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Post by politicalmaniac on Dec 2, 2009 19:52:32 GMT 3
It is (in my opinion) the public mood and pressure even from their own constituents that made those politicians beat a hasty retreat .
Well, some politicians like Raila are way ahead of the pack by realising this very early but some are still caught in the past. Thinking that wananchi will always follow their word like blind sheep. I like to think that the new paradigm we are seeing in Kenya is that the Overton window, that aperture through which Kenyans see things has moved kabisa. We were a docile Nation and that enabled jomo snr to acquire an almost god like aura and park it right in our heads. Whatever this murderous thug wa kiambu thought was good for us, happened. By Moi's era the people wanted to move in a different direction and sought leaders willing to take them in that direction. Now the wenye nchi - what Miguna called the MPK, are way ahead of the leader. They point and the leaders are supposed to follow. R is very good at following the direction the people want to go, if you get my drift. No longer are we a Nation of stereotypes where "kehee cant lead".
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 2, 2009 23:35:51 GMT 3
Oh my, Now Ruto and co are lining up rallies for Balala as their chief guest in Rift Valley as ODM holds a retreat and a rally in Mombasa. www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144029506&cid=4&ttl=ODM%20in%20healing%20retreat%20as%20Rift%20MPs%20stay%20awayI like the ODM response so far. Very polite and very dignified. No threats, no insults on Balala and no bad mouthing on anybody including the rutos. Excellent. That is the way to go. Leave the village insults to the rutos. They are very good at it particularly Isaac. This is smart politics for ODM. Don't ever get in a mud wrestling with pigs. They are very good at it. The Rutos wants to wrestle in the mud, let them go ahead. There will be with nobody to fight with them in that mud. And who knows, the citizens might start getting pissed off with these guys. Let them bring their agenda even to the folks in Rift Valley. The one they have now sucks and people know that. This reminds me of the days PNU would be in big trouble and they would line up ten rallies in Central Province in one day to insult, who else. Never worked. ODM will have an NEC meeting and PG meeting in Mombasa. Those are executive decision making bodies. It is idiotic not to be in those meetings because they will make decisions binding to ODM as a party. In the meantime Ruto goes to talk to the same people he talked to last week and the week before. Nobody votes twice in Kenya. Ruto now seems to be desperate to hang on to his own backyard. That is terrible politics. And to have Balala as their main guest who has zero votes even in his Mvita constituency as we speak just adds salt to this bad injury to ruto and his ego. In politics you are supposed to stop digging when you are in a hole but for some reason politicians like to dig even more furiously when they are in that situation. Good for them. Dig on. I don't know how long William Ruto will have Kuttuny managing his diary of events and his political focus. This is worse than the train wreck that Sarah Palin brought to an already crumbling John McCain campaign. We will see. The country is waiting for these fellas and their bag(s) of tricks. adongo
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Post by job on Dec 3, 2009 1:45:37 GMT 3
This is what I call a flash quiz set up by ODM for Ruto. To attend or not attend the crucial ODM meeting. Let's see how smart Ruto will play this one, against a backdrop of interests that matter most to Rift Valley peasantry - the constitution debate, land reform policy currently in parliament, Mau conservation, and a NARA joint assessment session (Serena Group) with Kofi Annan.ODM has to take a party position on all these issues, and Ruto is supposedly one of ODM's three representatives to the Serena Group.Will he continue throwing anti-Raila, pro-Uhuru tantrums in markets in Rift Valley as the rest of ODM colleagues brainstorm on how to approach the draft land policy on the house floor? Will he be shouting himself hoarse in Kapenguria or will he be at Mombasa pushing Rift Valley interests such as devolution & how to refine the humanitarian side of Mau evictions, through the machinery of ODM -majority party sharing power of the coalition? I think folks like Hon. Margerer are coming out looking the more responsible leaders in Rift Valley. He recently took a sober assessment trip to Mau, offered his humanitarian assistance, gathered elders and brought them back for a session with the Prime Minister. The meeting came up with tangible proposals to aid the evictees, which the PM has set rolling. That looks more like responsible leadership right there. Where are more Magerers? At least even Moi castigated the political tours by wakina Ruto declaring they will achieve nothing. Now to the ODM retreat. Tononoka is one heck of a place where interesting politics takes shape - it is a venue quite symbolic and sentimental to RAO whenever national agenda setting is called. It is therefore not coincidental that the ODM retreat is heading to the Coast, before wananchi are briefed. For Balala to be 'taking tours' in Kapenguria and Kapsabet while ODM's who-is-who is in his backyard would signify resignation to fate. Every Tom, Dick & Harry knows what machinery Balala perennially relies upon to clinch the Mvita seat. Without it, Balala's goose is cooked. Besides, the political side Najib has joined already has Uhuru's stronger ally, Taib Ali Taib. As the two Sultan heirs (and guarantors of middle-eastern absentee landlords) duke it out within the KK alliance tent, ODM will unleash its land reform credentials and prepare for an easy take back of Mvita. Watch out for new supremos at the coast, strictly pushing the land reform agenda and devolution. I can almost bet, at Tononoka is where RAO will unleash the direction of the national debate on the draft land policy before parliament - which will pit the grand land owners and grabbers on one side against peasants & the rest of Kenya on the other side. This is a debate Kenyans have waited since 1963.
Kenyans have seen for themselves (from the Mau fiasco) just a taste of how the land barons act when their holdings are challenged. Kenyans recently saw the land barons from Rift Valley and Central join with their colleagues from Coast (Balala) and Eastern (Mutula, Kiraitu) at Pan Afric Hotel.At Tononoka, expect a refined ODM unleash sound-bites and talking points of common themes regarding the land reform policy and on the constitution too. I would advice ODM (while at Tononoka) to keep off the touchy subject of PEV, and just let Ocampo do his thing, expected to start dramatizing in two weeks. Let the Argentinian Amigo himself be the one to tell Kenyans from which side (of the land debate) the PEV warmongers also happen to belong. At least Kenyans will see for themselves that the KK alliance is more than protecting land interests but probably also about protecting masterminds of Kiambaa and Naivasha massacres.What message (political and otherwise) would Rift Valley residents take from the Coast retreat and Tononoka meet in case their MPs abscond? To me, those who skip would have sent signals they aren't interested in land reforms and constitution matters after all - it's all about plotting to counter the reforms which would threaten their vast land holdings.So caould we safely say Rift Valley MPs skipping these important coast events would be defining themselves as the real opponents of the land reform agenda and constitution propositions like devolution that ODM has been standing for? Absolutely YES. It exactly looks like these land barons and custodians of the same are evading public rallies where certain milestone declarations (TOUCHING LAND) will be passed, and they certainly don't want anything to do with that. Another observation, I can already see Namwamba running away from Ruto and sheepishly realigning himself with the right side of history. I suspect by Saturday there will be more Namwambas peeling off from Ruto's K to-the-n.th-power camp. Now to this annoying story Moi says he never settled anyone in Mauwww.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Moi-says-he-never-settled-people-in-Mau-6699.htmlIsn’t it annoying that Moi is denying his handiwork? Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki all settled people in the Mau – for Moi, that included himself and family. I think Kenyans have become so used to blatant lies and denials they never care anymore. Tolerance to lies, misrepresentations, deception, and outright impunity has been ingrained in our culture that it surprises no one that Moi would call a Press conference just to deny he ever degazetted Mau forest and allocated plots to friends, family, cronies, loyalists and supporters. Even Ministers are shamelessly denying they were ever allocated land at Mau or ADC farms despite registration and titles confirming the same. Whether it is Ruto, Bett, and others, it’s all about cheating as Sunny Bindra writes in his Daily Nation column. It’s a generation of cheating stupid! Grabbing and cheating has stood in the way of land reforms for half a century since independence. The cheats always block any attempts. Cheats masquerading as civil servants were, and still are allowed to conduct private business alongside their public duties. Thus lands officials have become private land agents. Traffic cops and have become Matatu owners, CID officers have become private security business owners, Transport Ministers have become Transportation entrepreneurs of the City Hoppas, Narcotic cops are the narcotic dealers, Forestry officers are loggers and timber suppliers, game rangers are poachers etc. We are a country of cheats.We have allowed presidents to cheat in elections, pupils to cheat in exams, job seekers to cheat in interviews, tax dodgers to cheat KRA, allowing success to be a preserve ONLY of; cheats, the well connected and born crooks. Losers are rewarded, cheats are rewarded, mediocrity is rewarded, simply because you are connected.As for the honest, hardworking, law abiding citizens – it’s been a rat race around circles. I suspect folks are getting fed up with this cheating, ready to say Enough!
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 3, 2009 2:11:37 GMT 3
job,
Thanks for the brilliant insight.
Many thanks.
The Rutos may have to cancel their rallies. We will see. I for one wish they go ahead with them. Good luck to them. Nobody can choose the leader(s) of the Kalenjin communities. They and they alone will make that choice. Fair enough.
The nation is watching.
Let's meet there. Anytime. That is where the battle has been for the last two decades. We still have a country called Kenya. It is bigger than tribal fiefdoms. That is what the nation has said so many times even with their lives. They will do so again and again like they have done so many times against so many odds.
Kenyans have gone through all these dramas and they can see them miles away. That is the best part of this story. The nation and its peoples are ready for the next battle. The people will win. There is no doubt about that.
adongo
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Post by mzee on Dec 3, 2009 11:27:49 GMT 3
Job, brilliant input, as always. I think that the Ruto rallies lined up in Kapenguria, Eldi etc will go on as planned but one must say that they have lost all the momentum. They were only captivating and interesting as long as it looked as if akina Ruto had a point to make. Majority of Kenyans and their MP´s have now taken a clear stand in support of the PM. Rutos antics now look more and more like a vendetta and I think that’s how the PM wants things to move. Even if he (Ruto) wanted to lead Kenya, the Mau platform alone is not enough to propel him to the top. What is his stand on health care, infrastructure, agriculture etc? In a word, what is his vision for the country? By the way does anyone remember if Uhuru had any vision at all when he ran for president? I don’t think he had an idea of what leading was all about leave alone creating a vision for Kenya.
Anyways, I think that Ruto thought that he had it all set up. The first thing was to make noise about the Mau and in the process intimidate and possibly wipe out the PM´s support base. Then he would call for a vote of no confidence on the PM, which according to him, would sail through after the initial attack. He would then install himself as PM. As if that was not enough he would assemble an anti-Raila team composed of Uhuru, Kalonzo, Balala etc and sit in a corner waiting for the PM to declare his stand on the constitution. They would then seize the moment to declare an opposing stand. The idea being do exactly what Raila did to Kibaki in 2005 referendum. Their side of the divide would than form a political party in the same way ODM was formed. This is the copycat game Ruto had planned all along. Problem is that it has backfired badly; the PM has blatantly refused to declare his stand on the constitution and has also prevailed upon Kibaki not to.
Of all the ODM pentagon members save for Hon. Nyaga, Balala is the one who cannot win elections again if not backed by Raila. Balalas closeness to Raila stems from the fact that he was one of the only two leaders that Agwambo directly campaigned for, the other being James Orengo whom Raila feared would be rigged out. Agwambo literally camped in Mvita constituency in Oct- Dec 2007 to make sure that he (Balala) takes the mvita seat. Almost all rallies addressed in Mombasa in 2007 were in Balala constituency. Raila knew that akina Taib were bad news and he was not taking any chances. He also knew that without proper support Balala would lose. So Balala must be careful. If Ababu Namwamba has smelled the coffee why not him. Ababu has discovered that Rutos politics is to tribal besides the people of WEP and not interested in the kind of politics.
As far as firing akino Ruto is concerned, I think Raila is right. Let the offended step out of the government, which would be something. Leaving ODM to seek a new mandate would even be braver. Remember that only one man has done this in independent Kenyan history. The man is Raila Amolo Odinga.
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Post by phil on Dec 3, 2009 11:48:37 GMT 3
Mzee,
People have resigned cabinet positions before.
How about Kenneth Matiba and Simeone Nyachae during the single party era?
More recently how about Martha Karua and Danson Mungatana?
As far as leaving one's party voluntarily and seeking a fresh mandate on a different party is concerned, especially int he multiparty era, I think you may be right.
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Post by mzee on Dec 3, 2009 11:53:58 GMT 3
Mzee, How about Kenneth Matiba and Simeone Nyachae during the single party era? More recently how about Martha Karua and Danson Mungatana? Phil,All the people you have mentioned quit but never sought a new mandate on another party. They stayed put in their current parties for fear of facing the electorate before the end of their current term. RAO left Ford Kenya and went on to seek an new mandate from the people via NDP. Thats the difference
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Post by Titchaz on Dec 3, 2009 18:12:16 GMT 3
Mzee, How about Kenneth Matiba and Simeone Nyachae during the single party era? More recently how about Martha Karua and Danson Mungatana? Phil,All the people you have mentioned quit but never sought a new mandate on another party. They stayed put in their current parties for fear of facing the electorate before the end of their current term. RAO left Ford Kenya and went on to seek an new mandate from the people via NDP. Thats the difference ...safi sana Mzee.
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Post by politicalmaniac on Dec 3, 2009 18:47:29 GMT 3
First thing in the morning, Nothing beats a strong black cuppa coffee and the most incisive political analysis an commentary from Job, AO, phil, mzee and the long lost mwalim. This page I am on right now has some lively intelligent interesting stuff.
Job is right, and I had also touched on the Tononoka grounds angle. There is something about that revered place that seems to come alive at times of National crises. Rallies held there have galvanized the Nation and brought it together when the Nation is under siege. I hope something that would shake the shifty tectonic plates underlying the current instability will come from that ODM meeting and then we can take direction from there.
Lets see how Ruto et al will react and what will happen in the end. Its a marathon guys and despite reports from some close pals of mine with roots in RV, that R has lost a lot of support in RV, things arent set in stone. As I have said before, the RV electorate will vote their interests, and if R represents those interests, he will be fine. The question that needs to be asked is this, Kipkorios was in power for 24yrs why are there still land problems?
This should be asked ad nauseum of the RV electorate!
I still love ruto though, and I hope he realizes that his problems are self inflicted and have nothing to do with R or ODM.
BTW phil always wanted and ODM national council meeting to hash out problems. phil may have just got his wish!
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Post by job on Dec 3, 2009 20:39:58 GMT 3
Land Policy Debate Rages On As Some MPs Plot Bill's Defeat
Date: Thu 03rd December 2009 Nairobi Star Page: 2
BY STAR REPORTER
DEBATE on land policy continued yesterday even as it emerged that a group of MPs allied to Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Agriculture minister William Ruto were plotting its defeat.
Cabinet ministers Moses Wetangula (Foreign Affairs), Dr Noah Wekesa (Wildlife and Forestry) and Kiraitu Murungi (Energy) said the passage of the policy by Parliament will mark a new beginning in the country's history. "It is time to address our land problems, and this is the time to have a land policy in place," Kiraitu said.
But on the sidelines, a group of MPs allied to ministers Uhuru and Ruto were plotting how to stop the policy from passing. "I have doubts that this policy will go through Parliament but we want to look at it with keen interest," said Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua.
Wetangula said that he would be happy to see the policy go through as it will administer the distribution of land in the country. "My ministry was allocated land near State House to build an office, but as we went to start our project, City Hall cancelled our title and re-allocated that land to someone who wanted to build an hospital there," Wetangula said.
He asked the Minister for Lands, James Orengo, to intervene on the matter once the policy was passed to enable the ministry reposes the land.
"I have gone to the Prime Minister's office, I have gone to the Minister for Lands to intervene about this matter, and today I am supporting this policy hoping we shall get back that land," Wetangula said.
Nominated MP Rachael Shebesh faulted some leaders whom he accused of owning huge chunks of land even as the number of squatters continued to multiply. "We have seen leaders who own huge chunks of land, the size of provinces going to squatters to cry and attending some harambees while talking about reforms yet they can not even spell that word," Shebesh said.
The MP expressed support for the policy saying it would help address land problems in the country. Gachoka MP Rev. Mutava Musyimi also supported the policy saying it is a step towards addressing historical injustices related to land.
The debate threatens to create new realignments across the political divide, with sections of ODM and PNU leadership supporting land reforms, while a group gravitating around KANU's Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM's William Ruto strongly opposed to them.
Former President Daniel Arap Moi has publicly opposed the land policy recently tabled in parliament by Lands Minister Orengo, dismissing it as a product of foreign NGO's and activists in the civil society.
If parliament passes the Land law, the first of its kind since independence, it would create drastic measures affecting taxation of idle land, shorter lease terms and redistribution of land.
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Post by tnk on Dec 3, 2009 21:19:33 GMT 3
in a few weeks maybe a month or so, the ocampo express will start to float names of their possible customers
so far these fellows creating these alliances appear to be based on sharing similar fates (land, PEV, KANU, etc). however the law being the ass that it could be, am sure there will be surprises when the ocampo list becomes public. i can assure you even usain bolt will not catch up with those in the alliance who suddenly find themselves not on ocampos list as they try to put distance themselves and those on the list.
am talking here if say uhuru is on the list and ruto is not, or vice versa, or say balala is and ruto and uhuru are not etc.... the possibilities are going to be very interesting. who knows maybe even some other fellows not ever suspected at all. i wont put it past waki to have closely guarded the list in such a way as to not blow the cover until when required. ocampo appears very confident of the presentations he has received to date.
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Post by politicalmaniac on Dec 3, 2009 21:53:26 GMT 3
Land Policy Debate Rages On As Some MPs Plot Bill's Defeat
Date: Thu 03rd December 2009 Nairobi Star Page: 2
BY STAR REPORTER
DEBATE on land policy continued yesterday even as it emerged that a group of MPs allied to Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Agriculture minister William Ruto were plotting its defeat.
If parliament passes the Land law, the first of its kind since independence, it would create drastic measures affecting taxation of idle land, shorter lease terms and redistribution of land. [/size] [/quote] Question 1 How strong is the jomo jnr gp, number wise? and what are its talking points against the bill? Question 2 Specifically how will the bill implementatin affect you me and the big landgrabbing boys? What will the bill do to adress the past irregular dishing out of land? This issue will the be the wedge issue of the next election, pitting the grabbers against the rest of the population. Its easy to see the ruto game plan. They want to use Mau as a back drop to paint as ruthless, R and the rest. They want to say it aint reofrm since muna fukuzwa bila kitu. They want to hide their assets esp jomo jnr. I think its a good thing, this fight unifying land grabbers from different ethnic gps, and geographical areas into one alliance easily identifiable. The reason is, it makes it easier for R and ODM to use small man populism against the perpetrators of land grabbing and mega corruption in this new found alliance - made up of the mt Kenya mafians, the rift valley land Barons and orphans of the past Pres, and the Balala's of this world. It becomes less about tribe, because they will find it more difficult to use "They are out to punish out tribe" defense, and more about meritocracy, and proper governance. This is just wonderful! This is a fight that jomo jnr and his new found bosom buddy ruto, will find difficult to win. The simple question that will plague jomo jnr is - How much land do you have? How did you get it? what did you pay for it? He better be hiding that land under someone else's name!
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Post by kaburwo on Dec 3, 2009 22:16:00 GMT 3
Land Policy Debate Rages On As Some MPs Plot Bill's Defeat
Date: Thu 03rd December 2009 Nairobi Star Page: 2
BY STAR REPORTER
But on the sidelines, a group of MPs allied to ministers Uhuru and Ruto were plotting how to stop the policy from passing. "I have doubts that this policy will go through Parliament but we want to look at it with keen interest," said Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua.
The debate threatens to create new realignments across the political divide, with sections of ODM and PNU leadership supporting land reforms, while a group gravitating around KANU's Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM's William Ruto strongly opposed to them.
Former President Daniel Arap Moi has publicly opposed the land policy recently tabled in parliament by Lands Minister Orengo, dismissing it as a product of foreign NGO's and activists in the civil society.
If parliament passes the Land law, the first of its kind since independence, it would create drastic measures affecting taxation of idle land, shorter lease terms and redistribution of land. Job and Jukwaa, This is the thing that will put a final nail on the political coffin on WSR. Without land reforms, Rift Valley has no future and peace is a mirage. By opting out of the constitution debate by ODM, WSR and the gang will be choosing to side with the forces that undermine the pursuit of long-lasting peace in the RVP. By either voting against or refusing to support the Orengo land reforms, he will be choosing his friends. Those friend, I am afraid, are not the poor peasants of the RVP. He alone knows their identity. Ruto is walking down a beaten road to historical oblivion. On that road travelled DTM. DTM befriended Kenyatta, rubbished progressive Kalenjin leaders like Jean-Marie Seroney and Taaita Toweet. As a reward he was corrupted with free land. Consequently, having bent backwards Nyakinyua settled in the RVP's most remote regions. Those regions, like Meteitei in Tinderet, were the first ones to bear the brunt of tribal clashes in 1992, Moi's effort to reverse the settlements. The pain and trauma of those clashes live on to this day, Moi is not bothered. Ruto is siding with Jomo's son, as did Moi with Jomo, in order to defeat the distribution of land. As said elsewhere on this forum: There is too much idle land in the hands of a few, while so many have little land. That imbalance, even if you use the Pareto Principal, is unjustified. As MKW would say, the die is cast. -Kaburwo-
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Post by politicalmaniac on Dec 3, 2009 22:28:40 GMT 3
I cant wait for the Orengo Land bill to come to the House and for it to be distilled so I can understand it and know what its all about - meaning that the ordinary peasant will also know what is all about. Then the fireworks will start.
At the heart of the debate will be two issues. 1) The few guys owning mega land chunks - they will have to spill the beans on the mode of acquisition, 2) What happened to land exchanges in RV that caused so much unhappiness, esp at the mwenye nchi level, rather than the mtukufu level ??
Also adress the plight of squaters who have been on the land for yrs to decades
Then the IDP issue...wow the list is long.
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 3, 2009 23:00:12 GMT 3
Folks
I like what I see. The vultures have no choice but to hang together and boy do they have problems.
Let's start with the land issue. The Uhuru/Ruto alliance will be beaten in parliament on this one. The nation is angry about this land issue. These land grabbers cannot go and shed crocodile tears to manipulate landless peasants, go to big hotels to show off their loot and then turn around and say they oppose land reforms. Like Shebesh said, they wouldn't spell the word reform.
We are going to have a situation where Ruto wants to herd his minions to go and oppose the land bill and yet in their own constituencies they will have to face millions who want land reforms. This idea of 999 years for land lease is nuts. It is part of the big reason we have landlessness in the country. Reducing that lease to 99 years as has been proposed in the land bill is a pillar of the bill. Just by that act alone we are going to have some hundreds of thousands of acres reversed to public ownership because they were leased more than 100 years ago.
White settler farmers some not even living in Kenya are pissed. The big land owners like kina Uhuru are pissed. The other day I saw a story of big time ranchers and land owners bringing back the same old argument that "radical" land reforms will completely destroy agriculture in Kenya. We are not going to buy that argument this time.
I think the land bill should be made public. It has very thoughtful proposals. It has tough guidelines around forest reserves and public land. Those who support the bill need to make sure people know what is in the bill so that they are not manipulated.
Moi already threw the line he wants to use to mobilize Kalenjin resistance to the bill. This is what the Rutos are going to jump on to try to get public support from their communities. Moi's argument is that the bill will transfer "community land" to the state under the auspices of the Land Commission. I think there is going to be a lot of effort to dismantle the proposed Land Commission as much as possible.
One thing Kenyans should watch out for is the possibility that once the Rutos and the Uhurus realize they cannot defeat the bill they are going to try to mutilate it as much as they can as long as they can protect their grabbed massive land holdings.
So we have to watch out for that as their plan B. Uhuru is too much of a coward to come upfront. He will send his little boys. Ruto is going to be aggressive. This is going to be a battlefield but the key is to let the Kenyan public know what is at stake and they will stand behind the bill and make the work of the rutos and uhurus very difficult.
There is something about a bunch of land grabbers ganging together that makes Kenyans very mad. People are sick of it. This is a battle Kenyans can and will win.
Then there is the other drama. Ruto is in a pickle. In terms of the land issue he goes with his Uhuru buddy, but when it comes to the new constitution going with Uhuru is suicide for him because his constituency will not accept anything without the regional governments. More so now. They want to be in charge of their region(s). Here Ruto cannot get any help from Uhuru.
The one thing that is emerging is that the Central Province elites are deadly opposed to the regional governments. Using some of their proxies like the NCCK, they are promoting this subtle move that devolution should involve two tiers of government. They want the central government (intact with the PA system) and the counties. That is exactly the Wako Mongrel minus the PA system. It is something Kenyans have already rejected in a referendum. The idea here is that without the regional governments the central government will easily control the tiny and economic destitute counties. It would be same old same old.
Now here is the funny thing. This weekend, ODM is in Mombasa, Tononoka Grounds no less and one of their main topics of discussion will be the Harmonized Draft Constitution. You can bet that the regional governments and how they must be accepted in the final draft will be at the centre of those meetings. That is a big deal for ODM and their supporters all over the country including those in the Rift valley.
So while this big national debate will be going on at the ODM NEC and Parliamentary Group and of course in the rally, Ruto will be holding rallies in his own constituency and later in Chepalungu and Kapenguria. It is safe to say most of the agenda in the ruto rallies will be a contest of who can abuse Raila louder. I don't know how much you can feed people on that steady diet without boring them to death. So we have to feel sorry for Ruto here. Besides I suspect a good number of M.Ps from Rift Valley will attend the ODM meetings in Mombasa.
And Balala now claims he had prior engagements to do a "tourist circuit" in Rift Valley and therefore will miss the meetings and even the rally in his own home ground. Being politically idiotic is one thing but manifesting it so blatantly is plain embarrassing.
At any rate here is the other problem for Ruto. Uhuru can stand with him on the land grabbing business but he can't stand with him on the katiba business. In both cases his own constituency will stand with the majority of the citizens of the republic. Now that is a dilemma if I ever saw one. This is the hyena business of trying to travel two routes at the same time. As we know it hardly ever ends very well for the hyena, at least that is the folklore.
adongo
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 3, 2009 23:43:00 GMT 3
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 4, 2009 0:30:08 GMT 3
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Post by job on Dec 4, 2009 1:16:39 GMT 3
Folks,Great debate! I have some good and not so good news. First, here's the good news; www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144029597&cid=4&ttl=Parliament%20adopts%20National%20Land%20PolicyParliament has adopted the land sessional paper # 3, now the hard job of crafting legislation to match its framework. Then the not so good news - I don't intend to spoil the party but I have some stark reminders that we express caution in our optimism. I had a stark conversation last night with a visiting relative, a lawyer, who deciphered to me some impending problems yet to dodge the Mau Task Force. She was drumming the adage we sometimes take for granted - CHANGE IS HARD TO COME! She is questioning the Task Force on whether they appreciate obvious roadblocks ahead of subsequent phases of evictions and urges brainstorming (legislative and executive) to surmount them. This politics of KK alliance stands in way of this noble conservation project, threatening to railroad it altogether unless handled properly.Word has it that the inter-ministerial committee on Mau has already approved the next phase of repossession of large scale farms by executive settlers in Mau, many under Tea, & other substantial developments.Cabinet is set to debate the report (on next phase) as soon as Kibaki comes back – probably next week – to either approve or reject the eviction of these bourgeoisie. It is only then that the executive settler evictions CAN start.But then - some impediments. Assuming cabinet approves – which is almost likely – then LEGAL ROAD-BLOCKS preset by Ruto-Uhuru forces will dodge this process yet again. I am reliably informed that the Mau Task Force report was not adopted in parliament in the original fashion recommended by the Expert Task Force itself. It was DELIBERATELY tweaked and watered-down through an amendment motion by the Ruto-Uhuru forces before adoption in Bunge. The day Ruto and Uhuru lobbied Rift Valley and Central MPs to water down the Mau Task Force report in parliament, through an amended motion, IN EXCHANGE for voting for the confirmation of Justice Ringera, one John Michuki got so pissed off at Uhuru for trading-off important national issues at the behest of cheap politics. That small amendment, moved by Turkana Central MP, Ekwee Ethuro (in whose constituency KK alliance would be meeting this weekend), was initiated and strongly supported by the KK alliance. It turns out it was actually a big victory by the Ruto group, because it is a real roadblock (I’m told by the lawyer) to efficient implementation of the next phase of Mau evictions because it touches on COMPENSATION. That amendment stressed that the Mau Task Force motion would strictly adhere to Acquisition law and the constitution. According to her, the law {the Constitution – Section 75 (1), and the Land Acquisition Act, Section 6 (1) } apparently demands compensation before any compulsory acquisition by government – never mind that Mau Forest was illegally excised from government in the first place. I agree, the law is really an as.s. So whereas the Prime Minister has publicly said the executive settlers (owning more than 5 acres) would not be compensated (as per the Task Force recommendation), there are legal complications challenging his popular position.Apparently, the constitution and current laws say otherwise, and worse – the Mau Task Force Report itself was amended in parliament to stress strict observance to those laws. Which technically means that Kenya may not AFFORD to complete the next phase of evictions, because the law demands compensation UP-FRONT. Remember any compensation from taxpayer coffers are under custodial guard by another KK impresario, Uhuru – a classic case of hyena guarding chicken house. Donors are placing stringent conditions that their funds be strictly used for conservation and not monetary compensation of evacuees. This is the catch-22 situation the Mau Task Force is soon coming face to face with. Already, Moi’s nephew and proud owner of a 500 acre estate in Mau forest, Hosea Kiplagat, has already demanded to be paid Shs 150, 000, 000.00 first, as per the Land Acquisition Act, before he can consider vacating the Mau Forest. Shs 150 million just for one executive settler. It would mean, before even a penny is spent on tree seedlings, taxpayers would have to pay these grabbers TENS of BILLIONS of SHILLINGS before we can even think about Mau CONSERVATION. The so called KK alliance must have been determined to see this conservation project miserably fail.With our struggling economy, draught and famine issues, budgetary deficit, food shortage and biting poverty, how will taxpayers afford to pay off these land grabbers in Mau and stop the ascent towards desertification?Section 75 (1) of the Constitution States as follows:
“No property of any description shall be compulsorily taken possession of, and no interest in or right over property of any description shall be compulsorily acquired, except where the following conditions are satisfied –
(a) the taking of or acquisition is necessary in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, town and country planning or the development or utilization of property so as to promote the public benefit; and
(b) the necessity thereof is such as to afford reasonable justification that may result to any person having an interest in or right over the property; and
(c) provision is made by a law applicable to that taking of possession or acquisition for the prompt payment of full compensation .” It follows therefore that under Kenyan law (starting with constitution), it could be argued that whether you grabbed 1,000 acres of forest land or not, so long as you have a title deed, that private property is still considered sacrosanct and it may not be compulsorily acquired by the state without compensation. To make matters worse, evacuating folks with title deeds will not be as easy as the first phase where people even voluntarily walked out of the forest. The as.s law outlines a freaking long, bureaucratic and windy process that may in fact threaten to clog the capacity of the entire Lands Ministry. If the title holders are to be evicted as per the law – the exact way Ruto’s KK alliance insisted through their motion amendment – then we need to look at what LEGAL steps are needed before government acquires land from them. Folks, I'm told acquiring land in this next phase would be a long process that would require adherence to statutory powers under several Ministries, and any little breach by the Task Force would mean automatic infringement of proprietary rights guaranteed by the Constitution {noted above – Section 75 (1)}. Someone would easily challenge his/her eviction in court, opening a Pandora box and a plethora of lawsuits by others. I’m told the law (several acts) says acquiring such land has first of all to be acquired by the Minister of Lands to become public land, directly involving the owner in MANY STEPS and only then that further steps may be taken to transfer it to the Forestry & Wildlife Ministry. I’ll outline all the steps to illustrate just how tedious the process would be if the as.s law was to be followed by each and everyone being evicted. The process would require the Lands Minister writing to the Commissioner for Lands to acquire a particular parcel of land (with its description and purpose for which it is required). The commissioner then prepares a notice of the Government’s intent to acquire the said land and causes it to be published in the Kenya Gazette.
The commissioner then has to serve copies of the notice (Notice of Intention to Acquire) on every person with interest in the land. After the publication of the notice, the Commissioner then appoints a date for the holding of an inquiry to hear claims to compensation by persons interested in the land the subject of the intended acquisition (within 21 days). All these at whose expense? Yako wewe taxpayer?
The Commissioner then (yet again) publishes it in the Kenya Gazette and again serves it on every person with interest in the land. This notice should be published in the Gazette at least 15 days before the inquiry.
Then comes the actual holding of the inquiry to determine:
(a) the persons interested in the land;
(b) the value of the land, and determine that value in accordance with the principles set out in the schedule to the Act and;
(c) what compensation is payable to each of the people who he has determined to be interested in the land (in accordance with the principles set out in the schedule)
Following the inquiry and subsequent determination of the amount of compensation, the government then makes an award of compensation to the person entitled to it. From where? Your taxpayer coffers!
Only after the award of compensation is when the state assumes ownership of the forest land WHICH IT ORIGINALLY OWNED, then makes appropriate changes in the Ministry of Lands removing the said parcel from the register of private ownership.
This then removes the land from private ownership to the public domain as public utility land. It is for then on that it can be put under the forest protected areas through another process. Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is the long tedious process (culminating in compensation) that wakina Ruto, Moi, and Uhuru HAVE DEMANDED to subject the Mau Task Force and Mau Inter-Ministerial Committee to go through for the reclamation of tens of thousands of land parcels within the forest.I hope you get the point I’m trying to make. This is what Ruto meant when he said, the LAW MUST BE FOLLOWED, and that there MUST FIRST BE COMPENSATION before land is taken back. This is why KK alliance pushed Ekwee Ethuro to insert that amendment in the parliamentary motion adopting Mau Task Force Report. I mean, Ruto and Uhuru have made themselves the custodians of all land elite interests by the wealthy class, sabotaging every effort to improve Kenya. Then consider this - when Ruto el al., keep harping about compensation, may I also share what the lawyer said about it. She pretty much said that compensation becomes purely a constitutional issue – that the government must pay in full, to compensate for land it acquires compulsorily before any acquisition can occur. How is the amount of compensation determined?The formula is stipulated in the Land Acquisition Act. In assessing the ‘full compensation’ the Act requires the Commissioner to appoint a date for the holding of an inquiry for the hearing of claims to compensation by persons interested in the land. To arrive at the appropriate amount he is required principles set out in the schedule to the Act apply. In summary, they are:
• The current market value of the land
• Damage sustained or likely to be sustained by persons interested at the time of the commissioner taking possession of the land by reason of severing the land from his other land
• Damage sustained or likely to be sustained by persons interested at the time of the commissioner taking possession of the land by reason of the acquisition injuriously affecting his other property, whether movable or immovable or in any other manner or his actual earnings
• If In consequence of the acquisition, any of the persons interested is or will be compelled to change his residence or place of business, reasonable expenses incidental to the change
• damage genuinely resulting from diminution of the profit of the land between the date of publication in the Gazette of the notice of intention to acquire the land and the date the commissioner takes possession of the land. And how is it paid?Either in hard taxpayer cash money or alternative land of equal value and additional payments of 15% more to the compensation value. The government would also be charged an interest of 6% per annum on any balance it owes on compensation.And remember that any person evicted from Mau feeling aggrieved by the acquisition of his land by the government may petition the High Court for redress. So just how much is this going to cost us? Just how long is the entire process covering tens of thousands of individual parcels going to take? Does the Ministry of Lands have the capacity to lawfully handle all acquisitions expeditiously? These are the questions she asked and since I am no lawyer, let Sadik and any other folks familiar with these legal issues chip in and tell us laymen whether wakina Ruto are ahead of this curve or what?
I hope the lawmakers who will address the Tononoka rally can start telling the public about these issues, besides the obvious land reform proposals and harmonised draft constitution proposals.
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Post by tnk on Dec 4, 2009 1:50:23 GMT 3
job
section 70 of the constitution reads as follows
== 70. Whereas every person in Kenya is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, that is to say, the right, whatever his race, tribe, place of origin or residence or other local connexion, political opinions, colour, creed or sex, but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest, to each and all of the following, namely - (a) life, liberty, security of the person and the protection of the law; (b) freedom of conscience, of expression and of assembly and association; and (c) protection for the privacy of his home and other property and from deprivation of property without compensation, the provisions of this Chapter shall have effect for the purpose of affording protection to those rights and freedoms subject to such limitations of that protection as are contained in those provisions, being limitations designed to ensure that the enjoyment of those rights and freedoms by any individual does not prejudice the rights and freedoms of others or the public interest. ==
am sure the mau task force can demonstrate that continued possession of forest land will severely impact the rights and freedoms of others and not in the long term interest of the (re)public
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 4, 2009 1:54:43 GMT 3
jobThanks for the very informative legal details. I will digest it further and respond accordingly. I think the legal landmine is for both sides. At the end of the day this is more of a political problem than a legal problem. The Uhuru Ruto amendment was very good for the big land grabbers. Originally I think the Task Force had suggested that only those with 5 acres or less will be compensated. That is what really angered Ruto and his friends. I have suggested before that the smartest way to go about this is for the government to say they will compensate those with legit title deeds but they will start with those with 1-5 acres only. I know that is still expensive but it would make sense and Kenyans will support that. If that is done and it can be done in batches that would remove 99% of land holders in the Mau. Then these land suckers below will have nobody to sit on. They would have to stand up for themselves something they have never done without using poor people. That leaves you with a tiny number of very rich individuals and phantom companies who own thousands of acres of land each. They don't even live there. Those are the Mois and his allies. Once you take the regular folks out of there and leave the sharks there hanging onto their big chunks of land, they will become the laughing stock of the country. People will physically chase them out of there. I suspect the local peasant would be the most mad with them. That is the voting fodder they want and those peasants with barely enough land to feed their families will look at these rich tycoons with tea farms and factories, thousands of acres of forest land laughing at the country and demanding billions. That will not be a pretty picture for them. I know the donors are saying they do not want to compensate squatters and the EU already said that is an internal Kenyan matter. What the Prime Minister and his team has to do is to convince the funders that they have to pay the small farmers to leave the forest and set the pace for the restoration. There is going to be a push back if the PM's team comes with a plan to pay small scale land holders first, but it will make a lot of economic sense. Kenyans will embrace the idea. I mean it is simple to explain. Instead of paying one individual with 2,000 acres you can pay 2,000 families to get alternative land. Given that the country is broke to begin with, that is a very pragmatic decision. The rest of the guys can come later. If Kenyans see all the small peasants leaving the mau, some with nothing to go to and then Kenyans see a bunch of land grabbers like Hosea Kiplagat demanding billions to give back land they stole the political battle would have been won. My sense at this stage is that the rutos and other land grabbers may be ahead in the legal battle but they are hundreds of miles behind in the political battle that will engulf the mau. This is a war of attrition and that is how it will be won. And it has to be won for the sake of the country. At the end of the day, the big land grabbers must be forced to go to court and then fight them there. History is not on their side. They can win the court cases but they will not get the land back. There is a very simple solution to all this. The president of the republic of Kenya has the powers to issue executive orders to repossess any public property. That is what Kibaki did with the KICC. The Rutos and the Uhurus cried all day and even held demonstrations in Nairobi. In fact that is the first time I saw William Ruto in a police cell. He was held at Central Police Station for a while. KANU sued the government about the KICC and many legal experts thought they had a chance but legally a presidential executive order is pretty much final under the present constitution. Look at KICC now. It was worse than the mau when Moi and his vultures gobbled it. They didn't even bother to pay electricity bills. Renovation was a word they never heard. The building was falling apart worse than the mau. And you know who were the people gobbling all the money from KICC? It was the same Uhurus, Rutos and Mois. We all know Kibaki cannot touch the land grabbers with an executive order like he did with the KICC in the heat of the Narc victory of 2002, hence the need for a war of attrition. It will take time, it will take guts, but with the support of Kenyans it is a war that can and must be won for the sake of the nation. adongo
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Post by danielwaweru on Dec 4, 2009 2:05:53 GMT 3
Folks,Great debate! I have some good and not so good news. First, here's the good news; www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144029597&cid=4&ttl=Parliament%20adopts%20National%20Land%20PolicyParliament has adopted the land sessional paper # 3, now the hard job of crafting legislation to match its framework. Then the not so good news - I don't intend to spoil the party but I have some stark reminders that we express caution in our optimism. I had a stark conversation last night with a visiting relative, a lawyer, who deciphered to me some impending problems yet to dodge the Mau Task Force. She was drumming the adage we sometimes take for granted - CHANGE IS HARD TO COME! She is questioning the Task Force on whether they appreciate obvious roadblocks ahead of subsequent phases of evictions and urges brainstorming (legislative and executive) to surmount them. This politics of KK alliance stands in way of this noble conservation project, threatening to railroad it altogether unless handled properly.Word has it that the inter-ministerial committee on Mau has already approved the next phase of repossession of large scale farms by executive settlers in Mau, many under Tea, & other substantial developments.Cabinet is set to debate the report (on next phase) as soon as Kibaki comes back – probably next week – to either approve or reject the eviction of these bourgeoisie. It is only then that the executive settler evictions CAN start.But then - some impediments. Assuming cabinet approves – which is almost likely – then LEGAL ROAD-BLOCKS preset by Ruto-Uhuru forces will dodge this process yet again. I am reliably informed that the Mau Task Force report was not adopted in parliament in the original fashion recommended by the Expert Task Force itself. It was DELIBERATELY tweaked and watered-down through an amendment motion by the Ruto-Uhuru forces before adoption in Bunge. The day Ruto and Uhuru lobbied Rift Valley and Central MPs to water down the Mau Task Force report in parliament, through an amended motion, IN EXCHANGE for voting for the confirmation of Justice Ringera, one John Michuki got so pissed off at Uhuru for trading-off important national issues at the behest of cheap politics. That small amendment, moved by Turkana Central MP, Ekwee Ethuro (in whose constituency KK alliance would be meeting this weekend), was initiated and strongly supported by the KK alliance. It turns out it was actually a big victory by the Ruto group, because it is a real roadblock (I’m told by the lawyer) to efficient implementation of the next phase of Mau evictions because it touches on COMPENSATION. That amendment stressed that the Mau Task Force motion would strictly adhere to Acquisition law and the constitution. According to her, the law {the Constitution – Section 75 (1), and the Land Acquisition Act, Section 6 (1) } apparently demands compensation before any compulsory acquisition by government – never mind that Mau Forest was illegally excised from government in the first place. I agree, the law is really an as.s. So whereas the Prime Minister has publicly said the executive settlers (owning more than 5 acres) would not be compensated (as per the Task Force recommendation), there are legal complications challenging his popular position.Apparently, the constitution and current laws say otherwise, and worse – the Mau Task Force Report itself was amended in parliament to stress strict observance to those laws. Which technically means that Kenya may not AFFORD to complete the next phase of evictions, because the law demands compensation UP-FRONT. Remember any compensation from taxpayer coffers are under custodial guard by another KK impresario, Uhuru – a classic case of hyena guarding chicken house. Donors are placing stringent conditions that their funds be strictly used for conservation and not monetary compensation of evacuees. This is the catch-22 situation the Mau Task Force is soon coming face to face with. Already, Moi’s nephew and proud owner of a 500 acre estate in Mau forest, Hosea Kiplagat, has already demanded to be paid Shs 150, 000, 000.00 first, as per the Land Acquisition Act, before he can consider vacating the Mau Forest. Shs 150 million just for one executive settler. It would mean, before even a penny is spent on tree seedlings, taxpayers would have to pay these grabbers TENS of BILLIONS of SHILLINGS before we can even think about Mau CONSERVATION. The so called KK alliance must have been determined to see this conservation project miserably fail.With our struggling economy, draught and famine issues, budgetary deficit, food shortage and biting poverty, how will taxpayers afford to pay off these land grabbers in Mau and stop the ascent towards desertification?Section 75 (1) of the Constitution States as follows:
“No property of any description shall be compulsorily taken possession of, and no interest in or right over property of any description shall be compulsorily acquired, except where the following conditions are satisfied –
(a) the taking of or acquisition is necessary in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, town and country planning or the development or utilization of property so as to promote the public benefit; and
(b) the necessity thereof is such as to afford reasonable justification that may result to any person having an interest in or right over the property; and
(c) provision is made by a law applicable to that taking of possession or acquisition for the prompt payment of full compensation .” It follows therefore that under Kenyan law (starting with constitution), it could be argued that whether you grabbed 1,000 acres of forest land or not, so long as you have a title deed, that private property is still considered sacrosanct and it may not be compulsorily acquired by the state without compensation. To make matters worse, evacuating folks with title deeds will not be as easy as the first phase where people even voluntarily walked out of the forest. The as.s law outlines a freaking long, bureaucratic and windy process that may in fact threaten to clog the capacity of the entire Lands Ministry. If the title holders are to be evicted as per the law – the exact way Ruto’s KK alliance insisted through their motion amendment – then we need to look at what LEGAL steps are needed before government acquires land from them. Folks, I'm told acquiring land in this next phase would be a long process that would require adherence to statutory powers under several Ministries, and any little breach by the Task Force would mean automatic infringement of proprietary rights guaranteed by the Constitution {noted above – Section 75 (1)}. Someone would easily challenge his/her eviction in court, opening a Pandora box and a plethora of lawsuits by others. I’m told the law (several acts) says acquiring such land has first of all to be acquired by the Minister of Lands to become public land, directly involving the owner in MANY STEPS and only then that further steps may be taken to transfer it to the Forestry & Wildlife Ministry. I’ll outline all the steps to illustrate just how tedious the process would be if the as.s law was to be followed by each and everyone being evicted. The process would require the Lands Minister writing to the Commissioner for Lands to acquire a particular parcel of land (with its description and purpose for which it is required). The commissioner then prepares a notice of the Government’s intent to acquire the said land and causes it to be published in the Kenya Gazette.
The commissioner then has to serve copies of the notice (Notice of Intention to Acquire) on every person with interest in the land. After the publication of the notice, the Commissioner then appoints a date for the holding of an inquiry to hear claims to compensation by persons interested in the land the subject of the intended acquisition (within 21 days). All these at whose expense? Yako wewe taxpayer?
The Commissioner then (yet again) publishes it in the Kenya Gazette and again serves it on every person with interest in the land. This notice should be published in the Gazette at least 15 days before the inquiry.
Then comes the actual holding of the inquiry to determine:
(a) the persons interested in the land;
(b) the value of the land, and determine that value in accordance with the principles set out in the schedule to the Act and;
(c) what compensation is payable to each of the people who he has determined to be interested in the land (in accordance with the principles set out in the schedule)
Following the inquiry and subsequent determination of the amount of compensation, the government then makes an award of compensation to the person entitled to it. From where? Your taxpayer coffers!
Only after the award of compensation is when the state assumes ownership of the forest land WHICH IT ORIGINALLY OWNED, then makes appropriate changes in the Ministry of Lands removing the said parcel from the register of private ownership.
This then removes the land from private ownership to the public domain as public utility land. It is for then on that it can be put under the forest protected areas through another process. Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is the long tedious process (culminating in compensation) that wakina Ruto, Moi, and Uhuru HAVE DEMANDED to subject the Mau Task Force and Mau Inter-Ministerial Committee to go through for the reclamation of tens of thousands of land parcels within the forest.I hope you get the point I’m trying to make. This is what Ruto meant when he said, the LAW MUST BE FOLLOWED, and that there MUST FIRST BE COMPENSATION before land is taken back. This is why KK alliance pushed Ekwee Ethuro to insert that amendment in the parliamentary motion adopting Mau Task Force Report. I mean, Ruto and Uhuru have made themselves the custodians of all land elite interests by the wealthy class, sabotaging every effort to improve Kenya. Then consider this - when Ruto el al., keep harping about compensation, may I also share what the lawyer said about it. She pretty much said that compensation becomes purely a constitutional issue – that the government must pay in full, to compensate for land it acquires compulsorily before any acquisition can occur. How is the amount of compensation determined?The formula is stipulated in the Land Acquisition Act. In assessing the ‘full compensation’ the Act requires the Commissioner to appoint a date for the holding of an inquiry for the hearing of claims to compensation by persons interested in the land. To arrive at the appropriate amount he is required principles set out in the schedule to the Act apply. In summary, they are:
• The current market value of the land
• Damage sustained or likely to be sustained by persons interested at the time of the commissioner taking possession of the land by reason of severing the land from his other land
• Damage sustained or likely to be sustained by persons interested at the time of the commissioner taking possession of the land by reason of the acquisition injuriously affecting his other property, whether movable or immovable or in any other manner or his actual earnings
• If In consequence of the acquisition, any of the persons interested is or will be compelled to change his residence or place of business, reasonable expenses incidental to the change
• damage genuinely resulting from diminution of the profit of the land between the date of publication in the Gazette of the notice of intention to acquire the land and the date the commissioner takes possession of the land. And how is it paid?Either in hard taxpayer cash money or alternative land of equal value and additional payments of 15% more to the compensation value. The government would also be charged an interest of 6% per annum on any balance it owes on compensation.And remember that any person evicted from Mau feeling aggrieved by the acquisition of his land by the government may petition the High Court for redress. So just how much is this going to cost us? Just how long is the entire process covering tens of thousands of individual parcels going to take? Does the Ministry of Lands have the capacity to lawfully handle all acquisitions expeditiously? These are the questions she asked and since I am no lawyer, let Sadik and any other folks familiar with these legal issues chip in and tell us laymen whether wakina Ruto are ahead of this curve or what?
I hope the lawmakers who will address the Tononoka rally can start telling the public about these issues, besides the obvious land reform proposals and harmonised draft constitution proposals. Job, I don't see what the difficulty is. While actually compensating legitimate land owners for their compulsorily-acquired land is a nuisance, it's also the only course of action compatible with basic fairness: if the land was properly acquired, the government ought to compensate its owners for taking it off them. Of course, the tricky bit is showing that the land was acquired legally. Not that many of the executive squatters will fancy proving their titles in court, I don't think.
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Post by danielwaweru on Dec 4, 2009 2:15:13 GMT 3
Land Policy Debate Rages On As Some MPs Plot Bill's Defeat
Date: Thu 03rd December 2009 Nairobi Star Page: 2
BY STAR REPORTER
But on the sidelines, a group of MPs allied to ministers Uhuru and Ruto were plotting how to stop the policy from passing. "I have doubts that this policy will go through Parliament but we want to look at it with keen interest," said Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua.
The debate threatens to create new realignments across the political divide, with sections of ODM and PNU leadership supporting land reforms, while a group gravitating around KANU's Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM's William Ruto strongly opposed to them.
Former President Daniel Arap Moi has publicly opposed the land policy recently tabled in parliament by Lands Minister Orengo, dismissing it as a product of foreign NGO's and activists in the civil society.
If parliament passes the Land law, the first of its kind since independence, it would create drastic measures affecting taxation of idle land, shorter lease terms and redistribution of land. Job and Jukwaa, This is the thing that will put a final nail on the political coffin on WSR. Without land reforms, Rift Valley has no future and peace is a mirage. By opting out of the constitution debate by ODM, WSR and the gang will be choosing to side with the forces that undermine the pursuit of long-lasting peace in the RVP. By either voting against or refusing to support the Orengo land reforms, he will be choosing his friends. Those friend, I am afraid, are not the poor peasants of the RVP. He alone knows their identity. Ruto is walking down a beaten road to historical oblivion. On that road travelled DTM. DTM befriended Kenyatta, rubbished progressive Kalenjin leaders like Jean-Marie Seroney and Taaita Toweet. As a reward he was corrupted with free land. Consequently, having bent backwards Nyakinyua settled in the RVP's most remote regions. Those regions, like Meteitei in Tinderet, were the first ones to bear the brunt of tribal clashes in 1992, Moi's effort to reverse the settlements. The pain and trauma of those clashes live on to this day, Moi is not bothered. Ruto is siding with Jomo's son, as did Moi with Jomo, in order to defeat the distribution of land. As said elsewhere on this forum: There is too much idle land in the hands of a few, while so many have little land. That imbalance, even if you use the Pareto Principal, is unjustified. As MKW would say, the die is cast. -Kaburwo- They weren't tribal clashes. Rather, they were state-sponsored attempts at ethnic cleansing, that had the approval of quite ordinary Kalenjin. Nothing has changed since, except the loss of state backing. The violence broke on the settlement schemes because that's where non-Kalenjin were. There was intense violence in urban areas where there were no settlement schemes. If settlement on settlement schemes were the cause of the violence, you'd expect there to be violence only on them or only in the adjacent areas. That's not the case, as twenty years of violence shows. There's another problem with your analysis. The settlements happened before Moi became VP, and the usual story is that he got masses of land after he became VP. It can't be true that the grants of land to Moi caused the presence of Gikuyu which then caused the violence. If it's the grants of land to Moi that are the trigger, they happened long after there were Gikuyu in the Rift Valley, so it's not obvious why it was felt necessary to slaughter Gikuyu peasants. If it's the Gikuyu presence, then that happened long before Moi was on the scene, so it's not obvious why there's a felt need to blame Moi. Either way, no convincing explanation seems forthcoming. The claim about land as the trigger for violence is the reddest of red herrings. Much of the violence in the Rift Valley consisted in the eviction of small business owners, traders, workers and so on. Those aren't people who own land -- or even the premisses from which they work: folk who pick tea or flowers on plantations in the Rift Valley are hardly likely to own their plantations. If the choice of the victims were determined by land ownership, you wouldn't expect them to be attacked. Nonetheless, they were. Land is the least of the Rift Valley's worries.
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Post by Daktari wa makazi on Dec 4, 2009 3:44:34 GMT 3
Compulsory acquisition is the wrong way to go about reclaiming illegally allocated land. I would have chosen the route of unjust enrichment. By going through the compulsory acquisition, you are acknowledging that the property you are acquiring is legally owned, but want the land for purposes of national importance. While the Mau Forest land is needed for national importance, that is reclaiming water catchment area, it is not legally owned by the private owners. The moment the land was illegally removed from the forest, it ownership remained with the Gov't. Even when bought, the ownership of such stolen land does not pass to the buyer. Raila and his team only needed to show that the Mau Forest land was illegally acquired. That the ministers, permanent secretary and land commissioners in charge at the time of the allocation did not follow the procedures and rules when allocating the said land.
Compulsory acquisition is usually used for forcefully buying of land for roads. My view is that 'action under unjust enrichment' - seeking restitution is the only way to claim back the forest lands.
I have urged for recovery of all monies unjustly gotten through illegal allocation of public land – a process called Restitution and the prosecution of individuals, officials, companies and professionals involved in illegal allocations.
For all those alienations done in disregard of the requirements of the Forest Act, the former Ministers, former Permanent Secretary, and former Land Commissioners responsible should be charged under Section 130 of the Penal Code for disregard of statutory duty.
Section 130 states:
“Everyone who wilfully disobeys any written law by doing any act which it forbids, or by omitting to do any act which it requires to be done, and which concerns the public, or any part of the public, is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable, unless it appears from the written law that it was the intention of parliament to provide some other penalty for the disobedience, to imprisonment for two years.”
I think further criminal charges should be brought under Section 46 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act which states that:
“A person who uses his office to improperly confer a benefit on himself or anyone else is guilty of an offence.”
Raila should first and foremost worked with the Director of Prosecution to bring prosecution the moment he thought about reclaiming Mau. The Ndungu Report details who owns what, hence prosecution could easily have been instigated against known land 'grabbers'. That would have taken care of the big landowners and taken the fight to courts, leaving sufficient room to clear the small dwellers and resettle them. It will be tough and face challenges but i think it can be done.
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Post by tiskie on Dec 4, 2009 6:52:40 GMT 3
Job and Jukwaa, This is the thing that will put a final nail on the political coffin on WSR. Without land reforms, Rift Valley has no future and peace is a mirage. By opting out of the constitution debate by ODM, WSR and the gang will be choosing to side with the forces that undermine the pursuit of long-lasting peace in the RVP. By either voting against or refusing to support the Orengo land reforms, he will be choosing his friends. Those friend, I am afraid, are not the poor peasants of the RVP. He alone knows their identity. Ruto is walking down a beaten road to historical oblivion. On that road travelled DTM. DTM befriended Kenyatta, rubbished progressive Kalenjin leaders like Jean-Marie Seroney and Taaita Toweet. As a reward he was corrupted with free land. Consequently, having bent backwards Nyakinyua settled in the RVP's most remote regions. Those regions, like Meteitei in Tinderet, were the first ones to bear the brunt of tribal clashes in 1992, Moi's effort to reverse the settlements. The pain and trauma of those clashes live on to this day, Moi is not bothered. Ruto is siding with Jomo's son, as did Moi with Jomo, in order to defeat the distribution of land. As said elsewhere on this forum: There is too much idle land in the hands of a few, while so many have little land. That imbalance, even if you use the Pareto Principal, is unjustified. As MKW would say, the die is cast. -Kaburwo- They weren't tribal clashes. Rather, they were state-sponsored attempts at ethnic cleansing, that had the approval of quite ordinary Kalenjin. Nothing has changed since, except the loss of state backing. The violence broke on the settlement schemes because that's where non-Kalenjin were. There was intense violence in urban areas where there were no settlement schemes. If settlement on settlement schemes were the cause of the violence, you'd expect there to be violence only on them or only in the adjacent areas. That's not the case, as twenty years of violence shows. There's another problem with your analysis. The settlements happened before Moi became VP, and the usual story is that he got masses of land after he became VP. It can't be true that the grants of land to Moi caused the presence of Gikuyu which then caused the violence. If it's the grants of land to Moi that are the trigger, they happened long after there were Gikuyu in the Rift Valley, so it's not obvious why it was felt necessary to slaughter Gikuyu peasants. If it's the Gikuyu presence, then that happened long before Moi was on the scene, so it's not obvious why there's a felt need to blame Moi. Either way, no convincing explanation seems forthcoming. The claim about land as the trigger for violence is the reddest of red herrings. Much of the violence in the Rift Valley consisted in the eviction of small business owners, traders, workers and so on. Those aren't people who own land -- or even the premisses from which they work: folk who pick tea or flowers on plantations in the Rift Valley are hardly likely to own their plantations. If the choice of the victims were determined by land ownership, you wouldn't expect them to be attacked. Nonetheless, they were. Land is the least of the Rift Valley's worries. Danielwaweru Lets start with some facts on land distibution by Kenyatta while Moi was his VP then and if I recall the clashes in Naivasha, Nakuru it was not Kikuyu peasants that were being slaughtered, beheaded and burnt... it was the other way round.. the other tribes were being slaughtered by the same Kikuyu peasants you mentioned with the support of mungiki gangs ferried by the State machinery.. Uhuru confessed to this facts at his interview with BBC. Here is an article by your tribesman on the historic land issues... John Kamau 10 November 2009 Senior politicians led by founding President Jomo Kenyatta, his successor Daniel Arap Moi, senators, MPs and civil servants were the top beneficiaries of 100-acre farms in settlement schemes meant for peasants.The move by the Cabinet to approve the curving of the land plus a farm house angered the World Bank and the British government since they had given the funds for the settlements. And when their orders to halt any further allocations reached Kenyatta, he ordered lands officials to continue sharing out the Z Plots, as they came to be known within government circles.The Provincial administration appeared to have enormous authority in vetting the applicants and in April 1965, the area settlement controller for central province, R.B. Kirkwood, wrote a letter demanding a proper system to share out the plots, since the Cabinet-- or rather Kenyatta-- had not put one in place.
Documents indicate that by that time Cabinet was grappling with the question of how to accommodate the plots into the World Bank-funded million acre scheme and that a government position paper was being prepared proposing that the final choice of settlers on the project be transferred to the Lands minister denying the regional councils authority. allafrica.com/stories/200911091662.html
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Post by job on Dec 5, 2009 3:33:59 GMT 3
Forestry Minister Wekesa says Kaptagich Estate may not be part of the Mau Forest Reserve, but what he fails to STATE is that bordering the Mau Forest Reserve is yet another Forest Reserve called TransMara Forest which together with Mau Forest form the MAU WATER CATCHMENT TOWER.
In short - Mau & TransMara Reserves together form the Mau water catchment tower and must both be cleared of human settlements. In any case, the Ndung'u Commission already established that Moi's Kaptagich Plantation and Factory were illegally excised in 1988 from Trans Mara Forest Reserve, which lies right at the border with Mau Forest Reserve - so I wonder why Wekesa is beating around the bush.Can Phil or Kamale on the ground please confirm whether it is true that Moi received a government dispatch on Monday this week asking him to surrender Kaptagich Plantation ( as reported by Juma Kwayera in the Standard last Sunday - can't find link)? Could that be the reason Moi came out fighting with that ridiculous press conference at Kabarak Gardens ( another State property he has GRABBED)? Back to basics - I think people like Wekesa should stop engaging in sideshows, the story of Kaptagich was well told by Paul Ndung’u's commission on illegal and irregular allocation of public land.The Ndung’u report explicitly states that Kiptagich started off as a settlement, to which some immigrant Tugen residents from Baringo were moved when their land was taken for construction/expansion of a Teacher's college. According to Ndung'u, it was excised from the forest reserve and started as a small settlement scheme, but since the area was virgin land and close to the tea growing zones of Kericho, the new arrivals quickly ventured into growing tea.Ndung’u says that Moi was impressed by the small scale Tea growing and decided to hive himself a huge chunk from the forest reserve, which he also began growing tea. Ndung'u also explained that since the tea growers used to deliver it to factories far off, near Kericho through very bad roads, Moi decided to build a private factory there for them - the Kaptagich Tea Factory.[/b] The Ndung'u report went further - it detailed that Moi’s children were also illegally allocated land, including former Baringo Central MP Gideon Moi and his wife Zahra, Raymond Kiprotich, Doris Choge and Jonathan Toroitich. The Moi clan thought they found themselves excellent public land to grab - they must now be asked to return back public land, period! Kenya must end this impunity once and for all.
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