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Post by podp on Dec 1, 2014 23:47:45 GMT 3
He, he, he, ... that is a funny one, given the manner in which the law has been, and still is being, abused in Kenya. I watched with horror as the President blamed parents for the rape of their children at the launch of a campaign to end violence against women and girls, which aims to reverse this “blame-the-victim” mentality. But then, what else can we expect from a president who painted himself — not the 1,300 killed or the 600,000 displaced — as the biggest victim of the 2007/2008 post-election violence? As lecturer Wandia Njoya poignantly stated in her blog last week, “Ever since Kenyans found a way to rationalise that suspects of crimes against humanity were acceptable presidential candidates... we declared that Kenyan life is not valuable.”Since the 2013 elections, Kenyans have witnessed unprecedented violence inflicted, not just by terrorists, but by the State and ordinary Kenyans, who now find it acceptable to strip and beat up a woman for the way she is dressed. www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/-benefit-certain-business-interests/-/440808/2540548/-/ijkmsq/-/index.htmlwhile the ladies above were horrified listening to Jubilee operatives in the new PPU renamed with longer acronyms and Cord spin doctor on ntv tonight it is sickening how adult men can trivialize insecurity in Kenya to each singing praises to his 'dog' handler. way forward according to GoK This brings us to last week’s cold-blooded massacre of 28 innocent Kenyans by Al Shabaab militants. The KDF launched an immediate retaliatory response in which 100 Al Shabaab militias were killed, their camps, vehicles and equipment destroyed. But Kenyan opposition leaders saw in the Mandera Massacre yet another opportunity to score— yes, you guessed it right— discounted political points. The time has come for us to stand together as a country and fight the enemy; for divided as we currently are, we strengthen and embolden those who seek to harm us. www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/direct-our-outrage-at-the-perpetrators/-/440808/2539816/-/ixr7jr/-/index.htmlbut sadly or gleefully, depending on which side of the Jubilee or Cord you as a Kenyan subscribe too the Cord guys were categorical that Uhuru is the PORK especially so for those who elected him and come rain (as insecurity is doing to us now) or sunshine they (Cord) are a GoK in waiting hence score points will be the order of the day now and going forward. I really admire our Constitution as it made Uhiuruto chose three ladies (Omamo, Wakhungu and Ngilu) to represent the Luo, Luhya and Kamba) communities giving perfect cannons to the titular heads (RAO, kaLoser and Weta) all the ground to equally ignore Uhuruto. as RAO said of Luhyia if you want to see the CS for your case you go to Kiambu (where her hubby resides) to get audience...guess where you go if you are Luo and Kamba... So, should KDF quit Somalia? Yes, absolutely. But before it exits, Nairobi should address these two dynamics. One, Kenya’s problem is not Al-Shabaab, but a security system that has failed again and again to protect Kenyans. Two, Kenya needs an intelligence-led security strategy that protects Kenyans from within its borders. This strategy must aim to keep Al-Shabaab and sundry jihadists, drug peddlers, human traffickers and poachers, out of Kenya and to keep all inside Kenya safe. The strategy must begin with, and be implemented by, reformed law enforcement apparatuses. www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Operation-Linda-Nchi-failed/-/440808/2539798/-/11d6bw9/-/index.htmlthe Patriot Act will pass if taken to Parliament by the Jubilee side and we still shall have Two sons of slain drug baron Ibrahim Akasha and two other men have been freed on Sh5 million bond each pending the hearing of a case seeking their extradition to the United States. The four were on Monday freed on a bond of Sh5 million with two sureties each of similar amounts by Mombasa Chief Magistrate Maxwell Gicheru. Mr Baktash Akasha Abdalla, Mr Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, Mr Vijaygiri Anandgiri and Mr Gulam Hussein are liable to charges of conspiracy to traffic drugs into the US and in Kenya. www.nation.co.ke/counties/mombasa/Akasha-sons-freed-on-Sh5-million-bond/-/1954178/2541000/-/33eoykz/-/index.htmlmaking a mockery of our prosecutors, judiciary etc or are they having chicken for dinner or is it breakfast or lunch? courts elsewhere prosecuting be it the indictees (Uhuruto), there IIBC and KNEC chicken eaters, and now drug barons (USA ) who are literally haning the IG and deputy IG in their pocket...and we wonder why we have insecurity! |
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Post by b6k on Dec 2, 2014 1:03:13 GMT 3
Kamale, now that you have declared me a person of interest for the NIS to pursue let me reaffirm that I have no problem with them having the power to arrest. I even advocate for them to have the right to bear arms as the kind of work they do & the characters they could cross paths with makes their bare arms a risk. Where I draw the line is this need you have for legislation to free them from "the constant fear of abuse of laws". That really is just another way of granting them carte blanche in their operations, a situation that would inevitably lead to abuse.
I don't really see why you object to them having to apply for a court order before they tap someone's phone line. If our MPigs are to be believed they already spend an inordinate amount of time tapping the waheshimiwas phone lines & keeping tabs on who's bonking whom anyway. I doubt they apply for court orders for that. If the pursuit of illegal means is what concerns you then they could borrow a leaf from the West where agreements such as the UKUSA one has spooks from one country spying on citizens of the other quasi-legally. A similar arrangement is extended to the main Anglo-Saxon nations of the world (UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand). So what's to stop our spooks from crafting a similar arrangement with our EAC neighbors, notably Uganda and Rwanda to do as the Anglos do?
The interference you decry from other arms of government simply serves as checks & balances on an outfit that could potentially be extremely powerful as the likes of Kanyotu proved in the past. It's a necessary hurdle.
You claim I offer only ideal world scenarios yet respond with one of your own when you purport that the cops are to blame for leaks to suspects while the folks at the NIS will be 100% clean. First of all even NIS agents are human, but worse yet Kenyans. I wouldn't therefore put it past them to have the odd mole for the right price.
As a democracy we are supposed to be a nation governed by the rule of law. No single entity should be able to operate above the law in order to preserve the law. We either have to have institutions that abide by the law or allow for the NIS to take on the role of the Gestapo. If the latter were to be the case then the CiC might as well permanently lose his Armani suits & don military fatigues 24/7...
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Post by kamalet on Dec 2, 2014 12:31:34 GMT 3
B6k
We are a nation of laws so why do we still habour fears from the past? We have passed laws clearly intended to stop the excesses of the past but which do not serve this country well in the present day security challenges the country faces.
For instance, in the old Armed Forces Act, there was a section that provided for 'aid to civil authorities' in all manner of circumstances. When this was in force, the military were called in to help out in many civil calamities and were only called out to the streets in 2008 to help quell PEV. In all that time, the security challenges facing the country never had the need to engage the military. Any such assistance only required the president to give the order.
The KDF Act which is a product of the new constitution made it extremely difficult for the president to call out the military to aid civil authorities as there was introduced new powers for parliament to control the president. Even when this was possible, the requirement to place the military under civilian command showed its ugly face in the fiasco that was Westgate.
Action by the president in places like Kapedo to bring in the military were argued as illegal by local leaders notwithstanding the clear fact that the police were overwhelmed.
The president needs to be enabled to deal with the security challenges by removing the straight jacket laws that stop him from being ruthless with the criminals.
As this debate ranges.....39 more Kenyans were killed by alshabaab...and perhaps even more will be killed as we twiddle our thumbs wondering why it is so difficult to deal with the problem!!
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Post by b6k on Dec 2, 2014 14:24:13 GMT 3
Kamale, this is where you lose me. First you argue we are a nation of laws, then shoot down the very same laws for not meeting our present day challenges or even putting the president in a straight-jacket when you're fully aware that we'd rather not roll back our current laws/rights precisely because an unrestrained head of state is capable of gross injustices to the general population.
Secondly, you claim the KDF was only deployed during PEV forgetting their excesses in Mt Elgon before that. Weren't they also deployed in Tana River by Kibaki? Truth be told assisting civilian authorities during calamities is usually confined to assisting in floods or other natural disasters in countries that have a competent police force, not walking the beat for inept cops.
If indeed the new KDF Act makes it difficult for the president to deploy the army who got them out of their barracks to police the Westgate siege, the Mpeketoni massacres, the Kapedo debacle, & now the Mandera massacres? As far as I know parliament has never been involved in any of the above KDF internal policing deployments. So if they're being deployed by someone, what new law do you think is needed to have them assist a dysfunctional Kenya Police? Save for the Kapedo matter, I don't think any law is necessary to deal with Al Shabaab in the other massacres save for proper use of a mix of KDF & police in the region spanning from Lamu to NEP...in short a border policing exercise.
In conclusion, since a curfew has been in place for Lamu for over 5 months, when do you think it will be prudent to declare a state of emergency in NEP & impose a curfew in the hotspots of Mandera & Wajir where Kenyans are being slaughtered like chickens every other day?
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Post by Horth on Dec 2, 2014 18:25:56 GMT 3
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Post by b6k on Dec 4, 2014 12:55:04 GMT 3
The sacking of Ole Lenku and Kimaiyo's resignation/retirement are a step in the right direction. Clearly we need a new approach to our security strategies and the duo had lost the confidence of the Kenyan people.
One omission in the latest move was at least one more sacking, that of Rachel Omamo over at Defense. To borrow from Jakaswanga, she is clearly a fish out of water when it comes to all matters security. Truth be told the majority of Ole Lenku & Kimaiyo's woes in internal security emanated from errors & omissions from the folks of at defense. All the major hits against targets in KE have resulted from infiltration of our borders, a task in which Omamo & Karangi (how do you attack a neighboring country without putting in place some KDF units on border control duties?) appear to be lacking solutions. A shakeup in our security dockets was required at the time Westgate exposed our vulnerabilities.
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Post by jakaswanga on Dec 4, 2014 21:33:40 GMT 3
The sacking of Ole Lenku and Kimaiyo's resignation/retirement are a step in the right direction. Clearly we need a new approach to our security strategies and the duo had lost the confidence of the Kenyan people. One omission in the latest move was at least one more sacking, that of Rachel Omamo over at Defense. To borrow from Jakaswanga, she is clearly a fish out of water when it comes to all matters security. Truth be told the majority of Ole Lenku & Kimaiyo's woes in internal security emanated from errors & omissions from the folks of at defense. All the major hits against targets in KE have resulted from infiltration of our borders, a task in which Omamo & Karangi (how do you attack a neighboring country without putting in place some KDF units on border control duties?) appear to be lacking solutions. A shakeup in our security dockets was required at the time Westgate exposed our vulnerabilities. Kamalet, The ink has hardly dried on your words, than the strategic team surrounding the son of Jomo has engorged herself like a blotter, swallowing your advice hook sink and all –-unless of course you were their soundbag! www.nation.co.ke/news/Kenya-tough-anti-terrorism-laws/-/1056/2545042/-/k8qdc1/-/index.html Yes, in this thread when b6k alluded to the military's stranglehold on all matters security, jukwaa.proboards.com/thread/9165/new-director-philip-wachira-kameru –-we had a moment of comical relief! But little did we know that, if brass chore was already having a stranglehold –-or ''chokehold'' as the glib pen of the rogue would have it---, the vice grip could still tighten some more. And in deed with the nomination of another 'Genereral'', Nkaissery, to head the homeland docket, it is effectively a military dictatorship at security. Which brings to my face an amused, indulgent smile. Everybody in public affairs knows: wars are too important to be left to Generals. So what is it that Kenyatta knows that negates this wisdom of power? My bet is, the answer is nothing. His mind is locked in a box. It is a war, right? Who better to lead the fight than generals? The commander in chief has forgotten, only yesterday at the pitched battle against terrorists at the Westgate Mall, the Generals ordered their troops to open fire on police units –-effectively executing the elite commander of Recce! That is what you get when you let Generals run your wars –--Westmoreland in Vietnam, MacArthur in Japan (let us drop a nuclear bomb on China!) No idea of the political context, even for the great Ariel Sharon in Lebanon! (he chased Yasser Arafat out of Beirut, only to have him installed next door in the West Bank at Ramallah!) Somebody is paying heavily for AMISON and the Kenya army troops to be in Somalia. Effectively the Africans have been hired by a foreign paymaster to pacify Somalia for them, for business. To fight terrorism at the Northern Frontier District, the KDF just needs a string of bases on OUR side of the border! No need occupy Kismayo with whole divisions, leaving our Wild West unguarded. But from Somali sources I gather Kismayo is where the business is! And Kenyans are in this for business. NB: The government " wants the debt ceiling raised to the heavens because she can not pay bills without printing useless paper. We need to keep the KDF in Somalia, for that way at least they get paid –-by others! McNamara to Westmoreland: the real theater in this war, general, is at the treasury. Wars cost money a state does not have. A soldier's blood? That is one of the cheapest things around the world! We now have our own war on terror! And our tough laws in the make. I cannot wait for our Guantanamo torture chamber full of these '' profile  fit'' Muslim Somalis like Aden Duale, Isack Hassan, Ahmednassir, Amina Mohamed, gen. Al Haji, gen Hussein Ali, gen Mohamed, Bill Kerrow –-and of course all those Pwani-si-Kenya clerics! FOOTNOTE What scares you more, bankruptcy or terrorism? |
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Post by OtishOtish on Dec 4, 2014 22:40:34 GMT 3
Somebody is paying heavily for AMISON and the Kenya army troops to be in Somalia. Effectively the Africans have been hired by a foreign paymaster to pacify Somalia for them, for business. To fight terrorism at the Northern Frontier District, the KDF just needs a string of bases on OUR side of the border! No need occupy Kismayo with whole divisions, leaving our Wild West unguarded.
"Peacekeeping" is actually great business for many, whether you are looking at UN pay vs. local pay, real toys vs. African Rifles rifles, other side-activities (charcoal, ivory, ..., small-arms trade), questionable activities with the local women, etc. Why "peacekeepers" in places like Somalia would want peace is a mystery; it is certainly not logical. And, of course, even if you are not a "peacekeeper" you need not be left out of the profitable mayhem, which explains why some generals in the DRC army have been busy selling arms to the very "rebels" they are supposed to be fighting ...
I agree KDF should be on the Somalia-Kenya border in that area---but definitely not on the Kenyan side. A buffer, but on the other side ... History shows that KDF is presents a very serious danger to the peace, security, and prosperity of Kenyans: from Dasani Westgate to ... Wagalla, Mt.Elgon, the bit Jesse has just posted on the new IG. Best to keep them out of the country, "fighting terrorism" in places like Kismayu but usefully sending back money.
And one should keep in mind that this "war on terror" will, whether it gets new laws, require more money and "better" equipment. In that regard, people should remember that one of Anglo-Leasing contracts on which their is a big claim (that will probably just be quietly paid out) is an NSIS one on which Standard Hot Air was delivered. The Anglo-Leasing auditors (PWC) had fun with that one:
"Can we take a look at what the contractor delivered?"
"Absolutely not! Top-secret national security!"
"Well, did they deliver anything at all? If so, what?"
"Yes; they delivered plenty of stuff. Can't tell you any more; top-secret national security!"
....
On the tough new laws:
H. E. Dr. (new) Rais has had boys mount a very vigorous response to claims that, on this matter, he has been talking out of his ... forgot what I wanted to write there. Among the major points made by the Blogger Brigade:
"Finally, our susceptibility to criminal attacks is multiplied by an endemic affliction of the police service: corruption. It is so prevalent in the service that year after year, it ranks as the most corrupt institution. A security officer who accepts a bribe to excuse traffic infractions will most certainly accept a bigger bribe to allow uninspected cargo pass through check points."
www.nation.co.ke/news/State-House-defends-Uhuru/-/1056/2538832/-/nrg9tsz/-/index.html
Excellent. Problem has been identified. Report back to Control.
A very important point though is that the "finally" suggests that other problems have been identified in the little flyer, and the police one is the "final" one. But there is no other, apart from some vague statements about the international situation and "unnecessarily" fearful citizens.
Question: If corruption in the police is such a problem, is it because the laws that deal with corruption are inadequate?
It was very "impressive" to see Uhuru Bush Kenyatta in full flight, gearing up for the "war on terror": must decide now, for freedom and this and the other or against, for us or against, ...
Kenya's "war on terror" will fail for a very simple reason: it is chicken-feed, i.e. it will be used to feed chickens that will then be eaten by those that are "worthy" of chicken. (For the rest, it is "chai" or nothing.)
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Post by kamalet on Dec 4, 2014 23:10:35 GMT 3
Jakaswanga
I am anxiously waiting for the 'tough' new rules envisaged by Uhuru and his government. That the new laws need to pass be 19th December means we shall have a chance to see his new plan and very little time for the noise making activists to claim human rights! The fact that this is being done at a time Kenyans are demanding action from the government makes it easy to pass the laws but also presents the opportunity to perhaps do the things that drive B6k to fear!
As regards the corrupt security officers, I always wonder why we are too quick to blame the police for taking bribes yet we are the ones that pay these. I refuse to pay bribes to police and I have always managed to plead my case with the police whenever I have been stopped and been allowed to go scot free. In other instances I am happy to be charged by the effort of taking me to a station to book me and the lure of staying behind for a more gullible and willing Kenyan allows me to get away with a 'stern warning'. The only time I ever bribed a policeman and I still carry that guilt todate is when I clearly broke a traffic law and drove straight to where a policeman was standing. Truly guilty but standing the risk of missing a flight to the UK for an important meeting, I found myself parting with money. I am much wiser now and work hard to obey the law to avoid a meeting with a traffic policeman!
Do not pay the policeman especially when you can plead out your case and they will stop demanding the bribes!
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Post by OtishOtish on Dec 4, 2014 23:22:43 GMT 3
Jakaswanga I am anxiously waiting for the 'tough' new rules envisaged by Uhuru and his government. That the new laws need to pass be 19th December means we shall have a chance to see his new plan and very little time for the noise making activists to claim human rights! The fact that this is being done at a time Kenyans are demanding action from the government makes it easy to pass the laws but also presents the opportunity to perhaps do the things that drive B6k to fear! As regards the corrupt security officers, I always wonder why we are too quick to blame the police for taking bribes yet we are the ones that pay these. I refuse to pay bribes to police and I have always managed to plead my case with the police whenever I have been stopped and been allowed to go scot free. In other instances I am happy to be charged by the effort of taking me to a station to book me and the lure of staying behind for a more gullible and willing Kenyan allows me to get away with a 'stern warning'. The only time I ever bribed a policeman and I still carry that guilt to date is when I clearly broke a traffic law and drove straight to where a policeman was standing. Truly guilty but standing the risk of missing a flight to the UK for an important meeting, I found myself parting with money. I am much wiser now and work hard to obey the law to avoid a meeting with a traffic policeman! Do not pay the policeman especially when you can plead out your case and they will stop demanding the bribes! Where I live, both briber and bribed would be considered guilty of crimes, but the penalties would be vastly different, on the basis of what the law considers to be "the balance of power". Ist red highlight (podp style)Quite a few Kenyans will say that. 2nd red highlight Many who pay bribes feel they have equally "pressing" matters: they are just trying to get to the market on time and with fresh produce (which, to them is as important as getting on a jet-plane to the UK), do not want to spend the little money they have on paying what could be much more on lawyers, do this "terribly important" thing that must be done, etc.---but it is important to them. Critical. So, if you want to know why people pay bribes---and before you do a " just say no!"---look at why you have paid a bribe and consider the "balance of power" in such situations. |
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Post by b6k on Dec 5, 2014 10:12:04 GMT 3
Jakaswanga I am anxiously waiting for the 'tough' new rules envisaged by Uhuru and his government. That the new laws need to pass be 19th December means we shall have a chance to see his new plan and very little time for the noise making activists to claim human rights! The fact that this is being done at a time Kenyans are demanding action from the government makes it easy to pass the laws but also presents the opportunity to perhaps do the things that drive B6k to fear! Kamale, before you go & misconstrue my fears about new legislation they aren't based on my running a meth lab or having an indoor marijuana factory in my house. The old argument of you shouldn't fear sweeping anti-terror laws if you're not breaking the law already is old hat. What I fear is the very real potential of government to abuse the use of those laws by widening the scope of their application in what is known as mission creep. To be honest, how many hard-core terrorists can there be in the country who have access to weapons capable of taking human lives AND are willing to act on their intention to kill? I would hazard a guess at a couple of dozen. Aspiring terrorists may be in the hundreds at best. Does that warrant unfettered use of dragnet surveillance? I don't think so. With the inevitable tendency for "good" intentions to suffer mission creep as the net is cast wider (for example first to Boniface Mwangi type rabble rousers to link them to terror, then those who fraternize with them in ever widening circles) before long you'll have a sizeable portion of the population being surreptitiously monitored. NB we haven't even looked at the inevitable snooping on political opponents, a standard African pastime. In addition to mission creep, as Jakaswanga has duly noted above my other concern is with the ongoing militarization of government. given the status of our failed police force, it's becoming increasingly clear that Uhuru is relying more & more on military or ex-military types to fill in key positions in government. Military men are conditioned to taking orders. I recall Karangi stating something to the effect that he prefers having D- minus types in his ranks as opposed to graduates who will be thinking of little else than taking up more courses because those dunderhead types can take orders. That is somewhat reminiscent of Moi's rejection of intellectuals & active promotion of empty headed sycophants who would do little else than parrot his views and toe the line. Are the military men setting the foundation for a police state (albeit in jungle green military fatigues) in KE? Time will tell. I don't know if you've been keeping tabs on events in Israel. Recently Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his foreign minister, Tzipi Livni & his finance minister for opposing his move in declaring Israel a Jewish state. By stacking the deck with military men, Uhuru may be working himself into a box that will see everything through a military prism. Soldiers aren't democrats. They do as they're told...& expect everyone else to follow suit... |
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Post by jakaswanga on Dec 5, 2014 21:31:00 GMT 3
Jakaswanga I am anxiously waiting for the 'tough' new rules envisaged by Uhuru and his government. That the new laws need to pass be 19th December means we shall have a chance to see his new plan and very little time for the noise making activists to claim human rights! The fact that this is being done at a time Kenyans are demanding action from the government makes it easy to pass the laws but also presents the opportunity to perhaps do the things that drive B6k to fear! As regards the corrupt security officers, I always wonder why we are too quick to blame the police for taking bribes yet we are the ones that pay these. I refuse to pay bribes to police and I have always managed to plead my case with the police whenever I have been stopped and been allowed to go scot free. In other instances I am happy to be charged by the effort of taking me to a station to book me and the lure of staying behind for a more gullible and willing Kenyan allows me to get away with a 'stern warning'. The only time I ever bribed a policeman and I still carry that guilt todate is when I clearly broke a traffic law and drove straight to where a policeman was standing. Truly guilty but standing the risk of missing a flight to the UK for an important meeting, I found myself parting with money. I am much wiser now and work hard to obey the law to avoid a meeting with a traffic policeman! Do not pay the policeman especially when you can plead out your case and they will stop demanding the bribes! Kamalet! Of course you know how the 'patriotic' package looks like. It is actually standard authoritarian. --Lower threshold of proof for conviction --More powers for arbitrary detentions ---Longer period of detention without court appearance --No legal reguirement to read Miranda to a culprit, nor disclose where the suspect is held. --Robust techniques of questioning hitherto defined as torture, become legally permissible -- Patriot acts you said!? --enemy combatants outside geneva conventions! that is, back to the dark ages of the spanish inquisition!Haha, Ouru Kenyatta whose agenda was to be industrialisation, becomes a captain back to pre-history! he is no child of the renaissance, he is a barbarian in the sense of enlightenment. |
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Post by podp on Dec 6, 2014 9:43:56 GMT 3
Kamalet! Of course you know how the 'patriotic' package looks like. It is actually standard authoritarian. --Lower threshold of proof for conviction --More powers for arbitrary detentions ---Longer period of detention without court appearance --No legal reguirement to read Miranda to a culprit, nor disclose where the suspect is held. --Robust techniques of questioning hitherto defined as torture, become legally permissible -- Patriot acts you said!? --enemy combatants outside geneva conventions! that is, back to the dark ages of the spanish inquisition!Haha, Ouru Kenyatta whose agenda was to be industrialisation, becomes a captain back to pre-history! he is no child of the renaissance, he is a barbarian in the sense of enlightenment.could not agree more A barbarous society has moved beyond the hunting and gathering economy of primitivism but has not yet developed the institutions of civil society (an elected government, a market economy, an independent judiciary, etc.). Barbarism, it might be said, displays a 'communicative incompetence' in analogy to the impaired speech of the stutterer. Ultimately, barbarism cannot be understood in separation from power relations, and in particular the role of language in maintaining human inequality. While not describing the concrete details of these interactions, the concept of barbarism provides a way of asking why modernity produces relations of cultural difference as relations of cultural dominance. Where are the barbarians of the twentieth century?'—barbarism provides a means both for fascism to characterize its own (failed) rebellion against modernity and for fascism's enemies to describe the modes of domination and genocide specific to totalitarian regimes. Imperialism, on the other hand, casts the colonial 'native' as a barbarian in order to justify a 'civilizing mission' that itself enacts the violence and oppression of barbarism. www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/365741/Neilson_Barbarism_ICS_Pre-Print_Final.pdfthe post colonial narrative has its share of barbarians too. In his 'Colonial Desire', Young argues that the 'Anti-Oedipus' highlights two important points that are often overlooked in postcolonial theory: the 'role of capitalism as the determining motor of colonialism, and the material violence involved in the process of colonization'. To put it simply, barbarism names the point at which material (bodily) violence and discursive (linguistic) violence become indistinguishable. (any line not starting in capital - in the past and in future- is rarely borrowed while all that start in capital have an origin always put as a www link or book description for students and those keen on origins) |
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Post by kamalet on Dec 6, 2014 10:22:39 GMT 3
In addition to mission creep, as Jakaswanga has duly noted above my other concern is with the ongoing militarization of government. given the status of our failed police force, it's becoming increasingly clear that Uhuru is relying more & more on military or ex-military types to fill in key positions in government. Military men are conditioned to taking orders. I recall Karangi stating something to the effect that he prefers having D- minus types in his ranks as opposed to graduates who will be thinking of little else than taking up more courses because those dunderhead types can take orders. That is somewhat reminiscent of Moi's rejection of intellectuals & active promotion of empty headed sycophants who would do little else than parrot his views and toe the line. Are the military men setting the foundation for a police state (albeit in jungle green military fatigues) in KE? Time will tell. I don't know if you've been keeping tabs on events in Israel. Recently Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his foreign minister, Tzipi Livni & his finance minister for opposing his move in declaring Israel a Jewish state. By stacking the deck with military men, Uhuru may be working himself into a box that will see everything through a military prism. Soldiers aren't democrats. They do as they're told...& expect everyone else to follow suit... I am not sure I understand you concerns about mission creep, as I would not like to imagine that the authorities would use anti-terror laws to settle political scores. Even if that is a genuine fear, failure to enact the laws on account of fear harms more Kenyans than the minority who would have these altercations with politicians. I totally disagree with the notion of militarisation of the government as all we are doing is using the best taken we have and from a discipline point of this comes from the military who have managed to stay above the political fray. You are certainly wrong on Karangoi's view of literacy in the military. I am sure you have heard the revised officer training program which is now 4 years to get a commission rather than the previous 9 months as every officer cadet must undertake an undergraduate course in military science at the Kenyatta University. Having every officer as a graduate is not the hallmark of an all order obeying soldier! I still do not understand this fear of ex-military men getting jobs in the civilian service. If it helps bring order and discipline in some of the institutions, then it serves our country well. Uhuru does not need the military to prop him, he has the support of the millions who voted for him and who will do so again in 2017 if they believe he has served the country well. |
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Post by kasiaya on Dec 9, 2014 0:47:54 GMT 3
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Post by abdulmote on Dec 9, 2014 0:58:43 GMT 3
I've noticed that linking a video clip directly on to Jukwaa tends to slow down our pages download. Click on the link below: Killing With Impunity |
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Post by OtishOtish on Dec 9, 2014 3:07:35 GMT 3
I've noticed that linking a video clip directly on to Jukwaa tends to slow down our pages download. Click on the link below: Killing With ImpunityThe historical marginalization of Muslims seems to be turning gradually into some sort of unofficial and illegal war. Ahmednasir Abdullahi is not a fellow that I generally care for, but attention needs to be paid to some of what he's been writing: " The north and coastal regions of the country are basically lost."www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Uhuru-has-realised-that-his-government-is-weak/-/440808/2539806/-/10o6svv/-/index.html" First, Kenya has a Muslim problem. The Muslim population in the country is restive and agitated.
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Second, Muslims in Kenya face state-sponsored terror. This problem is related to the first. Whether it is the extra-judicial killings in Mombasa, the storming of mosques, the mass arrests of Somalis or the habitual lockdowns of Eastleigh, the Muslim community sees the state as a hostile force.
Matters are not helped by a long history of mistrust and marginalisation. When you have a significant sector of your society in constant confrontation with the state you have a problem."www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Giving-President-draconian-power-is-wrong/-/440808/2547540/-/7gq991z/-/index.htmlBone-headedness by the "All-Powerful State" is how Nigeria has ended up with today's Boko-Haram problem. Kenya, for whatever reason, seems determined to follow the same path. A pity. A tragedy in the making. |
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Post by b6k on Dec 9, 2014 7:55:37 GMT 3
Kamale, you may not want to imagine the abuse of terror laws for political targets but if we are already abusing the existing "lax" laws, we are bound to do the same with robust laws. Only recently a bank thug who was already downed & wounded was snuffed on camera in the middle of the CBD. None of the cops in that "arrest" have been charged with murder. When the authorities already have such carte blanche applications of use of deadly force without consequence, why should we add more laws in their favour? On military recruitment of D- dunderheads, I had it wrong. The military is actually recruiting servicemen who cannot excel beyond B grades but can be as low as D+ students! This was outed by Brigadier Magut who no doubt was taking orders from above: "The national chief recruitment officer Brigadier Peter Magut said KDF will not bend the rules to favour those who secured a grade B and above in the Kenya Certificate Secondary Education. “Anybody with a grade B and above cannot make a good soldier because once they are recruited they will still pursue higher education. So instead of enlisting candidates who will start seeking time off to go to university we opt to recruit those with minimum grades,” he said." He went on to add... "Only those with grades between B- and the minimum requirement of D+ are being considered for recruitment as privates, the lowest rank, in the ongoing exercise. But those with higher grades still have the possibility to join as cadets." mobile.nation.co.ke/News/KDF-Recruitment-Grades/-/1950946/2039504/-/format/xhtml/-/huxtks/-/index.htmlSo if you're a B student & above your application is limited to the officer cadets vacancies only, the competitive fraction of the military you addressed in your last response not the general recruits who make up the grunts or boots on the ground. The dumbing down of the servicemen does not bode well for a professional force. Militarization of the civil service should be taken in small doses & only where appropriate. Relying to much on ex-military men will lead to a siege mentality in government. But then again, the administration really may be under siege... |
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Post by jakaswanga on Dec 9, 2014 20:55:03 GMT 3
Kamale, you may not want to imagine the abuse of terror laws for political targets but if we are already abusing the existing "lax" laws, we are bound to do the same with robust laws. Only recently a bank thug who was already downed & wounded was snuffed on camera in the middle of the CBD. None of the cops in that "arrest" have been charged with murder. When the authorities already have such carte blanche applications of use of deadly force without consequence, why should we add more laws in their favour? b6k, I have found you well-argued in this thread. Allow me to bring this to yours, and hopefully Kamalet's attention. On the dangers of mission creep, in the face of a siege mentality. Today, the USA congressional report is out. It is a comprehensive on the the CIA in the aftermath of 9/11. Most of it is going to be secret forever. it is too horrible and shocking to be made public. The CIA lost it. They became Ivan the Terrible's secret service. The catholic inquisitors at their worst during the infamous spanish inquisition. They went overboard. They abandoned a millenium of human advancement in thought and civilisation. And then, I have been checking Islamic first commentary, they walked into the trap of race and religion. White Anglo Saxons torturing brown and black peoples. Christians playing God over Muslims! Report is too hot for open society! ---it was a mission creep! |
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Post by b6k on Dec 10, 2014 10:00:51 GMT 3
Jakaswanga, mission creep can get a whole lot more sinister than that. Objectionable as the "brutal" CIA interrogation techniques may have gotten you'd probably find there would be substantial support for the tactics as long as they were utilized on the "right" targets, that is predominantly foreign people of the brown or black hue. Mission creep rears its ugly head when the same snooping tactics were used on US citizens starting with brown or black people with ties to foreigners but inevitably spilling on to the ordinary citizens. A study was carried out in a US city that discovered that laws similar to the ones Kamale is advocating for (wire tapping, surveillance without court orders) were used on only 50 or so actual terror target investigations out of over 1,100 searches. The majority of investigations were of communications by US citizens who were involved in what the Kenya police would characterize as "ordinary crime". Cops, like water, will inevitably follow the path of least resistance. It won't be long until tactics used on ordinary criminals are used against ordinary folks since the process of securing court orders is laborious & time consuming. Now that the new robust terror law is to be debated in parliament today it becomes clear why Kamale even broached this question on this thread in the first place. The law in question seeks to muzzle the investigative press & clamp down on the liberal use of social media. Kamale must be holding brief for someone... Before he returns to label me an Al Shabaab sympathizer let it be on record that out of 136 attacks on Kenyan soil, Al Shabaab has confirmed perpetrating only 10! So 126 terror-like attacks have been the result of inter-clan rivalries in NEP (majority of Mandera County Government is from one clan & the lesser clan instigated incidents to make those in charge appear incompetent) or competition between the various cartels made up of locals, Somalian, & Kenyan businessmen ensuring their sugar & electronic equipment gets into KE without tax thanks to KRA, customs & other authorities collusion. www.nation.co.ke/news/Sugar-and-charcoal-barons-sleeping-with-enemy/-/1056/2547286/-/mu634ez/-/index.htmlLet us also not forget that there has been talk of oil reserves being discovered in the Mandera-Wajir-Garissa region so it's not entirely surprising to expect there could be a local led move to avoid what's happened in Turkana (down country Kenyans moving up to take advantage of all opportunities) by pushing out non-indigenous people from the area by force BEFORE the oil is tapped...& blaming it on Al Shabaab. The above not only answers Omundustrong's question in his thread that it's not Muslims attacking Christians but also shows why we don't need new laws as per Kamale's request. It's all about the money (greed) & bad politics. Control the magendo & whip the politicians into shape and the environment enabling the 126 attacks will be managed. You then don't need draconian laws to prevent the 10 Al Shabaab attacks carried out by people who sneak into Kenya & melt away into Somalia meaning they won't be affected by the laws as ordinary Kenyans will be in the long term. |
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Post by jakaswanga on Dec 13, 2014 0:00:25 GMT 3
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Post by b6k on Dec 18, 2014 13:17:14 GMT 3
It looks like Kamale will have his Patriot Act despite CORD MP's attempting to disrupt the third reading of the security laws amendment bill. The question now will be what amendments did the various parliamentary committees make to the objectionable clauses before they rushed it through parliament...
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Post by kamalet on Dec 19, 2014 11:01:11 GMT 3
It looks like Kamale will have his Patriot Act despite CORD MP's attempting to disrupt the third reading of the security laws amendment bill. The question now will be what amendments did the various parliamentary committees make to the objectionable clauses before they rushed it through parliament... B6K I am happy that legislative efforts have been made to fight terror in Kenya. Doing nothing was never an option! I may not fully agree with the methods this was achieved, but we have a law. Unfortunately the amendments that the CORD MPs had proposed were dropped for lack of a mover as they continued making noise. These amendments were the results of a consensus meeting between Jubilee and CORD, so it is a pity that the law would have gone through with important amendments missed out. But that is water under the bridge and am sure those offended will run to the High Court to get the unconstitutional sections of the Bill are deleted. But the Law is just one element in the fight against terror. We have enabled our terror fighters with legislation, it is up to them to use the law faithfully and I believe Nkaissery will not make political capital of the law. |
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Post by mwalimumkuu on Dec 19, 2014 19:03:11 GMT 3
It looks like Kamale will have his Patriot Act despite CORD MP's attempting to disrupt the third reading of the security laws amendment bill. The question now will be what amendments did the various parliamentary committees make to the objectionable clauses before they rushed it through parliament... B6K I am happy that legislative efforts have been made to fight terror in Kenya. Doing nothing was never an option! I may not fully agree with the methods this was achieved, but we have a law. Unfortunately the amendments that the CORD MPs had proposed were dropped for lack of a mover as they continued making noise. These amendments were the results of a consensus meeting between Jubilee and CORD, so it is a pity that the law would have gone through with important amendments missed out. But that is water under the bridge and am sure those offended will run to the High Court to get the unconstitutional sections of the Bill are deleted. But the Law is just one element in the fight against terror. We have enabled our terror fighters with legislation, it is up to them to use the law faithfully and I believe Nkaissery will not make political capital of the law. Here is our own Patriot Act 2014 www.president.go.ke/the-security-laws-amendment-act-2014/ as Kamale puts it, there is no way we were going to sit around and complain without doing anything. The infrastructure is now in place, the agencies concerned must now work to give meaning to and effect the law. ~~ Mwalimumkuu @nyumbakubwa ~~ |
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Post by OtishOtish on Dec 19, 2014 21:48:06 GMT 3
He, he, he ... Let's call this one Law-by-Comedy. It is amazing that so little thought has gone into this thing. On second thoughts, I take that back: the laws are actually constructed so that the government will be able to do just about anything to anyone. An example:
66A. (1) A person who publishes, broadcasts or causes to be published or distributed, through print, digital or electronic means, insulting, threatening, or inciting material or images of dead or injured persons which are likely to cause fear and alarm to the general public or disturb public peace commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding five million shillings or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.
First: this actually covers anyone doing "business" in Kenya, i.e. not just journalists.
Second: Note carefully the use of disjunctions.
Third: Following from "second", now consider a question such as "insulting to whom exactly".
Things then go downhill, quite rapidly, from there. Incredibly, the response to claims that these laws go against the Constitution has not led to any sort of re-think. Instead, there is the bold assertion that in some case the Constitution will be "limited"! E.g.
(3) The freedom of expression and the freedom of the media under Articles 33 and 34 of the Constitution shall be limited as specified under this section for the purposes of limiting the publication or distribution of material likely to cause public alarm, incitement to violence or disturb public peace.
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(3) The right to privacy under Article 31 of the Constitution shall be limited under this section for the purpose of intercepting communication directly relevant in the detecting, deterring and disrupting terrorism.
Etc.
In most places in the world the Constitution is considered supreme. Come to think of it, Article 2 of the Kenyan Constitution states that
2. (1) This Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic and
binds all persons and all State organs at both levels of government.
High marks for originality: The old African dictator used to take the trouble to tinker with the constitution; other than the inconvenience of requiring numbers in the legislature, that was simply crude. So, the new, digital, budding-dictator---aka Baby K (also now a Dr.)---has a much better idea: don't ignore the thing, and don't try to change it; just limit it! A lesser law to limit the supreme law Pure genius!
And then there are bits that seem odd but which will undoubtedly assure Kenyans of their security:
(1) A person shall not─
(a) operate any class of vehicle including private vehicles as public service vehicles; or
(b) operate a commercial service vehicle whose tare weight exceeds three thousand and forty eight kilograms, unless the vehicle is licensed by the Authority.
Kenya and Kenyans are in for some very interesting times.
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fit'' Muslim Somalis like Aden Duale, Isack Hassan, Ahmednassir, Amina Mohamed, gen. Al Haji, gen Hussein Ali, gen Mohamed, Bill Kerrow –-and of course all those Pwani-si-Kenya clerics!
