Category: politics

tumaini?

Look what I’ve found in the basement the other day:
blueprint.jpg
a “blueprint for a new Kenya, Post Election Action Arogramme (PEAP)”

An interesting paper, issued with the help of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation in 1992 in Nairobi, which summarizes some interesting facts and data as of 1992 – and on which the former regional director of FNF Kenya got expelled from the country. Sure, a document that played a role in Kenyas democratisation process at some point – and the initial starting point to this blog entry today…

Now, 14 years later, Kenya has experienced a major shift from something I call “the Kartasi era” to “the simu ya mkononi era”.
We’ve witnessed a lot of change, people advancing in so many ways and especially this breakup spirit right after the last elections in 2002 that made a lot of KTs reconsider their own coming home and thus reducing the brain drain.

There was hope that things might change to the better.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 – a wall that separated two parts of Germany for more than 28 years – the people in Germany soon realized that next to that hope for a much desired change, they needed to learn how to get along after all those years of separation and ideological distance.
Kenya (I think) experiences a similar fate: mixing the difficult past of colonial rule and a single party system with a new challenge of globalization and internal conflicts. Accepting diversity within the country and using this huge potential to sustain stability.
No one ever assumed this would become an easy task. And no one expects drastic change within a few days.

However, there’s this issue of politicians vs. leaders; business(wo)men vs. civil servants that keeps on coming up:

Be it Kenya or Germany – I think what we need are dedicated leaders that restore faith and hope and make us believe in the system again. Because if not, the world(s) will continue breaking up into little pieces and the only bigger social net we’ll have then is the Internet.

Where and who are those leaders of tomorrow?

webbed world

kenyamoto.jpg
The positive side effect to note down after yesterday’s raid on a newspaper and a tv station in Kenya is that all these informal networks like the (kenyan) blogosphere and even multimedia websites like Kenyamoto (as pictured above) kept on supplying the world with the required information the so-called leaders try to hide from the public. And who knows what was shared through short messages (SMS) on mobile phone networks and e-mails…
All these networks can not be switched off by intimidating the media; and it makes me realize that people ARE connected – both at home and abroad. What a great potential!

on sharing colours

flags.jpg
When I came across the shameful news of the raid on The Standard & KTN in Kenya last night (thx 4 sharing, IW), the first thing that came to my mind was 1933 and the infamous Book burning that destroyed a lot of intellectual property.
While some of you might consider this an overreaction to yesterday’s events, to me this just isn’t a government harassing the press and trying to cover up unpleasant stories, but a direct insult of telling people – the people – what to think.

We, the citizens of this world, are still intelligent enough to figure out what’s relevant and what’s not.

On a lighter note: did you know that the Kenyan and German flag share almost the same colours? I think that’s a nice coincidence :-)

K?r?ro k?r? it??ra g?ting?reka m?nd? akome*

Dear President Kibaki,

On March 2, 2006 armed police raided the headquarters and printing plant of the East African Standard Group. In addition to destroying equipment including the printing presses and burning newspapers, they shut down the Kenyan Television Network television station.

This latest attack follows the jailing of three journalists from the East African Standard newspaper, attacks on the Citizen Weekly, and ongoing harassment of journalists by government-sponsored forces.

I urge you to:

  1. wake up!
  2. Condemn these attacks in the strongest terms possible.
  3. Dismiss any member of your government who played a role in the attacks.
  4. Live up to your promise to support freedom of the press.

Please copy and paste a copy of this letter on your blog. You may alter the wording to suit your needs. Campaign started by Keguro.
[via Mentalacrobatics]

*One person weeping prevents all in a village from sleeping.

UPDATE: the story gets BoingBoinged & make sure not to miss Ruud’s video coverage

0,02 shillingis

To me, the recent turmoil in Kenya’s internal politics regarding the (not so new) revelations on the Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing scandals, which comes along with an almost embarassing process where we see politicans blaming each other, clinging onto their reputation and what’s left of their integrity, clearly shows that the Republic of Kenya has in the past been run by people that have no problems with looting public funds for their own needs and using the juridical system to play according to their rules.
The shocking news is that almost every big name in the political scene seems to be involved, hence I wonder where Kenyans will find uninvolved and honest politicians that are willing to stand up for their country and resist any temptations in terms of becoming corrupted or betraying their people in any other way.
How – and this isn’t about Kenya only – are the corruption networks in the civil service supposed to be uncovered if politicians – in their position as role models – themselves behave in such autocratic ways?
In the end, it seems, it’s a matter of trusting elected leaders – and this, for me, is the biggest betrayal – a betrayal of confidence. I don’t know if all the looted money could ever bring back the faith the Kenyan public has put into the Kibaki government after the peaceful and democratic transition from the Moi era. Was it worth it?
Kenyans clearly deserve better than this.

fumbo bumani

Nbi-Parl.jpg

Curiousity had kept me busy, wondering what’s in that Tower at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi, Kenya.

Possible answers to this serious question – which could have been an issue with Hon. Watchman – included "toilets, a secret golf range, city clerks peddaling on a bicycle that generates power for the installed clock, a Star Gate entry where the outside is all narrow but you have a whole real sized city inside" as well as the assumption that it only containes offices stuffed with paper. You know, all those files that had gone missing over at Nyayo House eventually had to be placed somewhere, kwasababu: the Kenyan bureaucrazy might depend on something also known as "Bubudiu", however, nothing is really lost. I am sure they still have those files labeled T.Mboya, J.M.Kariuki, J.Ward, J.Kaiser somewhere deep down in that pile of papers, as well as the names of thousand others that have ….well, bubudiued their way into contemporary Kenyan history.

Ory’s posting on "unveiling the mysteries of the Kenyan Parliament" today pointed me to the (old) website of the Kenyan Parliament – wapi we’ll find an unspectacular answer to the Tower Mystery:

The Tower
The Tower, from which an excellent panoramic view of Nairobi used to be seen, contains offices, archives, water tank and clock. The height of the top of Lantern frame is one hundred and fifty feet from the ground, while the view-point is one hundred and twenty-four feet. (source)

Majumba makubwa husitiri mambo.

AOB:Photographs of East African Cities & Towns :-)

Mbuzitwins

Just as ministers in governments inevitably think of a self-service store once they are in power, the following picture – aptly named "mbuzi twins" – might cause my kenyan readers to think of nyama and nyama mtoto.

mbuzi twins.JPG

…whereas my german readers will think something like: "oh, look, a sheep goat. Huu…oh, is she pregnant or something?"

The conformity between both cultures, and hence the point where the story becomes interesting, is that people are eating meat in both countries and having their share of corrupt politicians while in the end of the day, nothing really changes (1, 2) (to the better).

Angîmîtuîria na ûmîrîte ndangîmîona rikiî.