Avana va Andimi,
The National Carnival over Raila Odinga’s appointment as Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya continues.
Kisumu literally stayed awake all night celebrating the good news of  Raila’s elevation. A historic occasion.
The Wananchi in Vihiga were all joy and smiles this morning. It has been a little difficult to meet any frowns.
It is a good feeling all over. In Majengo, the ‘sukuti’ whole of yesterday night kept all and sundry awake and conscious to the great news.
Public transport in Kisumu town, Isebania and Migori was free all evening yesterday. To limitation to the number of trips you wanted to make.
The policemen joined the crowds in the dance and song. It was just too good to hold back and they had to drop the official ‘sura ya kazi’ as they succumbed to nature and the reality of the contagious happiness and excitement that rent the atmosphere.
In Kakamega, one policeman was overwhelmed with joy as tears rolled down his cheeks and he lay flat in  the middle of the tarmac road in full uniform and armed.
Forgiveness is here, happiness that pervades boundaries. The hugs, the cheers, the ululations name it. You got to have been here to understand. It is a goose pimples kind of feeling!
God, this is what the people of Kenya deserved all along.
Oh, thank you God for delivering the people of Kenya from Pharaoh!!
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The policemen that have been posted all around Uhuru Park were nowhere this morning.
Martha Karua aka ‘Jezebel’ is so flustered by the goings on, she skipped today’s panel discussion on agenda 4 at the Serena Hotel – Good riddance to bad rubbish. We pray she stays away longer.
Onwards to the promised land!!
Lest I be carried away in my writing with this electric feeling and write too much, let me pen-off here for now. ‘But do I say yawa !’ Then Greek – ‘Nuvunuganugi vwenyine. Izisarura zyuvuyanzi! Magu!
Sande
HR Activist
VIHIGA
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Thank you for the update Sande. It is nice to publish good news for a change.Â
We must now hope and pray for the best while continuing to actively engage in this newly formed system of governance. The wananchi will need to continue to press for constitutional reforms so that no president in Kenya ever has too much power and so that we have a document that all Kenyans can turn to for guidance and answers in times of crisis. There will be resistance from the old guard (Karua, Michuki, Kibaki, etc.), but no Kenyan can afford to leave justice to chance again. Laws must be written or rewritten, implemented and enforced indiscriminately so that we can continue on the path of democracy.
For today, we share the joy of all Kenyans, but with reservations. Tomorrow, we must begin the hard work of rebuilding Kenya’s democracy.  It is a task that is never-ending but that becomes easier as we continue to chip away at a culture of corruption and to normalize justice. The difficult part–mainstreaming democracy in Kenya–is upon us right now. We call on all Kenyans to rise to the occassion to ensure that Kenya’s democracy is constituted on a firmer basis than was the case even three months ago. Democracy must always be jealously guarded from those who would steal its benefits for personal gain rather than enhance it for the common good.       Â
Regards,
Jaluo Press
You know, now that odinga has gotten the position and the title he wanted, (well, close to it), lets see what he can now deliver that he has not been able to all this time he has been a representative of the poor in kibera. What is it that he will do for his tribesman that he couldn’t do before? What is it that he will do for his constituents that he couldn’t do before as he rode around in a hummer? Oh wait- it was those Kikuyus who prevented it. Even in the 24 years of nyayo rule, they were somehow responsible. Well, the time for scapegoating is over. It has been very convenient to point the finger and talk about how “domineering” the kikuyu are. But maybe, just maybe its important to hold our elected representatives accountable or their failures too?
I’m not writing all this to be a spoil spot. But now that we have the power that Raila insisted he needed to make changes, hand’t we better hold him accountable? Will we agree with him when he blames those kikuyus this time around? We are intelligent, thinking people, right? Let’s not allow “our leader” to make us the fool by telling us lies. And as for Balala, that whole rhetoric about an island like lesotho, is that what we want? Are we saying, really, that for us to prosper, we have to isolate and kill kikuyus? This kind of thinking is very familiar and let me remind you that history tells us of someone who thought the same way – his name was hitler.
Please people, let’s be careful with this new found power. Otherwise the other tribes will turn the tables and we will be next scapegoats. We’ll be the ones being kicked out of our homes and burned in churches.
Kenyans should wait before uncorking the champaigne. What are we celebrating? Did I miss something? Is Kivuitu in Jail? Is the duly elected Mwizi Kibaki still president? What are we celebrating?
All good meaning Kenyans should take this agreement with a pinch of salt. You cannot not sit with thieves and to discuss the security of cash. I have bad news fellow Kenyans, this agreement is doomed to fail ab intio. ODM have been duped into having half loaf instead of the full loaf, the problem is that the half loaf is rotten. ODM is legitimising a bandito regime headed by a thief. What Raila has done is to sanitize one Emilio Mwizi Kibaki. There is no mention of elections after two years-this is stressful to say the least.
There is need to be vigilant so that we do not lose the focus of the struggle. Lets be true to the woman felled in Naivasha as the son cried and the man shot and kicked in Kisumu.
We want justice. Lets start with Mwizi, then the Electral commissioners.
Misdeeds should be checked before multiplying
Kenya is stepping in to unknown political wilderness with the signing of a coalition government deal brokered by Kofi Annan. However, her citizen are forgetting errors whose sequel may in future be unpalatable.
The Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) should already be only in the history books. If there are legal hurdles to overcome, its chairman, Mr. Kivuitu and his deputy should not be on the job as legal means to disband the commission is put in place. The entire ECK staff should already have resigned considering that their actions and /or inactions propelled the country in to unprecedented upheavals. The current personnel at the ECK should not in a public office. In Kenya, their actions are now history, and they may take part in the forthcoming by-elections and repeat elections in 3 constituencies whose results were denied.
Another error that has just occurred is in the deletion of some nominated councilors’ names by the current minister for Local Government, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta. Mr. Kenyatta is reported to have replaced at least 100 councilors’ names presented to ECK by nominating parties and inserting names of his cronies. This was, ironically, confirmed by Mr. Kivuitu who demanded that Uhuru degazette the wrong names and do an honourable thing by gazetting the names of the actual nominees regardless of his personal view of them. Uhuru Kenyatta’s actions if left unchecked will breed incompetence, reduce integrity and increase cronyism. Uhuru’s dictatorial action is a sign that the so called young leaders are not immune to effects of power on the mind. Uhuru did not even mind the tense and volatile situation of the country, an indication of lack of judicious thought.
It is the people who can hasten the reorganization of the ECK and also clip Uhuru’s perceived powers.
Okumu Kaluoch
Thank you Bwana Sande.
This time we have to guard our hard won road to democracy against any nyanga’us out there who would want to derail it. I think there are some old guards who are still smarting from the signing and will probably put up road blocks lakini this time hawata weza.
It now seems that had Karua ” Jezebel”, not been part of that group this would have been solved a long time – but that is another story. For now let us savor the moment and feeling.
Ochieng’ JaSeme
Now that our leaders have entered into an accord,i wish to assert that we are obliged to have a new start and forget the past, though at the same time take measures that will guard against events that led to the breakup of our nation.
Lets stop the blame game and embark on a vigorous campaign to overhaul our constitution and put in palce mechanisms that offer equal opportunities to all citizens of kenya regardles of ethinic background.
God bless Kenya.