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• Dark Past Of The Man Expected To Handle Prison Warden’s Crisis

  Posted: April 28, 2008, 1:37 pm by chris

  Can Kalonzo Handle Catastropic Prison Warden’s Strike As Gunshots Are Heard Inside Kamiti Maximum Security Prison?

  It is very normal in Kenya for people not to ask too many questions about a politicians’ past. As long as they are bwana kubwa nothing else seems to matter. For instance while covering a confidential report for my subscribers on the subject; The Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka that Kenyans don’t know in this week’s raw notes, this blogger was reminded of the bizarre circumstances under which Kalonzo first entered parliament.

  The facts are that the immediate former MP for Mwingi North was killed under very mysterious circumstances that have never been explained to this day.

  It happened in the 1980s when the then area MP Peter Manandu was shot dead in a bar by a rogue administration policeman under some very strange and yet to be explained circumstances.

  The now deceased, Mulu Mutisya is said to have traveled all the way to Mwingi and met Musyoka, then a young lawyer who was trying into make inroads into politics. Mutisya was impressed by the young man's demeanor and his patience even for someone illiterate as Mutisya who never saw the inside of a classroom.

  It is said that prior to the by elections that followed, Mutisya informed Musyoka that one had to seek supernatural protection from witchdoctors so as to avoid being bewitched by rivals during political campaigns. Musyoka understood this only too well partly because of his father’s occupation (more details available in my raw notes this week).

  This is now the same man who has to deal with perhaps the biggest crisis to hit Kenyan armed security personnel in the history of these shores. Kalonzo as Vice President has the home affairs docket which covers the prisons department. This is certainly not going to be as easy as jostling to be seen as the second most powerful man in the land.

  Already a committee he appointed headed by former Vice President Moody Awori to probe into the warden’s complaints has been rejected by the striking wardens. The wardens are threatening to free criminals on Wednesday if their grievances will not have been addressed by then.

  As you read this, the latest reports indicate that gun shot fire has been heard outside Kamiti Maximum Security prison earlier today and GSU personnel have been dispatched and took their positions surrounding the prison.

  There are a number of factors that make this crisis extraordinarily dangerous and a threat to the very internal security of the nation.

  Firstly armed security forces never go on strike. Just like you can never say that the Kenyan military has gone on strike. The correct word to be used here is “mutiny.” Fellow Kenyans what we have in our hands now is a mutiny within a section of our armed security personnel.

  Secondly thanks mainly to modern technology and things like the cell phone the wardens have managed to organize a countrywide mutiny, meaning that virtually every prison in the land has been affected. The seriousness of this rebellion amongst our armed prison forces is not something that can be overstated.

  News just in as I was completing this post is that the government has bowed to the demands of the wardens. In a statement issued by Musyoka himself from his Jogoo house office moments ago, the VP accepted virtually all the demands of the wardens. This includes a kshs 10,000 payment for their work during the elections, a kshs 5,000 risk allowance as well as a Kshs 5,000 medical allowance.

  It will be interesting to see how this story develops because some senior prison wardens were arrested yesterday after being tricked into attending a crisis meeting in Nairobi, instead CID officers pounced and arrested them at venue of the meeting. In fact already 9 of the officers have appeared in court this morning and the rest are still being held at Muthaiga Police station. It is likely that the 9 officers will be charged with mutiny which is punishable by a jail term not exceeding 10 years.

  It is widely expected that all the other prison wardens in solidarity with their arrested colleagues may not go back to work until their leaders are released and the charges dropped.

  All in all this is a deadly situation that could easily plunge the entire country, still bleeding from a stolen election, into total chaos. Not to mention the fact that the government is a little cash-strapped just now.

  I will keep you updated about developments as they unfold.

  Did woman pay for scratch cards with sex?

• NEXT !!

  Posted: April 28, 2008, 12:17 pm by kalamari

  
  
  
  

• PNU Mandarins ‘STUNNED’ by US Support to PM's Office

  Posted: April 28, 2008, 9:25 am by Phil

  
  ================================
  STUNNED, STUNNING, STUNS.
  1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow.
  2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise.
  3. To stupefy, as with the emotional impact of an experience; astound.
  ================================
  
  PNU mandarins are reportedly ‘STUNNED’ by the announcement that the US government has pledged US$500,000 (Sh30.5 million) direct funding to sustain the development and smooth running of the newly created Prime Minister’s office. What is raising eyebrows is that the funds will be channeled directly to the PM's office and not via Treasury (Ministry of Finance).
  
  One such mandarin is Kalonzo Musyoka’s sidekick and newly appointed Assistant Minister of Defence, Hon David Musila. He is quoted by the VOA accusing the government of US of behaving as if there are two governments in Kenya. You can read/listen to his remarks here.
  
  While making the announcement, US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger was not sitting at Foreign Affairs Minister Wetangula’s office. He was infact making the politically unpalatable remarks in an interview with a local newspaper which quotes him saying that his country is putting "a lot of hope" in the PM’s office because of the role the Constitution has assigned it to co-ordinate and supervise government ministries.
  
  "In a government this large, the role of the Prime Minister is going to be critical. We will work very closely with the Prime Minister in co-ordinating and supervising the Government," the ambassador said.
  
  He added: "We recognise that critical role, and that is why we are ready to give money to strengthen the office."
  
  To add insult to injury, the Ambassador also announced that the US had invited Prime Minister Raila Odinga to Washington "at a mutually convenient date" to be hosted by the State Department and meet with Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice. He was cagey whether the visit would include a meeting at White House with President George Bush. Raila, Ranneberger added, was being invited to the US because of the importance Washington attaches to his role as the one "constitutionally required to supervise and co-ordinate the activities of government". Pressed to explain why the invitation was not extended to Mwai Kibaki as Head of State, the ambassador said he remained in close touch with Kibaki, adding that the President had been on a state visit to the US before.
  
  "We are inviting the PM so that we can review assistance here and show that we can co-ordinate closely. The US has such a large partnership with Kenya and we want to ensure it is properly co-ordinated," he elaborated.
  
  Following the desputed elections in December, President Kibaki sent a number of envoys to foreign countries in an attempt to gain legitimacy. President Kibaki appointed Uhuru Kenyatta, Raphael Tuju, George Saitoti and Moses Wetangula as special envoys to brief world leaders on the political crisis in the country caused by his disputed election as president. Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said yesterday the envoys would visit several African states and brief their heads of state about “the genuine situation in the country,” instead of relying on the international media. Uhuru Kenyatta was reportedly kept waiting and never given audience by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who went on to support Anan’s efforts in creating a power sharing deal. It is unclear whether the other envoys made any headway because only one or two world leaders congratulated Kibaki on his "re-election". Bloggers here will also remember that Kalonzo Musyoka, as newly appointed VP, made whistle-stop tours in UK and USA in a FUTILE effort to market the Kenya Government. This was long before the National Accord had been signed.
  
  Surprisingly, there has not been any official statement by Hon. Wetangula or Dr. Mutua on this new development regarding accredited envoys directly funding the PM.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes