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Post by mzee on Feb 5, 2013 12:30:23 GMT 3
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Post by raiswakesho on Feb 6, 2013 0:08:54 GMT 3
Not even CJ Mutunga has the powers to stop the debate on land issues or the historical injustices!
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Post by ebarasi on Feb 6, 2013 2:20:05 GMT 3
So are we heading back to agenda Censorship?
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Post by OtishOtish on Feb 6, 2013 3:23:54 GMT 3
Land issues now? Where have these people been for the last 5 years? Everyone knows why the land issues are being brought up now, and the people doing so should definitely be told to knock it off. Thank you, Bwana Kibunja.
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Post by phil on Feb 6, 2013 12:02:12 GMT 3
Kibunja and Kimaiyo are punching way above their weights. You cannot muzzle any Kenyan (let alone the Prime Minister or Vice President) against speaking out of injustice. Kimaiyo and Kibunja have their roles clearly spelt out in the laws of the land. Let them stick to their mandate.. These threats will not take us anywhere in the new constitutional dispensation for crying out loud. LAND has kept the Jubilee Coalition on the defensive for three weeks running now. Why them and not others? Is it normal for a whole presidential running mate to have a serious case land grabbing and title deed forgery and we all turn a blind eye to it? Good heavens! Do akina Kimaiyo follow the news? Jubilee is lucky CORD has not even started questioning Anglo-Leasing, Kroll, Goldenberg, Grand Regency and of course Uhuru's illegally single sourcing VW passats from his own business who are the franchise holders. We cant wait for presidential debates to start we roast this man alive. Meanwhile, Kimaiyo and Kibunja can attend meetings with Kimemia where they listen to instructions from Uhuruto, but you can take this to the bank. LAND will be a campaign issue as it is an important element of the CORD harmonised manifesto. Historical injustices must be addressed HEAD-ON. The immorality of owning 700,000 acres of land of mostly self allocated must be brought to the national attention of anyone who cares for the future of Kenya!! That acreage is far much the size of Central Province where landless peasants countinue to be duped into voting for these land oligarchs. |
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Post by b6k on Feb 6, 2013 12:48:01 GMT 3
Kibunja and Kimaiyo are punching way above their weights. You cannot muzzle any Kenyan (let alone the Prime Minister or Vice President) against speaking out of injustice. Kimaiyo and Kibunja have their roles clearly spelt out in the laws of the land. Let them stick to their mandate.. These threats will not take us anywhere in the new constitutional dispensation for crying out loud. LAND has kept the Jubilee Coalition on the defensive for three weeks running now. Why them and not others? Is it normal for a whole presidential running mate to have a serious case land grabbing and title deed forgery and we all turn a blind eye to it? Good heavens! Do akina Kimaiyo follow the news? Jubilee is lucky CORD has not even started questioning Anglo-Leasing, Kroll, Goldenberg, Grand Regency and of course Uhuru's illegally single sourcing VW passats from his own business who are the franchise holders. We cant wait for presidential debates to start we roast this man alive. Meanwhile, Kimaiyo and Kibunja can attend meetings with Kimemia where they listen to instructions from Uhuruto, but you can take this to the bank. LAND will be a campaign issue as it is an important element of the CORD harmonised manifesto. Historical injustices must be addressed HEAD-ON. The immorality of owning 700,000 acres of land of mostly self allocated must be brought to the national attention of anyone who cares for the future of Kenya!! That acreage is far much the size of Central Province where landless peasants countinue to be duped into voting for these land oligarchs. , were the villagers who lived on what is today the Opoda farm compensated for land taken from them to construct an airstrip for Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in anticipation of his presidency which never was to be? To garble scripture, indeed UK has a log in his eye with the 700k plus acreage, but it seems RAO has a speck in his own eye even as he calls out UK on the land issue, ama? Can the PM man up correct his family's very own land grab? Watch TNA's Onyango Oloo's allegation from 37:15 onwards..... |
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Post by stibin on Feb 6, 2013 12:53:20 GMT 3
My take is that it’s reckless for Raila or any other person to play politics with the land owned by Kenyatta family while knowing it’s just part of a bigger problem. How will he, for instance, absolve himself from blame if after elections charged mobs forcibly occupy idle land belonging to kenyattas?. I believe this isn’t far fetched considering where we’re coming from and it can happen whether RAO wins march 4 elections or not.
I think the way to go is for CORD and other parties to tell us how they intend to address land issues without necessarily getting personal, e.g how to ensure NLC effectively performs its mandate, when and how issue persons in community lands with title deeds, how to deal with idle private land e.t.c
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Post by b6k on Feb 6, 2013 13:05:50 GMT 3
My take is that it’s reckless for Raila or any other person to play politics with the land owned by Kenyatta family while knowing it’s just part of a bigger problem. How will he, for instance, absolve himself from blame if after elections charged mobs forcibly occupy idle land belonging to kenyattas?. I believe this isn’t far fetched considering where we’re coming from and it can happen whether RAO wins march 4 elections or not. I think the way to go is for CORD and other parties to tell us how they intend to address land issues without necessarily getting personal, e.g how to ensure NLC effectively performs its mandate, when and how issue persons in community lands with title deeds, how to deal with idle private land e.t.c , you're absolutely spot on! |
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Post by podp on Feb 6, 2013 18:36:53 GMT 3
My take is that it’s reckless for Raila or any other person to play politics with the land owned by Kenyatta family while knowing it’s just part of a bigger problem. How will he, for instance, absolve himself from blame if after elections charged mobs forcibly occupy idle land belonging to kenyattas?. I believe this isn’t far fetched considering where we’re coming from and it can happen whether RAO wins march 4 elections or not. I think the way to go is for CORD and other parties to tell us how they intend to address land issues without necessarily getting personal, e.g how to ensure NLC effectively performs its mandate, when and how issue persons in community lands with title deeds, how to deal with idle private land e.t.c I liked what I read elsewhere. It is best to face the land issue and that way it will not be an excuse every time loud mouthed politicians lack refreshing ideas they turn on each other rather than address issue pertinent i.e. when polls are done Kenyans are more concerned with employment of youth, cost of living, insecurity, etc. trying very hard to divert attention to land and we have South Africa where they have not gone far with land reforms and Zimbabwe where same land reforms have not yielded a prosperous country. here is the link and the way of suggested framing of the land question. mwakilishi.com/content/blogs/2013/02/02/framing-the-land-debate-in-kenya.html#commentsFraming the Land Debate in Kenya By Guest Author | Sat, 02/02/2013 05:52PM -0500 If there's one thing I'd beg of Kenyans, especially those well-intentioned towards maintaining peace through this elections period, do not attempt to kill the debate on land. Yes, it is hot, emotive and volatile. It is for these very fearful reasons that we need to have this debate to its wholesome conclusion. A pending election, an unstable social order and a traumatic memory, all in our collective psyche, should not be a reason for us to suppress this debate in order to ensure peace. Its time has come. We need to frame it appropriately. We do not have a non-partisan national debates institution that can take us through the process of framing and steering, and none of the capable institutions have stepped up to the plate, so we have to find a way of doing this within the non-formal platforms already in place, be they social media or select groups. The corporate media are at best, ignition platforms for debates, and in my own opinion, compromised and purely profit-driven, therefore far from being the appropriate conduits for prolonged non-partisan debates on national issues. Here are my suggested framing points: Politicians: We must not allow political candidates and their campaign machinery to control the debate in their favor. When propaganda on land issues is peddled from political podiums, it’s our responsibility to do the research and confront them with facts. Wananchi: It’s also our responsibility as the electorate to accept the facts about our preferred candidates should they be implicated in land-theft issues, and demand a response from them as to how they intend to lead and solve the problem. Don’t be a sycophant. Sycophancy constipates debate. Justice: Let our goal be justice for the people who have long suffered displacement and poverty as a result of theft of their land and poor land administration policies. This needs the functioning of a justice system that efficiently settles land disputes, not endless commissions on land. Economy: Let our overarching goal in land ownership be the growing of a healthy national economy where no one is homeless or hungry. Food and shelter are fundamental human rights that can and must be guaranteed for all Kenyan citizens. It’s not utopian; it’s achievable. The universal story: In the course of debate, let’s embrace the logical as well as the emotional with a sense of maturity. The best way to frame the emotional is by drawing parallels with other peoples who’ve suffered a similar fate, e.g., the Native Americans. Therein, we might come across solutions others have successfully implemented, or avoid mistakes they've made on their way to healing. The personal story: Let’s be truthful in the stories we tell, compassionate in acknowledging those stories, and purposeful in presenting our demands for restitution and reconstruction to the leadership. Following 2007 pev, I learnt a painful lesson: when a friend or neighbor becomes a bitter foe, don't curse them; find their story. Yes, even we in the diaspora suffered the repurcussions of what happened a thousand miles away! Truth is, abroad or at home, we all still carry in us the inherited sting of a colonized people, the bile of festered, unresolved injustices done to us and to each other. The debate about land is an inward journey about belonging, identity and human dignity. We owe ourselves this inward journey, tough and fearful as it may be. If you determine that you never want to see a fellow Kenyan living in such inhuman conditions in the slums and camps of Kenya’s brutal poverty and displacement; if you determine that you never want to see a fellow human being slowly dye of hunger when another hoards excess harvest; if you are determined that you never wish to see another child, young man, or mother thrown onto a lorry like garbage after their house has been torched; if you are determined to never see the build-up of militia incited to kill and maim in the name of freedom; then you owe it to yourself to have this debate. We can do this. By Mkawasi Mcharo Hall. |
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Post by mangai on Feb 6, 2013 21:00:51 GMT 3
www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000076732&story_title=Kenya-Nyachae-warns-NCIC-against-gagging-presidential-candidates-Nyachae warns NCIC against gagging presidential candidates Related News By Robert Nyasato Nairobi, Kenya- Presidential candidates cannot be gagged from discussing land issues during their campaigns, Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC) Chairman Charles Nyachae has said. Quoting press reports attributed to National Cohesion and Integration Commision (NCIC) chairman Mzalendo Kibunja and Inspector General of Police David Kimayio asking presidential aspirants from mainstreaming land matters in their campaigns, Nyachae said it was unconstitutional. Addressing a press conference in Kisii on wednesday, Nyachae said politicians were free to make land issue their subject matter in their campaigns. ¨It is legitimate political right of those campaigning to discuss issues touching on the constitution land included,” he said. He said raising land matters should not be outlawed on grounds of being sensitive or emotive, adding that unemployment and integrity were equally critical matters but none has been barred from highlighting them in the campaigns. The chair said what should be of concern to the authorities is the manner in which the discussions are made but so far nobody had violated the law. ¨It is completely unacceptable for anybody to seek to de-legitimise land issues during this electioneering period,” he warned. Nyachae said the utterances by NCIC and IGP were tantamount to creating problems where there was none. ¨This would greatly undermine the democratic process and fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution,” he charged. Lately, presidentail campaigns have been charged with Cord Presidential candidate, Prime Minister Raila Odinga hitting at his Jubilee competitor, DPM Uhuru Kenyatta over land reforms. Raila and his partners in Cord including his running mate, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Trade Minister Moses Wetangula have maintained Uhuru can’t be entrusted with initiating and implementing land reforms in the country due to personal conflict. But in response, Uhuru has challenged Raila to table evidence that he owned large chunks of land in the country.
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Post by mank on Feb 7, 2013 7:51:42 GMT 3
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Post by mzee on Feb 7, 2013 11:43:34 GMT 3
Now that everyone is ignoring Kibunja and Kimaiyos calls not to talk about land what will they do?
I think that this was the most stupid utterance of all time.
If Raila were to follow the tribal line, then he should not be talking about land because the Kenyattas stole land from their kikuyu brethren in Central province. When that was not enough he crossed over to Kalenjin land and Coast to accumulate some more. In total 700 000 hectares.
Truth be told, the kikuyus are the most landless people in Kenya and this will get worse given their high population and the fact that land "theft" is soon being nipped in the bud by the CORD government. Its ashame to sit on so much land while others have zero hectares even if you "legally" bought it
There are many people sitting on land that they got through dubious means in Rift Valley and Coast. If Uhuru becomes president, the real owners of the said land should rest assured that title deeds will be provided to the "fake" owners.
For you who have land problems, vote for Uhuru Kenyatta at your own peril.
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Post by cheshirecat on Feb 7, 2013 17:14:11 GMT 3
Now that everyone is ignoring Kibunja and Kimaiyos calls not to talk about land what will they do? I think that this was the most stupid utterance of all time. If Raila were to follow the tribal line, then he should not be talking about land because the Kenyattas stole land from their kikuyu brethren in Central province. When that was not enough he crossed over to Kalenjin land and Coast to accumulate some more. In total 700 000 hectares. Truth be told, the kikuyus are the most landless people in Kenya and this will get worse given their high population and the fact that land "theft" is soon being nipped in the bud by the CORD government. Its ashame to sit on so much land while others have zero hectares even if you "legally" bought it There are many people sitting on land that they got through dubious means in Rift Valley and Coast. If Uhuru becomes president, the real owners of the said land should rest assured that title deeds will be provided to the "fake" owners. For you who have land problems, vote for Uhuru Kenyatta at your own peril. Mzee, You are the personification of what is wrong in this country. Remember that pathologist., someone who had gone to school, studied for years and passed many exams, told us, without even blinking, that in his considered and professional view, a man shot himself in the head and then proceeded to set himself on fire. The sheer shamelessness in our so called educated elite is amazing. On this blog, one camp roots for two fellows whom for all we know, might go to jail next month. what happens? Does a poor impoverished nation spend another 30b to do another election? What happens in the meantime? Do we engage each other in that so beloved pasttime of ours, butchering each other and burning children in churches? Then there is you and your ilk. Telling us how raila and co. will reform land issues in Kenya. Even Orengo, an educated and bright lawyer had the balls to chip in, calling for reforms. Never mind the fact that they campaigned on the very same issue in 2007. never ming that Orengo has been incharge of the lands docket for the last 5 years. We are expected to ignore all that and believe that this time, they really care for landless kikuyu peasants lol. People like you and Omwenga would have us believe that the very undemocratic nominations were all the fault of Kajwang and an aberration to an otherwise very reform oriented and democratic party. (ofcourse we must also believe that people like Maina Njenga, Kalonzoi, Ntimama etc have also undergone some mysterious transformation) For both camps, these are all lies and we know it. But we perpetuate them anyway because deep in our hearts, our allegiance lies with our tribe and not our country. This is about getting our tribesman in power and if we are especially stupid, we might think there will be some money for us from the never ending gravy train. But saying that after all that education; we are just tribal thugs with Iphones, is a bit disconcerting, so just like that Pathologist, we invent elaborate things that have no bearing to reality. In that web of fantasy, land issues in Rift are deemed to be small misunderstandings, Kalonzo and maina Njenga become reformist and perhaps the issue of one family owning an obscene amount of land probably did not make it's way up on Orengo's list of things to do in 5 years of being in office. Looking at the pitiful cast we have, one can easily predict what will happen in the next five years. we shall continue to butcher each other in places like Tana; the killers as poverty stricken as those they are butchering. our middle class and diaspora fan the flames, talk of fictional reforms while tucking into their KFC. Corruption will continues (and Pastor Paul Kamlesh pattni will continue saving souls as he has been doing for the last 10 years). And the land issue? Regardless of who wins, you will never hear about it again till the next election. I can even predict where the corruption scandals will be; anywhere ruto, Kajwang, Njenga etc will run or manage. And the grandmasters of this all? They go back to their residences in Muthaiga and Karen, where if am not mistaken, there wasn't a single recorded case of violence during PEV. A poor wretched citizenry, drowning in their own stupidity and ignorance. Happy valentines day Mzee.  , its time for me to shut up and let the fantasies continue |
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Post by OtishOtish on Feb 7, 2013 18:09:30 GMT 3
Remember that pathologist., someone who had gone to school, studied for years and passed many exams, told us, without even blinking, that in his considered and professional view, a man shot himself in the head and then proceeded to set himself on fire. Correction: according to the report, he first broke one of his own legs, hopped into the bush on the other leg, and only then proceeded to do the above. As soon as the elections are over, and the politicians get down to eating, you will hear the lemmings (as they go over the cliff) wail that the scoundrels they just elected are concerned with only themselves. Never mind. Let's go back to "X will win!", "No, Y will win!", "No, no, no! The polls show it's Z!". |
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Post by podp on Feb 7, 2013 22:04:17 GMT 3
Mzee, You are the personification of what is wrong in this country. Remember that pathologist., someone who had gone to school, studied for years and passed many exams, told us, without even blinking, that in his considered and professional view, a man shot himself in the head and then proceeded to set himself on fire. The sheer shamelessness in our so called educated elite is amazing. On this blog, one camp roots for two fellows whom for all we know, might go to jail next month. what happens? Does a poor impoverished nation spend another 30b to do another election? What happens in the meantime? Do we engage each other in that so beloved pasttime of ours, butchering each other and burning children in churches? Then there is you and your ilk. Telling us how raila and co. will reform land issues in Kenya. Even Orengo, an educated and bright lawyer had the balls to chip in, calling for reforms. Never mind the fact that they campaigned on the very same issue in 2007. never ming that Orengo has been incharge of the lands docket for the last 5 years. We are expected to ignore all that and believe that this time, they really care for landless kikuyu peasants lol. People like you and Omwenga would have us believe that the very undemocratic nominations were all the fault of Kajwang and an aberration to an otherwise very reform oriented and democratic party. (ofcourse we must also believe that people like Maina Njenga, Kalonzoi, Ntimama etc have also undergone some mysterious transformation) For both camps, these are all lies and we know it. But we perpetuate them anyway because deep in our hearts, our allegiance lies with our tribe and not our country. This is about getting our tribesman in power and if we are especially stupid, we might think there will be some money for us from the never ending gravy train. But saying that after all that education; we are just tribal thugs with Iphones, is a bit disconcerting, so just like that Pathologist, we invent elaborate things that have no bearing to reality. In that web of fantasy, land issues in Rift are deemed to be small misunderstandings, Kalonzo and maina Njenga become reformist and perhaps the issue of one family owning an obscene amount of land probably did not make it's way up on Orengo's list of things to do in 5 years of being in office. Fanon of 'Wretched of the Earth' fame had an ideal. he hoped intellectuals would collabote with the masses against the national bourgeoisie. when one pays close attention at Fanon’s relentless assault on the national bourgeoisie one sees his problem with this “little greedy caste” (personified by the likes of Ruto and Orengo, for example)! but on the other hand, what is the responsibility of a strong bourgeoisie? the the main obstacle to the promise of nationalism i.e. us seeing ourselves as Kenyans is in fact our 'national bourgeoisie'. these wealthy nationals want to run the country after the exit of the GCG government. the problem is that they can not “rationalize” popular action. hence the land bogey debate when both sides of the GCG should have had the Land Commission gazetted so that a Constitutional mandated body carries what they were incapable of doing 5 years and counting or if one wants to go back to 1963, 50 years and counting and if one wants to go back when the railway line came more than 100 years and counting. the bourgeoisie has been crippled by the fact that majority of Kenyans (+70% of our population is youth); the likes of Orengo, Ruto had no economic power less than 20 years ago, no imagination and no political will now that they are wallowing in wealth that has landed on them, thank you to patronage from Moi to RAO-Kibaki regime. they had merely invested in small businesses (Ruto selling chicken on roadsides 30 years ago for example before the Youth for Kanu activities 20 years ago became a windfall for him), agriculture, and the liberal professions (Orengo running a fledgling law firm 20 years ago). they had neither financiers nor industrial magnates. they were “not engaged in production, nor in invention, nor building, nor labor.” unfortunately, this caste had become the intermediary for the economic forces of the richest countries, and had neglected their role as national enablers. thus, they could not deliver real reforms, which in turn explains why the likes of Ruto and Orengo for example remain hanging as Uhuru and RAO drapes (coattails), or as one may say they are hiking a lift or worse sharing an elevator (lift). our own here who are doing spin doctoring are hoping to be the Rutos and Orengos of the next government and hence when one pays close attention at Fanon’s relentless assault on the national bourgeoisie one sees his problem with this “little greedy caste”. |
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Post by ebarasi on Feb 8, 2013 0:20:13 GMT 3
So are we heading back to agenda Censorship? It is good that there are some people out there who see this for what it was intended to be- Censorship. |
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Post by podp on Feb 8, 2013 10:15:07 GMT 3
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Post by ebarasi on Feb 9, 2013 3:23:49 GMT 3
Kiai joins the fray with his views on these Censors and where they want to lead us to and a little more. I SHUDDER WHEN KIBUNJIA TALKS SINCE IT REMINDS ME OF THE OLD NYAYO ORDERNCIC chairman Mzalendo Kibunjia has joined the ranks of those spouting baloney during this campaign season. His view that talking about historical injustices is tantamount to incitement portrays an ignorance that is worrying, or worse, suggests that he is unlawfully partisan. For his statement echoes Uhuru Kenyatta on Al Jazeerah, that history is irrelevant. And not to be outdone, our new Inspector General of Police has also joined the fray, warning against discussing land issues on the basis that they are emotive! Am I missing something? Did we not pass a new Constitution that protects the freedom of speech to international standards? Are these guys still in the old Nyayo era? History is crucial to Kenya, and we need to know it all: The good, the bad and the ugly. For as Confucius said: “Study the past if you would define the future.” From the Rift, Central, Coast, Western, to North Eastern provinces, the history of land is vital; how it was acquired, how it was distributed, and who got what, where, and how. All the political players understand the centrality of land and historical injustices. Where they differ is on whether and how they will deal with these issues if they are elected. And it is here that their personal histories — as beneficiaries, status quo believers, or agents of change¬ — are crucial for us to ascertain their ability to deliver these promises. But it’s not just land and historical injustices that have fallen victim to electoral baloney. Many politicians are telling barefaced lies. They think and take us for fools, and we must challenge them. Here are a few choice ones: “We will bring back ICC cases to Kenya,” by Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi: They can’t. Until we have a police force capable of doing proper, professional, and independent investigations — which in the best of circumstances; given the rot in the force is at least five years away — this is a pipe-dream. And if the utterances by the new police boss are any indicator, we have perhaps longer to wait. It is not even clear what law would apply for these cases if they were to be brought back here, as the International Crimes Act came into force in 2009, and does not cover the post-election violence. This means the accused can’t be charged here with the same crimes as they face at The Hague, which is necessary. “Winning the election means that Kenyans question the ICC process, which should be taken into account,” by Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto: Popularity has nothing to do with justice or judicial processes. Might is not right. Hitler was elected in a landslide in 1933 even as he planned genocide. Juvenal Habyrimana was popular even as his regime plotted genocide in Rwanda. And let’s not forget that Daniel Moi was declared the winner of elections in 1992 and 1997 despite credible reports that his regime was behind the “ethnic clashes” in the Rift Valley. “We will provide free university education,” by Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka: Only if they mean like the “free education” where new fees like cleaning fees, staffing fees, sitting fees, food fees, breathing fees etc emerge! Let’s first improve the quality of our public primary education by pumping resources so that public schools can compete with private academies and give poor ordinary Kenyan children a chance at life. And then focus on making secondary education really free, and of such quality that even if students do not get into universities they are able to make a middle class life for themselves. “We will not be affected if we become a pariah nation because we can always turn to China,” by TNA activists: It is good that China has become an important partner, balancing the different political and economic interests internationally. So why would we want to have only one major partner — creating a new dependency and oppression¬ — when we could have more? The trade imbalance with China is massive as it does not import our coffee, miraa, tea, beef, or flowers. Nor do Chinese visit Kenya in significant numbers. Remember Robert Mugabe tried this idea, but came to such grief that to rectify things, Zimbabwe had to give up its currency for the US dollar. And recently Myanmar — for decades a pariah and closed state with China its only ally — decided to expand its international allies to include the West. This would be a painful option. Do we need to try it to see if it really burns? elections.nation.co.ke/Blogs/-/1632026/1688714/-/10t6vlo/-/index.html |
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Post by ebarasi on Feb 9, 2013 3:35:43 GMT 3
We wouldn't be talking about this had the officials charged with dealing with historical injustice and those who would pursue National cohesion and healing done their job or been let to do their job. Whichever is true. DON’T STOP DEBATE ON LAND, BANISH KIBUNJIA AND KIPLAGAT FROM OFFICENext time you are on James Gichuru Road and you come across Mr Bethuel Kiplagat, stop and pinch him on the nose. And if you see Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia on University Way, chirp your horn until he weeps. Make no mistake. These two gentlemen are not vagabonds, but exalted, highly-paid individuals who have failed Kenya in a way more brutal than even how the Electoral Commission of Kenya did in 2007. They have been in office for four years now, charged with helping Kenyans make peace, love and tolerate each other. Instead, more discord has been sowed, mistrust entrenched and billions of shillings in public funds wasted. When Mr Kiplagat was appointed to lead the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) in 2009, we expected him to use his vast experience in diplomacy and public service to identify and resolve historical injustices stretching back to 1963. An elder statesman who had shepherded the Somali peace process, we were told he had the guts, memory and fury of a wounded elephant to bring to justice men and women who had killed, maimed and stolen from impoverished Kenyans since independence. But Mr Kiplagat was a domesticated crocodile that could not hunt with wolves and sharks. More than Sh2 billion later, there’s nothing but grief to show for the investment in him and his team of whiners. From the Coast to Western, the wounds of past misdeeds are still sore. Land is now the most emotive and divisive issue in this year’s campaigns. The masses who expected justice from the commission are now despairing. There was hope that the commission’s report would act as a deterrent to violence. Now its indolence is a catalyst. In civilised societies, such incompetence would have seared the conscience of the most megalomaniac of public servants. Why have these otherwise intelligent men and women failed so miserably? The Kenyan TJRC, like many others after 1996, was modelled on the South African process that unified a country divided by race and class. Typical of all success stories, many countries adopted it as a shortcut to integration but overlooked the fact that it was the intellectual discipline, integrity and conviction of the commissioners that made the difference. These values are lacking in our TJRC. All the commissioners wanted was to be small Desmond Tutus so much so that they have spent 48 months chasing his shadow. The result is we are going into this election traumatised by bitter memories of the past and anxious about the future. Dr Kibunjia’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission was meant to complement TJRC by restating national values and lancing the boils of ethnicity, nepotism, corruption and violence. It was to reach out to Kenyans countrywide and inspire them to believe in the country, love one another and work for the national good. It started work well, but the more Dr Kibunjia held press conferences on hate speech, the more he fell in love with his own voice. Out went community mobilisation and in came junkets for pot-bellied men and their female consorts to talk peace and unity in workshops. The masses would then be addressed through the media. It puzzles me why Dr Kibunjia, an anthropologist, could get the basics of community integration so wrong. Every idiot knows that you cannot make peace by proxy in boardrooms. Dr Kibunjia and Mr Kiplagat are proof that the best men for the job can also be the worst performers. Largely due to their errors of commission, they have sheepishly led us into this election on a cliff of ethnic grievances and historical injustices. Surprisingly, instead of the government coming down hard on them, PS Bitange Ndemo, Government spokesman Muthui Kariuki and other pall-bearers in power are blaming rising tensions on the new media and debate on land. What tomfoolery! Mr Kiplagat, Dr Kibunjia and their commissioners have performed dismally and should be made to pay for incompetence. Like the ECK team before them, they must be banned from holding public office. This would send a message to other commissions that there is personal price to pay for non-performance. Did I hear somebody shout ouch!? elections.nation.co.ke/Blogs/-/1632026/1688714/-/10t6vlo/-/index.html |
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Post by nowayhaha on Feb 9, 2013 10:48:32 GMT 3
Raila-Uhuru renew 1960s rivalry elections.nation.co.ke/Blogs/Raila-Uhuru-renew-1960s-rivalry-/-/1632026/1686776/-/6k7tpc/-/index.htmlIn the early 1980’s Jaramogi Oginga Odinga seemed on the road to political rehabilitation; until he called founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta a land grabber. It’s like history is repeating itself with the ongoing war of words between the sons of the fathers. Cord Alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga has kicked up a maelstrom with the campaign depicting his main rival in the race for State House, the Jubilee Coalition’s Uhuru Kenyatta, as a land grabber. Raila’s father, the first vice president of independent Kenya turned pioneer opposition leader, had been denied all rights to public office since he was detained without trial by President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in 1969. After occupying State House in 1978, President Moi sought to mend fences with some of the personalities that had fallen foul of the Kenyatta regime. He appointed Mr Odinga chairman of the Cotton Lint and Seed Marketing Board. He also gave the nod for his return to politics. Then Mr Odinga chose to explain at a public rally why he had fallen out with President Kenyatta. He was for equitable access to land and special consideration for the needy, he said, while Kenyatta favoured the privileged few. Headlines the following day quoting Mr Odinga calling the late President Kenyatta a ‘land-grabber’ had President Moi seeing red. Mr Odinga’s path back to Parliament was blocked and he was again consigned to a political Siberia from which he was not to re-emerge until the return of multi-partyism a decade later. More than another two decades, the son of Odinga and the son of Kenyatta are embroiled in a major battle for the presidency, with the land question a controversial issue. The campaign was launched when Mr Odinga repeated an unverified, and most likely false, newspaper claim of a few years ago that the Kenyatta family owned land the size of Nyanza Province. Uhuru hit back with a challenge to anyone who has evidence that he has grabbed land to take him to court; adding for good measure that it is Mr Odinga who has to answer for grabbing the Kisumu Molasses factory. Into the melee waded Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo and the chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission Mzalendo Kibunjia with cautions that the land issue would inflame tensions. Mr Odinga remain unfazed, insisting that the land question cannot be swept under the carpet. Indeed the rival campaign manifestoes give considerable play to land. Both recognise that land is an emotive issue that has provoked conflict, and offer almost similar solutions. But then Mr Odinga on the land issue seeks to exploit Mr Kenyatta’s Achilles Heel. Nobody has accused Uhuru Kenyatta personally of being a land grabber. Nobody has even bothered to quantify the Kenyatta family land, but it is taken as unchallenged fact that vast holdings stretching from the Coast to the Rift Valley form the base of the family fortune. Uhuru Kenyatta has obviously been a direct beneficiary, but one could question whether the son must pay for the sins of the father. Another legitimate question is how many generations back can issues of land ownership and land claims be pursued. |
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Post by nowayhaha on Feb 9, 2013 10:53:18 GMT 3
allafrica.com/stories/201302070049.html?aa_source=acrdn-f0Kenya: Raila Must Stop Obsession With Kenyatta Family Land As the race to succeed President Kibaki hits the home stretch, Cord presidential candidate Raila Odinga keeps harping on the nationally emotive issue of land pointedly targeted at his chief competitor, Uhuru Kenyatta. This is in the hope that voters will be dissuaded from casting their votes in favour of the Jubilee candidate on March 4. But instead of Raila's vote-hunting tricks and obsession with the Kenyatta family land issue earning him support , he ends up creating fear and despondency among voters and investors (existing and potential). The same trick was used during the first multi-party elections in 1992 when one of the then leading presidential candidates created similar fears by threatening to expel from Kenya business people from a certain community. The said candidate did not realise his dreams to State House. Kenyans are not fools. They know too well that the current campaign against the Kenyattas and Raila's threats to reposses "stolen" land is meant to deny Uhuru the presidency. But sooner or later, the same campaign will be extended to other wealthy land owners including the Delameres, the Kuki Gallmans, the Moi's and the Mazrui's. Raila should not be allowed to get away with this. It is not just Uhuru he is threatening but everybody with land- both foreigners and locals. Under a Cord government, nobody will be safe. Again, Raila should be advised that whether his claims are true or false, the land associated with the Kenyattas does not belong to Uhuru. Uhuru is only a member of the family. The Prime Minister should take Uhuru's challenge and show Kenyans that he has evidence of the parcels of land in the name of the Jubilee leader. Lands Minister James Orengo, an ODM member, can quickly provide this information! To suggest any form of "punishment " to Uhuru over land in the name of the Kenyatta family is to equally suggest that Raila's son, Castro, should be linked to the Molasses Plant Scandal in Kisumu and the controversial parcel of land in Malindi which Raila claims ownership after the eviction of squatters (this matter is in court and remains sub judice). Raila should stop throwing stones because he lives in a glass house and cannot survive the scrutiny over matters of land. The Cord presidential candidate is no stranger to examples of mis-informed land appropriation schemes elsewhere in Africa. A few years back, President Robert Mugabe of of Zimbabwe started a disastrous land redistribution programme that resulted in an exodus of foreign investment and aid. Raila is all too well aware of what has been left of Zimbabwe. Mugabe's government is on its knees and the economy is in the Intensive Care Unit. The mineral rich country is now the best example of hyper inflation. Zimbabwe's finance minister confessed last week that the government has only Sh18,000 in its accounts! Those who know the Cord leader well will tell you that Raila's anti-Uhuru campaign over land is not based on any sense of service to the people but a scheme of theatrics aimed at gaining cheap populism to enable him romp to power. Once he gets the votes from the people and gets to power, he won't even remember his promises on the land issue. It is dishonest for Raila to keep harping on the land issue to sway the voters towards Cord. His intentions are suspect and amount to inflammatory speech. Raila is simply looking for sympathy that unfairly persuades voters to take certain political sides antipathetic to Uhuru. It is encouraging that, rather than engage in a shouting match with the Cord leader, Uhuru remains focused on the real issues that affect Kenyans. He has concentrated his campaigns on what a Jubilee government intends to do to transform the country both socially and economically. These issues are improved healthcare for all, better, affordable and accessible education, job and wealth creation, youth and women empowerment, security, unity and reform - issues that connect with the voters in a positive manner. In sharp contrast, Cord leaders seize every opportunity in their campaigns to create suspicions, fear and hatred among Kenyan communities by engaging in hadithi, vitendawili and derogatory metaphors.
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, its time for me to shut up and let the fantasies continue