Can We Reform The Presidency Now?

[adongo12345]

By Adongo Ogony

John Githongo said something everybody has been going around and which we need to address as a country. While receiving the KCA 2006 Excellence Award for outstanding sacrifice in fighting corruption in a ceremony held in Washington DC a few days ago, Mr. Githongo in his traditional forthright manner plainly warned Kenyans that nothing much would be achieved in fighting corruption, tribalism and nepotism without trimming the powers of the president.



“I believe the slippage in the overall reform programme most probably occurred because of the ruling elite’s determination to ensure that Presidential powers were not diffused by the new constitution which had been promised in the run-up to the elections. Ironically, opposition to this over concentration of power in the Executive had created the reputations of many of the administration’s most outstanding reformers.”

Right now Kenyans are engulfed in the debate about minimum and maximum reforms but try mentioning the powers of the president and the Kibaki people and even some human rights groups including faith groups would jump through the roof and start talking about ODM using it as an excuse to give their leaders positions. I am glad it is John Githongo once again who has put his hand on the real issue at hand. I think we should take Githongo’s warning very seriously.

The simple fact is that a lot of the problems we are dealing with are linked to the excessive powers of the president. The office of the president is like a bad curse in the nation. It is the undisputed headquarters of corruption in the country. Look at the fiasco with the Arturs and the raid on the Standard Newspapers and TV Network.

How do we explain the fact that a commission set to investigate the matter couldn’t even allow the tapes recovered from the house of the Artur crooks, which were believed to be the ones robbed from the Standard Building to be viewed? The Commission of Inquiry couldn’t call the associates of all these crooks, whom we know very well. Why? Because important people had to be protected and chances are they are important because they are part of the presidency. That is how powerful that institution is. It can protect criminals with a straight face and there is nothing anybody can do about it.

Kenyans know that the reason we don’t have a new constitution today is because BOMAS intended to distribute the powers of the president and Kibaki basically told us over his dead body. How long are we prepared to wait? That is the question.

The president practically runs the country as his private entity. He is above the law and all the watchdogs we have so far come up with have no authority and interest in questioning the actions of the big man. The president appoints most of these people anyway and not even the KACC can investigate anything linked to the president. This has been the case for forty years and counting and our country has paid dearly for this anomaly. Kenyans presidents have been accused of orchestrating murders, assassinations and massacres with the full knowledge that nothing can touch them.




I think the time has come to deal with this monster once and for all. Let us start with the premise that no president will be eager to give away their powers just after taking office. If anything our history tells us they will always add to their powers even when they promise the opposite to get elected. Kibaki has confirmed that to us. It would be dangerous to assume that as soon as an ODM president is elected, he will embark on an immediate process to distribute their powers. Even if we had an honest and genuine person at the top, they come with a constituency and sycophants who expect rewards from these excessive powers.

My point is that distributing the powers of the presidency should be a key part of whatever reforms we come up prior to the 2007 General Election. Let us distribute the powers now, whether that works better for Raila and his team or whether it works better for Kibaki is their problem. Ours is whether it works better for Kenyans and surely nothing can be worse than what we have now.

There is talk about the president not being able to dissolve parliament and having some of his appointees like PSs vetted, but really these are peripheral issues. The heart of the matter is establishing a Prime Minister’s office and devolving power to the regions to run their affairs without the president holding the whole country hostage to his whims.

Let us look at the Bomas proposals and address the concerns and even peruse through the disgraced Wako Draft and make efforts to resolve how that office will be run. At least this is one contentious issue we can resolve. If people think reducing the powers of the president makes it not powerful enough for them, they don’t have to run for the job. They can try being the local councillor.

My sense is that as soon as we start talking about dealing with the distribution of presidential powers everybody is going to see the need to complete the whole thing before the elections. I am all for minimum reforms but if the opportunity presents itself we should do the whole thing.

We all agree we cannot go to the polls with the constitutional status quo. Narc Kenya is already in turmoil as to which way to go. They want comprehensive reforms and know the time factor is not good and they forgot to put any money for the exercise. Karua now says money can be found and a supplementary budget set a side to complete the process. Why the flip-flop by Narc Kenya?

The reality is that minimum reforms are going to be a political disaster for Narc Kenya. The reforms will take away some of the privileges they enjoyed during the by-elections when they turned public resources into Narc Kenya property. With the emergence of the ODM Kenya as a major player Narc Kenya candidature is not that attractive anymore. In places like Western Province Narc Kenya stalwarts like Mukhisa Kituyi are already facing nightmares with the population who can’t stand Narc-K.

It was kind of sad to see Kituyi literally being humiliated in public as happened when he attended the Kijana Wamalwa memorial a couple of weeks ago in Bungoma. Kitiyu was forced to withdraw his leadership quest for Ford-K sensing the hostility towards him. A few days later, Kitiyu officially bolted to Narc Kenya knowing fully well that he is going fishing in a desert.




In Akamba land Narc Kenya is going nowhere and now with Michuki tearing into Madame Ngilu with his sexist and jingoist remarks about Akamba dancers, their chances are not going to get any better. They already sent Kalembe Ndile to hospital suffering from being hit by loud noise. I wonder what the doctor’s diagnosis turned out to be for Mheshimiwa Ndile.

In Rift Valley Narc Kenya hopes are with Moi, and judging by his rather lukewarm support despite all the efforts to get Mzee to blast ODM Kenya my suspicion is Moi is going to tell these guys to deal with their problems. He knows he is safe either way, so why antagonize anybody?

Then enter the minimum reforms and the campaign trail will see the ODM telling Kenyans how it was like pulling teeth to get Kibaki and his people to concede to minimum reforms. The ODM would easily convince Kenyans that they are the party to complete the process and they have a fairly good record on that one.

What could Narc Kenya possibly tell Kenyans about completing the reforms? Nothing. This means even after giving up a lot of room to facilitate minimum reforms, Narc K gets no political mileage. This is why they are doing the yoyo dance on the issue. They hate the idea but cannot afford a political battle with the rest of the country. My sense is that when push comes to shove Narc K would rather have comprehensive reforms even if it means finding away to do it before the elections.

ODM on the other hand would probably prefer minimum reforms, which they already have in the bag with the massive support the idea has received across the country. The ODM however wouldn’t mind the comprehensive reforms. It doesn’t change their political agenda going to the polls. They would still be in a pretty good shape to convince Kenyans that it would be suicidal to trust Kibaki to implement a constitution he has fought so hard to kill.

With comprehensive reforms Kibaki at least gets a fighting chance, much better than going to the polls with no reforms, which will turn the country into total chaos or going with minimum reforms which gives him nothing.

The big problem for Kibaki and his people is that they are allergic to power sharing and yet they know the imperial presidency will be a thing of the past in the new constitution. The only trick left for Kibaki and his people is to now become the allies of the civil society and keep harping on more stakeholders hoping they can drag things on for months and then finally say it is too late and hope that once Kibaki is elected again he can pull another five years with all the powers he so desperately wants to hang on to.

The big trouble we are having is that the civil society is terribly confused. A group like the KHRC shocked me with their position that they want comprehensive constitutional reforms either before or after the elections. I don’t know how many groups support this position, but I think it is utterly irresponsible to tell Kenyans we really don’t care when they get the new constitution as long as they get sometime in the future. Kenyans will not buy into that plan.



Then we have groups totally against minimum reforms ati because they are just intended to facilitate politicians taking or keeping power. I have always held the view that constitutions are essentially about power. How it is acquired, how it is exercised and how the ordinary wananchi can hold those they elect into offices accountable. Anybody thinking we are going to negotiate about the new constitution without the component of power involved must still be in Pluto even after they have declared it a non planet.

I think what we need in the civil society is a clear agenda for comprehensive reforms right before the elections and I believe we could convince politicians on both sides of the divide to embrace the idea regardless of their motives. To do this the civil society has to get straight with Kenyans.

Number one, we need to know how representation from the civil society sector in any discussions and negotiations about the constitution is going to be determined. Lets face it. Many Kenyans dislike the politicians and for good reasons, but at least they are elected representatives of the population. So how do we determine representation from the civil society? Are they going to be Nairobi based NGOs? We are also talking about a multi-sectoral approach, which sectors are we allowing in the talks and on what basis?

The idea that inclusion of the civil society means Rev. Timothy Njoya being welcomed at the Windsor Hotel, or Mutava Muysimi dusting up his old mailing list for delegates is not going to take us far. Civil society groups, which we know are neither homogeneous nor free from the ills that plague our society including tribalism and corruption should not be grabbing the microphones demanding that individuals within their groups be invited to the table but rather that there is an equitable representation from across the country.

The logistics for determining this representation is bound to take time. We could go with geographic representation say having district delegates or constituency delegates elected. That could take up to six months to accomplish, assuming we are moving at break neck speed and there are no saboteurs at work. We could use sectoral formulae so different sectors like faith groups, students, human rights organizations etc can elect their delegates.

The bottom line is the system has to be transparent and democratic. We cannot demand accountability from politicians when civil society delegates are handpicked by the well connected. The end product would be a Constituent Assembly, which will then integrate with the MPs and determine the draft to be taken to the referendum.

The second issue the civil society has to deal with is to develop our interim minimum reform package, which in my view can be very comprehensive in itself. Lets not limit ourselves to what the politicians are saying. Besides we don’t need to make this an either or issue. Minimum reforms will only be effective if they lead to full reforms and actually pave the way for the same.

Lets come with our own ideas and present them to Kenyans. The one idea I have tried to float here is that we need to reform presidential powers and I think the civil society has dropped the ball on this for a long time. Lets take a stand with the people of Kenya and stop hiding behind fear of being used by politicians.

We also need to address the Truth Justice and Reconciliation issue. This was a key component of our platform and Kibaki sold us out on it. We need to take this issue on the minimum reform package. Kenyans will embrace it and the politicians are more likely to accept now rather than later.

The thing is this doesn’t have to be some elaborate reform package or even actual setting up of a TJRC; that can wait for the whole package, even though I would prefer a process where we get legislative initiatives committing the next government to implement a TJRC. But we need other practical things like a simple act of parliament mandating compensation for victims of “ethnic cleansing” and survivors of state repression? What is wrong with placing this as an item in our negotiations with political parties and the government?

Issues like statutory independence of watchdog groups like KNCHR and ensuring the government does not use bogus allegations to harass vocal voices like that of Maina Kiai, KNCHR chairman for doing their jobs.



These are our issues and they are important to Kenyans. We need to discuss these issues and determine what we can get passed before the elections to make our work easier with whoever comes next.

My point is that we need concurrent processes to address both immediately achievable goals towards fundamental reforms as well as get the process moving forward so that whoever comes to power doesn’t have a vacuum to exploit.

Anybody thinking we can go to Kenyans and tell them to reject minimum reforms because we have bigger things coming to them in future is underestimating the smartness of Kenyans. They are going to chase us from the streets if that is our agenda. Lets go there with something and we have a lot on our plates to pick from. The politicians have theirs and they have brought them to the table. We need our agenda and then we can stop worrying about opportunistic allies like Beth Mugo and Mwangi Kianjuri.

The writer is a human rights activist.

[job]

AO,

Absolutely yes. The Presidency can be reformed now! It must be part of the immediate reforms, whether minimum or comprehensive,..whichever comes first,...which must be very soon before the next elections.

The excessive executive powers concentrated in this office is the root cause of Kenya's current socio-economic ills; tribalism, corruption, nepotism, and skewed resource allocation.

Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki have all proved this beyond reasonable doubt,....ati "Siasa mbaya, maisha mbaya" meaning,......you refuse to be part of sycophancy and you will be marginalized economically,.....but denounce your rights and play the sycophantic fool,then crumbs come your way,........as the fatcats eat the real cake. In a nut shell, you either get nothing or crumbs.

This is bull crap. All Kenyans must share the cake. The cake doesn't belong solely to the President and his aristocratic cabal as Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki have all proved. It belongs to us, wenye nchi.

Political patronage by the Presidency is a tired and outdated practice. Time has reached when the executive must now be held accountable.

An executive regularly grilled by Parliament on government policy and spending (as in the UK) is definitely more accountable and would arrest a lot of executive malpractices and current excesses. For instance, the executive would not just unilaterally and whimsically dish out natural resources to local councilors during campaigns. This stupidity must stop!

The first step of accomplishing reforms in the executive is by fundamentally diffusing powers
from this office, both horizontally and vertically as clearly espoused in the Bomas and other draft constitutions.

If the incumbency and its supporters will quit viewing this on a short term basis (yaani as an affront to their currently held privileges) then there would be no contention at all. But if pragmatism visits their souls and makes them realize that they will not occupy this office forever, .......then reforms will come quick.

Otherwise this trend of Goldenbergs, Anglo-Leasings,......ukabila, skewed development, Mamlukis et al will continue unabated.

Our enemies with regards to this reforms are those monied fatcats that Githongo calls Sultans.
The fellas currently occupying office and facilitating the looting of Kenya,.....yaani those whose shady (Anglo-Fleecing like) multi billion contracts would be threatened. They will fight to maintain the status quo. They have money. They are politically connected. They have international connections which form part of the fleecing cartel, and most importantly,...they have not stopped salivating at our Exchequer.

The Sultans like Pereiras, Wanjuis, Njoroges, Kirubis, Meralis et al will not simply watch "Wenye nchi" steal away their gateway into Kenya's coffers. They will fight,...........and
so shall we. We must prevail.

When precisely is the time? .....................Right now,..prior to the next general elections. We must not repeat a mistake we have clearly watched evolve right in front of our eyes. Never trust any individual with Presidential reforms. It is wenyenchi themselves who have to force these reforms,....right now before the elections!

unedited

Job

[adongo12345]

Job and others

I think I forgot something very important, namely the representation of women in our "Legico". I will blame that on sexism. Men always think about the issues that affect women last.

Anyhow my point is that a robust and forward looking civil society should jump on the lukewarm indications by political parties to include in the minimum reforms mechanisms to enhance women representation in parliament and put the agenda front and centre of the discourse on reforms. Imagine the support they will get from women organizations and from ordinary women who are the majority of voters in the country. Of course I know that some of the women we have in parliament are the worst enemies of women's rights and prospects in the nation but that is beside the point. We need equitable representation of women in our structures of governance, if we end up with vampires that is the role of voters to fix and they will with time.

ODM Kenya has floated the idea but it seems to be dying out. The civil society need to pick this up and come with workable proposals. I would suggest something like a woman rep per district going with established districts. This could be a one time shot for 2007 elections before we integrate something similar in the full package after 2007. Kenyans won't go with a woman rep in every constituency because the thought of another 210 MPs is going to scare them. At the same time provincial representatives would be too little.

My challenge really to my civil society comrades is to think outside the box. It is too stuffy in there.

The Kibaki regime failed to be a vehicle for change in the country because we relied on their goodwill. We trusted they would keep their promises. It didn't work. We cannot afford another blank chaque for the ODM or whoever else is coming next.



The fundamental failure of the Kibaki regime was they botched the transition process of moving the country from a dictatorship to a functioning democracy. They came up with fake commissions like the Goldenberg etc and lulled the civil society into bed and imbedded some into the system. By the time folks woke up our agenda had been trashed into the dustbin with Kibaki's MoUs and other things.

The role the civil society should play now is to articulate that transition process and take advantage of the minimum reforms to get the process enacted into law as much as possible. Pouting on the sideline is a dereliction of duty. And yes we should aim for the sky but carry a parachute with you in case things aren't working or you will have the hard earth to fall on with a thud. Lets keep working.

Adongo

[politicalmaniac]

AO
I truly enjoyed this article that i first saw in the KT.
You are so so correct on most points.
Its a grue Gem.

Women reps need to increased somehow.
Mandating it seems the best route to go.
They have less access to power structures, money etc, variables that are needed for a robust campaign and to win.
R seems to be emphasizing this "quota" as far as women reps go more in the recent past.

When we look back the failures of this inept tribalistic regime what will stick out will be its failure to deliver a new constitutional dispensation. This has set back our dreams to a degree yet to be fully understood at present. Its has damaged the social fabrick of the nation immeasurably. Perhaps it will take a generation before meritrocracy reigns and not tribal roots or clan affiliation.
Moi's era will be looked on with much kinder light simply because he left a measurable legacy of expanded higher education etc, despite its galring failures. Just what will this regime be remembered for? Artur saga? AF scandal? Failed referendum? heightened tribal animosity? what? And to think it had so much promise!

[kamalet]

I was really hopeful that somewhere in this long essay by AO, I would find the required reforms to the presidency. I am even aghast that John Githongo can be deemed to be a catalyst for this reform!!

Does the Kenyan presidency require reform? I think so. You will note my lack of conviction in agreeing to the need for the reforms politicians yell about everyday. My problem is that the power you are taking away from the president must be handed over to someone else or an institution. Unfortunately, we do not seem to have an idea of who to pass on these powers to, and even if they went to an individual (PM? ;D) or parliament, we are not certain that either of these two will not abuse the same powers. I am not convinced that institution of checks is sufficient not to abuse the powers as was quite apparent with Moi.

What I think we need to address is the quality of leadership that Kenya should get. Sadly the quality of leadership we have today whether in NARC or ODM is all hopeless and can not take Kenya out of the morass it finds itself in! If you look at the lot it comprises thieves, political acrobats and docile old wazees. You can reform all you wish, but until you rid yourself of this lot we all seem to praise today, there is little hope for any of us.

What about this argument about minimum or maximum reforms? I think if we can get the present efforts to resolve the issue of the executive, I would say let us get the Bomas Draft and pass it by June. This would provide Kenyans with 6 months of sensible political re-alignements. I am convinced that the call for minimum reforms (whether you like it or not) is premised on sharing power amongst the political class and I am happy this time that the civil society that was very vocal rejecting the Wako draft has seen through the lies by the political class by insisting on an all inclusive agenda that should lead to comprehensive constitutional reform.

........the civil society is is terribly confused. A group like the KHRC shocked me with their position that they want comprehensive constitutional reforms either before or after the elections. I don’t know how many groups support this position, but I think it is utterly irresponsible to tell Kenyans we really don’t care when they get the new constitution as long as they get sometime in the future. Kenyans will not buy into that plan.

Is this not the same civil society that made a lot of sense when they advocated for a NO vote and who mobilised kenyans to do so? Sadly, it would appear that unless you support a particular ODM position, then you cannot be right!! This is the short-termist nature of our politics that becomes our undoing. Why would trust the ODM lot that they would reform once they get into power or do we forget so easily the promises of reforms we all got prior to 2002?

We forget because we can only see the position of the political class we align ourselves to and what they say, then blindly follow like kondoos.

[adongo12345]

Folks

Somehow a big chunk of the story has disappeared I think I screwed up something I will try to fix it so I can respond to some of the issues raised by kamalet.

Wish me luck. OO can you help?

Otherwise thanks for participating in the debate.

[adongo12345]

Phew, I got the mess fixed. I think it was the ghost of Kamaliza, father of the national disaster we call the Kenya presidency. He was turning in his grave rather violently and every time I messed with his picture things just got screwed up. Now to the point.

Kamale:

I am glad you read the "long essay". In fact you read the short version of it because something got messed. Now it is really long. You said you wanted to know the required reforms to the presidency. Right? Well I suggested two and I am sure you can put your hand on the BOMAS draft. It has very precise proposals.

My two suggestions is one to establish the PM's office. Of course there is going to be another person there, too bad we can't possibly hand over offices to cats or anything like that. The advantage here is we remove the demigod presidency who is baba na mama.

The PM in the proposal from Bomas would appoint the cabinet and attend parliament on a regular basis and answer questions on the performance of his/her government in the floor of the House. That is how parliamentary democracies work. The head of government sits in the National Assembly and is accountable to MP's and by implication to their constituents.

What we have now is a bastardized parliamentary system where we elect MPs and a president who once elected can sit in State House for five years and be worshiped by sycophants until his/her term is over. What we are proposing is a president who is head of state and a PM who is head of the government.

Secondly devolution of powers to the regions which I have pointed out is actually the key to putting an end to the imperial presidency. Devolution of powers to the regions is not the same as delegation of powers the way they tried to con us with the Wako Draft. Dr. Willy Mutunga has written some very outstanding material on the difference between devolution of powers and delegation of the same.

The essence of the matter is that with devolved powers the regions will have some autonomy and can levy taxes, collect revenue and run the affairs of their regions while the federal government takes care of federal issues. Even the United States with a presidential system has very effective devolution of powers. All the 50 states have their own power mechanisms, budgets, law and order structures etc.

Anyhow those are just two of the proposals in BOMAS and since now you support BOMAS I think the country is in good hands. You have seen the light and have joined the wananchi. Congratulations.

Now as to the quality of leaders we have, I think we are improving. Can you imagine the rudeness of people like Ruto, Kosgey, Otieno Dalmas and others when Moi was baba na mama? And now they are singing from the same script as Wanjiku. Why? Because we have tamed them. We have shown them nobody wins against the people. If they think they can con us again they will be sorry just like the Kiraitus and Kibakis. Wananchi are ruthless in their pursuit for justice and democracy. They may travel slowly on that journey, they may be lied to and conned but sooner than later they will catch up with you.

Am I being harsh or hypocritical with my civil society comrades? Absolutely NOT. I admire those folks, but we are comrades and we are free to disagree and to try to convince each other. At any rate you and me know the civil society is not homogeneous. Manu Chandaria in his capacity as a representative of the business community is part of the civil society and so is Onyango Oloo a Marxist. It would be stupid of me to expect the civil society to always speak in one voice. At the referendum the civil society was on both sides. Organised Church groups were actually supporting the yes side from their big closet.

The reason I challenge my comrades from the civil society at this time is because we have a great opportunity to do a great deal of good for our country by pushing for some serious reforms right now and not be caught up in dogmatic positions or petty rivalries with political parties. I have put my case for that and I have no apologies to make. I will never join those who want to bash civil society groups, particularly the progressive ones because they want them out of the way.

In fact I think Kenya is now ready to embrace a whole bunch of progressive leadership into national governance. My friend OO has been putting very interesting ideas on how we can harness that popular appeal of our ideas into tangible leadership on the ground. The NCEC has been doing their gig too in that direction. Time will tell how far we can go. The terror of progressive thinkers that drives the reactionaries nuts, is that we have the biblical patience of Job. I don't mean Job of Jukwaa but you get my drift.

I think we are on the way, twenty years and counting for me.

Wembe ni Ule Ule.

[adongo12345]

I am glad Kenya Times finally did justice to the Githongo Story.



www.timesnews.co.ke/13sep06/nwsstory/topstry.html

[politicalmaniac]

Kamale wrote
"I am not convinced that institution of checks is sufficient not to abuse the powers as was quite apparent with Moi".
"What I think we need to address is the quality of leadership that Kenya should get"

Kamale,
This Kind of argument passed of as Logic is not only annoying but bewildering. I thought all along one paradigm that always seem to remain a constant is too have well structured established democratic institutions and laws that binds whoever is in office irrespective of their governing style or philosophy or even despotic tendencies.

Look at GW Bush, the dumbest fella ever to occupy the US presidency. He has despotic tendencies that are reigned in by the US constitution. How? by separation of powers and authority. He has wanted to accumulate all manner and type of executive power and privilegde but he has had to eat humble pie time and again on the altar of the supreme court or congress. Despite him being not so bright he knows what he can and cant do.


Turning to our country why must we be at the mercy of wildly swinging variables that define the human persona? It was widely assumed and claimed that kickback1 was a benevolent kind of fella who wont trample on our democratic rights. So what happened? didnt he emaculate the press via raids? didnt he jail journalists and harrass them? didnt he outlaw rallies post referendum? didnt he infamously, with his hands off approach, allow mamlukis to attain in 6mo, what in a life time, a qualified kenyan would find difficult? Didnt he rubbish the daily concerns of the Wenye inchi by derisively asking " Na mta fanya nini" or dismissing them "Nenda ka meze wembe?"

Why must we live at the mercy of the whims of an individual?

How can a right thinking person espouse the view that ""What I think we need to address is the quality of leadership that Kenya should get" and not REFORM the power and adminstration structures of GOVT?. Can you propose the names of these angels who will not morph into tribalists and dictators given the imperial powers vested in the presidency?

Finally You say " Does the Kenyan presidency require reform? I think so". Then in the same breath, you go on to say, "I am not convinced that institution of checks is sufficient not to abuse the powers as was quite apparent with Moi." So which is which? Are you implying that in the Moi era there were sufficient checks and balances but Moi got away with abuse of power anyway? What nonsense!

Please Kamale, I know you dislike my ODMers band of "thieves" and you would rather the thieves from your tribe continue stealing. Why not come out and plainly Just state facts simply as they are? But to pen convoluted treatises rubbishing what has been a long held paradigm of governance - the promotion of lawful, democratic institutions rather than the promotion "governance by benevolent clean persons" is hogwash. Do You have a test or vetting to apply to these individuals and acertain that they would remain true to their pre-election persona and temperament?

Replying to illogical post are tedious but neccessary. I am off for today!

[roughrider]

Good piece Adongo… two comments.

ONE

The importance of decongesting the presidency is clear – so that allocation (we have experienced it as misallocation) of resources is not subject to the whims of a single office. For me the way to reform the presidency is devolution; a concept that you touched on in your third response. I have been on record as saying that if Mwai Kibaki allows devolution the way we are asking, the way Dr Crispin Odhiambo Mbai conceptualized and died for; then it won’t matter if the president is Kikuyu or Kalenjin or both and he can, to paraphrase Kibaki, rule Kenya up to ‘nineteen turudi’

It suffices to say that Kenya’s tribalism is fed primarily by an imperial presidency.

Your second post is also important – give women equal opportunity… (not undue advantage) - it might just bring sanity and balance to our national politics.

TWO

John Githongo – if you can pass the message for me, Adongo – should come back and run for the presidency on an opposition ticket, preferably odm-k and he’ll bag roughrider's vote. Else, we can elect him into bunge to represent Starehe Constituency, which, as you have all noticed, is lying vacant.

[Deleted]

Of cause so much power should not be in the hands of one person. Those who agree with that sentiment have articulated the shortfalls of an imperial presidency superbly. Why waste more lives and time hoping that an individual or two will do right by the majority of Kenyans; even if it is the late great Sankara of Burkina Faso.

A constitution ought to mediate and intervene even in personal relationships. Even where folks love each other as partners or relatives. A few examples being divorce, inheritance, child support and custody. Although we all know that a patriarchal state will always give undue advantage to men. So, roughrider hola and let us know how giving women equal opportunity may give us "undue advantage" It is only those who belong to dominant groups who quiver and scream about "undue advantage" every time subordinated groups want change. Men have undue advantage twenty four seven so why can't we have a turn eh?

[roughrider]

Ms Kathure,

I admire your verve.

I affirm that I am a champion of women’s rights and equal opportunity so we have nothing to disagree over. I would bet a goat that I am much more gender sensitive than you are. I therefore know that many women do not want freebies or reverse discrimination; they want what is rightfully theirs.

It is wrong, shameful and insulting for anyone to imply that women are lesser humans than men, perpetually needy of extra patronage. But you know that already, don’t you?

[Deleted]

RR,
undue advantage is a non-issue. So too is reverse discrimination.

Women want only what is ours. What has been denied us in a myriad of ways for centuries now. We birth and raise sons and for those of us with an eye for equality desire that our sons and daughters will have no undue advantage nor disadvantage.

I hoped that your first response to my criticisms would have argued that two wrongs don't make a right. Instead you insist on brandishing the war cry of "undue advantage". Stop and look around. Begin with your own family. Your mother, aunts, sisters and other female relatives. Exactly how long do you think it would take for women to gain so called undue advantage?

We don't want hand outs, undue advantage and such nonsense. Like I've said we want only whats due us.

I realize that it is difficult for many people to wrap their heads around the ways other folsks are oppressed particularly when we stand to gain from their oppression. Where we have the undue advantage of which you speak. This is the case even when people have a good analysis of other forms of oppression particularly where they are disadvantaged.

Draw an analogy from the power dynamics between the West and the South. How is it that the oppressed people of the South could gain undue advantage against those who control the world? Peoples of the South desire and need an end to the oppressive dynamics, economic and others wise that give undue advantage to the West.

I hope that this enlightens you a little bit and that you will no longer feel the need to prove that you are on the side of the sistahs!
Let only your words and actions speak to whether or not you act in solidarity with women.

Do you know how ridiculous a white person looks when they brandish the war cry of "undue advantage" whenever people of colour demand an end to racialised discrimination?

If you are thinking of affirmative action as undue advantage you are wrong again. Affirmative action or positive discrimination seeks only to right the wrongs that bestow undue advantage to dominant groups.

[roughrider]

‘Let only your words and actions speak to whether or not you act in solidarity with women’

Kathure,

I take your advice – and since I believe discriminatory practices against women start at home: I will begin with my girlfriend; she can, as often as I do, set the agenda for our relationship…… no Kathure, I cannot write her a memo informing her of this decision for that would be patronizing. Instead she will, in her own time, test the boundaries and realize with glee that they have moved considerably. There will be economic and social parity in her house. Daughters and sons, if or when they come, will be treated equally. My father before me did not find it necessary to distribute land to his daughters – I have urged the convening of a family council to discuss fair redistribution, but my female relatives have pre-empted these moves and waived their claims to ancestral and family land and property – for whatever reason. These are not trivial matters, they are the building blocks for marginalisation of women at nation level and perhaps legal reforms may not tackle this (sorry Adongo1234 & 5)

In the same spirit I hope you practice what you preach Kathure, starting of course with your personal life.

[Deleted]

RR

why would the women in your family reject an equitable distribution of land? Could it be related to the fact that women often collude in our own oppression? Take an issue like FGM. Many men argue that it is in fact women who carry out the practice. Women who have themselves being traumatized by that particular human rights violation. We have to delve into the historical contexts of these and other issues. Such an exploration would necessarily look at social and other sanctions deployed against women who go against the grain. Why would women go against old patriarchal laws spoken and unspoken when they have been socialized into seeing the status quo as "natural"? When a feminist speaks out about male dominance there is always a price to pay. Of cause this is true of any group or individual who dare speak or act against those who exercise power. Given that your political analysis is astute you are aware of that and are familiar with thousands of such examples.

I agree with your assertion that legal reforms though crucial will not address male dominance over women. For one thing legal reforms will not tackle the psychoanalytic aspects of misogyny. The socialization of boys into misogyny begins very early and concomitantly the socialization of girls into subordination begins very early. The interlocking reality of class oppression, hetero-sexism, as well as other unjust socially constructed hierarchies converge and render women on the margins. However, this fact does not blind us to the hierarchies that exist between women. This also do not stop us from understanding that there is a very tight pecking order among men themselves. A monied man excersises the sort of power that a working class and poor man could only dream about. The important point to understand in disaggregating these pecking orders is that all men exercise patriarchal power over the women who belong to their economic class. That is to say that even the poorest man can still engage in violence against women for example. Now we know that the poor man would not be beating Njoki Ndungu or Martha Karua but certainly the Wanjiku with whom he has a personal relationship.

Now, what makes you think that I expect you to issue memos to your partner regarding your belief in her right to equal power in your relationship? Her human rights are not your prerogative. Just as we keep telling the Kenyan elites our human and economic rights are not theirs to give or withhold at will.

Lastly, whats up with my personal life? Go ahead spill the beans. I'm not ashamed of my life. I am subject to the hierarchies that exist in the world. Sometimes I'm in a power position and at other times I'm not. I have power over my children. I have privilege over many people in the world. Just living in the west accords me such undue privilege. Guilt alone will never alter this fact. Being cognizant of this and making a conscious effort to raise my awareness and contributing to the struggles for a just world will.

I'm glad that we are having this discussion. Perhaps we should start another thread. What we are discussing flows naturally from the discussion started by Adongo on reforming the presidency. Issues of power at the state levels and at other levels are related and connected. But another thread might work better as we explore the dynamics between women and men in a male dominated world.

In relation to our discussion I'll quote the late Audre Lorde. On Oloo's site Demokrasia kenya under his tribute to Sistahs, you can find more information on her.

For Black women as well as Black men, it is axiomatic that if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined by others-for their use and to our detriment. The development of self defined Black women, ready to explore and purse our power and interests within our communities, is a vital component in the war for Black Liberation...When Black women in this country come together to examine our sources of strength and support, and to recognize our common social, cultural, emotional and political interests, it is a development which can only contribute to the power of the Black community as a whole. It can certainly never diminish it. For it is through the coming together of self actualized individuals, female and male, that any real advances can be made. The old sexual power relationships based on a dominant/subordinate model between unequals has not served us well as a people, nor as individuals...Black women and men who recognize that the development of their particular strengths and interests does not diminish the other do not need to diffuse their energies fighting for control over each other. We can focus our attentions against the real economic, social and political forces at the heart of this society which are ripping us and our children and our worlds apart.

Increasingly, despite opposition, Black women are coming together to alter these manifestations of our society which oppress us in different ways from those that oppress Black men. This is no threat to Black men. It is only seen as one by those Black men who choose to embody within themselves those same manifestations of female oppression. For instance, no Black man has ever been forced to bear a child he did not want or could not support. Enforced sterilization and unavailable abortions are tools of oppression against Black women, as is rape. Only to those Black men who are unclear about the pathways of their own definition can the self actualization and self-protective bonding of Black women be seen as a threatening development.

The book is "Sister Outsider" Essays and Speaches by Audre Lorde.

[roughrider]

Age-old paternalistic cultural imperatives make it difficult for women to fight their own oppression – I believe this was the case in my family example. In this system, women are married into the man’s family and not the other way round; if you know what I mean. Marriage is not a half-way thing where I come from – it’s about women going all the way to the man who doesn’t move an inch. Variations of this position are responsible for other tribulations of women in other communities.

I agree with your second paragraph.

I cannot, at least hitherto, overcome my disdain for homo-sexuality and other unnatural sexual behavior; so we must part ways when you issue a broadside against ‘hetero-sexism’ which I would consider a natural, normal state. I do not understand the logic by which being heterosexual goes against women and ‘renders women on the margins’

The rest of the paragraph is inspired – you might want to polish it up into a treatise:)

Now, onto my partner: No, her rights are not my prerogative; that I know. But she doesn’t know it. She, like many women, is socialized into accepting misogyny (look at my paragraph one). Did you grow up in a farm? I guess not but you may understand this illustration. If you tie a chickens legs for an hour, it struggles at first and realizes it can’t do much then settles in that state. When you untie the chicken it remains in its submissive state unaware that it is now free. This is the condition my hapless girlfriend and many other women in relationships with enlightened men find themselves in – they are free at last, but do they know it?

I know next to nothing about your personal life but I suggested that perhaps your fight for women’s rights must begin in your home – in your personal life.

I hope Adongo, doesn’t mind us veering off a tangent on ‘his thread’ but I’d be willing to make further contributions if you started a specialist thread on this.

I’m gonna read that book by Audrey Lorde

[aeichener]

adongo12345 said:

Job and others

I think I forgot something very important, namely the representation of women in our "Legico". I will blame that on sexism. (...) to include in the minimum reforms mechanisms to enhance women representation in parliament and put the agenda front and centre of the discourse on reforms. Imagine the support they will get from women organizations and from ordinary women who are the majority of voters in the country.

Of course I know that some of the women we have in parliament are the worst enemies of women's rights and prospects in the nation but that is beside the point.

Oh yes, definitely enemies. Like Njoki Ndung'u. I only hope I'll live to see the day she meets the same deserved fate as e.g. William ole Ntimama, and other assorted crooks.

The late fracas of the Sexual Criminalization Law has shown me that women can be trusted as little as men. That they are as stupid, uninformed, willfully ignorant, prejudiced and a liability, as their brethren. In other words, a Fanyamambo type of gremlin.

Very, very disillusioning. This thing has changed *a lot*of my perceptions about Kenyan "activists" and Kenyan female politicians, and very negatively so (my perception of their male counterparts was already dark enough...).
(Of course, a seasoned activist like KK would probably be inclined to rebut me now with a caustic: "What else did you expect, you sillly boy? A legion of saintesses? Get real! Women and womyn are just *people*, too." But I am not a seasoned activist myself )

Alexander