To Kibaki - Patchworks will not do this time

[miguna]

TO KIBAKI - PATCHWORKS WILL NOT DO THIS TIME

BREAKING NEWS: President Mwai Kibaki has dissolved the entire cabinet……more to follow soon….


Kibaki dissolves his cabinet

By Amthony Makokha/PPS ( Thursday, November 24, 2005)

President Mwai Kibaki has announced the dissolution of the cabinet following the results of the referendum.

Issuing a statement from State House Nairobi Wednesday, President Kibaki said it was necessary for him to re-organize the Government to make it more cohesive and better able to serve the people of Kenya.

In accordance with the powers conferred upon him under the constitution, President Kibaki directed that the offices of all ministers and all assistant ministers become vacant.

"Consequently, the occupants of the said offices cease to hold their respective offices with immediate effect," the Head of State directed.

The President further said that a reconstituted Government will be in place within two weeks.


STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT MWAI KIBAKI, CGH, M.P, FOLLOWING THE RESULTS OF THE REFERENDUM
Fellow Kenyans,
Following the results of the Referendum, it has become necessary for me, as the President of the Republic, to re-organize my Government to make it more cohesive and better able to serve the people of Kenya.
Accordingly, in accordance with the powers conferred upon me under the Constitution of Kenya, I have directed that the Offices of all Ministers and all Assistant Ministers become vacant. Consequently, the occupants of the said offices cease to hold their respective offices with immediate effect.
A reconstituted Government will be in place within two weeks.
Thank you and God Bless you all.

MWAI KIBAKI PRESIDENT
November 23rd, 2005

[miguna]

What we need and deserve are fresh new elections; not useless patchworks. Kibaki's government lost legitimacy to govern on November 21st! Period. Trying to govern like a lame duck will not do.
Kenyans deserve better.
-Miguna-

[job]

Folks,

I just read some media reports of the folks that were meeting with the President at State House before he announced the dissolution of the Cabinet.

Amos Kimunya, Kiraitu Murungi, David Mwiraria, Chris Murungaru, Mukhisa Kituyi, John Michuki, Francis Muthaura, and Moody Awori................. Wow,...Isn't this not an Island of rejects!

The trio of Kimunya, Kituyi and Muthaura are said (as reported), to have seriously insisted on the firing of the "rebel" ministers to create harmony and collectiveness in this ("our") Cabinet.

Who has rebelled against the entire nation of Kenya? Isn't it not this same Island?

Wakenya, are these folks blind or what? .........Is this the extent at which power corrupts?

It gives me this impression, .....these folks are engaged in very corrupt dealings and amassing wealth right under the President's nose. They are panicking that the President might want to embrace the winners in ODM at their expense, hence the need to go & fuel serious "fitina" and "uchochezi".

They think the President might soon be going into political oblivion, after losing the confidence of the citizens. They must rush to complete the unfinished business of looting.

They would not wish for a sudden end to their primitive accumulation of wealth. They do not care about Kibaki's political fortunes in 2007 but want to grab as much in the remaining period of his term.

These shameless people are uncomfortable with the Nyong'o's, who are revealing too much about our stolen coffers. They don't need such MP's around them, yet they know Kenyans would want to have more of such leaders at the helm. They don't need moral prefects around them. They loath sitting alongside Kalonzo, Balala, Raila, Kilimo,...etc

Kibaki's retention of Murungi, Murungaru, Mwiraria, Kimunya,...the Anglo Fleecer's, and other shady dealers like Kituyi, Kombo, Saitoti, Mwakwere, et al, will be the accelerant to his final oblivion.

Job.

[job]

For the folks residing in the greater Washington DC metropolis, watch out for tomorrow's (Thursday) edition of The Washington Post, for prominent coverage of the Kenyan referendum.

Here's coverage from its Nairobi based foreign correspondent.

Kenyans Reject Revamped Constitution
President Concedes Defeat in Campaign to Increase His Powers

By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, November 23, 2005; A15

NAIROBI, Nov. 22 --

Kenyan voters, venting their frustration with a government that many said had failed to deliver on pledges to create jobs and curb corruption, have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed new constitution that would have given broad powers to President Mwai Kibaki.

With almost all ballots counted from Monday's vote, Samuel Kivuitu, chairman of the electoral commission, announced Tuesday that the proposed constitution had lost by 57 percent to 43 percent.

The voting was peaceful despite a turbulent campaign and was widely seen as a test of the East African nation's democratic stability.

Kibaki, who had campaigned heavily for the revamped constitution, conceded defeat in a live television address to the nation.
"My government will respect the will of the people," said Kibaki, 74, looking somber and tired. "I would like to congratulate all of you for participating peacefully in this historic occasion."

Analysts expressed relief that voting day had been calm after weeks of ethnically charged campaigning. But they also said the defeat of the draft constitution could signal the crumbling of Kibaki's beleaguered government, which was popularly elected in 2002 but has recently lost support from key members of his own party.

"This is a real healthy moment for Kenya and Africa because it shows that democracy can flow here," said David Makali, an analyst with Kenya's Media Institute. "But what remains now is a real challenge and dilemma to the Kibaki administration. Can he make this work? He will have to show true leadership."

The referendum measure, which sought to overhaul the constitution for the first time since Kenya's independence from Britain in 1963, divided voters along ethnic lines and bitterly split Kibaki's ruling coalition.

A leading opponent was Raila Odinga, a charismatic cabinet minister whom Kibaki had once promised the prime ministership. On Tuesday, Odinga praised the referendum outcome as "historic days for our country."

The rejected constitutional changes would have given the president greater power to choose government officials and would have made the prime minister closer to a figurehead. Many voters favored an earlier draft of the charter that would have divided authority more evenly between the two posts, an important safeguard in a region where leaders often cling to power for decades.

The rivalry between Kibaki and Odinga has been exacerbated by tribal differences. Kibaki is from the dominant Kikuyu tribe and Odinga, currently minister of roads, is from another large tribe, the Luo. The referendum campaign was marred by tribal and personal slurs, with Kibaki accusing Odinga and other opponents of planning a coup and Odinga saying the constitution could win only through fraud.

In the weeks before the vote, nine people were killed in clashes with security forces during opposition rallies. There was widespread concern that polling would be rigged in favor of Kibaki, triggering further violence. But the voting was largely peaceful, although people appeared to generally cast their ballots along tribal lines.

On Tuesday, many Kenyans celebrated the results of the referendum, in which illiterate voters were able to participate by choosing between the symbols of a banana for the "yes" vote and an orange for the "no" vote.

"Maybe this is just the beginning for Kenya. Maybe things can really improve for us," said Beatrice Awori, 25, a mother of two who sells fruit at a street stall. "We sold many oranges today."

Analysts said Kibaki, whose election nearly three years ago was seen as a fresh start for Kenya after the autocratic rule of longtime President Daniel arap Moi, has proven a disappointing, lethargic leader and has allowed the country to drift back into the corrupt practices of the past.

They said that he would now have to give key cabinet positions to opposition figures, further weakening his presidency, and that he probably would not be able to win reelection in voting scheduled for 2007. Kibaki, once an energetic politician, suffered strokes and was in a near-fatal car crash in 2002.

"The shareholders of Kenya have spoken. We want leaders, not rulers," said Najib Balala, the culture minister and one of the senior officials who opposed the charter. He said Kibaki should "show good leadership and give opposition leaders more say in his government and give Odinga the prime minister slot."

Earlier this year, Kenya's leading anti-corruption official, John Githongo, resigned after uncovering several multimillion-dollar scams, including graft in official funding for HIV/AIDS programs and for improved passport security.

Githongo, a respectable figure, said his life had been threatened by associates of Kibaki's.

[job]

Githongo will be in Washington DC, USA on December 1st, 2005. Pasted general invitation att. below,........

********************************
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION,- INVITATION
********************************

STATUS OF CURRENT EFFORTS TO COMBAT CORRUPTION IN KENYA.
****************************************************

Dear Kenyans,

You are all cordially invited to attend a roundtable discussion with John Githongo, former Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics under Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.

He will be discussing the status of current efforts to combat corruption in Kenya.

This roundtable will be held Thursday, December 1 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM in the B1-C conference level at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 1800 K Street, NW. WASHINGTON DC USA.

Jennifer Cooke, co-director of the Africa Program, will be moderating this discussion.

Githongo is a veteran anti-corruption campaigner who, prior to his appointment as Secretary of Governance, served as the Executive Director of Tranparency International’s Kenya chapter.

Though he resigned from his Secretarial position in February of this year, he remains a powerful independent advocate of governance reform throughout Africa.

We hope you can attend. Please RSVP to Kelley Hampton by email at [e-mail] or by phone at [phone]. Thank you.

Best regards,

Kelley Hampton