JUSTICE and DEMOCRACY

BE WARY OF THIS PRETENDERS!!!

2011-12-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

The new rush in Kenya by all and sundry is to the seat on the hill. Whereas every Kenyan has a constitutional right to vie for the presidency if he or she meets the threshold enshrined in the constitution, it is not lost to see the madness at which people seem to have developed a craving for the presidency. The question is not why, but rather what they intend to do once they occupy the seat.

Majority of the hundreds wishing to become the President of Kenya after 2012 elections are driven by sheer greed and arrogance. They have no agenda in place and all they pass as their long-held agenda is to bring a change to the millions who are suffering and 'give the youth a chance to develop themselves.' Ask them how and they start stammering. The few who have viable agendas are deeply rooted into tribal affiliations that even if they finally get elected into the office, they will be worse off than the imperialists! They do everything in the name of their tribal cocoons. They are driven by a tribal desire to give their tribesmen an edge over other tribes as 'it was with the tribes of people who have occupied the seat since independence!'

Kenyans should be wary of these lot as we approach the general elections. They will approach us with sweet words, goodies and all they have in their disposal. Eventually, they will forget the common good and the collective responsibility that comes with leadership and they will retreat to their tribes for shielding and comfort. What a shame!

Kenyans be wary of this pretenders! In 2007 they made us fight each other. In 2012, they may fail to make us fight each other, but be sure they have a contingency plan to achieve their long held dreams. Keep watch!

WHY OMAR HASSAN LACKS MORAL DECORUM

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

It was a big let down to read what Omar Hassan, who would pass as a learned Kenyan, to have written in one of the major dailies in Kenya. The most disturbing thing is the vitriol with which he has allowed himself to address his antipathy to a particular tribe in Kenya. This is most worrying as we head to a Genera Election in an year. The question is, what is the problem with his comments, anyway?

Omar Hassan comments were made out of sheer arrogance and hatred. It is an open secret that he has tried again and again to admonish a particular tribe, and his comments on the tribe, just like a replay of comments made in 2007 by a people of his ilk, were meant to alienate and isolate the tribe against the other tribes in the country. Where known political leaders masterminded the infamous call of 41-tribes-against-1-tribe, the young lawyer seems to have taken the mantle from them. This is worrying, not only to the members of the tribe, but also to the peace-loving Kenyans.

It is alright for Omar to criticize President Kibaki, but it is wrong to put the president in a tribal cocoon. To criticize the president on the basis of his tribe is tantamount to tribalism! The president does not belong to a particular tribe, but to all tribes. He is above tribal leanings.

He claims that the security organs are all under the leadership of people from one region. This is further from the truth. A look at the Ministry of Defence ascertains the lies inbended in Omar’s article. The line up in the Department of Defence, a top security organ, is as follows:

Hon. Mohamed Yusuf Haji - Minister of State for Defence

Hon. Maj Gen (Rtd) J K Nkaissery - Assistant Minister of State for Defence

Hon David Musila, - Assistant Minister of State for Defence

Ms Nancy Kirui - Permanent Secretary (PS) Ministry of State for Defence

Gen Julius W Karangi - Chief of Defence Forces

Lt Gen Samson J Mwathethe - Vice Chief of Defence Forces

Lt Gen Njuki Mwaniki - Commandant National Defence College (NDC)

Maj Gen Joff Otieno - Kenya Air Force Commander

Maj Gen Ngewa Mukala - Kenya Navy Commander

Maj Gen Jackson N Waweru - Commandant Defence Staff College (DSC)

Maj Gen Maurice Oyugi - Deputy Army Commander

Maj Gen Harold M Tangai - Senior Directing Staff NDC

Brig S W Nadwa - Commandant Kenya Military Academy(KMA) formerly AFTC

In the Ministry of Internal Security, another top security organ, the line up draws people from different communities of Kenya.

Hon. Prof. George Saitoti, MP – Minister, Internal Security

Hon. Simon Lesirma, MP – Assistant Minister, Internal Security

Hon. Joshua Orwa Ojode , MP - Assistant Minister, Internal Security

Mr. Francis Kimemia – Permanent Secretary, Internal Security

If Omar argues that one region rules the reins in the Ministry of Energy, that is balderdash! In their bid to give the Kikuyu a bad name, tribalists would much like to place the Ameru, the Aembu, the Ambeere and the Atharaka as members of the larger Kikuyu family. All this is because the communities share much in common. Yet, why do we never here that when it comes to the Luo and the Luhya?

If Omar Hassan was genuine, he should have criticized all state organs where tribalism is rife, not a few organs where his perceived enemies are found. The truth is, tribalism is still a reason to worry when it comes to civil service and other state operations. however, that is not a reason to corner one community as the cause of that. Maybe Omar should go ahead and tell us about the Luo, the Maasai, the Somali,and any other community out there.

Whatever Omar wrote on that Sunday, the 26th November, 2011, was a clear show of his incompetency and lack of moral decorum. He is simply trying to insinuate that belonging to a particular tribe is a crime, and that one should be victimized , in employment or otherwise just because he or she comes from a particular tribe. Nothing could be further from the truth!

THE GADDAFI THEY KILLED

2011-11-16T05:37:00.000-08:00

KANALI MUAMMAR GADDAFI

Wende wendako salama, hata tena kuonana

Ulofanyiwa kinyama, na wako mlofaana

Wakakuuza ndarama, wasaliti wa bayana

Machozi yangu moyoni, namwomboleza Gaddafi.

Machozi yangu moyoni, namwombeleza Gaddafi

Hata kama mautini, aloyatenda hayafi

Toka pwani na barani, Afrika alisafi

Wakoloni mamboleo, we Gaddafi buriani.

Wakoloni mamboleo, we Gaddafi buriani

Kwako kafika machweo, ya kesho tafakarini

Walokutendea leo, Uropa wanatendani?

NATO nyie hayawani, Gaddafi mmemtweza.

NATO nyie hayawani, Gaddafi mmemtweza

Kumuwinda viwanjani, kwenye nuru hata giza

Mafuta mlitakani , kumbe yeye kizuiza

Mlokufuru ya haki, Gaddafi mmemaliza.

Mlokufuru ya haki, Gaddafi mmemaliza

Kwa Mola nawashtaki, kwa maswali kuuliza

Mbona mnatudhihaki, uhuru wetu kusoza?

Afrika tambueni, Gaddafi kwetu jabari.

Afrika tambueni, Gaddafi kwetu jabari

Kaskazini kusini, alitufaa amali

Na kidete katetani, mzalendo wa halali

Kwa shairi nakuaga, Kanali Muammar Gaddafi.

Kwa shairi nakuaga, Kanali Muammar Gaddafi

Nikitamani kubwaga, hawa malofa walafi

Tushikaneni mabega, tuwawinde hawa chafi

Nenda wendako salama, Gaddafi Allah Kareem.

IN LOVING MEMORY: COLONEL MUAMMAR GADDAFI

ASSASSINATED BY NATO FORCES AND NTC TRAITORS.

REST IN PEACE.

A CRY FROM THE STOMACH

2011-08-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

Almost half a decade after gaining independence, Kenya still grapples with death pangs caused by hunger. It is such a national shame to see a country crippled by drought and famine to such a level. It is such a shame to see innocent children crumble to hunger pain and pregnant women breathe their last. If this is what it means to be independent, someone take me a slave!

The government of Kenya has betrayed its people. With the warnings of looming drought and famine, what did the government do? Nothing! Absolutely nothing. It did not buy livestock from the poor pastoralists in the drought-prone areas. It did not buy maize that is rotting in the farms of the poor peasants. The government behaved as if nothing was amiss. It did not buy maize from other countries to boost its national reserve. What happened to new technology and all the pride of a winning nation?

Lo, and behold, a cry rises to the heavens, a cry from the stomachs of innocent children, pregnant women and helpless men who watch as their family members lose their lives to hunger. One day, someone will pay for the innocent deaths. I pray it is not someone i know because it will be so devastating a scene. For God is the keeper of the helpless.

Andre Villas-Boas and the Philosophy

2011-06-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

I honestly admire this man, Andre Villas-Boas, for so many reasons. He has achieved so much at such an age. If Pep Gurdiola is the man, Andre is the king.

The striking thing about Andre is his philosophy. A keen student of Mourinho, he has risen better than the mentor. Faced with questions of whether he was another 'Special One', the dude wizened a now-to-be-popular response. "I am the 'Group One'." This was an underline to his intentions, to work as a team. I believe this is the philosophy that needs to be pumped into the Chelsea club.

I am an ardent fan of Chelsea and i can wait to see the start of the new season. To all Manchester United moles, and Arsenal rats, there is a new cat in the room. Just watch out.

WHAT EXACTLY AILS KENYA

2011-06-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Much has been said about Kenya, and rightly so. From the comparison of Kenya with rising economic giants vis-a-vis Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, to the political instability that surrounds her, it becomes an interesting read. In deed, Kenya has gone on and on and on, sending mixed signals, of a nation on the right path, and a nation on the wrong track.

It is enviable that since independence, Kenya has been a beacon of peace in Africa - that is, if the short-lived 2008 tribal clashes need be ignored. The irony is, 48 years since independence, there is almost nothing for everyone to be proud. Get it right, everyone. It is open secret that some few Kenyans have everything to be proud about with regard to Kenya. They took over after the whites and became the new whites in black skins. They go to the best schools, eat the best foods, their wives give births in the best hospitals, they bank their money in the best banks, they drive the finest vehicles, the dress the smartest, they live the best life. These, as the majority of Kenyans eke out a living struggling and juggling life between poverty and below poverty lines. And what is more painful than this: the economy of a whole counntry is controlled by less than 20% of its population.

The dragging problem that continues to ail Kenya is the tribalism. Time and again, the lords of the country have pulled the tribal card if anything to keep their positions intact. This is the reason that much as everyone talks ill of tribalism, much as everyone hates tribalism, it is here to say. Tribalism is us, it defines us, our position, our all. Time and again, the only things that the poor bequeath their poor sons and daughters is coated with a tribal Midas touch. It can only be because it is found in the tribal holdings. We pretend we don't want tribalism but we identify with our own. We clap loudest for those from our tribes, from the sports arena, to the political stage, to the social and economic circles. We cheer our Kenyan athletes, but we scream in support of those from our tribes. We criticize with utter contempt the corrupt leaders, but we sympathize with those from our fold. We wish they were not caught. We even defend them if they are faced with extinction. We buy from the shops, but we become loyal customers to the enterprises run by our own. Whether by design or default, we have become tribal apologists.

Tribalism becomes the real and the most potent danger that faces Kenya. Which is why the idea of devolved governance is God-send. We can only be in our own cocoons and that's when we will realize we need the others in our lives. Until then, we can only walk the path, of tribal clowns!

Wanjiru's Death: A Lesson to All

2011-06-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

Whereas i never had the remotest chance of meeting the late Samuel Wanjiru, i happen to have been a great admirer of the young man. One, because he was a Kenyan athletics hero, two, because he was an athletics champion away from the usual Kalenjin norm and three, because he made our country proud in the 2008 Olympics by the first ever Kenyan Olympics Marathon Gold. Maybe not the gold per se, but the style he put in winning it.....................and the smile.

If death was anything that one can challenge legally, i would have dedicated all my life for studying any law just to see death defeated. But wishes.............they were never horses. And just at his start, at his beginning, Samuel Wanjiru is no more. Dead earlier than he should. JThe question lingers, just why? Death, where is your sting?

The country is crying the death of a hero, yet not only that but even the way he died. That Samuel Wanjiru fell from the balcony of his house to his death is simply too sad. That he was found by his wife in the company of a mistress is equally sad. Anyway, I would not blame him for that, not because i advocate for extra-marital affairs, but because the same way a lion is carnivorous is the same way man is out-eyed. We do not blame the lion, we should not blame the man. The fact that Samuel Wanjiru was drunk on his demise is demoralizing.

The saddest part of all is the fact that his young family was ever in an opposite mood. Endless squabbles between him and his wife may not have done it any justice to him as a human being. Maybe it plunged him into the state of drunkenness. Which begs the first lesson; do not underestimate the potential that your wife has on you. They teach us that behind every success man is a woman. They never teach us that behind every ruin of a man is a woman. Thank God for history has taught us this.

Things have turned for worse for the young man's soul. Court battles, claims and counter-claims, and three should-have-been fathers! It is alright for Wanjiru's mother to demand to know the cause of her son's death. If she suspects foul play, she has every right to express the same. She is the mother and no one can take that from her. I pity the wife. But she should only hope to pay the final respect to the father of her children by letting the world know that their hero died a 'clean' death. That's the least she should accord our hero. The fear of losing her right to share Wanjiru's property should not count. What's more important than a peaceful conscience? The lesson here is, your mother gave birth to you, she gave you life. Your only can only add to that life, she cannot give you life. Your mother is more important to you than your wife.

For the three men claiming to be the father of the gone hero, you are so welcome. The only question is, where were you for the last 24 years? You may share the sorrow of the loss now, but is it genuine? Just how genuine is it? Aren't you after some mileage in your empty lives? Aren't you after attention, which even if one of you is entitled to, deserves less? The lesson here is, men at one point of their lives are stupid. And because they are, if you have grown without knowing your father, and who happens to be alive, just when you grow up, wish it away.

For Samuel Wanjiru, when gods deem it right, REST IN PEACE, Bro.

THE HAGUE SIX: MY TAKE

2010-12-17T07:54:00.000-08:00

I watched with dismay as loads and loads of presumably angry Kenyans swarm into streets and elsewhere in the countryside in the name of supporting their kith and kin named in Louis Moreno Ocampo's list for the Hague trials. It is even baffling that some of the protests were led by reknown lawmakers. This leaves the big question, as a nation, where are we heading? Personally, i am greatly convinced that it is great foolhardy to take to the streets in the name of somebody's innocence. Someone will read for me the freedom of expression. Well and good, but if someone is innocent, who needs to demonstrate over it? I mean, they wheels of ICC justice may seem slow, but they surely get us there, to justice. Now, to demonstrate that someone is innocent does not remove that tag of a suspect from him. If anything, it just raises questions and questions.

Since the infamous 2008, i would have sworn that Kenyans have learnt a thing or two. I am dismayed and down that in such a big lesson, we never learnt a thing. This sadly means that the over 1,300 lives lost in the tribal flare-up were lost for nothing. Nothing! Which means if there was a time to be ashamed of being a Kenyan, this is the time. For some of us to argue that Moreno's actions are politically instigated it is utter nonsense. Moreno gives no damn what happens in 2012, who gets elected the president or why. His main concern is that along the path to new leaders and all that, that human rights are respected, that people are not victimized because of their tribe, that innocent souls are not burnt in churches, that innocent women and children are not raped, that young men do not have their limbs chopped in the name of this or that. This is basically the prosecutor's diet. To think otherwise is just playing a dirty trick on our minds. If the politicians were very sincere about a local tribunal to try the perpetrators of tribal violence in 2008, where were they since then? Is it we realize we are late when we miss the last train? It is a pity that even the parliament has been reduced into a tribal theatre. Watching mps Isaac Ruto and Jeremiah Kioni argue that Kenya should withdraw her membership from the Rome Statute, one was left feeling awful in the mouth. It tasted and sounded sinister. A smart Kenyan could see the connection. Isaac Ruto for William Ruto, Henry Kosgey, Joshua arap Sang, and Jeremiah Kioni for Uhuru Kenyatta. I strongly believe that this tribal notion is no good for a country heading to a general election come 2012.

For some people to argue that the people named in the so-called Hague Six are being witch-hunted is another Big Bang Theory. It is balderdash! To argue that the list is targeting particular people with an inclination angle to 2012 is equally balderdash. To argue that some people involved in the 2008 chaos are not in the list is true. True because, if every name was to appear on the list, there would be them, you and i. Every Kenyan, through commission, submission or omission partook in the clashes. It thus would be a Herculean task for Moreno to include all the names on the list. I think Moreno was right to the point. He is interested in the main architects of the chaos. I mean, justice has to start somewhere. If it has to start with the six, Hallelujah! Majority of Kenyans want the truth. They don't care who is there in the list, his tribe, his role, his wrongs, his rights, his connections, his hell-knows-what. We want the truth, and justice. We can get it for everyone, or we can water it down through tribal chants. And like a hen, it will come home to roost!

GIVE EDUCATION TO THE YOUTH, GIVE THEM HOPE

2010-10-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Education serves as the means to bring about the desired change in society, to develop a generation of virtuous individuals and thus contribute to the development of good human beings. The fundamental purpose of education is to gain knowledge, inculcate the forms of proper conduct and acquire technical competency. Education serves as the means to develop oneself physically, mentally and socially. The importance of education to youths manifests itself in terms of the need to cultivate the youths of society into mature individuals. Education is important for the youths, as youth is their growing stage. It is the time to develop the principles of life, make career decisions and begin the pursuit of one's goals.

Education to the youths should consist of the training that is an extension to their fields of interest. The education should help the youths define their career objectives, decide what they want from life and enable them to achieve success in their fields of interest. Education to youths must aim at helping an individual form a skill set and work upon it to develop expertise in the areas of his/her interest. The education for youths should consist of courses that can help the youths with their careers and aims of life.

Education to the youths should open doors for new opportunities in various fields. It should help the youths find avenues to pursue their likes. It should enable them venture into new fields and explore new areas. Education must help the youths realize their goals. When we give education to the youths, we give them hope. Take an initiative of hope. Give education. Give HOPE.

YEAR 2009: UPS AND DOWNS

2009-12-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

It has been a great year for the country at large. Slowly, the country is reeling from the shock of the 2007 tribal killings. This is good for the people and for development. The other good thing is that in a way, Kenyans are getting smarter with their political leaders...............they always are smart, until the voting day. I hope this time they pull through the wire without looking back. We cannot be making the same mistake day in, day out. Electing gullible leaders has been the greatest misgiving in this country for so many decades. With a new generation on rise, i fold my fingers and hope a new dawn is nigh.

2009 has been good for the environment, locally and globally. The Mau Forest conservation efforts initiated by the government need applauding. It does not matter any more that some people will suffer from the evictions. It does not matter whether they get compensated or not. As a nation, we must prioritize our priorities. We cannot give with a folded arm. If the environment in Kenya and the world is to be conserved, sacrifices have to be made and i don't care if the sacrifices include spending sleepless nights in the cold.

It has been thumbs up to the road development in the country. I am not a great admirer of the president but i cannot hide this from anyone. His passion for roads development is unequivocal and good for the country. History will remember him for all sorts of things, but the Kenyans and the country will remember him for the good roads all over the country. It is a pittance that we have no single road named after him.

Sportwise, things have not been all wanting. From Samuel Wanjiru, to Jepkosgei, to Semenya down in the south, to the boltening Jamaican Bolt, it has all been fancy. It is great that as the year ends, Chelsea is topping the FA Premier League table. This is good for Chelsea fans, and this is good for me, because i am a Chelsea fan.

The year has had its meltdown. Corruption, embezzlement of funds and bla, bla, bla have been a shame to the country. Corruption is a denial of justice to the people. It is a shame that the biggest threat facing the country and the world is not between countries and countries, but between the poor and the rich. In Kenya, it is hard for a poor person to get rich in a decade. Mysteriously, it is very easy for the rich to get mega-rich overnight. This underlines the corruption deeply embedded in the country that countinues to deny people qual opportunities. This is a big let-down.

All in all, for the ups and downs of the 2009, one thing is clear..................God is in control.

Christmas is here, and a poor writer

2009-12-10T05:13:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe but it is true.................Christmas is crawling into reality, and the bitter-sweet truth is that i have taken a whole damn year without writing anything on my blog. I am not ashamed of it. In fact i am not ashamed of anything. Things are bound to happen.

A year it has been. It has been whizzing about...........stressful, depressing, failures and successes, this and that, and the sweet thing is God has been there, omnipresent as ever, omniscient as ever, omnipotent like the True God He is.

So the Christmas is here............i have nothing much to look forward to, typically. I look forward to a renewed vigor in me, to reach my dreams, to achieve my dreams, to live a life that i have ever yearned. If the Christmas comes closer to this, that is my Christmas. I don't hope to eat much, or a variety. What's the benefit. I don't expect to take any booze, with a friend or what. All i expect is a calm of the heart. That somewhere around the globe someone will smile for justice restored.

That's my Christmas, fellas.

WAKI COMMISSION: LET'S HUG THE HAGUE

2008-12-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

The Waki Commission did its work. The Kibaki administration is still lagging and cuddling about with justice. This, for heaven sake, is a sad incident. The expectations of many a Kenyans is that as the year culminates to the end, the justice for the millions of people displaced from their homes and thousands of souls sent packing to the next world would be meted. It has not happened. I fear the true justice may never be. In politics, dog-eat-dog business means the big fish thriving on the small fish. The argument here is the real players of the Post-Election chaos will walk Scot-free while their hand-men wallow in jails. Anything extra- ordinary? I don't think so.

This is the reason to worry. Most of those who caused deaths of innocent Kenyans are in the power. They are the ones to form a tribunal, they are the ones to appoint judges of the tribunal and they are the ones to mete out justice. This is all fishy! Who judges himself or herself? Who would sentence himself or herself to jail and suffering? Sanity has lost its cause. I want to believe that of all human rights, the most essential is right to justice. If you are denied this right, you are walking dead.

I know that down another four years to come, we will have been taken for a ride. Nothing will happen to the perpetrators of tribal killings. Nothing will happen to the monsters who snatched souls of innocent people whose crime was belonging to a certain tribe. Yet, i know that a seed has been sowed. A seed of discontent, mistrust and injustice. This has been traded with freedom of movement, right to own property, right to life and all human rights there in. The lesson is, Kenya will never be the same again. In fact, it is never the same. We may walk together, our leaders may be there, pretending all the way to be united in search for lasting peace, but i know something; more animosity is on the offing.

Some leaders have made their tribesmen believe they have monopoly of violence, that they can unleash violence at any time they feel discontent. Others have implanted the belief that they have a universal right to leadership. That is why they are the architects of who is who in the country leadership, and that is why when one of their own losses in an election, the election must have been rigged. Just others have sold the idea that they own this and that place................they have won all the rights to land ownership. And others have peddled the lie that their tribe holds the country as one since they are the best brains in business and what have you. In the end, animosity continues.

I think the question here is, shouldn't we go the Hague way? There, nobody cares about your tribe and the perception you have sowed in the folks. No one will care about your political connections. No one will care about the much you mean to the nation. There, injustice will meet justice, and that is all we want. Because in January 2008, justice met injustice. Shouldn't it be payback time.

KENYA: A COUNTRY WEEPS

2008-02-02T04:32:00.000-08:00

Despite all claims of rigged, stolen or distorted election results, I think it little explains why

Kenya

has suddenly gone insane! The sight in the television during the news time just shocks even the person with the Pharaoh’s heart. It is hard to explain what is happening!

Do we blame the elections or our leaders? Definitely, there is no election to blame. The problem lies proper with the politicians. It is at height of arrogance that a person seeking leadership position should go around fanning chaos by uttering sentiments that only leave people divided along their lines of means, religion or even tribe. This is basically what has triggered the killings in Kenya.

What is being seen today is hatred that has been fueled over the years by senseless, myopic leaders who delve in the rule of divide and rule. It is the height of inhumanity. To witness such incidents. This is genocide! Much as I respect the ODM leaders, some of them went around creating impression that the Kikuyu have had all the benefits there is to have from the state since independence, which makes the biggest lie in the world. My great-grandfather was a Kikuyu, so was my grandfather, so is my father, so is me, so will be my offspring. The paradox is, my great-grandfather died a poor soul, so did my grandfather. The saddest thing is that my father will lose it the same way; poor. So might me, so might my offspring. And this is the reflection in the vast village. My family does not have any land to till, and we have no money to buy a land to till. Yet, my efforts may bring a difference in a decade or two. Does that mean a favor? Jesus Christ!

The only thing here is perception. You can have what you want in life, or have an excuse for not having it. I can swear with all my heart that what is happening in Kenya results from misconceptions and distorting of realities. How many Kikuyus die poor? How many Kikuyus die landless? How many Luos have millions of shilling in banks? How many of them own huge tracks of land? How many Kalenjins have the same…….money and land, and they live all their lives in opulence? Yet, how many Luos and Kalenjins and common people from other tribes live below poverty line?

The catch here is that we should not insinuate that a rich Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin or a member of any other tribe is a reflection of the status of all members of that tribe. This is the greatest jinx we have to break. The imbalance between the rich and the poor in Kenya is there for all to see, and it affects all Kenyans, not particular tribes. Let there be fair distribution of resources, but this should go along the constitution, that allows any Kenyan to own property anywhere in the country. Tribalism and regionalism is denying Kenyans this right.

On the other hand, those leaders who went around fanning chaos can now lie in shame, knowing that the blood shed by innocent Kenyans will ever come back to haunt them. Like a hen, the curse will come home to roost. And there is no hiding, for the country is weeping.

CHELSEA DOWN, NOT OUT

2007-12-17T00:57:00.000-08:00

I believe it would be suicidal for anyone, or any Arsenal or Manchester United fan to think that just because Chelsea lost 0-1 to Arsenal they are out. This is what Fergie or Wenger will gladly tell you. And definately, it does not imply at the slightest that Arsenal are on top of the world.

I am a Chelsea fan, not a Chelsea apologist, and i can gladly say we lost. After all, who never loses? Yet, the fact of the game is that the Blue boys gave it their all, and well, ladyluck was all smiling for Arsenal. And kudos to their keeper. He was astute and outstanding.

Well, the Premier League is all beginning! I know the pundits may think the work has been done but i believe there is still too much to be done. That is what Liverpool will tell you. This is the fighting that goes to the wire, or more so to the ropes.

Mine is just a simple warning. Chelsea lost yesterday, and they will pick up from the fall and get better. I can see the boys not letting it to happen again. I am talking of winning the remaining games, or at worst drawing a game or two. Like they say, i can only hope it is so, and yet, i can see it so.

To Chelsea boys, we are down, but not out. Rise up.

MUNGIKI MENACE AND A REASON TO FEAR

2007-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

When someone chops another's head, there is every reason to be afraid. Am i nuts? I don't think so. The Mungiki menace is a scaring act of cowardice that should be condemned by all and sundry. No matter how much we may ask for dialogue bla, bla, bla, we must realise that these people have proven devillish and useless. You don't have a dialogue with people who are behaving nutty.

I think the government of Kenya should make a step up before all the trust we Kenyans may have placed on it dwindles. The fact is people's heads are being chopped and the fact is this is not cool to any person. There is a need to act. There is a need to do something and that thing must be done immediately.

The perpetrators of the menace should be warned. You cannot chop off people's heads and hope to have someone to give you an ear. That's bullish. They should stop whatever they have up their sleeves and behave. If they have something to say, there are many ways and avenues of doing the same other than attacking helpless villagers.

Shame on Mungiki!

CHELSEA AND THE ZEAL OF CHAMPIONS

2007-01-06T02:52:00.000-08:00

This is one of the toughest football seasons in Jose Mourihno's football life. And does he care! The guy gotta a zeal of a true champion. Look at it this way...................Manchester United are there in the lead with a six-point gap. For Chelseda, it has been three consecutive draws in the last three games making it three points out of the possible nine. This is resultant from innumerable injuries and casulties among the star players including the brilliant Petr Cech, arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, and John Terry, the team captain and the solid force in the defence. It is in such times that a team breaks. Not so Chelsea.

Take it or face it, chances are equitably high that Chelsea will be crowned the champions come the end of the season, and more so winning a treble. Manchester United are doing well at the moment but their break is emminent. Soon they will be crumbling, and in a thud! God help!

Chelsea have the zeal of true champions hidden deep in their consistence. Their coach is an added advantage to this zeal. Most coaches see the visible but Mourinho is outstanding in that he can see the invisible. Isn't he the Special One. His critics die from this claim, but he has proven his mettle twice. He has promised Chelsea will be the champions when the curtains fall this season and i know better to believe. Six points make a good gap to withstand but a team bouyed by inner zeal can overcome such gaps. We just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, Chelsea is a lesson of how champions are made. Champions are worth gold, solidified with steel and iron, and just in them you find all the precious metals you have cementing something unbreakable. Not everyone will buy this one, especially when Chelsea is the most hated team at the moment. But that is another thing with champions. They get hated by all and sundry but along the way they don't give a damn.

Go Chelsea Go.......................you can make it!

THE EARTH IS NOT SPHERICAL

2006-12-23T05:41:00.000-08:00

A huge cloud of dust rose to the sky as a large herd of cattle sped through the plains heading home. Unlike in the morning when they were leaving the sheds, this time around the animals made little or no noise. The only occasional noise was a mooing from a worried cow desperate for its missing calf, or a long bleat from a sheep calling its playful lamb.

Behind the herd, Lentutu trod casually with a spear leisurely held across his shoulders. He was muscular, athletic, tall and dark. Slightly behind him, Lelesit took quicker strides in anticipation to keep the pace with his elder brother. He too carried a spear lifted on his left hand. Both had Somali swords suspended in sheaths around their waists to paint a complete picture of true morans. And indeed they were.

Lentutu, aged eighteen, had already killed a leopard escaping narrowly with his life. Lelesit, on the other hand, had killed a male wild bear by his sixteen birthday. He looked forward to the next challenge; meeting a leopard or a lion and like his brother, do the beast justice.

The sun-rays inhibited the sandy plains shyly as the evening crawled to its prime. On the far horizon, the yellow eye of the sun slowly disappeared behind a range of hills. Soon it will be dark, Lelesit thought as he grasped a sight of the sprawling manyattas two kilometres away. After another thirty minutes, we will be home and dry. He thought and a twitch of a dry smile ran across his lips.

A distance ahead, his brother took his steps casually walking like a zombie, yet with that eternal pride totally oblivious of anything. Anything, including him. For the umpteenth time, he eyed him with admiration.

Maybe there was a strong bond that bound them together. Like Siamese twins, they were almost inseparable. Although education was not in his interests, Lentutu had agreed to go to school just to be there with his brother. The only school in the village was ten kilometres away. The path to the school ran across plains and thickets where wild animals roomed madly prompting a need for security. To his brother, he had to be the security.

The first day in the class was unmistakably boring, so boring that they left after only an hour and retreated home. Lelesit, taking an early liking to school, had begged they stay but his brother had forced him away insisting there was no sense in the business of sitting under a tree listening to someone who did not seem in the right senses himself.

They spent the rest of the week out in the plains grazing cattle. This would have continued perpetually were it not for Lelesit’s nagging and persistence to go back to school. Giving in, the following Monday saw Lentuntu follow his younger brother closely as they walked to the old boring school.

“I’m going back there because I have to protect you,” he would remind him earnestly any time they walked past a dangerous spot. Not that Lelesit cared much why he was going there as long as they went to school. Yet, it felt so good to hear him say it with his eyes darting far and beyond trying to trace any signs of imminent danger.

Five years later and now in the fifth grade, nothing much had changed in Lentutu’s perception about school. He however walked the same path each morning, a spear in his hand with his brother leading the way and carrying some old books he had been rewarded in school for being outstanding in his grade.

Despite his dislike for school, Lentutu showed open passion and curiosity in Social Studies. Endlessly, he would nag his teacher to explain how the earth was spherical. At the end of each explanation, his interest on the topic would go a notch higher. He would look far at the horizons curiously and then say inwardly, “One day I will prove the teacher wrong. I will show him that the earth is not spherical.” It was in such times that the mention of school aroused his interest.

* * *
The village was engulfed in darkness when the two exhausted souls finally made it home. Once inside the compound, they were startled by the noise coming from the other end of the compound near an acacia tree. They hurried the cattle to the sheds where another surprise awaited them. Four bulls and six cows rested idly in the enclosure.

“What is happening here?” Lelesit asked trying hard to conceal his fears.

Lentutu ignored his brother and walked about to make sure all the animals were safely locked inside. After, he picked his spear and started walking to their manyatta. Lelesit caught up with him easily.

“Who brought those cows?” he asked curiously.

“We just walked in together, didn’t we?” he asked almost angrily. Instantly, he felt sorry for being angry with his brother.

Lelesit recoiled with fear to see his brother’s reaction. “I thought you knew,” he murmured in childish defense. As they neared the entrance to their hut, Naiku, their ten-year-old sister came running to them. She seemed to have been crying earlier.

“Who beat my love?” Lelesit asked hugging his little sister.

“An old man brought those cows and took Lemasian away,” she said and started crying.

“What?” He hoped she got it all wrong.

“She must have been married off forcibly,” Lentutu offered sadly.

Lelesit breathed heavily fighting off tears now welling in his eyes. “This is unfair. Lemasian never wanted to get married. She was still schooling.” He turned to her younger sister and asked, “Was she happy when she was leaving?”

She nodded, “She was crying. She did want to go,” she explained tearfully.

Lelesit felt more bitterness from her tears. A lump of pain felt stuck in his gullet. He turned to his brother in time to see him bite his lower lip.

“You must bring her back,” Naiku said holding her brother’s hand firmly. “Will you, Lelesit?”

“I will,” Lentutu offered. “Even if it means death.”

It was the first time they were seeing their brother that mad and furious. The watched in silence as he made a little war cry. He raised his spear and headed to where the party was going on. Slowly, as if torn between corwadice and bravely, they followed him until they came to the open where feasting was taking place. They spotted their mother in a company of seemingly buoyant women. He hurried to her and asked her aside. They walked for a distance and stopped.

“Why did you let it happen?” he asked.

“Because……..” She fell silent and stared at her son like a cornered animal gulping for his last breath. She could read hatred in his eyes. For the first time, she realized how big his son had become. It was almost as if he was facing a stranger. “It happens to all of us. This is our tradition.”

He almost shouted. “No, mother! Lemasian was in school. She is only thirteen and she never wanted to get married,” he said with his heart pounding faster.

“I understand,” she said calmly.

“She was in school. She never wanted to get married,” he repeated almost in tears.

“I understand.”

He faced her and tears now flowed choking him, “I wish you understand. I wish you understand mother.”

He held his spear and made as if to go then he remembered something. “Where did he take her?” he asked.

She glared at her son, her eyes pleading with mercy and full of awe. “It is your father, Lentutu.”

“I know.”

“He will kill you if you bring her back. This is a shameful thing you want to do,” she pleaded.

“I know.” He left her standing motionlessly and walked to his siblings. Lelesit gazed at him hoping to see a ray of hope in his face. When he saw how sullen he looked, his heart sunk. Tears built up and dropped leaving his cheeks with a feeling of hotness.

“They married her off, didn’t they?”

Lentutu ignored him, “Get ready, we must bring her back.”

Naiku stared at his two brothers. “If father knows about this he will kill you.”

“Yes,” he stared at his younger sister and a fit of anger seized him. “You will not remain here. You will go with us. She is our sister.”

The last word sounded so real and hearty. They picked their spears and walked to the gate. She followed them closely.

* * *
It was approaching dawn when they arrived to the next village. The groom came from this village. He was an elderly rich man who already boasted of six wives. Their sister was to make the seventh wife. I will kill the fool if he won’t let her go, Lentutu promised after a heavy breath.

In that darkness, it was not hard to pick out the groom’s manyatta. It was the most spacious and well-fenced in the neighborhood. After studying the place properly, they requested their sister to hide nearby as they searched for a way in. Finally, they found a small opening on the southern end of the fence, slowly they sneaked in and once inside they held firm their spears. “If he tries to resist her return, I’ll kill him,” Lentutu affirmed. Lelesit nodded. He was too afraid to speak.

Inside the large compound, the huts spread from one end to the other. Lentutu counted seven bridal huts. “This fool is a monster” he whispered, “What is a man supposed to do with seven wives?”

Lelesit did not respond. His heart pounded faster. “That hut looks new,” he said at last pointing to the hut on the far end. They stooped heading to the hut. As they came close to it, they spotted a figure walking from the hut.

“Wait,” Lelesit whispered and froze.

“It is the beast,” Lentutu said raising his spear. Just as he was about to throw it, the figure disappeared in another hut.

They hurried to the hut and waited one, two, three…….the seconds ticked away. In that silence, Lelesit heard a sob followed by a weak cough. He turned to his brother and winked. His eyes seemed to glitter in the darkness.

“Lemasian……” he called in a whisper. A moment of silence elapsed. He called repeatedly. No response. He tapped at the door slightly in anxiety. “Lemasian.”

“Lelesit.” A weak voice came from inside the dark hut.

Lentutu felt a seizure of happiness. “We have come for you,” he whispered. “Open the door.”

“Lentutu,” she called in a voice full of renewed hope.

“Yes.”

“Where is Naiku?”

“Open the door please.”

After what seemed like an eternity, she struggled and opened the door. She dashed outside and embraced her elder brother.

“I knew you will come for me.” She said in tears. “I knew you will come.”

“Yes. Let’s leave.”

They walked for a distance then he held her to a stop. “Did that fool touch you? Did he?” he asked holding her tightly trying hard to avoid asking the direct question. “Tell me so that I can have a reason to kill him.”

She looked down shyly and nodded as cold tears flowed freely. Somehow, he wished he had not asked the question.

“We must leave. Naiku is waiting for us,” Lelesit interrupted their thoughts. The mention of their younger sister re-awakened the reason to be on move. Quickly they walked to the route they had taken before.

Once outside the compound they found Naiku waiting near the fence. They embraced for a moment then started walking away from the village. After walking for a distance, they came to a stop near an old acacia tree.

“We cannot go back home. Father will marry me off again,” Lemasian said in tears.

“We will not go back,” Lentutu said. Everybody stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“We will go to Nairobi and meet the Attorney General,” he replied seriously.

Lelesit almost laughed. “You cannot meet the Attorney General. He is very busy and he doesn’t audience the country people. Besides, Nairobi is very far from here.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, if we go to Nairobi , I’ll get a job, earn money and take you back to school.”

Naiku stared at his brother pitiful. “Will you not go back to school with us?”

“I don’t think I will”

“Why?”

He thought for a moment. “I think the teacher lied to us. The earth is not spherical. That’s why I don’t want to go back to school again.”

Lelesit forgot the ordeal they were in and laughed loudly. “You are not serious, are you?”

“One day I will prove to you the earth is not spherical.”

They stood up and started walking again. Behind them, the first sun rays started warming the ground. It will be a long day, he thought as he watched their younger sister struggle to keep pace with the rest.

He checked at his pulse and saw the money was still safe. After walking half the distance, they would then board a vehicle for the other half of the journey. He thought for a while and reached his brother’s hand.

“Look. If the earth is spherical, why don’t we fall down while walking?” he asked.

Lelesit laughed. “Remember gravity?”

He nodded. “I have an idea. When we get to Nairobi we will ask people whether the earth is spherical, okay?”

“Okay,” everybody agreed. They continued walking hoping to reach the nearest centre before dusk. Yet, the capital city lay another 630 kilometers in the southeast.

WHEN JUSTICE COMES KNOCKING

2006-04-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

They come and go, don't they? Yes, like every other immortal being, they don't last. Contrary to the wild belief, despots and dictators in Africa and in the whole world are not mortal. We may fear their rage, we may fear their brutality but they are every way like us, inhuman as they may be. They are not extra-ordinary. In the last days of their misrule, the weakness in them is put in public for all and sundry to see.

There was the fiery Mobutu Sese Seko W'zabanga from the former Zaire. Despite floating in stolen millions and in gold wealth, didn't he leave the stage humbled? Remember the Malawian life president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda? Not even his passion for ladies could save his skin. When the people's will came knocking, he could not resist any more.

Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada Oumee was everything to revere with awe. Robust, monstrous, harsh, cruel, everything. He had the tenacity to kill and the passion to lure his kill to the slaughterhouse. He had the pedigree to remain afloat as his enemies went down in their knees. Yet, he could not last. His brutality and rotten legacy ended in a cemetery in Saudi Arabia.

Does anyone still recall the last days of Siad Barre of Somalia? Or maybe the flamboyant Megistu Haille Mariam of Ethiopia? Definately! Remember Samuel Doe of Liberia? What about the Life Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa of Central Africa Republic? This guys come in style and all the glamor yet they don't last. Only the few lucky escape it. Daniel arap Moi of Kenya is a definate candidate here.

In a new world, some may face totally different times. Charles Taylor of Liberia has a sure case to answer for his atrocities against humanity in the neighbouring Sierra Leone. Whatever way his case goes, it will serve as an eye-opener to the power-hungry new crop of leaders in Africa and the developing world. In this line, our leaders should stand warned. Everything they do while in power counts. It surely does. The blood they shed and the souls they snatch in consolidation of their power bases will definately come to haunt them one day. The Taylor Cowboy will surely confess to this.

In this respect, our leaders should check their positions. I am sure President Museveni of Uganda is following Taylor's case keenly because one day, no matter how long, justice will come knocking thorugh the door. Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Mwai Kibaki of Kenya should watch things with interest here. Passive dictatorship is as worse as active dictatorship. Hold your breathe guys and wait.

KENYA AND UGANDA: A TALE OF TWO FAILURES

2006-04-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

In Kenya, multipartyism was re-introduced in 1990 after a series of bloodbath and torture of innocent souls opposed to the demagogic misrule era of former President Moi. Abstrusely, even after the re-introduction of multipartyism, the then President Moi continued rigging elections, which meant that he continued ruling for two more successive five-year terms before finally his iron-fist leadership came to an end through constitutional limits after a span of 24 years. His two-decades-plus leadership was dogged by all manners of evils, from militarism to tribalism, to high-level corruption, tribal clashes, nepotism and injustices that reduced him from a nationalist to a mere unpopular but dreaded figure at home. The country was just a police state where things one man ran the show.

In 2002, and in the first post-Moi elections, the ruling party KANU was defeated massively by a hurriedly-composed coalition of parties selling under the brand of NARC. The election brought in a new government under a new man, the good old Mwai Kibaki. His resume read something like; a former senior government secretary, a former finance minister and a former vice president all under KANU and under Moi leadership. Trust Kenyans and their mannerisms! No one was bothered by his past. They wanted change and change it had to be. Exit Moi, enter Mwai. Not bad, is it? Well, until we analyze him according to his performance.

For the three operational years, NARC government has been hounded by problems that have almost crippled the country. Ministers continue to fight for supremacy thereby undermining their respective responsibilities. The police force has continued being ruthless and insufferable. They continue to harass innocent Kenyans openly in demand for bribes. The corruption levels are soaring, with the only eye-catching difference being the secrecy involved. Tribalism is abounding everyday and the drift between the communities can be felt. Nepotism, well, is it really a big problem in Kenya anymore? Things have gone spooky. Freedom of press is under siege and the independent media is facing the battle of lifetime against the state. Clearly, like before, the police state continues and the bad days lay ahead.

President Kibaki has proved his mettle in his first term. If he succeeds in the second term, we can only hope that like any other dictator, he does not remain in power forever. The Kenyans substituted a devil with a devil’s agent, an active despot with a passive autocrat. From the first three years, the report is that the student is beating the teacher in his own lessons!

At least he has shifted his focus to East Africa Political Federation. We can breathe for a minute.

Across Uganda, a rag-tag rebel outfit with fewer armories but sound popular on the ground entered the streets of Kampala under the leadership of an adorable and a lion-hearted young nationalist. The army had finally managed to get to the capital after staging a successive six-year guerilla war. In the dying hours of the rebellion, the junta government of Gen. Tito Okello was overthrown and a new president was sworn in. It was the estimable Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Having come from behind several authoritative governments, including that of the notorious Field Marshal Idi Amin, there was new hope everywhere with the new half-militant government.

Certainly, there was every reason for hope. The country had faced massive abuse under the previous governments. People had been tortured, oppressed and killed before so the new president, with his new points for stability and development, received a rousing welcome from the hordes of people who considered him El Dorado. He did not fail their enthusiasm. He breathed like a messiah and walked like one. He drafted for the country the ark to destiny that was all in a bus called Movement, designed exactly for that: movement. Immediately the Movement began, a cult-like insurgency started in the north led by a commandments-inspired illusionist Joseph Kony. The insurgency presented a threat to the new government but the hope in Movement did not dwindle and so the Movement continued.

Like they are wont to do, presidents in Africa always have greater power fallacies once new in the high office. The now popular, new African rising-star Museveni, a West-darling and a promising democrat was not spared the lechery. Fortunately, his power illusion came in a vision. The country was choked into the movement system that created absolutely no room for viable opposition. This continued until 1996 when the country had its first elections, sixteen years after the last elections that had resulted to rebellion. In the elections, President Museveni won easily earning the mandate to propel the Movement vision further.

In 2001, it was time for yet another general elections. By this time, dissatisfaction had been conceived and viable opposition had been born in the name of a former rebel doctor, Col. Kizza Besigye. The colonel had fallen out with his boss over the Original Movement Policy and he was offering the only serious challenge to the incumbent. With the playing ground tilted, the race was not polemically tight. However, by this time, a message was filtering through the wind: people were getting fidgety of the Movement. After all, despite the movement, they were getting nowhere! Poverty continued staring in the eyes of the peasants as the war in the north continued unabated and unstopped! People continued eking out life in IDP camps sprawling all over northern Uganda where suffering ruled their lives, all in the name of security. Development in most parts remained stagnant and there was little on offer for celebrations, if any. Although Gen. Museveni defeated the young Colonel in the elections, a message had been conveyed through the election results. People were truly tired of a movement to nowhere.

The sent message re-awakened the hydra. Things started getting out of hand for the opposition members. In a twist, Gen. Museveni started showing face of the army General he was. Col. Besigye was forced to flee the country. People started being harassed for sounding different. Regions got segregated for voting the enemy. Nepotism was budging to the peek as corruption glided to lofty levels. Like an old train, the engine that was in the Movement vision continued. Chokes of tribalism and regionalism offered a new challenge to a country reeling from the shock of continuous dictatorship. With little to do, people started showing resigned faces and it was only a matter of waiting for the turn of events. After all, even if nothing would stop the less-popular Movement vision, there was hope in the amended constitution that had been adopted to spell out boldly a two-term five-year presidency.

The year 2005 will go down in the historical annals of Uganda. This is the year when President Museveni finally acquired the status of the newest African dictator when he arm-twisted the constitution to pave way for life presidency. On a positive note, it was the year when finally the country voted back for a return to multipartyism in a national referendum. Col. Besigye jetted back into the country after four years in exile and declared interest in presidency. After some days he was in jail charged with rape, misprision of treason and treason. Once again, the dragon was wounded.

23rd February, 2006 was set to be the day for the first multiparty elections in the country after a period of twenty-five years. Once again, the General was pitted against the Colonel. By now, the opposition had grown in size and strength. In the campaign trails, the cry echoed in most parts of the country was agende, simply telling the General time was up. The race was too tight to call with the opposition having a clear edge over the government simply due to the government’s mass failures in administration and management. There was prevalent power shortage in most parts of the country, government ministers were implicated in corruption scandals and the economy remained in a state of shock. Surely, the opposition was having a field day in the run up to the election day.

However, the opposition victory was not to be. The elections were dogged by immense bribery, disenfranchisement of voters, intimidation and massive rigging that resulted to a slim Movement win. 20 years down the line, President Museveni earned the mandate to steer forward his Movement vision. And slowly but sure, the country is leaning back to the past. Power shortages, corruption, tribalism, regionalism, nepotism and despotism now threaten the survival of the nation. To conceal his ambitions, the government has turned it war machinations to the independent press. After all, it is the press hat must blame for the growing opposition in the country! As if that is not enough, 19 years since it started, the war in the north rages on. People continue living in modern day slavery, worse than refugees yet in their own country! All this despite the government showing the machinery to impede the war. Definitely, the government is either reluctant to end the war or it is waiting for the right time to do so. When still at it, statistics show that the opposition has its power base mainly in the north. From that, you can read the writing in the wall.

Whatever, and somehow, the Movement vision continues, from Uganda to East Africa!

EAST AFRICA POLITICAL FEDERATION: COLLECTIVE IRRESPONSIBILTY AND LIABILITY

2006-04-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Every time I think of the year 2013, in feel sick. I want to get somewhere and throw up. I want to kick things about. Wait, I am not mad, but this is the year that I will cease to be a Kenyan. God forbid! I feel that no matter how technically they put it, I am being forced to be an East African. Oh hell, what’s that?

I must admit some jingoism here but I love Kenya, and the fact that I was born and nurtured in Kenyan love. Period. Let whoever does not show a feeling of patriotism be the first to pick a stone and throw it to me! At least even the moderate Ugandans and the Tanzanians have that sweet feeling of belonging to their mother countries. It is there in black and white for all to see. Kenyans feel fly in being Kenyans. Tanzanians take pride in being Tanzanians and Ugandans dance to the amour propre in being Ugandans.

That’s how it was designed almost forty-four years ago. After a successive struggle against colonialism, East Africa was never meant to be one. After all, it never was one! (Historians will prove me right.) In 1963, Kenya was granted full independence and before that, in 1962, both Tanzania and Uganda had had their independence. All that lay ahead for the three young republics was the question of uncertain future and how to face it. Indeed, there was great passion and enthusiasm since everything seemed so bright and there was little to worry about. The leading nationalists in the three countries took the leadership mantle with a pledge to steer their countries to destiny. Today, four decades and a half later, the struggle continues.

East Africa region covers a favored area. Starting from the sandy coastal lowlands in the east of Kenya and Tanzania where it neighbors the great Indian Ocean, the region runs down to the hilly and mountainous areas of western Uganda where it brushes face with the thick Equatorial forests of Congo area. Apart from some fewer areas, the region experiences above average relief and conventional rainfall round the year. From this favorable climate, the main backbone of economies of the three countries is composed mainly of agriculture coupled by tourism that is boosted by beautiful scenery and favorable weather. Sheer determination, hard-work and sacrifice by the citizens of the three countries has resulted to a boosting to the growing economies of the three countries. Virtuously, compared to the rest of Africa, the economies of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda can be termed as success story. But that’s the far it goes.

Despite the story of prolonged peace and stability in Kenya, Tanzania and some parts of Uganda, our leaders have turned out to be our worst enemies. Repeatedly, they have let us down by being selfish and egocentric. They have shown insatiable desire to have everything for themselves and their families. Because of such betrayal, the East African countries have continued to suffer under the yolks of dictatorship and its aftermath. Instead of a would-be success in development and stability, there has been consistent failure everywhere. This is most so in Kenyan and Uganda. For Tanzania, ideological misapprehension has proved to be the real threat for over thee decades and only recently is the country showing signs of recovery. Thus the question remains, do we need a political federation, really?

Our leaders are blatantly telling lies. They know that we don’t need a political integration in East Africa yet they are letting their egos drive them forward. They know that such a move is a political suicide to the three countries yet they are ignoring such a fact. They know that there are incorrigible differences among the three countries yet they want to try and see! This people are not genuine. These people are traitors! They want to betray the cause in which our nations were founded. They want to betray the history and the future of our nations. They have failed to steer our respective countries to enjoy the rule of law and justice and now they want to hide behind a political federation. They have failed as individuals and they want to shoulder the failure to everyone. This is purely collective irresponsibility and liability that they want to force down our throats.

Call me a pessimist but lest we forget, we should learn from the history. USSR, Serbia and Montenegro, Czechoslovakia, Croatia and other Balkan countries have political integration cases we should study carefully before we embark n some blind suicide mission. Surely, we don’t need this political federation. Not now, not ever. For this, come April 5, 2006 and I will not be singing the new East Africa anthem and I will not pay the Integration Tax simply because I strongly feel we don’t belong together politically.

GET RICH OR DIE TRYING

2006-03-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

The busy streets of the dusty Kampala city throng with people from all walks of life. Somewhere in the corner of the narrow backstreet is an old music store decorated in the most welcoming colors in the world. The sound systems from the music store are at their best and a common song is playing loudly; so loud that the noise deafens the noisy hooting of some old passenger vehicles running up and down the street. The song continues loudly.............................get rich or die trying. Though no one is dancing to the beats of the song, it is evident that the message is sinking home. Well, who does not agree with this type of message, anyway? At least not the young but anxious youths walking in couples and dressed to kill. And mostly, not the ones from the Great Lakes Region.

Resting under an avocado tree, a band of young, noisy ragamuffins with unkempt hair and shabby clothes chat loudly. The air nearby is rich in smoke. They are busy smoking marijuana. A distance away, another group is playing draught, a popular old time game. There is no bhang-smoking in the second group but their physical appearance is more or less like that of the first batch. Some metres away from the two groups, smoke is rising to the sky. A dirty pot full of blistering water is simmering loudly in the fire. An elderly lady in tatters is busy preparing meal. This is the common scene in the world of refugees in Uganda.

It has become the passion now. The average delusioned African youth has finally found a door to heaven in the name of securing a resettlement to live a posh life overseas. Thank God for UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations because this is the latest and almost the cheapest mode of swimming to affluence and wealth.

In Uganda, there are thousands of refugees and asylees from Rwanda, Burundi, D. R. Congo, Southern Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and even Kenya. About 80% of this refugees from are young men and women aged from 16 to 35 years. Most of them left their homes with their minds duly focused on living abroad. They are single, semi-illiterate people hoping to get a better form of life through the now popular UNHCR’s process of resettling refugees. Since this is a long process, they are ready to play the waiting game.

Jean Paul is a 23 year old refugee from Burundi. His refugee identity documents read that he is aged 17 years old and from D. R. Congo. Though he left his parents behind alive and kicking in his hometown of Ngozi in Burundi, he has registered as being parentless, and that Mayi Mayi rebels butchered both his parents before he fled his country. This, together with reduction in age, is a tactic meant to earn sympathy and that is the catch. Jean Paul has been to Tanzania as a refugee but he was not lucky to get resettlement from there. Frustrated, he left for his home after two years of fruitless waiting. Seven months later, he is trying his luck in Uganda. If unlucky, he will not go back home. He will proceed to Kenya and then link to Ethiopia. His passion in all this is one…………to get rich or die trying.

Maombi Furaha is a relatively young brown girl. She is only aged 26 with a striking beauty. She is a Congolese refugee in Uganda. Maombi left her Goma home in 2005. She abandoned schooling and eloped with her boyfriend. They decided to come to Uganda and seek for a chance to settle abroad. Though they have separated of late due to biting economic difficulties, they still meet and chat happily. Maombi hopes to go back to school once she gets to America. She also have high hopes of assisting her poor parents back in the Congo villages.

In her case, she reported that her parents were both killed in an ethnic fighting. She also claims to have been raped severally by Banyamlenge rebels. Well, she is a person of concern to UNHCR. After all, she is only 18 and unaccompanied. She has filled out forms for resettlement and she prays day and night that soon she will be resettled in America.

Nshengimana is another refugee. He is from Rwanda. He is 33 years old. On his face is a long scar that reminds one of a fierce sword battle. Unlike the younger refugees, he is proud of his age and his refugee identity documents reflect that passion. Though his life in Uganda is full of misery, he shows no desire to be considered for resettlement, and he has no desire to go back home. He left hsi country after almost getting lynched for breaking into somebody's house. He was a dangerous thief at home and he is still on the wanted list for his crimes. Because of this, he has changed his name and other particulars, but the ugly scar on his face stays on.

Down the sprawling Kisenyi slums, Abdi Isma chews khat as he plays a game of monopoly with his friends. It is almost two years since he left Eastleigh, Kenya for Uganda. Like most of his peers, he is angry with the Directorate of Refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister. They have not yet processed his Refugee Status and he is tired of waiting. He cannot believe his misfortune because his friend Mohammed left for USA almost a month ago yet they arrived in Uganda together.

Though he has been leading a hassle-free and comfortable life in his new home, he won't rest until he is finally resettled in USA. But as his uncle in USA noted, it may take another three more years. He sips his soft drink, throws the dice and counts the spaces to move on the board. Like any other of his peers, he will wait for that final day when he will finally fly to the Land of Dreams. If only the OPM knew this......................

As the sun sets in the west, thirty more youths register at the Refugees Desk in the Old Kampala Police Station. A quarter of them are females. Twelve are Congolese, eight are Somalis, five are Burundians, three are Rwandese, and two are Ethiopians. Almost two thirds in the group are aged below twenty six. They look weary and worn out. But a look in their eyes tell a different story. There is resettlement at the end of refugeeism.

IT IS EITHER YOU ARE WITH US...

2006-03-22T02:13:00.000-08:00

The year 2006 seems to be the year of showing the real face of National Resistance Movement as a party moving rapidly to show its mighty machinations and operations in the new-era multi-party Uganda. It is also the year of showing the now ugly and tarred face of President Museveni having been rebranded from a nationalist to a fast-rising modern-Africa dictator. The show rolled somewhere in last year when the country's constitution was manipulated in the August House to pave way for a life-time presidency, and it climaxed with the massively rigged elections of 23rd February this year. Elections that finally made life-presidency a reality not only in the walls of the August House but to the whole country as well. With that, the kisanja project was lastly home and dry, just like the so-named dry banana leaves. This was despite the rejection of the project in most parts of the country including north, east, parts of central region and fewer parts of west. Oh, how dictators are worshipped in their home turfs!

So it is. Museveni and another term. Who cares whether it is a third term, a fifth term or a life term? At least not the famed perpetuators of justice and democracy. Not America, and definitely not Britain! Thus the terror can continue to reign.The monster can continue to brood from its backyard. And the dictator is reeling its ugly head for the world to see. By the way, don't they come with pomp and fanfare?

Museveni is back to power, so they say. Had he ever left power? Anyway, with that the country is continuing to fall from grace to disgrace. And just to drive the point home, there is a clear onslaught on independent media centres and media personalities. Poor Lambert Blake. You did not have to write against the regime, did you? I feel for the guy because of being ill-treated and finally deported by this autocratic government. He became the first foreign victim of this draconian government. Some honors i presume! More pity that in Kenya there was no chance for the guy to get a resting shoulder. Are we talking about a shilling and another? The Canadian journalist knows the case better.

Out goes the foreigner! The campaign is now switched to the sweet homeland. NO NONSENSE HERE. The ever-popular and independent Daily Monitor and Sunday Monitor is receiving punches from all sides of the ring: apologize for this and that.............we will sue for libel...............we will close the publication indefinitely................the paper is against us....................Then the fight continues down to the radio stations. K FM, Choice FM, Mega Radio. Scared journalists watch in fear as their careers get threatened for courting the enemy. The unlucky ones end up in police cells facing the dilemma of fighting on or giving up. And slowly, the country gets sick and disintegrate. After all, the vision is to integrate three countries, not just two unintegrable regions. Northern Uganda and the other parts of the country do not belong together. May the LRA terror reign in the North, now and forever, Amen!

For any wanna-be or practising journalist, opposition activist or a democracy crusader, either local or foreign, the best time to be in Uganda is now. Soon, things will be so bad, if not worse, for this group of people. All what is happening now to the media in Uganda is a taste of things to come in a near future, bitter of course. Let those who have ears listen, and let those who have eyes see because the Movement Government has sounded the bullion. Just like President George Bush and his war against terrorism, the warning the government is putting forward is clear: It is either you are with us, or the enemy..................Oops, the opposition!

Hi guys, ain't it time to be on movement? Take a bet and wait!

CHELSEA - WHEN THE WORLD CAN'T STAND WINNERS

2006-03-20T07:39:00.000-08:00

I wonder what would be my next style of reaction if i was Jose Mourinho the one and only Special One. After the game between Chelsea versus Fulham in a London derby, all i had after the 1-0 Chelsea loss was some pity for the great man. True indeed, because i am an ardent Blues fan, or fanatic! In football, i swear by the name of Chelsea (sic)!

Yet, that not withstanding, i feel the whole world has decided to act sadistic to the Blues out of pure hatred and loathing because they are showing a consistent class of champions. Well, some price to pay for taking the place of the dreaded Red Devils and the swift Gunners! But that is football men! Here, the champion reigns. Every time the Blues are out playing, home or away, everybody closes his fingers and leans in silence waiting for a moment of uproarious ecstacy brought about by a goal against the mighty and dorminant Blues. Not bad since no one can win the whole world to his side, but again it hurts when you have to lose games in what appears to be a pure conspiracy.

Chelsea has lost about seven points this season in very dubious circumstances, apart for the game against the Boros where the players were only a shadow of themselves. And that is why it is a high-level conspiracy. Conspiracy to have Jose Mourinho feel humbled! Conspiracy to have Chelsea players break. Conspiracy to have Chelsea lose focus in their games..............this and more! And well, from everyone: the officials, the taunting fans, the neutrals and, seemingly, the whole world! It is as if the team does not deserve to win. As if only the Red Devils, the Reds and the Gunners have the natural right to football dorminance.

The reason this haters advance painfully for their dislike of the Blues is that the team exists because of a strong financial backing, that the team plays boring football, that Mourinho is proud and so on. As if he has no right to be proud! Pride comes from within, guys, from what you have achieved. Well, far from the financial cry! The Blues team was started somewhere in the first quarter of the 20th Century, and i believe by then the Russian tycoon and his billions had not come into existence. And heavens, i dare anyone to tell me how a boring game earns 75 points in 31 games! Aren't Blues haters trying to justify their sadism?

This haters are trying to get to Mourinho and his gift of the gab. He has assembled an efficient machine which while suffering defeat to other teams, and dubiously so, will win the title for a second successive season, and at a canter no less. The Portuguese has had the funds of course but it would be churlish to assume a mediocre manager could have gained such outstanding rewards.

It is high time the world started treating Mourinho and his winning machine with respect. It may be hard but we have to give justice where due. Must we hate all those who give us a thrashing? Must we hate those who are proud of their achievements? Must we fail to honor the high-achievers just because they have a strong financial backing? It would sound comical and absurd if we do so.

The consolation prize for Mourinho and his dedicated players is, God willing, Chelsea will score a double this season, and who knows........................next season, the Champions League trophy may be added to the silverware. With this, Chelsea fans should stand tall and be counted, and let the haters lick their sore wounds!

WHO WANTS A POLITICAL FEDERATION IN EAST AFRICA, ANYWAY?

2006-03-17T01:06:00.000-08:00

When Ugandan president argues that “He will retire in 2013 after seeing the reality of a political federation in East Africa” one is left awed by the wisdom of our leaders. Sample this: a jailed leadingopposition leader, a distorted, contorted, arm-twisted constitution that has created a life presidency and the insatiable, self-styled one-man vision. Across the border in the east, we have a passive dictator, a corrupt government and a plutocratic crop of leaders with self-conceited egos who call the shots there. Then down in the south we have a country giving its all for democracy space and sanity in upholding the constitution and the rule of the law. Thus the six-million-dollars question remains: who wants a political federation in East Africa, anyway?

Our leaders should stay warned on this blind, egocentric pursuit. An economic federation in East Africa is ideal and timely for now, but a political federation is doomed to fail from the word go. A single president for over 80 million souls? A single president for over 100 tribes? From which country will the first president come from and from which tribe? Forget about America and give me a break! Call me a pessimist but let us be realistic. Our politics are overly clannish and tribal. Kenya is fighting tribalism as a national political threat. Tanzania is not spared the vice of regionalism, neither is the 'vision home' Uganda where the western tribes and the northern tribes live two worlds apart.

All this handicaps, yet all our leaders want us to believe is that we can combine all these impossibilities and create a wholesome possibility. Who is the fool here? If President Museveni is sincere in his ambition for a viable political federation in East Africa, he should forget about a fifth term in office and dedicate all his energy in this noble pursuit. After all, his buddies are almost heading home. President Mkapa paid his last tribute to the nation as a true statesman and we know that his advice on East Africa dream will be welcome, timely and weighed seriously. President Kibaki is under siege and only God knows whether he can master enough guts to think again of the East Africa political federation.

This leaves only one man with a vision and ambition for over 80 million people. What happened to seriousness? We don’t want comical and theoretical politics. Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians should reject this selfish ploy by our leaders to put our respective motherlands in inevitable collective political wrangles. Museveni should give another reason as to his decision to become a fast-rising modern dictator other than hoodwinking Ugandans with this joke of the year. Was this man serious in the words? If yes, he should tell it to the birds!

This idea of a political East Africa federation failed 30 years ago. Whether they sugar-coat it and present it as a new bride, it will suffer the same fate. After all, how many Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians are ready to give up their national pride for such a puppet project? I bet very few if any. The warning is that we have to be careful as we trend to the past so that the same folly that crashed our founding fathers and their egos may not crash us too. We should say no to unnecessary political federations.

ASYLEES' HUMAN RIGHTS TRUMPLED IN UGANDA

2006-03-11T02:20:00.001-08:00

I am saddened by the current take of things as it is happening in Uganda with regard to the asylees mostly the ones from non-violent countries, including Kenya. As an asylee in Uganda, i have experienced most of this mistreatment and trumpling of human rights from none other than the government through the Office of the Prime Minister and the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR.

I believe i am speaking this on behalf of many refugees and asylees in Uganda. The first complaint is that the process of getting identified and accepted as a refugee is rather slow and painstaking. You have to move to more than three offices for this to be a reality. First you are supposed to go to a police station to register as an alien. Good! Then you are sent to an NGO working with the UNHCR for another interview. Another good! And then to the Directorate of Refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister...............the bureaucracy starts getting boring until they send you to the Special Branch, good again, but as if you are a criminal.

That not withstanding, one is supposed to wait for the his or her refugee status for over six months, sometimes three years, and sometimes for ever. It is one pathetic situation. Finally, you are requested to go to a settlement camp as your case awaits determination by Refugee Elligibility Committee (What's that?). Once there, they forget you until one day God intervenes. Life in the settlement camps is nowhere near any good. In fact, life there is worse than one can imagine. Before you get there they promise you heavens; education, shelter, basic assistance, etc. but once on the ground nothing seems forthcoming, not even the forthright humanitarian assistance like food and shelter from torrid climate in most of the camps.

I found it a joke that without any other form of complementing food supply, a new refugee or an asylee is given thirteen kilos of unground sorghum and one and a half kilo of beans to be consumed in course of 30 days, sometimes even 40 days. This with no utensils for cooking from and definately no salt, no water, nothing! It is unimaginable but that is the life in the camp. It is not a wonder that many young people in the camps have decided to give up on living, resulting to free sex and alarming drug abuse.

Well, there is some hope anyway, if you have means of bribing your way to comfort, and maybe to attention. This happens to the few rich, but for the majority of genuine refugees and asylees, it is a bitter fight to the end, until maybe death offers the final blow. That marks the life of one a many refugees and asylees in the Pearl of Africa.

SAME SCRIPT, DIFFERENT CAST

2006-03-04T11:56:00.000-08:00

I beg to differ, but i believe i am reading the right thing here. Just before they decide to integrate the three East Africa countries into one massive political federation for their own good, we have to understand what is all there for our demagogues to pursue with closed eyes.

For now, I am sparing Tanzanians knowing too well that they might not fall to this trick. They have some national pride which i can only envy. By the way, their new president has proven to be a real democrat only in his third month in power. If there is a lesson to learn from that charismatic and wise leader, it is the fact that a president has the mandate of safeguarding and protecting his country in his hands. The mandate of protecting the country's ancestral pride, and the mandate of protecting the future generations and the pride there in.

I feel hurt deep down my heart every time i read that the Ugandan president is pursuing a blind pursuit of creating a political federation in East Africa. Who wants such a federation by the way? Call me naive and what have you but it is painful that the guy will even rig an election to achieve a feeling of Pan-Africanism! What a pittance, i feel.

And just as if reading from the same script, President Kibaki of Kenya has allowed the country to go back to the old dog years. Corruption is at its peak and things are getting worse with each new dawn. In Uganda, it is almost the same with each day. So in the two presidents, we are seeing a popular replay of a famous song that used to hit in the late 90's, something like same script but different casts!

Holy sweet heavens! This is one BIG SHAME for the East Africa, ain't it?