Wake Up Government

It’s a new day and week in shamba ya mawe and the great country known as Kenya. The day is Monday 17^th September 2012 and Kenyans have woken up to another week of more strikes, high fuel prices and cost of living. We are leaning towards a failed state at this rate. Kenya has become a country of overpriced basic food commodities. These days if you can have bread and milk tea for breakfast you’re a sonko. If you can afford meat, chicken or fish you are living the kings’ dream. Fuel is still high and after 2 months of price reduction, the price of fuel was added again. No wonder we have littering of Vits and Proboxes on the roads. The difference of this addition was that within minutes the fuel stations were charging the new rates despite the fact that when the price is reduced they create an artificial shortage and start charging the new price two days later.

We are a striking nation and should include that as part of our marketing Kenya campaign. Teachers are on strike, doctors are on strike, policemen are on go slow, lecturers are on strike and the government is stuck sucking its thumb.  The government’s reaction is to threaten the striking workers with firing if they don’t report to work this morning. In my opinion, this is the stuff trade and labor unions live and thrive on. The stalemate will continue as long as the government behaves like a bully. We cannot be adding salaries of Ps’s and expecting those more deserving to swallow humble pie and continue living on peanuts. The teachers are tasked with molding the minds of our children who are the youth and leaders of tomorrow. The police are tasked to maintain law and order and yet we expect them to work for core shells, take a bullet for us and keep the bad elements out of our houses as we sleep. Otto Van Bismarck once said “we sleep because there is a rough hooligan ready to do battle on our behalf as we slumber”. That said let us pay them their dues and what  they deserve if not for that reason then because the mere thought of underpaying an individual we have entrusted with a gun should scare us into doing the right thing. As Ruto is fond of stating, this is the maisha of hustlers and suffers

3 weeks ago the country was up in arms and everybody was holding their tongue to see what the governments reaction would be in regards to  the fracas and riots that erupted after the killing of Muslim cleric Rogo. The reaction of the Muslim youths thereafter and burning of churches has seriously left a sour taste in the mouth of majority of Christians. All it served to do was to support the notion and further the idea that the Muslim religion is intolerant. My question to these youths is very simple, since when did the government become church and what justification do you have to act in that manner no matter the grievance? The response to these atrocities was very telling and showed the lack of cohesion and decisiveness from our commander in chief. No sooner have we settled that situation and then the Tana clashes began to the point even police were being attacked and killed. The police commissioner, internal security minister, government and commander in chief yet again did not think it prudent to nip it in the bud and yet again were playing catch up. For how long will Kenyans suffer insecurity issues and delayed responses to services we are paying for in our taxes. Destroying the fabric of society and leaving a mess for the next government does not make you cool, it only shows the callous disregard you have for yourself, those around you and the people of Kenya. Act now or be judged harshly later by those you have mistreated.

We are approaching another election in a few months and it is very telling in the way we handle or rather stumble from one crisis to another. Mr. President Wake up and galvanize the troops to order. You speak of a legacy you want to leave for the people of Kenya but in the last 4 weeks, certain actions or rather lack of action have been exemplified by your indecisiveness in the way you and your government have dealt with them. Remember this as you build your legacy in your last months in office, a man is only remembered for his deeds and actions. This is your call to action, do not let down the people of Kenya.

Migunas mouth is to blame

I have been reading social media pages and on-line media and, have come to the view that the general theme is one and the same, Raila is to blame for Migunas woes. This is far from the case and is just like what happens every time Gor Mahia has a tiff or goes on a rampage to express it's displeasure over something or the other. The claim is always these Luos are uncouth, ill tempered and intolerant of others. Our narrow minded views and perceptions are what cause tension and tribal rift in this country. We take our queues from our misguided and self serving leaders and run with them like the gospel truth. When will we learn to look at the facts and make informed decisions by ourselves instead of waiting for what has been regurgitated by our so called politicians and cascaded to us like a five star course meal.

I cordon violence as a means to solve a problem but, Migunas own mouth is his worst enemy. I'm gravely concerned with the comments I read from people saying that since Miguna is being roughed up everywhere he goes, then one can only imagine Raila Odinga's government. All i see is the intolerance, prejudice, tribalism and irrational fear towards one individual being disguised as criticism. Miguna’s utterances lend credence to the view that he is driven by a vendetta. In his tour to market the book, he has done nothing but direct vitriol at Odinga. It is therefore not surprising the kind of reception he has been receiving in Nakuru, Kisumu and Mombasa. Residents have given him a hostile reception due to his tone and mouth and nothing else. Even to a neutral observer, the political undertones in Miguna’s statements cannot go unnoticed. No public office in Kenya is devoid of the vices he claims were rampant at the PM’s office. A whistleblower must remain objective, neutral and factual. Each claim made must be backed by hard facts just like Githongo’s audio records that exposed the Anglo leasing scam. To quote a friend of mine "there is NO correlation between the beating Miguna receives & how RAO would run a country, are you saying that Miguna didn't insult a whole lot of other people? Should RAO send a postcard to every citizen in Kisumu, Nakuru & Mombasa telling them to leave Miguna alone? Are we saying that it's RAO's sole responsibility?" 

Each time we turn on the TV, Miguna is insulting someone other than Raila, perpetuating to have monopoly over intelligence and everybody in Kenya and, we should listen to him and his words like those of the Mesiah. Sadly, Miguna’s mission is unclear, Whether it is desire for publicity, good governance, cash or vengeance, Miguna is going about it in a manner that is unwise. He is clearly a man imprisoned by an inflated ego, a loose canon feared by even the most ardent haters of Raila Odinga.

KWAHERI 2011

2011 was a year of highs and lows. It was a year of joy, disappointment, reflection, judgment and understanding on my part. We all believe we are bullet proof in life and all circumstances other than death but when the time to be counted in any circumstance is upon us, that is when we realize our true mantle or as the British are keen to say our grit. Grit is what true pioneers, entrepreneurs, explorers and inventors posses’ abundance of that enables them to be a success or conceptualize ideas before their time even in the face of adversity.

Some of the lows include becoming a crime statistic in Kenya. As the year was coming to a close I had an encounter with some of my not so pleasant “in- laws” out for a pound of flesh which in this case was my blackberry phone (but do I say) and the money on my person courtesy of a carjacking incident one cold November night. The key to survival in such cases is complying with the gangsters and giving them what they want no matter how ridiculous and angry you may be. As was the case, the famous “mboys’ in blue were nowhere to been seen or reached when required or when we attempted to summon them. There is nothing as sobering and nerve raking as hearing the click of an ak47 on your temple. Nothing a good laugh and copious amounts of my favorite tipple Mr. Johnny Walker could not fix later and get me back to my usual self.

This is also the year I contemplated closing my business which is instrumental to my dream. My business is my vehicle to self actualization unlike our politicians but in a moment of clarity I decided to reinvent myself and give it another try. Most Kenyans believed the economic crunch was something invented by the west and stayed in the west. Unfortunately it took a KQ plane to Kenya and East Africa and manifested itself into never ending inflation on foodstuff, fuel, unemployment and general fear by organizations to invest in advancing their key resource which was human capital. For a small business in Kenya it was out of control overheads and costs, the never ending lack of constant clients or payments that are never made on time by businesses. In business school they don’t really drum into you the importance of perseverance in such situations. It gave me an idea to write a survival guide to small businesses in Kenya and the art of avoiding the 2 year downfall of a business. I say good riddance to 2011.

This was also the year that Kenyans discovered a new word by the name ICC and that we can truly stand up and force our politicians to be accountable for their actions. We now await the next course of action in the saga that has been nick named the Ocampo 6 and the next episode will just be as riveting, spell binding and intriguing as the last season.

Another word that became famous is Sonko. The little multicolored dressed leprechaun made a name for himself by standing up for issues that he should have been sitting on the fence. His antics greatly embarrassed many people and the common masses though they flock around him when in public, I suspect are always on the lookout for the next dose of comedy and shenanigans that he will unleash on the public in the name of helping them with Haki Yao. Sonko has reinforced the notion in the wazees that truly the youth of Kenya are not ready to be leaders of this fine country of ours and for that he gets the Jinga of all time awards.

This is also the year that saw the death of Amy Winehouse a talented but very disturbed musician, the death of Steve Jobs the founder of Apple, will it ever be the same, the Japanese tsunami and earthquake that not only destroyed property but caused the death of thousands, the Arab uprising that started in Tunisia and spread to Egypt and Libya leading to the ousting of dictators such as Mubarak and Gadhafi, the famine in Northern Kenya that the government swore was a figment of the media and the peoples imagination and, many more tragic events around the world.

2011 will always be compared to being the gazelle walking the savanna as it is stalked by the lions. To this, I raise a toast to the old and past and salute an even bigger toast to 2012 and what it may hold. I believe the best is yet to come. Stay tuned to Attitude Kenyan, an all Kenyan blog, all the time.