COULD UHURU BE SCARED?

I feel compelled to express my opinion about the recent political events in our country. It is hugely disturbing that Mr. Owalo,a top aide of Raila Odinga was summoned and grilled for hours by the C.I.D, nothing wrong about that but the accusations leveled against him, as reported by various reputable papers are a complete joke. Is someone in Jubilee scared? But why would strutting operators like William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta be afraid of a Mr Owalo? A man who will forever be a case study to aspiring politicians about how not to run an election campaign. Can a man who failed to run a campaign be so successful at destabilizing a country? Save me the rib crackers.

I am actually quite shocked that it has now become an offense to mobilize churches, youth groups and NGOS to peacefully protest or rally for a given cause in a democracy, even a nascent one such as ours. I can’t help but feel like this a sad reminder of old dirty politics where opposition leaders and activists could be picked up for questioning by the once dreaded special branch. Some were locked up never to return, accused of fabricated, made up charges of plotting to destabilize the state. A wonderful diversionary tactic use by unpopular repressive regimes, it worked well for Moi

I don’t hold any brief for Mr. Owalo but if the charges against him are as they have been reported, peaceful countrywide protests, then his summons are and should be a great ground for real concern. It’s worth remembering that the right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in our constitution. There is nothing wrong about regrouping and rallying by citizens or opposition political parties to keep the government in check. Genuine democracy requires not just elections, freedom and a political culture of tolerance. Freedom even to hold and propagate a divergent opinion to one held by the sitting government.

Let’s face it, previous elections were bitterly divisive and the country hasn’t really gotten over it and without doubt any attempt to bully and suppress opposition leaders or their aides will aggravate tensions that have been trampled underground. I didn’t like it one bit when Mr. Odinga was recently humiliated at the JKIA, denied access to V.I.P lounge. It is an insult to majority of us and leaders who marched, rallied and endured threats and arrests to widen the doors of freedom, that we all enjoy now, when you treat Raila like a scrap metal. Raila Odinga may not be everyone’s cup of tea but he is a towering figure, arguably the most important politician in our country’s history.

The sufferings he has endured and sacrifices he has made for this country puts him head and shoulder above every other politician. I am not using hyperbole when I say that. Perhaps jubilee wants to sent a clear and unequivocal message that they are now in charge but to do it in such a manner will do little to endear their government to a large section of the Kenyan public, that didn’t vote for them. Of course, it is not firmly established if this excesses by overly overzealous subordinates have the blessings of Mr. Kenyatta, but his silence is telling.

Now to my next point, to those who seek to defend the indefensible, the most pressing concern for most Kenyans is not about keeping Raila or the opposition in check. The priorities that should be piling high on jubilee’s plate, to create jobs for the youth, reduce the cost of living, what they had captured so well in their fairy-like manifesto. It is almost becoming fashionable to scapegoat Raila for almost all problems facing jubilee, beginning with the teachers strike, the charges facing Jubilee’s top two at the Hague. I don’t buy that. Store away your animosities and get down to work. Your score card will be your manifesto and nothing else

Yours jubilantly (though somehow heartbroken) Bonnke Muti’as

FIVE QUICK THOUGTS ON JUBILEE'S FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

 

Perhaps it is a little early to be determining how well the jubilee government is going. They simply haven’t been in office long enough and anyone declaring it a complete success or failure, at this early stage, simply needs to find something to occupy his time other political punditry. I thought about not writing this piece, for the fear of being misunderstood, I considered it but eventually common sense prevailed.I felt compelled to write

Here are some of my thoughts:

•       UHURU has a heart and he too can get sporty: If the sight of President Kenyatta taking Otongolo for a walk around state house didn’t put a smile on your face then you have no heart. You are a very cold-heated tool, emotionally devoid and nothing will make you happy,besides he promised to take care of  Otongolo's fees,all the way to college,of course that wont put holes in the wallet of a man like Uhuru but it is a heart warming gesture and quite endearing,coming from a man who had been so successfully branded, a callous and heartless politician a few months ago by politicians on the other side of the divide. all the way to college of a Kenyan president in a rugby jersey is enough change in itself, at least we have a president who can take off his coat at a sports event, even though for a few minutes.

•        Hustlers can quickly forget where they are coming from:  Let me approach this with a little more caution, I wouldn't want to be called a bitter loser,like i have often been called (I hate that).By the way, I moved on and i am accepting,slowly but steadily. I do not approve of wasteful spending, infact I cringe when I see public money flushed down the toilet. I haven’t gotten over the news  I read a while ago about our DP, 'the hustler’ a name he so popularized during the campaigns. That he used a 100 million to hire a luxury jet to take him around African cities for a week and 100 more million to renovate his house that has already cost more than 400 million to build , seriously?  It is important to remember that,Ruto presented himself as a man who understands the needs of the  people,but such lavish spending shows his detachment  from reality and the hustlers that he said he represents. In a country where teachers have been out of class for three weeks demanding better pay such kind of spending clearly int a priority There seem to be some chemistry between William Ruto and 100 million but that’s for another day. Truth behind the smoke screen is  that William Ruto is a politician, just like any other. He is not a messiah sent to save. He might think he is, but I don’t buy it.

•   Forget the fuss about change, nothing has changed: there was so much talk about change in the air during campaigns but nothing has materialized yet: the same lack of effort to tackle corruption, same sleaze in the government, same impunity that has existed. If you thought the bad apples will be cleared out especially within the traffic police, most corrupt unit according to Transparency International you may have to wait longer. What annoys me and      I’m sure plenty of others out there, is that talk of increasing VAT on basic commodities. I don’t believe taxing the people more will help. Typical capitalists who want to exploit the poor for the benefit of the rich. I would like to see some change instead of promises of change.

•    All talk of supporting devolution is lip service: I have been carefully examining some of the spending proposals of this government. One thing I have learned  is that the 210 billions allocated for county governments is way below the 40% of the total government expenditure promised in the Jubilee manifesto. I think what needs to be done is for them  to put their money where their lips are: tossing some more money to the people and into infrastructure

•     Uhuru is our President: (it took prayers for me accept this) It has only 100 days, quite frankly it make some time to see some change they promised come to fruition, what we need to do now is to rally together for the country we all love, whether you like it or not President Kenyatta is our president. When we wish for him and his policies to fail, we are asking for Kenya to fail. Think about that. Whether Mr. Kenyatta is the right leader for the time in history or not? Only time will tell

THE CITY OF DEATH

                    

                            

          

                      Rat-tat-tat-tat !!                     

      Gunshots crackle overhead

  But they don’t take cover

               Because in the alley they lie dead

         In their own pool’s of blood

                                          The remnants are exiled in their bullet riddled houses

                           Whimpering

                           Shivering

                              Whispering

                           Some wetting their pants

                                  Only emerging in the evening

                                     For another round

                                     To bury their dead

                  ‘White washed mosques and minarets

                 Avenues lined with palms running down to a sparkling sea

                       'Mogadishu had a gentler past’

                    Abdul, my guide, reminisced with a half smile

                     I ducked as a rocket swooshed above my head

                      But Abdul did not move

                     His only concern: ‘there will be more bodies to wash and bury’

                       Mogadishu: abandoned and alone

                       Mogadishu: neglected and isolated

                       Mogadishu: the most battered and fought over city

                       Mogadishu: Africa’s Baghdad, the city of death

                   Her hospitals hopelessly understaffed

                Food painfully expensive

                         But her sons lavish in ecstasy in foreign cities

                      While her elite constantly bickering and plotting to steal donor funds

                                War weary

                               War torn

                              But cautiously upbeat

                              Maybe her good days are not yet

MOB JUSTICE IS A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE

It pains me to be writing this piece, just a day after Benson Namulala’s  and Erick Simiyu’ charred remains  were laid to rest at their rural home at Kimabole village of Mt Elgon district. It must be excruciatingly painfully for their families. Without doubt, the sight of those fresh graves will remain a visible reminder of the searing pain Ben and Eric endured.It is  an open wound to many; it will be for sometime. Their light was put out by a merciless mob, on the pretext that they thought them to be members of a gang of robbers. It just  doesn't wash with me.

Benson, a student at Kisiwa technical institute and Eric a driver of a local construction company met at Chwele Market, decided to unwind, after hard day’s work, with a drink at Land Matope, a squalid slum settlement nearby, infamous for cheap liquor and sex, on demand. According to an eye witness, a deafening scream went out, before they could take a sip of the coveted drink. The ground just shook and perhaps shifted under their feet when an irate mob rushed into the dingy ‘bar’ with all guns blazing, cursing and swearing. They shoved them out, and then descended on them with blows and kicks. Not sure what they had done wrong, I imagine they tried to get an explanation, begged for mercy, asked to be told who their accuser is and what their crimes might be but the blood thirsty crowd did not allow them that luxury: they were doused in petrol then set ablaze, creating a little hell here on earth.

To this mob, well rehearsed in the craft of murder, Ben and Eric were guilty (before being tried) of the most heinous of crimes deserving death in the most brutal of ways. What was their evidence against the two? Apparently, a sorcerer from Uganda, with quite a reputation of delivering justice, his way, fast and furious, he would make Police work seem like child play. The Ugandan witch had promised to use his magic to draw two suspicious looking young men, on a hot afternoon to Land Matope asking for the bottle. What I don’t understand is why he didn't explain, how the young men would look like and what kind of apparels they would be putting on that day.

 Presumably the man was on the look out like a cat snuffing for a rat, combing the length and breadth of the area for any two young men that looked suspicious and maybe guilty enough. The two unfortunate ones happened to be Erick and Benson. The lads I have known and been good friends with for more than ten years. Benson, a very nice young man, a little bit shy and short of words, he always had a smile on his handsome face. I swear he could never hurt even a fly; the only negative thing (not negative to most) I know about him: his love for the bottle.

 Eric can be anything but a robber. He was a focused and very industrious; I used to enjoy his well baked Mandazi and stories after church. I didn’t mind that at times the stories were made, based on pure fantasy, they prepared me for the long walk home in searing heat. Daniel Simiyu, who was my Sunday school teacher at some stage, was the best examples of hard work to earn a living.He tirelessly reminded us to break sweat for whatever we wanted to have in life.’ The hardest path is always the best path’, he advised, his words did not fall on deaf ears, as Eric daily demonstrated.

Come to think of it, that they were executed without being heard, without trial, makes me sick to the pits of my stomach. That the two were thought to be part of the gang that has been terrorizing residents of Bungoma County, is simply not acceptable. Just thinking of horrors of being lynched, hungry flames licking your blood, bones and flesh: What the two underwent drains blood from my face.

The question I keep asking myself is: what fuels this blood lust? I still don’t know the answer to this question. I understand some people still don’t have enough faith in the police’s ability to do their work adequately but that doesn't justify such acts of criminality. Not in the least. To do that is to justify the unjustifiable, to excuse the inexcusable .This is criminality, pure and simple and that’s how it should be called. The perpetrators shouldn't and mustn't go unpunished. They should be identified and be brought to justice. That will go along way in assuaging the grief of the bereaved. It will bring some sort of closure to these families.

WHEN IS A COUP A GOOD COUP?

I thought I would share with you my  thoughts about the events this week in Egypt, toppling of first the democratically elected Egyptian  President, Mohamed Morsi.It brings a tear to my eye,but apparently not as much as it does to the Muslim brotherhood,I rather enjoyed Mr Morsi's fiery and defiant speeches,he looked suave and urbane to me(like most politicians}

I still remember watching on the BBC how he came to power,Egyptians had  poured  onto the streets demanding political reforms and  civil liberties,President Mubarak was ousted after almost a month of clamoring for his removal( we all know that) .
then why is a man who was the darling of revolutionaries so unceremoniously  removed from office,barely a year since he took the reins of power?
Watching the chief of general staff,Gen Abdul Al Sis,make the announcement that Morsi had been deposed and the constitution suspended,got me thinking,is this a coup?
Protesters in Tahrir square,by thousands, greeted the news with ecstasy
'The army has hearkened to the voice of the people,this is not a military coup it is a continuation of our revolution', a protester told the BBC
 To most people a military coup is when ,uniformed men,the army remove a elected leader from power,bloodlessly or otherwise and that is exactly what happened in Egypt this week.The Muslim Brotherhood  have vowed to do whatever they can to protect the revolution.

On reflection,President Morsi has confirmed everything I thought about an Islamist taking the reigns of power:he alienates everyone else and placates only his faction.That's exactly what Morsi did to Egypt. Liberals and Christians felt more isolated than the south pole, under his rule than they had ever during Mubarak's regime.Their(Muslim Brotherhood) insistence of turning Egypt into a sharia abiding,Islamist state did not go down well with most Egyptians,infact,most could not let their to go the way of Iran.It was a matter of when not if Mr Morsi will be hounded out of office like his predecessor.

Speaking about the 'coup' this week after being sworn in,the interim President,Adly Mansour,said 'The most glorious thing about 30 June is that it brought everyone together without discrimination or division'.

I  agree that,  inclusive societies are more cohesive and safer countries but most politicians  with short-sightedness,don't have a clue,they just can't get this.President Morsi's woes are self inflicted,he just couldnt listen to his people,when he arrogated himself more power in a decree,to me,I knew he was on borrowed time ever since he got into office.His continued was heavily dependent on how he would nurture the spirit of the revolution but like most African dictator and steer the boat on troubled waters, hwat he spectacularly  failed to do

   just a thought and always remember everyone has a right to be wrong

YES I HEARD IT

I heard a murmur

I heard them mumble and whisper

they were talking about 'top state secrets'

even the village folk are also talking

'we are rattled by money men fighting for power',they say

yes I heard

ooh,I liked it when they said

'food prices have risen sharply'

'our roads have not been repaired'

'our hospitals have become death traps'

'none of their promises has come good'

they even questioned appalling police brutality

I can hear the stirrings of disquiet

the gagged are incessantly discoursing

the previously silent public is loudly discussing

even women are talking about it

yes i heard it

for 2012,they are regrouping

in huddles they are talking

they may not be protesting

but the road to Canaan they are walking

yes i heard it all

LOVE SPELL

nothing seems to chase you away

my head is so full of you

i am addicted to you

and ensnared by your spell

day and night i long for your touch

i stood utterly still in awe of her delicate beauty;tiny face and raven black hair

her eyes held mine

her firm young breasts ensnared me

surging waves of lust washed over me

she stood impressively tall

  desperately lonely

devastatingly lovely,with a heart melting smile

 rich black hair,graceful arms and long fingers

   delicate like a rose flower

 my whole body shivered with lust

my eyes caressed her face

blood rushed in my vein[s]

i wanted to fold her in my arms

and plunge into her with full desire

i want to  be near  her to inhale her sensous perfume

touch her pretty curls

kiss her lips

and spend hours looking into her eyes

i need your body on mine

i want your dancing tongue in my mouth

i want to dip my leaking shaft into your wet pot

i am smitten by a tiny delicate girl

WHAT IS YOUR TRIBE?

                                   

What is your tribe? Not in a million years did I ever think I will ask this question until last week when I attended and spoke to a Christian gathering. After thirty minutes of an eloquent sermon on what I believe Christian faith is all about, the audience burst into an ecstatic and thunderous applause.

Satisfied, I begged to leave as soon the presiding pastor had said the closing prayer because I had more pressing things to attend to. 

While quickly descending the stairs I heard someone calling after me, I hesitantly halted and turned around: A balding man, in ill-fitting,oversize black suit,whom I presumed to be in his middle age was trying to catch up with me. He was surprisingly agile, considering his age, that piqued my interest.

He held out his hand with an enormous grin on his face, ‘that was a powerful sermon’, he said as my hand disappeared in his

‘Thanks’; I answered with a comparatively lesser smile, still unsure of what he really wanted to say

Without flinching his gaze, he dropped the bombshell, ‘are you Kamba, Luo or Luhya?’

I could have answered that question in an instant but I deliberately paused to think. He had hardly looked at ease the entire duration I was preaching, I recalled retrospectively.

‘I am neither’, I decided to break the silence that had fallen between us, ‘I am a writer’, I added

Frustrated, ‘even writers belong to some tribe, don’t they?’ the smile had vanished

It might just be me but the sound of that question brings a little vomit into my mouth each time I encounter it, I did not respond thinking that, it would discourage him. It did not

‘Where do you come from?’, he changed tact

‘Eldoret’, I answered almost immediately

‘I mean originally, where do you come from?’

‘Would you please excuse me if you have nothing else to say’, I cut in, ‘I have a bus to catch’

I left him standing there like a statue,absolutely distraught, with his eyes boring into my back until I disappeared around the corner. Confused thoughts wracked my brain as I walked away, I wondered if knowing someone’s tribe is such a big issue to make someone so restless to the point of missing a whole sermon just trying to figure out?  Unlike most Kenyans my name and accent doesn’t give any clue as to which ethnicity I belong to perhaps that is why the middle aged man had ran after me to satisfy his ethnic curiosity.

Here I should stress that there is nothing wrong with telling someone what ethnicity you belong to but for me and for most of us, the effect of post poll violence was profoundly personal consequently I have decided to be known by the identity I have chosen, learnt and developed over the years. It is my firmly held belief someone’s ethnicity is an intensely personal and private matter, it should be seen like that. Infact, my tribe has absolutely nothing to say about my personality.

You would assume that we would have learnt our lesson as a nation by now but events of the past few weeks give a horrifyingly different picture. The re-emergency of previously defunct tribal groupings such as GEMA and KAMATUSA is a real ground for concern. I presume by now you [editor] are inundated by letters on this matter, so I’ll keep mine brief. These groups represent the worst side of old politics that I thought to be dead and buried. Forgive me for being frank but it is my conviction that in a country as diverse and multicultural as ours, such groups are simply not acceptable. I have not been alone in thinking like this, reading all the major dailies the past one week prove that such groups are plainly rattling many.

I know I’m going to get absolutely slaughtered for this but I feel obliged to let this bearing weight off my chest, GEMA and KAMATUSA don’t represent the interests of communities they purport to but those of money men fighting for power and bankrolling them. The sad fact is, these groups are responsible for fragmenting this country along tribal lines and what is more baffling is that it is going on right under the noses of the president and the prime minster. Why would GEMMA support Uhuru Kenyatta and not William Ruto? Perhaps on the grounds that this is the devil they know. It is worth bearing in mind that, when the NCIC organized the diversity conference last month, which I was privileged to attend most of these tribal chiefs gave it a wide berth. You would expect that anyone who aspires for office of presidency would be there but that is not what happened.

To sum up,I am trying very hard not to be pessimistic but to believe it is possible reclaim this country from the hands of tribal chiefs. Don’t think for one minute that this is going to be easy but we have to try because the cost of doing nothing is unbearable. We owe it to the victims of PEV who were killed in appalling atrocities,an event unparalleled in the history of this country. We owe it to our country. This is what I believe so must you also that we can build a country where everyone hopes for the same things and treasures the same values.

                                                                                                                                     BONNKE MUTI’AS

YOUR