Read more from Muciimi Mbatia here.
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21:48
ODM the image people, and nothing more
» Kenya Imagine You have to admit that the ODM has really won the battle with the media in Kenya and internationally, both before and after the election. Everyday, the footageon television is on Kenyan police beating up protesting people.
Read more from Muciimi Mbatia here. -
A Mathematical Way out of Kenya's Crisis?
» Kenya Imagine Kenya has seen a string of inefficient and kleptocratic (self-enriching) rulers, and recent weeks have seen a disputed election and tragic ethnic violence.
Kenya is far from alone. The politics of fear, division and violence are a too common feature of African politics (as well as the West's not so distant past). How is it that weak, inefficient, and sometimes criminal rulers stay in place in a democratic society? Why can they enrich themselves and stay in power? What path charts a way out?
Read more from Dr Blattman here. You can also read more from his blog, Chris Blattman here.
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20:59 Frost & Odinga: Pay very close attention
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjOCAkIU4Mg Wuu-wee…Odinga is a smooth talker. I almost swallowed some of his kool-aid until the end where he said he won the election “overwhelmingly”. Haiya, haiya…hold on a minute there, dear African brutha. Kibaki got 4 million votes! Raila also got 4 million votes. These two men were separated by a few [...]
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18:34
International journalists arrested in Kenya
» Eyes on Kenya Two German and a Dutch Journalist were arrested under the allegation of “terrorist activities” in Kenya. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe stated, they “have been conducting themselves in a suspicious manner” and photos of “vital installations” were found in their possession. Gerd Uwe Hauth and Andrej Hermlin and Fleur Van Dissel, were arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Andrej Hermlin, who is married to a Kenyan citizen, is a well known German swing musician, and also works as a journalist. He lives part time in the village of his wife in the Mt Kenya region, where he has a house. Due to his knowledge about Kenyan politics he was interviewed and quoted in many German articles and radio features before he left for Kenya earlier this month.
Get real and free Andrej, Gerd and Fleur!
Fleur Van Dissel was working on documentaries about Raila Odinga. One of his documentaries was aired shortly before the election.
There have been complaints by other international journalists, that they were harassed by Kenyan Police and Paramilitary forces, for example they were deliberately tear gassed or attacked by Police on horses. The Standard reports that the KTN journalist who took the incredible footage of the policeman killing a demonstrator in kisumu has reported to police that he has had death threats. Reuters photographer Thomas Mukhoya, who was also reporting from kisumu, has also been threatened.
After censoring live broadcast on TV in Kenya, Kibaki’s regime tries to threaten foreign journalist who they blame for the political unrest.
We call for the immediate release of all three journalists.
Kenyan riot police officers on horseback chase photographers in central Nairobi, Kenya, Jan. 16. Picture from josephkaroki
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17:34
Our Father!!!!
» Farmgal Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. [...]
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There's more to the storm than its eye
» Kenya Imagine [...]
I conclude therefore, and this is the premise of my previous article, that the international media has conflated the two issues - the ethnic and the political - and emerged with a gory picture of Kenya that many of us who have lived our whole lives there will find unfamiliar and disturbing. Think what you may about Rwanda, but regardless of what CNN tells you, there was a political issue at the heart of the genocide - poor representation of a section of the population in the government and other institutions coupled with exploitation and harassment, and their perceived involvement in the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana. This was then shrouded in ethnic terms - the community was Tutsi - which in turn led to the genocide. Kenya is not there yet, but if we continue to stretch the cloak of ethnicity over the mutually exclusive political issue we may just get there.
Read more from Nanjala Nyabola here. -
So how do we make them listen?
» Kenya Imagine Currently, in these times of great duress, we have two options of making ourselves heard in Kenya: a) business as usual, scurrying around with our heads low to piece together whatever pieces we might still have at hand (and this does not really count as ‘being heard'), and b) mass action, rallies in the streets chanting some(one's) political slogan. But whose voice is being heard? and how is the message interpreted?
Read more from David Obura here.
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15:18
McFrankenstein-Burger Meal, Make It Large
» For Love and Money McFrankenstein-Burger Meal, Make It Large
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14:39
AFRICOM heads for the Gulf of Guinea
» Black Looks The US Africa Command, AFRICOM is reportedly on it’s way to the Gulf of Guinea. I am beginning to feel as if we’ve been projected back in a time machine to the day the Portuguese emissary, Diego de Azambuja landed in what was to become El Mina with the intention of building a “a storehouse” [...]
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11:21
“You can die for no reason”
» Kikuyumoja's realm Just a few videos of (on?) the terror. Kudos to everyone who has uploaded videos online.
(featuring Mutua)
Who’s the President of Kenya?AlJazeera’s Inside Story Part 1 & 2
aka: how to destroy a country within 3 weeks. Man, I am so lost for words on this. The dumbest and also saddest thing I have seen in 2008.
Quote of the Day:
“Using propaganda, violence, threats and disruptions of the way of life of God fearing and peace abiding Kenyans, is not the right away to express unhappiness. ..The Government is very open to dialogue and it is sad to see leaders choosing to lead their supporters in burning of vehicles, destruction of property and molesting of women and children instead of sitting down for dialogue with Government.” (Dr. Alfred N. Mutua)”
What’s a government that doesnt give a shit about its people?
Edit: Bottom line of all this is - to me - that none of the candidates *deserve* to be in a government as they have once again clearly failed to provide leadership in moments when it is urgently required.
Even IF Kibaki was elected with a majority of votes and even IF Odinga will never be the President of Kenya for one reason or another and even IF Kalonzo’s only aim was to sneak into a leading position - who cares? Do YOU care about who’s picture is on the wall?
What I do care about is security, (innocent) ppl being robbed of their rights and of any trust in democracy. I do care when ppl are killing each other just because of aggregated aggressions. To me all this post election violence is because some guys in Kenya thought to take us for a huge ride. As if we were brainless! And Kibaki and his folks knew exactly what they’d be triggering with such actions. For the sake of your country - would you be willing to let a few hundred people die just because you want to be in power?
Any person with some brain cells will clearly figure out that most Kenyan “leaders” have completely betrayed the People of Kenya. And this although there a thousands of smart & young people out there who have the balls to act as real leaders.
@the USA: you guys get rid of George W. Bush & his regime first before you come to Kenya.
@the EU: what a shame that they froze aid to Kenya. This is so typical of the narrow-minded parliamentarians in the EU. And there you go wondering why the Icarus of Kenya calls it “blackmailing” (see video above).
My appreciation goes out to those people out there in Kenya who continue struggling under these circumstances and who are even willing or able to provide help to those who need it the most at this time. These are the real heroes or even leaders to me. Respect!
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10:15
End of week goodness…
» Kenyan Pundit IMG_1005 Originally uploaded by ateka. For the fellow mama’s - a mummy post. I didn’t coordinate the “b” block. For real. She’s eleven months next week. Cruising along furniture now and still very desperate to walk, but balance not there. We’re both bored of baby food so I think she starts eating more [...]
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9:58
Manners Please!
» My Life is...Mochalicious! “Asiye funzwa na mamaye, hufunzwa na ulimwengu.” Translation (’direct’): If your mother doesn’t show you the ways of the world, then the world shall show you its ways. This week saw teenagers being jailed for kicking a man to death because he was tired of the anti-social behaviour of teenagers in his neighbourhood having confronted them. This in return has [...]
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9:54
Too many Questions, Very few Answers…
» Mount Kirima This is the longest break I have taken from blogging, at one point I almost ditched the whole thing all together, since the 30th of Dec I have undergone almost every negative emotion that the human mind can fathom, from Shock, Anger, Horror, Despair, Pity, Weariness, Resignation, Devastation, Hopelessness……. you name it because of the [...]
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9:33
The Negative Effects of Hardcore Rap and What is the MASC?Do you want to be in the MASC?
» The Displaced African Part two of the 10 things I wish I knew before I landed in Australia
I know some of you are probably wondering why I released Part 7 of the series before I released Part 2.The reason is pretty simple: I couldn’t write part two. This is my fifth attempt at writing this article. For some reason, I just couldn’t seem to write this post in a way that ‘felt real’ to me and that I felt would serve at the same time.
Eventually, in the middle of the night, I had an epiphany: I have two younger sisters (more…)
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9:13
ODM’s Next Move: “Economic Tribalism”
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com Things just don’t seem to be working out for ODM. Did you see those “mass” protests that were supposed to paralyze the country for three days? Not that many people showed up (you can view the clips here: drip, drip drip). : Now, they’ve come up with yet another plan to “paralyze” the country. This time, it’s economic [...]
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8:59
Koffi Annan Suffers Diplomatic Flu
» You Missed This Video footage of policeman shooting and killing unarmed protestor in Kisumu.
So the hemorrhage continues unabated. As violence continues to suck the last drop of blood from our veins leaning Kenyan morgues teaming with close to 1000 bullet-riddled bodies, Koffi Annan seems to have developed cold feet that is clothed as DIPLOMATIC FLU. The emerging different versions explaining his failed mediation visit attests to the latent reason behind his change of heart.
Michuki must have surely rattled the poor Ghananian. Officially Annan is down with a bout of severe flu but other media reported him collapsing before boarding a plane to flaming Kenya. His advance party comprising Mkapa and Graca Machel must be enjoying REAL theatre of the absurd here in Nairobi.
Where it hurts most
Meanwhile our enterprising scoundrels for politicians wont disappoint and they have new threats on the pipeline as the third consecutive day demo draws to a close. The target now is to boycott products from companies whose ownership are twinned with Kibaki. Equity bank, Brookside dairies (Kenyattas-Uhuru)and Citi Hoppa (Michuki + Thuo) vehicles must be scratching their heads real hard.
Whether this new strategy will work is not within my ambit to predict. But your guess is as good as mine that the intention is to hit where it hurts most. Did I here somebody mention 6% economic growth? Well is you want to get rid of a malignant cancer uproot it because cosmetic measures like chemotherapy only succeeds in painful mutations.
Well, hell hath no furry like a citizenry RAPPED and ROBBED. Justice cannot and must not be baptized and no price is big enough to get it. You only undermine Kenyans' resolve at your own peril. We saw it when they chose to walk to work to make matatus behave. That may have been the rehearsal before this real examination.
Ranting they will definitely do these scoundrels but the PINCH and enormous loss will make them stop and think. Time it may take but they will no doubt do. Nobody is rich enough to buy time. Justice no less.
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8:53
Jan 18: From ODM to Icarus
» bankelele three weeks after the ill-fated elections and three days of mass protests
The Disruptions in the work flow have been a nuisance to the country, while the violence is threatening to cut off Central Africa. But how long before President Yoweri Museveni decides to drive eastwards for another road trip eastwards to check out the situation for himself?
If ODM’s goal is to grind the country to a halt, it may take a while. With tax collections significantly down, the pending Safaricom IPO which I thought will be an election winner could turn out to be a (one time) budget lifesaver – expected to yield over 30 billion shillings in Q2 of 2008.
ODM is now specifically targeting companies linked to key government personalities like Citi Hoppa, Brookside and Equity Bank. This sounds far-fetched and could lead to retaliatory attacks (ODM personalities are also business people); it's also an extension of silent boycotts that people have undertaken on their own. E.g. people who only selling petrol to their kinsmen, while others boycott pubs or have stopped reading the Nation or Standard/KTN because of their perceived political leanings.
While George bush is trying to revive the US economy through bipartisan tax breaks, but here we have two sides who won’t even sit down with each other. If they don’t, the crisis may soon spin out of control as the race for the presidency assumes historical dimensions
cut & paste: The Central Bank has introduced business continuity guidelines for all banks. However, it seems to be an update of an IT disaster preparedness document that's a few years old, and does not mention any of the words - crowd, riot, security, cash, ATM – and only one mention of ‘police’. In short, it does not address many of the challenges banks have faced.
Insurers with hearts: Some insurance companies like pan Africa and Heritage (CFC) making exception on a case by case basis to assist business people victimized in the riots. As a rule, insurance companies have no responsibility to cover such acts
Such as Business coping: Ukwala supermarket, which was destroyed in Kisumu, lost all their financial records. They are asking suppliers & partners to provide them with statements, delivery reports, and invoices as at December 31 and not to bank any of their cheques.
But can’t please everyone: like thieves who take advantage of busy police battling rioters, some unscrupulous borrowers are also using the economic shutdown to plead with banks for delayed repayment and favorable revision of loan terms when the haven’t really been affected.
Signal of confidence: On Wednesday, Imara Holdings introduced a new fund targeting the Diaspora willing to invest in east Africa. It’s an open fund with minimum investment of 6.5 million shillings (~$100,000) and will be sold through Kenya’s ICEA
- Recognize us: Barclays have eaten humble pie for two years, but who would have through that high-street Standard Chartered would open a branch in Eastleigh?
Local Icarus: what happens when you fly too close to the sun
opportunities
- From PSD Blog; nominate a women entrepreneur to the doing business group of the World Bank.
Current open jobs
from the papers this week
- APA Insurance: unit managers, account managers. Apply to recruitement@apainsurance.com
- Safaricom: VAS Propositions Manager, Channel Development Manager, Key Accounts Executive – apply online. But for the position of chief information officer - but apply though pricewaterhousecoopers executive selection division (ESD).
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Press Statement: By the Professionals and Business Forum for Peace
» You Missed This Video footage of policeman shooting and killing unarmed protestor in Kisumu.
18th January
Statement by the Professionals and Business Forum for Peace on the ongoing violence
“NO to deaths and destruction of property”
Who we are?
Ladies and gentlemen, we members of the Professionals and Business Forum for Peace (PBFP) would like to call for an immediate end to the current killings, destruction of property and disruption of business in the country. PBFP is a non partisan body bringing together business and professional organizations in the country to press for a solution to the current national crisis.
Background: What is happening?
The past few weeks have witnessed loss of lives, property and injuries at unprecedented levels. We would like to categorically say a resounding “NO” to these criminal acts.
The business community and professionals have suffered immensely following the eruption of post election violence in the country. The losses accruing have affected the entire country and resulted in job losses.
The economy stands to lose even more if this violence continues and peace is not restored in the country soon. It is unfortunate that what the country took decades to build is being destroyed within a few weeks.
What we Propose?
Dialogue: We would like to call upon the protagonists across the political divide, Hon. Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki to engage in immediate dialogue.
Stop Mass Action: We realize that meaningful dialogue can only happen in a peaceful atmosphere. While mass action is not necessarily bad, what we are witnessing is the creation of an opportunity for lawlessness.
Stop Killings: The Kenya Professional and Business Forum would like to urge leaders from both sides of the political divide to take charge of their followers and actively urge them to stop the killings we are currently witnessing. The police should also exercise restrain as they try to contain the violence.
Non Partisanship: We call on all parties concerned or interested in the ongoing crisis to maintain a non partisan position. Kenyan remains a sovereign state and international organizations should not make statements that fan the violence.
We therefore categorically state that we want to see peace and order restored in the country as soon as possible to allow for dialogue and the underlying issues that have led to the current crisis to be addressed.
KPBF Organizations:
The associations in this forum include:
Kenya Medical Association
Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya
Kenya Pharmaceuticals Distributors Association
Kenya Psychiatrists Association
National Nurses Association of Kenya
Marketing Society of Kenya
Public Relations Society of Kenya
Kenya ICT Action Network
Kenya ICT Federation
Eldoret Business Council
Friends of Eldoret (Residents Association)
Nakuru Business Association
Nairobi Central Business District Association
Youth Science and Technology Development Network
AIESEC (Kenya Chapter of International Association for Students interested in Economics and Management)
Kenya Health Federation
Central Organisation of Trade Unions
Association of Practitioners in Advertising
Kenya Private Sector Alliance
Institute of Engineers of Kenya
Save the Children Fund
Kenya Tourism Federation
Kenya Union of Journalists
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8:03
Channel O presents Emcee Africa; Battle of Emcees at WAPI
» Kenyanpoet Channel O presents Emcee Africa; Battle of Emcees at WAPI
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6:36
Kenya: “Not Free”
» KA-INVESTOR 
Freedom House has released findings that have down graded Kenya’s freedom index to “not free”. This is mainly due to the recent election atrocities committed by the government. According to the report released on January 16, Kenya is the most declined (in terms of freedom) country in Africa due to credible reports (EU & US observers’ reports) of vote rigging in the presidential contest and violence triggered by the official results.
Freedom House defines a “free country” as one where there is “broad scope for open political competition, a climate of respect for civil liberties, significant independent civil life and independent media”. Kenya has violated all of these in less than 20 days, moving us from a “partly free” state to a “not free” one. Kenya now rank in the same category as Somali, Zimbwabwe and Congo. SHAME!
In general, most African countries have slide backwards in 2007.
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6:23
So, Economic Boycott
» What An African Woman Thinks So, Economic Boycott
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5:15
Two Gems
» Couch Potato Yes in this time of "plenty of time at home" one needs a movie or two. An 11 o'clock movie and a late afternoon movie. Two good gems that need not take you to the theatre... cell phones switched off, curtains drawn...stewing in your own filth whilst gobbling junk food.
A movie gem a.k.a a "K.B.C movie" is a movie that you have no faith in,or knew very little about but somehow there you are having started it...caught up in it... and ends up entertaining you nonetheless.
BUCKET LIST
It's a sweet feel-good movie. One of the reasons to watch it is just the sheer fact that Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson share a screen together.
Story is rather slow...two cancer patients total strangers become best of friends in their last days on earth. They compile a shared "bucket list." Which by definition is a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. And the movie chronicles their friendship and journeys through that bucket list.
This is your breakfast movie...so if riots/mass action/civil disobedience or phase 1 of seeking justice has kept you home away from work. Having finished reading same old news of what people think is the way forward...don't mediate or refuse to negotiate with this movie...move on and watch this flick. Its not the greatest but its sure nice way to pass time.
Currently #1 in the U.S box office.
Jack Nicholson plays your regular sonofa.... quite well as he always does.But nothing beats him in A Few Good Men. Morgan Freeman the gentle friend alost reminiscent of Shawshank Redemption.
The Great Debaters
"We do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do."
Political Puns aside- this is a GREAT LINE!
A lot of noise has gone on about the Oprah Winfrey produced and Denzel directed movie.
It's good stuff...preferably your afternoon movie. Great acting from Denzel and Forrest Whitaker- damn y'all for not recognising his good work on The Shield
I think the younger cast was more inspiring. Its based in 1935 on a true story. About a team of College debaters...at the end the interesting and quite apt topic of debate is " is civil disobedience a moral right?"
Nice to see Jurnee Smollet all grown up and looking fly.
As much as it was nominated best pic for golden globes...nuh...its a very good movie but not the greatest.
Think Dead Poet's Society meets Remember the Titans
So enjoy both.
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Statement From Kumekucha: Comment Moderation Returns
» You Missed This Suffering Kenyan Children: A Photo Essay.
Charge Police Commissioner Ali With Crimes Against Humanity
Due to repeated abuse of the privilege of allowing readers to post comments freely here, I have been left with no alternative but to start moderating the comments once again.
Apart from blunt hate comments, we have also seen this morning the re-emergence of the notorious porn poster.
My sincere apologies to well-behaved readers who have always posted comments responsibly and now have to suffer because of the rotten few. -
Charge Maj Gen Ali with crimes Against Humanity!
» You Missed This Suffering Kenyan Children: A Photo Essay
Video footage of policeman shooting and killing unarmed protestor in Kisumu.
By our guest writer
In an unprecedented move in April 2004, President Kibaki appointed an army soldier, Maj Gen Mohamed Hussein Ali, then a Brigadier, the Commissioner of Police.
Maj Gen Ali replaced a career policeman, Mr Edwin Nyaseda, who made history by serving the shortest period at the helm of Vigilance House.
The soldier was appointed against a backdrop of heightened insecurity across the country and his appointment was greeted with joy and relieve by Kenyans who had suffered in the hands of murderous thugs.
Kenyans had high expectations that the new police chief would borrow a leaf from the military and instill the much-desired professionalism in the archaic police force.
They had high expectations that there would be a major departure from the past leadership of the Kenya Police and that the force would live up to its motto, Utumishi kwa Wote (Service to All), and be accountable to the people it was meant to serve.
But going by the events following the declaration of Mr Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the December 27 General Election, through open theft and fraud, Kenyans have had the opportunity to know the real character heading the Kenya Police.
There is no doubt this man is blood thirsty and he has no regard for human life. Life became even more cheaper in Kenya with the arrival of Maj Gen Ali at Vigilance House. How much more blood will this man spill before he is stopped?
Maj Gen Ali’s predecessors – who had risen through the ranks in the Kenya Police – were no angels. The force was accused of being trigger-happy during their reign.
But the situation dramatically changed for the worst as Maj Gen Ali asserted his authority at police headquarters. Apart from the force still being trigger-happy, Maj Gen Ali has turned the Kenya Police into a killing machine.
There is a wide gap between the crimes committed by Maj Gen Ali and his predecessors. While his predecessors were accused of executing robbery suspects, Maj Gen Ali has taken the killings to an unprecedented perfection – he has turned the force into a killings machine targeting both robbery suspects and thousands of innocent civilians under the disguise of fighting crime and improving security in Kenya.
The volume of blood shed by police bullets during the past four years of Maj Gen Ali’s leadership of the Kenya Police will haunt Kenya for generations to come.
The graves that dot all parts of the country, being the permanent resting place for victims of police bullets during Maj Ali’s reign, has outnumber the combined tally during the reigns of all the other post-independent commissioners of police.
Unless this soldier is stopped NOW – not tomorrow – Kenya will be a mass grave of bullet-riddled bodies.
It has been disgusting watching TV clips of Kenyan Police brutally venting their anger and frustration on their fellow citizens in a bid to protect President Kibaki, who has been sitting comfortably at State House watching TV after stealing the elections. It seems the stolen Presidency has to be protected at all costs – even if wiping some communities from the face of Kenya.
The sight of enthusiastic policemen being seen on the TV pumping bullets into unarmed demonstrators protesting the stolen Presidential election has been disgusting. It appears that police have found a new sporting activity by turning human beings into shooting targets. They are on the streets to perfect the skills they failed to polish at Kiganjo.
On the first day of the mass action called by the ODM, KTN viewers were left speechless and terrified when they watched a lone policeman in a Kisumu suburb pumping bullets to two unarmed men lying on the ground injured. Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears as the policeman opened fire at them at close range. The fact that the policeman cared little that his actions were being filmed by a TV camera told a big story.
The actions of Maj Gen Ali since he arrived at police headquarters clearly shows he has no regard for human life. Life has become so cheap in Kenya and Kenyans seems happy to swim in the blood of their fellow Kenyans.
We all suffer from the collective guilt of watching helpless as Maj Gen Ali turn his guns on real and imaginary enemies of the State – to protect his own job and to protect the pretender-to-the-throne illegally occupying State House.
I’ll cite a few instances:
1: In 2005, Maj Gen Ali ordered his officers to use helicopters to hunt down and execute any Maasai tribesmen on sight as a way to end clashes in Mai Mahiu. Dozens of Maasai men were summarily shot dead by officers aboard the helicopters and the real number of the dead was never made public due to the firm grip Maj Gen Ali has on the top leadership of the main stream media. No wonder the Maa community –led by their King, William ole Ntimama, overwhelmingly voted against President Kibaki.
2: In October 2005, police shot dead three primary school pupils on their way home and an innocent milk vendor during riots in Kisumu sparked off by the referendum on the controversial Constitution being pushed by the Kibaki Administration.
Maj Gen Ali hurriedly called a Press conference to publicly thank his officers for a job well done. He said he had no apology to make and claimed those shot dead had attempted to raid Kondele Police Station. When it later emerged he had lied the public and those killed were innocent pupils who were nowhere near the police station, Maj Gen Ali tried to manipulate the media to do damage control for him.
The killer-police were not punished and they are still on the loose killing more Kenyans. Maj Gen Ali should not be allowed to get away from these senseless killings.
3: When the police was last year rendered impotent and powerless by murderous Mungiki thugs in parts of Nairobi, Central and Rift Valley provinces, the police resorted to randomly rounding up youths from the slums in Nairobi and from poor homes in Central province.
The youths were taken to forests –especially Ngong, Naivasha and others in Central province – and executed before anything could be proved against them. Their bodies were either left to rot and be eaten by wild animals in the killing fields or dumped in mortuaries across the three provinces.
In fact, most of the families – like that of Kimani Ruo – have never traced the remains of their loved ones since they were killed in remote forests and their bodies left to be mauled by wild animals.
In Mathare, young men, women and children were shot dead by the police in mid last year under the guise of flushing out Mungiki gangs from the sprawling slum village. The bodies were loaded unto police lorries and ferried to remote areas in Ngong, Kiserian and Kitengela and fed to beasts. Police ferried the bullet-riddled bodies in their lorries as their dripped blood on the roads.
The mainstream media was united in covering up the truth on behalf of Maj Gen Ali and the actual number of innocent people killed in Mathare. Kenyans and the world were fed with distorted news.
The same thing happened in a home in Murang’a. The police surrounded a house in one of the villages and executed at least 60 young men – including primary school kids – in cold blood on allegations they were taking an illegal oath.
None of the youths was armed and it’s still a puzzle why the police never arrested and took them to court to prove their allegations against them. The media first claimed only seven youth were shot dead. But they started rising the figure up to 27 when the international media and blogs like Kumekucha revealed the actual number of fatalities.
Independent investigations by Kumekucha revealed that more than 1,000 people were killed in Mathare and Murang’a in the month of July last year alone.
A damning report released by the state-owned Kenya National Commission on Human Rights in the run-up to the December 27 General Election revealed that close to 5,000 Kenyans were executed by the police in three months from July in parts of Nairobi, Rift Valley and Central under the guise of fighting Mungiki. But it has since emerged that a majority of those executed were innocent youths – whose only crime was they were poor.
If the police was effective, as Maj Gen Ali has wanted the country and the international community to believe, they would have been pro-active – gathering intelligence in advance and prevent the Mungiki gangs and other criminals from carrying out crimes against innocent Kenyans. But from the look of things, the police were always caught flat-footed by the rag-tag Mungiki gangs. All the police could do was to wait and round up youths for execution.
4: The conduct of the police in handling riots triggered by the stolen Presidential election has exposed the stuff Maj Gen Ali is made off. The police have come out in full force – a thing that has never been witnessed in Kenya’s independent history – to defend the stolen presidency. Kenya has been turned into a police state.
Being a career soldier, Maj Gen Ali knows survival tactics. It’s public knowledge that Maj Gen Ali had fallen out with the Kibaki Administration in 2006 over growing discontent within the force over his poor leadership and rising insecurity through out the country.
In fact, the bona fide president for Kenya after the December 27 General Election, Mr Raila Odinga, had been applying pressure on the Government to sack Maj Gen Ali after the Kisumu killings. Mr Odinga publicly stated that the solder should be sent back to the army where they are used to kill people.
When Maj Gen Ali fell out of favour with the system and a dark cloud hang over his head in 2006, he saw the only way to survive was to strike a deal with Mr Odinga. The commissioner seized the Golden opportunity of the presence of the Artur brothers in the country to bring Mr Odinga to his side.
It is widely known within the security agencies that the information that Mr Odinga used to reveal in doses about the Arturs came from Maj Gen Ali. In fact, the two often held private talks. Mr Odinga’s backing was a major boost to the Muslim police chief since Mr Odinga enjoys a fanatical support of Muslim community. The Government would have shot itself in the foot had they sacked Maj Gen Ali in the run up on the crucial General Election.
Soon, Mr Odinga was to change his hard line stance on Maj Gen Ali and he started giving him public backing every time Kibaki Administration made a move to sack the commissioner. Not leaving anything to chance, Maj Gen Ali cleverly lured First Lady Lucy Kibaki’s support by taking advantage of the Arturs saga.
Lucy’s marital bitter rival, Ms Mary Wambui, was said to be backing the Arturs. By appearing to be against the presence of the Arturs in Kenya, Maj Gen Ali managed to win Lucy’s support and this cleared doubts about his future in the Kenya Police due to Lucy’s influence on President Kibaki.
Word which has been spreading round was that President Kibaki intended to drop Maj Gen Ali after the elections when he formed his new Government. But the loss that President Kibaki stared in the face against Mr Odinga seems to have given Maj Gen Ali a new lease of life. Between the two, Maj Gen Ali knew he stood better chances of remaining the police chief under a Kibaki presidency.
Due to the anxiety that had gripped the country, Kenyans missed an incidence that happened a KICC a few minutes before Mr Kivuitu declared Mwai Kibaki the winner. When the ODM got wind of the massive rigging and attempted to block Mr Kivuitu from announcing fake election results, GSU commandos burst into the media centre and cleared everybody who was there – even the media was driven out of KICC grounds save for the state-owned KBC.
Behind the scenes, Maj Gen Ali was flexing his muscles. He had been monitoring the events from his office across KICC and he knew Kivuitu was going to announce fake results. He had make arrangements for hundreds of GSU commandos to stay behind the scene and only strike when the hour of need came.
As Maj Gen Ali’s impatience grew in his office, he ordered the GSU to move in and whisk Mr Kivuitu to another room where he was forced to announce the results under police duress. In the meantime, Maj Gen Ali walked across to KICC and stood guard to ensure Mr Kivuitu did not rock the boat. What was the role of the police commissioner in the announcement of the results while that role squarely lay with the ECK chief?
Thinking that all the other independent media had been cleared from KICC ground, Maj Gen Ali walked out of front side of KICC after the results were announced and he was captured by a defiant NTV cameraman who had remained behind. Maj Gen Ali walked to his vehicle and sped off to State House where a ceremony to swear in President Kibaki had been arranged 12 hours before the results were publicly known! Were it not for Maj Gen Ali, Mr Kivuitu most likely not have agreed to announce fake results.
In order to further please President Kibaki, Maj Gen Ali has brought thousands of brutal police officers onto the streets to defend the stolen presidency. Where have all these policemen been when Kenyans are being butchered by thugs in all parts of the country?
President Kibaki and Maj Gen Ali have one thing in common – GREED FOR POWER. Maj Gen Ali has gone out of his way to defend the illegitimate president with his eye on retaining his current job. As a result, Maj Gen Ali has activated his killing machine. The number of Kenyans felled by police bullets in the post-election violence stands at more than 1,000, according to reliable security sources, contrary to the figure of less than 500 being given by police headquarters.
Kenyans have seen more GSU paratroopers on the streets that it has never been the case before. Insiders in the force say Maj Gen Ali has a soft spot for the GSU since their training is similar to the military. He has not time for the regular police and the CID.
It has been argued that President Kibaki made a very serious mistake – which can be costly- by ensuring Kenya’s three key security agencies – the The Armed Forces , the Kenya Police and the National Security Intelligence Service – are headed by military men.
There are no checks under the current arrangement since the three men - Gen Kianga (Chief of General Staff), Maj Gen Ali (Police) and Mr Gichangi (Intelligence) – are answerable to the same chain of command. Their seniority follows the order listed. This spells doom for the country if the three men opt to conspire.
For instance, the NSIS boss is supposed to operate independently and spy on everybody. He is supposed to be only answerable to the President. But in the current state Mr Gichangi is answerable to two bosses – the president and Gen Kiangi. And knowing the discipline in the forces, how is Mr Gichangi expected to spy on his military boss and report him to the President?
Maj Gen Ali has survived in the force despite committing serious crimes against humanity due to the inefficiency of the President and his ability to cow the mainstream media. Its widely known in the media circles that Maj Gen Ali has a firm grip on the top leadership in all the key media houses. He did this with the help of his lover and the proprietor of Kameme FM, Ms Rose Kimotho. The evils and atrocities committed against the Kenyan people have been covered up by the media which is the watchdog of the society.
From the way Maj Gen Ali has been dispensing “justice” and conducting the affairs of the Kenya Police, there is no need to have courts in Kenya. The Kenya Police has taken the entire role of the criminal justice system in Kenya – being the investigator, prosecutor, executor, name it.
He lacks any skills and strategy in fighting crime and the best he can do is to execute innocent Kenyans. I submit here that Maj Gen Ali should personally be held responsible for these gang-land style executions. The International Court of Justice should immediately indict him and put him on trial for crimes against humanity.
Kenya has become a dangerous place to live in since Maj Gen Ali took over the leadership of the Kenya Police and the faster he is taken to account for his injustices against the Kenya people, the better.
This blood-thirsty police commissioner should not be allowed to spill any more blood with impunity.
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PS
» What An African Woman Thinks PS -
Kenya at the Crossroads: Scenarios For Our Future
» What An African Woman Thinks Kenya at the Crossroads: Scenarios For Our Future
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Diasporap
» Kenya Imagine In case you didn't get the memo, things are a little tense in Kenya right now. I was recently in a heated exchange - I won't even dignify the other side by calling it a debate- with another Kenyan which degenerated into him accusing me of not being Kenyan.
It's an accusation that has been levelled at me before. My crime? I study in the United Kingdom.
Read more from Nanjala Nyabola here.
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Some commentary on the post-election situation
» Kenyan Pundit I’m sure you all know by now that Parliament has been prorogued. No word on when it will resume. At the rate Kibaki is going…probably not any time soon in order to kill ODM’s perceived momentum within Parliament. On to the links: - Get Africa right dammit (OK, those [...]
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