afro puffs

05:47 am

04:50 pm

• Most of the firms are based in Nairobi, mostly because of the communication links available at the market for the services outputted.
• The firms are basically middle-sized affairs, which to me is the best
• The firms receive little or no support from the government.

12:19 pm - KENYAN DEMOCRACY

What really is democracy? This is not a rhetoric question because over the past month I have been grappling with it but every moment of thought has brought more questions than answers.

I thought one of the components of democracy is free speech but here where I live it is either ODM or death.  Since 30^th December 2007, we have been living in fear be4cause of perceived support for PNU and Kibaki.  Our thoughts are supposed to be in uniformity with those of other in the area.

I live in Rift Valley, Kericho in particular, which is more or less the heartland of ODM’s support.  Running battles with police and gunshots had become the order of the day as people discussed secession with ease, oblivious of the ramification.  Kibaki’s tribes people, regardless of who they voted for were routed out of their homes and told to go and live in State House.  Luo’s were hacked out of Central in revenge.

Democracy, as I know it doesn’t not entail forcing everyone to agree with you, you try to convince them but if they do not well and good.  They are free to have their own view points.  Nor does it entail voting for someone then having him/her rigged out.

People are destroying property and killing others in the name of democracy while others are using state instruments to revenge in the same name of democracy.  Democracy is invoked by both parties but up to now I have yet to see how the unfolding events are in any way connected to this hallowed principle.

I am starting to wonder if we really need it!

11:19 am - The Rehabilitation of Kamlesh Pattni

Goldenberg for Kenyans is a word that is not mentioned with good intentions.  This is because it is the name of a project that almost everyone will agree brought the Kenyan economy to its knees.  Basically Goldenberg was a company that exported gold from Kenya to Dubai and Britain.  There was and still is an export compensation scheme to compensate and thus boost exporters businesses.  This is calculated as a percentage of the total export.  In Goldenberg’s case, the compensation was increased from 15% to 35% and this is in spite of the fact that Kenya has no gold deposits to support a commercial enterprise.

This means that Goldenberg would export fictitious gold and claim billions of shillings as compensation.  At the height of its operations, Goldenberg had to open a bank so as to handle it large transactions, it had by now roped in senior government officials who smoothed its way around treasury for a piece of the action.

The effects of this were disastrous, interest rates in the country shot up from 21% to 70%.  The deficit caused by payments to Goldenberg forced the government to go back and ask for a loan from Goldenberg which was happy to do so but at ridiculously high rates.  Goldenberg almost single handedly bankrolled the 1992 elections and managed to put up a posh hotel in Nairobi.

The man behind all of this was Kamlesh Pattni, a nondescript Kenyan of Asian origin.  Then the empire crumpled, his business license cancelled by the government which by now was being hounded by the Bretton Woods institutions, his bank closed down as it was in fact trading fraudulently and it was now found out that he had indeed be trading in non existent gold.

A commission of inquiry set up in 2003 found out that he was responsible for the fraud and recommended that he be prosecuted.

What is baffling me now is Pattni’s attempts at rehabilitation into society.  Any right thinking Kenyan will acknowledge that taking into account the damage he wrought to our lives, he should first be tried in a court of law then if guilty, punished and if innocent cleared.

But Pattni is a clever man, after being acquitted of trumped up murder charges he turned to Christianity, which in our society is the great dry-cleaner of reputations.  He now goes by the name Brother Paul.  He then took over a political party ‘KENDA’ and launched himself into politics.  Couple this with charity missions to churches and organizations then you have a suspected conman turned philanthropist.

Kenyan politics being what they are many politicians have trooped into his party seeking a share of his wealth.

I am dismayed at the short memory of Kenyans.  I for one will not approach Pattni nor will I buy his pseudo-preaching until he has gone through the court process only then will I listen to his views.

09:55 am - The Muslim factor in Kenyan Politics

One of Kenya’s presidential candidates, Raila Odinga signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a section of Muslim leaders promising to better their lot so as to get them to support his candidacy.  This MOU, since it came into the public domain has caused furore.  On one side you have the Christian leaders criticizing the document on the other you have a Muslim community supporting it.  In the middle is a confused electorate trying to make sense of the cacophony.

The release of the actual document after weeks of denial of its existence, with a purported version of it doing rounds on the internet has only heightened the tension.  That the two documents are in fact dissimilar only jumbles the situation more.

It is in this backdrop that we view the position of the Muslim community in Kenya’s current political arena.  Previous elections have been met with snubs by the Muslim community who have always cast their lot with the popular party of the day.  Politicians have previously treated them with disdain and ignored them.  Right now we have two major candidates, the aforementioned, Raila and Mwai Kibaki, the incumbent, wasting no efforts to woo them.  During the celebrations to mark the end of Ramadhan both were clad in a kanzu and fez as they persuaded this constituency.  A rare sight in Kenyan politics.

The Muslim community has thus emerged as an important group whose support might influence the outcome of the elections.

They are currently basking in the limelight and making demands which they know will be fulfilled however outrageous.  This is understandable as they have suffered under successive regimes.  The hassles that a Muslim youth undergoes so as to get a National Identity Card and Passport are traumatising. They are treated like second class citizens, more-so those of Arab origin.

That said it is the general feeling here that Raila should not have signed the MOU and this is being used against him as his opponents appeal for the Christian vote.  But the fact remains that Muslims are an aggrieved lot and steps should be taken to right these wrongs.  What is in question is how to do this.

Kibaki in as much as he is trying to convince the community to support him has the fact that he allowed Kenyan Muslims to be taken to Guantanamo Bay by the US government working against him. 

One thing emerges from this entire goings on; the Muslim community is enjoying the attention they are getting from the presidential candidates.  Who they will support in the end remains to be seen.

01:24 pm - Technology + Politics = ?

As you have probably noticed my last post was miles away from what I usually blog on.  Technology and politics seem very diverse subjects.  The main reason for this is that I am majorly into technology, software, hardware and all that.  And if there comes a chance to amalgamate these two subjects I would be in bliss.

Henre says that politicians seem averse to technology.  That is they are afraid to attract and convince voters using the web.  The main thrust of his post is that, if we look at businesses and corporations, they are getting onto the web to reach out to potential customers.  BMW created a page and group on facebook which now has a lot of fans and members.  The corporations are hoping that the fans will turn into customers at one point, and they are.  This is something which is increasingly being done by many other brands.

Looking at party websites, one thing comes out, lack of information.  It kind of feels like the parties are performing perfunctory acts, so as to be seen as being with the times.  I am looking for a situation where I encounter a site which grabs me with its aesthetics and content, a situation where the publishers of these sites really put in some effort to entice me.

As times evolve, businesses are realising that the web is the new catching ground for customers and one wonders why parties and politicians are being left behind.  Lack of know-how in this field should be a bog-down as there are enough techies to advise on, and manage this endeavours.

Try it out it won't hurt

05:04 pm - Africa 2 (point) 0

There is a post by Hash titled Africa 2.0 that got me pondering about IT, start-ups and all that jazz.  IT in Africa has grown in leaps and bounds, every day young and not so young chaps are starting businesses on the net and are proving worthy competitors of start-up in the west.

Hash gives a list, a collage really, of various start-ups in the continent.  As soon as I got that email I start following the links to the various sites and it was mind blowing.

 
Then the word broadband came into my mind, to get the most out of IT, it is a prerequisite that access be available and at pocket-friendly prices.  So it was disheartening to when the Kenyan government pulled out of EASSy, a regional project to connect the continent to the Middle East, to launch their own christened TEAMs, ignoring the funny sounding names, we can find no reason as to why the government pulled out other, [1. show some kind of supremacy to South Africa which was involved in the project] and [2. some people in the gov’t saw a chance to pocket big kick-backs]

Sokari also has something to say about this.

Away from the bureaucratic squabbles, it is notable that most of these start-ups have not asked for funding from governments but rather individuals who are willing to slog it out to get to the top.  From the guys Peupe, a blogging platform from Kenya, to the chaps at RSSza, a South African feed reader, few of them if any got support from governments when starting.  It is encouraging that a generation of Africans has decided to take matters in their own hands and forge ahead.

Also on matters to do with ICT, I have been trying to master this programming language Python and though I learning bit by bit, it can be frustrating sometimes.  If any of you know a book which helps a bit tell me!

10:15 am - MUGABE: ENTRY DENIED!!!

I have written a lot about comrade BOB, this not because I like him but because I think what he is doing in Zimbabwe is wrong.  I would not like to rehash the facts about how life in Zimbabwe is, because they are available in many blog, newspaper and other media.  The long and short of it is that it is not pretty there.

The reason for me revisiting the man Ian Smith called a communist and thief, [though I do not think that is an apt description of the man] is the Afro-European Summit which will be held in Portugal in some weeks time.

Various countries are distressed at him being in Portugal for the meet.  Gordon Brown in particular promises to give the summit a wide berth if Mugabe is let past the immigration desk at the airport.  Others diplomatically ‘question his human rights record’ the likes of the Scandinavian bloc.  Reuters report that Portugal the hosts would prefer Mugabe not come for the summit. 

African countries on the other hand, in a show of sovereignty, insist on his presence there, the usual suspects behind this being the SADC bloc with Levi Mwanawasa saying that if he is not there none of them will be there.

To me this are all side shows, it is unfortunate that we have not seen the summit for what it really is, a talk shop.  The summit will not go any further to promote good governance in the continent nor will it more importantly level the skewed playing field that is Afro-Euro trade.  This is due to the fact that all the summits which have been held all over the world have not brought any tangible benefits.  The G8 summit in Gleneagles being one of them and the CHOGM meets and WTO conferences this is because it not in the interest of the EU to trade fairly with Africa.  That is a fact and I would welcome any positions to the latter.

Robert Mugabe presence there or in other summit will have not effect on Africa present condition other than give the world a chance to scold him at close proximity, which to me is a good thing.

PS

From my previous post I wondered if the CHOGM meet would do anything to Musharraf, it seems that the have suspended Pakistan from the Commonwealth.  I wonder what that will achieve as it did not get them any further in Zimbabwe's situation.

11:34 am - CHOGM

CHOGM or the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting has come to Uganda.  It being the country that it is nothing was left to chance to make the heads of state as comfortable as possible.

Much is being made of the Queen foray into Uganda but I fail to see how this will benefit Uganda or the region as a whole.  This is not to say that no one will benefit, already there are technocrats in Uganda reaping from the conference but in rather crafty ways.  Looking at the CHOGM budget there is an allocation for 200,000 dollars for BlackBerry phones for the officials running the conference, there is also some odd 17,000 dollars for umbrellas.

Away from that, the commonwealth body has in the past failed repeatedly to live up to its role as some sort of conscience of the formerly British colonised countries and has performed dismally in promoting good governance in the bloc.

Take the case of Zimbabwe for instance, while bowing the omnipresence of Britain, the commonwealth secretariat together with its membership allowed the situation to deteriorate culminating in Zimbabwe’s pullout.

As a bloc mainly focused on good governance, (though it occasionally attempts to enter the realm of world economics, mostly without much success) it is disappointing to see individuals committing travesties to their country’s constitutions while a blind eye is the only response from CHOGM.  There has been a failure to uphold the values the commonwealth stands for rather the bloc has been engaging in perfunctory talk so as to be seen as working while in fact it is not.

Very few people in this world are not aware of President Museveni’s dictatorial tendencies but none in the commonwealth has questioned this.  I study in Uganda and daily I witness his actions against the judiciary, media and opposition, in spite of this he still remains one of CHOGM’s blue eyed boys, and as the façade that is now Kampala is shown to the guest he will be congratulated from a job well done.

It is fact that the only instance that you will receive a tongue lashing from the commonwealth bloc is if you are a small country with or few influential friends.  Other than that if you are like Musharraf, do not worry, just a slap on the wrist will be coming your way.  Just enjoy the warmth of Uganda and have a taste of their fried pig while you are at it.

11:27 am - Kenya Elections 2007

I have deliberately ignored the elections which are currently taking place in Kenya.  It being an election year, it is almost impossible to escape the noise levels.

Last Friday the parties held their parliamentary nominations and to say the least they were irregular.  The Standard newspaper called it ‘Rungu Democracy’ literally translating ‘Club’ democracy, the weapon that is.  The exercise not democratic at all this was a complete turnaround from the promises of the various party bigwigs.

And that is the main reason of my disinterest in the current political happenings.  There is no major difference between what all these parties are offering in terms of new ideas and policy reforms.  ODM has tried to do so by promising a radical shift of the system of government to a federal republic.  This is commendable but rhetoric rarely turns to actions in politics.

It is pertinent to note that ODM has had policy announcements on various topics altered due to some outcry not by the public but by moneyed in Kenya.  Raila Odinga, ODMs presidential candidate, moved away from his promise of establishing a restitution instrument for plundered wealth after he realised that he was upsetting the status quo, never mind the fact that the ordinary citizen applauded Raila’s statement and was waiting for it implementation.

Mwai Kibaki is a symbol of continuity.  He exhorts the public to re-elect him for a continuation of project which he says can only be completed by him.  But Kibaki reneged on many pacts he made with the public, one being the size of the government, it still being as bloated as it was.  The fact that he has former President Moi as his re-election advisor puts paid to any anti-corruption efforts.

Kalonzo Musyoka’s past record in the government tells it all he is not and never will be the man that Kenya should look up to lead us to a higher level.  He was in Moi’s government for a very long time and there has not been any discernible shift in his political thoughts and ideals.

All the three men are playing to gallery and trying to win through euphoria and emotion rather than by presenting well thought out manifestos.  A look at their various manifestos shows guy promising heaven but not the means to get there, and that, my dear folk is why this election is of little interest to me.

10:29 am - Africom 2

I have been reading more on Africom from the web and I can not find a sinle post from bloggers  which contradicts my earlier comments on Africom.

Over at The Zeleza Post, Wandia Njoya writes focusing not only on Africom but putting it in the context of the view of Africa as a continent in need of saviours.  Though I do not agree with all her sentiment i tend to concur with most of what she has to say.


Africom is something which if not properly put in check,, as i do not think America will stop its activation due to disquiet here, will in the end harm us as a whole.  There is no logic in Africom as most of America's concerns are in Iraq or is it a way of legitimizing their  rendition bases here.
It is not surprising that the country's supproting this venture are America's allies or is it servants.

The unilateral action by America also put suspicion on the whole project.  They would have attempted to give it some legitimacy by consulting on the matter but with the refrain of " You are either with us or against us"  wating for such a move would be foolish.

Be afraid of AFRICOM, be very afraid !!!!

 

03:11 pm - AFRICOM

The establishment of the Africa Military Command of the USA is sometimes logical and at times suspect.  It can be seen as a logical step by the USA to establish a coordinating centre for Africa, separate from the three Command Centres that used to handle African affairs.  Seemingly Africa has become of strategic importance to the USA as the global terrorism war rages on.  Conversely you can argue that the Command was set up to get a foothold on Africa’s resources albeit using the backdoor.

It is interesting to note that the Command will not be assigned control over large military units, as other commands are.  It is this fact that the Pentagon is using to try and allay fears that they are going to use the command as a way of militarizing the continent.

Daniel Volman thinks in his pambazuka magazine article that USA intentions are two-fold: to check on China growing influence and to assist or source for compliant regimes to aid their war on terror and increased militarization of the continent.

I tend to agree with him.  My reason for this is that American policies towards Africa have been ad hoc at most.  There has not been any defined policy that spells out what intentions USA has for the continent.  Consequently to it would be justified to view this as another attempt to extend military interventionism.

If we can ask ourselves is Africom going to help Africa in any way. Will the presence of Africa contribute to greater stability in Africa?  I think not! The Mail and Guardian online reports that ECOWAS military chiefs are against the idea of Africom calling for more discussions on the matter at the highest levels as this is something which was done unilaterally.

According to The Mail & Guardian, South Africa, Libya and Nigeria have questioned the whole deal.  Seen in this context, we should be wary of America’s plans for Africom.  Country’s that have supported the idea are incidentally America’s hosts on other ventures e.g. Djibouti.  Kenya, Egypt and Algeria among other have not indicated any willingness to play host to Africom.

The question that looms over this whole situation is what does the US stand to gain from this venture?  I say a lot and in the end Africa will be poorer for it.

08:25 am - South Sudan: Together or Apart?

Clever people sometimes do stupid things and when they do that it is the most and utter of stupidities.  The British in their wisdom during the beginning of the end of the British Empire sought to lump North Sudan and South Sudan into one republic. Conveniently forgetting that the north was mainly muslim and arabic while the south had embraced Christianity and anglophilisim.

The short interlude of peace that prevailed after independence was rudely interrupted by a realisation by the compatriots that they were water and oil.

Ever since then the prospect of peace and cohesion of and in Sudan has been but a mirage.  What with a continuous secession struggle waged by the south.  A struggle supported by a myriad of backers for various reasons, the christian west to halt a perceived muslim theocracy, Ethiopia to check on Sudan invasionist tendencies if any, and the Chinese backing the ruling regime for economic reasons.

Things looked up for a while after a peace deal brokered in Nairobi was signed. Where, Garang the SPLM leader was to become the vice president of Sudan and president of the south, a large and vast region.  Nuances of sharing oil revenue, which had funded the war in the first place, were agreed upon, to a point and all things were kosher.

The death of Garang, mysteriously, in part has brought about the situation facing South Sudan currently.  This is the man who took over from him, Salva Kiir, favours secession and he has good reasons for doing so.  South Sudan is where a large portion of Sudan’s oil is mined from.

Omar El Bashir, the president, on the other hand does not want to lose oil revenue but also he does not want to lose face by acceding to every demand of the south, after all he is the president.  The small matter of his signature on a peace accord document does not bother him at all

Right now at least sixty percent of the agreement has not been implemented.  The cash that was supposed to be flowing to South Sudan is not.  The growth of Juba is a case of early bird investors hoping to strike it rich before things become prim and proper.

As they continue to exchange niceties while together, Kiir and El Bashir will not hesitate to bad talk when the other is away.

One thing is for sure that when South Sudan will vote for or against a separate sovereign region, in the next few years, most of them will vote for the split, but not if China has anything to do with it.

05:49 pm - A Bunch of Allegations!!!!!!!

Nairobi, these days has echoes of the eighties when State agents would whisk you away in not so nondescript station wagon cars from a cup of tea with the powers that be at Nyayo House only these days it is for a tete a tete at the Ngong Forest. 

I say this because it has emerged that between June and October this year according the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, (KNCHR) about 500 have been killed by the police extra-judicially.  To back up their position they have released a tape showing the Kenya’s foreign minister, Raphael Tuju, admitting that 400 hundred so-called Mungiki suspects have been killed.

Mungiki is a movement, if I may call it that, which grew out of former President Moi’s excesses.  The founders say that they land clashes in 1992 which uprooted them from their homes was the starting point for their organisation. It became very popular in the rural areas mainly in Central Kenya and Nairobi’s slums.  It is said to be kikuyu but almost all the major tribes are represented in Mungiki.  Mungiki advocates for the return to pre-christian worship and way of living.  One of their trademarks is praying while facing Mt. Kenya and advocating for female genital mutilation.

Mungiki, a hitherto popular group, went against the public grain by going on a killing spree where they macheted about 23 people in Nakuru in Kenya with that its proscription was sealed.  Since then the government has been looking finding it harder to eliminate the group which has since gone underground.

But today’s post is not about Mungiki, I will go into that in my next post, it is about the disappearance of individual. That is not the correct word the kidnapping, torture and murder of citizens by the Kenya Police in the name of hunting for Mungiki adherents.

I am not a Mungiki apologist neither do I hold brief for them but it is outrageous that us as citizenry allow thee Police such carte blanch in their operations.  The blame lies squarely on society, after the outrage that followed the killings in 2003 by Mungiki adherents, society found it acceptable to look the other side as the police gunned down these individuals.  An eye for an eye seemed the thinking the.  The fact that this was clearly illegal was ignored.

The forests of Ngong became and still are police torture and killing grounds.  Human Right organisations have continued to unearth damning evidence to prove this fact.

It is now when the average middle class family loses their son, a college going youth, not your archetypal dreadlocked, snuff-sniffing Mungiki youth that they realise the police are in the wrong.

The country’s newspapers have been awash with stories of families’ lives being disrupted after the disappearance of their sons, after being last seen with the police.

09:03 am - Zoe's Ark

It is said that great men/women accept when they are wrong.  And today I will attempt to be great.  My previous post in part suggested that the French NGO, ‘Zoë’s Ark’ behind the Chad debacle was not at fault, that theirs was an act of omission rather than commission.  Evidence coming to light suggests otherwise, that indeed these individuals sought to fly these children to France under false pretences.

In a Reuters report, Marc Gramirian, one of the French reporters arrested in Chad, said that the children were bandages so as to make them appear seriously ill.  An act it seems was intended to endear their actions to the French and international communities and give some legitimacy to their actions.

CAPA’s, the French News Agency, footage clearly shows this and Eric Breteau’s, the head of the NGO, words are damning to say the least.

Here we have someone who sees himself as the children’s saviour but going about it the wrong way.  He engages in illegalities to accomplish his mission.  One hopes that his comeuppance in swift in coming.

I still hold the view that we, as the African people need to discuss this matter further.  Putting stringent rules to govern this process will eliminate the Breteau’s of this world and will ensure that any child adopted will be assured of a better tomorrow.

French president, Sarkozy’s interventionist overtures towards Chad should be limited to getting to the bottom of the matter and ensuring that justice prevails.  The law should take its course.

The alleged fanaticism of Breteau and Emilie Lelouch though saddening is no defence and a learning of African sensibilities for is in order.

I ask for the full measure of the law for the culprits.

11:43 am - The Chad Affair

Adoption is a subject I would not want to comment on lightly.  This is because it is a subject which is dominated by emotion and caused by the inability to conceive.  Barrenness is a crude word and I hesitate to use it and no one can fully understand how a woman who is unable to get children feels.  To try and do that is contemptuous and a disrespect to the woman who you attempt to make your subject.

The Chadian affair, if I may call it that, is a pointer to the need for having clear laid down procedures to govern the act of adoption.  If as people say that Africa is now a haven for adopters, why is this so?

It is a fact that in the EU and the USA adoption is act that you do not go into haphazardly.  Governments in these countries have tightened rules so as to protect the children against abuse due to acts paedophilia.  One wonders if it is due to this that citizens of these countries are flocking to Africa because here adoptions are largely a grey area.  In most Africa countries there are little or no rules and procedures to be followed when you want to adopt.  This is alarming because most of these countries have in fact signed treaties affirming protection of children’s rights.

The individuals running the French NGO have brought this matter to the fore but to focus solely on this incident would be doing injustice to the many children adopted by well meaning parent’s who offer them better chances at survival albeit in western countries.

Where the NGO blundered is not following procedure and they should be punished for these.  I sincerely hope that theirs was not a mission to make a quick buck out the children’s misery.  Furore was raised when Madonna, the musician adopted the Malawian kid, David Banda.  The good thing is that as the matter was unfolding the attendant press coverage made sure that no corners were cut to hasten the process.

In as much as we may profess our love for the continent we must look at the child’s welfare first.  Looking at the situation through rose-tinted glasses will not help at all.  If the child has abetter chance at life with the adopted family, I am of the opinion that the adoption should go ahead.  There is no value in vetoing the matter only for the child to fall into squalor.  Africa is growing and developing but we still have our problems.

Opportunities of growth are realised every day but we are not at the stage where every child ca access basic nutrition, health and educational needs.  If an opportunity arises to better a child’s access to this I say we go for it.

I welcome any ideas to the contrary.

11:56 am - Battle for the Voter's soul

This post is written for the politician who is facing the polls.  After studying Electorate habits for three elections and counting, I will give a few pointer which I can assure you that if followed will surely point you (pun intended) to a seat in the next parliament or a tenancy in State House:

1. Have money.

This is a precondition for vying, if you cannot raise some odd million shillings you are better of staying away and trying to accumulate some before venturing because it involves high capital expenditure.  Banks do not offer loans for this kind of business so the best way of getting these millions is to run a pyramid scheme or some other underhand business.

2. Lie

An elected politician either an MP, Councillor or President is a pathological liar. This is not a bad thing for the kind of business you are in.  Do no be afraid to say untruths because there is always a saviour in the phrase “I was misquoted” if the fails deny.

3. Promise anything and everything.

This is connected to the previous point.  The electorate are desirous of many things and gaining their confidence that you can fulfil their wants will make you go places.  Just let them think and believe that you can.

4. Get a gang/clique

This is very important as it will enable you disrupt your opponent rallies.  This will involve a bit of expenditure in hiring these chaps.  Purchase of some alcohol (changaa or any other cheap liquor) and maybe some illicit drugs will get the gang into the right mood for the job.  With the large number of idlers at village shopping centres you should be spoilt for choice.  Some weapons of choice e.g. clubs, rungus, machetes, stones, slings and pangas will aid their job and so should be purchased in advance.  I know of a site offering rent-a-gang facilities at good prices for more info. Contact this blogger.

This list is by no means definite and I will continue updating it as we near the elections.

I wish you success.

10:37 am - Conversations

Once in a while I converse with chaps I dont like and I'll try to record them for you guys.  This one with Bob Mugabe happened in a Place called Joe's my local, sometimes.  I didn't have my recorder though so this straight from my not so hazy memory.

Yester day I spoke to Mugabe
some inane chitchat
as he ordered for his drink
You see we were at Joe's
that bar at the corner
where they say the sun don't shine
and they serve the stiffest vodkas
Ken, the guy who always lounges at the pool table
told him he didn't like his shit,
economy and all
So Mugabe, after taking a swig 
as chaps waited for his comeback
revelling in the moment
Sed its aiight I dont like you too
I don't even know you
But Bush and Blair
I know them
They want my land  but they aint getting none
coz Ndlami and Joseph are waiting for the next round
of evictions first come first served
they say inflation is high 
why shouldn't it be, n that archibishop who wants 
me dead, I live in his dreams.....

Then he stops for a while
the silence aint that pindrop
coz Joe is toting up some chap

He fishes out some notes
A ROUND ON ME
I printed some money yesterday.

Current Mood: crazy

04:20 pm - Pambazuka

I would like to tell you about a website called Pambazuka which details facts about Africa advocacywise.  I receive a electronic newsletter from these guys every week and I can say it has opened my eyes about advocay in general.  The good thing is that it deals with Africa both here in the homeland and those in the diaspora in detail with massive links on where to gather more info. 

Check it out 
  
I will endeavour to be highlighting various websites that deal with afro issues as i come across them if you know of any let me know.

10:12 am - Rendition

Rendition as an English word has a kind of beautiful meaning. It means to give a performance of something.  It is usually associated with music and concerts.  But in contemporary times it has become ugly and dangerous.  Rendition as pertains to the global war against terror, refers to instances where suspects have been arrested by The United States of America and colluding national governments and spirited away to jails in Ships on international waters or jails in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Guantanamo Bay.  Amnesty International says that this trend is very rampant these days.

The arrest of these suspects in itself is not a bad thing but the torture and incommunicado detention that comes with it is appalling to say the least.

This brings me to the Kenyan situation where, after the fall of Somalia’s Islamic Courts, to Ethiopia and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), fleeing Somalis entered Kenya running away for the war back home.  The Kenyan authorities wanted none of this, never mind that they are the ones who mid-wifed the birth of the TFG in the first place, they rounded up the Somalis and dumped them on the other side of the border.  What is alarming is that they used this pretext, of repatriation, to arrest perceived terror suspects and ship them to Mogadishu for onward transmission by the American Government.

The fact that these individual were and still are Kenyan citizens was ignored completely.  This reality came to haunt the government as the president went to Kenya’s coast, which is highly populated by Muslims, to during the IDD celebrations to mark the end of the holy month of RAMADHAN.  This being an election year in Kenya as he solicited for votes, complaints of this illegal action came to the fore.

Kibaki as usual, feigned ignorance asking for the names of the deported citizens to be forwarded to him.  A thing he knows to well, is nigh impossible because access to State House is for a chosen few.  Not to be left was his challenger, Raila Odinga, who in the newspapers a few days later supplied the names to the president in an open letter.

Now for the facts:

·        It is a fact that these individuals are Kenyan citizens

·        It is a fact that the Kenyan government knew that these individuals were being handed over to the American government.

·        It is a fact that this was done contrary to Kenya

It is saddening that after the Kenyan government made a grandstanding of not being the American government’s ally in trampling over civil liberties it still does the same.  I guess it is a case of purse strings being tightened.

As the Kenyan government pleads not guilty over this matter despite the overwhelming evidence, families await the return of the kin

Current Mood: angry