Category Archives: Constitution

KENYA MP FAULTS SHOOT TO KILL ORDER

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By Agwanda Saye

Ndhiwa MP Agustino Neto has faulted the shoot-to-kill order issued by Interior and National Coordination Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku and Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo terming it draconian.

Neto says the Kenyan constitution stipulates that every human being is innocent until proven guilty.

He says nobody should be killed based on suspicion and the order is barbaric and should be condemned.

Addressing a press conference in Kisumu, Neto says it is true the country is witnessing a surge in criminal activities and the orders are not the best strategy to tackle crime.

He says the shoot-to-kill order is not hinged on the constitution and must be reversed to protect humanity and blamed the intelligence wing for sleeping on the job.

Neto says the national police service commission ought to have sanctioned the order if it deemed it fit and not an individual making the order without any consultation.

Ends.

COTU CALLS FOR REVIEW OF KENYA CONSTITUTION.

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By Agwanda Saye

THE Central Organization of Trade Unions has called for an immediate review of the current constitution noting that the document is totally unworkable.

Its secretary general Francis Atwoli said yesterday the new constitution is itself jumbled up hence making it completely untenable.

Atwoli said that the constitution has so many structures making very expensive to maintain and implement at the end of the day.

He said the current standoff between the senate and the national assembly was a result of the new constitution.

Atwoli noted that it is very difficult to distinguish between the lower and the upper house the unending standoff between the two arms of the government.

“The senate as we speak today has no powers to veto parliament hence making it irrelevant” he said.

Atwoli was speaking at the Tom Mboya labour college in Kisumu during the launch of as course for students from the Tanzanian Union of teachers and local ones from the hotel industry.

He said the only option which Kenyans have is a review of the constitution noting tat it has too many structures yet some other counties are too poor to sustain themselves.

Atwoli said only a few counties like Kisumu and Nairobi can only sustain them.

He said some counties have to be merged in order to be sustainable.

The trade unionist said some positions such as ministries do not serve much at the county level.

He said the government should revert to the old special system noting the current intelligence service in ineffective.

Atwoli also called for the strengthening of the provincial administration.

Atwoli said that the government should create jobs for the youths in order to avoid a looming time bomb.

He said many young people are jobless adding that even graduates are now cycle operators due to unemployment.

Atwoli at the same time cautioned Nairobi governor Evans against sacking workers.

He instead impressed upon Kidero to look for money since the city is very viable.

Atwoli said sacking 5000 workers would affect 25, 000 family members.

He said the government should crack down on manufacturers who have been evading pay taxes.

“This people did not remit 200 million to the government last year” he said.

Atwoli said COTU and the government have solved the stand off between and workers over the NSSF bill.

He said COTU and the FKE have the highest representative of workers and employers and will have two slots at the NSSF board.

Ends.

KENYA: PRESS STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR ISAAC RUTO EGH ON THE REFERENDUM ISSUE:

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From: Lee Makwiny

I wish to state that a meeting was called this morning by the Hon Joshua Kutuny in his capacity as the political adviser to the Presidency, to discuss the referendum issue with me, the Chairman of the Council of Governors.

During the discussion, it was acknowledged that the referendum debate had become a divisive matter since the two levels of government hold opposing positions on the same and that political interests had invaded what is essentially a national interest issue.

As the council of governors, we hold the position that it is our constitutional mandate to be the guardians of devolution and we jealously protect the rights of Kenyans to enjoy the fruits of our new devolved systems of government without undue harassment from any sectors of the society.

We advocate for all that is good and beneficial to the people of Kenya, under the new constitutional dispensation.

In the meeting, I made it clear that the governors were unhappy with the manner in which the national government has handled issues around devolution and the outright left-right-and-center assault on the of our county government systems.
Kenyans have been witness to what has been going on in our country. The media has been reporting well.

On his part, Hon. Kutuny expressed the desire of the national government to engage in dialogue to resolve the matter in an amicable manner.
In response, I stated that the Council of Governors were not averse to dialogue provided that any discussions were honest, structured and designed to produce acceptable results to Kenyans.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT:

Never did I indicate that myself or the Council of Governors had withdrawn from the drive for a referendum and full implementation of devolution as envisioned in the constitution and voted for overwhelmingly by the majority of Kenyans.

H.E. Hon. Isaac Ruto, EGH.
Chairman, Council of Governors

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WHY SOME KENYANS AGAINST RAILA’S CALL TO REFERENDUM

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From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2013

As Kenyans mark three years today since the new constitution was promulgated on 27 August 2010, some Kenyans believe Raila’s call to constitutional referendum is doomed to fail. Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi is categorical. He says Raila will fail because his call is not for Kenyan interest but his own selfish interest.

The CORD faction he says is angry that two communities can come together and produce a president, regardless of the voting of the other 40. Visibly angry James Orengo and Johnstone Muthama have been leading the calls.

That is why some Kenyans he says see the calls for a referendum as a move centered around Raila, with an objective of satisfying his ego. That may explain why they are now referring it as Raila’s Referendum or ‘RAOferendum’

Ngunyi, was giving his take on Twitter. He said that the M4M movement and the constitutional amendment calls are only aimed at feeding Raila’s ego, who he believes will lead the Luo nation nowhere.

He has warned President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto that former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, will overthrow them if they keep entertaining his nonsense.

On his Twitter account on Sunday, Mutahi, who is a renowned political scientist, said Uhuru and Ruto should read book about the “1982 botched revolution” and they will know who Raila Amollo Odinga is.

Mutahi also said Kibaki knew about Raila after the 2005 referendum where Raila Odinga led a revolution that almost paralysed the Kibaki administration. He said Kibaki moved swiftly to keep Raila in check until he finished his 2nd term.

Here is Mutahi Ngunyi tweet.

Some sections of religious leaders have also expressed similar sentiments. They have urged Raila Odinga to stop his clamour for a constitution referendum, saying Kenyans are not ready for another poll.

Led by the Archbishop of African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA), Amos Kabuthu, the leaders said the country does not have the money to hold a referendum.

“The Government should be given the opportunity to implement its manifesto. It is barely six months since Kenyans voted for this Government,” Kabuthu was quoted by press to have said.

Kabuthu’s assertions were also echoed by AIPCA Women Council Chairperson, Bertha Mwangi, who said another poll would polarise the country because Kenyans are yet to heal from the effects of the March 4 polls.

“It was just the other day that Kenyans went to the polls. Leaders should not call for things that will poison the minds of Kenyans .We must work towards uniting Kenyans and fostering development,” Mrs Mwangi said.

Catholic bishops have also said they will not support Raila Odinga, because they warned him earlier. Led by Bishop David Kamau, Cardinal John Njue’s auxiliary, he condemned the referendum push by Raila Odinga, saying it is not practical and it is ill intended.

Kamau noted that the Catholic Church warned the former Prime Minister and his yes team to amend the contentious issues in the constitution first before passing it as it would be difficult to change once it has been passed, but Raila and his team ignored them saying the constitution was perfect.

He accused Raila Odinga of not being honest with his push for the referendum, saying the former PM voted yes thinking he would be President and now that he is not, wants to change the law to neutralize Uhuru/Ruto’s influence.

On behalf of bishops of Kenya Kamau vowed to support President, Uhuru Kenyatta, and his Deputy, William Ruto, and asked the CORD leader to give the Jubilee Government enough time to implement its campaign pledges. Kamau said this during the memorial service of Jomo Kenyatta at Minor Basilica Church in Nairobi.

One fact is obvious however, that this constitution has done a lot to the ordinary Kenyans. It defended security guard Rebecca Kerubo Morara when her nose was pinched by the Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Barasa.

It also challenged President Mwai Kibaki when the high revoked the appointment of the 47 county commissioners. High court Judge Mumbi Ngugi was not sacked as it used to be when in her ruling she said the president had erred in the appointment of the commissioners as he had over looked several articles in the constitution.

Justice Ngugi said the president had failed to observe the constitution which had clearly outlined that no one gender should occupy more than two thirds of any given government appointments.

She said the appointments were done without consultation and concurrence with the Prime Minister  Raila Odinga, and that the appointments lacked a competitive and participatory selection process which involves public participation in the process of picking candidates.

It also saved Attorney General Githu Muigai from being sacked when he wrote to the Internal Security Permanent Secretary Mutea Iringo advising against lodging an appeal on a High Court ruling that outlawed the appointment of 47 County Commissioners.

The appointments that were made by President Mwai Kibaki have been opposed by a cross section of the public, leading to a court case by the civil society.

It also saved Justice Ombija when he issued an order of arrest against President Al Bashir of Sudan who is wanted by the ICC.

Above all, it saved High Court Judge Rose Ougo when she ordered Deputy President

William Ruto to return 100 acres land he grabbed from IDP Adrian Muteshi in Uasin Gishu District. She also ordered Ruto to pay him ksh 5million for one year he had not used the land.

Muteshi filed the suit in 2010, two years after he fled from the post-election violence in Rift Valley. He said he had owned the land since 1989 having acquired it from a white settler.

This new constitution came a long way even though it was rejected by some sections of religious leaders, Catholic bishops included. It came after two major attempts in 1998 through the Inter Party Parliamentary Group [IPPG] and the 2003 endeavor through the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) that partly culminated in the referendum of 2005 where an edited version of the Commission’s Draft Constitution was rejected at the vote.

Despite the fact that religious leaders rejected it with some sections of Kenyans, including Deputy President William Ruto and former dictator Daniel arap Moi, the fact remains that this constitution is a manifestation of Kenya’s hope that the third attempt would be a success especially considering the positive anticipation expressed by citizens through the mass media and other avenues.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

WHERE IS KENYA HEADED?

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From: Frank William’s Mwendani N

Contrary to the assertions made by the author in this article, Kenya is fast progressing. The ‘independent’ tribes as Yogo asserts are wholly dependent of each other within a National social budget, economic infrastructure and certainly a unifying Constitution which protects the interest and rights of each citizen.

It is extremely misleading to always amplify the errors of the past as the bench marks for the future.

The Kenyatta family, ‘said to own’ large tracts of land, has been used severally to demonise a certain community setting it up against other tribes.

Yogo has taken up this tribal hate and ran off a notch higher by indicating that what jubilee government represents is a KANU metamorphosed into jubilee, he writes

…” Today, the Kanu brigade is back at the helm of leadership as an extension of Moi’s bad governance and is promising to take us back to the struggle for freedom. Kenya is fast retrogressing.”…

I want to refute this statement, lest we forget, we are now a multi-party democracy, de-jure and de-facto, a ressusfare absent in the era so imputed above.

Kenyatta and Ruto, may it be as it may, chose their political paths modelled NOT ON KANU AND KAMU MANIFESTO but on a futuristic promise to achieve vision 2030. This. This i say, is a constitutional right.

The essence of a general and national election is to raise a political leadership that epitomizes the aspirations of the suffrage…that my friends is not questionable.

What therefore ought to be our focus is to excellently play our roles individually and nationally to better our counties rather than emit negative energy bent on entrenching tribal hatred and putting down the gains and successes already been made by the Jubilee government.

Mwendani Frank
____________
ALLIANCE PARTY OF KENYA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
A lawyer,researcher,political strategist,peer trainer and community mobiliser.

mobile: +254 721 708 911
email: jungafrank@yahoo.com

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From: George Yogo
Sent: 2013/08/21 17:54
Subject: WHERE IS KENYA HEADED?

KENYA: A NATION OR A COUNTRY OF 42 INDIFFERENT TRIBAL GROUPINGS?

The word nation means a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory. That territory within which they are confined is their country. It is undeniable that the country cannot forge ahead except her nationhood is cultivated.

The term nationhood defines a country or a people in terms of commonness of culture, language, history, ethnicity, religion and spirit. In Kenya today, Kenyans seem to be extremely dived along ethnic and political leanings. In fact, our political inclinations are absolutely tribal. 99% of Kenyan populace does not join a party because of its ideologies; rather because of its tribal formation.

The incoherence witnessed among Kenyans is largely informed by the way the founding president ruled (Not led) the country from its birth water. My only worry is that 50 years down the line, Kenya is more dived than when it was first founded. What then is the future of this country? Should we go the Rwandan way before we earn tribal respect and therewith coherently move forward as one nation?

Allow me to point out a few things:

One of the very essences of Mau Mau rebellion was the restoration of land to the Kenyan people. However, when Kenyatta took over the leadership of the newly born Kenya, he used the opportunity to amass wealth for himself – quickly gathering large chunks of land for his family. The Kenyatta’s are reputed to own land larger than Nyanza region of the country. Opposition to his dictatorial style of leadership saw the opponents suffer humiliation and segregation.

Instead of healing the Nation, Moi did more damage by not only consolidating the evil done by Kenyatta, but also by turning to an absolute totalitarian. Kenya fast drifted to the dark days. There was a shy of relief when Narc took over but the joy was short lived. Today, the Kanu brigade is back at the helm of leadership as an extension of Moi’s bad governance and is promising to take us back to the struggle for freedom. Kenya is fast retrogressing.

(To be completed)

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One is too small a number to achieve greatness!

SADC Statement on Zimbabwe Constitutional Referendum

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From: Abdalah Hamis
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International Jobs – www.jobsunited.blogspot.com

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SADC ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION TO THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE

STATEMENT BY HON. BERNARD KAMILLIUS MEMBE,
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

AND

HEAD OF THE SADC ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM IN THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE HELD ON 16 MARCH 2013
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· The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC);
· Esteemed Leaders of the Political Parties;
· The Select Committee of Parliament on the New Constitution(COPAC);
· Honourable Ministers;
· Honourable Members of Parliament;
· The Executive Secretary of SADC;
· Members of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council;
· The SADC Facilitation Team;
· Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
· Religious Leaders;
· Members of Civil Society;
· Esteemed Members of various Election Observation Missions;
· Esteemed Members of the Media;
· Distinguished Guests;
· Ladies and Gentlemen

It is indeed an honour and pleasure to welcome you all to this important event, the presentation of the SADC Election Observation Mission (SEOM) Statement on the Constitutional Referendum in the Republic of Zimbabwe.

INTRODUCTION

SADC being one the Guarantors of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) has noted with appreciation the implementation of Article 6 of the GPA which outlines the processes and timeframes leading to the holding of the Referendum.

It is against this backdrop and in accordance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was invited by the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe to observe the Referendum held on 16 March 2013.

In light of the above, the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, officially constituted the SEOM to the Republic of Zimbabwe and mandated the SADC Executive Secretary, Dr.Tomáz Salamão to facilitate the administrative and logistical support for the Mission.

The Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation appointed me, Bernard Kamillius Membe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania, to head the Mission.

The SEOM was officially launched in Harare, Zimbabwe,on 10 March 2013.

After days of intensive work, the SEOM has the honour to deliver its statement on the outcome of its observation of the Constitutional Referendum in Zimbabwe.

THE ROLE OF THE SADC REFERENDUM OBSERVATION MISSION

The Mission derives its mandate from the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, which emanate from the African Union (AU) Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa and the AU Guidelines for African Union Election Observation and Monitoring Missions.The Mission also worked within the legal framework of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

In developing the nature and scope of our observation, the Mission sought to determine the existence of the following pre-conditions for a credible referendum:

(i) Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedoms and rights of citizens;

(ii) Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections;

(iii) Timeous announcement of the referendum date;

(iv) Neutral location of the polling station;

(v) Counting of the votes at the polling stations

During the launch of the SEOM, Observers were directed to adhere to the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections in the performance of their duties. Emphasis was placed on the following:

That the Observers must comply with the laws and regulations of the Republic of Zimbabwe and relevant international instruments governing democratic elections;

That they should maintain strict impartiality in the conduct of their duties, and shall at no time express any bias or preference in relation to national authorities, parties and organisations in the Constitutional Referendum;

That they will base all reports and conclusions on well documented, factual and verifiable evidence from a multiple number of credible sources as well as their own eye-witness accounts; and

That they should work harmoniously with each other and other election observation missions/organisations in their areas of deployment.

DEPLOYMENT OF SEOM OBSERVERS

Guided by the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, the Mission deployed twelve (12) teams of observers across all ten (10) provinces of the Republic of Zimbabwe. Observers were given the responsibility to observe the Constitutional Referendum and to give comprehensive accounts of their findings in their areas of deployment in order for the Mission to provide an informed assessment.

The SEOM deployed seventy eight (78) observers drawn from various sectors of SADC Member States including Members of Parliament and civil society.

CONSULTATIONS WITH STAKEHOLDERS

In discharging its duties, the SEOM interacted with the relevant stakeholders in order to gather information on various aspects of the referendum. The stakeholders included inter alia:

Parties to the Global Political Agreement

Other political parties
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP);
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC);
The Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC);
Non-Governmental Organisations;
The European Union Diplomatic Mission and the Embassies of the USA, Australia, Canada and Norway;
the SADC Parliamentary Forum; and

Other Observer Missions

These interactions have assisted the SADC Election Observation Mission to understand the prevailing political environment in the country.

MAJOR ISSUES RAISED BY STAKEHOLDERS

The SEOM wishes to highlight some of the issues of concern expressed by some Stakeholders in the Constitutional Referendum. These include, inter alia, the following:

Timeous availability of resources to ZEC for preparation of the Referendum;

Concern about possible apathy;

Insufficient copies of the Draft Constitution distributed to the electorate;

Inadequate time allocated for the electorate to acquaint themselves with the Draft Constitution;

Inadequate time for some stakeholdersto conduct campaigns/civic education;

Non accreditation of some local Observers;

Poor signage and identification of some polling stations;

Inaccessibility of polling stations in some areas;

Polarised media

Isolated reports of intimidation and harassment

THE SEOM pursued some of these concerns in a systematic manner by conducting further investigations and at times sought clarification from relevant parties. Some of the responses provided regarding the abovementioned concerns were as follows:

· On timeous availability of resources for preparation of the Referendum, the Mission gathered that ZEC had received the bulk of their funding just before the Referendum. However, the Mission observed that the funding challenge did not hamper the overall Referendum.

· Regarding insufficient copies of the Draft Constitution distributed to the electorate; the Mission was informed by COPAC that 90,000 copies of the Draft Constitution, including audio and braille versions, were distributed across the country. Furthermore, the Mission learned that there were some existing mechanisms in place to access the Draft Constitution such as the COPAC website and regional offices.

· With respect to inadequate time allocated for the electorate to acquaint themselves with the Draft Constitution; the Mission noted that the electorate had between (15th of February being the proclamation of the date of the Referendum to the 15thMarch 2013) to acquaint themselves with the Draft Constitution. The Mission observed that the Referendum took place within the provisions of the GPA Article 6 and the Referendum Act, Articles 3 and 4.

· Regarding inaccessibility of polling stations in some areas; the Mission observed that due to inaccessibility of some areas, the transportation and distribution of polling materials as well as the polling officers was airlifted by ZEC.

· The SEOM noted reports of isolated cases of intimidation and harassment in some areas and in particular in Mbare, Harare. The SEOM condemn these acts of violence and pledge to law enforcement agents to objectively deal with these matters as they arise.

PRE-REFERENDUM PHASE

The Mission observed that the pre-referendum phase was characterized by a largely tolerant and peaceful civic atmosphere. In general, ZEC, COPAC and other relevant stakeholders conducted their work in a transparent, orderly and professional manner without any hindrance.

With regards to the eligibility of voters, the Mission noted that according to the Referendum Act, voters are not required to register for the Referendum and only those who are at least eighteen (18) years old and have a national ID card, waitingpass or valid passport can vote at any polling station across the country.

POLLING PROCESS

The Mission observed that most polling stations were opened by polling officers at the official time of 07:00 and closed at 19:00 in the presence of security and Observers. Furthermore, special arrangements were made for voters with special needs, such as priority queue for the elderly, expectant and/or nursing mothers and people with disabilities. The Mission observed the professional conduct of the polling staff.

COUNTING PROCESS

The Mission observed that the counting process began immediately after the closing of the polling stations. The counting process was conducted procedurally. Furthermore, procedures for secure counting of votes were adhered to. In addition, the Mission witnessed and followed closely the counting of votes together with the polling officers without any hindrance.

BEST DEMOCRATIC PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNT

In the course of observing the Referendum, the Mission noted that over and above, general adherence to the relevant national legal instruments and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. The following best democratic practices and lessons in the Zimbabwean Referendum were observed:

Provision of adequate logistical and material support by the ZEC to ensure that all citizens of voting age were able to participate in the referendum;

Prompt accreditation of Observers;

Provision of several polling streams that expedited the voting process;

Use of indelible ink to prevent double voting;

Use of translucent ballot boxes;

High state of preparedness by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, by providing adequate security that facilitated a peaceful environment for the Referendum;

SADC ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION RECOMMENDATIONS

Upon completion of the observation exercise, the Mission is pleased to share the following recommendations with the citizens and the stakeholders of the Republic of Zimbabwe:

Encourage the establishment of a mechanism through which funds for elections could be timely availed;

Encourage the update of the voters’ roll in time for elections;

Encourage continuous voter education;

CONCLUSION

The Mission is pleased to share its findings and observations with the people of Zimbabwe and all relevant stakeholders. In general, the Mission observed that the polling process was conducted in a peaceful, transparent and smooth manner.

The Mission has come to the conclusion that although some of the concerns raised are pertinent, they are, nevertheless, not of such magnitude as to affect the credibility of the overall Referendum.

We also wish to commend ZEC for the professional and dedicated manner in which they delivered a successful referendum to the people of Zimbabwe.

On behalf of the Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania and on behalf of the entire SADC family, I wish to sincerely congratulate the Government, ZEC and the people of Zimbabwe for holding a peaceful and credible Constitutional Referendum on 16 March 2013.

This is a major step in the implementation of the GPA and I therefore would like to take this opportunity to encourage the political leadership and all the people of Zimbabwe to uphold peace and stability.

Thank you very much.

Source: http://www.wavuti.com/4/previous/2.html#ixzz2NuJY1tnI

Kenya: President Obama’s controversial half-brother in Kenya in tussles with the authorities over the American and Kenyan flags which he had hoisted on top of his business premises.

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From: Arrum Tidi
Writes Leo Odera Omolo

The US president Barrack Obama’s half brother in Kenya, Malik Abong’o Obama, has defiantly and flagrantly refused to lower the American and Kenyan national flags which are currently flying side by side on top of his private business premises in Siaya County.

Several attempts by government officials failed to convince Malik Obama to remove the two flags which he had hoisted on the roof of his private business. The matter has baffled many security personnel and local in the region.

A police source has hinted that the matter is being referred to the Public Prosecution department of the judiciary department for further action..

The officials and police were baffled when Obama hoisted the two flags at the entrance of his tourist class guest house which he had established in the memory of his father Barrack Obama Snr.

Malik Obama is currently embroiled I n a cut-throat election campaign battle for the Siaya County governorship. He is contesting the election as an independent candidate. Local pundits, however, maintained that Obama stand in chance of clinching the guberimental seat due to his lone ranger character.

The trouble started when the Siaya region police Chief Stephen Cheteka checked at the Guest House and ordered the two flags to be lowered on argument that the place was not a state institution. Instead he drafted a harsh letter to President Mwai Kibaki. Was loaded with numerous complaints on why a junior state officer would visit his premises unannounced and interfere with his constitutional rights.

“The step to hoist both flags show patriotism. I am very proud of both American and Kenyan national flags..I feel anyone has the right to hoist follow my footsteps,” Malik said.

observers, keen on the development of the flags dispute pitting Malik Obama and the police and members of the Provincial Administration on the other hand have been left guessing after the move compelling him to do away the two flags flying on the top of his business premises.

It was also learnt at the weekend that Malik Obama recently sacked the entire staff at his Obama Guest House four months ago.

Ends

Kenya: The Reform Change Accord Mandate for New Constitution

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From: Judy Miriga

Folks,

The Reform Change Accord mandated for New Constitution shall not be legitimate if there are conflicting views of non-compliance to the Law in such instances as:

1) Integrity examination threshold to avoid conflict of interests

2) Blocking Diasporas Right to vote and collectively engage in the electioneering process as Mandated in the New Constitution.

3) Flaws noticed in Election processes from failing to provide sufficient Educational awareness to voters in the local community to understand concepts of the New Constitutional management and public service deliver prospects so that people engage in electioneering from informed choices

4) Irregularly awarding Certificates to favor some contestants under questionable circumstances and without going through credible balanced procedure for background check and clearance under accountability and transparency

5) Failing to provide an Independent Transitional team headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court according to the New Constitutional mandate in honor of Reform Accord Agreement of Chapter six

6) Without resolving issues of Land Grabbing and putting those responsible to face justice

7) Failing to resettle the Internally displaced as demanded

8) The unconstitutional and irregular way Kibaki took to Gazette Land Commissioners is worrisome and is seen as an indication that Land Grabbing will continue to be a sore in Kenya for more decades to come before it can finally be resolved

9) Failing to resolve and put behind bars those involved in saga of the Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing scandals

10) Failure to effectively resolve election mishaps, flaws with rigging anomalies for example such like those found to have been engaged by Kimemia and thereby disqualifying Kimemia or demanding reasons why he should not be forced to resign for engaging in politics with intention to deliberately manipulate and confuse legitimacy of election process from being free and fair.

The second debate which just ended proved from the candidates horse’s mouth that corruption and land grabbing is real which many of them are guilty of and accepted responsibilities but denied they did any wrong and therefore, we believe these were deliberate reasons why candidates avoided Integrity Examination threshold background checks for which case clearance in awarding of certificates are suspicious shrouded with lots of doubt whether election of March 4th 2013 shall be peaceful, credible, free and fair.

It is our considered justified appeal to do the right thing the first time by suspending March 4th by a few more months in order to rectify the flaws and anomalies so that we are able to put the Transitional Team in the right perspective before we allow conflict of special interest to spoil for the Reform Change we have struggled for all these years.

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

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Candidates tackle integrity, wealth gap in final debate

Updated Tuesday, February 26 2013 at 07:35 GMT+3

By Moses Njagih

Nairobi, Kenya: The second and final presidential debate took off last evening with all candidates, including Jubilee flag-bearer Uhuru Kenyatta, whose side was at first hesitant, in the BrookHouse School auditorium.

The candidates were first made to confront the contentious issues of economic woes facing Kenya, and in particular the high cost of living, the minimum wage and the huge gap between the poor and the rich.

The candidates were later to move over to the issue of land ownership, emotive and sensitive in the country because of historical inequities and disparities in distribution, particularly at Independence.

The issue generated the hottest debate as pressure piled on Jubilee flag bearer Uhuru to declare if indeed it were true if the family of Kenya’s Founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta indeed owns “half of the land” in Kenya.

He was also asked by one of the candidates how he would impartially and fairly address the issue of land ownership when he himself was an interested party.

But the question of the day was how many acres the Kenyatta family, which Uhuru defended, sourced every hectare it has on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis, own. Uhuru avoided the question but later conceded in Taveta alone, the family owns 30,000 acres, of which it has donated 4,000 acres to squatters in that specific parcel.

Grabbed land

But Raila, who was also put on the spot over his family’s acquisition of former publicly-owned Kisumu Molasses Plant, brought in the fact that Uhuru’s running mate, Mr William Ruto, is facing accusations that he grabbed land from an internally displaced person in his Eldoret North constituency.

“I have never been accused of grabbing any land. The land we own as a family is acquired through willing-buyer-willing-seller. We shall ensure that land is used as a factor of production,’’ Uhuru responded while insisting, “the National Land Commission should be left to handle the emotive issue of land in this country.”

“No organisation from Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to all other State agencies have come up with any accusations against me on land,” Uhuru went on.

Responding to accusations against him and his family Raila said: “There was money that was collected out of the deal (sale of Kisumu Molasses Plant). This plant was acquired through an auction alongside 15 other companies. The government had acquired the land compulsorily. Sh2.9 million was collected from some people. The public owns part of the shareholding and are represented in the company.’’

In response to the land issue, Amani presidential candidate Musalia Mudavadi, said: “There is no way one can hide in terms of land ownership in this country. You can use whatever names but it will be known. The constitution says there is a minimum and maximum of what one can own.”

Mudavadi, who is a Land economist, warned that the issue of minimum and maximum acreage must be handled carefully so as not to bring economic ruin by undermining production and land usage for common good.

Alliance for Real Change candidate Mohammed Abduba Dida and his Safina counterpart, as well as Raila, declared their governments would repossess stolen public land, but through constitutional means.

“People at the Coast have been treated unfairly by successive governments, land is not given to the locals. In Rift Valley the situation is the same. We now have a good Constitution and National Land Policy. What is required is to give an enabling environment for the commission to operate,’’ said Muite. Eagle Alliance candidate Peter Kenneth said: “The real issues about land is enforcement. If we don’t deal with this matter concisely, it will continue to haunt us.”

In response to Raila’s claim on frustration of State efforts to address the land issue, Kenneth asked: “Who are the vested interests stopping us from moving forward?”

Goldenberg notoriety

Dida cited complaints in Kiambu County against the Kenyatta family and asked Uhuru how he could be trusted by other parts of the country when his own people are crying about alleged injustice visited on them by the Kenyatta family and Jomo Kenyatta’s government in general.

Before going to land question the moderators — KTN’s Joe Ageyo and Royal Media’s Udwak Amimo — confronted the candidates with direct questions on issues that over the years have tended to cast a long shadow on their personal integrity.

First to take the question of integrity was Muite, who was asked about claims by businessman Kamlesh Pattni of the Goldenberg notoriety that he extorted Sh20 million from him.

Muite declared the scheme was part of the propaganda set up by the regime then against him for spearheading battle against looting public resources. He argued the Law Society, which he then chaired, instituted a private suit on the scandal.

He said that he did not receive any money as alleged, and that Justice Samuel Bosire’s judicial commission on Goldenberg upheld his position. “Individuals associated with me may have got the money but Mr Muite did not receive any,” he said in defence.

Second was Mudavadi, who was asked on the adverse claims on his handling of Goldenberg scandal while Finance minister, as well alleged role in the Nairobi City’s ‘cemetery scandal’, while Minister for Local Government.

On both accusations the Deputy Prime Minister defended himself, saying he in fact was the one who tried to stop the scandals.

On Goldenberg, Mudavadi said: “The law was changed during my tenure at the treasury and it was during the time that stopped this scandal. The Bosire Commission cleared me of any offence”.

Whistle blowing

Karua was asked questions on how she, as Justice minister, handled the Anglo Leasing matter, which claimed the life of a whistle-blower, late David Munyekei.

Karua also denied claims of demonising former anti-graft tsar John Githongo over his whistleblowing role, saying he only defended the government’s position.

“Actually it was during my tenure that the anti-corruption agencies did their work and under my recommendations, ministers named in Githongo’s dossier stepped aside for investigations and have never forgiven me,” she said.

Raila was asked about Kazi Kwa Vijana and maize scandals, and the sale of Kisumu Molasses Plant to his family. He defended himself saying the claims against him were unfounded.

On the Kazi Kwa Vijana scandal, Raila said his office was only coordinating the programme.

The debate took off after recorded pleas by the candidates to their supporters to accept the verdict of the March 4 exercise, and where there would be disputes, resort to the measures mapped out by the Constitution for appeal.

Dida was confronted with a question of how as owner of a business agency recruiting Kenyans for overseas jobs as domestic helps, where they end up underpaid and harassed, he would be expected to rule Kenya when he is not helping in job creation locally.

“I have an agency out to help the plight of Kenyans in the Middle East. This is because of the funny salaries Kenyans get here, that is why I left my job,’’ he responded.

National budget

Prof James Kiyiapi of Restore and Build Kenya party was asked about the loss of over Sh100 million in Free Primary Education programme, while he was the Permanent Secretary.

He explained he was innocent as he had just joined the Ministry of Education and asked the candidates, who were in government then, to explain why the truth had not been uncovered on the FPE funds.

Uhuru was asked about the ‘computer error’ that rocked the Ministry of Finance’s national budget when he joined the ministry and read his first Financial Statement. Uhuru denied there was any financial loss and insisted it was just an error.

After the debate, watched by millions across the World, the candidates are now left to make their final statement on the race for Kenya’s Fourth Presidency, on their final rallies over the weekend.

John Okumu26 February 2013 10:19 AM
I loved this second debate,it was more substantive and thorough.I loved Amimos tough questions on integrity and corruption which caught the candidates off guard.This is how any public contender should be questioned.It clearly emerged that even those whom we think are squeaky clean like Mudavadi may have some explaining to do after all.All in all, we Kenyans need alot of work where integrity and corruption is concerned.It is clear that it has been so entrenched that what was shocking is actually talking about it.Things are changing fast .Martha is the only one that did not seem to have alot of entreched integrity issues.So i rank Peter Kenneth,Martha Karua,Kalonzo Musyoka high on the non corruption issues.Uhuru did very well in answering the questions i have to admit.Kenneth had done his homework especially on the question of what the minimum wage should be which i think Kiyapai gave a long winded answer on this question.The candidates were very well prepared all in all and it is goog for policy formulation in Kenya.All those good ideas can be incorporated so that everyone can win

Makao26 February 2013 12:09 AM
There were fairly good responses today on questions compared to first debate. However, there were flip-flops all over where candidates failed to explicitly explain how they will in details manage economy. Further, Uhuru talked of controlling price of products meaning the government will decide how maximum a product can cost. Economically, this is wrong and can’t apply. Price ceiling is a disastrous measure that can not apply. Price of commodities are defined and determined by market forces and strength. Trying to set price limit maximum or minimum will lead to situations witnessed in 90’s like hooding of products, high demand and low supply or non at all. Slup title deeds? How and who will determine who qualifies for land title deed there for example in Kibera? Government once announced that residents were to be allocated upgraded housing by government, it was open of hell-gate of corruption. People all over rushed there claiming to residents including the wealthy and influential.

steve jakomala26 February 2013 7:29 AM
i fail to understand why the politicians were punching with gloves as far as land issues are concern. Uhuru accepted that in Taita Taveta alone they own 30,000 ha of land, Dida gave a report about complaints in Kiambu there are several thousands of other ha of land else where. the questions are: being a president who had the prerogative to dish out land and at the same time had access to the national fund is it a coincidence that he owns these huge pieces of land without either allocating them to himself irregularly or using coercion to aquire them. Uhuru wants to be the president, the chief abitrator to kenyans, how can he convince those who looted this country to return the looted property including land if he can not convince his family to do the same? the evidence againsl Rutos land case is telling, how can two top people with vested intrest in illegally aquired land preside over land injustices in this country leave alone the serious case at the hague? Kenyans let us put ourselves first not tribe not community

Sharp minded voter26 February 2013 10:25 AM
Politicians are such lairs when they are conducting campaigns. The opponents of Uhuru keeps attack him about the lands he and his family own, Martha accepted that what she said that Uhuru owns half of Kenya is an outright exaggeration, Raila “my brother Uhuru is just an innocent inheritor”. Marha was further put to stop because when she was a minister the report of who has big tracks of land was produced and Uhuru and his family was not even on the list. Uhuru categorically stated that he has not been accused of impropriety or fraudulent acquisition of land and has no court cases pertaining to land and put Raila at task to state which court matters he has. We may conclude that this land issue is emotive and an imaginative creation of politicians just as acampaign gimmick that there politicians pull to discredit their Uhuru and a plot to smear mud and taint his name. He is free from corruption. The debate set matters straight and it is very wrong to use lies and propaganda on campaign platform to cheat Kenyans
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Kenya: Neighbors Kill Neighbors as Kenyan Vote Stirs Old Feuds

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From: Judy Miriga

Good People,

What should we expect with this flawed election if it cannot be differed and be postponed in order put things in order in the right perspective before election can take place???

I smell trouble people and the memories of 2007/8 is heaped in our memory lane and it shall not go away……and, everybody else is feeling the same…!!!

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

– – – – – – – – – – –

Neighbors Kill Neighbors as Kenyan Vote Stirs Old Feuds

MALINDI, Kenya — In a room by the stairs, Shukrani Malingi, a Pokomo farmer, writhed on a metal cot, the skin on his back burned off. Down the hall, at a safe distance, Rahema Hageyo, an Orma girl, stared blankly out of a window, a long scar above her thimble-like neck. She was nearly decapitated by a machete chop — and she is only 9 months old.

Ever since vicious ethnic clashes erupted between the Pokomo and Orma several months ago in a swampy, desolate part of Kenya, the Tawfiq Hospital has instituted a strict policy for the victims who are trundled in: Pokomos on one side, Ormas on the other. The longstanding rivalry, which both sides say has been inflamed by a governor’s race, has become so explosive that the two groups remain segregated even while receiving lifesaving care. When patients leave their rooms to use the restroom, they shuffle guardedly past one another in their bloodstained smocks, sometimes pushing creaky IV stands, not uttering a word.

“There are three reasons for this war,” said Elisha Bwora, a Pokomo elder. “Tribe, land and politics.”

Every five years or so, this stable and typically peaceful country, an oasis of development in a very poor and turbulent region, suffers a frightening transformation in which age-old grievances get stirred up, ethnically based militias are mobilized and neighbors start killing neighbors. The reason is elections, and another huge one — one of the most important in this country’s history and definitely the most complicated — is barreling this way.

In less than two weeks, Kenyans will line up by the millions to pick their leaders for the first time since a disastrous vote in 2007, which set off clashes that killed more than 1,000 people. The country has spent years agonizing over the wounds and has taken some steps to repair itself, most notably passing a new constitution. But justice has been elusive, politics remain ethnically tinged and leaders charged with crimes against humanity have a real chance of winning.

People here tend to vote in ethnic blocs, and during election time Kenyan politicians have a history of stoking these divisions and sometimes even financing murder sprees, according to court documents. This time around, the vitriolic speeches seem more restrained, but in some areas where violence erupted after the last vote the underlying message of us versus them is still abundantly clear.

Now, the country is asking a simple but urgent question: Will history repeat itself?

“This election brings out the worst in us,” read a column last week in The Daily Nation, Kenya’s biggest newspaper. “All the tribal prejudice, all ancient grudges and feuds, all real and imagined slights, all dislikes and hatreds, everything is out walking the streets like hordes of thirsty undeads looking for innocents to devour.”

As the election draws nearer, more alarm bells are ringing. Seven civilians were ambushed and killed in northeastern Kenya on Thursday in what was widely perceived to be a politically motivated attack. The day before, Kenya’s chief justice said that a notorious criminal group had threatened him with “dire consequences” if he ruled against a leading presidential contender. Farmers in the Rift Valley say that cattle rustling is increasing, and they accuse politicians of instigating the raids to stir up intercommunal strife.

Because Kenya is such a bellwether country on the continent, what happens here in the next few weeks may determine whether the years of tenuous power-sharing and political reconciliation — a model used after violently contested elections in Zimbabwe as well — have ultimately paid off.

“The rest of Africa wants to know whether it’s possible to learn from past elections and ensure violence doesn’t flare again,” said Phil Clark, a lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. “With five years’ warning, is it possible to address the causes of conflict and transfer power peacefully?”

Spurred on by Kenyan intellectuals and Western allies, Kenya has overhauled its judiciary, election commission and the nature of power itself. Dozens of new positions, like governorships and Senate seats, have been created to ensure that resources flow down more equitably to the grass roots, an attempt to weaken the winner-take-all system that lavished rewards and opportunities on some ethnic groups while relegating others to the sidelines.
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But in places like the Tana River Delta, where the clashes between Pokomos and Ormas have already killed more than 200 people, the new emphasis on local government has translated into more spoils to fight over. And there are nearly 50 governor races coming up across Kenya, many of them quite heated.

“The Orma are trying to displace us so we can’t vote,” said Mr. Bwora, the Pokomo elder. “They have burned our villages, even our birth certificates. How are we supposed to vote then?”

The Orma accuse the Pokomos of doing precisely the same thing, right down to the burning of birth certificates.

On the national stage, two of Kenya’s most contentious politicians — Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto — are running on the same ticket for president and deputy president. Both have been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity stemming from the violence last time. Mr. Kenyatta, a deputy prime minister and son of Kenya’s first president, is accused of financing death squads that moved house to house in early 2008, slaughtering opposition supporters and their families, including young children.

He could quite possibly be elected Kenya’s next president and find himself the first sitting head of state to commute back and forth from The Hague, potentially complicating the typically cozy relationship between Kenya and the West.

There is a growing perception among many members of Mr. Kenyatta’s ethnic group, the Kikuyu, and Mr. Ruto’s, the Kalenjin, that they must win this election in order to protect their leaders from being hauled off to a jail cell in Europe, which is raising tensions even higher.

Most analysts here feel this election will be turbulent, though some argue it will not be as bad as last time.

“Things are different,” said Maina Kiai, a prominent Kenyan human rights advocate. For instance, he noted, it was the Kikuyu and Kalenjin who fought one another in the Rift Valley in 2007 and 2008, but now many members of those two groups are on the same side because their leaders have formed a political alliance.

“There may be new arenas of violence,” Mr. Kiai said. “But I don’t think the extent of violence will be the same.”

There is also a keen awareness of how much there is to lose. The Kenyan economy flatlined after the turmoil of the last election. But now it has recovered mightily, spawning a dizzying number of new highways, schools, hospitals, malls, wine bars, frozen yogurt stores, even free samples in the supermarket — evidence of Kenya’s position on this continent as home to a deep and booming middle class.

Many nations in this region depend on Kenya, as demonstrated by the economic chaos caused downstream during the last election when mobs blockaded Kenya’s highways and sent fuel prices spiking as far away as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Another safety valve may be the courts, which are now considered much more independent, one of the biggest achievements since the last election. Kenya’s new judiciary is led by a former political prisoner and widely respected legal mind, Willy Mutunga, the chief justice, who said he was threatened this week.

The hope is that if any election disputes arise between Mr. Kenyatta and the other front-runner, Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, who says he was cheated out of winning last time, Justice Mutunga will step in — before people on the streets do.

But the Tana River Delta remains a blaring red warning sign, and there have been suspicions that political figures are deliberately fanning old disputes, in this case over land.

One leading Pokomo politician, who was an assistant minister, was recently arrested and accused of incitement, though the case was soon dropped. The allegation echoed the International Criminal Court cases, which assert that behind the ground-level mayhem in 2007 and 2008 were political leaders who incited their followers to kill for political gain.

Up and down the crocodile-infested Tana River, Pokomo and Orma youth are now patrolling the banks with spears and rusty swords. The result is a grim, sun-blasted tableau of ethnically segregated but parallel villages mired in the same poverty, misery and fear.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/world/africa/neighbors-kill-neighbors-in-kenya-as-election-tensions-stir-age-old-grievances.html?pagewanted=2&ref=africa

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KENYA: WHY KIBAKI IS HESITANT TO GAZETTE THE NAMES OF LAND COMMISSIONERS

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From: Ouko joachim omolo
From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013

President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya is currently under fire for refusing to obey a court order that gave directives on the appointments of the land commissioners. A court order was issued on February 4th, 2013 and expired on February 11th, 2013, yet Kibaki has totally refused to Gazette the names of the commissioners.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga nominated members to the National Land Commission (NLC) to manage public land on behalf of the national and county governments.

The President and PM nominated Muhammad Swazuri, a former commissioner of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, as chairperson of the NLC. Other nominees are Dr Tomiik Konyimbih, Silas Muriithi, Dr Rose Musyoka, Dr Samuel Torerei, Abigael Mbagaya, Emma Njogu, Clement Lenachuru and Abdulkadir Khalif.

Kenya National Land Commission will also investigate present or historical land injustices and recommend redress, encourage the application of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms in land conflicts, assess tax on land and premiums on immovable property and have over-sight over land use.

Section 67 of the new constitution states that: (1) There is established the National Land Commission. (2) The functions of the National Land Commission are—(a) to manage public land on behalf of the national and county governments; (b) to recommend a national land policy to the national government;

(c) to advise the national government on a comprehensive programme for the registration of title in land throughout Kenya; (d) to conduct research related to land and the use of natural resources, and make recommendations to appropriate authorities; (e) to initiate investigations, on its own initiative or on a complaint, into present or historical land injustices, and recommend appropriate redress;

(f) to encourage the application of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms in land conflicts; (g) to assess tax on land and premiums on immovable property in any area designated by law; and (h) to monitor and have oversight responsibilities over land
use planning throughout the country. (3) The National Land Commission may perform any other functions prescribed by national legislation.

Civil society groups staged a street protest outside Kibaki’s office in Nairobi calling on him to respect the February 5 High Court order that asked him to immediately gazette the officials of the crucial body.

According to reported facts on Kibaki’s wealth posted by Tiskie on Mar 7, 2010, 6:25pm, Kibaki’s family owns 30,000 acres plus. This could explain one of the reasons why Kibaki is hesitant to Gazette the names of commissioners. Click here to read Tiskie’s report- REPORTED FACTS ON KIBAKI’S WEALTH? SHOCKING!!

The Kibaki, kenyatta and Moi families also own large tracts, most held in the names of sons and daughters and other close family members, all concentrated within the 17.2 percent of Kenya that is arable or valued. Remember that 80 per cent of all land in Kenya is mostly arid and semi arid land.

According to the Kenya Land Alliance, more than a 65 percent of all arable land in Kenya is in the hands of only 20 per cent of the 35 million Kenyans. That has left millions absolutely landless while another 67 per cent on average own less than an acre per person.

Uhuru Kenyatta’s family alone owns at least 500,000 acres of prime land spread across the country. The land was acquired by his father in the 1960s and 1970s when the British colonial government and the World Bank funded a settlement transfer fund scheme that enabled government officials and wealthy Kenyans to acquire land from the British at very low prices.

According to estimates done by the independent surveyors and Ministry of Lands, Kenyatta’s land may be little or more than 500,000 acres.The parcel of lands include;

10, 000 acre Gichea Farm in Gatundu.

5, 000 acres in Thika.

9,000 acres in Kasarani Mwiki

5, 000-acre Muthaita Farm.

24, 000 acres in Taveta

50, 000 acres in Taita,

29, 000 acres in Kahawa Sukari along the Nairobi—Thika highway stretching all the way to Kilimambogo Hills in Ukambani.

Others include:

10, 000-acre ranch in Naivasha.,

52,000-acre farm in Nakuru

20,000-acre one, also known as Gichea Farm,

10, 000 acres in Rumuruti,

40,000 acres in Endebes in the Rift Valley Province

Others are:

Brookside Farm, Green Lee Estate,Njagu Farm in Juja, a quarry in Dandora in Nairobi.

Mama Ngina Kenyatta, Magana Kenyatta, Uhuru Kenyatta, Christine Wambui, Anna Nyokabi and Muhoho Kenyatta are among the beneficiaries of the late mzee fortunes.

According to Safina Presidential candidate Paul Muite the issue of land should be fully addressed and those who grabbed public land should hand it over to the government, noting that land was a sensitive issue mainly in Central, Rift Valley and Coast region with the poor been the most affected.

“The issue of land should be addressed from 1963 and if anyone grabbed public land then the government should repossess it,” he said recently when he was addressing tens of IDPs in Mai Mahiu Naivasha where he expressed his concern over their failed resettlement and their living conditions.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
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Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

KENYA: WHY UHURU MAY NOT IMPLEMENT CONSTITUTION

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From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Given that Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta will be voted as the fourth president of Kenya by some sections of Kenyans only, that is Gema and Kalenjins, the communities that have the highest registered voters it will be difficult for him to implement the new constitution.

Kenyans will not stand steadfast in their demand for the truth based on a new constitution because they will have the president who will serve the interest of the communities that voted him.

In this way the constitution will not be people driven because it will not be at the center of people themselves but the parliament or politicians. This will kill the constitution preamble,” We Kenyans”.

Parliament will be forced to amend the constitution that gives much power to those in authority. As such they will use it to intimidate and dictate to people whatever they feel it is on their favor. They will use it to intimidate and dictate because it would have no objectives and visions.

It will not talk about democratic principles that Kenyans should be committed to. It will give the president all the powers to use it in any way he likes. As such it will fail to define the duties of the head of the state and those of head of Government. It will place the president above the law. It will give him power to appoint ministers, public and constitutional officials of his own and taste.

Since the amendment will make president to be above the law, he can dissolve the parliament any time he feels like. He will also not be impeached. With its weakness and indecency, the amended constitution will not protect violation of human rights, guarantee free and fair elections, or directive principles on the management and use of natural resources such as public land, forest, water, wild life, etc.

It will mean that Kenya will be taken back when the police wantonly broken-up peaceful meetings of lobby groups and political parties, even clobbering harmless journalists covering such stories.

It will take us back where many opposition supporters have been inhumanly beaten, injured, and even died. This will give birth to the informal groupings as chinkororos, Jeshi la Mzee and Bagdad boys. In such well planned violence no arrests will be made.

It will also mean that Kenyan people will not unite actively together to re-build Kenya. As such it will deter a clear reflection of the past, a critical look at the present and a focused charting out of the way forward in resuscitating our country and giving it a new lease of life, in the firm belief that we can and are able to reshape our nation’s destiny.

Even churches will have no voice to call to an end the restoration of the separation of powers between Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary, the restoration of the security of tenure of office, the judges, attorney general and the controller and auditor general.

It will take us back when President Jomo Kenyatta’s had little change in cabinet after the General Election of October 1974. He kept Moi, Mbiyu Koinange, Julius Kiano, Mwai Kibaki, Jeremiah Nyagah, James Gichuru, Jackson Angaine, Isaac Omolo-Okero and Charles Njonjo in their jobs, the most stable ministerial team Kenya has ever seen. It will mean appointing only few new ministers.

For his government to be protected Jomo Kenyatta had to bring in Munyua Waiyaki, who had resigned in 1966 in sympathy with former Vice-President Oginga Odinga, not only to replace Njoroge Mungai as foreign minister but also brought in Daniel Mutinda to replace Eliud Mwendwa as the minister for Ukambani among others.

Against the background that amongst Kenyatta’s 12 nominations to Parliament were two representatives of Kenya’s increasingly influential ethnic or tribal unions: Njenga Karume, chairman of Gema, and Mulu Mutisya, leader of the New Akamba Union (NAU).

In this way Kanu was used by Jomo Kenyatta to discriminate the minority ethnic groups such as Kalenjin, miji kenda, Maasai, Luhya, among others. Kanu was predominantly Luo and Kikuyu party.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

KENYA: THE PRICE OF DEMOCRACY

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From: dick.aduonga

It is an elections year and the country is abuzz with all manners of political activities. At this time of the political cycle, we witness some of the most colourful characters in our political life. Going by the just concluded party primaries, one would be tempted to be excited at the prospects of Kenya becoming a thriving democracy but when you pause for a minute; you again wonder if that is really a correct observation of our current political development.

For the past 40 years we have had a grudging political system with the political class taking little interest in the rights of the citizenry. By nature politicians seldom favour change in the interests of the working class and for many years they got their way in an ethnocentric Kenyan politics, sometimes through brutal force irrespective of the wishes of the majority.

Now Kenya has a new dispensation through its new constitution which compels all citizens to play fair and develop governance institutions that support the growth of democracy in the country. Leaders use political parties to ascend to power through the people and this means the people ought to be empowered to elect or deselect those leaders they deem unfit to lead them at a particular time. The price of democracy is that when one engages in a competition with fair rules and loses or wins, we expect them to accept such an outcome.

Kenya as a young democracy has the signs for a brighter future. The last party primaries even though in some cases was shambolic, the fact that majority of the contestants were happy with the outcome is great. To depart from the past ways of doing things has not always been easy. Most of these politicians have often survived political onslaught from their competitors through political patronage. So it was not a surprise that the party prodigal sons did not want to play fair.

It is important that as Kenya moves forward in its political, social and economic development, politicians understand that an empowered citizenry engages and contributes positively to the holistic development of the nation. Their wishes should be respected when they deselect or elect a leader of their choice because there is no reasonable logic in a party forcing a leader on the people. In future parties should ensure their rules of engagement are clear so that all potential participants can robustly evaluate themselves before seeking clearance for the party nominations.

Have a very peaceful elections

Dickson Aduonga

Final Draft of The Zimbabwean Constitution

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From: Yona Maro

This document carries the final version of the draft constitution which was approved by the principals to the Global Political Agreement (GPA), from ZANU-PF and the two MDC factions, as well as by the co-chairs of the country’s Constitution Select Committee (COPAC), which led the process and was mandated to ‘ensure a people-driven constitution’.

[ Attachment 1: Download Resource (.pdf) ]
http://allafrica.com/download/resource/main/main/idatcs/00051799:95e970308cce5787b761637cde18cb26.pdf

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Tanzania under heavy pressure from environmentalists to shelve its plan to construct an international airport inside the Serengeti world heritage site

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Writes Leo Odera Omolo

INFORMATION emerging from Dar Es Salaam says the United Republic of Tanzania is facing renewed pressure to shelve the construction of an International Airport next to the world heritage and famous Serengeti National Game Park, creating fears of possible delays in the multibillion dollar project.

THE Deputy Transport Minister Charles Tizeba was last week widely quoted by the local media houses as saying that the construction of the airport outside the Serengeti National Game Park is likely to fail because of an on-going campaign by environmentalists to stop the project.

“The government is facing real pressure from some circles, but it will go ahead despite all these,’ he said.

The construction of the USD 350 million airports was expected to start early this year and the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority had approved the project, he added.

The government move to put up the airport included the construction of a 321 kilometer tarmac road through Serengeti. This element was shelved over the concerns that it would interfere with the wildebeest migration, the only one of its kind in the world and crucial to the existence of the Serengeti ecosystem.

The friends of the Serengeti movement have repeatedly denounced having an airport so close to the world heritage site, saying it would attract human activities near the fragile Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.

Opponents of the project have maintained an argent saying that the landing and takeoff of large planes in Mugumu could damage wildlife migration patterns.

“The new airport”, said the Minister, “would offer tourists the option tour KilimanjaroIntrnational Airport and after visiting Tarangire.LakeManyara, Ngorngoro Crater and SERENGETI International Airport to fly back homer”.

Analyists,however, say the airport would increase the number of visitors from 800,000 annually to 1.6 million by the year 2015 and double tourism revenue from the current USD 1.4 million to USD 2.8 million annually in the next three years.

Ends

Kenya: Did you know?

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From: odhiambo okecth

Friends,

On the 4th March 2013, the 14.3 million Registered Voters are going to make their choice of political leadership for Kenya for the next 5 years.
These are the people we are going to vote for;

Presidency; The President and his/her running mate as one ticket

Member of the National Assembly

Member of the Senate

Governor; The Governor and his/her running mate as one ticket

Women County Representative

County Ward Representative

All you need to do is to analyze all those people who have offered themselves for these positions and make a wise but Nation Friendly choice. We have been with some of these people for 50 years of our Independence and sadly, Kenya has NOTHING to be proud of.

I want to sincerely challenge the politicians to tell us what we are going to celebrate on 1st June 2013 as our National Achievement. And it would be fair if all of us, the 14.3 Million Registered Voters also made our mark. The future of Kenya lies in our hands. Let us make sure but firm decisions, for the love of Mother Kenya and for Posterity.

Let us not be guided by tribe, money, impunity and corruption as we choose our leaders.

Between today and the 2nd of March 2013, we will re-run the Constitution of Kenya Chapter by Chapter to help jog your minds on what the Constitution expects of us as a people.

Here we go;

PREAMBLE

We, the people of Kenya—

ACKNOWLEDGING the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation––

HONOURING those who heroically struggled to bring freedom and justice to our land––

PROUD of our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, and determined to live in peace and unity as one indivisible sovereign nation––

RESPECTFUL of the environment, which is our heritage, and determined to sustain it for the benefit of future generations––

COMMITTED to nurturing and protecting the well-being of the individual, the family, communities and the nation––

RECOGNISING the aspirations of all Kenyans for a government based on the essential values of human rights, equality, freedom, democracy, social justice and the rule of law––

EXERCISING our sovereign and inalienable right to determine the form of governance of our country and having participated fully in the making of this Constitution––

ADOPT, enact and give this Constitution to ourselves and to our future generations.

GOD BLESS KENYA

—
If it is to be, it is up to me. A Clean Kenya Starts With me. A Peaceful Kenya is my Responsibility.

Odhiambo T Oketch

CEO KCDN NairobiNationwide Coordinator – Monthly Nationwide Clean-up Campaign
www.kcdnkenya.org
http://kcdnkomarockswatch.blogspot.com
friendsofkcdn@yahoogroups.com
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch

Jobs in Africa – www.wejobs.blogspot.com
International Jobs – www.jobsunited.blogspot.com

USA: suspicious massacres & guns controversy

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from: octimotor

Do you recognize the concept, “Manchurian candidate” ?

While it can not be proven, the possibility exists that incidents, about 4 during 2012, of this type may have been engineered to frighten the public.

Would you feel safer if only law enforcement officers, the military, private security, and violent criminals were the only ones armed, while regular members of the public were not?

Think about it for a while. Perhaps then you might come to agree that the USA constitution’s 2nd Amendment does Not need to be modified. This is because the public can not trust those other types of entities which were mentioned.

The above comment responds to item I saw thru incoming stream of a political activism email list. My conclusion is that the item’s author might be well meaning, but is painfully unaware of some social facts which are being hidden in plane sight. So, as a point of reference and contrast, it will be appended below.

– octimotor –
(residing in Ohio, born in Kentucky USA).

– – – – – – – – – – –

From: Staci Sarkin
Date: Sat, Dec 15, 2012 at 5:47 PM
Subject: Gun Control. Now.
To: octimotor@ . . .

Below is an email from Staci Sarkin, a MoveOn member who created a petition on SignOn.org in response to the tragic shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut. Stacy’s petition has been been spreading rapidly over email and social media, so we wanted to pass it along right away. If you have concerns or feedback about this petition, click here.

—————-

Dear MoveOn member,

On December 14, 2012, a gunman entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and opened fire, killing what is currently being reported as a minimum of 27 people, 20 of whom were children. Completely innocent unarmed victims.

Columbine. Red Lake, Minnesota. Essex, Vermont. Lancaster, Ohio. Virginia Tech. To name a few.

How many more innocents must die at the hands of an antiquated and oft-misinterpreted amendment? Enough.

It’s time to stop the violence. That’s why I created a petition on SignOn.org to Congress and President Obama, which says:

Our Second Amendment rights are long overdue a reevaluation. How many more senseless and entirely PREVENTABLE shootings have to occur before we do something about gun control?

As a citizen and constituent of this great country, I am asking that you take a firm stand and make a positive change by restricting access to guns and saving lives.

I don’t have a gun. I don’t want a gun. I don’t need a gun. But somehow the guns always wind up in the hands of people crazy enough to use them irresponsibly and dangerously. THIS HAS TO BE STOPPED.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.
Thank you for your support.

–Staci Sarkin

This petition was created on SignOn.org, the progressive, nonprofit petition site. SignOn.org is sponsored by MoveOn Civic Action, which is not responsible for the contents of this or other petitions posted on the site. Staci Sarkin didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

————

This email was sent to octimotor@ . . . on December 15, 2012.

Kenya: Uriri MP may face court suit for not paying for the meat he consumed from a local butchery

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AN ODM MP IN MIGORI COUNTY IS FACING A TRICKY LEGAL COURT CASE WHICH COULD LOCK HIM OUT OF THE PARLIAMETARY CONTEST.

Writes Bob Ndira-Uradi in Migori Town

An outgoing ODM MP in Migori County is likely to face a tricky civil court case, which could easily lock him out of the parliamentary contest under the Chapter Six of the new constitution unless the matter is resolved in time before the official IEBC nominations.

Cyprian Ojwang’ Omolo, the Uriri MP owed a butchery operator at a local Rapogi Market a colossal amount of money to the tune of Kshs 220,000 for the meat which he and his supporters are reported to have consumed during and thereafter the 2007 general elections.

Omolo owed a businessman Mr Benard Otieno Jobando the sums of Kshs 220,000 which owed the trader at a local Market, which is located near near the MP’s rural home in North Kanyamkago Uriri district, within Migori County.

In a terse demanding note,a Migori –based lawyer S.Odingo has written to the MP giving him an ultimatum to clear the outstanding debt of Kshs 220,000 plus the legal cost of Ksh 20,000 and an interests accrued of Kshs.11,000.

According to the letter written on December 11, 2012 and posted by hand delivery to the MP’s home, the lawyer wrote.”With due respect, we do refer to the above matter and to our letter dated the 17th September 2010 and reference SOO/MIG/DN/BOJ/2010, the content which are well within your knowledge.’

‘You will appreciate that your letter has gone unanswered for years, neither have there been any communications from your side to our client.’

NOTE THAT we are on the verge of instituting same in court of law for determination bearing in mind that the said claimed amount had definitely risen because the interests and costs have accrued.

In light of the above, kindly make the payment of the said amount of Khs 220,000/- plus costs of Kshs 20,000/- and interest of Kshs 11,000/- to our client through this office for onward transmission to him within 7 days from the date thereof.” Says the lawyer’s letter in part.

The Uriri MP could not be reached in time for his comment over the matter.But the complainant Mr Benard Oteno Jobando, who runs a butchery at the local Rapogi Trading Center has confirmed that his effort to approach the MP to offset the debt, which has been outstanding for close to five year have httherock. At first he said the MP had threatened him with a counter legal suit if he persisted with claims when he first raised the matter with his lawyer.

The MP then gave him kshs 10.000 and told him to be patient and that he would settle the bill in due course.

Ends



Here are two copies. One is from a cheque issued by the Uriri Mp in September 2010 in respect for payment for Kshs 220,000 to a butchery oowner which bounced and for which has never paid to cover the debt. Second is a terse letter from the businessman’s lawyer giving the MP an ultimatum to pay the debt within 7 days or face court action.

Kenya: Raila’s power-sharing between the Luos and Kuria in Migori County face total rejection

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Writes Arrum-Tidi Ogonglo In Migori Town.

The move made last weekend, by the ODM leader Raila Odinga, to award the Senate seat to the Kuria tribe, as one way of teasing the minority Kuria community to vote for him in his presidential bid, has elicited lot of controversies in the region.

The decision which was reached after a closed door meeting held at the Migori town between the Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Kuria and some Luo leaders appeared to have offended many people in the region, especially the aspirants who have been campaigning for the various elective positions within the County governance.

Many have hinted that they would either decamp from the ODM o contest the elections as independent candidates. It has been termed as undemocratic, unconstitutional and dictatorial while other described the move as “primitive”.

At the same time other local leaders were heard hinting that thy might move to court to block the Senate candidature of the Assistant minister Dr Walter Machage who was awarded the Senate position, arguing that the Kura MP is the chairman of the DP and has yet to reigned from that party and PNU a party which has gone into a merger with TNA-URP alliance.

They said it is in vagrant violation of the clause in new constitution requirement which stipulates that for one to be allowed to contest the election on a political party one must have been a member of that party for the last six months.

The leaders in both Luo and Kuria have rejected the power-sharing arrangement with those on the Kuria side arguing that Dr Machage is not enjoying the supported by the entire Kuria community. He has no capacity to convince all the voters in Kuria to vote for Raila’ presidential bid as he is treated with contempt by the Kura as an opportunist in pursuit of his persona and selfish interest.

The power sharing decision came late after when the chairman of ODM in Migori County branch John Mgaiwa had already declared his intention to contest the Senate seat. Magaiwa campaign for the same seat had already hit the ground.

All the indications are that there could be mass defections from ODM in Migori County by the aspirants who have been campaigning o the various seats to other parties.

Among the leading personalities in Migori who have already been on the ground campaigning for the Senate seat included former Mathare MP Gilbert Ochieng’ Mbeo, former Homa-By MP Phares Oluoch Kanindo, former Gender Secretary Prof Colete Suda who told Raila to his ace that the awarding of some seats to people who did not campaign for them is undemocratic.

Local leaders blamed the Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno who is also the Minister for Public Services for having meddled in the matter in collaboration with the few Luo MPs from the region. They alleged that the Minister who is known to be always erratic politically had called a secret meting with some Kuria leaders and a few MPs from the region in Nairobi in secrecy without consulting the local party leaders and arrived at the unpopular decision.

In the hotly contested arrangement brokered by Raila, the Kuria will provide the deputy governor an women representative while the Luos will provide the governor and the Kuria would clinch the Senate seat.

From all the indications, the power-sharing arrangement might not see the light of the day judging from the objections raised by the Luos.some of those opposed to the idea accused Raila Odinga of having dictatorial tendency of planting unpopular leadership on the people.This, they said has forced many potential leaders out of the ODM who decamped to other parties.

The tendency of planting rejects to the electorate is what had killed the former powerful Pentagon outfit and sent its members fleeing from the ODM to other political parties, therefore the PM must change his tactics if at all he want to win the presidency. He should let the people who are interested in contesting the elections in various seats to compete with each other in a democratic manner, but not on a power-sharing arrangement which is autocratic and dictatorial.

Prof Suda told Raila that she had never known a democratic system in which the elective position is dished out. ”It is undemocratic and unconstitutional and does not take into consideration the interest of women.’

Moreover the Kuria MP who is facing the stiffest opposition at home has all these years is known to have been vilifying the ODM as a party and Raila Odinga its leaders, so his latest about turn and change of heat might not find soft landing within the ODM local party hierarchy.

Ends

KENYA: LEADERSHIP AND INTEGRITY

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From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images

CIVIC EDUCATION TAKE-3
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2012

To address the humanitarian crisis so as to promote healing and reconciliation, overcome political crisis once and for all so as to tackle long-term issues dating back from 1963 and 2008 in regards to gross violations of human rights, economic crimes, illegal acquisition of public land, marginalization of communities, ethnic violence, the context in which the crimes occurred, then Leadership and Integrity chapter of New Constitution must strictly be enforced.

(73) – Responsibilities of leadership

Authority assigned to a State officer—is a public trust to be exercised in a manner that—is consistent with the purposes and objects of this Constitution; demonstrates respect for the people; brings honour to the nation and dignity to the office; and promotes public confidence in the integrity of the office; and vests in the State officer the responsibility to serve the people, rather than the power to rule them.

The guiding principles of leadership and integrity include—selection on the basis of personal integrity, competence and suitability, or election in free and fair elections; objectivity and impartiality in decision making, and in ensuring that decisions are not influenced by nepotism, favouritism, other improper motives or corrupt practices; selfless service based solely on the public interest, demonstrated by—honesty in the execution of public duties; and the declaration of any personal interest that may conflict with public duties; accountability to the public for decisions and actions; and discipline and commitment in service to the people.

(74) – Oath of office of State officers

Before assuming a State office, acting in a State office, or performing any functions of a State office, a person shall take and subscribe the oath or affirmation of office, in the manner and form prescribed by the Third Schedule or under an Act of Parliament.

(75) – Conduct of State officers

A State officer shall behave, whether in public and official life, in private life, or in association with other persons, in a manner that avoids—any conflict between personal interests and public or official duties; compromising any public or official interest in favour of a personal interest; or demeaning the office the officer holds.

A person who contravenes clause (1), or Article 76, 77 or 78 (2)— shall be subject to the applicable disciplinary procedure for the relevant office; and may, in accordance with the disciplinary procedure referred to in paragraph (a), be dismissed or otherwise removed from office.

A person who has been dismissed or otherwise removed from office for a contravention of the provisions specified in clause (2) is disqualified from holding any other State office.

(76) – Financial probity of State officers

A gift or donation to a State officer on a public or official occasion is a gift or donation to the Republic and shall be delivered to the State unless exempted under an Act of Parliament.

A State officer shall not—maintain a bank account outside Kenya except in accordance with an Act of Parliament; or seek or accept a personal loan or benefit in circumstances that compromise the integrity of the State officer.

(77) – Restriction on activities of State officers

A full-time State officer shall not participate in any other gainful employment.

Any appointed State officer shall not hold office in a political party. A retired State officer who is receiving a pension from public funds shall not hold more than two concurrent remunerative positions as chairperson, director or employee of—a company owned or controlled by the State; or a State organ. A retired State officer shall not receive remuneration from public funds other than as contemplated in clause (3).

(78) – Citizenship and leadership

A person is not eligible for election or appointment to a State office unless the person is a citizen of Kenya. A State officer or a member of the defence forces shall not hold dual citizenship. Clauses (1) and (2) do not apply to—judges and members of commissions; or any person who has been made a citizen of another country by operation of that country’s law, without ability to opt out.

(79) – Legislation to establish the ethics and anti-corruption commission

Parliament shall enact legislation to establish an independent ethics and anticorruption commission, which shall be and have the status and powers of a commission under Chapter Fifteen, for purposes of ensuring compliance with, and enforcement of, the provisions of this Chapter.

(80) – Legislation on leadership

Parliament shall enact legislation— establishing procedures and mechanisms for the effective administration of this Chapter; prescribing the penalties, in addition to the penalties referred to in Article 75, that may be imposed for a contravention of this Chapter; providing for the application of this Chapter, with the necessary modifications, to public officers; and making any other provision necessary for ensuring the promotion of the principles of leadership and integrity referred to in this Chapter, and the enforcement of this Chapter.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

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JESUS WANTS LEADERS WHO SERVE IN HUMILITY

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From: Ouko joachim omolo
Voices of Justice for Peace
Regional News

BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
NAIROBI-KENYA
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Sunday November 25, 212 will be the Feast of Christ the King. Established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, the feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ’s royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.

Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in contrast to them, he connected his role as king to humble service, and commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death.

His teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. That is why when we celebrate Christ as King, we are not celebrating an oppressive ruler, but one willing to die for humanity and whose “loving-kindness endures forever.” Christ is the king that gives us true freedom, freedom in Him.

Jesus wanted the type of a King who serves in humility. He wanted his disciples to do the same: “Whoever wishes to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:42-45)”.

He wanted the type of King who is not like the rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.

It means Kings whose kingships are to serve people justice and peace. Jesus wants his followers to do the same. Peace with God, peace in human relations, peace among nations, and peace with God’s creation. Peace that includes healing, reconciliation, and well-being.

Peace that is more than the absence of war; it includes the restoration of right relationship. We are talking of justice and peace because justice and peace belong together, since right relationship involves both.

According to Greek and Roman ideas of justice, people should get what they deserve. According to the Bible, justice involves healing and restoring relationships. That is a reason for the special concern for the poor and the oppressed.

Our peace witness also includes peacemaking and working for justice. Peace witness is needed even when the nations in which we live are not at war, ministries of mediation, conciliation, and nonviolent resolution of everyday conflict.

This made the Kingship of Jesus different from the Kingship of the Jews. When Pilate said to Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?”… Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.

But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth (John 18:33b, 36-37).

A Jewish king was not supposed to be a king “like all the nations” had. A Jewish king was supposed to be a model of what an ideal Jew is all about ? a model for the rest of the nation to emulate.

It explains further why the earliest Christians identified Jesus with the predicted Messiah of the Jews. The Jewish word “messiah,” and the Greek word “Christ,” both mean “anointed one,” and came to refer to the expected king who would deliver Israel from the hands of the Romans, to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

In the first Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius XI promulgated on 11 December 1925 he stated that is only in the Kingdom of Christ that peace could be more effectually restored. Furthermore, it has long been a common custom to give to Christ the metaphorical title of “King,” because of the high degree of perfection whereby he excels all creatures.

So he is said to reign “in the hearts of men,” both by reason of the keenness of his intellect and the extent of his knowledge, and also because he is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind.

He reigns, too, in the wills of men, for in him the human will was perfectly and entirely obedient to the Holy Will of God, and further by his grace and inspiration he so subjects our free-will as to incite us to the most noble endeavors. He is King of hearts, too, by reason of his “charity which exceedeth all knowledge.”

As we reflect on Kingship of Jesus, we remind ourselves that in Kenya it was on November 21, 2005 that the first constitutional referendum was held. The proposed new constitution was voted NO by a 58 percent majority of Kenya’s voters.

Many government officials, including President Mwai Kibaki, had campaigned for a ‘Yes’ vote on the constitution, which divided the ruling National Rainbow Coalition into camps, for and against the proposal. Those who supported the constitution were assigned the symbol of the banana, while the opposition was assigned the orange as their means of representation.

The referendum divided Kenyans and spurred serious fight for political supremacy between Orange and Banana leaders and supporters, but the process itself was peaceful. Since then, political life in Kenya has been characterised by this stalemate. The results of the referendum were: 58.12 percent (No) and 41.88 percent (Yes).

The outgoing Constitution granted Kenya’s president imperial powers and the ability to effective control the executive and judicial branches of government and a tremendous leeway to manipulate and coerce the legislature.

The new Constitution seeks to introduce a system of checks-and-balances which will strive to keep future presidents from exploiting the state for their own personal gain. In particular, new Constitution establishes a bi-cameral parliament, with a legislative assembly and a Senate.

The new Constitution will also entrench a Bill of rights as well as promote gender equality. In particular, the Constitution stipulates that as a general rule state institutions should not have more than two-thirds of one gender to the exclusion of the other.

Furthermore, the Constitution has established a framework for the comprehensive review of land reform and create legal protection against corruption to enable business to flourish unhindered by state exploitation.

If the provisions of the new Constitution are upheld Kenya could gradually become a place to do business without fear of bureaucratic or political heavy-handedness.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
People for Peace in Africa
Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com

Peaceful world is the greatest heritage That this generation can give to the generations To come- All of us have a role.