Most of what happened in Kenya was caused by Media. Our Media, instead of creating hamonry within the fragile society has chosen create hatred and specific for the benefit of few. There is this talk of Kikuyu and luo’s conflict!!! Luo’s are not even the second largest tribe, luhyia are!! Kikuyu were not in the government for the last 22 years. It was the kalenjin-Moi’s government, but again who cares, life goes on….
Ngugi wa Thiongo says there are only two tribes in Kenya. Those who have and those who do not have. Look at what happened after the December election. The poor suffered the rich who are the tribe of Kibaki and Ongiga still enjoys the privileged they had before. Kibaki, Raila, Mudavadi, Ruto and Balala all belongs the same tribe and the rest of Kenyan belongs to another tribe called “POOR” and neglected!!
Wake up Kenyan, when I go to Kenya to do business I do not look for Kikuyu I look for people whom we have common goals. I work with everybody. Most Kenyan do not have problems and in fact I have worked with people in past and later come to find out which tribes they are from, which to me does not make much difference.
Kenya government need to be more innovative, create services business, which will create jobs for young generation, and for us who are lucky. Lets be entrepreneur and explore business models being performed in India, Philippines and the whole of Asia. We need to compete in the global economy where we will have people selling Kisii stones on the e-bay while they are still in Kisii and kikuyu women selling Kiondo’s while in Kanyariri. Unless will we compete in world economy our children does not have much chance in the future. Let’s talk more about business Models than Kibaki and Raila.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
It is unfortunate that most of us have focused their attention to Mugabe a man who has been a champion to his people leading the west to destroy Zimbabwe. On the other hand we as African have failed to condemn killing against African by African in Kenya. I am mortified how the African and African journalist has become the west sycophant We can condemn Mugabe by taking farm away from white and at the same it’s alright for Raila and Ruto to kill innocent in Kenyan since they are African, we the Kenyans and African at large need Peace but at the same times the crimes committed in Kenya by the Opposition, masterminded by William Ruto and Raila Oginga need not go without prosecutions in the international tribunal in Hague. It is very clear that these crimes were organized and financed by the opposing. If the UN can prosecute the crimes committed in Yugoslavia, and especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then they can prosecute those in Kenya.
These crimes are described in the Charter of the International Military Tribunal which was held at Nuremberg. UN Secretary-General, in his proposal on the Statute of the Tribunal, explained that `crimes against humanity are aimed at any civilian population', and listed the examples of murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, rape, persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, and other inhuman acts in the “UN Doc. S/25704, at 13, points 48-49 the crimes committed in Rift valley clearly meets the above criteria.
It is apparent that a policy of ethnic cleansing, aimed at the elimination of a population from a given territory, without precise designation of the target group and without any clear intention of their destruction as a group, could fit into the definition of crimes against humanity. The majority of ethnic cleansing that was committed in the Rift valley corresponds to crimes against humanity, given that they were systematic and massive attack on the civilian population. All `parties” meaning the most of ODM and Mainly William Ruto, Ntimama and Raila in the conflict' have committed some of the acts listed above as components of ethnic cleansing, and there are a large number of victims belonging to the different ethnics. In fact, the Secretary-General needs to officially pronounce that:
In the territory of rift valley in Kenya, such inhuman acts have taken the form of so-called ethnic cleansing and widespread and systematic killings, rape and other forms of sexual assault performed on human-Kikuyu’s.
The Genocide Convention defines genocide as the intentional destruction of a group, in whole or in part. From this definition we can distinguish three elements to be applied to the specific situation: destruction, rape and killing as specific characteristics of a target group- the kikuyu as defined by Mr. B. Whitaker, UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1985/6 of 2 July 1985, at 16.
In the case of Kenya rift valley there is evidence (e.g. oral evidence Kenya East African standard 3-31-08, UN studies and reports by the media) that the majority of the victims of ethnic cleansing belong to one kikuyu group - and that they were and still further threatened by extermination, as defined by Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1992/S-2/1, This is a specific ethnics group, recognized as a part of Kenyan in various legal acts, including constitutional provisions. They are also identifiable by reference to their ethnics and cultural background.
The number of victims is very difficult to ascertain under the present circumstances, but it is obvious that they represent a significant part of the total population of all those killed. It has been reported that the kikuyu victims were mostly people that were supposed to be protected by Kenyan government and international humanitarian law during this time since there were reports of this happening. This in itself implies the intention to destroy the kikuyu’s as a people. Furthermore, there are numerous examples of villages and parts of towns being burned in the complete absence of strategic or other opposition benefit, but in which the kikuyu formed a majority of the population. Clearly most of villagers were warned before the election that this was going to happen either way; win or lose! The opposition knew and planned this under William Ruto and Raila Oginga.
Due to the very existence of the Genocide Convention, it is now unrealistic to expect to find evidence, in the written materials and public statements of officials, about the opposition’s intention to commit genocide. For this reason it is necessary to take into consideration other significant elements to determine intent. In the first place, intent could be deduced from `sufficient evidence' which includes `actions or omissions of such a degree of criminal negligence or recklessness that the defendant must reasonably be assumed to have been aware of the consequences of his conduct'. The abundant evidence of systematic genocidal acts could be viewed as an indication of an underlying intent, especially given the widespread participation of opposition preaching of Majimbo, and the extinction of the kikiyu’s which lead to the atrocities committed. Neither Raila nor Ruto who could have stopped this tried to prevent the perpetrators of these crimes. In fact they encouraged it in so many ways from Nairobi.
Intent is also revealed by the form of language used by Raila and Ruto in public statements to designate kikuyu groups as `the enemy', which could imply intent of war against those groups. Some public statements reported by the media also indicate the existence of intent. Expressing its particular abhorrence at the concept and practice of "ethnic cleansing" during and after Election of December 27, which at a minimum entails deportation and forcible mass removal or expulsion of kikuyu’s from their homes in flagrant violation of their human rights, and which is aimed at the dislocation or destruction of ethnic, as mentioned in the UN Doc. E/CN.4/1992/S-1/8; Paragraph 5', the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The prime minister designate and the deputy prime minister need to face the music before they hear the music. They need to be in Hague pronto!!
These crimes are described in the Charter of the International Military Tribunal which was held at Nuremberg. UN Secretary-General, in his proposal on the Statute of the Tribunal, explained that `crimes against humanity are aimed at any civilian population', and listed the examples of murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, rape, persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, and other inhuman acts in the “UN Doc. S/25704, at 13, points 48-49 the crimes committed in Rift valley clearly meets the above criteria.
It is apparent that a policy of ethnic cleansing, aimed at the elimination of a population from a given territory, without precise designation of the target group and without any clear intention of their destruction as a group, could fit into the definition of crimes against humanity. The majority of ethnic cleansing that was committed in the Rift valley corresponds to crimes against humanity, given that they were systematic and massive attack on the civilian population. All `parties” meaning the most of ODM and Mainly William Ruto, Ntimama and Raila in the conflict' have committed some of the acts listed above as components of ethnic cleansing, and there are a large number of victims belonging to the different ethnics. In fact, the Secretary-General needs to officially pronounce that:
In the territory of rift valley in Kenya, such inhuman acts have taken the form of so-called ethnic cleansing and widespread and systematic killings, rape and other forms of sexual assault performed on human-Kikuyu’s.
The Genocide Convention defines genocide as the intentional destruction of a group, in whole or in part. From this definition we can distinguish three elements to be applied to the specific situation: destruction, rape and killing as specific characteristics of a target group- the kikuyu as defined by Mr. B. Whitaker, UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1985/6 of 2 July 1985, at 16.
In the case of Kenya rift valley there is evidence (e.g. oral evidence Kenya East African standard 3-31-08, UN studies and reports by the media) that the majority of the victims of ethnic cleansing belong to one kikuyu group - and that they were and still further threatened by extermination, as defined by Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1992/S-2/1, This is a specific ethnics group, recognized as a part of Kenyan in various legal acts, including constitutional provisions. They are also identifiable by reference to their ethnics and cultural background.
The number of victims is very difficult to ascertain under the present circumstances, but it is obvious that they represent a significant part of the total population of all those killed. It has been reported that the kikuyu victims were mostly people that were supposed to be protected by Kenyan government and international humanitarian law during this time since there were reports of this happening. This in itself implies the intention to destroy the kikuyu’s as a people. Furthermore, there are numerous examples of villages and parts of towns being burned in the complete absence of strategic or other opposition benefit, but in which the kikuyu formed a majority of the population. Clearly most of villagers were warned before the election that this was going to happen either way; win or lose! The opposition knew and planned this under William Ruto and Raila Oginga.
Due to the very existence of the Genocide Convention, it is now unrealistic to expect to find evidence, in the written materials and public statements of officials, about the opposition’s intention to commit genocide. For this reason it is necessary to take into consideration other significant elements to determine intent. In the first place, intent could be deduced from `sufficient evidence' which includes `actions or omissions of such a degree of criminal negligence or recklessness that the defendant must reasonably be assumed to have been aware of the consequences of his conduct'. The abundant evidence of systematic genocidal acts could be viewed as an indication of an underlying intent, especially given the widespread participation of opposition preaching of Majimbo, and the extinction of the kikiyu’s which lead to the atrocities committed. Neither Raila nor Ruto who could have stopped this tried to prevent the perpetrators of these crimes. In fact they encouraged it in so many ways from Nairobi.
Intent is also revealed by the form of language used by Raila and Ruto in public statements to designate kikuyu groups as `the enemy', which could imply intent of war against those groups. Some public statements reported by the media also indicate the existence of intent. Expressing its particular abhorrence at the concept and practice of "ethnic cleansing" during and after Election of December 27, which at a minimum entails deportation and forcible mass removal or expulsion of kikuyu’s from their homes in flagrant violation of their human rights, and which is aimed at the dislocation or destruction of ethnic, as mentioned in the UN Doc. E/CN.4/1992/S-1/8; Paragraph 5', the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The prime minister designate and the deputy prime minister need to face the music before they hear the music. They need to be in Hague pronto!!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
African democracy
It is very unfortunate to hear west question African democracy, According to the west “Weaknesses in democratic governance dampen economic activity, causes civil unrest and can create fertile ground for “terrorists”. In their mind and policy, west on goal is strengthening the principles of hold of Africa as long as they have the people they want in the government. The west policy is only to create the conditions for that favors them and promotes U.S. interest and west dominance agenda’s over Africa. The cases of Kenya where they support people who killed women and children, the same people are in Gangs of five are in the Kenyan government with the wet blessing. This is what is wrong with African democracy. If you kill in the west you go to gas chamber. Unfortunately the Africans themselves have reinforced this notion. I am not a Zimbabwean and do not know her inner politics. I do respect Mugabe a man who can make unpopular call with the west and survive.
We need to talk about the evil caused to African by the west and if possible try to prosecute these crimes in Hague. There is so much evil done to African and still going on. In Kenya, when the Kikuyu Mau Mau were tying to fight to get their land back from white people, which they never got up to now, 600,000 kikuyu’s were killed. At this moment there are an ageing group of former Mau Mau insurgents who have launch a legal action in Britain accusing the army and colonial authorities of torturing or illegally killing thousands of Kikiyu’s during the rebellion for independence 50 years ago. Some also witnessed killings worse than that of Darfur. These people like in Zimbabwe were trying to get what is their own.
There are accounts where women as young as 15 were arrested for supplying the Mau Mau with food. The white officer ordered them torture, carried out by a black soldier who shoved a bottle into their vagina to force them to reveal the whereabouts of the member of the Mau Mau. In some cases there the white soldiers who would fill bottle with hot water and then pushed it into their private parts with their foot. These crimes are in records and have never been prosecuted.
The African democracy has failed since west continues to treat Africa as its colony today, with African blessing; Africa has also accepted this providence. Crimes committed to African until now has not brought for prosecution in Hague nor has the west encouraged this crime for humanity to be prosecuted. If those women and children burned in church in the Eldored, burned forest were white, the world would be crying for justice, but since they were not. The people who burned them will be in the next government with the blessing of west. This has to stop!!! The world needs to investigate those who killed in the burned forest if there is any hope for justice and democracy in Africa.
The African intellect has failed to educate the world the evil of the west against the African people now and during the colonial times which was very identical to slavery. If the white farmers took farms away from Zimbabwean like they did in Kenya, then Mugabe is right by taking the farm away from white farmers. The west evil has lead to what we see now as bad democracy in Africa. The west for years and even now has continued to support bad government and killers of women and children. These are people and government they have supported for their interest and hidden agenda. In the case of Kenya, the west supported an opposition which had supported violence and killing of women and children. These killers are in the next Kenyan government. The west knows about it and yet they continue to support them.
This is why the rule of law, good government, and the democracy while never flourishes in Africa. When Al Gore was rigged out of election, the law of land right or wrong was followed. When the opposition or the Gang of five questioned the validity of president Kibaki election, the west supported a violence way of resolving the issues. They supported the killer of children and women. Kibaki weakness was that he gave more democracy than most opposition appreciated. They, with the west support took it the street and killed people while the west watched and video taped for evening news. If this was dictators as Mugabe or Daniel arap Moi, this would not have happened. By giving more democracy in Africa good leaders fail. West wants to see turmoil in the whole of Africa. Where in whole world can you encourage killing of children and women and become a prime minister with the blessing of the west? In Africa and in this case Kenya.
James Gatihi
We need to talk about the evil caused to African by the west and if possible try to prosecute these crimes in Hague. There is so much evil done to African and still going on. In Kenya, when the Kikuyu Mau Mau were tying to fight to get their land back from white people, which they never got up to now, 600,000 kikuyu’s were killed. At this moment there are an ageing group of former Mau Mau insurgents who have launch a legal action in Britain accusing the army and colonial authorities of torturing or illegally killing thousands of Kikiyu’s during the rebellion for independence 50 years ago. Some also witnessed killings worse than that of Darfur. These people like in Zimbabwe were trying to get what is their own.
There are accounts where women as young as 15 were arrested for supplying the Mau Mau with food. The white officer ordered them torture, carried out by a black soldier who shoved a bottle into their vagina to force them to reveal the whereabouts of the member of the Mau Mau. In some cases there the white soldiers who would fill bottle with hot water and then pushed it into their private parts with their foot. These crimes are in records and have never been prosecuted.
The African democracy has failed since west continues to treat Africa as its colony today, with African blessing; Africa has also accepted this providence. Crimes committed to African until now has not brought for prosecution in Hague nor has the west encouraged this crime for humanity to be prosecuted. If those women and children burned in church in the Eldored, burned forest were white, the world would be crying for justice, but since they were not. The people who burned them will be in the next government with the blessing of west. This has to stop!!! The world needs to investigate those who killed in the burned forest if there is any hope for justice and democracy in Africa.
The African intellect has failed to educate the world the evil of the west against the African people now and during the colonial times which was very identical to slavery. If the white farmers took farms away from Zimbabwean like they did in Kenya, then Mugabe is right by taking the farm away from white farmers. The west evil has lead to what we see now as bad democracy in Africa. The west for years and even now has continued to support bad government and killers of women and children. These are people and government they have supported for their interest and hidden agenda. In the case of Kenya, the west supported an opposition which had supported violence and killing of women and children. These killers are in the next Kenyan government. The west knows about it and yet they continue to support them.
This is why the rule of law, good government, and the democracy while never flourishes in Africa. When Al Gore was rigged out of election, the law of land right or wrong was followed. When the opposition or the Gang of five questioned the validity of president Kibaki election, the west supported a violence way of resolving the issues. They supported the killer of children and women. Kibaki weakness was that he gave more democracy than most opposition appreciated. They, with the west support took it the street and killed people while the west watched and video taped for evening news. If this was dictators as Mugabe or Daniel arap Moi, this would not have happened. By giving more democracy in Africa good leaders fail. West wants to see turmoil in the whole of Africa. Where in whole world can you encourage killing of children and women and become a prime minister with the blessing of the west? In Africa and in this case Kenya.
James Gatihi
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Warlords and Militia in Kenya govenment
It is very sad to read the media depiction of how the Kikiyu’s have dominated Kenya, both economically and politically for the last 40 years. The fact is before Kibaki come to power president Moi, a kalinjin had ruled Kenya for 24 years uninterrupted. For those 24, every five years whenever there was an election there has been killing of the kikuyu’s community in the rift valley and yet the united states and the world has witnessed this without any condemnation. The notion that the kikuyu has benefited from the government has no foundation. The kikuyu’s are very hard working and industries that the rest of the other Kenyans are begrudge.
African democracy has to be defined by the African themselves. The continental policy of appeasement or business as usual in the United Nations will not end a deliberate policy of targeted killings and forced movements of people from ancestral lands by a sitting government or the warlords and militia like In the case of Kenya. The African Union has to step in and come up with a plan to protect these two regions, the Darfur and Kenya rift valley.
There is history of ethnics cleansing in Kenya that target the kikuyu’s. There were killing lead by Moi government for 24 years and now there is cleansing lead by warlors Raila and Ruto in Kenya. It is a same that this is happening when Kenya has a kikuyu seating president. People need to understand since the cleansing is done by Khartoum or the warlords like ODM does not make any difference, it’s is still human life. There is a comparable between Kenya and Sudan, both in ethnics cleansing. We are yet to see any verifiable signs that the government of Sudan is ending its deadly policy in Darfur, neither there is no sign also that the Kenyan government lead by Kibaki has done anything to protect the lives of the kikuyu people in the rift valley. There is need for the African union to send peacekeepers to save lives in Darfur and also in the Kenyan rift valley.
President Kibaki is calling the displaced people to go back to their property and yet the opposition (Warlards), whom are now in his government, still has militia waiting for these people to return for an easy Kill. It is clear from the elections of 1992 onwards, that the sacrificing of the kikuyu’s will happen every five years, it is also clear that the Kenyan government, either lead by a kikuyu or a non-kikuyu cannot protect these hard working peoples. It is clear that the Kenyan government is now run by member of the ODM Militia and warlords who do not care for its people as long as they have power.
African Union’s leading proponents of the new vision for Africa and with strong armies, should contribute well-armed troops that can protect lives and stare down any armed militia and warlords in Sudan and Kenyan rift valley, to stop intent on continued killing of innocent women and children. It would be a defining moment for the African Union to act first without waiting for the United Nations or Western governments. African leaders should be prepared to do whatever it takes to stamp out the roots of ethnic cleansing or genocide in the continent. Since Kibaki is not sending any peace keeping mission in the valley, most of the Kenyan will not return and I do not blame them. Kibaki and his warlords, militia government of unity has failed to protect it people. The AU needs to move in and move in fast.
African democracy has to be defined by the African themselves. The continental policy of appeasement or business as usual in the United Nations will not end a deliberate policy of targeted killings and forced movements of people from ancestral lands by a sitting government or the warlords and militia like In the case of Kenya. The African Union has to step in and come up with a plan to protect these two regions, the Darfur and Kenya rift valley.
There is history of ethnics cleansing in Kenya that target the kikuyu’s. There were killing lead by Moi government for 24 years and now there is cleansing lead by warlors Raila and Ruto in Kenya. It is a same that this is happening when Kenya has a kikuyu seating president. People need to understand since the cleansing is done by Khartoum or the warlords like ODM does not make any difference, it’s is still human life. There is a comparable between Kenya and Sudan, both in ethnics cleansing. We are yet to see any verifiable signs that the government of Sudan is ending its deadly policy in Darfur, neither there is no sign also that the Kenyan government lead by Kibaki has done anything to protect the lives of the kikuyu people in the rift valley. There is need for the African union to send peacekeepers to save lives in Darfur and also in the Kenyan rift valley.
President Kibaki is calling the displaced people to go back to their property and yet the opposition (Warlards), whom are now in his government, still has militia waiting for these people to return for an easy Kill. It is clear from the elections of 1992 onwards, that the sacrificing of the kikuyu’s will happen every five years, it is also clear that the Kenyan government, either lead by a kikuyu or a non-kikuyu cannot protect these hard working peoples. It is clear that the Kenyan government is now run by member of the ODM Militia and warlords who do not care for its people as long as they have power.
African Union’s leading proponents of the new vision for Africa and with strong armies, should contribute well-armed troops that can protect lives and stare down any armed militia and warlords in Sudan and Kenyan rift valley, to stop intent on continued killing of innocent women and children. It would be a defining moment for the African Union to act first without waiting for the United Nations or Western governments. African leaders should be prepared to do whatever it takes to stamp out the roots of ethnic cleansing or genocide in the continent. Since Kibaki is not sending any peace keeping mission in the valley, most of the Kenyan will not return and I do not blame them. Kibaki and his warlords, militia government of unity has failed to protect it people. The AU needs to move in and move in fast.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
DEMONIZATION OF AFRICAN DEMOCRACY
It is unfortunate that west have demonized the African democracy so successfully. What is even more poignant is that African themselves also have now joined their former master in doing so, case in point Maina Kiai. Elections are always stolen even in the so called developed countries and case in point USA where Al Gore was rigged out, I guess democratically. I do not think there is perfect election, since the entire politicians are alike in my view. Now the question is: why is that there is always complain from the west in every African election that is, when their puppet loses? In case of Mugabe, Kibaki, Museveni? And why Mugabe when we have, Tanzania and Egypt one party system that are Unchallengeable and in Togo where there have been no challenge for 30 years.
Is this because there is so much to lose for the west self interest in Kenya and Zimbabwe? Why was there no cry when Musevani changed the constitution so he can stay in power? Why are darker people being killed in thousand in Darfur every day? While west is aware of these tragedies unfolding in Togo and Sierra Leone it is a shocking fact that there has been no cry from the west as in Kenya and that of Zimbabwe. Could all this outrage be racist drivel marshaled and sponsored by imperial media houses or it is genuine collective moral outrage aimed at forestalling the west self interest and thus halting the Chinese penetration especially in Kenya?
The Kenyan election was a very bad African precedence, Instead of moving forward whom I think Africa was, the west notarized violence in Kenya, and rewarded the killers. Africa moved backward which was the goal of the west. By serving their self interest, west throw the first stone in killing African democracy and rule of law. No party from today onward will ever accept defeat. There will be killing in every African election as the west has planned. When bunch of thugs and terrorist kills human being and destroy personal properties while the west stood and cheered on the side line and thereafter demand the same people to share power, this is a bad and gloomier day for African and human being. This is democracy at its worst!!! The peace loving world cannot just seat and reward these people, the whole opposition need to stand trial in Hague. We cannot let violence win….and yet west demand the same people to be part of democracy. What kind a democracy is this, killing women and children, is what we reward for?
When a president kibaki help the economy grow by 7% reduce the poverty, create over 500,000 jobs, rehabilitee the infrastructure and when Mugabe redistribute the land that was stolen by the white amongst the black majority then these presidents Kibaki and Mugabe are genuine African patriot who are being sacrificed by the powerful and racist Western world for doing the right.
Is this because there is so much to lose for the west self interest in Kenya and Zimbabwe? Why was there no cry when Musevani changed the constitution so he can stay in power? Why are darker people being killed in thousand in Darfur every day? While west is aware of these tragedies unfolding in Togo and Sierra Leone it is a shocking fact that there has been no cry from the west as in Kenya and that of Zimbabwe. Could all this outrage be racist drivel marshaled and sponsored by imperial media houses or it is genuine collective moral outrage aimed at forestalling the west self interest and thus halting the Chinese penetration especially in Kenya?
The Kenyan election was a very bad African precedence, Instead of moving forward whom I think Africa was, the west notarized violence in Kenya, and rewarded the killers. Africa moved backward which was the goal of the west. By serving their self interest, west throw the first stone in killing African democracy and rule of law. No party from today onward will ever accept defeat. There will be killing in every African election as the west has planned. When bunch of thugs and terrorist kills human being and destroy personal properties while the west stood and cheered on the side line and thereafter demand the same people to share power, this is a bad and gloomier day for African and human being. This is democracy at its worst!!! The peace loving world cannot just seat and reward these people, the whole opposition need to stand trial in Hague. We cannot let violence win….and yet west demand the same people to be part of democracy. What kind a democracy is this, killing women and children, is what we reward for?
When a president kibaki help the economy grow by 7% reduce the poverty, create over 500,000 jobs, rehabilitee the infrastructure and when Mugabe redistribute the land that was stolen by the white amongst the black majority then these presidents Kibaki and Mugabe are genuine African patriot who are being sacrificed by the powerful and racist Western world for doing the right.
Kenya and African Democracy
It will take a long time for develop African democracy; I am saying African democracy since democracy does not mean western democracy. Africa should ponder deeply and critically on the direction or how to grow a more sustainable democracy in Africa. Democracy that reflects Africa's histories, experiences, cultural traditions and norms.
The problem with the African democracy is a Sycophant like Maina Kiai who is an opportunist at any cost. For the people who followed the Kenyan campaign, we saw Mr. Kiai’s hidden agenda all the way. Was Mr. Kiai promised something by the opposition or the west since west wanted Opposition to win? This is a man who claims to be holly since he is a kikuyu and think people will listen to him because of that. Please Mr. Kiai, state your agenda since we do not believe you. Let’s hear what you know about rigging or shut the f--- up!!!
Peoples lives were lost, property damaged, children burned in church and all Maina Kiai can think about is about “rigged” election and what can make him famous. Your ten minutes of fame is up and shame on you. What a shame to the African decency and democracy to call you a human advocacy.
This man was against the government since the start of campaign. To divide Africa and conquer the colonial government used people like Kiai to plant seed of abhorrence which are being harvested today. The murderers of innocent people are using Maina Kiai to cover up. There are some questions that Kiai as he claims to be ‘human right advocate” should be asking. Who financed the killing in the rift valley? Who did the killing and under whose directions? We know there was ethnic cleansing against kikuyus; there were murders, rapes, and expulsions of kikuyu’s. Kiai as a humanitarian should be asking if the murders, arrests, rapes, and expulsions of Kenyan citizens were a matter of cleansing and again who sponsored them. We know some of the sponsors are going to be in the next government and we want them exposed and prosecuted in Hague for the crime against the humanity.
These are a very serious time; we need serious people if we are going to define our destiny and “African” democracy that caters for all people. We need to remove a person who creates ten minute fame without regard to who it hurts like Mr. Kiai. Mr. Kiai should be preparing a case in Hague right now against the murderer of the” burned forest” church and their master. We cannot sleep until these people are caught and brought to court of law. The spirits of these people demand and deserve to heard.
James Gatihi
The problem with the African democracy is a Sycophant like Maina Kiai who is an opportunist at any cost. For the people who followed the Kenyan campaign, we saw Mr. Kiai’s hidden agenda all the way. Was Mr. Kiai promised something by the opposition or the west since west wanted Opposition to win? This is a man who claims to be holly since he is a kikuyu and think people will listen to him because of that. Please Mr. Kiai, state your agenda since we do not believe you. Let’s hear what you know about rigging or shut the f--- up!!!
Peoples lives were lost, property damaged, children burned in church and all Maina Kiai can think about is about “rigged” election and what can make him famous. Your ten minutes of fame is up and shame on you. What a shame to the African decency and democracy to call you a human advocacy.
This man was against the government since the start of campaign. To divide Africa and conquer the colonial government used people like Kiai to plant seed of abhorrence which are being harvested today. The murderers of innocent people are using Maina Kiai to cover up. There are some questions that Kiai as he claims to be ‘human right advocate” should be asking. Who financed the killing in the rift valley? Who did the killing and under whose directions? We know there was ethnic cleansing against kikuyus; there were murders, rapes, and expulsions of kikuyu’s. Kiai as a humanitarian should be asking if the murders, arrests, rapes, and expulsions of Kenyan citizens were a matter of cleansing and again who sponsored them. We know some of the sponsors are going to be in the next government and we want them exposed and prosecuted in Hague for the crime against the humanity.
These are a very serious time; we need serious people if we are going to define our destiny and “African” democracy that caters for all people. We need to remove a person who creates ten minute fame without regard to who it hurts like Mr. Kiai. Mr. Kiai should be preparing a case in Hague right now against the murderer of the” burned forest” church and their master. We cannot sleep until these people are caught and brought to court of law. The spirits of these people demand and deserve to heard.
James Gatihi
Thursday, March 6, 2008
International community must prosecute the killers in Kenya
We all know African will eventually have her own type of democracy. It will be hard for African to establish their version democracy, since the kind of democracy the west wants it not going to work for Africa. If you win in Africa and the west do not like you, like the case of Mugabe or Mwai Kibaki of Kenya. The west will cry foul and rigged election. African needs to challenges the west to except the African democry which is very infancy and of different version just like in Europe. African democracy does not have to be an image of the west. West do need take a hard look at our political institutions, out laws and our philosophies that are too often taken for granted as the way-things-must-be as defined by west.
It’s funny and true; I read a story is told of a U.S. citizen chiding the former president of Tanzania, Julius K. Nyerere, about the fact that Tanzania had only one political party. Nyerere is said to have responded: "Well, in the United States, you, too, have only one political party, but with your customary extravagance you have created two versions of that one party.
Many Africans consider the Western model of political democracy to be extremely narrow and even alien to African cultures. "Democracy is not merely the right to vote and seize power," the Rev. Jose Belo Chipenda, General Secretary, All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) has said. "It is about a whole complex of rights and duties which citizens must exercise if a government is to be open, accountable, and participatory." Africans like Chipenda find that Western-style democracy "places people into artificial antagonistic boxes, turns friends into enemies, and aims at arousing unnecessary competition. In west you have luxury to do this, since economy factors do allow.
In the case of Kenya, since the Kibaki government has done such a great job, where the economy was growing at the rate 6%, the opposition had to come up with garbage type of politics, e.g. “Majimba” which means that every ethnics has to go back to where the majority of that group came from, the “Sheria” law which means that where the majority are Muslims, then the Islam law applies. They also incited other ethnics groups against each others claiming the other groups got more from the government than the others, where in some cases it is true, but not even this case is true for 0.5%, mind you this is the same case even in the west where big corporation do not pay taxes.
When all this was going on, the west and especially the American ambassador was on the side line as a sheer lender and encouraging this to happen. We here in states knew this was going to happen, since the opposition campaign advisor was Dick Morris the famous for inflating polls. This was clearly ignorant of the west. Again as long as their puppet is winning, then of course minimal democracy criteria are met as they define it. Like the case of Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania Saudi and Jordan.
Democratic governance and respect for human rights are the foundations for political and social stability and economic progress no matter what. They are also intrinsic to the goal of human development. I believe Kibaki won the elections, and all grievances should have been taken to court of law like the case Gore. We did not ask Gore to share power with Bush! West therefore should not apply double standard like in Kenya, where they supported people who advocated violence and killed people and burned their houses. Today, the struggle of Africa's people for democracy and human rights continues since the west has refused to be fair just. As in the past, international support and fairness can play an important role for true democracy. West should have encouraged the opposition to go to court. Today nobody is talking about who organized the killing Kenya. We know these same people are going to be in the next government as very senior minister. We demand the international community to prosecute these people. We demand their names to be exposed and send to Hague. We also demand the west to measure democracy and justice with one yard stick.
James Gatihi
It’s funny and true; I read a story is told of a U.S. citizen chiding the former president of Tanzania, Julius K. Nyerere, about the fact that Tanzania had only one political party. Nyerere is said to have responded: "Well, in the United States, you, too, have only one political party, but with your customary extravagance you have created two versions of that one party.
Many Africans consider the Western model of political democracy to be extremely narrow and even alien to African cultures. "Democracy is not merely the right to vote and seize power," the Rev. Jose Belo Chipenda, General Secretary, All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) has said. "It is about a whole complex of rights and duties which citizens must exercise if a government is to be open, accountable, and participatory." Africans like Chipenda find that Western-style democracy "places people into artificial antagonistic boxes, turns friends into enemies, and aims at arousing unnecessary competition. In west you have luxury to do this, since economy factors do allow.
In the case of Kenya, since the Kibaki government has done such a great job, where the economy was growing at the rate 6%, the opposition had to come up with garbage type of politics, e.g. “Majimba” which means that every ethnics has to go back to where the majority of that group came from, the “Sheria” law which means that where the majority are Muslims, then the Islam law applies. They also incited other ethnics groups against each others claiming the other groups got more from the government than the others, where in some cases it is true, but not even this case is true for 0.5%, mind you this is the same case even in the west where big corporation do not pay taxes.
When all this was going on, the west and especially the American ambassador was on the side line as a sheer lender and encouraging this to happen. We here in states knew this was going to happen, since the opposition campaign advisor was Dick Morris the famous for inflating polls. This was clearly ignorant of the west. Again as long as their puppet is winning, then of course minimal democracy criteria are met as they define it. Like the case of Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania Saudi and Jordan.
Democratic governance and respect for human rights are the foundations for political and social stability and economic progress no matter what. They are also intrinsic to the goal of human development. I believe Kibaki won the elections, and all grievances should have been taken to court of law like the case Gore. We did not ask Gore to share power with Bush! West therefore should not apply double standard like in Kenya, where they supported people who advocated violence and killed people and burned their houses. Today, the struggle of Africa's people for democracy and human rights continues since the west has refused to be fair just. As in the past, international support and fairness can play an important role for true democracy. West should have encouraged the opposition to go to court. Today nobody is talking about who organized the killing Kenya. We know these same people are going to be in the next government as very senior minister. We demand the international community to prosecute these people. We demand their names to be exposed and send to Hague. We also demand the west to measure democracy and justice with one yard stick.
James Gatihi
Sunday, March 2, 2008
I just come back from Kenya and witnessed most of these horrible crimes first hard. My wife and I also were involved in finding help to displaced kids and families. We were able to move 15 kids to my father house and also enroll them in schools. Kenyans people are good people regardless and I do want the world to know that, they do not care about race until incited and clearly that was what happened in Kenya when Raila and the opposition lost.
It is unfortunate that this has happened in the front of the world. What is surprising is the way the world has kept quiet in terms of the who is responsible for this. If the world was listening to the ODM’s the campaign slogans, they should have known that this was to happen. Their banner was “Majimbo” meaning separation by race. This was happening while the US and Europe watched and never raised a finger. They, the west also supported Raila and the opposition, while all this was going on and clearly knew what was going to be the consequence. Their intention was the genocide of those who did not support them and specifically the kikuyu’s, there was genocide written all over but he west and the world ignored it.
The militia groups were organized way ahead of the polls, their mission clearly defined by the oppositions. They were to force some tribe’s and again specifically the kikuyu’s people as have been happening in the past from their homes by killing them. The individual and this militia which the government is aware of have committed war crimes against the civilian population and need to be prosecuted by international tribunal. This includes people who are going to be in the next grand coalition. There has not been one time that I have hard the west point a finger on who organized these crimes. This pattern of genocide against the kikuyu’s has been going on for too long in Kenya. Every election we have had in Kenya, kikuyu have paid a heavy price in terms of human lives. The world needs to stop this now.
Under the leadership of Kofi Annam, the two opposing sides have agreed to share power which is what the Kenyan people would have wanted, peace! My argument is what kind of precedence is being set for the democracy in Africa and third world country? This is clearly a big blow to democracy, because it clearly says that when you lose an election, kill as many people as you can and the world will listen to you. Raila and the opposition have been rewarded by inciting and genocide. And then the world have demand that you share power, congratulation!! This is what happened in Kenya. I do not know if Kibaki won or lost but clearly there was a better way of resolving this. There is court of law and the procedures set, that should have been followed. By allowing the opposition to share power we are encouraging this to happen again, and I guarantee that this will happen. Zimbabwe here we come, you are next, and the west is waiting to be entertained by killing of African. What way to set precedence in Kenya.
James Gatihi
It is unfortunate that this has happened in the front of the world. What is surprising is the way the world has kept quiet in terms of the who is responsible for this. If the world was listening to the ODM’s the campaign slogans, they should have known that this was to happen. Their banner was “Majimbo” meaning separation by race. This was happening while the US and Europe watched and never raised a finger. They, the west also supported Raila and the opposition, while all this was going on and clearly knew what was going to be the consequence. Their intention was the genocide of those who did not support them and specifically the kikuyu’s, there was genocide written all over but he west and the world ignored it.
The militia groups were organized way ahead of the polls, their mission clearly defined by the oppositions. They were to force some tribe’s and again specifically the kikuyu’s people as have been happening in the past from their homes by killing them. The individual and this militia which the government is aware of have committed war crimes against the civilian population and need to be prosecuted by international tribunal. This includes people who are going to be in the next grand coalition. There has not been one time that I have hard the west point a finger on who organized these crimes. This pattern of genocide against the kikuyu’s has been going on for too long in Kenya. Every election we have had in Kenya, kikuyu have paid a heavy price in terms of human lives. The world needs to stop this now.
Under the leadership of Kofi Annam, the two opposing sides have agreed to share power which is what the Kenyan people would have wanted, peace! My argument is what kind of precedence is being set for the democracy in Africa and third world country? This is clearly a big blow to democracy, because it clearly says that when you lose an election, kill as many people as you can and the world will listen to you. Raila and the opposition have been rewarded by inciting and genocide. And then the world have demand that you share power, congratulation!! This is what happened in Kenya. I do not know if Kibaki won or lost but clearly there was a better way of resolving this. There is court of law and the procedures set, that should have been followed. By allowing the opposition to share power we are encouraging this to happen again, and I guarantee that this will happen. Zimbabwe here we come, you are next, and the west is waiting to be entertained by killing of African. What way to set precedence in Kenya.
James Gatihi
Monday, February 25, 2008
WHO IS RAILA OGINGA?
Kenya should not forget that when Jomo Kenyatta was president, Raila’s father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was vice-president. This is a man who wanted so much to become president he could not wait. His political ambition saw him leave KANU, the ruling party at the time, to form his own party, the KPU, and got the help from Russia in order to destabilize Kenyatta’s government. His son Raila is reading the same script; destabilize Kenya using thugs to kill innocent Kikuyu’s.
When Oginga did not manage to take power from Kenyatta, he waited eyeing for the post from the side-lines. Daniel Arap Moi took over from Kenyatta and Oginga’s frustrations could no longer be hidden. Oginga the father and son who at this time have joined hands have became very desperate and decided to engineer the attempted coup in 1982, a coup against Moi which almost succeeded. Many lives were lost during this period. Oginga was at the time in house arrest in Kisumu, but still managed to communicate with the coup plotters. There is history of violence in the family that needs to examine carefully.
We also know that, since this time Raila has a vedetta against kikuyu’s since he claim that Kikuyu’s prevented his father from ascending to the highest office as he likes to say. Also remember that Raila Odinga, when he was the Minister for Roads in Mwai Kibaki’s government, he pulled down many expensive houses in Kenya telling Kenyans that he was doing so, “in the name of roads expansion.”
Many of the houses pulled down belonged to the Kikuyus and non-Luo communities who, on loosing their properties, were denied compensation by the Roads ministry then headed by Raila. None of the houses pulled down belonged to people from Nyanza his homeland.
We also need to understand how Raila and his family have been mentioned as “corrupt” while they call other Kenyans corrupt. Four years ago, the South African Portuguese, also known as Tony Teixeira, was accused in the British Parliament of gun-running for Angola’s Unita rebels and for defying United Nations sanctions by supplying oil to the rebel movement.
Now questions are being raised about the controversial man behind a Canadian company that purchased the troubled Kisumu molasses plant from the Oginga Odinga family. The question many Kenyans want to know is how did the oginga family purchase the plant in the first place and for how much? Did Moi give it him so he can Join, the then Kanu? What does he know about Teixeira and why did he sell this compay like this?
Teixeira has been linked to Branch Energy and Executive Outcomes, two notorious private security-cum-paramilitary companies with a record of involvement in war wealth.
The value of the entire land measuring 112 hectares was put at Sh3,699,750. Twenty-three months later, Teixeira’s DiamondWorks, renamed Energem, acquired a controlling stake in Spectre International and paid $2 million (Sh160 million) for a stake in the Odinga family-owned enterprise. But the molasses saga deepened further after the Ministry of Lands and Housing issued a brief saying there "is no record of official valuation of the property by the chief government valuer". Here we have a man who is as corrupt as you can get and at the same time he want to call other people corrupt.
He is also a man with cannon mouth; he is quoted as saying “that drug money is finding its way into the mart” meaning the Nairobi stock exchange. As a presidential candidate or president you cannot make such allegation without facts. This man is a communist at heart!!! There were so many indication that, Raila, if elected he would reverse some recent privatization plus have some radical surgery going in the country and the stock market. Again, this is a communist mind. He was also the one advocating the majimba, meaning that all the ethnics should go back to where their ancestor comes from. Now you can see the fruits of majimbo’s. Raila’s majimba has caused all this killing and human suffering and yet the US and the UN nations want this man to share power with a legally elected president? Has the world lost its mind? This man can be compared to Adolf Hilter. This is the man who advocated the killing of the Kikuyu’s and Kisii. The peace loving people of Kenyan and the world need to silence this man now and forever. We do not want to share power with a killer.
JAMES GATIHI
When Oginga did not manage to take power from Kenyatta, he waited eyeing for the post from the side-lines. Daniel Arap Moi took over from Kenyatta and Oginga’s frustrations could no longer be hidden. Oginga the father and son who at this time have joined hands have became very desperate and decided to engineer the attempted coup in 1982, a coup against Moi which almost succeeded. Many lives were lost during this period. Oginga was at the time in house arrest in Kisumu, but still managed to communicate with the coup plotters. There is history of violence in the family that needs to examine carefully.
We also know that, since this time Raila has a vedetta against kikuyu’s since he claim that Kikuyu’s prevented his father from ascending to the highest office as he likes to say. Also remember that Raila Odinga, when he was the Minister for Roads in Mwai Kibaki’s government, he pulled down many expensive houses in Kenya telling Kenyans that he was doing so, “in the name of roads expansion.”
Many of the houses pulled down belonged to the Kikuyus and non-Luo communities who, on loosing their properties, were denied compensation by the Roads ministry then headed by Raila. None of the houses pulled down belonged to people from Nyanza his homeland.
We also need to understand how Raila and his family have been mentioned as “corrupt” while they call other Kenyans corrupt. Four years ago, the South African Portuguese, also known as Tony Teixeira, was accused in the British Parliament of gun-running for Angola’s Unita rebels and for defying United Nations sanctions by supplying oil to the rebel movement.
Now questions are being raised about the controversial man behind a Canadian company that purchased the troubled Kisumu molasses plant from the Oginga Odinga family. The question many Kenyans want to know is how did the oginga family purchase the plant in the first place and for how much? Did Moi give it him so he can Join, the then Kanu? What does he know about Teixeira and why did he sell this compay like this?
Teixeira has been linked to Branch Energy and Executive Outcomes, two notorious private security-cum-paramilitary companies with a record of involvement in war wealth.
The value of the entire land measuring 112 hectares was put at Sh3,699,750. Twenty-three months later, Teixeira’s DiamondWorks, renamed Energem, acquired a controlling stake in Spectre International and paid $2 million (Sh160 million) for a stake in the Odinga family-owned enterprise. But the molasses saga deepened further after the Ministry of Lands and Housing issued a brief saying there "is no record of official valuation of the property by the chief government valuer". Here we have a man who is as corrupt as you can get and at the same time he want to call other people corrupt.
He is also a man with cannon mouth; he is quoted as saying “that drug money is finding its way into the mart” meaning the Nairobi stock exchange. As a presidential candidate or president you cannot make such allegation without facts. This man is a communist at heart!!! There were so many indication that, Raila, if elected he would reverse some recent privatization plus have some radical surgery going in the country and the stock market. Again, this is a communist mind. He was also the one advocating the majimba, meaning that all the ethnics should go back to where their ancestor comes from. Now you can see the fruits of majimbo’s. Raila’s majimba has caused all this killing and human suffering and yet the US and the UN nations want this man to share power with a legally elected president? Has the world lost its mind? This man can be compared to Adolf Hilter. This is the man who advocated the killing of the Kikuyu’s and Kisii. The peace loving people of Kenyan and the world need to silence this man now and forever. We do not want to share power with a killer.
JAMES GATIHI
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
We do not need warning from any body. Kenya is not a colony of west or East!! We know and understand the Important of peace, Kenyan and Kibaki understands this. What we need is these so called master to pay more attention to what lead Kenya to the present situation and stop protecting the ODM and their Hitler form of government.
There were all indicators that there were going to be some kind of violence in Kenya during and after the elections. The first indicator comes when police were killed when they took the voting ballots to kisumu, the day before the elections- the government did nothing!! The ODM have been Inciting their support during the whole campaign and to an extend of interfering in other opposition candidates campaign, and especially when the Ruto people interfered with former minister Nyachai campaign and caused some death in kisii, again the government did nothing!!
Raila and ODM with the help of Dick Morris were planning and implementing to the letter the Dick Morris Strategy already used in Arkansas, US, Ukraine, Mexico and extreme parties in U.K. In Kenya, the strategy was; and the kanyan in Diasporas had documented and warned the Kenyan government that this was going to happen:
1. Hype ethnicity to win, demonize and isolate....the kikuyu.
2. Hire pollsters to claim a massive lead, demoralize and scuttle rival vote.
3. Make constant claims of rigging to prepare ground for rejecting polls if defeated.
4. Reject the poll results Ukrainian style, get
Sworn in separately, and cite the flawed polls as evidence and that is why kibaki had to be sworn ASAP.
5. Prepare supporters for protracted demonstration in
Nairobi and other major cities. We did not know that killing and burning was part of this plan.
Again, there is unequal distribution of wealth everywhere in the world and you should see the United States of America for a case and point. The kikuyu’s has not ruled Kenya for the last 24 year and had no member in the Moi cabinet for all those years as the media want to portray the Kikuyu’s as the owner of government and Economy since the independent!!
The Present government, Kibaki’s administration, has done better than any previous governments. The economy is growing at a rate of 6% and above, free primary education and high school, easy business registration, the corruption has gone way down, even if not as fast as it should have. The ODM has been inciting the non-kikuyu and sending the sms message to other people to kick kikuyu from their houses before the election, this all engineered by Raila Oginga. Again the Kenya government knew all about this and did nothing to prevent it.
We need peace in Kenya, at any means necessary!! But we also need the international community to prosecute the ODM menace who caused the death to innocent thousand. We need the world to pay more attention to ills caused by the ODM. The world is focusing on the election and what is fair, in the eyes of ODM and not Kenyan peoples.
The world is not focusing on the important questions and that is who planned and caused the genocide in Kenya. Before we can address the issues of corruption and land distribution, we need to address these issues first. There are people in Kenya who are hurting badly and would like revenge, that including me. The world needs to look at this and prevent anther Ruanda. Let the world be fair to all the parties and not only Raila and the ODM
James Gatihi
There were all indicators that there were going to be some kind of violence in Kenya during and after the elections. The first indicator comes when police were killed when they took the voting ballots to kisumu, the day before the elections- the government did nothing!! The ODM have been Inciting their support during the whole campaign and to an extend of interfering in other opposition candidates campaign, and especially when the Ruto people interfered with former minister Nyachai campaign and caused some death in kisii, again the government did nothing!!
Raila and ODM with the help of Dick Morris were planning and implementing to the letter the Dick Morris Strategy already used in Arkansas, US, Ukraine, Mexico and extreme parties in U.K. In Kenya, the strategy was; and the kanyan in Diasporas had documented and warned the Kenyan government that this was going to happen:
1. Hype ethnicity to win, demonize and isolate....the kikuyu.
2. Hire pollsters to claim a massive lead, demoralize and scuttle rival vote.
3. Make constant claims of rigging to prepare ground for rejecting polls if defeated.
4. Reject the poll results Ukrainian style, get
Sworn in separately, and cite the flawed polls as evidence and that is why kibaki had to be sworn ASAP.
5. Prepare supporters for protracted demonstration in
Nairobi and other major cities. We did not know that killing and burning was part of this plan.
Again, there is unequal distribution of wealth everywhere in the world and you should see the United States of America for a case and point. The kikuyu’s has not ruled Kenya for the last 24 year and had no member in the Moi cabinet for all those years as the media want to portray the Kikuyu’s as the owner of government and Economy since the independent!!
The Present government, Kibaki’s administration, has done better than any previous governments. The economy is growing at a rate of 6% and above, free primary education and high school, easy business registration, the corruption has gone way down, even if not as fast as it should have. The ODM has been inciting the non-kikuyu and sending the sms message to other people to kick kikuyu from their houses before the election, this all engineered by Raila Oginga. Again the Kenya government knew all about this and did nothing to prevent it.
We need peace in Kenya, at any means necessary!! But we also need the international community to prosecute the ODM menace who caused the death to innocent thousand. We need the world to pay more attention to ills caused by the ODM. The world is focusing on the election and what is fair, in the eyes of ODM and not Kenyan peoples.
The world is not focusing on the important questions and that is who planned and caused the genocide in Kenya. Before we can address the issues of corruption and land distribution, we need to address these issues first. There are people in Kenya who are hurting badly and would like revenge, that including me. The world needs to look at this and prevent anther Ruanda. Let the world be fair to all the parties and not only Raila and the ODM
James Gatihi
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Kenyan Election and fair reporting
America and the west do not care about the interest of Africa and for that matter Kenya, what they care about is their own interest. Whether the Kenyans Election were fair or not fair Is not what they care about. It is what they can get from the incoming president. The question I keep asking is; did Raila promise the west something? One minute the elections were fair as “long as the opposition was winning and the next when the government side starting winning, wow, the elections was flawed!!! Does this have something to do with the fact that Kenyan government had been getting comfortable with China? We need fair reporting for both side and not only the opposition.
Recently, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the creation of a new, unified military command for Africa. This command is not to safeguard the interest of Africa, but the self-interest for the United States in Africa. Currently sub-Saharan Africa supplies the U.S. with nearly 20 percent of its petroleum needs and, according to National Intelligence Council estimates, within a decade, the West African sub-region will be providing more than one-quarter of North American oil imports by 2015, thus surpassing the total volume of oil imports from the Middle East. Chinese are also interested in this pie. It is about the west interest and not Africa.
We as African and the progressive world need to be very careful when we read news or watch news. The situation in Kenya is very grave and the press needs to report balanced news. What we are seeing now in Kenya is the western press reporting biased against the Kenyan government and the favorably to side that they will benefit more. There is a seating government in Kenya and there are governing bodies that need to be respected and obeyed just like the western government. There are set process to challenge what happened and the opposition need to follow that.
When there was a flawed election in u.s.a, American did not run burning the personal property, they followed the law of land. Gore went to court and he put the interest of United States first. Raila needs to do the same. This is hooliganism; the same hooliganism has been running the street for the last four years. Anytime something does not go their way, they will storm the government offices. The Kibaki government has been very patient and I commend them for that. There is history of the so called “ODM ‘and people need to research before they comment.
You cannot blame the government for the place like Kibera. Kibera has always been there even before the independent. This African ‘Ghetto” was created by colonial government. Kibera is completely not the subject with what is happening. What do you want the Kenyan government to do? Demolish people’s house? There is poverty everywhere in the world; there are places I would not go in Oakland California. Democracy and capitalism is the price. I have been to Kibera and I have been to East Oakland and I feel safer in Kibera. Here, it is a question of encouraging the rule of law. Without the rule of law there cannot be democracy, or economy economical growth. We need to cultivate this in Africa. We have to do it ourselves since the west will not do it for us.
James Gatihi
Recently, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the creation of a new, unified military command for Africa. This command is not to safeguard the interest of Africa, but the self-interest for the United States in Africa. Currently sub-Saharan Africa supplies the U.S. with nearly 20 percent of its petroleum needs and, according to National Intelligence Council estimates, within a decade, the West African sub-region will be providing more than one-quarter of North American oil imports by 2015, thus surpassing the total volume of oil imports from the Middle East. Chinese are also interested in this pie. It is about the west interest and not Africa.
We as African and the progressive world need to be very careful when we read news or watch news. The situation in Kenya is very grave and the press needs to report balanced news. What we are seeing now in Kenya is the western press reporting biased against the Kenyan government and the favorably to side that they will benefit more. There is a seating government in Kenya and there are governing bodies that need to be respected and obeyed just like the western government. There are set process to challenge what happened and the opposition need to follow that.
When there was a flawed election in u.s.a, American did not run burning the personal property, they followed the law of land. Gore went to court and he put the interest of United States first. Raila needs to do the same. This is hooliganism; the same hooliganism has been running the street for the last four years. Anytime something does not go their way, they will storm the government offices. The Kibaki government has been very patient and I commend them for that. There is history of the so called “ODM ‘and people need to research before they comment.
You cannot blame the government for the place like Kibera. Kibera has always been there even before the independent. This African ‘Ghetto” was created by colonial government. Kibera is completely not the subject with what is happening. What do you want the Kenyan government to do? Demolish people’s house? There is poverty everywhere in the world; there are places I would not go in Oakland California. Democracy and capitalism is the price. I have been to Kibera and I have been to East Oakland and I feel safer in Kibera. Here, it is a question of encouraging the rule of law. Without the rule of law there cannot be democracy, or economy economical growth. We need to cultivate this in Africa. We have to do it ourselves since the west will not do it for us.
James Gatihi
The Real Reson for Kenya's Violence
The Real Reson for Kenya's Violence By Jacqueline M. Klopp : Christian Science Monitor : January 16, 2008http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0114/p09s02-coop.html------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contrary to popular belief, it isn't simply 'tribal' or 'spontaneous.'------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hundreds have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the three weeks since Kenya's hotly disputed presidential elections. Once considered an island of stability in Africa, the country is suffering what the media has called a "shocking outbreak of violence" and "tribal clashes."
The key questions we should be asking are: Who is responsible for this violence? How is it happening? But we will not ask these questions if we continue to see the current violence as simply a spontaneous outburst of anger at the election rigging or "tribal warfare."
The international community must realize that Kenya's violence today is fueled by strongmen on both sides of the political divide. They are exploiting ethnic identity, pitting one community against another, as a means to gain power. It is a practice with a long history in Kenyan politics.
The fury of the violence may look like "tribal warfare" linked to election anger, especially in the worst instances of ethnic cleansing – as in Eldoret, where women and children were burned alive in a church. A common explanation is that members of the Kikuyu community are facing retaliation from others for their longtime "dominance." Like Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, President Mwai Kibaki is Kikuyu; opposition leader Raila Odinga is Luo.
Part of the violence is not directly organized and is instead linked to confrontations between protesters and police, who have a history of brutality. Many understandably feel rage at the election fraud carried out on behalf of Mr. Kibaki. But much of the ethnicized violence is linked to organized efforts by political strongmen who have experience playing divide-and-rule.
Remember Daniel arap Moi? He was Kenya's president from 1978 to 2002. He and most of his cohorts during this time were Kalenjin. In the 1990s, they faced the probable loss of power in multiparty elections to an opposition that included many Kikuyu. In response, Mr. Moi's men filled their campaigns with hate against all Kikuyu and convinced many that any member of that group, from a child to a poor farmer, represented "Kikuyu domination."
This ploy conveniently shifted blame from Moi and his mostly non-Kikuyu crowd who had been in power for years. It shifted attention away from the massive land grabbing and corruption they continued from the previous government that helped put the poor, including the numerous Kikuyu poor, in slums or sent them across the country in search of a small patch of land to eke out a living.
Sadly, this anti-Kikuyu campaign gained supporters among unemployed youth who learned to project their problems onto a Kikuyu face. Poor men were given weapons and paid to kill and displace. In return, they were promised or sold vacated land. Ultimately, in the 1990s, thousands of people died and almost half a million were displaced. This violence helped Moi's small group of corrupt "big men" stay in power for a decade. In the deeply flawed elections of 1992 and 1997, displacement became a form of gerrymandering.
Not one person has been tried, let alone convicted, for these killings and displacements. The international community at the time seemed quite ready to forget as well.
Since his election in 2002, Kibaki has collaborated in this deliberate forgetting. Part of the reason was that he had brought into his ruling coalition many of the worst perpetrators of violence. They could deliver votes in key areas and were willing to drop their anti-Kikuyu rhetoric once in power.
Mr. Odinga, the opposition leader, has also brought notorious ethnic cleansers into his coalition. Their anti-Kikuyu rhetoric is a useful political tool against the Kikuyu incumbent.
All these advocates of violence have lived with complete impunity. They have learned that they could preach hate, organize youth to kill and displace, and be rewarded with a cabinet post. They could get rid of voters who were unlikely to support them. They could use violence for bargaining power at the national level, something that appears to be happening today. The current project of "ethnic cleansing" in the Rift Valley suggests that some politicians, this time allied mostly with the opposition, have learned these lessons well.
The key lesson for the international community to learn from past violence is that a new government alone, especially if it welcomes perpetrators of violence into its core, cannot fix this deep problem of strongmen politics.
This time we must demand a thorough and independent investigation into all forms of violence. We should demand that those guilty of organizing, funding, or authorizing killings from any ethnic community be, at a minimum, excluded from high office. Let us not forget that this violence has a history and perpetrators and that there are responsibilities to be assigned. This time let us demand justice and not repeat the mistakes of the past. Otherwise, we set more roadblocks on Kenya's path toward a just, democratic, and truly civil society. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline M. Klopp is a professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The key questions we should be asking are: Who is responsible for this violence? How is it happening? But we will not ask these questions if we continue to see the current violence as simply a spontaneous outburst of anger at the election rigging or "tribal warfare."
The international community must realize that Kenya's violence today is fueled by strongmen on both sides of the political divide. They are exploiting ethnic identity, pitting one community against another, as a means to gain power. It is a practice with a long history in Kenyan politics.
The fury of the violence may look like "tribal warfare" linked to election anger, especially in the worst instances of ethnic cleansing – as in Eldoret, where women and children were burned alive in a church. A common explanation is that members of the Kikuyu community are facing retaliation from others for their longtime "dominance." Like Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, President Mwai Kibaki is Kikuyu; opposition leader Raila Odinga is Luo.
Part of the violence is not directly organized and is instead linked to confrontations between protesters and police, who have a history of brutality. Many understandably feel rage at the election fraud carried out on behalf of Mr. Kibaki. But much of the ethnicized violence is linked to organized efforts by political strongmen who have experience playing divide-and-rule.
Remember Daniel arap Moi? He was Kenya's president from 1978 to 2002. He and most of his cohorts during this time were Kalenjin. In the 1990s, they faced the probable loss of power in multiparty elections to an opposition that included many Kikuyu. In response, Mr. Moi's men filled their campaigns with hate against all Kikuyu and convinced many that any member of that group, from a child to a poor farmer, represented "Kikuyu domination."
This ploy conveniently shifted blame from Moi and his mostly non-Kikuyu crowd who had been in power for years. It shifted attention away from the massive land grabbing and corruption they continued from the previous government that helped put the poor, including the numerous Kikuyu poor, in slums or sent them across the country in search of a small patch of land to eke out a living.
Sadly, this anti-Kikuyu campaign gained supporters among unemployed youth who learned to project their problems onto a Kikuyu face. Poor men were given weapons and paid to kill and displace. In return, they were promised or sold vacated land. Ultimately, in the 1990s, thousands of people died and almost half a million were displaced. This violence helped Moi's small group of corrupt "big men" stay in power for a decade. In the deeply flawed elections of 1992 and 1997, displacement became a form of gerrymandering.
Not one person has been tried, let alone convicted, for these killings and displacements. The international community at the time seemed quite ready to forget as well.
Since his election in 2002, Kibaki has collaborated in this deliberate forgetting. Part of the reason was that he had brought into his ruling coalition many of the worst perpetrators of violence. They could deliver votes in key areas and were willing to drop their anti-Kikuyu rhetoric once in power.
Mr. Odinga, the opposition leader, has also brought notorious ethnic cleansers into his coalition. Their anti-Kikuyu rhetoric is a useful political tool against the Kikuyu incumbent.
All these advocates of violence have lived with complete impunity. They have learned that they could preach hate, organize youth to kill and displace, and be rewarded with a cabinet post. They could get rid of voters who were unlikely to support them. They could use violence for bargaining power at the national level, something that appears to be happening today. The current project of "ethnic cleansing" in the Rift Valley suggests that some politicians, this time allied mostly with the opposition, have learned these lessons well.
The key lesson for the international community to learn from past violence is that a new government alone, especially if it welcomes perpetrators of violence into its core, cannot fix this deep problem of strongmen politics.
This time we must demand a thorough and independent investigation into all forms of violence. We should demand that those guilty of organizing, funding, or authorizing killings from any ethnic community be, at a minimum, excluded from high office. Let us not forget that this violence has a history and perpetrators and that there are responsibilities to be assigned. This time let us demand justice and not repeat the mistakes of the past. Otherwise, we set more roadblocks on Kenya's path toward a just, democratic, and truly civil society. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline M. Klopp is a professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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