tHiNkEr’S rOoM

60 Responses to “Moving On”

1. 1. Mocha! (29 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

   Now….if as a country if we don’t move on, what do we do? Sit on our backsides as the two stubborn ones sort out their issues. People have to work to provide for their families.

   Of course what has happened is not to be forgotten and swept under the carpet, but addressed. Surely this can continue as we go on with providing for our families, etc.

   Peni zangu mbili tuu!!!

   I agree. We have to work (self included). However it is this passivity on our part that I believe has led to the festering of things to the point of explosion. Do you honestly believe that if by some miracle Raila and Kibaki agree and shake hands and hug on camera fighting will stop and things will go back to normal? I doubt it.

   It’s not Raila and Kibaki fighting and dying and looting and burning. It’s me and you.

   What I’m saying (long windedly) is that we can’t go back to business as usual. If we do the seeds of this nightmare will be forgotten and in 5 years time we will be again in this very boat.

2. 2. acolyte (179 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 8:55 pm

   That looks like one of my comments that was posted there, so let me give my 2 cents.
   I for one am not advocating acting like nothing happened, sweeping the dirt under the carpet and living life as usual.
   No what I am talking about is a call to action, many people are either waiting on the big men, pointing fingers or waiting for the next opportunity to hit back. What I am talking about is rebuilding, trying to fix our broken relationships among tribes, finding out how we got here and doing our best to make sure we never find ourselves in this place ever again.
   We can do that or we can sit down wringing our hands, that’s what moving on is to me. Our leaders have no interest interest in rebuilding our nation, we have to do this ourselves as Kenyans.

3. 3. JKE (52 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 9:16 pm

   Yeah and that’s why initiatives like ushahidi.com or mzalendo.com will be much more important in the long run than the various analysis of the elections results and who/why/when cheated.

   What really shocked me is that the rigged elections were just the trigger to set off this violence. So much aggregated hatred that had never been properly addressed and only misused for tactics. Ati, and then these ppl attend chaaach during the weekends???? WTF, really.

4. 4. udi (78 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 9:36 pm

   M- Even if Kibaki and Raila sit down and kiss and make up, the seeds of hatred that was instilled on people will still go on. The violence in Rift Valley (where most of the deaths have come from) is due to ethnic cleansing. If you read what Ngugi wa Thiongo said yesterday )http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7180946.stm) “If it is found that a political organisation has run a campaign on a programme that consciously seeks to isolate another community as a community, then they ought to be held fully accountable for the consequences of their ideology and actions.”. Sad to say, ODM encouraged a lot of other tribes that the Kikuyus were the reason they themselves were poor. In the slums, (and I have first hand information from about 10 people), tenants were informed that in 2008, they will not pay any rent. That is because the Kikuyu landlords were making too much money. So when your policies are used to isolate a section of the country, then what happens is that people from those communities are targeted for revenge on crimes committed by the elite of the same community. Kibaki stealing the election did not benefit any Kikuyu. He stole it with his cronies. In R.Valley, kikuyus received warnings to leave before the elections. Those pangas were not bought on the 28th. Their leaders had already incited them to be prepared to evict the kikuyus. So before we adress the issues of who stole the elections, we need to ask ourselves why policies of hate are used for electioneering purposes. In addition, any pact between Raila and Mwai would be a betrayal to the people of Kenya. People voted for change. The sad part is, none of those two people represent any change. Having to choose between two dictators does not signify change. it signifies the status quo.

   Exactly what i am saying. Kibaki and Railia reaching a deal with solve nothing on the ground.

   Also, when I say justice it’s not just the electoral process. All those looters and murderers should be hunted down like the dogs they are and dealt with ruthlessly by the law.

5. 5. abelian (53 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 9:49 pm

   UDI,

   A good synopsis!

6. 6. candybox (1 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 10:21 pm

   i have always hated that phrase. Always seemed to have connotations of “so what”, “shit happens”, “forget about it” as well as flippancy

   No i cannot forget about it because its made an impact in my life and needs to be dealt with accordingly. So im incapable of moving on until everything is resolved to everyones satisfaction.

7. 7. Mutumia (56 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 10:34 pm

   Hear, hear. A free society does not wake up magically ‘free’ one nice warm January day in 2009. This freedom is built by advances against tyranny and oppressors over the years. And we Kenyans did not get the freedoms we now enjoy free of charge. Someone else paid for it and we owe it to all those who were killed and tortured in Nyayo house, detained at ‘his excellency’s leisure’, charged with sedition, bankrupted, forced into exiled, jailed on trumped charges etc. to honor these gifts and realize someone paid for your right to elect ODM/ PNU and have your vote count.

   So yes, long winded I am too M, but this ‘development’ is a reversal for Kenya and should be resisted PEACEFULLY with all the resources we can marshal.

8. 8. Mutumia (56 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 10:35 pm

   Ps.

   Udi’s point is on point! If it can be proven (in a court of law) that you also incited, participated in the violence, you should have the bloody book thrown at you.

9. 9. Liz (2 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 11:35 pm

   Alfred Mutua’s comment left me speechless honestly that fellow has outlived his usefulness and should retire.

10. 10. TK (10 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 11:39 pm

    Udi - Good point of view. What is the use of foul language all about? Saw the same kind of language on KenyaPundit.

    Friend, this is my blog. I reserve the right to express myself the way I see fit on my blog. You are always free to walk away if you don’t like what you see

11. 11. alexcia (4 Comments) | January 10th, 2008 at 11:59 pm

    It has to be said that the quote from Anne Marie Antoinette [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette is spurious. What is more relevant to this post from that period is the french revolution. The french spent so much money helping to liberate America from British that the poor revolted.

    Kenya is also going through a kind of revolution. The poor are desparate for HOPE and so jealous of their “wealthy” neighbours they have turned on them.

    To understand what is happening I suggest we read up on “revolutions” all the way to karl marx.

    The common solution has been to bribe the masses with welfare spending

12. 12. Ishara (16 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 12:11 am

    @ Udi,

    What gave you the idea that the seeds of mistrust, out of which sprung hatred were sown with the onset of the campaign period for the 2007 elections?

    Or even with the 2005 referendum?

    I would have thought that with the number of comments attributed to you on this blog, you would have had the opportunity to read M’s valid opinion on the genesis. Kenya’s history of patronage associated with leadership is well documented, similarly well known is the infamous dishonoured MOU-I see no need to get into minutiae yet again, or is it that you did read it and choose to discount the piece’s veracity?

    From 2002 to date, Kibaki and his administration have done little….beg your pardon, nothing to discount or disprove the idea that while Kenyans may be equal, some are more equal than others….this new ‘nationalist’ cabinet being the latest in a long line of actions reinforcing these sentiments.(doing the same thing over and over, each time expecting different results!)

    The perception that the country was divided did not start with electioneering in 2007 or even with ODM. Much like NARC did in 2002, ODM sought and found a latch key with which to unite a diverse and otherwise splintered electorate. To my knowledge, neither ODM,PNU nor any political party in Kenya promoted, supported or condoned violence while campaigning. What the parties both drummed into the electorate repeatedly is the importance of coming out to vote to win/retain the presidency and the house.

    That it wasn’t a pleasant campaign was an understatement. I saw ODM members constantly dismiss the government’s development record and in favour of addressing pervasive inequity, bigotry, intolerance and prejudice against other communities. I saw PNU similarly dismiss the any development achievements by ODM in favour of focusing on the domo-monics of raising unrealistic expectations, political satire and innuendo, not to mention hyping the advantages to being ’in government’.(supposedly a sure thing)

    Latch key campaigning is not new. In 2002 the prevailing political wind was similarly structured against the Uhuru project, with the full realization that without uniting voters across Kenya’s broad ethnically diverse spectrum, Uhuru Kenyatta would have been elected Kenya’s third president. In the pursuit of the leadership reigns of this country, there was a lot of unnecessary posturing on both sides during this campaign period……but to say that violence was actively cultivated by ODM for the purpose of ethnic cleansing isn’t just untrue, it’s inflammatory.

    Every Kenyan has a right to a voice in deciding the direction of their country’s politics, those over the age of 18 have a vote to go with it. The right of every Kenyan to exercise their vote in choosing their representative should never be questioned….you do not get to determine what or indeed who represents change for the voters, I think you‘ll find they‘re adept at deciding that for themselves.

    Nor should that right to choose be interfered with after ballots have been cast.

13. 13. udi (78 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 12:49 am

    @ Ishara

    If you were to have asked me that same question in November, I would have told you that the campaigns talked about issues. Its when I heard from friends, friends of friends and others that they had already been warned that once ODM forms the government, they will have to move out of Rift Valley. The party as a whole was obviously not responsible for telling residents that. But a couple of its politicians were. They exploited the tense relationship that has been there between the Kikuyu and the R.Valley tribes on an issue that is very sensitive to African communities- Land. Sad to say, African politicians have nobody’s interests at heart but their own. They would be ready to exploit people’s suspicion and mistrust for their own benefit.

    I also did not intend to make any inflammatory statements. But this violence wont be solved by declaring Kibaki or Raila president. This violence will be solved by finding out

    1. Why violence erupted in such an organized (ignore the irony) manner a day before the election was concerned.

    2. Why such huge multitudes of youth had pangas and weapons with them in every town where violence erupted.

    3. Why most of the killings were committed against members from one geographic area. Unless Kenya is an anomaly, I dont believe there has been any other country in the world where hundreds people were killed just because someone lost an election.

    4. Investigate how killers were found dressed as AP’s.

    If any politician is found to have incited members of one community against another and used the election to perpetuate this violence, then the party that he/she stood on should severely take action against such a politician and ensure that the said person is brought to justice. Individuals should also be ready to denounce anybody who uses his or her community to shield themselves from crimes against the rest of the country,

    FYI- On Monday the 7th, a couple of those rowdy youth who destroyed shops in Woodley estate were being hunted down by Maasai warriors. According to a resident there, one of the youth went around showing which shops belonged to the Kamba, Kikuyu, Maasai etc. The irony is, most of those shops belonged to some Maasai. Last I heard is that all those guys have fled. What would make a person decide to burn another persons shop coz of their tribe? Isnt that insanity of the highest order?

14. 14. alexcia (4 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 2:04 am

    Udi
    Sorry to say this but i find you analysis to be very selective.
    First, things are always edgy in kenya before elections. We know that there are always certain elements who left to their own devices will annihilate some of their neigbours.
    It is the responsility of the government to prevent this.
    This time government turned its back on the people because it was busy sending GSU to kill innocents in Nyanza and stopping peaceful protests in nairobi.

    If you are shocked that youths have pangas, I can predict that in some corners of the country people are arming themselves so that even the GSU will not be able to do anything.

    The only hope for some of these jobless youths is ODM, if ODM fails then…for a generation of Kenyans the name “Kibaki” or “Raila” will not mean people but slang for exotic array of powerful weapons like molotov

15. 15. Ishara (16 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 3:27 am

    @ udi,

    Our politicians speeches may start out being about the issues but things tend to degenerate quickly in the pursuit of laughs, applause, shouts of approval, howls of outrage and other emotional responses they can get away with for the purposes of political mileage. You will find this to be true of all our political parties, not just ODM or PNU.

    I know that there are serious to do with Land Ownership in the Rift, but this is not limited to the Rift Valley nor is violence associated with this phenomenon new to Kenya. Some of the mildest individuals I know begin to froth at the mouth (literally!) as soon as the issue of Land Ownership is raised. This is not the first time Land has been or is going to be a campaign issue in Kenya nor do I see it being the last. Handing out title deeds during the electioneering period has become standard incumbent practice and Kibaki acquitted himself well by following the Moi format faithfully in this regard.

    If, as you say, there are politicians belonging to ODM telling residents they had to move out of Rift Valley then by all means, why fail to come forward and report them? We’d get the opportunity to denounce them and Police Commiss. Ali would like nothing more than to have the book thrown at them!

    Exploitation of the electorate isn’t limited to Africa or indeed Kenya. In the US, Pres. Bush is a great example of one leader who exhibits mastery in preying on the fear, mistrust and suspicion of all things associated with Islam….the yellow/amber alerts mislead the populace everyday to the point many believe all that stands between the nation and terrorists is George Walker Bush. (as if! he‘ll be in the bunker underneath Nebraska with the first explosion!)

    My understanding and that of others in the Kenyan Civil Society suggests that the pursuit of peace has to go hand in hand with that of justice. To you and some Kenyans, casting a ballot to determine leadership may mean little in the grand scheme of things-to other Kenyans, it means an opportunity to see whether life as they know it will change with someone else at the helm.

    1. That any amount of organization was displayed in the outbreak of violence is news to me! According to what I read and saw reported a day before the election, AP’s were supposedly deployed under cover of darkness to ‘secure’ the voting process. What was strange was that the Officers in charge of locations the AP’s had been posted denied having requested or needing any assistance from the govt. in overseeing the voting and similarly the ECK denied any knowledge of AP’s needed to secure the process or having even been consulted when the officers were posted.
    Stranger still, the CID in Nyanza and Rift found boxes of pre-marked ballots, the same ballots Kivuitu had assured Kenyans were secure and that no one would have access to until voting day.

    2. Panga’s weapons are easy to come by in the rural areas because families have several and it’s an implement that is used day to day on the farm for a multitude of tasks. The other crude weapons I understand were used consisted of grass slashers, bows and arrows, rungus, rocks, 2by4’s with protruding nails….nothing unusual or different from previous clashes.

    3. The killings were of members of the communities thought to sympathize with PNU or have voted for a PNU candidate and not just those coming from one geographic area as you put it. This was clearly wrong and I would say the killings happened due to misplaced anger, frustration, reprisals for relatives/friends shot by police and a deep-seated sense of hopelessness.

    4. We should investigate how killers were found dressed as AP’s-it‘s the first I’m hearing of this. What I would also like to have investigated is the shooting of men, women and children who did not loot nor kill anyone-in the name of keeping residents indoors and towns and cities deserted.

    I do not think any political party should shield those supporting violence from the law, what you are more likely to find is that the likelihood of that Kenyan going to jail for crimes s/he is accused of committing is inversely proportional to the amount of money s/he has at the disposal of their defense.

    I agree, relationships between communities will improve immensely if we all hold those within our community to a higher standard. We should criticize their actions and behaviour in this manner without getting labeled as treacherous, a backstabber, a betrayer or a turncoat.

    The brand of insane violence was infectious, many were momentarily afflicted but now know we have to focus our effort and energy in stamping it out.

16. 16. Kivulu (4 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 3:53 am

    Allow me to tell a story. Once upon a time this poor man came home on evening from a long trip tired and hungry. On entering his house, he lit a lamp and proceeded to look for some food to eat. He went through his cupboards but found nothing. Fortunately, when he opened the last cupboard he found some mangoes and bananas he had left behind a few weeks before. This man was very hungry and the sight of these fruits was enough to make him salivate. He took the fruits but on close examination he saw they were clearly rotten and inedible. His heart was downcast and his tummy rumbled. He stood there and thought for a moment, “Why are this fruits rotten?” “What will I eat now?” The old man decided that what was preventing him from eating the fruits was the light. If there was no light, he would not see the fruits as rotten and therefore they would be good to eat. He then turned to the lamp on the table and proceeded to turn it off. Immediately thereafter, he took the fruits and devoured them.
    When the rest of the family came back a few days later, they found their poor dad dead. The fruits had infected him with food poisoning.
    You can decipher the moral of the story…

17. 17. Daud (4 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 6:15 am

    My take on the situation will be short.I found this interesting video on you tube. It was on Tom Mboya’s death. I am struck by the differences
    and the similarities to the situation today.(same story different cast)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NghXDf2tZo

    Most striking, is the much bandied about and simplistic ‘Luo vs Kikuyu’ Kenyan problem. We all know
    it is more complex than that.Notice that the video commentary would not be out of place on CNN today. That was 1969. When Tom Mboya died,
    the riots were more about a loss of Kenya’s second president. The out pouring of pain and anger was not as terrible as has been witnessed in the
    last few days.But it was pain of the lose of what could have been.
    Just like now there were riots. In essence, we are like a broken record, every few decades destined to dance with the devil.
    Where the worst of what makes Kenya what it is, comes to the fore.
    I am not sure Kenya will survive another round of anger let loose. But that is what is in store for us in the future. Unless…..we heal wounds that go
    way back, that run so deep that it transcends time; I lay it squarely on how we choose to be governed henceforth by whom ever. As someone once
    said, Siasa Mbaya Maisha Mbaya. We have been living siasa mbaya since 1963 (may be even longer)and until that is recognized the future does
    not bode well for Kenya…..but strangely, I have faith.This may just be our seminal moment. I hope we all pay attention and never forget.

    Daud

18. 18. Kirima (64 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 7:33 am

    My Dilema, We cannot move on but we cannot also stand still neither can we move back.
    Sweeping the issues under the carpet will never work cos they will always erupt again but neither will just standing still. The country needs Truth, Justice and Reconcilliation.

19. 19. Seasonsandreasons (15 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 8:39 am

    I beg to differ with you on one point. It is not “You and I” are throwing stones and killing each other.

    The typical person who will visit Thinkers room will be an educated middle to upper class Kenyan in urban centers or lives abroad and who will not have been directly involved in rioting in the streets. And there sits our dilemma. I am currently organizing a concert at the Carnivore to raise money for displaced Kenyans. Whilst in this endevour, I was asked why I was not doing concerts around Kenya to promote peace.

    Really? I’m not so sure. Just look at some of the blog posts and emails and text messages that the middle and upper class Kenyan in urban centers have been sending. Personally, propagating hate is even worse than actual throwing stones

    My answer; The people who attend concerts in Kenya are unlikely to be fighting but could raise money for displaced Kenyans. Maybe we should get ‘Jua Cali to go to Mathare or Kibera and tell Kenyans their not to fight.

    I agree with you that we need to come up with permanent solutions to avoid Politicians dividing us again..but isn’t this moving on?

    Again I say — as long as “moving on” means going back to life as usual, I believe that will just set the stage for all this to happen in 5 years time. But if we do something NOW to correct the injustices, those sown long ago and those of 2 weeks ago — that right there is another kettle of fish

20. 20. Andrew (3 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 8:49 am

    Yes there should be justice.

    It should not be a job for the police job, courts or concerned NGOs but a job of every Kenya. Every time.

    The concept of a good citizen should not be only protection of self but the protection of the other.

    I am not a lawyer but I have also noticed laws in Kenya have been changed not to accept some evidence that would be allowed in many other countries. You have MPs that continue to the practice law and at the same time they legislate new laws to benefit their client. Rule of evidence collected anywhere should accepted (if true and proven).

    Laws on killing and inciting to kill some should be seen as the same. Many of the current inciters could have done it before but we do not have strong laws that deals such people.

    My hope hope is Ushahidi.com to also extend to regular crime in Kenya. Have a place to also post were regular crime is occurring. Some of the regular crime can be as bad what we see now.

    Make safety and individual rights not a onetime thing but a continued effect Kenya.

    My 2cent for now.

21. 21. Shiroh (35 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 9:03 am

    M, could you lead the way and stop going to work

    I have explained at length what I mean by moving on. I would like to think you read what I said before you posted that comment. Did you really?

22. 22. Olive (7 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 11:13 am

    @ Udi - I am SO with you on this one - although the ’story’ behind the organised violence (albeit as a last resort) had been hinted before the elections, it only became beleivable/real to Kenyans once the ‘country exploded’ (to quote M). Slowly by slowly the whole STORY will hopefully come out - my fear is that it will only largely be known by those of us who have access to print and electronic media, people in high places, etc.
    Let all those who propagated hate (and especially those who ACTED on that hate in thought, word or deed) be held accountable.
    @ M - I hear you on your point about the phrase ‘moving on’ and i think we all (okay most of us) agree what we meant was to end the violence, try to rebuild lives, help those who have suffered, kids go to school, govt to function, etc., AS a way out of the political situation is concurrently sought. Only once emotions have cooled down and a sense of ‘normality’ has returned can we then objectively look back and ask “WHAT was that all about and can we go about correcting it and making sure it NEVER happends again!!!!”
    The point i really wanted to make before reading all the comments above was that, as far as i am concerned, there was no way the country and its people could go back to ‘business as usual’, ‘moving on’ as you had put it. A line was crossed; too much has happened; kenyans have woken up; it is in our face - we have to deal with it.
    My only sadness is that I totally lack faith in our current govt to lead this all important process of truth, reconciliation and restoration in the months and years to come but hopefully the ‘awakened’ kenyan people/religious and civil society, will find a way of holding them accountable to ensure that what needs to happen, happens.
    But at the moment, because i am thinking of the need to restore order as a matter of priority, i am looking at the govt. that is in place (whether rightly or wrongly) to lead this process as best they can (as usual BLUNDERS GALORE at their attempt to do this but the again, this is the Kibabi admnistration we are talking about!)as i beleive in constitutional order ABOVE all else. Until that changes, he still receives my ’support’ ….sigh……

23. 23. Mocha! (29 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

    @Udi….like they say, umedinya point hapo!

    Udi for President!!!

    This issue with the motherland will be a hard one to get over…just when we thought we were over MO1, now this. Question is, years of building Kenya and destorying it in hours, let alone weeks…..will we ever recover?

24. 24. Esther (7 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    Olive,

    I agree with your write up.

    A cliched quotation states that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Maybe that single step for us at this point in time is to get the kids back to school - there is a lot that can be done by teachers and school administrators to reduce the emotional damage to these young souls. Lets keep the economy going - we need to put food on tables and roofs over heads. Kenyan corporations are coming out in a big way to support the Kenya Red Cross efforts but can only do this on the basis of the profits they have made. Also, without a semblance of normality, our industries, mostly tourism and agriculture, will suffer most, putting even more people on the streets. Lets find ways of rehabilitating the Internally Dispaced Persons (My mind struggles to wrap around the concept of IDP camps in Kenya!) and the 5000 or so Kenyan Refugees camping in Ugandan schools. At last count, the Ugandan red Cross had registered about 4000 Kenyan refugees but more kept streaming in. These people need to be part of the solution but under their current circumstances, driven by bitterness and hopelessness, surviving by the benevloence of strangers, we can’t go far.

    As Harrison Ford stated, ‘Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice’.

    ‘Peace is not something you wish for: It’s something you make. Something you do. Something you are. And something you give away. (Robert Fulgham)

    Peace is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it.

    Only within some semblance of normality can we raise the questions: what? when? where? how? why? who?

    Only within some semblance of normality can we seek answers otherwise our actions will be driven merely by emotions.

    ‘Moving on’ does not mean burying our heads in the sand and petending nothing has happened. We have alrady crossed that line that does not allow us to say ‘ni shauri yao’ - all kenyans are part of this struggle.

    ‘Moving on’ means sitting down as rational people and learning from our past and our present so as to put in place measures that the kenya we pass on to future generations will live in peace and harmony.

    ‘Moving on’ means taking the words of our national anthem and making them a way of life, a truth upheld by all of us, the spirit that guides us: “…Justice be our shield and defender. May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty. Plenty be found within our borders”.

    ‘Moving on’ means finding non combative ways to answer the question: WHAT CAN I IN MY INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY DO TO HELP?

    ‘Moving on’ means finding that collective voice to be able to say -NEVER AGAIN!

    Some food for thought in conclusion: a quote from the Holocaust Museum, Washington DC.

    “Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander”.

25. 25. Angry Kenyan (1 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

    One of the most frustrating things about the violence was how it has completely obliterated the larger issue. Some two-bit hack stole an election, installed himself as president in dictatorial fashion and there is apparently nothing we can do. Kenya has no functioning political institutions so I have no idea what constitutional order we would be supporting. The only thing I can hope for is that out of this horror will come some measure of real political reform. Not endless unenforceable MoUs.

26. 26. abelian (53 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 5:50 pm

    The trick will be to separate genuine political protests from tribal-hate and score-settling. Of course Kibaki cannot allowed to get away with this but not at the expense of the country

27. 27. Fiona (2 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    I love this notice how we may not agree with each other’s opinions but still manage to remain civil and not degenerate to namecalling and utter rancor. I wish things were like this both in our leadership and in our daily lives. I agree with your views my friends it is not as simple as ………the luo vs Kikuyu myth, but it is more about injustice and the feeing of its roots. It is more about indifference at the top and a helpless and desolate people who have lost all hope and faith in their leadership. It is about the failing of the citizen to understand the power he or she wields and perhaps the power of many invisible hands that are playing a role in this. The words,”move on” are themselves devoid of any solution seeking dialogue. They reek simply of ,”oh well and whatever” the culture of I could careless as long as I get what I want. Currently we as a nation are paying for this kind of attitude. We have spoilt self entitled leaders who will stop at nothing to get whatever it is they want. Does it matter that 500 plus people died and may sadly die? Does it matter that this economy that catered for the few is slowly spiralling out of control? Does it matter that lives and livelihoods have been lost? My call is to my friends like you and all others who don’t want much, but simply life as they knew it back on Dec 26th . Peace in Kenya and perhaps a stronger citizenry that will demand more of its leadership and realise that it is us who make and break Kenya. Thank you all for the civility and reinforcing my belief in Kenya ,Kenya still exists in us all. Let peace prevail

28. 28. Farmgal (101 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    My question is if we move on, where are we moving on to?
    Back to normal…I sure hope not

    I hope as Kenyans we can move on to being Kenyans and not Kikuyu, Luo, luyha, Kamba, teso etc

29. 29. shaqattac (5 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 8:12 pm

    Corporate or Colonial
    The Movement is unstoppable
    Like the body of a centerfold it spreads
    To the counter-culture copyright
    Get your revolution at a lower price
    Or make believe and throw the fight, play dead
    It’s exploding bags, aerosol cans
    Central bound buses, Emilio
    They left it up to us again
    I thought you knew the drill
    It’s kill or be killed

    Future Markets, Holy Wars
    Been tried ten thousand times before
    If you think that God is keeping score, Hooray!
    For the freedom-fighting simulcast
    The imminent and the aftermath
    Draw another bloody bath to drain
    Like the polar icecaps centrifuge
    First snowman built at the end of June
    He dyes his hair for the interview, his fifteen-minute fame
    Would you agree times have changed?

30. 30. toiyoi (106 Comments) | January 11th, 2008 at 8:59 pm

    Kenyatta, after the British injustice, says “Forgive and Forget” BUT
    continues the injustice the British began, i.e. stealing people’s land and making it his own or favoring his people.

    Moi says “Fuata Nyayo”
    Follows Kenyatta’s path, you all know what happened

    Kibaki says “Kazi Iendele”
    The Kazi he had started, of showing favors to some communities and benefiting from grand corruption ( surely, is this even arguable? DO the local people really have to be told by anyone, e.g. ODM, that they have been marginalized, when they breath it daily in their lives?)

    Now some wimps say “Move on”.

    These are the people who either
    (i)have greatly benefited from the system and wish to hold on to the gains made, not caring, of course, that their gain may be causing more unjustice OR
    (ii) know that a justice system comes at a price, but are cowards, being fearful of hard times, not having the stomach to let go of their soft life

    These people are the ones who would have told:
    (i) The MAU MAU to move on, no need to fight for their land
    (ii) The Blacks in SA to move on and not disrupt the sweet moving economy that favoured only the whites
    (iii) The Civil rights movement in the USA to not protest on the injustice.

    Whatever you say my friend, if you are of the “move oners”, no matter what you want anyone to believe, you are part and parcel of the injustice that reigns in Kenya.

    Disclaimer: I do not guarantee, that were i in Kenya, i would not be saying “move on”

31. 31. lennie (2 Comments) | January 12th, 2008 at 1:03 am

    good grief! arap sei, I was wondering how long it would take before the GOP morons pick up on Kenya’s tragedy and derail Obama– looks like the machine works faster than i thought. I had a cursory glance at the blog link, it’s disgusting and full of bull. I agree, this alone can destroy Obama’s hope. They’ll pull a swiftboat a la John kerry on him. So sad that people actually spend time to exploit such tragedy in the name of digging up dirt on Obama.. such a depressing world. Kenya’s falling apart, fucking Americans and Europeans invoke democratic principles only as it suits them, no one fucking cares, such a depressing world. Stuck in a fucking stinking rut, i fear that Kenya is heading in one direction .. a coup d’e etat : (

32. 32. Stop Museveni (1 Comments) | January 12th, 2008 at 10:06 pm

    Information suggests that Museveni has agreed to sent 3000 Ugandan troops ( leaving tonight )to help Kibaki contain the 3 days protests planned.

33. 33. abelian (53 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 12:08 am

    stop museveni,

    Probably another rumour

34. 34. Andrew (3 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 12:21 am

    Liability
    In ‘moving on’ who is liable.

    I look at the destruction of properties and more to come. Who is liable to the lost of business, properties and life?

    Criminal courts maybe able to address the criminal acts but what about the property destruction.

    If I advocate violence and someone else does it, is there a shared responsibility in the destruction?

    When properties are lost due to rioting and insurance companies do not pay because of their disclaimers, who is liable?

35. 35. TPK (1 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 4:26 am

    Wow, a kenyan after my own heart. I could not agree more wholeheartedly with you.

    I would just add one thing. Even If Kibaki and Raila agree, so what. We cannot and should not move on until the Kenyan people, who have been robbed of their vote (and unfortunately are the perpetrators of these mindless acts) get justice.
    As you so well, said, until we send a message to anyone who would ever aspire for an elected position to let them know that the people are in charge, we will end up right here in 2012.

36. 36. rottuk (1 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 5:53 am

    For sure we as Kenya (a nation) CAN NOT MOVE ON, Because at this point of time we are at a crossroads: Our own leaders and institutions have failed us. which road then should we take to move on. Yes as individuals we can move on to our different directions but as a nation, we need to address issues of JUSTICE: First justice for those who have lost their lives - bring the culprits to court. Justice for those who election fraud for the citizen who voted in high numbers just to be killed and to be cheated by ECK Officials. Institutinal Justice for the ODM & PNU who claim they were cheated or they won fairly. and Justice for all kenyans who want to vote fairly in 2012. Otherwise if we “move on” we will be ending towards different directions and we will never be a nation again but individuals groups together without a common vision and shared future. WE CAN NOT MOVE ON …. WE NEED TO LOOK BACK, HAVE AN INSTROSPECTION OF OUR OWN MISTAKES OF THE PAST YEARS…(from independence to no) then LEARN FROM THESE MISTAKEs… and then MOVE ON TOGETHER

37. 37. D (4 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 7:26 am

    This rumour of Ugandan troops must be cleared up immediately. I think it is true because it has been going on for a few days. But we have been told that they were there to ensure the safe passage of fuel into UG.. we shall see.. Museveni has denied it. (My goodness, what has become of Kenya?)

    The Standard has an article about the foolishness that is Dr. Alfred “Cobra Squad” Mutua. What an idiot!
    http://eastandard.net/news/?id=1143980353&cid=4

38. 38. toiyoi (106 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 7:51 am

    Ugandan Troops:
    Standard reports on this too.

    @D
    KE allows foreign troops to “ensure safe passage of ugandan goods”? What about our troops? Is KE under invasion?

39. 39. Esther (7 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    My understanding of this is that the main reason why M7 (Museveni) even sent congratulatory messages to Kibaki on 3rd Jan - 4 days fter the fact - is that he needed Kibaki to provide safe passage of ugandan goods, especially fuel tankers. Unfortunatly the highways in Kenya are still very unsafe with all manner of ‘roadblocks’ and people have to have armed security to get through. The biggest problem with this kind of rumour mongering is that even for kenyans living in uganda, we have to travel in convoys becuase we risk being attacked driving through kenya with cars with ugandan plates. Kisumu in particular is a no-go zone if you have a car with ugandan plates. Buses from here are not operting at night and even Akamba will not go through Kisumu. There are over 5000 kenyan students in Ugandan institutions of higher learning. So basically, unless we have actual facts, please stop the rumour mongering as some of us are becoming victims of baseless allegations. I obviously cannot speak for either the kenyan or ugandan government. I can only speak of all those kenyans who have had to drive through western kenya to try and get back to work or school. Additionally, I can only hope that this does not degenrate into a diplomatic fiasco because of the 5000 kenyan refugees now in Uganda being guarded by Ugandan police and fed and clothed by the Uganda Red Cross. Maybe to out a top to the rumours the borders between the two countries should be closed except for essential items - after whcih the accusation will be that Uganda is being non-humanitarian.

40. 40. Esther (7 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

    The armed troops escorting goods to the Ugandan border are to the best of my knowledg the Kenyan Army.

41. 41. Ken (1 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

    We cannot move on when others are displaced from their legal homelands and others have their property destroyed by a bunch of hooligans who still continue to walk free.
    We need justice, ODM may have won or lost the elections but at the moment that is not even priority. Priority must be ensuring that all Kenyans feel secure regardless of what part of the country they are in.
    This will only be done if we get to the bottom of all this tribal clashes that hide under political disguises.

42. 42. Ishara (16 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    @ Esther,

    I’m not prepared to take M7’s word for it that his NRA troops are not within our borders, even a cursory investigation (if you care to) will find this president’s persistant denials of the presence of his troops in Rwanda, Burundi and DRC despite evidence to the contrary tabled at the UN on numerous occasions, not just one instance.

    I find the Kenya Police equally compromised when it comes to the truth following their own persistant denials of “shoot to kill” orders in the face of what Kenyans and the world at large can see on telly. With the dearth of truth(or even the veneer of truth-see Alfie Mutua for more on this)at this point, video verification, actual witnesses or insider accounts work for me.

    @ Ken,

    Wananchi are fast learning that the letter of Kenyan law and it’s practical interpretation/application are in fact oceans apart.

    Internal displacement isn’t a phenomenon unique to the Rift, it’s happening in Central too (on KTN for all to see). It seems our ‘town’ homes and ‘up country’ homes are getting to be one and the same.

43. 43. joe (78 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 11:10 pm

    It is not with surprise that I read the view that Mwai Kibaki is not the legitimate president of Kenya. This view is so pervasive that even many who supported the president have been deceived into taking it up.That it is so widespread is a tribute to the ODM’s knack for lies and its efficiency at pushing them as truth. It is also in no small part a result of the political ineptitude of the PNU and State House.The view is predicated on two strands of thought. The first, published by the ODM and a perpetuation of its hateful and divisive anti-GEMA strategy, declares that President Kibaki won only one of Kenya’s provinces and is therefore not the true president of all Kenya. The second, declares the election stolen by the incumbent, and rather cheekily insists that the extension of his tenancy at State House is a ‘coup’.

    National Support
    This first argument is only one of the few in the litany of lies the ODM has rammed through a servile, biased media. The facts speak for themselves, Mwai Kibaki won 4 out of Kenya’s provinces and MPs running on pro-Kibaki platforms won more than 100 seats with victories in every single province. None of his rivals even came close to the same level of support. Kibaki also won a sizeable number of votes even in the provinces where he was overall second best, reaching the 25% mark in every province but Nyanza, where he still managed to poll 17% of the vote. The ODM candidate on the other hand posted a measly 2% and 5% in Central and Eastern provinces, and managed 25% in only six of the provinces.

    ‘But the bulk of the president’s votes were GEMA votes,’ comes the reply. Well, that may be true but the formulation GEMA itself makes into one what are properly a multitude of ethnicities. More importantly however, our democracy as currently fashioned makes no demands on the ethnicity of voters desiring merely that the victorious candidate have the approval of at least 25% from five provinces to underline his nationalist credentials. To reiterate, it is not communities, faiths or regions that vote. It is individuals.

    This is no trivial point. The ODM has taken even before the election to making the case that their candidate was the People’s Candidate, Kenya’s candidate. That was all very well for that period when presentation and marketing were more important than truth; but in this the post-election period, the party and its supporters would do well to realise that by any estimation fully 4 million Kenyans declared their support for each of the two leading candidates. So it is that even now,as the party and its supporters persist in saying that the Kenyan people have been robbed, the Kenyan people are angry, they must remember that there are some Kenyans a substantial number, a majority even who actually voted for Kibaki - and who rejected the ODM.

    For starters, it is most irresponsible, if typical of the ODM to neglect to take into account the votes of these 4 million, they are after all just GEMA, Gikuyu, Embu, Meru, Mbeere, Tharaka; you know those people, not Kenyans. This diligently crafted Us vs Them dichotomy explains why the ODM’s leaders have not yet seen fit to visit, or even declare peace with the communities that are being victimised by the outbreaks of violence- communities which in the pre-election campaigns they worked very hard to demonise. When it is not demonising them directly, the ODM and its agents continually seek to invite the GEMA to join Kenyans in voting ODM, proposing all the time that to vote differently is unKenyan.

    This is part of the reason for the renewal in Kikuyu nationalism, a whole community has been forced to the wall by the invective of three years and two political campaigns. We stand in our millions -along with Kenyans of every ethnic persuasion in rejection of ethnic chauvinism- and declare to the ODM that we are adamant in our support for President Kibaki and that we too retain the inalienable right to the appellation, Kenyan. We respect that there are those, our brothers and sisters from across the country, with different political persuasions, but never in a million years would we think to pretend that those opinions made them less Kenyan than we are. If it is the sheer numbers in Central Kenya that intimidate the opposition into taking this position, also published as the 41 versus 1 strategy, then the ODM have to now get to their grassroots and urge a population boom. Anything else hurts all of us, and the victims of this hatred will not just be the Gikuyu. The economic and social effects of this policy of excluding one group from the whole will be profound, and as many in Western Kenya are finding, life without the other is not exactly a bed of roses.

    The end of this hatred is especially urgent for ODM for, in light of the premeditated and barbaric ODM action in the Rift Valley and across the country, it is unlikely that too many Kenyans, even those who had previously aligned themselves with the party will be particularly drawn to it and its divisive politics any more. The consequences of all the strident screeching about Majimbo and the theory that the Gikuyu hogged all the country’s resources have finally manifested themselves.

    Election irregularities

    I find it most unfair to look merely at one set of election irregularities while turning a blind eye to the other. Such a predisposition is not only unhelpful, but declares a bias that precludes a just assessment of the elections. It is not unlinked to the over-arching theory of Gikuyu hegemony as it dictates that only one side in the election had the wherewithal to interfere with the vote.

    The media and observers seem to have focused merely on crimes committed during the final vote tallying while ignoring the fact that there were several irregularities in ODM zones.

    For starters, there was no free will in the vote in Nyanza. Long before the election begun, candidates who would have stood against the ODM nominees were compelled to stand down and those who resisted were demonised and accused of perfidy to the tribe. There were prior to the elections, outbreaks of violence against the disloyal, outbreaks which led to the displacement and non-participation of such persons. There are also credible reports that women and those from communities likely predisposed to vote different than the ODM were obstructed from exercising their voting rights by hooligans either inspired by or hired by the ODM. As the ODM candidate demanded at a campaign rally in Eldoret, ‘hatutaki madoadoa’.

    Even worse, and as confirmed by KEDOF in their final vote report, agents representing parties allied to Mwai Kibaki and Kalonzo Musyoka were denied entry into vote counting and vote tallying centres, including most famously Nyayo Stadium where what had been widely billed a close race between Raila Odinga and Stanley Livondo was turned into a rout of suspiciously monumental proportions. This as Uhuru Kenyatta complained, came after Livondo and his group were locked out of the stadium.

    Some have asked why the government did not then use the police to back up the blocked voters and insist that the opposition agents be allowed entry at these events. The truth is that the tense pre-election atmosphere did not allow for any use of force by the government, indeed any such moves would have been seen as persecution and would have cost the government votes at the election. Those asking this forget that there were already killings in Nyanza of police personnel prior to the election and that it is this state of violence that ensured that Kibaki and Kalonzo affiliated agents were wary of performing their duties there. Importantly also, any such interference would have undermined the independence of the ECK which was the organisation charged with the proper conduct of the elections. The instruments of legal and legitimate use of force are restricted to use in the protection of the polling station and its environs from the vagaries of the contestants and their agents.

    Finally, it is most categorically not true that it is impossible to conduct a re-tally of the forms sent to Nairobi by the poll centres around the country. The agents of all the parties contesting the election carry with them copies of the results announced in these centres and should retain copies of the electoral forms. These can be availed for a national re-tallying, which as the Justice Minister Martha Karua told the BBC’s Hard Talk, the government is very willing to facilitate when ordered by a court of law. Karua herself was part of a group of politicians including George Nyamweya, James Orengo and Anyang’ Nyong’o who sat through the night of the 29th of December with ECK officials and went over the vote tallies from across the land. They subtracted the entire element of suspicious added on votes that the ODM had complained about and Kibaki’s total was adjusted accordingly.

    When it was found that the vote still indicated a Kibaki victory, the ODM side sought the very next day to reverse their previous urge for the expeditious publication of the result (remember the ODM had on the 28th and 29th been putting pressure on Kivuitu to announce the victor) and instead began a campaign (Raila even stormed Kivuitu’s home at 0700) to have Kivuitu delay the announcement. Commentators seem to have forgotten that Musalia Mudavadi had already announced the election for the ODM or that there were riots in Kisumu that demanded the election result be announced. Now it seems we only focus on the pressure from the PNU and ODM-K, forgetting all the time the even greater pressure from the ODM the previous day.

    As the leaked memo from World Bank country director Colin Bruce avers, the facts are clear. The ODM is only too aware that such a re-assessment would make clear that they lost the election, and are as a result wary of appealing to the courts for such a re-tallying. Mwai Kibaki is the legal, but also the legitimate president of Kenya, which fact will soon be proved in a court of law

44. 44. maina (6 Comments) | January 13th, 2008 at 11:55 pm

    Pumbafu-Kumbavu-Mavi-ya-kuku-afredmutuarism is talking about violence, tribalism, moving on,as if any of this talk would be happening had the vote tallying and winner announcement been seen to be free and fair.

45. 45. Gil (1 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 12:24 am

    @Joe
    long commentry with very many allegations, now is not the time for such inflamatory remarks;it will only widen the gap between kenyans. in a game of football, none of the teams can claim victory if the match official was not present during the match (you can just imagine the number of penulties and freekicks each team will award itself). well the match that took place on the 27th was not properly officiated - ECK lost controll and the credibility of the results was eventually also lost. the only solution to such an outcome is to nullify the results and set a rematch. seeing how confident each team is in its abilities to trounce the other i don’t see why either of them should have a problem calling for another election. whoever backs away from this will definately be hiding from the truth (remember the two mothers and king Solomon)

46. 46. Wangari (2 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 12:53 am

    Ai some of the comments on your blog count as another post!ended up only skimming through..

    I agree with the gist of what your saying, my summary of which would be-let’s not abandon life and living, but part of that life and living is getting to the roots of issues, otherwise any other [good!] efforts coming up will amount to stapling juicy yummy mangoes to a v bitter lemon tree having tasted the sour lemons-works in the short haul but….

    I think its now time to,excuse my French, ‘move on’[now that those 2words have gained that status]!By that I mean, let’s not get stuck on having debates of whether we should move on or not,-let’s go foward to more substantive vybe.

    On that note:Question, assuming that, for the sake of argument, a justice truth and reconciliation comm was set up to address root issues, and you were able,better yet,willing to give a bullet point summary of the key questions you wanted dealt with, other than who rigged what-or including those who-rigged-what questions, infact let me give you free reign, what would u come up with? That’s a genuine question btw.Clearly, the roots lie covered, but we have to start somewhere and with something. The mistake is to assume that that ’somewhere’ and ’something’ is agreed upon by, or even known to, all. Surprisingly that’s not the case, in a somewhat expected fashion. interested to pick your thoughts..

    As for long posts-kweli, seeing the speck in others eyes and ignoring logs in our own

47. 47. toiyoi (106 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 1:06 am

    @Esther,
    “For outside are the LIARS, dogs…”
    So, how to you tell the difference b/n a KE soldier and a NRA soldier?
    How about the reports from the EA Standard newspaper..and local MPs claims..

    @Joe
    It is so plain that you are sent here to stir the water.. i wonder why M even allows your posts: why don’t you have your own blog or newspaper where you can provide the truth, then all those who love the truth will leave M’s post and come to yours?

48. 48. jAnam (1 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 1:39 am

    @uncle joe, welcome to the discussion table. But before we sit around this table, lets make fews points clear.1)bring with you only and i mean only facts not propaganda. this is not panu/odm platform. this is a kenyan platform- you get where i am coming from? 2)Be a ware that kenya is whole, not parts of it. 3)consider taking the truth path-as nobody can/will prove you wrong in the face of the truth. it also sets us free.
    Now, in response to your comment
    mwai kibaki’s presidency is disputed so it is only fair to say it’s ilegitimate.kivuitu himself said as much. he was the one who picked him-fact.2)when you start talking about gema..etc, you lose focus because this is not gema vs all but kenya and her future. It will be tragic if for example, a president from kisii-nyanza,luhya-western,coast,Ne,central
    etc to fraudulently hoodwink the electorate into buying in the thieving as a way of life.3)
    supply and lay bare for the world to see the 4 provinces that you know is known to be won by mwai kibaki…….
    4)4million votes you are referring to are misleading…they are the ones in dispute….so it is not yet known exactly how many people really voted for mwai kibaki
    5)kikuyu nationalism?-kikuyu is a tribe in kenya not a nation…in essence there can be no such thing as kikuyu/kalenjin/luhya/luo nationalism within itself.
    5)Thus i have concluded that you are not ready to save kenya. you are a panu hawk out to confuse the kenyan people. My last words..this is 21st century. you can take off your delusional outfit and get the one that reads….reality
    And there cannot be any MOVEONS unless you know what you are moving on from!

49. 49. toiyoi (106 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 2:44 am

    @jAnam
    Yo are wasting your time with joe. he knows the truth, but he prefers to lie, just like his father does..

    M, unless you take care, your blog will end up being like mashada…

50. 50. joe (78 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 4:12 am

    In all honesty i have spoken the truth as i and the millions who voted for Kibaki see it . If M wants to chuck me from posting that is something that is up to him . But what you as Kenyans need to recognize is that 4million plus people voted for Kibaki - to claim as jAnam that Kibakis millions are in dispute is sad .Nobody including myself has said the elections were perfect .

    Secondly those saying we should have a rerun must be joking to think that Kibaki can call for new elections while his supporters are hacked and displaced is not only ignorant but very disturbing .

    Anyway many have said what they have to say and i as PNU supporter have had my say . How do you expect to resolve this issue if you dont listen to what the other side is saying .

    Kenya is made up of pro odm Kenyans and pnu supporters you cant wish the millions on the other side away .

51. 51. the aMERUcan (1 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 11:05 am

    hi,
    couldn’t agree better.
    This idea of moving on grinds my balls.
    All these patriotic songs telling us to put up and move on drive me up the wall…not to say their efforts to help the displaced families is in vain.
    Its like the elections all over again.Get screwed and shut up…..you are kenyans.
    Well,the way things are going people are not shutting up.My generation cant just see things messed up infront of our eyes.We have kids on the way, we have a future to look forward to and thus we cant stand this bull sh*t of being screwed over and over!!!
    seeing kibaki being sworn in made me feel like i was in a nightmare……sh*t this whole thing looked like Moi all over agin.
    I was in Uhuru park in 2002, sad but true i was excited when mud was thrown at Moi…little did i know that our “saviour” would turn out to be the man he despised.
    all in all i see history repeating itself.The institution of the presidency is too powerful.If we shut up i see no changes.Even if Raila gets in there is not stopping the metamorphosis….look at ukraine.We can shut up people and sing medlies till tears drop…people are dying and we need to fight for what is right…….if not we will leave in a mreeygo round and start asking ourselves “what went wrong” when we are in our 50’s
    Remember animal farm……..

52. 52. VituVingiSana (175 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 11:54 am

    Sigh… Kenya could have been “movin’ on up” instead of “moving on”…

    At this point, many Kenyans are looking for means to provide for their families. They have little choice but to “move on”…

    It is the educated middle class in any society that makes the real difference. We have a relatively small educated middle class in Kenya. Therein lies the rub.

    kibz is a millionaire. Among his cronies are billionaires (suspect wealth)… They don’t give 2 hoots about the rest of us.

    We can rave & rant but unless there is a French-style revolution (erm, is that considered treason?)… or a democratic revolution by those who crave real change, nothing will happen.

    This is not about kibz or Raila. This is about electing LEADERS who care about us first & foremost. The current crop esp the 70+ yr old “rulers” are not the ones to provide leadership. We need guys & gals in their 30s (& younger) to step up.

53. 53. Olive (7 Comments) | January 14th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Even as we ‘move on’ trying to ‘recover’ WHILE continuing to watch/monitor the political situation(that will determine which fork in the cross roads that our country will take) it goes without saying that the re-run of elections (in my humble opinion, an inevitability,just a question of whether it is sooner rather than later) should see NEITHER Kibaki nor Raila run again (Yes, i am an OPTIMIST! like that).And, our current ECK should not be within sniffing distance of the same! - in fact their role at this point should be limited to providing the independent auditors of the election process - a must have - with the original data required for their review.
    This in itself means that there is a ‘transition period’ that needs to take place while the modalities of the next steps in our country’s future are worked out. During this time, let us continue to preach peace and find our own individual ways of contributing to taking Kenya to where we want to see it.
    Although my comments seem to show that i am in Kenya i am currently based in SA so i will borrow from Toiyoi’s disclaimer - I cannot guarantee that, was in Kenya, my comments would not be different.

54. 54. Annonn (3 Comments) | January 15th, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    Unfortunately, we cannot ‘move on’, to what. Thanks M for your post.

    The Ugandan troops are here. Ask anyone who lives along the Kisumu busia road. They have been spotted. We all know the Ugandan English. We all dispel romours but what did Emilio go to do in Uganda in the wee hours of the morning as soon as he was sworn in? Take tea? I don’t think so. Your guess us as good as mine. Immediately after, the troops flocked in. They did not just arrive yesterday or the day before. Open your eyes. Kenya is under siege and the powers that be through cobra squad are saying move on, and that it is ODM propaganda.

    I did not see M7’s troops escorting fuel tankers on 2nd Jan, it was the Kenyan cops, not the army! Saw them with with my own two eyes as I was driving to Kisumu to catch a flight. Had to drive off the road as they had occupied the whole of the narrow road. What can we as right thinking kenyans do? apart from contributing to the worthy course of feeding the displaced? Why cant our leaders ’sigh’ think!

55. 55. mandole (1 Comments) | January 16th, 2008 at 11:21 am

    Have just arrived here after being stuck in good old Kenya. Been 4 hrs off the flight.
    Firstly, the election was RIGGED, THROUGH AND THROUGH. Anyone disputing this is not speaking the truth. I witnessed this myself having decided to drive upcountry on election day after casting my vote in Nairobi. Reaching my local village school which was a polling station, I found a 504 estate car with 3 clean shaven hunky police/army looking fellows marking BALLOT PAPERS inside the vehicle parked outside the school (Can furnish you with reg No). They appeared startled to see my car, only to relax on noticing my wife seated next to me. I drove further down the road to the village shops to ask what was happening. I was told “wametumwa na Kibaki kumuongezea kura, ni polisi, tutafanya nini?” If those fellas were in Luo Nyanza, they would have been VERY DEAD.

    Most guys voted for Raila in my Shags, however on tally he had beaten the incumbent by 2 votes at the local polling station! Nobody believed it at all. This I believe was widespread and resulted in the 25% in 7 provinces. I also believe this is the reason he will NEVER accept a rerun with an independent Electoral body since these votes will not be available to him and the defeat will be RESOUNDING.

    Despite this widespread rigging, it was still not enough, forcing him and his cronies to openly manipulate the ECK to declare him winner. Kibaki is in office illegitimately and no amount of whitewashing, words and attempted re-writing of events is ever going to change that. Kenyans have died and that is sad since NSIS had issued an alert that these events were going to lead to bloodshed. This blood rests CLEARLY on the hands of one man who choose to ignore that warning. It will not go away. History and the current circumstances will judge him harshly.

    In my part of the country, the Kikuyu diaspora has held sway over public transport and small businesses. On the eve of the elections they told ODM supporters to their face they would be going back to state house “whether you like it or not”. They also told commuters they were withdrawing their matatus from the road to ensure “kura musipige kwa wengi na kama mutapiga laima mutembee wenyewe” There was no transport from 26th onwards except for a few locally owned matatus. The locals told them it was all right, but they should not even think of putting them back on the roads after elections. They made themselves an easy target of post electoral violence.

    Soon as the elections were announced, people remembered what had transpired and descended on Kikuyu businesses and homes, deciding they were all thieves. I have never seen such mayhem. It was certainly not premeditated in my part of the country, but the Kikuyu definitely set themselves up for the polls aftermath.

    Where to go after this? If Kibaki was a nationalist and a patriot at heart, he would never have countenanced to do what he has done. He has run the gauntlet of fire, he will not put it down. He will not resign…PERIOD. He really does not care about the lives lost or property damaged at all. He casually puts the country in harm’s way then calls for maintenance of peace. Was he not thinking about peace when he plotted all this? Did he care about the NSIS warning?

    For the ordinary Kenyan who has a dictator on their shoulder what to do? Life must continue as indeed it always does, but organized protests by ALL members of society and pressure on this regime must continue. If it does not then the same impunity will be used again and again and Kenyans will just not turn up to vote. Ugandan troops are in the country, that is not a rumour, I saw three with my own eyes and heard them speak. They are ERY ugandan. Why? Some think they are there to target the internally displaced camps and hit them with such organised force so as to bolster the nascently emerging talk of Genocide. This will shore up international support for the regime on the premise that the best person to look out for the Kikuyu will be a Kikuyu president. We are not out of the woods yet good people, not by a long shot. This may just be the lull before the storm. Blue helments may soon be headed our way.

    The crazy games Kibs and his guys play with the country may yet ring us into the precipice. Pray, preach peace, A JUST PEACE will hold

56. 56. Kingwa (1 Comments) | January 16th, 2008 at 11:43 am

    You are so spot on about how we cannot ‘move on’ just yet. And yet we Kenyans are cowards in our own interesting way, we want the politicians to just shut up so that we can ‘move on and get back to normal.’ Alot of incisive digging needs to be done to get to the bottom of the whole problem. A lot of pride has to be swallowed. But Kibaki, Michuki, Karua and gang are instead arrogantly chest thumping in our faces. Its very interesting how the younger generation of GEMA (me included) are disgusted by the whole fiasco and are not celebrating the Kibaki ‘rigging in’ as a victory. We all know that its a charade thats going to light up like a bonfire very soon. And we will be the casualties.

    Why do we let it happen? More importantly, what can we do? Like one of the guys has said- the attitude from politicans to us is -”Get screwed and shut up. You are Kenyans.” I feel angst about it all. I am thinking of solutions in the meantime.

57. 57. Kimemia Maina (4 Comments) | January 16th, 2008 at 10:21 pm

    I agree with taking action against injustices when they occur and generally refusing to let issues like that fester until they explode in even worse consequences I do not think that the aggrieved parties have so far done anything to actually resolve the primary concern here. The flawed election.

    It is one thing to feel rightly aggrieved when an opponent is declared winner of an election in the dodgy circumstances that saw Kibaki returned to state house and with the glaring irregularities in the counting process. The unfortunate thing is that though they do have a right to be aggrieved the opposition rather than uphold exercise the institutions that are meant to protect from and deal with these miscarriages of justice, have deemed it neccessary to further undermine the very purpose of their existence by resorting to fighting with the state’s security apparatus using mobs of largely disillusioned and misguided followers. What has been clear from the rhetoric on the ODM side is that apparently unless their guy Raila Odinga is in State house then under no circumstances can the election be deemed credible leave alone democratic. While it would completely absurd to say that they, the ODM have no reason to feel cheated and should just lie down and get on with life they should not take this as some kind of leave to ignore the ‘civilised’ route by trying to bully their way to their objective at the expense of the very thing they claim to defend, democracy and the respect of democratic institutions.

    On the flip side the cynicism with which the people now sat very comfortably in the government benches have tried and continue to try deny that something is genuinely wrong is very dissapointing. Yes PNU’s own candidate garnered four million votes and could very well have won the election despite the irregularities that occured in the whole process but this is no excuse to try sweep everything under the carpet and pretend that everything will be fine and the troubles will ‘go away if ignored for long enough.’ over 500 people are dead, hundreds of thousands are homeless, 3 constituencies do not have an MP millions if not billions of shillings worth of property have been damaged and the numerous communities have been shredded (not for the first time) by the violence and if something is not done these things will happen again and again.

    But then again thats probably not going to happen now is it?

58. 58. omar (1 Comments) | January 16th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

    WHAT I SEE IS VERY HORRIABLE> KENYA BYE BYE BE LIKE SOMALIA!! I THOUGHT YOU WITNESSED WHAT HAPPENED AT YOUR BACK YARD “SOMALIA” BUT I GUESS YOU WERE SLEPPING BACK THAN AND NOW!!

    PLEASE DON’T BE LIKE SOMALIA!
    THE PICTURES OF THE RALLY RIOTS GAVE ME A FLASH BACK WHEN I WAS IN SOMALIA IN 1991.

    SOMALI CIVEL WAR STARTED JUST LIKE THIS AND WENT OUT OF HAND! IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU TOO.

    PLEASE KENYA IS VERY DEVELOPED COUNTRY AND THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS.

    THINK AGAIN AND AGAIN!

    STOP THE FIGHTING!

    I LOVE KENYAN PEOPLE THEY ARE VERY COOL PEOPLE!

    MY ALLAH BRING SOLUTION AND PEACE TO KENYA AND SOMALIA!

    LOVE FROM OMAR IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, USA

59. 59. AtSanity'sEdge (42 Comments) | January 17th, 2008 at 4:39 pm

    Mr. Omar,
    We appreciate your concerns and well wishes. We all remember Somalia and what has become of her and we hope she will eventually rise from the ashes. Experience is not enough of a teacher since civil strife repeats itself in the same places all over Africa.
    The problems in Kenya are as simple as they are complex and a quick resolution will never be reached.
    There’s plenty of rope to go around and we’ll most certainly hang ourselves with it. I predict more bloodshed before this is over because the issues that brought this wave of violence will remain unaddressed. Like you’ve already warned, it’s bye, bye to Kenya as we knew it and it’s hello…well, something else.

60. 60. Miscellaneous « Mwari wa David…attempting a re-invention (No Comments) | March 20th, 2008 at 11:24 am

    [...] Give up, akin to to Thinker’s definition of moving on [...]