|  Author | Topic: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabinet (Read 1,023 times) |
Onyango Oloo
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|  | Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabinet
« Thread Started on Apr 1, 2008, 1:15pm » | |
It is around three minutes to one in the afternoon here in Nairobi.
Slightly over forty minutes ago, I was part of a group of civil society activists who were sent scampering all over Uhuru Park after being tear gassed by the Kenyan riot police.
Among those dozens forced to shed sudden involuntary tears were Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai, well known Kenyan human rights lawyer Harun Ndubi, Kenya National Commission for Human Rights Chair Maina Kiai, Africog head honcho Gladwell Otieno, Awaaz Managing Editor Zahid Rajan, Bunge la Mwananchi regulars Samson Ojiayo and Gacheke; Open Society East Africa Director Binaifer Nowrojee; independent documentary film maker/activist Mbugua Kaba; singer/dancer/drummer/actor/activist "Toothbrush" Ooko; ODM Secretariat member Dr. Jospeh Misoi; feminist/GBLT activist " Ms. P"; NCEC Coordinator Ndung'u Wainaina; minority rights activist Ms. Patita; Fahamu staffer Stella Chege and even the colourful Orie Rogo Manduli.
The cops did not discriminate in their distribution of the noxious canisters: I saw Anne Mawadhe of the BBC and several other local and international media folks choking from the ubiquitous gas fumes.
Later, as we were exiting Uhuru Park-with some still trying to access Harambee Avenue, the ultimate destination of the protest march- I could not resist throwing a broadside a the clutch of askaris, headed by an Assistant Commissioner who were looking for an opportunity to clobber us with their over used rungus. Directing my ire and fire at their presumed boss, I berated them for thwarting the efforts of democracy loving, corruption hating Kenyans like us who were there to fight against a bloated cabinet precisely we were thinking of underpaid public servants like the police and prison warders who still lived in hovels and earned a pittance even as they put their lives on the line for the greedy fat cats lining up for big jobs at the expense of the poor mwananchi tax payers. For a moment, given his vicious ferocious glare, I thought the Assistant Commissioner would unleash his goons on me.
Whatever violent thought was passing through his mind, he let that thought pass and let me, pass too, through them to the other end, towards the Hotel Inter Continental.
Ironically, the rest of the rally had gone smoothly, peacefully and without an incident.
Statements were read and speeches were made by Maina Kiai, Gladwell Otieno and Wangari Maathai; the patriotic songs including the militant national anthem were sung by all of us. We all had our "No More Than 24!" placards and we all intoned our slogans.
What is intriguing is WHO gave the police instructions to disrupt our legal, peaceful, democratic and constitutionally protected right to assembly, freedom of expression and association?
Was it just the police bureaucracy acting on their own and obeying their blood thirsty instincts?
Or was it an order from the "government" trying to keep a lid on dissent?
Freedom Corner is of course associated in the public mind with protests againt the status quo.
At any rate, for such a routine civil society action, I was somewhat taken aback by the number of helmeted riot cops on hand to"welcome" us to Uhuru Park with their traditional feisty hospitality.
The question that needs to be posed to PNU and ODM is whether or not power sharing extends to the Kenyan people.
After all, it is the ordinary Wanjiku and the Achieng who ensured that these two major parties have so much political clout.
It is our votes which propelled them to parliament.
It is our taxes which sustain them-whether as backbenchers or full cabinet ministers.
When they want to demonstrate to their opposite numbers about their strength, it is to us their turn when it comes to mass mobilization.
Presumably, we should be their political bosses because we are the ones who keep them in power.
In other words, we have a direct stake in their power sharing wrangles between PNU and ODM.
Obviously, we may never be invited to those hush hush negotiations because some of the political players view us as irrelevant to the process.
But since this is OUR Kenya that they are talking about, we do not their word of approval to participate in the process.
We have a right to be involved in determining not just WHO governs us HOW, but what kind of policies and action points will ensue.
It is not just about PNU haggling over positions with ODM.
At the moment all praises are going to Kofi Annan as the man who saved Kenya.
We have quickly forgotten that long before Kofi Annan set foot in Kenya, there were already Kenyans from all walks of life- from Ambassador Bethwell Kiplagat to Muthoni Wanyeki and the youth in the informal settlements- who were busy calling for Peace, Democracy, Truth and Justice.
I feel that two main players-ODM especially- should take their time to study how the ANC kept in touch with its popular and social base even as it top leadership anchored by Nelson Mandela kept ordinary ANC members informed and involved in the details of the power sharing process even as they dialogued with the De Klerks and the Pik Bothas.
There is a need for the Kenyan people to step up to the plate and seize this historic moment in our country's political development and push through a thorough going agenda for constitutional and democratic reform and shake our mainstream politicians from their comfort zone.
We should redefine power sharing to mean the right of the poor to share power with the rich; the right of women to share power with men; the right of the vijana to share power with the wazee...
To do this we must have a battering ram, an organized voice- a force that brings together civil society, smal political parties, trade unions and other social forces.
Today we saw that the Kenyan neo-colonial STATE as opposed to the "government" has no qualms about reasserting its essential violent and coercive nature. It means that even after elections, even after the bloody carnage which followed after it and all those heart rendering peace songs and exhortations for reconciliation and national harmony, we still need to redefine the power dynamics expressed by the daily actions of the state in the lives of Kenyans.
Yesterday (at least according to the front page of the Daily Nation today, April 1, 2008) cops trying to disperse a similar peaceful communiy protest in Njiru, on the peripheries of Nairobi shot dead an unarmed woman who was not even in the protest but sitting as a passenger in a public service vehicle. As we speak, units of the Kenya Army are busy torturing peasants in Mt. Elgon and shooting dead innocent civilians in an attempt to "restore peace" in that western Kenyan region that has been rocked and wracked with state and militia violence.
As Kenyans with a democratic conscience we need to tell the powers that be that there are effective alternatives to those Rambo intrusions- whether it is tear gassing peaceful protestors in downtown Nairobi; shooting in cold blood a woman in a matatu in Njiru or torturing villagers in Mt. Elgon.
In the meantime let me go back to two Sixties/Seventies slogans:
A Lutta Continua!
Un Pueblo Unido, Hamas Sera Vencido!
Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya
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fanyamambo
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| | Re: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabine
« Reply #1 on Apr 1, 2008, 2:51pm » | |
OO, I was there too. I did not actually think they would come through with the teargas - I guess I'm the fool. Haven't had to run so fast in a long while. Apart from the 'No More than 24!' we had our placards adding 'and no less than 8 women!'.
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politicalmaniac
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| | Re: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabine
« Reply #2 on Apr 1, 2008, 4:00pm » | |
The more things change the more they remain the same.
This inept tribalistic cabal of a regime led by a guy who can decide wether to wipe his bum crack or not after a pooh session is just stffling the country's energy and momentum.
He needs to be taken out, one way or onother.
5yrs of this sh!t is just not a thing I want to think about.
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adongo23456
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| | Re: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabine
« Reply #3 on Apr 1, 2008, 4:33pm » | |
Eerily enough, this is very reminiscent of what happened in 2003 after the much celebrated Narc victory in 2002.
It all started at Bomas in mid 2003 when Kibaki and Murungaru sent cops to clobber a group of young Kenyans who had gone to Bomas to protest against Kibaki and his NAK group foot dragging at Bomas and demanding that the Bomas process be completed as promised by Narc during the campaigns. The young folks were clobbered senseless. Strangely most Kenyans including a large section of the human rights groups ignored the incident dismissing the youth as Raila supporters who probably got what they deserved.
Soon after the country was shaken by the assassination of Dr. Odhiambo Mbai a prominent figure at the Bomas talks who was the head of the devolution committee. University students came out in large numbers to protest the killing. Same thing. They were met with teargas and rungus. The cops even lobbed teargas inside buses full of students forcing some to jump through the windows of moving vehicles and sustaining serious injuries. Again the nation kept quiet except for then LDP leaders. Soon shooting protesters became routine culminating in the infamous shoot to kill orders from Michuki after the elections were stolen.
Now we see the same thing. Kenyans have just been running around celebrating the GCG and thinking may be something good is going to come out of it. Then we see the same trend if not worse. It has become routine to teargas, clobber and open live fire on any demonstators however peaceful it is.
A week ago I was stunned to read that police opened live fire and shot several people in Limuru when frustrated and starving IDPs came to the streets to demand food. The cops fed them with generous amounts of teargas before opening fire on them and sending some to hospital with bullet wounds. The cops claimed the IDPs were interfering with traffic and harassing motorists. Nobody as much as raised a finger about that terrible act of police brutality against one of the most vulnerable groups of people in our country today. Not even the faith groups said anything if they even noticed the incident in between their sterile pleas for the resettlement of IDPs.
Here is the story
http://www.kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=2&articleId=2368
And now we have people peacefully protesting the insane idea by the GCG to burden the nation with an unprecedented 44 member cabinet which with assistant ministers is going to be something like 130 cabinet in a parliament of 222 and a country sinking daily into mass poverty and the protesters are met with teargas and rungus.
If we allow Kibaki, Saitoti and Police Commissioner Ali to continue with this we should be prepared for five years of same old culminating in another shoot to kill order much sooner than later.
Kenyans should reject this culture of endless brutalization of citizens exercising their freedom of expression. The object of all these is to unofficially ban the rights of citizens to engage in political organizing and mobilization, a right Kenyans won way back in 1997.
I think one of the things we should consider doing is working with some of the few friends we have in bunge to bring this matter up both inside and outside parliament. It is not going to help that part of the battle is against their own greed, but I am sure there are a few people there we can count on to raise a stink. This is making an absolute mockery of the rights and freedoms of Kenyans. I believe the message they wanted to send by teargassing someone like Wangari Maathai is that nobody will be spared. You come out to the streets and you will get beat. It is outrageous.
If these GCG folks go ahead with their 44 cabinet they should know they will have a long fight in their hands. Even 34 is too big. The last one they had was 33 which was the biggest the nation ever had.
adongo
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politicalmaniac
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| | Re: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabine
« Reply #4 on Apr 1, 2008, 4:37pm » | |
Just when are we ever gonna get the right to protest Govt policy in public?
When?
This is an abomination!
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adongo23456
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theanarchomugikuyu
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kamalet
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| | Re: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabine
« Reply #7 on Apr 2, 2008, 9:53am » | |
Couple of things Oloo.
Does your group of activists believe in the rule of law? Does the law require people to seek permission to hold a procession? Just how much would it have cost Haroun to notify the police that he intends to lead a procession on parliament road and harambee avenue?
The police allowed the tree planting and the speeches to be made. The police using a megaphone asked the group not to take part in a procession (okay demonstration if you like!) and to disperse. The group declined and instead decided to proceed with the march upon which the police took their action. I can confirm seeing all this as I was at Nyayo house to collect my passport and as many people wondered around there, what is this overriding interest that activists have to get into confrontation with the police at any opportunity? I will reserve my comments of what I think drives them!
But as I have asked elsewhere, if the only issue that continues to keep this country in suspense is a 44 member cabinet, the losses we continue to incur are much bigger without this agreement. Just what is 4 billion shillings per annum for 5 years that a cabinet of 44 will incur against the 200 billion lost in the last three months of uncertainty? I am perfectly happy to lose this 4 billion if I never have to lose anything else for the next five years.
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Onyango Oloo
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| | Message from Zahid Rajan
« Reply #8 on Apr 2, 2008, 11:14am » | |
Oloo
Could not post on your site but please post this for me:
I was part of the crowd. Having watched the police on their walkie talkies keenly observing our activities which were very peaceful till then - I thought when will they attack us and attack us they did - TWICE!
Having survived the first round I went back with a couple of activists to FREEDOM CORNER and saw Wangari Maathai addressing journalists - so I thought at least this is allowed. But NO - the police teargassed us again! The police are supposed to be 'UTUMISHI KWA WOTE' but kumbe they are 'WATUMISHI' wa viongozi wachache wanaoonea wakenya! SHAME ON YOU. This is not the end of the story I assure you.
Having seen the situation calm down I attempted to exit the park with the posters folded but was confronted by the police and all my material was confiscated! I was not allowed to leave the park lest I corrupted the wananchi outside the park with our powerful thoughts. How INSECURE are you?
They even threatened to arrest me as I left!
WE SHALL RETURN.
Zahid Rajan
Nairobi - Mzalendo wa Kenya.
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Onyango Oloo
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| | Re: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabine
« Reply #9 on Apr 2, 2008, 3:05pm » | |
Quote:| OO, I was there too. I did not actually think they would come through with the teargas - I guess I'm the fool. Haven't had to run so fast in a long while. Apart from the 'No More than 24!' we had our placards adding 'and no less than 8 women!'. |
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Fanyambo:
It is incredible isn't it, that battles we thought we won eons ago- freedom of assembly, association, expression etc- are still being waged in 2008.
oo
nbi
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Onyango Oloo
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| | To Kamale
« Reply #10 on Apr 2, 2008, 3:14pm » | |
Quote:Couple of things Oloo.
Does your group of activists believe in the rule of law? Does the law require people to seek permission to hold a procession? Just how much would it have cost Haroun to notify the police that he intends to lead a procession on parliament road and harambee avenue?
The police allowed the tree planting and the speeches to be made. The police using a megaphone asked the group not to take part in a procession (okay demonstration if you like!) and to disperse. The group declined and instead decided to proceed with the march upon which the police took their action. I can confirm seeing all this as I was at Nyayo house to collect my passport and as many people wondered around there, what is this overriding interest that activists have to get into confrontation with the police at any opportunity? I will reserve my comments of what I think drives them!
But as I have asked elsewhere, if the only issue that continues to keep this country in suspense is a 44 member cabinet, the losses we continue to incur are much bigger without this agreement. Just what is 4 billion shillings per annum for 5 years that a cabinet of 44 will incur against the 200 billion lost in the last three months of uncertainty? I am perfectly happy to lose this 4 billion if I never have to lose anything else for the next five years.
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Kamale:
Yes we do believe in the law. It seems it is the cops who are either ignorant or oblivious to the law. It has been over ten years since it was clarified that our right to express ourselves, to assemble and associate freely is protected and entrenched in the constitution- unlike the KANU dark days when five people could be arrested and charged for holding an unlawful meeting.
During the Kibaki era, it seems that the police have become the biggest law breakers- not only breaking up peaceful and legal meetings but going further to criminally assault and even kill peaceful unarmed civilians. One of these days all these culprits in uniform- and their apologists online and offline will be charged in duly constituted courts of law for their crimes against the Kenyan people.
Kamale I am shocked to see you root for a bloated cabinet. Are you not a fiscal conservative? What were your positions on the UASU and Civil Servants strikes?
The same people who cannot find enough money to pay our overworked and underpaid academic staff and civil servants find it easy to pay out billions for ministers and their assistants- even when most of them are not needed nor can their positions be justified.
And the same people at the political leadership levels who keep yapping about the rule of the law are the same who are quite adept at flouting it- whether it is about stealing an election; breaking election campaign rules; disregarding procedures of nominating MPs and councillors; organizing Anglo Fleecing sprees; shunting aside ladi down privatization procedures; giving the corrupt owners of Mobitelea a free ride; illegal swearing ceremonies and so on.
Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya
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Onyango Oloo
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| | Re: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabine
« Reply #11 on Apr 2, 2008, 3:16pm » | |
Quote:
Adongo:
If you look closely at the image, the guy with the back pack in the foreground on the right...is yours truly.
oo
nbi
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kamalet
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| | Re: Kenyans Teargassed for Demanding a Lean Cabine
« Reply #12 on Apr 2, 2008, 3:35pm » | |
Quote:
Quote:Couple of things Oloo.
Does your group of activists believe in the rule of law? Does the law require people to seek permission to hold a procession? Just how much would it have cost Haroun to notify the police that he intends to lead a procession on parliament road and harambee avenue?
The police allowed the tree planting and the speeches to be made. The police using a megaphone asked the group not to take part in a procession (okay demonstration if you like!) and to disperse. The group declined and instead decided to proceed with the march upon which the police took their action. I can confirm seeing all this as I was at Nyayo house to collect my passport and as many people wondered around there, what is this overriding interest that activists have to get into confrontation with the police at any opportunity? I will reserve my comments of what I think drives them!
But as I have asked elsewhere, if the only issue that continues to keep this country in suspense is a 44 member cabinet, the losses we continue to incur are much bigger without this agreement. Just what is 4 billion shillings per annum for 5 years that a cabinet of 44 will incur against the 200 billion lost in the last three months of uncertainty? I am perfectly happy to lose this 4 billion if I never have to lose anything else for the next five years.
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Kamale:
Yes we do believe in the law. It seems it is the cops who are either ignorant or oblivious to the law. It has been over ten years since it was clarified that our right to express ourselves, to assemble and associate freely is protected and entrenched in the constitution- unlike the KANU dark days when five people could be arrested and charged for holding an unlawful meeting.
During the Kibaki era, it seems that the police have become the biggest law breakers- not only breaking up peaceful and legal meetings but going further to criminally assault and even kill peaceful unarmed civilians. One of these days all these culprits in uniform- and their apologists online and offline will be charged in duly constituted courts of law for their crimes against the Kenyan people.
Kamale I am shocked to see you root for a bloated cabinet. Are you not a fiscal conservative? What were your positions on the UASU and Civil Servants strikes?
The same people who cannot find enough money to pay our overworked and underpaid academic staff and civil servants find it easy to pay out billions for ministers and their assistants- even when most of them are not needed nor can their positions be justified.
And the same people at the political leadership levels who keep yapping about the rule of the law are the same who are quite adept at flouting it- whether it is about stealing an election; breaking election campaign rules; disregarding procedures of nominating MPs and councillors; organizing Anglo Fleecing sprees; shunting aside ladi down privatization procedures; giving the corrupt owners of Mobitelea a free ride; illegal swearing ceremonies and so on.
Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya |
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Oloo,
If truth be told, your lot was actually allowed all the time to make your speeches, sing your anthems and the only issue the police had with your group was your demand to have a procession which the police were against.
I am not rooting for a bloated cabinet, far from it. All I am saying is that if the issue of a bloated cabinet is what will scuttle the agreement leading to a resumption of violence, then the expense incurred to fund the bloated cabinet will be cheaper than the cost of the resumed violence.
You and I voted last year for whoever we pleased. Neither you or I was involved in any electoral irregularity if any is found. But you and I are victims of the violence that resulted from those elections directly or indirectly. If you were affected - especially economically, then the price to pay for peace can not be too high Mr. Oloo.
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Onyango Oloo
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| | Once More to Kamale
« Reply #13 on Apr 2, 2008, 4:03pm » | |
Kamale:
There is one small matter you do not get:
It is not up to the POLICE to "allow" Kenyans to exercise their democratic rights.
On the contrary, the role of the police should be restricted to ensuring that we do exercise those rights.
In spite of some obvious attempts by closeted and overt fascists, Kenya is still not OFFICIALLY a Police State.
Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya
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