Category: Articles

Is Kenya a Country? How?

by Yego, posted in Articles

Yuval Noah Harari once said human beings are the only species who are capable of forming stories and actually believing them. Looking and analyzing what is going in the world at the moment, I willingly admit to the myth that Africa has 54 countries and one of them is Kenya. It is a story that was made up and we all believed it. There citizens being beaten in China and they cannot defend them. What if it was France or Italy or some other place with pink people” – it would have been war or something of the sort. Sisi ni Kuku”  the late Mzee Moi said and it seems he knew something. If in doubt look at the independent responses that came out of the unfortunate events (terror attack) that occurred some years ago in  Spain and in Kenya.  In Spain it sparked worldwide responses and was published all over the world. The Kenya incident was taken as a mere incident with less concern despite having more casualties.

That said, I am forced to admit that some places are just called countries for identification and Kenya is one of them. Kenya is not a country but a fragment of the old colonial vase- pieced together. He is a boy given big-boys clothes and named BABA. By naming a Chihuahua -Simba doesn’t give it the strength of a Lion.  It is a great lie that somehow sounds correct, especially when one superficially looks for the big words that make him a big boy- sovereign nation, with democratic institutions and a member of the commonwealth.  Quite illusive terminologies we have believed.

First, what do we own to warrant the status of a democracy or to be a member of the commonwealth? There is nothing common and there is no wealthy being shared.  Take for instance the British, they have a monopoly over tea in Kenya and other raw materials especially on the end product and thus dictate the price they pay to the enslaved farmers. On the contrary, I have never felt the ownership of Range Rover – even the so-called Travel VISA is a nightmare. When we show signs of independence, they point their mighty finger- to remind us who we are. In the year 1994, for instance, the textile industry in Kenya was booming and was felt all over the country. What happened to it? It was affecting the US cotton pillowcase industry. Immediately, Clinton assented to power and the Chihuahua was reminded that he was a dog and a not a Lion. Clinton administration imposed a quota on the textile imports from Kenya and the industry collapse and we went back to Mitumba. They couldn’t risk losing the Mitumba business in their dumping ground.

You might not agree with me, it is okay: Bertrand Russel advised us that it is sometimes healthy to put a question mark on all the things you have thought to be correct. Literally, let’s analyze some good events, for instance Olympics that are international. Other than the body and the talent, what else do we carry? God forbid, if they say every country to bring their own- we will go there with school uniforms and Kinyira.

In any scenario we are doomed- whether politically, socially, spiritually and worse of all economically. If you are lost ask yourself, as a sovereign nation- what do we export or what do we have control over the production, the processing and the sell? My friend, you will know that we produce children, Rungu  and  MBOGA ya Kienyeji. The rest we import and we do not have a right to say no-: we even import some of them but we don’t have a right to use them in their own place- i.e planes.

In the bigger but hidden screen, we have a union we call UN-. An institution that was formed after WWII to promote world peace and it has turned out to be the prefect . It carries around a stick and a carrot to whip the boys into line and when need be, feed them with goodies to rubberstamp their advancement elsewhere. WAR in their definition was between them and the rest of the Chihuahua’s are mere incidents- Vietnam, Korea, Somali, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somali, Nicaragua etc. do not count but are also called COUNTRIES.

Now that the big money is in the Data mining industry and Kenyatta is promoting free internet- our election will be irrelevant. Big data companies that dared the US election in 2016 have all our information that we willingly gave them through the sham exercise name HUDUMA . It could have been a better idea, but we don’t own or have control over the networks. Shoshana Zuboff details this in her length work on Surveillance capitalism.

Do we even have power over anything? Jokingly,  we couldn’t even retain the ownership of Swahili phrase  ‘hakuna matata’ nor Kiondoo which were sourced, then owned and patent in the West. What else can we hold on to? Noam Chomsky was accurate when he said that when the West talks about promoting democracy what they imply is that these fragments in the name of countries must accept without question to be exploited unquestionably.

We don’t qualify to be a country until we learn to discriminate where options are limited, to dare to be poor with dignity than to act like one who has plenty in bondage. The future is doomed if individual responsibility is not taken to protect your own citizens- We would rather be wiped out of existence now than to be slaves in our own land.

My thoughts in brief- subject to debate.

Nandi County, Neo-Liberalism and Globalization: Is it the best policy?

by Yego, posted in Articles

Is embracing Neo-Liberal policies and the concept of Globalization good for development at the county level? That is a subject of debate, however, evidence suggests otherwise- it is bad policy. I suppose the Nandi county theoretical approach to local developments revolves around the term ‘investors’, as a need that can only be outsourced. I here then (in a Democracy) seek to exercise my Socratic right to criticize his policy and to will to be executed for “seeking practical indications for where reasonable approximations of truth might be”. Sang’s’ policies rely on the assumption that by opening up the county for giant multinational corporations to invest will then lead to development. This move I argue will only add to the cosmetic outlooks of the county: that is to increase ‘mallisation1’ and Skyscrapers while debilitating the conditions of the local economy and its workers.
Globalization in this sense does not carry the dictionary definition of the term per se, it is in how the neo-liberals have applied. It implies to the liberalization of the trade policies to allow corporations to penetrate and to exploit resources without restrictions. A typical case is banana production in Latin America, where covert forms of coercion with limited force have [1]been applied to bend Governments to accept Globalization and instead of companies importing bananas at the market cost, they  acquire land and set their own  highly mechanize farms and people will be forced out of this investment because of market and competition . With that comes the evils of corporations- total disregard of humanity and the environment. This is the direction Nandi county is taking, Sang’s policy seems to have taken ‘a come all’ approach to this rejected ideal and disregards the people’s needs.

Prof. Noam Chomsky on criticizing this neoliberal policy, argues that globalization is a concept used by Western powers to twist Governments in the third world countries to open up their countries for exploitation by multinational corporations. There is no reciprocity in the applications of the term; the rich will exploit the poor and Nandi county which is not an exception will allow big corporations to exploit their resources. John Pilger in his Documentary The new rulers of the World (2001) paints a better picture on how the events will simply unfold, Pilger, explains how the West “has increased its stranglehold on poor countries by using the might of … powerful financial institutions to control their economies. “A small group of powerful individuals are now richer than most of the population of Africa,” he says, “just 200 giant corporations dominate a quarter of the world’s economic activity. General Motors is now bigger than Denmark. Ford is bigger than South Africa. Enormously rich men like Bill Gates, have a wealth greater than all of Africa. Golfer Tiger Woods was paid more to promote Nike than the entire workforce making the company’s products in Indonesia received”.  This policy framework is a recipe for a conformist and unconscious consumer society.
First, this policy if embraced will suffocate local entrepreneurs and scale out competitors in a similar market. The county does not have any clear anti-trust laws and if for instance, the GM branch which recently opened in Kapsabet offers a sizeable amount of money to buy off competitors within the city, it will be left at will to monopolize the local market and kill local creativity. In  1994, for instance, the then President of the USA  Bill Clinton- the champion of Neoliberalism imposed a Quota on the booming textile industry in Kenya and send the country into Mitumba business.

Secondly, Multinational corporations suppress creativity and local production turning the county into a job society, a move many seem to celebrate (kazi kwa vijana), but I will have to disappoint if development is the viable end to be achieved. A ‘job’, Ralston John in his book: Unconscious civilization indicates that a ‘job’ is not a factor in the production system, what goes into a production system is research, developing, planning, risking, investing, building, looking for markets and then selling. By outsourcing investors, the county cedes the proper steps of revitalizing a society and the consequence of this action will be the rise of a precarious society and maquiladoras.

Thirdly, Corporations tend to disregard health and environmental policies because their motive is centered on maximum profits at the cost of cheap human labor and hazardous working conditions, consider the Gold mines of South Africa, the deaths and lung disease. In Nandi county, for instance, there are emergent cases of cancer and lifestyle diseases. It is without a doubt that these alien conditions emerged with globalization: it is a consequence of investors that disregard humanity in its quest for profit. Monsanto and its affiliates in Kenya, for instance, have been implicated in many countries for use of products that have been known to harm people. Round-up is in use in Nandi county as a weed killer, yet research has indicated that it contains Glyphosate, a cancer-causing substance. I am not an expert in this sector, but multinational corporations have been cited eyeing these places in testing their new ventures i.e the BT Corn and terminator technology. The intent in this new Biotech product is to create a consumer society that relies on the giant seed company for their seeds: Round-up half-life does not allow Kolgeinik, Chepkerta, Mborochik, Mitek or other vegetables to regrow hence creating dependence on companies for seeds that used to be readily available. Sang’s policies in my view will provide a haven for such to occur in the local community. The recent incident at a gold mine in Nandi county is a clear testimony on how communities become prey to profit-seeking companies.
The people don’t learn but they must learn that ‘Nandi’ county is a product in a competitive market and in order to retain its viability, it has to outrun its competitors in branding and rebranding itself. In my own limited view, Nandi county and its officials should desist from seeking external solutions until it as established what Nandi is. I suppose that It is ‘a sport’, a farm and a ‘culture’. If you doubt this, travel and in the major streets of the world the Nandi people are known in sports but who do they represent? While at home, not even a decent stadium, or housing to nurture this product. Nandi tea is the best in the world, yet farmers are paid peanuts. Why? We are the breadbasket of Kenya yet more than half the population live below the poverty line. Why? Nandi is a cultural center and yet we choose to kill these in pursuit of modernization and perceived civilization. Why? To stay viable and relevant in a World of politics, people need to command a certain field and outrun the rest. Nandi county must research and find those strengths within to balance its imports.

Reference for further reading.

http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-new-rulers-of-the-world

https://chomsky.info/20170705/

John Ralston Saul: The Unconscious Civilization. Free press 1997

 

[1] Too many malls

 

The case of Darfur: Included by exclusion.

by Yego, posted in Articles, Politics

Included by exclusion implies that nations are part of one unified World, being members of the International Games(Olympics), United Nations, World Bank, and IMF, however, some of the needy nations seem to have been excluded when it comes to pressing issues. The exclusions in its essence explain the kind of partner a nation is in the Global arena and perhaps it is an ingredient of the ‘joyous freedoms’ enjoyed by those on top of the hierarchy. In the city of Omelas, Ursula Le Guin narrates a story about a city of abundance where people live in happiness. Their happiness he says depends on “the knowledge that one unlucky child has been locked in a cage under the city and allowed to live in filth. From his suffering, they understand how important happiness is and how cruel justice can be”.  Global politics rests on this principle: the knowledge of the existence of poverty, starvation and civil war in a small country with a lot of resources. The misery itself ensures fluidity of resources through loot to sustain their individual life of abundance. Darfur is haunted by the evil of ‘inclusion by exclusion’ .

In this cult of Inclusion by Exclusion as in the city of Omelas, we have been forced to heed exceptionalism, that is, if it is not me or us, then we don’t have to worry about the actions of the state at the systems level. We have buried our heads in the sand, while we blindly give the green light through tax and elections to those who endorse murder and exploitation. The man has mistakenly deviated from the state of nature and the principle of sharing in plenty and in less and has created a city of Omelas through global power politics and the assumption of Anarchy. Like in the city of Omelas, my argument rests on two important subjects: knowledge and fanning of the flames.

I seek to introduce the case of ‘knowing ‘by illuminating on the fact that it is public knowledge that there has been a crisis in DARFUR, however like the girl on in the City of Omelas, its misery seems to accords us the freedom and the security of a great summer vacation. I have set to demonstrate our understanding of the need to walk away from these cities because justice supersedes individual happiness. Walking away from the city is the basis for getting back to the universal principle of humanity- give unto the needy and be with them in times of sorrow. The living conditions of the people of Darfur has been well assessed and documented by the United Nations humanitarian crisis and other credible organizations i.e.  Amnesty international and Christian aid showing how the situations have developed and metastasized.

First, on September 2004, the Secretary of State Colin Powell testified to the US congress that in fact “… genocide has been committed in Darfur and the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility”. Twenty-two years ago there was a genocide, I am only interested in the ‘knowing’ it does explain more on the inaction of my proposition. The existence of knowledge was later affirmed by Tony Blair’s visit to Darfur, Blair declared that “we can’t have a situation where thousands of people are dying and nothing is done”. In June of 2005, European Council concerning the situation in Darfur declared that “The council continues to be deeply concerned at the serious infringement of human rights and of international humanitarian law committed against the civilian population in Darfur. It is clear that it is well known that the problem exists and that Children and families continue to be displaced and others killed.

Secondly, Charles Chinweizu (2009) article titled Imperialism and Sudan: same oil story cites a report from Human Rights Watch indicating the indiscriminate bombing of the civilians, the destruction of villages, ethnic cleansing, rape, and abduction. This is another despicable form of ‘knowing’ that crimes had escalated to extreme ends and that action was required immediately. In September 2016, Foreign Policy Journal published an article by David Kowalski, South Sudan’s American-Made Robber Barons. Kowalski alludes to the claims made by Enough Project and Not on Our Watch that the country’s leadership was, in fact, receiving Billions of money and instead of salvaging the crumbling economy stashed funds in countries like Kenya, Uganda, and Australia. There are thousands of pages of reports that indicate human suffering, however, the response has been business as usual, sanctions and more sanctions. The sanctions have proven to affect the masses, consider the case of Iraq and Oil embargo. The outcome was that many people died of starvation because Oil was the only form of the commodity for trade to import goods.

According to United States Government Accountability Office (Nov 2007), GAO Report to Congressional Requesters DARFUR CRISIS estimates that “The crisis {had} affected an estimated 3.76 million people in Darfur, including approximately 1.85 million— “internally displaced persons” (IDPs)—who now live in camps …The U.S. Department of State (State) reported that a total of 98,000 to 181,000 people died between March 2003 and January 2005”. Whether we will categorize this case as genocide or civil wars, the attention it has been accorded signals human arrogance and neglect or rather one of the many cases of Hegelian doctrine which equates Africans as ‘mere things’. Perhaps it also puts Darfur on the list of none ‘Holocaust’ related atrocities which include extermination of the Tasmanians or Aboriginals in Australia or the putting of African people in concentrations camps to die and rot while imperial Britain extort resources. Who knows?

Thirdly, there is a question of Oil, the denominator of all modern day crisis in the Sahara and the Middle East. G. Dunkel in the article What imperialists don’t say: Oil is behind struggle in Darfur, alludes to nature of politics played by Western allies and the effects of Chinese influence in Sudan.  Noam Chomsky (2006) Failed States mentions on push and pull factors within the UN and the nature of political theatrics that surrounds the United Nations.  The Global political giants practice delay or abandon the discussions aimed at ending Genocide. Chomsky cites a quote from an editor of Boston Globe saying “history will not forgive the powerful people who could have ended yet another genocide but preferred to play their pitiless games”. The delay is always expressed in terms of bureaucracy or unwillingness by parties to end or provide a resolution. Delay in itself supports injustice or aid Genocide or the Hegelian doctrine- Africa is a ‘thing’. The African Union has demonstrated some ability to act on the problem, however, the mammal is beyond its proxy and they all seem to be overwhelmed by personal wounds inflicted by Imperial acts of the days gone.

The Sudan question is part of proxy wars and the balance of power theory. Charles Chinweizu (2015): US and British Imperialism cites two claims indicating that Sudan is caught up in the middle of proxy wars. Chinweizu argues that in 1982 Sudan was part of the play during the Cold war and that it received top Aid from the US in order to limit soviet influence and to severe the ties with Gadhafi. It is also indicated in the writing that President Barack Obama extension of the Sanctions in October 2015 was rather strategic and not a meaningful cause for action. The sanction was meant to politically and economically isolate Sudan and break it up” into smaller bite size- chunks so as to deny vital energy resource to strategic rival China”.  Into ‘Sizeable chunks’ makes more sense on intention and not reason especially when one objectively views the tartars and pieces of current Sudan. It does explain the hidden meaning on the tenacity at which the Kiir’s and the Machars hold power in the rivers of flowing human blood.

What really fans the flames of discontent? Could it be the Economic sanctions? It is my presumption that Economic sanctions necessitate acquisition of arms instead of otherwise. Sudan receives thousands of sophisticated weapons, where and how is the question I do not know. What I would propose to consider containing the proliferation of weapons and when the fighters resort to Machetes and stones the fight will have reduced to a minimum.  Allow me to use the layman’s thinking, Sudan does not make weapons, therefore, it buys from outside. The question therefore is why is this pipe left open? Is someone making happiness out of this misery? The discontent has been further fueled by the current regime by refusing to receive refugees from the same country on the grounds of the myth of terror. General Wesley Lewis in early 2000’s attempted to open our eyes to the nature of the battles conspired to be undertaken by the Neo-cons whose intentions were to take down seven countries which included the ever suffering child ‘Darfur’. Noam Chomsky (2003), cites a case in which the Clinton administration in 1998 covertly bombed a Pharmaceutical company in Sudan claiming Weapons of Mass destruction, facts state otherwise. Instead, Clinton actions have been label by others to have been diversionary war. The consequence of the bombing affected the people economically and socially because the medical cost went up. The UN did not mention whether there were weapons of mass destruction or that it was, in fact, a Pharmaceutical Company.

The Knowledge of the existence of misery in Darfur and the business -as -usual attitude speaks louder. It seemingly concludes that the Misery is a necessary evil for the sustainability of hegemonic politics. If the case was otherwise, there could have been no way more than 200 countries equipped militarily and with other forms of arsenals spend decades trying to act on two greedy leaders. Knowing and acknowledging that there is a problem paves way for an action plan that matches the urgency of the case at hand. I intend not to deny attempts that have been put forward previously to correct the instability however it has not resolved the problem. Is Darfur the Child in the City of Omelas?

Reference

Chomsky, Noam. Failed States: Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy. NY, Metropolitan books, 2006, pp. 229-30

Chomsky, Noam. Hegemony or Survival: Americas Quest for Global Dominance. NY, Henry Holt and Company, 2003, pp. 206-07.

Kowalski, David. “South Sudan’s American-Made Robber Barons.” Foreign Policy Journal, 19 Sept. 2016. Accessed 2 Mar. 2017.

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2016/09/19/south-sudans-american-made-robber-barons/

http://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/africa/sudan/4217-uab211215

http://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/africa/sudan/884-imperialism-and-sudan-same-oil-story-frfi-181-oct-nov-2004

http://engl210-deykute.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/omelas.pdf

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MCD261331.htm (accessed March 31, 2007).

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0724.pdf

http://hugoslim.com/Pdfs/Dithering%20Over%20Darfur.pdf

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/13/obamas-premature-easing-sanctions-sudan

http://www.workers.org/2006/world/darfur-0504/

 

 

 

 

Is Euphemism a public sedative in Kenya

by Yego, posted in Articles

George Carlin defines Euphemism as a “language invented to take life out of life”, nobody wants to call the devil by its name anymore. Perhaps this is the new skill that has been well mastered by Kenyans especially those working with the Government. You may at your own liberty ignore the essence of my preposition, but Euphemism is a strong sedative in Kenya. It numbs the people, it pulls their teeth and sends them back to work. Euphemism is currently the most effective opiate prescribed by leaders and Government officials to make people believe that somehow something is being done. Today, Kenyans are frustrated and they are looking for justification concerning the Rio saga. Four years ago, they were at the same spot asking the same questions and they received near same answers. Why? It is simply because Officials seem to have undergone an effective training in the use of coded language.

Somehow, Wario has ‘disbanded’ the NOCK and the last time I checked, the word ‘disband’ means to disperse or go separate ways. That sounds like we are sending people on maternity leave, with bags full of NIKE uniform and a couple of millions for up- keep. Doesn’t this seem like they were in a class work and suddenly the teacher disbands groups and tells everybody to get back to their chairs. To the contrary my grandmother was once suspected by the AP to be making and selling busaa. She was immediately dragged to the nearest police station and held in the cell for hours. She was then taken to court and fined kshs 1000 or serve a month of jailed term. Here we have crooks, who have embarrassed Kenyans in the Global arena repeatedly being ‘disbanded’.  Why don’t they tell us they are just giving them a corruption leave, at least we can learn they still own a bit of ‘honest’?

Here is the most arrogant piece ‘we have formed a team to probe’. Why use a long statement? It is the simplest task WARIO, let the police find them and take them to the nearest police station. And like any other Kenyan, they will explain themselves to the judges. They have earned a ticket to jail and no evidence is required, the uniforms were lost and some of them are wearing them in public. Forming a team sounds like a bursary committee and the intention is to share the proceeds if not to concoct a story which will eventually send the small fish to prison. We hold a world record in Kenya on the number of pointless or rather useless inquiry teams, committees or commissions. Their duties as I have known have been to delay the process until the storm withers. The result is the same, 791 million ends in someone’s pocket while the investigating team spends more money and time (up to 15 years) to finalize their report. In the end the culprits will have become super rich to buy the courts and others will have gone to hell leaving the proceeds to their children. Forming a team is just but a language folks, taking meaning out of a serious scam and making it look like a child just dropped an egg and therefore we wait for more chicken to lay more eggs. We have the courts and we have the police: The normal protocol is that the police will chase you, hold you by the trouser and drag you the cell. You will be enjoying raw Maharagwe while waiting to be investigated and judged for a crime.

In addition, The NOCK ‘mismanaged’ the Team Kenya. I am not sure what they meant, but I assume that someone missed to manage a team. And that the Kenyan athletes who rule the Big cities certainly required a high level of management to compete in Olympics. Call the devil by its name, the NOCK exploited KENYANS and stole money and other resources from athletes and coaches. There is no secrecy in this scam and to call it mismanagement takes meaning out of a serious allegation and assumes the whole thing to have been a mere failure to read a script. They are thieves and have been doing so for years and therefore have to be in jail for embarrassing the nation. There is no difficulty in paying for team flights and acquiring facilities for them. I have been an athlete and I was under a university coach, we never missed a flight, a game or facilities yet we were over 70 athletes.  A joke on you NOCK..

Kenyans, this language invented by politicians to make us believe that somehow something is about to be done is plainly baseless. It is just a language and to make it have validity, action needs to be injected into it. AK is a rock institution with politically motivated scams and corruption that have been shielded for years. Take a look at the cases already in the EACC and ask yourself whether someone has been held accountable? For the Government to pretend that this act was sudden is ridiculous, most of them have been receiving bread from kickbacks in the athletics Kenya, in fact they have been trying to further inflict more pain by taxing the Athletes who are already suffering from under the table bribes paid to the same institution. What essence does it make to disband a group having proceeds up to hundred million? They will be at liberty to bribe the courts and be left free to invest or pay their way back to the same institution.

There are only two ways the Government can convince me and you that we are all in this fight together. First, the Athletic Kenya/NOCK officials, accomplices and affiliates as it pertains to 2012/2016 Olympics be handcuffed publicly and on Camera and be placed under 24-hour surveillance at a maximum prison. They will be assumed guilty until proven innocent, only that they have to go through that which other hardworking Kenyans go through when they are found hawking in the streets. Secondly, their bank accounts, businesses and records of events and transaction be made public. They can also at their cost run their accounts on KBC TV each hour for a day. That is how I will begin to think something is going to be done….

Personal views…

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpts from ‘Jubilee’ Government dictionary.

by Yego, posted in Articles, Politics
  1. Our Government-  Distance this set from the Lincolnian doctrine of Government by the people for the people. Jubilees’  Government is a coalition of “dealers” who have come together to maximize profits and expand personal enterprises.  Their relationships are strengthened by covert interests within certain corporations that are theoretically meant to serve the masses. Their trademark is greed, doublespeak, and Exploitation.
  2. The Law: That document widely read and interpreted by Legal advisers & lawyers in an attempt to create delay and ambiguity where mass killing, stealing or public robbery has occurred. It only favors the RICH and INTEREST groups. The greater the depth of the pocket, the more likely you will be favored by the document.
  3. Corruption. A widely accepted and domesticated behavior of responsibly taking public funds with an interest in financing an election or retaining a public office. It often works best where the top-down directive has been issued and compliance is mandatory. The greater the amount of loot the higher the chances of securing a higher office and enjoying the state protection.
  4. Due process: It is synonymous to Procrastination: a deliberate way of creating delays and deceiving the masses to believe something is happening. The intention is to create confusion and push people to forget yester ‘Evils’ and keep track of their daily hustles and bustles.
  5. We have Institutions:   Institutions here implies the dead bed of action. Consider EACC and the office of DPP, bureaucratic institutions that spend more cash than it recovers. It is the palliative institution that sustains a  case until it dies from the public minds.
  6. Projects and Developments:  in literal terms, it implies and endeavor that meets a politician economic taste- it pays well and I can make a kill.  In can also be interpreted as political rhetoric used before and after the election to drive people into the Utopianism- false hope about the future. It totally encompasses individual wants and serves to advance the needs of the RICH at the expense of the POOR i.e. consider the relevance of Thika Superhighway and Nomadic life of the people of North Eastern. The SGR and mama Mboga. Huduma number and starvation.
  7. Cabinet Secretary: A staunch Right Winger: person or friend of the boss who is obedient and capable of striking an exploitative deal for the master. His qualification includes greed or get-rich-quick motive, but not limited to tribal acceptance or tainted public records.

 

Absolute Ignorance: ‘Ati’ donate to help fight HIV-AIDS in AFRICA?

by Yego, posted in Articles, Life

It is a regular winter day in the west, and had just woken up and prepared for yet another busy schedule to hustle for the bills.  As usual, where there is a Kenyan, the pace is set with cup of tea (actually a kettle) before any priorities are made. So I had took about 2 glasses of hot Kapsara tea and I was doped enough to read and make meaningful conclusions on written material. For the records I was at my best ready to tackle what was in stock for the day. I walked downstairs and into my Locomotive and I drove to the bank to get a few coins to finance a few necessities. In less than 5 minutes I pulled by a drive through ATM at banking institution that I have been a customer for 7 years. I have been a loyal customer at this bank, and I had gone the extra mile to recommend a few of my friends.

On a bad note and quite embarrassing I should say, this ATM kept running and re-running adverts on donations to Help fight HIV-AIDS in AFRICA. I am African and a through son of the soil. I have held certain great persons and personnel in business with great respect but such an advert is a cause for failure in how the society handles matters of worldwide concerns. Aids is not an African concern but a matter that faces Humanity, it is professional to address this matter into Humanity and not brand it a property of a specific place or person. It seems to me that anything that bears Africa is a tool for begging or gaining sympathy, and to attract more donation.  We would consider poverty because we still own most of it and that we have not robbed anyone or forced a regime change to any nation just to impose person who will be easily exploited. Why are your cameras so focus into AID’s ,Poverty and Africa and you have totally  forgotten about the  young lady who stood across the street asking for a few coins to find a place to stay in this freezing temperature? It was 32 degrees outside and I saw three of them along the road.

HIV-AID’s is real and it is a universal epidemic that does not marginalized or affect certain nations, it is not destined for Africa. Pieces of information, statistics and local papers have relevant data that will shock you about your neighborhoods and disease prevalence .For institutions to solicit money by branding Africa a place of AID’s is absolute ignorance: This in fact bars certain persons from travelling to Africa because of such careless adverts. I have encountered so many ignorant people who I had blamed until I realize today the cause, and how appealing adverts can lure individual to think negatively.

I love my Africa until Dead for we own without question or revenge all the diseases, poverty and other evils you want to write about us.

Remember the secret and the TRUE meaning of life and happiness is in EXCESS in Africa.

Ignorance and being in Diaspora.

by Yego, posted in Articles, Life

I have been in Diaspora for years now and this qualifies me over some if not many to echo certain sentiments about our culture of pretense and get –in to get- along attitude. My concern is not much about the paranoids: those persons who will do anything to get over the natural mistake of belonging to a certain place and will spend a great deal of time trying to overcome lambdacism. At rare occasions that it is relevant to say ‘Wora’ instead of water and escape a certain look that says “what you say?’. You also shouldn’t be worried about those who feel guilty about their accent, they will twang for ages and time will teach them that the more they force it the more it gets worse.  I have a beef with these folks who landed at the Airport the other day and now they are worried about everything in their home country. They insist on insecurity, robbery, poverty and foolishness and other forms of misfortunes. They will bow to every Mzungu and speak with sympathy expecting empathy. Before you continue embarrassing us, let me give you a few hints to kick out abusnatet in your brain.

Before you give a hand to those who want to hear what they want – stop and think because some folks will want to hear how insecure your country is. Let me give you a guideline to teach them about our real threats. Our real insecurity, especially at night is a cat, probably a dog and Kimagutiet, which of course are not armed with any riffles or rabies.  We have really learned to live with them, and with my years of experience, we could in our time walk for several Kilometers at night to a club (dance), crusade or Keisha and I have never encountered any episode of insecurity. Remember, there are no street lights or emergency response unit to accompany or check the surroundings. The majority of the children as young as 5 years wakes up in the morning to go to school and they walk and I have never heard of any disappearance or murder.  The rats and other rodents are aware of this simple fact because I have seen them cross the road majestically without fear of anybody.

It would be relevant if we would treat Global acts for instance terrorism, that breach the security as international matters rather than to categorize as failures of certain exceptional state. They add to the false misconceptions that the world has painted Alkabuland with every possibility of darkness. Even though in every market, as they say, you won’t miss a madman, there is a negligible incidence of assassination, robbery, and kidnapping, but it does not warrant international publicity.

Another group of persons that need to shut up and feel ashamed for saying what they don’t actually do is the hypocrites and pretenders who preach poverty and primitivity in mama land.  Across the water, they went to church and today they drink a little bit of wine and Champagne, they have forgotten the world and the future prescribed to them by the elders. They now call Mama poor, but when they turn around they realize that all the skills they have are copyright of Mama and all that they call healthy eating is the Greens and the Ugali they happen to be missing. The milk they drink is no longer the milk from Chepsitye but from an unknown farmer somewhere. They shuffle through the malls and shops just to find the closest taste of mama stew. They even such and hunt for anybody who is going home, so that they bring them safari shoe, Uji and Kericho Tea, etc. We have not been the best, but under such circumstance the struggle is real everywhere, to malign Mama in an attempt to gain favor or avoid the reality of the new world is an absolute pretense. There is no err in nature that made you belong to a certain Home/family and that is why they say “ Melilchin Kimaget emobchi”.

There are these other groups of friends who try to imagine the impossibility of how to do certain things they had done for 20 years of their life. They pose a lot of irrelevant questions that do not make any meaningful conversations.  These guys will ask you how it feels to use the outside house. It is a Latrine and your grandmother uses it, does it mean you are getting more stupid?  Matters that pertain to excrete is a non- issue and will buy you more ridicule than mercy. Other folks who are just a year in the West and have begun wondering how people at home cook with firewood. You went to college for 8 years to be a Doctor which you are now proficient in it and now you pretend to have no idea of what you did three times a day for 20 years? Traveling should and must be used to the advantage of your family and childhood friends, to insist on unnecessary gossip, hypocrisy, and falsehood to gain friends and personal fortune is an investment on misery in the fast-changing World.

There is also a new breed of a self-made political analyst on facebook and other social media. They never ceased to amaze me when they cite democracies and development. You know how they put it right? I wish Africa will be like USA or UK -the best democracies in the world. That’s a joke.   The USA in its inception did not intend to be a democracy but a Republican government. Democracy implies that the legitimacy of power rests in the majority, however, in the USA slaves, women and those without property were never part of the decision makers. The founding fathers were very skeptical about the proles and they cited that giving them power in decision making will lead them to demand certain rights that will affect the bourgeois.  And the last time I checked, UK is and has been a monarchy with a blend of parliamentary democracy.

Lastly, I want to be specific to this guy who thinks gun rights is a cool policy and should be extended to African countries. I have always wondered whether the reciprocal of not having one leads to more dead? Maybe or maybe not. It is subject to debate as to whether there is a positive correlation between putting more arms in the civilian hands and safety. That aside, as African history is key in understanding how the second amendment came about and if those precautions still exist. This was an amendment for a few reasons: Since there was no standing army and a militia was necessary to protect the people. There was also an issue concerning slavery and for the masters to be able to contain slaves.

N/B Thinking loud- debatable..

The Fate of Kalenjin Politics.

by Yego, posted in Articles, Politics

Kalenjin politics in the 21st century is a sport of control, influence and dominance. The rich (actually the corrupt) have bought what they want and created an otherwise obedient people. We as the people have been moved from a society build out of virtues as Thomas Paine writes into a mini- Government that arises from majorly vices. It is absolute non-sense if I am allowed to condemn, for an individual person of more pride and not character to speak on behalf of the people at all podiums, crusades and conferences urging as to have a collective responsibility in voting on a partisan basis and not policies.  We the people have been cornered by power brokers to believe that culture necessitates Kingpins and that a Kalenjin people needs a King. We had Koitalel in gone days, which I would assume to have been Moses of the Kalenjin people who brought as into the beautiful hills of the Great Rift Valley. Under certain greedy persons we are being duped to call on God to ask for Kingpins. Here they are dressed in Bantabtai ideology, but the inverse is closer to the truth.

Haven’t you seen them of late, they fly to your neighborhoods shuffling and dossing cash like pieces of paper when you have to toil for 7 months to just harvest corn for your children? They come to you not to ask, but to prescribe to you who to listen to, what to listen to and to make you feel that in becoming a tribal voter you’re increasing your chances of becoming a better person. My people, we are riding on thin ice, and this folks acting as leaders will plunged the community into servitude. We have gotten ourselves into the Orwellian society where our leaders engage in Newspeak and doublespeak, what they say is not what they mean nor belief in.  For instance, there was a recording of an intelligent upcoming politician in Nandi County and to my surprised some folks who have been completely brainwashed condemn him as traitor yet he was putting pieces of facts together. Handouts as enslaved people and make them drunk in fake ideologies and they have become engaged in random abuses without paying attention to the veracity of the young man’s views. To add insult on the same note another Elder on a different show was using his mastery of the culture and words condemning facts just to please the self-endorse Kings.

For development to be universal in the Kalenjin community the culture of ridicule that dominates the current regime should and need to be put to rest. It is sickening to live in a society where sycophancy is branded ‘GOOD’ and sectarian politics is preached at all costs. The idea of Kingpins dictating to the people to be patient in turmoil until one of their own becomes the president is non-sense. The resources are shrinking and we are dreaming and waiting for a character in the play to be inducted into Hollywood hall of fame and all hustles and puzzles will be solved. Sorry it won’t.  I believe that Dr. Ben Carson had read into the minds of our leaders when he was describing how folks intend to kill a society and breed servitude, He says that in order to destroy a society you first create a division and then encourage a culture of ridicule and that will drive away morality and then drive the economy into a debt…

That is our future in current politics

And The Poverty of ‘Satisfaction’ Wins.

by Yego, posted in Articles, Life

Where credit be, let it belong, John F. Kennedy on March 18, 1968 while addressing a rally in Kansas said “Even if we act to erase material poverty…. There is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction…….. that afflicts us all”. Words well thought and yes, it was foreseen and now we live in it and it has overtaken the poverty of ‘Basic needs’. The poverty of Africa and the Caribbean is what we have known whether true or justifiable we are aware of the hourly adverts of donation to save a life. My intention to resurrect Kennedy’s words is to reflect on certain individual lives and to put speed bumps to those who are cruising to an undefined destination looking for more of what they do not need or require. The Poverty of satisfaction is the mother of Extremism, poverty of basic needs, immorality, Corruption, 3 jobs for rent etc.

I will rather expound on this concept by reflecting on how the poverty of satisfaction is wrecking the youths. It is putting us into endless dreams, imagination and magnifications of life to ends that will otherwise be achieved after 120 years’ time limit on planet Earth. Consider this scenario as told by a friend in diaspora, trying to find greener pastures. “After form four I really wanted to go to college eventually find a job, build a house and have 2-3 good cows and raise a family.” Here is his present situation: I work 2 jobs, I have a degree, I am planning to marry but I am not sure when and I am thinking of investing in some business. I asked how much money you think you need now and he answered without hesitance that he needs about 10 million shillings and I will humbly go home and start life. It is so exiting to understand how the poverty of satisfaction can magnify your wants/needs without allowing you to climb the ladder from A-Z. This man has shifted his mindset to a different level of thought, but he has not been able to complete his original plan although he is capable of accomplishing it now.

I understand without necessity of burden of  proof that Safaricom, which is a Giant business in Kenya belongs to certain individuals and I truly acknowledge their skills and abilities to set up such a great venture. On the other side, I am amazed to also understand that similar billionaires are also engaged in other activities which have ruined and put the country in great turmoil. Some individuals are mentioned in major scandals and scums, some are political brokers wanting power by pay and others are engaged in drug trafficking and the majority are laundering money. My question is so simple, what makes you want more when you can’t spend what you have? In the end, we are left with the same ends: sleeplessness and dissatisfaction. The only difference between these two ends is that one will eventually exploit or rob the one who is genuinely poor and adds to the excess of what he already has.

Take a great look at the Kenyan politicians and the appointed officials: They earn up to a million shillings a month and then loots everything from the department of disability, youth empowerment or Healthcare to add for themselves. It is embarrassing to belong to such a nation and God himself won’t be fair to Judge me with this heartless persons. To add insult to same wound, they buy a large screen Television to watch the starving Children of the slums and streets. What kind of persons are these? Was it not written somewhere in the Bible that the natural Law of Giving is for the Rich to the poor? How then did we arrive at ‘reverse justice’ as Lincoln once said. Why are the Rich robbing the poor?  I suppose then that in the Land of “poverty of Satisfaction”, moral judgement cannot hold.

Mention any evils of the 21st century and you will realize that the Poverty of satisfaction has been always the root cause. Take a look at the extremism and you will be able to spot the difference. It is a fight of the poor nations with the rich: the rich are trying to quench their thirst of wanting too much for themselves and when greed is in, morals will have no place to stay. If you still question that perspective, consider the recent emergent cases of Homosexuality .The society is overwhelmed by minority funded programs and affirmative actions have been put to place to balance the gradient, eventually the Government with its poverty of satisfaction is creating and making room for more unnecessary bed room affairs into a national budget/discussion. The people are tossing and shuffling life trying to find an end of satisfaction and in so doing, they have become like the man once written to have climbed the mountain and could not realize he had reached the top and began descending from the other side.

I can write endless pages on this topic, but it was not my intention to do so, I only wanted to stir your thoughts and allow those who will read this to reflect on themselves. On what extreme end of life are you? Are you the one taking from the genuinely poor to add to your full pocket? Are you that person inventing a plan each year, but unable to satisfy? Are among the few breeds thirsty for a turn to rob and begin dancing the tune of today?

Personal views subject to constructive critic.

Why I am convinced Jubilee Gov’t needs & necessitates failure.

by Yego, posted in Articles, Politics

Why I am convinced Jubilee Gov’t needs & necessitates failure.

Leo-Strauss political ideals (deception, religious fervor and perpetual war to control the ignorant masses) which were adopted by the Neo -Straussians are now deeply rooted in Kenya, in the core of the Jubilee administration. Its policies and ideals are solidly structured to enriched and expand a corporate Kenya comprising of few heartless persons whose interest is to get rich at all cost.  Jubilee system is no longer based on performance, training and necessary skills to hire or nominate personnel to run certain state functions. The Government is totally comprised of what Jim Lobe calls “‘Right’ men to get the job done” men who are politically committed. With this extreme insistence on these ideals jubilee necessitates failure, by putting failures and rejects in places where Ethics, training and commitment is necessary. If you are in doubt take a look at these observations.

  1. Jubilee as extremely suppressed the natural law of competition, the drive that allows us to work hard and out win an opponent satisfactorily. All has been lost into the new tact of overemphasis on tribal dominance and alignment marred with chest thumbing and arrogance. We do not require any magnifying glass to realize that jubilee is a Kikuyu –Kalenjin entity with a few political friends who are committed to the Behind scenes of the administration. Of what essence is Kenya as a state, if one of 40,000,000 is held with exceptionalism?
  • Kaimenyi failed in the docket of Education, which is now affected by excessive leakage and the quality of Education at its lowest and yet the overseer is rewarded again with a very delicate docket?
  • What Merits or credentials, awards Charles Keter as a Senator a position in Petroleum if he is not sure of his position as a senator? What has he achieved as a senator other than moral support at ICC?
  • Where was Mwangi Kiunjuri? His turn was over and we are still paying for the losses they incurred the last time he was in Gov’t, if you’re in doubt check the price of sugar then compare with today? He is now being given another position? Are we a nation engaged in a rewarding contest of picking and choosing a name we have heard before?
  1. The jubilee is again resurrecting and replicating the sins of ‘Baba’s’ Era, we might have deemed that to have been necessary then, but to have demagogues frequenting the highest office is ridiculous. The time of Barngetuny’s and Too’s is gone, and here again we have the Kutuny sprouting. This is a slap on the cheek to the people of Cherangani, who rejected him for underperformance and then he is appointed to advise the president? Really?
  • Similarly, road shows, early campaigns and Harambees are taking over the State. The agenda here therefore as I perceive is to take us into a welfare state, in which handouts are used to replace service delivery and at the same time secure public support through deception. These kinds of approaches are terrible in the 21st century, especially when the ratio of literate- illiterate is still a big issue. The poor and the illiterate can be easily deceived with handouts to make poor decisions.
  1. The public announcement by the State should be followed by intervention with measurable results. What we see in the Jubilee administration is reactionary announcement, especially if World renowned persons are visiting. Actions taken in matters of corruption for instance, should end when recovery has been done and culprits convicted without letting them off the hook with the loot.

…..A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.

James Thomson from Liberty: A Poem, 1736

Personal views and expression of dissatisfaction with my lovely Kenya.