From: gordon teti
I promised that I would face Miguna Miguna at the meeting organized by the Network for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity in Toronto, Canada on Friday, August 10, 2012 and I delivered on my promise. There was a high turnout as people came from all over the world. We had citizens from Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Somalia, Canada, Uganda, Kenya to mention but a few. The room was packed and Miguna was salivating hopeful that a dozen copies of his gutter book “Peeling Back The Mask” were gonna be sold. This was the prospect until the true identity of Miguna was unmasked. His family, that is wife and children, set up shop in the room with boxes containing copies of the book toiling to make a few dollars while on “a well deserved holiday” according to Miguna. The family looked more stressed than it would be the case of a family on “a well deserved holiday.”
Miguna received me with a hug and a broad smile. However, things changed so quickly when Miguna came to know who I really was. It was the first time Miguna and I were meeting one-on-one face to face. Our previous engagements were by facebook, e-mail and telephone. “Welcome to the meeting, my name is Miguna Miguna”. Thank you, I am Gordon Teti, I responded. “So you have come here to threaten me as you promised”, Miguna retorted. No, that is not true, I have come here to unmask the true identity of Miguna Miguna, I answered in a quick succession. At this point, Miguna became tense and walked away and came back immediately and told me that “before you attack me can you buy a copy of the book and get the facts”. I confirmed to Miguna that I have read the book in its entirety hence in an excellent position of knowledge about its content. Miguna shouted back and said, “what you have read is a pirated copy and not the original”. I then took a seat at the back row in the room. Shortly, Miguna went out of the room accompanied by the persons that I later came to know as the event organizers and after what I believe was a strategy on how to deal with me, they came back to the room. Within minutes, heads started turning towards me, especially by those who were seating on the front row close to Miguna.
When called to the microphone by the Master of Ceremony(MC), Miguna felt heroic talking about his Pan-Africanism credentials, student activism, detention, political asylum to Canada, academic achievements, law practice and his defence to human rights both in Canada and Kenya. He concluded his speech by telling the audience about his book and why he wrote the book: working for the Right Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Raila Odinga and how he was fired inhumanely; employment is a right and not a favour; the burning of his effigy and burial of his coffin; corruption in Kenya (by those who masquerade as reformist but when in power employ their girlfriends, relatives and friends). Miguna told the audience that it was very difficult for him to keep his mouth full, line his pocket with feather and become fat like those whom he was working with since he cannot be silenced. That Kenya is a country owned by a few rich elites. He sounded angry and vengeful but at the same time acknowledged the presence of a Mr. Njunguna and Mr. Kamau, whom he described as the true great friends who helped him settle in Canada when he just arrived twenty years ago.
It was during question and answer period that things unravelled so fast to the disbelief of the majority in the audience who had come to believe that Miguna was a true anti-corruption crusader and a defender of common citizens. A lady in the audience asked Miguna to tell the audience his theory on good governance since he has had the opportunity to be at the top. “There is no any other theory that Miguna can offer apart from the common liberal American political philosophy that the government is of the people by the people and for people”. Miguna thundered. He went on to say that there was no way he was going to work for those in power and not for the Kenyan people and that is why he fell out with Raila Odinga.
My efforts to catch the eye of the MC came to naught. I was simply being ignored. I could not bear it any longer. So I thundered. Why is it that you are not giving me a chance to participate in this meeting? The whole room roared back in laughter and that is how I got a chance for a ticket to the microphone. But my success was short-lived as when I went to the microphone, I was stopped from responding to the issues raised by Miguna both at the meeting and in his book on a flimsy account of personalizing my speech, which was a fallacy since Miguna’s book is about personalities and character. Miguna had succeeded in muzzling and stopping me from unmasking him.
The strategy to block Gordon Teti from unmasking Miguna backfired on the faces of the organizers of the meeting. The hour of reckoning came when a young Kenyan man went to the microphone and told Miguna to his face that while he was in good books with those whom he is accusing today as a corrupt, he said nothing about corruption and was paid millions of tax pays money. These are some of the questions that the young man asked Miguna:
1. Why is it that you wrote this book after falling out with those whom you are now accusing of corruption and when you were working for them you were full of their praises?
2. Do you think Kenyans are stupid to believe you?
3. How is that when you were working for Raila Odinga you saw many ills about Kibaki and his side of the coalition and after falling out with Raila, your view of corruption in Kenya has changed?
4. Those who were corrupt then are now clean and those who were clean before you fell out of favour with them are now the most corrupt?
5. How can people and especially Kenyans believe you?
6. Are you not just a bitter man on a revenge mission after being fired?
7. Is it a accurate to say that you a gun or a mercenary on hire by the political opponents of Raila Odinga?
8. How come your book, which is about your life has left out such important topics like:
(i) Your sexual assault case in Toronto;
(ii) Your first marriage that never worked out;
(iii) Your firing at the African-Canadian Legal Clinic;
(iv) Your troubled relationship with prominent.
The young Kenyan man concluded by telling Miguna that he has read his book and came to one conclusion that the book is a campaign tool against Raila Odinga.
—– Forwarded Message —–
From: darlene marett
To: gordon teti
Sent: Thursday, August 9, 2012 2:07:23 PM
Subject: Gordon – This is something you may enjoy attending! Former Kenyan lawyer speaks!
WHEN: Friday, August 10, 2012
WHERE: 252 Bloor Street West, OISE/University of Toronto (at St.George subway station)
Room 5-150 (5th floor)
TIME: 7pm
Free event – donation would be appreciated
Panel Discussion:
– Miguna Miguna is a lawyer, Pan-Afrikanist, and former advisor to Prime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya. Miguna is the author of the recent expose on corruption in Kenya, “Peeling Back the Mask: A Quest for Justice in Kenya” and he will be signing copies of the book, which will be on sale ($38).
– Ismail Adam is from El-Fasher in North Darfur and currently resides in Toronto, Canada. He is the Acting President of the Darfur Association of Canada.
– Daniel Mukena is an organizer with the Congolese Citizens’ Movement.
Other speaker(s) to be confirmed
For further information, please contact: Network for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity – network4panafrikansolidarity@gmail.com