JUBILEE GOVERNMENT BEHAVING AS IF IT’S LACKING IN LEGITIMACY

It is now in public domain that the Jubilee government has lodged some 'war' against the media, the civil society and the judiciary.

It is not in public domain yet but the message is that the Executive, through its controlled Parliament, could be warming up for some dictatorial venture.

The media give the people that channel to voice their dissatisfaction. When that channel is narrowed or made slippery, then the people’s displeasure or any kind of oppression meted on them would not be expressly known. You kill the media through threats of imprisonment and a hanging noose emblazoned with astronomical fines.

The judiciary is where the big, the small, the tiny and miniature seek refuge when faced with oppression. When the judicial environment is made difficult, people would lack a place to seek solace. You kill the judiciary by controlling appointment of judges and magistrates.

The civil society is that watchdog that calls for attention when people’s rights are stepped on. You kill that dog and no one will be ‘barking’ when people are oppressed and constitutional rights taken away. You kill the civil society by controlling their only way of existing: funds.

This government seems to be lacking in leadership. Those in government are behaving as if they are not confident about their legitimacy in power. This government wants to hammer to the wall each and every dissenting voice or those suspected to be critical of their inadequacy or misdemeanours.

Parliament has so far shown that leadership is its biggest challenge. If the two Jubilee-controlled Houses are not fighting over who is superior then one speaker is either acting disrespectfully on the floor and using some unpalatable words on members.

The Executive is showing its fair show of challenges:

Much has been said about the controversial KICA Bill; its contentious sections, lack of consensus in its development and its negative effects on media freedom. Jubilee government has played hide and seek and eventually passed it in the most unprecedented way. The Constitution has rested laws making on Parliament but on this Bill, the President (Executive) was given (albeit unconstitutionally) that mandate to make some sections of this piece of legislation.

When you have a President and a Deputy who contemptuously treat the media and dismissively call newspapers “meat wrappers” then you know things are not right. The next thing you will be hearing is a call for a referendum to be allowed to rule forever. Today it’s the media, judiciary; tomorrow it will be an assault on the supreme law.

This week, the Jubilee-controlled National Assembly lost a Bill on the floor for the first time. The Miscellaneous (amendments) Bill contained several unconstitutional provisions. Both sides took issue with the proposed law accusing the Attorney-General of trying to sneak unlawful provisions through Parliament.

The AG is the government’s legal advisor and if he could receive such a beating for obvious reasons, then those he advises maybe forgiven for not having a strong legal-hand. But the President, a sign of nation’s unity, will not be forgiven for waging war on other arms of the government even if his advisors are not doing their job well.  

20TH October Heroes_Mania, its Brothers and Cousins

Heroes are everywhere. Everyone has a hero, heroine. You could be a hero; you could be a hero-maker. 

And the reasons qualifying one to such a position varies from one head to another. One’s hero can be another’s enemy; you can turn that around too. That’s where the difficulty in picking individuals to be rewarded on this Day lies. 

One other challenge is varying heroism. We will not get stuck to rewarding few, same individuals for the next 50 years. Once those identified are rewarded, we need to move forward to search for other heroes, reward them and move on. That is one way this Heroes' mission will be able to garner support and gets felt across the board. 

The criteria used should be fair, diverse, non-partisan and as agreeable as possible to all people.

There’s a greater risk that the awards could be easily hijacked by politicians and top government officials who may want to exploit the Heroes Day to massage egos of their cronies, family friends or business partners at the expense of more deserving individuals.

The Heroes’ Bill is a much welcome legal framework that would help in identifying and giving the criterion to be used in rewarding the identified individuals. 

However, the formulation of the law should be well-guarded from some of the makers who may want to leave open some loopholes so that they exploit in the future. 

The Kenya Heroes Bill objective is to “develop an appropriate legal framework for the development of a clear, effective and impartial system of identifying and honouring national heroes and heroines, in keeping with the national values stipulated in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.” 

The proposed law further explains that the Heroes and heroines are “defined as persons who, through selfless sacrifice have contributed to the well — being of their communities and the nation as a whole.”

As per the anticipated law, areas of heroism include contribution to the liberation struggle, prophesy, indigenous knowledge, cultural values, scholarship, research, statesmanship and other special achievements.

This is fine but Kenyans would like to see doctors, nurses, journalists, teachers, pilots, athletes, footballers, drivers, conductors, whistleblowers, soldiers, watchmen, farmers and people from diverse professions under the sun get recognised heroically.  

More often than not heroism is restricted to emotions arising from what’s shown on TV. The media helps to point at those who could be considered but that should not be the only way to identify deserving individuals. It is a fact that there could be a herdsman in the far-flung areas in Turkana who could be more deserving of recognition than someone picked in Nairobi. 

The Bill also establishes the National Heroes Council, which will have the responsibility of administering the honours system. Its main functions include formulating policies with regard to the system of identifying, selecting and recommending qualified persons for declaration as heroes, and conducting civic education to stimulate public discussion on national heroes.

Two weeks ago. Too terrified. Noon terror.

Soon unforgettable. Bloody Westgate.

...it’s really difficult to commentate on such a terrifying occurrence. But difficult too to let go without some form of commentary.

Noon September 21 2013 and the newsroom is not buzzing at all. Saturdays are rarely stuffy with assignments. This wasn't different. In fact it was a bit freer. No serious bookings. Nothing newsy—only trying to mine some stories from past events for the next days' analytical newspaper.

Suddenly at noon, TV stations suspend the day’s programming to provide a live feed from Westgate Shopping Mall. At first it wasn't live. At first it was only terrified callers expressing their fears to anchors who were now overseeing the breaking story.

No one is still interested even as some newscasters try as much to relay the intensity and the weight of the attack.

Twitter is presently abuzz with postings on "have heard gunshots at Westgate" and similar information. Nothing big yet.

Things move fast and soon cameras are on the scene and first live pictures are broadcast. The weight, gravity of the siege begins to sink and the newsroom divorce other things to get glued to the TV sets. 

It’s all of a sudden buzzy around: trying to reach out to witnesses, contacting government officials to painting the scene for readers. 

Confusion reigned. Pandemonium was the order of the moment after it became clearer that terrorists had descended on the Mall and were butchering people without fear or interest to stop the scary habit. 

Later that evening, government officers appeared more confused than anyone. If not contradicting statements on twitter, facebook then they were holding press briefings at different places at the same time. The ministry of Interior and National Coordination was the main culprit. When PS Mutea Iringo was addressing a Press Conference at Harambee House, Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku, Kimaiyo et al were doing the same at Westgate. Additionally, State House press was also speaking to the media. 

The confusion aside and the magnitude of the heinous incident was really felt the following day when shock was replaced by the reality that suicidal terrorists were holding innocent people inside the mall and security officers were yet to find any breakthrough in rescuing them, when it became real that some terrorists had entered a busy mall and indiscriminately sprayed bullets at people killing dozens and injuring many others.

Mau Mau Victims Should Be the Happiest Among the Beneficiaries

It is a big win for Mau Mau victims, a big win for Kenya and a big win for justice.

That Britain has accepted to compensate the Mau Mau veterans who suffered in the hands of the colonial administration just because they dared take on them goes down in history as one of the landmark achievements— although belatedly— ever achieved by any rebellious groups against the white rule anywhere in the world.

Although, the case itself has not gone to its conclusion it nonetheless brings joy to those who chose not to silently suffer but to pursue justice however expensive and challenging it was going to be.

The move to compensate not only vindicates them for their decision to go all the way to London but also vindicates those who struggled for the independence of this nation and eternally indicts Britain and its foot soldiers for the atrocities committed on those who fought for the liberation of this nation.

Although those to benefit will never get back their dignity, the monetary compensation, which they have been seeking all long, will at least serve some purpose in helping them deal with the excruciating pain, the untold shame and the curtailed reproduction.

Money will henceforth be released. Now the real battle begins. Several law firms have lined up to benefit from the billions of money to be given the victims. But there is a real danger that the aged litigants risk being exploited and may end up going home feeling more tortured now than even when they faced the real anguish decades ago. That should not happen to the aged heroes whose tormentors have now seen the need to apologise to in addition to giving them  Sh2.6billion.

It is not strange for the attorneys to be part of the pool of beneficiaries after all they have been the ones who have negotiated, litigated and represented the victims at all levels of the case. However, the people who bore the pain, who suffered and still bear the scars of the brutality meted upon them, should be the happiest among the string of beneficiaries. It would be wrong and unacceptable if they turn out to be the least to benefit.

In the past I have talked with victims of similar atrocities who after seeking redress and emerging victorious have been swindled by respectable lawyers and ended up more miserable than before. Some of them sued former President Moi’s regime for the mistreatment they received during the Mwakenya period and won the case but their lawyers took home a huge percent of the compensation only giving them peanuts.

I expect the Law Society of Kenya to come out strongly and defend these old people from the marauding law firms who want to reap from where they have not really sown.

The British government, through its Foreign Secretary, will also formally apologise to those who were tortured during the uprising that has been labelled the fiercest among those the colonialists faced in the country. The apology will not only warm the hearts of those affected but also bear belated satisfaction for many who were at the forefront fighting the discriminatory regime. 

Mr 4th President, Please, please Do This:

First, hearty congratulations for your election to the most powerful office this part of the continent. Four may not be a fancied lucky number but considering it has taken this country 50 years to have its fourth leader getting congratulated shouldn't be a big deal. Also, in the light of a brutal campaign laced with all sorts of insults and record-breaking pocket drainage, you deserve some pat patting for emerging victorious.

Amidst that Mr President there're these small matters you should pay good amount of attention as you warm your new residence.

a) First, Al Shabab is a real menace. Is it possible you like sort them once and for all? As in creating a planet of sorts and ferrying them there in their whole. Or just do something that would return Nairobi to its former peaceful self. Its residents will certainly appreciate that.

b) Bread. It's expensive. Ten years ago untouched loaf of bread was like sh20 then it could cascade down to like sh5 when touched to its quarter. Nowadays it has more than doubled. It's hugging prices such as sh45 and above. Sugar, unga, rice, name them have been infected with the same doubling bug. It's a worrying trend. Will you do something about this expensive trend Mr Fourth President? 

c) Free stuff? No. Give us quality stuff. The outgoing gave free education. Kenyans thank him. They only mourn quality. The 2nd gave them free milk. They drank in the spirit of Nyayo and forgot to read. They only went to school for milk which they consumed and forgot to challenge the regime. The milk donator ruled for 24 years when milk was getting drank enmasse for 24 hours. Mr Fourth President Kenyans don’t need free things give them quality, more beneficial stuff in the long term. 

d) And the small matter of jobs. Instead of, for instance, promising free university education which might not be possible, shouldn't you provide some easier way for the huge number of unemployed graduates to get jobs? Free education yet hug joblessness for ages after may not be a tasty bait, or is it?

e) Please talk to Kenyans. Your predecessors adopted a rather super silent mode or abrasive response to national issues. Will you promise not to go either way, will you? Kenyans need a jovial president who will lit up their souls when trouble hits not a dark-faced sulking leader who will inject more pain into their hearts. Addressing them more often shouldn't be a major problem after all they voted for you forthwith giving you the job. As their employee they need at least monthly briefs from you.

f) Please appoint qualified cabinet secretaries. Your predecessors were so drunk with rewarding their cronies with ministerial appointments. Copy-pasting the same trend will be the most unfortunate thing to happen this Jubilee year. To avoid such tragedies please get on your motorcade or chopper travel around the country and get worthy professionals who will move this country instead of those buddies whose main interest is to add to their wealth. 

Thanks a lot for hearing Kenyans out Mr 4th President.