Sunday 31 July 2016

A young Makau Mutua fights anti-Apartheid war in South Africa

by Danny Schechter (Executive Producer),Globalvision
New York, New York, United States June 13, 1990
Publisher: Globalvision
0:25 - Nelson Mandela is coming to America: includes an interview of Edwin Clarke, New York City resident, discusses the vote; 1:09 - This week South Africa Now presents these stories; 2:18 - The uncensored news with Fana Kekana and Mweli Mzizi; 2:24 - STATE OF EMERGENCY: includes video of F.W. de Klerk, includes interviews of ANC Deputy President Nelson Mandela in Paris, ANC Representative to the UN Tebogo Mafole, and Makau Matua of Lawyers Committee on Human Rights, discusses lifting of the State of Emergency except in the province of Natal, detention without trial, suppression of decent, the ANC (African National Congress), political prisoners, political exiles, death row, troops in the townships, negotiations, the Human Rights Commission, human rights activists, imprisoned, opposing apartheid, the police force, the army, quelling unrest, the South African Council of Churches (SACC); 5:46 - USA TOUR reported by Phillip Tomlinson: includes an interview of Jim Bell of the Nelson Mandela Reception Committee, discusses the visit of Nelson Mandela to the United Sates, sanctions, a rally at Yankee Stadium, a ticker tape parade, a reception at City Hall, divestment, the anti-apartheid movement; 9:08 - Threats of protests from hardliners in the Jewish community: includes an interview of Henry Siegman of the American Jewish Congress, discusses, Yasser Arafat the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization), Golda Meir, supporters of Israel, a delegation of prominent Jewish leaders, Israel's right to exist, Geneva, Lusaka; 10:53 - M.I.T. DIVESTMENT: includes video of anti-apartheid activists protesting the refusal of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) refusal to divest from companies doing business in South Africa at the MIT commencement, discusses the MIT Coalition Against Apartheid, divestment, debates; 11:29 - COVERING THE COVERAGE:  includes an interview of journalist Allister Sparks, discusses the Rand Daily Mail, the Observer, the Washington Post, the book The Mind of South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, Afrikaner nationalism, the ideology of apartheid, Nelson Mandela, black majority rule; 13:59 - SOWETO UPRISING REMEMBERED:  includes interviews of former Soweto students Tsheke Morathi and Senti Thobejane, includes an interview former Soweto Principal Curtis Nkondo; discusses June 16, the Afrikaans language as a medium of instruction, boycotting classes, march to Orlando Stadium, a peaceful protest, freedom songs, Mofolo Park, police, teargas, the army coming into locations, hippos, Hector Pieterson; 20:04 - CULTURE FREEDOM CHARTER: includes an interview of Michael Edward-Stevens, includes an excerpt of the music video "Freedom Charter", discusses Nelson Mandela; 25:53 - Hotline View Voices: includes phone comments by Peter Apinia, Indianapolis, Indiana; Philip Rainbow, Aroura, Colorado; Jimmy Gillis, Miami, Florida; 28:08 - Nelson Mandela Free At Last Home Video [Note: Tsheke Morathi may be Tseke Morathi.]

Used by permission of Globalvision

30.7.2016: Kenya Airways flies deeper into insolvency

Last year, the company reported a net worth of negative Sh6 billion; this has now sunk deeper to Sh36bn. In other words, it is sinking at the rate of Sh80 million per day. Thus my question: what are the authorities waiting for? PHOTO | FILE

IN SUMMARY

  • The first and most urgent step is to suspend the company from the stock market. This is necessary in order to protect the general public from buying its shares.
  • The net worth is also called the owners’ equity: it is the value that the shareholders own in the business. In other words, it is the money that the owners would be left with if all the assets were sold at fair prices and all the debts paid off.
  • Curiously, people are buying the shares at Sh4 each on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. As for me; you would have to bribe me with Sh25 per unit for me to accept them!
How long will it take for the authorities to take action on Kenya Airways? The first and most urgent step is to suspend the company from the stock market. This is necessary in order to protect the general public from buying its shares.
Kenya Airways has been operating while insolvent since last year. A solvent business is one whose assets are worth more than its liabilities. Assets are what the business owns, including, but not limited to, cash in the bank, land, buildings, machinery, equipment, etc.
Liabilities are what the business owes, including, but not limited to, loans from financial institutions, debts owed to suppliers, advance payments from customers, etc. The difference between assets and liabilities is the net worth of the business. For a solvent business, this value is positive. If liabilities are more than assets, then the net worth becomes negative and the business is insolvent.
RECKLESS BEHAVIOUR
The net worth is also called the owners’ equity: it is the value that the shareholders own in the business. In other words, it is the money that the owners would be left with if all the assets were sold at fair prices and all the debts paid off.
From the recently published financial results of Kenya Airways, the assets are valued at Sh158.4 billion and the liabilities stand at Sh194 billion. The difference is negative Sh35.6 billion. That is, if all assets were sold, the shareholders would still need to put in Sh35.6 billion to clear the debts!
Last year, the company reported a net worth of negative Sh6 billion; this has now sunk deeper to Sh36bn. In other words, it is sinking at the rate of Sh80 million per day. Thus my question: what are the authorities waiting for?
Kenya Airways has about 1.5 billion shares held by over 77,000 shareholders (as at  March 31, 2015). The book value per share is determined by dividing the net worth by the number of shares. The answer is negative Sh24.27 per share.
Curiously, people are buying the shares at Sh4 each on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. As for me; you would have to bribe me with Sh25 per unit for me to accept them! Anyone buying these shares is either a genius who knows something that the rest of us don’t, or a reckless person who doesn’t know what they are doing.
And that’s not the end of the story: a business needs adequate working capital to operate as a going concern. This is the difference between the money expected in months and debts to be paid in the same period.
In 12 months from March 31, 2016, Kenya Airways expects to receive a total of Sh29.7 billion and to pay out Sh73.5 billion. Therefore, it needs to look for Sh43.6 billion just to survive up to March 31, next year. Looking a little deeper, we find that, if the company shuts down, it won’t even have enough cash to refund customers for tickets sold in advance!

Saturday 30 July 2016

THE IMPORTANCE OF DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA: KENYA’S EXPERIENCE:

IMG_20160729_200503Speech by Rt. Hon Raila Odinga at Chatham House, 29th July 2016.
From the pessimism of the past when Africa was seen simply as a basket case ruined by conceited and ruthless dictators, Africa has now become a puzzling case of rapid economic growth in the midst of promising political changes.
Nonetheless, this “new dawn” may easily be jeopardized by reluctance to embrace far-reaching democratization at the political level and progressive reforms at the economic level.
Both require committed political leaders with long term visions that were typical of our founding fathers like Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere and, more recently Nelson Mandela.
Yet democracy is in jeopardy in Africa in the second decade of the 21st Century. Many pro-democracy activists in Africa are no longer sure they have the support of the West. Many are not clear if it is still the policy of the West to stand only with regimes that promote open, free and fair elections, transparency, good governance and human rights or we are in the era of anything goes.
There are indications that the West is turning its back on democracy by cutting funding, endorsing regimes with dubious records and abandoning democracy activists and civil society.
But let me begin with what democracy has done in Africa.
When the Berlin Wall fell, only three sub-Sahara African countries were classified as democracies—Botswana, Gambia and Mauritius. Elsewhere, presidents for life and single party dictatorships held sway.
A seismic change has since happened. Out of 55 countries that make Africa today, over 25 are considered democracies of varying degrees. Africa had 22 competitive elections in 2012 alone. At least a dozen sub-Saharan African nations have held or are due to hold presidential or parliamentary elections this year.
One of the shortest-lived military coups took place in Burkina Faso early this year. It was the country’s seventh military coup in 50 years and was staged by presidential guards loyal to deposed ex-president Blaise Compaore. It lasted just seven days. The Financial Times newspaper quoted one of the coup leaders saying “we realized the people were not in favour of that. That’s why we quite simply gave up.”
As the Burkinabe repulsed coup leaders, in Nigeria, voters elected Muhammadu Buhari as President, making him the first opposition candidate to defeat a sitting Nigerian president through the ballot. And the defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonatham, conceded defeat.
The gender trap too is giving way in Africa’s politics. The US is having its first female Presidential candidate in Mrs Hillary Clinton. The UK has its second female Prime Minister in Madam Theresa May.
Africa on the other hand has had three female heads of State this century: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, Joyce Banda in Malawi and Ameenah Gurib-Fakin in Mauritius.
Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa are currently witnessing lower economic growth rates than those seen over the past decade as a result of the continued adjustment to lower commodity prices and higher borrowing costs.
However, for much of the past 20 years, some of the world’s ten fastest-growing countries have been African. Even with slowed growth, Africa is still growing faster than developed economies.
Secondary-school enrollment in sub-Sahara Africa grew by 48 per cent between 2000 and 2008 while malaria deaths declined by 30 per cent in some countries and HIV infections dropped by up to 74 per cent. Life expectancy has also surged by between 20 and 42 per cent across Africa since the year 2000.
Of the 37 countries to have seen life expectancy rise by more than 10 per cent since 2000, 30 are in sub-Saharan Africa. In Malawi for instance, life expectancy rose from 44.1 years in 2000 to 62.7 in 2014, according to the World Bank.
In the past decade, real income per person increased by more than 30 per cent. In the previous 20 years, it shrank by nearly 10 per cent.
The World Economic Forum places Ivory Coast as Africa’s fastest growing economy, with expected GDP growth of 8.5 per cent. It is followed by Tanzania at 7 per cent, Senegal at 6.6 per cent, Djibouti 6.5, Rwanda 6.3, Kenya 6, Mozambique 6, Central African Republic 5.7, Sierra Leone 5.3 and Uganda 5.3.
The message is clear: countries that have adopted accountable and democratic governance systems have made strides on the social and economic front.
These countries are reaping the democracy dividend that ensures sound management of public resources and political stability through regular, credible elections and peaceful and predictable transfers of power.
These gains created a prolonged period of stability that allowed a new wave of investment.
However, as I said at the start, these gains are threatened by absence of sustained momentum for deepening democracy in Africa.
I want to agree with former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan who said… “Democracy is not just about one day every four or five years when elections are held, but a system of government that respects the separation of powers, fundamental freedoms like the freedom of thought, religion, expression, association and assembly and the rule of law … Any regime that rides roughshod on these principles loses its democratic legitimacy, regardless of whether it initially won an election.”
The Washington Post in a recent editorial also said:
“The tyrants of today are more sophisticated than those of the past; rather than outright totalitarianism; they erect a facade of democracy and subvert it from within. They hold elections that are not competitive, use government-approved shell groups to edge out genuine civil society, pass laws outlawing free association and speech, and force the news media into submission by pulling the strings of the owners and editors. They brand as a “foreign agent” any group receiving money from abroad.” These trends are ongoing in Africa.
Regular multiparty elections have not translated into good governments and respect for rule of law and fundamental freedoms. That is why there is new thinking that rather than focus on elections alone, there is need to focus on building freer societies, separation of powers, independence of the media and the judiciary, devolution of power and resources, restriction on presidential power and respect for term limits.
While the West has previously underwritten democracy, it appears to be pulling back. In the current issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, respected scholar Larry Diamond says… “One of the biggest challenges facing democracy today is that its biggest champion—the United States—has lost interest in promoting it.” I agree, and it is a sad development.
Africa’s elections are being judged not by how free and fair they are but how peaceful. The performance of incumbents is getting judged by how they can be used to fight terrorism no matter the human rights abuses that accompany the fight and the economic gains that come with doing business with those regimes.
My focus on elections and what happens between elections is informed by experiences in Kenya. One electoral cycle is enough to wipe out all the gains made over a prolonged period of time. In December 2007, after 5 years of steady economic growth under the NARC government, Kenya was suddenly thrust into a political crisis following a botched election. From an 8 per cent annual rate of growth, we dropped to a miserable 2 per cent in 2008 after the post-election violence.
That is why since 2013, Kenya’s Opposition has demanded fundamental reforms to the electoral infrastructure as the surest way to safeguard democracy.
We are pursuing reforms to the system of voter registration, the counting of the votes, result transmission, and announcement of the results. We are pushing an electoral body that operates in a truly open and transparent manner with an obligation of complete disclosure of all its operations in the conduct and management of elections.
These efforts in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa need the backing of all forces that believe in democracy. They require that the US and the EU must do more for democracy; fight corruption, defend Internet freedom and media freedom and protect democracy activists. It is our hope that the next president of the US together with the EU will support democracy in word and deed.
The West must show unequivocal support for civil society and the rule of law, accountability, human rights and free and fair elections if the march of democracy is to be guaranteed.

Friday 29 July 2016

Kenyans are a wonderful lot; just get out there and find out

By MUTUMA MATHIU, 
THURSDAY JULY 28 2016
More by this Author
Kisumu on July 11, 2016. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Kisumu on July 11, 2016. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP 
In matters of life and fun, the lakeside town merits the Nobel Prize.
I do not understand why anyone would leave Kisumu and come to live in Nairobi. For that city there on the lakeside is the most beautiful, pleasant city in East Africa.
I drove to Kisumu a week ago in the family fridge (maybe it was a car, but it felt like I was driving the fridge, with a year’s supply of meat in it to boot) and I can’t wait to go back.
First, Kisumu is the only city in Kenya without traffic. If you think that is a small thing, try driving across Eldoret, Nakuru or Meru. From the airport to Kisumu city centre is a pleasant, breezy drive of just a few minutes.
From Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, to the city centre, you feel as if you need a full day and an AK-47 to fight off crazy matatu drivers.
Kisumu has only a few matatus and boda bodas. Milimani, the posh estate, is only a few metres from main thoroughfare. It is a gentle walk away. There are no crowds of pushing and shoving folk in Kisumu, nobody is in a hurry.
In Milimani, there are no “for sale” or “to let” signs, no struggle for space, no profiteering grabbers, no ugly flats reaching for the sun. Only genteel, old houses in gardens that would make the land-hungry aliens of Nairobi weep with desire.
BUCKET OF RUMBA
But it is in matters of life and fun that Kisumu – and its wonderful citizens – merits the Nobel Prize.
In Kapenguria, Murang’a or Garissa, a man goes to the club to catch a breather, but his head stays with his problems: What is happening to the stock market; will the growth of that slum destroy the value of my plot; what is my neighbour up to?
When a tall (and most are), Luo man brings his woman to heel on the floor of Signature Club in downtown Kisumu, the world ceases to exist. And it is not just because when you enter the club, you feel as if you have dipped your head in a bucket of rumba—it clogs your ears, fills your nose and jams your throat.
The slow, languid but graceful rumba steps remind you, bizarrely, of an Airbus A380 attempting a vertical take-off, a thing of massive but retrained power, of audacious beauty but with highlights of danger.
For when folks take to the floor here, there are no secrets. Each roll of the shoulders, each slow step, each snuggling of the neck, is a bold and public declaration of lascivious intent.
WEAK KNEES
Jaber, denda bonjre bonjre, to wiya chwakre kapari! (I go weak in the knees when I think of you!)
So it’s a Tuesday and there is a board meeting in the morning. So the workers are on strike. So you have an important speech to give the following morning. So the children have been chased away from school, your in-laws are in hospital in India and the body of your cousin is in a mortuary in Mombasa. So what?
Min Bebi, otieno ni mari kendi! (I dedicate this night to you).
I don’t know whether there is an academy where the Luo are sent to learn to have fun, live in this beautiful way and make each other feel like a million dollars. If there is, it needs to open campuses countrywide.
If you go to Kisumu, you might fuss about restaurants not opening for breakfast or your steak being lovingly embellished with mushroom, pepper, tomato, a generous dollop of oil and every description of spice and condiment.
But the only thing you will disagree with locals on is politics, especially if you find their single-minded dedication to ODM and Raila rather tiring.
AND THEN THE RIFT VALLEY
The Rift Valley is equally beautiful and I love the easy humour of the folks there. The thing about modern navigation is that it guides you to your destination, but many times you have no idea where you are.
Your location is just a line on the screen. Having been born with the sense of direction of a homing pigeon, I was absolutely delighted to realise that I had no idea where in Bomet (pronounced Bpoomet), or was it Kericho, I was.
“Where am I?” I asked the man at the biggest bar in the market centre. “Uko fee IB,” he told me. The bar is called VIP.
I noticed that the mongrels sleeping in the sun in this town were good, exotic breeds and I wanted to talk to him about that, but he didn’t strike me as the type that could be interested in pets.
Whereas in Kisumu folks love fun, in the Rift Valley people love Jesus. Every village has Bible society this or Christian retreat that.
In Eldoret, which has traffic jams as bad as Nairobi’s, our track stars have invested in swanky, well-appointed hotels and eateries, but not in good cooks. I made the mistake of buying a rib-eye steak in one of those and I couldn’t eat it.
But if you love roast maize served on the roadside like I do (all the while thinking about H. pylori, which we all have anyway) this is a wonderful place.
If you are going to have prejudices about people, the least you can do is get out of your house and go visit them. You will change your point of view.
mmutuma@ke.nationmedia.com
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29 July 2016: Students say why they have been torching dorms


By NATION TEAM
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Students at Watuka Boys High School in Nyeri County assess the damage to their property after a dormitory was burned down on July 26, 2016.




Students at Watuka Boys High School in Nyeri County assess the damage to their property after a dormitory was burned down on July 26, 2016. Students from across the country have explained why they have been burning schools in one of the worst outbreaks of arson. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

The students said teachers were to blame for failing to embrace dialogue.
Students from across the country on Thursday explained, in their own words, why they have so far burnt 114 schools in one of the worst outbreaks of arson.
A Form Three student at Adega Mixed School in Homa Bay, whose dormitory was burnt last week, blamed the torching on the Education ministry for seeking to prevent exam cheating.
“At [this time] in the academic calendar, candidates would have started collecting money and organising how they are going to get the final examination papers, but this is not the case this year,” said the student, who cannot be named for his own security.
This would seem to support the views of Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, who says cheating cartels are fanning the fires.
The banning of third-term prayer days and limiting visits by parents and guardians was also a reason, according to a Form Four student at Homa Bay’s Samanga Mixed Secondary School.
“You cannot limit the number of times our parents and guardians should visit us, that is outright dictatorship. Some students come from poor backgrounds and we must have money for our upkeep,” he said.
LACK OF SECURITY
When a Kaimosi Secondary School dormitory was torched on July 15, the administration said it was caused by seven Form Four students expelled for drinking while in the school.
Some students, however, said the fire was planned in advance and the administration was clueless.
Another student said: “The administration is too strict on us thus widening the gap between it and the students.”
He also blamed the headteacher’s frequent absence from the school, making it difficult for them to air their grievances.
“Insecurity in the school is affecting us greatly. People sneak into the school and steal our belongings such as mattresses when we are in class. This is also our cause of concern because the administration has not addressed it,” said the student.
Students from Muslim Secondary School in Kakamega County claimed the burning of dormitories by their colleagues had to do with the manner they were treated by teachers.
The students said teachers were to blame for failing to embrace dialogue.
“When teachers fail to listen to us and try to suppress our voices, we retreat to our cocoons and plan how to hit back at them,” said the student.
POOR DIET
From various schools in Nakuru, Narok and Nyandarua counties, students also revealed the forces behind the incessant school fires.
At Nakuru County's Rongai Agri-Tech Boys High School, whose 15 students were arrested for arson last week, a learner said that anger at the extension of the second term was the main reason for the discord.
The Form Four student said the protest was also sparked by a poor diet.
The dormitory at the Catholic-sponsored school and a top performer in the country was burnt earlier this month, with preliminary investigations narrowing down the cause of the fire to an electric fault.
A Form Four student at Narok County's Ololulung’a Boys High School, which was closed indefinitely last week following student unrest, said several issues angered them, including being prevented from taking food to the dorms, watching TV and having tea on specific days. They were also angry about a demand that the principal and some teachers be transferred.
“The transfer of some teachers, increase in school fees by Sh3,000, introduction of caning and lack of medication and a trained nurse at the school dispensary annoyed us,” said the 18-year old-student.
PEER PRESSURE
According to a student at Narok High School, also affected last week by the wave of school fires, there is an upsurge in peer pressure, leading to torching of a number of schools in the area.
“Students from various schools in Narok County have been aping their counterparts to set ablaze theirs as a show that they were strong enough to resist school rules,” said the Form Three student.
Three students of Njonjo Girls’ High School in Laikipia County blamed the unrest in their school on caning by their headteacher and discipline master.
“We [live on a] poor diet where one loaf of bread is shared among six girls for breakfast. We found it unfair as the teachers eat well. As a way of teaching the principal a lesson, we decided to torch the institution.”
The more than 19 girls were, however, prevented from burning a dormitory and the staff room after the school administration got a whiff of their plot.
In Kisii County, a student at Itierio Boys High School said there was a political angle to the burning of his school.
“Yes we were denied a chance to watch a Euro Cup match, but I believe someone had incited a section of students to burn the dormitories,” he said.
SELECTIVE TREATMENT
The school lost seven of its 12 dormitories, the biggest number so far among the more than 114 schools that have been hit by fires across the country.
From Nyamache Boys, a student said bad food was to blame for the burning of two dormitories at the school.
The dormitories were razed hours after Dr Matiang’i left the school. “The management has refused to listen to our grievances and the burning of the dormitories was the climax,” he said.
In Murang’a, students from Iyego Secondary School yesterday said they burnt their school to send a strong message to the administrators for not addressing their pleas.
The students, who had been arrested while in possession of petrol, accused the teachers of treating students selectively, with a majority of them being too hard on boys and favouring girls.
A student at Kiambugi Boys, where a 64-bed dormitory was set ablaze, said the entire syllabus had not been covered and students felt strongly that they were not ready for the mock examinations.
Reported by Benson Amadala, Barrack Oduor, Derick Luvega, Eric Matara, George Sayagie, Steve Njuguna, Nyaboga Kiage, Nicholas Komu, Martin Mwaura and Agewa Wainaina.


Thursday 28 July 2016

Moi’s grandson charged with stealing phones

Mr Collins Toroitich Moi appears in a Nakuru court on July 27, 2016 charged with stealing two mobile phones from his daughter and her friend. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Collins Toroitich Moi appears in a Nakuru court on July 27, 2016 charged with stealing two mobile phones from his daughter and her friend. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP

A grandson of former President Daniel arap Moi, Collins Toroitich Moi, has been charged in a Nakuru court with stealing two mobile phones belonging to his daughter and her friend.
On Wednesday, Mr Moi appeared before chief magistrate David Kemei and denied the charge that he stole the two phones belonging to his daughter May Chelimo and her friend Betty Chebet on July 14 this year.
According to the prosecution, the accused stole the gadgets while in a dinner meeting at a hotel in the Nakuru showground area.
Dressed in navy blue trousers and a striped shirt, Mr Moi stood composed as the charges were read to him.
When asked to respond to the charges, Mr Moi denied the accusation, saying he had confiscated the phones from the two but later returned them.
His lawyer, Ochang’ Ajigo, told the court that his client took the phones from the two girls in order to get them to concentrate on crucial discussions they were holding but later gave them back.
Mr Moi maintained that he was only acting as a father and that the two girls might have left their phones in a taxi they used when returning home.
Through his lawyer, Mr Moi told the court that the daughter’s mother was a jilted lover and that she pushed Ms Chelimo to press the charges against him.
The court further heard that Mr Moi’s attempts to buy the girls brand-new phones were turned down.
However, Mr Ajigo successfully persuaded the court to allow the parties in the case to pursue an out-of-court settlement.
The accused was released on a Sh20,000 bond with a surety of a similar amount.
The case will be mentioned on August 15.
-nation.co.ke

Wednesday 27 July 2016

How President Uhuru INTERVENED to have blogger Robert Alai ENTER STATEHOUSE for the Energy event

How President Uhuru INTERVENED to have blogger Robert Alai ENTER STATEHOUSE for the Energy eventKenyans were earlier today surprised that blogger Robert Alai was a discussant at a presidential roundtable on energy held at state house.
However, even as the public display of mature politics flickered on televisions across the country during which President Uhuru admitted he never believed he would agree with the blogger on anything (Alai had asked about the punitive power costs due to independent power producers) but now agrees there is still work to be done towards cheapening power costs, Kenya Today has learnt of the behind the scenes push and pull that took the president’s personal intervention to have Alai attend the event.
The summit organizers, essentially government bureaucrats who decide those to attend presidential events were sharply divided on having Alai participate in the meeting. The fear, according to sources, was that Alai being a panelist at a televised event was too much risk to expose the President to, considering they could not possibly put Alai on a script.
Deputy Head of Public Service Nzioka Waita led the anti-Alai forces while another wing, largely in the Presidential Strategic Communications Unit (PSCU) and personal aides of the President didn’t see anything wrong with the attendance of the blogger.
This is the danger of too much gate-keeping. When every journalist is being too cautious to ask questions that can generate heated exchanges; or have been scripted to ask questions that ‘won’t embarrass’, there is always the propensity to have such critical events turned into monotonous lectures by the powers that be.
In the corporate sector where Nzioka Waita thrived, there is no public accountability on bosses. Safaricom, sadly, leads in ‘retaining’ journalists so much so that it essentially affects competence, because to survive as business reporter, you must pander to the PR gimmicks and respect the advertisement billions.
For Nzioka, still smarting from President Uhuru’s decision not to disband PSCU, inviting Alai to state house, especially to an event being presided by the President himself, was not just incomprehensible but also added to the battles he has recently lost.
A former Safaricom executive, Nzioka’s tiff with Alai is not known, but may have something to do with Alai’s work as a tech blogger. But even this is hard to comprehend considering Alai never  attacks Safaricom like, say, blogger Cyprian Nyakundi.
When he was still new in government, having been hired to head a unit then referred to as ‘presidential delivery unit’ a year or so ago, he once phoned a RAMCO Executive threatening her with sacking because his business cards had delayed from the printer. But this is a digression.
Our sources have learnt that Alai’s name was cancelled twice, and a whatsapp group was created specifically to discuss the matter.
When it was certain that the Nzioka group would not allow Alai in; one of the PSCU officials is said to have approached President Uhuru over the matter. It is not known what the president said but he appeared not to have any issue with Alai coming to State House, though the two have not been the best of buddies ever since Alai and other bloggers sent Waiguru to vie in Kirinyaga.
At this point, Alai may have been told his name had been cancelled. Furious, he texted President Uhuru. The president replied.
Early morning today when he pulled over at the gate of state house, again, his name was not among those to attend the event. If the President had sanctioned his entry to state house, that order had not been relayed down the rank and file.
There seemed to have been, on the contrary, clear instructions to lock him out. Once again, Alai reached out to the President.
“We were just turning to get back to town when he was called back. Apparently the President had ordered he gets access to the event. I saw him being escorted in as I left the place,” a friend to Alai who had accompanied him.
During the meeting, the President ordered review of all Independent Power producers (IPPs). He wondered why the cost of goods continue to rise while power costs have significantly fallen.
“Our objective of increasing supply and reliability in order to give access to electricity to all Kenyans at an affordable rate is firmly on course. But more importantly, we want to ensure that our industries are also able to access power that can make us globally competitive,” he said.
Other participants at the summit included Energy CS Charles Keter, his PS Eng. Joseph Njoroge, KPLC MD Ben Chumo and KETRACO MD Fernandes Barasa.

Monday 25 July 2016

Malik's Trump endorsement exposes frosty relationship with Obama

By NELCON ODHIAMBO
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President Barack Obama’s half-brother, Malik Abong’o, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2014 to discuss the death of their aunt Zeituni Onyango.
President Barack Obama’s half-brother, Malik Abong’o, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2014 to discuss the death of their aunt Zeituni Onyango. Mr Malik has endorsed Republican Party candidate Donald Trump. PHOTO | COURTESY 
An excited Mr Trump on Monday tweeted that Mr Malik will vote for him.
US President Barack Obama’s half-brother Malik says he endorsed the election of Republican Party candidate Donald Trump because he is a “down-to-earth” person.
An excited Mr Trump on Monday tweeted that Mr Malik will vote for him.
“Wow, President Obama’s brother Malik just announced that he is voting for me,” tweeted the flamboyant billionaire, who will fight it out with Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton for the White House.
On Sunday, Mr Malik described Mr Trump as a visionary leader who will help transform the US economy.
“Donald is a down-to-earth kind of person, he also approaches issues directly and does not mince his words and being a candidate of the Republican Party I support his candidature,” said Mr Malik in a phone interview with the Nation.
OBAMA'S AUNT
Mr Malik said he supports the Republican Party because it had stopped the deportation of his aunt Zeituni Onyango.
Ms Onyango was the half-sister of Mr Obama's father.
According to Mr Malik, then US President George Bush came up with policies that accommodated Ms Onyango, who was given asylum.
Ms Onyango went to the US in 2000 and sought political asylum in 2002. Her asylum application was rejected in 2004, and she was ordered to leave the US.
She, however, refused to leave and sought American citizenship. However, a court granted her asylum in 2010. 
Ms Onyango died in April 2014 and her body was flown to Kisumu for burial.
FROSTY RELATIONSHIP
The relationship between Mr Malik and his famous brother has been frosty. Mr Malik in 2008 opposed then senator Obama’s candidature for the US presidency.
On Monday, Mr Malik accused President Obama of ignoring his Kenyan family and the African continent after he was elected the first black president of the US despite using his Kenyan roots as a strong pillar of his 2008 presidential campaigns.
“President Obama is my brother and I love him, but he is a hypocrite because he has neglected his African heritage and wants nothing to do with it despite campaigning on a platform that he will help transform Africa,” said Mr Malik.
He urged Americans to vote for Mr Trump and Republican Party candidates. 
Already, President Obama has endorsed Mrs Clinton, saying she is the most qualified to succeed him and protect his legacy.
(Editing by Joel Muinde)

Obama's brother says he's voting for Trump in November

Malik Obama e Donald Trump© Malik Obama e Donald Trump Malik Obama e Donald Trump 
President Barack Obama's half-brother, Malik Obama, says he will vote for Republican nominee Donald Trump in the U.S. election in November because he likes the candidate and he is unhappy with his brother's leadership.
Malik, who is in his 50s, told Reuters by phone from Obama's ancestral home of Kogelo in western Kenya that he supports Trump's policies, especially his focus on security.
"He appeals to me and also I think that he is down to earth and he speaks from the heart and he is not trying to be politically correct. He's just straight-forward," he said.
Malik, a U.S. citizen, has lived in Washington since 1985 where he worked with various firms before becoming an independent financial consultant.
Trump's stance against Muslims coming in to the United States was understandable even to Muslims like himself, Malik said.
"I'm a Muslim, of course, but you can't have people going around just shooting people and killing people just in the name of Islam," he said.
He criticized President Obama's record in the White House saying he had not done much for the American people and his extended family despite the high expectations that accompanied his election in 2008, both in the United States and Kenya.
The two men appear to have drifted apart but were previously close. Malik has visited the president in the Oval office and was also best man at Barack's wedding.
Obama's election created much excitement in Kenya especially in Kogelo village where their father was born before going to study at the University of Hawaii.
Obama visited Nairobi, in the first ever trip by a sitting U.S. president to the East African nation last July, and promised to visit more often when he leaves office.
Malik defended his right to criticize his brother, citing freedom of expression.
"To each his own. I speak my mind and I'm not going to be put in a box just because my brother is the President of the United States," Malik said.
(Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Details of Otuoma’s meeting with Raila Odinga

By LINET WAFULA
More by this Author
24th July 2016.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga (left)  having a word with Kilifi Women Rep Aisha Jumwa (centre) as Funyula MP Paul Otuoma looks on. Dr Otuoma met Cord leader during his tour of Western Kenya on July 19, 2016. | PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Opposition leader Raila Odinga (left) having a word with Kilifi Women Rep Aisha Jumwa (centre) as Funyula MP Paul Otuoma looks on. Dr Otuoma met Cord leader during his tour of Western Kenya on July 19, 2016. | PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

Summary

  • Dr Otuoma raised fears that the ODM nominations in Busia County may not be free and fair given Mr Odinga’s long term association with current Governor Sospeter Ojamong.
  • Dr Otuoma said he had met Mr Oparanya and Siaya Senator James Orengo and shared his concerns on the manner the party was being run.
  • Dr Otuoma has maintained that he is in ODM to stay despite his protestations.
  • On Saturday, Dr Otuoma criticised Mr Odinga for using the five-day tour to undermine his and Mr Namwamba’s leadership by parading their political opponents at the constituency level.
The leaders met at Oparanya’s rural residence but MP could not confirm.Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga held a meeting with Funyula MP Paul Otuoma on Tuesday night in a bid to stem the growing rebellion within the party in Western region.
The meeting, Sunday Nation learnt, was held at the rural residence of Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya at Emabole in Butere sub county.
In attendance were Mr Oparanya, Butere MP Andrew Toboso and Mr Oparanya’s Chief of Staff Nabii Nabwera.
“Yes, Dr Otuoma met the party leader on Tuesday night to discuss some of the issues he has been complaining about. They met at Mr Oparanya’s home on Tuesday night and he explained in great detail his grievances,” Mr Toboso confirmed.
He said Dr Otuoma raised fears that the ODM nominations in Busia County may not be free and fair given Mr Odinga’s long term association with current Governor Sospeter Ojamong.
“Raila assured Otuoma that the exercise will be free and fair. He told him the best he (Otuoma) could do was to campaign aggressively among the electorate to get the ticket if he carries the day,” Mr Toboso stated.
Dr Otuoma could not however categorically confirm or deny that he met Mr Odinga, only insisting that he had always yearned for an opportunity to meet Mr Odinga to express genuine grievances undermining the party in Western region.
Tumesema kwamba siri za nyumbani hatupeleki barabarani (we have said that we don't wash our dirty linen in public),” said Dr Otuoma when reached.
“Everybody should be free to meet the party leader and raise any issue affecting the party. In fact the senior most ODM leader in Parliament Jakoyo Midiwo should be the one organising meetings with the party leader,” he added.
GROWING REBELLION
He however said he had previously met Mr Oparanya and Siaya Senator James Orengo and shared his concerns on the manner the party was being run.
The meeting came against the backdrop of growing rebellion within the ODM ranks which has seen Dr Otuoma and Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba resign from their positions as vice-chairman and secretary-general of the party respectively.
Whereas Dr Otuoma has maintained that he is in ODM to stay despite his protestations, Mr Namwamba has been taking every opportunity to invite politicians to ditch it going by the ongoings in the party.
On Friday, Mr Namwamba publicly called on Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula to ditch Cord after the latter said on a television show that Mr Odinga could not win the 2017 presidential race.
Mr Wetang’ula had claimed that Cord supporters were tired of voting for Mr Odinga only for his votes to be stolen. Both Dr Otuoma and Mr Namwamba were not part of Mr Odinga’s entourage to the region.
Speaking on Satuday, Dr Otuoma criticised Mr Odinga for using the five-day tour to undermine his and Mr Namwamba’s leadership by parading their political opponents at the constituency level.
“We thought he would use this opportunity to listen to the grievances of the local people, instead he went parading the so-called aspirants and replacing delegates allied to me and Mr Namwamba,” said the Funyula MP.
He took offence with Mr Odinga’s endorsement of Mr Ojamong’s candidature in the next General Election saying it only confirmed their worst fears that the ODM primaries would not be free and fair.