Reject KKK vs Raila duel at Referendum

Jan. 4 | With the New Year kicking off and the referendum just months away, you can expect our politicians to go into full electioneering mode. If events of the past year are anything to go by, then you can expect the upcoming Constitution referendum to be turned into a political duel between the touted Kikuyu-Kamba-Kalenjin alliance and the Prime Minister Raila Odinga. But that is something you and I must resist at all costs, if we are to take charge of our destiny. Kenyans are known to make decisions then complain later that our politicians misled us.  The time to give our politicians a reality check will be at the referendum.  Let us make choices based on the provisions contained in the draft Constitution (which is due to be handed over to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitution Review this Friday). I know the PSC comprises...

Read the draft Constitution

Nov. 16 | The harmonised draft Constitution is expected to be made public at 10am (Kenyan time) by the Committee of Experts (CoE), setting off a series of events that will see Kenya get a new set of laws. As the document is released, we need a tempered approach from politicians and not the hawkish stands we see them take at weekend ethnic political rallies.  This Constitution is NOT about you. I share concerns about the ability of the CoE to disseminate the draft to ALL Kenyans in time for them to scrutinise it and suggest amendments within 30 days, and fail to understand why amendments to the law were not made to extend this period to at least three months. In efforts to reach a wider population, I hope the Committee of Experts will go beyond making the draft available in newspapers (whose circulation is steadily dwindling) and make use of the...

It is time for an honourable act, Mr Wako

Nov. 2 | The United States government has finally told us that Attorney General Amos Wako (EGH, EBS, SC, MP) is the public official who has been banned from setting foot on American soil over his supposed role in frustrating reforms in Kenya. I am aware that the government’s principal legal advisor does not perform his duties from Los Angeles or Atlanta, but the action by the United States, in my view,  justifies what the AG has all along been asked to do – charmingly vacate office. Mr Wako, 64, has been in office for close to two decades (he was appointed on May 13, 1991).  During that period, serious doubts have been raised about the manner in which he has prosecuted – or even terminated – cases before the courts. Those in power have never known Mr Wako to unsettle their comfort.  They have always felt protected...

My sexual orientation is none of your business

Oct. 26 | This is one of those blogs that I know will provoke derision but I will throw prudence out of the window and write it nonetheless. I’ve quietly been following debate on the gay partnership between two consenting Kenyan adults in the UK over the past few days and feel compelled to say the following; The Kenyan media has unfairly demonised occupants of a homestead in Murang’a over the sexual orientation of one of their own who has chosen a particular (or is it odd?) lifestyle. What moral authority does the media hold to dictate what is correct or incorrect in society?  Haven’t they told us that one man’s meat may be another man’s poison? For a start, the civil union was conducted in the UK where the act is legal.As such, the couple has not committed any crime.  They did not cement the union here in Kenya...

Kenya and the US off mark on travel ban

Sep. 28 | When I heard that the US had fired off letters to 15 high-flying Kenyans warning them that they faced possible travel restrictions to America I was outraged.  A mere warning? I had expected to hear that the individuals and their families had in fact been BANNED from travelling anywhere in the world, let alone the United States. But I was equally livid when President Kibaki broke his studious silence to tell Barack Obama that he was unhappy with the threat issued by the US. Both Kenya and the US appear to have missed the point. If the Americans deem it very necessary to bar those perceived to be anti-reform from their soil, I have some advice for them.  Those so-called prominent Kenyans have most likely enrolled their children in your good schools and universities.  If you want to teach them any lesson, their families should...

Why are Kibera residents not moving?

Sep. 22 | I may be missing out on something here but is there a level-headed reason why anyone would oppose the relocation of Kibera residents to more decent housing than they currently inhabit? I can make a few suppositions.  1. The residents are too afraid of change, that they are willing to continue living in squalor (flying toilets and all). 2. There are a few selfish individuals who would want to continue benefiting from their status quo. 3. The project has been poorly planned. I am privy to the fact that currently, Kibera residents pay between Sh500 and Sh1,000 for the begrimed shacks they inhabit.  The new units contain three-roomed apartments with each room going for Sh500 each.  This means that residents may be forced to share bathrooms and toilets. But isn’t this what majority of the residents currently do? Apart from...

What ails our healthcare system?

Sep. 14 | I choose to remain optimistic when it comes to the progress made in healthcare provision in this country since 2003. I have a colleague whose rural home is in Marsabit.  He tells me there have been at least three health centres that have been constructed within the vicinity of this home in the past few years.  And it’s not just empty buildings; there are nurses and medicines to complement it all. Let us roll back to the 2009 budget speech…. Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta told us that the government took cognisance of the fact that building a better Kenya required a healthy population. He further told us that the government planned to provide an efficient health infrastructure covering all parts of our country, and raise the quality of health care for its citizens.  “In this regard, we are initiating a comprehensive...

Away with boreholes, we want water in taps!

Aug. 31 | If you spend a better part of your day in Nairobi’s Central Business District you must have noticed water dry up in the taps over the past few weeks at an alarming rate. Those concerned tell us that it is not rationing but point out that “the CBD goes without water for four hours every night to ensure stable water levels at the Gigiri water plant.” The Oxford dictionary says a ration is a fixed official allowance of food clothing (water) etc, in a time of shortage.  I and those at KPLC fully understand this meaning. What I fail to understand is why there is an upsurge in the number of water bowsers in the city.  What I also fail to understand is why the government is passionate about supplying water from boreholes as opposed to taps in the year 2009. Day in day out I hear government officials telling us they are...