Umoja Pamoja!!

This past Saturday, Kenyans from all walks of life met at the KICC COMESA grounds for an event labelled "Umoja Pamoja". Kenyans were going to hold hands around parliament as a statement that they wanted responsible leaders, good governance, no violence and no divisions on tribal lines. This event was sponsored by URAIA, Coca Cola, Capital FM and Rain maker.

We were supposed to start at 10 am but we started at around 11.30 am. The delay I think, was caused by the process of issuing out t- shirts and wrist bands to the participants, some of whom had been waiting since way before 10.

I was late, I arrived at about 11 am. While walking towards the venue, I met several Kenyans walking away from the venue with T- shirts and bands on. So I thought the event was over, kumbe some raia (citizens) had decided that all they wanted was a free t-shirt!

When time came to hold hands around parliament, we formed a line and walked around parliament until one end met the other. The police were there to help with the traffic and to ensure that there was peace and order. The holding of hands took a little longer than it should have since some guys were actually not there for the event but for the free t- shirts. Also, some Kenyans, in their ingenuity stopped moving and so the organizers had a rough time trying to convince people that they needed to move in order to complete the circle. At last we formed that circle and Eric Wanaina begun a wave that went round the parliament building several times. I loved the experience!!

After holding hands, we went back to the COMESA grounds for the concert. I was so excited!!! Eric Wanaina, Atemi, Nyota Ndogo, Chizi!!!! Neema, Jackie Malley (I think it is spelt that way) and how do I forget the one and only Suzanne Owiyo! I was over my head I tell you. The concert was for free!!!As always Eric blows me away. Nyota Ndogo was a pleasant surprise; the woman has an incredible voice and she can sing live- a great performance from this great artist. Neema did a good job...she has nice music out there but ...let me move on. Jackie Malley, never heard of him, but I recognized his music. It was interesting to see young people singing along to his music word for word. I think Kenyans enjoy reggae more than most people think. I left before other artists performed. I missed Chizi, Suzanne Owiyo and Atemi, but for two of these I can catch them at Club Afrique on Sundays performing along side Eric Wanaina.
Throughout the concert, the message was loud and clear, as Kenyans we want peaceful elections. We do not wish to have leaders who make tribal background a basis for politics. And let them be warned. We will send them home after 5 years if they do not PERFORM. Raia are taking back leadership; we are now owning it!

Pictures are available below on the slide show and on http://picasaweb.google.com/norahwawira/UmojaPamoja

A million shillings by any other name...

So Kibaki was serious about the million shilling a plate luncheon? It was held at the Safari Park hotel right behind school and I hear chakula ilikuwa ile ile: chips, some salad, bananas, assorted fruits in a salad, at least according to KTN. But the papers today say that the food was representative of various Kenyan communities; Indian food was also available.

So when I talked to my lecturer Dr. Gayle, he asked me a question, "Norah, a million bob is like 15,000 US dollars right?" It's called putting things into perspective. So G, think what you would do with Can Dollars 15,384; Roy, can I buy land in Australia with Aussie dollars 17,857?

For a Kenyan, a mill can be gotten "easily" through a Safaricom Kwachua promotion. In fact, in this promotion, we were all hoping not to win the million bob since there was 5 million and 10 million to be won; these were the real winners. Did you hear of the young woman who won a Benz a few years ago? It was valued at I think 5 mill but the poor girl sold it for 3 mill, well, she is broke now, four years down the line. Through this perspective a mill is really not much...

But a borehole costs at least a mill to drill. Ukambani and Nyanza are still in need of many of these. A mill can put windows in several rural school, or buy new desks to furnish at least 5 rural schools, the list is endless. But why am I making loads of noise over a mill? Ati Jimnah Mbaru alone gave 100 mill, a mill for the lunch and the rest to "help" the campaign kitty! One man alone!! They say they collected over 1 Bill!! A billion from a handful of characters in a hotel banquet hall.
Kibaki needs campaign money? For when? His campaign has been going on and he seems to have gone over the country several times. Elections is in 34 days, how does Kibaki's campaign spend 1 billion in 34 days? Maybe I am being simple, I need this explained to me. And even if he could, how does one spend this kind of money in a country such as Kenya with a clean conscious? How does a person living in a country such as this keep 100 mill in the bank? Just a mill can build a school in the rural areas- you know those "structures" that are one block and have no windows or doors?

My next posting, God willing, will be on the arrogance of the elite and why the US and most of Europe eliminated what can be called the "elite ruling class" and replaced it with the bourgeoise.

...Deliver us from evil...

I got a phone call yesterday at 6pm from my brother in Australia. He had seen in the news that some men in Kenya had bought crude weapons- machetes, pangas, bows and arrows, as well as whips. I rushed home to watch the news but I still missed it. So today morning my colleagues broke it down for me as was shown on T.V. last night (God bless the media in Kenya). Apparently, a G.K. vehicle belonging to an Assistant minister, M.P. of Budalangi, Mr. Wanjala, was stopped by policemen in Naivasha due to a tip off. On searching the car, the policemen found the above arsenal. Of course they impounded the vehicle and apprehended the suspects, who are said to be staff from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (this is yet to be confirmed).

I hear KBC, NTV and KTN covered these goings on fully. As the news crew waited outside the police station, they were astonished to see the young men get into the car and speed off. Kumbe, a phone call had come from a High office, how high no one knows; the caller gave express orders for the car to be released and the young men with it. I hear what followed was something akin to the O.J. Simpson chase (for those who watch Cobra squad you can imagine how that would look on the streets of Naivasha town hehehehe) The three young men sped out of the police station hooting to on- coming traffic with the T.V. crews behind them, navigating through the various streets. At some point the news teams lost their quarry. What I found very interesting is that "wananchi" / residents of the area were aware of what was going on, they went to the police station to see how things would end and when they saw the offenders leave, the boda boda people (bicycle taxi) tried to block their path.

I read from the papers today that Wanjala is blaming his political "enemies". (Ok...) But he has been ordered to present himself to the police at the CID headquarters by Monday next week "to assist with investigations".

These are the things I am waiting to see happen in lieu of these events.The Electoral Commission of Kenya should disqualify the implicated Mr. Wanjala from the elections as they had promised Kenyans they would in such instances. Wanjala should be investigated and arrested, preferably charged with intent to commit heinous acts with crude weapons and remanded for the duration of the investiagtion. And if a Kenyan is approached with money and a panga in order to perform injury to his or her fellow human being, then I ask that they run to the cops and of course keep the money. Let these idiots that call themselves leaders learn that we are capable of providing ourselves our own leadership; I make the choices that govern my life and the welfare of my community. I guess that's what they call reponsible citizenship- being our own leaders and only allowing those in civic office to reflect our own values and social objectives.

Spoke too soon!

Mh! It was all over news yesterday. ODM supporters were so upset about the nominations that they stoned their National headquarters. When I say stoned I mean they threw stones in order to break something. And something they broke indeed! The ODM Rainbow house is currently without windows and I don't think officials shall be visiting the place soon and if they do, they will have to do so with high security detail.
Supporters are upset that despite the nominations and clear winners at the polls, majority of the losers have actually been put on a list that is to be handed to the Electoral Commission of Kenya. And this is the problem that I mentioned yesterday. When you work with the masses, the same masses who bear no loyalty to anyone can turn against you. A colleague mentioned that Kibaki will be re- elected, Kalonzo Musyoka will be official leader of opposition and ODM shall have a handfull of sitting MPs at the 10 th Parliament. The guy is ODM damu! At the onset of the French Revolution, Queen Catherine heard that people were dying of hunger as there was no bread. She reportedly retorted that if there was no bread then they should have cake. She didn't live very long after that. My point? You cannot promise the masses (mob) a "better" life, a "better" way of doing things and expect that they will be content with rhetoric.
A few words concerning the masses. Firstly, they are mainly composed of what Karl Marx and his students call peasants. The bourgeois do not throw stones, they could be throwing it at their own investment or a major partner's investment. The elite group made up of the academic and the anciently rich have no idea what a stone looks like...Peasants however, will throw stones; one therefore does not want to have a following of this specimen.
Secondly, peasants have no qualms throwing stones since they are a very frustrated lot. They hardly have enough to eat and they work harder than everyone else. However, they have much less than everyone else. Life to them is a bitch and they need to re- direct their anger and frustration to something visible, a figure deserving...those who have more than enough or fair share. There is great resentment between the classes; on one hand the elite figures that the poor really don't work hard enough or are not smart enough since hard work and brains get you to the top. They therefore deserve to be where they are. At the bottom.
The middle class wakes up every morning thanking God that they are not too poor; life is hard but they strive every day to ensure that they don't sink to the bottom. In Kenya, this is the group that for the longest time tried not to rock the boat. They were not socially or politically active since they could not "afford" the risk. The elite on the other hand, well...the elite enjoy the good things of life. Their fathers enjoyed these things, their fathers' fathers, and their fathers' fathers'... you get my point. They are not sure what the fuss is all about, I mean, let those capable of leading lead and the rest should appreciate that these leaders can spare time to lead them.
Thirdly, the masses cannot be trusted. It has been said so many times, over and over again- the masses cannot be trusted. They have no loyalties. Karl Marx, John Staurt Mill, DeTouqueville among others talked about the tyranny of the masses. This group is not rational; they are led by euphoria to do or not to do; they get angry very quickly (rememeber all that anger and frustration?); they cannot be controlled; and one should be very afraid if majority of their following is made up of this group. Demagogues have tried and failed.
DeTouqueville suggested that effort should be made to increase the number of the bourgeois population, decrease both the elite and the proletariat. Remember the bourgeois never throw stones, will finance your elections, will develop infrastructure for you and employ many on your behalf. This group is not frustrated and is driven by ideas. Ideas never run out, when one fails another one is adopted to make profit. And such is life...
Kenya will be alright but we need to change the way we do politics. I am excited about the possibilities. If there is an African country that can develop both its urban and rural areas at the same pace to the point that say Japan has, then this is the nation. God Bless Kenya!!! (Tears in my eyes...)

A weekend of great political intrigue

Ha! That's what I want to say to our politicians, but after a weekend of disppointments for most of them (hehehehe) I can only hope that most will survive the next five years. All the same, HA!! Wasn't a memo sent to these fools after 2002 that we the electorate are no longer "simple peasants" that can be manipulated for their own enrichment? They- experts and most politicians- blame the outcome of the last General elections on euphoria; what they didn't know was that the "euphoira" disguised a very aware critical mass of the population. Their eyes have been open for the last 5 years; their ears listening to every word, even that spoken in jest; but their mouths silent, waiting to speak with a clear voice when the time is due... For those who were able to catch local news, did you see the grassroots men and women who at the primaries? These guys had pen and paper! I was sooo amused; what were they going to do with pen and paper? In the dark? (hehehehe) These guys were soo vigilante, they didn't want jokes. In most places, voters stayed overnight either to vote or to monitor the counting of the votes. And the results across the board were accepted as the voice of the people, well...except for the downed politicians...
let me explain for those who are not aware of what is going on. Party nominations were carried out throughout the country by political parties in preparation for the General elections slated for December 27, 2007. These is where different candidates are elected by party members to vie for a seat against other party opponnents. In some constituencies, candidates seeking nomination from one party for one seat numbered upto 8!
Back to my story: there were very many upset, major upsets!! So tell me, what do we say about voters who nominate a man in remand awaiting mention of his case in court? The man is in jail for allegedly fuelling conflict in the Mt. Elgon area. As for Mwenje, Embakasi's immediate former MP, (and every time I think of his loss, I burst into laughter- how the mighty have fallen) , as for him, how is life for him going to be? The man is a career political thug and only God knows the sorrow he has caused his consitutents. I guess the shock of losing the nominatioons is similar to that of the countless able bodied men and women who were retrenched without warning in the past couple of years in Kenya. I am glad he is out as are countless other Kenyans in his area.
Others who lost and elicit no remorse or sympathy from us include Chris Murungaru (Kieni), G.G. Kariuki ( Laikipia West), Morris Dzoro (Kaloleni), William Kabogo (Juja), Joseph Kamotho (Mathioya), Paddy Ahenda (the fool that said a woman's no acutally means yes when Parliament was discussing Njoki Ndung'u's Sexual Offences Bill), among many others.
I am very excited about this. On one hand, we are slowly making our self appointed leaders (tsk!) understand that we are the boss and they are the employees. Their long standing arrogance and lack of involvment in local development will quickly fade away. I foresee a day when the leaders will at least build a classroom in their area in order to show that they are working for the good of the electorate. I was frustrated for a long time that the Kenyan voter did not dare hold the politician accountable because:
a) this people had more money that they did, and in poor communities, one with economic power holds the same status with a smaller god...
b) most politicians had access to higher education and even if they did not, they could speak the queen's language which, in essence gave them status such as that the queen held
c) these smaller gods walked with, dined with, spoke with the a little bigger gods, and that made them invincible- remember Angaine and Mulu Mutisya?
But now things have changed. They reached a critical point in the year 2002 with the NARC- Rainbow coalition movement. And had been changing since 1997...But there is one thing that still disturbs me and perhaps I can develop this thought more on another posting. One of my professors calls it "Tyrany of the masses". Democracy run mad. I remember that even I was shocked and terrified that voters in Palestine democratically elected a "terrorist" group into power. It is expected that the electorate will know what is right and wrong and that they will make the "right" decision, but we know that this is not always true. For example, the young man who got nominated for the parliamentary seat in the Mt. Elgon area, what if he really is involved in the violence? What if representing his people means a perpetutation of the violence but against those perceived as the enemy?
I will follow up this thought in another posting, for now let us celebrate the fall of the wicked!!! Ha!

"When the wicked perish, the city rejoices, when the righteous prosper there are shout of joy!" The Psalms, the Bible

Lwanda: A Ghetto story musical

Eric Wanaina was on campus yesterday presenting his musical Lwanda. As always, an excellent production by this amazing young man. The music was delivered perfectly by the band and the singers were unbelievable. A friend wondered that there are such great voices in Kenya (tsk!!!) Of course there are.
Let me tell you about the cast. Lwanda...handsome, short, light fella with a voice that made all the women in the audience swoon. He enjoyed himself on stage and it was catching. He engaged the audience without any overt actions outside his regime. He also captured the true character of a ghetto hero: chilled out, smooth with the women, charismatic...I am very curious about his background...
There was the woman politician- Halimau I think her name was- beautiful voice, great vocal control, appropriate body language, and she possessed the stage. Mind that she is pregnant but she had enough energy to overshadow her fellow performers. She was my favourite character.
There was the village oboho, who had a friend called Karis- there's one of those in evey mtaa, i.e. a Karis. He was natural, he was funny, he was energetic; he is an actor and a great singer- he did the "He!he!he!hehehe!" song very well, and almost out did Steve from Sterling Quality's concert, "Sterling at 10"...
The last time this concert was shown was at the Godown Art centre and it cost some amount to watch it. It was therefore a pleasure to have students view this show live, for free. There were free t- hsirts as well and bands courtesy of the Uraia progrmamme,that promote participation in the coming General elections.
The performance was sooooo timely, I wish it could be made into a film, a musical film. It would work great as a civic education piece and it can be shown all over the country over and over again without the constraints of expense, travel and time.
Eric, you are doing a great job, I love your music, and I pray that you do more than you already have. Blessings to you and your family!!! Tuonane Club Afrique!!