Posted Monday, November 30, 2015 | by- JACQUELINE KUBANIA Huge Kenyan delegation team sent to France for climate talks

Environmentalists take part in a demonstration calling for climate change justice for Africa, on November 14, 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya. A Kenyan delegation of at least 41 officials will Monday be heading to France for climate change talks. PHOTO | SIMON MAINA | AFP

A Kenyan delegation of at least 41 officials will Monday be heading to France for climate change talks, raising questions about the government’s commitment to cutting public spending.

A tentative list seen by the Daily Nation shows that officials in the Office of the President will form the bulk of the delegates travelling to Paris for the Climate Change Conference (COP21), which seeks to find better ways of managing the devastating effects of global warming.

Some 18 delegates from the Office of the President will be travelling with President Uhuru Kenyatta to Paris, where they will join an advance team of nine officials.

This brings the total number of delegates from the Office of the President to 27.

A former Foreign Affairs official said that the President and two Cabinet secretaries — Ms Amina Mohamed of Foreign and Prof Judi Wakhungu (Environment) will be attending the segment for heads of State.

Usually, he said, they are accompanied by about 30 support staff.

According to the list, the Ministry of Environment, under which climate change falls, had only one delegate on the list, a Ms Fatuma Hussein, of the Climate Change Secretariat.

Although Prof Wakhungu, under whom the ministry falls, was not on the list seen by Nation, a source in her ministry said she had already travelled to Paris.

The source said the CS was accompanied by three other members from the Climate Change Secretariat — Dr Charles Mutai, Mr Omedi Jura and Mr Stephen Kimuyu.

There is a possibility, therefore, that there are more people travelling to Paris than was indicated in the tentative list.

However, some of those on the list on Sunday confirmed to the Nation that they were indeed travelling.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is sending eight officials to the summit, including Ms Mohamed.

A HUGE TEAM

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich — who was listed as a delegate — Sunday confirmed that he would not be travelling to Paris.

Among the officials on the list are National Environment Management Authority boss Geoffrey Wahungu, Kenya Forest Service director Emilio Mugo, Meteorological Services Director James Kongoti and Ms Lulu Hayanga of the State Law Office.

This brings the total number of delegates travelling to Paris to 41.

According to the delegates list, the officials will be travelling today and will be in Paris until December 11.

Parliament will also be sending two members to the talks — Mbita MP Millie Odhiambo and Nairobi County Woman representative Rachel Shebesh.

The large number of delegates raises questions about the government’s commitment to curbing runaway spending, which has left the country in an unprecedented financial crunch.

It is reminiscent of the big delegation of 29 MPs that travelled to the Netherlands for the just-concluded Assembly of State Parties meeting to push Kenya’s position in the case against Deputy President William Ruto and former radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.

The cheapest return ticket to Paris is about Sh130,000.

This means that the delegation of 41 will use more than Sh5.3 million on air fare alone, assuming they all travel economy class.

Hotel bookings will cost another Sh19 million, assuming that the cost of a decent hotel in Paris is about Sh40,000 a night. These costs exclude any per diem paid to the officials.

HYPOCRITICAL GOVERNMENT
Calls to government officials to explain why Kenya needs to send such a large delegation to Paris went unanswered, with most officials contacted referring the Nation to the Foreign Ministry.

Last month, Mr Rotich announced a raft of austerity measures to reduce public spending, just weeks after announcing that the country was experiencing a cash crisis.

Featured prominently in the document were proposed spending cuts on foreign trips by government officials.

According to the brief prepared by the National Treasury, the number of aides who accompany Cabinet and principal secretaries on foreign trips was to have been reduced significantly.

The brief said three Cabinet secretaries have been known to take between six and seven aides on foreign trips.

“The government will be asking Cabinet secretaries and principal secretaries to stop travelling with a battery of aides, including security, personal assistants, secretaries and advisors. The Treasury wants this reduced to a maximum of two aides,” said the brief titled Cracking Whip to Maintain Fiscal Discipline in the Economy.

Cabinet shuffle has finished Uhuru myth

President Kenyatta and DP William Ruto during the media briefing at State House. Photo/Hezron Njoroge

JOHN ONYANDO
November 28, 2015

For once, President Uhuru Kenyatta gave a speech that genuinely resonated with me. The televised message announcing the cabinet changes carried overly sanguine promises as usual, but Uhuru also struck responsive chords with anxious Kenyans by recognising the failings that we have all been complaining about. While speaking to the challenges that have brought him to the lowest point of his presidency, Uhuru was unusually collected throughout the address.
The speech identified key priority areas needing change, such as enhancing efficiency of public officers through fast-tracking adoption of technology; ensuring accountability in public service, by giving more power to accounting officers over expenditure; guaranteeing accessibility of public officers; and simplifying the review of effectiveness of government projects.
Contrary to my expectation, Uhuru sacked all Cabinet Secretaries who were under suspension for corruption. It might seem Anne Waiguru’s resignation earlier in the week removed the blinkers that had impeded Uhuru’s proper view of corruption in government. A days after Waiguru’s resignation, Uhuru termed corruption a national security threat. Even Cord leader Raila Odinga had commended him, saying Uhuru was “finally waking up to the reality and reporting to duty to confront what he and his administration have long refused to see”.
I was weighing the possibility of the Uhuru presidency being on the cusp of a major change – until the president began naming his new nominees. I once more saw the incongruence between Uhuru’s rhetoric and reality. The entire non-performing cabinet team remained intact. Jacob Kaimenyi, who has presided over rot at the Education ministry, was moved to the no less critical Lands docket. James Macharia moves to the super Infrastructure ministry.
Despite the president’s stated concern for high public wage bill, the reshuffle increased the cabinet to 20 members, and state departments (headed by Principal Secretaries) from 26 to 41. Two nominees for cabinet (Charles Keter and Dan Kazungu) are serving Members of Parliament whose confirmation will trigger costly by-elections – expenditures that Uhuru could have spared us, given that the nominees have no special skill he couldn’t get from other Kenyans.
The reshuffle also damaged national cohesion further. Out of the 20 ministers, 11 are from Gema and Kalenjin tribes, who also have 21 out of 46 PS positions. Since the President, Deputy President, Attorney General, and head of the public service also sit in Cabinet, the two communities account for 15 out of 24 cabinet positions.
This lopsided share of national positions gets worse when one considers the fact that the two tribes also lead the ministries and departments with the most power over government and the entire economy, such as finance, energy, transport, education, defensce, security and planning. Such inequities at the top trickles down the bureaucracy, where it is less scrutinised.
As to Uhuru’s stated goals of promoting accountability and efficiency, well, some of the new nominees have legitimate integrity questions. Creating more departments will see more overlaps of duties and burden the taxpayer.
I have seen from comments on social media that the reshuffle enlarged rather than bridge the gulf between Uhuru and his enlightened supporters. How did Uhuru get his act so wrong? While a lot of folks are citing the poor performance of the ministers retained, a good analysis of this presidency points to distinct dynamics that have contributed to eroding the myth Uhuru created among the Kikuyu and Kalenjin tribes – his key support base.
No one can deny that Uhuru’s 2013 election campaign showed a high level of dynamism. The first hurdle they overcame was uniting the two tribes, which had fought each other in previous multiparty elections.
Then, despite insalubrious their histories, ICC charges, and so on Uhuru and Ruto created a perception of a new beginning, concretised in a rebellion against the system (which they embody best, but successfully personified as Raila Odinga). Ruto was the dynamo, but the whole Jubilee team memorised ambitious development research ideas generated by ministries over the years and reproduced them point-by-point in the Jubilee manifesto and rallies.
Jubilee energised its base not by sound policy ideas, but cantankerous attacks on Raila, the international community, civil society, the courts – literally everyone seen as standing on their way – but the messages were made palatable to enlightened supporters through the work of BTP Advisers.
It was a state of hyper-politics that couldn’t be sustained once Uhuru and Ruto were in power. BTP advisers, the invisible Kibaki hand, and the contribution of independent supporters who had fought against a Raila presidency for their own reasons, were all gone. As Uhuru came under pressure to deliver, from very early on the establishment forces he and Ruto embodied worked in conflict with each other – Uhuru trying to steady the system through standard ethnic control, and Ruto fashioning his own patronage networks for his current and future survival.
Ruto has felt extremely isolated for much of the time that corruption has been a top national concern. He has had to be investigated by Parliament – over the hustler jet. His chief of staff, Maryanne Kittany, and URP Cabinet Secretaries were suspended for nearly a year. While he has got two key concessions in the reshuffle – Keter, who goes to Energy, and Willy Bett, in Agriculture – his space for manoeuvre is being gradually curtailed.
Concomitant with Ruto’s marginalisation is elite consolidation, through the appointment of novices or familiar names whose careers have been at the service of capitalist class. Tribalism has become more pervasive, as the latest reshuffle shows, and unlike in 2013 when Ruto was blamed for giving more URP slots to Kalenjins, he is innocent in this. Where Kibaki had powerful non-Kikuyu members of his cabinet, the Johnson Sakajas, Onyango Oloos, Mike Sonkos and Chirau Mwakweres who were seen as Uhuru’s closest non-Kikuyu allies play peripheral roles in the Uhuru government.
What the reshuffle has done is accelerate the demise of the myth, perpetuated since the last election, that Uhuru, being already rich, could pursue some form of egalitarian interests.
- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/cabinet-shuffle-has-finished-uhuru-myth#sthash.ePacGAfP.dpuf

President Kenyatta and DP William Ruto during the media briefing at State House. Photo/Hezron Njoroge

JOHN ONYANDO
November 28, 2015

For once, President Uhuru Kenyatta gave a speech that genuinely resonated with me. The televised message announcing the cabinet changes carried overly sanguine promises as usual, but Uhuru also struck responsive chords with anxious Kenyans by recognising the failings that we have all been complaining about. While speaking to the challenges that have brought him to the lowest point of his presidency, Uhuru was unusually collected throughout the address.
The speech identified key priority areas needing change, such as enhancing efficiency of public officers through fast-tracking adoption of technology; ensuring accountability in public service, by giving more power to accounting officers over expenditure; guaranteeing accessibility of public officers; and simplifying the review of effectiveness of government projects.
Contrary to my expectation, Uhuru sacked all Cabinet Secretaries who were under suspension for corruption. It might seem Anne Waiguru’s resignation earlier in the week removed the blinkers that had impeded Uhuru’s proper view of corruption in government. A days after Waiguru’s resignation, Uhuru termed corruption a national security threat. Even Cord leader Raila Odinga had commended him, saying Uhuru was “finally waking up to the reality and reporting to duty to confront what he and his administration have long refused to see”.
I was weighing the possibility of the Uhuru presidency being on the cusp of a major change – until the president began naming his new nominees. I once more saw the incongruence between Uhuru’s rhetoric and reality. The entire non-performing cabinet team remained intact. Jacob Kaimenyi, who has presided over rot at the Education ministry, was moved to the no less critical Lands docket. James Macharia moves to the super Infrastructure ministry.
Despite the president’s stated concern for high public wage bill, the reshuffle increased the cabinet to 20 members, and state departments (headed by Principal Secretaries) from 26 to 41. Two nominees for cabinet (Charles Keter and Dan Kazungu) are serving Members of Parliament whose confirmation will trigger costly by-elections – expenditures that Uhuru could have spared us, given that the nominees have no special skill he couldn’t get from other Kenyans.
The reshuffle also damaged national cohesion further. Out of the 20 ministers, 11 are from Gema and Kalenjin tribes, who also have 21 out of 46 PS positions. Since the President, Deputy President, Attorney General, and head of the public service also sit in Cabinet, the two communities account for 15 out of 24 cabinet positions.
This lopsided share of national positions gets worse when one considers the fact that the two tribes also lead the ministries and departments with the most power over government and the entire economy, such as finance, energy, transport, education, defensce, security and planning. Such inequities at the top trickles down the bureaucracy, where it is less scrutinised.
As to Uhuru’s stated goals of promoting accountability and efficiency, well, some of the new nominees have legitimate integrity questions. Creating more departments will see more overlaps of duties and burden the taxpayer.
I have seen from comments on social media that the reshuffle enlarged rather than bridge the gulf between Uhuru and his enlightened supporters. How did Uhuru get his act so wrong? While a lot of folks are citing the poor performance of the ministers retained, a good analysis of this presidency points to distinct dynamics that have contributed to eroding the myth Uhuru created among the Kikuyu and Kalenjin tribes – his key support base.
No one can deny that Uhuru’s 2013 election campaign showed a high level of dynamism. The first hurdle they overcame was uniting the two tribes, which had fought each other in previous multiparty elections.
Then, despite insalubrious their histories, ICC charges, and so on Uhuru and Ruto created a perception of a new beginning, concretised in a rebellion against the system (which they embody best, but successfully personified as Raila Odinga). Ruto was the dynamo, but the whole Jubilee team memorised ambitious development research ideas generated by ministries over the years and reproduced them point-by-point in the Jubilee manifesto and rallies.
Jubilee energised its base not by sound policy ideas, but cantankerous attacks on Raila, the international community, civil society, the courts – literally everyone seen as standing on their way – but the messages were made palatable to enlightened supporters through the work of BTP Advisers.
It was a state of hyper-politics that couldn’t be sustained once Uhuru and Ruto were in power. BTP advisers, the invisible Kibaki hand, and the contribution of independent supporters who had fought against a Raila presidency for their own reasons, were all gone. As Uhuru came under pressure to deliver, from very early on the establishment forces he and Ruto embodied worked in conflict with each other – Uhuru trying to steady the system through standard ethnic control, and Ruto fashioning his own patronage networks for his current and future survival.
Ruto has felt extremely isolated for much of the time that corruption has been a top national concern. He has had to be investigated by Parliament – over the hustler jet. His chief of staff, Maryanne Kittany, and URP Cabinet Secretaries were suspended for nearly a year. While he has got two key concessions in the reshuffle – Keter, who goes to Energy, and Willy Bett, in Agriculture – his space for manoeuvre is being gradually curtailed.
Concomitant with Ruto’s marginalisation is elite consolidation, through the appointment of novices or familiar names whose careers have been at the service of capitalist class. Tribalism has become more pervasive, as the latest reshuffle shows, and unlike in 2013 when Ruto was blamed for giving more URP slots to Kalenjins, he is innocent in this. Where Kibaki had powerful non-Kikuyu members of his cabinet, the Johnson Sakajas, Onyango Oloos, Mike Sonkos and Chirau Mwakweres who were seen as Uhuru’s closest non-Kikuyu allies play peripheral roles in the Uhuru government.
What the reshuffle has done is accelerate the demise of the myth, perpetuated since the last election, that Uhuru, being already rich, could pursue some form of egalitarian interests.

- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/cabinet-shuffle-has-finished-uhuru-myth#sthash.ePacGAfP.dpuf

Secret to soft-layered chapatis

May 15, 2015

THE SECRET TO SOFT LAYERED CHAPATIS.

Hi guys,
After the numerous requests on how to make soft layered chapatis I have decided to post a detailed recipe and tips on how to make soft and sweet layered chapatis.
Ingredients.
– all purpose flour ( I find EX easier to work with.)
– sugar and/or salt
-vegetable oil
-water and/or milk.(room temperature or slightly warm).
( Where I have indicated and/or ,you can use either one or both depending on the availability or preference.)
Procedure.
-Combine 4 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, a 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in a bowl. Using your hands or flour mixer, mix these ingredients well until  they all come together.
– Add water in bits with one hand as the other hand continuously combines it with the flour mix. Continue this until most of the dough is sticky then stop. Now kneed the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 to 15 minutes until you get a firm dough. If the dough is sticky, alternate between sprinkling some more flour and applying the salad oil to your hands. when you apply the oil to your hands the dough stops sticking to your hands hence making the kneading process easier. Continue this until the dough is smooth and tou can knead without it sticking to your hands or the surface.
* my tip on testing if the flour is ready: put a finger through the dough until you touch the bottom then take it out. If it comes out clean or with very minimal dough stuck to it then its ready.
– place the dough in a bowl and cover it with a piece of cloth and let it rest for about an hour.
– After the wait, cut the dough in to equal balls and place them on a floured surface.
..On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until you achieve adiameter of about 16cm. Add 1/2 a tablespoon of oil and spread it on top of the rolled out dough. Make a cut from the centre to the top part of the dough then lift the right side of the cut and roll the chapatti in to a cone. Tuck the last bit at the bottom of the cone and ttich the tip of the cone towards the centre by placing a finger at the tip and pressing it downwards. Repeat this process until all the balls are done.
– On a lightly floured surface ,roll out each cone at a time and place it on a heated pan. Let it sit for about a minute or two or until bubbles can be seen forming . Turn it and spread 1/2 a tablespoon of oil on the surface then turn it back. Now apply oil to the upper part of the chapati and using a spoon lift it partly to check if the bottom side is well done. If so, turn it once more and let the other side cook. When done, remove the chapati from the heat and place it on a dry surface and keep covered with a clean piece of cloth. Repeat this until all the chapatis are done.
And there you have it, sweet,soft layered chapatis.

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Saturday, November 28, 2015 Despite a good fight, Kenya got hollow victory at assembly of state parties talks

 
Cabinet Secretaries Amina Mohamed (Foreign, right) and Raychelle Omamo (Defence) at the opening of the 14th session of the Assembly of States Parties at the Hague. While Kenya had hoped for support from the other 33 African state parties to the Rome Statute, only Uganda spoke in Kenya’s support. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Summary

• While Kenya had hoped for support from the other 33 African state parties to the Rome Statute, only Uganda spoke in Kenya’s support.
• Ultimately, what Kenya got out of the Assembly was consensus by members that language would be included in the report of its proceedings, as opposed to a resolution, that Rule 68 does not apply retrospectively.
• On behalf of 34 other countries, Canada expressed the view that the record should reflect that the ICC was an independent court body and free from political interference.
• To increase its leverage, Kenya also started putting roadblocks on the negotiation of the omnibus resolution by objecting to almost everything proposed and thus delaying consensus.

There is much confusion about what actually happened at the 14th Assembly of States Parties (ASP) regarding Kenya’s endeavour to ensure that Rule 68 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence is not applied retrospectively in the case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Deputy President William Ruto and journalist Joshua arap Sang.

Kenya went to the Assembly with two demands.

First, that Rule 68, which allows the use of recanted evidence, be suspended in relation to the case against the Deputy President.

This demand was based on Kenya’s assertion that assurances had been made during the 12th Assembly in 2013, when the rule was amended, that it would not be applied retrospectively on the Kenyan cases.

The second demand was for the appointment of an independent panel of jurists to investigate allegations that there had been misconduct by the Office of the Prosecutor in the investigation of the Kenyan cases.

On the first issue, Kenya expected a resolution by the Assembly stating that Rule 68 would not be applied to the Kenyan cases.

Pursuit of such a resolution, however, failed on the day that the issue came up for debate before the Assembly.

While Kenya had hoped for support from the other 33 African state parties to the Rome Statute, only Uganda spoke in Kenya’s support.

All the other African countries chose to remain silent during the debate, while non-African countries opposed the demands.

Kenya was badly isolated.

Further, it transpired that the parliaments of Mali and Cote d’Ivoire had sent petitions to the bureau — the ASP’s executive committee — opposing the listing of Kenya’s items in the agenda of the Assembly, which meant that the unified African position that Kenya had projected was only an illusion.

AN AUTONOMOUS BODY
Ultimately, what Kenya got out of the Assembly was consensus by members that language would be included in the report of its proceedings, as opposed to a resolution, that Rule 68 does not apply retrospectively.

In ordinary-speak, what Kenya got was a concession that the minutes of the 14th Assembly would show that the minutes of the 12th Assembly had decided that Rule 68 would not apply retrospectively.

Since there was no dispute that the minutes of the 12th Assembly, in fact, said this, and since the body of the rule also provided this, Kenya was fighting over nothing.

During the week, there was a long stalemate resulting from Kenya’s demand for a resolution.

The bureau rejected the possibility of a resolution and was only prepared to allow a statement in the record of proceedings.

Thus, Kenya failed in its intention that Rule 68 be suspended, and in the further intention that there should be a formal resolution to this effect, or to any other effect, touching on the rule.

Instead, the Assembly in essence noted Kenya’s interpretation in its proceedings.

In practical terms, this was a vacuous outcome for Kenya because Rule 68 itself makes a qualified declaration that it will not apply retrospectively.

A number of countries that were concerned about any negative effect that might result from Kenya’s insistence that the proceedings reflect its view on Rule 68, then also insisted that their own reservations should be officially recorded.

On behalf of 34 other countries, Canada expressed the view that the record should reflect that the ICC was an independent court body and free from political interference.

Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Austria insisted that the Assembly must preserve the integrity of the Rome Statute.

OMNIBUS RESOLUTION
Kenya also failed in its demands for appointment of a panel of jurists to investigate the Prosecutor.

There was concern that this was Kenya’s attempt to gain access to information about witnesses with a view to tampering with them.

Again, the Assembly only agreed to reflect Kenya’s concerns in its proceedings.

Kenya engaged in remarkable arm-twisting during the two weeks that the Assembly lasted.

Having lost during the plenary debate, Kenya created its own new chances for re-debating the issue in the second week.

With the option of the Assembly now shut, Kenya opened a new frontier of engagement in the new week, by initiating an attempt to have the substance of its concerns included in the omnibus resolution of the Assembly.

The “omnibus resolution” is a wide-ranging general resolution that the Assembly passes each year, as a high-level affirmation of continuing commitment to the ideals behind the Rome Statute.

Kenya now wanted the working group on the omnibus resolution to also include a paragraph to the effect that Rule 68 would not apply retrospectively.

During Monday’s open meeting of the bureau, there was much hostility towards Kenya, with several bureau members objecting to the fact that Kenya was pursuing two tracks for one issue.

With the path to the omnibus resolution blocked, Kenya was confined to negotiating within the bureau, where a number of members took the view that Kenya could not get from the bureau what it had failed to get from the Assembly.

With the bureau adamant, Kenya was forced to downscale its demands and, several times, provided drafting that might be acceptable to the bureau.

Kenya also downscaled its demands regarding the form in which whatever outcome it desired would be reflected.

Originally, Kenya wanted a suspension of Rule 68 but then climbed down to demanding a stand-alone resolution, before further climbing down to seeking inclusion in the omnibus resolution.

With that possibility also blocked, Kenya now negotiated for the inclusion of its language in the report of the proceedings of the Assembly.

THE INSIDE STORY
Kenya tried several other tactics, including a side event, to further explain its case.

At the event, Kenya made a well-articulated statement on the reasons why it was seeking a decision on Rule 68.

A representative of the prosecutor’s office replied that the issues Kenya had raised in the session were a replica of arguments that the African Union and Ruto’s defence team had made in his case in court, and which was pending a decision of the judges.

There are only snippets of information about what actually happened behind the closed doors of the bureau.

At one point, Kenya stormed out of a meeting of the bureau.

Throughout the negotiation, Kenya maintained its threat to pull out of the ICC if it did not get what it wanted.

On Thursday, Kenya informed bureau members that it would withdraw from the ICC and that the Kenyan Cabinet was meeting in an hour to implement the decision of Parliament to withdraw.

Kenya also threatened that it would report to the AU in January, a threat that Foreign Affairs minister Amina Mohammed had already made during the open debate at the Assembly.

Three other African countries, Uganda, Burundi and Namibia, are said to have expressed readiness to join Kenya’s walkout.

To increase its leverage, Kenya also started putting roadblocks on the negotiation of the omnibus resolution by objecting to almost everything proposed and thus delaying consensus.

In private, Kenyan MPs, frustrated by the obstacles Kenya was meeting, also maintained threats that they would use their influence to ensure that the government did not award contracts to countries that had opposed its efforts at the Assembly.

The ugly drama at ASP on Rule 68 doesnt help Ruto

It is either an exceptionally powerful death wish or pure innocence – or even both. As Kenya was pleading for Papal prayers this week, a large detail of State officials was clowning before the world, at the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) and embarrassing their government and country. They were in Europe to protest against perceived injustice in the case against Deputy President William Ruto. Mostly made of legislators, they have created the curious narrative that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has conspired with the Opposition to “fix” the Deputy President, “so that he does not ascend to power when President Uhuru Kenyatta retires in 2022.” They carried their usual juvenile unruliness to a solemn and structured international forum. They behaved as if they were at one of their peculiar “prayer meetings,” where nihilism is the norm. They screamed, heckled, clowned and made themselves preposterous. Who sends out people to fool about like this? A bigger question begs, however. Does the DP ever reflect on the wider significance of the tomfoolery going on in the name of saving him? Does it ever occur to him that these people, claiming to be his dyed-in-the-wool friends, are pushing him towards a possible jail sentence by the ICC? Our people say that the ear that will die does not listen to medicine. They also say when cows know that one of them will be slain, they will tease and lead her to the slaughterhouse. Is someone determined that the DP should be pronounced guilty? Or is it only his own naiveté? Does he lack the capacity to recognise that the ugly drama that has played out these so many months does not help his case at all? If the DP lacks the capacity to read this situation correctly, he would probably have some genuine friends – or family? They would advise him that not everybody who protests about him cares for him? He would know that this noise and drama is about themselves. In the end, these people don’t really care about what happens to Ruto. Put in simple terms, the DP is alleged to have mobilised people to violence that amounted to crimes against humanity. That he is so powerful that Kenyan courts cannot try him; he is virtually “above the law.” Accordingly, the ICC being a political court, is trying him because at home “he is protected by impunity.” Now each time these MPs hold aggressive “prayer meetings” and abuse the ICC, they reinforce the perception that “here is an extremely powerful politician who enjoys fanatic support at home. He can mobilise people on a huge scale to do whatever he wants them to do.” When they carry this conduct to international forums, they leave everyone there saying, “If they can behave like this here where they have no authority over us, how more vile are they back home?” The ICC does not pretend to be a normal court. The Rome Statute states very clearly that this is a political court, established to try powerful politicians who enjoy impunity at home, or in whose countries the court system has collapsed. These people are not helping Ruto. They will be his undoing. It is a pity that this week they adulterated the diplomatic gains the Papal visit brought to the Jubilee Government. Meanwhile back at home we have been of good comportment while the Papal visit lasted. Indeed, we began even before the Holy Father arrived. My mother told me we were acting preemptively. We did not want the world to attribute to the Pope the reforms that we made. And so beleaguered Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru resigned – or asked the President to relieve her of her duties and give her a lighter load. Suspended Cabinet Secretaries were finally dismissed. Seven new secretaries were appointed. Ethics and Anti Corruption Commissioners were nominated. The Riot Act was read to those who would dare to be corrupt. Even the private sector got its own script from State House. See also: Leaders’ conduct over ICC unbecoming Mama Roselyn believes all this was window dressing. She says it was all meant to impress the Pope – that our true conduct was what was happening before the ASP. She has been around for nearly eight decades. I have learnt from her some of the things I have previously said in this column. She could therefore be right. I pray that she is wrong. When President Kenyatta read the Riot Act in Parliament in March, she told me all that was hot air. Nothing would come of it. The President’s tough words would vaporise into nothing. I disagreed. I must accept we have achieved nothing since March. Mama Roselyn was right. I was wrong. Which leads me to this Cabinet reshuffle. Why did President Kenyatta shortchange Kenyan women? I have attended, this week, the International Commission of Jurists Annual meeting. We pondered over moving from rhetoric to action on the question of inclusion of women in leadership. It is difficult to understand why the President keeps shortchanging women. Why does the President ignore a Constitution he has taken oath to protect? Do you have something to add to this story? Comment here.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000183837/the-ugly-drama-at-asp-on-rule-68-doesn-t-help-ruto

Posted Thursday, November 26, 2015 | by- FLORENCE KITHINJI To err may be human but to forgive is divine

Pope Francis gives his weekly general audience in St Peter's square on November 18, 2015 at the Vatican. Married Catholic priests in Kenya want Pope Francis to spare a moment and meet them during his visit to the country. AFP PHOTO | ANDREAS SOLARO
 
Whether or not you are a Catholic, this has been a historic week, with the visit of Pope Francis to Kenya. One of the central messages given by the Catholic leader is on the importance of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is very important because it frees the person who forgives from the prison of un-forgiveness.

You may not know it, but as long as you hold a grudge against someone, you are a prisoner. The other person may not know that they hurt you.

Everyone needs forgiveness. If you haven’t already, please watch the 2007 movie: The Note, directed by Douglas Barr. It is a story about a columnist by the name Genie Francis who came across a note that had been written by a passenger in a plane that

had unfortunately crashed, leaving no survivors. The writer had written a simple note: “Dear T, All is forgiven. Love, Dad”.

The journalist embarks on a journey of locating the intended recipient of the note. She decides to track all the families of the men on the flight, hoping to give the note to its intended recipient.

As she does so, she is led through a journey of self-discovery, as are all the individuals she contacts.

For instance, there was a man whose father was a pastor. The man is not sure whether he should stay in the church that his father had founded. After reading the note, he recalls the conversations he had with his father, and knows that he needed to step into his father’s shoes.

An embittered female singer whose foster father had died on the plane has a chance to reflect on her life when she gets the note and makes a change for the better.

CENTRAL TO LIFE

The journalist herself has some learning to do. Years ago, she had given up her new-born child for adoption and had never forgiven herself for having done it. As she meets different people, she realises that forgiveness is central to life itself.

Eventually she finds the real owner of the note. Christine, who had been adopted at birth, got into a quarrel with her adoptive father just before he got onto the fateful plane. Her words were hurtful.

Her dad must have realised that the plane would crash and had the time to write the note, thus giving her the gift of forgiveness.

The beautiful twist is that Christine was the daughter that the journalist had given up at birth. She too has a chance to ask for forgiveness.

One of the lessons I learnt was that it was important to use each opportunity you are with someone that hurt you to mend fences. Don’t leave unsaid what you can say today-one day it might be too late. Don’t wait for next time because sometimes, next time never comes!

I also learnt that it is important not to judge people on face value, because you don’t know everything about them. They may be hiding secret hurts that make them behave the way they do. Instead of becoming judgemental, learn to ask yourself, ‘What circumstances or hurts might this person have gone through for them to become like this?”

Always be accommodating and forgiving because you don’t know the whole story.

When is the last time you wrote a note of forgiveness to someone? You might want to start with yourself. Are there things that you need to forgive yourself for having done or failed to do? Next, who are the people that have hurt you? Have you locked them out of your life by holding back forgiveness?

You need to write them a note of forgiveness so that you free yourself of the burden of un-forgiveness.

Please write a forgiveness note to someone today. Even if you don’t get to give them the note, please write it. Go on, do it before it is too late!

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Previous

Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.

I am a reason because I believed the unbelievable.
I am a reason because I did not give up.
I am reason because I desired freedom from the shackles of poverty and I was determined to achieve it.
Success does not automatically qualify for riches. It means that you have achieved what you set out to achieve.
I recently watched a Coca Cola advert about the perceptions we have of others and the statement ‘Labels are for cans, not people’ struck me.
Indeed, ‘labels are for cans, not people’. It doesn’t matter what your parent, teacher, relative, leader, competitor, ex-lover has labeled you. You need to understand that you are more than that label and reach out for your greatness.
While growing up, I may have feared for ‘tomorrow’ but I never doubted that I would succeed.
I was raised in abject poverty; the sole definition of poverty was me and honestly I didn’t feel as though I was anything more than that. I was educated by well-wishers whom I never got to meet and thank. I would attend school without shoes; I mean, shoes were a luxury I simply could not afford. During one of the holidays my well-wishers bought me a pair of shoes which unfortunately I was afraid to use for fear of destroying them. When schools closed, I would never look forward to going home because of my status, so my friends would invite me to share in their festivities with their families.
Eventually, I began working over the holidays and I’d wear the only pair of shoes I had to move around so that I’d look presentable. I would use my earnings to support my brother’s education (now a professor at USIU) and whatever was left would cater to our basic needs.
Several times, I would watch my friends and their families, and desire some of the things they had. I vowed that I would not be bound by the shackles of poverty. I knew that one day my education and knowledge would be my means to success.
At that time, success for me was the ability to complete my education, earn money and cater to my basic needs (and that of my siblings) as well as seeing my younger brother complete his education.
One thing is for sure; my difficult background did not deter me from having a vision. You see, poverty motivates those who have tasted its impact, and since I was lucky to have received support and advice from others, that was all the wealth I needed. For me, advice and encouragement was more valuable than money. It gave me the zeal and determination to do and achieve more.
I always say that you can be down but not out. The fact that you have failed on several occasions or fallen should not mean you quit. Only quit and move to the next thing if it’s not working out for you.
Just like a little child who tries to ride a bike, keeps falling but never gives up, or the tailor who kept trying to put the thread through the needle and eventually did it and began selling great threads, you cannot afford to give up. You are your only beacon of hope. When you decide to do something, DO IT! And if you don’t, you have no one else to blame but yourself.
Going to school barefoot and getting the education I got created opportunities that I never dreamt of. I never knew I would end up getting an opportunity to increase my knowledge at some of the advanced institutions in the world like Harvard. Better still, I never knew that same knowledge would help me establish successful businesses and gain a wealth of experience that would take me to sit on the external board advising the President of Harvard.
The soles of my shoes only know the many miles I have traversed and the struggles I have endured. Those struggles define my success and my reason for being.
Make sure you define your success; define your reason and be the reason. Remember, mistakes are proof that you are trying. Keep trying and be the reason you or someone smiles each day. Don’t let the label limit your potential.
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Posted Wednesday, November 25, 2015 | by- DAILY MONITOR Do not believe what Museveni tells you, Besigye tells Ugandans

KAMPALA, Tuesday

Forum for Democratic Change presidential candidate Kizza Besigye has told Ugandans not to believe President Yoweri Museveni when he says he will not seek re-election in 2021.

Museveni, 71 said at a press conference during his tour of West Nile last week that should he win next year’s elections, he would respect the law that bars anyone above 75 from contesting for presidency.

“What am I planning to do? I will follow the Constitution,” Museveni said.

However, Besigye said Museveni was not sincere.

“An adult cannot change. Do you think Museveni can stop telling lies?” he asked a crowd at a rally in Budadiri, Sironko District.

He also reacted to an article in one of the dailies in which presidential adviser John Nagenda said Museveni would respect the law.

“It is surprising that Nagenda thinks some Ugandans still listen to Museveni and his term talk,” Besigye said.

TERM LIMITS

In 2001, Museveni said if given a second term in office, he would step down in 2006. The constitution was later amended to do away with term limits.

There are claims that NRM, which enjoys a 67 per cent majority in parliament could amend the law to increase Museveni’s terms.

Besigye also drew in presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi, who was a powerful figure in Museveni’s government until they fell out.

“You have heard Mbabazi say he parted ways with the president because Museveni lied to him about this being his last term,” he said.

In Kitgum, President Museveni said he would fix problems in education by building a primary school in every parish and a secondary school in every sub-county countrywide. 

FREE EDUCATION

The NRM leader was addressing a rally at Boma Grounds.

Posted  Wednesday, November 25, 2015 |  by- DAILY MONITOR

Do not believe what Museveni tells you, Besigye tells Ugandans

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He reiterated his promise to provide pupils with sanitary towels, pens, pencils and exercise books to support free education. 

Museveni also promised to invest Sh600 billion in the next five years for wealth creation.

He said the money would be used to make every household have an acre of citrus trees or coffee.  

NAMOKORA AND MUCWINI MASSACRES

Earlier, he told a gathering that included relatives of people killed in the Namokora and Mucwini massacres of 1986 that he had instructed the solicitor-general to investigate the incidents but did not explain why it had taken that long to address the matter. 

The victims’ relatives, who are demanding compensation, want the government to build a monument in memory of the people reportedly killed by the army’s 35th Battalion.

And in an interesting twist, Museveni said he was ready to take on Besigye, Mbabazi and other candidates in a televised debate.

“I am ready for Besigye, Mbabazi and other candidates for the debate. What is wrong with that? I am mobile with my mouth. I do not leave it at home,” he said.

LIVE TELEVISION DEBATE

Last week, Dr Besigye dared the president to a live television debate.

In Kayunga, Farmers Party of Uganda presidential candidate Benon Biraaro,  promised to build a special prison for those convicted of corruption if he was elected president.

“The prison will be at Kidepo National Park in Karamoja. If they attempt to escape, they will be eaten by lions,” Maj Gen (rtd) Biraaro said.

The rally in Nazigo was temporally stopped by the Kayunga District NRM boss Moses Karangwa who distributed President Museveni’s posters.

In Buikwe, presidential aspirant Abed Bwanika showered praises on the Milton Obote and Idi Amin regimes.

Dr Obote, the founding leader of Uganda People’s Congress was president from 1966 to 1971 and 1980 to 1985 while Amin ruled the country from 1971 to 1979.

These two regimes were criticised internationally for gross human rights violations.

The People’s Development Party boss said Obote and Amin left lasting legacies.

Understanding the German Cases: Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genetive

So you’ve been learning German and the cases are driving you up the wall, worry no more. Here’s a short crash course:
First, a simple sentence to explain the object, verb and subject:

I love you. Ich liebe dich.

I (Subject) Love (verb) You (Object).

Contents

• 1 Nominative:
• 2 Accusative:
• 3 Dative:
• 4 Genetive:

Nominative:

This is the “factory setting” or if you like, the pure form. Der, die, das. Usually used when the item is the subject in the statement. You don’t need to do anything to these words, they are as you find them in the dictionary.

Accusative:

The direct object (accusative) functions as the receiver of the action of a transitive verb.
Certain German prepositions are governed by the accusative case. That is, they take an object in the accusative case. The accusative prepositions tend to be used a lot and it is important to learn them early in your study of German.
There are two kinds of accusative prepositions:

(1) those that are always accusative and never anything else, (durch, für, gegen, ohne, um) and
(2) certain “two-way” prepositions that can be either accusative or dative – depending on how they are used. (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen)

The basic rule for determining whether a two-way preposition should have an object in the accusative or dative case is motion versus location. If there is motion towards something or to a specific location (wohin?, where to?), then usually that is accusative. If there is no motion at all or random motion going nowhere in particular (wo?, where (at)?), then that is usually dative. This rule applies only to the so-called “two-way” or “dual” prepositions in German.

Dative:

Unlike the accusative, which only changes in the masculine gender, the dative changes in all genders and in the plural. The pronouns also change correspondingly. The indirect object (dative) is usually the receiver of the direct object (accusative).

Der Polizist gibt dem Fahrer einen Strafzettel.
The policeman is giving the driver a ticket.

The dative case is also used after certain prepositions (zu, mit, gegenüber, nach, aus, außer, bei, seit, von) and verbs (gratulieren, hören, gehören, gefallen, helfen, glauben e.t.c.).

Genetive:

Shows possession. In English, it’s signified by the apostrophe s (‘s).

• Mum’s car (Mutters Auto)
• Angela’s dad (Angelas Vater)

German and English Genitive share the same idea but the don’t share the same mechanics. English marks the noun, German marks noun AND article. The German Genitive element, so the person or thing who owns something can be put before and after the possessed thing.
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HERE is the FULL LIST of 46 Principal Secretaries Appointed By Uhuru in A Cabinet Reshuffle

Uhuru has increased the number of sub-ministries from 22 to 46 a more than 105% increase in WAGE BILL. Here below are the full names of the new appointees who will be in charge of ‘eating’ in the new sub-ministries.
PRINCIPAL SECRETARIES NOVEMBER 2015
Ministry Name
1 Agriculture Richard Lesiyampe
2 Arts, Culture Joe Okudo
3 Basic Education Dr Belio Kipsang
4 Broadcasting & Telecommunications Sammy Itemere
5 Cooperatives Ali Noor Ismail
6 Correctional Services Micah Powon
7 Defence Amb Peter K Kaberia
8 Devolution Mwanamaka Mabruki
9 EAC Integration Betty Chemutai Maina 10 Energy Eng. Joseph Njoroge
11 Environment Charles Sunkuli
12 Fisheries Prof Ntiba Micheni
13 Interior Eng. Karanja Kibicho
14 Youth and Public Service Lilian Omollo
15 Health Nicholas Muraguri 16 Housing & Urban Development Aidah
Munano
17 ICT & Innovation Victor Kyalo
18 Industry & Enterprise Development
Julius Korir
19 Infrastructure John Musonik 20 Foreign Dr Amb Monica Juma
21 International Trade Dr Chris Kiptoo
22 Irrigation Patrick Nduati Mwangi
23 Labour Khadija Kassachoom
24 Lands Mariam El Maawy
25 Livestock Dr Andrew K Tuimur 26 Maritime Commerce Nancy Karigithu
27 Mining Dr Mohammed Ibrahim
Mahmud
28 National Treasury Kamau Thugge
29 National Water Services Fred Sigor
30 Natural Resources Dr Margaret Mwakima
31 Petroleum Andrew Kamau Nganga
32 Planning & Statistics Saitoti Torome
33 Public Works Dr Paul Maringa Mwangi
34 Social Security & Services Susan
Mochache 35 Special Programmes Josepheta
Mukobe
36 Sports Development Richard Ekai
37 Tourism Fatuma Hersi
38 Transport Wilson Nyakera Irungu
39 University (Higher) Education Prof Colleta Suda
40 Vocational & Technical Training Dr
Dinah Jerotich Mwinzi
41 Gender Affairs Zeinab W Hussein

Senator Moses Kajwang on Cabinet Reshuffle

By Hon Moses Kajwang: 25.11.2015
The true objective of the cabinet announcement was to confirm the sacking of disgraced Cabinet Secretaries (CS) Ngilu, Waiguru, Ole Lenku, Chirchir, Kosgey, Kambi and Kamau (yes, Ole Lenku was still a minister without portfolio).
Then President pooped the party by replacing them with tribesmen. Ngilu with Mailu; Waiguru with Kiunjuri; Chirchir with Keter; Kambi with Kazungu; Kamau with Kariuki; Kosgey with Bett.
Must you be Kalenjin or Kikuyu to have an above average chance of serving this nation as a CS? Article 130(2) of the Constitution requires the executive to reflect the regional and ethnic outlook of the nation.
Was there any ideological message in the reconstituted cabinet?
With Kenya on the verge of an economic, social and political meltdown, and with less than two years to elections, does Jubilee have the luxury to experiment with ministerial appointees?Take the ministry of Lands as an example; the new appointee is a professor of dentistry who has precipitated the worst education crisis in Kenya in the two years he has served as Education CS. What new ideas will he offer in Lands? Yet unresolved land grievances remain the single most potent issue that can lead to civil war in Kenya.
Then move over to ICT; Joe Mucheru is a well known tech entrepreneur and marketer. But will he fly in the bureaucratic and mafia infested waters in government? What is his philosophy on media freedom, since he will have vast powers to regulate the media?
Look at Mining; Dan Kazungu is a jolly good fellow who made a professional career selling ICT solutions. This is not data mining; this is about going to the bowels of the earth to extract coal and oil and other assets God put there and making sure it benefits Kenyans. While I wish him well, will he succeed where the hardened politician Najib Balala failed?
Then take a look at the new appointee to the powerful and favoured ministry of Devolution and Planning; Mwangi Kiunjuri is a seasoned politician. In 2010 when he was Assistant Minister and was moved from the Ministry of Water to Public Works amid graft claims, he loudly protested that he was a “whistleblower” who was being victimised. This ministry surely attracts whistle-blowers! He was further named by ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda as one of the accomplices of President Uhuru during the 2007/2008 post election violence. Kenya is in trouble if NYS remains under his docket.
The monkeys have changed, but the forest remains the same. Kenyans should brace themselves for a long and hard ride under Jubilee.

Uhuru Borrows from CORD again

Malindi MP Dan Kazungu (C) joins teachers and pupils of Sosobora primary school in Langobaya

Kenya is set for three by elections following the latest cabinet reshuffle by the president.
A few changes as Kaimenyi is moved from Education to lands, Matiangi from ICT to Education, plus a few misses, such as Charity Ngilu and new faces including Charles Keter.
This new cabinet will however see a couple of by elections, as the president has picked a few politicians in his new cabinet.
Senator Charles Keter from Kericho comes in as Energy secretary, which will force him to resign from his elective post, as Senator.
Cecil Mbarire also a member of parliament for Runyenjes will have to vacate her elective post as she takes her position in the cabinet at the ministry of Public Service.
Dan Kazungu ODM Member of parliament for Malindi town also comes into the cabinet to head the mining docket.
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Monday, November 23, 2015 It will be difficult for university education to recover from wave of commercialisation

Graduates follow proceedings during a graduation ceremony at Dedan Kimathi University, Nyeri County. The commercialisation of the academe meant that so-called “non-professional courses” such as sociology, linguistics, literature, geography, mathematics, chemistry, physics, religious studies, and history were in danger of losing students. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP  

Summary

• The commercialisation of the academe meant that so-called “non-professional courses” such as sociology, linguistics, literature, geography, mathematics, chemistry, physics, religious studies, and history were in danger of losing students.
• The ethical dilemma is that the courses that we have “professionalised” to attract more students and more earnings are not delivering to parents and students the aspirations implicit in these programmes.

The late 1990s’ commercialisation of university education in Kenya was a natural reaction for many universities to a context that demanded increased funding of higher education.

As government support to higher education declined and perceptions of the university degree as the surest ticket to social and economic privilege gained merit, universities in Kenya made money.

As education scholar Ishmael Munene has argued, while some universities were able to plough back the newfound fortunes into infrastructure and institutional development, others thought the windfall would last and ended up making decisions that are now hurting them.

However, while it is possible for universities to recover and overcome some of the poor decisions made in the past, the greater tragedy is whether universities are able to reclaim the lost core disciplines that changed content and form to appeal to the market.

The transformation of the university into a market place meant several things.

One, the schools and departments that attracted the highest number of students became the most “prestigious” and naturally paid their lecturers higher perks than other schools.

Secondly, schools with multiple degree programmes attracted the most students and therefore made more money.

These two logics have largely undermined the meaning of a university education in Kenya.

The natural outworking of this mercantile thinking was that universities were churning out degree programmes, not out of their industry relevance, but with an eye on the prospective client — students.

In most universities, the stampede to create new “marketable” courses went unchecked and as a result, dozens of such courses that are barely relevant to the social and economic context were offered to the public.

It is difficult to see how this process can be reversed.

GRAVE IMPLICATIONS
Secondly, and perhaps most tragic, is the slow death of the core disciplines.

The commercialisation of the academe meant that so-called “non-professional courses” such as sociology, linguistics, literature, geography, mathematics, chemistry, physics, religious studies, and history were in danger of losing students.

Universities made a bad situation worse when they began to make both cosmetic and fundamental changes to these key disciplines.

For instance, mathematics courses were suffixed with something like computer studies or IT.

Rather than adopt media studies, a more research-centred programme, commercialisation drove universities to wrest journalism and mass communication courses from middle level colleges.

A 12-month course was stretched to a four-year programme.

Engineering, which could easily fit within three or four specialisations despite the vast technological shifts in the world, multiplied 10 times over in tandem with the appetite for anything engineering.

Linguistics and literature, two disciplines that are important in defining the character of a university, found themselves pushed into a marriage of convenience with vocational courses with a journalistic orientation.

The implication of this is that we are in danger of not having a linguist coming out of the university in the next decades.

The content of programmes such as history, philosophy, anthropology, or economics, that make the foundation of the humanities and social sciences, are now forced into excessive inter-discipline that is dismantling the academe.

ETHICAL DILEMMA

Serious universities do not vocationalise the core disciplines.

This is because such mercantile logic also hurts research.

A good grounding in the core disciplines prepares one better for graduate studies.

It is difficult to see how some of the programmes can transition students into further studies.

Their low level make-up and vocational orientation do not bode well for the meaningful research that is necessary for post-graduate work.

Our universities are thus faced with not just a structural dilemma, but an ethical one as well.

The ethical dilemma is that the courses that we have “professionalised” to attract more students and more earnings are not delivering to parents and students the aspirations implicit in these programmes.

Posted Sunday, November 22, 2015 | by- GEORGE KEGORO Haughty and noisy African delegates did more harm than good for Ruto

 
Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo (left) with Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed at the Assembly of State Parties forum on November 19, 2015. Ms Omamo urged Ms Bensouda to understand the concerns of the Africa Union members, who she argued, hold sway over the court’s future. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

While diplomats were good at their work, a noisy band of Kenyan MPs formed part of the rather

It’s been a week of high drama at The Hague.

Kenya took to the stump with a sole agenda — to ask the Assembly of State Parties (ASP) to change the rules of evidence applicable to cases at the International Criminal Court — to make it easier to get Deputy President William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Sang off the hook.

The duo are facing charges of crimes against humanity linked to the 2007/2008 post-election violence.

The first item was to approve the agenda for the two-week ASP meeting.

The bureau is an 18-member committee of the Assembly that runs the affairs of the ASP, and also suggests the agenda for approval in plenary.

ASP'S AGENDA

Kenya had two requests for inclusion in the agenda — one, a draft resolution that Rule 68 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence does not apply retrospectively and; second, the appointment of a five-person committee to investigate prosecutorial decision-making in the Ruto case before the ICC, in the context of allegations that the prosecutor had used illegal methods to procure evidence in the case.

The last chance for the inclusion of Kenya’s items in the agenda was during this first meeting to approve the agenda.

In the lead-up to the first session of the Assembly, where the agenda was to be approved, two schools of thought had emerged within the bureau.

While most of its members were against admitting the Kenyan items into the agenda for fear that it would politicise an ongoing case and interfere with the independence of the court, the President of the Assembly, Senegalese Sidiki Kaba, was of the lone view that it would be better to admit these items on the agenda and control any possible damage through the manner in which the actual discussion would be framed.

This is the school of thought that carried the day when Kenya’s items were included in the agenda.

POLITICAL AGENDA

Speaking at a side event during the week, Mr Kaba explained that the Assembly should be a place where all issues of concern to members of the ICC were discussed, thus seeming to explain the basis on which he had allowed Kenya’s items on the agenda.

There remained a measure of nervousness about the parameters that the discussion of these items would take and it was expected that the bureau would refine the limits of the discussion which was scheduled for Friday last week.

South Africa also arrived in the Assembly with demands of its own, seeking a clarification on apparently-conflicting provisions of the Rome Statute, a matter that South Africa started pursuing as part of the fallout resulting from the decision not to arrest Sudanese President Omar el Bashir when he visited the country in June.

There followed domestic legal proceedings in which the courts declared that South Africa’s failure to arrest Bashir contravened its obligations under the Rome Statue.

On the application of the Prosecutor, the ICC also wrote to South Africa, demanding a written explanation why it did not arrest Bashir in June.

South Africa responded by requesting for more time to prepare and file its response.

Instead of preparing a response for the court, South Africa commenced its effort to have the issues covered by the Bashir controversy discussed in the Assembly.

Thus, like Kenya, South Africa was pursuing in the Assembly a matter that was pending before the court.

The Assembly, nevertheless, also admitted South Africa’s item on the agenda.

BIG ACHIEVEMENT

Getting their items on the agenda was already a big achievement, one that left a sense of foreboding as to what would happen during the debate later in the week.

After disposing of a number of formal reports, the first “political” session of the Assembly was a segment called “general debate”, where states make prepared statements on matters of general importance regarding the Rome Statute.

Also, inter-governmental organisations like the AU and the EU, as well as NGOs, are allowed speaking roles during the general debates.

The remarks by the representative of the AU, were followed by South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. 

Because the heads of delegation for these African countries were ministers, as opposed to other countries whose heads of delegation were ambassadors, they were given first priority in the general debate.

Amid cheers from Kenyan MPs that were strategically positioned in the hall, these countries made strong statements, the substance of which was that they felt that the different concerns from Africa were not listened to within the Rome Statute system. 

These statements created the impression Kenya and South Africa had, at last, put in place a pan-African platform that would produce interesting results when the debate on their respective items that had just been allowed into the agenda would take place.

NOISY DELEGATES

With the ebullience of having secured their items on the agenda of the Assembly, and after a stern lecture to other delegates, the African delegations then noisily left the room, greeting and congratulating one another as they walked out, and generally making the point that there was no business after their business.

This was hardly the attitude that people who wanted favours from other countries should have been displaying. They would later pay for their arrogance.

If getting their items on the agenda was an achievement, navigating the debate on those items was underwhelming.

By bulldozing its way, Kenya managed to speak three times, rather than the allocated one slot, but still failed to get the Assembly to approve its two draft resolutions.

While there was a little more sympathy for South Africa, its request was ultimately also not approved.

Only Uganda spoke in support of Kenya’s motions, and although Kenya had presented a picture that the entire African continent was behind its application, other African states remained silent during the debate.

EUROPEAN REJECTION OF KENYA'S REQUEST

European countries, which have a strong voice in the affairs of the Assembly, and which Kenya had lobbied in the quest for favourable decisions, made their positions known through a common European Union statement which rejected Kenya’s request.

Non-EU European states made individual statements also disagreeing with Kenya and by the end of the debate, it was clear that the country’s request was going to fail.

Francis Dako, a Benin civil society lawyer, who also spoke during the debate vehemently opposed Kenya’s request, making the point that Kenya had failed to institute independent investigations into claims made by the ICC prosecutor that there had been a systematic programme to eliminate or kill Mungiki witnesses.

In response to this assertion, Kenya’s Foreign Secretary Amina Mohammed emotionally responded that civil society was defending Mungiki who were terrorists, like those involved in the recent killings in France.

This response caused some confusion as many in the audience did not understand who Mungiki were.

This was the second time that Kenya had promised so much but delivered so little.

REST OF AFRICA SILENT DURING DEBATE

In the 2013 Assembly, Kenya claimed that it had the support of the African continent in its demand that the Assembly should approve a resolution that no head of state should be put on trial while still in office.

While the AU was unanimous in making this resolution whose approval before the Assembly Kenya then spearheaded, only South Africa supported Kenya on that occasion, the rest of Africa choosing silence during the debate.

Once again, Kenya miscalculated badly.

While the professional diplomats were good at their work, a noisy band of Kenyan MPs formed part of the rather large throng of Kenyans at the Assembly.

Not knowing how the Assembly works, and armed only with arrogance for their political corner, they wandered into and out of meetings looking for opportunities to aggravate whoever was opposed to the Kenyan position.

WISHFUL THINKING

The ubiquitous presence of these haughty MPs provided ready proof of the dire domestic situation in Kenya and therefore a reason why other countries must not listen to the country’s pleas.

A Kenyan ambassador who normally leads the country’s engagement with the ICC complained that these politicians had undone months of diplomacy that he had put in place.

A large number of African members of the ICC are there to stay and will not walk out with Kenya.

Why would Mali, Central Africa, Cote d’Ivoire and, yes, Uganda, leave the ICC when they have recently referred cases there?

As the events of this week have shown, Kenya’s frequent threats that it will lead a mass walkout from the ICC is only wishful thinking. 

Kenya can leave the ICC if it wants, but Africa is unlikely to follow.

ELECT RAILA

This is an interview by Hon Raila Odinga while in the UK with a Daily nation journalist on what he would do if/when elected president.
Among his first point of action, Hon Raila said that he would create an government that has zero tolerance in corruption. Whereas he admitted that it is nearly impossible to get a cabinet or a government that is has zero tolerance to corruption, he stated that his government will do everything to curb this menace.
Among the options he would explore, Hon Raila said his government will not have any form of favoritism and anyone implicated in corruption will immediately step down to allow for independent investigations.
In his interview he also touched on politics stating that his commitment to ensuring our borders are secured is still priority. He reminded us that even during the attacks, he did make personal calls to the president reiterating his support and the support of the opposition to fight terrorism.
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Suspected State Sponsored Gang Escape with ODM’s 2017’s Blueprint

Mon, Nov 23, 2015

Nairobi, KENYA — Unverifiable sources have read mischief in today’s early morning raid of the offices of the main political party in the sprawling Kilimani,Nairobi seizing 4 computers with crucial data base and ODM’s perceived winning strategies of 2017. They also escaped with one new guard at the site who is suspected to be part of the gang.

The party headquarters, known as ‘The Orange House’’ is normally heavily guarded by barriers erected by the party, with armed personnel manning checkpoints at the gates.

The desperation of the ODM’s competitors however could not be hampered by such measures; they are alleged to have resorted to the use of money and power at their disposal against less stringent vetting employment procedures at the Party Office to create an inside operation.

The ODM is an avowedly ‘people’s ’political party that describes itself as a bastion of Change Movements affiliates coalition known as CORD.

Local human-rights activists and party members are rumoured to be saying that police and security officials will routinely cover up the whole issue and it will be all forgotten.

The Standard Reported Police are looking for a gang that raided the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party headquarters in Nairobi and stole four computers that had crucial information.

Police say the raid happened at about 2 am Monday when about five men went there and tied two of the three guards who were on duty before carrying away the computers. They escaped with one of the guards and he is yet to be traced, Nairobi police commander Japheth Koome said.

According to police, the gang seemed to have had an easy access to the Orange House. The main door and others were broken. "Preliminary findings show the guard was new at the place and we suspect he colluded with the thieves to carry out the crime. An investigation has been launched,” said Koome

The party officials say the computers had crucial party data and the incident is a big blow on their activities. ODM spokesman Philip Etale said the attackers were armed at the time of the incident. "The ODM party offices at Orange House were early today broken into by armed men who took away all the computers that contained vital information,” he said. He added the guards did not have keys to the rooms where the computers were.

Etale said the computers had crucial information on party activities. "We don’t know if the missing guard was part of the gang or was abducted and we urge police to urgently follow up the matter,” he added.

The party has been conducting grassroots elections ahead of their national one. ODM, which is the biggest single party in parliament, is an affiliate member of the Cord coalition.

- See more at CLICK

Suspected State Sponsored Gang Escape with ODM’s 2017’s Blueprint

Mon, Nov 23, 2015

Nairobi, KENYA — Unverifiable sources have read mischief in today’s early morning raid of the offices of the main political party in the sprawling Kilimani,Nairobi seizing 4 computers with crucial data base and ODM’s perceived winning strategies of 2017. They also escaped with one new guard at the site who is suspected to be part of the gang.

The party headquarters, known as ‘The Orange House’’ is normally heavily guarded by barriers erected by the party, with armed personnel manning checkpoints at the gates.

The desperation of the ODM’s competitors however could not be hampered by such measures; they are alleged to have resorted to the use of money and power at their disposal against less stringent vetting employment procedures at the Party Office to create an inside operation.

The ODM is an avowedly ‘people’s ’political party that describes itself as a bastion of Change Movements affiliates coalition known as CORD.

Local human-rights activists and party members are rumoured to be saying that police and security officials will routinely cover up the whole issue and it will be all forgotten.

The Standard Reported Police are looking for a gang that raided the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party headquarters in Nairobi and stole four computers that had crucial information.

Police say the raid happened at about 2 am Monday when about five men went there and tied two of the three guards who were on duty before carrying away the computers. They escaped with one of the guards and he is yet to be traced, Nairobi police commander Japheth Koome said.

According to police, the gang seemed to have had an easy access to the Orange House. The main door and others were broken. "Preliminary findings show the guard was new at the place and we suspect he colluded with the thieves to carry out the crime. An investigation has been launched,” said Koome

The party officials say the computers had crucial party data and the incident is a big blow on their activities. ODM spokesman Philip Etale said the attackers were armed at the time of the incident. "The ODM party offices at Orange House were early today broken into by armed men who took away all the computers that contained vital information,” he said. He added the guards did not have keys to the rooms where the computers were.

Etale said the computers had crucial information on party activities. "We don’t know if the missing guard was part of the gang or was abducted and we urge police to urgently follow up the matter,” he added.

The party has been conducting grassroots elections ahead of their national one. ODM, which is the biggest single party in parliament, is an affiliate member of the Cord coalition.

- See more at: http://theweekly-review.com/suspected-state-sponsored-gang-escape-with-odms-s-blueprint-p349-169.htm#sthash.5jYIt8cy.gfTGuETs.dpuf

Suspected State Sponsored Gang Escape with ODM’s 2017’s Blueprint

Mon, Nov 23, 2015

Nairobi, KENYA — Unverifiable sources have read mischief in today’s early morning raid of the offices of the main political party in the sprawling Kilimani,Nairobi seizing 4 computers with crucial data base and ODM’s perceived winning strategies of 2017. They also escaped with one new guard at the site who is suspected to be part of the gang.

The party headquarters, known as ‘The Orange House’’ is normally heavily guarded by barriers erected by the party, with armed personnel manning checkpoints at the gates.

The desperation of the ODM’s competitors however could not be hampered by such measures; they are alleged to have resorted to the use of money and power at their disposal against less stringent vetting employment procedures at the Party Office to create an inside operation.

The ODM is an avowedly ‘people’s ’political party that describes itself as a bastion of Change Movements affiliates coalition known as CORD.

Local human-rights activists and party members are rumoured to be saying that police and security officials will routinely cover up the whole issue and it will be all forgotten.

The Standard Reported Police are looking for a gang that raided the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party headquarters in Nairobi and stole four computers that had crucial information.

Police say the raid happened at about 2 am Monday when about five men went there and tied two of the three guards who were on duty before carrying away the computers. They escaped with one of the guards and he is yet to be traced, Nairobi police commander Japheth Koome said.

According to police, the gang seemed to have had an easy access to the Orange House. The main door and others were broken. "Preliminary findings show the guard was new at the place and we suspect he colluded with the thieves to carry out the crime. An investigation has been launched,” said Koome

The party officials say the computers had crucial party data and the incident is a big blow on their activities. ODM spokesman Philip Etale said the attackers were armed at the time of the incident. "The ODM party offices at Orange House were early today broken into by armed men who took away all the computers that contained vital information,” he said. He added the guards did not have keys to the rooms where the computers were.

Etale said the computers had crucial information on party activities. "We don’t know if the missing guard was part of the gang or was abducted and we urge police to urgently follow up the matter,” he added.

The party has been conducting grassroots elections ahead of their national one. ODM, which is the biggest single party in parliament, is an affiliate member of the Cord coalition.

- See more at: http://theweekly-review.com/suspected-state-sponsored-gang-escape-with-odms-s-blueprint-p349-169.htm#sthash.5jYIt8cy.gfTGuETs.dpuf

Suspected State Sponsored Gang Escape with ODM’s 2017’s Blueprint

Mon, Nov 23, 2015

Nairobi, KENYA — Unverifiable sources have read mischief in today’s early morning raid of the offices of the main political party in the sprawling Kilimani,Nairobi seizing 4 computers with crucial data base and ODM’s perceived winning strategies of 2017. They also escaped with one new guard at the site who is suspected to be part of the gang.

The party headquarters, known as ‘The Orange House’’ is normally heavily guarded by barriers erected by the party, with armed personnel manning checkpoints at the gates.

The desperation of the ODM’s competitors however could not be hampered by such measures; they are alleged to have resorted to the use of money and power at their disposal against less stringent vetting employment procedures at the Party Office to create an inside operation.

The ODM is an avowedly ‘people’s ’political party that describes itself as a bastion of Change Movements affiliates coalition known as CORD.

Local human-rights activists and party members are rumoured to be saying that police and security officials will routinely cover up the whole issue and it will be all forgotten.

The Standard Reported Police are looking for a gang that raided the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party headquarters in Nairobi and stole four computers that had crucial information.

Police say the raid happened at about 2 am Monday when about five men went there and tied two of the three guards who were on duty before carrying away the computers. They escaped with one of the guards and he is yet to be traced, Nairobi police commander Japheth Koome said.

According to police, the gang seemed to have had an easy access to the Orange House. The main door and others were broken. "Preliminary findings show the guard was new at the place and we suspect he colluded with the thieves to carry out the crime. An investigation has been launched,” said Koome

The party officials say the computers had crucial party data and the incident is a big blow on their activities. ODM spokesman Philip Etale said the attackers were armed at the time of the incident. "The ODM party offices at Orange House were early today broken into by armed men who took away all the computers that contained vital information,” he said. He added the guards did not have keys to the rooms where the computers were.

Etale said the computers had crucial information on party activities. "We don’t know if the missing guard was part of the gang or was abducted and we urge police to urgently follow up the matter,” he added.

The party has been conducting grassroots elections ahead of their national one. ODM, which is the biggest single party in parliament, is an affiliate member of the Cord coalition.

- See more at: http://theweekly-review.com/suspected-state-sponsored-gang-escape-with-odms-s-blueprint-p349-169.htm#sthash.5jYIt8cy.gfTGuETs.dpuf