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Kenya Burns!

Posted January 29th, 2008 in Elections, Hubbub by M

Events over the past 5 weeks have afforded me much opportunity for introspection. From what I have seen, to what I have heard, to what I have read. I cannot tell a lie. I am deeply affected by the events that took place for the past 5 weeks. I asked what have they done? Almost 4 weeks ago. And it is clear that people just don’t realize what has been done to this country — every time they think they do it gets worse.

This election my M.O. was that I was going to see things for myself and not rely on the traditional media. And so I went out to capture the pulse of the country. Of course, I saw a lot more that I would never have imagined, more intimately than most; because unlike most people

  • I actually went to KICC towards the tail end of the announcement that set things off. I fashioned my own Media badge (scrutiny was quite cursory) and took myself there. I saw with my own eyes doctored tally sheets. I saw the infamous 16A and remember laughing outright when the figure the chairman read out was absurdly different from what was on some of the actual forms.
  • I actually visited some polling stations and saw clumsy attempts to modify tally sheets
  • I actually went out and into the Mukuru slums a couple of days after the residents stoned our houses  and forced us into an impromptu curfew. I have seen horrible things and heard horrible tales. I have inhaled quite a bit of teargas and my reflexes to sounds like gunfire have to be seen to be believed.
  • I still go out to Mukuru even now. I tell you its one thing to see these people on TV and it is quite another to talk to them and share their experiences.

In fact that is what I think every man and woman of goodwill who is serious about helping should be doing. Personally I think we’ve had enough of these bullshit conferences, press briefings and what nots. Enough of them. The same things are said over and over again. What new things are said? People just go there, make the same old same old bleating for peace, then get into their 4x4s and drive to their cushy estates. I no longer attend these things because I fail to see the value that they add. There comes a point when you must stop talking and start doing.

You can’t appeal for peace on TV. You must do it face to face. So please, spare us these media briefings and press conferences. We can only get peace by making people see sense one at a time. So the more of us that do it, the sooner it will be done.

Some time back I shared my concerns that perhaps the youth have had a hand in the morass this country is currently in. Watching the footage of events in Nakuru and Nyahururu leaves me in little doubt.

Granted, this was started by politicians. The elections were just the flint that set alight the situation. However I refuse to absolve the participants of the mayhem of their share of the blame. The fact of the matter is that at the end of the day you must take responsibility for your actions.

If you threw stones, hacked people, burnt houses or looted then you are also to blame.

If you didn’t throw stones or hack or burn or loot but you spread hate through your blogs, your text messages, your emails and your conversations, please believe you are just as bad as the panga wielding youths. You are equally to blame.

It was absolutely chilling yesterday to watch footage of rowdy youths pulling men out of matatus and proceeding to lynch them.

I have for a long time been opposed to capital punishment. But now I ask myself would I really shed a tear if these murderers and looters in Eldoret. Kisumu, Nakuru, Naivasha, Molo, Kuresoi etc were strung up? I doubt it.

Questions

What I want to know is

  1. Where is the President? Mr Kibaki cannot have it both ways. If he insists he is the duly elected president then it is incumbent upon him to act accordingly. He must not only do something, he must be seen to be doing something.
  2. Where are our MPs? Why are they all here in Nairobi, and it is on record that they have only done a single day’s work? All MPs should be on the ground in their own constituencies doing their bit to ensure that this madness ends. We’ve had enough press conferences from comfortable hotels saying the same thing. Mr Kibaki should be in Othaya. Mr Odinga should be in Kibera. All their lieutenants should be at their constituencies moving from door to door campaigning for this foolishness to end. I won’t buy any arguments about government having to continue. What is there to govern?
  3. Where is the Church? I’m not impressed at all by any of the churches in Kenya. The Catholic Church, The Anglican Church, the Islamic community and the Independent churches have been very lethargic indeed. What happened to the men of faith who did not hesitate to speak for the people in word and in deed like Bishops Muge? Okullu? Gitari? Why are their successors so quietly lethargic?
  4. Why wasn’t the Army deployed in Eldoret 3 weeks ago?

Shattered Myths

  1. Kenya is an oasis of peace. Is it now?
  2. Kenyans are a deeply religious people. I find it difficult to reconcile this alleged deep devotion to The Maker, the innumerable filled churches and mosques and the images of brother turning against brother with crude weapons. It is bandied about that Kenya is 70% or so Christian. If this is so I can see much in the phrase “Jesus wept”.
  3. Kenya believes in the right of law. The ODM refuses to challenge the elections in court. While I understand their reluctance, it is also scoring an own goal because it can be argued that they are not going to challenge because they know they lost. Impasse right there. Also the PNU allege the ODM also committed electoral malpractice. Why have they not gone to court either?

Fueling The Fire

[ED]It would appear ODM Embakasi MP [ED]Mugabe Were was shot outside his compound. This is the absolute worst time for such a thing to happen.

AOB

My attention has been drawn to an online equivalent of a pissing contest. My response is exactly what it was before. There is nothing magical about blogging that absolves you from the responsibility to check your facts before you post them. There is nothing magical about it that makes it okay for you to say as you please without repercussion. Everyone has their own opinions on what blogging ought to be. For some it is a means to diary their exploits. For others it is a cash cow. For others it is a means to build castles in the air. For others it is an opportunity to be big fish in small ponds. For others it is a way to purge their souls. For others it is a way to express their creativity. For others it is a ticket to yet another blogging conference. For others like me — it is a way to express what I happen to be thinking.

But make no mistake about it. Whatever your reasons it is still incumbent upon you to be responsible with whatever you blog. My idea of responsibility is that if you are purporting to be speaking as someone telling people authoritatively what is happening on the ground, you’d  best have your facts right as you write. Hoping that it turns out to be true later is not good enough. Hiding behind innuendo is not good enough.

Buzz words like ‘citizen media’ and ‘one man publishing press’ do not change a thing. Neither does pontification from behind podiums at conferences. At the end of the day bloggers are still human beings and must still be held responsible for their words and actions. Whether or not bloggers choose to get lost in their grandiose delusions of grandeur does not change a thing.

A WordPress installation does not exempt you from this any more than a calculator exempts you from knowing how to add.

A cursory glance at blogs today speaks for itself. Just read some of the blog posts that have been written over the past month. A good number make my skin positively crawl. What defence do all the authors of those ridiculous ‘letters’ have? Freedoms are not absolute. They have responsibilities as well.

← Older Comments
  • http://www.seinlife.com seinlife

    I read somewhere that the shooting of the MP was over a ‘domestic dispute’. A dead man is nothing to be overlooked but god i hope it was a domestic dispute and not politically motivated.

  • TK

    See the link below to understand why the middle class should be very worried if a solution in not found soon…

    http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=25&newsid=115736

  • edge.of.sanity

    Thinkers in the room,

    It’s not beyond the realm of extreme possibilities that this was indeed, a crime of passion, as reported by the NYT or is it? This second murder has occurred at the worst possible time and the result was to be expected. Of course, there’s no good time for a murder, period.

    It’s all too easy to link the two murders and the language of the opposition leaders is not helping to control the mob mentality. This event could be domestic, political or both and the opposition are using the uncertainty surrounding it to their advantage. These marauders are helping to maintain the paralysis of the government which is what the opposition wants. The mobs have their implicit approval, I dare say.

    One can only hope that the populous will remember this come next election season. Most of these characters will still be out there looking for votes.

    Thank you.
    I.am.H

  • Ali

    edge.of.sanity,

    We can never know for certain what exactly happened to Mr Too, but what we know is this:
    1.The police man was married with children so if this woman was his lover, she was a mistress to him.
    2.Mr Too was a friend to the late husband of the lady .

    In my experience with life, i have never seen coincidence pick such an opportune time- with the Kenyan violence,two days after the death of another ODM MP?

  • kenya1

    “Where are the stories of selfless Kenyans who have risked it all to save others? Where are the stories of sacrifice and brotherhood? How can we get the media to provide a sustained stream of Kenya’s peaceful side and what they’ve achieved during this madness? Maybe news that most are not fighting will help put of the fires. I’m sure some people are fighting because they feel that everyone else is. It’s worth a try, isn’t it? We’ve collectively blogged about everything else, haven’t we? The voices of the now silent guardians of peace in Kenya can be heard if we can all speak together at once in a positive voice beyond the internet.”

    edge.of.sanity,
    I really LIKE your idea. But it seems like the third estate has completely failed Kenyans.

    Question is, are you willing to do this with me (and anyone else interested) as a project, where we could solicit and publish these true heroic stories in a blog? It could be a serene place where Kenyans can come to replenish their strength and affirm our faith in humanity and our Kenyan identity. I’m willing to put in the time and effort into such a noble cause.

  • Ali

    TK,

    I just read the very interesting Nation article you linked. I can totally see that happening, you don’t even have to look at the Congo example, Just look at the spiraling Nairobi crime as an example.

    I remember when i was growing up in Nai in the 80s and 90s , crime was mostly a poor mans problem.
    It rarely happened in Lavington, Kileleshwa, Parklands, Muthaiga etc.

    Then something interesting happens in the mid 90s. A daring Criminal named ‘Rasta” a.k.a Wanugu(whatever his name was), and two others, successfully robbed standard bank and won the ensuing gunfight against the police. He went on to elude capture for almost 2 years.

    This was the turning point for crime in Nai, Criminals were inspired and started looking for opportunities beyond the ghetto.Actually lots of armed criminals decided not to “work’ in their own neighborhoods.Criminals in Nai usually despise those who rob people in their own neighborhood.

    Bank Robberies were common but mostly unsuccessful..The middle class and rich had long ignored crime problems because they often thought that their wealth automatically protected them, crime was seen as a poor peoples problem. poor against poor.Despite the fact that most wealthy neighborhoods in Kenya are bordered by slums.

    Today, without notice, crime in Nairobi has caught the middle class and rich off guard. Thugs venture deep into the heart of the wealthy on regular basis.Some time even going as deep as their bedrooms. Car jacking became common with most of the victims being the so called middle class.The government and the elite simply have been defeated by the poor Criminals.The police and security have no answers. Crime cannot be contained…

    In short, crime is a bi-product of poverty. Kenya’s class ism and elitism often looks down at the poor and totally ignore their plight.
    They have always thought that poverty was a poor peoples problem. Now they have to think again, as poverty comes knocking on their doors FREQUENTLY with the cries of AK 47s and the tears of bullets.
    Without a doubt if the violence continues, the middle class and wealthy will not be spared.Its only a matter of a very very short time before the poor come knocking with machetes.

  • TK

    Ali,

    That is a very good analysis on why the middle class, the rich and their families in the diaspora need to be really worried if a solution is not found soon, and I mean very soon.

    One thing I noticed is that the government of Kenya doesn’t seem to have very good strategists. I wonder if this resulted in their inability to foresee their tremendous election loss, the post election violence and their inability to contain the violence. Thoughts? I would like urge Kenyans in the diaspora to reach out to affected Kenyan families and promote peace/healing among the Kenyans their communities. My friends, it’s ok to have different political opinions but it NOT ok to kill a fellow Kenyan.

  • edge.of.sanity

    @Ali – When all the impossibilities have been eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be closer to the truth. If after that more than one explanation remains, then more investigating must be done. That’s what should be done in MP Too’s case before dangerous conclusions are made but it’s a little too late for that.
    The opposition has already independently “investigated” this murder and found the government guilty.
    Both the government and opposition are engaged in a covert war with the murdering youths are their unpaid foot soldiers.
    Sure enough, MP Too’s murder is a major coincidence and a crisis management nightmare but those who have concluded that it’s a political assassination pending an investigation are fanning the flames.

    On poverty and crime…I concur. It’s time for Kenya’s middle and upper classes to speak up before the rock-throwing-machete-waving-AK47 firing marauders make it to their front yards. Those posh neighborhoods are not portable; they aren’t going anywhere.

    There are too many Kenyans who have quietly approved of the violence and are egging on their poorer, less educated and common sense deficient tribesmen to harm those of a different tribe…just because.

    @TK – If the names in the piece about Congo were changed, it would be Kenya’s recent past, present and almost certain future. I’m very, very worried.

    @Kenya1 – YES, I’d be willing to put in the effort to get these stories out. I published a variation of my above entry at this blogsite on Wednesday morning after I had done my internet rounds catching up with everything and was so furious about the new developments at the time…I signed up and started typing. I might have to edit it to reflect the cause.

    Thinkers in the room, are you willing to help in tracking down these stories and blogging until our keyboards fade? Any and all ideas are welcome.

    I sincerely believe that the sustained voices of many speaking at once will be heard. Those who have the power are sitting on their hands with their thumbs up their [insert "butts" here]. I think we owe it to our country to try and mollify the monster inside our brethren who have lost their way however futile the effort may seem. The healing can’t begin until there’s a reasonable level of calm [or even better, an all-inclusive calm].

    Thank You, M & Thinkers in The Room.

    I.am.H

  • edge.of.sanity

    One thing I noticed is that the government of Kenya doesn’t seem to have very good strategists. I wonder if this resulted in their inability to foresee their tremendous election loss, the post election violence and their inability to contain the violence.

    TK, I know you directed your response at Ali but I have to chime in here. Our spurious imitation of a government is dominated by a rabble of the same turn of mind – devious, selfish, unthinking and grossly incompetent. These pseudo-elected and appointed officials aren’t there to perform their civic duty, they’re there to use that opportunity to steal with impunity or benefit themselves alone in other ways. The smart ones among them are powerless and the powerful are thoughtless.

    They [strategists] definitely foresaw the election results and that’s why they were marred by irregularities. I don’t think the nefarious activity [some proven] was spontaneous and random at best.
    I don’t think that the strategists were caught unawares by the eruption of violence either. I think they expected some localized unrest which would quickly come to pass and become yesterdays news. They just never expected things to get this far and go on for this long and therefore weren’t poised to deal with the fallout.

    If we are assuming that they are the forces of good, then they are pretty much the worst strategists. On the other hand, if we look at them as them as the contemptible bunch that they are, then they did their job and don’t care about the people.
    They’ve pretty much abandoned helpless Kenyans to fend for themselves against the monster they’ve unleashed. A ‘Chief of Police’ not in full control of the force is no Chief of Police and the same applies to the Commander-in-Chief. The government has failed to live up to it’s duties; it’s clearly I-M-P-O-T-E-N-T.

    We are in accord on the following point.
    Together with the middle class, Kenyans in the diaspora should reach out but in a united voice [I'm not yet sure how]. One voice makes a difference but it is easily stifled. How do we proceed?

    ——

    I.am.H

  • http://www.sylkwan.blogspot.com Shiroh

    M, i do agree with you on most points. However i wonder is it only what you saw in Nairobi that is important.

    Now Shiro, it is a bit of a stretch for you to say that only what I saw in Nairobi was important. How did you arrive at this conclusion? Where have I said that? I had only a small window to witness the process and all my limited means could allow me to visit was Nairobi. Much as I would have loved to be all over Kenya, I couldn’t.

    I know several people who in the RV and Nyanza witnessed the spread of hate leaflet all over the campaign period.

    The spreaders of those hate campaigns why were they never stopped. Why did every community suddenly start seeing each other as friends/enemies.

    As do I. And everyone with a hand in this must be hunted down like a dog and ruthlessly processed in court

    A lot went down and not just in KICC

    That is patently obvious, and no one has tried to say otherwise
  • http://nakeel.blogspot.com Nakeel

    Totally agree with you. Big salute. I saw Franklin Bett say all the Rift Valley MPs have agreed to go back to their constituencies and spread peace but in the evening they were all rushing to Nairobi.

  • Ray

    I have heard the questions asked, “What can we do?” or “How do we make the common wananchi realize that they are the losers?”, etc.

    Here are two articles highlighting peace-making initiatives by ordinary Kenyans on the ground. In my opinion, this is the way to actually answer these questions, not in words but in actions. This is indeed food for thought and a challenge for us all.

    http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/45762
    http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/15332

  • Carol

    I think its a high time we stopped attacking each other in the name of ‘kikuyu’ or ‘luo’.
    One could be kikuyu but did not vote for Kibaki or a luo who did not vote for Raila!
    If anything does it matter?Every Kenyan has a right to vote to whoever they decide and no one should accuse them for their choice.
    Now let our leaders stop hiding in their cosy houses in Nairobi’s fancy estates, but go to their constituencies to calm things down.
    And police,oh my do not abuse your position you are there to serve kenyans but not to go against them.
    My eyes are dry too!I cry no more!
    God Save Kenya!
    That is great M

  • Ali

    An interesting question for us Kenyans to ask ourselves-What is peace? Is it the conditions we were living in prior to the elections? Or is is the absence of violence?

    I am sorry to say this without being
    missunderstood but as far as i am concerned, Kenya lost its peace long time ago- 1992 to be exact.This was the year when the so called first “democratic” multi-parties elections happened.
    Aids became an household disease in Kenya on this same year, the dollar moved from 30s to 70s, Molo clashes erupted, Somali had just collapsed into a civil war a year earlier,Alongside the refugees, automatic weapons also found refuge at the hands of Kenyan criminals.Very many significant changes took place in this year- ironically, this was year we were officially introduced to “democracy”.

    I remember how,long before this current situation, my heart would pump with fear whenever i found myself riding on a Matatu from the east side of Nairobi city any time past dark. I remember the fear on everybody’s face and the silent thought of -who could be the gangster within the Matatu. I remember how the fear would still creep up on me on my walk home from the matatu stop. I remember in Nai, how sunset scattered people. The rushing for safety that became our every day life. The constant feeling that being struck by criminals was imminent.
    I remember driving to Umoja with a friend and while waitng for our host, we had to step out of the car to avoid being caught up by criminals in case they wanted our car.
    i remember the daily car jacking, the shootings, the assassinations, the weekly and sometimes daily bank robberies, the maggings, the rapes, the dangerous corners, the scavenging chokoras, the scam artists, the thousands of prostitutes lining up K street at night…
    I remember how a lady friend who had picked me up from the Airport, kept jumping red light because in Nairobi, stopping at a red light sometimes meant death of just a simple encounter with the gangsters.

    Everyday in Nairobi,i had to deal with the subject of fear. There has, since 1992, always been a real threat somehow.
    I Knew Kenya was at war, when one day after surviving one of my daily fears of late night Matatus, i got word that my lady friend could have been cheating on me.Just the mere suspicion brought in another set of fear all together-That of Aids. At this point i saw life in Nai as no better than Mogadishu at the time.Not to say they are comparable, but both cases breed a fearful life.
    Kenya was never at peace- this is an illusion.
    A Gorrila war between the gangsters and those who have has been on going for a while now.
    If you don’t believe me, just observe your day to day policemen, they don’t walk with pistols. They carry G3S and AK47s. This are battlefield weapons.In peaceful countries police walk with no weapon at all or small pistols like .38 revolvers.

    Now we enter into a new situation, the ongoing war with gangsters has never been addressed. We don’t even talk about it. Yet this is our day to day reality in various parts of Kenya.

    Gangs like Mungiki have prospered in recent time, and this events make them even more bold. As we speak, Mungiki is already imposing a dressing code on Kikuyu women in Naivasha-no trousers.
    Yet, with all the danger that they present to Kikuyus first, They now enjoy a even wider Kikuyu support who are increasingly accepting them as the kikuyu army.The golden question is, can Kikuyu as a people co-exist with their own Mungiki army? Only time will tell.

    The main problem is not our leaders. The problem has to be us the people. The leaders come from among us and are only a reflection of ourselves.
    Our minds are not right. We suffer from short attention span as a people, We have a memory problems and above all our mind are easily swayed.Just like small children and candy stories.We have no way of seeing things clearly and we hate seeing thing as they are instead we prefer illusions. We are in a make-belief state.Totally brainwashed to a point we dont know left from right. Very few of us actually have functioning brains. We are taught to believe that
    using complex English words and good grammar is how you become smart. We think that you have to have a title to use your brain- If you are not “educated” , you have no right to think. The so called educated Africa are stranded in their little boxes called lawyers, doctors, engineeres, etc. And when opportunity presents itself, like in these recent events, we quickly realise that even our so called “educated” people are just as dumb if not dumber. Listen to Ngugi wa Thiongo on this subject. or This Luo professors and scientists…
    Peace will be achieved only if we learn to take things at face value. Call a spade a spade and not a big spoon.
    As long as we do not seek justice, Kenyans will not know peace.We might stop the machete war but the daily gangster war continues. The Guerilla struggle continues.

  • Andrew

    Even though we current have a crisis, I think we allow this to happen.

    When we allow organized gangs to exist with no punishments from the law, they grow. Some take a life of their own. Politician had weaken the laws to take care of this issue.

    Take America. Organise crime did become a problem. Was it use by politicians? Yes but when the cost become to high on the society that is when action was take against them.

    Do we have laws against organize crime?
    What about gains from those crime?
    What about funding? Or those folks that are funding these groups.

    Lets talk about peace and also talk about stopping the circle that create the insecurity.

  • kenya1

    Edge of sanity,
    I checked out the site, i like it, all set and ready to go. This whole thing is happening at the worst time for me personally — but what crisis is ever considerate? Let’s do this. hit me up at onekenya2008@yahoo.com and we can hammer out some details.

    Ali,
    I like the way you think… level heads are few and far in between. Are you interested in kick starting our little patriotic project?

  • Ali

    @Kenya1,
    Thanks a lot for the offer. I am definitely interested in a patriotic project. We as Kenyans need to promote awareness. The underlying problems affect all of us, rich and poor alike.
    There is a need to address the issues in whole, not just in part. At the end of the day we all want to live in real peace and eliminate or reduce the fears of mainly crime/violence, negligent road accidents and Hiv Aids .This is the common interest of all Kenyans.
    We all know we can live together in harmony despite our tribal differences-we have done it for centuries.
    The question of scarcity is what divides us.The
    misguided idea that somehow if one our fellow tribesmen are in a position of power, we automatically benefit has to be abolished.It simply isn’t true.For this reason, there is no need to look for satisfaction in the appointment of our tribesmen at positions of power.We all do this.
    Kenyans often take notice and even complain about the types of ministerial positions being given to their tribesmen. As if the Ministry of Energy or Defense for example, means charity to whatever tribe the particular Minister comes from.In real sense Ministry of Energy should mean just that, management of the countries Energy affairs-therefore it should be irrelevant who gets the position as long as they are qualified.
    But the president himself also distribute this position in manner suggesting favors to particular tribes.For example, appointing Kalonzo as the VP is a favor to the Kamba people and such news is usually received with a euphoria of joy.Why should any position be about favors to a particular community? This system in itself created tribal divisions.Many luos would have loved to see Raila become the president, not because of his ideals, but because they somehow are misguided to believe that his appointment would be of great benefit to Luos.
    These are the reasons why Kikuyus of all shapes and sizes rally around Kibaki unconditionally.And of course it feels good to a Kikuyu to see a president surrounding himself with a bunch of Kikuyus known the mount “Kenya Mafia”. To non-kikuyus, these type of arrangements by KIBAKI only fuel tribal resentments.But this pattern would likely be the same if a luo or Kamba man was in power under the same constitution.
    On the subject of tribalism, i actually give alot of credit to Moi. Despite him appointing Kalenjins to top positions, i can now see how he really tried to be a Nationalist. Moi never had a crew of Kalenjins surrounding him. His closest known Kalenjin was just Biwott. He had a habit of appointing Kalenjins as Permanent secretaries but even then he almost equally distributed the ministerial positions. I dont remember a single time when Kalenjins dominated Moi’s Cabinet, Correct me if i am wrong. His distribution, even though it wasn’t based on experience, was fairly equal.
    Kalenjins on the other hand were always thrilled at the idea of their own leading the country. It was widely assumed that Moi was doing alot for his Kalenjin people.In reality this was a myth,All Moi ever did was build a nice road and an Airport in Eldoret.But even the Kalenjins believed this myth and were content with their poverty problems for as long as one of them was in Power. Soon as Moi left power, reality hit the Kalenjin people. Its just now that they are realizing they don’t even have jobs.They can’t even get tea picking jobs in their own Kericho town as a result they are viewing every other tribe in their land as an enemy.

    FROM Without government, i don’t think Kenyans hate each other because of tribe.We do just fine until the distribution of political positions occur.This is where we split as a Nation.
    Its time to abandon this style of reasoning.The idea that if one of your own is in power, you are better off, is a myth. It simply isn’t true.

    Its not worth dying and fighting to defend your tribesmen who is in power or who is seeking power.Nothing will ever come out of it.
    Its however worth dying and fighting for ideals that will eliminate our poverty problem.

  • TK

    @Ali, you are so right. Here is another interesting link on the Kenya middle class – http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=25&newsid=115914

    In the past weeks I have been trying to understand the mood in Kenya before the 2007 elections. See this prophetic link below -

    Kenya Coming Fire.
    http://bulletsandhoney.wordpress.com/2006/10/10/kenyas-coming-fire/

  • Rolen

    At last an afternoon spend scouring the Kenya blogs has yielded something promising thanks to M for starting this thread. So far we have read and seen enough of what has befallen our beautiful country. We are all touched. Some of us are deeply challenged. From reading through this forum, I get the sense of many Kenyans who share in my thoughts to rise above the talk and take up the challenge to do something to salvage our country. For now and for our future generations. Doing something in this case means going beyond setting up relief funds and preaching messages of peace. In the wake of the catastrophic events happening in Kenya are opportunities staring us in the face. Opportunities to instigate positive, lasting change that will shape our nation both socially and politically. These opportunities call for travelling “the road less travelled”. They call for thinking “outside the box”.
    To M, kenya1, Ali, Edge of Sanity and all other great thinkers in the room, you may want to read this article. It has inspired and challenged me most. “Kenya is crying out for its sons and daughters from all tribes that have been liberated – even if only partially – from the shackles of tribe through an education and lifestyle that reduces tribe to merely the identity tag that it is” says the article. I’m lucky to be liberated and I hear this desperate cry from my country. I’m sure other liberated Kenyans hear it too. We cannot afford to sit around and think it’s not our job. We have to take personal responsibility and commit to do something. I echo and paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi’s words that, “we must instigate the change we want to see in Kenya”.
    Over to you Ali, kenya1 et al, does your project aim to respond to this desperate plea? If yes, then I’m in! You can reach me at rolen34 at yahoo dot com. If not I invite other great minds to join me and do something different and great for Kenya.

  • Abelian

    Count me in into the patriotic project, I am determined to do anything I can to save my land and my people.

    Time has come to say enough is enough

  • edge.of.sanity

    ON THE FALLACY PEACE :
    It seems our [narrow] definition of peace is only “the absence of war”. If the UN and the international community aren’t involved then to us everything is honky-dory…Hakuna Matata!

    In reality, mandugu na madada, HAKUNA MATATA…na matata ni meeengi.

    As evidenced by Ali, Kenya has been ailing for a while and was never really in a peaceful state – AK47s, for one, do not belong on the streets of a peaceful nation or one at peace with itself. By any definition, peace has been lacking in Kenya.

    ON THE PEOPLE:

    the main problem is not our leaders. The problem has to be us the people. The leaders come from among us and are only a reflection of ourselves.
    Our minds are not right.

    Garbage in – garbage out, is it?

    FROM Without government, i don’t think Kenyans hate each other because of tribe.We do just fine until the distribution of political positions occur

    Sad, but the myth has enough truth in it. The government has to show that it’s not the case by proving it i.e. doing it’s job.

    @Ali, M & thinkers in the room.
    In the spirit of finding answers, indulge me and respond to the following question. If our politicians, like ourselves, have been bred within an inherently damaged population, then wouldn’t it be fair to conclude that Kenyans in general have a problem with each other and it translates into the sphere of politics? After all, we are all cast from the same mold. What event kick started this cycle of hate? It was there long before 1992.

    While poverty is the main culprit here, isn’t it in large part a byproduct of bad politics and governance?

    ON THE PROJECT:
    I’ve set up a Guardians of Peace [a work in progress] where Kenyans can continue to promote peace, share their positive messages, encourage brotherhood and sisterhood and recognize those who have risen above the madness in their own way since the politicians won’t. I’m looking to catalog the sanity, love, compassion, reconciliation of ordinary Kenyans.
    To that end, I seek any stories that reinforce the fact that most Kenyans want peace [by all definitions] unity and prosperity and the first step is to end the violence. From there it will be a long difficult road towards true peace.
    I might be going about it the wrong way so any ideas are welcome. The idea is to find information that defies the perceived [or actual] truism in Kenya.

    Let me know – kenyanvoices@gmail.com

    Thank you

    ——

    I.am.H

  • shujaa 00

    @ALI
    on your post #64.
    wewe ni mhenga, umenena vilivyo.its good to see and read such level headedness and to deal with the ISSUES at hand and not just idle banta(no pun intended to everyone else)this is a good blogg.for those that think that bloggz just have storos, i believe there is wealth in issue oriented discussions.we help open each others eyes.i still believe that the biggest atrocity to have hit kenya started in 1963.when tribe came before country.that is our biggest loss and until COUNTRY WILL COME BEFORE TRIBE then we shall forever remain in this hole that we keep digging every second.

  • kenya1

    “Let Annan do his bit but there’s going to be no resolution – the clashes will continue”
    Lefty
    Youth in Kericho

    I pulled the above quote verbatim from BBC and it just goes to show the urgency of such a project. The words of a misguided youth in this case are coming off as representing the views of millions of voiceless people in Kericho. Where are the quotes from the people who beg to differ? Why only report from Kenya when some clashes occur? isn’t relative calm newsworthy? While at it, why not also interview people when its calm and people are thinking clearly?

    And this coming from the BBC who ought to know better.

    It’s up to us people. We have to save the PEACE ourselves. If anyone is interested please send in suggestions, comments, stories or whatever to kenyanvoices@gmail.com. This is a learning project and we don’t have the answers, but together we can solve this problem.

    http://guardians-of-peace.blogspot.com/

    Thinker,
    can you give the above blog some shine on yours?

  • Ken Thumbi

    “the main problem is not our leaders. The problem has to be us the people. The leaders come from among us and are only a reflection of ourselves.
    Our minds are not right.”

    M, that statement got me weeping, two words “spot on”… we cannot keep on blaming the leaders no matter how much we intellectualize the ‘problems’ ah yes, that’s something we have perfected. At the end of the day, who elects these ‘leaders’?
    Any sort of real long term cross generational change will not ever come from the leaders but, will have to emit from the wisdom of the people, we the voters, we the citizens and what we inculcate into our children

    Suppose you the readers and people on the ground are best to comment on whether these talks will amount to anything long term and tangible (yes, I am being very cynical), it is pretty hard to convince me that we have not deluded ourselves into believing we have been a peaceful heaven!! Is this the real Kenya?!? I don’t know you tell me….

    (my two cents worth)…

  • http://www.nguyosafaris.net/?cat=8 Kenya Security Situation

    I found your blog post via Google blog search while searching for kenya security situation and your post regarding “Messages from Kenya” looks very interesting to me and it is also very creative. I have an travel website of my own and I must say that your blog is really good. Keep up the great work on a really high class resource.

    On resumption of talks led by Kofi Anan, President Mwai Kibaki ruled out the possibility of accepting any deal that cannot be accommodated in the current constitution. The opposition have been pushing for the amendment of the country’s constitution to create the position of an executive prime minister to be in charge of government while the president retains the head of state status. The prime minister’s position would be taken by Hon Raila Odinga.

  • http://www.nguyosafaris.net/?cat=8 KENYA SECURITY SITUATION

    I found your blog post via Google blog search while searching for kenya security situation and your post regarding “Kenya Burns!” looks very interesting to me and it is also very creative. I have a travel website of my own and I must say that your blog is really good. Keep up the great work on a really high class resource.

    On resumption of talks led by Kofi Anan, President Mwai Kibaki ruled out the possibility of accepting any deal that cannot be accommodated in the current constitution. The opposition have been pushing for the amendment of the country�s constitution to create the position of an executive prime minister to be in charge of government while the president retains the head of state status. The prime minister�s position would be taken by Hon Raila Odinga.

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