM; MSC (Human Resource Management); LLB

14. Wanja Ann Kariuki - LLM; LLB

15. Kimotho Stephen Kariungi - Master of Science; Bsc.

Wangari Maathai Death: A time to rest - Fare thee well

2011-09-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

The death of Nobel Laureate and environmental activist Professor Wangari Maathai has engulfed Kenya with communal grief. She died at 71 years of age and was an iconic Kenyan representative to the world. Kenya has lost one of its caring and protective mothers. After such hard work spanning decades in environmental, political and gender advocacy it is now a time to rest for this Kenyan heroine and mother after a worthy purposeful cause in life.

Notably quiet during this time is former President Daniel arap Moi, who Wangari Maathai made her career out of. He at one moment described Wangari Maathai as a mad woman. She was actually "mad" about Moi's government encroachment of water catchment areas and wanton destruction of the environment.

Were it not for her and other activists, Karura forest and Uhuru Park would now be a concrete jungle. She was vocal about the destruction of indigenous forests such as the Aberdares and the Mau ranges. She was a headache to the Moi government especially during the standoff and stripping with the mothers of Moi's government political prisoners at Freedom corner at the edge of Uhuru park. She was as much a second political liberation activist as she was in the environment circles.

Through her Greenbelt Movement she made a mark of raising the levels of reforestation across the country. Contrary to the current campaigns of planting trees, Wangari Maathai was more than just a tree planter. She ensured that there was a system of nurturing these trees to maturity. She achieved this by enlisting the support of women in the grassroots to plant trees in their localities and take care of them. She also advocated for the planting of indigenous trees and not just planting any other tree.

Last year her endorsement was being sought for the use of eco friendly eco-Jeneza coffins for burial instead of the timber-made coffins. Eco-Jeneza coffins are made from recycled paper and have plastic handles on the side, with their key selling point being environmental friendliness. "Our product will save thousands of trees being cut each year to make wooden coffins," says EAPI Managing Director Cor Roest during the launch recently. For her love of trees, environmental pundits will be waiting to see how Wangari Maathai will be buried, or did she prefer cremation?

Probably the next level of public debate on her life will be how best Kenyans will remember her. There are already tree planting campaigns being organized. Other suggestions include renaming Thika road to Wangari Maathai Highway. However, using her Nobel Peace Prize money Wangari was in the process of setting up a Wangari Maathai Centre in partnership with the University of Nairobi. She was also a staunch advocate of each human being doing his/her part and being themselves.

To read Wangari Maathai's last public interview by Drum Magazine in July 2011 visit this site -
http://www.kenyanmagazines.com/prof-wangari-mathai-nobel-laureate-green-belt-movement/

Rest in Peace Wangari Maathai

Nairobi Law Monthly Offices Raided

2011-09-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night thugs raided The Nairobi Law Monthly magazine published by outspoken lawyer Ahmednassir Abdillahi.

They stole computers containing crucial files related to a revealing story that was to be published in its October Edition. Speculation is rife that the story must have rubbed the powers that be the wrong way.

Ahmednasir is a vocal member of the reconstituted Judicial Service Commission that has been vetting judiciary appointees under the new constitution. He is also a former Law Society of Kenya chairperson.

Kicking Out Politics of Mediocrity in Kenya

2011-09-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

While giving his national address to commemorate one year after enactment of the constitution, President Mwai Kibaki poignantly observed that history is being written as the country implements the constitutional.

He observed that the future generations will envy their predecessors for achievements realized in the social, economic and political arena particularly in the birth of the third republic. I could not agree more. I am convinced that this is the time to kick out the outdated politics of mediocrity and stride to the politics of merit and development.

It is crucial for Kenyans to embrace courage and decisiveness in order to occupy their rightful places under the new constitutional dispensation so as to avoid erosion of the gains thereof.

Kenya must be bold to discard unpatriotic cultures, ethos and beliefs that are an inhibition to growth of a progressive, equitable and democratic nation.

The ongoing reforms witnessed in the judiciary, are commendable and set sound criteria on illegibility of holder’s elective offices. It is a constitutional proviso that eligibility to contest for office of president, governor, senator, Member of Parliament and or county representative must be pegged on merit, intergrity and sound moral attributes.

The politics of yesterday, where materialism, tribalism and manipulations were glorified at expense of positive leadership qualities must be buried and forgotten. This can only be possible if the people of Kenya agree to change negative attitude and misguided notions in approach to politics and expectation of leadership. Those occupying public must be viewed as public servants with an obligation to pursue national growth as opposed to some demi god’s swimming in privileges at expense of the citizenry.

Beyond their daily routine lifestyles, Kenyans need to passionately analyze the caliber of individuals seeking elective offices. It is a heinous act of betrayal for citizens particularly the enlightened individuals to abscond the role of sieving individuals seeking elective offices with a view to realizing credible leadership. The quality of political office holders significantly determines the nation wellbeing and development.

With such a realization Wananchi must effectively determine who their leaders become by participating in election as positive educators, elective office seekers and or vigilant observers. Under the new constitution it will be an onerous duty of the citizenry to ensure that the political dirt of past is filtered from contaminating the present. This is not easy but it is achievable.

In the past political elites have courted tribalism, manipulation and corruption to further selfish political agenda. Issue based political competitions tethered on political parties manifesto have been a pipe dream. Dirty subjective political considerations such as tribalism have dominated political campaigns. Economic retardation and painful political violence has been a common episode akin to PEV 2007.

Politicians who pursue tribal based politics must depart the political arena. It is despicable that some politicians are horse trading pretending to carry basket of votes from their tribes. Conspiratorial advocacy urging some Kenyans to drop their political ambition is being voiced by some misguided elements.

It is naive for some politicians to expect Kenyans to buy a political brand that Kikuyu have served as presidents twice and or that Kalenjins have served as president through President Moi and out to leave presidential contest to this or that tribe.

The ordinary Kikuyu and Kalenjin is a victim of poverty, high costs of living, unemployment, insecurity, landleness, internal displacements and lack of opportunity .The beneficiaries of post independence Kenya power wilders has been their cronies and kins. What the Kenyans need is leadership that can push development agenda and achieve national stability and social justice.

It is an abuse of the intelligence of Kenyans for some politician to campaign on the platform that their tribesman supported so and so to ascend the presidency and therefore it is the time for reprocity. Similarly it is high water mark of lunacy for some political operatives to unilateral identify tribal spokesmen. It is unfortunate that some politicians are in have a delusion that the presidency must be inherited by their tribes. These are players of obsolete politics of exclusion and must be rejected.

Kenyan must embrace leaders on basis of their ability, effectiveness and development agenda. The wananchi must seek knowledge to enable them evaluate elective offices seekers.

Under constitutional provisions on right to legal representation coupled with reformed judiciary Kenyans must remain Zealous and ensure that political demagogues are locked out never to set foot in matters of public governance.

Institutions such as the church, mosques and other religious bodies must preach values of sound leadership and intergrity.Interest groups should focus to equip citizens with objective information’s on leadership.

A curriculum on leadership and positive values should be introduced in institutions of learning so as to influence the future.

Elitist middle class cluster of the society must agree to move out of urban entertainments joints, air conditioned boardrooms and go to their counties to positively contribute on matters of sound governance rather than trooping there for Christmas festivities

George N. Kimani- Nairobi

(The writer is a lawyer and Executive Director of Kisima Rural Foundation)

email gkihingo@yahoo.com

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Position Attracts 4 Applications Only

2011-09-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

1) Hassan, Ahmed Isaack - LLB; Dip (Law); CPS(K)

2) Ngondi, Consolata Wanjiku - LLM; LLB; Dip (Law)

3) Muli, Koki Mercy - MA (Understanding & Securing Human Rights); LLB; Dip (Law)

4) Kelong, Titus Kipkoech - BSc (Applied Statistics)

Wikileaks: Former US Ambassador take on the Origin of Mungiki Gang in Kenya

2011-08-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

Subject: Mungiki: Kenya's Largest Criminal Organization

Created: 2007-05-24 07:41

Origin: Embassy Nairobi

Ref: 06 NAIROBI 5282

Â¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Mungiki, a large criminal organization operating within the Kikuyu community, has a network of supporters within the government bureaucracy and political
leadership. It's use of extreme violence to amplify its influence through terror and its parallel government weakens the authority of the Kenyan state. The Government's professed desire to eradicate the Mungiki is hampered by the organization's political and official connections. Combating Mungiki requires more than merely mass arrests of alleged members. Targeting Mungiki leadership is likely to produce better results, but requires confronting its supporters
within the ranks of Kenya's governing class. End Summary.

From Tent of the Living God to Organized Crime
--------------------------------------------- -

Â¶2. (SBU) The Mungiki criminal organization has its origins in an offshoot of a small religious sect among the Kikuyu community. Around 1989 a group of younger members split off from the Tent of the Living God, a religious sect operating in Kikuyu-dominated regions of Central and Rift Valley provinces that calls for a rejection of Christianity and Western culture in favor of a return to traditional Kikuyu beliefs and culture. The group broke from Tent of the Living God when the Tent's charismatic leader appeared to be moderating his views in order to win acceptance by Kikuyu elites. The group adopted the name "Mungiki," meaning "the masses."

Ndura Waruinge (see reftel), then about 18 years old, emerged as the Mungiki leader. Waruinge is the grandson of a notable Mau Mau leader during the revolt against the British colonial administration in the 1950s. Under Waruinge's leadership, the group took on Mau Mau trappings (such as oathing rituals, the dreadlock hairstyle, etc.) and an increasingly political orientation.

Â¶3. (SBU) Like the Mau Mau before them, the Mungiki preach Kikuyu nationalism, not Kenyan nationalism. They identify rhetorically with the "poor and oppressed" against the elites
and the Kenyan state. They often proclaimed in their early years that the task of the Mungiki was to complete the work of the Mau Mau by "cleansing" Kikuyu culture of Western
influence and freeing the state from the grip of corrupt elites serving foreign masters.

Â¶4. (SBU) The Mungiki grew rapidly during the 1990s, a time of severe political turbulence and violence surrounding the movement to restore multiparty democracy to Kenya. The Moi
regime instigated ethnic violence against Kikuyu communities in Rift Valley Province through private ethnic militias-for-hire in 1992 and then again in 1997.

Radicalized and dispossessed Kikuyu youth who had seen their communities burned to the ground during these attacks flocked to Mungiki for protection and vengeance. Many of these new members, recently having lost their rural homes, relocated to Nairobi slums, especially the Kikuyu-dominated slum of Mathare, which became a Mungiki stronghold.

Â¶5. (SBU) While many Mungiki followers in rural areas retained a religious and cultural orientation, throughout the 90's, in Nairobi, Nakuru and the principal towns of Central Province
(the Kikuyu heartland), the Mungiki increasingly emphasized radical subversive political rhetoric and adopted a military style organization. The Mungiki became less a militant religious sect and more an urban political militia and criminal gang. Initiates answer to captains who take orders
from local coordinators who in turn serve under national coordinators. Members only know the identity of those in their cell and the captain supervising their cell. Immediate compliance with orders from above is required from all members. Once having taken the initiation oath, members cannot leave the organization. Betrayal of Mungiki is punishable by death.

Â¶6. (SBU) Urban Mungiki in the mid-1990s became involved in vigilante activity to "protect" Kikuyu slum dwellers. This led to the development of protection rackets first in the slums and housing estates and then on public transport routes. The Mungiki fought successfully for protection turf against smaller traditional extortion gangs, ostensibly in the name of reducing rents and fares for the common man. They also came into increasing conflict with the police.

Â¶7. (SBU) By the late 1990s, as the Mungiki grew in numbers and wealth, they attracted the attention of political and business leaders in the Kikuyu community. The Mungiki hired out their services to Kikuyu politicians (both ruling and opposition parties) and business leaders (mostly landlords) as enforcers and intimidators. Many members, especially those directly involved in "fund raising," took on a less conspicuous look, shaving their dreadlocks in an attempt to maintain a lower public profile. By 2000 the Mungiki had recruited or infiltrated significant numbers of members and sympathizers within the ranks of the police and state bureaucracy.

Â¶8. (SBU) In March 2002 a force of about 250 Mungiki attacked the Kariobangi North housing estate in Nairobi, killing 20 residents and maiming over 30. Their particular targets were members of the rival "Taliban" gang, which is made up of members of the Luo ethnic group, but common residents of the estate were also attacked. Following this incident, which the press reported was preceded by numerous warnings to the police, all unacted on, the Moi government banned 18 "vigilante groups," including the Mungiki. Both Taliban and Mungiki leaders were arrested. The Taliban leader was subsequently charged.

The Mungiki leader, Waruinge, was released without charge. Waruinge called on Mungiki
followers to support Moi's KANU and its Kikuyu presidential candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta, even though many Mungiki were the victims of Moi-directed communal violence only five years
earlier.

Mungiki Ideology, Aims and Practices
------------------------------------

Â¶9. (SBU) Mungiki ideology is often contradictory, opportunistic and incoherent, but it contains a powerful appeal to Kikuyu youth in the slums who feel alienated from the Kenyan state and mainstream Kenyan society. Mungiki theology calls for a return to the worship of Ngai, the
Kikuyu god resident on Kirinyaga (Mount Kenya). It vociferously rejects Christianity as an alien import responsible for holding the Kikuyu in "mental slavery" to "the West." And yet, Mungiki rhetoric is full of images and verse citations from the Old Testament meant to justify Mungiki actions and beliefs.

Â¶10. (SBU) The Mungiki political agenda is confused, but essentially calls for ethnic federalism in which all Kikuyu-inhabited areas will be united under the authority of the elders, the pre-colonial Kikuyu political system. This "Kikuyu state" may or may not be affiliated with similar ethnic states for Kenya's other communities. The political agenda is short on specifics and long on scathing critiques of the Kenyan state and the traditional elite it is held to serve at the expense of the common man in general and Kikuyu youth in particular.

Â¶11. (SBU) Mungiki arose in the context of the Moi administration's explicitly anti-Kikuyu policies. The fact that Kenya is now led by a Kikuyu-dominated government has taken some of the wind out of the sails of Mungiki's resentment-laden political rhetoric. That rhetoric has less
relevancy today as Mungiki de-emphasizes religious, cultural and political purposes and now acts purely as a criminal organization existing only for the financial benefit of its leadership and members. Religious and political themes are used as a means of binding members to Mungiki identity, but do not appear to represent a sincere religious, cultural or political program.

Â¶12. (SBU) Multiple press reports refer to the Mungiki 12 Commandments. These commandments are illustrative of the Mungiki ethos, its military-style organization and modus
operandi. Several recent incidents of Mungiki violence reflect this code:

-- You shall not smoke cigarettes, take frothed beer, wines and spirits but instead take traditional brew. That liquor remains prohibited to all unmarried but snuff is allowed to all, male and female members.

-- It is an abomination to be an uncircumcised Kikuyu male or female. (NOTE: Mungiki are infamous for forcible female genital mutilation. END NOTE.)

-- Never rape or defile or make love to a woman who is not your wife.

-- Never let any member be persecuted, humiliated or be taken hostage by any force, no matter how powerful that enemy is. Always fight back and if overwhelmed, retreat and seek reinforcement.

-- Any life of our member taken by an aggressor, or any of our property destroyed by that aggressor shall be avenged. Revenge at all times will be tenfold. In this, we are all bound by the sacred blood of our veins through an oath.

-- Enemies are traitors, deserters and any force that confronts us. Traitors are members who betray us, deserters being those who abandon our cause. Their punishment shall be death by beheading and their heads shall be dumped where they can be found as a testimony but their torsos should never be found. (NOTE: Several recent suspected Mungiki murders have observed this protocol. END NOTE.)

-- Sect's secrets shall not be discussed with non-members. Any member who contravenes this shall be punished severely.

-- All times observe peace, spreading our doctrine to our brothers and sisters, recruiting many to our cause and binding them through administration of the oath.

-- Always endeavor to raise resources to fund any of our calling and all our regional coordinators must at all times be on the lookout and utilize those avenues that will generate resources.

-- There shall be a set target for all regional coordinators, besides the resources that will be kept for sharing out by the unemployed members.

-- All our efforts shall be the recovery of our lost lands, the land of our forefathers where there was no hunger since water, milk, honey and meat were in abundance.

-- The sect's trademarks shall at all times be a club and a sword to clobber and slay its identified enemies.

-- All members shall at all times be at the ready, to be called at short notice to timely execute directives as shall be communicated to members through their respective regional leaders.

-- The hierarchy of the cause's command shall at all times be respected and the decision and resolutions of the national council shall be final and non negotiable, to be executed without question.

The Mungiki Today: Kenya's Largest Criminal Organization
--------------------------------------------- -----------

Â¶13. (SBU) The Mungiki today are a large criminal organization with a network of supporters within the government bureaucracy and political leadership. It uses extreme violence to amplify its influence through terror. Some of the academic literature on the Mungiki paint its members as harmless rastafarians with a thirst for social justice. If this was ever the case, it certainly is not now. They are vicious, sadistic killers. Kenyan newspapers up until recently routinely referred to the Mungiki as a "banned sect," emphasizing its roots as an unorthodox religious
group. These same newspapers, quite appropriately, now refer to Mungiki as a criminal gang.

The Mungiki operate in significant portions of Central province, some parts of Rift Valley province (Nakuru area, for example) and much of Nairobi, especially along transportation routes. (NOTE: Official Government of Kenya figures show the public transportation sector clearing over USD 1.5 million a day nationwide. END NOTE)

Â¶14. (SBU) The Mungiki rule territory as vigilantes (keeping out rival gangs), cultural police (enforcing prim Mungiki dress codes on women, for example), extortionists (collecting monthly fees from residents and business owners) and a parallel judiciary (arbitrating family disputes and
renter/landlord conflicts). The Mungiki raise funds through extortion, kidnapping, hiring out their gangs to politicians and business people, and charging for the use of public services (public latrines, for example) or illegal utility hook-ups (water and electricity). When under threat from
either the police or the common citizenry, the Mungiki react savagely, with beheadings and public display of mutilated corpses. They employ terror as a means of intimidating opposition.

Â¶15. (SBU) The number of Mungiki members is very difficult to determine. Some press and academic speculations put the number at 1.5 million, but this seems to be a gross exaggeration. The Mungiki are a purely Kikuyu affair. The Kikuyu number about eight million out of a Kenyan population of 32 million. The total number of currently active Mungiki, including rural members not routinely involved in urban criminal activities, is likely under 100,000. Most observers
believe that membership is static, hence the emphasis on intensifying activities. Members of Parliament from Mungiki-dominated areas are largely silent about the organization, due to intimidation, complicity or support. Minister of Defense Karume, who represents a Central Province constituency infamous as a Mungiki stronghold, recently called for the government to negotiate with Mungiki (drawing sharp criticism from the press). The general population is
intimidated into silence and non-cooperation with the police.

On occasion, however, Mungiki victims strike back. Public transport drivers and local residents in a small town outside Nairobi recently burned the homes of a number of Mungiki members in the area. The resultant battles left a policeman dead.

Â¶16. (SBU) Ndura Waruinge, the supposed Mungiki founder, claimed conversion to Islam in 2000, stating that henceforth any move by the government against Mungiki would generate the
fierce opposition of the worldwide Muslim community. Waruinge claimed in 2004 to have left Mungiki and to have converted to Christianity and become a pastor. Little credence is given to either "conversion." It is widely believed that Waruninge covertly directs the movement while
his assumed status allows him to publicly move in political circles. He has formed a political party (Youth Empowerment Association) and announced plans to run for a seat in parliament.

The alleged overt leader of the Mungiki is Maina Njenga. His large estate in rural Central province is said to include facilities for administering the Mungiki oaths and conducting Mungiki "baptisms." Although the police claim to be in the midst of a crackdown on the Mungiki, Njenga
continues to come and go as he pleases.

Comment: Threat to the State?
-----------------------------

Â¶17. (SBU) Are the Mungiki a unique phenomenon in Kenya? Yes and no. There are plenty of other vigilante/extortion outfits, murderous gangs, political militias, and thugs-for-hire. What makes Mungiki different is the scope, comprehensiveness and cohesiveness of the organization. No other criminal organization is as large. No other criminal organization is involved in so many diferent criminal enterprises. No other criminal organization is as well connected in politics and the bureaucracy. No other criminal organization has Mungiki's religious/cultural/political mystique with which to bind its members.

Â¶18. (SBU) The parallel government set up by Mungiki in parts of rural Kenya, certain Nairobi housing estates and slums, and in the transport sector is made possible by weak and ineffective governance. The operation of the "Mungiki state" then further weakens governance in those areas. The apparent collusion of politicians and officials with Mungiki hampers moves by the partially infiltrated police to confront the organization.

The Mungiki are not a revolutionary, subversive organization, despite their early rhetoric. Mungiki does not pose a direct challenge to the state because it does not need to do so. Rather, Mungiki acts as an insidious force that counters efforts to improve governance and security in Kenya. Mungiki weakens the state as it bullies and extorts the "poor and oppressed masses" it
purports to serve, while defying the state to do anything about it. It is a sad commentary about Kenyans' lack of faith in state institutions that so few consider recourse to the official administration when they suffer Mungiki crimes.

If the Kenyan state ever became a credible threat to the Mungiki's existence, then the organization might indeed pose a direct security threat to the country's leaders. The Mungiki does not hesitate to attack and kill police officers who they have been unable to co-opt or coerce into
ineffectiveness.

Comment: What Can Be Done?
--------------------------

Â¶19. (SBU) The membership of such a large group cannot be simply rounded up, arrested, tried and incarcerated. The government's current crackdown is resulting in many arrests of young men in Central Province who have no apparent affiliation to Mungiki. Mungiki members who are caught up in these dragnets are routinely bailed out by their fellows, who then pose a threat to the arresting officers. Several police officers have been murdered in confrontations with Mungiki
over the last few weeks.

Â¶20. (SBU) A more effective approach would be to go after the leadership. However, the political and official connections of the Mungiki leadership make this difficult. Kenya's two
largest daily newspapers, The Standard and The Nation, have both printed editorials accusing the administration of lacking the political will to confront Mungiki. Multiple reports indicate increasing disaffection among Kikuyu voters with the government's lackluster performance in reining in Mungiki oppression. That vote is an absolute necessity for this government's re-election plans in December. That set of circumstances increases the odds for meaningful government action to curb the Mungiki.

Â¶21. (SBU) If the missing political will to confront the Mungiki leadership is ever found, then the Kenyan authorities may want to consider an approach successfully employed by United States law enforcement officials against our own large criminal organizations. Kenya's criminal statutes are often lax and difficult to prosecute. Internal Security Minister Michuki has publicly complained about this. Its tax laws, howver, are draconian. Mungiki leaders would be hard pressed to explain the source of their income (as would a number of Kenyan politicians and officials). Confiscation of property and imprisonment for tax evasion of Mungiki leaders would put a serious dent in Mungiki operations to the relief of Kenya's battered citizenry in Nairobi, Central Province and elsewhere.

RANNEBERGER

Source: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/05/07NAIROBI2215.html

London is burning, will Kenyan leaders learn?

2011-08-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

In this part of the world, news of riots in London are surprising and shocking. It is inconceivable that the first world and the godfathers of democracy can turn to riots, violence, looting and hooliganism for any reason at all.

One cannot even imagine that the London metropolitan police is somewhat overwhelmed (and the prison cells full) by the hundreds of young people turning up for the riots.

We are almost getting self-righteous about the whole fiasco. At least we riot for a cause. The Tunisians, Egyptians, Libyans and Syrians are out on the street for a noble cause. What about the London youth? From the international press coverage, one may be fooled to think that the London youth are just in it for the DVD players and 'HD ready, 42" plasma TVs.

However, on digging deeper, the London youth are probably in it for a higher cause. Sample this from Penny Red, a London blogger;

".....

Most of the people who will be writing, speaking and pontificating about the disorder this weekend have absolutely no idea what it is like to grow up in a community where there are no jobs, no space to live or move, and the police are on the streets stopping-and-searching you as you come home from school. The people who do will be waking up this week in the sure and certain knowledge that after decades of being ignored and marginalised and harassed by the police, after months of seeing any conceivable hope of a better future confiscated, they are finally on the news.
.....

Riots are about power, and they are about catharsis. They are not about poor parenting, or youth services being cut, or any of the other snap explanations that media pundits have been trotting out: structural inequalities, as a friend of mine remarked today, are not solved by a few pool tables. People riot because it makes them feel powerful, even if only for a night.

People riot because they have spent their whole lives being told that they are good for nothing, and they realise that together they can do anything – literally, anything at all. People to whom respect has never been shown riot because they feel they have little reason to show respect themselves, and it spreads like fire on a warm summer night. And now people have lost their homes, and the country is tearing itself apart.
...

Noone expected this. The so-called leaders who have taken three solid days to return from their foreign holidays to a country in flames did not anticipate this. The people running Britain had absolutely no clue how desperate things had become. They thought that after thirty years of soaring inequality, in the middle of a recession, they could take away the last little things that gave people hope, the benefits, the jobs, the possibility of higher education, the support structures, and nothing would happen. They were wrong. And now my city is burning, and it will continue to burn until we stop the blanket condemnations and blind conjecture and try to understand just what has brought viral civil unrest to Britain. Let me give you a hint: it ain’t Twitter.

...."

The Kenyan government and leaders should be very worried at this time. In our villages and town estates, there are hordes of young people, idle, jobless, angry, hungry and with nothing to lose. They have pent up anger with everyone and everything. This is our Kenyan time bomb. It is ticking and as political tensions and temperature begins to build up towards 2012 general elections it is bound to blow up if it is mishandled.

Ukiona cha mwenzio cha nyolewa, chako tia maji so says a Swahili proverb (If you see your friend's hair being cut, prepare yours for you are next). With the first world burning, what chances are there for the third world to escape this wealth inequality and leaders callousness judgement?

Kenya's New Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Proposed Selection Panel

2011-07-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011

In the Matter of the Approval, by the National Assembly, of the Persons Nominated to
Serve as Members of the Selection Panel Section 1(1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of the First Schedule to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011

SUBMISSION OF MEMORANDA

The following persons have been nominated to serve on the Selection Panel in terms of section 1(1) and (2) of the First Schedule to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011-

1. Nominations made by His Excellency, the President

Prof. Marion Wanjiku Mutugi
Ambassador Mwanyengela Ngali.

2. Nominations made by the Rt. Honourable Prime Minister

Dr. Ekout Ekuru
Ms. Rosa Akinyi Buyu.

3. Nominations made by the Judicial Service Commission

Hon. Mr. Justice Isaac Lenaola
Hon. Ms. Emily Ominde.

4. Nominations made by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Advisory Board

Ms. Irene Cheptoo Keino
Mr. Charles Kariuki Wambugu.

5. Nominations made by the Association of Professional Societies in East Africa

Dr. William Okello Ogara
Ms. Sophie Njeri Moturi.

Following the receipt of the nominations, the Honourable Speaker, on 20th July 2011, committed the names of the nominees to the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee for consideration prior to approval by the National Assembly.

The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee now invites interested members of the public to submit any representations that they may have on the suitability or otherwise of the nominees for appointment to the Selection Panel.

The representations may be forwarded to the

Clerk of the National Assembly,
P.O. Box 41842-00100,
Nairobi;

hand-delivered to the Office of the Clerk, Main Parliament Buildings, Nairobi;

or emailed to clerk@parliament.go.ke; to be received on or before Monday 25th July 2011.

PATRICK G. GICHOHI, C.B.S.,
CLERK OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

Tax Compliant Kenya MPs (who have paid their tax arrears)

2011-06-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

The following MPs have paid up their tax arrears and we hope will continue remitting taxes:

1. Peter Kenneth - Gatanga (2012 Presidential Hopeful)

2. Johnstone Muthama - Kangundo

3. Raila Odinga (Prime Minister) - Langata (2012 Presidential Hopeful)

4. Rev. Mutava Musyimi - Gachoka (2012 Presidential Hopeful)

5. Bishop Margaret Wanjiru - Starehe

6. Gideon Mbuvi aka Sonko - Makadara

7. Ferdinand Waititu - Embakasi

8. Wavinya Ndeti - Kathiani (Paid First Installment of KShs 200,000)

9. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka (Vice President) - Mwingi North

10. Mwai Kibaki (President) - Othaya (Press reports says he paid last week)

11. Lenny Kivuti - Siakago

% of tax compliant MPs (incl nominated & ex official members) = 11/224 x 100 = 4.91%

The Kenya Parliament currently has 210 elected MPs, 12 nominated ones and 2 ex-official members

Kenya MPs must pay TAX!

Public Notice on Importation of Maize on Duty-Free Basis

2011-06-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

Further to the Public Notice on the above mentioned subject matter, we wish to clarify as follows:

- The importation of maize on duty free basis runs from 10th June to 31st December, 2011 and does not require a Legal Notice - all Customs entry points have been advised accordingly;

- The facility is open to everybody;

- The importation of GMO Maize will be done by Gazetted Millers only on approval by the National Biosafety Authority; and

- The approval of the level of discoloration of maize will be done by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) in consultation with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation.

Joseph K. Kinyua, CBS
Permanent Secretary/Treasury
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance

Kenyan MPs must pay tax, no way out this time.

2011-06-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

This new constitution is proving to be a great thing. It is grinding slowly but surely. In just a month, the judiciary has been revolutionized, a silent revolution. More drastic changes are emerging daily.

Now, out of the blue, and in accordance with the new calm but deep dawn, KRA is demanding that MPs must be compliant and must therefore pay tax. Not just pay tax for their future salaries, but also for the salaries received since the promulgation of the new constitution.

To no avail, we have taken to the streets and shouted ourselves hoarse that our MPigs must pay tax. The day of reckoning has finally come.

The only two MPs who pay tax voluntarily are Kangundo MP, Johnstone Muthama and Gatanga MP and presidential hopeful Peter Kenneth. The rest have to feel the pain that Kenyans feel of paying tax out of meagre resources and have the money misappropriated by tax non-paying MPigs.

Kenneth Marende, Kenyans are watching you. Dare you go against the grain, this time you will not be forgiven. Tax paying is not a philanthropic task!

Kilome CDF Principles

2011-05-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

The Principles Boss – Hon. John Harun Mwau practises in Kilome

Some of you will call it ignorance of surrounding, others will call it insensitive but after careful consideration I call it FOCUS.

Did you know that as the rest of the country was busy burning Kilome was a bee hive of activities? Besides the newly elected member of parliament Hon John Harun Mwau engaging a company to ensure that electrification was being installed at the time, he also mobilised hundreds of youth, to join colleges at this time as he was well aware that the rest of us were too busy with battles that were not our own and would not be attending college until Koffi Annan brokered peace.

After reading an article on a certain website titled John Harun Mwau, the King Solomon you will get to know and fall in love with earlier this month, I purposed to do a bit of investigation for my own satisfaction. A friend of mine who plays Golf with Mr Anderson Matheka, Managing Director – Treadsetters, agreed to arrange a meeting for me after I mentioned to him about this article and that its content bothered.

I needed someone who could shed some light to what I thought was a PR exercise. The article seemed to speak of a totally different person in comparison to the one we hear about on conventional media. I must say it was interesting, and somewhat refreshing to sit across a table with an individual who knew Msheshimiwa not from gossip or newspaper columns but on a one on one.

Mr. Matheka, started by laying down the 1st basics principle by which Mheshimiwa (Boss) lives by in as far as his vision for Kilome is concerned. I thought it a principle you and I knew yet am not sure we have practised it. For people to make wealth they have to earn money. He told me, in his inaugural meeting as CDF Manager with The Boss, he was taken through a simple calculation. If 10,000 young adults get work outside Kilome and every month each of these sends back home Kshs 2,000, monthly, Kilome will monthly attract a wealth of Ksh 20Million. This made me sit up.

2nd principle, the reason why Boss thinks electricity is key to development in Kilome is because it will ensure that those who have the money do not export it to neighbouring constituencies and or Cities. ‘If there is a welding outfit or facility in Kilome why would I have to incur the cost of transporting steel doors and windows from say Nairobi?’ Mr Matheka asked me. ‘If there is a salon in the local market why, will my sister who lives in Kaskeu need to go to Machakos to have her hair done?’ was his second question

I was starting to enjoy myself. Anderson, as he kept on requesting me to call him, requested his PA to hold all his calls to avoid interruptions. The 3rd principle struck me and left me dump founded. It is a biblical principle based in the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28.

If you are Bible reader I am sure you recall very well that the master rewarded the guy who had the five talents with and extra five, the guy with two, with two extra and the guy with one because he did nothing with his he was called lazy and evil and in Matt 25:29 it says, For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

Anderson told me of an incident that happened just after he took over the running of the CDF Fund. Boss called him into a meeting with some expatriates who were interested in investing in an orphanage in Kilome. He too could not believe, when Boss said NO. Then he told them, instead of investing that money in an orphanage invests it in a Polytechnic or a Tertiary Training Institution. And he gave them his reasoning, how much effort will it require to help one poor person. Isn’t it better to put your effort in helping those with potential and capacity to expand and in turn they can help pull the others up?

Strange as it may sound, it amazed me to think of our banking institutions they seem to follow this principle to the letter. . . . . I had never thought of the application of this parable this way but I must say I was excited. Was convinced that Boss was where he is because he sees things differently and besides we all know if people cannot understand you they will label you anything.

By the time we were tackling the 4th Principle I knew beyond a shoulder of doubt that, what the writer had stated in the article I had read was not only reporting a true finding but the sincerity of the heart of one man who has been grossly misinterpreted and misrepresented.

Yes, 4th Principle Kilome Constituency Development Fund is run like a business. Before funds would be allocated across over 250 projects meaning each project would receive barely enough, to paint one wall in a school for example. Currently the structure is such that only about 12 to 15 projects are dealt with in a year. The funds are managed by the society. Each and every division sits in a baraza and gives in order of priority 5 projects they would want to be considered for funding. The proposals are written and forwarded to Boss who in turn after going through approves the same and send them forward for funding.

Because I doubted that article, I felt it important to give my findings. Surely, this kind of prudence is worth accolade.

This IDP beast must be dealt an effective final blow

2011-05-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

The plight of the internally displaced PEV victims is an ugly eye sore in the Kenya political landscape. The manner in which the state has dealt with the whole issue is sickening and inept. The recent resettlement debacle at Endebess and Mau Narok should be a wakeup call.

The government should rethink of a better methodology of dealing with the IDP menace otherwise this issue just like unemployment, poverty and general national discontent among the citizens remain a time bomb awaiting explosion

The IDPS are products of selfish political competition and diet of tribalism a delicacy of a click of Kenya's privileged political elites. The thinking that the government can unilaterally buy parcels of land for the victims, hound them in Lorries and transport them to unwelcome areas is misguided and irrational.

This unfortunate policy reminds one of the infamous colonial government Native Removal policies from the white highlands to Native settlements. However the colonialists were better of as they were executing their evil mission within an unpopular frame work of their then laws.

The country's constitution allows Citizens to settle anywhere within the land, however the rights of the inhabitants in specific regions must be respected. The government must avoid engaging in divisive and suspicious policies which overtly seem to provoke local communities in the proposed resettlement areas.

Such communities and their leaders must be consulted before settling IDPs in their regions so that the social economical and political implications of the resettlement can be appreciated. Indeed such openness cultivates mutual trust among a people coexisting together.

The IDP concerns must be addressed under a clear legal frame work as opposed to an amorphous rudderless actions propagated by the Ministries of the Special Programme, Finance and Lands.

The unending blame game between the concerned ministries in regard to availability of funds or purchasable land add no value to the plight of the IDPs.An effective way of resolving the IDP menace must be evolved. The Ministry of Special Programme seems to be a den of opaque policies.

Acts of dishing out money handouts and building materials may be beneficial but cannot effectively tackle the persistent manace.In the past the main beneficiaries of this misguided mission have been dubious characters either masquerading as IDPs and or associates of some corrupt provincial administrators and NGOs.

The office of the Attorney General must formulate a bill for debate and enactment by parliament to address the historic circumstances of the IDPs.The Bill should set standards of determining who qualify to be an IDP, prescribe suitable and relevant remedies to the victims, give directions on the manner of handling assets including lands previously owned by the IDPS among other things.

Indeed there is no reason why progressive members of parliament should not take a similar initiative through a Private Members Bill. Such legislation can establish a special court mandated to invite and adjudicate IDP petitions.

The court should give directions on when and how to close all the IDP camps, prescribe penalties to thieves of the IDP resources and likeminded imposters. The court ought to be limitlessly accessible by IDPs and be without elaborate procedural and technical emphasis.

It should set a reasonable time frame of receiving petitions from those who consider themselves as IDPs.Expidient adjudication of such petitions must be cardinal policy of the court

The special court on basis of the tendered evidence should ably quantify the financial, psychological and social loss of victims and prescribe equitable remedies and compensation.

Relevant NGOs should also court the spirit of seeking a permanent solution to the IDP challenges and liberate themselves from insatiable greed for donations uselessly utilized in rhetorical boardroom seminars on IDP topics.

It is backward to keep on pestering the Government to resettle the IDP while at the same time celebrate proceeds of the menace while administering hypocritical boardroom solutions.

The political class should also stop politicizing the IDP issue for selfish benefits. The IDP issue cannot be solved through political rhetoric's and cheap popularist utterances designed to gain political mirage.

The work of legislators is to enact relevant laws capable of confronting emergent social political challenges in the society. It is not in dispute that enacted laws are the strongest tools for social economic and political change.Harambees and handouts to IDPs may only bring solace for a day.

Buying communal land for victims by the government is ridiculous and makes one smell of a corrupt to benefit certain individuals. The government is the sovereign owner of hundreds of thousands of hectares of land lying idle in various counties.

It is pertinent that the identity of vendors of the resettlement project land be unveiled and costs of logistics thereto be disclosed. The government must respect the victim's right to settle where they would want to buy lands and the quantification of the terms of compensation should be determined through evidence in a special court.

The standard form of such compensation to the IDPs should be monetary. Upon compensation an individual IDP should be free to buy land at any area of choice. Heaping people together on IDPs settlement is not stigmatizing but amount to discrimination and ethnic profiling. This beast of IDP must be strangled and be removed from the face of the country.

George N. Kimani (The writer is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya)

Email-gkihingo @yahoo.com

Hague Trials a Disgrace to Kenya - George Kimani

2011-04-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

My primary school civics teacher taught me that Kenya is a sovereign nation. He emphasized to me that sovereign nations have independent institutions such as the executive, legislature and judiciary to man their affairs of governance. He also taught me that acts of poking fingers in other nation’s affairs despite protest are called intrusion. The governments clamor to set up a local court to adjudicate on the PEV issue should be respected and given a chance.

Kenyans must decisively deal with the PEV and the resultant issues which threaten to divide the nation. Political leaders must spare the country ugly dramas as they engage in unnecessary noises politicizing the PEV issues to suit their selfish power struggle missions at the expense of the country’s dignity and sovereignity.No one should hoodwink Kenyans. The lives of forty million citizens is not dependent on the anti or pro Hague process, however the political lives of majority of the current breed of politicians hangs on the manner in which the PEV issues are handled. The country is far superior to fears, aspirations and political ambitions of individuals and it will survive them.

This week marks one of the most disgraceful events in Kenya political history. After systematic reckless handling of the legislations intended to resolve the ugly aftermaths of 2007 elections, the country nudity will be exposed at the Hague, a foreign jurisdiction. This will be a clear
manifestation of the country leadership ineptness and outright ridicule of Kenya independence struggle. Tribalism, raw political greed and wild political power struggle amongst a small cable of political elites and opportunists risk delivering this country to dogs of neocolonialism.

Whether any of the Ocampo six is guilty or not is immaterial. Kenyans must be tried in their country for any crime committed within the country so long as the country professes to be independent. Jaramogi odinga, Masinde Muliro, Harry Thuku, Dedan Kimathi, and many of the
founding fathers of this nation must be turning in their graves as they mourn the betrayal of the nation by power hungry political bootlickers.

On 28/2/2008, I wrote an Article in the Daily Nation, “Constitution and Legal Reforms Are the Solution” and stated that the PEV and other past political injustices should be resolve under a reformed constitutional dispensation. I underscored the importance of respecting Kenya’s political sovereignty and the self determination by the citizens to realizing a new constitution to effective fully address historical injustices and dark history of the nation. I stated that Kenyans have capacity to shape their own destiny, coexist harmoniously and pursue national growth and development for national good.

Whereas the country must earn its dignity by honoring its obligations under the international treaties and conventions, it is contemptuous for friendly nations or individuals to campaign and administer alien prescriptions to cure maladies affecting the country. It is perilous and reckless for our legislators and leaders to mortgage this country sovereignty by blindly absconding their duties of passing patriotic legislations that would effectively address social economic and political
challenges facing Kenyans.

The enactment of a reformed constitution presented the country an unprecedented golden opportunity to soberly address the genesis and the effects of PEV.However negative attributes of anti reforms, tribalism, political expedience, foreigners worship, and misplaced political priorities have significantly contributed to making Kenya a symbol of international ridicule and shame among communities of nations.

The circumstances facing the Ocampos six are of their own making and whatever the outcome of the process they like other Kenyans must be prepared to embrace ethos of patriotism in future.

Similarly the current uncertainties facing the nation have been greatly contributed by Kenyans whose indolence and absolute lack of vigilance has glorified political elites into demi gods.

Kenyans must abandon the despicable culture of hero worshipping politicians but rather wake up and participate in national affairs reasserting their rights under the new constitution by seeking remedies and interpretation of national policies within the rightful institutions. This will definitely hold the leaders and political leadership into account castrating their selfish political agrandisement.

The Hague trials are of absolute no value to this nation much more so when the obvious key culprits are left sitting pretty, enjoying dividends of the PEV in warmth of plum public offices. These trials are of no benefit for realization of justice for the victims of the PEV or perpetrators of the heinous acts of the violence. These trials do not add value to growth of Kenyans institution of justice or jurisprudence.

It is not debatable whether perpetrators of PEV should be subjected to court process, the answer is yes. It is obvious that genuine victims of PEV should be compensated whereas bogus IDPs manufactured by misguided provincial admistrators as cash cows must be isolated and
punished. The stolen funds must be returned.

However the PEV challenges should serve as a renaissance for Kenyans to evaluate their levels of patriotism, build trust in their institution of governance and endeavor to put in place credible leaders to manage the public affairs. Kenyans must decree that any leader who negates the aspirations of the founding fathers of this nation be not worth the name and be ejected from office. Similarly leaders who push clandestine agendas betraying their country, ridiculing local institutions to achieve selfish political gains must also be ostracized and their demons cast in deep see of political oblivion. Every Kenya has the business and onus of making this country and its institution great for posterity. It is high time an Act of parliament on Patriotism and Nationalism is enacted.

George N Kimani, Nairobi (The writer is an Advocate of the High Court. Email gkihingo@yahoo.com)

Kudos Mheshimiwa John Harun Mwau!

2011-03-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

I am a resident and a voter from Kilome Constituency and I wonder when the day will come for the enemies that are like sharks devouring My Mheshimiwa, Hon. John Harun Mwau, will ever come and witness what he has been able to do for his People. Why will you not come to the ground an judge him by his actions . . . .

Kilome was in a deplorable condition, the residents languished in poverty, no one cared about what we ate and drunk , if our children went to school or not, If our Sisters our mothers and our wives had self esteem because they could welcome their husbands and children home to a well cooked meal. No one cared, now we have an example of what good leadership can do for the people.

Since independence we have never experienced or known how it is to live well. Until 2007 an acre of land along the highway used to be sold at Kshs 10,000/-, right now a 50X100plot is over Kshs 400,000/- translating to about over 1.6million an acre. I am living in the rural area but I feel like I live in town, I have water and electricity; I can feed my family without begging what more can I ask for.

After elections he sat us down as a constituency and all he pledges has since come to pass. A man

who honours his words is a man worth of respect. He may not live or visit Kilome every day but his presence is greatly felt.

As the country goes through a draught situation I can only remember just how bad hunger used

to bite then, good riddance to those old days. We have water running through almost every

homestead, water projects such as Salama to Maiyani, Road Kasgue to Masokani and many others.

Where such projects have not reached we have borehole that have been sunk and even electrified in Kwangumu,Kwale, Musaani,Kayata, Kisaungu , in areas like Kisaulu the borehole there is generator powered.

Kilome was such a remote area that even banking institutions avoided it as a plague. We now have two branches of K Rep bank, one in Kasgeu and a second one in Mumela. For a bank to establish two branches in a period of less than two years in what used to be a very remote area can only be a demonstration of how economically empowered we at Kilome have become.

I know that it is a privilege to have some of the projects that we are having at Kilome. I can only

count myself blessed because my child who is now in class 5 will grow up knowing how to grow food using subsistence farming. We have schools like Mupembo Primary and Kagseu Secondary Schools that have green houses, YES, green houses, whilst Kasgeu Boys secondary, Mutweambo primary, Sultan hamud Primary, Mukaa Primary have Fish ponds. In what had been written off by many as the dry Ukambani.

Our constituency funds runs like an institution. When a man who know how to manage anything

takes over he can only turn situations around. We the people are the ones who manage our funds, we sit in barazas with the chief, DO, and other community leaders, and decide what projects should be given priority. It is an unwritten rule that a sub-location cannot get less than Kshs 400,000, meaning the projects are substantial and can be seen. What we needed in Kilome, the lord provided a leader who cares about his people.

I am having hope because Hon John Harun Mwau is my Mheshimiwa! Thank you God for using man.

Musembi, from Kilome

Release of the 2010 KCSE Examination Results

2011-02-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

The Kenya National Examinations Council wishes to inform parents/guardians, candidates and all stakeholders that the 2010 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination results will be released on Monday, 28th February 2011 starting 9.00 am during a ceremony to be presided by the Minister for Education, Amb. Hon. Prof. Sam K. Ongeri.

The release ceremony will be held at the Kenya National Examinations Council offices located at Caledonia, off Denis Pritt Road, Nairobi.

All Provincial Directors of Education (PDEs) are invited to attend the ceremony and thereafter pick the results for the schools in their respective provinces for distribution.

Due to limited space, attendance will be strictly by written invitation.

To receive results in real time, candidates, parents and teachers are asked to pre-subscribe by sending the index number to 5052 to Safaricom ONLY but will not be charged until the results are sent on Monday 28th February 2011.

For Airtel and Orange, subscribers are advised to send their SMS on Monday February 28, 2011.

The results will be sent immediately after the announcement by the Minister for Education.

KNEC SMS Release of 2010 KCSE Exams Results

2011-02-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Star Kenya Politics Gossip

2011-02-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

Close associates of suspended Higher Education minister William Ruto are bragging that their man will emerge politically stronger and more powerful once the ongoing cases against him are concluded. They are so confident that they are now claiming the International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo does not have evidence to prosecute him over the post-election violence. They are saying they have got their hands on whatever little evidence Ocampo may have had on their man.

***

Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka reportedly held their recent meetings in the dark in Libya because Gaddafi is afraid of being assassinated. Street lore has it that Gaddafi's obsession with his personal security started in the 1980s when a US attempt to assassinate him resulted in the death of his daughter. According to our moles in the VP's delegation, the street lights are switched off whenever the self-proclaimed Brother Leader is passing and are switched on after he has gone his way.

***

A foreign company on Thika Road in Nairobi subjected its staff to humiliating body searches and illegally held them overnight after some Sh378 million in UK Sterling Pounds went missing from the premises. The company security personnel locked in all the staff, strip-searched them and did not allow any of them to go home until morning. But the missing money was not found. The workers are afraid to report to the authorities as they fear losing their jobs.

***

Two clans in Mandera — the Murule and the Garre — are wrangling over the awarding of tenders for the construction of roads in the district. One clan which lost out on the tenders claims a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Roads who comes from the rival clan influenced the awarding of the tenders to his clansmen. They claim that a company associated with the former PS was awarded a Sh200m contract even though it had not presented the lowest bid.

***

There was high drama at the African Union headquarters last month when the commission chairman Or Jean Ping publicly clashed with Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Addis Ababa after the latter held a Press conference ahead of the Peace and Security Council Summit convened to discuss the situation in Cote d'Ivoire.

According to the story posted on the All Africa.com website, Raila was supposed to brief his superiors in the Peace and Security Council first after which they would deliberate on his report and any other reports pertinent to the Cote d'Ivoire crisis before holding a Press conference to announce their decision.

Ping who had received a rapping from the leaders over his handling of the Cote d'Ivoire issue was peeved by Raila's breach of protocol and summoned AU security details to stop the press conference.

"There was some shouting, pushing and shoving with the clearly discomfited Kenyan premier attempting to rush through his statement before handing out copies to journalists who were being dispersed after which he left the scene in a huff," the story says. It is strange that none of the Kenyan media who were present at the AU summit picked up on this.

***

Spotted in a Nairobi yesterday: The CEO of a prominent media house, his top managers and a senior manager of the Central Bank of Kenya enjoying lunch at a city hotel. This set the rumour mills turning as speculation grows that the CBK official might soon be shown the door.

***

A board member of a foreign company which was recently awarded a multibillion-shilling contract by Communication Commission of Kenya is under siege from creditors who are demanding that he pay his debts. The individual has accumulated debts in excess of Sh 100 million and spends much time and resources trying to fend off his creditors who want to have him declared bankrupt.

***

We are told the Party of National Unity is grappling with the dilemma — will the Attorney General appeal against the High Court ruling that declared that President Kibaki breached the constitution in announcing his nominees for the new Chief Justice, Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions? Remember Amos Wako signed the Judicial Service Commission statement that condemned the nominations as null and void. The PNU has enlisted a senior lawyer who is friendly to the Judiciary to appeal against Justice Daniel Musinga's ruling. The top lawyer who has represented top politicians in high-profile cases is said to be favourable to the Bench.

***

The government will find itself tied down to a contract with a foreign company having the monopoly of printing the country's currency and other security documents. The deal is expected to be sealed soon. According to our moles, while some government officials involved in the negotiations were opposed to the 10-year contract, they were persuaded to accept the deal when they were informed that the foreign company would form a joint venture with local representatives.

***

PNU politicians are bragging that they will soon "teach" Prime Minister Raila Odinga a political lesson. The politicians believe that the moment they have been waiting for to fix Tinga (Raila) once and for all has come since the political pendulum has swung in President Kibaki's favour. They plan to push through the names proposed by President Kibaki before they introduce a motion of no confidence against Raila.

***

Are the decisions being made by the Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura being coloured by the fact that he is one of the six people suspected to have masterminded the post-election violence? Those working with him say the man is annoyed with some senior government officials who he claims gave information to ICC chief prosecutor which was used to fix him.

***

A well-known city lawyer is in trouble after he threw his wife and child out and married another woman. The man has been sued by his wife, whose lawyers are convinced they have a credible case against their flamboyant and uncaring colleague. The woman intends to air all the dirty linen in public once the matter comes for hearing in court.

***

JUSTICE and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo was surprised when he confronted by a Star journalist who wanted to get his comment on the re-insertion of a controversial clause in the re-published Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Bill, 2011. "I'm shocked because no other journalist has realised it or is likely to!" said Mutula before confirming and taking full responsibility for the same.

Finger of God: Trouble in Paradise - The Star

2011-01-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

Almost a year later, Joseph Hellon, Esther Arunga and Quincy Timberlake seem to have had a
massive fallout

By Grace Kerongo

It's almost a year after the controversy that snared ex-TV anchor Esther Arunga, saxophonist Joseph Hellon and rapper Quincy Timberlake hit the proverbial fan.

Esther Arunga shocked many fans when she made the decision to dump her fiance just weeks ahead of their planned wedding, under advice from leaders of the Finger of God cult.

She then went ahead to quit her job at KTN - a job she had described on her Facebook page as, "The best job ever, I love my job"

Esther then refused to go back home even after the police were called by her concerned parents to get her from Runda, where musician Joseph Hellon, the Church leader lives.

(Veronica Agape, Joseph Hellon, his wife Wagikuyu and Quincy Timberlake's former bodyguard Joel Masiga on Tuesday when they visited the Star office.)

At the time Hellon told the world with Esther by his side that she was old enough to make her own choices.

The controversy caused quite a social commotion with many people thinking the trio had lost their senses.

Now Hellon has come out to speak about the controversy describing the whole affair as "a well-planned, elaborate con carried out on me, Arunga, and the Finger Of God congregation."

Quincy meanwhile is keeping silent and refusing to comment on the affair. Attempts to reach him failed when he refused to respond to calls and messages.

The musician turned spiritual leader spoke in detail about his interaction with Quincy, and when it finally dawned on him that he had been had.

Hellon first met Quincy in childhood. Quicy's family lived 100 metres from Hellon's mother's Kokuro village home, located a few kilometers from Awendo Town in Nyanza Province. Quincy was raised by his grandparents Joel and Rael Madanji.

The two were deskmates since class two at Kokuro Primary School. Back then, Quincy was registered in the school as Joginda Singh. Since then, Quincy has gone by many aliases.

When he was in Kanda King's band he was a Congolese known as Dezato, and to the late rapper Krupt, he was Fizzle Dogg. Now with Hellon he goes by Quincy Wambita Zuma Timberlake.
In an exclusive interview this week, Hellon came clean about all the too good to be true deals that he was sucked into Quicy's orbit by.

The first deal that grabbed Hellon's attention was a contract with Pepsi Cola, the deal was further sweetened by an acting deal with Hollywood actor Mel Gibson and finally an interview on Larry King Live's show on CNN.

"When Quincy came to me he told me he had a contact at the Pepsi Cola Company in the USA and they would be interested in sponsoring my jazz career. Immediately, I started receiving phone calls from people saying they were Pepsi's managers for Africa. I could see the number was South African for real and so I believed."

Even when soon afterwards Quincy went to prison and was released on bail, after a case of obtaining money through false pretence, Hellon stuck by him.

"When he got out, I told him 'Look, let's get on with Pepsi Cola deal' and he told me all these court cases were slowing the deal down. That is when I started thinking there must be something wrong.

"The various people who called never wanted to meet in person. When after a while nothing happened, it occurred to me that the many Pepsi Cola managers, and others who claimed to be Larry King and Mel Gibson had been inventions of Quincy Timberlake all along.

"If it wasn't for the way things happened early last year (the raids and court cases) we would have discovered this a lot earlier.

"It was hardly a month after meeting him that we got raided and arrested and now we have been saddled with the legal aspect of everything. We have bills and lawyers to pay and our names to clear.

"So basically, attention shifted from him. That gave him a lot of time to work with whomever his accomplices were to keep us deceived. And I do admit we were fully deceived."

The final confrontation leading to the breakup between Hellon and Quicy took place on December 8 last year.

"When I asked him about all the deals that never happened, he became upset and said he was leaving.

"One of the reasons I had believed him initially was because Quincy never hid details of his former life or on how he earned his money.

"He convinced us he needed help. He wanted to be part of the church as well," explained Hellon.

Hellon claims that Quincy somehow managed to hack into his e-mail and pretend he was the televangelist Benny Hinn and order Hellon's Finger of God church to do various things.

"Finger of God had been partners with the Benny Hinn ministries for many years. And Benny Hinn used to send us letters every month. How Quincy was able to somehow hack into that mail to the extent that instead of getting mail from Benny Hinn we got it from him, we don't know.

The wording, format and message was the same.

"We were oblivious, thinking we were still receiving original messages from Benny Hinn. We only realised this was not the case towards mid-last year."

During his 12-month stay with Quincy at his Runda and later Kitisuru homes, Hellon said he began to notice the "peculiar habits" of his erstwhile friend.

"We started to realise that he regularly destroyed or got rid of his computer hard drives. This got us wondering what is he trying to hide," Hellon said.

After the confrontation with Hellon, Quincy left the house in Kitisuru that Hellon, his wife Wagikuyu, Esther Arunga and a female UN employee friend of theirs shared and he rented a place of his own in New Kitisuru.

Later on December 12 a blog claiming to detail the gang rape of a Finger of God congregation member allegedly posted online by fellow Finger of God member, Veronica Agape. These claims have since been denied by Agape who says she suspects that an imposter posted the blog to hurt Hellon.

Hellon, his wife Wagikuyu and Veronica Agape recorded statements at CID headquarters on Tuesday, in which they threatened to sue Quincy.

Hellon Denies Claims and Breaks TiesTimberlake and Esther Arunga

2011-01-13T04:28:00.000-08:00

By Grace Kerongo - The Star 'Word Is'

Controversial Finger of God church founder Joseph Hellon has denied claims that he raped a member of his church.

This comes after the allegations were posted in the blog www. agapehellon.blogspot.com saying that he had repeatedly raped Veronica Agape.

Hellon, who was accompanied by Veronica Agape and his wife Wagikuyu for the interview with Word Is, yesterday said he had reported the matter to the CID for further investigations.

Veronica also denied creating the blog.

Hellon confirmed that he has fallen out with former buddy Quincy Timberlake and that he has quit the Placenta Party. He was set to be the party's presidential candidate in the 2012 polls.

According to the jazz musician, the big fallout came after the "utopic promises" made by Quincy failed to come to fruition.

Quincy had approached Hellon with a deal allegedly from Pepsi Cola, claiming that the soft drink company was interested in signing him (Hellon) as brand ambassador and all he had to do was feature Quincy in the videos of his songs. Quincy also told Hellon that Irish American film actor and producer Mel Gibson wanted to feature him (Hellon) in one of his movies.

Another unfulfilled promise was getting an interview with legendary CNN talk show host Larry King. Quincy also claimed that Sarah Palin was to pay for Esther Arunga's child delivery bills - all promises never materialised.

Esther gave birth at Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi, on December 27.

Hellon apologised to the public over the Esther Arunga saga.

He also said that he had reconciled with Arunga's parents and that he was working on a way to reunite her with her family.

A reformed progressive cabinet is what Kenyans need - Lawyer George N. Kimani

2011-01-06T01:18:00.001-08:00

Implementation of the constitution must remain a paramount agenda in the year 2011. The Parliament should urgently put into place the necessary legislations to effect the process. However, there are some critical institutions which yearn for urgent reforms and reconstitution.

The institution of cabinet as currently constituted in size, credibility and integrity cries for urgent reconstitution at least to be in consonance with the spirit of the constitution. Kenyans deserve progressive and reformed institutions. Establishment of strong institution will earn citizens confidence and avoid embarrassing situations where foreigners have in the past intervened to give prescriptions on issues of governance and internal disputes resolution on matters such as PEV.

Public office holders must be men and women of integrity. President Kibaki should submit to the spirit of the constitution and appoints a dignified council of ministers. The new constitution calls for a lean, credible and efficient cabinet. Chapter 6 of the constitution provides that all public officers including ministers must be people of sound morals and integrity.

Individuals with retrogressive ideas: tainted morals, questionable history in public/private service or known disgraceful political records should exit the cabinet forthwith. It is despicable that people whose names are synonymous with corruption, nepotism and outright incompetence continue to sit in the government.

Cabinet ministers who are suspected of perpetrating mega scams have no business masquerading as leaders and should resign and or be forced out of office. Land grabbers, thieves of public monies, tribalists and other barbarians should be ejected from the cabinet.

It is ironical that a culture of stepping aside is creeping in the public service; suspected public office abusers must upon resigning must be replaced with men and women of honour.

Public servants must demonstrate high level of leadership both in their public and private engagements. They must remain patriotic and sensitive to real challenges facing the nation and its citizens. A leader who seems indifferent to plight affecting Wananchi and the nation has
no business sitting in a public office. Arrogant comments attributable to some members of cabinet leave one wondering whether they live in the same society with the rest of Kenyans.

Recently I read a documentary of a cabinet minister who was quoted priding himself of owning 1500 hectares ranch and several others in Nakuru, feeding a lion at 1.4 million shilling and shamelessly making joke of naming a cheeter cage in his ranch as Hague. Such a minister is in the same category as his colleague who rudely belches in an air condition office castigating poor workers for not remitting premiums for NHIF funds and announcing his lunch date worth 2500/= shillings.

This altitude is not good for public servants since public service is honour which should be courted with dedication, humbleness and patriotism.

Ours is a capitalist society and there is nothing wrong with leading affluent lifestyles, however in a country afflicted by IDP menace, landlessness, abject poverty, insecurity, alcoholism, unemployment and other myriads social economic and political challenges a sensible leader should keep to himself issues which would appear to ridicule ordinary citizens.

It is pertinent to remind such leaders that this country is seating on a time bomb as the social economic gap in our society continue to widen due to inequitable distribution of public resources and opportunities. Sound policies to narrow this social-economic gap must be found to avoid an imminent explosion.

As the country struggle with the best solution to address the PEV and how to redeem its image in the international forum particularly on issue of seeking justice for victims and suspects of PEV and enhancement of national reconciliation, peace and sovereignty. It is abominable for some leaders make dry jokes of The Hague issue and or celebrate the circumstances of the suspects. Rather such leaders should engage their minds in exploring suitable ways of settling this issue
including establishment a special domestic court

Politicians who wine tribalism, dine nepotism, dream corruption should be uprooted from the cabinet. Ministers who crusade against settlement of IDP at certain parts of the country represent dark days of yester politics. This is contrary to express constitutional provisions allowing citizens to live and coexist anywhere in the country. Equally disgraceful are ministers who hold misguided thinking that government tenders, contracts and appointments are a preserve of their kin and kith. Kenyan should be spared such people as their leaders..

As the country address itself to the issue of public service appointments, it will be repugnant to hold a belief that certain fellows have monopoly of occupying cabinet slots due to their political
associations, dynasties and affiliations. A casual observation reveals that at least three quotas of the sitting ministers are unsuitable for office.

Recently the country witnessed sound political contribution from first timer’s legislators in parliamentary committee. This is clear confirmation that this country is not short of capable leaders. Men and women who have in the past demonstrated impeccable credentials in the reform process should serve in the government and not otherwise.

George N. Kimani,(The author is an Advocate of the High Court, Email.gkihingo@yahoo.com)

Daudi Kabingu - Africa brewing own problems and the west takes the blame

2011-01-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds

- Bob Marley

Once upon a time, the rain pounded heavily and one village was particularly flooded.

As everyone looked for ways of salvaging their lives and property, one man who held a deep belief in God, climbed to the top of his roof and started seeking divine intervention.

“You know I have been faithful to you, God. Please do something about me and my property.”

Soon, a boat approached and the pilot called him onboard. The man waved him on. He was waiting for God’s miracle. A moment later, as the water levels were reaching his feet, a helicopter buzzed over him and dropped a rescue rope. The man waved it on.

He was waiting for God’s miracle. Soon, the water levels were high and the man drowned. When he got to heaven, he was angry and complained to God. “I have been faithful to you all my life. I have given my whole life to serve you yet you could not save me in the hour of need”, he rambled. God looked at him pitifully and shook His head. “I sent you a boat and a helicopter. What else did you need?”

I pounced on that story on the internet. I have read it again and again and again and have shared it with a dozen friends who have also liked the moral of the story: God gives us the answers to our adversities but we are either too ignorant or too foolish to grasp them.

This story reminds me of Africa, my home; the land of abundance and the land of opportunity. If you are in doubt, ask yourself this question: Why were the Western powers killing each other as they scrambled for a piece of it? Africa is the farm of the world – naturally, it is the most agriculturally productive continent.

By this time, Africa should be among the most industrialized continents – all raw materials and minerals come from around. Then why the flourishing poverty and underdevelopment?

For many years, as I rattled my young mind for the answers, those who came before me taught me to point my fingers at the West. I was told that the West colonized us and took advantage of our resources.

I was further told that when we gained independence, the West continued to control us through

modern colonialism a.k.a neocolonialism by using the principle of divide and rule against us that drove us to perennial civil wars. My older minders even gave me proof of this, “Look at the countries rich in natural resources”, they blurted with authority. “They are the most war-prone.” At that time, I nodded and bought the logic.

Now, since I have become of age, specifically being a young parent endowed with the eternal

responsibility of spearheading a whole lineage, I have come to see things in a different perspective - a black and white perspective. From this new perspective, I have found that what my seniors used to say was partly true, partly false and in most cases, pure hogshit.

THE TRUTH: it is true that we were colonized. The West saw opportunity in Africa that our forefathers never saw cause of limited perception. It is true that the West partitioned Africa amongst themselves – the way robbers share their spoils after a successful “job”. It is true that we had no capacity to resist them at that time, because we felt and acted very inferior to them.

It is true that our forefathers viewed the white man as some kind of a “god” till during the first world war (when they saw him bleeding and dying). It is true that the colonialist governed over us through divide-and rule. There are living testimonies to that. Look at the map of Kenya.

Forty seven years since gaining “independence” (shame on us), we are still talking about Central, Rift Valley, Nyanza, etc. These demographics were laid down by the colonialists to achieve a desired objective. My heart bleeds anytime I hear an ethnic shenanigan in his fourties, thirties or twenties holding these tribal conclaves dear.

From these truths, I came to learn some other truths. I learnt that Africa was not the only colonized continent in the world. I learnt that many countries have experienced colonialism, including the very United States of America that is criticized for acting as the global policeman. Closer to Africa, India gained independence from the British in 1947, Malaysia (British) in 1957 and interestingly, Malaysia gained independence on August 1963 - three months after Kenya had gained independence!

THE FALSEHOODS: First, that Africans are the most oppressed people. I tend to disagree. If you mention slavery, it had been there since the days of Pontius Pilate. If you talk about colonialism, as we have seen above, even the US of A experienced it. If you talk about victimization, no people in this world have suffered like the Jews. Forget about the days of Pharaoh. Remember Hitler in recent years. Then look at where the Jews are today.

Second, that the West make Africans fight each other. Now this is total bullshit. Being incited to fight and commissioning a fight are two different things altogether. Human actions are a result of mental perceptions. No one can fight his bother without the mental conviction to do so.

Therefore, as much as I agree there have been foreign hands in the endless wars in Angola, Sierra Leonne and Zaire, I equally agree that there are few greedy Africans and many small-minded Africans (the executioners) who dance to their tunes. In fact, this exploitation of the “African’s small mind” has not been limited to foreigners. In Kenya, for example, we have seen it working locally in 1992, 1997 and 2007 to impressive results.

THE HOGSHIT: That the West is manipulating our affairs. In their most profound wisdom, our octogenarian, septuagenarian and sexagenarian leaders sing this line in chorus when their leadership is being put to test.

More often than not, this line is dropped at us, the youth, who, just like we had swallowed the pill of negative ethnicity with a single gulp; we swallow this one with gust and rage. We are told that our problems are caused by the interference from the west and that we should take pride in our sovereignty.

Ironically, when these “foreign masters” come with goodies in terms of aid or grant, our leaders turn around and sheepishly tell us they are our “development partners”.

We are further told that it has taken 200 hundred years for those blaming our leadership to be where we are, hence we should be patient with their leadership because our countries are barely 50 years old, and bla…bla…bla…, shit…shit….shit….

What we never ask them and most importantly, ask ourselves is why it takes 6 months or less and not 200 years for the latest piece of technology from the West to reach our shores.

IN CONCLUSION

Africa is the author, schemer and executioner of its own problems. The African holloi polloi is not exempt from this blame. As much as African leaders shall be liable for their sins of commission, the masses shall be liable for their sins of omission. The African mass is behaving like the man who drowned in our earlier story.

We have all the necessary tools for our salvation, especially good education, democratic space and sound media. What we need, especially the youth and young leaders is to come together and seek practical and lasting solutions for our continent.

Contrary to what we are being made to believe, most of the foreign countries are in support of this elusive initiative. Africa is a country far left behind because of its own faults. As stated earlier, Singapore got independence 3 months after Kenya got hers. The difference between the GDPs of the two countries today is shameful.

Reasons? While Singapore dwelt on developing their country, Kenya has been perennially immersed in petty tribal politics of “eating the national cake”.

The idea, ladies and gentlemen, is not to focus on eating the cake, but on baking it. Otherwise, our loud day-long Sunday prayers and Friday dusk-to-dawn keshas are just a noise passing in the wind. When we get to heaven masked with our perceived “fear” of God, He would pitifully look at us and say, “I gave you a great country - nice weather, arable land, good scenery, beautiful beaches, natural resources and good friends who were willing to help you every time you were killing each other. What else did you need? Sending My Son again? Never! You have killed Him a million times already!!”

©Daudi Kabingu is a Civil Engineer Working in Mombasa

Christine Ogutu - Kenyans, we should not go back to "Egypt"

2011-01-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

In the colonial period, tyranny was the order of the day. Africans were regarded as inferior. They were left in the reserves and equipped with the inferior skills that could make them work as slaves in the white highlands. These were the darkest days in Africa but we are glad to be here today, very much mature and ready to articulate for our rights and stand by our actions.

In Kenya we fought the war, turned against our brothers and drank all the split blood from the hoods, not because we wanted but the circumstances led us to stray. Our minds were driven by the protagonists against the antagonists. It's amazing how we can turn against our nation in a fraction of a second. That was the past now its time to mend our destiny, a time to make real our fight for justice.

As of yesterday, it was gone with the first republic of Kenya now we are in the second republic and we never want these leaders to manipulate us. We know where we've come from and we know where we are going.

This time around we want justice and not even the threat by our own leaders to pull out of the Rome statute can deter us from reaching our destiny. Sometimes we have to stick to what is real, denouncing the ICC will not change a thing but rather the trials will go ahead as planned. The culprits will still have to face the wrath.

I like the kind of confusion the government is proving to have. Our way to justice has just began and there is no stopping. Let the leaders stop making noise in the moon, nobody will hear them. If it was the poor Kenyans who were indicted they could have said it is OK, they will wish them well but now that it is their friends they want to pull out of ICC. They should subtract 6 from 39 million and the change will be a drip in the ocean.

Kenya is for all of us not the influential. And I guess we never want to go back to Egypt but to proceed to Canaan and thus it is us (KENYANS) against our immoral parliamentarians.

Moses Kuria - Ocampo will fail to indict the six - The Star

2010-12-20T20:22:00.000-08:00

There was shock, consternation and dis-belief when ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo announced his list of six suspects in the post-election violence. To some, it was relief in the belief that this was a route to the long elusive justice.

To most in the political class, champagne bottles were popped in the mistaken but self satisfied deja vu that Ocampo had "cleared" their political paths to power by eliminating their political adversaries.

Newspaper and television analysis since the December 15 announcement have all been talking about the political implications for Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto in the 2012 elections.

Personally, I feel vindicated. Long before Ocampo's announcement, I have written that the ICC process is a conspiracy between some Western powers and their local proteges to determine the Kenyan political dynamic in 2012.

It is no wonder that the polling firm, Infotrack Harris, deemed it fit to ask the question "Would you vote for any of the six in 2012?" and the response was overwhelmingly in the negative.

Whilst 2012 is what Ocampo had in mind, he wins my accolades for mastering the Kenyan political dynamics with unprecedented speed. The prosecutor took advantage of four major realities in our national psyche.

Firstly, there was an insatiable quest for justice by the victims of post-election violence. Given that the master-minds of the violence in 1992 and 1997 went unpunished, Kenyans were baying for blood. More so, because the likes of James Orengo have frustrated the IDP resettlement, anger among victims has hit a crescendo. Taking cognizance of this quest for justice by the victims, Ocampo took advantage to create a list which was a figment of his imagination.

After all, Kenyans are so passionate about justice that they would accept any list. What a fertile ground for Ocampo and his local and international allies to achieve their 2012 objectives while seeming to satiate this thirst for justice!

Secondly, Ocampo knew that since the grand coalition came to power, Kenyans are obsessed with 50/50 sharing. It is a political thin line you have to walk. It may be that Kofi Annan's precious advice came in handy here. All decisions have to be evaluated to ensure there is apparent political balance. If you name three from PNU, name an equal number from ODM. If you name a party leader here, you have to name a party leader there.

Care must be taken to also ensure that you name at least a person with a direct line to either principal. As long you adhere to this Nusu-Nusu ideology, beguiled Kenyans will support you all the way, Ocampo thought. This will give you a blank cheque to come up with a list from the figment of your imagination and ensure that the grand 2012 conspiracy is right on track.

Thirdly, Ocampo appeared to have realised that Kenyans are generally fatigued by the political class. Due to this fatigue, he thought, it didn't matter to them whether you hang Jesus or Barnabas. Our collective will against the politicians was so tempting for Ocampo that he thought as long as there are politicians on the list, Kenyans will move on and say it is good for Kenya.

Finally, Ocampo appeared to have taken a quick study on the anthropology of Kenyans and realised that we do not overburden ourselves with too much detail. That is why he had the guts to issue a raft of conditions for the suspects to adhere to or else.. ...Some of those conditions border on the absurd, like barring suspects from making contacts with each other, never mind that three of the so-called suspects sit in the Cabinet!

What we gullible Kenyans will not do is to question who gives a mere prosecutor powers to dictate bail conditions. Ocampo is used to Kenyans swallowing hook, line and sinker, any trash he throws our way. Talk of impunity!

Apart from the Kenya case, it disturbs me a lot that Ocampo is dealing with four other "situations" — in Uganda, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, in the Central African Republic.

All situations from outside Africa are referred to Special Tribunals by the United Nations. The ICC is therefore slowly becoming the ACC-The African Colonial Court

I believe Ocampo will have an uphill task convincing the pre-trial judges, not just Judge Hans-Peter Kaul who had ruled that the Kenyan case is below the threshold of admissibility to the ICC but also the other two judges who had warned that they will be very strict on the evidence quality. There are only two chances that Ocampo will get an indictment — slim and none. None appears like it will be out of town.

That will not be a good way for Ocampo to retire when his contract expires in June, 2011.

The author is the spokesman of the PNU. The views expressed here are his own.

Miguna Miguna - Ocampo six face daunting task - The Star

2010-12-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

Louis Moreno-Ocampo struck like an earthquake on December 15. After months of stealthy investigations, media speculation and unbelievable comedy by nearly all the six suspects, the innocent victims of the crimes against humanity committed in Kenya between 2005 and 2009 are about to get justice. At long last the perpetrators of heinous crimes will be called to account.

The era of impunity is coming to an end. But to end impunity, the perpetrators must be publicly shamed and punished severely. There should be no deals, no plea bargains and no retreats. Both architects and apologists of impunity are calling for "national healing and reconciliation." But no healing or reconciliation can occur without truth and justice.

Victims of crime cannot forgive perpetrators by force or through threats, intimidation or extortion. To be forgiven, the perpetrators must voluntarily, completely and publicly confess all their crimes. Even then, the victims have the option of either forgiving or not forgiving. In the present context, the confessions must occur at The Hague; not at funerals or goat-eating ceremonies.

The political and emotional craters Ocampo has left in his wake are gaping. The reverberations and aftershocks will be felt for many years to come. Those who doubted the Argentine's resolve are in deep shock. He promised to conduct his investigations secretly and he did. He undertook to publicly disclose the names of his suspects and he has delivered. He had undertaken to present two cases before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II by December 15.

Clearly, he has discharged his undertakings efficiently. His speed, professionalism and conduct put to shame the empty blaster by many Kenyan lawyers. Those who expected the investigations to take 100 years might be disappointed; but most Kenyans are elated. At the end of the day, that's what matters.

On July 2, 2009, I was part of the Kenyan delegation to The Hague. During our meetings with Ocampo - and virtually at all subsequent meetings with the Kenyan government - he was categorical: "If Kenya fails or refuses to act on the perpetrators of the post-election violence, I will. The most responsible perpetrators of the crimes against humanity that occurred in Kenya will be punished. I will do justice to the victims."

He promised to act expeditiously before the next election cycle begins. He has done so. He promised to make Kenya an example on how not to mismanage and transform elections into an excuse for mass killings, rapes and displacement of innocent civilians. He delivered on that, too.

The allegations Ocampo has made against the six individuals, which are yet to be proven, are extremely serious. However, it is irresponsible for any of the accused, their lawyers or supporters to claim that Ocampo has relied on "false witnesses." Ocampo has submitted a 160-page summary of his case and thousands of pages of supporting evidence. He has previously successfully prosecuted people accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity - both in Argentina and at The Hague.

The individuals he prosecuted and put away for life in Argentina were more powerful, ruthless and richer than their Kenyan counterparts. They also had millions of supporters baying for Ocampo's blood. But he pursued his cases relentlessly and efficiently until he got convictions and long sentences. So, threats, intimidations, demonstrations or propaganda by the accused don't bother the Argentine.

Those who were privy to the crimes committed shouldn't tell us how innocent the Ocampo Six are; they should be filing alibi notices and preparing to testify on their knowledge of the crimes.

The positions the accused persons hold or have held in society are irrelevant and immaterial to the charges. Of course; the most responsible for crimes against humanity must have held powerful, positions. That's how orders are given and obeyed.

I sympathise with William Ruto, Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura and Hussein Ali more than the other two suspects. They should be careful not to aggravate their situations by issuing reckless threats. They should retain competent and experienced counsel; not continue with the silly political comedy they have been auditioning. Kenyans aren't impressed by their churlish acrobatics. Putting out full-page advertisements in newspapers won't help either.

Organizing goat-eating strategy sessions, holding demonstrations with Mungiki members or trying to use Parliament won't work. Trying to use the NSIS is as useless as trying to swim across the Atlantic. Nothing they do in Kenya can stop Ocampo now.

No Parliamentary resolution can influence the UN Security Council or the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II. If anything, such moves will most likely meet with opposite reactions.

They can obviously assert their innocence and even promise robust and vigorous defence.

However, one cannot credibly allege that the investigator has no evidence against him and is only being used by his political opponents. It's illegitimate to claim that the investigator has only relied on some "tainted" evidence from "bribed" witnesses.

To advance such allegations imply that one is privy to everything the investigator has done; all evidence he has collected; and all witnesses he has interviewed - locally or abroad. It would also mean that one would prefer to have ironclad evidence against him.

That's nonsense. If Ocampo's case is so baseless, the accused should be celebrating; not trembling.

From all available information, Ocampo conducted his investigations independently. He has not used the inept Kenya Police. He hasn't used the discredited judiciary. On what basis, therefore, are some of the accused claiming that they have been targeted? What would Ocampo's motives be? -

The Ocampo-Six should be busy preparing their defence; not organising demonstrations. In all likelihood, Ocampo will get his order to proceed.

Meanwhile, the six musketeers should be relieved of their public responsibilities. Practical mechanisms must also be in place to prevent them from conspiring to defeat the course or end of justice.

The non-communication order is a standard requirement worldwide.

Miguna is the PM's adviser on Coalition Affairs.

The views expressed here are his own.

Post Ocampo List Political Gossip by The Star

2010-12-19T00:23:00.000-08:00

Lobbying is in high gear in the Office of the President where some people are convinced that the best man to become the country's first ever Inspector General of the Police is none other than the KWS director Julius Kipng'etich. The police bigwigs are unhappy with the proposal as they would prefer one of their own instead of an outsider to come in as the head honcho. The cops may get their wish as we are told Kipng'etich has just had his contract at KWS renewed for another three years.

***

The wife of a prominent politician, driven over the edge by her philandering husband, decided to put a stop to his extracurricular activities by poisoning him. The man has been spending millions buying houses, cars and expensive gifts for his more than ten city girlfriends as well as scores of others spread out in different parts of the country. Unwilling to continue with the humiliation, his wife confronted him and asked him to break off his multiple relationships. After an argument during which he refused to give up his girlfriends, the wife came up with the idea of poisoning him. Fortunately for the man, he discovered the plot in time and has been very careful whenever he goes to the matrimonial home for the sake of appearances.

***

Political rivals of a sitting MP are plotting to start a dirty campaign against him to discredit his candidacy in the 2012 elections. The rivals want to start a whisper campaign creating doubt about the MP's sexual preference and eventually intend to take this up on political platforms to slow down his potential.

***

If Parliament decides not to go for Christmas recess, blame it on a few MPs who are afraid of the long holiday. Some of the MPs were overheard talking about the 'dangers' of the long recess—they will come back some time in February. They would prefer to stay on in Parliament and therefore Nairobi to avoid their constituents who make a habit of flocking to their homes to demand "Christmas gifts". With Parliament in recess, they have no excuse to remain in the city for the duration and will be expected to make an appearance at their constituencies if they want to be re-elected in 2012.

***

A politician in the Ocampo list has offered a key witness Sh10 million to recant his evidence given to the Waki Commission and later handed to ICC prosecutor Moreno Ocampo. The suspect, with the help of some people, who used to work at the Kenya National Human Rights Commission, has also offered the witness a piece of land if he disowns the evidence and returns home soon. The witness, we are told, has rejected the offer and changed his contacts and address.

***

Still on matters ICC, we are told that the same former the KNCHR officials who have been working with the politician in helping trace ICC witnesses, have remote access to the Waki Commission data base. We are told that the men have been getting statements of some of the witnesses who appeared before Waki in camera.

***

What were two city MPs doing in a restaurant in Upper Hill, Nairobi, on Saturday? The two controversial legislators met one of the Akasha sons in a private room in the restaurant. They seemed to be in a deep conversation and did not want anyone else to hear their discussions. So what were they scheming to do?

***

The thought that International Criminal Court prosecutor Moreno Ocampo could actually be having concrete evidence to prove a case against his six suspects is knocking the daylights off some of them. Corridors has learnt that a memo written by one of the suspects at the height of the post-election violence to another suspect on the same list was intercepted and is causing sleepless nights to the parties involved. We hear the two are crossing their fingers in the hope Ocampo did not come across it.

***

When shall provincial administrators take their last bow? This is the question senior police officers appear to be grappling with at the moment as their impatience on the anticipated changes grows. Senior officers were last week overheard questioning why PCs, DCs and DOs continue chairing security committees "yet they have no clue what it takes to maintain law and order in their very own jurisdiction." The officers want the change fast-tracked.

***

What is happening at the ministry of Labour? We hear seven years after the completion of the Product Design and Development Centre, which was sponsored by the UNDP, 11 people who worked on the project have never been paid. This despite the UNDP having released their payment. We hear that although the 11 want to surrender the fight, they will not want to go down without dragging the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission into the affair.

***

We are told one of the six suspects in the Ocampo list has resorted to heavy drinking in an attempt to drown his sorrows and block out reality. His family and friends are increasingly getting worried he could slump permanently and dangerously into depression as the International Criminal Court clock ticks.

***

Talking of Ocampo's list, one of the suspects is distraught and disillusioned as his family is yet to meet to plan his defence strategy. We hear the family is seeking legal advice of leading international legal minds to see how to extricate their man from the fix.

***

Last week, we told you of a new Nyanza MP who was left ranting and brandishing a wad of notes after a botched plan to have a threesome between him, his girlfriend and her best friend at a city hotel. We now hear that the mheshimiwa has not let go and has persisted that he is in an irreversible love with her girlfriend's best friend. He wants the girl to "forget the past" and think of the "future of the three of us."

***

There is discomfort between senior officials working for a government agency under the Ministry of Finance. We are told that the senior managers of the institution are planning to promote a lady from a tribe that has dominated the management of the agency in complete disregard of the law that bans tribalism. Although interviews have been conducted, those in the know tell us that the decision to give the lady from the slopes of Mount Kenya a job has already been made.

***

Even as ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo was striking an international blow against impunity in Kenya, a senior cabinet minister was flexing his muscles to have incitement charges against an assistant minister dropped. The minister called a top cop and instructed him to withdraw the charges against the assistant minister who was caught on tape inciting residents against the police. The top cop's acquiescence to the minister's request renders hollow the police claim at the time of the incident that they would apply the law impartially and fairly and confirms what many have feared impunity is alive and well and likely to last for a long time!

***

With the WikiLeaks saga unfolding, some people have become paranoid that the database of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission in particular is not safe. They say that some people who are suspected of leaking the identities and details of witnesses who appeared before the Waki and the Kenya National Com-mission on Human Rights are now able to access the IIEC data base. They are worried that the 'hackers' are up to no good as they could have manipulated the data for their own ends before or during the next elections.

***

One of the MPs who have been very vocal in Parliament has been receiving the cold shoulder from his colleagues who suspect him of being in the pay of the National Security Intelligence Service. The MP from Central Kenya has not yet clicked why his colleagues become jittery and change the subject whenever he joins their conversation. It will take him a long time to realise the reason for this as he believes his double-game is still his deep dark secret.

***

We hear that Juja MP William Kabogo is determined to auction the entire secretariat of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission to claim the Sh28 million damages claim awarded to him after his successful petition against George Thuo. Our moles tell us that Kabogo served the IIEC with his notice to auction them today if they do not pay up.

***

A senior employee at the Auditor General's offices at the Anniversary Towers, Nairobi, is a troubled man. He has not paid his rent for several months and has been hounded by his landlord to make good his promises to pay. The landlord, unwilling to wait any longer broke into the house and is planning to sue the top man to recover the Shl.3 million rent arrears.

***

Several members of the AFC football club are unhappy with the office of the Registrar of Societies. They claim some of the officials there may have been compromised by a rival faction. They cite the decision to cancel a scheduled annual general meeting at the request of that faction as an example as they claim it was done without consultation.

***

MPs opposed to the International Criminal Court process have now turned to taking their angst against the Chief Prosecutor's hairy face. They were overheard in Parliament casting aspersions on Luis Moreno Ocampo's beard. One of the more vocal MPs from the Rift who is known to be a close associate of William Ruto quipped: "How can a man who cannot even shave his own beard be expected to deliver justice to Kenyans?" Just last week, another MP, this time from Central Kenya, described Ocampo as a "tyrant who needs to be tamed."

***

A well-connected lawyer has been speculating that Ocampo's threats to separately prosecute those trying to "affect investigations" and/or "interfere with witnesses" was being directed at a fellow learned friend. He claims that his lawyer colleague had been making frequent forays into neighbouring countries where he has been seeking out potential witnesses at their safe houses to try and 'persuade' them to recant their testimony. Unfortunately for the man, the ICC has tightly secured the witnesses they have lined up to prove their case against the Ocampo Six.

Young people are organising for change, says George Nyongesa - The Star

2010-12-19T00:20:00.000-08:00

Coalition principals grossly misguided about Kenyan youth

We are infuriated by the fact that President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga used Jamhuri Day celebrations to level allegations of treason against the youth of Kenya.

The principals' outburst, coming hot on the heels of Government spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua's similar outlandish claim that the youth are receiving foreign funding to destabilise the coalition government, cannot be ignored, especially by the leadership of youth. In this regard, we wish to address the President and Prime Minister as follows:

First, we would like to point out that the poignant claims eloquently expose the fears and uneasiness that the political establishment has over the emerging political consciousness among the youth. The language of the castigations reeks of the status quo's misguided view of youth as being disorganised, confused and easily manipulated.

We refuse this ill-advised definition of the youth and warn that we are indeed actively organising to empower ourselves in order to keep track of reforms especially as espoused in Agenda 4 of the same National Accord that brought President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga together in a coalition government.

Second, we are not fazed by allegations of receiving support from wherever in order to realise our agenda. This is not news, as the coalition leaders never ending foreign begging trips are common knowledge.

In any event, the youth are part of the wider civil society that likewise survives primarily on international funding for their activities. Also, since the coalition government will not put together empowerment programmes that are not designed to control us, manage us or take us hostage, a reality check demands that we work with anyone who understands our problem and genuinely wants to help.

Third, we frown upon Kibaki and Raila's attempt to plant seeds of strife and discord among youth by branding their leadership as foreign-aided coup plotters. Whilst the tag is meant to cow the emerging youth leadership, we want to boldly warn them that Agenda 4 issues, among these, youth unemployment, remain key reform and progress scorecard items for the youth; that if not comprehensively and urgently addressed by the two principals will precipitate the threatening revolution of the dissatisfied masses of youth against the cartel of political elite.

Fourth, unless Agenda 4 items are addressed, the youth and future generations will remain victims of bad governance that is characterised by corruption, impunity, poverty and tribalism. We are no longer at ease with the way things are and will not hesitate to latch onto constitutional rights to organise to overthrow the political establishment that preys on us. We want a better Kenya that is fit for all of us to realise our God given potential.

Fifth, it is true we are organising to breed a new leadership that is up to the task of bridging the differences in our society and inspire our social diversities to work together to realise prosperity and peace for all. These are the ideals the youth of our generation dream of and in the backdrop of new constitution find it civic obligation and duty.

We are organising because we are dissatisfied with the periodic tokenism such as Kazi kwa Vijana, Youth Enterprise Fund and worse still a youth ministry that has turned out to be a political circus. We are organising because we have come to the realisation that anything this political leadership never addresses the urgent grave situation of unemployment among youth.

We do not want to be used and abused as political levers by political cartels. We are fully aware of the problems the youth face and the solutions to those problems and we are sure that we are the leadership we need to get us out of this deep hole.

Sixth, the youth are actively involved in post-referendum civic education on the new constitution especially on the contents of Chapter 6. This is because in gearing up for 2012, before the campaign propaganda and empty promises peddled by power hungry politicians clouds their judgment, it is important to empower Kenyans to realise that most of the current crop of leaders cannot stand the leadership and integrity test set by this section of the constitution. Mr President and Mr Prime Minister, you must accept that Kenyan youth organising to shake off the yoke of oppression and exploitation through ballot democracy is not a crime.

Seventh, we find it well within our political rights and liberties to want to and accordingly to organise to legally depose an establishment rife with corruption, impunity and tribalism, and replace it with one for whom the people's agenda is central.

In doing so, the youth do not act only for ourselves, but millions of Kenyans who are victims of the current bad leadership such as the thousands of internally displaced persons sleeping cold and hungry in filthy camps, thousands of youths seeking solace from joblessness in crime, alcohol, drugs and prostitution, and the millions of Kenyans on self imposed curfews as a result high insecurity in our country.

Eighth, we sympathise with the coalition principals' embarrassment suffered after the honest and unflattering contents of Wikileaks, but wish to categorically protest against the Machiavellian use of youth as a political distraction shield of sorts. Casting aspersions against the youth leadership as ploy to steal the public attention from revelations of Wikileaks is in bad taste, reactionary and totally misguided and betrays how quick the principals are to sacrifice others for their own interests. Accordingly, we dismiss with contempt and term it as a gross insult, the unsolicited paternalistic advisory that had the Premier label Kenyan youth as puppets and we demand a public apology.

In conclusion, we demand that Kibaki and Raila either come up with practical programmes to get the youth out of the extreme poverty. We reiterate that we are peaceful and patriotic Kenyans engaging in constitution guaranteed civic actions to bring about another Kenya that is fit for all of us.

The writer is the Co-convenor, National Youth Forum

Political Ramifications of the Ocampo List Fallout - The Winners - The Star

2010-12-19T00:10:00.000-08:00

PRESIDENT MWAI KIBAKI: The former Defence Minister and longtime Kibaki confidante, Njenga Karume, let the cat out of the bag on the sole occasion when he and the then Leader of Official Oppostion, Mwai Kibaki, had a public falling out. This was when Karume, who had long been the patron of Kibaki's party of that time, the Democratic Party, shifted his allegiance to Uhuru Kenyatta, who had been anointed by President Daniel arap Moi to be his successor, in mid-2002. Karume announced that Kibaki was a singularly ungrateful man who never took any consideration of what others had done to help advance his political career. If there was any truth in that statement, then it is reasonable to assume that the predominant thought in the President's mind at present, is relief that he was not on that list, especially as the retaliatory attacks were reportedly planned in State House. Now he is free to focus his attention on securing his political legacy through his far-sighted public infrastructure programme which will most likely be remembered as his greatest contribution to propelling Kenya towards prosperity.

PM RAILA ODINGA: He is perhaps the biggest winner from the naming of the six key suspects, now said to be "bound for The Hague". In one move, the ICC process has crippled the presidential ambitions of two key figures from the team which is set to oppose him in the 2012 presidential race. It is reasonable to assume that any political leaders who now have The Hague to worry about, are not likely to be very effective in helping organise the anti-Raila forces. Staying out of jail tends to be a fulltime occupation when faced with accusations of "crimes against humanity" before an international tribunal. And while the accused are thus engaged, their regional political rivals will be busy making inroads into their core support groups. In this context, Gideon Moi's recent 'takeover' of Kanu is particularly serendipitous - the long-anticipated return of the Moi dynasty to the centre of Rift Valley politics is now more plausible, with Ruto having so much on his plate. And in Central province, presidential hopefuls Martha Karua and Peter Kenneth now have a clear road along which to pursue their ambitions, with reputed frontrunner from that region, Uhuru Kenyatta, being otherwise engaged.

VP KALONZO MUSYOKA: Up to now, it has been argued that the proposed 'KKK' political alliance which brought together Kalonzo, Uhuru and Ruto, faced an intractable problem when it came to deciding which one of them would in due course run against Raila in the 2012 presidential race. But now, with the release of Ocampo's list of suspects, the decision seems to have been made in favour of Kalonzo. On the one hand, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto will now - more than ever - be determined to keep Raila out of State House. And on the other hand, given the pace at which the ICC works, it is not likely that they will be free to engage in an intense and protracted grassroots political campaign anytime soon. The best they can do is to throw their weight behind their political ally, Kalonzo Musyoka, a man for whom the Ocampo list must come as an undisguised blessing, even though that is the last thing he would ever admit to.

Behold, the Hague six "he-goats" that whitewashes the sins of Kibaki and Raila

2010-12-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

Kenyans must give it up for Moreno Ocampo for poking his finger far enough where no-one else could. Though he did not dip his finger enough where the cancer is, today we know who bears greatest criminal responsibility for 2007/08 post election violence in the eyes of ICC prosecution office. They are:

1. William Ruto

2. Uhuru Kenyatta

3. Henry Kosgey

4. Hussein Ali

5. Francis Muthaura

6. Joshua Arap Sang

The good

The culture of impunity, politically instigated violence, political chest thumping and other vices that are idolized along parliament road have received a below the belt blow. In the future political aspirants will think twice, thrice before inciting their followers to violence and innocent bloodshed. Civil servants will step down rather than take orders that border on crimes against humanity from their masters.

The bad

Thousands of criminals participated in the planning and executing of post election violence. The ICC has only gone for six and is not keen to prosecute more. The judiciary in Kenya has no will, power or political goodwill to prosecute these criminals. As it is these criminals will go scot free forever. Thousands of IDPs are still stuck in camps and there is no hurry to resettle. Thousands of Kenyans who were raped, maimed, killed and lost property will never get retribution and compensation.

and the ugly

The post election violence was about two Kenyan citizens who with stinking impunity are unfortunately above any judicial process in Kenya and sadly in the world, now that the ICC cannot dare touch these two.

Kenyans must rethink homegrown solutions to 2007 post election violence

2010-12-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

The IDP camps in various parts of the country are ugly scenes and are constant reminder of political short sightedness of our political system and leadership. It is unfortunate that the government has not evolved a strategic and systematic legal frame work to address the plight of victims of political violence three years after.

For how long will Kenyan live as refugee in their own country? It is inhuman to have citizens stay in ram shackles and in hopelessness having been uprooted from their homes courtesy of greedy and tribalistic political competitors.

It is pertinent that the welfare of victims of post election violence be addressed. These citizens suffered social, economic, health and psychological loses. Some lost life, self advancement opportunities including education and wanton destruction of private property. Others were maimed. A legislation providing for resolving these issues should be enacted.

It is not enough for the government to be obsessed with a disgraced land allocation programme which has become a cash cow for corrupt government officials and disgruntled civil society opportunists.

It is naïve to think that families who were uprooted from their homelands, their relative killed by political hooligans, sibling deprived bread winners merely need a meager piece of land to remedy their elaborate misery.

As a matter of right they deserve more realistic justice and equitable compensation. Majority of the IDP know their aggressors. Indeed some of these criminals are still in illegal occupation and possession of their victims properties. It is this realization that makes it crucial that a legislation which addresses the plight of the IDPS and victims of political violence be enacted. A Bill akin to Political Violence Victims Protection and Compensation need to be put in place. Under such Bill a special court to expediently adjudicate victims concerns should be provided for.

Kenyans must redeem themselves from imagining that solutions to their historic and political injustices purely rest with foreign entities such as the ICC.As much as it is crucial that the perpetrators of 2007 post election violence be prosecuted and punished it is laughable for Kenyans to sit and meekly await substantive justice for victims from ICC

Today the ICC prosecutor has revealed the identity of some individuals he associate with perpetration of acts of violence, obviously he will not have solution to the IDP menace. The ICC has no mechanism for compensation and or substantive remedy for victims. One would have wished that the ICC look beyond the alleged six individuals and be a progressive instrument of justice committed to building capacity of domestic prosecutions while supporting efforts to end impunity taking into account stability of nations.

Listening to the ICC prosecutor talk in Nairobi on the time frame the cases will take and the fact that he is interested on the acts as opposed to the circumstance that caused the violence, one is left gasping for breath awaiting the melodrama Kenyans will be subjected to in the years to come. Indeed it will be instructive to watch and see the individuals who ICC prosecutor will be seek to indict.

Kenyans know the genesis of the 2007 post election violence and unless the real culprits are charged the theatrics thereof will be tantamount to nurturing impunity and big men syndrome.

Since establishment of the ICC eight years ago the ICC prosecutor has demonstrated real weakness of not pursuing the perpetrators in position of powers, a case in point being DRC, Uganda, and Central Africa. Rather he has concentrated on pursuing rebels and political subordinates. Equally the ICC Seem not to have expanded its scope beyond Africa to Europe save recently informal investigations in Cambodia and Afhaganistan.

The implementation of the new constitution and establishing of effective institutions should override the blind belief that ICC is the Kenyans Messiah. The ordinary Kenyan citizens, the middle class, youth and reformist interest groups must come out and zealously articulate for implementation of the constitution.

Instant disbanding of the Kiplagat led Truth and Reconciliation Commission and replacement with a more credible and acceptable body armed with resolve and patriotism to move this country forward for posterity is pertinent.

The coalition government as current constituted should direct its energy to the implementation of the new constitution and relegate the agenda of prosecution of perpetrators of post election violence.

This government is a product of the post election violence and negotiations thereafter and therefore cannot objectively handle or cooperate with ICC in such agenda. Possibly the next government will be better placed to wrestle with the issues surrounding the 2007 political violence and its aftermath. There should be no regrets if the government withholds cooperation with ICC.

This country cannot be built on vendetta, vindictiveness and ceding of its sovereignty to some colorless foreign operatives while pretending to honour some international pacts. Gallants sons and daughters of Kenyans lost lives and liberty in pursuit of self governance so that Kenya can autonomously run its affairs and confront her challenges for well good of the citizens.

This can only be possible by nurturing and build strong institutions including the judiciary as envisaged under the new constitution. Kenyans leaders must be dynamic and ably handle challenges taking into account the changing times and political circumstances to accommodate best interest of the country. Having realized a new constitutional order,the ICC idea is superfluous particularly when it risk politicization.

It is indeed questionable why some foreign envoys whose countries are not privy to the Rome Statute are dictating to Kenyans the ICC methodology of resolving the post election violence. Kenyans should not dance with the devil while chasing elusive speculative justice at expense of national stability. A realistic and speedy solution to remedy the plight of the victims of post election violence is an urgent priority worth rethinking.

George N. Kimani, Nairobi (The writer is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya)
Email-gkihingo@yahoo.com

The Star Political Gossip

2010-12-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Raila Odinga's allies have been working overtime to try and get the support of leaders from Central, Coast and Rift Valley provinces and persuade them to join his team ahead of the 2012. Some of those involved are wealthy and influential business people, university dons and former powerful politicians and their task is to convince their kinsmen and friends that the PM is the right horse to back in 2012.

***

Attorney General Amos Wako's recent statements poking holes at the evidence collected by the Justice Philip Waki report on the post-election violence and down playing the success of the cases that the ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is preparing against the suspects has raised eyebrows. The questions that are begging for answers are: Has Wako now joined the bandwagon of those out to sabotage Ocampo's work? Is that the reason why the Witness Protection Fund has not been operationalised? And what does it say about Wako's loudly voiced commitment to fighting impunity?

***

The successful implementation of the new alcohol law may rest on the shoulders of the provincial administration whose officers — from the district commissioner upwards — have the final say on who gets an alcohol licence. The district commissioners are however reluctant to take on this new responsibility as they feel their positions are not guaranteed under the new constitution.

***

A well known PNU minister is reported to be using all means to try and keep off his growing number of creditors. The man is said to have mortgaged his salary to the brim paying off bank loans and other debts. It's rumoured he is only taking home Sh50,000 out of the close to Sh1 million that MPs are paid each month. He has exhausted his goodwill with parliamentary colleagues who have become tired of his borrowing and inability to pay.

***

An MP who is a member of one of the prestigious parliamentary committees reportedly received Sh10 million hush money from a senior Government official. Reason? The official wants the MP to keep quiet about a huge scandal in one of the ministries. An assistant minister from Western Kenya who brokered the deal is also reported to have received a "commission". The dossier on the underhand dealings in the ministry remain under lock and key—for now.

***

Some MPs opposed to what they see as ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo's 'meddling" could not hold back their very colourful language when they addressed a press conference at Parliament. They threw parliamentary decorum to the wind, ranted and raved against Ocampo whom they described as a "tyrant" and "devil guy."

***

An ecstatic acting City Mayor George Aladwa last night hosted a dinner for close to 300 family, friends and relatives. NO. It had nothing to do with recent attempts by some of his civic colleagues to have him confirmed as mayor. Aladwa was celebrating the fact that his dear wife was among the hundreds of University of Nairobi graduates.

***

A polygamous MP from Nyanza who is also an assistant minister is reported to be planning to divorce one of his wives. Reason? He claims she has been cheating on him with a senior security and intelligence officer.

***

An MP from the Coast has become the laughing stock of his colleagues after his car stalled in Parliament for the last two weeks. Reason? He is unable to purchase a car battery. His colleagues are wondering why the mheshimiwa cannot just fork out Sh30,000 to buy a battery for his expensive car.

***

A prominent Mombasa businessman has been busy on the phone calling politicians and senior government officials to find out whether his name has cropped up in the ongoing investigation into drug traffickers and dealers. Those in the know say it is just a matter of time before the man is put out of his misery as the list of suspected drug dealers will soon be leaked.

***

The CEO of a blue chip company is said to be grooming his wife to contest a parliamentary seat at the Coast. The man has made it a habit to drive down to the Coast to inspect the construction of their mansion as well as establish her credentials at the grassroots. The woman is expected to announce her intentions early next year.

***

Several bars have sprouted up along Hospital Road in Upper Hill, Nairobi. The bars, which are situated in a residential area and within metres of the Kenyatta National Hospital and the doctors quarters, have been running for several months. Complaints by residents to the Nairobi City Council, the National Environment Management Authority and all the relevant authorities have received no response. Reason? The person running the bars is a well connected businesswoman whom the authorities, including the police and the city council, are
afraid to confront. She is said to enjoy protection from the powers that be

***

A flamboyant MP from the Coast was on Tuesday spotted along Wabera Street in Nairobi. What was strange was that the man was right in the middle of the street, appeared to be in deep thought and was mumbling to himself. For ten minutes motorists hooted and swerved to avoid hitting the MP who eventually walked away to an unknown destination.

***

Junior employees at the Wundanyi district headquarters are up in arms against a senior official whom they accuse of demanding a kickback before he signs their imprest request. The junior civil servants are now asking the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission to come to their rescue as their complaints to their superiors are not being acted upon.

***

An ODM MP was escorted from the dais during Prime Minister Raila Odinga's weekend rally at Kibera after he started making statements which were at variance and inconsistent with the PM's views. Other MPs attending the same function said they were surprised when their colleague started making disturbing utterances. He was quietly asked to cut short his foul mouthed tirade and leave the dais.

***

Poor Prof Alloys Orago! The executive director of the National Aids Control Council has in his tireless efforts to set a good example to Kenyans and encourage them to know their HIV status been tested nearly 40 times this year alone. "I have become a guinea pig in HIV testing!" Prof Orago was overheard saying. He is a fervent believer that if 80 per cent of Kenyans know their status, the war against HIV will be close to being won.

***

PNU activist Stanley Livondo has been unlike his usual robust self. The man known for his high profile political activities has been making countrywide tours and meeting with youth and women representatives. Two weeks ago, he was in Mombasa where he announced sponsorship for Coast beauty pageants. After Mombasa, he toured Lamu and Kwale where he had lunch with about 1000 Form Three students in the county. Last week he was in Imenti and is scheduled to go to the North Rift this weekend.

The Star - American embassy cables on Kenya to be leaked on Wikileaks

2010-11-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

BY STAR REPORTER

A total of 1,821 diplomatic cables from the US embassy in Nairobi are among the more than 251,000 documents that the website Wikileaks started releasing over the weekend.

The first 250 cables to be released do not include any from the American embassy in Kenya.

However they are expected to start coming out in the next few days.

The Kenyan diplomatic cables go back to 2005 but the majority cover the 2007 elections and the period of the coalition government. There is one cable from May 14,1996.

Diplomatic cables are confidential reports sent by ambassadors to their superiors in Washington.

The cables have only been partially released but have been given in full to the New York Times, Der Spiegel, the UK Guardian, France's Le Monde and Spain's El Pais.

"America's ambassadors can be merciless in their assessments of the countries in which they are stationed. That's their job.

Kenya? A swamp of flourishing corruption extending across the country. Fifteen high-ranking Kenyan officials are already banned from travelling to the United States, and almost every single sentence in the embassy reports speaks with disdain of the government of President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga," states the international edition of the German magazine Der Spiegel.

Julian Assange, editor of the Wikileaks, described the cables as a "diplomatic history of the United States" that would cover "every major issue" as governments across the world braced for damaging revelations.

The cables contain confidential communications between 274 American embassies across the world and the State Department in Washington DC. Over 15,000 are classified "Secret".

It is expected that as the cables will shed light on the thinking behind Michael Ranneberger's swift congratulatory message to President Kibaki following the December 27, 2007 elections and the subsequent American turnaround to put pressure on the PNU to accept a coalition government.

On one day alone, January 2, 2008, as violence was raging in Kenya, the Nairobi embassy sent five cables to Washington.

"Cablegate" has so far unflattering views of world leaders Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi described as "just strange" by an adviser to Sultan Qaboos of Oman; Gaddafi's penchant for a voluptuous Ukrainian nurse; Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe President, branded "the crazy old man" by Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's international relations and cooperation minister; Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi described as "feckless, vain, and ineffective as a modern European leader", and a "physically and politically weak" leader whose "frequent late nights and penchant for partying hard mean he does not get sufficient rest."

Five obstacles Raila should overcome before 2012 - Bob Mukhwana - The Star

2010-11-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

Successive opinion polls have consistently showed that Prime Minister Raila Odinga is enjoying a commanding and comfortable lead in the run up to the 2012 presidential elections. Raila's lead is not accidental. His struggle for the democratisation of this country is exceptional and his firm and principled stance on important national issues has resonated well with the Kenyan public, endearing him to a majority of the masses.

In addition, Raila is a charismatic leader, a pragmatic political strategist and an exceptional campaigner. With all these credentials and public support, one would expect that Raila's journey to statehouse to be easy and smooth.

Unfortunately, this is Kenya, where political competitors are not judged by the content of their character, but by their ethnic orientation and 'corrupt credentials'. Raila should therefore carefully and wisely overcome five obstacles before 2012.

Re-branding ODM: The popularity of ODM is pegged on the fact that it is a party of change, yet, since it entered the government, it appears to have no radically different policy agenda from its coalition partner, PNU. As a result, ODM is increasingly losing popularity as more and more of its supporters get disillusioned.

As a matter of urgency, ODM must re-brand and re-invigorate itself as a party of change, for it to consolidate its support and retain its popularity. It should be able to convince the people that its options are currently limited given the coalition arrangement it has to operate within, but it will deliver its promised fundamental change, once it ascends to power in 2012.

To achieve this, ODM needs to be reformed by restructuring its policy framework, as well as changing its secretariat leadership. With the new constitution now in place, the party must develop new policies that would effectively address poverty and unemployment, and proactively sell them to the public to recapture its support, particularly among the youth.

Similarly, ODM urgently needs a vibrant and dynamic leadership at the secretariat, which would reconnect it to the grassroots, as well as spearhead positive policy transformation. Furthermore, the party must internally democratise to accommodate a diversity of opinions and party dissidents.

The running mate dilemma: Perhaps the biggest challenge to the PM would be to select a suitable running mate that can deliver to him large support in 2012. Naturally, one would expect that the PM would settle on Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi as his running mate, given that he is his deputy, and hails from the Luhya community, the second most important political base for him, after the Luo community.

Yet, choosing Mudavadi may be misconstrued as the 'westernisation' of his government, and consequently provide a basis for the formation of an 'Eastern alliance' led by the Gema and Kamba politicians, to counter the politically imagined and socially constructed 'Western alliance'.

But dropping Mudavadi for a more favourable running mate may not auger well with the Luhya
community, and as result, it may cost the PM the significant Luhya support, which is crucial to his quest for the presidency. Faced with this dilemma, the PM must carefully and wisely evaluate his options, and ultimately make the right choice.

Reaching out (or replacing) the Kalenjin community: If the 2012 presidential race polarises between the 'Western alliance' led by Raila and Mudavadi (Luo-Luhya alliance) verses the 'Eastern alliance' led by Kalonzo and Uhuru [Kamba-Gema alliance], it is the Kalenjin vote that might be the swing vote; the ultimate decider. If the Kalenjin back Raila as they did in 2007, he might emerge victorious. But if they tilt their support to Kalonzo, in the spirit of the KKK alliance, Raila will definitely have it rough. It's important therefore that Raila reaches out to the Kalenjin community before it's too late.

Given that in politics, there are no permanent enemies or friends, Raila should acknowledge Ruto's influence among the Kalenjin, swallow his pride and make peace with him. Though possible, it is hard for Raila to get the Kalenjin vote through an alternative tribal kingpin such as Sally Kosgey or Henry Kosgey. It will also be difficult to replace the Kalenjin vote with the Gema and Kamba vote, given the widespread anti-Raila and anti-Luo sentiments among these communities.

Containing 'Railaphobia': There are people who would do anything to stop Raila from ascending to the presidency. These groups of people range from those who merely dislike him or differ with him ideologically, to those who feel he betrayed them at one point or another, to corrupt individuals who fear prosecution under his regime. These groups are working hard to scuttle Raila's presidential ambitions. Raila should reach out or contain such individuals, as well as avoid creating unnecessary political enemies by re-building trust and confidence among his allies.

Taming 'Luophobia': A Kikuyu friend told me that though he likes Raila and would want to vote for him in 2012, he fears the behaviour of Raila's kinsmen if he ascends to power. According to him, Raila's kinsmen are the biggest obstacle to his presidential ambitions because they behave as if they own him, occasionally getting over¬excited and over-proud, even arrogant, about him. As a landlord in Kibera, my friend actually fears some of his tenants might even refuse to pay rent under a Raila regime.

Luophobia is a reality Raila should seek to address. He must appeal to his kinsmen to stop behaving as if they own him and stop heckling and throwing stones at his opponents. He must convince his kinsmen as well as his critics that he seeks not to be a Luo president, but a Kenyan president.

In trying to address Railaphobia and Luophobia, Raila might seek an alliance with the Kikuyu community in 2012. Or alternatively, he can sit back and pray that ICC prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo comes for his major political opponents. This will definitely destabilise the KKK alliance.

Bob Mukhwana is a political commentator and post-graduate student.

The Star Corridors of Power Political Gossip

2010-11-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

A sister of one of the grand coalition's top leaders stormed the offices of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority last month demanding an explanation as to why an application for an air service license by an airline associated with the family had not been granted. Despite her drama and threats to bring the power of her family to bear on the hapless officials, the authority deferred its decision until next year.

***

A judge who wants to succeed Evan Gicheru as Chief Justice is leaving nothing to chance. He is so confident of getting the job that he has started upgrading his wardrobe so that it can conform to what he thinks befits the Chief Justice. What he seems to have forgotten is that the outward show is nothing compared to his judicial rulings and knowledge of the law which will count more when the vetting is done.

***

Twenty eight MPs! That is the number of legislators that Kenya has despatched to Southern Sudan to assess the situation there ahead of the January referendum when that country is supposed to decide whether or not to break from the North. As a guarantor of the Comprehensive Peace Plan, Kenya was expected to send a delegation. The Kenyan taxpayer will have to foot the bill for the huge delegation which is expected to be in Juba for four days.

***

The son of a prominent grand coalition official who has been putting up a block of six residential houses is shocked that his real estate development has been stopped, Reason? Unlike other mortals, the man expected he would go ahead to develop the houses without paying heed to environmental concerns including details such as waste water disposal systems, power lines, etc.

***

A potential 2012 presidential candidate may have his chances blighted after one of his very close associate has been found to be a central figure in a corruption scandal being investigated by a parliamentary committee. The wheeler dealer in trouble is known to be the link man in the transfer of huge sums of money from foreign accounts to local accounts for use by the prospective presidential candidate.

***

Members of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and Administration of Justice are reportedly gathering evidence against one of the people nominated to the Judicial Service Commission. The committee has reportedly put together boxes containing complaints against the nominee alleging his involvement in land grabbing and other ills.

***

A daughter of a well known political activist almost fainted when she was told that a huge contract she had been brokering for some investors had already been signed and given to a company from China. The lucrative contract, worth Sh1.2 billion, was floated by a government agency and those bidding for it offered huge commissions. One bidder offered all those involved Sh100 million in kickbacks and secured the contract. The young woman who had promised to deliver Sh80 million in kickbacks was confident she would get the tender for her clients. The shock was so great that she loudly confessed in the presence of par-astatal CEO's secretary, "I nearly slept with him to get the contract!"

***

Deputy PM Musalia Mudavadi reportedly lost his phone during the ODM retreat at the Great Rift Valley Lodge in Naivasha. According to those present, the Local Government minister placed the phone on the table during a plenary session only for it to disappear mysteriously. Those attending the workshop were ODM MPs and other members of the National Executive Council.

***

The Prime Minister's office has written to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour Beatrice Kituyi alerting her that a senior official at the National Social Security Fund has been using the PM's name. Our mole says the official uses Raila's name to intimidate his colleagues.

***

Still on NSSF, how is it possible for an employee to acquire property worth Sh200 million within
a year? We are told that a senior manager has been buying property in Karen and Kitisuru and
yet his salary is not enough to qualify for a Sh200 million loan! PLO Lumumba, isn't this an obvious case for you?

***

Infighting has erupted at the Treasury over delegation of responsibilities to senior staff by a top official. A lady with dubious professional credentials has been assigned four key dockets in the Ministry of Finance and she has literally pushed out qualified technical staff. The lady pokes her nose into any docket with huge sums of money. Rumour has it that the lady's arrogance is due to her being related to a man in the ministry.

***

An ODM-K MP from Ukambani is behaving badly. He approached a group of clergy who are battling a city speculator to reclaim a grabbed plot and asked them to accept a Sh5 million token to drop the case. The first-term MP was shocked when the men of the cloth told him off and decided to battle on. The clergy had sought the MP's political intervention in the matter which has dragged on in the corridors of justice.

***

An accountant at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reportedly gone underground after the KACC widened its investigations over the foreign embassy purchase scandal. The man is said to have switched off his cell phone and is believed to have changed numbers. The accountant is said to have been a confidant of PS Thuita Mwangi and minister Moses Wetangula who have since stepped aside to allow further investigations.

***

The PS who had imported seven new cars and had some of them moved from his backyard to some unnamed locations has now covered the remaining vehicles with black plastic sheets to conceal them from the 'elements?' The man reportedly moved some of the vehicles following the zeal shown by Parliament and KACC to deal with corrupt civil servants.

***

Kenya Wildlife Service director Julius Kipng'etich may soon have to deal with some of his senior wardens who are now behaving like some of the predators his organisation is committed to protect. The senior wardens are preying on their juniors who have been allocated houses in areas they consider bigger and better than the ones they have been assigned. Afraid of losing their jobs, the junior staff have been keeping quiet hoping their seniors will not turn their attention to them. Those hounded out of their homes have to watch as their seniors take them over or have them allocated to their friends.

***

Several judicial officers who are celebrating the election of one of their own to the new Judicial Service Commission have now decided to throw a celebratory bash. The catch is, they are expecting judges to cough out Sh5,000 and magistrates to pay Sh2,000 to finance the bash which is also going to be used to console two judicial officers who recently fell victim to carjackers. The thanksgiving get-together is set for next Friday in a yet to be decided venue in the city.

***

Did Court of Appeal judges 'elect' or 'select' Justice R.S.C. Omollo to represent them in the Judicial Service Commission? Word doing the rounds is that the good judges refused to allow officials from the Interim Independent Electoral Commission to supervise the "elections" and the judges reached a consensus selecting the good judge to be their representative in the JSC.

Call us with your news, tips and photos Corridor Hotlines 4244119/144/148

Email: yourtips@nairobistar.com

George Kimani: Michuki Talk on Uhuru Supremacy is Diabolical

2010-10-19T00:09:00.000-07:00

The minister of environment John Michuki was quoted advising that persons interested in engaging the Kikuyu community on social, economic and political matters should do it through Uhuru Kenyatta.

The octogenarian minister went further and threatened any person who dare challenge the authority of Uhuru Kenyatta in Central Kenya with a severe political fight and consequences. There is no doubt that the sunset days of President Mwai Kibaki as the leading political figure

in Central Kenya are approaching fast and it is obvious that diverse sentiments on his succession some unpalatable will be voiced over time . The Kibaki succession battle is taking shape and it is a hot agenda in Central Kenya and national politics.

Michuki has all right to hold his views however erroneous as long as he restricts himself from threatening any citizen who has interest to pursue any leadership position including the presidency. Any right thinking member of the Agikuyu community would find Michuki's

reasoning obsolete and driven by political dictatorship which has no room particularly under the current constitutional dispensation. It is ironical that some leaders from Central Kenya would openly embrace and support this misguided line of thinking.

The truth is that Agikuyu are not dying for a tribal spokesman or kingpin. Anybody harboring this tribal mentality is in a world of his own and has lost touch with reality. A small cable of privileged Kikuyu political elites who are beneficiaries of the past post independent regimes will no doubt be tempted to tout one of their own as Kibaki successor. Former President Moi attempted it in 2002 and the people’s power stopped him dead on the track.

It is not in dispute that Uhuru Kenyatta has outgrown the project Moi tag of 2002; however he should be very weary of the likes of John Michuki who risk portraying him as mediocre repeat project to be imposed on the Kikuyus by a club of conservative exclusionists. With friends holding ideas like Michuki, Uhuru does not need any more enemies.

Political power is a preserve of Kenyan people and it is only them who can determine person who should be bestowed with national leadership. It is common for some politically privileged groupings to feel insecure as political transitions beckons and consequently be tempted to retain political power through proxies hence sentiments akin Michukis.However, under the new constitutional dispensation such people should realize that every citizen has inalienable rights to

pursue public offices, national resources and opportunity without any misconceived political authoritarianism from anyone.

Reckless pronouncements like the ones attributed to Hon. Michuki are definitely going to elicit resistance among majority of Agikuyu and Kenyans. It is backward thinking that any leader would today imagine that he can rally support through gathering the Kikuyus people under

tribal conclaves to be the carcasses for greedy political hounds. This is primitive and despicable.

Just like any other ambitious leader in the Kikuyu community, Uhuru Kenyatta must come out and distinguish himself by convincingly confronting the myriad social economic and political challenges facing the people of Kenyan including the Mount Kenya region. Uhuru should catapult himself into the arena of competitive politics and loudly declare his Presidential ambition for 2012 and be judged among other daughters and sons of Central Kenya.

A leader who will ably embrace the challenge of eradicating nagging issues afflicting majority of ordinary residents in Central Kenya will definitely carry the leadership banner. Disturbing issues such as poverty,landlessness,insecurity, alcoholism, unresolved indiscriminate cold blood killing of youths, IDP menace, unemployment,lack of economic empowerment, deteriorating levels of education, widening economic margins between the haves and have not’s , massive exploitation and manipulation of the ordinary Wananchi by political elites are issue to form the campaign platform as opposed to patronage.

An individual who will show mature political leadership in reorganizing, unifying and exploring ways of empowering the Kenyan people under the new constitution will be an asset among the Agikuyu.

One way of doing this is identifying and nurturing a formidable political party to be transformed into an institution of national social- economic and political growth as opposed to gullible politics of me, myself and I.

The mere fact that the late Jomo Kenyatta and now Mwai Kibaki become presidents of Kenya and had their backgrounds from Central Kenya has not benefitted most of the ordinary Wananchi from this region. The main beneficiaries of the two political reigns remain their associates and cronies.

The ordinary siblings of Kikuyu Mau Mau freedom fighters continue to mumble of unrealized independence dream whereas the Internally Displaced Persons are wallowing in despair in tents. Smell of poverty, insecurity and inequitableness in rural villages contrast the thriving economic and social political statues of the Kikuyu political elites.

The poor unemployed Kikuyu youth continue to carry the shameful social economic official tag of Mungiki followers. It is therefore naïve and insensitive to entertain Michuki gospel enthroning Uhuru as a Kikuyu demi- god and supremo as it is mockery of intelligence of Kenyans. Kikuyu land has no shortage of able men and women in any event since 1963 men and women have

been siring sons and daughters who can be trusted with any national office.Michuki should preach his gospel to the birds.

George N. Kimani

The writer is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya

Email. gkihingo@yahoo.com

Corridors of Power Political Gossip by The Star

2010-10-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

At the International Monetary Fund meeting going on in the US, African ministers complained that the Fund was treating Africa unfairly. Then the IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn walked into the room, spoke to the ministers and asked if anyone had a question. None of them raised a single question.

***

An MP from Nyanza is spending a lot of his time avoiding his constituents who seem to have lost faith in him. The constituents are saying the man is hard to find when they need his help. The voters have decided that the MP's performance is below par and they will "deal with him" at the right time.

***

Like children, some of the MPs in two parliamentary committees are fighting for attention. The members from the Legal Affairs Committee chaired by Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba and those from the Oversight Committee chaired by Mandera Central MP Hussein Abdikadir are organising media functions and other meetings aimed at outshining each other.

***

You know about the tag of war at the Ministry of Industrialisation over the appointment of the KEBS managing director Joseph Koskey? Yesterday we reported that Civil Service boss Francis Muthaura has been in talks with PS John Lonyangapuo over the matter. Actually the PS with whom Muthaura had a word is Dr Karanja Kibicho. Lonyangapuo is the PS for Public Works and has nothing to do with the fights in his former Ministry.

***

A top official at KACC has complained to friends that he is facing serious frustrations moving ahead with speed as anticipated in the war on corruption. The official claims roadblocks have been placed in every move he makes to unearth corruption and has suddenly become isolated in a process that requires a lot of teamwork.

***

The uproar over the appointment of the new Kebs director has led to Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey being called in to explain his decision to Prime Minister Raila Odinga who is also the ODM party leader while Kosgey's the chairman. On his part, Head of the Civil Service Francis Muthaura has given a hearing to the PS John Lonyangapuo.Kosgey and Lonyangapuo have been at loggerheads since the former went ahead to appoint Julius Koskey as the new Kebs boss against the advise of the PS and a section of the board. It's now a matter of who will blink first.

***

A Cabinet minister from Nyanza is at risk of being isolated by MPs from the region for associating with a group of Luo elders who have fallen out of favour with the MPs. The minister is being accused of financing and organising international connections for the elders who have fallen out with their colleagues over "artificial feuds" manufactured by some local politicians.

***

The interest that a well known PNU political activist has taken in the ongoing construction of stalls on a disputed City Council plot in Upper Hill, Nairobi, has attracted the curiosity of many people. A senior City Council officer who has been asked questions about the construction of the stalls just when the council is tearing others down has remained mum and does not want to comment on the matter. The question many are asking is whether the council has changed its policy as far as unplanned structures are concerned.

***

Yet another attempt by another political activist, this time from South Nyanza, to get audience with Prime Minister Raila Odinga has come a cropper. The man, who is hoping to run for Parliament in the next elections, is bitter that despite investing huge sums of money in ODM politics and donating huge sums of money in harambees the PM is yet to notice him. The well known ever ambitious political activist is deeply concerned that people in his constituency will soon realise the PM wants nothing to do with him which will mean the death knell for any political career he is hoping for.

***
A cabinet minister from ODM has been enjoying freebies offered by a Mombasa politician. In return, the mheshimiwa has been using his influence to assist his newfound-friend acquire some prime real estate along the beach. The politician is known to pay his friends for their assistance by footing the bills for the plane and chopper hired to take them to Coast where he hosts them in style and indulges their every whim.

***

Some High Court judges who have been presiding over a controversial land case are reportedly headed for trouble after a prominent city lawyer started compiling a report containing what he claims is incriminating evidence that will bar the judges from any future appointments to the bench. The lawyer has reportedly been gathering the dossier on about 15 High Court judges who have over the years handled the matter. He intends to present the dossier to the vetting committee.

***

Former schoolmates of a Nyanza MP who has all along been claiming he is a qualified lawyer have challenged him to say in which university he acquired his law degree. The man reportedly never completed his law studies as he dropped out after one semester for unexplained reasons and never returned to school to complete the course.

***

A top cabinet minister who is known for claiming he is "Mr Clean" surprised his colleagues when he started celebrating receiving a Sh20,000 gift from a businessman. The minister decided to be 'philanthropic' by calling a number of his buddies to join him for a small weekend party which he hosted courtesy of the cash gift.

***

Key ODM-K strategists want President Kibaki to appoint Ndaragua MP Jeremiah Kioni an assistant minister. The plan is to have Kioni in cabinet leaving the way open for gemstone dealer and Kangundo MP Johnstone Muthama to take over as one of the joint Chief Whips.

***

Prime Minister Raila Qdinga's handlers are pushing hard to have one of the ODM Cabinet ministers from Nyanza fired and replaced with the ever vocal Gwassi MP John Mbadi. The handlers are complaining that the minister has been a burden to the party which is in need of revitalisation to woo more members. And if Raila does not want to appoint Mbadi, the handlers have set their eyes on yet another assistant minister, also from the same region, whom they think should be replaced by Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo.

***

On Friday we told you of a former provincial commissioner who is said to be overruling his boss when it comes to some decisions to do with allowances. We have since learnt that decisions to do with allowances are not made or implemented by one person. They are collective because the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry decided to set up a committee to deal with allowances. Since the new system was implemented, we are told, the committee has been able to deal with all the allowances and in fact got rid of fictitious claims. Those complaining have had their claims questioned.

***

Speculations doing the rounds is that former nominated MP and sponsor of the very successful Sexual Offences Act Njoki Ndung'u wants to be the Chief Justice. Many of her friends and associates say the firebrand gender activist and constitution expert is uninterested. But her name has featured in a list being circulated by members of the Law Society of Kenya. They think she should be considered for the soon to be vacant position of Chief Justice. Her inclusion has reportedly made her very unhappy as it is far from the reality.

***

Last week, we told you of an MP from central Kenya who has puzzled his colleagues with his new love for Khat or Miraa. The MP has been carrying with him bundles of the mild stimulant herb which he does not shy away from chewing whenever he gets an opportunity. The same MP has also not been hiding his love for beer and has been seen several times along Riverside Drive imbibing his favourite drink as early as 2 pm.

***

An MP from Nyanza has been harassing Parliament staff. From the kitchen staff to clerks, the first-time MP belittles everyone he comes into contact with. He has no respect for the team that works day and night to ensure his stay at Parliament is comfortable. The staff now want this big man to stop his bad manners.

***

An argument between an MP from Kisii and his former aide almost turned tragic at a Nairobi hotel when the honourable member drew a gun. The mheshimiwa threatened to shoot the civic leader claiming he was behind his recent misfortunes. It took the intervention of two friends who had accompanied the MP to restrain him. When things cooled down, the MP sauntered away with a word of caution to his former aide, "I'm not through with you yet!"

***

We told you about a former minister from Coast who has been conning people and has become an embarrassment to his former cabinet colleagues, family and friends. We have learnt the man conned his junior at the ministry out of Sh180,000. The man, who has piled up a debt of Sh6 million, left the lady with a Rado watch as collateral and promised to repay the debt in a week but never did.

***

The PNU leaders who have been pushing for changes in the party's leadership are about to make a major announcement. Our mole in the party tells us that a group of disgruntled members who include youthful MPs are set to form a new party altogether. The group will be making an application to the Registrar of Political Parties next month for the registration of the new party whose name they are still piecing together. The group aims to shut out elderly politicians from politics of 2012.

***

Yesterday we reported that a senior officer in the Ministry of Housing has refused to pay junior workers allowances approved by the PS Dorothy Angote. We want to take the earliest opportunity to clarify that Ms Angote is the PS in Ministry of Lands while the Housing PS is Tirop Kosgey. The said officer, a former provincial administrator, has been overruling claims approved by Kosgey and not Angote.

***

The season of "eating" is upon us. At least that is what our moles are saying about a Cabinet minister who has enlisted the services of some senior officials and parastatal chiefs under his ministry to try and skim as much "excess cash" as they can in readiness for the 2012 campaigns. For those officers who do not oblige, they are finding themselves transferred or demoted which has caused fear among the staff. The minister has also organised for a top law firm to get the contract to recover millions of shillings owed to one of the parastatals under his mandate.

***

Time: 2am. Place: Langata Road: What: Kenya Airports Authority bus, KAT 277X parked by the side of the road. A group of people swiftly offloading cartons of clearly labeled duty free liquor and beer from the bus to a waiting matatu. Coincidence: The matatu belongs to a senior Duty Free shop manager.

***

The unending PNU wrangles continue. Now the dispute is about the two advisers associated with the party. Party officials are now fighting amongst themselves as to who between Prof Peter Kagwanja and Moses Kuria is best qualified to be the party's political spin doctor.

***

Junior employees at the Housing ministry are angry with a senior official who they say has refused to pay allowances which have been approved by the Lands Permanent Secretary Dorothy Angote. The official, a former provincial administrator, has given himself the role of overseeing the work of all technical departments, including directing heads of departments, even though he sorely lacks technical know-how.

Mungiki Rebrands for 2012: Proscribed sect now becomes a church - The Star

2010-10-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

By Francis Mureithi

MAINA Njenga wants to convert the six million youth he led in the Mungiki sect to join his new Amazing Grace International church.

In an exclusive interview with the Star yesterday, Njenga said he now wants to teach young people the true gospel and admitted he had misled them in the past.

He said his one-month-old church already has 10,000 followers and the number is expected to shoot up in the coming weeks with the opening of branches across the country.

The church has been meeting on an open ground behind the Labour Party of Kenya offices on Amboseli Road between Nairobi's Lavington and Kawangware estates.

Njenga describing as "primary school" the period when he led Mungiki youth to follow African traditional religion and pray facing Mt Kenya. He said they now need to be converted to believe in the true God.

"I had a very big following of people to the tune of 5 to 6 million. We want these people to continue believing in God. I have to change their faith, I want to train them to become non-violent because I am a teacher, I am a doctor and I am an ambassador of peace," said Njenga.

"I have been teaching them about facing Mt Kenya, I have to go back to them and tell them that we were wrong in some ways. Let's start reading the Bible," he said.

Mungiki is a proscribed sect whose members are often accused of operating protection rackets in the matatu business and in the slums.

Njenga said he does not care whether the government puts his church under close scrutiny.

"It does not matter, governments come and go but people are the government. If people believe in what you are doing, nobody can oppose you," said Njenga at the LPK offices from where he now operates.

He accused some police officers of trying to preserve Mungiki sect because they have been the beneficiaries of extortion.

"The police cannot be happy when Mungiki is getting finished because they work with Mungiki.

They are the people who organise those young groups to go to the matatu industry so that whatever cash they get they share," said the former Mungiki leader.

Since his release from prison last year, Njenga has become a preacher of peace and harmony while building a political empire behind the scenes comprising young people from Central, Nairobi and Central Rift Valley provinces.

Njenga, whose National Youth Movement for Yes mobilised five million youth during the August 4 referendum on the new constitution, is mapping out strategies to transform his church into a political party with civic, parliamentary and presidential candidates.

The movement has been converted into the Amazing Grace International. Some of the leaders called themselves Warembo ni Yes during the referendum campaigns but are now calling themselves Warembo ni Yesu and leading groups in their respective constituencies.

Yesterday Njenga denied that he harboured political ambitions ahead of the 2012 elections.

"I don't have such ambition. I am not of the class of going to high places. I am a simple man," he said.

He said he quit Bishop Margaret Wanjiru's Jesus Is Alive Ministries after they disagreed on the new constitution. Wanjiru campaigned for the rejection of the new constitution while Njenga was in the Yes camp.

Njenga said he was still a personal friend of Wanjiru and campaigned for her during the recent Starehe by-elections where she recaptured her seat.

He added that his attempts to join other churches have been thwarted.

"If I go to any church, they do not give me time to talk about my salvation. They are afraid because I am going to influence their followers. Every time I go to their church, they feel threatened. We need to have our own independence," said Njenga.

Last Sunday, his church received visitors from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Njenga said.

He said the Amazing Grace International has its roots in Washington DC in the USA.

Rev Grace Kariuki and her husband Richard Kariuki are founders of Amazing Grace International Ministries and Amazing Grace Children's Centre Outreach ministry based in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa and Warrenton, Virginia in U.S.A.

Rev Grace is ordained by Northern Virginia Ministerial Association, Deliverance Church, Kenya and Faith Covenant Ministerial Association, USA. Grace holds a doctorate from Life Christian University and Seminary.

Grace relocated her family to USA in 1998 after teaching in public, private and Christian schools in Nairobi, Kenya. Between June 20 and July 20 this year, the Kariukis launched their ministries in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha.

Amazing Grace International Ministries provides shelter, clothes, food medical care and education to the orphans and the homeless children in the streets of Nairobi, Kenya.

The former Mungiki leader was arrested in February 2006 in a dawn raid at his Ngong home. In June 2007 he was sentenced to five years in prison, having been found guilty of having an illegal firearm and marijuana.

During 2007, a police shoot-to-kill policy led to the deaths of over 1000 suspect Mungiki members. In June 2008 while appealing the prison sentence, Njenga's wife Virginia Nyakio was carjacked on Langata Road, shot and her mutilated body was found in Gatundu.

On April 2009 Njenga was acquitted and immediately rearrested and charged with the murder of 30 people that occurred while he was incarcerated.

Six months later in October 2009 the state terminated the charges against him after he filed an affidavit with lawyer Paul Muite threatening to expose the politicians who had worked with Mungiki.

On coming out of jail, he went straight to Bishop Margaret Wanjiru's church, accepted the Lord and was baptised.

Wycliffe Muga: ICC will expose political thugs - The Star

2010-10-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

The big news about Africa on much of the global print media, over the past week or so, has been a report on how hundreds f of women were assaulted and raped by rebel militias in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo DRC) last June.

It is perhaps right and poetically fitting that these reports of DRC atrocities have been released at a time when prominent members of Kenya's political establishment are quaking in their boots at the prospect of the promised indictments and arrest warrants finally being issued by the ICC.

For if all that we have heard rumoured is true, then some of these seemingly polished and civic-minded men, have some personal experience of unleashing rabid militias on innocent men and women in unprotected villages or urban slums.

Thanks to these politicians, the days are long over when Kenyans could look with amazement at such atrocities as those which recently took place in the DRC, and ask, "What is wrong with those people?" We know now that we are in no position to stand in judgment over other African nations, in the matter of atrocities that arise when "tribal conflict" commences in earnest. We can no longer pretend that we are any different.

And that, I suppose, is why these ICC indictments - as and when they are finally handed down - should be viewed with rejoicing by the average Kenyan. They offer us the only opportunity we have to ensure that we never again have to experience anything like the post-election violence of 2007-08.

It's true that there will almost certainly be innocent people caught up in the ICC net. That can hardly be avoided when witnesses are reportedly being flown out with their entire families and further promised the opportunity to settle in the consoling suburbs of North America and Western Europe, after they have testified against the alleged masterminds of the post-election violence.

West Africans have been known to attempt foolhardy desert crossings to get to Europe via North Africa. Yet others are routinely drowned while trying to sail the Mediterranean Sea on some makeshift boat in the desperate search for economic opportunity in Europe.

So why would a Kenyan not make up elaborate atrocity stories directed against a person from a different tribe, if this would lead to permanent residence amidst those streets which are said to be payed with gold? This possibility of fictional atrocity stories is something which will bear watching when our fellows-citizens begin to give evidence against some prominent politicians who are even now having sleepless nights.

Still this is not your heavily compromised and deeply mistrusted Kenyan justice system we are talking about. It is the ICC, a world-class judicial operation. And I would venture to suggest that mere indictment by the ICC would be seen as proof of guilt by most who read about it. If the accused was to be subsequently released for lack of evidence, this would not take away the stain of perceived guilt.

In all mention of that person's name thereafter, the foreign press (in particular) would speak of "the Kenyan minister who was once indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity..." That is hardly the kind of thing which any politician, however reckless, would want his grown-up children to read about in the papers; and every time he or his family travelled abroad, if an immigration official lingered over their passports, they would nervously wonder if perhaps that officer was trying to figure out where he read this name before, and why the mere reading of it made him so uneasy.

To have your name officially associated with crimes against humanity is definitely a punishment in itself. But there is always the chance that some of these Kenyan leaders will actually be found guilty.

That they were absurdly careless in those difficult days: that they got carried away with the heat and fury of the moment. And that they subsequently left behind the most obvious and unmistakable evidence of their involvement in the massacres and arson attacks of those desperate days.

And this takes us back to those hundreds of rape victims in the DRC. The reason why there will be no escape for the perpetrators of the post-election violence here is that this is not really just about Kenya. It is about sending a message to all African leaders.

And the message is that it is no longer possible to allow atrocities to be committed within your borders - or to sponsor such atrocities yourself for political reasons - and hope to get away with it.

The writer comments on topical issues.

Latest Kenya Political Gossip by The Star

2010-09-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

A presenter in one of the leading vernacular radio stations is at the centre of a growing storm caused by a top Nairobi lawyer. During one of the talk shows, the lawyer accused a top Nyanza politician of doing little to uplift the standards of his people who have blindly and staunchly kept supporting him over the years. The lawyer's statements have infuriated some of the sycophantic MPs from the region who are putting pressure to have the presenter fired. However, the station management are standing firmly behind the presenter and have refused to reprimand or punish him for his guest's statements.
***
An assistant chief in Manga district has for the last few months been making a killing by collecting Sh40,000 each from anyone seeking a job as a driver, clerk or subordinate staff in the Ministry of Education. The cunning chief has now been forced to take a loan to repay more than 50 frustrated job seekers whom he had conned and who have vowed to get him fired.
***

In yesterday's Corridors, we erroneously said it is Mutito MP Kiema Kilonzo who wants the headquarters of the
Kitui County based at Mutonguni as opposed to Kitui town. The true position is that it is Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka who wants the headquarters transferred to Mutonguni, a plan which Kiema is resisting hence putting the two leaders at log-gerheads.
***
A senior figure at the National Assembly has bought a new, top-of-the-range and custom-made Mercedes-Benz S-Class from a local motor dealer and paid Sh22 million. The cheque was delivered to the motor dealer early this week and was drawn on the Parliament account. The question that goes begging is how come the purchase is being made even after the government has banned the acquisition of vehicles whose engine capacity is above 1800cc?
***
A former minister from Coast has become an embarrassment to his former colleagues in Cabinet, Parliament and friends. The man is said to be constantly borrowing money from friends, colleagues and acquaintances but does not pay back. The man once the epitome of success and power - has gone to the extent of borrowing Sh50,000 from clerks at his previous ministry. One of the clerks is repaying a Sh200,000 loan which he took on behalf of the former minister who has since reneged on the repayment. His indiscrimi-ate borrowing has seen the man accumulate a debt of Sh6 million.
***
A senior cabinet minister, who strongly believes he is in the International Criminal Court list of the post election violence suspects, has been leaking sensitive documents about ICC to the media. The minister has also been sponsoring meetings of leaders from his area to rally communal support for himself should the ICC seek to arrest him.
***
An MP from Central Kenya has puzzled his colleagues over his new love for Khat or Miraa. The legislator has been carrying with him bundles of the mild stimulant herb which he does not shy away from chewing whenever he gets an opportunity.
***
Parties with vested interest in the ongoing parliamentary investigation into Charterhouse Bank have reportedly been sharing their largesse far and wide. Among some of the beneficiaries are several members of the Fourth Estate who have received a share of the millions. One of the journalists received Sh600,000 which he spent to complete building his rural home and refurbished and remodelled his parent's house.
***
Mutito MP Kiema Kilonzo is bracing himself for yet another battle with VP Kalonzo Musyoka this time over where the headquarters of the Kitui County will be located. The MP wants the headquarters to be transferred from Kitui town to Mutonguni. Kiema has been blaming "Steve" for not strongly pushing for a Mwingi County during the negotiations on the new constitution in which the counties are enshrined.
***
An MP from North Rift is no longer visiting his constituency after his advisers told him that his chances of recapturing the seat in 2012 are almost zero. Instead of eyeing re-election, the advisers have told the man to concentrate on accumulating wealth for the remaining period in readiness for his retirement. The constituents, who are not aware of the plan, have been wondering why their lawmaker has abandoned them and is no longer attending funds drives or other functions in the constituency.
***
About 150 ODM-Kenya party delegates from Central Kenya are not so happy with some of the party leaders. Reason? Over the weekend, each of the delegates was given Sh1,000 as "bus fare" after a two-day party workshop which was attended by among others VP Kalonzo Musyoka. Immediately the VP left, some of the delegates started protesting questioning how delegates from Nyeri, where the meeting was taking place, could be paid the same amount as the ones who had travelled from as far as Nyandarua or Kiambu counties. Some of the delegates are reading mischief arguing that someone may have pocketed part of the cash due to them.
***
An ODM minister is getting jittery after he received information that some MPs want to move a censure motion against him in Parliament over some transactions he has been handling in the last two years. The MPs are planning to table documents which they say will be enough evidence to prove that there has been a conflict of interest and probably abuse of office by the minister after his company was hired to offer professional services by one of the parties involved in a dispute that directly touches on the ministry the man is in charge of.
***
A top grand coalition member was committed to six months civil jail when he was a Kanu member in the 1980s. We are informed that the man did not serve the term. A judge has hinted that the case registered in the 1980s is very much alive but police seem unable to find the man, who had enormous influence during the Kanu days and still enjoys the trappings of power.
***
The Makadara by-election candidate, who placed portable toilets in a slum adjacent to South B Estate during campaigns, removed them on Friday evening. The man duped the residents that the portable toilets would be permanently in place to get votes from the slums. The slum residents protested and tried to stop the people carting away the toilets in vain.
***
Corridors wants the real owner of identity card number 2624126 to stand up. A photocopy of the ID card we have shows that it is in the name of controversial businessman Ibrahim Noor Hillowly, involved in a land dispute in Nairobi's Eastleigh Estate. Curiously, a search at the National Registration Bureau shows that the ID number belongs to Kitetu Kilemi Mbithi. It also shows that the ID is supposed to be replaced with the new-generation cards. Maybe Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang can tell us how these things work.
***
Drivers and workers at the Chinese company building the Northern Bypass which cuts through Kamiti Road and Garden Estate in Nairobi are on a fuel siphoning spree. The workers at the Kamiti Road section, near Githurai 44 Estate, routinely siphon fuel from the construction trucks into drums. We are told a black Nissan van comes to pick up the drums between noon and 1 pm almost daily. Witnesses have seen the drivers and workers secretly offload and sell ballast meant for the highway construction.
***
They say once bitten twice shy. A Permanent Secretary who was recently interdicted took off from his office to avoid signing a contract he did not understand. The multi-million-shilling project being pushed by highly connected individuals was to construct social amenities in Kakamega County. Maybe more senior officers should be interdicted if it will save taxpayers money from greedy vultures.
***
Two PNU MPs whose constituencies neighbour each other are angling to replace former Makadara MP Dick Wathika in government as assistant minister. The two have been calling deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta frequently to plead with him to take their case to "Mzee" but we are told one minister from Rift Valley has also whispered to the President that the seat should go to Kilgoris MP Gideon Konchellah describing the other two contenders as being underserving of the post and point to lurid footage of the two engaging in colourful political spats.

***

An MP from Rift Valley has banned his two wives from visiting him at his Continental House office. The ban followed an incident where the two women met at the MP's office and had a heated argument that greatly embarrassed the MP. He hopes that by barring them from coming to his office, he will save himself any future embarrassments.

***

The Government's legal department is finding itself in a dilemma over the stance taken by the government on its cooperation with the ICC. Top government officials fear that Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo already has copies of security minutes which the government doesn't want to release claiming they are classified.

***

Two senior PNU party officials who are on opposite camps in the growing debate over whether to change the party leadership or retain it have been exchanging all manner of text messages trying to outdo each other. The exchanges have taken a 'learned' turn. One of the MPs who wants to retain the party leadership with Prof Saitoti sent the sms "a wise man laughs once, a fool twice." His rival who wants to oust the Saitoti leadership team promptly responded saying: "Not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more," a quote by one Marcus Junius Brutus who was a servant and close friend of Julius Caesara but who conspired in his murder!

***

Several MPs are angry with a young and brash city MP who has taken to inviting dozens of young women to visit him at Parliament's cafeteria since the House resumed work from recess last Tuesday. It may be sour grapes but the MPs are now complaining that their colleague's guests are denying them and their own visitors space to sit as his guests stay for hours on end and occupy all the seats in the MPs' Lounge.

***

A polygamous MP from Western Kenya has taken up a new weekend habit of taking a retinue of young nubile girls to Naivasha for visits. The girls, many of whom are tempted by the prospects of visiting a new town and staying at some of the most resorts do not balk when the MP asks them to come with a friend or two for the fun and games. And if they are more than two, the MP is known to hire a vehicle specifically to ferry the young ladies to the venue!

***

A Central Kenya MP who hopes to replace defeated Francis Thuo as the Chief Whip has now asked a city MP to lobby MPs to his cause. Wags are saying the mheshimiwa has 'facilitated' his Nairobi counterpart to 'handle' fellow MPs to support his quest for the post. The city MP was overheard telling some MPs that the Central Kenya MP is the best suited for the seat as he was wealthy and would be able to use his immense resources to 'whip' MPs into supporting the government agenda.

***

Top cops in Central province panicked at the weekend following reports that former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga was due to visit the area to protest the arrest of 82 young people suspected to be sect members. To forestall any confrontation, the senior policemen rushed from Nyeri to Kiambu to establish exactly what was going on and under what circumstances the 82 youth had been arrested.

***

A top PNU politician has despatched a team of his own to South Africa to dig into the background of PNU political adviser Prof Peter Kagwanja, the president and chief executive of the Africa Policy Institute, a senior research associate at the Department of Political Science, University of Pretoria; and visiting professor of Political and International Studies, Rhodes University. A close associate of a top Kanu leader was overheard telling friends at a city restaurant that his boss was financing the team which is expected to report back soon.

Close allies of deputy prime minister Musalia Mudavadi are taking seriously statements by National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende which have created the impression that he (Marende) plans to run for Presidency in future. An MP who is a close associate of the DPM was overheard saying he and others would systematically and politically deal with Marende to ensure his political ambitions are checked at the end of this Parliamentary term.

***

Just a day after the MP-elect for Makadara Gideon Mbuvi Kioko alias Sonko was sworn in, he was telling friends how he intended to refurbish his office at Continental House and install a wardrobe of the suits he has bought to attend Parliament. The MP, who does not hide his love for bling and whose sartorial sense of dressing has raised eyebrows, he says his suits will be only for Parliamentary business.

***

Some ODM MPs are now pushing to have the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission called in to investigate how the party's share of the political party's fund has been spent. The legislators are unhappy with the way in which party aspirants in the recent by-elections were handled. A top party official was insisting on spending money meant for the aspirants on their behalf.

***

Still on matters ODM, Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba is set for bigger things. The man, once a close ally of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is reportedly being groomed to take over the ODM secretariat. Corridors has information that some party members feel the seat should go to Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojode credited for his "cool" relationship with people from across the political divide.

***

An MP from Rift Valley who was being investigated for corruption sent a gang of thugsto deliver a chilling message to a former senior official at the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission—stop the investigations or die. The thugs developed cold feet when they got to the man's home and found it well guarded and instead pasted the warning message on the ex-KACC officer's gate.

***

A Cabinet minister is not amused. She was left out of President Kibaki's delegation to New York to attend the United Nations summit on the Millennium Development Goals. The minister was overheard complaining that she should have been included in the delegation as her ministry is one of those crucial in the implementation of the MDGs. The President has also been accused of not including the minister in delegations to African Union meetings where issues directly under the ministry's mandate are discussed.

***

An MP from Central Kenya has organised a forum for professionals from his constituency to assist him in drawing up development strategies for the electorate. The invitation from the MP has been sent through sms but now many of the professionals invited are complaining because the MP has advised them that they will have to pay Sh300 for their lunch at the venue where the meeting will be held. Some of the professionals who want to attend the meeting are now claiming the MP is 'taxing' them and prefer that he meets the cost of their lunch!

***

The acquisition of a hotel owned by a top grand coalition official is becoming the subject of debate among his colleagues and supporters. The man cut a deal with a foreign road contractor during the Moi regime that saw him assume ownership of the multi-million company after he 'facilitated' the contractors to acquire the tender.

***

A city MP is in trouble after a lawyer accused him of conning him out of an undisclosed amount of money through a third party. The lawyer has now threatened to expose the MP whom he claims has four identity cards and who has been using the IDs to fleece him of the money.

***

Failure by an MP from Rift Valley to put up a permanent home in his village is causing concern among his family and relatives. They say the MP has on three different occasions attempted to put up a house only for the structures to crumble on their own. The MP's family and relatives believe the man is cursed and that the reason for the structures' collapse is ills he may have committed in the past.

***

A PNU MP was recently compelled by the Parliament security to tow away his Mercedes Benz which had been at the Continental House parking lot for the last six months. Those in the know say the MP had been unable to take the vehicle for repair and had left it at the parking lot. The authorities at Continental House wrote to the MP complaining that the car was jeopardising general tidiness and was a health hazard as rats had invaded it.

***

Employees working for a top Cabinet minister are becoming curious on the source of their boss' money. The workers claim that any cash the minister gives them as gifts disappears mysteriously. They now say past employees of the minister have died mysteriously or in poverty.

***

An assistant minister decided to take his wife and family to shop at an Armed Forces Canteen Organisation store in one of the military bases. The AFCO stocks a wide range of products which are heavily subsidised for the benefit of the military. The Mheshimiwa and his family in tow surprised many of the military officers there who expressed surprise that he could be shopping for tax free goods and yet he pays a negligible amount of taxes for his huge allowances and salaries.

***

The spouse of a prominent politician may soon be caught in a net that the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission is laying to nab her. The woman has been getting cash from politicians and businessmen promising them that she will use her influence on her husband to sort out their businesses and political problems.

***

AnMP from Rift Valley is selling arms illegally. The man who has been in the arms business for many years also controls many of the armed militia gangs in the country which are behind bank robberies and other extortion rackets in urban areas. The man's business is so secretive that not even his wife, his many concubines or his children, know what he is up to. His security detail and driver cannot also say where the MP lives as he always instructs them to leave him somewhere in town where he takes a cab to his destination.

***

Still on our waheshimiwa, another well known MP has refused to pay rent for a mansion he has been living in for the last 15 years. Agents managing the property say the (dis) Honorourable MP has been issuing bouncing cheques for the last 12 years. The MP has been organising thugs to intimidate the landlady whenever she demands for payment. He has also ignored several court orders directing him to pay the rent arrears. Instead, the man has used his connections in government to ensure these orders disappear from the files and even has APs assigned to guard the house. The intention, according to his friends, is to grab the house. He used a similar ruse to 'grab' another house at Yaya Centre.

***

An MP from Central Kenya is ruing his decision to campaign against the new constitution. Since the referendum, the man has been having sleepless nights fearing that his many rivals might start gaining the ground he lost for opposing the constitution. Recently, the MP had a public spat with a city councillor who had gone to the constituency to donate sand and bags of cement for the reconstruction of a classroom at a local primary school in the constituency. The MP's handlers and agents tried to coerce the school administration to reject the donation claiming it was meant to undermine the MP. This, the handlers said, is not good for development

***

Cabinet minister George Saitoti has been keenly strategising how he can remain relevant in the changing political scenario. Corridor has information that the PNU chairman has met everyone who matters in his Kajiado County to consult on which position to seek in the 2012 general elections. The mathematics Professor, we are told, has been scrutinising the recent voter register and has accurately found out that he has the numbers to become the governor of the wealthy county. Just wait and read his lips!

***

Did President Kibaki deliberately refuse to undertake a far-reaching reshuffle after the new
constitution was promulgated? We are told that the President, in consultation with PM Raila had agreed to reshuffle the Cabinet, civil service and the provincial administration in a move that would have signalled a new beginning. However, for some reason, the President declined to announce the changes and instead announced a mini-reshuffle that saw Chirau Ali Mwakwere return to the Cabinet.

***

A senior manager at one of the parastatals under the Ministry of Energy has been sacked because of what our mole called insubordination. The manager, who was rewarded for dropping a petition case against a senior Cabinet minister was accused of "haphazard and indiscriminate appointments."

***

Talk of grass suffering when two bulls fight. We hear that a misunderstanding between two senior civil servants- Foreign Affairs PS Thuita Mwangi and Public Service Commission boss Titus Gatere has seen many diplomatic staff at Foreign Affairs ministry by-passed in promotions. Corridors heard that various proposals on how to boost the low morale of diplomatic staff through promotions have been turned down by the PSC boss.

***

A top lawyer who was once paid a huge amount of money for litigation is not lost to the dangers around his wealth. We hear the lawyer convinced a security officer to quit state service to serve him. Apparently, the lawyer who does not live in the city has successfully obtained a new muscle — a gun.

***

What was police spokesman Eric Kiraithe's motive when-he sent out a statement to a section of the media denying that First Lady Lucy Kibaki had kicked out security boss George Nderitu? We are told Kiraithe sent the statement to media houses but left out the Star that broke the story after he failed to get the attention of Star editors.

***

The fuel saga which many Kenyans have been complaining about seems to have finally caught up with some senior government officials. They were overheard discussing a possible solution to the problem—replace Energy PS Francis Nyoike with someone else. Those discussing the same seem to have forgotten a small detail—they have no authority or even powers to appoint or dismiss a PS!

***

A senior deputy secretary in a ministry who acted as a PS for a few months but was never promoted is so bitter that he has been saying everything nasty about the public service. The bureaucrat's anger is finding its way to his juniors who have been on the receiving end of his acidic tongue.

***

A group of Cabinet ministers are unamused by US ambassador Michael Ranneberger's frequent excursions to different constituencies without informing local MPs. The clique of ministers celebrated when news broke that Ranneberger might soon be replaced with President Obama's point-man in Sudan, Scott Gration.

***

Speculation is growing that President Kibaki may be planning to stay in power until August 2013. Some people in the government are claiming that the President has been advised that the new constitution allows him to remain in office till then. Our mole tells us the President may have intimated to PSs that those saying he will have to call elections by August 2012 are misinterpreting the new constitution!

***

A senior politician who lost big time in the recent by-election is said to have been taken ill immediately the reality that he had lost dawned on him. Sources close to the politician who had banked a lot on winning the seat said he could not comprehend the loss of a seat he had drooled over for years.

***

New CMB (cash man brother) MP Mike "Sonko" Mbuvi is a man in trouble. Corridors heard that there are several Facebook accounts trading under his name and where thousands of fans are congratulating him. Apparently, their inboxes are flooded with proposals and offers. The pokes are also uncountable.

***

We hear that a cabal of senior politicians and civil servants successfully schemed to halt the impeding sack of a powerful PS whose ministry has been riddled by scandals. According to our mole, the man earmarked to take over was given a big UN job leaving those who schemed the PS's ouster at a loss over what move to make next.

***

There is no love lost between commissioners of one of the Agenda Four commissions and their secretariat. We hear the commissioners are taking over daily activities of the secretariat when actually their role is at policy levels. Corridors heard that it's only a matter of time before the row erupts in public.

***

A mad woman who has been stripping naked every other day along Muindi Mbingu Street is causing jitters in town. A city resident yesterday called to complain why the City Council is not taking action to move the woman to a mental hospital and save her from ogling mindless men.

Janet Mbogo: Vet public servants in new dispensation - The Star

2010-09-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

The new constitution is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end that must not be treated as a stand-alone project. It only gives the tools and mechanisms to bring forth the desired transformation of the state. The people of Kenya must give it Life and teeth.

Kenya has a history of impunity. There have been many corruption and human rights scandals in the country. Recommendations by commissions of inquiry are never implemented and the perpetrators continue holding powerful public and political offices. Due to corruption and political patronage, public institutions have been forced to employ unqualified staff.

Promoting and consolidating the rule of law and democracy while dealing with country's efforts to dealing with the authoritarian past is challenging but it must be done. It is even more challenging especially where the change process is under the stewardship of those with track record of blocking change and/or responsible for overseeing gross violation of human rights.

Institutionalising change is a precondition for dis-mantling authoritarianism and successfully transforming state into constitutionally sustainable democracy. This is what the new constitution seeks to do. But if those implicated in past scandals are given the task of implementing the changes, then it is not yet Uhuru.

A democracy which replaces a dictatorship endangers its credibility and forfeits it altogether in the eyes of the dictatorship's victims when perpetrators go unpunished and the new democracy does not prevent these people by legal means from retaining their positions and further pursuing their careers.

In order to address this deficit, it demands for legal sanctions and vetting. It is primarily the preventive affirmation of civic virtues and the strengthening of democracy under new order. The new constitution ushers a ground-breaking new value and culture system and sets up radical framework for good governance and accountability.

One key condition of cleaning the public service and other offices is vetting the holders of such offices, not only judges but all public servants. This will ensure only hardworking deserving Kenyans remain in public service. Vetting is meant to breathe new norms, practices and values in the management of public affairs. It lays down roots without the danger that the people in high positions of power will try to undermine the new nascent emerging democracy. The aim is
not to punish people presumed guilty but to jealously protect the newly emerging democracy.

Vetting covers both recruitment or appointment and dismissal or removal of public employees.

Vetting may clash, however; with the principle of non-discrimination, as well as several rights of persons targeted. Rights that may be violated are: to hold a job in the public service in conditions of equality and without unlawful discrimination or unreasonable restrictions; to be protected from unlawful attacks on honour and reputation; to an effective remedy; to the presumption of innocence; to have one's case heard fairly and publicly by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal; to equality before the law and to equal protection of the law without discrimination; and to work.

Vetting procedures are in principle administrative and preventive. They are not meant to replace criminal or punitive measures determining liability. A key issue in vetting processes is ensuring equitable procedures and procedural guarantees. The following criteria should be
kept in mind when designing a vetting process.

First, in order to have legitimacy, a vetting measure should respect the rule of law and human rights. Second, vetting should respect the rights of those targeted. Third, the process should not neglect objectivity, and therefore procedures should be based on objective and reasonable criteria. Fourth, all measures should be governed by law in order to avoid arbitrary application.

Fifth, it is important that vetting respect the principle of individual responsibility. Finally, vetting should be relatively autonomous and should be independent of criminal proceedings.

Procedures should allow for a phase of investigation and verification of a candidate's background by an impartial body, separate from the appointment organ. The candidate should be granted the right to respond to allegations and the right to a judicial remedy to challenge a decision. The investigation and verification body must allow a candidate or family to respond and have access to legal remedies, including appeal.

Vetting processes should be based on objective criteria, conducted by independent and impartial bodies and provide procedural guarantees to the persons concerned. Qualitative and quantitative participation, consultation and exclusivity are key.

The writer is Communication Associates, International Centre for Policy and Conflict.

Jerry Okungu: What By Elections Taught Party Heads - The Star

2010-09-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, the chickens are coming home to roost if they haven't already. Wanjiku is finally flexing her muscles. She has said she must part ways with the past for good. She is screaming on the rooftop warning the political class that with the advent of the new constitution, it will not be business as usual.

And she doesn't seem to have any respect for the high and mighty, rich or famous. She seems to scorn pedigree in our political system. Major political parties don't intimidate her either. But somehow, she seems to loathe individual arrogance most on the part of those who want to be our national leaders.

The just concluded by-elections in Juja, Makadara and Starehe are classic examples in how Kenyan politics has changed. In Juja, it did not matter that the fairly wealthy George Thuo was openly supported by Uhuru Kenyatta and Kalonzo Musyoka, the two political heavyweights that also lead two major parties in Parliament.

To have lost a seat he supposedly won with a landslide in 2007 just two years ago was some kind of a paradox because he dropped to third position far behind the man he is supposed to have beaten. Was this proof that Juja ballot boxes were stuffed in favour of the winner in 2007?

To come third after the relatively new Alice Wambu Ng'ang'a of Thika must have been really painful to the former Government Chief whip who has hardly spent three years in Parliament.

The Starehe results also sent a strong message to the political establishment that the old order must give way to the new order. The new wine cannot survive in the old wineskin. Maina Kamanda may have been a good councillor in Nairobi in the last century and even a good MP for Starehe at the turn of the century.

However, times have changed and the electorate has grown younger, more politicised and better informed. The old politics is gone kabisa. Now the electorate is demanding more than handouts.

Give them handouts but also show them that you can improve their lives.

Bishop Margaret Wanjiru may not have done better than Kamanda in the two years she has been in Parliament but at least she has consistently preached hope for them every week since her election.

Another twist to Kamanda's loss must have been the Mungiki factor, with adherents voting for the lady that their former boss openly supported. The combination of her church followers and Mungiki adherents was a factor anybody could ignore in Starehs at their peril. It came to pass.

The Starehe results were intriguing in one aspect. They were too close to the 2007 results to be ignored. However, they were way off the mark when one considered the recount results just before Wanjiru's victory was nullified. The question that begs answers is: If Kamanda beat Wanjiru by 15,000 during the recount whereas Wanjiru beat him by 1,000 votes during the 2007 elections, where did Kamanda's supporters disappear to this time round?

Incidentally more or less the same numbers that voted in Wanjiru in 2007 voted for her again this week. Were Kamanda's ballot boxes stuffed with more votes after the 2007 elections?

Reuben Ndolo lost a seat he thought was his for the taking in Makadara. He had successfully petitioned against Dick Wathika and the courts decided in his favour. However it seems the voters in Makadara had something up their sleeves.

They looked at Ndolo and Wathika and thought there was no difference between the two. So they opted for the third option. They chose little known Mike Sonko.

This must be a wake-up call to all political parties.

Free the democratic space within your parties. Practice internal democracy before you come out to compete against other parties. Forget blue-eyed-boy mentality where certain individuals
must get direct nomination at the expense of even better and more popular candidates.

Encourage internal competition because it is healthy for the growth of the party!

The secret to political" popularity lies in being tested from the grassroots. Those who claim to be popular yet fear to face challenges at the nomination level are conmen and women who are used to riding on the backs of popular parties. They not only give the party a bad name but they are also expensive for the party in the long run. Worse still, they cause unnecessary rebellion and protest voting against their parties and party leaders. Had ODM and PNU listened to Wanjiku, they would not have lost Juja and Makadara. One hopes that this is a lesson well learnt.

The writer is a media consultant.

Wycliffe Muga: Governor is the hot seat in devolution - The Star

2010-09-29T20:06:00.001-07:00

The word gubernatorial is one which you may expect to see used very often in the near future.
It is an adjective which means of or pertaining to a governor. With every Tom, Dick and Harry dreaming of occupying a governor's mansion, the kind of writer who likes to make reference to President Kibaki's gentlemanly mien or to the mammoth crowds that turn up at Prime Minister Raila Odinga's campaign rallies will soon have a new word to play with.

More seriously, the fact that the country is moving into uncharted electoral waters should give us all cause for thought. So far, debate on the new electoral offices has focused largely on the question of why all these old men whom we thought had retired from politics, have suddenly resurrected their political ambitions, and resolved to serve the nation as senators.

Such views overlook the fact that in all democracies, senators are often old men, and often much older than any of our current lot of senatorial aspirants.

In the US, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina served in the Senate from 1956 to 2003, and retired as the only senator to reach the age of 100 while still in office.

You would think that the 47 years he was senator would also make him the longest serving senator in US history. But in fact, that title goes to Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who served in the Senate from 1959 to 2010. He died in June this year, at age 92, while still a senator having been one for 51 years.

Nor is great age the only thing commonly found in senates all over the world. Some democracies have instituted lifetime tenure for some members of the senate, or whatever body they have that is equivalent to a senate.

To quote one source: A senator-for-life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. As of 2010 [update], seven Italian senators out of 322, four out of the 47 Burundian senators and all members of the British House of Lords have lifetime tenure. Several South American countries once granted lifetime membership to former presidents but have since abolished the practice.

And no doubt there are those among President Kibaki's most dedicated supporters who now wonder how on earth they left out a clause in the recently promulgated constitution, which would have enabled the President to spend the rest of his life in the Senate, without having to bother about the nuisance of re-election campaigns.

One more thing we can learn from the US example: these complaints we have heard about how some regions will have more MPs for each senator, while in others there will be very few MPs for each senator or governor, have no basis at all.

No country has yet found a perfect formula for the ratio of MPs to senators to governors; and there will always be some irrational outcome from the attempt to provide adequate representation at every level of government.

In the US, each of the states gets two senators, and there is a 100-member Senate. But when it comes to the House of Representatives (where the congressmen serve) the basis of calculating the numbers is that the 435 seats must be divided equally on the basis of population.

And so you find that a large state like California has two senators and 53 congressmen; while a small state like Delaware has only one congressman (based on its population) but nonetheless has two senators.

We must therefore accept that there will always be dis-satisfaction about the varying levels of representation resulting from a two-chamber legislature.

That depending on whether you focus on geography or on populations, there will always be regions that will appear to have benefited at the expense of others. And there will always be plenty of old guys in the senate.

But what should be of far more concern to most of us, and what will certainly touch our individual lives in a far more direct manner, is the question of who gets to be a governor.

For this will be a man or woman who with barely any serious oversight institutions looking over his or her shoulder, will be in charge of a budget of some Sh3 billion for the county.

And while admittedly much of that money will go to pay salaries and other recurrent expenses, there will be plenty of room for development expenditure which has traditionally been the focus of huge rip-offs in Kenya.

So the question is, will each county really be able to find a man or a woman who can be relied on to spend Sh3 billion annually, in ways that will provide long-term benefits to the ordinary people?

The writer comments on topical issues.

Sam Nyamweya: MPs Misleading over fate Of DCs and PCs - The Star

2010-09-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

It is more than one and a half months since Kenyans overwhelmingly voted for the new constitution. The new set of laws are a landmark step towards the establishment of a truly democratic and just society where probity, accountability, transparency, equality and equity will be the prime movers of our social, cultural, political and economic development.

That a massive 68 per cent of Kenyans endorsed the new constitution is in itself a testimony to the strong desire Kenyans had held for so long for a new dawn of governance that gives dignity and opportunity to every Kenyan regardless of their ethnic, gender, religious, racial or economic backgrounds.

It was the hope of one and all that when President Kibaki promulgated the new constitution, we would all hit the ground and commence the implementation of the new document. However, that does not seem to be the case. While the President and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have shown total commitment to the implementation, it is clear that some of their hardline lieutenants are bent on sabotaging the process.

The hardliners are sending wrong signals to Kenyans and the international community about the government's determination to see the process reach its conclusive end.

After endorsing the new constitution on August 4, Kenyans handed the mantle over to parliament to legislate 49 more provisions to make the new constitution fully operational.

One would therefore expect our parliamentarians to conduct themselves maturely by seizing this opportunity and accomplish for Kenyans the yet-to-be cleared path in the implementation of the new constitution.

Once Parliament re-opens in October, The MPs should debate and enact relevant Bills that will guide us in the new constitutional framework. Hurling accusations at each over the Bills to be enacted does not help Kenyans in any way. Take the brouhaha about the Provincial Administration for example.

In submitting their views to the review body, Kenyans were very clear that they were not comfortable with the widespread abuse of office by chiefs, DO's, DC's and PC's. They however did not call for the scrapping of the system.

In their wisdom, members of the Committee of Experts recommended that the Provincial Administration be restructured to fit into the devolved system of government. The restructuring process is to come via legislation by parliament and that is as it should be.

Why are the MPs, including senior cabinet ministers, now taking us in circles over this issue? The CoE never called for the scrapping or abolishing of the Provincial Administration. And that is the truth as we speak now.

Does restructuring mean abolishment?

There are very influential forces in this county who are ready to do everything to frustrate the implementation of the new constitution. Those forces have pawns and decoys in Parliament.
Earlier in the year, we saw a substantial number of MPs, including Cabinet ministers, who overwhelmingly voted for the draft constitution in Parliament later asking Kenyans to vote against it during the referendum.

Today, we are witnessing politicians who over the years have been posing as reformers taking the front seat in sabotaging the implementation of the new constitution they have been purporting to advocate for.

Those calling for the scrapping of the Provincial Administration are not offering any solutions as regards filling up the administrative and security loopholes to be created by such a move.
Provincial administrators are part of the national security system. Thus, whatever constitutional decisions we come up with, must not create a security gap that would later be exploited by hate mongers to cause chaos.

President Kibaki and the Prime Minister Raila should convince their troops to read and act from the same script.

The era of opposition for the sake of it is long gone. The new constitution should enable us to start on a clean slate as far as governance is concerned.

We however need to begin by changing our mindsets from the petty, parochial, ethnic and tribal approaches that have gripped and dragged us back for many years.

Were we to change our mindset, we shall find out that it is completely unhelpful to keep on engaging the public on useless subjects at funerals, press conferences and public rallies instead of encouraging them to tend their fields, feed their livestock, expand fishponds, take their children to school, impart religious morals into our youth, refuse to give and take bribes, invest in real estate, industries, transport, sports and education.

Our leaders must start investing in truth and honesty. As president Barack Obama once said, we must choose to live on the right side of history. Time has come for all of us to return to reason. Let each one of us play our part. Parliamentarians should stop confusing Kenyans. We should all stop living in the past. We must match forward, with our eyes on the ball - forever.

The author is the national chairman of the Kenya Football Federation

Kenya Political Gossip - The Star

2010-09-14T00:37:00.000-07:00

A maverick city MP caused a commotion at the main entrance of JKIA when he arrived aboard a boda boda motorbike last Friday. The MP had abandoned his sleek ML Mercedes Benz and jumped onto the bike as a traffic snarl-up on Mombasa Road, caused by an accident near Panari Hotel, would have made him miss a morning flight to Mombasa for a meeting with his business partners. But on reaching the airport entrance, the police manning the gate turned away the motorcycle rider, not noticing the passenger was a mheshimiwa. After the haggling, the MP removed the helmet which he had put on due to massive wind, gave the police a dressing down, before proceeding with his journey to the local departures. Unfortunately for him, he missed the flight and had to wait for the next one!

***

Campaigns in Makadara constituency ahead of September 20 by-elections has turned into high voltage politics for the moneyed if yesterday's events are anything to go by. One of the aspirants, Gideon Mbuvi Kioko, of Narc-Kenya offered to transport Buruburu residents and all commuters on Jogoo Road in the constituency free rides to and from town. Our mole tells us that the aspirant has unleashed a fleet of 15 matatus and one double-decker bus for the free transport services as one of the ways to woo voters ahead of the next week's vote.

***

Trouble is brewing at the National Cereals and Produce Board over staff promotions. Our mole says that despite a reputable recruitment firm being contracted at a cost of Sh14 million to interview candidates for certain jobs, senior officials have continued to give out jobs to their kin ignoring the recommendations of the firm. The private firm has already conducted all interviews and handed a list of the best suitable candidates to the board. Insiders are now wondering why the board had to spend the Sh14 million for a list that is now gathering dust in one of the board's shelves.

***

The National Taxpayers Association says it has identified two phantom projects in Kieni constituency in the financial year 2007/08. The projects were officially allocated Sh450,000 from the CDF kitty for construction but they do not physically exist on the ground.

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A top city lawyer has fallen prey to a former MP from one of the East African countries. The foreign MP lured the lawyer into parting with Sh8 million for his upkeep claiming that he was expecting some of his donors from the Middle East and Asian countries to wire funds for one of his projects. The lawyer went ahead to surrender the money only for the former MP to disappear secretly. Attempts to get the former MP to refund the money have been fruitless and now the matter is with the Provincial Criminal Investigation Officer in Nairobi.

***

A well known MP from Kisii is causing waves amongst his colleagues after he seduced another man's wife and rented her a house in Kisii. The MP, who is an assistant minister, was the talk of the town over the weekend when he showed up at a funeral with the woman in tow. He did not seem bothered by the whispers that broke out from the astonished mourners who were surprised by his audacity and lack of shame.

***

The Permanent Secretary for Agriculture has moved fast to stop the practice of hiring or promoting people on the basis of their ethnicity. The PS has written the National Cereals and Produce Board's management instructions that they stop the practice with immediate effect to ensure that the staff reflects the country's diversity as per the national cohesion and integrity guidelines.

***

A goof can happen anywhere. But whoever was on duty at the Presidential Press Service yesterday must have been pretty off. The PPS despatched a photo of President Kibaki at the burial of Njenga Karume's son, Joseph, in Kiambaa at the weekend. The caption? "President Mwai Kibaki bids farewell to the outgoing Ambassador Shigeo Iwatani of Japan at his Harambee House office, Nairobi!" No apologies were made but the PPS later sent the correct photo and caption.

Paul Muite - PCs', DCs' Role is in new Constitution - The Star

2010-09-14T00:28:00.000-07:00

In the several decades journey for the New Constitution, intense debate on what to do with the Provincial Administration has always taken centre stage.

Amongst the reasons for that debate is the draconian use to which the Imperial Presidency under the old constitution put the Provincial Administration from the assistant chief to the chief, the DO, DC, PC, to the OP and the Presidency. The oppression of the people, denial of basic freedoms in the Bill of Rights, including social gatherings, was only possible through the Provincial Administration.

Memories are still fresh when even a visit by in-laws or the slaughter of a goat needed a permit from the chief, who was also required to ensure no criticism of the government or the president took place at any such gatherings. The Provincial Administration was relied upon by the imperial Presidency to rig elections so as to weed out government critics.

The 1988 mlolongo elections where in many cases the shorter queues won is a memorable reminder. The history and role of the Provincial Administration is thus far from positive. The root cause however was the imperial Presidency not the Provincial Administration per se.

It is ironical that this all powerful institution of the Provincial Administration was never anchored in the old constitution. The new constitution for better or for worse anchors the Provincial Administration in the constitution for the first time in the constitutional history of Kenya.

Section 17 of the Sixth Schedule (all the schedules are part and parcel of the constitution) provides: " 17. Within five years after the effective date, the national government shall restructure the system of administration commonly known as the provincial administration to accord with and respect the system of devolved government established under this constitution."

The Sixth Schedule is in turn based on Article 262 of the constitution, which provides:
"The transitional and consequential provisions set out in the Sixth Schedule shall take effect on the effective date."

On a correct interpretation of Article 262 and Section 17 of the Sixth Schedule, abolition of the Provincial Administration now would require an amendment to the constitution. The institution of the Provincial Administration is firmly anchored in the constitution of the Republic of Kenya.

What Section 17 of the Sixth Schedule requires is the restructuring of the Provincial Administration to accord with and respect the system of Devolved Government established under the new constitution. "Accord with and respect", is a powerful caveat.

Amongst the objects of devolution set out in Article 174 are:

(1) to give powers of self-governance to the people and enhance participation of the people in the exercise of the powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them;

(2) to recognise the right of communities to manage their own affairs and to further their development; and

(3) to facilitate the decentralisation of State Organs, their functions and services, from the Capital of Kenya.

Accordingly, any restructuring the effect of which is to dilute n any way these objects of devolution in letter or spirit will be unconstitutional.

Further, Section 5 of the Sixth Schedule needs to be taken into account. The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution is the one mandated in sub-section 6(a) to monitor, facilitate and oversee the development of Legislation and Administrative Procedures required to implement the constitution and (b) co-ordinate with the Attorney General and the Kenya Law Reform Commission in preparing for tabling in Parliament the Legislation required to implement the constitution.

Since the new constitution does away with Provinces and makes the 47 Counties sacrosanct, creating a "cluster" of counties may very well run counter to the objects of devolution. The restructuring will however need to accommodate the presence of the National Government at the County Levels and below.

The counties themselves are required in Article 176(2) to decentralize their functions and provision of services to the extent that it is efficient and practicable to do so.

It is in the interests of the counties and the National Government to keep track of events so that the National Government is aware of the goings-on at the County Level and vice versa.

The Challenge is to get the balance right between the two systems of government, National and County which must co-exist for the benefit of all the people of Kenya, social and economic.

The writer is a senior counsel.

Miguna Miguna - There is no place for PCs and DCs - The Star

2010-09-14T00:21:00.000-07:00

Expectedly, powerful status-quo forces in government are desperately trying to subvert the new constitution under the pretext of establishing administrative structures to "coordinate and facilitate" government functions in the counties before those devolved structures are even established.

They are attempting an impossible task: the premature and illegitimate resurrection of the Provincial Administration before their official death and burial.

Ironically, coordination and supervision of the execution of all government functions is a constitutional preserve - at least for now - of the PM who has never used the Provincial Administration to execute his functions. Moreover, the "reasons" those at the OP have expressed as the "basis" for their love for the Provincial Administration are the very reasons Kenyans have overwhelmingly voted to abolish them; to stop them from being used by the imperial presidency as instruments of oppression.

Devolution is a governance system that decentralises power, resources and services from the centre to the grassroots. It will allow the people to make decisions on matters that affect their lives. The counties will elect their governments. There will be County Assemblies where laws will be made.

The national government will have no authority to coordinate and supervise local matters for the counties. To permit that would mean we transform devolution into "delegation". That will not happen.

The Provincial Administration is an ad hoc administrative department in the Office of the President. It's under the Ministry of Internal Security and Provincial Administration. It was never provided for in the old Constitution and has only been retained for five years for "restructuring," which, frankly, is just a nice way of saying "dissolution".

For more than 50 years, the colonial and neo-colonial governments used this corrupt instrument for control, exploitation and manipulation as well as manipulation and rigging of elections, suppression of dissent and spying for the imperial presidency.

Senior officials from the OP have said they "are in the process of restructuring" this colonial relic. If allowed, it would be tantamount to permitting the violation of the Constitution and the usurpation of powers of the Implementation Commission, which, has the exclusive man-date to monitor, coordinate, prepare and present legislation and other mechanisms of ensuring the letter and spirit of the Constitution is respected.

Some power mandarins have said, "we can't wait five years to restructure the 'Provincial Administration; restructuring will be completed in a maximum period of six months. The national government must coordinate its activities all over the country." That's mystifying. The implementation of the Constitution and the coordination of government functions must be done by institutions, organs and agents recognised by law. Presently coordination is the purview of the Office of the PM while most aspects of implementation are reserved for the CIC.

No one can "appoint" anyone to superintend for the President, no matter how imperial, to the yet-to-be-operationalised counties. Purporting to "cluster" counties or the disbanded districts in administrative units without legal authority is utter contempt and disregard of clear constitutional provisions.

The Constitution transforms governance by creating, entrenching and enhancing transparency, efficiency and fairness in public affairs. It also eradicates the imperial presidency. Kenyans were determined to use the new charter to promote democracy.

Their aim was not just to transform the laws; they wanted to create new institutions and leadership responsive to the public interests.

To achieve those goals, it specifies that at the level of the executive, consultations between the President and the PM must occur for all decisions, appointments and nominations. The legislature has the exclusive jurisdiction to vet those nominations. The yet-to-be-established Supreme Court has the exclusive mandate to resolve disputes and questions arising from the new Constitution.

The implementation of the constitution is supposed to occur in a consultative, fair, inclusive, and transparent manner. The Implementation Commission will monitor, facilitate and oversee the development of legislation and administrative procedures required to implement the Constitution and to work with each constitutional commission to ensure that the letter and spirit of this Constitution is respected.

On August 6, Kenyans created a constitutional democracy where ultimate power and authority vests on them. Government only exercises power and authority donated by the people. Therefore, if the executive does anything that contravenes or undermines the authority of the public, the decision or act becomes illegitimate and void.

The writer is the PM's adviser on coalition affairs. The views expressed here are his own.

Muthui Kariuki - VP Kalonzo is not a tribal chieftain - The Star

2010-09-14T00:15:00.000-07:00

What a pity that Star Thursday columnist Wycliffe Muga persists in promoting the preposterous notion that the referendum on the new Constitution was a popularity contest for the various self-anointed ethnic vote bloc chieftains ("Dilemma Facing VP and Deputy PMs", September 9).

Instead of such totally misplaced criticism, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and his Ukambani "political backyard" deserve praise for demonstrating political maturity — the VP for completely eschewing the cultivation of a cult of personality (notwithstanding the fact that, placed alongside the PM and his DPMs, he is the most personable personality by far). The people of Ukambani deserve praise for having nothing to do with the herd mentality and voting their own conscience.

Praising the tribal chieftains and their mesmerised massed followers is nonsensical and ought to have no place in the post-referendum period.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga himself publicly recently acknowledged that the next President will need much more than his own tribal vote bloc, however numerous, to make it into office. So, what is this talk about Kalonzo not having the Ukambani vote sewn-up and in his coat pocket?

The Presidential election of 2012 will be dependent entirely on the strength and attraction of the various campaigns. These are dynamics that are not yet clear. For all he knows, sometime in 2013, Muga will be bemoaning the fact that Ukambani came out as one when it came to the Presidency, proving the point that the referendum is not necessarily the General Election.

It is regrettable that Muga should stoop to ascribing "foolishness" to the VP on account of the fact that Musyoka harbours Presidential ambitions.

Muga's strategy has one clear aim — rubbishing the prospects of all other leading presumed Presidential candidates and asserting, by way of subtext and rhetorical question, that the decks are clear for the PM's candidature.

The columnist is entitled to his opinions and wish-listing scenarios. What he is definitely not entitled to, however, is snake-oil salesmanship disguised as political analysis. The Raila Odinga political persona and the Luo community's loyalty to that brand are completely different from the Kalonzo Musyoka political persona and the Kamba community's independent-mindedness.

Neither combination has propelled a Presidential candidate to State House, but the 2012 campaign will provide an excellent opportunity to assess which candidate, given many other dynamics, formations and alliances than are clear today, will become the fourth President of Kenya.

Handing the Presidency to Raila on a platter 23 months ahead of what he himself has said will be the "mother of all [electoral] battles" is very paraplegic political analysis indeed.

Let the fact not be forgotten that the next Presidential elections campaign will be drastically different from the previous several campaigns.

The reconstruction of Kenya under the new Constitution will be almost two years old when the campaign really kicks in and the governance and administrative edifice will look and function very differently from the case today.

In all likelihood, the majority of Kenyans will want a Presidential candidate whose basic assumptions, personality, style, integrity and respect for the rule of law are as different from what has been the case under the old and now retired Constitution as night is from day.

All the other political personages that Muga has mentioned in his column, including Odinga, are political dynasties whose careers and those of their distinguished forbears are steeped in ethnic chieftaincy as a springboard to national preeminence. The VP has never aspired to Ukambani political kingship nor have the Wakamba ever engaged in cult-like political adoration of any one figure.

Like President Kibaki, Musyoka is a well-educated professional from a hardship background who rose to national pre-eminence through his own sheer efforts and determination, without a trust fund or a billion-shilling fortune giving him any wind assistance. He is precisely the kind of figure that the new Kenya is looking for as it seeks to sever its more backward-looking links to the past.

The VP does nor prescribe how you should vote; he does not whip his community into one point of view. This is not a person whose appeal and support can be said to be narrow. When Muga scoffs at the VP's showing at Election 2007 he omits to note that he did better than Raila on his own first stab at the Presidency in 1997.

The next President of Kenya will need to appeal to 50% + 1 of the electorate. None of the tribal chieftain candidates will make that threshold in Round One of Election 2012. But a candidate who can appeal across ethnic divisions could well find that his time has indeed come and that the primitive and atavistic voting patterns of the 2007 poll, has become a thing of the past.

In fact, that process has started, as a correct and much more realistic reading of the national referendum results (where Kikuyu, Luo, Luhya, Kamba and a majority of many others voted as one) than Muga can give readily shows.

The author is Head, VPPS,

David Makali - Quitting the only option for Jaoko - The Star

2010-09-14T00:11:00.000-07:00

Many of our national institutions are steeped in controversies that are hampering their performance. While some owe their failures to loopholes in their establishment legislation, others are in a mess due to poor leadership or internal squabbles. The latest to join the ignoble list is the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

Despite the veneer of normalcy at the commission, it has long been evident that things have never been the same since the departure of former chairman Maina Kiai. Florence Jaoko's succession of Kiai was natural and smooth. She had been the vice chairman and apparently the most qualified in the context of the gender balance which requires either gender to occupy the top two positions. But Kiai and Jaoko are worlds apart in their characters, profiles and styles.

Maina was a career human rights activist, renown for his advocacy and vocal protests. He had an international profile, having worked for Amnesty International as the Africa programme head. Enter Florence Simbiri-Jaoko, a senior magistrate straight from the conservative and much maligned judiciary. Not that Jaoko has anything in her past that would prejudice her performance as chairperson of the commission. But certain observations can be made about her tenure.

One, the profile, voice and visibility of the commission have dipped. Two, leadership wrangles have emerged from within the commission. Three, the overall performance of the commission seems to be dwindling.

There is evidence these issues are not just perceptions. Within the commission, they have been subject of discussion without comprehensive resolution, hence the eventual fallout. Jaoko therefore finds herself in the same mould as former Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director Aaron Ringera and the Truth Commission's Bethwell Kiplagat; having to defend yourself when either the public or members of your own organisation are calling for your exit and you are insisting on staying on.

While the commissioners who are demanding her resignation have not made public their reasons, we have reason to believe the revolt is not a malicious campaign against one of their colleagues. And once questions are raised about your suitability for a position, however unfounded they may be, your defence is not in the judicial procedures for your removal but your conscience and the public court to which you are ultimately responsible.

I am inclined to believe that there are sticky issues that Jaoko cannot brush aside with the swipe of the law. It is about personal integrity and the responsibility we owe to the organisations we serve when our performance is questioned.

The fact that the sticky issues have not been resolved and are bogging the commission down means the chair-person must take responsibility for lack of leadership.

The integrity of the commission first came to light when accusations surfaced of moles within the commission leaking out sensitive information on witnesses to suspected perpetrators of post-election violence.

Before then was the enduring suspicion that some commissioners are lackeys of the intelligence system or police informers who cannot be entrusted with vital investigations of violations the commission handles.

And then there is the vexatious issue of why the vice-chairman was always articulating the position of the commission instead of the chairperson. When Hassan Omar finally resigned from being vice-chair, partly due to this rift, the commission literally became voiceless. Without a vent, the commission has literally become a captive of internal schisms. I would be shocked if Jaoko can stand up and claim all is right within the commission and she would like to continue steering it rudderless.

She has not excelled in projecting the face of the commission and one wonders why she is not outspoken on the many things that her predecessor was notorious for.

Security of tenure is one thing. But to cling to security of tenure when all the people who voted for you have changed their mind seems inconsistent with modern accountability principles.

The commissioners are entitled to a change of mind upon seeing your performance, and it seems to me that in Jaoko's case, that change has come and staying on is selfish and insensitive. The commission cannot continue with the animosity the fallout has generated.

Since she cannot dismiss the other commissioners, Jaoko needs to do the needful. If she does not have the confidence of her colleagues, she cannot have mine.

The writer is the director, The Media Institute, email dmakali@yahoo.com.

Political Gossip - The Star Corridors of Power

2010-08-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

The entry of Mobicom to the Orange family has caused waves in the mobile phone firm. Mobicom reportedly placed an order for Sh70 million worth of airtime recently catching the Orange operators off-guard as they did not have the airtime immediately available. A flurry of top level meetings by the Orange management saw them get together the airtime requested to satisfy their customer.

***

An insignificant visit by Joe Nyagah to President Kibaki's Othaya backyard on Monday has set tongues wagging. Reason? People believe there is more to the visit by Nyagah than a mere inspection of development projects in the constituency. They say the visit by the Cooperatives Development minister is significant as it comes soon after talk of a possible alliance between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

***

Some top lawyers are not hiding the fact that they are interested in taking up the many new jobs available as the country sets about implementing the new constitution. Some of them want to be in the team that will vet judges, others are angling to be appointed to the Bench while many others are lobbying to be appointed to the nearly ten commissions and authorities that will be established. The competition is getting so intense that some of the lawyers have sought the services of politicians to try and lobby for the appointments.

***

Stephen Okoth Mwanga cut a flamboyant figure with his Hummer and other outward signs of a successful budding politician during the 2007 campaigns. Mwanga made his political debut after leaving the huge Harambee Sacco on November 22, 2007 where he had been working as a clerk in the Sacco's FOSA Nairobi office.

***

President Moi once told Kenyans that the then ruling party Kanu had its owners. Former Juja MP Stephen Ndichu believes that it is not just Kanu but PNU also. Ndichu, who is eyeing the Juja seat in the September 20 by-election, has been complaining that PNU shortchanged him and handed direct nomination to immediate former MP George Thuo. For Ndichu, the direct nomination confirms what he has always suspected, that PNU too has its owners.

***

The wife of a top Cabinet minister from Nyanza was awarded the tender for printing T-shirts for the Yes camp during the referendum campaigns. The Sh20 million spent on printing and supplying the T-shirts is now a subject of discussion by the Yes secretariat staff who allege only a handful of the T-shirts were printed. They claim the orders were then recycled to justify the millions spent.

***

A politician has fallen out with his personal assistant whom he accuses of being his wife's spy. The big man who is keen on the 2012 presidential race has now gone ahead and assigned one of his security men to spy on his PA. The security man is also supposed to keep track of all discussions the PA holds with the big man's wife. As a precautionary measure, the politician has opted to keep the PA out of all important trips.

***

An ODM MP from Rift Valley never uses his car while travelling to his constituency in South Rift because he says the roads are so bad, they may damage the vehicle. Instead, the MP has been relying on a PSV shuttle from Nairobi to Eldoret town whenever he wishes to travel home. From Eldoret, he hires a taxi to his rural home which is more than 70 kilometres away. He uses the taxi to make sure he does not meet with his constituents who might recognise him and ask for handouts.

***

The senate will be the most hotly contested election in 2012 instead of Parliament. Already, a number of sitting and former MPs are strategising on how they will become senators. In Nyeri, Mathira MP Ephraim Maina is leading the team of four key politicians who want to take the senator seat. Former Internal Security minister Chris Murungaru who represented Kieni constituency is eyeing the same seat as is former minister for Information Mutahi Kagwe. Kieni MP Nemesius Warugongo is also weighing on whether to go for the senate seat or defend his seat in Parliament. The toss-up is on which of the two— Parliament or Senate— is going to be more powerful.

***

We are informed that a commissioner with Committee of Experts has been eyeing the job of Director of Public Prosecutions after President Kibaki promulgates the new constitution on August 27. Our mole informs us that the commissioner has been spending time in offices of senior politicians in government hoping to impress them and land the plum job currently held by Keriako Tobiko. There are transitional clauses in the new constitution that state that the office will be taken over by the Attorney General Amos Wako until the new director is appointed. We are told that it is this loophole that has sparked intense lobbying for the job.

***

Our mole informs us that Makadara former MP Reuben Ndolo was handed a poisoned chalice through an ODM direct nomination. We are told that Ndolo would have to cut a deal with Nairobi City Deputy Mayor George Aladwa for the party to reclaim the seat it lost in the 2007 General Election. Supporters of Aladwa, the councillor for Kaloleni Makongeni ward, have now vowed to vote for either PNU candidate Dick Wathika or Narc Kenya's Mike Mbuvi aka Sonko in protest. This could hand the seat back to PNU, which has its votes in one basket.

***

Is a new onslaught against the ICC investigation of post-election violence through the Africa Union in the offing? We hear that some senior politicians in the Kenya government are pushing the AU to intervene at the Hague, claiming there is no more cause for Ocampo's intervention in Kenya with the new constitution in place. They intend to convince the AU to impress on the court that the new laws would bring forth major changes to the Judiciary and the police, enough to handle the business the ICC would have handled.

***

What happened to the inquiry against a senior police officer accused of pocketing some money from one of the G4S heists in Nairobi? We are now told that the investigation was closed soon after orders by senior officers to have it opened. We are informed the officer being investigated and the investigator were spotted together in Mombasa. Speculation is rife the two may have cut a deal to shelve the matter.

***

A prospective presidential candidate for 2012 who is not quite certain about his chances recently visited a seer to tell him what was in his future. The man's aides have now noticed that their boss has developed a peculiar habit of turning to face the direction he was coming from when he reaches the door, pretending that he is issuing instructions to those outside. It seems he was advised the by the well known "seer" to do this so that he changes his fortunes.

***

An MP has gone through a successful civil marriage with a white woman in North America without the knowledge of his first wife. Some of his many Kenyan friends living in that region have got wind of the event and rumours are flying that the man might eventually find himself in trouble once his new wife finds out she is not the only one. The nuptials are likely to add fuel to speculations about the man's citizenship.

***

A group of elders from Busia have another plan for the outgoing Attorney General Amos Wako. They want the smiling AG to consider running for governor under the new dispensation. According to the wazee Wako's 19 years in the civil service and his experience internationally give him an added edge and is proof that he can become a governor. They are now waiting for an opportune time to inform the AG of their decision.

***

Will Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohamed accept the offer of becoming the next Attorney General or not? Some Cabinet ministers and MPs from the PNU side have hinted that they will prevail on the President to appoint Mohammed as the next Attorney General. They believe that Mohammed's appointment would be a trade off with their coalition partners who are likely to present their own nominee for the Chief Justice's job. The formula they are working on is simple: support Mohammed for AG and we support your man for CJ.

***

Elders from Bureti constituency now want Roads minister Franklin Bett to reconcile with his Higher Education counterpart William Ruto as quickly as possible. The leaders feel that the parallel political paths the two leaders are taking is not good for the Kipsigis community. They want Bett to focus his energies on taking control of the South Rift where the elders think there is a leadership vacuum.

***

Three MPs on a KQ inaugural flight to Luanda, Angola decided to stay on for another day to take in the sights and sounds of that city because they were having a very good time. By the time the rest of the party on the KQ freebie departed, it was not clear whether KQ would cough up an extra $1,000 (Sh80,000) per day for the MPs.

***

An MP from the Rift Valley, whose love for beer is well known, is causing concern for his security detail for habitually sneaking out of Parliament to go to a bar frequented by youth on Accra Road, Nairobi. The MP's driver and bodyguards are worried that they will be blamed if any harm comes to him at the bar.

***

A powerful PS who was reportedly the man behind the demotion of Hassan Noor Hassan as a provincial commissioner is back on his track. The same PS has reportedly now gone to the Head of the Public Service Francis Muthaura to complain that the workaholic administrator should be removed as chairman of the Mau Secretariat. The PS's concerns are that Hassan might soon be promoted to a higher position in government.

***

A commissioner with the soon to be defunct Committee of Experts has reportedly been lobbying senior politicians for a key job at Sheria House. The COE's term of office comes to an end on August 27. The know-it-all source says the man is angling himself to take up the Attorney General's job as the current holder Amos Wako is expected to quit immediately after the new constitution comes into effect.

***

A senior assistant commissioner of police, who is suspected of hiding part of money recovered from one of the G4S heists in Nairobi is in trouble again. His seniors have raised questions about how he handled a drug trafficking case after it came to light that he has been collecting protection money from some of the city's drug lords.

***

A top ODM Cabinet minister is in the crosshairs of some officials at the party secretariat who suspect him of pocketing millions of shillings which had been set aside for the printing of campaign T-shirts for use by the Green team during the referendum campaigns.

Pheroze Nowrojee - Father John Kaiser stood firm against injustice (Part 1) - The Star

2010-08-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

On the Naiyasha-Nakuru road, there stands a cross rising tall on the verge of the road. On it is written "Rev. Fr. John A. Kaiser, Died here on 24.8.2000." The cross commemorates the life and memory of Father John Kaiser.

During this month of a glorious restoration for Kenya, we will also be celebrating the life of one who during the dark times gave his all so that we could win this glorious day for Kenya. Ten years ago, during those dark times, on August 24, 2000, Father John Kaiser was murdered by persons whom the Moi era's (otherwise omniscient) security forces said they could not identify or trace.

Father John Kaiser was born in the US in 1932. After military service in the US Army, he became a missionary priest as a member of the Mill Hill Mission (the St Joseph Missionary Society), and came to Kenya in 1964.

He was a priest who did not shut his eyes to wrong-doing nor lose his voice in the face of injustice. Fr Kaiser had the "remarkable ability to recognise evil for what it was". As early as 1968, he became convinced, by what he saw around him of the conduct of Kenya's rulers, that "if I, as a priest, were to live according to my conscience, I would have to be much more involved in the ordinary

He did not shut his eyes to wrongdoing nor lose his voice in the face of injustice. Kenyan citizens' struggle for injustice." He never deviated from that call of conscience. He unerringly and unceasingly identified that evil for the remaining 32 years of his life. It did not make him hesitate for an instant that the evil came successively from the most powerful in the land, or from shadowy squads around them, or from the provincial maladministration or greedy prominent families and their local beneficiaries.

As the 1992 ethnic attacks pushed whole communities into camps for displaced persons, he was to see despoilment, displacement, dispossession,- killing, the destruction of dignity. He spoke out against each. He tended to his parishioners in these camps, particularly at Maela, where thousands sheltered uncared for.

He entered these areas, illegally and in defiance of the barricades of the Moi government. He did this with other brave persons of caring: Catholic nuns like Sister Nuala Brangan and others from the Consolata Sisters and the Loreto Order, and Fr Francis Mwangi of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, all min¬isters whose names too will never be forgotten.

Fr Kaiser was beaten by the Provincial Administration into a semi-conscious state, handcuffed, thrown on to the floor of a Land Rover and physically moved out of the area. Earlier, he had already been identified by the Moi regime as a threat. He now became a target. He was brought under surveillance. He had become a danger to its ability to stifle dissent and exposure. This did not deter him in any way. He continued to attend to those who needed him and to speak out against those he saw as the perpetrators of the wrongs around him. His courage was inexhaustible, and he continued confronting injustice in its face.

Archbishop (as he then was) John Njue wrote, "Moved by compassion for his parishioners who were evicted, traumatised, hungry, suffering, reduced to dressing in rags and housed in plastic makeshift shelters under the burning sun, this simple parish priest challenged individuals, governments and nations at whose door he laid the blame. Neither did he fail to point a finger at himself or his church for failing to do more."

We call people like Fr Kaiser, 'simple'. This is not the appropriate word. For such persons, by their example, call us to the complex and difficult task of living by what we believe is right.

The ethnic attacks continued in the years that followed — away from the limelight, in remote areas, and for the personal benefit of the powerful. Fr Kaiser's parish was one such remote area.

He saw it all. His refusal to join the conspiracy of silence only increased the danger to him, already perceived as an enemy by the Moi regime lords in his area, like Julius ole Sunkuli, the local MP and powerful Secretary-General of Kanu, later to be mentioned in the Akiwumi Commission Report.

As the 1997 elections approached, the ethnic clashes again surfaced to national news. Fr Kaiser spoke out even more. He named persons in Moi's Government as the instigators of violence in Trans Mara. He spelt out the violations that the State-instigated ethnic attacks constituted.

The writer is a lawyer.

Yash Pal Ghai and Jill Cornell - New constitution is already in place

2010-08-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Some people have assumed that, like any other law, the new constitution needs to be signed by the President, and that this is what "promulgation" means.

But the designers of the constitution-making process that is just drawing to an end were very cautious. They learned from the debacle of Bomas, and decided to make this a process in which it was actually true that the people of Kenya were giving themselves the constitution -which is what the Preamble says.

The design required neither Parliament nor the President to assent to the document. Parliament had a chance to propose changes by a two-thirds majority - which they signally failed to do in April this year, being unable even to muster a quorum for the vote in most instances. No positive endorsement of the document was required by the current Constitution's special Article for enacting a new constitution - as we have argued previously. This lack of control clearly did not appeal to Parliament, which insisted on approving the document.

The final act necessary to enact the Constitution has taken place -ratification by the people in the referendum. If nothing else happens, the new constitution comes into force 14 days after the "final" referendum results are published.

However, out of courtesy to the President, perhaps, an act of promulgation was decided upon.

Promulgation usually refers to making the law public. A leading law dictionary gives the following possibly relevant meanings: to put into force or effect; the official publication of a new law, by which it is put into effect; to make a law publicly known after its enactment; to declare or announce publicly.

Various methods have been used historically to promulgate laws. In England in the 14th Century, laws were physically taken throughout the country, and the Constitution of Indiana in the US still says a law does not take effect until it has been "published and circulated in the several counties of the State".

The Queen's small dependency, the Isle of Man, still carries out a public, open-air ceremony of proclaiming laws. It is now restricted to a brief abstract of each law that has received the Royal Assent during the year, read in English and the local language.

In Kenya, the normal rule is that an Act of Parliament comes into legal effect the day it is published in the official Gazette.

The Constitution says: "The President shall, not later than fourteen days from the date of the publication of the final result of the referendum, promulgate and publish the text of the new Constitution in the Kenya Gazette."

The Constitution of Kenya Review Act 2008 says he must "by notice in the Gazette, promulgate the new Constitution ".This suggests promulgation is something separate from publication -which must also occur. But it clearly does not require that the President sign the Constitution - which is right, as we suggested. Indeed, the heading to the section is "Proclamation of New Constitution". It is unrealistic to expect the President (or anyone) to read out the text of the whole constitution.

It would be nice if he would read a summary of it, in the Isle of Man style. Perhaps the Prime Minister could read the same summary in Kiswahili. Then the President could sign, let us call it, an Instrument of Promulgation - to be published as a gazette notice.

The underlying idea of promulgation was that people should not be bound by laws they knew nothing about. Arguably, the people of Kenya know more than most peoples about their new constitution. But they have also been grievously misled about it. It is very fitting that various bodies are planning "people's promulgations" of the document around the country. But it is important that the people continue to learn about the constitution.

Perhaps the government, like South Africa, could publish a pocket-size version of the constitution (if the Kenyan schedules are mostly omitted, the two documents would be roughly the same size). But unlike the South Africans who have not done well in continuing the constitutional education of their people, Kenya should treat the introduction of the constitution into school teaching as an aspect of implementation.

And while we are on the subject, we consider that the date of promulgation is legally correct. The "final result" mentioned in the old constitution is the result after the expiry of the time for complaints about rigging in the referendum or the resolution of complaints if filed, reading the Review Act and the Constitution together.

This is a common-sense reading, which should satisfy everyone - no thanks to the drafters who could have made sure there was no tension between the old constitution and the Act.

Jill is a law researcher and teacher while Yash Ghat is the former chairman of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission.

Prof Amukowa Anangwe - Socialist state will protect the poor - The Star

2010-08-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

The referendum was not an ordinary event but a silent revolution. There have been great revolutions like the American revolution (1775-89), French revolution (1789-1815), Russian revolution (1917) and the Chinese revolution (1949) that were bloody and dramatic.

The Kenyan one has been creeping in over the last two decades in a peaceful manner, except for the post-election violence in early 2008.

A critical examination of the document reveals monumental and epoch-making changes that are in the offing.

There are changes anticipated in the social, political and economic spheres, but the socialist content of the new constitution needs to be highlighted to reorient the Kenyan polity towards a socialist system.

The new constitution has a high dose of socialism, and this should be perceived positively since Kenya is long overdue for socialist transformation given the disappointment with the current economic system that has impoverished and marginalised many, and nurtured ethnicity and individualism.

Modern-day socialism is no longer about the dictatorship of the proletariat, nationalisation of the means of production, or centrality of state ownership and accumulation.

The contemporary Chinese experience has shown socialism can coexist conveniently with moderated capitalism. Nonetheless, socialism is still about the enhancement of human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, human rights, and protection of the poor in the society,.
Equity signifies equal treatment for all, equality of opportunity and the full realisation of potential by the citizenry without hindrance on account of poverty, poor education, parental background and other environmental constraints.

Equity is not about equality, and the latter is not even desirable for the good of society that seeks to prosper, and generate wealth. However, there are degrees of inequality in society which threaten its legitimacy and stability and result in widespread alienation, strife, and misery for many.

An optimum, desirable and just state is one of moderate inequality where nobody is allowed to fall into destitution, even though others are free to get rich.

On the other hand, social justice acquires relevance in a society that is highly unjust and it is a term used to justify extensive income redistribution and creation of an egalitarian society. As a principle, social justice is geared to ensure that all persons access basic human needs, regardless of differences on account of economic disparity, gender, race, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, age, and disability.

A related provision in the new constitution under Chapter Four, Article 43, is on economic and social rights which are patently socialist. It is stipulated that all Kenyans have a right:

To highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services.
To accessible and adequate housing, and to reason¬able standards of sanitation.
To be free from hunger.
To education;
To clean and safe water in adequate quantities; and
To social security to be provided by the state to Kenyans who are unable to support themselves.

The realisation of equity, social justice and social and economic rights as provided in the new constitution would require a different policy environment which Kenya state has not been able to create since independence.

It is only a socialist state that has so far proved to be effective and willing to bring about a free, just and egalitarian society.

A capitalist state is inherently incapable of ensuring equity and social justice because, as Karl Marx pointed out, it is an instrument of a select few whose preoccupation is to exploit the majority in their quest to accumulate wealth.

If Kenyans want equity and social justice for all, they need to rethink on the current economic system and embrace socialism.

If Kenya were to embrace socialism, the policy agenda would have to change fundamentally with a focus on ensuring free education at all levels, free health services, gender equity and economic empowerment of women, poverty alleviation programmes and redistribution of land.

Realisation of such a policy agenda in Kenya would require ideological shift towards socialism that would have to be informed by the experience of the welfare state in Western Europe and former communist regimes in Eastern Europe where the role of the state in economic and social spheres expanded as a necessity.

Prof Amukowa Anangwe teaches political science at the University of Dodoma, Tanzania

David Makali - Political careers bound to suffer - The Star

2010-08-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

I have been wondering what sometimes drives people into politics? Whether it is the craving for social status and prestige or the opportunity to make a quick buck through political connections and shady deals. Or may be it is the hefty pay that MPs are wont to award themselves. But still there are those who claim that they are responding to a leadership call "due to popular demand".

Whatever it is that drives them, it is obvious that holders of elective public office, almost always never seem to achieve their mission regardless of how long they stay on, making politics the most addictive social habit. The longer one stays in office the more ambitious and greedier you become. And that addiction comes with a heavy price; soon, five years are gone and many are knocked out. The result is almost always uniform. I am yet to meet a prosperous former MP one year after losing an election.

Yet, that has not deterred legions of others from chasing after the wind. Since the passage of the new constitution, literally everyone who is anyone I know has been wagging their tongues and salivating at the myriad positions to be contested, oblivious of the humbling lessons from the past.

For starters, as soon as the new constitution is promulgated this Friday, the MPs in the current Parliament will lose four months of their term because elections will have to be held in August and not December 2012.

But that is small matter in the heartthrob of a politician. The fatal attraction to tense, racy competition, the risk of heart attacks and the threat of financial strain is nothing to a politician's stumbling egos. It is what separates wily politicians from us nondescript humans.

And as the referendum paves the way for the election, the ecstasy is trebling too, setting the stage for the most complicated and exciting period in Kenya political history. You are spoilt for choice in the devolved new structure of government: you are eligible for countless positions from county representative, Speaker of the country government, mayor of your town, County Governor, Senator, MP, Vice President and President.

But therein lies the catch again — many careers are about to meet their end. Devolution has effectively rendered the hitherto glorified position of MP hollow and lowly setting off a scramble out among incumbent. The fact that Cabinet will be appointed from outside parliament has relegated MPs to the current status of councillors. It is more glamorous to be a Senator or Governor, both of which now pack more prestige.

Now, some MPs are gasping for anything that will raise their egos and feasibility at the local and national level from the forest of positions.

My sympathies go to some outspoken MPs who will not find vacancies at the national level either as presidential candidates or running mates, which they have long coveted. In the new era where political coalitions will no longer hold because a President must be elected by a clear majority, some careers pegged on ethnic and regional leverage are destined to the political dustbin.

There can be no telling whether a political pact or alliance formed will be honoured because the President may not be able to reward even his most trusted lieutenants with Cabinet appointments or foist them on the parastatals. They will be vetted by Parliament, which may rubbish them.

So the Big Boys Club that has always banked its hopes on coalitions has to go back to the drawing board. A stab at the presidency is now a do-or-die affair; if you lose, chances are high you will be vanguished from politics forever without the previous soft landing. Political debts will need to be written off and some targets will have to be lowered. Senator or Governor positions may still be too low for some political honchos, but that is about the best that is available.

Last week, sympathisers of a well-known regional kingpin were consulting how their man will be compelled to vie for Governor or Senator of a tiny county even though his clout is much bigger.

Well, the unhappy situation is that he will be no more powerful than other governors in the same region with similar ethnic composition so it will not be futile to purport to be more powerful than others in the new dispensation.

Which is just as well. The new constitution will eliminate jokers who attend our ballot papers every election year as contestants for the presidency. It will reduce the race to a three-horse affair with the prospect that it will gradually lessen ethnicity and fire up the stakes in our country's national leader.

If the new constitution can achieve that, it will have served Kenyans well.

Makali is the director- of The Media Institute. Email dmakali@yahoo.com

Libel awards need to be consistent - The Star

2010-08-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Erratic libel awards are leading to self-censorship by fearful media. Those falsely defamed by the media deserve compensation, but the awards should be consistent

Last week a claimant was awarded Sh3 million in a case against Radio Africa (See below).

A caller had telephoned Kiss FM and complained that a lawyer fought with him in a bar. The presenter quickly took the caller off air. Radio Africa tried to settle with the plaintiff but he was not interested. The caller testified in court that the lawyer had indeed fought with him but the judge said she did not believe him.

The award of Sh3 million appears excessive. The Kiss presenter did not indulge the caller. It was the caller's word against the lawyer. It was a fleeting radio broadcast, unlike a permanent print publication. And an attempt to settle normally mitigates damages.

Moreover the benchmark award is Sh6 million given to Chief Justice Evan Gicheru for a more grievous libel. This case was not half as bad as Gicheru's.

The Judiciary should lay down clear rules for calculating libel awards, based on the reach of the media outlet, the extent of the libel, and the social standing of the claimant.

Kiss FM to pay lawyer Sh3m for defamation - By Pamela Chepkemei

KISS 100 FM has been ordered to pay a city lawyer Sh3 million damages for defamation.

Lawyer Nicholas Sumba had sued the station for defamation.

But judge Abida Ali Aroni ordered that the damages will be jointly paid by a caller, Thomas Okal, and the radio station.

Okal is said to have called the radio station to complain about his lawyer Sumba seven years ago in a programme called People's Parliament.

In the conversation aired live, Okal accused the lawyer of assaulting him after terminating his services.

He told the then presenter Jimmy Gathu that Sumba had been assisting him in demanding payment from his former employer.

He also accused the lawyer of colluding with officers at the Central police station. Sumba denied the allegations, saying he did not assault his former client.

Justice Abida Ali Aroni said Okal did not prove the assault.

She said there were no medical records showing that Okal was assaulted.

The lawyer accused Okal of portraying him as corrupt and violent.

He had asked the court to award him Sh5 million in damages.

Jerry Okungu - Tech did the trick during referendum - The Star

2010-08-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Mark Twain once said, "Do the right thing. It will gratify some and astonish the rest." I remembered this quote when I started reflecting on what transpired in Kenya during the referendum. I'm sure many Kenyans and our friends abroad have equally had time to reflect on the unprecedented transformation that seemed to have taken place in the way we conduct our elections.

Yet, as I wrote this article, I found it difficult to come to terms with the thought that just two years ago, we conducted our national elections using tired old men whose idea of new technology stopped at the landline and the fax machine. How did we so swiftly move from Stone Age election Management System to the 21st Century electronic device? Were these facilities available two years ago? How could we have made such a leap of faith in such a short time?

Ahmed Issack Hassan, his commissioners and the secretariat made this leap for two reasons.

The leadership of the IIEC was young and exposed. But more importantly, they were not afraid to take the leap of faith into the world of new technology.

Apart from being adventurous, they seemed to have bought into the idea that being in the Knowledge Age, they were aware that knowledge is no longer the power source to be hoarded.

In the present world, knowledge is like fresh milk that must be used on time or it goes sour. For this reason, they realised that it was better to share the referendum results with all Kenyans and indeed the rest of the world in real time. And in so doing, they would kill two birds with one stone; increase transparency and accountability as they restored public confidence in Kenya's electoral process.

When Issack and his team decided to equip every polling station with an electronic gadget, link it to the constituency tallying centre then to the National Tallying Centre in Nairobi, they inadvertently networked the whole country. And with this little device, two thirds of votes cast were all in Nairobi and known to Kenyans and the rest of the world in two hours after the poll stations closed down.

At the beginning I was very concerned about the way the three main media stations were relaying the results. At some point, Citizen TV was showing that Greens had 41,420 Votes as Reds trailed with 17,111. At that moment, KTN was showing 49,506 for Greens as the Reds trailed behind with 12,532. Mean-while on NTV screen, Greens had 38,315 votes counted as the Reds trailed with 17,759 votes cast.

It was only after the IIEC reigned in on these networks and ordered that they could only relay what the IIEC screen was showing that order returned to the relief of many viewers. And it was better that IIEC took that decision because at that moment they were miles ahead with their tallying already clocking 1.7 million votes for the Greens against close to 1 million votes for the Reds. But more importantly, these distorted figures could have sent viewers thinking that someone was up to some mischief with the results.

Although the three main TV networks fumbled at the beginning with numbers and graphics that were hardly visible, they eventually put their act together and conducted a superb vote monitoring.

Yet with all this elaborate technological and logistical preparation, it was difficult to understand why 24 hours after the poll stations closed, the IIEC could still not receive official results from returning officers in three constituencies. Even more intriguing was the fiasco at Embakasi Dooholm polling station where close to 1,000 voters went away because their names were not on the voters' register. And even when they were finally allowed to vote, it took forever to finish voting in that centre.

Indeed when late in the night the Reds complained of electronic transmission of votes from the polling stations, Issack stood his ground and reminded them that "politicians don't conduct elections; they contest them. It is the work of the IIEC to conduct elections."

There was one peculiar thing that happened with this referendum. Much as the international media descended on Nairobi and other so-called hot spots hoping for another round of mayhem as happened in 2007, they folded their cameras and took off when they realised that Kenyans had decided to vote peacefully.

By midday the next day, there was hardly any news on the referendum in international networks. Just goes to show that only violence sell for Western media.

Yet to a discerning news hunter, there were many peculiar aspects of this referendum they could have reported on. The death of a returning officer, an IIEC hired boat near capsizing across River Tana, election vehicles getting stuck in impassable roads and the use of donkeys to transport voting materials in Northern Kenya could still have intrigued the civilised world.

The writer is a media consultant.

Ndung'u Wainaina - Time we all stood up for IDPs' justice - The Star

2010-08-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

My heart continues to bleed for the thousands of IDPs being tortured and exploited in camps and transition camps. Further my call for attention to hundreds of victims who are suffering from grave harm inflicted on them including some with bullets in their bodies following the post-election violence.

Two and half years on it is tragic that politicians, for whom these people suffered, shared spoils and abandoned them. The needs of these victims are being forgotten because their voices are consistently ignored.

To uphold the rule of law and have justice for these victims, I hope you will speak up for justice at every opportunity. Domestic and international law is supposed to guarantee that those who committed such heinous crimes face justice.

We must have a special tribunal working in complementarity with International Criminal Court to prosecute those who committed these crimes. It is also important to deny a visa to those suspected of serious crimes.

As individuals and as groups, we must break the silence and speak up about justice for these terrible crimes. I am confident that we can achieve justice. Unless government of Kenya is willing to bring prosecutions for these worst human rights abuses, it will have a hard time achieving political stability and sustainable development even under the new constitution. Impunity leads to conflict, corruption, and lives stunted by fear and intimidation.

Victims don't stop being victims and criminal acts are not simply absolved just because Kenya is promulgating a new constitution. The victims and the public deserve to know the truth about the post-election violence.

New constitutional order calls for a return to human rights and accountability, not to engage in willful amnesia.

The government must operationalise an effective and credible victim-and-witness assistance and protection mechanism, which is one of the basic preconditions for ensuring accountability for human rights violations.

If Kenya wants to show . that it is willing and able to conduct serious crimes trials, it must effectively protect victims and witnesses from intimidation and harassment. Torturers, financiers of violations and those who violate human rights should be brought to account. We should not forget the victims who have gone through trauma and disruption of everyday life and their future.

The right to a remedy and reparation is a basic human right. It is enshrined in numerous international human rights instruments.

Reparation is the last step in the achievement of full human rights protection. Firstly, violations of human rights should be prevented. Secondly, if a violation does take place, it must be investigated by the State authorities, promptly, thoroughly and impartially. Thirdly, victims should have access to justice. And finally, victims have the right to receive adequate reparation.

The fact that reparation is the last step in the achievement of human rights protection might be one reason why so little focus has been put on this issue so far. It should be addressed more consistently and thoroughly by the government, not as a privilege to the victims but as an obligation by international law.

Financial compensation is the most widespread form of reparation. Some damage can be easily estimated in monetary terms. But there are the physical, mental or moral damages. Financial compensation is not the only remedy which victims seek. Other forms of reparation include: restitution of the situation before the violation took place; rehabilitation; satisfaction; revelation of the truth and accountability; and guarantees of non-repetition.

By taking a victim-oriented approach, we affirm our human solidarity with victims of gross violations of human rights. We seek to compensate them for risks which the state could not prevent from turning into damage and harm.

However, reparation can never fully undo the damage that has been done. Gross violations of human rights are irreparable. But this must not impede us from fighting to achieve justice.

The starting point for redress is addressing questions of criminal responsibility. It is necessary to make a real break with abusive policies and practices of the past. If Kenya wants to have a successful transition from an era of impunity to respect for the rule of law, it needs to embrace truth, justice and reparation for human rights violations.

Wainaina is the executive director, International Centre for Policy and Conflict.

The Star Corridors of Power Political Gossip

2010-08-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka may have delivered 53 per cent of the Yes vote in Ukambani but his future looks bleak, some of the MPs allied to him were overheard saying. They expressed concern that the nascent alliance between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his deputy Uhuru Kenyatta spelt doom for their man and that Kalonzo may have to switch camps if the alliance takes shape.

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An MP from Nyanza is breathing a sigh of relief after police arrested a contractor who has been extorting money from him. The MP gave the contractor seed money to start his business only for the man to refuse to pay back. Instead, the contractor conspired with a Migori-based lawyer to forge court papers, which claimed the MP had been sued for a number of offences. The lawyer then opted to negotiate an "out of court settlement" on condition that the MP made a down payment of Sh100,000, which the MP did. But even before the "negotiations" started, the lawyer and the contractor demanded another payment of Sh50,000 which the MP paid on the understanding that the matter will end after the negotiations are completed. Only after he had parted with the money did the MP bother to check the authenticity of the court papers. He discovered that the papers had been forged and there was no such case against him in a Kisii court as claimed by the lawyer.

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A Makadara parliamentary aspirant ran into trouble with Prime Minister Raila Odinga's security guards when he attempted to pay the PM an unannounced visit in the early hours of the morning. Raila's security blocked the man from entering the PM's Karen home. They told the mheshimiwa wannabe that their boss was asleep and it would be rude to wake him up. We have been told the man wanted to report an ODM Cabinet minister whom he claims has conned him out of millions of shillings in the last few months.

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Former Nyakach MP Peter Odoyo has been hoping and waiting for an appointment as a diplomat. Those close to him say the former MP was promised a diplomatic posting, which has yet to materialise. They now suspect that someone in the government is deliberately placing hurdles in the way.

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An MP from South Nyanza lost his cool on Monday night because he was not named to the Cabinet during the mini-reshuffle. The MP had reportedly invested quite a bit of his fortune and hope in another MP who was supposed to "broker" the appointment for him. Apart from monetary persuasion, the MP had also bought the 'broker' several expensive suits from Dubai, to urge him on!

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A group of Rift Valley MPs who campaigned for the proposed constitution against the wishes of their constituents are hoping to switch sides. The group is looking for an opportunity when they can ditch Prime Minister Raila Odinga and reinvent themselves by throwing their support behind Higher Education minister and Raila's estranged deputy ODM party leader William Ruto's team.

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A first time MP in Ukambani keen on boosting his profile has been attending funds drives where he donates money claiming he has been sent by big time politicians. The ruse might work for the hoi polloi but some of his political rivals are considering exposing him. The latest such announcement, which has raised suspicion from his rivals, is his recent donation of Sh50,000, which he claimed was from Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

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A Cabinet minister has installed a CCTV camera in both his private and government offices to capture on tape some members of a parliamentary committee who are fond of blackmailing ministers to part with cash to stop the committee from 'probing' them. One of the MPs who is a member of the committee has reportedly been getting huge amounts from ministers, Somali and Indian businessmen by claiming he has a dossier on their activities, which they do not want exposed.

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The increasing closeness between Prime Minister Raila Odinga's wife Ida and former Starehe MP and assistant minister Bishop Dr Margaret Wanjiru is causing concerns among some in the ODM hierarchy. They feel that the Jesus is Alive Ministries' bishop had shown party disloyalty by ganging up with the No team and therefore should be sidelined. They feel the party would not be able to 'bully her out' if she continued building up on her links with Ida.

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Speculation that suspended managing director David Waweru might be reinstated caused a panic in some quarters at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation yesterday after the Corridors of Power tidbit. But some of those who claim to be in the know say the speculation was a test balloon to see how his reinstatement would be received. "A rumour is sometimes just a rumour but sometimes it's spread for a reason," one of them told Corridors.

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Love of speed is not confined to rally freaks with souped up cars. Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi's four-car convoy yesterday whizzed at nearly 180 kph from Nakuru to Nairobi. Motorists, including those travelling at a comfortable 140 kph on the smooth highway were left behind as the convoy zigzagged out of sight within a minute. Mudavadi had just left a Local Government meeting in Nakuru at 11 am and was headed to Nairobi to attend the joint ODM/PNU parliamentary group meeting. His escorts who were in one of the cars leading the convoy intimidated and harassed slow driving motorists to move to the side and let the convoy pass. They terrified drivers by pointing fingers at those who hesitated to give way. Maximum speed on Kenyan roads for private cars is 110kph.

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A senior Cabinet Minister keen on contesting the Presidency in 2012 has now ordered two choppers for his campaigns. The two ex-Russian choppers are expected in the country mid next year just in time for the man to hit to the skies as he starts his campaigns. The minister has intimated that his plan B is to go for the deputy president's position.

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A powerful Cabinet minister from the Rift Valley has made matatu owners look up. He has bought 18 brand new mini-buses, painted them the regulation white colour and registered them to operate the Kitengela and Ongata Rongai routes. Traffic policemen operating along these two routes have been discreetly warned to lay off and not to interfere with the new fleet of matatus.

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Professor George Saitoti who is not known to speak in vernacular — either Maa or Kikuyu — surprised many when he opted to greet a Yes campaign rally at Kirigiti Stadium in Kikuyu. Saitoti had accompanied President Kibaki. The 'lapse' was not a mistake. Saitoti, who is considered one of the possible presidential candidates in 2012, spoke in Kikuyu because he wanted the people to realise that he is one of them. Saitoti later explained that his mother was a Kikuyu and his father a Maasai. But the lapse' did not go down well with some of the PNU people who wondered why Saitoti always uses the services of a translator when speaking to his Maa constituents.

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Speculation is rife that suspended KBC managing director David Waweru might soon return to his old job. Waweru was suspended last month over a World Cup broadcasting deal that went bad. The board is yet to decide if they will reinstate Waweru to his job but even before the board's decision is known, the rumours have started flying.

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Francis Kimemia, the quietly efficient Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Internal Security, might decide to dive into the stormy political waters. Some of his close associates have intimated that Kimemia might try his luck at one of the 'big seats' in the 2012 elections. The man has however not disclosed his intentions in public and is reportedly waiting for the right time.

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Former Baringo Central MP Gideon Moi is eyeing the seat of senator during the next elections. He will once again be following in the footsteps of his father who served as a member of the Legislative Council representing the Rift Valley in pre-independent Kenya. It seems the younger Moi might have a better chance of becoming a county senator than president — at least for now.

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The much-awaited autobiography of Prime Minister Raila Odinga is soon to be completed and will be launched mid next year. The PM decided to take on the job himself after he fired an assistant he had got to put the memoirs together. The forced rest imposed on him by his doctors gave him time to put down his thoughts, reminiscences and views before they are handed over to professional editors.