Post by Onyango Oloo on Oct 4, 2005 9:25:00 GMT 3
Dzoro, Mungatana, Chiaba, Mwaboza and Co Should Be Welcomed in Nyanza
Onyango Oloo Calls For Some Creative Orange Tactics...
First of all, to all the Muslim sisters and brothers out there:
Ramadhan Karim, Ramadhan Mubarak!
The Holy Month of Ramadhan has commenced or is about to commence if I am not mistaken and I want to take this opportunity to wish all Muslims the best as they embark on a month of fasting, spiritual reflection and all the cleansing and community building that this period entails in the Islamic calendar.
Even if I do not end up joining some of you for iftar because I am such a kobe, I see this coming month as a month to follow the path of peace, a month of unity, a month of reflection on our core values, our highest aspirations and our deepest strivings, a month bringing all of us Kenyans together despite our diverse ways of observing our various faiths and despite the fact that some of us do live our lives in a completely secular way.
I wanted to pick up on some news coming out of the Coast Province that may have the potential effect of shattering the potential for peace and good neighbourliness that the month of Ramadhan implies to all Kenyans of all faiths- including people like ourselves who live our lives along secular lines.
There are those who see the announced upcoming visit to Nyanza Province
www.timesnews.co.ke/04oct05/nwsstory/news12.html
by the rambunctious Banana bunch from Pwani as a potential provocation.
Well it is, and on the other hand it is not.
Let us first of all state why it is NOT a “provocation”.
Any Kenyan, irrespective of their tribe, gender, age and ideological orientation, party affiliation, mental health status or social class background has the democratic right to visit any part of the republic and for instance address a political rally, set up a stall and peddle uncooked bananas, distribute condoms manufactured by the Yes Corporation or reveal the role that oranges play in inducing heart attacks.
Arising out of this, any Kenyan politician from either the NO or the YES campaign should be free to walk into any location, estate, neighbourhood, stadium or street corner and button hole any curious passerby or morbid onlookers about the upcoming referendum.
In other words, I firmly oppose the demarcation of our country into banana plantations and orange orchards. Kenya is a very fertile agricultural country and politically we all know that oranges and bananas are cultivated side by side in every locality in this amazing republic.
Instead of shooting shivers down some orange striped spines, the upcoming tour by Yes leaning Pwani MPs should not only be welcomed by the Orange fruit vendors but further, celebrated by chowing and mowing down a special round of matoke and fried plantains- may be quaffed down by two or three quarts of freshly squeezed orange juice.
Having said that, it also patently clear that the intended Nyanza tour by Coast MPs could turn out to be the 2005 rendition of Kisauni II- by which I mean the deliberate mayhem that helped to scuttle
Ali Hassan Joho’s runaway train in the last by-elections in that conflict-prone Mombasa constituency.
Knowing the political resumes of people like
Mungatana, one cannot entirely rule out a machismo agenda of looming destruction deliberately stoked by dirty tricks schemers to scuttle the messages of the Orange NO team and provide the justification for a possible clampdown and even a cancellation of the 21st November event itself.
Who is to say whether or not the Mungatanas are BANKING ON a bloody confrontation in Nyanza between the Yes and NO team that Kibaki linked security intelligence will then use as an exercise in state repression as Orange team leaders and supporters are rounded up and locked up days before the big day itself?
Given the above, it is not altogether impossible that even as we speak, the No side is plotting their own “passionate” welcome to the Yes leaders which may or may not involve breaking the law.
Whatever the case, the line up of the prospective Kisumu Yes rally could be an opportunity in showcasing a different approach to democratic discourse involving contending forces in Kenya.
For instance, how about if the NO side flips the script?
Instead of blocking
Mungatana and company from entering the “Orange Zone” or jeering them through out if they show up in Kisumu or worse, unleashing acts of mindless political hooliganism, this is what the Orange team could do instead:
Roll out the
Red Carpet and invite the Banana Hawkers to town enthusiastically!
Now, I am not being ironic; I am not being sarcastic and I am cerainly NOT talking tongue in cheek.
I am being LITERAL and SINCERE.
I am actually suggesting that, the NO team, in the spirit of professional debate- often seen on American network television during Presidential election years- should actually make the conscious effort of going out of its way to MAKE SURE that the Yes team has a permit; make sure that they have a venue; make sure that
Mungatana, Dzoro, Mwaboza, Tuju, Kombo, Dr Olel, Ramogi Achieng' Oneko, Kituyi, Mirugi, Kibwana, Nyachae have guaranteed security.
I am suggesting that the Orange team should start working now to mobilize thousands upon thousands of ORANGE supporters to attend the Kisumu rally with a SINGLE INSTRUCTION:
Be 112% DISCIPLINED.
No heckling, no cat calls, no booing, no jeers, no stone throwing.
Huh???!
You can GULP again, because I am NOT done.
Yes, the No people should ensure that this Yes rally is NOT disrupted. And Yes, the No people should make sure that there is NO OTHER COUNTER RALLY.
Huh???!
I told you that you could GULP AGAIN.
Further I am suggesting that the Orange team should harness
12 mikokoteni loads and
12 punda loads of BANANAS- that’s right and come with these bananas to the rally- AND OF COURSE these fruits are NOT to be used as improvised FLYING MISSILES OK?
So what is my freaking point?
Am I DRUNK with
ACHWAKA from AKALA perhaps?
Did I VUTA some
NDOM from KEROKA maybe?
Sorry to disappoint you fellows of the Kenyan Orange Order.
I do not alter my consciousness in quite that manner- I have my own, milder poisons- but that is neither here, nor for that matter, there.
Like I said, we are FLIPPING the SCRIPT.
Trying something new.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned during my seventeen year sojourn in the
Land of the Maple Leaf has to do with applying creatively, Non-Violent Methods of Civil Disobedience, and related to that using POPULAR THEATRE to make a POLITICAL POINT.
So as you can see, I was just setting the stage for a very interesting Democratic Dramatic Showcase featuring thousands of amateur actors AKA known as committed and passionate Orange Supporters.
So, what is supposed to happen?
Well, patience, my friends, patience.
Instead of wanton hooliganism, spontaneous fist fights, flashing pangas, flying oranges, tear gas, gun shots and heckling, WHY CAN’T WE ALL HAVE SOME CLEAN, HARMLESS, PEACE LOVING Say NO to Wako Draft FUN during the scheduled Kisumu Yes Rally next week?
Why not indeed?
This is what I suggest.
Have Mungatana, Dzoro, Mwaboza and all Yes speakers come to the Kenyatta Grounds which will be already full of Orange Supporters. Orange team marshals will have already frisked EVERYONE coming into the stadium to ensure that no one sneaks in with a panga, njora, nyatieng, tong, rungu, pala, del or bunde-remember the YES side may try to sneak in their own heavily armed thugs disguised in Orange T shirts as happened recently in Thika. The police will get NO EXCUSE to tear gas the crowd because the same Orange Marshals will be working with the Riot Police and the Security Intelligence team to monitor any breach of USALAMA.
Again, for the success of this scenario, I underscore, NO INTERRUPTIONS from the disciplined NO crowd.
So what is up with the 12 hand carts piled with bananas?
What is to be done with 12 punda loads of ndizi?
I am getting to that nani.
Did I mention that these thousands of Orange supporters should come into the rally venue bedecked in what the Luos call okola rabolo or the Waswahili refer to us maganda ya ndizi and other parts of the mgomba- someone please translate- it is part of the banana tree-
bark, husks, stalks, leaves whatever you call those thingammies..
Timing is crucial here.
As soon as ALL the guests are assembled and with the cart loads of bananas lined up before the guests the crowd will be waiting expectantly for the FIRST YES SPEAKER to rise up and approach the microphone.
That will be the cue for the crowd to rise in unison and SHED OFF their banana accessories- REVEALING A SEA of Bright Orange T-Shirts around the stadium.
As soon as the first Yes speaker begins their spiel, the NO crowd, which was facing the Yes dais SHOULD ALL DO AN ABOUT TURN and GIVE THE YES SPEAKER THEIR NO VISOGO throughout the No inducing flood of Yes Propaganda.
Remember it is CRUCIAL that the NO crowd remains at the venue, maintaining a DISCLIPLINED SILENCE- not a single boo, cat call or insult to the benighted and hopefully befuddled Yes speakers.
But the NO Crowd should keep their BACKS TURNED to the Yes speakers THROUGH OUT THE DURATION of the FIRST Yes Speaker’s Yes Speech.
Now when the SECOND Yes speaker comes to the Yes podium in the NO packed stadium, the second NO action should commence.
The NO Marshals will blow their firimbis. This will be the signal for the NO crowd to start marching out, silently in a DISCPLINED SINGLE FILE out of the YES venue.
The NO crowd should leave all those mikokoteni loads and punda loads behind as a “GIFT” to the Yes team- after all Nyanza is famous for her abundant bananas. They must take the precaution of taking the mikokoteni and pundas with them- you do not want the Yes team milking the NO pundas without permission or taking a joy ride on those NO mikokoteni you know…
Outside the stadium the ORANGE supporters should disperse peacefully and GO HOME.
That is it.
Do you see the POINT I am trying to put across here?
Onyango Oloo
Toronto
Onyango Oloo Calls For Some Creative Orange Tactics...
First of all, to all the Muslim sisters and brothers out there:
Ramadhan Karim, Ramadhan Mubarak!
The Holy Month of Ramadhan has commenced or is about to commence if I am not mistaken and I want to take this opportunity to wish all Muslims the best as they embark on a month of fasting, spiritual reflection and all the cleansing and community building that this period entails in the Islamic calendar.
Even if I do not end up joining some of you for iftar because I am such a kobe, I see this coming month as a month to follow the path of peace, a month of unity, a month of reflection on our core values, our highest aspirations and our deepest strivings, a month bringing all of us Kenyans together despite our diverse ways of observing our various faiths and despite the fact that some of us do live our lives in a completely secular way.
I wanted to pick up on some news coming out of the Coast Province that may have the potential effect of shattering the potential for peace and good neighbourliness that the month of Ramadhan implies to all Kenyans of all faiths- including people like ourselves who live our lives along secular lines.
There are those who see the announced upcoming visit to Nyanza Province
www.timesnews.co.ke/04oct05/nwsstory/news12.html
by the rambunctious Banana bunch from Pwani as a potential provocation.
Well it is, and on the other hand it is not.
Let us first of all state why it is NOT a “provocation”.
Any Kenyan, irrespective of their tribe, gender, age and ideological orientation, party affiliation, mental health status or social class background has the democratic right to visit any part of the republic and for instance address a political rally, set up a stall and peddle uncooked bananas, distribute condoms manufactured by the Yes Corporation or reveal the role that oranges play in inducing heart attacks.
Arising out of this, any Kenyan politician from either the NO or the YES campaign should be free to walk into any location, estate, neighbourhood, stadium or street corner and button hole any curious passerby or morbid onlookers about the upcoming referendum.
In other words, I firmly oppose the demarcation of our country into banana plantations and orange orchards. Kenya is a very fertile agricultural country and politically we all know that oranges and bananas are cultivated side by side in every locality in this amazing republic.
Instead of shooting shivers down some orange striped spines, the upcoming tour by Yes leaning Pwani MPs should not only be welcomed by the Orange fruit vendors but further, celebrated by chowing and mowing down a special round of matoke and fried plantains- may be quaffed down by two or three quarts of freshly squeezed orange juice.
Having said that, it also patently clear that the intended Nyanza tour by Coast MPs could turn out to be the 2005 rendition of Kisauni II- by which I mean the deliberate mayhem that helped to scuttle
Ali Hassan Joho’s runaway train in the last by-elections in that conflict-prone Mombasa constituency.
Knowing the political resumes of people like
Mungatana, one cannot entirely rule out a machismo agenda of looming destruction deliberately stoked by dirty tricks schemers to scuttle the messages of the Orange NO team and provide the justification for a possible clampdown and even a cancellation of the 21st November event itself.
Who is to say whether or not the Mungatanas are BANKING ON a bloody confrontation in Nyanza between the Yes and NO team that Kibaki linked security intelligence will then use as an exercise in state repression as Orange team leaders and supporters are rounded up and locked up days before the big day itself?
Given the above, it is not altogether impossible that even as we speak, the No side is plotting their own “passionate” welcome to the Yes leaders which may or may not involve breaking the law.
Whatever the case, the line up of the prospective Kisumu Yes rally could be an opportunity in showcasing a different approach to democratic discourse involving contending forces in Kenya.
For instance, how about if the NO side flips the script?
Instead of blocking
Mungatana and company from entering the “Orange Zone” or jeering them through out if they show up in Kisumu or worse, unleashing acts of mindless political hooliganism, this is what the Orange team could do instead:
Roll out the
Red Carpet and invite the Banana Hawkers to town enthusiastically!
Now, I am not being ironic; I am not being sarcastic and I am cerainly NOT talking tongue in cheek.
I am being LITERAL and SINCERE.
I am actually suggesting that, the NO team, in the spirit of professional debate- often seen on American network television during Presidential election years- should actually make the conscious effort of going out of its way to MAKE SURE that the Yes team has a permit; make sure that they have a venue; make sure that
Mungatana, Dzoro, Mwaboza, Tuju, Kombo, Dr Olel, Ramogi Achieng' Oneko, Kituyi, Mirugi, Kibwana, Nyachae have guaranteed security.
I am suggesting that the Orange team should start working now to mobilize thousands upon thousands of ORANGE supporters to attend the Kisumu rally with a SINGLE INSTRUCTION:
Be 112% DISCIPLINED.
No heckling, no cat calls, no booing, no jeers, no stone throwing.
Huh???!
You can GULP again, because I am NOT done.
Yes, the No people should ensure that this Yes rally is NOT disrupted. And Yes, the No people should make sure that there is NO OTHER COUNTER RALLY.
Huh???!
I told you that you could GULP AGAIN.
Further I am suggesting that the Orange team should harness
12 mikokoteni loads and
12 punda loads of BANANAS- that’s right and come with these bananas to the rally- AND OF COURSE these fruits are NOT to be used as improvised FLYING MISSILES OK?
So what is my freaking point?
Am I DRUNK with
ACHWAKA from AKALA perhaps?
Did I VUTA some
NDOM from KEROKA maybe?
Sorry to disappoint you fellows of the Kenyan Orange Order.
I do not alter my consciousness in quite that manner- I have my own, milder poisons- but that is neither here, nor for that matter, there.
Like I said, we are FLIPPING the SCRIPT.
Trying something new.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned during my seventeen year sojourn in the
Land of the Maple Leaf has to do with applying creatively, Non-Violent Methods of Civil Disobedience, and related to that using POPULAR THEATRE to make a POLITICAL POINT.
So as you can see, I was just setting the stage for a very interesting Democratic Dramatic Showcase featuring thousands of amateur actors AKA known as committed and passionate Orange Supporters.
So, what is supposed to happen?
Well, patience, my friends, patience.
Instead of wanton hooliganism, spontaneous fist fights, flashing pangas, flying oranges, tear gas, gun shots and heckling, WHY CAN’T WE ALL HAVE SOME CLEAN, HARMLESS, PEACE LOVING Say NO to Wako Draft FUN during the scheduled Kisumu Yes Rally next week?
Why not indeed?
This is what I suggest.
Have Mungatana, Dzoro, Mwaboza and all Yes speakers come to the Kenyatta Grounds which will be already full of Orange Supporters. Orange team marshals will have already frisked EVERYONE coming into the stadium to ensure that no one sneaks in with a panga, njora, nyatieng, tong, rungu, pala, del or bunde-remember the YES side may try to sneak in their own heavily armed thugs disguised in Orange T shirts as happened recently in Thika. The police will get NO EXCUSE to tear gas the crowd because the same Orange Marshals will be working with the Riot Police and the Security Intelligence team to monitor any breach of USALAMA.
Again, for the success of this scenario, I underscore, NO INTERRUPTIONS from the disciplined NO crowd.
So what is up with the 12 hand carts piled with bananas?
What is to be done with 12 punda loads of ndizi?
I am getting to that nani.
Did I mention that these thousands of Orange supporters should come into the rally venue bedecked in what the Luos call okola rabolo or the Waswahili refer to us maganda ya ndizi and other parts of the mgomba- someone please translate- it is part of the banana tree-
bark, husks, stalks, leaves whatever you call those thingammies..
Timing is crucial here.
As soon as ALL the guests are assembled and with the cart loads of bananas lined up before the guests the crowd will be waiting expectantly for the FIRST YES SPEAKER to rise up and approach the microphone.
That will be the cue for the crowd to rise in unison and SHED OFF their banana accessories- REVEALING A SEA of Bright Orange T-Shirts around the stadium.
As soon as the first Yes speaker begins their spiel, the NO crowd, which was facing the Yes dais SHOULD ALL DO AN ABOUT TURN and GIVE THE YES SPEAKER THEIR NO VISOGO throughout the No inducing flood of Yes Propaganda.
Remember it is CRUCIAL that the NO crowd remains at the venue, maintaining a DISCLIPLINED SILENCE- not a single boo, cat call or insult to the benighted and hopefully befuddled Yes speakers.
But the NO Crowd should keep their BACKS TURNED to the Yes speakers THROUGH OUT THE DURATION of the FIRST Yes Speaker’s Yes Speech.
Now when the SECOND Yes speaker comes to the Yes podium in the NO packed stadium, the second NO action should commence.
The NO Marshals will blow their firimbis. This will be the signal for the NO crowd to start marching out, silently in a DISCPLINED SINGLE FILE out of the YES venue.
The NO crowd should leave all those mikokoteni loads and punda loads behind as a “GIFT” to the Yes team- after all Nyanza is famous for her abundant bananas. They must take the precaution of taking the mikokoteni and pundas with them- you do not want the Yes team milking the NO pundas without permission or taking a joy ride on those NO mikokoteni you know…
Outside the stadium the ORANGE supporters should disperse peacefully and GO HOME.
That is it.
Do you see the POINT I am trying to put across here?
Onyango Oloo
Toronto
