Finding the meaning of home in Africa

By Brooke Baldwin, CNN

Updated 1506 GMT (2206 HKT) July 30, 2015

Visiting the Masai Mara National Reserve 04:12

Story highlights

• CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin traveled to Africa twice this year
• She found a deeper understanding of the vast continent and broadened her idea of 'home'

(CNN)"Welcome home."

That's how you're greeted at Sanctuary Olonana in the Masai Mara, a remote 583-square-mile national reserve in southeastern Kenya where wildlife and Maasai villagers coexist.

"Welcome home." Thing is, I'd never visited Kenya before this trip (the Nairobi airport doesn't count). In fact, until just a few months ago, Africa was a distant destination, a dream destination, for sure, but a place that existed for me largely in my mind.

Africa had never been home, but my understanding of this continent changed dramatically this year with not just one but two very distinct "pinch me" experiences.

The first involved summiting Africa's highest peak, a bucket list trip that altered me in ways I wasn't expecting. The second involved a different kind of peak -- a career highlight for sure -- and certainly solidified my feelings toward this once-faraway place.

I first set foot on African soil just four months ago, when I traveled to Tanzania. I was 35 years old, had just moved to New York and decided it was time to stop talking about Africa and finally go.

But I needed to go in a big way -- and to me, that meant attempting to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, all 19,345 feet of it.

By the time I reached the summit, I was changed, physically and emotionally. From the moment I started back down the mountain, the little voice in my head wondered: When would I return to Africa?

Little did I know that answer would be just four months later.

In late spring, the White House announced that President Barack Obama would be traveling to Kenya in July for his Entrepreneurship Summit.

Last summer, he invited all the African leaders to Washington, and he has created a number of U.S.-based African initiatives.

But this trip would be special, because it would be the first time as sitting president that Obama would return to Kenya and revisit his roots.

It was a story I wanted to tell. With hard work and some good help, I eventually landed an exclusive interview with Auma Obama, President Obama's half-sister.

My producer and I would travel to the Obama family's ancestral village in western Kenya, visit Sauti Kuu (Swahili for "powerful voices"), Auma's foundation empowering children and families in that community, and see how these Kenyans -- half a world away -- feel about Obama's return "home."

Through our days on the ground, I discovered that our opportunity with Auma would also provide a rare window into the Obama family. She is easily the closest sibling to the President (and as a result, she is fiercely private and protective of her family).

She shared stories with me about what it feels like when she returns to her ancestral home of Nyang'oma Kogelo, where, seven years after her brother arrived in the White House, many little boys are now named "Barack Obama."

Obama: 'I'm the first Kenyan-American to be president'

Auma took us to her family homestead and introduced me to "Mama Sarah," the 93-year-old grandmother to Auma and Barack. Auma even walked me to her father's grave, where she shared with me in almost a whisper what she believes her father -- if he were still alive -- would say to his son, the President of the United States.

CNN Exclusive: Meet Obama's Kenyan family 09:04

I left West Kenya pensive, the theme of "home" starting to tug at me. What does "home" really mean? Is it merely geography, where you were born? Could it include straddling two continents and cultures? Or perhaps it's a place with a spiritual magnetism -- a feeling toward a culture or people -- that's tough to put into words?

And that feeling brings me to the final leg of my Kenyan journey: the Masai Mara (or the "Mara," as the locals call it), a vast national reserve in southwestern Kenya.

If you time your visit just right, you get to witness the Great Migration, the crossing of hundreds of thousands of gazelles, wildebeests, zebras and impala from Tanzania's Serengeti into Kenya's Mara, seeking fresh grass, food and water. Animals seeking a new home ...

Our guide, Joseph Koyie, took us immediately on our first game drive. Not two minutes into our adventure, his well-attuned eye spotted a lioness in the distance.

Only, it was slinking our way. As in, at one point, this beautiful creature (with mighty large teeth) was crouched 2 feet from our vehicle. I froze.

Joseph whispered, "Don't move. Shhhhhh."

I couldn't help it; my hand went for my friend's arm, and I SQUEEZED. Hard. "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ... it's. Right. There!" For the next 30 minutes, we sat absolutely transfixed.

We watched the lioness creep up on a warthog, which Joseph explained she had been eyeing from afar for lunch (lions are known for their keen eye sight and patience).

But the nearby impalas were on lookout and perhaps sent a signal to this little warthog, and the next thing we knew, the lioness was left alone and still hungry.

Over the course of the next two days, I saw elephants, entire families of them. I also saw many giraffes -- my other favorite animal on safari -- cutting such a stunning silhouette in the distance. Their long, regal necks and those eyelashes!

I watched lions sleeping in trees. I listened to the calls between wildebeests. At dusk on our drive back in, I even caught a glimpse of the rarest of all: a black rhino. Here I was, in their home.

And the Maasai people? They're known for their beadwork, their colorful dress (red is their signature color), the men's bent-leg stance, their strength, endurance and nomadic lifestyle. You never ask a Maasai warrior how many cattle he has; it's like asking someone how much money they've got in their bank account.

But it was the Maasai singing in their own tribal language -- welcome songs, songs for children, warrior songs -- that I marveled at, as this tradition has managed to survive centuries, despite the modernization of Africa even in remote parts like the Mara.

To hear and see them, and in particular the men, chant and jump was mesmerizing. But what I really came to appreciate: the modern Maasai who prioritize education.

They leave their villages for 21st-century jobs, but they almost always return home. Just like Joseph, our safari guide, they continue to give back, never forgetting their roots, their home.

The Masai Mara may not be my physical home. Nyang'oma Kogelo may not be my home. Kilimanjaro may not be my home. But home, for me, is not just a place but a feeling.

The warmth of Mama Sarah's house, the traditional villages of the Maasai, the unequaled view from Uhuru Peak: I have discovered, in opening my eyes and heart to these new experiences, I am always welcomed home.

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Thursday, July 30, 2015 Jacob Kaimenyi bans mocks to arrest student strike wave

By OUMA WANZALA
More by this Author

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi. He on July 30, 2015 banned mock exams across the country. PHOTO | NJUGI NGUGI |  NATION MEDIA GROUP.

In Summary

• Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi on Thursday said schools would only be allowed to set and administer internal tests
• He directed county directors of education to reject mock examinations initiated by governors across the country.
• He also directed school boards of management to collaborate in enforcement of discipline.

The government has banned mock exams in schools in a bid to contain rising cases of student unrest.

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi on Thursday said schools would only be allowed to set and administer internal tests, saying mocks were exerting unnecessary pressure on learners.

“We have to do away with the many mock examinations in schools, from sub-county to county mock examinations,” he said.

He made the remarks at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in Nairobi during a stakeholders’ forum on school unrest.

STRIKE WAVE

Student strikes have rocked Embu, Nakuru, Taita-Taveta, Kilifi, Kiambu, Nyeri, Machakos , Kericho, Busia, Bomet and Migori counties.

Prof Kaimenyi directed county directors of education to reject mock examinations initiated by governors across the country.

He also directed school boards of management to collaborate in enforcement of discipline.

“All county education boards must be firm but fair in ensuring the safety of learners and school properties, including taking legal action where found necessary and appropriate,” he said.

STUDENT UNREST

During the forum, it emerged that most schools were attributing student unrest to electrical faults without carrying out any investigations.

A report by the ministry also revealed that a majority of cases of violence were linked to mocks while others were blamed on lack of avenues for students to express their concerns.

The report by Director of Secondary and Tertiary Education Robert Masese further states that retaining weak performers in school for remedial lessons and poor handling of disciplinary cases by teachers were fuelling strikes.

KIOSKS TO GO

Prof Kaimenyi also announced that the government would implement two past reports on school unrest as he cautioned against holiday tuition.

They are the Task Force on Student Discipline and Unrest in Secondary Schools, dated September 2001, by Naomy Wangai, and the Parliamentary Departmental Committee on the Inquiry into Student Unrest and Strikes in Secondary Schools, dated July 2008.

Their recommendations include involving students in governance, banning district and county mocks, training school administrators, counselling, removing kiosks put up next to schools and banning cell phones in schools, among others.

Ben Carson signs The United States Term Limit Pledge

We need people running for elected office for the right reasons, not career politicians. This is why I signed the U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge this morning outside the Capitol Building.

RAILA ON 1982 COUP ATTEMPT

Raila Odinga Supporters Group

RAILA ON 1982 COUP ATTEMPT: “I was not involved in trying to overthrow President Moi’s government”
ROSG: You are the longest political detainee in independent Kenya. You spent eight-and-half-years in prison because you led an unsuccessful coup in 1982 against the government of Daniel arap Moi and you only owned up to staging the coup after Moi left office. What made you to want to overthrow President Moi?

RAILA: Did you see it as a kind of contradiction that a civilian would be accused of staging a military coup? It sounds ridiculous. That is how ridiculous African politics can be. The military don't take commands from civilians, but in Africa the impossible is possible. I was charged with treason, but they were not able to get evidence because there was none. And after six months of trying to cook up some evidence they failed. At first, they wanted to do some kangaroo trial, but when my friends in the UK collected money and hired a QC (Queen's Counsel) to come and take up my defense, all that so-called evidence they had gathered just melted into the thin air. And they had no other option than to enter a nolle prosequi.
ROSG: So you did not try to overthrow President Moi?
RAILA: I was not involved in trying to overthrow him.
(Admin note: "nolle prosequi" is legal term of art and a Latin legal phrase meaning "be unwilling to pursue", a phrase amounting to "do not prosecute". It is a phrase used in many common law criminal prosecution contexts to describe a prosecutor's decision to voluntarily discontinue criminal charges either before trial or before a verdict is rendered)

Contracts and Laws in Germany

A word or a handshake is enough to seal a deal from buying a car, a lease or employment. These agreements don’t have to be in writing and they can be legally binding. Thus the belief that since one hasn’t yet put their signature on a paper is false and in the worst case a person is liable to pay up in case of an oral agreement contract e.g. buying a car. The following myths relating to different contracts are dispelled here. 
Myth1: A contract must always be written. False.
People must always be aware that they can also verbally seal a contract with a few exceptions in the law. And legally these oral agreements make no difference whether you are buying a loaf of bread or a car.
If a buyer makes a verbal acceptance that he has agreed to purchase a car and then later withdraws his consent, he may still be liable in a court of law to buy the car. This purchase agreement is valid even in the absence of a signed contract. However, the car dealer is liable to produce evidence of this verbal agreement in case of a dispute in a court of law. The situation is different for real estate and purchase of property where contracts must be in writing and sealed by a notary.
Myth 2: I can return goods that I have purchased from a store and get a refund. False.
This common belief is not true. This is because shopkeepers usually take back faulty goods as a sign of goodwill. It is not mandatory for them to take back the goods after a sale transaction has been concluded. Also the law does not provide any statutory exchange privilege for buyers.
Case: A customer purchased a carpet for his home at 4000€. However when he laid it down in his home it did not fit and he decided to take it back to the furniture shop where he had bought it. The store refused to take it back. It was ruled that the store was right. It was not obliged to take back goods once sold. It was the customer’s duty to have clarified before the purchase if he could return the carpet in case it didn’t fit his home.
However, when stores has it printed on its receipts that it takes back goods after purchase has been completed, then they are obliged to take them back. Unlike other businesses, online purchases made usually have a 14 -day return policy. Customers of online retail store can return the goods without stating any specific reason.
In both cases customers who buy goods online or offline should clarify with the stores when shopping for textiles or electrical appliances if the can return these goods and on what terms the goods will be accepted. Also one must clarify whether they will get a cash refund or a voucher. 
Myth 3: Children can’t be bound by any contracts they make. False. 
Legally a person is considered a child until the age of 18. Criminal law however says that a child is responsible for their wrongdoing from age 14 and they can therefore be prosecuted. The law also says that a child’s legal capacity begins at age 7, where they have limited legal capacity and can therefore be bound by sale contracts they enter. 
A child’s parents are its “legal representatives” and if they send a child to a bakery to buy bread for example and this child bought other things like cakes and biscuits parents cannot return those products to the bakery. This contract of sale is legally binding. In addition “pocket money clause “, which can be found in Section 110 in the Civil Code (BGB) states that: “If a minor enters into a contract of sale and the goods are paid for with a sum of his money provided by his parents for hisleisure then the contract is effective and legally binding from the very beginning. And the parent’s consent is no longer necessary. It is important that the sale contract should be payable at once in a lumpsum because a minor cannot enter a contract for instalment payments with their pocket money.
Myth 4: If an employment contract is not in writing it does not exist. False.
A handshake and the words “You’re hired” makes this contract legally binding. It means someone can be employed without having a written contract. This is not rare as it happens in the Cottage industry, where employees have already been working for years or even decades without a written contract. This can be problematic when you are suddenly sacked and there is a dispute over contractual terms. The German Trade Union (DGB) recommends workers who don’t have a written contract to ask their employers to give them a written one since employees have a right to know terms of their employment contract.
Myth 5: My employer cannot sack me when I am ill or on vacation. False.
This is a common myth, which is not true. An employment contract can be terminated even if the employee is sick. An exception to a termination would be for example if an employee is in a coma then their employment contract cannot be terminated.
Even during a prolonged vacation employees are not safe from dismissal. Employees should therefore ensure that in their absence someone always checks their mailbox at home. This is because a dismissal letter sent by post renders the termination to be legally binding, which is not the case with termination via email.
If one does not contest this dismissal letter before a labour court within three weeks after receiving it, this dismissal becomes final and is legally binding. If someone gets to know about being dismissed when they are on a trip which is far away from home, they can contest this letter in a labour court via fax or can issue a written power of attorney to a person whom they trust to file this suit on their behalf.
Myth 6: A verbal notice of termination is valid. False. 
A termination notice must be in writing as stated in Section 623 of the Civil Code (BGB). Employees should however respond quickly in the event of a verbal notice.  They should bring complaint before the Labour Court, seeking a declaratory judgment action with an aim of getting a ruling that the employment contract still exists. However if a written termination follows the employee can make an unfair dismissal claim because generally if an employee doesn’t contest dismissal, it is deemed to be final even though it cannot be substantially justified.
Myth 7: In case of termination, workers are entitled to compensation. False.
We usually hear in the news of top managers and executives, who upon being dismissed are paid benefits/compensation. What about normal workers? Are they entitled to get benefits/ compensation upon being sacked? No, Unfortunately German law does not have provisions for compensating workers who have been dismissed.
Exceptions are found in the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz). If a company is in distress and a larger number of staff is faced with termination, there is a Works Council (Betriebsrat), which negotiates a social plan. Employers can also offer to compensate their employees out of their free will.
The Employment Protection Act says in Chapter 1a, that the employee will be entitled to compensation/ benefits if the employer has already stated this in the letter of termination. The means that an employee will therefore not contest an unfair dismissal claim in a court of law. This is why companies opt to pay off executives and top mangers to avoid court cases.
Myth 8: What is stated in a rent lease applies. False. 
Apart from the specifics that have been personally negotiated between the parties in lease arrangements, clauses in the so-called “general business regulations” are legally binding. According to the law (BGB § 305ff) they become invalid insofar as they are ambiguous or pose an unreasonable disadvantage to the tenant.
Example 1: The owner limits his duty to provide warmth in the building (Heizpflicht) only to “areas mainly used by the tenant.”
Example 2: The landlord tries to restrict rent reduction rights for the tenant on the defects found at the property.
These are invalid clauses in a contract and make a whole contract ineffective. In place of these ineffective clauses, the statutory clauses regulations will be in place. These statutory regulations that will be adapted will not be the ones that will favour the landlord.
Myth 9: A tenant will be released from their current lease if he identifies three prospective tenants, who may replace him. False.
A tenant with a normal, open- ended lease may at any time without notice for any reason with a three -month notice terminated his lease. Unless the tenant wants to be realised from his lease sooner the he and the landlord can come to an agreement with a lease release (Mietaufhebungsvertrag).
This release makes it clear that the parties are in agreement to end a contract without regarding forms and deadlines. The landlord can participate decide to go along with it but he is not obliged to accept this arrangement. The landlord may make his consent subject to conditions for instance the tenant should look for a prospective tenant.
Only if both have come to an agreement is the case (Mietaufhebungsvertrag) which also includes the prospective tenant clause; then a landlord must accept a prospective tenant and release the current tenant from this lease.
Myth 10: If rental property is being sold current tenants always have a right of first being asked whether they are interested in buying. False. 
The property owner is not obliged to first make an offer to his current tenants before he can look for other buyers. Nevertheless out of goodwill many landlords who want to sell their property first offer their current tenants a chance to buy this property.
If the current landlord sells and signs a purchase agreement with a third party the current tenant has the right for two months to continue their lease with the same conditions (i.e. same price) for 2 months before the new owner takes over the property.
If the tenant decides to stay, he cannot renegotiate price and conditions of his lease with his new landlord. He is bound to accept the new terms that are set by his new landlord.
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Splitting Safaricom is wrong, we are competing globally: Collymore

By LILIAN OCHIENG
More by this Author

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU   NATION MEDIA GROUP

Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore has told the Senate that breaking up Safaricom is not right, saying that the firm is competing globally and is just worth a paltry Sh700 billion

Mr Collymore was responding to Senator Mutahi Kagwe’s plea to have him separate money-transfer service M-Pesa from Safaricom before the government legislation on dominance takes over the process.

Mr Collymore told the committee in the Thursday mid-morning meeting that “Americans will come here, offer you voice through WhatsApp and as a country you will not make money from it.”

The controversial dominance rule that Airtel has been pushing for has gained traction after the Communications Authority of Kenya took the dominance Bill to Parliament.

Safaricom is East Africa’s most profitable company, but is very small by global standards, a fact that makes Mr Collymore say he is competing with global players.

Thursday, July 30, 2015 Attractive laws and high returns draw foreigners into Kenya’s property sector

By ELIZABETH MERAB
More by this Author

Luxury homes in Runda in Nairobi on February 8, 2012. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NATION MEDIA GROUP  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• “If you put up, say, 1,000 residential units, the cost of construction is significantly reduced compared to ten units. The cost per square metre is simply incomparable,” he says.
• “While critical factors like recent international interest in the energy, petroleum and infrastructure sectors have acted as key drivers for the real estate industry, investments in institutions has also created demand for housing units for students,” he adds.

Kenya’s property boom continues unabated, pushed into an “up-up-up” trajectory by a growing middle class and the injection of expatriate capital into the sector.

As a result, not a single year, since 2003, has seen a slowdown in the growth of the sector, and the rebasing of the country’s economy this year revealed that the contribution of the property industry to Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product had been massively undervalued for years.

Of keen interest to industry observers is the contribution of foreign direct investment to the sector, especially over the last five years. One explanation has been that the rate of returns on investment has been one of the best in the country, meaning expatriates could reap hundreds of millions of shillings in returns from a relatively small investment.

FIRST-CLASS ACCOMMODATION

The other has been that, as the country grows, so is the sophistication of the housing needs of its citizens. This, coupled with a growing foreigner population, especially in the country’s major towns, has resulted in developments that capture Kenya’s economic diversity, particularly among the rich and super-rich.

“The number of expatriates in this country has significantly grown over the years because of the major organisations that have set up regional offices here,” explains Mwangi Karume, a property lawyer. “These employees need places to stay, and they want first-class accommodation.”

That accommodation does not come cheap, and developers know it. Because there is a ready market, builders have tried to outdo each other, both in architectural designs and on-site amenities. This, expectedly, has boosted the average quality of new accommodation in, especially, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, and that quality has also boosted the average going price for housing units.

Data from HassConsult, a real estate consultancy firm, shows that, between 2000 and 2014, property values in Kenya rose by a stunning 357 per cent. The appreciation-in-value graph is even steeper in areas where Mr Karume describes as “green and blue zones”, which mark the traditionally preferred areas for expats.

“Westlands, Rosslyn, Nyari, Kitisuru, Loresho and Eden Ville, among other high-end estates, are regarded as being relatively secure by expatriates working for such organisations as the United Nations,” say Mr Karume. Such preferences mean property rates will be higher in these zones than other areas offering almost similar housing propositions.

Mr Ibrahim Mwathane, a surveying and land information consultant, says the renewed interest in Kenya’s property scene by foreign investors “is a great boon for the country”.

“While critical factors like recent international interest in the energy, petroleum and infrastructure sectors have acted as key drivers for the real estate industry, investments in institutions has also created demand for housing units for students,” he adds.

The boom trend in the real estate market, others say, could be tied to Kenya’s new Constitution. Before, the bulk of the country’s real estate projects was government-owned, they point out.

The argument is that a relatively investor-friendly law that allowed foreigners to own land and guaranteed them of government support and protection ended up attracting people who would otherwise not have sunk their money into the sector. As the market was opened up to the private sector, it attracted investors from far and wide. The diaspora was also looped in.

But that came at a price: property prices hit the roof. Plush villas, residential homes, commercial properties and apartment units in prime areas of the city are being snatched off the market faster than they are being built.

“Foreign investment came much later when investors realised that there were better returns in the industry. Imagine having a 20 per cent profit margin from an investment. Who wouldn’t pick that up?” asks Mr Karume.

Kenya also became an attractive real estate investment location for foreigners as many have easy access to cheap credit back home, and therefore are able to swiftly invest in large developments.

Local investors, meanwhile, do not have that advantage and are forced to deal with high interest rates from financial institutions, which affects their competitive advantage at the marketplace.

Mr Karume also points out that economies of scale and the good old “game of numbers” have played a key role in how foreigners invest in the local property industry.

GOOD TRACK RECORDS

“If you put up, say, 1,000 residential units, the cost of construction is significantly reduced compared to ten units. The cost per square metre is simply incomparable,” he says.

“Foreign developers, particularly from the developed nations, have good track records and experience in mega property investments, and also have the comparative advantage of access to ready capital. They are therefore able to mobilise much faster in our property industry,” Mr Mwathane points out.

While the industry has a myriad prospects, the land factor often leaves many tongues wagging. Five years ago, land became one of the major topics of discussion among land owners, especially foreign ones. According to a global property website, Lamudi, foreigners in Tanzania can only occupy land when it is intended as an investment, which is done by obtaining a right of occupancy through the Tanzania Investment Centre.

Back home, however, foreign ownership is often restricted to a leasehold basis, where international buyers can acquire property only on a 99-year lease. However, on expiry of the leasehold term, the Constitution states, a renewal of the lease may be sought.

Article 65 further provides that any document which purports to confer on a foreign investor an interest in land with a lease of more than 99 years is deemed as conferring on that foreigner a 99-year lease and no more.

The clause, however, has resulted to the swindling of many foreign investors, who are often duped into entering into dubious arrangements with locals.
“This is usually based on the alleged ‘prohibition’ that a foreigner cannot own land in their own name,” explains lawyer Mwangi Karume.

Mr Karume says that, while the Constitution (2010), the Lands Act (6/2012) and the Land Registration Act (3/2012) grant the right to each person, either individually or in association with others, to acquire and own land in Kenya, many foreign investors “have been duped into entering into agreements with locals with a view to the locals purchasing properties on their behalf”.

“Such unnecessary partnerships often turn sour and should be avoided,” he says.

He also insists that international investors can own property in the country in their name, contrary to what many of them are told.

Mr Mwathane says that County governments should “cease making alarming statements regarding renewal of land leases for local and foreign investors.”

“Let land leases which have been used for the purposes for which the land was initially intended be renewed without prejudice and bias. This will create confidence in continued investments in property in Kenya,” says Mwathane.

Body of Kenyan student who drowned in a lake in Germany flown to Kenya

 

Joshua K’Oduka was currently attending language courses Photo:MkenyaUjerumani 

 By Cyrus Ombati Updated Wednesday, July 29th 2015 at 09:07 GMT +3 0 .

The body of a Kenyan student who drowned while swimming in a lake in Germany has been flown to Kenya. Joshua K’Oduka, who moved to Germany a month ago and was currently attending language courses at the Uni Leipzig is said to have drowned at a lake in the Eastern German city Leipzig. His mother Benta K’Oduka said it was Joshua’s second trip to Germany having been here in 2013 for an internship at the University of Heidelberg. “It is summer there and they had gone for swimming sessions when he drowned. I am very hurt. Very hurt but we will soldier on,” she said on the phone. Ms K’Oduka said the body was flown to Kenya ahead of Friday’s planned burial event in Homabay. A Maseno University graduate, Joshua was a well-known researcher in the field of medical entomology and parasitology focusing on Malaria, having even worked at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in the same field. He leaves behind his wife, Debbie K’Oduka, a 3 year old daughter, Miky and a brother, Kevin K’Oduka inShare Next Story » #MCM: Kevin Onimba aka Rabbit- How Kaka Sungura's tales built a musical empire Read More... Comment Policy Place your ad here Loading...
Read more at: http://www.sde.co.ke/article/2000170808/body-of-kenyan-student-who-drowned-in-a-lake-in-germany-flown-to-kenya%EF%BB%BF

Summer of Sun

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Monday, July 27, 2015 Lawyers collect signatures to kick out Willy Mutunga, JSC

By PHILIP MUYANGA
More by this Author

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga at a past event. Lawyers in Mombasa on July 27, 2015 launched a bid to kick him out over alleged skewed posting of judges and magistrates. FILE PHOTO |  NATION MEDIA GROUP.

In Summary

• The lawyers want Dr Mutunga out for alleged marginalisation of the Mombasa station in posting judges and magistrates.
• Mr Nyongesa said they intended to collect at least 1,000 signatures from lawyers, wananchi and litigants.
• The petition to be presented to the Parliamentary Committee on the Administration of Justice shall also seek the dissolution of the Judicial Service Commission.

Lawyers in Mombasa on Monday began collecting signatures in support of a petition seeking to remove Chief Justice Willy Mutunga from office.

They want Dr Mutunga out for alleged marginalisation of the Mombasa station in the posting of judges and magistrates.

Led by the Law Society of Kenya Mombasa branch chairman Eric Nyongesa, the 'learned friends' began collecting the signatures shortly before 9am.

Wearing green ribbons as a sign of peace, the group converged on Mombasa law courts compound where they have set up a desk.

JSC IN THE PLAN

Mr Nyongesa said they intended to collect at least 1,000 signatures from lawyers, wananchi and litigants.

The will set up desks in other parts of Mombasa and the exercise will last for a week, he told Nation.co.ke.

According to the lawyers, the petition to be presented to the Parliamentary Committee on the Administration of Justice shall also seek the dissolution of the Judicial Service Commission.

Should Parliament fail to address their issues adequately, Mr Nyongesa said, they would file a constitutional petition at the High Court seeking the ouster of Dr Mutunga.

DEMOS THREAT

He added that should all their options fail, they would hire buses and lead demos to the Supreme Court, where they will stage a sit-in until their concerns are addressed.

The lawyers also took issue with transfer of “experienced” judges to set up High Court stations in areas they feel do not have a big workload.

Mr Nyongesa argued that they are not against the devolution of the judiciary services but there is need to empower existing courts before looking at the new stations.

He said Mombasa has seven judges, including those handling Environment and Land Court and Employment and Labour Relations cases, compared to Nairobi and its environs, which has 62.

JUNE ULTIMATUM

“You do not open marginalised areas in a haphazard manner, what the CJ is doing is engaging in populist action,” said Mr Nyongesa.

The chairman also took issue with lack of an admiralty court (dealing with ships and maritime issues), saying all Kenyan cases are currently being filed in South Africa.

“There is no admiralty judge in Mombasa,” said Mr Nyongesa who noted the growth of the port of Mombasa.

In June, the lawyers issued a 14-day ultimatum to the CJ to post additional judges and magistrates to the Mombasa station.

AMADI DEFENCE

Last week, Chief Registrar of Judiciary Anne Amadi said the deployment of judicial and non-judicial staff is based on skills, seniority, competence, integrity and gender balance.

“The policy is cognizant of case data and the need to reduce physical distances litigants have to cover to access court services,” said Ms Amadi in a statement to newsrooms.

Ms Amadi said the transfer of judicial officers in Mombasa is not abrupt since they (judges) have until September to move to their new stations.

“Importantly, with new High Court stations in Voi and Tana River, the Coast region will have a total of 11 judges,” said Ms Amadi.

Star performers in KCSE miss top university courses

A majority of candidates who scored grade ‘A’ in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in 2014 failed to get their first course choices following admission to public universities.

Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), the body charged with admitting students to public universities, says it increased entry points for popular courses like medicine, architecture, engineering, computer science, and actuarial science.

The rise came after candidates scored high grades in the national exams given the total number of those who scored A and A– was 14,841, compared to 12,481 the previous year.

Some 3,073 candidates scored straight As in the exam, up from 2,722 in 2013. But the popular courses including medical, architecture, engineering, computer science, and actuarial science admitted 2, 970 students.

“We offered the chances on merit. Top performers definitely were given priority for the courses they had chosen,” KUCCPS chief executive officer John Muraguri said while revealing that about a third or 20, 000 candidates failed to get their first course choices.

For example, only 28 students have been selected to purse dental surgery, medicine (320), pharmacy (131), architecture (143) and 606 will take computer science.

This is a drop in the ocean, considering the high number of students seeking these in-demand courses on the hope of landing a job in the saturated job market.

Liberal Arts and Environmental courses were least preferred because candidates felt they offered fewer openings in the job market.

Bachelor of Arts courses proved to be the most unpopular and had more than 3,000 unfilled capacities.

READ: 20000 miss out on preferred varsity courses

Statistics from KUCCPS indicate that 67, 790 students will join public universities from September compared to 57,250 last year.

Last year, 149,717 students attained the minimum university entry mark of C+ or better, a 27.5 per cent increase from 123,365 in 2013.

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology had the highest number of unfilled capacities at 1,644 followed by Moi University (1,447) and University of Nairobi with 1,154.

The number of students enrolled in public universities grew 25.4 per cent last year to 363, 334, buoyed by the approval of new degree courses and the setting up of new universities.

Varsity students stood at 38, 733 in 2000, nearly a ten-fold growth over the past 15 years, in what is putting pressure on the government to create jobs for the graduates.

The high enrolment is also putting pressure on university facilities at a time the institutions are struggling to raise cash for upgrade.This came as a huge number snubbed diploma courses in state owned institutions.
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Tuesday, July 28, 2015 President Barack Obama's family to join him in next visit

By JEREMIAH KIPLANG'AT
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President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia and Sasha pose for a family portrait. Mr Obama said the family will join him in the next visit to Kenya.

In Summary

• Some Kenyans had expressed disappointment on learning that the American leader was travelling alone in spite of earlier reports that his family would accompany him.
• The US First Lady has gained popularity through health programmes that have touched women across the world.
• The last time Mrs Obama and her daughters were in Kenya was in 2005.

US President Barack Obama will be accompanied by his wife and two daughters in his next visit to Kenya.

During his speech at State House on Saturday, Mr Obama said his family was keen to visit the country.

Some Kenyans had expressed disappointment on learning that the American leader was travelling alone in spite of earlier reports that his family would accompany him.

Alluding to what he would do after leaving office, Mr Obama said he would return to Kenya alongside his wife and daughters.

“You can expect me not only being back, but probably more important for everybody, Michelle, Malia and Sasha will also be coming back because they have a great love for this country and its people.

"I am not going to stop being interested in the people of Kenya and Africa,” said President Obama.

The US First Lady has gained popularity through health programmes that have touched women across the world.

The last time Mrs Obama and her daughters were in Kenya was in 2005.

Mr Obama, then Illinois senator, had come along with them on vacation. They also met their Kenyan relatives.

Mr Obama apologised for not visiting Kenya soon after taking office in 2009, saying he did not want to be accused of favouring the land of his father.

On the dinner he had with his extended family, Mr Obama said he was happy to meet some relatives he had not seen before.

“There is a more immediate family that I have known well from previous visits.

"There were members of the extended family I had not met before. My sister Auma, who I am very close to, helped to make sure everybody was represented. It was a wonderful time,” he said.

Mr Obama said he wished to help improve the lives of his relatives but had been restricted by the presidency.

“Part of the challenge I have had in the course of my presidency is that given the demands of the job and the (security) bubble, I can’t come here and just go upcountry, visit for a week and meet everybody. I was begging for forgiveness.

“When I am a private citizen, I will have more freedom to reconnect and be involved in some of the work that needs to be done,” he said.

THE KENYA DIASPORA POLICY

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Sustainable Development Goals

In September, countries will have the opportunity to adopt a set of global goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Click on each goal to find out more about the proposed targets.* *Remember, the goals have not been adopted yet, and the targets of the goals are subject to change. In some cases, countries have not agreed on specific figures, this has been indicated with the letter X.

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning

Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all

Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all

Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources

Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies

Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

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Tuesday, July 28, 2015 President Obama tackled our demands, say Cord bosses

y OUMA WANZALA
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From left: Mr Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper party), Ms Martha Karua (Narc-Kenya), Mr Raila Odinga (ODM) and Mr Moses Wetang'ula (Ford-Kenya) address the press at Mr Odinga's office in Nairobi on July 27, 2015. The leaders said Mr Obama addressed their concerns adequately. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI | NATION MEDIAGROUP

Opposition leaders Monday revealed the memorandum they presented to US President Barack Obama in which they asked him to support their push for far-reaching electoral reforms among other concessions they are demanding from the government.

Led by ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga, the four politicians asked Mr Obama to put pressure on the government over corruption, insecurity and repressive laws restricting the media and civil society.

Mr Odinga, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, Mr Moses Wetang’ula and Ms Martha Karua also asked the US leader to insist that the government implement the one-third gender rule as prescribed by the Constitution.

The four presented their memorandum to Mr Obama on Sunday, shortly before he addressed a gathering of invited guests at the Safaricom Indoor Arena at the Kasarani stadium.

And at a press conference in Nairobi yesterday, the four threatened to boycott the 2017 General Election unless the changes they are demanding are implemented.

They said that reforming the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was key to avoiding a repeat of the 2007/8 post-election violence.

“The elections of 2013 faced numerous challenges, including the wanting registration of voters and the tallying and relaying of results.

"The failure of the electronic system on voting day dealt a deadly blow to the credibility of the whole exercise,” they said in a statement.

They appealed to the US Government to help with the creation of a reliable ICT infrastructure and capacity for the electoral team ahead of the next elections.

“We urge the US to support reforms that can restore Kenyan voters’ faith in the IEBC and the electoral system,” read their memorandum.

“Mr President, we need encouragement to implement the constitutional principle of no more than two-thirds of either gender should occupy elective or appointive positions in the public sphere.”

On corruption, the leaders protested the absence of a well-structured and comprehensive strategy to fight the crime, which they said is among the factors that have undermined the war against insecurity.

They also said selective prosecution of high-ranking government officials had undermined the fight against corruption.

“Corruption thrives in opaque and closed environments. Curtailing of liberties guaranteed by our Constitution, therefore, threatens our nascent democracy and aids corruption.

The enactment of laws such as the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Act, the Media Council (Amendment ) Act and the Security Laws (amendment) Act, have adversely affected the media by imposing restrictions that are extremely overboard, overreaching and vague. These statutes provide harsh penalties that are disproportionate to the anticipated offences and are a clawback on media freedom,” said the memorandum.

ACT ON CORRUPTION

And Monday, Mr Odinga asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to act on corruption by starting at the top of his administration.

“One person is contributing Sh10 million in harambees every week and his pay is known. Per month he contributes about Sh50 million and he says he is generous,” said Mr Odinga and demanded an audit of such leaders.

On terrorism, they also asked President Obama to help the country develop strategies that will enable Kenyan solders to exit Somalia and leave no gap in the effort to create stability in the neighbouring country.

They had also asked Mr Obama to support devolution, which they said was constantly facing threats from the national government.

On Monday, the Cord leaders said President Obama had addressed their concerns adequately.

“The US President warned against the economics of exclusion and termed them fodder for extremist groups,” said Mr Musyoka.

“We have sounded this alarm. This has been at the heart of our call for the strengthening of devolution as a way of ensuring equitable development across our country.”

However, he refused to reveal who among the four had been criticised by Mr Obama when he met them on Sunday.

The US leader had said that one of the opposition leaders had told the US to keep off Kenyan affairs when he was in government.

Mr Musyoka told journalists that they should let the matter rest.

Barack Obama’s first book should be taught in high schools

Posted  Saturday, July 25, 2015 |  by- MURITHI MUTIGA

Dreams From My Father is one of the best books written about Kenya.

President Barack Obama makes his way from the Oval Office to the South Lawn of the White House on July 8, 2014. PHOTO | MANDEL NGAN |

The theatre surrounding President Obama’s arrival in Nairobi illustrated why the man is one of the more gifted politicians of our time.

He didn’t walk out of Air Force One after it plunged down from the sky shortly after 8 pm, catching waiting photographers by surprise.

He bounded down the stairs at pace, like an excited toddler returning to the comforts of home after a long day at school.

He lingered in his greetings with the little girl on hand to receive him, Joan Wamaitha, and went on to pose for a photo with her.

When he was introduced to the line of waiting officials, he didn’t just shake their hands and move on but instead spent a few seconds to chat with each.

Then there was the moment that differentiated this from his other trips around the world, the hug with his sister Auma Obama which stole the headlines.

It used to be said that Bill Clinton was a political genius because his magnetism was such that he could make everyone in a crowded room feel as though he was looking at and speaking only to them.

Obama clearly has some of that gold dust, too.

REMARKABLE TALE

The moment of his arrival in Kenya, historic though it is, will pass and be forgotten soon enough. One way to make this trip endure in the minds of young Kenyans, beyond trade deals and financing for young entrepreneurs, is to help them learn from the Obama story and the remarkable tale of the rise of the family in one generation, from K’Ogelo to State House.

Obama’s first book, Dreams From My Father, is one of the best books written about Kenya.

It was published before Obama joined politics, meaning it is marked by a honesty and depth not normally associated with books by politicians.

Including it as a set book in high school would offer students a powerful chance to see Kenya through the eyes of a man who came here to find his roots, clearly loves the country, but also has strong feelings about the shortcomings that hold the country back from achieving greatness.

ETHNICITY

Obama’s tone is not that of those who seek to lecture Africans like little children. In fact, he laments the “utter lack of self-consciousness” of the typical tourist happy to pass judgement on locals, feeling they were expressing “a bedrock confidence in their own parochialism, a confidence reserved for those born into imperial cultures”.

But he also writes powerfully about the problem of ethnicity and how it holds the continent back. His discussion of the subject with his aunts in 1987 shows how little has changed since.

“Most Kenyans still worked with older maps of identity, more ancient loyalties. Even (my aunts) Jane or Zeituni could say things that surprised me … Hearing my aunts traffic in stereotypes I would try to explain the error of their ways. ‘It’s thinking like that that holds us back,’ I would say. ‘We are all part of one tribe. The black tribe. The human tribe.”

Most countries use the public school system to inculcate a culture of patriotism and love for their country which then serves as the springboard to the pursuit of national goals.

Young Chinese, Japanese, South Koreans grow up learning in school that theirs is the greatest country on earth and that they should treasure and nurture it. The Americans do the same with their endless displays of flags and daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance to their country in schools.

In Kenya, there is no attempt to use the school system in that way. The Obama family story, narrated beautifully in his book, is one that should be known to more Kenyans and which would only enrich the curriculum.

The school system alone can’t heal the divisions in society but it has a role to play to arrest the disturbing trend which sees high school students fighting along ethnic lines as recently reported and university student election campaigns being fought along strictly ethnic lines.

Of course, it is the politicians who deepen ethnic divisions more than anyone else. But let students read the Obama book and explore deeply the question of what it means to be a citizen not imprisoned to identity and in time there might be an electorate that can vote for leaders who seek to improve the lot of their people above all else.

Tom Mboya: The forgotten visionary in the Barack Obama story.

Tom Mboya, the forgotten visionary in the Barack Obama story.

Tom Mboya
In early 1960s, three students, beneficiaries of the US airlift programme, wrote a poignant thank-you letter published in the East Africa Standard.
The letter was directed at Thomas Joseph Mboya, Julius Gikonyo Kiano, Kariuki Njiiri, William Scheinman, George Houser and a few other individuals involved in assisting young Kenyan students secure scholarships in American institutions of higher learning through the African-American Scholarship Fund (AASF).
Dorcas Boit, Mungai Mbaya and Harrison Bwire Muyia wrote to the editor:
“History alone shall record the success of this project, which serves as a model not only to our country, but to all the people of the African continent.
“We who have been so lucky to get this chance look forward with a determination to pursue and fulfill our intellectual obligations; and happy will be the day when our country and our people can enjoy the achievement of this whole exercise.”
History is now recording the ultimate success of the airlift programme as Barack Hussein Obama, a son of one of the beneficiaries of the airlifts, visits the country as the President of the United States of America.
The brainchild of the airlifts, Tom Mboya, remains in the background of discussions about the historic visit. Yet, few appreciate the ingenuity; adventurism and backlash that came with operating the programme which saw hundreds of Kenyans attend US universities. In Airlifts to America; How Barrack Obama Sr, John F Kennedy, Tom Mboya and 800 East African Students Changed Their World and Ours, Tom Shachtman describes how unpopular American universities were at the time.
In the book, Olara Otunu, a former undersecretary of the UN, is quoted saying “all roads led to the UK, and if you received a degree in the US you had to be re-certified in Kenya. What was good and serious was the UK, what was frivolous, fluffy, was the US.”
Critical role
But Mboya, who had no academic degree of his own, thought differently about the US and embarked on the programme against British interests. He had himself attended short courses in Soviet Union and Oxford and was passionate about education and its role in post-independence period.
At 26 years of age in August 1956, Mboya had been on a speaking tour of the US at the invitation of George Houser of the American Committee on Africa to promote his publication, The Kenyan Question; An African Answer.
Shachtman writes that at every US college venue, Mboya would privately talk with the college president about scholarship for East Africans. It is also during this trip that he made acquaintances with Harry Belafonte, Scheinman, Frank Montero and Peter Weiss, who later played critical roles in the airlift programmeAfter convincing US donors and foundation to fund the scholarships, Mboya, Kiano and Njiiri would personally review the applications and interview the applicants. Although Obama Snr missed out on the 1959 airlift after applying to more than 30 US colleges, he somehow, with the assistance of other American friends, made it to Hawaii University, the only college that admitted him.
“Some, like Barack Obama Sr, who was headed for Hawaii, did not board the charter plane but were assisted in other ways once at American colleges,” the book says.
The idea of sending young Africans from a British colony to American universities was opposed within and outside government.
Shachtman says Carey Francis, the headmaster of Obama Senior’s former high school, Maseno, had a low opinion of the American universities and once wrote:
“The frenzied thirst for and confidence in overseas education was a major difficulty for Kenya. To many, the nature of the course (of study) was immaterial so long as it was a course. I feared in a few years many would return disillusioned and embittered, unfitted for any useful work, with a fourth-rate degree from fifth-rate universities.”
Anti-government movement
Mboya also faced another problem related to the airlifts - jealousy owing to his connections and popularity in the West. The talk in town, propagated in part by Kwame Nkrumah from Ghana, was that Mboya was leading an anti-Kenyatta movement.
Grumbles from applicants who did not make it added to the criticism of the programme which Mboya and his team pursued mindlessly.
And the students themselves set on to the task at hand — learning — as well as other extracurricular activities. In the book, Philip Ochieng talks of two surprises that struck him on arrival; seeing a white person labouring in the snow and white women falling head over heels for black men.
“White girls readily chummed up to us suggestively. Soon we would partake of the forbidden

Monday, July 27, 2015 Barack Obama's politics of turning rivals into partners

By EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA
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US President Barack Obama shakes hands with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta (left) before boarding Air Force One prior to his departure from Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on July 26, 2015. AFP PHOTO | SAUL LOEB

When US Vice-President Joe Biden returned to the White House 11 days after the burial of his son, President Barack Obama dashed out of a meeting to welcome him back.

Mr Biden was returning to the West Wing after weeks of outpouring sympathy following the loss of his son, Beau, in June this year.

President Obama travelled to Biden’s Delaware home town and gave an emotional eulogy for Beau.

For the past six years, Mr Biden, a leading voice in foreign policy and an old hand in Washington politics, has been a strong pillar of the Obama administration. President Obama has regularly described his deputy as a “trusted and loyal friend.”

So close is their relationship that Mr Biden attends President Obama’s morning briefings in the Oval Office and they two have lunch together every Wednesday.

After their election in 2008, President Obama entrusted Biden to handle critical issues related the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Economic Recovery Act and huge chunks of foreign policy, besides being the regular link with Congress.

The partnership is one of the defining features of President Obama who visited Kenya to attend an entrepreneurship conference.

President Obama has distinguished himself for the courage to work with individuals who would, otherwise, be his rivals.

RAN AGAINST OBAMA
Mr Biden ran against President Obama in 2008 but dropped early with a declaration that the youthful senator from Illinois was “not yet ready” for the presidency.

But Mr Obama would later turn to the 72-year-old (he was then 65) five-term senator as running mate in what was largely seen as aimed to fill a gap in his resume: inexperience in foreign policy.
According to a 2008 article in the New York Times, Mr Biden’s choice added “a few years and grey hair to a ticket a bit young (Mr Obama was 47).”
But the most dramatic was the appointment of Mrs Hillary Clinton with whom they had waged a highly vicious battle for the Democratic Party ticket to the powerful post of Secretary of State.
Moreover, President Obama retained Bush-era Defense Secretary Robert Gates, as a show of bipartisan continuity in a time of war.
This was the first time a Pentagon chief was carried over from a president of a different party.
ODM secretary-general says Ababu Namwamba’s approach is a strong lesson in mature political engagement.

POLITICAL RIVALS
“President Obama’s spirit of bi-partnership and courage to work with political rivals should teach our colleagues in government that constructive political engagement can help build a nation,” said Mr Namwamba.
“Our politics is too toxic, too juvenile to even allow us to see what we all can do together. Let President Obama’s leadership and his visit inspire us to become a better people and a country that engages in mature politics,” said Mr Namwamba.
Former US President Bill Clinton has celebrated what he calls Obama’s commitment to “constructive cooperation.”
“The cooperation between Hillary and Obama is an important lesson that democracy doesn’t have to be a blood sport. It can be an honourable enterprise that advances public interest,” he said in a campaign speech.
The retired President argues that when citizens are frustrated, angry, hurting and uncertain, the politics of constant conflict may look good.
“But what is good politics does not necessarily work in the real world. What works in the real world, is cooperation because nobody is right all the time, and a broken clock is right twice day.”
He advises against a political arrangement in which the Opposition perceives the government as the enemy, believes that it is always right and considers compromise a weakness.

Monday, July 27, 2015 Court puts off Moses Kuria hate speech case

By VINCENT AGOYA
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Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria when he appeared in a Nairobi court on July 16, 2015 to face charges of incitement and hate speech. A Nairobi court on July 27 put off his case until August 3, 2015. FILE PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU |  NATION MEDIA GROUP.

application seeking to strip Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria of a Sh2 million bail in a hate-speech case has been pushed to Monday.

Mr Kuria on Monday appeared in a Nairobi court where he faces three counts of incitement to violence, ethnic contempt and hate speech.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko wants the bail cancelled, accusing the politician of breaching an earlier conciliation pact with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.

Mr Kuria allegedly incited youth in Nyeri to attack and “slash” politicians opposed to National Youth Service projects in the county.

TERROR ATTACKS

The 'panga' remarks, as they are now commonly known, were captured and aired on national television and reported in the local dailies.

The MP's lawyers are expected to counter Mr Tobiko's request on August 3 when the hearing is expected to resume.

In the case already before the court, Mr Kuria is charged with linking Gikomba terrorist attacks to members of Luo and Somali communities.

The prosecution has generated and annexed a forensic transcript of a translation from Kikuyu to English language for the courts perusal.

Two Obama situations that seem mutually contradictory

Posted  Saturday, July 25, 2015 |  by- PHILIP OCHIENG

He probably has compellingly good reasons for not visiting K’Ogelo.

US President Barack Obama disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, July 24, 2015. PHOTO | SAUL LOEB |

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What would you do if you were in Barack Obama’s shoes? For his situation seems uniquely self-contradictory.

First, being the President of the world’s only superpower, he heads a whole cultural continuum which, because it is so highly developed in techno-scientific terms, often behaves in ways that, in our eyes, seem conceited.

Secondly, the American leader is the son of a geo-politically Southern man. His father came from a Third World country — ours — which is backward economically and techno-scientifically.

For that very reason, Kenyans entertain cultural habits and make demands that appear exceedingly strange in the eyes of First World observers.

Among the Luo, no matter where you were born and whatever your fortunes might be wherever you now are, as long as your father is a Luo, you are also a Luo. All patriarchal societies are like that. That is why the New Testament, for instance, has two long lists of “begats” concerning Jesus from which, dismayingly, all mothers are absent.

MUTUALLY CONTRADICTORY

Though the two Obama situations seem mutually contradictory, in them lies the extreme disappointment among the Luo — especially the K’Ogelo of Alego — that, after quite a number of years of absence — world history’s most celebrated Jak’Ogelo — can come to Kenya without intending to visit K’Ogelo for conviviality with the inner family.

For, as Okot p’Bitek puts it in his Song of Lawino concerning another Luo community (the Acholi of Uganda), it is in a particular homestead of one’s nativity that the old pumpkin is still thriving which witnessed the birth of Barack Obama Senior — near the end of a long line of paternal ancestors of the present American leader.

Barack Obama Junior’s dilemma, then, is that he heads a society at the peak of political and techno-scientific power, a society which, however, is decidedly Euro-Anglo-Saxon in culture.

Yet his paternal origins — being situated in a culturally and techno-scientifically backward community — demand from the President a certain behavioural norm which may, in the eyes of America’s upper classes, seem culturally anti-clockwise.

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Barack Obama probably has compellingly good reasons — including time constraints — for not including a visit to K’Ogelo in his present tour of Kenya.

Why is that so difficult to understand concerning a man who, as Atlas, his Pelasgic ancestor, did on his shoulder, carries the whole world’s problems in his Blackberry?

COMPELLING REASONS

When your father comes from an African tribe but you are the president of the world’s most developed and only superpower, such contradictions are likely to be ineluctable.

But the fact remains that Barack Obama Junior has work to do, work that includes a great deal more than what may immediately concern Africa, Kenya, Luoland and Alego.

However urgent these may be, and however outgoing the US President may prove, Barack Obama’s first responsibility is to his electors. His first obligation is to the American people.

I would fully understand if whatever he did even for Kenya and Luoland was calculated, at least in the long run, to benefit the United States itself in some way.

It would, of course, help matters a great deal for President Obama or his publicity unit to give Kenyans the exact reason their Diaspora son is so keen to spend the least amount of time in his father’s native land. But the prerogative is their own. That is why I wouldn’t demand much more from the US President or his public relations machinery.

Of course, the Luo — a proud people who often feel that official Kenya does treat them not with respect and with justice — may live in the false hope that if the most powerful man in the world carries their blood, then that man should feel obliged to intervene on their behalf.

But the Luo must understand that Barack Obama would be offending the comity of nations if he interfered in that manner in Kenya’s internal affairs.

ochiengotani@gmail.com

John Githongo: Welcome home President Barack Obama

Welcome home President Barrack Obama @POTUS by @JohnGithongo
Dear President Obama,
Karibu! Welcome! Asante for dropping in on us, the country of your father, before you depart the White House. There are those who called you all manner of names when you visited in 2006. I apologise on their behalf. The idea that you’d go ahead and win a presidential election two years later was unthinkable.
But many all over the world got caught out on that one. Asante sana too, because confirmation of your arrival has caused the most rapid road repair programme in the history of our capital city.
You are visiting the country that has consistently been the USA’s closest diplomatic, political and military ally in the region for half a century. This goes way back to when President JF Kennedy’s “airlift” saw your father and others travel to the US for further education. America’s extraordinary soft power – from Hollywood to KFC to Apple – sets global trends. We are no exception in being influenced by the USA in many ways.
We have taken some blows for it too, as your enemies have picked on us for terrorist attacks. Still, we are a resilient lot. We pride ourselves as exemplifying in East Africa the spirit of enterprise and capitalism that we share with the USA. (As I write, you can be sure there are even some hustlers selling tickets to those who want to shake your hand or share a meal with you.) The USA continues to need a stable, democratic friend in East Africa and its best bet continues to be Kenya.
Still, in this part of the world, new realities are serving to transform the relationship between Kenya and the USA. There is a democratic recession underway across the world. It’s playing out here in our region too. This is partly driven by old partnerships, now renewed.
China is now Kenya’s fastest growing and most significant trading partner. It has transformed our roads, skylines and national debt. Dollar for dollar, China’s impact competes with that of the USA – we see its infrastructure even when we choose to ignore some of the less salubrious accompanying aspects.
The discerning amongst us know that China’s attitudes to corruption and democracy are very different to those expressed in our constitution. Externally, the Chinese tend to be permissive towards the first and opposed to the second. China also offers a governance model that the elite finds seductive. Indeed, it’s no longer politically incorrect to hear regime apologists argue ‘we have too much democracy’. This is nonsense of course. In fact devolving – and thus deepening – our democracy saved Kenya from the crisis of a presidency won back-to-back via the dodgiest means possible.
When you visited in 2006, you spoke on corruption and tribalism. As a former Senator from Illinois you will know something about corruption, since Illinois governors are as likely as not to retire to jail. Your recent remarks on systemic racism in the USA demonstrate how well you understand that nations cannot be at peace within themselves as long as their foundations privilege some citizens on the basis on their genetic origins. Here too, we’re still fighting to overcome these two cancers, even though some argue that economic growth should be where we focus our energies as Kenyans.
You will also know that this battle is not new. In the 1990s, Kenyans, led by a coalition of civil society, the church and media, and supported by sympathetic sections of the international community, agitated for multiparty democracy as a conducive environment to fight against these and other ills. The gains of that era are now being rolled back ever so gently.
We lost the Church as an ally along the way while media and civil society chug along in an increasingly hostile environment replete with extrajudicial methods of sanction, intimidation and elimination. Our allies in the international community sometimes seem to have lost their confidence. This has led to a disconcerting ambivalence amongst Kenyans themselves about values and principles that once seemed so crystal clear.
There are concerns in particular that the so-called war on terror has taken precedence over the democracy and anti-corruption agenda. And yet, corruption in Kenya feeds both domestic and jihadist insecurity in very direct ways. Authoritarian extrajudicial reactions too have served to alienate Muslims and radicalise youth.
Sliding back into a Cold War posture where developing world leaders use the war on terror as an excuse to roll back democratic freedoms will backfire. The struggle against communism was once used as an excuse to keep the historical aberration of apartheid going way longer than simple decency demanded.
As we welcome you to the country your ancestors call home, let not your visit be used to rubber-stamp the most far-reaching reversals in the hard-won freedoms enjoyed by media, civil society and Kenyans in general in the past two decades.
Thank you. Enjoy the visit and – once again – thanks for the refurbished roads and freshly planted grass!