The Land Of Black And White

Sweden has been criticized by the EU as one of the worst countries when it comes to dealing with racism and discrimination. Sweden is one of the most reluctant countries and uses minimal resources in working against racism. Other countries in line with Sweden are Finland, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Hungary and Ireland among European countries which the report says certainly issue more penalty consequences but are too lenient and minimal in punishment.

The condemning report says that these countries have poor and insufficient institutions that can help victims of racism and discrimination fight for thier course and justice. Their research suggests that the best country in comparison to them is Britain.

This to most of us is not a surprise. This land of yellow and blue has always been too black and white in dealing with issues of this nature.

In a case where a Kenyan lady Juliet Kavinga was murdered the suspect was set free due to ‘lack of enough’ evidence though the evidence collected could have sent anybody else to a life time prison holiday if the victim was white(native Swede). The case made headlines on all Swedish papers after her body was found dumped in a lake but just as easily lost interest after a judge found the suspect, the victim’s former white boyfriend, unanswerable to the charges and frustrated the police in their investigations. In vice-versa cases, Swedish authorities move mountains in search for justice for one of their own.

In two other cases concerning Kenyans, two well known brothas were sentenced to long terms in prison after their former white girlfriends accused them of rape and assault. In both cases, charges were filed years after the suspected offences and had no physical evidence or enough proof to guarantee convictions. Even more peculiar, when both Kenyans appealed for justice, they were both slapped with increased penalties in their already overly stretched sentences both in jail terms and fines! In most appeal cases, judgements are normally reconsidered and penalties are reduced.

Another funny twist in these two cases is that the rape charges were dropped! That should automatically mean a reduction in whatever sentence applicable. The lack of concrete evidence, physical, should also have helped reduce the harshness in the judgements. Being first time offenders (as far as I know), even though the charges are very serious should also lead to a fair deduction. I do not have hard facts about these cases and I don’t mean to claim their innocence though I wish I could, but some justice! Black and White? Hell yeah!

Add these to brutality and harassment by the police and the infamous Swedish door guards. Anybody who has been here long enough can tell several stories where excess force is applied by both the notorious guards and the police. They are afterwards very quick in filing cases of resisting arrest and assaulting an officer to counteract whatever charges you may bring up against them. In one case, unbelievably, ambulance personnel threw out a victim from the ambulance on his way to the hospital after the guards had landed one too many on him! The police were generous enough to call the ambulance for the at-the-time unconscious Kenyan man but what might they have communicated to the personnel? Too Black and White.

Scared? Time to turn Swedish and be on the right (white) side of the Swedish law system? Think again! Recently a Swedish citizen was stripped off his citizenship as part of his punishment for suspected criminal activities. The Afro-Swedish man who has a Kenyan background (read former Kenyan citizen) got the rude shock which also was to include deportation to Kenyan after a dance with Swedish justice system. The man who is a friend to many Kenyans is now facing statelessness since he had seized being Kenyan by law when he became an Afro-Swede, a citizenship that many take as green pastures, a shade from the blistering sun, a Canaan.

Who ever issued that judgement must have cast the Swedish law aside and rendered it irrelevant given that; when one adopts a citizenship it is up to the laws of that country to defend his or her rights. No matter the crime, everybody is entitled to equal rights in the land of his citizenship. This judgement can never apply to a Swedish native but what is the different between the two? None according to the Swedish constitution which states that this right can never be revoked, but it turns Black and White when the police or a judge takes the law into their hand.

The only difference could apply if the said person had dual-citizenship and was in the country of his first citizenship at the time the suspected crime was committed in that country.

“A granted Swedish citizenship can never be withdrawn even if it was issued under incorrect prerequisite conditions”. So what law stripes off the Kenyan’s Swedish citizenship and recommends his deportation, Black law? What can lead to an exception of this magnitude? Why can the rights of a citizen, due to his or her origin be different from those of a native citizen?

Equal rights and justice!

Njoro

House Of Mumbi A Heritage Or A Curse?

The doctrines of the religion and the history of the Agikuyu is not fully documented or preached about like the bible story of Adam and Eve. The fact that the bible talks about the inherited sin from the world’s first couple bides us all into descendants of Eve. We all belong to the House of Eve according to the Holy Scriptures.

The House of Mumbi (Nyumba ya Mumbi) is thus a title that refers to the Agikuyu, generated from the story of their origin, roots, culture and heritage.

Today a shrine stands on the ground where the first man Gikuyu, created by Ngai and Mumbi who was given to him as a companion and wife, started their life and the family that is now the tribe called the Agikuyu or commonly known as the Kikuyu. The shrine which consists of several huts is situated at the Mukurwe wa Gathanga and is more than a tourist attraction but also a reminder of the Kikuyu roots and origin according to the doctrines of the Kikuyu traditional religious believes. (The complete story will be covered soon in a new category, Your Tribe Your Roots, here at My Expression)

Lately and specifically just before and after the violence that erupted after the last elections in Kenya, the title House of Mumbi was mentioned in the same manner as the famous rubric the Mount Kenya mafia even though these are two completely different elements by all means. It was talked of in such loath that even a good number of Kikuyus were unwilling to be colligated to anything to do with the House of Mumbi.

It was, still is, easy to judge the Kikuyu en masse as tribalists and thieves and every conversation that touches on or bends towards the pride of being a Kikuyu was seen as a tribal statement and hugely condemned as such without much of a thought put to it no matter how innocent it might have been. I have had to defend some of these actions on different occasions risking being labelled a tribalist.

The mere mention of the House of Mumbi evokes such outrage that the Kikuyus around have to shy off as if belonging to the House of Mumbi is a curse that they would rather do away with than preserve. As this practise of abhorrence heighten, they are brain washed into believing that there is indeed something wrong in being a Kikuyu.

In an article featured in a major newspaper, a writer likened these to the attitude towards Jews in Germany before the Holocaust and the Tutsis in Rwanda before the genocide. But it was never really taken serious until the intended ethnic cleansing erupted in several parts of Kenya. Though many reasonable people have tried to ague that the violence was spontaneous and had nothing to do with ethnicity, it is still hard to explain why innocent Kikuyus were victimised other than just that, ethnicity.

A short time after the elections and while the violence was still going on, some heavy weight Kenyan politicians here in Sweden were featured in a TV debate that basically ended up with the conclusion that the violence was a result of the Kikuyu dominance politically and financially. This to the Swedes whose only way of understanding the situation was such as that debate, their arrogant ambassadors and the likes of Michael Ranneberger the US governor of Kenya wannabe, the central province Kikuyus had eroded the country off both power and wealth within the five years that Kibaki had been president. But what they were never made aware of was that the Kikuyu are part of the suffering mass by large numbers and that they too were determined to do away with the powerful elite that was polluting the country with their greed.

That the Kikuyus are “jokingly” thieves and money lovers has been accepted in Kenya even by the tribe itself. This joke easily floats within the Kenyan public just like any other joke about other tribes. But is it a coincidence that Kibaki was labelled a thief? In normal cases elections are rigged, at the time of Moi I never heard anyone shout thief even though Moi rigged until rigging couldn’t help him no more.

To belong to the House of Mumbi has hence changed to mean the same as the Mount Kenya mafia. Terribly unfair.

To belong to the House of Mumbi should not have anything to do with or be associated to the corrupt elite Kikuyus but must always maintain the respect of a people’s identity. Just as the House of Judah, just as there can be the House of Ramogi or the House of Laibon. To disrespect and show contempt to this heritage is to discriminate a people and this is the heaviest anchor for tribalism.

Recently a council of elders (Athuri a Kiama) was proposed for the interest of the Agikuyu, a common tradition in almost all of the other tribes of Kenya. This caused a big debate and not surprisingly there were Kikuyus on the opposing side as well. The most discouraging factor is that while other tribes’ councils of elders sat to discuss a war against the Kikuyu, there wasn’t a council of elders for the Kikuyus to discuss how this issue would be dealt with. The lives and fate of the people was left in the hands of an unwilling Government to protect. Before it could act, the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people were lost. Probably, Athuri could have avoided this by meeting the other councils of elders as was done in the past.

It was a big shame to hear some Rift Valley mps refuse the return of the displaced Kenyans to their homes arguing that the root of the problem had to be sorted out first. An exercise that could take years before it could be settled conclusively while the innocent Kenyans suffered in refugee camps. The displaced families obviously matter less to this politician. Some went further and suggested that people should vote according to regions’ majorities (tribes) wishes. Talk about killing democracy.

We must not allow a bunch of political misconceptions or a power drunk elite be linked to our cultures, traditions and roots to a destructive level. The House of Mumbi should not be judged by the sins, wrongs and shortcomings of a few persons. These could only bed for instability since discrimination can only result in revolutionary measures.

In a carton (Samir) published in Stockholm City newspaper on the 30th April, in one part of the world, Sweden, two guys are discriminated for being dark skinned while in a different part of the world, Kenya, two guys are discriminated for being Kikuyus. That this was carried in a Swedish newspaper shows how intense the Kikuyu issue has become and that the rest of the world is starting to realise it.

Like Joseph Hill (Culture) said, “tribal wars don’t solve no problems”. It’s time that this bull was caught by the horns before it caused any more damage. The House of Mumbi has nothing to do with thieves and bad politicians. It is a heritage of the history of a Kenyan people called the Agikuyu and this all Kenyans should be proud of just like we are proud of the cultural rich Maasai tribe. We should see it as part of the Kenyan treasures not as a name of another mafia family.

It is not a curse to belong to the House of Mumbi; we cannot disband ourselves from it either. It is something to be proud of not ashamed of. Like the black Americans defend their African identity and insist on being referred to as Afro-Americans even with every right of American citizenship, we must defend our tribal identities and desist from victimisation while we remain proud to belong to the larger family called Kenya. And this applies to all Kenyans.

One love and tranquillity.

Njoro.

True Leaders Owe Us Hope Of Creating A New Kenya

By Nancy Mburu

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight…

With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

…When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Martin Luther King Jr may have delivered his famous ‘I have a Dream’ speech to fight for the emancipation of the Negro in 1963, but today, we can still draw lessons from it.

Just like King, I have a dream that it will no longer be business as usual. I have a dream that those to whom we have entrusted leadership will wake up from their slumber and start working.

A dream that we shall be free from the yoke of want and embrace full fundamental reforms resulting in a greater nation.

We are on the threshold of a new era in which we shall look at each other with renewed respect. For we know how close we came to losing each other. We attempted to destroy one another, but but we did not have the stomach for more horror. That is why we agreed to a ceasefire to give mediation a chance.

I have a dream that tomorrow, we shall sing a new song of triumph, after the realisation of our long cherished dream to have true leaders and equality for all.

The events that happened after December 30 took us to our lowest point. We witnessed death and destruction of a magnitude hitherto unseen in our 45 years of independence. We came to the verge of civil war, and God forbid it should ever come to this.

Martin Luther King was unfortunately murdered before his prophetic speech could be realised, but I know our dream will be actualised soon.

I have chosen to see possibilities where there are none. I have a strong feeling that we, the ordinary citizens, will benefit the most. This is why we have started to pick up the pieces as the peace talks continue. For we expect a concrete solution. Our fate cannot rest entirely with two individuals and their respective hardliners, who find it nearly impossible to agree. They could learn much from the Chinese proverb, “He who cannot agree with his enemies is controlled by them”.

Beyond power sharing

We all know that what is going on at the Serena Hotel involves a delicate balance of numerous issues, not just the disputed election. Even as these men and women haggle and try to cobble a deal suitable to their respective sides, they must not lose sight of the real issues at hand. They must remember Mr Kofi Annan’s words that the negotiations go beyond sharing Government ministries. We are talking about a country here; that belongs to all of us.

These people have to come up with a deal that addresses issues that have been a thorn in our side. It is no about a political show of might, for that would be gambling with more innocent lives. Our leaders must remember the biblical verse that all things will pass away, except the word of God: They must leave a good mark in this world.

It is not about which political party or community reigns supreme, but about lasting systems that will serve our country for ages. For who knows whether tomorrow’s protagonists will be PNU and ODM? Society is dynamic and so is politics.

Back to my dream; I believe we getting there. Leaders have seen Kenyans mean business, so they had better get down to work. That is why we need a system of governance that offers checks and balances. No single political party should be left to govern the country. Power has to be shared, with some coming our way.

The principle of equal opportunity must be applied in toto. It is encouraging to see the Government publicly advertise jobs and publish names of short-listed candidates, in the spirit of fairness. It must do the same even for senior jobs, so the thousands of highly educated and experienced Kenyans can get a chance to render their exemplary services to the society.

I have a dream that there will be justice for all the innocent lives cruelly snuffed out in the post-election violence. Let not the deaths be in vain. Kenya has no room for warlords. If we previously underrated our importance to the continent and the rest of the world, now we know better. Our country is beautiful and precious. Only true leaders deserve to govern it.

This is what the men and women at Serena must realise. If they know what is at stake, then they do not have the luxury to walk out on the talks. This is the real test. Tantrums, double-speak and inflated egos have no room in the new Kenya. We cannot backslide. We need to hang in there.

—The writer is The Standard’s Chief Sub-Editor, Weekend Editions

Join Us In Thanksgiving!

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”. We have all the reasons to thank God over our country Kenya following the signing of power sharing deal between the government and ODM. There will be a special thanksgiving service at Bagarmossen Church on Sunday, 2nd March at 14:30. All are welcome.

Githuku Wa Muirani

Breaking News! Deal Reached Between Kibaki And Raila

Finally A Break Through Reached! Prayers Heard, A Light At The End Of The Tunnel !

Rival leaders in Kenya have agreed to form a coalition government after weeks of nationwide violence and political unrest.

Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general who has been mediating talks between the government and the opposition, said on Thursday that an agreement had been made, ending the political crisis.

“We have come to an understanding on the coalition agreement. We do have an agreement,” he said.

He said that further information on the deal between Mwai Kibaki, the president, and Raila Odinga, the leader of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), would be given at 4pm (1300GMT).

Annan had suspended talks on Tuesday after negotiators for either side could not agree on a deal.

Primary in disagreements was the level of power to be assigned to the prime minister.

The crisis ignited after disputed presidential elections on December 27, which the ODM claimed was rigged.

More than 1,500 people were killed in the rioting and tribal clashes which followed.

All This Talk About ‘Ancestral Land’ Is Sheer Resentment

I RECALL, FROM WAY BACK duriing the single-party era, a raucous debate in Parliament that came with those routine grouses about Kikuyu domination of many areas of the economy and the public sector.

A refreshing intervention came from an unlikely quarter — from one of those violently plain-spoken Rift Valley politicians always keen to wage battle for the Moi regime.

As far as he was concerned, it was a sterile debate. His contribution went something like this: “These people (the Kikuyu) are many. Even if you go to the jails, the slums, the mortuaries, they will be the majority”. End of debate.

Down memory lane again. During the campaign for a multi-party system in the early 1990s, an increasingly agitated President Moi was on the offensive against Mombasa politician Salim Ahmed Bamahriz, one of the frontmen for the original Forum for the Restoration of Democracy.

The president suggested that Mr Bamahriz should hightail it to Yemen where his ancestors hailed from, only to meet with a devastating repartee.

“I will be happy to go back to Yemen,” Mr Bamahriz responded, “but only if I go back on the same plane with Mr Moi so he can drop off in Sudan where his ancestors came from”. Game, set and match!

Why this recollection of relatively ancient vignettes? Because even as the talks aimed at resolving Kenyas’ post-election troubles focus firmly on power-sharing, there are deeper issues that go beyond a temporary political accommodation.

We are hearing a lot about matters such as historical injustices, inequalities in society, and the land question, with the issue of so-called ancestral lands cropping up all the time.

In the process, it is becoming quite clear that we are not talking about individuals who may have amassed more than their fair share of land and wealth, but about entire communities or ethnic groups seen to have done a bit too well for themselves at the expense of others.

It is the Kikuyu, of course, who are seen to have moved beyond their tiny Central Province to settle in large numbers in the Rift Valley and many other parts of the country.

The Kikuyu are also dominant, not just in numbers and in their presence across the country, but are also seen (excluding Asian and Europeans) as Kenya’s wealthiest group with a firm grip on commerce and industry, a solid presence in Government and the professions.

This has obviously brought about a deep resentment, accentuated in the last few years by President Kibaki’s election, which in time came to be seen, not just as the election of an individual, but as a Kikuyu return to political power to continue the domination from the Kenyatta era which was interrupted by the Moi administration.

PRESIDENT KIBAKI’S RE-ELECTION in a disputed poll was for many groups the final straw, and resentment that had simmered over the years exploded.

This may not come out very clearly in the talks mediated by Mr Kofi Annan, but it is obvious that one of the most sensitive issues on the table will, in effect, be how to ensure that one group never again comes to dominate the political and economic landscape by dint of its wealth, numbers and geographical spread.

This in any multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation is a legitimate quest. But the way in which it is being couched raises questions. This is because the debate is not about addressing inequalities or injustices, but simply about cutting a community down to size, as my friend William ole Ntimama unabashedly put it.

What is shaping up is the absurd situation where an individual who excels in a career, profession, business or other undertaking is demonised simply on account of where he hails from.

In many cases, the accusers have had privileged backgrounds, attended the same schools, had exactly the same opportunities to excel, yet are the first to point accusing fingers at their peers who turned out to be high-achievers.

Some of the accusers are influential personalities who secured for themselves communal lands in their regions, parcelled them out for sale, and are now at the forefront instigating violent eviction of so-called ‘outsiders’ so they can regain possession of the very same lands they took good money for. A serious national issue should really not be turned into theatre for vindictive politics.

After all, if we are to talk about every Kenyan going back to some ancestral homeland, then a look at our “O”-Level history books will show how almost every Kenyan community supposedly migrated from somewhere else.

The forests of the Congo, the grasslands of southern Africa, the marshes of the Sudan and the deserts of the Middle East might not be too welcoming for many of us.

Common sense must also apply when we seek to redress some inequalities. It is all very well to create conditions for every Kenyan to develop his full potential, but that will not be achieved by chopping down individuals who excel or by promoting those who are clearly incapable.

Otherwise, come the Beijing Olympics later this year, we might have some people demanding an ethnic balance in our athletics team. Come to soccer and there could be those crying out for their ethnic quota in Harambee Stars. Hell, some might demand a proper ethnic balance in our jails, morgues and cemeteries.

Lifted From The Nation Media
Story by MACHARIA GAITHO
Publication Date: 2/26/2008

Really Pissed Off!!!

The other day a friend told me that someone had commented that we Kenyans oppress ourselves. To mean that the situations that we are finding ourselves in have been created by none other than ourselves. We tried to make sense out of these but we couldn’t. What we concluded was that may be my friend should have followed up to understand exactly what was meant.

Thinking about it now I am getting to understand the philosophy in it. We have been choosing or electing the same leaders that we later complain about year after year! Knowing very well that they are not only supposed to look after our best but that they also represent us! Everything they say or do reflects on us!

By electing them we give them the power to do their best and even after we realise that their best is actually the opposite of what we desire we still give them more chances knowing very well that they have failed us!

We choose people with no moral conduct, no respect for individuals at all, to represent and actually lead us!

Look at us now, where are we? Where do they take us than to the pits of hell? How can someone who does not care at all, care about a people? How do we expect to be united by the same people who divide us?

What is wrong with us Kenyans? When will we ever go for respect than self destruction while taking the whole nation down with us? How does someone full of hatred preach of reconciliation?

We have enslaved ourselves by allowing slavers to be the people to lead us. It is about time we all realised and dealt with this decease because otherwise we will remain slaves for ever. Kenya and Kenyans will never attain any freedom until we take responsibility by disassociating ourselves with people who breathe in oxygen and out comes venom! And these because we have countenanced them to be that!

If it was a wake up call we needed we have had it. Our nation is falling apart because we have not taken responsibility. Its time to tell off people who do not represent us as a dignified nation! People who make us look like a bunch of hateful cannibals! We must reclaim our society back from people driven by hatred, anger, tribalism, selfishness, blasphemy and utter disrespect for our humanity!

Where do people get the nerve to completely demoralise, undress and character assassinate others? Who gave people the right to exemplify us with the filth from their mouths!?

We need to shape up, stand up and condemn being projected as a gutless people, a lost community with nothing better than putting our own people down! From the big man (president) to the little man with a big mouth behind a desk! Its time to say no, we want our dignity back! And to all traitors out there, you will remain nothing but sorry meaningless losers until you remove the shameless yokes that you have put around your necks!

One would think that people live perfect lives where they are while they work day in day out in destroying whatever good is in a person! What good examples can we give about ourselves if all we do is by all means wrecking? What better are you? How will we ever move forward especially if these are the people that are expected to show us the way?

I have never been disappointed by people like I am now. Had I better means of showing it I would, for now I challenge all Kenyans especially in Stockholm to get up and stand up for your respect as Kenyans, a people, a community!

Obviously we will never be united if what we desire most is to destroy each other or watch as that is done to us without as much as raising a finger especially by those that you have given the responsibility of making us look better!

Can we get back some self-esteem!!!?

Njoro.

Peace Is In Your Heart

As Kenya finally wakes up to a dawn of a promise of peace, and normalcy, hopefully, amply returns to our ruined streets, the question still left hanging is; is this profound peace and will it last?

It feels great to finally hear opposition leader Hon Raila Odinga toning down to give space to peace and a solution that may ultimately bring us back to our senses and Kenya back to it’s much praised peaceful status. And the government welcoming a power sharing deal is a big step towards a democratic atmosphere that can at the end free us from the deadlock that gripped our country after last elections.

It is important though, to bear in mind that all of us may have contributed to what has happened one way or another. By inciting or counter-inciting, by calling for war, by calling for peace and calm, by supporting the violence in the name of democracy and justice, by denouncing the violence in the name of democracy and justice, by asking for revenge or advocating against revenge, by unceasingly praying for the hand of God to reach down and touch all Kenyans, or by just being silent. Sometimes even silence can be louder than action.

But eventually, common sense is taking the better of us.

If peace was to return to its throne beside love and unity, how long would it last? How deep will it be rooted in us? Or will it, like we have witnessed remain a mine waiting to be stepped on and triggered?

As I flipped through TV channels the other day, I came by the Swedish open channel (öppna kanal) that features many ethnical programmes. In this channel, which mostly shows Christian preaching’s, are also international communities represented in Sweden. Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Congo, and other communities are given an air time of their own.

This day the guy on the screen, whom I instantly presumed was preaching, said something that caught my attention and made me stay on the channel.

“When I meet people in my meetings like this one, and I tell them that am going to introduce them to someone special, they expect someone new to them to come forward as a guest. But that’s not it. Am going to introduce to you someone special yes, but someone you already know. Am going to introduce you to……..you.”

At first I thought to myself, what is this guy babbling about now? But I decided to listen on coz I had nothing better to do. It turned out to be a good decision.

Maharaja Preem Jahwal says that he started his work; lecturing about peace, in his early teenage but for him to teach about peace he had to understand the content and the concept of peace. What it is all about.

Following on, I learned that he was not a preacher or religious after all. He is just a man who believes in peace so much that peace has become his main occupation. He confirms that peace is the only matter that holds the world together beginning with the individual to the entire population.

His message, strong and clear is that peace is found in our hearts. But we have to search for it and bring it out for it to exist outside the perimeters that are us. This is why he starts by introducing you to you.

As he talked on, I was amazed by how right he was. Its not about our leaders, not about our political parties or organisations but us. All of us. We have to find the I in ourselves and after we fully understand who we are, find the peace that is in us and transmit these to all others around us. In other words we cannot find peace in anyway unless we first look at ourselves. Meet and know ourselves.

As we have witnessed, Kenyans have been suppressing a lot of anger in them. This suppressed anger could not be explained by any analyst in a concrete and substantial theory. The only conclusion I myself could draw from all the madness was that Kenyans have lost touch with themselves and had no peace individually in their hearts.

In Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, people tell the truth as the events unfolded. The accused perpetrators confess of their crimes and wish to be forgiven. When the victim or their relatives eventually forgive the perpetrators after the confession, both parties settle for peace and this from deep within their hearts sincerely.This was done in both South Africa after the fall of apartheid and Rwanda after the genocide.

By the teachings of Maharaja Preem, peace from our hearts is the easiest way to find a lasting peace as a nation and base it on a firm foundation because peace comes with acceptance and love. That we went through a rough time after the elections must have been a wake up call that we must deal with the volcanic ground that we have been building our nation on. Luckily this volcano only rumbled and shook as it boiled deep under but did not and hopefully will not explode.

But we must find the peace that exists in us all for a safe future. We must search for it individually for it to permanently manifest itself nationally. Peace is in your heart, deep within you. You discover that peace and everything around you will respond by peace and in peace.

Njoro.

Moved By Sense

Congratulations are in order for the first fundraising held by the UHCK on the Saturday of the 26th Jan 2008. The solid turnout was a clear show that the organisation was indeed headed in the right direction. Over a hundred people attended the occasion which has realised over 26 000 sek so far. This must be a record-break judging by the fact that the event was carried on for about six hours in a church and given that the usual all-night party extension and the sell of alcohol was absent.

The UHCK wishes to thank all that attended and contributed big or small. The reward for your contribution will be a blessing smile from a person in Kenya who has been left without, after a senseless orgy of post election violence. Blessed is the hand that giveth.

The occasion was also a platform for prayers for our ethnic-clashes torn country. Different people prayed for our land and nation, for peace to recur and commit a space conducive to reconciliation and re-unity.

I caught the above title from the front side of a T-shirt worn be Jeff Murage. The message seemed to explain the whole purpose of our presence at the church at that specific time. The importance of being where one was needed. We were moved by the common sense that people should help each other when the going gets too tough.

Though some people have invented reasons for not being part of UHCK, the project is on the go and it is already helping on ground zero. According to the UHCK Chairman Mr: Muirani Wa Githuku, the money reached its destination and is already role-playing. A detailed information update will follow some time this week directly from the destination.

That the fund raising was seen by some people as a one ethnic community action is very unfortunate given that invitations were publicly sent to all including non-Kenyans. That one community came out strongly to support the drive does not mean others were not part of it. The UHCK will continue with it’s humanitarian work and I would advise those indirectly or directly criticising its composition to instead join and be part and parcel to give it a more Kenya’s all tribes look.

For those who are part of this organisation we know better and without prejudice we will continue doing the good work. Too much talk is not helping the 350000 displaced Kenyans but over a quarter of a million kenyan shillings is and more will.

Njoro

The Truth, The Other Side Of The Story?

On the Murdered ODM MP - Embakasi

For Immediate Release
Jan 29, 2007
ODM POLITICAL BRINKMANSHIP DEMYSTIFIED

Kenya woke up to the sad news of the death of MP Elect for Embakasi, Melitus Mugambe Were. As all Kenyans of goodwill we send our condolences to his family and friends. It is always tragic to lose a beloved husband, father, son and a Kenyan who made his debut for Parliament in 2007 in such a heinous way calculated by people who you call friends and who will cry and wail most at your funeral. As a nation, and for his constituents, we shall never know the difference he would have made in Embakasi and in Kenya in general. May the almighty God gave his family endurance and may he rest in eternal peace. Our hearts pull for the family of the late Hon Were.

Now to the matter of his death; Who is the MP , Hon Were, was little known in Embakasi politics, if you compare him to the heavier weights of the likes of Mwenje and Sumra, a Kenyan of Asian origin, who Kenyans saw battle it out, verbally and most of the time physically for the Embakasi seat. His death was crafted to gain political mileage in a brinkmanship style not witnessed in Kenya in a long time. He was a small fish that was easily expendable for the ODM to up the ante of their Orange Revolution. His second wife is also a Kikuyu, his death was crafted to ignite fires among tribes, instill fear in MPs, make the government defensive and if possible push it out.

Who would be the first suspect to kill the late MP? The crafters knew this would be placed at the door step of his ardent rivals, would it be Sumra, maybe, but definitely Mwenje. Why Mwenje? Let us take you back to a month ago. When the ODM war against Kenyans began, with the political school of Ruto, they targeted to kill the Kikuyus and most important, drive them away from RV, Western and Coast, then demand a re-election and ensure no PNU or affiliated candidate would garner 25% in these 3 provinces, add Nyanza to it and the candidate would have lost the presidency despite popular vote. For one month, Ruto has supervised the killing of Kikuyus and wanton destruction that has rivaled the battles Kenyans fought for independence. No one in the ODM camp came out to condemn the killing. After the initial skirmishes across various towns in Kenya, it became obvious that the genocide against Kikuyus was only being perpetrated by Ruto through his Karamojong militia. The Luos continued to fight, but their destruction was mainly concentrated on rampage to destroy infrastructure, their wanton killing of Kikuyus had subsided. Which other major group did not sustain the genocide and retreated back to rebuild their lives in realization that politics and politicians come and go, but poverty will remain if people did not work hard – the Luhyas. Therefore MP Were and his numbered days enter into the equation.

Why will Mwenje be a suspect? From last week, the country has witnessed the Kikuyus waking up to defend themselves and some fierce battles have been fought over the weekend. The full scale war is still between the Kikuyus and the Kalenjins with the Luos continuing with their demonstrations. All along the Luhyas have been quite silent, Mudavadi as the VP in waiting has not marshaled a lot of venom, the Luhya leaders have not urged their people to rise and kill the Kikuyus, and they had to be made to join the fray. It was therefore calculated to eliminate Hon. Were, he was little known, and quite expendable in the ODM genocide campaign of a revolution to grab power by whatever means necessary.
The brutal murder of the Hon Were the MP for Embakasi by ODM militiamen is aimed at achieving the following objectives:

1. Blame Mwenje – read the Kikuyus that they are killing the Luos and an MP of the Luhyas. Sources have confirmed that the ODM think tank knew it would be easy to blame Mwenje, he has not been known to be soft in the belly and has been rumored to use gangs to terrorize his opponents in the past in the slum areas. However, his ability, if he did, was only on the use of crude method of slum fighting using pangas and machetes and rungus, and not the sophisticated execution of an MP in an elite neighborhood of Woodley. This would shield the ODM perpetrators from scrutiny by placing the death squarely on Kibaki’s door step. That the president has invited ODM MPs for a meeting in Statehouse today, lends a lot of credence to this.

2. Inflame the Luhya who were the majority voters who voted the MP in, force them to join the killing orgies against the Kikuyus. Embakasi constituency’s composition is mainly PNU and affiliated parties supporters. It has over 247,000 registered voters. The major slums that traverse the constituency are: Mukuru, Sinai, Lungalunga, other densely populated areas are Dandora, Kayole, Ruai, Komarock, Umoja, Donholm, Embakasi area itself. The majority tribe here is the Kikuyus followed by Luhyas, a sizeable mix of Kambas as they border Kangundo and of course Luos. However, the PNU+ affiliates lost because of fielding many candidates and they split the votes as was witnessed in Kasarani as well. Thus the votes that the late MP got were mainly from the Luyhas who make the second majority. To the Luhyas, this was their MP in the city beside Gumo, his death is crafted to look like a continuing Kikuyu revenge and succeed in setting the Luhyas against the Kikuyus. The riots that have been witnessed attest to this.

3. The ODM power barons with the use of the media come out strongly as has happened and call it political assassination; inflame passions, locally and internationally. The timing is very apt with Kofi Annan trying to mediate an amicable solution. The ODM has felt it can hold international sway even with Kofi Annan as convinced by Raila’s spokesman, Salim Lone (remember he owned Viva magazine in the 1980s and the ensuing fallout with the then government) who was a Director of Communication in Annan’s administration in the UN and they personally got to know each other well after the bombing of UN offices in Baghdad. However, Mr. Annan is whole lot smarter than that as was witnessed by the political, managerial and administrative ability he exuded to steer the UN to great heights in his ten year tenure. He has successfully tackled more wily politicians that would make ODM machinery look like farex – baby food.

4. The late MP was a cheap target to eliminate, remember he is married to a Kikuyu, true sons of the lake do not marry thieves as Raila would like to remind Kenyans over and over again and especially not after 2007 general elections. On 24th December 2007, during Raila’s exit speech, he spoke in dholuo and forced Mudavadi to speak in Maragoli language. Amongst his hate speech to his people was to ensure they elected 3 piece in Nairobi, he wanted to have all his MPs in the City to carry out his ethnic cleansing even in Nairobi, which is perceived to be a Kikuyu stronghold. MP Were was elected, fair enough he is ODM, but another stronger man had lost, a closer ally of RO a staunch supporter who would die for him and who would execute his commands without a second thought. The man has displayed a lot of muscle strength and little acumen in brain power, he was a boxer and that is Rueben Ndolo. He lost the Makandara seat to PNU former Mayor of Nairobi, Dick Wathika. The loss was so tragic that when the returning officer announced the results, Ndolo woke and congratulated Wathika with a hard fist (boxed him) that connected his cheek. Ndolo was arrested and later released. Thus, even if Were was ODM, a stronger candidate and supporter had lost and a constituency had to be curved out for him by blood, to ensure ODM’s stranglehold of city affairs. Therefore exit Were, enter Ndolo into Embakasi.

ODM is not interested in mediation, reconciliation, peace and those other niceties and adjectives that civilized societies use. They are good students of revolution that sacrifice masses for their naked unbridled ambition to power. RO’s stakes to presidency are so high that we ask; who is the next on line????? Kenyans will continue to watch.

Dr.Abdallah Fatehali
Executive Director,
Communications and Public Relations
People Foundation, Inc,
Social Transformation Advocacy Group
775 River Oaks Parkway
San Jose, CA 95136

As Sent In.

My Expression: Alot is happening and alot is being said about it. Kenyans, its up to us to buy what we want, what we always have to remember is that there are always two sides of a coin. The truth is out there and we might never know it but jumping into conclusions does not help us at this stage. Lets hope that the real truth will come out sometime soon. Njoro