Tribal Democracy of one man one vote, and one kilometre one vote
Tribal Democracy of one man one vote and one Kilometre one vote The debate on the constituition is getting nasty, personal and tribal.Anticipating a change in system of government from presidential toparliamentary system, leaders from the Mount Kenya region have mounteda vicious campaign to increase the number of constituencies in theirregion.
For nearly 150 days now, God has allowed me quality time in Africa, travelling around some, and reflecting on my role and place in it.
Why I do not read Kenyan newspapers
Why I do not read Kenyan newspapers I was an avid fan of newspapers in past years. I bought them
when I could afford, and borrowed them when I couldn't. Over time they
have become tasteless to me. Kenyan newspapers have dumbed down. They
have developed compliance with the system, each taking a position close
to the ethnic community that dominates its management and ownership.
Ethnic communities actually dominate the Kenyan press. In one major
media house, the top management, except one fellow, can hold their
meetings in the...
What Kimani Maruge knew
What Kimani Maruge knew We all should endeavour to emulate the late Mzee Stephen Kimani Maruge to whom we bid farewell as a great and wonderful (though late-in-life)
indefatigable, inspiring and visionary person. He was a visionary to
the extent that in a realistic, clear, distinctive and specific way he
decisively seized the opportunity presented by the Government's
introduction of Free Primary Education in 2003 to acquire basic reading
and writing skills.
The Never-ending House
The Never-ending House It's easy to get angry at our government, its inadequaciesand the people who run it. The Daily Nation reports that:
Negative Ethnicity and North-Eastern Province
Negative Ethnicity and North-Eastern Province Ethnicity is a key part of nomadic and pastoralist cultures across the
world. Distinct tribal cultures; cynicism against other tribes; civil wars,
cattle rustling and tribal revenge; discrimination, corruption and nepotism
have all developed without particular order. Yesterday's noble ideas for the
perpetration of identity became civil strife to defend tribal territory, and to
enrich the warriors with cattle and women. Positive ethnicity, which was about
cultural identity, gave birth to ne...
A gender analysis of forced male circumcisions during PEV
Stories of men being forcibly circumcised and even castrated peppered news accounts of the madness that overtook Kenyain the aftermath of the December 2007 elections.[1]According to the Waki commission that investigated the Post Election Violence (PEV), by January 2008 the ethnic militia of the Kikuyu ethnic group, Mungiki, used blunt objects such as broken glass to forcibly circumcise at least eight men, some as young as eleven and five years old.[2]While exact numbers are hard to...
In recent press photographs and TV images of President
Kibaki-the primary modes through which most citizens see the president-one
notices his obvious pained fatigue. Also unmistakable is the blankness of an
elderly man contemplating a world beyond the cameras, as if to project the
boredom he finds in the terrible tedium of the formalities his job sometimes
requires him to perform.
Kiambaa debate should continue
Kiambaa debate should continue I had my first encounter with institutional injustice almost
40 years. Two friends and I took the ferry and headed off to London for summer employment. We eventually
found jobs in kitchens and toilets of one of the city's most famous hotels in Oxford Street.
That monster, single-cause ethnic explanation, who doth eat all sense
That monster who doth eat all sense Despite
their prolixity, the heart of Maina Kiai and Paul Muite's piece
is a small set of claims about Gikuyu political behaviour.
The fall and rise of Kenyan nationalism
The fall and rise of Kenyan nationalism Kenya had been a de facto single party state since 1969. After 1982's failed coup, the government of the day began to clamp down on dissent and passed the infamous section 2A. The political tide began to turn in 1991 when Parliament repealed the provision, encouraging the hope that the country would finally break free of the tyranny of single-party politics.
Demystifying public perceptions on historical injustices around land
As we know, one of the central explanations for the violence in the Rift Valley was land; more precisely, disputes about ownership and access, and the ethnicity of those who did have them.
The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has patiently researched the history of land ownership in some of the most hotly-disputed parts of the Rift; its findings are guaranteed to surprise.
On the Sex Boycott
On the Sex Boycott Bring me wet porridge on the eve of my wedding day, and i will be a man...
Horror to Hopelessness: our forgotten Somali refugee crisis
Human Rights Watch has released a new report with evidence that the Kenyan government is failing its obligations to Somali refugees (and, almost certainly, Kenyans of Somali origin) resident in Kenya. From the summary:
...Kenya has the right to regulate the presence of non-nationals in its territory and may, therefore, prevent certain people from entering or remaining in Kenya, including those deemed a threat to its national interests. However, international and Kenyan la ...
Democracy is Expensive
Democracy is Expensive. That is the media and/or public's assessment of the recent University of
Nairobi student demonstration. Yes, the thing did not go as well as
they promised, yes there was looting and yes, a legal demonstration is
not the sort of thing that should necessitate teargas but, listening to
the feedback, you would think that no one has any right to stage a
protest over anything, least of all the inexplicable and apparently politically-motivated murder of the two men who worked for the Oscar
Founda...
Ms. Martha Karua MP earlier today resigned her position as Minister for Justice, Constitutional Affairs and National Cohesion; the announcement was made at a press conference called after a Narc-Kenya meeting. She had been Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs since 2005.
A
government conference encouraging citizens to tell them about ‘the
Kenya we want' via censored media channels is unlikely to yield
positive change, suggests feminist activist Awino Okech. Okech calls
for Kenyan women to self-organise and engage with political structures
using the frameworks provided by feminism or, she cautions, history
will not judge them kindly for failing to take on the issues of their
time.
One of the arguments given by feminists in resp
...
Conflict between the state and Kenya's poor
Conflict between the state and Kenya's poor How can you explain to a hunger stricken peasant in Yatta or Lodwar why their family or community cannot have a decent meal in Kenya? Do you tell them that the weather has conspired with globalization to consign them to their misfortune? Or that good fortune is available only if you are born into the families that inhabit Muthaiga? What do you tell a peasant who knows that in Kenya there are 142 or more District Commissioners, each with a minimum of three cars fuelled by the state, whose specifi ...
Each day, we awake with the power to determine our
relationships with others, with the opportunity to spread good will or bad,
with the capacity to open the doors of friendship to another human being, or to
start an enmity, with the ability to affirm another, or to destroy a soul.
We choose, and become.
A plea for partisans
A plea for partisans
Looking to the United States and President Obama's
humiliatingly failed attempts to forge a bipartisanship on the fiscal stimulus,
I find myself thinking back to the heady euphoria of 2003 and the post-Moi
government that was NARC. The C was for Coalition; the Kenyan people, it was supposed, voted for the union, the compromise and hence
the bind that we later found ourselves in.
From Citizens to Strangers
From Citizens to Strangers The National Assembly (Powers and
Privileges) Act describes the rights of sitting members of parliament. It also
redefines the relationship between members of parliament and the
citizen-constituents who elect them. As with other constitutional documents,
the Act opens with a list of definitions, and these guide how our
parliamentarians view and respond to our concerns as citizen-constituents.
Institutionalism and its Limits
Institutionalism and its Limits You often hear it said that the problem - or, at any rate,
one of the key problems - with Kenya is that we haven't got the institutions to
make democracy work. That's true. It's then supposed to follow that once we
have the right institutions, we're a long way to sorting the matter out. That's probably not true.
Nakumatt, Molo and even Triton
Nakumatt, Molo, and even Triton As usual, Macharia Gaitho is good sense made flesh. (hat tip Ory) To group Triton, Nakumatt and Molo is to make a serious mistake. After the lives lost, getting responsibility for the tragedies right matters.
Impunity, Take Two
Impunity, Take Two Kenyans like to get off. Repeatedly. Impunity is a habit, a practice, a
fetish, and, seemingly, a requirement for national belonging. Indeed,
it lies at the heart of our civil and political engagements, and
is one of our main impediments to realizing a truly progressive,
liberated State. The aftermath of the post-election violence offers a
particularly vivid case study on the important role of impunity in
present-day Kenya.
NAIROBI, Kenya: Kenya's
National Council of NGOs is located in an old bungalow in Hurlingham, a Nairobi suburb. At the
gate, a white panel proclaims the council's mission, to provide "leadership to
the NGO sector." But the gate opens onto a more
threadbare reality. A slight air of exhaustion hangs over the institution,
which officially represents the country's non-governmental sector.
Breaking News: Uhuru to Finance, Kimunya returns
Breaking News An announcement from State House Nairobi says that President Kibaki has
appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Gatundu South MP Uhuru Kenyatta
Minister for Finance.
The report appears to have been released earlier today. You can find it here . Key findings below.
One Kenya: you can go wherever you like
One Kenya: you can go wherever you like Early this year, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka was invited to a fundraising in Siaya, Nyanza Province by the Anglican Church. Aware of the sort of passion visits by a political rival of the local potentate stir in Kenya’s ethnic politics, he declared publicly that he had informed the Prime Minister Raila Odinga of his intention to attend the fundraising as chief guest, and had gone on to seek a donation from the Prime Minister.
Ruto, Ongeri and others not before this court
Ruto, Ongeri and others not before this court The
Kenyan news cycle and our plague of short attention spans have been seized up
with other matters since the Prime Minister's attempted suspension of
Agriculture Minister William Ruto and his Education counterpart Sam Ongeri.
Steve Clemons interviews Kalonzo Musyoka
Steve Clemons interviews Kalonzo Musyoka A few weeks ago, the Vice President, Kalonzo Musyoka was in Washington DC for America's annual National Prayer Breakfast, an event he has attended seven times in the past. We found an interview by Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation. A gem. Really. They discuss everything from Christian democracy, security in Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Musyoka also speaks on Barack Obama's deep Kenyan roots and his increasing popularity in Kenya. Watch the 8-minute-long video below.
...
Ignore the AG: There is no Constitutional Crisis
Ignore the AG: There is no Constitutional Crisis The Attorney General, Amos Wako, says the stand-off between Raila Odinga and
Mwai Kibaki over cabinet ministers’ discipline could lead to a constitutional
crisis and precipitate early elections. [Find the AG's statement here] Ignore him dear Kenyans, he’s just
trying to scare the political class straight and to get them to see their common
interest in perpetuation of the Grand Coalition status quo.
...
Timeline of Raila/Kibaki Feud
Timeline of Raila/Kibaki Feud (scroll to the bottom for later updates) Feb 14th Prime Minister Raila Odinga announced on Sunday announced that Ministers Prof Sam Ongeri and William Ruto have been suspended following corruption scandals in their Education and Agricultural ministries, respectively.
Part II: PSC scores a victory for Kenya's Future
Part II: PSC Scores a Victory for a Rational and Progressive Kenyan Future The reformation of our culture of politics, explained in Part 1 of this
essay to be as important as the reform of our political institutions
entails an analysis of how each of our other choices for
institutional organization would work to curb the vices and weaknesses
of our present political culture.
Part II: PSC scores a victory for Kenya's Future
Part I: PSC Scores a Victory for a Rational and Progressive Kenyan Future The decision
of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution to adopt a
purely presidential form of government for the revised draft
constitution, while certainly coming as a surprise to most, must
nonetheless be heralded as a very important step towards achieving
transformational change in our political organization as a nation.
How our folly aids extremism
How our folly aids extremism Nothing is more pleasing to extremist leaderships than the confirmation, whether in fact or perception, of the causes by which they recruit followers to their violent banners. The state, media and public reactions to the Al-Faisal fiasco may very well have acted to harm our interests -peace and religious harmony in Kenya- and promoted instead the perception of intolerant incompatibility that extremism teaches.
Ethics in a world of strangers
Ethics in a World of Strangers In considering the reactions from the Kenyan public to the tragedy in Haiti, to Jamaican preacher Abdullah Al-Faisal, to those that took to the street in demonstrating for his freedom and to the crackdown on Somali immigrants in Nairobi's Eastleigh district, we provide here a link to a Kwame Appiah lecture, Ethics in a World of Strangers.
Cartoonists of the Year Awards
Cartoonists of the Year awards We attended the first, and likely, annual Cartoonist of the year awards at the Swiss ambassador's last week. The event organised by Katuni, a local coalition of Cartoonists, with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland was created to appreciate and promote an art form and means of political expression that seldom gets the credit it deserves.
A large public meeting has been called in Bungoma this Sunday, the 31st
of January. The rally has been called by Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa and his confederates
in the Simama Kenya political action group. It is not clear that the event will
go ahead, following threats, made in public by local politicians, to stop the
rally taking place.
What if it Happened Here?
What if it Happened Here? The 7.0 magnitude quake that has flattened the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, should give East Africans pause for thought. What if a similar quake hit here? How prepared are we? As it turns out, not very. And such an event is not as rare around these parts as some would like to think. According to Professor Chris Hartnady, a former Associate Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Cape Town, “Large areas of the African continent are in an unstable, tectoni...
Cartoonists of the year awards
Cartoonists of the Year awards We attended the first, and likely, annual Cartoonist of the year awards at the Swiss ambassador's last week. The event organised by Katuni, a local coalition of Cartoonists, with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland was created to appreciate and promote an art form and means of political expression that seldom gets the credit it deserves.
About three hours ago
I finished a meeting with my friend Zahid Rajan, editor of the
Awaaz magazine at the Steers cafe (formerly Afro-Unity for old
University of Nairobi hands) opposite the historic Jeevanjee Gardens along
Muindi Mbingu Street.
Post-Debate Draft Constitution
Post-Debate Draft Constitution Published below is the Revised version of the Harmonised Draft Constitution. These revisions were collected during a one month period of debate and reflection. Various groups and individuals presented their opinions, offering suggestions, lamenting exclusions and praising or critiquing inclusions. Were your submitted views considered? What do you make of the end product?
On Canadian Barristers and Hubris, and the Sanctity of Freedom-fighters
On Canadian Barristers and Hubris, and the Sanctity of Freedom-fighters It would be manifestly dishonest for anyone to describe Miguna Miguna as humble. The man seethes, bristles, and otherwise emanates the most virulent sparks of arrogance, and a penchant to ride roughshod over everyone who dissents from his way. Indeed, he considers tout le monde intellectually inferior to him, and when he deigns to communicate with ordinary mortals, the exasperation in his tone, the condescending patience, is of a man tragically hobbled with the company of imbeciles. As a result,
...
What the Mau Crisis Says About Kenyans
What the Mau Crisis Says About Kenyans At least Vice President Kalonzo, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto are being consistent about their resolution of the Mau forest conundrum. I wonder if any of us remember what our positions were at the 2005 pre-referendum expulsions when then Environment Minister Amos Kimunya was talking about title deeds being mere pieces of paper. This is how the Rift Valley was lost to Kibaki, and it was then pushed as a human rights issue. No wonder the poor people of the Rift Valley feel betrayed now that the...
Gay Census; useful first step My honest opinion, and I will accept chastisement for my ignorance, isthat homosexual Kenyans are far safer, far far safer with thegovernment than they are with the Kenyan public.
Interim Independent Donor Supported African Democratic Multiparty Republic of Kenya
Interim Independent Donor Supported African Democratic Multiparty Republic of Kenya My name stands for me. It is supposed to bring to mind all that is
known about me, making a narration of my attributes superfluous. In
fact, anything not known, or verifiable independently about me, ought
not be uttered by me. Just as hearsay is suspicious, self-serving
protestations and auto-testimonials are unacceptably convenient. In the
law of evidence, both categories of evidence are inadmissible, and for
good reason. If we believed all the 'personal attributes' churned out
in resume...
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