Writes Leo Odera Omolo
The mysterious death of a prominent Television journalist under mysterious circumstances while he was filming a chaotic confrontation between the police and members of the Chadema opposition has seriously damaged and dented that country’s long held record of peace and cool handling of political crisis ever since it attained its political independence in 1961.
Tanzania, the most populous Eastern African nation got its political independence from its former colonial masters Great Britain in 1961,and has had no record of brutal killing of its journalists.
The country’ immediate neighbors, Uganda, Kenya and the Republic of Somalia in the Horn of Africa is reputed as the record holder in cases related to the killing of journalists both local and those representing media houses abroad, in both print and electronics.
The slain journalist David Mwangozi died two weeks ago while covering a demonstration by members of the opposition Chadema party in the country’s Southern Region of Iringa.
The late Mwanngozi was at his death, the regional representative of the Dar Es Salaam based poplar Television Station known a Channel TEN.A team appointed by the government of Tanzania to probe the killing of the scribe a week ago got off to a shaky start after the country’s media fraternity and the opposition parties rejected it out rightly for its composition which included police office who are among the suspects for the most grisly murder incident.
Instead, the Media Owners Association is no counting on a parallel investigations initiate by fellow journalists to unravel the truth on the horrific killing of David Mwangozi that has left Tanzanian petrified.
Mwangozi was blown up in an explosion during an altercation between police and Chadema opposition party members, in the Southern highland Region of Iringa. And according to Henry Muhanika , the executive secretary of the Media Owners Association before arresting the suspects- as they were caught in cameras as they assaulted the journalist was raising suspicion among Tanzanians of a possible cover-up.
The opposition Chadema party on its part, through its legal constitution an human right director Tindu Lisasu has asked President Jakaya Kikwete to form Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the killing, arguing it rejected the probe team formed by the Home Affairs Minister Dr Emmanuel Nchimbi because it included the police officers”who are also suspects in the murder case.
Mwangozi killing has sparked outrage in the country, with the media practitioners, executive secretary Kajubi Miganja saying that media fraternity was in the state of great shock
According to the varied and conflicting accounts of some eye witnesses, the slain journalist had attended the press conference on the morning of his death,and asked a question that was no appreciate by the police commander ,fielding questions.Later the journalist was seen filming a chaotic scene of police waving clubs and teargas canisters into the crowd of rowdy opposition supporters..
Though not much detail has come out this far, there is general agreement among he eye witnesses that Mwangozi was briefly apprehended by the police who proceeded to rough him up before something tore his body into pieces exposing his internal organs and leaving what had been Mwangozi a few minutes earlier to a heap of carrion flesh.
Pictures of the mingled remains posted on social media were hard to look at, especially the one with that crimson lump in the back of a pick up track. This singularly violent revolting killing has, understandably, fired up emotions.
There have been demands for the head to roll. A number of incidents have been cited, including killings in Arusha, Morogoro, and Singida regions.
The media fraternity in Tanzania is up in arms. A teargas canister firing device and letting it exploder in Mwangozi’s body at a close range.They reject any suggestion that this could have been an accident occasioned by an overzealous police officer mishandling
Ends
My fellow Luos, I thank you very much for having paid my family’s tickets and accommodation to be here because you invited me to discuss some political issues. Most important we’re going to win because our cause is right. We make history this day not for ourselves but for the ages. The choice we make in 2013 will determine not only the future of Kenya but the future of peace and freedom in the world for the last third of the 21st century, and the question that we answer today: can Nyanza meet this great challenge?
Let us listen to Nyanza to find the answer to that question. Nyanza is suffering due to our blinded minds. We’ve been attending the political class for the past decades under the deanship of Rt Hon PM Raila Odinga. He’s taught us by his politiodrates. Atleast he expects that we quit the spirit of babyness and evolve in to political maturehood where we should begin to feed on solid food. Solid food here is the fact that we must accept genuinely opinion of other communities and accept that we’ve had our wrongs and are to unite with others and make a break through. We’ve had enough of big promises and little action. The time has come for an honest government at the State House to germinate from the Nyanza seedbed.
Look at our community that am proud of. It has produced gigantic movers of the well being of Kenya, Africa and the world.
They work in American factories, they run American businesses. They serve in government; they provide most of the soldiers who die to keep Kenya free. They give drive to the spirit of the World. They give lift to the Kenyan dream. They give steel of know how to the backbone of Kenya.
Like Rt Hon PM Raila Odinga, they know that this country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless it’s a good place for all the 42 communities to live in. He is about to quit politics in the next episode, the question lingers..who is ready to step in his gigantic shoes?? Not anyone around him can. The answer is the current youth fresh from the outside August house.
And so this day I do not promise the millennium in the morning. I don’t promise that we can eradicate poverty and end discrimination and eliminate all danger of political “wars” in the space of 5 years. But I do promise action. A new policy for peace locally with our neighbors from the Kalenjins in the Rift Valley, Kikuyus in Mt Kenya and to abroad where we’re mixed up in love and one flag, a new policy for peace and progress at home.
Look at our problems back in the lake region. Do you realize that we face the stark truth that we are worse off in every area of the country than we were 30 years ago? That’s the record. We lead with bad records in Kenya’s development arena. From HIV pandaemic, poor education results, bad treatment of girl child, being misused by established politicians, poor road network affecting our produce, over fishing due to lack of proper income, bottom ranking ICT, poor health facilities and bad relationship with our neighbors (other communities).
And there is only one answer to such a record of failure, and that is the complete house cleaning of those responsible for the failures and that record. The answer is the complete reappraisal of current parliament’s policy in every section of the country. We shall begin with complete constituency clean up in each and every part of the province so that we retain the working MPs and kick out the “domo domo” ones. Especially those ones who’ve been busy expelling and pushing away other communities from our region thus we lose inter communal trade, education, marriage to terminate tribalism, religion, business set ups and e.t.c.
We cannot go it alone, we need others to win, but first, we must insert the hard disk in their hearts and minds that we’re a changed society and ready to mingle and rumble together for the betterment of this nation. What other communities are still scared of is our “politics approach.” Let’s say NO to the MPs coming with bad motives in this era chanting slungs synonymous with other tribes. Let’s not forget they boosted us in 2007 general elections. The question is; why did they trust us? The issue that sent them to trust us, don’t you think it can be revived and set sparkling and sprinkling with euphoric chants to the ballot box again??
We all hope in this room that there’s a chance that current negotiations may bring an honorable end to this tribal war against Luos. And we will say nothing during this campaign that might destroy that chance. Let’s let go of other things that have for a long time angered other communities. Remember, letting go doesn’t mean we’re weak, it means we’re strong.
This period in which we’re entering – I think we will have the greatest opportunity for intercommunity peace, but also face the greatest challenge of being ridiculed at any time in our history. Just use me and my husband Quincy as an example, we endured and continues to endure all the hate speeches against us. Why? We show the deepest maturity inside of us. And my husband taught me a very unique quality that I couldn’t have in my TV days. Letting go, it means one is stronger that the hate lyrical twister.
I believe we must have peace. I believe that we can have peace. But I do not underestimate the difficulty of this task.
Because, you see, the art of preserving peace is greater than that of waging community “war”, and much more demanding. Now there is no quarrel between progress and order because neither can exist without the other.
So let us have order in Nyanza, not the order that suppresses dissent and discourages change but the order which guarantees the right to dissent and provides the basis for peaceful change.
And today it’s time for some honest talk about the problem of order in the Nyanza. Let us always respect, as I do, our women and the youth, but let us also recognize that some of our leaders in their decisions have gone too far in weakening the peace forces as against the community forces in this country.
Let those who have the responsibility to enforce our inter community laws, and our traditional judges who have the responsibility to interpret them, be dedicated to the great principles of council of elders’ rights. But let them also recognize that the first civil right of every Nyanzian is to be free from freedom of expression violence. And that right must be guaranteed in this country.
Because, my friends, let this message come through clear from what I say today. Time is running out for the merchants of crime and corruption in the Nyanza society. The wave of crime is not going to be the wave of the future in the Republic of Kenya. Let’s reestablish freedom from fear in Nyanza so that our lovely Luoland can take the lead of reestablishing freedom from fear in the Kenya.
And to those who say that law and order is the code word for racism, here is a reply: Our goal is justice – justice for every Luo and other Kenyan communities. If we are to have respect for law in Nyanza, we must have laws that deserve respect. Just as we cannot have progress without order, we cannot have order without progress.
I pledge to you this day that we shall have new programs which will provide that equal chance. We make great history today. We do not fire a shot heard round the Kenya, but we shall light the lamp of hope in millions of homes across this Nyanza in which there is no hope today. Then the famous luo slogan of “GONYWA URU” shall be killed and buried Why? Because this is how our politicians trap us. They ensure that we remain poor for a 5 year term until they revisit us again. Then towards elections, they come back very sure that we’ll run towards them with desperate faces and two arms stretching forward crying..”YAWA GONYWA URU YAWA.” Its become a business you know!!
Let’s look around see other tribes thriving and swimming in wealth. CDF should be turned to benefit the Luos directly. By creating women and youth groups. Borrow money from CDF coffers, perform commerce returns and then refund the capital back to the public accounts with no interests after an agreed period. After all, its constituency’s money instead of a few committee officials pocketing millions and leaving constituents suffering.
We’re not goats to be used during campaigns only to send a bunch of crooks to parliaments with intentions of enriching themselves knowing in mind they won’t be voted back again..they spoil ruthlessly. Let’s transform stones to friendship with other communities via social media. Let’s stop this mentality that every time our PM Raila’s name is mentioned, we should all come out outrageous with poisonous words. For we’re not building him for the Hill but assisting with destroying his chances to presidency. Let’s put it this way, every insult hurled at anothe community member because of our PM, one vote is gone for him. We ruin his chances to the State house.
Let’s also stop being elected for leaders. No one should appoint leaders on our behalf as we know what we want and why want the appointees exclusively by us. When someone is appointed on our behalf, they don’t have any attachment with us because they know they got a backing from their “godfather” whether they fail to deliver or not. Let’s kick out anyone who uttered hate speech and other incitement crimes against other communities. Atop all, let’s avoid social network vulgar language that may only but provoke others to a long stored anger with scores only settled at the ballot box.
May God bless you, Luos, Nyanza, all other communities and Kenya.
Amen.
Esther Timberlake
Esther, I am sorry that you wrote a comment which is very irrelevant to my story above and posted underneath of my report, and this has caused a lot confusion among my readers. I have no problems with your comment about your Luo politics, but it shouldn’t have been posted as comment in reaction to my news report about the killing o my fellow journalist in Tanzania. I really don’t know who is to blame whether it is you or the editors of Jaluo.dot com who erroneously posted it as a comment i reaction. But it is indeed portraying poor editorship of this important social media.It should be post on its own because it is discussing irrelevant subject to the report.
Leo Odera Omolo