shoots of revolution

Kenya's Value System: A Theory on Why We Make The Decisions We Do From A Value Perspective

2013-10-25T14:55:00.001+03:00

I have been thinking deeply recently about the concept of values and a value system, especially in relation to Kenya as a country and a society. Why do we seem to have such rotten institutions, such corruption, poor leadership, bad news stories and poverty of morals and thought in all aspects of society? What thought process and beliefs guide our choices in deciding to overlap, collect as much allowances as we can from the office on a trip, bribe police officers, to steal in exams, cheat on our loved ones, do all manner of wrong things and live comfortably within such an existence? Are our values as a society that off?

What is a value system anyway?

The free online dictionary defines a value system as “the principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group.” Dr. Clare W. Graves goes further to define it as a “hierarchically ordered, always open set of morals, ethics, standards, preferences, belief systems and world views that come together through self-organizing principles to define an individual, group or a culture.”

And make no mistake; values are important to our decisions as human beings on a day to day basis. According to peter Dayan, “there is perhaps no more critical factor for the survival of an organism than the manner in which it chooses different courses of action or inaction.” Not overlapping may be the difference between arriving at work thirty minutes late and pissing off clients and the boss. Is it your fault that the government will not build better roads? Not using mwakenya could mean the difference between qualifying for university or college, going through bridging or a degree you hate, or even between a second class upper or lower division. That sort of thing.

So what is Kenya’s value system?

That is a question I can only attempt to answer very generally and cautiously. In a nation of 43 ethnic groups, which underwent massive upheaval of colonization and decolonization all throughout the 20^th century, situated in a century where globalization, information communication and technology and revolutions in transport have made a mockery of nation-states, it is stretched to talk of an identity, let alone a single value system as a nation. However, having being schooled by the same education system, learnt about the political and social system from the same agents and suffered the same history, there are shared values amongst us as Kenyans.

Kenya is a broken society that has crumbled under the pressures of colonialism, neo-colonialism, modernity and globalization. Our institutions have been to weak to support us, it is virtually a free for all where we only come to help each other when we face calamity.

Most of us seem to value educational advancement, material wealth and the family and tribe above happiness, contentment, good governance and the nation. We will use all means that are not repugnant to our own values to move forward. The government will either be an impediment to be circumvented or a massive helping hand in this regard.

How do we choose which values to adapt?

According to the website Cultural Dynamics, the way we choose our values depends on where we lie on the Maslow hierarchy of needs. These are morality, pragmatism and ethics. This is a very important idea since it seems to suggest that our innate personalities are more critical in shaping the sort of values we will adapt from our society and world in general, as compared to material wealth or even education.

Perish the thought that the middle class should want what is ethical, as opposed to the upper “parasitic class” or the lower income classes!

According to Cultural Dynamics, which bases its findings on surveys carried out on British society over a long period, there are three distinct types of value systems any person can adopt depending on their ranking on the Maslow hierarchy: a settler, a pragmatist and a pioneer.

A settler is a person chooses his values from a moral standpoint: whether he feels something is right or wrong. Such a person values tradition, conformity and safety. He obeys the laws because it is the right thing to do. He is also-I think-going to frown upon too much political participation and questioning of the laws and decisions made by politicians. I think Kenya is full of settlers. Those who will support ICC or condemn it depending on which tribe they come from. Vote for CORD or Jubilee depending on their tribe too. They will frown on occupy parliament and MP salary hikes in equal measure. They strive to work around the system. They see the good of Moi and Kibaki regimes rather than the bad. They are the reason it is so hard to see change in Kenya; their capacity for bullshit is unrivalled, see them as the faithful wife who opens the door for her drunken hubby every night. Some say there is a limit to their perseverance.

The second type of person is the pragmatist. This is the most dangerous person in Kenya’s society. According to Cultural Dynamics, the pragmatist wants to explore the possibilities of situations rather than conforming to the situation. He values power, achievement and hedonism above all. He wants recognition from al Jazeera and BBC as a political activist. He wants to be seen as the brightest entrepremeur. The fighter against Western imperialism. The best poet. The genius coder. Mtu wa watu. Uh-oh. The pragmatist has figured out that what is important is to eat, and whether you do so with your tribe or not is not the important point. Dare I say that majority of our politicians are pragmatists? As well as many people who have looked at things, added two and two and concluded that it is a man-eat-man society, and they should start digging in, the only thing that can stop them is being caught as well as their own personal feelings of guilt and shame.

According to the website Cultural Dynamics, there is another third, higher form of individual who shares much with the settler and the pragmatist, and yet is above them both. This is the pioneer. The pioneer is the person who sees beyond morals that are intrinsic and contradictory in nature, the need to achieve power and money at all costs, and sees himself as a small part of the cosmos whose decisions affect all of humanity in ways seen and unseen. Think of the greatest Kenyan we ever had: Wangari Maathai, that sort of person who can connect between environmental degradation, illegal logging and deforestation on one side; poverty, hunger and human suffering on the other. They then make a conscious decision to stand up against dictatorship, illiteracy and bad governance to solve these problems, of poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, torture, murder, hatred and dictatorship.

Conclusion

It is clear that the middle class is supposed to be the driving force of an economy, its values and its development. However, change begins with all of us. Kenya is at a juncture of adopting Western political, social and economic systems in addition to the African systems it has clung onto. It is also in a time in history where forces much stronger than it are buffeting it from all directions. It is hard to make a decision on which values to adapt, which ones to reject.

No one can be just a settler, a pragmatist or a pioneer; we all have these characters in us, at least I do. However, we must strive to be pioneers. To look past the obvious, see how we are all connected as humanity, as the universe. Only then will we make the proper decisions to drive us forward as a country, an individual and a human race.

Bibliography

The free online dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ as accessed on 25^th October, 2013.

Wikipedia, value system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_system#cite_note-1 as accessed on 25^th October, 2013

The Role of Value Systems in Decision Making: Peter Dayan Gatsby, Computational Neuroscience Unit, UCL, London WC1N 3AR, U.K.

Cultural Dynamics: its all about the people http://www.cultdyn.co.uk/ART067736u/ValuesBasedPolitics.html as accessed on 25th October, 2013

We Could Surely Do With a Little Guided Thought on Matters ICC

2013-09-09T15:15:00.001+03:00

Below is a superb guest blog on the effort by the Kenyan National Assembly to withdraw Kenya from the Rome Statute and the ICC by Celestine Olilo.

Celestine Olilo is a Kenyan journalist who studied Communication Studies at Maseno University, and is working with a local media house currently. She follows politics keenly, and I requested her to give me a post on the ICC issue that has gripped Kenyans so much with trials against 3 Kenyans due to start on Tuesday, 10^th September 2013.

You can find Celestine on twitter here @cellie_beckie

By Olilo Cellestine

My beloved country is making yet another attempt to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

From a neutral point, Mr. Adan Duale’s motion raised a rather germane issue that Kenyans would have had to deal with at some point. And the reason is simple. President Uhuru and his deputy, William Ruto’s election to office, despite the glaring charges of alleged post poll atrocities, brought about awkward complications that cannot be wished away easily.

Indeed, it is a country’s shame to have a sitting president being tried for heinous crimes at an international court. It is even worse, when the sitting president has such a huge following back home, that the Hague-based court is viewed as more of a bully, than a vehicle of facilitating justice to hundreds of thousands of the 2007/2008 post poll victims.

The Jubilee Coalition launched a spirited campaign to break free from the ICC. The argument? We now have a new constitution, and the capacity to locally try the perpetrators.

Maybe so, but why now? Has it just occurred to the Jubilee Coalition that we could do with a little less patronizing from our Western big brothers? Is it really an innocent attempt to salvage the country’s pride at a time when the suspects’ cases are just kicking off? I say nay-nay.

Even if they were, Kenya’s deferral sends an unpleasant message across the continent (remember we sought support from the African Union earlier in the year?)That we are not willing to further cooperate with the Hague-based court, and worse still, that we are seeking ways of terminating the cases against our top countrymen.

In case we forgot, the ICC did not come hunting for the suspects, we invited them over, for the innocent reason that the 2007/2008 victims must find justice, justice which could not be found within the confines of our teething judiciary.

We happily signed The Rome Statute, set up a commission of inquiry that cost taxpayers an arm and a leg, and then waited in earnest to know the ‘contents’ of the Waki envelope. But when the names were revealed, we forgot all this before losing our minds to the staid ideology of ethnicity. The ICC issue ceased to be a collective path to justice. It was now targeting our sons, our leaders…our tribesmen!

The Rome Statute is clear in its 16^th Article on deferral. Two things: Even with the motion already passed, there can be no impact on the ongoing cases, and Kenya’s withdrawal can only take effect about a year after the request has been received by the United Nations. What am I saying? The charges facing the two leaders as well as that of radio journalist Joshua Sang are a fait accompli.

For this, Adan Duale and those harboring the same thoughts are making a futile attempt that does nothing but soil the name of our country in the eyes of the International Community, but even worse, it impacts negatively on the President and his deputy.

Why the sudden butterflies? Why the seemingly desperate attempts to evade the charges, to a point of staging a deferral? Do they know something I don’t? Ambassador Francis Muthaura and Major General Hussein Ali were acquitted by the same court. Surely the two did not need an entourage of MPs to rally for the deferral of their cases.

The Jubilee coalitions should invest in a lot more intellectual knowledge than the mere politics informing the deferral. They should start by acknowledging the fact that the ongoing cases played a huge part in ensuring peace prevailed during the March 4 elections.

Forget that pep talk about the ICC targeting African countries. If you put zero external supervision and a country where disputed elections are the order of the day, the imminent result is an ugly bloodbath! If you doubt me, follow proceedings in the DRC.

If really we are grown enough to throw our two hands scornfully at the ICC, then let’s have some tangible evidence to back it up. The clashes in Trans Mara, Tana River etc. depict the same incapacity to deal with our problems that forced us running for help from the ICC five years ago.

That IDPs are still languishing in abject poverty five years on tells me that we could still do with a little help in dealing with our internal demons.

I am not rubbishing my countrymen’s plea to pull out, all I am saying is that if indeed we have the capacity to successfully try and prosecute the 2007/2008 perpetrators, don’t just give me the lip service, show me that we can.

Will A Parliamentary System Make Kenya A More United Country? Power Sharing Might Be a Better Solution

2013-08-16T17:00:00.000+03:00

The recent calls for a referendum to change the Kenyan constitution and implement a parliamentary system of governance, rather than a presidential one, may remain just that, talk. However, that should not take away from the fact that many Kenyans, I included, are unhappy that despite a new constitution, we remain as divided along tribal lines as ever before.

The March 4^th elections split the country right down the middle, with the two major coalitions garnering support from different tribes almost exclusively. Indeed, the candidates who attempted to run on other platforms such as national unity and “issue based politics” such as Professor ole Kiyiapi and Martha Karua performed dismally, coming dangerously close to being usurped by the comical Dida (where is he, by the way?)

This only served to remind Kenyans two things; firstly, that even with a new constitution, you cannot legislate a stronger nation, where national identity, values and ideology matter more in politics more than one’s tribe. Secondly, it put ethnic identity and tribalism back at the centre of the national dialogue on politics, where it deserves to be. And this is where the hot political topic of the moment, whether we should change our political system to a parliamentary system rather than a presidential system, comes in.

The argument is this: as long as Kenyans are voting for a president, and certain tribes have the numbers, the control of state machinery, control of a subservient and intellectually bankrupt mainstream media and a judiciary whose reputation among Kenyans is still not positive, then the “other Kenyans” will never see their tribesmen as President or his Deputy. Instead, we should have a parliamentary system, where the strongest political party forms a government and elects a prime minister/president from within its ranks in government.

Of course, this argument has various holes. I do not think that a parliamentary system will promote national unity, since the very same Kenyans who are voting along tribal lines for a president will be the same people voting along tribal lines to elect their members of parliament and political parties. A parliamentary system requires very strong political parties, where the Members of Parliament realize it is only their support for their party in parliament that keeps the government in power. In a country like Kenya, where political parties are weak and lack the capacities to exist without the financial, political and personal support of the most powerful tribal chiefs, this would be a recipe for disaster. Imagine a situation where a government is only propped up by a few votes in Parliament. A few brown envelopes pushed to some hands would see mass defections to the opposition and the government would collapse and elections held. And of course, the proponents of this system fail to tell us how Kenyans uniting in political parties that are ethnic in character to choose a prime minister rather than a president makes tribal differences disappear.

But this is not to say that they do not have a point. As long as we are voting for a powerful president and only one group of tribes can win at the expense of others, ethnic divisions will remain part and parcel of our politics.

There have been various solutions tried in Africa and beyond to solve the ethnic character of politics in countries, and there is no magic bullet as yet. Indeed, despite the devolution and separation of powers tried in the United Kingdom it could see still the secession of Scotland, while the USSR and Yugoslavia collapsed long ago with the various ethnic nations in these countries becoming fully fledged nation states. Indeed, as is evidenced by the upheavals in Russian regions such as Dagestan, and the efforts of Kosovo to break away from Serbia, sometimes there is no end in sight in ethnic groups demanding sovereignty from a heterogenous multi-cultural nation once the process starts.

The efforts to support devolution and decentralization of powers from the national government should continue to be supported. But this will not be enough. I think, as I mentioned a while back in a post I did on tribalism in Maseno university politics, Kenyans should consider permanent power sharing and consociationalism.

Consociation is a system of government whereby all major groups in a state are guaranteed representation and a seat in government. In such a situation, all the ethnic groups in the country would have a seat in government and political power guaranteed to them according to their relative populations, for example one tribe getting the presidency, others the prime minister, another tribe the vice president, others the speaker, and so on. Consociation has been attempted in Lebanon, and although the country is still divided and prone to ethnic violence, the system of government has quelled insecurity and civil war, as well as promoting coalitions in government and some semblance of an all-inclusive government.

Whether or not Kenyans change their constitution or not, we cannot run away from the fact that the process of forming a cohesive and united nation has not had the best results. Ethnicity and tribalism remains real, and unity is still a mirage. The conversation about the right of all communities to be part of government, and share fairly the political and economic benefits of being part of Kenya should continue. Hopefully it will someday lead to solutions we can use to unite all Kenyans of various ethnicities, economic classes and religions to unite in a legitimate government so that we can achieve socio-economic and political development together.

Jubilee Government 100 Days in Office: a Less Than Impressive Scorecard

2013-07-15T15:37:00.002+03:00

The Jubilee Government will be clocking 100 days in office on July 19^th, 2013, and as has become the norm in Kenya, many analysts and observers are looking back at the period to gauge early successes and failures.

The first 100 days is a measure of a president’s achievements that originated in the United States of America, after president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) achieved much success in this time when he came into office in 1933. FDR came into office in March 4^th 1933 at a time of great economic suffering and political upheaval. With record levels of unemployment, poverty, bank failures and civil unrest among the population, the country was looking for leadership.

President Franklin Roosevelt provided this leadership. Working with the American congress, he passed no less than FIFTEEN major bills in his first 100 days in office, commissioning major public works to build dams, bridges, schools and hospitals, thus providing employment to thousands of unemployed. He passed wide ranging legislation for the stock markets, the financial sector, and welfare provision to the poorest people, pumping money into circulation and offering reassurance and leadership through regular state broadcasts and speeches.

When the Jubilee Government’s first 100 days is compared to FDR, it wilts in the great man’s achievements. This is because of many factors, not least of all the circumstances are vastly different. This is not to offer an excuse to Uhuruto’s perceived failures, but rather to explain their performance in the proper political, economic and social context.

According to William Hasser, Roosevelt’s success worked because the Americans were undergoing the worst economic times in their history. There was no time for cheap politicking, when the military was actually prepared for a civic unrest of epic proportions, and belief in the American economic and political system was at an all-time low. When the Jubilee Government and President Uhuru Kenyatta came into office, it was after a bruising political battle that split Kenya into two, exposing ethnic and social fault lines, and requiring Supreme Court arbitration to decide the winner of a hotly contested presidential election.

The new administration had a new constitution, new presidential system of government and new institutions such as the county system to contend with. There were new hurdles to be negotiated; not least the strict constitutional and parliamentary checks that stipulated that gender, regional and tribal balances have to be met in any new administration. President Kenyatta, on the campaign trail promised “to take measures to make Kenya a fairer, healthier and better educated country.” Yet, looking at the ethnic composition of his cabinet, many Kenyans feel shortchanged. The ethnic composition of the cabinet looks skewed towards rift valley and central regions. The TJRC report is out, and there are rumors that some chapters were erased after pressure from government. How is this fair? The Kenyan taxpayer spent KES nine Billion on this commission. Will we see the fruits of this, with land reforms, a strong national land commission and apologies to the most affected by government massacres and assassinations in the past? It does not look good.

The Jubilee government promised to abolish fees charged when Kenyans go to public health care facilities. They also vowed to abolish all maternal fees in public hospitals, as well as giving all kids joining standard one, free solar-powered laptops. The free maternal care has been implemented. For this, kudos must be given to the government. Attainment of the MDG goal of improving maternal health is crucial to our country’s economic and social development. It remains to be seen, however, how more strain on the public hospitals’ resources as a result will be dealt with.

The government would also “pass legislation to ensure that no child is out of school or a training institution until they reach the age of 18.” I am yet to see or hear of this legislation. Indeed, 100 days down the line, the promise to make Kenya a better educated country is looking like a sick joke. Public school teachers are spending their fourth week at home having taken strike action and the government is looking unwilling, unable and disinterested in solving this crises. Instead, the Attorney General is busy taking court action, which is threatening teachers with fines, jail time and unpaid salaries for “contempt of court.” How does this make Kenya a more educated country? Laptops are all well and good, but who will teach the kids to use them if the teachers are not on board? What of the kids with no food in their stomach, or roof above their heads in class, are laptops the biggest need they have at the moment?

Deputy President William Ruto promised to ensure that the country is secured, so that investors, tourists, farmers, businessmen feeling safe. This was meant to be the Jubilee Government’s first priority. Yet, within a few days of being sworn in, Kenyan citizens were being slaughtered in Bungoma County, with many receiving advance warnings via SMS of attacks. The Jubilee Government was caught flat footed. Murders between warring clans in the northern county of Mandera have ended lives of tens of innocent Kenyans. How many people have been arrested and charged? How many Kenyans can honestly say they feel safer after the Jubilee Government took over? The turf wars between the inspector general of police and the national police service commission can’t have made work easier. The jubilee government needs to do more in security, and the deportation of foreign nationals is not the way to do this. Let these people have their day in court, I am sure many people in public service, government and police service will be tainted. Could this be why the Nigerians, Ethiopians and others are being deported?

100 days since the jubilee coalition took over government, and the youth funds as well as 30% procurement reserved to be for the youth is yet to be launched. Dennis Itumbi posted on facebook that this will begin to be implemented this month. I will be looking critically at this in the future, but it is good that the government has not forgotten the youth, despite not appointing any young person (under 30 years) to cabinet. Let us wait and see how that goes.

The Jubilee Government has had to deal with the harshest of divisions, legitimacy tests, criminal proceedings as well as new laws governing their conduct, making the implementation of policies that much more difficult. Basically, the first 100 days are not so important to its legacy, as what it does in the next five years to make life better for many Kenyans who vumilia to be citizens.

What is important is providing leadership to Kenyans in times of institutional crisis, security concerns and emergencies such as the teachers’ strike. Instituting policies and measures that will ensure that five years down the line, the government will have delivered on its policies and promises to make Kenya a fairer, more educated and healthier nation should be the priority. Dealing with historical injustices, ethnic and social class hatred and differences, as well as promoting the constitutional implementation and security and economic development is important too. I hope the government improves on all these areas, because, so far it is not looking good.

An Accidental Blog Post; My Experiences Studying in Maseno University

2013-07-08T10:07:00.001+03:00

I was applying for a freelance writing job online, and they needed a 200 word essay on my experiences studying in University. As I was typing the Essay, one thing led to another, and I ended up with a six hundred word essay... enjoy.

I studied Political Science in Kenya’s Maseno University from 2009. Right now, I am waiting to graduate in December. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the university, where I learnt much about political theory, public policy and political culture. The biggest impact that my university education has had on my life so far is opening my eyes on the political system and culture in Kenya.

As many may be aware, Kenya is a highly fragmented society, divided along tribal or ethnic lines. Kenya did not exist as a polity before the British made it a colony in the early years of the 20^th century, as a result there is little to unite the 43 ethnic communities into one, especially when it comes to politics and general elections that determine who gets to share the “national cake” among the citizenry.

My Political Science degree gave me insight as to why Kenya’s voters are so passionate about voting for their own tribesman into the presidency, since they firmly believe that it is only through doing so that they can guarantee jobs in the public sector, enhanced businesses with the government through tenders, and even government services such as physical infrastructure, hospitals and schools will come to their home areas.

In addition, studying in Maseno University was also a life changing experience for me as a kikuyu. Virtually all of my family and tribe were in the jubilee coalition, headed by the current president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto. During my time at Maseno, which is located in the Luo country that was and remains an opposition stronghold, I got to understand why many Luos and Luhyas were against another kikuyu president taking over the reins of government.

The biggest irony about my experiences in school was that when I went to visit my family in my grandparents’ home in Limuru, is that I was castigated as an ODM/CORD supporter. When I went back to school, I would become a TNA/jubilee supporter by default. At the end of the day, I ended up renouncing my hatred and disregard for Kenyans who support a political party or coalition simply because it belongs to their tribe.

I am more nuanced in how I view tribalism and ethnicity in my country as a result, although I am still appalled by ethnic violence and hate speech caused by politics. Thanks to my studies in Maseno university, I now think that ethnicity cannot be solved by uraia, Kenya Ni Mimi Na wewe sort of campaigns. Neither should it be embraced, since more often than not it leads to violence, demonization and hatred of fellow countrymen, as well as a weaker political system as a whole.

The solution lies in a stronger civil society that can fight for economic and political rights that will benefit all Kenyans regardless of tribe, stronger political parties, understanding of tribalism and the Kenyan history, and possibly closer cultural and social ties between Kenyans of all tribes and races. Even then, it will probably not be enough. Tribalism is rife in every part of the world, from the united kingdom, the Balkan regions, the Middle East and even North America.

It is more realistic to start by ensuring no one will ever die as a result of politics or belonging to the wrong tribe, as this happens in 2008 after the disputed presidential elections. A Kenya where majority of people feel more Kenyan than kikuyu, meru or taita is probably decades in the future and a pipe dream at the moment.

THE RIVER NILE: AFRICA'S NEXT CONFLICT?

2013-06-12T13:09:00.001+03:00

The river Nile is the longest river in the world, flowing over 6,700 kilometres, with tributaries spanning over ten countries in eastern and northern Africa. It has long been the lifeblood of Egypt, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and depends on the river Nile waters to thrive. Thus, the security of its population and economy depends to a sizeable extent on the river Nile. Egypt has legal and historical rights to a large percentage of the waters of the river Nile, mostly treaties signed between Egypt and the British colonizers before independence.

Ethiopia, on the other hand, is the source of up to 85% of the river Nile. Yet it has largely been restricted on how much water it can use for its own economic development by treaties it either signed under duress, or it had no party to, such as the Nile waters agreement of 1929, and the 1959 Nile waters agreement between Egypt and Sudan.

the flow of River Nile, image source wikipedia

All this is about to change, as Ethiopia is building Africa’s biggest hydro power plant at a cost of no less than US $ 4.8 Billion. It hopes this power plant, named The Grand Renaissance Ethiopia Dam (GERD) will generate electricity to sell to its neighbouring countries, as well as a major boost to an economy that depends heavily on agriculture and is hampered due to its landlocked nature from developing.

When one looks at the divergent needs and interests between Egypt and Sudan on one hand, and other countries that also claim a piece of the river Nile (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania), it is clear that strong leadership and calm heads are needed to avert future potential conflicts that could occur, as well as new treaties that demarcate afresh how these countries use the river Nile, so as to ensure prosperity and peace between all countries involved.

Yet the politicians in both countries are ratcheting up the tensions, with Egyptian president saying recently in a speech that, "As head of state, I confirm to you that all options are open." He later added: "We are not calling for war, but we will never permit our water security ... to be threatened." I do not think that war is an option at the table at the moment, while the internal political dynamics of Egypt cannot be ruled out to explain why the politicians are engaging in such fierce rhetoric. According to international crisis group analyst Yasser el-Shimy, “Mursi is addressing the concerns of Egyptians regarding their water supplies, while sending a blunt message to Ethiopia and other Nile basin countries that Cairo takes this issue seriously.”

But the feeling upriver is at odds with Egypt’s sentiments. In countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya, the Nyerere doctrine which states that former colonies have no obligation to abide by treaties signed for them by Great Britain. Many analysts contend that Egypt and Sudan have gotten away with using majority of the Nile’s waters by the political instability and poverty of many of these countries upstream. As they get richer, more powerful and more ambitious, they will have the power to exploit the river Nile’s waters to their own benefit. Thus how the conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt could have ramifications for all these countries, and how they exploit this natural resource.

In the meantime, leaders will be looking keenly at the unfolding scenario and who will blink first. I am confident an agreement can and will be found, whether it will be to the benefit of the environment, the Nile ecosystem, all the citizens of the Nile basin and sustainable however, is not clear.

· Ethiopia also has a hydro project on river Omo, that will create a reservoir and reduce the water flowing into lake Turkana, thus endangering the livelihoods of many fishermen and the populace that depend on lake Turkana for sustenance. It is not clear how Kenya plans to adjust to its construction, and save the livelihood and future of the biggest fresh water lake within its borders.

UNDP HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2013: LESSONS FOR KENYA

2013-05-21T17:13:00.000+03:00

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released its 2013 report titled “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World” recently. As the title suggests, it focuses on the success stories of the global South, and mostly the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India and china) which have achieved tremendous economic development and improvement in human development indices. This is with a view of promoting discussion and even imitation by countries in the global north and south of the best practices adopted by these countries.

The Human Development Index was developed in the early 1990s by a group of economists including Amartya Sen, so as to more accurately measure how a country’s economic growth was being translated to improved wellbeing of its citizens. According to Wikipedia, HDI “is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education and income indices to rank countries into four ties of human development: very high human development, high human development, medium human development and low human development.”

The human development index was meant to shift the focus of development economics from national income accounting, and towards people-centered policies. It measures the life expectancy at birth, the mean years of schooling among those aged 25 years and the expected years of schooling of those aged five years, as well as the standard of living of the citizens by looking at the Gross National Income per capita.

According to the report, Kenya is ranked at 145 out of 186 countries of which data is available, in the level of low human development. Kenya has an under five mortality of 85 deaths per 1000 births, life expectancy of fifty seven years, adult literacy rate of 87%(over 15 years) and GNI per capita of 1,541 USA dollars as per 2005 rates. Although Kenya is best ranked among countries of the East African Community, with Uganda ranked 162, Tanzania 152, Rwanda at 167 and Burundi at 178, clearly there remains massive room for improvement.

The three notable “drivers of development”, according to the UNDP report, which have propelled the growth of economies such as India, Brazil, China, Mexico and Indonesia, which Kenyan policy makers might want to take heed of include the following:

A proactive developmental state that has a long term vision and leadership, with shared norms and values, rules and institutions that build trust and cohesion, and are pragmatic in terms of policies and ideologies they adopt to bring about human development.

Tapping of global markets. The strategy should be one of “importing what the world knows and exporting what it wants.” It is imperative that Kenya adopts a policy that is maneuvers between excessive liberalization and statism, depending on its unique capabilities. Regionalism is also encouraged, as is focusing on niche products.

Determined social policy innovation. The report encourages public investment in infrastructure, which was largely been the case in the Kibaki administration, and looks set to continue with the jubilee government, as well as in education and health. The investment in health could certainly improve, and the free maternal service to be offered is a step in the right direction. The Kenyan government should also end discrimination and unequal treatment, according to gender, age and ethnicity. I hope the 30% rule, as well as making illegal cultural practices such as FGM and wife inheritance, as well as child marriages go a long way in fighting this. The civil society should also keep the government and leadership accountable.

Kenya can also improve include increasing the income of Kenyans, reducing poverty, gender and inter generational inequality, social integration that has been damaged by fractious politics and historical injustices, and human insecurity. Human insecurity caused by hunger, disease, crime, unemployment, human rights violations and environmental challenges is a major challenge to the jubilee government, the private sector and civil society to bring about human development. It must be addressed as a national crisis.

The UNDP report concludes that less developed countries can learn and benefit from success of emerging economies in the south, new institutions and new partnerships can facilitate regional integration and development, and new global governance institutions that reflect the new realities of a more powerful south are needed.

In a nutshell, Kenya’s human development index is much lower than I thought it would be, especially when compared with countries such as Ghana, Libya, South Africa, Mauritius and Botswana. The undo report gives clear and concise recommendations on what we should do if we want to develop, drag millions of Kenyans out of poverty and join the exciting and innovative countries of the south as an African lion that puts human development at the very centre of its policies and economic agenda.

CAN CIVIL SOCIETY RECLAIM ITS ROLE AS FIGHTER FOR MWANANCHI INTERESTS?

2013-05-13T13:52:00.000+03:00

The civil society ought to play a bigger role in promoting peace, reconciliation and implementation of the new constitution in Kenya. Mention of civil society in Kenya elicits images of the likes of Okiya Omtata, Boniface Mwangi, and maybe AFRICOG, the “professionals” who seem to have a lot of time to be always planning this or that protest or court injunction against “MPigs” or the police. Yet the World Bank defines civil society as “the wide array of non-governmental & not for-profit organizations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members/others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations.” In other words, any voluntary collective activity in which people combine to achieve change on a particular issue is the civil society, as long as it is outside the government or the market.

Examples of civil society organizations include charities, neighbourhood self-help schemes, human rights campaigns, non-governmental organizations, labour unions, religious groups, and professional organizations. In Kenya this would include the Red Cross, KNUT, SUPKEM, AFRICOG, etc. it is clear from the above definitions and examples that almost every citizen interacts or is a member of civil society in one way or another.

Why is it that the “evil society” is so demonized and associated with opportunistic and tribalistic Kenyans, rather than organizations of patriotic Kenyans formed to push for good governance, self-reliance and socio-economic development? The civil society’s golden moments in Kenya are often said to be the push for multipartyism in early 1990’s when the clergy, NGOs, multilateral organizations, oppositionists to force the Moi government to repeal section 2a and make Kenya a multiparty state.

It seems to have all gone downhill from there, as opportunistic individuals in the civil society have used the platform to push for narrow tribal interests, political posts, donor funding and attention from the foreign media. Yet, the civil society, according to BBC world service, can provide a social structure in nations where the government is non-existent or rudimentary. Think of the controversial Kenyans for Kenya initiative, or the many bursaries offered by rotary foundation etc. The civil society, ever since the days of harambee have done much to promote socio-economic and political development in Kenya.

It only has to reclaim its space from the donor funded, opportunistic and professional organizations and return to the very centre of politics and society in Kenya.

In a new dispensation where there are many more devolved governments where politicians will rob and increase salaries and benefits at every turn, it is critical that the civil society finds its voice. the government seems less than legitimate to half of the population, due to a political culture that promotes ethnic competition and winner takes all mentality. In my opinion, the government of Kenya has served to divide Kenyans since independence, and it is the role of the civil society to unite all of us to fight for implementation of the new constitution, oversight of the government and fight for the justice of all who have been beaten, discriminated against and overtaxed among us by successive governments. This is even more crucial when political parties remain to be personality driven, tribalistic and election vehicles bereft of ideology or long term strategy. One only needs to look at the way the CORD coalition is stumbling in parliament, while the jubilee government is not expected to last past the next coalition cycle at the latest.

The civil society has the potential of pushing for reforms and a better Kenya by fighting for “non-tribal” interests such as better roads, higher wages, stronger judiciary, and fighting natural disasters and calamities. Yet the labour union movement is only good at fighting for salary increases, the student unions are akin to spoilt kids only good at throwing stones and looting shops every time they demonstrate, while the NGOs are seen to be as fleeting, tribalistic and opportunistic on donor money as the government and politicians, while pushing for “western” lifestyles and agenda.

It is time every citizen recognized that we are all members of the civil society, and the only way for us to achieve long term unity, peace and economic development is for more active involvement in the politics and economy of Kenya alongside the government, pushing the government and sometimes outside the government. The days of harambee may be long gone, but by recognizing avenues through which we can all improve our lot without serikali, we may just be able to slay the dragons of donor reliance and tribalism for good.

seven things i learnt from political party nominations

2013-02-01T02:47:00.001+03:00

1. Balkanization in Kenya continues unabated

The zoning of particular counties and regions has shown that Kenya is fast becoming a balkanized country. URP, ODM, wiper and TNA each had their own regions where winning the nominations was enough. This proves that national unity is fast becoming a pipe dream

2. In an era of weak, personalized political parties, party defections are a good thing

The political parties of Kenya remain personal objects of the ‘’ bigwigs’’ such as Rail, Kalonzo and Uhuru. Hence their relatives, friends and cousins are always assured of winning the nominations. The only way to circumvent this is through defections. If the voice of the people is to be heard in Othaya, Siaya and Nakuru, then the politicians have to be prepared to defect from the political parties.

3. The marginalized regions in Kenya are not interested in politics.

It has always been my view that there are certain regions in Kenya that are no longer interested in politics. Coast province, north eastern and parts of northern rift valley recorded the lowest voter turnouts in the land. This shows that these regions are moving out of the political dynamics. The citizens of these areas have realized that they cannot win in politics, hence why take part in the nominations?

4. Demagogues are stoking the interests of the underclass: the middle class is running scared

The wins of Sonko and Waititu have heralded the end of tribalism in many parts of the land. This is a major issue since it means that the lower classes are no longer voting according to one’s last name. For many days, Kenyans have been complaining on how tribalism will be the death of us. But tribalism remains a lesser devil than classism!

5. Voters are very passionate about politics and democracy

Despite the ridiculous disorganization, corruption and theft that characterized the party nominations, many voters lined for hours to cast their ballots. In areas such as Othaya and Siaya, they were ready to demonstrate immediately it became obvious that their voice was being silenced. This shows that democracy in Kenya remains strong.

6. Politics makes everything in Kenya come to a standstill

Schools were closed, businesses shut down and jobs missed during the nominations. One can only fear about what will happen during the general elections on March 4^th.

7. Do we overestimate the power of social media in Kenya?

Reading the comments, updates and tweets on Kenya’s vibrant online community, one would have been sure that the likes of jimnah Mbaru were winning on a landslide. However, this did not materialize. Does this mean that the middle class is not voting? Or are those of us not online more than those on it? Opinion is divided.

those are my thoughts anyway. do you agree with me, or differ? kindly let me know your thoughts below in the comments section.

POLITICAL FEDERATION OF EAST AFRICA: TO REALISTIC TO WORK?

2012-11-29T08:08:00.001+03:00

A federation, according to wordweb, is the act of constituting a political unity out of a number of separate states or colonies or provinces so that each member retains the management of its internal affairs. The ultimate aim of the east African community is to become a political federation by 2013. Of course this will not happen by that time, but let us avoid that line of debate for now.

The main thrust of this blog is whether the east African community will be better off forming a political federation. I have been one of the greatest proponents of a political federation in recent times, because of the following reasons;

1. None of the five east African states is viable at the moment as a single entity. Problems of tribalism in Kenya and Uganda, religious differences in Tanzania, history of conflict in Uganda and Rwanda/Burundi, and dependence on foreign aid in all the five partner states means that all five are in some state of failure, as a quick consult on the fund for peace failed states index will doubtless tell you. A political federation might have stronger institutions and power to solve these problems.
2. All five states are constructs of colonial times, and they were not designed by looking at the ethnic, historic and political realities. A supra state formed by the citizens of east Africa might be more successful in forging patriotism and attacking negative ethnicity since it will have been formed by the citizens themselves.
3. The economic potential of a state of east Africa is profound. The natural resources, tourism potential, human resources and potential for increased trade and economic development means it’s makes too much sense economically not to be given serious thought.
4. It will strike a blow for pan-Africanism and silence doubters, who have always noted that even though the current states are colonial constructs, they have more or less remained strong and never threatened by the pan Africanist ideologues, both of the Monrovia and Casablanca schools of thought.
5. It will change the dynamics of politics forever in the east African region. Ethnic mobilization in Kenya especially, will be reduced since the power will have moved to a greater place. Hence maybe, just maybe the fight for political power will be based on more salient issues and ideologies.
6. It may reduce the inter and intra state conflicts in the region such as the LRA movement, secessionist calls in Zanzibar and Kenya’s coastal regions.

The arguments for an east African political federation are quite strong. Why then, arethere so much pessimism and dragging of feet towards implementing the fourthand most radical pillar of the EAC, after the customs union, common market and monetary union? Why am I starting to have second thoughts about the political federation of the east African states?

There is much understandable angst among the “middle” powers of EAC such as Tanzania and Uganda that they will be dominated by Kenya.

However, that is not the real concern. The biggest issue, according to me is how the battle for the “hearts and minds” of east African minds was lost at the very inception of the east African community in mid-2000. The argument for the EAC has always been fought on the economic side, while the ideological side of it has been neglected.

The pertinent question here is, why would a Kenyan be better off in an east African political federation, rather than being a Kenyan? The arguments I articulated above show what a political federation might achieve, but clearly they require abolition of the states as they are at present. Having a political federation at the same time as having the states maintained just doesn’t seem too useful to me. It should be either, or.

East Africa is not like Europe, where there are centuries old ties to the state. All EAC countries are barely 50 years old. Why all this pussyfooting around the political federation issue?? Lack of political will, and downgrading the political unity question from a potential supra-state to a EU like union where power lays everywhere and nowhere at once!! This will not solve the political problems facing all five partner states, in fact it might just exercabate them.

In my opinion, if the political federation chosen by the partner states is a loose one where power is held by both states and the east African community, then there might be problems ahead we might not be ready for.

It is better an economic union where fundamentalist ideals are at the heart of the union, than a political federation that is created with no political will, no input from the citizens and civil society, and that is characterised by much infighting and pessimism between and among the partner states.

Such a union cant last.

GLOBAL CIVICS IN A WORLD OF ANARCHY: IS IT REALLY WORKABLE?

2012-10-31T11:13:00.000+03:00

Global civics is an idea that posits that civics in a global sense as a social contract between the world citizens in the age of interdependence and interaction. According to proponents of global civics, we all have rights and responsibilities to each other by virtue of being human beings. What happens in china can influence happens all the way in Ghana. Hence as citizens of the world, we have responsibility to mind our actions or inactions lest they cause more harm than good.

In a globalized world where economic and social interactions between people, companies and groups are increasing due to advances in telecommunication, transport networks and modernity, global civics makes certainly makes sense. The “imagined community” known as the state is increasingly powerless to deal with phenomena taking place outside its borders, but affecting its citizens.

A good example is the volatile oil market in the world currently. The slightest increase in the price of a barrel of oil will mean the commuter from OngataRongai will have to pay more to go to work in Nairobi’s central business district. How much power does the government of Kenya have to protect the commuter?

But if global civics implies having rights and responsibilities as human beings, it is silent on who should step in when my rights are infringed by someone clearing forests in the amazon, or when I neglect my responsibilities as a world citizen to protect my environment or put my government in check.

We live in a world of anarchy as Kenneth waltz put it. This means we do not have a central government to ensure order and stability in the international system. In my view, global civics cannot work in a world of anarchy, where might is right.

And that is the reason why the proponents of global civics are content to promote only the most diluted version of rights and responsibilities on all of us, especially the most powerful who, due to the lack of world government, do what they want with impunity. A powerful state such as America can go to war with virtually anyone it wants, kill anyone with unmanned drones wherever or whenever, and have its companies destroy the environment from Swaziland to the Gulf of Mexico, without any repercussions whatsoever.

As a minute part of humanity in Kenya, it doesn’t matter if I forfeit my rights and responsibilities, if someone in government halfway around the world can, due to greed, bring about a world recession that might affect millions like me in terms of future employment prospects!

The minimalist approach that is advocated in the booklet “dialogues on global civics” is not going to solve the immense challenges we face in the world today. It is the industrialized countries doing all the environmental damage, it is they with all the nuclear weapons, it is them destroying the global finance system, and it is they with the most to lose if a real protocol on greenhouse emissions is enacted!!

Most of us, in the developing world, and especially in sub Saharan Africa, we just want to live!! Let those with the most rights and responsibilities, by virtue of their immense wealth, power and military resources, practice global civics!

This takes me back to my point on anarchy. We do not have a world government to ensure global civics is kept. Ideas of a volunteer United Nations army are laughable at best. Let the global south rise, following the example set by the BRICS, and then we can talk on global civics. As equals!

There can be no global civics in the current system, and there shouldn’t be. Let Africa, Asia, and Latin America rise to the level of other countries. Then we can discuss on what our responsibilities and rights are, as “world citizens”who view each other with respect and the relationship is one based on more equality than now.

PRE-ELECTION VIOLENCE IN KENYA: THE CAUSES, AND FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR THE COUNTRY

2012-08-27T17:14:00.000+03:00

Over 200 people have died in this year alone as a result of violence between different ethnic communities in Kenya.

This includes in Tana River delta, Mandera, Borabu, Moyale counties, etc. some of the reasons given by those in the know are the fight over scarce resources, politics and spillage from neighbouring countries. (Ethiopia). As usual, this has led to well-choreographed responses from Kenyans and their government.

Shock. Anger. Sackings. And then the usual promises of investigations. And then we move our shock to the next disaster. And everything is forgotten.

But don’t we have a national cohesion and integration commission (NCIC) meant to ensure that this very violence doesn’t occur? I asked myself. Some little research afterwards, I have discovered that the NCIC actually has even a well-researched and well written forty page policy on this very issue. It is aptly named the Kenya Ethnic and Race Relations Policy, and it can be found on their website.

So why are Kenyans still killing themselves, despite all the peace meetings, government policies, education by NGOs, and experiences Kenya has suffered since 1992, and most recently in 2008? It turns out, we are not learning from the past, we are not implementing the Kenya ethnic and relations policy, and we are not changing the same conditions that led to the bloodletting of 2008. In short, we are being very stupid in how we are handling this ethnic relations business.

The Kenya ethnic and race relations policy, is set on the principle of ethnic and racial inclusion, that is, the idea and practice of deliberately ensuring that people from all ethnic and racial groups resident in the nation are represented in

employment,
governance structures,
planning,
development initiatives,
public deliberations,
democratic arrangements,
and national educational institutions

I will leave you interpret how successful ethnic and racial inclusion has been carried out in your county, and country.

The country remains deeply divided among ethnic lines. As the respected British historian, Professor Niall Ferguson put it in his popular BBC 2012 Reith lectures; there are two types of countries: the inclusive, and extractive. An extractive society is one in which, the government is used by the ruling elite to grab the economic produce from the country and proportionate it amongst themselves. Indeed, in an extractive society, the government is a tick that feeds on the labour of the people. The society cannot develop to its full potential unless people stop seeing control of the government as essential for their employment prospects, economic wellbeing, security and happiness.

There is little doubt in my mind that Kenya is an extractive society. Many kikuyus believe that losing the control of the government and its coercive arms such as police and military will be the beginning of their end, economically and politically. Other tribes also believe that unless they can ascend to the highest pinnacles of power in this country,the perceived poverty, unemployment and insecurity they suffer in comparison to the tribes in power will not be eased.

What does this have to do with tribally instigated violence in Tana delta, I hear you ask. In my opinion, the new constitution has created 47 bastions that will be under the thumb of the majority tribe after the general elections of 2013. 15% of government revenues will be distributed to all counties, and this money will be under the control of whichever county governments will be in place at the time.

It is this control of the county resources, and the contracts, tenders, jobs and influence that is being fought over. Whichever local elites control counties with the resources such as the richly endowed Tana delta, Lake Victoria, oil resources in northern Kenya etc., will be in a prime position to benefit economically beyond their wildest dreams.

Hence they are prepared to shed blood in their quest for power and riches. In my humble opinion, devolved corruption, impunity, balkanization of the country and power is part and parcel of the new dispensation, although no one wants to talk about it.

Not much can be done to stop this, but the national government has a responsibility to ensure that no Kenyan’s life is lost as collateral damage of these power games. It is this wanton destruction of property, and loss of life that must be stopped. Idealistic peace meetings and other policies such as intermarriage, social contact between tribes and national dress etc. will take time to make a dent and promote cohesion and integration, if not complemented by other “realistic policies.” Power sharing arrangements are another potential solution to violence in the counties. The NCIC has advocated for power sharing in no less than 27 counties in next year’s elections. Some of these counties include Nakuru and Lamu.

In the meantime, the national government should be prepared to put out all stops to enforce security and peace by arresting all local militias, those guilty of hate speech and murder and other crimes, and forcing people to be peaceful in this election period. Unfortunately, one suspects that the central government mandarins are more concerned in securing their immediate and midterm political and economic futures to do much.

peeling back the mask: a quest for justice in kenya- my belated review

2012-08-09T13:06:00.000+03:00

The book Peeling Back the Mask: A Quest For Justice In Kenya was written by Mr.Miguna Miguna and published by Gilgamesh Africa in 2012. The book is a political memoir meant to tell the world of Miguna Miguna's experiences from his return from Canada in 2007 to take part in the election campaign of prime minister Raila Odinga, to his acrimonious suspension as advisor on coalition affairs and falling out with the prime minister.

Miguna Miguna is a lawyer by profession who was, from 2008 until 2012 the prime minister’s senior adviser on coalition, legal and constitutional affairs, when he was indefinitely suspended. He had been a practicing lawyer in Canada where he had fled from Kenya after being arrested and tortured as a student leader in the late 1980s.

The book is written chronologically from Miguna's childhood in Magina village, in Nyando to his experiences in high school at Onjiku and Njiiri's high school. From there it tells of his coming of age as a young adult in NYS and university of Nairobi as a student leader. Finally, it details his subsequent arrest, torture in Nyayo house, exile to Tanzania, Swaziland and eventual asylum in Canada. In Canada, he eventually studied law and settled down, establishing a legal practice and engaging in political activism in university on issues affecting the black community in Canada. The book then proceeds to tell of his eventual return to Kenya to a political career in 2007 up to his suspension as advisor on coalition affairs in 2011.

By reading the book, the impression one gets is that MigunaMiguna was always a young man who was focused, extremely confident, well aware of his rights and not afraid to stand up to authority when he felt hisrights had been infringed upon. This insight goes a long way in understanding why Miguna raised so much hell when he was suspended by the right honorable prime minister as his special advisor.

The book’s main thesis is that RailaOdinga is not a reformer as many believe and that he is a nepotistic, incoherent and does nothing to investigate the alleged corruption by some of his aides. Says Miguna: “As this book will, I hope, show, I came to believe that Raila wasn’t honest or ready for the complete overhaul and transformation of the Kenyan society, starting with its leadership and politics. His rhetoric was intended to woo votes so as to ascend to power. Beyond that, he lacked genuine vision and commitment.” He goes further to state that Raila does not value loyalty. Miguna does this by quoting all the experiences he had with the PM in Canada, as an advisor and member of the ODM strategy team prior to the 2007 general elections, the ODM parliamentary nominations, post-election violence and subsequent mediation and setting up of the grand coalition government.

Miguna'sstyle is one of methodically quoting the dates, meetings and events so as to back up his arguments and theories.

Peeling Back The Mask: A Quest For Justice In Kenya comes across as a deeply personal book. It does provide a very thorough insight into the man MigunaMiguna, by detailing the experiences that Miguna went through from childhood till he was indefinitely suspended as the advisor to the prime minister on coalition affairs.

However, reading the “revelations” on the manner of sourcing for campaign funds and pre-election pacts, one gets the feeling that, “I know all this stuff, and sowhat’s your point exactly?”The point on ODM being made up of “KANU orphans” and Raila Odinga being more concerned with achieving power rather than the fighting for democracy, rule of law and natural justice cannot be lost on any casual observer of Kenyan politics since 2002 or even back to the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1992.

That Miguna blames his lack of knowledge of Raila's true character and how ODM was to behave in the most trying times prior to and after joining the grand coalition government on “naivety and belief that the good was more than the bad.” To me this is just incredible. Miguna must have known what Kenyan politics stood for when he returned from Canada in mid-2007. Kenyan politics is governed by tribalism, backroom deals, opportunism and singular lack of ideological commitment to issues.

My evaluation of Miguna is that once he made his triumphant return to Kenya, despite the many financial, personal and mental sacrifices he made to the cause of Raila Odinga, he could never really fit in. his repeated criticisms of the lack of intellectual depth, planning and debating of issues in the presidential campaign amongst all candidates and parties, the shoddy way in which the mediation efforts were carried out and the complete dysfunction of the grand coalition government are bemusing. I fail to see what is so surprising to him in all this.

Peeling back the mask: a quest for Kenyan justice is an OK book. The bitterness, the anger and the frustration so palpable while reading chapter after chapter do not dim the intellectual fire, legal sharpness and force of logic that Miguna Miguna brings to the table. Raila Odinga is not the reformer that many in the political class, media and general public purport him to be.

This argument is presented to the final conclusion with admirable intensity of logic and presentation of well-presented facts and evidence. Reading the book, I got the feeling that it needn’t have taken over 600 pages to get many political analysts to get round to that point of view. It is a book that is well written in parts, although many pages are gobbled up by unnecessary information that gets too detailed. However, I would still recommend anyone to read the chapters on the ICC, and how the ODM side of government eventually got to bargain itself into government following the chaos of early 2008.

Anyone hoping to read the book to get a feel of how the “two sides” of government have interacted since 2008, as well as how they came to being will not be disappointed. For those who have little knowledge of how Kenyan politics is carried out prior to elections, and what drives many of the political class to spend so much of their money and resources to get into government, this book is an invaluable resource. But few will change their mind on how they view Kenyan politics and their preferences. At the end of the day, peeling back the mask reveals open secrets on the Kenyan politics. It is all about the eating, and politicians are guided by their own material interests rather than deeper convictions and ideologies. Tribe is the key factor on how Kenyans vote and will vote. No side is better than the other.

And to me, how and if this can ever be changed is the real mask that we should be trying to peel.

communication as panacea to world problems

2012-06-30T22:59:00.000+03:00

i was supposed to type this article and send it for an essay competition...but due to laziness and lack of focus i didnt. enjoy...

The more things change, the more they remain the same. When I think of the challenges facing the world right now, this is what comes to mind. Despite the major technological, medical and scientific advances that have been made over the decades, issues of poverty, hunger, environmental degradation and strife remain as pertinent as ever.

How can so much sadness and strife exist in a world of so much plenty? And how can we ensure that we live a future where our kids have longer, happier and more peaceful lives?

There seems to be little consensus, or dialogue among people on how to solve the problems afflicting the world. Ideology, culture and lifestyle choices that greatly differ among people within and among countries have meant that people cannot sit down and talk to one another on how to solve problems facing them.

The first small step that we should take to beginning to make a better world is to try listening to those who hold different religious, political, social and ideological viewpoints. As Friedriche Nietszche famously said, “convictions are worse enemies of the truth than lies.” People must practice acceptance of those who think in vastly different worldviews, and accept that beliefs, while they are important, can promote anger and negative emotions when people try to force others to renounce “weird” lifestyles and ideologies.

People must rise above societal and political prejudices, and be confident in the protection of the rights of the most marginalized, exploited and neglected of the society even if it makes them unpopular and shunned by their peers. The most revolutionary of people in the world, such as Galileo Galilei and Karl Marx stood up against “conventional wisdom” and changed the world forever.

Secondly, the governments, populations of the world and non-state actors must start cooperating with each other on solving challenges that straddle many boundaries and continents. Issues such as global warming, economic shocks and terrorism, as well as disease outbreaks have overwhelmed governments the world over.

It is obvious that people and their governments have to start assisting each other, and cooperating with each other to solve such problems. Humanitarian intervention is just but one example of tough choices that citizens of the world must make to make sure that when people face major challenges that may be natural and man-made disasters, people can be assisted.

Technology is a major engine for growth and change in the world. Through technological advancements, citizens can keep their governments on their toes, interact with others across continents and be exposed to many economic opportunities and markets.

However, technological gap has been growing between those who have access to the internet and facilities mostly found in major cities and those who are illiterate, old and cut off from the rest of the world by geographical, economic and social barriers. Thus, even the major breakthroughs such as the internet, medical advances and infrastructure have not benefitted those who need it most.

We need to ensure more people can benefit from the scientific and technological advances of the world through education, generosity and massive investment in the scientific and technological sectors of the world.

In conclusion, I think we need to talk more to each other, respect and cooperate with each other irrespective on cultural, ideological and religious differences. This should happen across all economic and social strata in the world, because the problems facing our earth are big, complicated and they will require all the cooperation we can get.

THE REAL STORY OF PARLIAMENT DISRESPECTING THE CONSTITUTION THAT NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT

2012-06-22T09:56:00.000+03:00

it has been so long since i posted a blog. so much has changed since then, Kenya is now grappling with the implementation of the new constitution. i feel that many of us are yet to grasp how much has really changed since august 2010.
power has been dispersed from the presidency and executive to the county governments, judiciary and most importantly, the parliament.
nowhere is this more visible than in the budget making process. whereas in the past, the treasury and finance ministry would allocate funds arbitrarily with token input from parliament, civil society and the public at large, after the new constitution has revolutionized all this.
parliament has a huge say in how finances are allocated, and the budget estimates brought to the house by the minister of finance must be debated, and necessary AMENDMENTS made by legislators which the minister will then have to take into account.
this is done in the following steps (chapter 12 article 221 of the constitution);

the minister brings the budget estimates to the house
the parliament debates this estimates and makes recommendations and necessary amendments
the minister takes this recommendations into account and presents the final budget statement in form of appropriation bill to the floor of the house.
if parliament is satisfied with the statement it adopts it as the appropriations bill and it is taken to president for assent.

what has happened is that everything went on hunky dory until step 4. the minister took the recommendations by parliament and ignored them, and on June ? he came with the budget statement that ignored much of the input of the civil society, public and parliament.
he didn't come with the appropriation bill, and on June 22nd 2012, he was in parliament begging parliamentarians to pass a motion to authorize him to withdraw 404 billion Kenya shillings from the consolidated fund so that govt programmes can continue to function
if parliament would have thrown out the motion, government functions would have ground to a complete halt.
imagine all civil servants not being paid, kenyan military in somalia not being funded, embassies, ministries, judiciary etc operations stop just like that.
because of the incompetence/arrogance/disrespect/impunity of the treasury.
this kind of disrespect of the constitution, impunity and law breaking at such an early stage of implementation of the new constitution does not bode well for the future and sets a bad precedent.
in future, when this exploitative, corrupt, bloated and unnecessary coalition government is not there, less friendly opposition parties will not be so indulging.
there will be grandstanding, unwillingness to compromise and partisanship next year at a time like this. the treasury, parliamentarians, civil society and public at large should be very wary of the happenings of June 21st 2012.
instead of focusing on Korean air, Irish ministers, political intrigues and other sideshows, Kenyans should reread, understand the constitution, then we will be able to better hold the executive, parliament and government at large accountable.
next time we might not have such a happy(?) ending.

TRIBALISM IN MASENO UNIVERSITY POLITICS

2011-09-18T16:54:00.000+03:00

The recent elections held in Maseno University mirrored the Kenyan national elections in that, they were heavily influenced by tribal alliances. The KKK versus luo alignment has become enshrined in Maseno university politics. Not only are the two different sides completely entrenched in their tribal trenches, but they are financially sponsoring candidates now. Where are we headed to as a university?

Kenyan national politics has always been divided at along ethnic lines since independence, that’s the only way that we seem to know to compete for political positions. This has brought about very sad consequences for our country, such as political violence, tribalism, nepotism, corruption and ethnic divisions. Our university seems to be headed down a similar path, whereby compromise, judging candidates according to their abilities and merit solely is not part of the agenda, rather the top down system where the voters are used as rubber stamps to assent the decision made by the rich and mighty “elders” in the school.

But where will this take us as a university in the long run? Poorer leadership, the students having a smaller voice in their choice for leadership, and tribal divisions in our university. Many political analysts will tell u that there is no ideological backing behind any of our national politicians’ manifestoes and policies. This has been replicated in our university’s politics too.

There was not much difference between the political aspirants’ policies in the September 14^th elections in Maseno. The repairing of street lights, cheaper food in the mace, and installation of generators are policies that have been recycled down the years, and one cannot easily differentiate candidates according to their policies alone. Some of the methods the students use instead are course loyalties, voting in their friends and relatives, and voting for their tribesmen. Hence you will find a voter (mostly the third years who are the majority of candidates in SOMU elections) voting in the most unqualified of candidates just because they share the same course. The fourth years mostly do not bother voting since it is unheard of for one of them to vie for a seat. They are mostly involved in the tribal alliances and financing of candidates, as well as organizing their tribesmen to step down when two or more are vying for the same seat.

But why is it so hard for politics to be based along ideological or even economic classes in African politics? Some people suggest that the tribal identity that cuts vertically across the populations of many an African country is deeper than the economic differences that divide Africans vertically. Hence politicians find it easier to rally support from their ethnic groups than economic class in Africa. Tribalism is thus a monster that would seem to be too large to slay in Africa, and by extension Maseno University. The taming of this monster is thus the more realistic choice.

But how does one go about taming tribalism then? Consocialism is a method that has been used elsewhere in countries such as Belgium and Lebanon, that have ethnic or in the case of Lebanon, religious differences too deep to ignore in political competition. Consocialism is simply power sharing that is enshrined in the constitution. In such case, all the ethnic or religious groupings are ensured of seats in the national executive, legislative and judiciary. This makes it unnecessary to push the electorate to vote for people of their ethnic group. For example, the tribes that fail to get any seats in the SOMU executive may be nominated into the organization.

Burundi is a country that has implemented this system of governance in recent years. It may seem to be a radical idea at best or a defeatist one at worst, but it is something that should be considered. Blaming tribalism while offering no solutions to combat the issue, except cheap sloganeering and complaining has not worked for anyone in Kenya since independence.

MY CONCLUSIONS FOR AFRICA AFTER THE LIBYAN CONFLICT

2011-09-06T14:44:00.000+03:00

On 15th February 2011, the protests that had begun in Tunisia then Egypt swept into Libya, beginning in the west in the city of Benghazi before other cities and regions followed suit. The Libya leader colonel Muammar Gaddafi vowed to crush these uprisings and sent his soldiers into the fields. The attacks on civilians (some of them violent protesters) by Gadhafi in towns such as Misrata led to un security council resolution 1973 that imposed a no-fly zone over Libya and “authorizing the international community to establish a no-fly zone and to use all means necessary short of foreign occupation to protect civilians.” This led to NATO airplanes and helicopters joining the fray in the Libyan conflict that has lasted over seven months, and changing the momentum in the Libyan conflict in favour of the rebels.

Now that the conflict is reaching its final legs, one can attempt to review the happenings that have occurred since February 15^th when the first major protests began, and what this civil war has taught us about the western media, humanitarian intervention, the African union, the fight for democracy and freedom in the middle east, the big man syndrome in Africa, and development and political freedom in the third world.

Humanitarian intervention

According to Wikipedia, humanitarian intervention "refers to a state using military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is ending human-rights violations being perpetrated by the state against which it is directed." In Libya, this humanitarian intervention was perpetuated by NATO, and some elements of the Arab league. The French warships, British and French airplanes, and American intelligence and Qatari financial support were all rolled out to “take all necessary measures” to protect civilians, and bombings of military installations, government compounds, missile and communications centres.

This military intervention was limited to the air operations, although the CIA did send covert operations as reconnaissance operations into Libya. The Special Forces troops from Britain, France and Jordan also entered the country in contravention of the UN Security Council resolution 1973.

The biggest questions arising from this humanitarian question, according to me, include: 1) what were the reasons behind it? That the government used excess force in shutting down the protests is without doubt, but the other reasons the west would have wanted Gadhafi to leave such as wanting a government that was less abrasive in rhetorical terms and to the interests of the west than Gadhafi’s. The Lockerbie disaster and the repatriation of who was supposedly suffering from life threatening ailments, among many other incidents with Gadhafi have soured relations down the years. However, the regime has improved relations recently yet this did not satisfy the west efficiently to stop them from carrying out the attacks.

It is impossible to talk of humanitarian intervention in Libya, or in any other state in 2011, without mentioning Syria. Why hasn’t Bashar al Assad faced the fate of his contemporary? The stronger military, protectors from the neighbourhood such as Iran and Hezbollah have all been touted as reasons. The simple fact is, some dictators will always have a near free reign to do what they want in their country due to the interests of the superpowers and other realistic reasons. Thus the only people who can change their fate are the citizens that are being oppressed. Help from the outside will always come with its complications, and as much as it can have a positive impact, the regional leaders and countries should always have the biggest influence over any interventions in such countries.

The second issue I have with the humanitarian intervention in Libya is the apparent lack of political will and support for the NATO operations in Libya by the populations back home in America, Britain and France, which these politicians ignored at the beginning and went ahead with the operations. This weakness and “leading from behind” led to the unnecessary deaths and destruction of property in Libya that could have been averted. The civil war could have been over in a much shorter time than was eventually the case. Multilateralism and coalition building seems to be the long term legacy left after the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, but how efficient is this when you need to get a well prepared, well-armed and determined dictator out of office?

The African union

The African Union was at best the smallest voice in the room, and at worst a confused spectator in this unfolding conflict. The African leadership, led by South Africa could offer no meaningful solution to the crisis and came out looking like Gadhafi apologists who were protecting their “king of kings” in the United Nations.

The torturously slow evolution of the African union from a “non-interfering” group to a continental body that can help solve the internal conflicts of the smallest country such as Comoros to the biggest is taking too long. What happened to the unified military? Making the tough decisions that are needed to resolve conflicts in Africa seems to be beyond many of the African leaders at the moment. Is the youth that is spearheading the change in countries such as Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia and Malawi ready to assume this leadership? Is there a new ideology ready to evolve the pan African ideals of Nkrumah and Nyerere to the 21^st century conditions?

The fight for democracy in Africa

The Libyan civil war has also brought to the fore many serious issues in the fight for democracy in Africa. One of the leaders of the transitional national council is, former justice minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil. How democratic and revolutionary is he? Only time will tell. The fight for democracy in many parts of Africa has been always spearheaded by members of the elite that were part and parcel of the same government they are fighting. RaIla Odinga, Morgan Tsvangirai, Alassane Ouattara, Jalil, Kizza Besigye and others always get favourable exposure from the media and many foreigners. However, how democratic are these people who have been intimately involved, either politically, personally or professionally with the same dictators they are trying to oust?

Western media coverage

According to amnesty international, “much western media coverage has from the outset presented a very one-sided view of the logic of events, portraying the protest movement as entirely peaceful and repeatedly suggesting that the regimes security forces were unaccountably massacring unarmed demonstrating who presented no security challenge.” This is despite there being numerous accounts of torched police stations, hanged police officers and mercenaries and violence by the protesters in Benghazi and other towns. The media were obviously trying to show a picture of peaceful non-violent protestors being massacred to their local viewers. This would have played into the hands of the NATO and the political leaders who wanted Gadhafi out at all costs.

Balanced and fair broadcasting of news events from Africa and other parts of the third world by the western media seems to be a dream. Who will tell Africa’s story to the world from our perspective then? Even Aljazeera can only do too much. The more important lesson to be learnt is that even private enterprises will always practice self-censorship, biasness and promote the interests of a given class of people, no matter how “developed” and “free” the society views itself. Hence the citizen TV, NTV etc. of Kenya can only follow this rule. It is time we started asking the media questions and not viewing them as above reproach or criticism, whether the international or local.

The ICC

The prosecutor of the ICC hastily released arrest warrants for Muammar Gadhafi, his son and the intelligence chief after stories of rape, war crimes and using heavy machinery against civilians was reported. This is despite the amnesty international stating that “there is no evidence that mercenaries, aircraft or heavy anti-aircraft machine guns were used against the crowds. On several occasions the rebels in Benghazi appeared to have knowingly made false claims or manufactured evidence.” The international criminal court has prosecuted, or issued arrest warrants on Africans, and Africans only, since it was formed in 2003. This is despite war crimes being committed in Iraq, Syria and Guantanamo bay by the Americans and their allies.

The international criminal court’s inability to even complete a case successfully, let alone prosecute anyone not from the African continent needs to be evaluated. The crusade led by Kenya to leave the ICC is laughable and deeply embarrassing at the least. The solution for leaving the deeply flawed and partisan ICC would be to form an African or world court that can prosecute all war criminals from Donald Rumsfeld to Charles Taylor. Anything less than that is not workable, and we are better off with the international criminal court.

The big man syndrome and transitions of power

From strutting African union meetings and the world stage to releasing barely audible audio tapes condemning the rats and mercenaries from “unknown locations,” Muammar Gadhafi has come a long way. No doubt the man had ruled for more than his fair share of time since the last 1960s. The big man syndrome in Africa is well on its way out, yet the exit of some of the longest serving heads of state in the African continent, such as Robert Mugabe, Paul Biya, and Meles Zenawi among others can only be potential sources of conflict and upheaval in this countries. Is the opposition in these countries, the African union and the continent at large any closer to resolving these potential conflicts than they were at the beginning of this year? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Economic development and political freedoms

Many Africans believe that having a “benevolent dictator” such as Muammar Gadhafi is the better option for development, prosperity and stability in a country, rather than pursuing political freedom hand in hand with economic development. However, the development of the middle class that will occur with higher literacy levels, economic opportunities, and better standards of living all suggest that this can only be a temporary ideology. When the people start agitating for greater freedoms, bigger say in government and fighting corruption, the benevolent dictator has to be ready to deal accordingly with this. The response he offers will be the difference between taking his country down Morocco’s or Libya’s path.

In my conclusion, I think that the conflict that happened in Libya may yet occur in another part of Africa, with little or no change in strategy or response from the international community or the Africans. Lessons should be learnt, and I am not sure Africans and the world at large has learnt them.

MY VIEW ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN KENYA'S POLITICS

2011-08-25T18:24:00.000+03:00

Recently, there has been a lively debate in Kenya on whether the principle (article 81) in the new constitution that states “not more than two thirds of the members of elective bodies shall be of the same gender” can be achieved, without some form of affirmative action.This is because at the same time, the constitution restricts the number of constituencies in Kenya to 290 seats, with 59 nominated seats of which 47 are reserved for women, and 12 for special interests including the youth, persons with disabilities and workers (article 97). Hence, the political class cannot “nominate” their way out of this quagmire. The number of women elected to the national assembly next general elections must rise substantially if a constitutional crisis is to be avoided.
The general consensus, in my view, is that this numbers cannot be achieved unless some formula is devised to restrict some posts for women. Hence the cabinet last week decided to scrap away this principle by amending the constitution. This raised a lot of anger from quarters of the women’s rights movement, which said it had not been consulted in this decision yet it was their lot that was to be directly affected.
These groups, supported by most of the women nominated members of parliament, want a system of affirmative action devised, whereby a good proportion of constituencies are reserved for women, so that to ensure the constitution is not violated after the next general election, leading to a constitutional; crisis. But what is affirmative action? The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy defines affirmative action as the “positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education and business from which they have been historically excluded. Some of the ways in which affirmative action can be carried out is through quotas, where a specific number of positions in the school, organization or indeed, parliament are set aside for the minority group.
But this idea has not been received well, to say the least, by a good majority of Kenyans. Every voter has a right to choose his favored candidate, as long as he/she complies with the code of conduct, and article 99 of the constitution. How will vetting candidates according to gender improve service delivery, accountability, good governance and responsibility among members of parliament?
That question brings me back to the real issue in this argument: why cant women achieve a third of the seats in parliament without any special considerations or affirmative action?
Some of the reasons include:
• Lack of economic resources to compete with their male counterparts in political campaigns.
• The irregular and highly corrupt methods of political recruitment by political parties that are mostly headed by men hinder women (as well as the physically disabled, youth and other minorities)
• Chauvinism and lack of education that views women as incapable of doing well in such positions
• Political culture that favors violence, militias and voter bribery which are conditions that favor the men
• Lack of political mentoring and role models in the political field

• “jealousy” from the women voters that would rather vote for a man (I have never bought this one)
Hence to even out this unbalanced playing field, affirmative action should be done to ensure that women are well represented in parliament, as well as fight these institutional problems to make it easier for women and even other minorities to vie for and clinch the positions in politics.
Yet there are persuasive arguments AGAINST affirmative action. These include:
o It may not lead to true diversity of opinion which is so important in a national assembly
o It leads to reverse discrimination( discriminating against men while fighting discrimination against women)
o Lowering standards of accountability needed to push women politicians to perform better. ( a recent study by Stanford university indicated that the women representatives in America tend to bring in more money to their home districts, attract more sponsors and introduce more bills than their male counterparts. Of course this may not be true for Kenyan women parliamentarians, but it is obvious that women who succeed in politics, in Kenya and America alike, are ‘the most politically ambitious and talented of their pool, having potentially overcome hurdles including voter bias and self-doubt about their ability to win.” Open up “special seats” for women and the caliber of women getting seats to parliament is likely to suffer as a result.
o Once enacted, affirmative actions are tough to remove, even after the underlying discrimination has been eliminated.

In my conclusion though, I would say that as long as women cannot achieve at least a third of parliamentary seats in any country, then there is a problem with that society. Affirmative action should only be used as the most temporary of measures to correct this discrimination and wrong situation. For Kenya, measures such as the political parties bill, that will regulate the membership and nominations of political parties, strict electoral code of conduct that is well enforced by the IEBC( Independent electoral and boundaries commission), voter education, more women mentoring each other and encouraging each other to vie for seats in politics, more transparent and possibly government sponsored campaign financing, and democracy in political parties will promote a greater involvement of women in political affairs and elections than affirmative action alone can.
Affirmative action has a good number of weaknesses despite its advantages. hence, it must be used very carefully to minimize any discrimination towards the men, promote equality and harmony amongst all people in society, even as it seeks to empower women in Kenyan politics. for sure, restricting some parliamentary seats for women is not the answer. we would be better advised as a country to lay the groundwork for long term reforms of our political institutions and political culture by reading the article as a principle that can promote greater representation for women in the national assembly, as well as the disabled, youth and other minorities.

LONDON RIOTS: LESSONS FOR AFRICA

2011-08-15T17:15:00.000+03:00

The riots that have rocked London have shocked many people all over the world. Somehow the picture of the Englishmen stealing shoes, wine, flat screen televisions and other things from the shops in London and other cities is just too surreal. Many people have commented that the policemen of Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya, among other African countries would have shut down the riots and looters in a day. Yet others have faulted the reporting of the west’s media houses such as cnn, BBC and sky news. They say that had these riots occurred in Kenya, they would have been broadcasted all over the world.
I think Africans can compare and learn from these acts of “brazen criminality.” Some of the interesting aspects of these riots such as police response, the role of social media, political response, materialism, multiculturalism and ethnic relations, democratic society and social alienation, as well as the role of parents and the government in children upbringing.
• The police
The London riots began after the mysterious shooting of mark Duggan by the police. The shooting occurred after a botched undercover operation the police have been accused of not being responsive enough to the family of mark Duggan when they went to see them and get information about his death. This led to protests that eventually turned ugly, and led to the riots in Tottenham.
The police have been accused of being too soft and reluctant to use force when dealing with the protesters. This is a rather peculiar charge, as policemen are mostly known for being brutal when dealing with public upheavals of any kind. African police have rarely been accused of being soft on any protesters or citizens. As Kenya police continues to reform, care must be taken to ensure that the right balance is struck between softness and high handedness.
However, the police in Britain have been very efficient n arresting the looters, with over 1500 arrests having been made so far. The police have been very efficient in arresting, processing and charging the looters. This is unlike cases in Kenya where police have frequently dropped the ball while investigating cases. Some of the reasons given for this have been lack of resources, knowledge of the law, corruption and incompetence.
• Political responsiveness
Most of the national politicians had been in recess when the riots occurred. The initial response was slow, although the British prime minister did eventually call a special meeting of parliament to debate on the riots.
The politicians in both sides of the divide have struggled to maintain a united front in the debates, at least in public, although cracks are surely just beneath the surface, with the conservatives blaming the looting on criminality and consumerist society, while those on the left seem to think society has not given the poor any reason not to loot or feel like they are part of society they live in.
These ideological conflicts can lead to lively debate on the issues and consensus building when trying to address these concerns. The important lesson to learn from this is that a modicum of unity by politicians is sometimes necessary when a nation is facing a major crisis.
The law in Kenya and other parts of Africa should also be amended to ensure that the small and medium size enterprises are protected from cases of political violence and upheaval, either by providing incentives to the insurance players, or setting up a fund to help compensate the business class from such wanton destruction.
• Social networks
The use of the social networks by the looters has been very efficient, by using applications such as blackberry messenger to communicate and organize themselves. This has led to calls to ban these looters from the social networks. In Uganda, the leading party is accusing the opposition of trying to lead an “armed insurrection” using twitter.
The lesson here is that social networks can be used for both good and evil by the general population. Hence legislation to guide how to protect the general population from crooks that use the internet to liaise and organize their criminal activities, without violating the right of the innocent. The right to privacy in social networks such as facebook and twitter seems to be nonexistent. Activists are being arrested in Zimbabwe and Uganda for notes and updates they posted on these sites. This is a very worrying trend.
.Of course it must be mentioned that the positive efforts such as #riotcleanup and the identifying of looters on flickr have also been done using the same social networks
Activists and the general public in Africa have to know that they may be putting themselves at risk when they tweet or post negative things about their governments, especially in countries with a history of oppression and dictatorship.
• Ethnic relations
The killing of a black man (Mark Duggan) by the police threatened to bring about race riots, however the situation seems to have been avoided. The murder of 3 Englishmen of Asian origin in a hit and run where the main suspect is an afro-Caribbean ha s threatened to bring about ethnic tensions. This reminds me of such cases in parts of Kenya such as kuresoi and other parts of the rift valley region, where a crime perpetuated by a member of one community can lead to reprisals and revenge attacks. The Kenyan youth and civil society at large have a duty to play to promote dialogue and peace among these communities. This will help downplay tensions between the communities, especially in the political contests that are ahead in the next general elections.
• Haves and have-nots
The most important thing Africans can learn from the London riots, however, is that the creation of a deeply unequal society such as Kenyans is a time bomb. The government must do all it can to promote economic development, creation of jobs and inclusiveness of all segments of the society to the economy. Right now we have a two tier education system, where the rich go to the best schools while the poor go to the worst. What is the government doing to correct this? Is giving more schools the national status the answer? Am highly pessimistic, but time will tell.
• consumerism
The other major issue is that of consumerism. Consumerism, according to Wikipedia, is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. Many societies, Kenya included, are consumerist societies and this leads to people always wanting more and more goods so as to achieve a temporary high. This promotes greed and dissatisfaction among many people with their lives. Given an unguarded supermarket or shoe shop, how many Kenyans, or Africans would have acted in the same manner?
The British society will not find it easy to deal with such a problem. Is consumerism a bad thing? No doubt it promotes innovation and spending, which are necessary to economic development. But parents must curtail their and their children’s desires to spot the latest fashions, phones and designer clothes lest it damages our self esteems, sense of proportion, happiness and envy towards the more affluent in society.
In conclusion, the British government has been much more responsive, and united when dealing with these riots than many African countries would have. However, the issues their society faces, such as the vast underclass, poverty, dire economic times and an increasingly weak political class in the face of globalization, increasing power of MNCs and regionalism, as well as unemployed yet educated young population, are challenges all both sides of the north south divide are grappling with. How will our societies and governments deal with these?

Page 1 | How to Write about Africa | Granta 92: The View from Africa | Magazine | Granta Magazine

2011-08-02T22:45:00.000+03:00

Page 1 | How to Write about Africa | Granta 92: The View from Africa | Magazine | Granta Magazine

tribalism: challenges to a united kenya

2011-08-01T14:41:00.000+03:00

Many Kenyans, will tell you that one of the main problems that has affected Kenyans’ struggle to get a new constitution, good leaders, prosperity, peace and fight against corruption and impunity is tribalism. Tribalism is, according to Wikipedia, the possession of a stron“it is our turn to eat,”g cultural/ethnic identity that SEPARATES one member of a group from the members of another group. In the Kenyan context, this strong identity has been exploited “as a resource for interest groups for achieving secondary goals, such as increase in wealth, power or status, “by politicians.
Tribalism’s origins can be traced back to the colonial period where the British colonial state played the tribes against each other in a system of divide, rule and conquer, indeed in the book "it's our turn to eat" Michelle Wong says that some of the ethnic stereotypes such as the loyal kambas, the humble kalenjins and the slippery kikuyu can be traced back to this age.
Tribalism led to greater government expenditures for social expenditure in kikuyu areas, corruption benefits to insiders, privileged access to government and parastatal jobs for the kikuyu elite in Kenyatta’s government. Blatant discrimination against others, including intimidation and assassinations of popular leaders such as tom mboya, jm kariuki, pio Gama pinto etc who went against the grain or threatened the rulng elite’s interests occurred. The unresolved murders of these and many more injustices carried out by the two dictators who were the first and second presidents of Kenya, as well as kibaki to a lesser extent, have promoted ethnic tensions and a desperate urge by many Kenyans to bring about change, if not of this unjust system, at least of the tribe at the helm in government. When this failed at the general elections, the consequences were tragic, sobering and scary.
The multiparty system of democracy that Kenya adopted in 1992 ushered in a new era where a presidential candidate vied on the back of strong tribal support, and as a result more than 5 opposition candidates would vie against the then president Moi, helping him win the 1992 and 1997 elections without garnering 50% of the votes. This changed in 2002, and the opposition united to bring in change and evict the ruling party kanu from power for the first time since independence. But the honeymoon would not last. Scarcely a year had passed when the ruling party narc fragmented into pieces, with the faction led by Raila Odinga claiming that some MOU they had signed had not been honored when sharing the spoils of victory. This led to formation of a government of national unity, then the loss of the referendum by the government in 2005, and an increasingly tense and divided country leading to the 2007 general elections. With opinion polls pointing to a narrow Raila Odinga victory, increasingly violent, hate filled and propagandist campaigns and the unilateral appointment of some electoral commissioners by president Kibaki failed to raise the warning flags that the December 2007 elections would be a turning point on Kenya’s history.
What happened after the peaceful voting would shake the very foundations of the country to the core. The 2007-2008 crisis that followed these elections would lead to over 1000 dead, 600000 displaced, property worth millions destroyed and the economy of Kenya brought to its knees. After weeks of negotiations between the ODM and PNU factions, the National Accord and Reconciliation Act was signed by Raila and Kibaki on 28th February, a coalition government was formed with the mandate of bringing peace to the country, resettlement of the IDPs, political and legal reform, and the historical injustices as well as uneven distribution of wealth among different groups, the land issue as well as unemployment among the youth.
Fast forward to three and a half years later, are we close to solving these issues, and can we say that the political violence of 2008 will never again occur in Kenya? Some of the reforms that have been carried out include:
Passage of a new constitution. The new constitution creates a devolved system of government, that has the head of state and government as the president. It separates the three arms of government and strengthens the judiciary and national assembly at the expense of the executive. It also has a chapter on land, leadership and integrity and extensive bill of rights. How will this reduce tribalism?
It is hoped that by the devolution of power and resources to the county level, development and allocation of resources will be done equitably and not rely on the friendliness of a certain region to the powers that be. Hence tribes will not have to fight for the presidency and support their candidates and tribal chiefs despite the limitations and poor standards of leadership they may have. Major appointments by the president will have to be approved by parliament, such as cabinet secretaries, inspector general of the police and ambassadors will have to be approved by parliament. This system of checks and balances will help to ensure that the president will not be able to skew the appointments to favor any region, and by reducing the powers of the presidency, make it less attractive and imperial.
Any presidential hopeful must acquire 50% plus one of the votes, more than 25% of support in over half the counties, as well as declaring a running mate who will be the deputy president, before the elections are held. These provisions are to ensure that the president will be acceptable to a great majority of Kenyans, and promote nationalist politics that can appeal to all Kenyans despite their tribe, race or religion.
Other provisions that will hopefully reduce the tribalism and institutionalize issue based politics are the law on political parties that seeks to ensure that any coalition agreement between political parties must be transparent and reported to the independent electoral and boundaries commission, nationalize political parties (article 91 A), and reduce the party hopping and defections that occur when certain candidates lose nominations.
However, the presidency still retains its allure and power. The national assembly has to consist of legislators of impeccable character otherwise all the vetting and oversight of the executive and state officers will just take on an ethnic bend. Votes can and will be bought in the national assembly to pass the appointments of state officers. Tribalism cannot be legislated out of the hearts and minds of Kenyans, they must be educated, and they must talk to each other and practice non-discrimination when they vote for their leaders in 2012 and beyond.
The constitution must be implemented to the full. Bills and acts of parliament that add muscle to its provisions must be written according to its letter and spirit.
The ghosts of 2008 post election violence must be exorcised. How many culprits of the violence have been brought to book or charged? Very few, if any. low and high level perpetrators have been prosecuted. This kind of impunity is what will encourage these perpetrators to strike again in 2012. The Hague issue is one that will provide a hurdle that must be safely navigated. Reports that the witnesses the Waki commission used to get information were paid by both the PNU and ODM parties do not bode well for the Ocampo prosecution. How true are these allegations? What distresses me the most is that the perpetrators of the violence were much more than six people. The police have shown that they are not interested in investigating these people and bringing justice to the Kenyans who were uprooted, killed and raped after the 2007 general elections. Little wonder then, that a BBC 2009 report showed that kikuyu and kalenjin tribes are arming themselves with g3 and AK 47 rifles in readiness for the 2012 elections. If the police cannot protect them, and charge the culprits of the 2008 violence, they will protect themselves, is what they seem to be saying.
The tjrc hearings that are taking place in parts of the country have exposed deep lying anguish, injustice and disillusionment with the central government on past injustices that were committed and remain unsolved despite compelling evidence and witness testimonies. The assassinations of Tom Mboya, Robert Ouko and Jm Kariuki are some of them. The massacre of Kenyans in Kisumu at Tom Mboya's funeral in 1969, the Wagalla massacre of 1977, the 1992 and 1997 ethnic clashes in parts of rift valley, the 2008 post election violence and the 2008 human rights violations carried out by the military in mount elgon must all be investigated, among other injustices. This is the only way to ensure feelings of hatred, anger and revenge towards any communities perceived wrongly or rightly to be behind such atrocities are reduced.
Politicians such as Eugene Wamalwa have been heard recommending that appointments to the county government posts must favor the people who originate from his county, if such sentiments are shared by other politicians and Kenyans, then the county governments will have tribalism and discrimination based on ethnicity when it comes to employment of people, which is not only unconstitutional but will promote balkanization and tribalism at the county level. The rights of all Kenyans to live and work anywhere they want in the country must not be violated, despite the political wishes of such leaders. This is the only way to promote peace and harmonious existence among Kenyans.
The system of government still is a presidential form, and whether this is the best system of government for Kenya, the jury is still out. The committee of experts had initially drafted a constitution in which the executive power was separated between the president and prime minister but the prevailing attitude among majority of Kenyans was that given the wrangling within the coalition government, this experiment was not tenable as a permanent system. Kenyans of different ethnic groups will still vote for one president in the next general elections. So what will stop the tribal cocoons, alliances and historical ethnic voting patters from recurring??
Kenyans would be advised to vote for presidential candidates that pass the leadership and integrity test, and some of the criteria they should look at I have posted here. Realistically speaking, many Kenyans will continue voting for the leaders from their tribes. The new constitution has laid the groundwork to avoid a repeat of any violence due to this in the next elections. However, the minds and hearts of people who want to see their tribesmen only as the president will take much persuasion to convince otherwise. The new Kenyan leadership will take some time to take root, and the future does look brighter than the past in this respect.

IS KENYA A FAILED STATE?

2011-07-20T17:11:00.000+03:00

In July 2011, the website foreign policy published their annual list of failed states. Kenya was ranked 16th on that list, and this evoked a great deal of negative emotions from the Kenyan public. I mean, Kenya has its fair share of problems, but listing it with countries such as Somalia and Pakistan is unfair, surely.
I decided to do some research on the matter, and this is what I found out:
The fund for peace on its website, describes itself as “an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research and educational organization that works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security.” It measures pressures on a state, moreso than the states capacity to handle them. Its research is guided by 12 primary social, economic and political indicators (check them here) and I have summarized these below. The indicators are then analyzed on a scale of 1 to 10:
1. Demographic pressures
These pressures include pressures deriving from high population density, group settlement patterns, high population growth rates, natural disasters, epidemics and environmental hazards.
2. Massive movement of Refugees and IDPs
This is the forced uprooting of communities as a result of random/targeted violence causing food shortages, disease that could lead to humanitarian and security problems both within and between countries.
3. Vengeance seeking group grievances
These are groups with historical injustices, patterns of atrocities committed against groups, public scapegoating of groups believed to have acquired wealth, status or power as evidenced in the emergence of hate radio, pamphleteering and stereotypical/nationalistic political rhetoric.
4. Chronic and sustained human flight
This is brain drain and voluntary emigration of the middle class due to economic deterioration, and growth of the Diaspora.
5. Uneven development
This investigates group based inequality, or perceived inequality in education and economic status, as well as group based poverty as measured by poverty levels, educational levels etc.
6. Poverty and decline
This is the progressive economic decline, collapse or devaluation of the national currency, “extreme social hardship imposed by economic austerity programs, growth of hidden economies, including the drug trade, smuggling, and capital flight, and increase in levels of corruption and illicit transactions among the general populace.”(fund for peace)
7. Legitimacy of the state
Massive and endemic corruption and profiteering by ruling elites, and the loss of confidence in state institutions.
8. Public services
This investigates whether there has been progressive deterioration of public services, such as the failure of the government to provide health, education etc.
9. Human rights and rule of law
This is the rise of dictatorships, politically inspired violence, rise of the number if dissidents and political prisoners, and the widespread abuse of legal, political and social rights.
10. Security apparatus
Private militias, army within an army, armed resistance to governing authority and elite guards beholden to the government.
11. Factionalized elites
This investigates tribalism, nationalistic political rhetoric, absence of legitimate leadership widely accepted as representing the entire citizenry.
12. External intervention
This looks at the military engagement, economic intervention by outside powers, and humanitarian intervention into internal conflict.
The fund for peace also ranks five key state institutions (leadership, military, police, judiciary and civil service). Leadership is judged to be weak, the military is poor, the police are poor, judiciary is poor and the civil service is weak.
The fund for peace then releases its findings in the July of the next year, after analyzing thousands of reports. Hence the results that were released in July 2011 were for the year 2010. Kenya’s performance from 2007 to 2011 is as follows: 2007-31st, 2008-26th, 2009-14th. 2010, 13th, 2011-16th.
Keeping in mind that the lower the ranking a country is, the worse the conditions in this country are (Somalia is position 1), it is obvious that Kenya’s position deteriorated progressively from 2007 to 2010, but improved slightly in 2011, mainly because of the free and fair referendum, and the promulgation of the new constitution. The enshrinement of the bill of rights and devolution of government will undoubtedly lead to the improvement of the Kenyan situation.

However, the issue of refugees and IDPs, factionalized elites and external intervention are not improving, in any case the factionalized elites (tribalism, nationalistic political rhetoric and absence of legitimate leadership widely accepted as representing the whole citizenry) the situation is getting worse despite the best efforts of the national cohesion commission.
Some of the challenges that stand in Kenya’s way to improving its standing on this list this year include:
• The ruling of the international criminal court on whether the six cases will be confirmed and criminal proceedings started. Whether or not this happens, justice must be achieved for the more than 1000 Kenyans that lost their lives in the 2008 post election violence. Failure to do so, whether by the ICC or the local judiciary will be a win for impunity and injustice. If the perpetrators of the 2008 violence are not prosecuted, what will stop such violence from occurring in the general elections of 2012?
• Secondly, the implementation of the constitution must be achieved within the stipulated time by all costs. This will ensure that we don’t go for a snap election that we are ill-prepared for. Thirdly, the campaigns for the elections will have to be conducted in a way that respects peace, justice and harmonious coexistence between the different communities, tribes and religious groups living in Kenya.
• Fourthly, the famine that is currently ravaging parts of northern Kenya must be addressed, the influx of refugees into Kenya from Somalia must be mitigated, and the refugees who are currently living in Daadab must be housed in proper conditions, and their health, food, security and clothing situation also addressed.
• Fifth, the runaway inflation, deterioration of the Kenyan shilling and rising cost of living addressed. This will ensure that the economic situation of Kenyans does not worsen.
• Sixth, the corruption that always takes place in the two years preceding a general election must be addressed and culprits taken to court, so as to give the public confidence in the government, as well as enable the state to provide the basic services to Kenyans.
In conclusion, the failed state index which did not receive the attention it deserved from Kenyans raises a lot of pertinent issues for all Kenyans to interrogate. The immediate future for Kenya is exciting yet fraught with danger. If there had been no elections in 2012, Kenya’s ranking would have undoubtedly improved. However, that, together with The Hague, drought, tough economic conditions, and slow implementation of the constitution means that we have to be very involved and wary as we move forward.

KEEPITCOOL: SLOW GLOBAL WARMING

2011-07-19T21:57:00.000+03:00

KEEPITCOOL: SLOW GLOBAL WARMING

THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE NEW KENYA

2011-07-16T21:06:00.001+03:00

The civil society, according to the London school of economics, “refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, and market, though in practice, the boundaries between the state, civil society, and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated . . . civil societies are often populated by organizations such as registered charities, gnus, community groups, women’s organizations, faith-based organizations, trade unions, self-help groups, social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups.”
A simpler definition by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is, “the arena, outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests.
Going by these definitions, then civil society is very wide, and pervasive in all societies, Kenya included. In Kenya, the civil society has played a big role in the fight for a new constitution, democracy, the accountability of the government and fight against corruption. The line between civil society and government has often become blurred, and sometimes the civil society bigwigs have ventured into politics. This has led to the credibility of the civil society being eroded, as these organizations have at times become too cozy with the politicians, promoted foreign interests, alienated the people from the political process, spread half truths and propaganda (case in point the evangelicals during no campaign for the 2010 referendum), and been used by unscrupulous individuals purely to canvas for support from donors while the ultimate use of these funds is not clear to Kenyans.
Yet, looking at the new constitution and its provisions on gender, the minority tribes and devolution of power, it is clear that the civil society is a force to be reckoned with. In the era of internet, they can easily educate, some would say indoctrinate Kenyans on their ideologies and world view, sometimes in competition against the government, the traditional media(radio, television and print), and advance their agenda in politics. It would be foolhardy to assume that all civil society groups work for the interests of Kenya all the time, for example many faith based organizations were against the appointment of Dr Wily Mutunga as the chief justice, despite; he being a member of the civil society, and most Kenyans approving of his appointment.
Before we accept what the civil society groups have to say, we need to interrogate them. Some of the questions we should ask an activist or civil society hack before we swallow what he has to say include:
• Where do you get your backing (financial, moral or ideological) from?
• Whose interests are you promoting in your advocacy?
• What methods do you use to achieve your interests and aims?(whether lobbying, sending emails, use of the traditional and new media)
• What role, if any, do Kenyans play in the formation of your visions and goals?
• Whose support are you focused on acquiring, the politicians, the diplomatic corps or the Kenyans?
In my view, with the democratization of the country, privatization of the media, achievement of the new constitution and enshrinement of freedom of expression and association, the aims of the first wave of civil society has been achieved. The days of unity and solidarity in the civil society ended with the Moi regime in 2002. Expect to see much more disagreements, plurality of opinions, difference of opinions, pursuing of selfish interests from the civil society. The civil society will start working against each other, in terms of their goals and ideologies. Our view of civil society has to change. The days where Kenyans seek the truth from NGOs are behind us. We have to analyze every civil society organization as a single entity, loosely affiliated to other bodies from the same background.
In conclusion, the role of civil society in Kenya, in my view will change under the new constitutional dispensation to a more vibrant, diverse and multifaceted affair. There will be “fake” civil society groups, those with interests that are downright selfish and contrary to the expectations of Kenyans, much more opinions will be thrown to us, and the rights and freedoms we enjoy under the new constitution will be used both for us, and against us.
Will this lead to a better Kenya? Hopefully it will, but the challenges are rife.

7 THINGS YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR IN A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

2011-07-16T20:55:00.001+03:00

The general elections are supposed to be held sometime next year, and as a result, the field of presidential candidate is growing by the week. The constitution of Kenya article 137 has the qualifications that one must fulfill so as to allow them to get nomination, and because clause 1) (c) allows the nomination of independent candidates, and nomination of two thousand voters, virtually any Kenyan can declare interest.
Kenyan citizens have greeted some of the candidates with ridicule and brushed them away without scrutinizing them, and their policies. This is a negative attitude that promotes propaganda, weakening of the debates between candidates, tribalist chiefs being approved by Kenyans almost unquestioningly, and an unhealthy dependence on opinion polls to tell us who the best candidates are.
I think we should carefully scrutinize the presidential candidates before writing off or rubber stamping anyone as the winner, and some of the things we should look at are as follows:
1. Principles and beliefs
Every person has their own principles that they fight for in their lives, whether it is fighting for gender equality, rights of the disabled, marginalized communities or even acquiring as much wealth s possible. Thus, every candidate will base their candidature on a certain agenda based on their beliefs, whether it is kufuata nyayo, economic development or equality.
It is important that we scrutinize each candidate’s principles and beliefs, so that we can see how these are in line with the national values, interests and vision 2030.
2. Professional and economic background
This is important so as to give us inkling on what special interests, if any, the candidate would represent once in government, and what special abilities the candidate will bring to the office. A farmer by profession would be expected to bring that expertise to the job, while at the same time focusing more on the agriculture sector.
3. Ideological leanings
Ideology is becoming an increasingly important part of Kenyan politics. Whether this is ultimately a positive or negative development is a topic for another day, but each candidate must tell Kenyans where he stands in terms of role of the government in promoting development, the role of faith in the state and drafting of laws and policies, their policies towards the LGBIT group, and what they think the role of Kenya should be in the international relations,
4. Track record
The track record of the candidate in terms of what they have done in their previous capacities to promote democracy, human rights, peace and unity among all Kenyans, and respect for the rule of law, has to be investigated. Those who were silent during the fight for democracy, and against the dictatorship of Kenyans first 2 presidents, and to some extent even the second, cannot be trusted as courageous, principled and democratic candidates.
5. Organization of the campaign
The way the presidential candidate organizes his campaign tell a lot on how they would run their administration. How the candidate uses social media such as facebook or twitter, handling of propaganda and attacks from other candidates, and coherence and realism of the campaign promises, as well as the efficiency of their campaign can tell us how the candidate would handle opposition, use new technology in governance of the country, and run the cabinet.
6. Brushes with the law, if any
Many Kenyan politicians have spent their time in court, either for corruption charges, allegations of crimes against humanity, fighting for democracy and freedom, or organizing protests against dictatorial regimes etc. we should look at these brushes with the law so as to gain insight to the personal characters of the candidates, and their track record in fighting for the democracy (or against it) that we take for granted.
7. Transparency about campaign funding
The campaign websites of every candidate should tell us how they have acquired their funds. This is important because it will show us which candidates promote transparency. It will also educate us on any special interests either inside or outside Kenya, including the business class, religious groups, trade and labour groups.

It is my view that should we scrutinize each candidate this way, we will make much more informed choices on our government, as well as reduce tribalism and ethnic chauvinism. It will also remove the joy riders who may seek to use the pluralism and relative ease in which someone may vie for the most powerful political office in the land.
We as Kenyans must remember is that the constitution stipulates, in article 38 (3), (c) That every adult citizen has the right without unreasonable restrictions to be a candidate for public office, or office within a political party of which the citizen is a member and, if elected, to hold office. We should not discriminate against any candidate who has declared interest for the seat on any ground including race, sex, ethnicity or religion, as long as the said candidate fulfilled all the requirements of the constitution, and is a responsible leader.