Kenya has a constitution in place and that has been the problem since independence. I don’t think that Kenyans woke up and said enough is enough to themselves and started burning homes belonging to neighbors for the sake of it. I condemn acts of such violence personally and I hope that such atrocious acts do not reccur. Having said that I would like to comment on Kibaki’s latest rhetoric on the impasse.
Kibaki, after having been holed in State House, while Kenyans were butchering themselves and burning homes, comes out to say that “he would not mind sharing responsibilities (note the change of terminology) with ODM as long as it is within the Kenyan constitution. I think this is one of the most outrageous statements that Kibaki of all the people could say.
First and foremost, Kibaki violated the constitution that he pretends to uphold. By putting pressure on ECK to declare an unlawful announcement of stolen election results, trigerring violence and killings, usurping executive powers of the presidency and ordering innocent kenyans to be shot and killed by police, to me is murder and felonious. If this is not enough to send this man to the gallows then I don’t understand the law. Are these not stipulaed clearly within the legal statutes of our constitution that he is invoking now when Kenyans need a way forward?
This is the kind of impunity that has been used to abuse kenyan citizens for a very long time. We have to put more pressure and petition all the help that we can get for the right change to come to kenya. I welcome US, EU, UN call for immediate resolution to the whole impasse as long as justice is seen to be done to meet majority demands. kenyans voted to bring change. This demonstration was denounced by an iron fist. Kibaki abused the constitution so much in the extreme that it is an insult to kenyans for him to come out and make such a foolish demand that Kenyan constitution ought to be respected after he has shown total disrespect for the same constitution himself!
I am calling upon brave Kenyans to tell Kibaki that he is very wrong on this and change must be made. He is already getting away with so much just being offered some sort of power sharing because Raila should have been in State House already, having won the elections by popular vote and provincial percentage. If Kibaki cannot realize the plight of the majority of Kenyans, then we ought to force him to vacate State House because he is not living there legally. He should be in jail together with Kivuitu, Gicheru, Ali, and all those who took part in the illegal swearing in ceremony based off forged results. Haiti, Iraq, Liberia among others have been helped to rid such dictators in the past. Same should be applied to Kenya. I call upon the Kenyan and International Community to do the same to Kibaki if he continues to stand in the way of this, Kofi Annan, mediation process with such foolish rhetoric!
Julius Okelo
Peaceful approaches
Believe me or not the Kikuyu elite and the Kikuyus who support Kibaki like the Gema community abroad are largely responsible for the crises the country is in presently and the way out could easily be in their hands.
Consider the latter’s massive show of support for the illegitimate and self-installed government recently.Did this folk reaction show care about the violation of the ideals of democracy and did it show care about the implications of that gesture on the political perceptions of fellow citizens especially those from other communities who value democratic ideals?
Naturally they failed that common sense test of democracy by supporting a nascent dictatorship and consequently scorned democratic ideals. It is no wonder sadly, that a majority of non-Kikuyu communities who cherish dearly the values of democracy felt slighted and expressed aggressive and unsympathetic social behaviour towards them.
Fortunately, the Kikuyu’s generally unfriendly political behaviour has provoked in the collective mind and heart of other communities an irreversible backlash in favour of extreme forms of democracy and government.At one time a friend discussed secession another one shouted federalism and so forth.These spontaneous passionate outbursts seem politically rash and outlandish but they’re the realistic political seeds taking root in the collective consciousness of the people, hopefully they will flower soon or later regardless of the prevailing Kikuyu politically vicious and oppressive atmosphere marked by gun rule, wicked corruption, colonial British divide and rule dirty methods, dictatorship and unlimited ‘tribal’ imperialism.
The latter words are strong seemingly, nonetheless they’re appropriately descriptive and should be evoked and applied in defence of the spirit of free speech and democracy, given the current hostile conditions to that spirit; a violater of such basic rules of political and social decency along with his or her sycophants no matter their social standing should not merit accolade of whatever sort but deservedly disdain and fittingly villification and absolute contempt.
Villainous power revels in ruling by fear and other vitriolic methods antagonistic to basic human rights and their expression; resistance to injustice for instance is frowned upon and ferociously suppresed as millions have recently witnessed on television.
Under the present circumstances let the spirit of democracy flourish in our souls and mind.
And let it get expression through whatever forms of media available to it.Verbal expression of intolerance against injustice besides being a human right, is an act of non violent protest or resistance which should not be censored by any upholder of justice and democracy.
The worst thing to do is to be complascent now and allow the stifling of the democratic spirit to occur out of fear encouraged by the hater of democracy and his ‘tribal’ allies. Even though, shamefully, witch-hunting has already taken shape; ridiculously, a program hatched out yet again by Kikuyu leaders (the latter community remark is deliberately used, it’s pointlessly misleading to gloss over a fact through usage of obscure terms like – Kenyan leader), friends of democracy should be politically vigilant and not permit their odious motivations to prevail.
The values of the present leadership which include; tenacity to a British colonial constitution and a burning desire to advance British cultural values at the expense of African values, politics of economic and social marginalisation of communities e.g pastoral ones etc. and consequently their political disempowerment reveals a leadership posture that is out of step with the 21.century needs of politically aware and educated post-colonial Africans.
It’s particularly laughable and utterly despicable that these repressive and outdated racist colonial ideals are the ones shared by the vast majority of the Gema community and their leaders e.g. Kenyatta and Kibaki; Keep Moi out of this equation since he ignorantly followed in the footsteps of his mentor predecessor, thus he added nothing new; he operated solely inside a Kenyatta designed heinous ideology and model and besides he left office by respecting democracy.
So, in practice, the Gema community solidarity with the dictator means e.g. that they feel good or are satisfied when their community grows fat out of exploitation of the land resources around e.g. Lake Naivasha or Laikipia while the indigenious natives of those areas are denied access to the same economic empowerment opportunities. Regretably, it is alienating approaches to development of this form praciced and perfected by members of the Gema community that have made them wealthy people wealthy at the expense of other communities who have become paupers in their own ancestral lands.
Further, one comes across writing pieces in Kikuyu owned media where Kikuyu writers conceitedly claim that their wealth apparently is linked to hard work, giving the impression that other citizens from other communities aren’t billionares by virtue of their own stupidity, backwardness and laziness. Such spurious suggestions and claims function largely as a smokescreen that misleads the readers about the nature in which that community has enriched itself disproportionately relative to other commmunities.
Anyhow, the presence of this community in other provinces in the country is seen by the indigenious locals as an unfortunate event and honestly an unwelcome one. Factually, they were not cordially invited to live or co-exist with indigenious people of the provinces in the first place.
Even though their presence is linked to previous generations of Kikuyu leaders, they remain still a sore in the heart of the native locals. And their exploitation of resources that are regarded as the rightful inheritance of the indigineous natives of those provinces, only breeds more disenchantment towards them; the political pain or powerlesness is indescribably felt when one sees individual kikuyus becoming political leaders and adopting indigenious names to pass off as natives like Mr.Kinuthia George Saitoti in order to plunder or take maximum advantage of the Rift Valley abundant resources to benefit their own kinsmen. And those who stand in their way, against their territorial cupidity like Sempeta Ole Marima are quickly branded trouble makers for thereafter to be brutally murdered.
Fortunately many Kikuyus have come to their senses and for the sake of ultimate peace are returning to their rich and lovely indigenious ancestral homeland in the central province.It’s a tragic outcome of a story that was destined to be tragic in the first place by it’s conspiratorial architects who like the British colonists overlooked intentionally the local Human, Economic,Cultural, Civil and Indigenious rights of the native local populations.
One is made to recall the dubious land deals or contracts the British made with the native indigenious societies, at least the British colonist through the contracts aknowledged that the land wasn’t theirs in the first place and ultimately had the intentions of returning those land tracts to their indigenious rightful owners after the expiry of those contracts.
Unlike the British colonist who signed a contract, Kenyatta’s disdain for the non-Kikuyu African was unparallelled, arrogantly, he simply moved hundreds of thousands of his community members from their homeland to occupy land in other provinces viz. the Rift Valley;there, they literally took over the scarce natural resources that was the legacy of another people. This madcap scheme and bestial act took place, absolutely without any need for signing any contracts whatsoever.
Kenyatta justified his actions by an unjust act of parliament that said every citizen had the right to move and live freely wherever they liked in the country.Well and good, but how many hundreds of thousands from other communities moved to settle in the central province?
To many people especially in the pastoral communities, suffering from the seemingly irrational and patronising political implications of Kenyatta’s tyranny and Kibaki’s despotism and on top of all that their collective ‘tribal’ Napoleonism, the gradual departure of members of this community from the Rift Valley is highly refreshing both emotionally and politically; and besides being naturally a welcome sight from the angle of ending present social and political tensions and ultimately ushering an era of peace with their exit, it is moreover keenly felt to be a long overdue event with enourmous restorative social-economic, religious and cultural implications.
Recently, inside one of the of the trucks ferrying Kikuyus to their lush and beautiful homeland, a journalist overheard community members in a discussion. A young female asked, ”Did you see this coming?” The majority accurately replied, ”No. We didn’t see it coming”.Unbelieveably, in all the 44 years of living in the Kenyan local diaspora, and profiting from the fat of the land, these occupiers neither took time, cared to ponder on the moral basis of their diasporic presence nor imagine, reflect upon the social economic reality of the Kamatusa people and others who have had similar experiences elsewhere.
Simply, in the Kikuyu leadership mind and heart, the life and the social-economic needs of for instance the indigenious Kalenjin or Maasai or Pokots etc was of no consequence, as far as Kikuyu life and survival was conserned native population interests were secondary to those of the Kikuyu occupiers.Put differently, the local indigenious people and their lands are seen as a means of actualising Kikuyu social economic ends.
The present government thinks it can built a peaceful society under the barell of the gun.The truth is far from that, it can’t; for the path is found in the message carried at one time by a Kibera slum heroine of democracy and justice who held out a placard shouting to the world -No Raila, No Peace.
Her simple message for justice will not die, neither will it be intimidated.Instead, against the wishes of the tyrant governer in the state house, it will live, thrive and bear fruit in our hearts and minds untill democracy is triumphantly restored again. Hopefully, the forces of the impolitic and villainous leadership will stumble in their paths toward political and historical oblivion. For sooner or later the current system will go the way of Apartheid, European colonialism and Slavery; it is presently in the doldrums politically neither nationally nor internationally doest it have powerful civilised allies to invigorate it.
Anyhow, as Africans taking our history into account we owe our children a new, honorable and refined legacy one that is characterised by freedom from fear, liberty and democracy and respect for all United Nations charters pertaining to Human Rights; let us courageously stand for democracy and non violent action under these trying political and social circumstances. And let us, unlike the despot Kenyatta, respect and value the human, political, economic, civil and cultural and indigenious rights of communities,be they at the Coast, NEP or the Rift Valley or elsewhere in the country.
It would be a noble and patriotic deed indeed if the hundreds of thousands of Kenyans who benefited illegally under the tyranny of Kenyatta,Moi and Kibaki; to the degree that they disposessed indigenious people of their land property in the Rift Valley and elsewhere, voluntarily handed them over to their rightful traditional owners for the sake of lasting peace.
Ultimately, the many Kikuyu for example who have benefited from Kenyatta’s misrule should heed the explicit and implicit call to return to their ancestral homeland. Naturally, the government might compensate them partially for their losses by giving them land in their ancestral homelands.Otherwise the corrupt elite billionaires from that community must use their stolen wealth to alleviate the suffering of their own kinsmen.
Fortunately, thousands have already started the journey home, may God bless them, and make them prosperous in their rightful homeland for now untill a new constitution is in place and political, economic and cultural federalism is intitutted.
Baraka Nyingi!
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Julius, I understand your pain……buts thats where our similarities end. I and everyone else can clearly tell you’re a tribal bigot, jarateng’! Thats exactly what caused the problem in Kenya. Kibaki may have stolen the elections (and I truly believe he did) but that does not mean that we should trash the constitution. Thats the only thing we have left, whether it’s good or bad, but we can only work within the confines of it. Otherwise God forbid, should someone else in future (say 30 years from today when Raila and Kibaki are long gone), decides he/she will disobey the constitution just coz it happened in 2008 with impunity…..we’re setting a precedence here. They only reason you argue like you do is coz of tribal affiliations. Comeon men, I’m Luo too but I don’t think we’ll be solving any problem by supporting these guys just coz they come from the same tribes as we do. The fact of the matter is that Raila banks on tribal division to acquire what his father failed to acquire. I’d rather go with more sober people as Musalia Mudavadi or James Orengo that the likes of militant chauvinists and bigots like Raila, Balala and the war monger that is Ruto. Look at what has happended to your homeland, Kisumu. Is this what you really want? What has Raila done in Kibera since 1992? Nothing, right? So what do you think he can do for Kenya, if he has done nothing for an area less than 1% of the total area in Kenya? Ask yourself some really hard questions. By the way Kibaki is no better, though Raila is worse! ODM is a movement by all means, but not a political party! And thats how they managed to get the whole country go all up in flames. Thats the work of movements my friend. Political parties owe allegiance to their supporters hence would never want to have damage within the areas where the supoorters live….but look at what happened. Who suffered more? The Nyar’kuyu, Kambas, Meru, Kisii, Embu? NO! It’s the Kalenjins, Luos and Luhyas. Kisumu is destroyed….Luos can no longer work in Central Province….Eldoret is no more…Kericho e.t.c. We all need to wake up. After the Balalas kick out th eKikuyus from Coast, who will be next? The Luos maybe? We need to stop feeding the pig and busy to nation building. Get rid of Kibakis, Michukis, Odingas, Rutos, Mois, Balalas of this country. Find someone like Mudavadi or Kirwa…maybe Orengo or
Joe K’opelo, you have tried to bring some reason however yours is a very shallow and uninformed contribution. You offer consolation and no solution. There are historical injustices that have to be resolved and among them is the constitution.
To Joe K’pedo;
(1) I am grateful that the Luos are not allowed to do slave work in Central Province. ODM was not allowed to set foot in Central Province to campaign for the ill-fated 12/27/07 elections either. This indicates the the people in central province are unable to tolerate other tribes in their midst.
(2) You are control freak because you think you can dictate to the rest of Kenyan tribes the kind of leaders you feel would good for them. This dictatorial technic has been overused by the powerful elites since 1963. Moi was forced down the throats of the Kalenjins to appease them while their land was being grabbed. It was not until Moi turned into a monster that Raila was then used in 2002 by Kibaki to get rid of Moi. It is ironic that PNU saw it fit to solicit support from the same monstreous Moi five years later. Kibaki and elites in power are very good at using other tribes to advance their strangle hold on the rest of the suffering Kenyans. I hope the young people from other tribes learn the lessons about the horrors of being tokenized by the power elites who do not give a damn about their respective trbes.
(3) Raila has never held any powerful ministry respomnsible for development of Kenyan towns, including Nairobi, which have been converted into slums with open raw sewage and no running water. so your suggestion that Kibera or Kisumu is not developed because of him indicates how little you know about sources of development Kenya. Who should Kenyans hold accountable for Mathare?
(4) You are not a LUO buddy; you are “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. STOP USING FLUNKIES FROM OTHER TRIBES TO RULE KENYANS WITH IRON FIST!
Thats well put Lucia..Need i say more?