from odhiambo oketch

Lister,

You have raised issues that I was looking at over the weekend. I wanted to post something on similar lines on Sunday, only to be confronted by the killings of our Dear Colleagues.

You have raised very pertinent issues, and I will only look at how prepared we are as a country to holding a Free and Fair Elections on March 4th 2013.

I am talking about Free and Fair, because, this is a process that starts at some points, goes through several stages that ultimately lead to an election. As it were, 8 months to the said elections, nothing is happening that is in any way suggesting that we will host elections on 4th March 2013.

First, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission presented an outrageous budget of Kshs 35 Billion to the public for parliamentary approval. This was the first sign that the team was not interested in hosting a credible electoral process. They were more interested with the money that comes with the process and not the process in itself.

Secondly, there was need for a Biometric Machine, such that, elections could be hosted more efficiently and tallied in real time. This was slowly swept under the carpet.

Thirdly, as people started speculating that there could be a re-run, one wage in position of power pointedly said that there will be no re-run. He looked like he was talking with authority, and to me, it was like either we have a per-determined outcome already, or, plans are under way to make one result supreme.

Fourthly, and this is real baffling, Hon Cyrus Jirongo was recently hosted at Kass FM and he said that they were being lined up for the presidency. This came shortly on the heels of Hon Eunice Wamalwa- our Minister for Justice, who said that if the mush-rooming alliances were only meant to deny one man votes to the presidency, then, he was not going to play ball.

Fifth, as we move towards the 4th March 2013, the delimitation of boundaries is not yet over. The process is still mucky in the courts and as it were, we cannot be certain that a ruling, or rulings will come in time.

Once the Boundaries issues are fixed, we must start a massive awareness on the electoral process since, it will be the first time we will be voting for a plethora of people. This could need about 3 months once the court cases are done with. Assuming the courts rule in July, it means the IEBC will start this process in August or September.

This will be followed by a period of Voter Registration in the new Constituencies. If this is started in February 2013, it means, we will have almost 45 days of doing that. That brings us to Mid April.

A one month period for voter register list verification will follow. Assuming the IEBC are able to compile their voter lists within 60 days at the completion of the Voter Registration period, it means, we will be running to Mid June 2013.

Once that is completed, Parliament will need to be dissolved and in so doing, there will be 90 days within which an election will be held. 90 Days from Mid June brings us to Mid September 2013.

As we are gerrymandering with straight forward issues, Parliament is also not being helpful. Forget about the self serving Commissions that we have created. We do not have Legislation in place to effect the operationalization of the County Governance System. I am yet to know how we are going to elect our Governors, Senators and all those other 9 people.

Again, the Police Reforms are being snowballed. Someone is being more clever than all of us ordinary Kenyans. Someone is playing his own music to our ears at variance to the National Music that we authored on 4th August 2010.

Someone is setting Kenyans up and we must all stand up and be counted for Mother Kenya.

I would not agree more with Lister on his observations.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Komarocks Nairobi

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Kenya: The Rule of Law Must be Upheld

Kenyans feel betrayed by politicians and those tasked with implementing the Constitution which they voted for two years ago. It has become hard to differentiate between the old and the new order. We continue to see the old operational styles being perpetuated by those who should guide the nation towards the change which is tandem with the new law.

Several bodies tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the implementation of the new law have either abdicated their responsibilities or failed to provide clear guidelines to ensure the nation reaps maximum benefits of the new constitution.

From the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), led by Isaack Hassan, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission NCIC, led by Mzalendo Kibunja, Commission for Implementation of the Constitution (CIC, led by Charles Nyachae, The Attorney General, to the Registrar of political parties Lucy Ndung’u, all these bodies have not played their role to the expectations of Kenyans.

It was a great contradiction early this year when the Commission for the implementation of the Constitution (CIC) chairman Mr. Charles Nyachae told the nation that politicians indicted by The ICC, are eligible to vie for Presidency. The same argument was weathered down a month later by the former Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Mr. Mutula Kilonzo who said that if the two legislators were allowed to vie, it would be against the spirit of Chapter Six of the constitution on Leadership and Integrity. Mr. Kilonzo, who has since been moved to the Ministry of education advised Mr. Ruto and Kenyatta to stop their countrywide presidential campaigns.

It’s also discouraging that the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission IEBC, the Registrar of political parties, the Attorney General and the Speaker, have failed to provide direction on the fate of six MPs who were recently declared partyless. If the law is followed to the letter, MPs Linah Jebii Kilimo, Richard Onyonka, Clement Waibara, Gideon Mbuvi, Barnabas Muturi, and David Mwaniki Ngugi technically lost their parliamentary seats.

Therefore, the Speaker should declare their seats vacant thereby giving the IEBC room to conduct new elections in the affected constituencies. It’s clear that the affected MPs were elected under the old constitution which did not have a provision for independent candidates. This is the surest way of living and operating within the law.

It has also been observed that the IEBC hasn’t provided proper guidelines especially on the current premature presidential campaigns when the Country is 9 months away to the next general Elections. This is if the March 2013 date will suffice. Kenyan taxpayers must be told by the government the mandate of bodies like Brand Kenya, and the Mzalendo Kibunja led National Cohesion and Integration Commission.

As citizens and tax payers, we have a right to question or even demand the disbanding of bodies which have failed to discharge their duties or have failed to operate within the mandate under which they were founded. In any society, bureaucracies are created to enhance service delivery to the citizens as well as uplifting the status of a nation’s social, political and economic fronts. What role is Mzalendo Kibunja playing to enhance national cohesion when there is hate speech all over the nation from top politicians to regular citizens? It’s imperative for Chairman Kibunja, to fold up his sleeves to address hate speech which has not only become rampant in political rallies, eating joints, and social gathering but also in the cyberspace.

The current constitution cost Kenyans lives and resources and must be defended and protected. It was passed to steer our nation towards greater heights because of its wonderful provisions. Failing to respect and uphold it is the clearest indicator that Kenya is not ready to overcome impunity and upholding the rule of law.

Is it not at height of corruption and impunity when a Presidential candidate is flown in a tax payer paid military chopper to his political campaign meeting? I think this is a violation of the law and wastage of public resources when the deputy prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi was flown recently from Nairobi to attend a campaign rally in Western Kenya.

What is the purpose of having a good law merely on paper yet our governance systems and processes continue to thrive on the old constitution?

Our political leaders still thrive on the old culture and have become purveyors of hate and tribalism instead of purveyors of patriotism. The ethnic undertones which dominate their political campaigns are clear examples of flouting the current law.

The degree of patriotism from our political leaders is on low ebb. Instead of shaping intelligent debates to allow Kenyans make the informed choices before the next elections, they are busy propagating seeds of discords through ethnic nationalism which does not augur well for peace and harmony in the Country.

It’s therefore sad that the negative image portrayed especially by those vying for the Presidency is slowly sinking into the minds of their supporters when they are supposed to be role models. The arguments we see in social gatherings, social media, eating joints and funerals is tragic for the nation.

The law must be respected and those found flouting it ought to be punished. This is the surest way to build the Kenya we all want.

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo
New Jersey, USA.

http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=6618&magazine=391