Comments on: Kenya Burns!

By: KENYA SECURITY SITUATION

KENYA SECURITY SITUATION — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:53:13 +0000

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.

By: Kenya Security Situation

Kenya Security Situation — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:11:41 +0000

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.

By: Ken Thumbi

Ken Thumbi — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:30:09 +0000

“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)…

By: kenya1

kenya1 — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 19:21:21 +0000

“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?

By: shujaa 00

shujaa 00 — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:26:52 +0000

@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.

By: edge.of.sanity

edge.of.sanity — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:57:33 +0000

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

By: Abelian

Abelian — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:12:19 +0000

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

By: Rolen

Rolen — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:08:21 +0000

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.

By: TK

TK — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:30:49 +0000

@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/

By: Ali

Ali — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:50:51 +0000

@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.