Items by kalamari
You Missed This
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The Good Thing About Fat Kenyan Donkey MPs.
Posted: May 5, 2008, 1:52 pm by kalamari
First of all it's Monday. The number of those nursing alcoholic hangovers is higher than those who remember the exact biblical scripture delivered by the pastor this past Sunday. How about starting the week on a lighter note?
We all begin nursery school with outlandish dreams of becoming the next Bill Gates or Dr. Manu Chandaria. Indeed, only a fraction of us look forward to fitting the shoes of Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela. By the time you finish high school, the future you have crafted for yourself is usually pretty obvious. You just might be on the fantastic verge of joining Kamangu the cobbler. You might also be a few years from corporate opulence, high society and sausage for breakfast. Those who fall in between will, mostly unsuccessfully, spend their midlife trying to get ahead whichever which way, even if it means backyard chicken farms in the city. The point is, we always aspire to be richer...like so and so. In fact, your worst enemy is that workmate or neighbor who makes a measly 500 Kshs more than you. It's just human nature. You cannot stomach that neighbor with a DVD player; you cannot wait to steal the remote control when you visit..... anything to frustrate him or her is a good thing.
Needless to say, those with money inspire those without. I therefore proclaim fat jet set monied MPs an important source of inspiration to starving villagers and two cent slum dwellers?
FACT: If your MP consistently visits your constituency projects on a donkey drawn cart, none of your nursery school going kids would aspire to ride on anything but a donkey. -
NEXT !!
Posted: April 28, 2008, 12:17 pm by kalamari
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Coming Soon: The Grand Regency Hotel IPO.
Posted: April 10, 2008, 3:17 pm by kalamari
As far as I'm concerned, yesterdays' newspapers should have carried headlines proclaiming Kenya's' victory against corruption. Yes folks, headlines such as; HAIL RINGERA, THE CORRUPTION KILLER!! or KACC BITES PASTOR PAUL. Fellas, the government of the duly elected president Mwai Kibaki has confiscated the luxurious, albeit unkempt, Grand Regency Hotel.
So why is nobody praising Ringera with shouts of jubilation as he basks in the glory of impounding the corruptly acquired Grand Regency? I can think of three reasons; (1) Kenya is currently too polarized to recognize any good from this chap. We would have probably seen grand headlines were his name Ali or Abdullah. (2) Kenyans are genetically preprogrammed to be conspiracy theorists. We all know that Ringera's effort, including the decade long court battle, is part of a vicious secret plan that comes full circle when TranCentury buys the over 2.1 billion shilling hotel from the government for about 200 million shillings. Oh yes, the plan was conceived even before Goldenberg happened. (3) Too little, too late.
Questions: Are we so determined to suppress anything marginally successful related to Kibaki and his PNU folk? -
Just In Case
Posted: April 7, 2008, 1:25 pm by kalamari
Folks, today I have some pertinent questions. Pertinent questions my brothers and sisters, pertinent questions.
When Raila meets Kibaki for one of those one-on-one closed door affairs, are both men thoroughly checked for firearms and other assorted miniature weaponry or cutting edge poisons (the kind that can be transmitted via a handshake)? Is the element of trust between these two men stronger than their obvious devious desires to see each other six feet under?
What would happen if lets say, one of these fellows suffered a big-bang version of a heart attack behind those closed doors? Will the other scream for help or offer CPR....or will he wait for a few 'important minutes' to pass by before alerting emergency authorities? Based on the deep political, tribal, economic and social divisions in Kenya today, is anyone prepared for that pricey state funeral? You know, the type where the casket is pulled by well groomed horses. What happens to Kenya in that aftermath?
The funny thing with death is that it has been known to sometimes unite broken families. In grief and robbed of a clear future, orphans have been known to burry the hatchet in preparation to facing the world in formidable unity. Are Kenyans ready for such an eventuality?...just in case i.e. Have we invested so much in these two people that we cannot see a future without them? How many of you still believe that Kenya will never be the same again? Some of us cannot wait to see Ruto receive a delivery of hot lead in the head while some are literarily having wet dreams on thoughts of Kibaki burning at the fiery stake. Are we honestly this intolerant? So Martha Karua cannot attend the burial of Ruto's dad? Yaani this thing is personal, eh!
Back to death and its delivery of constant surprises. Now that Mellitus Mugabe Were's death has, at the moment, lost political significance......just wait until the by-election date is announced, are we to take it that going forward, we should judge one's political power by the manner which news of his/her death is received? When Oyugi died, mourners were performing acrobatic somersaults while in tears within his palatial compound. Was he a great leader? When Ouko was killed, many lives followed him to the grave. Was that the weight of his clout? When JM went into perpetual hiatus, where was the public outrage? Was his death 'understandable'? What of Dedan Kimathi and the mystery of the truly nondescript headstone. If his bones are truly important to the history of this country, can the 'Kenya DNA office' do some justice? The reality is that there's a bunch of Kenyans who are ready to voluntarily perform the old Egyptian death ritual. You do remember that Pharaohs were typically buried alongside their entire living household.....including the sheep and camels.
What I'm trying to say is simply this; hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Some of us are anxiously awaiting an opportunity to publicly display our deranged capabilities/personalities. Yes folks, to some of you, the worst headline news of the century will be the one that announces a cabinet line up where either PNU or ODM is seen as having conceded too much. Well, there's exactly two possible 'worser' headlines. -
Viva!! Okoiti Omtata
Posted: March 19, 2008, 3:32 pm by kalamari
I know you are all eagerly awaiting the new cabinet lineup with great anticipation. Whether the list is fair or representative is an argument that will last us the next two weeks. Whether the new list is a win/loss for PNU/ODM or Raila/Kibaki is a fight that is just about to begin.
As we embark on further fracturing our country based on the impending cabinet list, please remember those who have paid the ultimate price. On a lighter note, please keep Omtata in mind. Whatever direction the country takes, it should be to appease none other than Omtata, a professional who joined the regular folk on the streets (unlike most of you who vegetated on the keyboard) without fear.
Folks, this is a man of unchained valor and incredible light body weight. A man who vehemently displayed great defiance even when walking on thin air.
Aluta Continua!!
Update by Kumekucha
I salute you Omtata, bado mapabano, the 2nd republic is not here yet.
But you my brother have proved that just one person can make a difference.
I take off my hat to you.
-Kumekucha on behalf of the voiceless masses of Kenya many of whom are still in IDP camps-
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FULL TEXT OF COALITION AGREEMENT
Posted: February 28, 2008, 1:35 pm by kalamari
ACTING TOGETHER FOR KENYA: AGREEMENT ON THE PRINCIPLES OF PARTNERSHIP OF THE COALITION GOVERNMENT.
Preamble:
The crisis triggered by the 2007 disputed presidential election has brought to the surface deep-seated and long-standing divisions within Kenyan society. If left unaddressed, these divisions threaten the very existence of Kenya as a unified country. The Kenyan people are now looking to their leaders to ensure that their country will not be lost.
Given the current situation, neither side can realistically govern the country without the other. There must be real power-sharing to move the country forward and begin the healing and reconciliation process.
With this agreement, we are stepping forward together, as political leaders, to overcome the current crisis and to set the country on a new path. As partners in a coalition government, we commit ourselves to work together in good faith as true partners, through constant consultation and willingness to compromise.
This agreement is designed to create an environment conducive to such a partnership and to build mutual trust and confidence. It is not about creating positions that reward individuals. It seeks to enable Kenya’s political leaders to look beyond partisan considerations with a view to promoting the greater interests of the nation as a whole. It provides the means to implement a coherent and far-reaching reform agenda, to address the fundamental root causes of recurrent conflict, and to create a better, more secure, more prosperous Kenya for all.To resolve the political crisis, and in the spirit of coalition and partnership, we have agreed to enact the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008, whose provisions have been agreed upon in their entirety by the parties hereto and a draft copy is appended hereto.
Its key points are:
* There will be a Prime Minister of the Government of Kenya, with authority to coordinate and supervise the execution of the functions and affairs of the Government of Kenya.
* The Prime Minister will be an elected member of the National Assembly and the parliamentary leader of the largest party in the National Assembly, or of a coalition, if the largest party does not command a majority.
* Each member of the coalition shall nominate one person from the National Assembly to be appointed a Deputy Prime Minister.
* The Cabinet will consist of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the two Deputy Prime Ministers and the other Ministers. The removal of any Minister of the coalition will be subject to consultation and concurrence in writing by the leaders.
* The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers can only be removed if the National Assembly passes a motion of no confidence with a majority vote.
* The composition of the coalition government will at all times take into account the principle of portfolio balance and will reflect their relative parliamentary strength.
* The coalition will be dissolved if the Tenth Parliament is dissolved; or if the parties agree in writing; or if one coalition partner withdraws from the coalition.
* The National Accord and Reconciliation Act shall be entrenched in the Constitution.Having agreed on the critical issues above, we will now take this process to Parliament. It will be convened at the earliest moment to enact these agreements. This will be in the form of an Act of Parliament and the necessary amendment to the Constitution.
We believe by these steps we can together in the spirit of partnership bring peace and prosperity back to the people of Kenya who so richly deserve it. -
Kenya In The Cauldron Of Evil
Posted: February 19, 2008, 5:06 pm by kalamari
"There is evil in the world and evil must be confronted". Those were the words of George W. Bush...…after visiting one of the numerous Rwandan museums that loudly testify what black Africans can do to each other in a relatively short period of time. I say 'loudly' because here, you will not find pictures, videos or curators explaining what really happened; No! In these museums, you will actually view the lime treated incomplete structures of bones and skulls from previous Rwandan human life forms. I have been there.. so I know …so I saw.
So what is the relevance of such verbiage in Kenya today? Well, one might wonder why the 'duly' elected president of Kenya has not mouthed any tense suggestive or equal to the blood that has found its escape via the blocked trenches that crisscross Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Naivasha and other Kenyan cities and towns. While it's true that the spillage of bright red human blood has been confined to areas where the majority does not show any affection for the purported presidency, it is also true that in denying the existence of the Kenyan socio-political crisis, the very presidency chooses to ignore the plight of those whose lives have been directly affected by the imposition of a clearly illegitimate governing apparatus that craves identity as the absolute Kenyan governance authority. Karua's excerpts of Kenya being sovereign does not apply. Wetangula's puppetry assertions that coalition governance is not in play does not apply. Mutula's insistence on following the 'constitution' of course does not apply. I say this because evil has manifested itself in the pronouncements of anything PNU. This at a time when folks are sitting quietly in the hope that they will see the daylight of tomorrow. I'm not kidding, a thousand or so souls have come out yelling for democratic peace and never saw the next day.
In circles of great denial, the above paragraph may be construed as biased and to the most extreme, unfounded. With that, I want to vehemently accept the existence of views supportive of the current 'government'. While I will not go as far as intimate that those views are anywhere close to reality, I appreciate that there in fact exists a different point of view. The point of view that Kibaki won fairly and squarely. The point of view that all qualms must be resolved in Kenyan 'courts'. The point of view that suggests that anything agreeable towards a coalition government must be available within the current constitution.
This is the point where President Bush's utterances become relevant. At what point is a lie an evil that must be confronted? If Kibaki won, may he be blessed with the opulence reserved for the prince of light; if he clearly stole, may he diminish to the status of a ravenous rat. If Kibaki truly believes that Kenya will see great strides and success under the current constitution that he so much supports (even though he was at the forefront of discarding it a few years ago) then may the heavens open and shower him with trinkets of love and peace; if not, may he be unable to tell the difference between fire and brimstone.
To say that evil has engulfed the minds and beings of Kenyans today is an understatement. In 2002, I could match into heaven equipped with the knowledge that every Kenyan desires change…and with that I would sit not so far from the lord himself. Today, were I to meet angel Gabriel with the same claims, I would be forsaken to the throws of hell. Those like me who have been repeatedly and I must add, involuntarily, confined within Central Police Station cells could tell you how desperately the judicial arm needs change, today some of my prior inmates would gladly go to jail. In fact those who cried when Matiba lost, are today singing loudest that the same demons that denied their man have descended on another one.
Kenyans, let us all confront the evil. -
Kibaki's Prime Fear….
Posted: February 12, 2008, 12:22 pm by kalamari
…..of a grand coalition.
The second Kibaki cedes a fraction of 'his' presidential powers to Raila, his ass is toast. First of all, based on the selective manner he has handled the post election violence, he will never be able to convince anyone that his partial surrender is purely for the interest of peace...for all Kenyans. Secondly, not only will he be proclaiming to the entire world that he indeed stole the election, he will also be raising the white flag in desperate anticipation for the safest possible exit. I think we all agree that if elections were to be held outside of an year, Kibaki will not be on the ticket. Lastly, I'm not quite sure Kibaki has it in him to share a stage with Raila. As I've said before, any power sharing arrangement has to be sold to the people...which pretty much means joint public peace rallies. I need not say more.
Of course the other causes of Kibaki/PNU headaches include oversight and scrutiny in everything from allocation of government contracts, government appointments, review of future IPOs and the like; things that the current and previous retinue of Kibaki handlers are not necessary welcoming with warm open arms. While I appreciate that some characters have absolved Kibaki of his sins and will go to the trenches of war with him, I cannot understand how they will perceive his concessions... if any. There's a school of thought that suggests it's about time Kibaki metamorphosed into the Moi of 1982. That for government continuity, he should go about detaining folks like Okoiti Omtata, Maina Kiai, Wangari Maathai and Wafula Buke. That it is Raila's turn to live in Sweden writing books and poems of freedom. That the spoils of war must not be shared (it actually was a war my friends). That the army must reflect the people in power. Oh please Kibaki do not forsake us! Do not let go. I'm not quite sure why I brought that up but it appears that may be Kibaki's only option in the failure of a safe exit.
The next most neglected and least discussed source of prime fear is parliament. It is fair to say that 'false until proven claims' of Ruto financing atrocities in the Rift Valley hasn't endeared the party to some. Government media reports of ODM encouraging and endorsing violence has had some effects; even internationally. That as it is, all Kenyan voters acknowledge that PNU was and is still out to demonize Raila and ODM (remember the text messages). Sometimes, the purveyor of negative political campaigns ultimately suffers the backlash. So what's my point? Should peace and normalcy ensue as a result of a power sharing formula it will be because ODM has inched closer to power (like the people wanted) and not because PNU has partially conceded for the sole sake of peace. Outrageous as it sounds, please expect the defection of PNU mps to the ODM camp. Don't laugh yet; you see, power sharing may also mean subjecting Kalonzo to the periphery (where he belongs) thereby dismantling the current PNU arrangement. Also, it may not be wise or safe for some MPs to remain in PNU depending on where they come from. That PNU will be reduced to CPK (Central Kenya Party) is a foregone conclusion. In effect, Odinga anywhere near power means death to PNU.
These are just tit bits of what PNU has to contend with. The reality is that some of these folks spend sleepless nights with their passports under their pillows; ready to dash to foreign lands at the sound of the national anthem opening parliament with Raila an 'equal' to Kibaki.
Well, that's the rosy part. Now for the road leading to fire and brimstone. ODM/Raila has no option but to come out of these negotiations with 'true goods'. If all he gets is a cabinet position, no matter how serious, even I will cross over to KENDA. They must also not exude the arrogance associated with PNU. While a 50/50 arrangement towards peace and fresh elections is a win for many Kenyans, ODM must not be seen as gloating...the kicks of a dying PNU are the most dangerous. Further, for this thing to work, Kenyans must come together.
So long for the dream. Reality checks reveal that Kibaki historically does not honor any agreement. He is not a gentleman. With such evidence, ODM must pursue constitutional legitimacy on anything agreed on...especially if Kibaki appends his signature with his left hand. -
Peace For Kenya……But Wait First.
Posted: February 11, 2008, 2:24 pm by kalamari
In a profound state of highly spiritual consciousness; actually a few degrees below transfiguration, St. Augustine yelled, "Give me chastity but not yet!!". In the Kenyan quest for peace, the relevance of such hesitation is outstandingly evident. In unison, we scream, "Give us peace but not yet!!". First we want to see either Raila or Kibaki as president. No peace until our dead and displaced are appeased. Peace is only possible after ancestral land in the Rift Valley is returned to its rightful owners. We want peace but only under a new constitution. Peace is PNU. Peace is ODM.
In the meantime, anarchy ensues. Whereas some IDPs are living in conditions much better than their previous polythene Mungiki-taxed slum dwellings, most are trying not to get used to the daily Red Cross food rations; they realize resettlement in the slum means three or four meals of squalor per week. At this juncture, one cannot fathom the number of dead denied a proper and decent burial. Reality suggests that nondescript mass graves will continue dotting the Kenyan landscape until we find justice and peace…in that order. Only in Kenya can justice be the stumbling block to peace.
Like most, I want to believe that Kenya will rise up from the smoldering chaos with unbridled thirst to regain its composure. I hope that the weeks of mayhem be viewed as a serious case of democratic hiccup and nothing more. Mwangi and Atieno will grow up together in Eldoret, go to school in Kakamega, marry in Kiambu, settle in Mwingi and buy land in Kisumu. All the while, Kipruto will be living it up in Muranga as Kalonzo sells honey in Kitale without fear or intimidation. The continuity of that Kenyan lifestyle must be a priority. That we have lost everything is not an understatement. That we refuse to remain in the same status need not be an overstatement.
Folks, we must demand our lives back. I think we all agree that it is indeed unpatriotic to want a government based on the current constitution and institutions; the dismantling and reconstruction of both must be expeditious. We must appreciate that on our plate is an opportunity to change this country forever i.e. begin on a clean slate. Citizens from both sides of the political divide have been martyred, let their blood not have spilt in vain. Let us choose peace but first satisfy all its preconditions. Let us resolve all these issues to finality. There's no other way out of this quagmire. The question on why the Finance ministry is represented by one tribe can never be answered by the quip that they are all qualified. The question on why a particular tribe was targeted during the height of the skirmishes can never be answered by the quip that it was only political. Someone must pay for all the businesses and homes burnt and looted. The police must be explain why they killed demonstrators. Rift Valley militias must tell us who owns them. Mungiki must face justice. Kenya has changed folks. Let us embrace this change.
Kibaki and Raila must not raise up their jointed hands in a show of political peace while Kipchumba and Kimani are still squabbling about the validity of title deeds. -
'Cut' And Skirts For All Kikuyu Women!!
Posted: February 6, 2008, 5:00 pm by kalamari
A short open letter to Martha Karua.
Seriously Martha, where's the outrage. I seriously admire your courage in everything political. Yours is a beacon of hope to millions of women. While I understand you are currently embroiled in very serious talks, I would like to request that you use a bit of your clout to silence the uncouth male youths in Naivasha, Limuru and elsewhere. As you may have read in the newspapers, women are under siege from a notorious band of Mungiki folk. With all due respect to you, I will not divulge the 'adults only' details of the torment unleashed on women by these idiots, however, I will tell you that it is not a beautiful sight to witness; no matter how you look at it.
FIDA chairperson, Violet Awori has termed the unlawful acts as barbaric and of no place in modern society. The Limuru area Maendeleo Ya Wanawake chairperson, Ms Annsusah Wanjiku has also urged women to discard the habit of dressing indecently in public places. She has asked that they dress decently. As you know, none of these women leaders have the true wit and zeal to address this evil practice with the seriousness it deserves. In Kenya today, you are the only 'iron lady' who can change the thinking of these Mungiki folk in short order. You see, we have seen newspaper photos of you in tight pant suits. Many women would like to continue wearing such attire without fear or ridicule. As you well know, when it's cold and windy, the skirt just doesn’t cut it. Further, women feel more protected in trousers (if you know what I mean) especially when strolling in a town infested with idle snuff snorting citizens of the Satan's Abyss; who do not want Kikuyu women to enjoy the worlds favorite pastime.
You see, due to the great growth of the economy that did not really trickle down to the poor, the women in Limuru like elsewhere in Kenya, do not have the means to entertain lavish oversees trips, movies, bubble baths, chaffered limousines and the like; for entertainment they dwell on the acrobatics of the waist. Sasa wakiwa'cut', watajienjoy aje? In this age of bad diseases, you must also not ignore the serious health issues associated with the practices of jobless street surgeons. Think for one minute about the traumatizing experience this act must be to the affected women of Limuru. The anguish cannot be wished onto the devil himself.
I have also heard that this is happening in the full glare of the police. Please Martha, make some phone urgent calls. While I wholeheartedly encourage the women who demonstrated in Limuru town today, I wonder where their fellow non-Mungiki men were? Were they hiding in fear? I believe these are some of the evils that when perpetrated against the woman, the man cannot remain complacent….or impotent for that matter.
We fear that if these acts are not stopped in Limuru, they may spread like wildfire throughout the nation. Please dear madam Hon. Martha Wangari Karua, E.G.H., MP - Minister, come to the rescue of women.
In all sincerity,
Andy Capp -
The Possible Rebirth of Kenya
Posted: January 21, 2008, 12:10 am by kalamari
A call for a transitional government
Honesty in the face of despair is the rarest commodity in Kenya today. The reality is that our jealously guarded cultural and tribal biases have manifested into the most painful event in the history of our nation. Through excruciating personal experiences of loss, pictures of bludgeoned and bleeding children and the circulation of death infested video clips; we have become accustomed to visions of dead or dying Kenyans. The sound of rapid gunfire, the wailing of mothers and the screaming of toddlers no longer disturb our heavy sleep.
This is the Kenya of today….but for how long? Let us not seek solace in the Kenya of yesterday; for it was dogged by tribalism, corruption, ineptitude and suppressed feelings of hate, resentment and impending atrocities. As we live amidst this explosion of tribal hate, we realize that many of our neighbors, classmates, colleagues and friends were in deed living on borrowed time. The demon is us has been awoken.
It is the fire that burns Kenya today that must also provide the light that guides our future. Let no burnt churches or bullet riddled bodies reduce us to hopelessness.
It is clear that the current administration, one of questionable character, unclear mandate and doubtful legitimacy, cannot successfully pursue an inclusive agenda of justice, national healing and reconciliation. It is these overwhelming evidences of deficiencies that call for a transitional government. If Kibaki accepts, we could use the opportunity provided within the transitional period to heal and unite as Kenyans. This would be an opportunity to reconstitute the ECK providing it the capabilities to efficiently and fairly conduct a presidential election….thereby providing Kenyans a properly elected president.
If Kibaki refuses, then he must use his forces to suppress all manner of uprisings with an aim of ‘moving on’. Kenyans are now tired. Let him jail us all if that would mean that our children return to school and our wives find peace. Let him maintain a heavy police presence in every street corner, after all it will also deter carjackers and common pickpockets. Let him espouse his Moism traits and bring order by intimidation and detention; civil order if through fear is better than violence and destruction. Let us in fact tremble at the sight of the presidential motorcade. Kenyans, the ‘half’ that apparently didn’t vote for Kibaki must be hammered into submission. Wameze wembe na kazi iendele.
-Question: If the current real or imagined tribal hate has resulted in the bloody fracas of today, what will happen five years from now when, in addition to the current resentments, that of a stolen presidency is added? -
What's the difference between a simple Kenya Army cadet and a beautifully decorated Kenya Army commander…….other than an AK-47?
Posted: January 17, 2008, 11:48 pm by kalamari
Discuss.
Well, actually before you discuss, ask yourself the following questions:
1. For how long will the military personnel continue to see their brothers and sisters murdered by foreign forces who do not speak Swahili?
2. How disciplined are our disciplined forces?
3. If Kibaki actually stole the vote, was it worth it?
4. What can you as a PNU/ODM supporter do today to avert the inevitable?
As you ponder for the right answers, I ask you to go on your knees and really pray. The way I see it, Michuki and company may have totally miscalculated the citizen’s outrage.
Video footage of policeman shooting and killing unarmed protestor in Kisumu. -
Police Chief Admits to Shooting Kenyans Dead.
Posted: January 16, 2008, 4:53 pm by kalamari
Not exactly whistle blowing but contradicting Ali.
By KATY POWNALL
KISUMU, Kenya (AP) — The police chief in this opposition stronghold said she ordered her officers to fire on a rioting crowd, saying she was forced to because police were overwhelmed during protests over disputed elections.
The comments from Grace Kaindi, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, were the first to acknowledge police fired on crowds. Previously, police had denied shooting anyone in the turmoil.
"It was an extreme situation and there was no other way to control them," Kaindi said of the Dec. 29 clash in Kisumu. "I gave the order to open fire myself when I heard that my officers were being overwhelmed. If we had not killed them, things would have got very bad."
The toll, according to hospital records: 44 shot dead, 143 wounded. Kaindi said one police officer was hurt by a rock hurled from the crowd.
Human rights workers say Kisumu, 200 miles northwest of Nairobi, suffered the worst police brutality because it is a stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accuses President Mwai Kibaki of stealing the Dec. 27 election. International and local observers say the vote count was deeply flawed.
The acknowledged use of deadly force by police was likely to further inflame protesters who believe they are fighting a government that does not represent them, adding to the volatile mix of grievances in a conflict that has political and ethnic overtones. Clashes have pitted members of Kibaki's Kikuyu people against Odinga's Luo and other groups; most of those shot in Kisumu were Luo.
The Dec. 29 clash came a day before the election results were announced.
As it became clear Kibaki was going to claim victory, people in Kisumu armed with clubs and stones broke into stores, looted and set them ablaze, according to reporters at the scene. Protesters set up roadblocks of burning tires and stoned police, the reporters said, giving wildly varying accounts of the numbers of police and protesters.
"We tried tear gas, but it didn't calm them," Kaindi said. "Police felt their lives were in danger because there were very few of them, so they opened fire and controlled the situation."
She would not say how many officers or rioters were at the scene.
The U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch said in a weekend statement that police were behind dozens of killings and that they fired on both looters and opposition protesters under an unofficial "shoot-to-kill" policy.
Human Rights Watch said even people who did not attend rallies were shot, hit by police gunfire on the fringes of protests. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe denied the Human Rights Watch accusations, saying officers have "acted strictly within the laws of this country."
At a news conference Sunday, national Police Commissioner Hussein Ali insisted, "We have not shot anyone."
Of the 612 deaths government officials have attributed to election violence, 53 were in Kisumu; hospital records show 44 of those were killed by police bullets. Kaindi's comments came Tuesday, a day before a new round of protests called by Odinga, who has ignored pleas from church leaders and others to cancel the demonstrations that have fueled much of the violence.
Kaindi said her officers would not again fire on protesters, but on Wednesday police in Kisumu let loose volleys of rifle fire into the air over rock-throwing demonstrators.
One of them, Dickson Oruk, said he saw the body of a man, apparently shot in the head, lying on the ground near three men who each had been shot in the chest. Kaindi said she had no regrets about her Dec. 29 order to fire, charging all those shot were "looters and thieves."
On that day, Robert Owino, a 21-year-old mechanic, said he was walking home from work when he was shot in the chest. "I'm very angry about what has happened because I am innocent," he said from his hospital bed. "So many people were shot and, like me, they were doing nothing wrong."
Hospital records seen by the AP show 44 of 53 bodies taken to its morgue after the Dec. 29 riots had bullet wounds. Fifty-nine people were admitted with gunshot wounds; 84 others were treated as outpatients for minor wounds. Seven of the 53 were burned to death and two apparently were beaten to death with "blunt objects," the records show.
Nurses at the run-down hospital said the beds soon filled and they treated patients in the corridors. Many people bled to death for lack of blood for transfusions, nurses said.
The Rev. Charles Oloo K'Ochiel, a Roman Catholic priest who collated an independent tally of those shot from visits to the hospital and its morgue, told the AP he counted 68 dead and 56 wounded.
"When you go into a hospital ward and see that 95 percent of the patients are victims of bullet wounds, you have to wonder if the police were brought here to bring peace or to shoot every human being that comes their way," he said. All those with bullet wounds were from Odinga's Luo tribe, the priest said. Victims burned and beaten to death were assumed to be Kikuyus, he said. One body had eight bullet wounds, according to Oloo K'Ochiel.
"This is Raila's place," the priest said. "The police have been overzealous, fearing that people will react more violently to the election fraud than in other places."
In Kisumu, shattered windows and the blackened, twisted remains of cars, shops and gas stations testify to the anger of the city's residents.
Brad Onyango does not deny participating in the violence.
"We didn't want to hurt anyone, that wasn't our aim. We didn't have guns. Our aim was to show the world that we are angry and tired of this government and its corruption," the bus driver said.
George Odhiambo, a student who said he was caught up in the chaos, accuses the police of acting out of "pure malice and they opened fire on anyone."
Onyango accused police of stealing after breaking into shops with their rifles. Oloo K'Ochiel, the priest, said he also saw police stealing from shops.
Chief Kaindi denied her officers were looting.
Associated Press Writer Michelle Faul in Nairobi contributed to this report. -
tick tock tick tock..........
Posted: January 14, 2008, 2:11 pm by kalamari
Gangs of Nairobi
Andrew Ehrenkranz and Scott Johnson
Photo: AFPLAST July, Washington made some brief, if mostly unexamined, news in East Africa when it announced a $15 million grant to the Kenyan government to help with "law and order" issues. The funding came a full six months before last December's disputed Kenyan election and the subsequent wave of violence that is now flowing, amoebalike, across the country. For outside observers the cash injection may have seemed odd, given Kenya's positive political and economic track record. But the African nation's nicely lettered signposts of progress and development masked a jarring problem. Throughout much of last spring, in part because of the run-up to the elections but also for a host of other reasons, huge swaths of Kenya were succumbing to a particularly undulant, brutal kind of gangsterism. In episode after episode, many of which were documented by Kenyan reporters, innocent people were beheaded, skinned, raped, murdered and tortured by members of a secretive outlawed sect called Mungiki. In response the Kenyan police and domestic security services began to jail thousands of young men. Human rights organisations began calling attention to the apparent "disappearances" of several of them. The "Mungiki threat" became a national, if not an international, obsession. Kenyan fears were not misplaced. The dynamics of the Mungiki sect were as compelling as they were appalling. Mungiki had deep and growing political influence. Its 1.5 million members were drawn from Kenya's largest and most powerful tribe, the Kikuyu, who controlled much of Kenya's economy. The sect was said to have as much pull with the police as it did with senior ministers. And yet for all the suspicion, the government, led by Kikuyu President Mwai Kibaki, appeared to be fighting back against the destructive creep of criminal violence by stepping up police raids in cities like Nairobi, a Mungiki stronghold and long the center of a major crime problem.And then the elections happened. Over the last several days the world has begun to focus its attention on the particularly complex web of factors -- tribal, economic and historical -- that have thrown Kenya into its worst political crisis of the last half century. US Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer has been in talks with Kibaki and his opposition rival, Raila Odinga, to find a solution to the political stalemate. On Monday both figures agreed to meet to discuss ways out of the impasse, but on Tuesday there were fresh outbreaks of violence after Odinga pulled out of direct talks. His withdrawal was in protest of Kibaki's unilaterally making some key cabinet appointments ahead of the arrival of African Union chairman John F. Kufuor, who arrived in Nairobi Tuesday to mediate the talks. Meanwhile, the Law Society of Kenya, citing the Kenyan constitution, announced Tuesday that Kibaki was in office "illegally" and called for fresh elections within 90 days. It could be weeks or months before a viable political solution is hammered out, however, and as that process wears on, the subterranean forces in the ghettos and slums of Nairobi have begun to reassert their strength. This time, though, the gangsterism of the spring is quickly morphing into an ethnic war -- a radicalisation of the tribal politics that has garnered so many headlines and cast the unity of the country into doubt. The poison is manifesting itself through what could be called the gangs of Nairobi, the swarming multitudes of young men who have begun patrolling the slums with machetes, axes -- anything they can find to protect themselves from one another and from the swelling tide of resentment that the election and its handling have cast over the city. In its crudest form the gangsterism has taken on tribal overtones. On one side are the Mungiki, the self-proclaimed protectors of the Kikuyu, but also of the disenfranchised, the poor and the outcast. On another are crowds of enraged Luo tribesmen, whose anger over the disputed election results that kept their candidate, Odinga, from taking office, have contributed to the looting, burning and killing across the country. The result, at least in the hives of Nairobi's ghettos, places like Kibera and Mathare, is a tense standoff between groups of armed men and a pervading sense of unease about the ability or willingness of either side to back off. In one such slum, known as Area 3 -- a sprawl of tin-roofed shacks, supermarkets and community centers that have been burned to the ground over the last two weeks -- a lumbering Luo man wearing a New York baseball cap and carrying a 10-inch machete tucked into his jeans, escorted a Newsweek reporter into a Luo safehouse. "Don't worry," he said, "it's safe here." The man, who called himself Titus, was a security escort for this group of Luo vigilantes, who have taken to calling themselves "Taliban," partially in emulation of the draconian tactics of the Afghan tribesmen who enforced law and order through the barrels of their AK-47s. Looking out onto the street, these Luo Taliban searched the area for the men they now perceive as their sworn enemies: the Kikuyu Mungiki gangs who have taken up positions at intersections and alleyways. Taliban members see themselves as providing security and justice. They first became active the day after the elections. Their men, typically tall and built like heavyweight boxers, light fires and sleep with groups of unaffiliated volunteers outside apartment buildings and shanty towns at night, trying to allay the fears of restless women and children. Last Saturday night Taliban members tried unsuccessfully to dynamite a small bridge that links a Kikuyu area to a smaller Luo area where a now vacant tenement building had been attacked."Those are them," whispered one Taliban member named Moses, pointing at a group of armed men down the street manning a fruit stand. He believed they were Mungiki. Earlier that morning two non-Taliban Luo had been killed walking across an adjacent neighborhood called Stage 2930. Moses believed the killers were Mungiki disguised as policemen. Without the protection of the Taliban, Moses said, the Luo are in danger. Moses claimed to have seen four people butchered and said he had had to use his own panga machete in self-defense on three of the last four nights. As the incursions and counterattacks have increased in this desperately poor section of Nairobi, many have been left without food or water. Food prices have skyrocketed. Three small potatoes stacked on a vendor's mat used to cost less than a nickel; today they are an unaffordable 50 shillings, about 55 cents. Moses said he thought the violence elsewhere in Kenya among similar groups of armed men was simply a long-suppressed desire for revenge. " If you are Luo, they chop you," he said ruefully. "So what do you think we do?"Fears about the Mungiki seem well founded. In an interview with Newsweek last summer, Hezekiah Ndura Waruinge, co-founder and former national coordinator of the sect -- it's name means multitude in Kikuyu -- said the sect had changed drastically from its original conception as freedom fighters modeled on the Mau Mau rebels who fought for independence from Kenya's British colonizers. "Mungiki no longer exists," warned Waruinge, adding that the new gangs are dangerous because "there is no more central control. There is no leadership to negotiate with, just a bunch of rogue groups taking money from the highest bidder." While much of the Mungiki's ritual and history is shrouded in secrecy, their attacks have tended to follow distinct patterns. Prior to attacking they make a bonfire and roll their pantlegs up to alert fellow members in the area. They believe that women should be circumcised -- and sometimes force the procedure on them. In other cases Mungiki behead and circumcise their victims, usually scattering body parts in different public locations. No outsiders know what all their initiation rituals are for certain, but some are said to involve drinking or bathing in blood.With postelection Kenya becoming increasingly volatile, many residents fear a brutal boost to Mungiki power. Many Luo slum residents, like 29-year-old Rachel -- who was afraid to give her surname -- are planning to flee Mathare. "We don't even talk in our own language because of Mungiki," Rachel says. "We can't sleep here, so we are staying with a relative in a Taliban area." Many others, seen filling up the backs of old pickup trucks and steering their belongings on wooden carts, are following suit, heading toward the displacement camps that are growing in number outside churches, police stations, and military bases. Hustling out toward a safer haven on Sunday afternoon, Louis Etiyang sported thick bandages on his head and machete gashes on his arms. On Dec. 30 he was walking alone through a Kikuyu area when someone shouted "Luo!" and a group attacked him. "If a KTN (Kenyan Television Network) truck had not passed, I'm dead."The conflict has pitted tribes, voting blocs and even best friends against one another. The majority Kikuyu and the Kamba tribes are together. Kenya's third- and fourth-largest tribes, the Kalenjin and the Luo, as well as a hodgepodge of many of the country's 40-odd tribes, have also forged an alliance. "Everything is different now. It's all tribes and partisans," said Rogers Wanyonyii, a 35-year-old teller at a currency exchange bureau who was hovering near a group of Luo men clutching makeshift weapons outside a barricaded restaurant in Taliban stronghold Area 4-A. "What I see isn't Kenya; it's like war." Given the tensions between the Taliban and the Mungiki, that war isn't likely to end anytime soon.
[www.thedailystar.net] -
Kenya: The Loss of Innocence.
Posted: January 4, 2008, 5:36 pm by kalamari
It is slowly becoming clear that the violence in the slums of major Kenyan cities and the bushes of Rift Valley have as much to do with the outcome of the elections as with the resentment of perceived Kikuyu domination. Any lasting solution towards peace must involve avenues to address and possibly dismantle the perception that Kikuyus are out to systematically reap where they did not sow. It is time to be real my friends.
Before we can move on, we must all agree that the manner by which Kibaki was installed president does not help the situation. In fact, the arrogance portrayed by his key players, from KICC to State House and beyond, has only cemented the ill anti-Kikuyu sentiments spreading like wildfire across the nation. Even the Kikuyu elite and some poor Kiambu village folks are patting themselves on their backs in congratulatory acknowledgment of having stolen this one 'legally' . The rest of the country is in awe and amazement at how this heist of voting rights was completed in very short order. FACT: The presidency was stolen. Yes my friends, it is time to face the truth.
Back to the violence. Every chap of average intelligence is well aware that the burning of churches in Eldoret will have to be avenged. The killing of Kikuyu folk countrywide will have to be avenged. Let us keep it real folks. Mungiki folk have been sharpening their pangas since the eve of Dec 27th, 2007. Yes my friends, these jamaas are fast regrouping and this time with the support of every Kikuyu who saw pictures of heavily protected Kikuyu-folk-laden convoys enroute from RV to Central. We will never be too sure but we have an idea of what the humanitarian govt. forces deployed in opposition areas are all about. Looking for answers in the bullet riddled bodies in Kisumu morgues is of no consequence. Yes my friends, ukweli ni mbaya. We are all victims.
So what next? Mungiki will soon strike and more tears will flow. The govt. will then follow-up and use all its military might to purge any signs of anti-govt. rebellion. After a couple of weeks of running battles, the Kenyan people will get tired and slowly revert to their normal day to day activities. They will give up to the powers that be at which point, Kazi Itaendelea. Yes folks, let us not imagine that Kibaki will step down or budge from the seat of power. The reality is that Kenyans must pay rent and put food on the table. We actually will have no choice but to retreat to our obscure shelters as we watch Kimunya, TransCentury and other assorted Kibaki lieutenants share out Safaricom among other delicacies. Yes folks, with one policeman on every street for months, an uneasy peace will return to Kenya. What about the anti-Kikuyu sentiments? What of those who say that Kibaki's action has legitimized every fallacy they've heard of Kikuyu's before? Yes we will walk the streets again, but what will happen when lets say a Luo man driving in the deep of Nyeri accidentally knocks down and kills an old Kikuyu woman crossing the street? Do you now see the type of scars a stolen election has etched onto the Kenyan psyche? Will we ever be brothers and sisters again under a tattered flag that does not recognize the value of our votes? These wounds will remain with us for years after these jamaas have retired to their Muthaiga homes. These wounds will follow us to every ballot box going forward. These wounds will determine the city we choose to work in, the schools we send our children to and the areas we choose to open up businesses. These wounds will make us turn a blind eye to the evils committed against our brothers from other communities. With these wounds, the jokes of Bwana Ojwang and Mama Kayai will loose meaning. With these wounds, some sheng words such as Musakhulu, Musapere and Mujaka will no longer be politically correct. The reality is that some of us are very happy with the turn of events. Some of us are mad as hell. All of us will remain insecure for years. Ask yourself why, the next time you board matatu number 16A to Kayole.
We will return to our work stations throughout the country and use the next five years trying to relocate to work areas close to our native homes. Only an insane Luo man will take up that promotion in Muranga town. This is serious trouble my friends. You see, the thing is that as a country, we have lost innocence. We can never talk of Rwanda with a chip on our shoulders. In all, the theft at KICC has made us grown men. Never again will we be able to propagate the notion that Kenya is a peace loving country. We are as fallible and as volatile as all other African countries. Kenya, as a bastion of democratic ideals, has been buried by the actions of Mwai Kibaki. This is the only man who could have ordered the PNU machinery to stop and desist from topping up the vote results from his strongholds. This is the man who may have chosen to resign after seeing the questions raised by the ECK chairman and some commissioners, observers etc. Any prudent man of singular leadership qualities and intelligence would have averted the crisis at KICC by doing the right thing......i.e. let the people decide.
But more importantly, when the election news is old news, what will Kenyans do to ensure peace in future? This is what I suggest. First and foremost, the fallacy that Kikuyus are bent on dominating other Kenyans must be dismantled. Let us choose to really get to know our neighbors. More often than not, you will find out that the struggles faced by most Kikuyus are similar to those faced by all Kenyans. They are just as poor and led by a coterie of the same bunch of inept leaders that the rest of the country displays. Whereas it is unlikely that you will find other communities doing business or settling in Central Kenya, the prevalence of Kikuyus in other areas may well be a simple result of population growth. If we have ever needed each other, this is the time. This is the time for national healing and reconciliation. Do not expect solutions from political leadership. Let us join multicultural churches. Let us demand that our workplaces reflect the face of the country. Let us choose peace.
If we continue fighting and shedding blood on behalf of our political leaders, nobody will be left behind for them to lead. -
International Community Retracts Support for Kibaki
Posted: December 31, 2007, 1:52 pm by kalamari
The US has retracted a statement congratulating Kibaki on his false victory. They now express overwhelming concern about "serious problems experienced during the vote counting process".
Even the Red Army could not muzzle the peoples voice for change. Let us not relent in providing Kenyans their rights. See following link:
[www.ft.com] -
True Opinion Poll
Posted: December 21, 2007, 2:30 am by kalamari
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The Italians are raping our Kenyan babies in Malindi !!
Posted: December 19, 2007, 1:30 pm by kalamari
If you come across a tourist whose passport reveals multiple entries to Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Singapore, it is likely that when you continue flipping the pages, you will see a couple of entries to Kenya. If you forcefully peruse his luggage, you may find old chattered airline tickets or taxi receipts evidencing frequent visits to Malindi. Further interrogations will confirm short stays in various private and exclusive villas (primarily owned by Italians). At this eureka-like stage, a man of average intelligence acting prudently will not wish to view the tourists' picture album….especially if it is resting on a box of assorted candies, lollipops and bubble gum. My dear Kenyans, we are at the advent of the most profitable child sex tourism industry in Africa.
Documentaries of lions hunting impalas at Tsavo National Park are gradually being replaced with those of white pony-tailed sandal wearing tourists preying on beautiful black Kenyan babies. Elephant tusks, leopard skins and rhino horns are no longer the much sort out trophies; Instead, local virgin boys and girls define the holy grail. Yes my fellow ODMers and PNUers, the child sex pest has arrived and his/her mighty thirst will not be quenched by the award winning Tusker beer. This particular beast from overseas will only drink the juice of innocence spewing from the undeveloped private parts of our most treasured assets i.e. our children or in other words, our future.
The debate on how Kenya finds itself depicted in child pornographic videos is endless. We all agree that poverty has been known to skew perceptions of morality. The story of the thief stealing the bread to feed his starving family conveniently comes into play. You see, the parents who choose to turn the other way as their own babies bring home a couple of sleazy dollars after spending nights in Italian villas, are quick to accept that the 'end justifies the means'. The villagers/society have chosen to ignore the awkward walking style of these toddlers, after all, how are they supposed to feed themselves. We all know what happens to our young girls when they get married to old German men and are shipped to the land of the third Reich…so long as they send back some Deutschmarks (now Euros), we are all set. Oh, by the way, some of our very own grown Kenyans gleefully indulge in this rape. My point here is that we are all complacent to this evil that is slowly tainting the image of our country.
So what next? How do you stop a buibui clad baby from succumbing to the scourge from abroad? Education? How do you explain the ruinous behavior to parents whose only means of survival is the sleazy dollar? What about disease? To what extend is personal responsibility the only answer? Are some of us just born sexually deviant? What would happen if lets say, the government used the police to consistently swoop the villas, discos and prominent hotels that are conduits to this evil? How about billboards of caution at every corner? Maybe deportation of perpetrators and repossession of filthy villas?
It would be unfortunate if we allow our country to be listed in the yellow pages of sleaze destinations. -
Garden Tools in Government Vehicles.
Posted: November 24, 2007, 3:56 am by kalamari
By releasing the previously impounded GK vehicle, laden with assorted crude weapons stashed in sacks, Kibakis’ administration is intimating that his water assistant minister is indeed a multi-billionaire farmer requiring an inordinate number of bodyguards armed with heavy rungus…. capable of inflicting high doses of pain on anyone threatening the person of the honorable MP. Apparently, it is also planting season at Wanjalas’ expansive farm; thus the need for very many sharp pangas for clearing the huge tracts of land; the tougher bushes will be cut by the never disappointing Somali swords. It is not clear what the whips will be used for, but since they were at the discounted sale price at Nakumatt, why not indulge?
The question is, as posed by my lawyer friend, what crime has been committed? At what point does a panga, in government protected transit, become anything more than a common garden tool? Is this a simple case of misuse of public property i.e. use of the GK vehicle in the transportation of government unrelated garden tools? Does innocent until proven guilty apply here?….considering the fact that if any harm is to be unleashed upon hapless villagers, it must be before Dec 27th.
It is fact that a stone becomes a weapon when it is speeding towards the head of a soon to be victim of a very bad and excruciating headache. That said, who’s more of a criminal?, the stone hurling PNU sympathizer in Juja constituency or the government minister destined to posses in his arsenal, shiny and crisp unused pangas…among other assorted garden tools.
Folks, whereas the outrage?
Blah blah blah
Fish cakes
Alas a fish cake.
Yet more fish cakes
Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.
The end of the fish cakes
