Sudan: Information to Southern Sudan Referendum Voters
Folks,
The purpose for the Referendum is so that Peace and Liberty can finally be found by the Southern Sudan after 40 years of War between the North and South of Sudan.
Therefore SEPARATION which is the Secession, is paramount. The symbol of an OPEN PALM means separating for PEACE. That is what the Southern Sudan MUST VOTE FOR.
Quote....A. {Darfur is a region in western Sudan whose population is predominantly Muslims. The neglected region has been steeped in civil war since rebels belonging mostly to African ethnic groups took up arms against the Sudanese government in 2003}.
Quote....B. {They have also yet to find common ground on the disputed oil district of Abyei which had supposed to be holding a simultaneous vote on its own future that has been delayed by disagreements over who should have a ballot.
Saraya said that the North now needs to adopt a "new way of thinking" that will help it face the new post-secession challenges "to maintain stability, and to develop radical solutions to the problems that will likely get more complex".
He criticized Bashir's speech last week that pledged to transform constitution in North Sudan to a fully Islamic one after the South secedes.
"Not included in this new way of thinking is for the Sudanese president to stand in the midst of the current crisis to announce a few days ago that the constitution would be amended and that the Sharia'a [law] will be the source of legislation in the event of secession of the south".
"This means that the Sudanese president continues to believe that the Caliphate state in the Sudan is more important than unity, and that with the secession of the south he got rid of the force which hindered the establishment of a religious state in the Sudan. Not only does [this speech] makes unity hopeless but pushes southerners further toward secession, and deepens the rifts between the two countries after the referendum". Saraya said that Bashir's defense of the video showing a Sudanese woman being lashed further encourages division and weakens Sudan's international standing}.
Watch the video carefully and pass on the information.
The voting card MUST NOT BE FOLDED top/bottom, but MUST be CAREFULLY FOLDED sideways ..... so that the ink from the THUMB does not rub against THE UNWANTED BOX or the ink should not touch each other in the two CIRCLES......THUS disqualifying the vote.
Watch the video attached here under and circulate the message to reach voters as far and wide, so people make informed choices.
Thanks,
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
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Extremely Very Important, Play the Video.......
Click the link here down.....
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/12/sudan-referendum-2.html
Caught on camera: Woman whipped in public
Australia 7 News - Tue Dec 14, 5:20 pm ET
http://news.yahoo.com/video/tech-15749651/23517984;_ylt=Ar7iYkg2EOnoELXez4UPPMP_SpZ4
SUDAN: Land Grabbing in Sudan
Ndesanjo Macha
Contributor profile · 3400 posts · joined 19 April 2005
Henry's data visualization of land grabbing in Sudan: “I read an article this morning about “land grabbing” in Africa by foreign countries. When I read the amount of land being acquired by foreign investors in Sudan, I thought to my self, “that is horrible”. Then I took a closer look at the numbers. It really doesn’t seem to be that much.”......"They are few but are BUSY doing MultiNational Business getting wealthier from [PROPERTY THEFT], stealing from the poor...Shame aint it not?"...."Thurst For Blood Money"..
Global Voices Online » Technology - Tue Dec 28, 12:34 pm EST
WORLD -- December 30, 2010 at 9:00 AM EDT
In Sudan, a Smudge Could Affect Outcome of Vote
By: Larisa Epatko
As Sudan prepares for a vote in January on whether the south will split from the north, one of the African nation's challenges is how to inform an electorate with a high illiteracy rate on how to vote.
An estimated 4 million southern Sudanese have registered to vote in the Jan. 9 referendum on southern secession, in a country that has an adult illiteracy rate of 85 percent, said NewsHour special correspondent Jeffrey Kaye. He recently returned from a reporting trip to southern Sudan.
Coming up with appropriate symbols to represent unity or separation took some time. After rejecting symbols such as corn, animals and Arab garb, the final ballot now displays two hands clasped to signify unity and a hand held palm out to represent southern secession, said Kaye.
Even how the ballot is creased has become fodder for conspiracy theorists, he said. If the ballot is folded a certain way, the finger print indicating the voter's choice could smear onto the opposite side, potentially disqualifying the vote. So education on the referendum now includes how to fold your ballot.
Kenya: Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation / Armed youth keep vigil to prevent resettlement of IDPs
Folks,
Breaking of the Law by senior Government employee, a public servant is a serious offense punishable by law and a reason to vacate public office with immediate effect.
1) A public government employee should not, according to law, run his NGO using government facilities and resources for personal gains.
2) No Public servant should make use of his or her NGO as a tool for political campaign
3) Kalonzo Musyoka is seen to be invading in the Masailand which has been lodged pending in court, overriding court rulings and ordering resettlement of IDPs on a disputed land pending in court
4) Kalonzo Musyoka is out of order, using his personal NGO to garner and lure votes for 2012 Presidential election by false manoeuvres through public utility theft, taking for a ride unsuspecting voters. This is a criminal offense and this is a criminal act which must be condemned by all.
We expect these good-for-nothing leaders do a better job of resettling IDPs and not engaging false pretense or using shoddy quick fix to gain political credit.
Such leaders are creating more problems than good, where it is seen that they are paying off their bills and stuffing and fattening their personal accounts through ill gotten public funds. Where the public end up paying accrued taxes in Loans and Credits for such activities.
It is time they must be stopped and investigated because, the public facility and utilities are plundered and mismanaged by such leaders resulting in, Public Budget deficiency, in other words, causing the budget to fall short of binding legal implementation according to the Rule of funds disbursement. For this reason, the circumstances results in havoc and continued destruction.
Kalonzo Musyoka must be told and made to honor responsibility of his actions.
The wishes of Masai Community must be respected and honored. Their livelihood is at stake and they have a right to protect their land by all means.
Thanks,
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
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Armed youth keep vigil to prevent resettlement of IDPs
By Beatrice Obwocha
Armed youth are keeping vigil at the disputed Rose Farm in Mau Narok to prevent surveyors from subdividing land meant for resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons.
The youth armed with rungus, simis, bows and arrows vowed not to allow the surveyors into the land and threatened to lynch them.
Addressing the Press at the farm, representatives of villagers from Tipis accused the Government of using force to resettle IDPs there.
Kantet ole Yengo said they have vowed not to allow strangers to be resettled in the land as it belonged to their ancestors, hence it is theirs.
He said they chased away surveyors who wanted to subdivide the land last week and will not allow them in.
"This is our land and we will protect it even with our blood,’ he said.
Calls for dialogue
On Wednesday evening, a group of youth stormed the land that was bought from a British farmer, David Hampshire Rose, and chased away surveyors who were demarcating the land.
According to the villagers, the controversial land is part of the 30,000 acres taken from them by the British Government and should be returned to them. The Government has bought the land and plans to resettle over 900 IDPs on it.
Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Special Progmammes Minister Esther Murugi assured IDPs that they would be resettled on the land early 2011 after surveyors finish subdividing it. But Eldoret Catholic Diocese Bishop Cornelius Korir has called for dialogue to resolve the standoff over resettlement of IDPs in parts of Rift Valley.
Bishop Korir said land was sensitive and communal dialogue should be embraced to curb recurrence of violence in future.
Cause of conflict
"People should not ignore sensitivity of land issues in Rift valley. Communities should not be ignored when it comes to resettlement to prevent eruption of violence in future," said Korir.
Speaking at the Eldoret Catholic diocese, Korir urged Kenyans to use the festive season to build peace and reconciliation.
He told politicians to ensure the country was united before embarking on 2012 election campaigns.
Elsewhere, two MPs have urged the Government not to resettle IDPs on the controversial Mau Narok land. Fred Outa (Nyando) and Pollyns Ochieng (Nyakach) said resettlement of the IDPs on such land would cause conflict.
They cited the killing of an activist Moses ole Mpoe recently for speaking out against the planned exercise.
"We ask the Government to be cautious in its plans to settle IDPs in Mau Narok against the wishes of the local community," said Outa.
Yesterday, the MPs told The Standard the Government needs to consult extensively with the Maasai, and listen to them on the particular land, before IDPs are resettled there.
– Additional reporting by Titus Too and Mangoa Mosota
Ocampo Six 'legal kitty' an insult, say IDPs
By TITUS TOO & KARANJA NJOROGE
STANDARD CORRESPONDENTS
Internally Displaced Persons in the North Rift are dismayed at efforts to raise legal fees for the Ocampo Six.
The IDPs, still languishing in camps, three years after the Grand Coalition Government was formed, are angered by the fact that they have not only failed to get justice, but have seen no real effort to resettle them.
Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi led the appeal to raise money for the now infamous Hague Six.
Kiraitu even suggested not only the rich could contribute, but ordinary Kenyans could also conribute Sh100 each.
"We cannot sustain ourselves further because we are ravaged with diseases, lack of food and shelter. For the last three years, we have lived under God’s grace," said Ms Mary Wambui, an IDP at Yamumbi camp in Eldoret.
She said the Sh100 ordinary Kenyans are being asked to contribute is hard to come by in the camps.
"That money can sustain a family of three for three days. Those planning to raise funds for the six suspects should give priority to Kenyans like us," adds Wambui.
She claimed ten IDPs had died at the camp in the last three years, adding that it was unfortunate the next elections were approaching while people were still in camps.
Elsewhere in Nakuru IDPs at the Pipeline camp term the move to raise legal fees for the ‘Ocampo Six’ a mockery of their predicament, adding that most leaders spearheading the fundraiser had ignored their plight.
"We have always tried to lobby the MPs to put pressure on the Government to fast track our resettlement, but the MPs have not been enthusiastic like they are now for the Ocampo Six," says Ms Nduta Marai outside her tattered tent.
Nduta says none of the leaders has ever bothered to come up with an initiative to raise money for their resettlement.
After the Government failed to assist them, some IDPs pooled resources and bought the 14-acre farm.
"The Sh10,000 we received is the one we used to buy this piece of land. Had we relied on some leaders we could have gone to the streets to beg," she adds.
But many leaders are undeterred in raising money to help the Ocampo Six.
Nakuru Kikuyu Council of Elders chairman Samuel Maigua and Nakuru Mayor John Kitilit say it would be unfair to abandon post-election violence suspects.
"There is nothing wrong with the contributions. But if you want to assist you should not publicise it," says Maigua.
"They(suspects) have been leading a life of opulence and they now want us to fundraise for them while they have been blind to our predicament," Mr Nathan Waweru, who has been at the camp for two years with his family of six.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FILM AND LITERATURE
Sent by AKECH OBAT MASIRA
CHAIRMAN
LAKE VICTORIA BASIN FILM MAKERS GUILD[ KENYA]
+254726164954
PRESENTATION DURING AWARDS BY JOHN MIDEGA
For a long time, there has existed an interrelationship and mutual influence between literature and other forms of artistic expressions. This has resulted in painting and music based on works of fiction, drama and poetry, as well as literary works emulating pictorial styles and musical structures. The creative exchange between literature and film was initiated in the last decade of the 19th Century. Initially, film was most related to photography and painting.
Literature shares with film the ability to employ the structures and devices of narrative. Sequence of images on screen told a story and this is equivalent to the sequence of words on page. The use of language in film established firmly the connections to literature.
Films, just like in literature, present i) action ii) images iii) words replicating life. Literary works also have a stylistic and thematic basis in a realistic presentation of characters and incidents. Theatre, initially, seemed nearest to film because of the common use of actors and sets. Critics agree that films have a stronger affinity with fiction, especially with the pronounced emphasis on narrative. However, whereas the primary thrust of literature is linguistic, the thrust of film is imagistic/ visual and immediate.
Film draws from the tradition of live theatre which includes techniques of staging, lighting, movement and gestures. From the novel, film draws from structure, characterization, theme and point of view.
From poetry it draws from an understanding of metaphor, symbolism and other literary tropes. Film can extend into areas of the innermost privacy and consciousness just like poetry does.
From music film draws from rhythm, repetition and counterpoint.
From painting it draws from sensitivity to shape, form, visual textures and colour.
Popular film developed with the emergence of the 18th Century novel. Both the 18th Century novel and film relied heavily upon realism as a technique. Early films were concerned, just like with realism in literature, daily lives of ordinary people. The subject matter and audiences were people of low social standing.
An analogy stands out for film and literature. The basic structural units of the novel were replicated in film. In the novel we have: the word, sentence, paragraph, chapter and the entire novel. In film we have the frame, shot scene and sequence. The word in literature and the image in film were similar in so far as they are visual phenomena, both perceived with the eye.
Despite different degrees of explication, both writers and filmmakers use language or languages. Some differences may exist however. For instance, whereas the film is multi-sensory communal experience emphasizing immediacy, literature is a monosensory private experience that is more conductive to reflection. A film is usually viewed in others’ presence who become a larger part of the film’s experience. Each audience member acknowledges the presence of the others. Audience response can also affect perception of a film. A novel is typically a private experience in which the relationship between the author and the reader is relatively direct and immediate. Others’ responses do not impinge on the novel, thus making it conducive to reflection as the reader can pause and mull over or re-read.
The above notwithstanding, the film and the novel are alike insofar as their order is typically linear. Movement is generally sequential and the events and scenes are ordered in direct relation to each other. Whether the order is ABC or CBA, the progression is usually sequential, straightforward and predictable.
By and large, therefore, film is considered as a branch of literature. Filmmakers are indebted to literature in a wide variety of ways. Since literature is a narrative art intent upon creating images and sounds in the reader’s mind, then film is obviously literary- an extension of the older narrative arts. Indeed, the most distinctive quality of good writing is visual: to convey images by means of words, to make the mind see, to project onto that inner screen of the brain a moving picture of objects and events to convey a balance and reconciliation of a more than usual state of emotion with more than usual order. Film is therefore visual literacy (as opposed to verbal literacy), a new medium which is an extension and enlargement of the idea of literacy itself. In contemporary scholarship, everything written, for example, film scripts, are a part of the study of literature, thus film is a branch of literature.
Kenya: Eng Baraza has joined the race for the contest of Migori County governor
County News By Leo Odera Omolo In Awendo Town.
The contest for the Senate seat for the newly created Migori County has promised to be one of the toughest election races ever witnessed in the greater Southern Nyanza region in the recent years.
Migori County is laying in the far southern end of the now defunct Nyanza Province, and has a multi-ethnic residents consisting of the majority Luo, Kuria, Luhya,Maragolis, Somalis and Kisiis.
Some of the County’s outlaying parliamentary constituencies are mostly rural locations whose inhabitants are local peasants, but Migori Town and its constituency is a cosmopolitan constituencies, with highest population of non indigenous communities.
The population of the town is concocted by many immigrants from outside the district, most of them traders, petty traders, kiosk traders, matatu touts, cobblers, taxi and motor-cycle boda boda taxis, and civil servants.
Among the immigrants are traders from other district in Luo-Nyanza such as Siaya, Mbita, Suba, Rachuonyo, Kisumu, Ntando, Siaya,Vihiga,and other areas. In fact this is a fast growing frontier town which is the home to nearly all Kenyan communities, though its located right inside Luo-Nyanza.
This is because being a border town is a place of an open opportunity for everyone to try his or her luck either in business or illicit racketeers and smugglers of good across the border.
Migori is bordering Tanzania both on the land and in part of Lake Victoria hence its proximity for illicit trades and under hand dealings.
In the current parliament, Migori has five parliamentary electoral constituencies, namely Kuria, Migori, Nyatike, Uriri, and Rongo. But the County of Migori stands to benefit from the 80 additional parliamentary seats recently announced by the disbanded Interim Independent Boundary Commission, which was led by Andrew Ligale. It has been given two more additional seats, one for Kuria and the other one is the sub-division of Rongo and Awendo as different entity constituencies. This now bring the number of MPs to seven from five.
But what seemed to have attracted more senior personalities, is the very important position of the County governorship.
The entrance into the race for the Migori County by a senior lecturer at the Kenyatta University, Eng Jared Baraza is likely to complicate things for other aspirants.
Eng Baraza, who is a member of the world-wide Engineers Without Boundari,es has the head-start. One being an indigenous Ja-Suna and a son of the late Ex-Senior Chief Baraza, and a member of Katiba sub-clan of the larger Wasweta group living in Central Suba Diuvision.
Using his world-wide contact, Eng Baraza had secured some funds and also volunteers engineers from the US colleges who got involved in the construction of Nyamilu Water Project around Bondo Nyironge, which is now providing fresh water to close to 10,000 families in an eight kilometer radius in villages. The villages are now enjoying fresh water from the tap just to their doorstep.
Eng Baraza has initiated similar projects with the aims and objectives of fighting the water borne diseases among the rural population. The Nyamilu Water Project is a solar driven thereby making it the cheapest. However, the project had experienced a set back in recent months due to vandalism by some unpatriotic and mischievous youths in the villages who stole the solar system.
But Eng Baraza reported last week that working in collaboration with the Migori CDF offices, there is likely that the project would soon be allocated sufficient funds to install and connect itself to the Kenya Power and Lightning Co {KPLC}
Baraza, while speaking to this writer during an exclusive interview, appealed to the electorate not to elect the tired and retired politicians and civil servants to the so important position of County Governors. The jobs required youthful and energetic persons with higher managerial capacity to man the region resources and even source for external funding.
Other names being floated around in connection to the position of Migori County include that of Ezra Odondi from Central Sakwa in Awendo district, Ezra Olodi Okoth from Migori, the former PEO, Nairobi Mr Chacha Ogwe Prof Edward Oyugi Akong’o.
So far no name has been floated from the two Kuria districts which shared the country with other mainly Luo districts. The same could be said about the position of Senator for Migori Country. But more aspirants for both seats from the Kuria side are expected to join the race in the near future.
At the same time Migori County Senate seat appeared to have attracted the least number of contestants. Names being floated around include that of former two time MP for Ndhiwa Zablon Owigo Olang’, immediate former Nyatike MP Ocholla Ogur, former two time Homa-Bay MP Pharez Oluoch Kanindo,
Some of the aspirants have already hit the ground campaigning deep inside the villages, where they were seen driving up and down during Christmas festivities, conducting Harambee for this and that project, and praying in the churches.
In Uriri constituency, two prospective aspirants who will be challenging the incumbent MP Cyprian Ojwang Omolo whose lackluster and dismal performance has disappointed many constituents were seen driving up and down covering the full -length and width of the constituency.
Mr Martin Owiny was seen around Sibuoche and also Oyani Maasai, while his credible rival John Bob Awiti Otange had several teams of visitors to his Rapogi Ong’ora village home. The visitors were mainly supporters who had gathered at his homestead to brainstorm how to oust the sitting MP whose lackluster and dismal performance.
However, tensions are less in the usually volatile Rongo constituency. The reason being perhaps the recent sub-division of the constituency into two namely Awendoi and Rngo has lessened the tension between the supporters of two Rongo political giants, the incumbent Dalmas Otieno and his arch-rival George Ochillo Ayacko.The two have had their horns locked in the battle for Rongo seat ever since 2002.
The newly created Awendo seat will now have Ayacko on the different constituency, wile Dalmas Otieno, the Minister for Public Service will be left alone in Rongo.But for the two to recapture their seats in 2012 will be an uphill task as there are emerging young and resourceful younger generation of politician ready to take the two head on.
These are the changing pattern of Migori politics and more could be expected in 2012. The County is mineral rich and also rich in agriculture and fisheries.
Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
ICC, Kenya, Argintina: The Nightmare of Ocampo
from Jagem K'Onyiego
Some people in Kenya are having bad dreams. Dreams that Ocampo is just some bad dream they are having and so when they come to, in the morning, it will have gone away. This to me is a bad dream.
Ocampo is a man who build his reputation over the years doing the near impossible. He investigated and prosecuted members of the Military regime who commited atrocities against humans (siyo Railway line), during their rule in Argentina. This was between 1976 to 1983. He wanted to make sure that those who thought they were untouchable in Argentina during that time were brought to book. The man is determined and I think no amout of heckling by Kiraitu, Isaac, Kioni, Mututho, or any other parliamenyerian will deter this man from completing what he has started.
Anybody who has doubt can read the article below. Argentina faced its past head on. They have jailed the former military president himself. The other low ranking Generals were already sent to prison courtesy of Ocampo. He is the only one who dared to that before he was appointed as ICC prosecutor.
Please read below.
Jagem
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Ex-Argentina leader jailed for life
12/23/2010 05:12:40 PM
A Buenos Aires court has sentenced Jorge Videla, the former Argentine military dictator, to life in prison for his role in the torture and murder of at least 31 political prisoners during the country's so-called Dirty War from 1976-83.
The verdict on Wednesday was for charges related to a state-sponsored crackdown against opposition groups, including Marxists, leftist activists, trade unionists and journalists.
The court had already sentenced a group of ex-military members who had served Videla's government to life in prison for crimes against humanity during the Dirty War.
The men were convicted for kidnapping, torturing and murdering more than 180 people in three secret detention centres.
Among those sentenced were Raul Guglielminetti, a former military intelligence agent, and Luis Juan Donocik, a former military police commissioner.
The majority of the crimes fell on Julio Simon, known as Turkish Julian, a former member of the military police.
Of the 17 on trial, 12 received life sentences, four received 25 years, and one was absolved.
A massive crowd of families and supporters of victims cheered on the streets in response to the sentencing.
Dirty War deaths
Videla assumed leadership in March of 1976 after deposing then-president Isabel Peron in a military coup.
According to a government report, more than 11,000 people died or disappeared during Argentina's Dirty War. Human-rights groups say the figure is closer to 30,000.
Reporting from Buenos Aires, Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera's Latin America editor, said that the relatives of those killed may feel that justice has only partially achieved.
"In all these cases people are still without the remains of their loved ones and many of them told me that they cannot forgive as they may never know where their loved ones are."
Newman added that Videla has already been sentenced for human-rights violations - which he was pardoned for.
"He was sentenced in 1985 for gross human-rights violations, but five years later president Carlos Menem issued a broad pardon for all the so-called henchman of the Dirty War," she said.
"Then a few years later he was imprisoned on a different charge, this time for stealing the babies of a lot of his victims, so that kept him under house arrest."
In 2005, Argentina's supreme court, at the urging of then-president Nestor Kirchner, struck down two amnesty laws that shielded hundreds of former officers from charges of human-rights abuses during the dictatorship.
Since becoming president in 2003, Cristina Fernandez has continued the push for renewing trials against military and police officers accused of human-rights violations during Videla's rule.
Videla's stand
In court on Tuesday, Videla appeared to lack any regret over his past actions, calling what many call the Dirty War a "just war".
"I did not come here to defend myself today nor speak in my defence, in my eyes, defending myself doesn't make sense," he said.
"With this reality, which I cannot change, I will accept, however unwillingly, the unjust sentence that you are able to pass on me as a contribution on my part to the ends of national harmony and I will offer it as an additional service that I owe to God, Our Lord and the nation."
In a clear jab at Fernandez and Kirchner, Videla said his "Marxist" enemies "completed their plans" and now rule the country.
"There is no doubt that the enemies defeated in the past completed their plans. Today they govern our country and aim to name themselves champions in defence of human rights while at the time they didn't hesitate to violate them [human rights] in a superlative fashion.
"They no longer need violence to get power, because they have the power. And with that they intend to install a Gramscist [Italian Marxist theorist, Antonio Gramsci] Marxist regime."
KENYA: MOVING AWAY FROM THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF FILM MAKING TO A PEOPLE’S FILM INDUSTRY
LAKE VICTORIA BASIN FILM MAKERS GUILD (KENYA).
THE SPEECH BY THE CHAIRMAN.
The Lake Victoria Basin Film Makers Guild (Kenya) an umbrella movement of local film makers based in Western Kenya.
The Film Guild hopes to inspire the local film makers to dream more of film making, learn new tricks in film making and therefore producing more interesting and memorable films.
The FILM GUILD”S vision is to make the Lake Basin region a centre of excellence in film making and the mission is to produce competent professionals capable of producing films that notch international standards. Its only through quality supporting and film making that we can become the new beacon of film making nationally.
It’s our intension as the FILM GUILD to seek ways and means of moving away from the commercialization of film making to a people’s film industry. A new industry that is not associated with professional mediocrity. Our films should be original and creative. We should not compromise creativity and originality at the alter of greed and short cuts. In the recent past, the region has been to the hub of low quality film productions and a place of cheap film labour force, local arstistes have complained of being manipulated and short changed in the industry by outside forces. This trend should be reversed. This should be our agenda as film makers in the region in 2011.
The Lake Victoria Basin Film Makers Guild (Kenya), hopes to create an indelible mark in the film industry through hard work, quality, creative and original scripting. This calls for a concerted effort by all stakeholders:- The region should accept to be spanner boys in the film industry. We should belong at the centre of film making. We need to market film industry to local establishment in the new counties.
The film industry has brought us together so that we can dream together. Tell our stories without fear in our uniquely way and with passion for posterity. We have a choice, to choice between profiteering and creativity. We have everything at our disposal. Lets not be divided to achieve the selfish ends. Some individuals would want to reap where they did not sow, for they see a lucrative market in the region.
As the former President of U.S.A. JF Kennedy stated in 1962 in Ottawa in Canada in poetic speech.
Geography has made us neighbours.
History made us friends.
We have shared common aspirations.
For the future
Our future and
The future of all mankind.
As the JFK stated, Geography has made us brothers and sisters. History has made us film makers and we have shared common aspirations because of our cultural backgrounds. As local film makers, let’s strive for quality film making. It’s a truism, that good scripting is the spine of good film making. World renown film script writers namely: Leighton Grist and David Lusted, once stated that “Writing, like all representation, is never innocent. To write about anything is explicitly or implicitly, to delimit, expand or challenge how it is perceived and constituted, neither is writing ever neutral. We write from a particular position, in habit a particular discourse, which the very act of writing seeks to validate”. From what perspective are we going to tell our untold stories? Are we going for short cuts and borrow heavily from Nigeria as most us have done before? This is Kenya and not Nollywood.
The 1st Regional Film/Theatre/Gospel/Radio and Fine Arts Awards seeks to invigorate cultural and film enterprise in the region by increasing the public’s consciousness of arts and film industry by providing organizational framework that will “market” the local artistes and film makers and their products effectively.
The main of objective of organizing the regional Awards is basically to expose, popularize and support the local film industry.
The Awards ceremony was founded this year to appreciate and recognize the local film makers, gospel artists for their exemplary and unique artistic contributions in the development of local film industry. The local film makers have expanded the space and the dimension of the emergence of local film industry.
THE JUSTIFICATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL FILM INDUSTRY.
The history of Kenya’s cultural, creative expressions, film industry and sporting activities is decorated by some of great talents from the Western region. The region, so to speak, has produced some of the most interesting and memorable creative writers, artistes and sports people. In the world of creative expression, the region boasts of Mrs. Grace Ogot, Mrs. Asenath Odaga, Dr. Margaret Ogolla and Prof. Francis Imbuga. Kenya’s film luminaries like Athumani Kapanga, Joseph Olita and Oliver Litondo. In the world of sports, soccer wizards like Shem Chimoto, Peter Oronge, James Sianga, Ouma Chege. Athletics, Charles Asati, Alice Adala, Kipchoge Keino. In visual arts, we have unique sculptors like Elkana Ongesa and John Diang’a.
A great Japanese philosopher made an observation about artistes and this is what he said “The creative mind do wonderful things but unless the public attaches value to what has been created, they will always be reduced to Toys and Jokes. It is important for those who create ideas, products and unique services to ensure that people see value in their creation. This calls for marketing and publicity. We need therefore, to cultivate a good working relations with the Media Houses to support the local film industry in Western Kenya. What strategies are we going to put in place to market and publicizes our unique services and creation in the region and beyond?
Brothers and sisters, it is a truism, that the various arts in Western Kenya are in the process of decline because they have been relegated to the position of unprofitable enterprises. Unfortunately, such great talents have emerged spontaneously and without organized local or national support consequently, some of the best talents in the region have been “forced” to retire early into oblivion, this has led to the falling cultural and film standards. This has moreover increased reliance on the imported cultural products and film productions. Some of the cultural products have actually borrowed from this region’s cultural potential.
REGIONAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
The Lake Victoria Basin Film Makers Guild (Kenya) realizes that tourism has and continues to play a critical role in the Kenya’s economic development. It has also contributed significantly to foreign and employment creation. The local film making will also go along way in the development of both domestic and foreign tourism. We believe that in future, film making will be a profession and not only a hobby. Film making is a big cake for all of us. Through film making, we will celebrate our cultural diversity in style.
The Awards ceremony will be an annual event in the region. We will also expect the participation of other players from the Lake Basin Region particularly, in Uganda and Tanzania (Lake Victoria Basin Film Guild chapters) in 2011. The future is bright if we don’t allow “foreign” meddlers to play Russian Roulette with our film industry. Let’s work as a team.
Film is a powerful social tool for transformative change, for film transcends time and space. It reveals what the eye cannot see. Let us not compromise arts for the sake of sheer profiteering,
Let’s protect the region from film exploitation, greed and manipulative forces. The region should not be reduced to a centre of mediocrity and cheap acting labour force.
APPRECIATION
The FILM GUILD is greatly indebted to the American Embassy for continued support and facilitations of the international film workshops. That has seen great American Film Makers facilitating workshops in Kisumu and Maseno University.
We are grateful to the American film makers like Prof. M.K. Asante, Mr. Scott Galloway, Madam Erin Persley, Mr. Giancalos Esposito, Madam Micks Dickoff, Madam Sandra Ruff. We also would like to acknowledge the Kenya International Film Festival for the organization of the 1st Kenya International Film Festival in Kisumu in 2010 at the Silver Bird Cinema at the Mega City (Nakumatt) and the Kenya Film Commission.
In conclusion, we as local film makers must strive and strategize on moving away from the commercialization of film making to a people’s film industry in Western Kenya.
We wish you a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New year.
May God Bless you abundantly.
Thank you. End.
AKECH OBAT MASIRA
CHAIRMAN: LAKE VICTORIA BASIN FILM MAKERS GUILD (KENYA)
PRESENTED DURING THE 1ST REGIONAL FILM/THEATRES/RADIO/GOSPEL AND FINE ARTS AWARDS 2010 – HELD AT THE KISUMU AREA LIBRARY ON THE
1ST, DECEMBER, 2010.
Website:http/misangoarts.blagspot.com.
googlesearch: obat masira
Tel: +254 726 164 954. Email: obatmasira@yahoo.com.
Kenya: NYANZA JOURNALIST RECEIVES DEATH THREATS
By Agwanda Jowi.
Nyanza based journalist, Samuel Otieno Owida, whose reporting has helped expose and publicize the unsolved 2009 murder of reporter Francis Nyaruri, received two anonymous threatening phone calls on Friday, warning that he could “share Nyaruri ' s fate”, according to local journalists.
Owida told "The Citizen Weekly" that the caller, who claimed to be part of the local Sungu Sungu militia that operates in western Kenya , asked if he was the journalist who publicized the killing of Nyaruri, and said they were “on to him.” In interviews with this writer, local journalists said they believe two suspects in custody for the murder of Nyaruri may be affiliated with the Sungu Sungu. The threats have forced Owida to take precautions and change locations frequently, he said.
Rachuonyo Officer Commanding Police Division, Naomi Ichami was quoted in news reports as saying that the district criminal investigation officer had launched an investigation into the matter.
“We are alarmed by the threats against Sam Owida and call on the authorities to thoroughly investigate”, said Tom Rhodes, Committee for Protecting Journalists East Africa Consultant. “Authorities must ensure Owida’s safety and revive investigations into Nyaruri’s brutal murder".
A close friend of Nyaruri, Owida was the first person to identify the bound and decapitated body of the late reporter.
At the Weekly Citizen, Nyaruri had exposed corruption by the local administration in the western town of Nyamira, the victim’s relatives said.
While many journalists were afraid to cover the story, Owida spoke on vernacular radio stations in western Kenya, and published reports in several newspapers highlighting Nyaruri’s murder and subsequent investigations.
ENDS.............................
Luo Thuondi!
From: MOSES OPADO
Once upon a time . . .
A duokoni Ruoth Nyasaye Nyakalaga Erokamano Maduong' kuom miyowa thuolo mondo wabed janeno Epiny Kenya.Ero sikukuu Ochopo Cham Uro kod Wedeu! Kuom yie achiel paro A chiel gi Geno Achiel.Jaluo ok Cham
Thuol! Wa lem Uru ni jowamatie eot Ang'enge,Ood Chieth,Endara kaachiel gi Mond Liete kod Maskindee!Ruoth Omiu Ngima mogudho kuom Ng'uonone.I wish you Merry Christmass and Happines comes New Year- Opado Obingo wuod Olwalo!
Kenya: Raila & Kibaki, side with impunity and end your political career & good legacy.
So, Kenya Parliaments wants Kenya to be withdrawn from the Rome Treaty that created the ICC. Kenya has always led the world from the front in athletics. When we killed each other after the 2007 elections, we almost lost all the glory and respect Kenya had in the world and our reputation as a law abiding nation was pushed way back. Now the Parliamentarians (except Karua and Kilonzo) want us to actually lead from the bottom. They want Kenya to be the first country out of some 114 countries to ever quit the ICC. They want us to quit before Sudan even thought of doing this abominable act of officially becoming a pariah state.
Oh Lord, Ngai, Were, Bahaula, Mulungu, Omwami Wanje, Nyasae Nyakalaga.....just how low will you allow our Parliamentarians to get us? Oh Baab, where is the bottom?
Ok, if this is the bottom, then let me tell what it really means:
1. This by far is the hardest ball Raila & Kibaki will ever have to play in their political life. If they allow Kenya to extricate itself from ICC, there will be consequences:
i) For Kibaki, his legacy will be inscribed in history as the only president who took office when the nation he led was the most optimistic and positive ecumenically and politically, then turned the most corrupt and hateful nation (what with 2007 PEV), then the most hopeful (what with the passing of the best constitution in Africa), to a pariah state.
ii) For Raila, his legacy will be inscribed as the 2nd Premier of Kenya, the most brilliant of leaders the country ever saw, but one who would never be president of Kenya, period.
I therefore advice the two principals as such: do not dare follow up with what the parliamentarians want you to do. It is a trap loaded with mines that are infused with cyanide. If you follow through with what they want, you will be torn open then poisoned.
Disregard the political emotions that the ICC case has caused. You are our leaders and must protect our constitution. Yes, you must turn into ICC even your own mother if this was the case in order to save Kenya. No one is guilty until proved guilty by ICC. Shield the suspects and suspects to be and you will be siding with impunity.
Reject our plea and risk our wrath at the ballot. We the people of Kenya, in the splendor of our diversity, hereby declare that should you pull Kenya out of ICC, it will never again be business as usual.
-- Joram Ragem
wuod Ndinya, wuod Onam, wuod Amolo, wuod Owuoth, wuod Oganyo, wuod Mumbe, wuod Odongo, wuod Olwande, wuod Adhaya, wuod Ojuodhi, wuod Ragem (You may be my relative, but it matters less now. This is New Kenya!)
USA: Share our progress
Folks,
Yes, 2010 is a year we recognize to have made strides of notable progress in many angles and earmarked potentials for economic progress in the coming years.
We couldn't have done it any better. The effects may not be felt immediately but will be realized in the coming months.
I therefore take this wonderful moment to join with the President to extend Seasonal Greetings to you, Wishing you with your family and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with many more Blessings.
Although physically apart, we are all united for a common purpose sharing the universe and striving to better Human lives and preserving nature.
Cheers !
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
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From: Barack Obama
Subject: Share our progress
Hello:
This time of year, Americans around the country are taking the time to exchange heartfelt messages with friends and loved ones, reflecting on the past year. They write of achievements and setbacks, of births, graduations, promotions, and moves.
These messages allow us to overcome the miles that separate us. And they allow us to continue one of the most basic American traditions that has held folks close for centuries -- the simple sharing of stories.
And as families gather around holiday tables this season, we also have the opportunity to share the stories of the change this movement has achieved together.
It is a narrative woven by individuals across America -- in big cities and small towns, hospitals and classrooms, in auto manufacturing plants and auto supply stores.
These are stories of rebuilding, and of innovation. Stories of communities breathing new life into old roads and bridges, of local plants harnessing alternative fuel into new energy. Stories of small businesses getting up, dusting themselves off, and beginning to grow again. Stories of soldiers who served multiple tours of duty in Iraq now coming home -- and enjoying the holidays this year in the company of loved ones.
These are stories of progress.
They unite us, and they are ours to share.
We've pulled many of them together in one place, PROGRESS. You can see what our reforms have meant to Americans in every state -- block by block, community by community.
Click here to read about stories of progress in your area -- and share them with your friends and family.
The reforms that we fought long and hard for are not talking points.
And their effects don't change based on the whims of politicians in Washington. They are achievements that have a real and meaningful impact on the lives of Americans around the country. They are achievements that would not have been possible without you. PROGRESS localizes them -- and brings them to life.
It tells of how a green technology business in Phoenix, Arizona, is using a grant through the Recovery Act's Transportation Electrification program to bring the first electric-drive vehicles and charging stations to cities around the country.
It tells how, thanks to closing the "donut hole" in prescription drug coverage, a diabetic woman in Burlington, Vermont will no longer have to choose between purchasing her monthly groceries or the insulin she needs to survive.
It tells about how 56,000 Maryland residents' jobs were saved or created by the Recovery Act.
And about how, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 17,600 small businesses in Maryland's 8th Congressional District are now eligible for health care tax credits -- and how 11,500 residents in Maryland's 8th with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage.
There are thousands more stories like these.
In the coming days, as we gather with our loved ones at dinner tables around the nation, let's pass them on. Let's celebrate the spirit of service and responsibility that brought them to fruition. And let's steady ourselves with the resolve to continue pressing forward.
Because the coming year will hold new challenges -- battles that have yet to be fought, and stories of progress that have yet to be written.
Take a look at the progress we've made in your area -- and share the stories you read with your friends and family:
http://progress.barackobama.com
Happy holidays, and God bless,
Barack
P.S. -- Last week, seven OFA volunteers joined me at the White House for a special meeting -- and they brought along your feedback from the Vote 2010 campaign. It was incredibly meaningful for me to be able to hear directly from supporters like you. And your input will be front and center as we plot our course moving forward into the new year. Please take a couple minutes to check out some photos and stories from the meeting.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/AMeetingWithThePresident/?source=20101223_BO_em
Kenya: Nation’s MPs vote to leave ICC over poll violence claims …
Folks,
There is no escape to ICC Hague by the genocide culprits.
These MPs ruling calls for an Emergency move to Curtail their plan.
To save Kenya, we need urgent set up of an Interim Government.
These named culprits are using government position to collect money as well as disposing of public properties and utilities to unsuspecting lured investors creating unpleasant economic environment in Kenya that which will complicate matters further for the New Government come 2012.
They must be stopped before they bring Kenya down to its knees.
Decision must be made in a spar of the moment, right now.
Tabia Mbaya must be curbed, it is cancerous and contagious. We must apply urgent remedy before it spreads out and catches other delicate veins and organs.
Thanks,
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
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SIASA MBAYA.wmv
Kuche kuche-Tabia mbaya
Kenya MPs vote to leave ICC over poll violence claims
23 December 2010 Last updated at 05:11 ET
Kenyan MPs have voted overwhelmingly for the country to pull out of the treaty which created the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The move comes a week after the ICC prosecutor named six Kenyans he accuses of being behind post-election violence.
The prosecutor's list included senior politicians and civil servants.
The MPs do not have the power to effect any immediate change in relation to the ICC but they have sent a message to government to start withdrawing.
Some 1,200 people died and more than 500,000 fled their homes in the violence following the disputed election in December 2007.
It ended when President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga agreed to share power, with Mr Odinga becoming prime minister.
In the peace deal they signed it was agreed perpetrators would face justice in Kenya or at the ICC in The Hague.
'Face of impunity'
The BBC's Will Ross in the capital, Nairobi, says if the government backs the MPs' call it would take at least a year for Kenya to formally withdraw from the ICC but active cases would not be halted.
ICC Suspects
Kibaki allies
Uhuru Kenyatta (above), deputy PM and finance minister
Francis Kirimi Muthaura, secretary to the cabinet
Mohammed Hussein Ali, former police chief
Odinga allies
Henry Kosgey, minister for industrialisation
William Ruto, suspended education minister
Joshua Arap Sang, radio executive
KENYA, D.R. CONGO, EAC: THE DANGERS OF POWER VACUUM IN KENYA
From: Lucia Akech
There is a leadership vacuum in Kenya right now and corporate controlled western governments are taking full advantage of it! Read the details in the link below:
http://csis.org/multimedia/video-interview-us-ambassador-kenya-michael-e-ranneberger
The ordinary Kenyans must prepare for potential dangerous hidden pitfalls in the forthcoming 2012 election circles!
The 2007/08 Kenya ’s elections brought with it chaos not anticipated by ordinary voting citizens who were expecting some real changes! Instead, they were forced to deal with loss of lives, properties and displacement of about 350,000 people! Foreign businesses, particularly those relying on the Kenya-Uganda Railways to transport goods from Rwanda , Burundi , Uganda and Southern Sudan through Mombasa were also paralyzed. However, these businesses have not been sitting idle since then! What is worrisome is the announcement by ICC prosecutor, Moreno Ocampo that a number of Kenyans may be going to The Hague, a court that has been strategically set up by corporate controlled western governments to create chaos and then prosecute Africans elites who may be temped to engage in the chaos, particularly, if they are not favored by these corporations! In slightly over one year from now, campaigns for the 2012 general elections will begin!
We now have a Coalition government, negotiated by the usual African intellectual proxies like Kofi Annan and others. Nobody knows whether the contested Coalition Government, which has created a gaping power vacuum, was done to protect the 99% of struggling Kenyans, or or to protect foreign entities operating in Kenya who are taking full advantage of it! Knowing that the 2007 elections resulted in the deaths of about 1,500 unarmed Kenyans and left at least 350,000 others running for their lives, ordinary Kenyans citizens cannot afford to bury their heads in the sand and assume that 2012 elections will run smoothly. They must take cues from events that led to the 1994 Rwanda genocide because there are similarities!
Prior to invading Rwanda , Kagame was a powerful general in the Ugandan army. In fact, the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) was an integral part of Ugandan army and whoever endorsed, trained, financed and maintained the incorporation of exiled Rwandans into Ugandan army must have had some specific intent.
On August 4, 1993, the negotiated settlement between the Hutu led Rwandan government of Juvenal Habyarimana and the Ugandan based exiled Tutsi RPF forces, under Paul Kagame, was reached in Arusha, Tanzania: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arusha_Accords
For some mysterious reason(s) yet to be explained, Paul Kagame chose a different path to grab power in Rwanda, resulting in loss of about 800,000 Rwandan civilian lives in a matter of 100 days!
Barely two years after that mayhem, Kagame would proceed to march into Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) where about 7,000,000 (7 million or more) unarmed Congolese civilians have been slaughtered!
One would think that the deaths of millions of unarmed civilians would create uproars in every corner of the world, particularly, African. Instead, there has been a news blackout by world’s corporate controlled media and many Africans are not even aware that close to 7 million unarmed Africans have been slaughtered in Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo)! Even African Union does not dare to talk about what is happening in Congo! It is like nobody values Africans lives, including Africans themselves!
Kofi Annan and Moreno Ocampo, who have been very busy and vocal about the deaths of 1,500 Kenyans, have been very silent about the deaths of 10 million of unarmed Africans in Congo! Annan was the UN Undersecretary responsible for UN Peace Keeping Forces during the Rwandan genocide. He was the UN Secretary General while the Congolese were being slaughtered by the millions. He played it cool by being very limp and mute!
It is bad enough that one unarmed human should be senselessly killed, particularly for the family members left behind. However, it is stunning that the deaths of 1,500 unarmed Kenyans has woken up Kofi Annan while the deaths of 800,000 unarmed Rwandans in 1994 or deaths or 7 millions Congolese that followed were allowed to happen.
Severe attempts have been made by corporate-controlled western governments and the UN to change the subject when it comes to discussing the deaths of 7 million Africans in Congo. Those who have attempted to raise their voices about what is happening in Congo have been met with vicious attacks from the very media and the international communities who have now employed Mr. Annan and Mr. Ocampo to work in Kenya. The vicious critics would rather discuss the diminishing population of gorillas in the Virunga National Park than millions of innocent African men, women and children being annihilated in Congo! It looks like these forces have the power to pick and choose who deserves to live and those African millions whose deaths do not deserve to be mentioned! Why?
http://rwandinfo.com/eng/karegeya-and-nyamwasa-to-the-un-kagame-is-one-of-the-major-if-not-the-principal-stumbling-block-to-peace-and-stability-in-the-great-lakes-region/
Paul Kagame’s corporate supporters have fully endorsed his claim that his march into Congo was in pursuit of the Hutus, blamed for the 1994 Rwandan genocide! The deaths of 7 million Congolese seem to have been explained away as collateral damages which must be ignored! Those collateral damages continue to die in Congo .
For some reason(s), Rwanda has been rewarded with both membership of East African Community and the British Commonwealth! The addition of Rwanda and Burundi as member states in EAC took place in July 2007; the time campaigns for the 2007 Kenyan elections were at their peaks! In less than 6 months, the rigging of the elections and violence that followed would occupy the attention of Kenyans wherever they were on planet earth! While every Kenyan’s attention was fixed on this internal turmoil, a couple of events started taking shape: (a) the formation of Kenyan Coalition government (was and still is) being shoved down the throats of the members of the squabbling two political parties (ODM and PNU) by Kofi Annan (b) some of these Kenyan elites (were and still are) being threatened with prosecution at the ICC court at The Hague by Mr. Moreno Ocampo (c) other members had their travel visas revoked by governments of United States, European Union and Australia (d) some of the newly elected MPs were being eliminated through crafted assassinations (e) rules of engagements in the newly formed East African Community (Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) were being crafted and pushed hard by same people! THIS IS THE POWER VACUUM STARING AT KENYANS AS 2012 ELECTIONS ARE APPROACHING!
All critical events with far-reaching consequences are taking place simultaneously! The questions which the right minded Kenyans must ask are: (a) how have the squabbling Kenyan elites manage to comprehend the implications and feasibility of adding Rwanda and Burundi as members of the EAC? (b) Why are these EAC discussions being pursued with such vigor at time when the attention of the elites who could have effectively represent Kenyans’ interests are elsewhere? (c) Who has been representing Kenyans’ land issues which are at stake at these EAC critical negotiations? Could it be he Paul Kagame or his partner, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni? These war-lords are masters at, intentionally, operating under the radar screen in such chaotic environments because this is are the time when most damage can be done to the whole country! http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29299
Do not forget that this has also been the period when Uganda has been going after Migingo Island in Lake Victoria ! It is also the time when the Great Lakes’ proxy-in-chief, Paul Kagame, has been suggesting that the governing of Kenya be taken over by the military! http://voicesofafrica.africanews.com/site/list_messages/15343
Kenyans, particularly those with vested interests in or have loved ones around Lake Victoria region, should be very concerned about the presence of Paul Kagame in the newly formed East African Community. Kenyans must find out the real reasons behind (a) EAC failure in 1977 (b) its revival in 2000 (c) why it has been vital to add Rwanda and Burundi as members in 2007! There are interests being served by this move and it may not be poor Kenyans’ interests. Bundling all the tribal groups of Rwanda , Burundi , Kenya , Uganda and Tanzania under one roof will create chaos and nobody knows how the potential chaos will be resolved and by whom! The people pushing these views believe that African lives cannot stand in the way of their resources interests!
There are also talks of lumping together all tribal groups under one super government called Federation of East African with the hope that managing them will miraculously be a cake walk! Unless the brains behind this idea are intending to politically marginalize and/or clean-up some particular tribes, this idea can only serve the purpose of those brains. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_African_Federation.
Nobody knows who the winners and losers of this colossal merged government will be and what will happen to the losers or the marginalized! With the lack of development in healthcare, education, roads construction, water and sewage treatments, power and lighting in individual states, who would be in charge of the Federation of East Africa governments? How would this individual be chosen? How will the daunting task of the severe underdevelopment problems be addressed? How will the land issues be resolved? In other words, who will be calling shots on land ownership or will the marginalized be corralled in Kibera-like slums that may spring everywhere?
What is happening now had happened before. Just as many African countries were gaining their “independence”, the emerging African leaders were being coerced and bamboozled into signing deals that left economic powers in the hands of same colonial rulers who are now making critical decisions about what they see as good for Kenyans and Africans. These decisions turned out to be false and have left Africa in colossal debts with African elites blamed for corruption and failures.
The debts have hindered development in Africa due to the fact that most African resources, including land and infrastructures are held as sureties by creditors who advanced loans, like World Bank Group and IMF. Most, if not all, of Africa ’s borrowed money have gone towards the purchase of second-hand military equipments primarily used to mow down unarmed African civilians who are not allowed to complain!
All African ruling elites are left to perform law enforcement duties of controlling and reigning in on their African citizens to ensure the safety of the foreign war-lords pushing for changes that cater for their security interests! The results have been dead with many unarmed Africans dying!
Kenya: HUGE LOSS BY KPLC
By Dickens Wasonga.
KPLC has lost over Shs.12 million from theft of electric poles and transformer vandalism in Western Kenya region in the last one month.
Poles that KPLC security officers held at Lolwe Estate in Kisumu if already loaded in a hired truck belonging to Kajulu holdings by unknown persons.
Addressing the media at the Kenya Power and Lightning Company offices in Kisumu, Ronald Musebe, the company’s security chief in the region attributed the huge loss to current shortage of the poles in the country.
He said the vandals have been taking advantage of the scarcity of the posts in the country to steal the already purchased ones by the company and scratch their marks so that they resupply them to KPLC.
Musebe was speaking as he displayed thirty one poles belonging to their company that they recovered last Friday at Kisumu’s Lolwe estate, already loaded in a truck by unknown persons.
“They had already loaded in a hired truck thirty one poles out of the thirty four that our company had gathered at the estate for use,” said Musebe.
He said the truck belonging to Kajulu holdings in Kisumu had been hired by one Stephen Kamau from Nakuru, whom they however did not manage to arrest.
“We only managed to arrest the driver, but our officers are pursuing others in connection to the theft,” he added.
He pointed out that the KPLC marks on the poles had already been scraped with a file in order to kill evidence when resupplying them to the company.
He added that the ten loaders who were also hired to be paid Shs. 8,000 for the job also managed to escape.
Musebe mentioned that with the arrest of the truck, it puts the figure of vehicles held in Kisumu alone loaded with their company’s poles to four.
“In the last one month alone we have arrested five vehicles in Kisumu and Siaya alone, four in Kisumu and one in Siaya,” he added.
He lamented that with each pole costing Shs. 11,000, the rampant theft is likely to pose a great loss to the company.
Musebe also cited rampant theft of copper wires at Rabuor in Kisumu.
He called on the public to volunteer any information to the company incase they come across none KPLC staff handling the company’s equipment.
Two Weeks ago, five people, including a lady suspected to have been frequently involved in transformer vandalism in the area, were arrested at Nyamasaria area in Kisumu.
Western Kenya regional KPLC manager Eng. Jared Otieno said the company has lost Shs. 10 million in the last one month due to transformer vandalism alone in the region.
He said KPLC recorded a loss of twenty transformers to vandals in the region and attributed it to inadequate security personnel manning the equipment.
He cited Webuye, Vihiga, Kakamega, Oyugis, Kisii and Kisumu as some of the areas in the region where transformer vandalism is rampant.
Ends…
Funeral Announcement – Dada Roselida Sule Sidigu
The family of the late Dada Roselida Sule Sidigu announce her death which occurred on 8th Dec. at 5 pm. She was the daughter to the late Okuom Kothuon of Nyamasaria Kolwa village. She was married to the late Eliud Sidigu Audi of Kisumo Karateng and blessed with 5 children, namely, Gilbert Omollo, Hesbon Owino, Florence Adoyo (the late), Monica Olango and Odundo jaKarateng'. Her daughters in-law are Jenipher Omollo, Magdaline Owino (the late), Kezia Omollo, Lucy Sidigu, Eve Omollo and Magdaline Amina. Her sons in-law are Samuel Ombura and Calleb Rombo (the late). Her brothers in-law are John Adero and Collins Audi. She had 36 Grand-children and 27 great-grandchildren.
The body will be removed from Port Florence mortuary on 30th and buried on 31st Dec. 2010 at her home in Nyabera Village, Kisumu Karateng'.
Lendo:
Familia mar mosenindo Dada Roselida Sule Sidigu lando tho mare mane otimore tarik aboro dweni saa apar gachiel. Ne en nyar mane osenindo Okuom Kothuon ma Nyamasaria Kolwa. Ne okende gi mane osenindo Eliud Sidigu Audi mane en Ja-Kisumo Karateng. Ne Nyasaye ogwedho gi kod nyithindo abith, Gilbert Omollo, Hesbon Owino, Florence Adoyo (mane osenindo), Monica Olango kod Odundo jaKarateng'. Mond yawuoyi gin Jenipher Omollo, (mane osenindo) Magdaline Owino, Kezia Omollo, Lucy Sidigu, Eve Omollo kod Magdaline Amina. Ochene gin Samuel Ombura kod (mane osenindo) Calleb Rombo. Yuochege gin John Adero kod Collins Audi. Nyikwaye gin piero adek gi auchiel kod dhokliunda piero ariyo gi birio.
Ringre negol Port Florence tarik piero adek to ik mare en tarik piero adek gachiel e dala mar Kisumo Karateng', gweng' mar Nyabera.
KENYA: NATION’S LEADERS WANT GOVERNMENT TO INVEST MORE IN THE LAKE.
By Agwanda Jowi
Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo, together with seven Members of Parliament drawn from Lake Victoria region, are now calling upon the government to put more investment into the lake in order to spur economic growth of the region.
The legislators say that the potential in the lake region remains underexploited.
Midiwo says that the central government continues to collect billions of shillings annually, from the lake’s resources, but does no development in return.
He says it is time the government plough back some money to the lake to improve infrastructure and improve on its sustainability.
He says there is a need to open up a ring road along the lake, alongside electricity, to assist fishermen to preserve their fish and access markets in time.
The MPs, who spoke during a meeting organized by the Indigenous Fisher People’s Network in Kisumu, noted that the fishing policies must be implemented to restructure the fishing sector.
Hon. Oyugi Magwanga, MP for Kasipul Kabondo, noted that good polices which can rejuvenate the fishing sector are just lying on the shelves and so must be implemented.
Magwanga says that there is no point of passing more policies while the existing laws remain unimplemented.
MPs present were Ekwe Ethuro, Pollyns Ochieng, John Pesa, James Rege, and Martin Ogindo.
ENDS