LEAVE KENYAN ALONE WE ARE JUST HAVING OUR CATHARTIC MOMENT (later edited to Elections were peaceful because kenyans believe in building their county..Published East African Standard Aug, 13, 2017) Letter to the Editor

Kenya has just completed a peaceful election but as a county was awaiting for the results, it was normal for some tension to be reported both ruling party Jubilee and opposition National Super Alliance (Nasa)

Every nation, every people, every culture has its drug, that secret yet effective dose that awakes its exotic yet unique exotic tendency for excitement, catharsis be it positive of negative but still mass emotion of its citizenry. Let me be more specific, take for instance football is to the English man the excitement and Wembley stadium, what brings the local towns to show up in huge numbers, hemmed in and iron clad in the support of their locals’ teams. Further south in the Americas when the reverberating drums of the Samba are overheard on the streets of Rio, the hysteria, the frenzy, the ecstasy that they bring to the Carnival in the South American County of Brazil. I would think to the German a similar activity would be the exhilaration that comes with the shared Beer mug in October fest.
So when the international media friend sees a single tyre lit on the streets of Mathare in Nairobi or a the Kenyan girl namely Wanaja and Akinyi engage in banter on social media ,by all means to not fret, they are not going to burn our county! at least not year. I dare say and will continue to articulate this, I am firmly of the school of thought that for the love for his comfort and pride for his nationhood , the Kenyan’s propensity to burn his county in the furthest thing from anyone’s mind in this day an age, be it over politics, tribalism, ethnic tensions late conflicts and what have you.
We would agree that, world over, elections and indeed electioneering is a process that by and large is inherently divisive and polarizing. Two dominant parties haggling for power , leadership and influence will always end in the inevitable outcome of a winner and looser. This situations cannot only be gainsaid but is currently the imperative that Kenya has eyeballed. As a mature democracy , Kenyans cannot say that such situations have not been with us. The grotesque rhetoric that always follows the elections is also not unique to any democracy, a recent look at the American elections shows that even the more mature and experienced democracies are not invulnerable to the divisive rhetoric that stalks the election process. In the Kenyans case I am personally very happy with the conduct, demeanour and utterances that president Uhuru and Hon. Raila carried out their elections, save for some isolated incidents of unguarded outburst from either side, cumulatively both put up their best manners and remarkably tried to be very cordial . Both Uhuru and Raila when casting their vote spoke well of the other most notably highlighting an attempt to separate national issues from personalities. Many may disagree on the Merit of the last minute niceties from the two leading contenders but yet again, I decide to be stubbornly optimistic.
The reality is this and I dare say with history as my firm ally, when its been said and done the youths who post hateful messages on the Kenyan social media speace , will go back to the same classes, same choir in church, same mosque, the millennials to same offices, same locals bars , coffee house and institutions where they works and indeed their businesses.
Kenyans don’t take elections too seriously, so when an international media observer goes into a frenzy after sighting a burning tyre of a picketing youth from the slum, don’t think we are ready to raze down KICC and KRA towers!. I dare say to the Kenyans its never that serious. We are not war like, the pride and sanctimonious attitude with which the Kenyans normally projects as sense of superiority over our East African neighbours especially when it comes to matters of infrastructural superiority. I say this with cheek in mouth but the sibling rivalry that is normally a common feature between neighbouring states is not isolated to the Kenyan-Tanzania inferred dislike for one another.
It becomes more pronounced since Kenyans bare the bulk of the flack for being overly aggressive, grotesquely uncultured and most notorious in the religion for the plague of tribalism, this alongside our perceived felling of superiority over our neighbours spurt the rivals further. But as a nation that has aggressively given military support in the great lakes region as far as brining stability. Aggressively participated in election observation and brokered a lot of peace pacts with our neighbours , the pride that comes with the tag of the peacemakers of the region makes the Kenyan, of whatever shade and colour is very slow to violence and strive. Our youths spew bile on social media-allow them to because at their age they think online print does not have consequence. The Older millennials are more carefully about their sentiments , these are only expressed in hushed tones , the generation x and Y follow closely .
Call me an overly optimistic guy, you can even allege that I do not appreciate the danger of a spill over of negative remarks and actions that emanate from Politics, well I could be more cognisant of such, I only say this with a fair share of humility, you average Kenyan is far from breaking to civil war, we may have pocket of violence , as if the three I started by mentioning don’t have violence based on their respective drug, well If you think to the conterary I would use Obama’s words when campaigning for Hillary Clinton’ read up on you history’, and I am convinced you will join my bandwagon. The proverbial galss cannot be half empt. Kenyans are stubbornly resilient , and an election period where we express our opinions cannot be misconstrued for Kenya is burning! Kenya will stand we always have and always will long live Kenya.

Ogina Hillary K’odieny ,@OginaHillary(Twitter)
Communication Specialist and Land Rights Activist

A FAR CRY TO THE FORGOTTEN KENYAN IDPS

Strong delegation to the Assembly of State Parties at the Hague

As the Kenyan citizenry are keenly following the goings on at the Assembly of state parties (ASP) conference at the Kingdom of the Netherlands, we cannot help but notice the parallels of these efforts of the government delegation to the ASP to the once controversial shuttle diplomacy that was spearheaded by the then Vice President and now co principal of the opposition Hon. Stephen Kalonzo in 2011 through 2013 on the same issues surrounding the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Assembly of Partiers Meeting Kenya has more than a forty- strong formidable delegation of technocrats, activists and parliamentarians led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Amina Mohammed.  In this team is Kenyans most senior and indeed brilliant legal minds in the person of the Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions and various Kenyan ambassadors among others. To the onlooker this quest for justice -as the government puts it –is indeed a most earnest attestation of government’s seriousness and commitment to favorable ruling from the ASP especially on rules 68 of the court proceeding on the issue of the recanted evidence clause.  However this article will not divulge into the modalities and technical jurisprudence and how it is dispensed at the ICC but the correlation to the land reform agenda in the county.

Peripheral conversation

As far as land is central to the discussion at the ASP it is now emerging and has indeed been the elephant in the room and its correlation to concept of internal displacement. Behind the scenes of the lobbying is a small caucus of civil societies organizations have formed a wider consultative in liaison with international organizations refuting governments stance on the recanted evidence.  This boiled at the floor of the ASP when the minister of  foreign affairs in her defense was seen to vilify the civil society organizations and retorted  that some of the CSOs in support of the recanted evidence are actually bedfellows and  ‘some are accused of supporting  terrorist activities ‘ . My take is that internal displacement as a central issue to the land reforms agenda in –and- of the situation is a land twist to the international conversation at The Hague. The Land Sector civil societies stance that unresolved land injustices as well as unequal and unequitable distribution of the same was one of the main reason fact that land was one of the main reason behind the 2007-2008 post-election violence is a stand that we still hold fast to.

Hot on the heels of the discourse on land propelled historical land injustices is the issue of displacement, internally displaced persons be it from politically instigated or natural disaster occasioned displacement in Kenya now enjoy a more robust protection and recognition under the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the Kenya: Act No. 56 of 2012, on The Prevention, Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons and Affected Communities Act, of  2012  that is now under further review through a miscellaneous amendment in 2014.. These are the forgotten peoples in the discussion at The Hague. It is fair to note that the government has indeed not only made attempts to settle some IDPs but also even made follow up to see to their wellbeing by building some social amenities in some areas of their settlement. However the docket that was under the former now sits in the Ministry of Devolution and Planning  is still reeling from the after effects of not only a shambolic and badly managed process but unresolved fettering wounds of mistrust, pain and unresolved hatred and fear against different communities.

Decisive action on the IDPS

According to the Jubilee coalition report on 2014 on governments’  progress in the implementation their manifesto , the Ministry Of Devolution And Planning has have  embarked on the final phase of resettlement of the 2007/08 Post election Violence IDPs and Forest evictees in September 2013.  According to the statistics from the ministry a total of 8,298 families, whose situation had not been resolved, were identified for this final phase of cash payment. This they say was based on the IDP register that was developed in December 2008, where all IDPs were registered.

However this information leaves a lot to be desired, the lack of government’s seriousness to start private prosecutions locally on the perpetrators of post-election violence has not in any way encouraged the masses on legal justice. Disconcerted Kenyans are still reeling in the relics of deep-seated and underlying mistrusts and unresolved land issues. The discomfiture of the masses and especially IDPs if made worse by the delay to finalize a comprehensive bill on Historic Land Injustices, the state of affairs on the Swazuri led National Land Commission whose mandate is facing a direct whittle down in some of the proposition in the draft Land Amendment Bill 2015 is a situation that not only leaves unresolved matters but further marginalizes them.

The IDPs and speed prosecution of local perpetration of violence in this dark period in our history should have actually should the center of discussion at the Assembly of State Partiers meeting at the ICC to the periphery. The IDPs must not and cannot be forgotten, a final solution to this issue must be finalized once and for all and should indeed actually be the big issue currently at the ICC. We can only hope that with the papal visit in Kenya forgiveness and reconciliation should now be brought back to table to heal a nation with underlying fettering mistrusts, may God help us all.

THE EMOMBUT EVICTIONS NEED TO BE URGENTLY HALTED.

Nobel Lourettle Wangari Mathai once said that ‘nature fights back!! And it is unforgiving’ a stern admonition to the pundits and leadership that were abating the incessant destruction and encroachment into Kenyan forest and wet lands. This statement indeed remains forever etched in the minds of environment loving Kenyan. However protection of the forest if done with blind zeal can have counter active effects case in Point Embombut forest

Recently the media in Kenya has been awash with images of torched houses as governments’ implementation o the 21 days ultimatum to the forest dwellers at the Embombut forest in Elgeyo/ Marakwet County.   This situation is not only a most discombobulating attestation of a government’s complete lack of care for its own citizen but a insufferable affront to its citizens right to shelter and distraction of their livelihood. This process carries in its wake an earnest attestation of complete and blatant disregard to the international human rights protocols and Laws but; in particular the United Nations convention on elimination of all forms of racial Discrimination.

The evictions that were characterized by torching of houses and wanton destruction of property was carried out by the government (Forestry Officers) whose action are funded by the World Bank. This quintessentially not only contravened the Word Banks’ operational policies (safeguard policiers0) on indigenous Peoples, Forest and Involuntary Resettlement – the world bank is the man funder of the Natural Resource Management Project (NRMP). Then one wonders why the World Bank has buried its head in the sand despite this shame.

Among the affected communities are the indigenous forest dwellers clan of the Marakwet namely the Sengwer. This is a  community has co existed with the forest as forest dwellers since  Kenya formally became a state in 1963, this recent eviction that does not take into account their ancestry is not only unacceptable but shameful.

The half hearted interventions by the World Bank on earlier planned evictions that had almost become a norm in 2007, 2008 and 2012 and now 2013 to address the land claims of the indigenous communities are ye to yield any fruits.

The World bank failed to hit the bulls eye by not addressing the fundamental issues, thus fundamentally the National Resources Management Programme (NRMP) has not only lost its sun, but its glare and relevance and is at risk of sparking new inter-clan violence unless the world bank and Government of Kenya put its house in order first before re embarking on a programme that was otherwise originally well meaning.

 

 Kenyans only unfortunately continue to experience increase in the marginalization and insecurity of the traditional inhabitants of Embombut forest part of the larger Cheranganyi forest that is a crucial water tower for the nation.  The World Bank’s funding and entrenching an approach to conservation which seeks to exclude those who have traditionally coexisted with and cared for the forest is a watershed moment in the history of conservation of forest in Kenya.

 Instead of offer (poorly implemented) livelihood projects outside the forest -as if this could compensated the Sengwer who stand to lose everything through this approach to conservation that is based on eviction from the ancestral forest lands. There is need for full consultation and involvement of the locals and an immediate halt to the illegal and brutal evictions in the forest.

We are deeply concerned with the recent evictions and the human rights violation that has borne the greatest brunt on women and children who now live in the cold. The recent eviction not only violates the constitution of Kenya 2010 (Art 63) but international human rights law.

The Sengwer‘s right to the customary sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity has been violated, their right to the customary sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity, they have been evicted from their ancestral lands and thus deprived of their own indigenous means of sustenance integral to their forest life, identify, their characteristic sources of food, water, health and shelter to their cultural survival according to international law.

They have not only their cultural sites and spirit within the forest but their life is identified with and integral to their high –forested hills as it has shaped their ways of life, and sustained them through the generations.

 

The state is thus obligated to protect and secure, cultural, social, economic and ecological elements associated with the traditional managements of these areas. Forest management or conservation thus by no means justify forceful eviction of such forest communities , on the flipside the state should promote and strengthen community based initiatives,  promotes sustainable use of environment and ensure prior and informed consent and approval of and involvement in the establishment, expansion, governance and management of protected areas that may affect hem he state:

 

These forceful evictions are thus completely illegal and even more so the burring of homes and other social amenities like school uniforms, books are an affront on means of livelihood.  The world bank needs to come out strongly and distance itself from the inhuman treatment of citizens and the Government needs to go back to the drawing board and audit the corruption, cronyism and favoritism that beguiles the whole procedure of resettlement in Embombut. This will revert a repeat of historical injustices perpetrated by a government that has thought its constitution sworn to protect the marginalized and vulnerable.

We Are One

Image

Terrorism,

 Yet again once again it has reeled it evil head upon the African continent,

USA suffered ealier, so did the UK, so did Somalia, So did Uganda, the list ..endless,

this time it has struck one of Africa’s most promising sons, Kenya,

an epitome of a flourishing economy,

a bastion of rich athletic prowess and lush landscapes

and exquisite wildlife.

 

We are in mourning,

we mourn our mothers, ours sons and daughter,

who had to meet their end in the most gruesome ways,

it has struck, hate, cowardice and unfettered emotions had its way

in our midst.

 

Mourn we must,

our hearts full of anger and ready for revenge,

soon as is the African custom after the three days of mourning,

and the dead are put to rest,

 

We shall need a place to vent out,

questions will need to be answered,

how could they gain access so easily ,

how could they cause so much destruction.

 

We must look,

look for solutions,

look for interventions,

look for restitution,

but most of all , look inward…

 

WE ARE ONE… (RIP to all who passed on during this act of terrorism #kenya #weareone #westgatemall

 

What Went Wrong with the Titles at the Coast

MY TAKE:

The recent efforts by the jubilee government to issue titles at the coast where residents like titles in their ancestral and must be applauded.

Disturbing reports that some genuine squatters missed out clearly shows that those charged with the responsibility did not carry out due diligence in compiling the list of the beneficiaries.

Lives and property have been lost on account of land, government has been voted in and out on account of perceptions related to the handling of land issues.

Relatives have taken up arms against each other in bloody battles over land ownership disputes.

We passed the new Constitution to safeguard our heritage and emancipate ourselves form lives of squalor on our own land.

The National Land Commission has the lead role in land adjudication, preparation and issuance of title deeds.

It is unfortunately that the NLC was relegated to the periphery in an exercise to commission was supposed to be otherwise spearheading.

The Tuf wars pitting the Ministry of Lands and the serve absolutely no public interest

The president must intervene e and demand accountability and harmony in the working arrangements for the top echelons of the leadership in the Ministry of Lands and the NLC.

The office of the Cabinet secretary for land and that of the NLC must work closely to serve public interest. That is the only way that Kenyans suffering pain relating to land will be vindicated.

Vested interest from power brokers, influential people, politicians and official of the National and county governments must not be allowed to cloud genuine efforts aimed at realizing land reforms.

My Presidential Debate

Dear All Presidential Contestants,
I have heard of you accolades,
you names are now household names even the little ones can match you voices to your faces,
thanks God for the media that has listed you among the high and mighty and indeed the trendsetters.

Of brilliance i have no misgivings on you track records and it would be a great misogynous to call you failures,
each of you has a sizable stash of wealth and academic accolades that accentuate the same,
that said let me cut to the chase..

will you be able to exorcise the dragon of tribalism, ethnic hate and needless fear that you inspire amoung
you political followers,
Lets cut this further to the CORD and JUBILEE parties that are embodied in the personas of One Raila Odinga
and Uhuru Kenyatta, both admittedly ‘royal’ kindred of political dynasties.

The Elephant in the room always goes unoticed, the paradox of leaders calling for peace by day while the spend
the whole nights sharpening their machetes and filling their guns with gunpowder,
they insult the intelligence of Kenyans by pretending to be what they are not ,

They perfect the saying ‘what you see if not what you get and what you get you do not actual…see!!!
are they becoming victims of their own dragons.. has the dragon like the pestilence of addiction overthrown
its master and now though subtly is the one in the drivers gear?

The presidential debates are coming up in the 12th of this month, they are wetting their oats for self aggrandizement,
they will treat the nation to fallacies and promises of utopia, they will feign enmity , yes and they will sound war cried and draw battle lines.

yes i know you are wondering how could anyone dare do this on national TV at the glare of the itnenationl community, well one of my lecturers from Congo Dr. Arizon Baongoli once told me ‘ My fiend in our county we have politics’ BUT KENYA’

Its is the multifaceted approach to Kenya Politics that makes it look so complex, that other nations only gape and the worth that we bestow on politics and power,

But as the Kenya middle class a early discussion by Carolyne Mutoko and Jalongo on Kiss 100 opened my eyes to see that indeed the Kenya Middle class of which i am part of are part of the exacerbation of the political upheavals in our society. To sit back and whine on social media may not be solution,

Anyone who does not undertand the pschic that is almost innate to every Kenya is that you will get what you want form us always but what you you ‘see is never what you get”. we are a community of conformist to the latter, we conform to political maxims, to social lifesytle underpinning , to the cannonical teaching of religion, and to the zest that comes with sportmanship,

However when its all been said and done we revert back to our enclaves, in the quite of our homes and from the crevices of our living rooms we spit so much venom on the young innocent souls that we have many Kenyans inspite of their academic prowess and international exposure who still have an inextricable and inredimable fear of the other (Kikuyusa and Luos leading the pack of course..

i sit back and mull over this and thus pen this short poem when it’s all been said and done let me try to pen a monologues by one of Kenya middle class…

I AM AFRAID,
i am afraid,
I am afraid that i am Kenya,
A kenya per excellence,
A nationalist who celebrates a nes constitution with enviable provision wold over..

But i have a problem
i …am …afraid…petrified…
that my identity is not national …
but rather i am more inspired by where i come from,
my tribe..i myopic malady that none can redeeme me from

I boast of a good job, averagebly good if you ask me,
better than nothing, they are hard to come by these day you know,
so with my paycheck in my pocked,
i proudly regard myself Kenya’s elite middle class..
a Kenyan seeing myself on the trajectory of success and more ….

However i still am afraid,
that when someone makes a slur againt my tribe
my anger well like a volcano

i do not understand why i hate them so much,
they…they are bad!! culturless,
they have always mistreated us,
they have grabbed our resources,
taken up our business,
our ladies..
our land!!! LAND!!

I am afraid,
that i find myself agreeing,
to the divisive call for exclusion,
the call for ethnic cleansing..
the call for displacement..

Last time i saw it in the media,
am afraid that this time it would escalate further,
the politician is fanning it
he is fanning the violence, the hate,
the fear and fanaticism,
the hate and exclusion…

Long live Kenya,
Long live this land of opportunity,
Land of unlocked potential,
Land of budding dreams,
we shall shock the world….
watch this space…

am afraid that despite this,
i do not mind when my very local media
gives them the aitime on tv,
i actually only bus the newspaper when politics is on the headlines.

I am afraid that even though i can stand against this,
even though i can come out and strongly decry this social corruption,
i sit back,,,tweet away…blog away…Facebook away,
yet the very strata of my social component still remains with wound..

am wound premised on fear,
a wound premised on unwarranted suspicions,
a wound that cried for revenge,
a wound that can only be nursed by pompous deceit of superiority over my neighbors ,
a wound that stubbornly refuses to heal…

Am afraid if i dont act now,
if i dont stand up and stop expressing cowadises behind and pseudonm on social media
i can be the change,
the change can start with me.
I am the change..

I am the hope that Kenya needs,
I am the new frontier of hope, ]
love, unity in diversity ….