Travels with Msafiri

Babu and (na) Loliondo…lol

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:22:00 +0000

There media of late in our region as been awash of the stories of miracle cure being offered by Rev Ambilikile Mwasapile fondly known as Babu in Loliondo, Tanzania.

The humanity flocking to a town that was still unknown in the Arusha area has been anything but staggering. Till last week before the Tanzanian government, in consulation with Babu halted the sea of humanity from various countries flocking to Loliondo, it had been estimated that there were about 24,000 sick people and their relatives queuing to see the cleric-turned-traditional healer.

Journalists at the weekend counted a convoy of up to 4,000 vehicles snaking into the village. About 100 vehicles had broken down on the rough road to the rugged hills overlooking Lake Natron where the Babu has set up his “clinic”.

Watching the events unfolding over the media, it is hard to believe that so many people of different nationalities and races were heading for the remote town on both road and air!

Questions abound on whether there are true cases of miracle cures taking place, with claims that Babu’s concoction treats diabetes, cancer and even HIV/AIDs literary overnight. This is despite medical experts expressing concerns about the potency and efficacy of the herbal treatment, although this has not stopped the flow of patients into Loliondo.

There are also concerns from the environmentalists concerning the plant used in preparing the concoction, and questions are raised as to whether there any plans to help it if Babu has to continue to serve his patients into the future. Reports inform that Babu serves the medicine to 3,000 people per day on average. It is an enormous volume of medicine that corresponds to extensive tree harvest which foresters as well as conservationists should be concerned.

Malaysia at a glance

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:41:00 +0000

Being here makes me wonder what fate we as African’s have in our hands, and what the future portends for us. Back in the 1970s Malaysia and Kenya were at the same level of social and economic development, some 30 years down the road, Malaysia is way ahead of us that I feel we should rename our Vision 2030 to Vision 2300.

Malaysia is a federate state comprising of 11 states, three federal states, as well as the states of Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo.

It is a country of 27 million that is diverse in its culture as its geography, truly a land of contrasts and modern and old architecture, and a superbly efficient world class transport infrastructure.

Its accommodation is are truly at competitive rates, with fully furnished and self catering apartment suites at USD 50 a day (think of Kenya’s over priced hotels and villas), with the best hotel service that you can expect of a five-star hotel.

Getting around on Kuala Lumpur was much easier than I had imagined, especially with its underground monorail transport that are cheap, efficient and clean. Some of the sites that I was lucky to visit in last 14 days were extremely exciting and new experience to me.

Of course, to any visitor new in town, you cannot miss sighting the Petronas Twin Towers. It stands at 451.9 metre and an icon of modern Malaysia. It was the world’s tallest twin towers at 88 storeys high!

For someone interested in architecture, Kuala Lumpur is a dreamer’s haven of architectural masterpieces, where the towers overlook old wooden structures.

Humour from across the globe

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:23:00 +0000

Here I am in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and reading a copy of yesterday’s “Startwo: Lifestyle” an article written by Joris Luyendijk of his favourite jokes around the globe. His feelings are that the foreign pages of a good newspaper should feature a jokes section from all over the world as humanising counterweight to all the reports that stress the differences between there and here. Sounds familiar to us folks from Africa?

Here are some that I as visitor from Africa and any other developing country found so amusing, as it relates to what we know so well.

Pakistan

Most current jokes according to him centre on corruption:

Robber: “Give me all your money.”

Victim: “Do you who I am?”

Robber: “No.”

Victim: “I am the president.”

Robber: “OK, give me all my money.”

Nigeria

A man dies and goes to hell. Once there, he finds that there is a different hell for each country, so he tries to seek out the least painful one.

At the door to the German Hell, he is told:

“First, they put you in an electric chair for an hour. Then they lay you down on a bed of nails for another hour. Then the German devils comes in and whips you for the rest of the day.”

He does not like the sound of that, so he checks out the American Hell, Russian Hell and many more. They are all similarly gruesome. However, at the Nigerian Hell, a long line of people is waiting to get in. Amazed, he asks,

“What do they do here?”

He is told:

“First, they put you in an electric chair for an hour. Then they lay you down on a bed of nails for another hour. Then the Nigerian devils comes in and whips you for the rest of the day.”

“But that’s the same as the others,” says the man. “Why are so many people waiting to get in?”

“Because of the power cuts, the electric chair does not work. The nails were paid for but never supplied, so the bed is comfortable. And the Nigerian devil used to be a civil servant, so he comes in, signs his time sheet and goes back home for private business.”

South Africa

The name Van der Merwe in South Africa is like Smith in Britain.

Van der Merwe is driving home after too much to drink at a pub. A policeman pulls him over and asks: “Sir, have you been drinking?”

Van der Merwe decides to admit it: “Yes, I have.”

“Did you know,” the cop says, “that at the last traffic roundabout, your wife fell out of the car?”

“Oh, thank God,” says Van der Merwe, “I thought I’d gone deaf!”

Bangladesh

This is a joke about Gulistan, an area in the capital, Dhaka.

An American, a Japanese and a Bangladeshi are on a plane. They decide to take on a challenge – to stick out their arm out of the window and guess which country they’re over.

The American put his arm out of the window and recoils: “Sheesh, it’s hot out there. Must be somewhere over the tropics.”

The Japanese puts his hand out and quickly pulls it back, saying: “Too cold for me. My guess is it’s the South Pole.”

The Bangladeshi puts his hand outside and keeps it there for while before bringing it back into his seat.

“Gullistann, Dhaka.” he says.

Amazed, the others ask, “How could you tell? Do you people have an innate compass or something?”

The Bangladeshi replies: “Nah, my watch is gone.”

Congo

This one is about how Congo’s elite has underdeveloped this vast, poor but mineral rich country.

A Congolese minister visited a Cuban minister, who invited him to his stunning mansion. The Congolese minister asked how he’d done it.

The Cuban minister tool the Congolese minister to the window and pointed outside to a sparkling strip of tarmac.

“You see that road? Well, my ministry oversaw it. And I took 10% for myself.”

The Congolese minister nodded thoughtfully.

Years later, the Cuban minister paid a return visit. The Congolese minister couldn’t wait to greet him and take him to his mansion, which was even more sumptuous than the one he had visited years before.

“Wow, how did you do this?”, asked the Cuban minister. The Congolese minister took him to the window and pointed out at the overgrown scrubland that filled the view: “I commissioned a road too – 100%”

KPLC a big let down

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:56:00 +0000

Kenya Power & Lighting Company Limited is a reflection of what has broken down in our country’s processes. Despite having a makeover early this decade, many of us expected that it would improve on many of its core services provision. But this does not appear so.

First, I would like to acknowledge that vandalism of the power transformers is becoming rampant. What I cannot understand is what the persons who risk their lives and limbs do with the oil coolant that they drain, and inconveniencing so many of us who eventually suffer from long spells of time without power due to operational inefficiencies of KPLC.

This is the second time in as many months we are experiencing such, with the first time having stayed without power for 14 days! Today, will be our 12th day, going 13 tomorrow due to some transformer vandalism. But what irritates most of us residing in the area, is the quality of customer care you get from their emergency section. It is extremely distressing when you get reissued with some reference numbers for follow up of the repair work being done, more so when they have no clue as to the probable time frame for repairs.

What intrigues me though most, on the several occasions I have called (gave up anyway as it is a futile exercise) is the official line that the utility company has no transformers in stock, and have to look for alternative sources that take up to a month!

This sadly also reflects on the KPLC’s website, where the link to feedback from its stakeholders is broken. This I doubt is whether the webmaster is unaware, but rather suspect more intended to keep us consumers off. Even more puzzling, is that the email address for Customer Care, place prominent on it home page is non-functional as an email I tried sending bounced back as it is not existing!

As we used to refer to KPLC those days, it surely is the Kenya Paraffin & Lamp Company Limited.

The deepening crisis that is drought.

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:50:00 +0000

I wonder how many of us have ever taken the chance to drive out of Nairobi towards the direction of Kitengela and beyond?

My guess would be most of us, but only for the usual pastime that is nyama choma eating at the Kitengela township. And probably for real estate hunting that also seems to be a Kenya’s trend of obsessiveness of late.

But should one venture for a trip that takes you another 60 kilometres to Kajiado Town, then it will be a sobering experience for Kenyan urbanites who are used to luxuries and living on a square 3 meals a day. This trip at this time of the year and amid the worst drought in the region in recent years will expose the two sides of the Kenyan society that we try so hard to pretend does not exist.

It is here that you get the opportunity to witness the suffering of the Kenyan pastoralist communities, some of whom have been travelling with their cattle for the past few weeks looking for pasture and water over incredible distances with tragic consequences.

I met a group of such pastoralists, with one particular story that is still resonating with me. The young man told me that when he left the Kajiado area in January searching for pasture, he had some 350 heads of cattle to his name. Come September, the toll on the cattle due to drought had seen this herd numbers going down to only 50! You could not miss noticing the agony on his face as he told you this story, amid a scene of tens of sheep and cows struggling to make it through another day, as carcasses of dead animals littered the grounds where they were.

Yet I could not fail to admire their spirit in midst of the challenges they were going through, as they looked into another day hoping it would bring better tidings.

Drought and the volcanic lakes of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:12:00 +0000

Its been long since I blogged anything on this site, and I reckon those are the challenges associated with parenthood, what with the baby demanding all attention from you.

Some few backs while enroute to my rural home, I decided to detour towards Lake Baringo. As mentioned somewhere else in this blog, this still happens to one of my favourite spots. Lake Baringo is a freshwater lake, though not pristine but muddy due to increased run off and siltation as a result of uncontrolled and wanton forest destruction upstream at the Tugen Highlands. Due to this environmental degradation even the tilapia fish caught by the local communities usually has that muddy taste that you cannot just wish away.

Anyway, the road from Marigat Town to Kampi ya Samaki (the lake’s shore town centre) is being recarpeted, and was pleasantly surprised to experience the first 5 kms of the 18 kms being completely pot hole free! There was even a small settlement just a kilometre after Marigat town on your way to the lake that is home to refugees from Southern Sudan and aptly named Darfur.

There are only two very decent hotels, these are the Lake Baringo Soy Club (charges between Ksh. 4,500(USD $ 58)-Ksh. 7,500 (USD 98) /night/HBB depending on whether its low or high tourism season) and the Sarova Lake Baringo Club (that's way above the USD 100/night).

Interesting places to visit would be either of three or so islands with a boat ride on the shallow lake that has the deepest point at only 5 metres, with plenty of crocs and hippos. Or you can visit the old man who mans the snake and croc farm and who goes by the name of Toroitich. The old man can show you the different types of snakes resident to the area, ranging from the diminutive sand borer to the most ferocious rhino horned viper, and the cousin to the Egyptian cobra. Even better he can allow for a small token a photo shoot with the intimidating 12-foot long python.

And if you are lucky, you can come across the only wild ostriches that roam this country side freely.

But all of this nature’s beautiful sites are being compromised by unbridled greed for riches from resources offered by nature, and this coupled by the increasing poverty levels occasioned on the wananchi by poor policies and politicking as seen some of the lakes in Rift Valley disappearing and disappeared (such as Lake Kamnarock at the floor of Kerio Valley). Its a pity what is happening at the Mau and the rest of Kenya, especially considering that the last indigenous forests are in the Tugen Highlands.

What’s with Kenya?

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Just when you thought things were settling down after the unfortunate events of 2007/2008 after the elections, and two categories of Kenyans spoil the calm waters.

One, are the politicians and their incessant quarrels that seem kiddish as to who is supposedly superior in the silly coalition (read collision) government that is always quarrelling. It’s so comical to see one of the so called partners lamenting on lack of state treatment, to the extent that now pit latrines have to dug wherever he goes out on state duties, and a red carpet laid out forgetting that Kenyans are literary starving and in some cases dying of hunger and sicknesses that are preventable

On the other side, the Mungiki who seemed to have been having a losing streak as a result of so judged “extra judicial” killings from local and international human rights organizations, and of late being pursued and hunted down by the populace they were extorting and tired of ineptness of the security organs, have reared their ugly head for umpteenth time and slaughter tens of innocents in Central Kenya.

Oh, and not to forget the Ugandans who have taken over the Migingo Island and are now taking over parts of Rift Valley especially along the border that is common to the Pokot and Turkana. reportedly the Ugandan armed forces are tampering with the beacons planted by our colonizers and moved inside Kenya by 2 kilometres! All with the knowledge of the government that is “trying to settle diplomatically” the stand off.

Kenyans are so tired of this thing called coalition, and wherever you travel the populace is wondering what happened to us. Soon we will start having two sets of documents for Kenya and Uganda depending on which part of this troubled country you come from.

Welcome to 2009!

Oops! on a lighter note this is how Migingo Island will look like if the Vision 2030 gets the funds from Uganda.

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:12:00 +0000

Source: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/466820/-/tkb4rf/-/index.html

It actually did snow yesterday afternoon in the great Rift Valley of Kenya, somewhere in the agricultural low lands of Nyahururu.

The only place in Kenya that has snow throughout, and lies on the Equator, is the famous landmark Mt. Kenya. Outside this five thousand foot mouthiness, we can conclude that the closet thing to snow we have ever seen are hail stones.

Seems like the global warming phenomena has its surprises.

Is Zimbabwe turning into Kenya?

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:49:00 +0000

This weekend has been rather stressful for Kenyans as we watch the hard-line stance taken by politicians from both sides of the political divide regarding the cabinet appointments. And also pretty amusing seeing a replay of the Kenyan fiasco taking place in Zimbabwe that so closely mirrors what we went through in December.

And amidst all the political infightings, Kenyans are coming out in large numbers to buy shares of the fabled Safaricom, and inflation that is at 21% (still far off Uncle Bob's 100,000% annual inflation rate).

And now that PNU and ODM have agreed to a 40-cabinet to be announced this coming Sunday, let's see what else will be achieved in the short run.

Easter holiday and peace?

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:18:00 +0000

Now that there is semblance of sanity and peace back in country, it was most unbelievable to see Kenyans turning out in their large numbers to indulge themselves during this Easter season. For the first time in the year after the disastrous elections we were able to enjoy ourselves for the first time.

I and my significant other decided to visit the Lake Nakuru National Park, which we have never visited before despite being residents of Nakuru Town. The government has really tried and is presently putting in a lot of effort to encourage domestic tourism following the recent violence. This should have been recognized a long time ago, as tourism in this country has always focussed on the foreign visitors who can spend, and ignoring the locals who could actually sustain the industry. With hotels now at the coast circuit drastically reducing hotel charges to entice us, I was not surprised to read reports that hotel occupancy had gone up to over 80% compared to the 5-15% that was experiences less than a month ago. This is what the industry is supposed to do for us, and not just as a stop gap measure now, as domestic tourism is hefty for us.

And this was what we experienced at the Lake Nakuru National Park. Entry charges for Kenyan adults are Ksh. 200, for residents at Ksh. 1,000 and foreigners at US $ 40. Consolidate this with the Ksh. 300 levied on a personal car with a carrying capacity of less than 6 passengers and you can imagine how expensive visiting a national park like Lake Nakuru can be. Fortunately, with the Kenyan rebranding in process, there was a waiver on any Kenyan under the age of 18 years, and this was a very welcome move to the Kenyans who wanted to visit the park.

The only downside was when we encountered a bitter exchange between residents of foreign extract and the KWS cashier, which I can attribute to lack of customer care and w

Anyway, this is the only park in Kenya that I believe one can get so easily to see the rhino at close range, here I am talking about being in your car and some thirty feet away from an overly protective mother rhinoceros mum and her baby, or see a lonely and reclusive male that does not move away from the same spot. And of course, the famous pink flamingos in their hundreds of thousands on the shores of Lake Nakuru. It is a sight to behold, with the pelicans and swans alongside the majestic birds. And at this time of the year, when the long rainy season is just about to commence, the cool winds are enough for that adventurous once-in-a-life time experience.

And the must go picnic site on the baboon cliff! Beware though that this apes have grown so accustomed to human beings and learnt from us so much, that they are smart enough to open unlocked car doors and rummage for food! That's what we saw when they decided to steal from the obviously surprised tourists in the KWS bus. And there the hyraxes seem not to mind the close quarters with us, so lovely and yet misunderstood as big rats, when they are the closest relatives to the elephants.

There is quite a number of game to watch, the waterbucks, gazelles, dik diks, buffaloes and vultures.

The only downside is the town, which seems to have an ever growing number of street children, who are much more aggressive than their counterparts else where. Apparently this is a result of the violence we had, and understand a majority are IDPs from the Nakuru Showground. If the Nakuru Municipal Council does not control the situation, they will drive visitors and shoppers away particularly from the supermarkets along the Kenyatta Avenue. They demand money from drivers who have not even left their cars, and should you dare refuse to pay them, they pluck and steal things from your car.

Poor Koffi Annan

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:18:00 +0000

On Monday while travelling from Nakuru we were discussing the prospects of getting the solution to the political stalemate in the country, and some of the passengers had high hopes of the esteemed Koffi Annan getting our politicians to agree on something at least.

This was in the wake of the news that PNU and ODM had agreed to some sort of power sharing arrangement with a strange name of a 'joint-government'.

However, this hope seems to be short lived going by what Mungatana and Karua are alleging that Koffi was making his own pronouncements about certain agreements that were never discussed! This gives credence to the many pessimists that the government is not actually interested in the talks at there is no way they will allow for power sharing.

Some of the issues that the hardliners seem to disagree was the consensus on a coalition government and another general election in two years.

Poor Annan, the guy now has been forced to hide the mediation talks from the people it wants to save!

Are we headed for class wars now?

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:11:00 +0000

Of late there has been a subtle change in the political stand off, which to some extent seems to be relaxing except for the Western part of the Kenya where apparently things are very far from normal, and taking a dimension where harassment is being directed to those who are perceived to be 'well off'.

The illegal road blockades are now a source of income for the disgruntled youth all the way from Nakuru to Busia, Kisumu and Eldoret. And their target, those who are operating their personal cars and PSVs. There are also unconfirmed reports of 'protection rackets' as they begin to fill in the gap left by the government security agencies, as they roam around asking for 'token appreciation' in return for security.

They do come in all forms and shades with such diverse labels such as the 'Baghdad Boys', Mungiki etc.

Question now, are we headed for a class war now rather than the political one?

Perpetuating Hatred on the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:01:00 +0000

Just had an anonymous commenter who dropped a link on my link, and went ahead to read a lot of falsehoods on the current situation in Kenya, particularly Rift Valley.

I do not want to presuppose that the individual hiding behind the anonymity of the Net was guessing my background, but I do find the kind of information that people drop on the internet are occasionally on the extreme. This is even worse when posted on a supposedly reputable site representing Kenyans abroad. This is a manifestation of the tribal hatred that Kenyans have cultivated both at home and abroad.

The website in question belongs the Kenya Development Network and Consortium (KDNC) which brings together local Kenyans and Kenyans in the Diaspora among others, and which ironically on its home page has a peace petition for all to sign.

Personally, I would like that we respect the current ongoing mediation talks, and give it a chance as we are now beginning to hurt. I do see the need to perpetuate and aggravate the situation, unless we Kenyans have gone suicidal.

What's the point now, putting an incredulous report and alleging that the Kalenjin are plotting to kill a million Kikuyus? To me this is the most far fetched and the typical one sided argument by those whose ethnic inclinations is gravitated to the purpose of the 'sole victim', forgetting that it's the nation that's hurting. And this is the sort of propaganda that has now been taken to the cyber space and is providing a new frontier for the diverse ideologies of which some are not productive at all to us.

See the silly report and the website hosting it below:

Kenya Development Network and Consortium (KDNC)

http://www.kdnc.org/

Recruitment, Training, Indoctrination and Operations of Kalenjin Ethnic Cleansing Terror Gangs

http://www.kdnc.org/en/art/?311

The Lucy and Imanyara Saga Continues

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:04:00 +0000

There is a saying about 'the truth letting you free', and what they say about the rumours having some substance of truth has come to pass.

Some few weeks back there was an sms going round about the prominent son of Meru, Gitobu Imanyara having been in the wrong side of Mama Jimmy's wild swings.

And today, the lawyer has just admitted that this was true to some extent, with the bit about him being beaten senseless by the Presidential Guards left out.

In his version, he and other 20 MPs, including our 'miracle' Vice President and the good professor of mathematics now in charge of internal security or something like that were invited to the House on the Hill by Baba Jimmy for a meeting. As the meeting was progressing on the State House Comptroller (Hyclops or so) comes over and whispers to our man that he is wanted outside, this despite the Head of State running meeting. The son of Meru ignores the man, but somebody not less than the bespectacled Secretary to the Cabinet also walks over and whispers to Imanyara that he is wanted outside.

The good lawyer then honestly thinks that there must be some commotion outside, and obliges. Who is there but 'an inappropriately dressed' First Lady who starts hurling unprintable insults at the lawyer, and even throws some few feeble punches at the tall man but to no avail. He restrains her, and her security detail escorts (this is the bit about him getting beaten up becomes fuzzy). Anyway, he is told by the two gentlemen that he is an unwanted guest as mama does not like entertaining unwanted guests at her house (this is public property mind you) and drives off.

What was the reason for all the outbursts (he is the third man to be beaten now by the ever excited Mama Jimmy)? Because Imanyara is the lawyer to her first victim she slapped senseless at the Nation Centre some few years back in front of a global audience.

And what does Mama Rucy say? That nothing as such ever took place and is a case of a 'character assassination' and blackmail by Imanyara to get a cabinet post. Hmmmmmm, that makes an intriguing motivation.

But man, how come you kept so quiet for the three weeks?

No wonder the government is insistent that it is monitoring the 'sambaza' or chain smses that have become the norm since October last due to the 'national security' as it is likely to plunge the country into further chaos.

Now we know.

Koffi Annans disappointment with ODM and PNU mediation teams

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:02:00 +0000

There are many opinions on the outcome of the current mediation talks between PNU and ODM that is being arbitrated by the former Secretary General of the UN and other so called eminent persons of Africa. But the majority opine that this an exercise with a high probability of failure considering that the hawks on both sides have taken hard line stance on their party's position and have no will to see through the process through.

Now that Cyril Ramaphosa of SA has been kicked out of the process, despite the agreement on both sides to invite him, leaves a lot of questions begging to be answered.

The hawks who are cabinet ministers have denied ever inviting the South African billionaire who played a critical role in SA's independence, power sharing and constitution making on the grounds that 'he is linked to Raila' and even actually sponsored the ODM campaigns during the last graduation.

See Cyril on TV, I actually felt pity for the man who was at pains to deny any association with Raila or supporting ODM in whatever manner.

From the news reports, the man seems to have told off and among other issues told that Kenya is not a banana state.

Did we ever forget to tell these guys (mediators or whatever) that Kenyans are a hard bunch to deal off, and are busy looking for a home-grown solution to their own home-made problems?

Ouch! Even the Minister for Foreign Affairs' (understand he hopes to run for presidency come 2012) mentioned that the guy was supposed to go back to the southern tip either today or tomorrow.

And to rub the salt in, even the President does not seem to have any faith in the mediation efforts, remember his half-hearted speech in Addis Ababa the other day?

Kenya's Nightmare : Pictures Speak Louder Than Words

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:21:00 +0000

The beauty about surfing the Net is the fact that it allows one to litarary search for anything and get everything. I have compiled a small brief of photos that have come form different sites and captures the agony, horrors and despiar of what we are going through.

This is my small way of letting the pictures do the talking on their own.

Hope this will make each and all of us Kenyans ashamed of what we have become.

Paul Kagame: Army should step in Kenya and take over

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:41:00 +0000

Is this the solution to Kenya's political problems and post-elections violence that seems impossible to solve?

Source: Reuters

Kenya's military should intervene to halt the country's escalating ethnic bloodshed, Rwandese President Paul Kagame says.

"This is a case of emergency where certain things have to be done very quickly to stop the killings that are going on.

There's no time to go into niceties and debates when the killings are taking place," President Kagame, who heads a nation recovering from a 1994 genocide that claimed nearly a million citizens in three months, told Reuters.

Unrest in Kenya since President Kibaki's disputed re-election last month has killed about 850 people and uprooted more than 300,000 from their homes.

Though Kenyans are horrified by the brutal events in their usually peaceful nation, the situation is far from the ethnic slaughter that killed 800,000 in Rwanda in a three-month killing spree that shocked the world 14 years ago.

President Kagame said the Kenyan army might have to take over before things get worse.

"I know that it is not fashionable and right for the armies to get involved in such a political situation. But in situations where institutions have lost control, I wouldn't mind such a solution," he said.

"I tend to believe that the Kenyan army is professional and has been stable," he added in the interview on Tuesday.

Mediation efforts

Mr Kagame, a former rebel leader who marched on Kigali as the genocide was taking place, said he backed mediation efforts headed by Mr Kofi Annan, and that any military takeover should only be temporary.

"I tend to suggest that maybe whatever in terms of leadership that is there should be swept aside and space be created for people to go back on the drawing board and settle their grievances," he said.

As with other countries in the region, Rwanda's economy has been affected by the chaos in Kenya, as goods and fuel which travel by road from the Indian Ocean coast have been blocked.

He said Kenya ought to learn a lesson from the central African country's bloody history.

"It starts with five deaths, then 10, then 50, shortly it grows to 100, then it goes to thousands... By the time you realise, it has a dimension that is wiping out life in villages and communities and is getting out of control and the whole political situation is in a mess," he said.

"There's a serious tragic situation taking place in Kenya, especially when you look at the numbers of people that are being killed, how they are being killed. Despite all mediation efforts you see a situation not getting better but worse."

President Kagame said he knew his suggestion of military intervention was a radical one.

"I might sound controversial, but in the wake of such senseless killings with no immediate solution, if anybody suggested that (military) option to me, I would say I agree with it," he said.

"It is not too late for Kenyans to look back and see how our country went down the drain in the past and I don't think we would wish a similar thing for any country." (Reuters)

Panic Grips Kenya as yet another ODM MP is killed

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:21:00 +0000

There is tension and panic among people as reports begin filtering in of the death of the MP for Ainamoi, David Kimutai Too in Eldoret.

What is emerging from initial reports is that the MP was caught up in a love triangle and shot dead by a traffic policeman in the love affair gone sour. At this stage things might be construed to imply another political killing and I hope that there will be no over reaction in the towns across the country. But this seems inevitable now.

Already it seems that Kisumu and Eldoret are already in another round of skirmishes as anticipated.

Eyes on the Media in Kenya; Kenya’s Wolf in Sheep skin or her redemption?

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:20:00 +0000

Just came across this from the Internet and thought you will find it interesting in addition to what we are blogging about the current post-election violence in Kenya?

Before I start on the topic of analysis, I would like to draw attention to some very disturbing news. This news is best left to readers' interpretation as I am at loss at what to say to it.

For more, follow the link below;

http://eyesonkenya.org/blog/

Let the killings stop

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:09:00 +0000

The past few days have been the most distressing days in my life.

I had to make a sudden sojourn to Nakuru following the ugly ethnic clashes that engulfed Nakuru Town and its surroundings which was getting out of control. The trip from Nairobi was very tense till, and our worst fears were just confirmed upon reaching Free Area, a trading centre and suburb that is barely four kilometres from Nakuru Town. This forced us to turn back to the Lanet Barracks to seek help from military. This they did and we proceeded safely to Nakuru Town with military escort.

The situation in Nakuru was a picture out of hell, scenes reminiscent of the Rwanda genocide with machete wielding gangs of Kikuyu marching along the railway line running opposite the Nakuru-Nairobi Highway at Free Area. Alongside were the military personnel who were tying their best to maintain a buffer to avoid the spill over. Everywhere, there were people, the young and old moving away to safer grounds with the little belongings they had.

For us Nakuru residents, this was totally unexpected. The town is considered the most cosmopolitan, with virtually all the tribes of Kenya represented there and a population estimated at 500,000 as at 2006. And since independence, the town is seen as the political barometer of the country, what with the founding, past and current presidents settling in the outskirts of the town in their vast ranches.

We have witnessed the infamous land clashes of between 1990 and 2005, and the town has somehow always scraped through without much turmoil. But what we are seeing now is a new kind of ethnic conflicts, bordering on ethnic cleansing which pits the Kikuyu and other tribes. Honestly they bore the brunt of the post-elections but things have since changed with the Kikuyu now revenging all over, in Naivasha, Thika and now at the Kikuyu area around Gitaru where we had to plough through a road blockade on the main Nairobi-Nakuru dual carriage way, where we witnessed again machete wielding gangs on the loose fighting it with the police, with smoke from the surrounding areas where they might have been burning houses of the 'non-residents'.

The skirmishes in Nakuru from what I have heard, was a results of unconfirmed rumours that the Mungiki had been ferried into the Ndundori and Free Area to revenge the killings of their people, and this led to the explosion of the violence on Wednesday last week that saw the Kaptembwo, Gilani and Kwa Ronda areas being virtually burnt down, with tens dead in the most horrific manner, and the massive exodus of the population to safer grounds. Stories differ as to what exactly happened, and the versions are as varied as the communities which are resident there, but what happened was unimaginable even compared to what happened in North Rift and Western Kenya.

By Sunday, the situation on the ground was as tumultuous as they could get, with most of us concerned with rescuing of kinsmen who were being held undersiege in estates like Racecourse, Shabab, Ponda Mali, Pumwani , Free Area and even the affluent Section 58. This has since spread to the surrounding areas of Nakuru like Solai, Bahati, Salgaa, Njoro, Mauche and Molo area, where either communities seem to be on a cycle of revenge and expulsion depending on their community numbers.

Disturbing stories filtering out like castrating of men, rape and heinous acts of killing have been filtering out, with the common pattern emerging where it is alleged that the law enforcement officers have been taking sides with their kinsmen in the emerging ethnic war panning out. Never before have we seen members of certain communities thrown out of the premises since they belong to certain communities, and pillage and burning of property on such a scale in Nakuru.

Supply of essential commodities are limited, with most petrol stations shut due to lack of fuel, or depending again, which tribe you are. Public transport companies like Mololine and Eldoret Express are considered hazardous, and non-Kikuyus are avoiding them like the proverbial plagues. Others like Easy Coach Bus Services, has bore the brunt of the Kalenjin youths, burning them down as they belong to the former president who is perceived to be the cause of their woes. Today, when looking for a cab, or even shopping, the ethnicity of the business people have to be confirmed.

And what is sad, is that the church, once revered is not spared either, as priests are being killed depending on their ethnicity and the denomination they represent.

Women and children are becoming a collateral damage for this stupid war for the struggle of power.

People are no longer safe, and Naivasha just brought the harsh reality to us when some 20 women and children were burnt in a house where they sought their refuge, their crime? Not being Kikuyus. We have seen the ugly scenes from Aljazeera where people were being dragged out of vehicles at the blockade set up at Naivasha (remember our good government is still censoring scenes of such) and chopped up with machetes by a gangs cheekily laughing.

But if it was not for the military intervention from the Lanet Barracks, and also Gilgil, the situation on the ground for Nakuru and Naivasha would have been something so ugly to write home about.

For what situation warrants the intervention of the army, with the use of air force helicopters firing in trying to control the lawlessness that we are facing? Unless of course we do not have a government, which to some extent is true for the most parts of Kenya that has seen vigilante groups filling in the gap of providing security that the state machinery has failed to provide.

Where else do you see civilians literary 'uprooting' railway lines in Kisumu and Eldoret, blowing up of a bridge in Eldoret, and other acts that border on sabotage of the 'nation'.

Watching this guys on TV again yesterday was a joke, and now I hear non-Kikuyu staff at Muguga area of KARI and KEFRI were besieged by the same marauding gangs like what happened in Nakuru and Naivasha.

Lets wait for another story for another day.

Nakuru on Fire Now After Raila-Kibaki Talks

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:20:00 +0000

Here I am sitting in my office in Nairobi a very worried man with the developments taking place in Nakuru as i blog.

What started off as calls to communities supporting ODM to vacate the Njokerio area adjacent to Egerton University over the weekend as escalated into a full blown 'war' that has seen the military being dragged in for the first time into the conflict.

The call last weekend was bound to precipitate a reaction from the other communities, and as of Wednesday, there were talks that the Mungiki were being ferried into the Nakuru area to ostensibly settle the scores and evict the other communities.

Reports from the media, particularly the Nation online , EA Standard Online and a foreign blogger based in Nakuru, and the few friends that I have talked with, indicates the situation is getting dire, with the 'rival militia' fighting it out on the streets and estates after a Kalenjin was slashed at the local bus terminal of Nakuru town.

From the reports of a friend who is holed up in a shop now, the rumours that the Mungiki were set to hit the town had been circulating for sometime, and after the killing of a man believed to be a Kalenjin it was obvious which the situation was to catalyse to.

The slum area of Kaptembwa was hit first, which provoked the rival community to seek revenge on the pre-dominantly Kikuyu occupied area of Githima. By yesterday, the skirmishes that had already assumed an ethnic dimension saw the residents of the cosmopolitan Bangaladesh estate who are from Central Province evicted by militia whose members were not known to the residents. I have just spoken to a previous tenant of mine who had to hurriedly pack up their family belongings and move to safer grounds.

Today and a few minutes ago, the military has moved in to control the situation in what was otherwise the most peaceful and cosmopolitan town that had not experienced the post-election violence till yesterday. Should Nakuru burn down, it is a matter of time before this madness spreads to other major towns outside Rift Valley if the government (and if it exists) takes urgent action to cool the political temperatures in the country.

Right now, I cannot go to Nakuru to see my family, as being a Kalenjin is a birth given death citizen through the highway from Nairobi to Nakuru. Reports that the Kikuyu have already taken to blocking the roads between Limuru and Naivasha and flush out members of the rival communities for revenge killings have been confirmed by the media (today's editions of the EA Standard and Daily Nation).

As we were discussing with my friends the other day, the current government opposes the introduction of decentralization (or wickedly referred to in Swahili as Majimbo), but when we stare at the horrors that are going around us, majimbo seemed to have arrived well before we knew it.

And even more disheartening, is the rift developing in professions that were thought to be non-partisan. Reports of nurses and doctors who are refusing to treat members of certain community are becoming common place and found the article in the EA Standard quite insightful into the issue.

The million-dollar-question is whether the two big guns will be sit together, and personally I doubt whether there is any good political will to see this go through. The government that seems to lack legitimacy seems hell bent on regaining its legitimacy status no matter what the means are.

What is Museveni doing here?

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:13:00 +0000

M7 has decided to come and mediate between Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Raila, strange, huh? Considering that M7 is not your usual democratic leader and just changed his country's constitution to rule forever, and tarnished already here in Kenya amid claims from ODM that he is sleeping with the enemy and despatching his rag tag army to police Western Kenya on behalf of Kibaki.

But me thinks the guy is here to protest about and protect his only access line to Uganda for oil etc, and wants to sweet talk both leaders on the state of his economy that is surely hurting more than ours. Lets wait and see the outcome of the mediation efforts he is conducting.

On the other hand, the Musyoka led team and the Koffi Annan are bound to fail, what with the hard liners on both sides of the divide taking positions! The Martha Karuas of Kenya spell doom to any efforts of solving the crises, and perhaps we should consider carving out the Kenya for all the tribes and form a confederation to govern ourselves.

Let us stop this madness

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:28:00 +0000

The magnitude of the current tensions sunk in when a good friend of mine got evicted from Mogotio this past Tuesday. Despite the assurances from the government that things are back to normal, all seems not to be well on the outskirts of Nakuru, particularly Mogotio, Molo, Elburgon and Subukia.

We seem to have taken the position of misreporting on what is taking place around the areas. The displacements of the so-called settlers are still taking place in Mogotio, which is a cosmopolitan area as majority of the workers are employed in the vast sisal farms. It is sad that the squatters, predominantly the local community, have taken to evicting the workers, most of whom were born in the area such as Mutotoni . the worst affected is the plantation owned by the immediate former Baringo Central MP that has employed thousands of the residents, and which is under siege from the surrounding community who have resorted to burning of some the facilities.

What is surprising is that the impact of such actions which will definitely result into loss of employment and shying away of the potential investors has been totally ignored. The people kicked out, of whom I know many, had skills in irrigation systems, engineering and horticultural production. How do they expect to get employment when they are busy destroying the farms?

It was disheartening for me when my friends rang me from the Nakuru ASK Showground, where they have acquired the nee status of refugees. Most fled without their earthly positions, hoping that someday when things have cooled off they can be able to go back and continue from where they had left.

It’s a high time we took a serious look within ourselves and find the process of healing the wounds which I am afraid will never heal.

Do we deserve this madness?

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:15:00 +0000

This past few days have been what can only be described as horrendous. For us Kenyans, it will be a period in the history of this country that we will go down as the darkest days we ever experienced. We are on the precipice of an abyss that we are about to go to with no hope of return.

After the announcement of the elections that saw Kibaki win another term, we witnessed massive destruction of property and senseless killings that can only be compared with Rwanda with a veracity unseen before in a week. This has put Kenya on the international spotlight with concerns of the international community at an unprecented levels.

Media role

I was here in Nakuru where some of us had travelled from Nairobi to cast our votes, and signs that things were not going well were discernible with the prolonged delays in releasing results from the ECK. This was not made easier by what we were witnessing on the media, particularly with KTN and NTV which were already triggering accusations from cross sections of Kenyans. What with PNU supporters favouring NTV while ODM supporters seemed to be in favour of KTN. By the time the results were being announced on 30 December 2007, it was apparent with the riots and looting that had began on 28 December 2007 in Kisumu, Eldoret, Nairobi and Mombasa that this was a time bomb waiting to explode, and which it did on New Year’s Eve.

Government Ban on Live Broadcasts

Within an hour of Kivuitu announcing that Kibaki had won the elections from undisclosed location through the state media KBC things were already beginning to disintegrate. We were shocked to see the Kibaki being sworn in so fast at State House with no national anthem, no military honours and no diplomatic corps present. The entire event looked so stage managed that it took half an hour to complete and done with by 6.30 pm. At that time I was watching the events at a local pub in Gilanis Estate in Nakuru, and immediately thereafter followed street celebrations by PNU supporters. It was so fast that most of us did not realize what was going on till the fires in the night sky and the screams alerted us to the fact that things were not right. Since then things have not been right. The two most popular social places such as Lules and Summerland have since been burnt to the ground, on Saturday this past weekend, garages supposedly managed by the communities sympathetic to Raila went up in flames together with vehicles that were undergoing repairs next to Waterbuck Hotel area.

But the shocker came from the government with a directive that all media stations stop broadcasting live at 10 p.m. of 30 December 2007, which to me was the biggest cause of the horrific killings that followed, since the rumour mills became the de facto source of information for Kenyans. This is when we realized that in the absence of radio and TV, mobile telephony can be the most destructive source of information engineering and innuendoes.

Marauding gangs or militia?

By the time some of us were making our way back to the ‘safety’ of our rural areas, there was so much so ‘misinformation’ ranging from the arrest of Raila and Ruto, death of Ruto to Mungikis’ being ferried to Rift Valley. I have read and heard from the media that the so called attacks were coordinated and managed, but I wish to disagree to some extent. I believe that the youth. Mostly unemployed and disillusioned had put so much hope in change from the ODM leadership. I remember engaging in conversations with the youth, not only in Rift Valley but from other parts of the country who sincerely thought yote yawezakana tena with an ODM government. Remember the euphoria of 2002 when NARC came to power?

The major factor that can be attributed to most of the vicious killings that took place was the ban on live broadcasts. People resorted to smses texting to find out what the situation was in the country. And most of us know how powerful this new mode of keeping abreast was. I witnessed youths who could group together for a possible threat depending on what sms text came from the next village, and such numbers could swell into hundreds within minutes depending on the level of threat perceived.

What pains the youth that I encountered along the way was the fact that their vote had been stolen, and the perception was that the PNU sympathisers were celebrating and being seen as ‘outsiders’ who should have voted the same as the locals, it was apparent that ‘evictions’ would take place. But nobody expected it on such scale and horridness.

I have been to Eldoret, Kitale, Cherangany and Koibatek during the past few days, and what I saw should never happen again!

The destruction of property that I witnessed was unimaginable and straight out of hell. Some of which I cannot describe, but I saw whole villages and trading centres razed to the ground, burnt shells of vehicles and empty and looted shops and supermarkets. There were burnt petrol stations and farms, and even more eerily churches (including the Kiambaa church where women and children were burnt) and schools!

I do not condone what has happened and in fact strongly condemn the criminal activities that took place! Criminal, Yes! The youth manning the hundreds of the road block along the Eldama Ravine-Eldoret route among others up to day have resorted to blatant extortion of money from people using the roads (including the so called ODM sympathizers) and day light robbery.

The local people who are the Kalenjin community are beginning to realize that they stand to loose a lot which the current stalemate, and some of the influential and sensible leaders are beginning to reach out to the disgruntled youth and reason with them. In Baringo area, it is so ironical to see the Tugen community turning against each other and targeting the individuals perceived to be close to the former President and PNU supporters. Right now as I am blogging, there were attempts to evict certain community members from the immediate former Baringo Central MP’s farm in Mogotio, and attempts have been made to burn his house that is on the farm over the past three nights. Elsewhere in Kabarnet, attempts were made to burn down the former President’s property in town, and allegedly succeeded in burning down his timber saw mill at Ossen.

There have been reports too that the same is happening all over Kalenjin dominated areas, and this is a shame on the leaders who have kept so quiet waiting for the current scenario to unfold.
I will not be surprised to see the Kalenjin community extending the violence amongst themselves.

Right now fuel is scarce, and going at Ksh 100 per litre in Eldoret, there is no paraffin and diesel, there is a looming food shortage, milk is going to waste as our people destroyed milk collecting vehicles supposedly owned by Brookside and New KCC. There are no operating clinics and dispensaries. People are dying in their homes from curable diseases and mothers giving birth at the roadside as there are no public transport in parts of Rift Valley.

Role of the Church

The church should this time look within themselves and search their conscience. Since the referendum held they have become partisan in politics and it was no surprise that churches, once held as a sanctuary in times of conflicts are being razed to the ground. The populace has lost its respect and reverence for the people of the clothe. They kept quiet when it was apparent that the country was about to burn before the announcement of elections. I find it hypocritical that this is the time they are calling for reconciliation when the damage has been done, which might take decades to repair and generations for the ethnic suspicions to heal.

We have so much internally displaced refugees, with the number revised to 300,000 as of yesterday. Where were they before? And what gives them the moral right to stand up now?
It is time that the protagonists in this macabre drama put aside their political ambitions and sit down and see the way forward for restoring stability. Otherwise we will not be moving anywhere closer to peace.

Kenya has changed forever and will never be the same again.

Studid and tribal politics of Kenya in 2007

noreply@blogger.com (George K) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:42:00 +0000

Today I could not help feeling disgusted and amused after listening to what Kenyans are doing to each other on Kiss 100 FM early today. Carol Mutuku starts off the morning session sounding dumb founded after a listener calls in to complain about his landlord refusing to accept the rent payment for the months of November and December! Presumable the listener is a Luo and the landlord a Kikuyu, and no reason is given for the refusal of the mbeca.

Carol and Nyambs ask whether this is an isolated case, and within a few minutes an avalanche of listeners are calling in, and what sounds hard to believe is that this has been happening for the past few weeks. It is happening in Kayole, Umoja, Eastlands, South B and C and elsewhere in metropolitan Nairobi. Not only are the Luos affected, but also the Luhyas at Kangemi where a caller was stating that a the whole block of houses where he stays and occupied by Luhyas have been given till the end of the month to vacate!

But was really annoyed, was the landlady (presumably a Kikuyu) who argued that after spending a million on putting up rental units using a loan, the Luo tenants now say that with Raila as the president they will not pay rent. Now she too has decided to kick them out and will presumably take her lot as tenants!

Welcome to the new look Kenya in 2007 with all tribal connotations!