Feb. 12 | Lands Minister James Orengo this week came out guns blazing when he declared that some 100 title deeds illegal, and used his executive authority to revert private property back to the government.
The minister as he put it “was acting in the interest of Kenyans.”
However the minister’s move raises several serious issues that require careful consideration.
Top on the list is the sanctity of the title deed. Whether we like it or not, most of the affected land owners have proof that they are legal owners of the pieces of land, which they acquired by following existing provisions in the law.
Each holder – it is presumed – was given a title deed after an elaborate legal process by a State organ – Commissioner of Lands – involving demarcation, surveying, beaconing and registration.
If by the stroke...
Feb. 5 | Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commissions, the world over may not necessarily provide justice but they often serve the public interest and as such their credibility is of paramount importance. It is imperative for victims, witnesses and relatives of those who have faced abuses to have the confidence to appear before the commissions and tell their story; for oppressors to own up and seek forgiveness and for the communities in those nations to learn from those wrongs and avoid future atrocities.
Despite the short lifespan and the vast scope of their investigations, it is expected that the Bethuel Kiplagat-led TJRC will reveal the full and complicated truth about the past. It is regarded as one of the tools in the fight against impunity that has scarred this country.
Considering its mandate, its importance cannot be gainsaid. To have...
Jan. 29 | I hail the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitution Review (PSC) for upping Kenyans’ hope of getting a new law despite my earlier reservations about the 26 men and women who were leading the review process in Naivasha.
These MPs have done themselves proud and shown a clear sign that we might finally get the much awaited constitution this year. It is now clear that given an opportunity to prove publicly, permanently and beyond a shadow of doubt that they were honest, courageous and veracious.
Quoting from the 1944 movie Hail The Conquering Hero; “If all good men wore medals it wouldn’t be so hard to tell the good from the bad.” These people have shown that alas they are good among those perceived to be evil, that something good can come out of those we had given up on, and indeed they have made history.
It is...
Jan. 22 | When a nine-man Committee of Experts was appointed to spearhead the constitution review, many Kenyans thought that these honorable fellows would be a non-partisan group who would deliver a landmark Constitution for Kenya.
However, it was a great shock that the people driven mantra expected to be the driving force in the making of this important document was totally ignored and the experts instead maintained most of what their initial harmonised draft contained. These experts have duped Kenyans into believing that their input will be considered and the harmonised draft redone to include the views of Wanjiku.
The Committee of Experts has failed to input their expertise into what the people submitted both to them and the CoE’s predecessor, the now defunct CKRC. The experts have therefore given a deaf ear to all these people and as such...
Oct. 30 | In the past few days, I have been laughing my heart out having been tickled by the bluff set off by Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula that Kenyan can actually reciprocate the United States ban of a top Kenyan official who is accused of derailing Kenya’s reform agenda.
The minister’s reaction is perplexing especially when he said that Kenya also has a weapon against the US government and would use it as if they are equals. I wonder how this can be applied?
For example can Mr Wetangula call an international press conference and announce a ban of a top US official let alone a junior officer? I don’t think so. The reason is clear, were it not for the US, Kenya maybe wouldn’t have been what it is today following the post 2007 election violence. US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger has variously been branded names...
Sep. 11 | The dramatic sacking of Police Commissioner Major General Mohammed Hussein Ali this week has been received with mixed reactions. Many people have seen it as a resounding statement towards police reforms and good things to come for the police force. But this is far from the truth. Removing Hussein Ali from the helm of the police force is not reforming the force.
There was a rush of praises for the good move made by the government. Even foreign envoys who have been known to criticise such a move heaped praise on President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the wise move.
It is plainly clear that the police force has sunk to such new lows in terms of public perceptions and belief that it may be a little too late for such changes to make any difference. It is arguable also to say that the President – whether in consultation with...
Sep. 4 | “What organizations and communities measure often determines what they pay attention to and says much about what they value. We believe that one of the greatest challenges currently faced by the conservation movement – and others seeking to create stronger relationships between healthy people, communities and lands – is the way we define, talk about and measure success. The challenge is that we become what we measure, and conservationists primarily measure dollars, acres, and biological diversity…” Peter Forbes, from the Centre for Whole Communities once voiced as he rallied Americans to conserve their environment.
I heavily borrow from Forbes today in my arguments and would like you to ride the tide with me.
I would like to pose the following questions and want you to answer. Could lions be extinct in Kenya...
Aug. 28 | In July this year, a regional conference on road safety held in Dar es Salaam was informed that Kenya had the highest rate of road accidents in East Africa with over 3,000 deaths compared to Tanzania and Uganda which have roughly 2,500 fatalities each.
In the same conference Kenya’s transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere is reported to have attributed the worrying statistics to illegal drivers and was quoted saying: “Most of the road accidents in Kenya occur because most drivers do not have valid driving licenses.”
Such a statement coming from a man at the helm of the transport in the country was to say the least perplexing.
I would not like to dwell on the inability and glaring lack of interest by Mr Mwakwere since most bloggers on this website have said enough about that office.
It’s clear that the man has...
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