Wakenya Tulizeni Boli. Bado Tena Bado Sana!

One thing I have heard over and over again is, "I cannot wait for March 5th, then all the madness will be behind us."  Whenever I hear this I cringe because for sure, it will not be over on March 5th, indeed, it will have just began.  Let me explain.

When we voted in the Constitution in 2010, in it were some very prescriptive detail on how we are to conduct our affairs.  This is one of the biggest criticism I have of our Constitution.  It wants to be Constitution and statute all rolled in one.  One of the most prescriptive parts of the Constitution are those that have to do with elections.  Given our history, one can see why the Committee of experts felt they should go into overkill.  However, in their responding to the emotion of the day, we are now saddled with a reality that few of us had anticipated.

Kenya has elections slated for the 4th of March 2013.  She is going to the polls to elect a whole new system of Government, a return to bi-cameral parliament, as well as the establishment of 47 Counties, each with its own County Government.  However, all those other positions being contested are eclipsed by the presidential election.  It is so hotly contested, that the election fever is now burning us literally with people becoming apprehensive of violence. I wish Kenyans would realise how long a wait we are in for, they would realise we cannot sustain this high tempo momentum for long, because it will take us all of three months to install a newly elected President.

When we go to the polls on March 4th, the Constitution gives the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission 7 days within which the results must be announced.  Of course nothing stops them from announcing earlier than the 7 days, but if they stretch it to the limit, this takes us to March 11th when the final results are declared.  Once they are declared, Article 140 indicates, that there is a 7 day period during which time any challenge to the results may be lodged.  Since multiparty politics resumed in 1992, each and every election of a President has seen a challenge in court, so I think it would be safe to assume, based on similar fact evidence, that this would be the case this time around too.  This takes us to March 18th 2013.

After March 18th 2013, if there is a petition in court, the Supreme Court has 14 days to make a determination on it, this would take us to 1st April 2013.  If they determine the President-Elect was not duly elected, Kenyans have to go back to the polls to repeat the election within 60 days, taking us to the 1st week of June 2013.  IF the decision is that the election was good and proper, we would be headed for a second round.  The reason for the assumption that there would be a run-off, is simple.  Again, similar fact evidence.  Since 1992, the President has been elected by less than 50% of the votes cast, except for 2002 when President Moi was no longer running and Kibaki was declared as a joint ticket presidential candidate under the NARC coalition.  This means the threshold of 50% +1 would be near impossible for anyone to achieve, given we have 8 Presidential candidates.  There is the additional hurdle of 25% in at least 24 Counties.  Even recent polls demonstrate, no single candidate has this locked down.

Back to my timeline.  On March 18th,2013, if the Supreme Court find the elections were fine, the IEBC has 30 days within which to organise and conduct a run-off.  This would take us to the 16th April 2013.  On the 16th April 2013, we go to the polls and vote in the run-off.  The IEBC have 7 days to declare the election, so for the sake of argument if they take the full 7 days, that would take us to 23rd of April 2013.  Once the results are declared, if there is no petition filed, the President-elect will be sworn in on the first Tuesday after the 14th day.  The 14th day is the 7th of May, since it is itself a Tuesday that would go to the 14th of May as the day the President-elect will be sworn in.

If there is a petition filed, this is how the scenario will play out.  After 16th April we take 7 days to wait for a petition, and the Supreme Court again have 14 days to hear the matter, a total of 21 days, 7th of May 2013.  Once a decision is rendered on 7th of May, we have 7 days to swear in the President, that goes to the 14th May 2013.

Kenyans, this means we have between March 4th 2013, and May 14th 2013 to have a new occupant of State House.  We need to be extra patient, and to let things play out as they must.  If we keep up this election fever we have, we run the risk of suffering permanent brain damage as a people, making it a catalyst for the eruption of fresh violence.  When we go to the polls, we better be prepared for the fact that a new President is actually three months away, and in the mean time we can concentrate on setting up our County Governments so that our day to day life is not disrupted.

God bless Kenya, and I wish all of you a wonderful Lenten season.  On March 4th, let us Get-Out-The-Vote and make our voices heard, au sio?

The Gay Debate: Simply Different Strokes for Different Folks!

KTN has been airing a series titled "The Muffled Killer" an expose on the world of male prostitution in Kenya and an insight into the men having sex with men (MSM) society.  It has caused a real uproar in Kenya.  Here is a link to a clip, a part one, you can follow the trail if you want to see more http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDJkd7J3SBU.

Today society has a unique situation.  The world view is increasingly that the individual knows what is best for himself and his pursuit of happiness is supreme.  Human Rights now includes allowing this process to proceed unfettered, the qualification being "It does not hurt anyone else"

The extent of the hurt, is quite relative, since is it physiological, emotional, financial, where does it start, where does it end?

Many of the issues today being pushed as Human Rights are actually not human rights.  Human rights include those inalienable rights given to all of us, by God.  They are necessary for life and health and well being.  However, human rights have morphed to include even that which is not necessary for life, but is deemed crucial for living.  That is how Education, Culture, Religion come into the human rights stratosphere.  Once those became accepted, the realm was expanded further.  Pursuit of happiness, accumulation of wealth, self expression, protection of an individuals ideas and intellectual property, these too entered the realm of human rights.  Man has an inbuilt need to subdue, conquer and have dominion.  If you have a fight and win it, you start spoiling for the next one.  If you do not win, you still don't give up, until you have won.

Back to the issue at hand.  This whole "Gay Debate" stems from another primal desire:  It is the desire for acceptance that is at the core of every human being.  You see it when a child takes two steps then waits for you to cheer that they have done well.  It is a scientist waiting to be feted as an acknowledgement of years of hard work in a lab peering down microscopes.  Well, today we want to follow every rabbit trail thought in our heads and do whatever we put our minds to.  But that is not enough, we also want for others to look on our progress and hail it as admirable or at least, acceptable.  If they fail to do this, we feel "excluded" or "discriminated against", less than the rest of society.  Finally it boils down to this; is exclusion on the basis of behavioural differences really discrimination?  Or is it simply differences in taste, Different Strokes for Different Folks.

Let me give you a visual example.  To put it crudely, if you are at a table with a date who chews his food loudly and open mouthed.  Or you are sitting across a lovely lady at a high priced restaurant, and she sucks and slurps up her soup noisily and messily.  Some of you will have no problem with that, after-all, you may be a loud and open mouth chewer as well.  However, some of you will cringe at the very thought.  Whether there will be a second date, will depend on how you respond to this situation.  Are you a bad person because you are a loud, messy eater?  No.  Are you a bad person because the thought of "see food" in someone's else's "food processor" brings up everything you swallowed in the last 24hours?  No.  The solution in this instance is to find a date who will generally not leave you uncomfortable with how they chew their food.

Same scenario with social issues.  LGBT individuals express their sexuality in a way that is not usual for some of us.  I daresay if the only way to experience sexuality was in the manner in which LGBT people express it, some of us would choose to do without sex altogether and remain voluntarily celibate.  Simply because, it does not ring our bell, it is not our cup of tea.  In the same vein, the notion of rejecting the practise, cannot be held synonymous with rejecting the person.  I am personally a very affectionate individual, I make friends easily, laugh loudly and strike up conversations with perfect strangers several times a day.  I do not consider myself a homophobic individual, because even if you came out to me that you were a gay person, I probably would have an AC/DC joke about it.  However, I find the practise, very much not to my taste, and would not hesitate in pointing that out.  I would love to share all of life's experiences with a gay person, except sexual experiences.  That is one little English word, "Preference".

Now this is where the whole cookie crumbles.  The fact that I reject the practise and refuse to acknowledge it as a norm, makes those who live the lifestyle feel the rejection of the practise as being the rejection of them.  Separating the practise from the individual then becomes impossible, since offence has been taken by both sides.  I think this is where we all lost the plot.  The the pro-gay and anti-gay  movements, this is where the rubber meets the road.  Time has come for us to accept that we must agree to disagree.

Homosexuals should practise what they preach, be inclusive of the dissenting voices and leave this debate alone.  I say this because I have been subjected to seriously harsh judgements for expressing my opinion, to which I am as entitled as the people who believe I am wrong.  In Kenya today, I am in the majority with my opinion of same sex relations.  However, I am sure one day there will come a generation that will not mind so much, but this is not that generation.

Let me spin this top a little more.  Same sex marriages, that is a contradiction in terms.  How do you have the same sex and then you have a marriage?  Marriage is an institution, not a frame of mind.  It was established since the foundations of society, as between a man and a woman.  With the main aim not being companionship, but procreation.  Other same sex relations did exist, but not as marriage, but as just that, external adventures.  Many homosexuals in african society still maintain a home with a wife and children, and the homosexual relationship was recreational.   Women have sexual relations with other women but still have a Home.  There are women who even marry younger fertile women to have children for them.  A complex form of surrogacy, since the surrogate must source her own sperm donor sometimes but the children are considered the 'husband's'.  But I digress.  Even if you consider yourself monogamous in a homosexual relationship, what you have is not a marriage. It is loving companionship, it is deeply satisfying, but since procreation is impossible it is not a marriage.  Technology helps overcome this deficiency but left on its own, it is impossible to sort itself out.  Evolution notwithstanding.  If what people need is same tax benefits as married people, then clearly what we need to change is the tax laws, not the marriage laws.

My thinking leads me to think thus.  Time has come for us to grow up and get honest.  If you choose to live your life a certain way and I do not really like it, I should let you live your life uninhibited.  However, you also must stop expecting me to eventually come round and embrace it, it probably will never happen.  The old adage is actually true, "Live and Let Live".  All the labels we give each other create invisible walls that make it difficult for us to move forward.  Sometimes, the trick is in realising, that being immiscible is not a bad thing, in fact it may very well be the spice of life.

"You Lazy Intellectual African Scum!" ::::: "You called my lord?"

If you have not already done so, start by reading this:  http://mindofmalaka.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/you-lazy-intellectual-african-scum/.  Are you done?  Now, let us talk honestly.

I am grateful for this perspective, and I do contend, we cannot just call African Intellectuals lazy.  They do their thinking best, and it is up to government to fill in the gaps.  The shilling plummets, and it is because Banks are speculating.  People are dying of hunger and it becomes there is a famine, no mention of the new bumper harvests prior.  They blame the weather, violence, famine, disease, many excuses to help us explain why we are failing miserably.  However, one thing I want to point out, is that thinking in and of itself, clever papers does not translate to anything.  Many of the innovators who are credited with "discovering" or "creating" anything usually faced stiff opposition or despondency from their governments.  In fact, for most of them, it was after their passing that the full extent of their contributions were discovered and felt.

Move over to people like Henry Ford.  He had not the mind, but he had the business sense to put the mind to use.  A famous story is told of how top scholars of that day confronted him about his mass production of vehicles whilst knowing nothing of how the car runs.  The countered he was dabbling in something dangerous.  He replied he knew all he needed to know.  The panel shot questions at him "how does the combustion engine work" "what of the braking system" "can you explain about the process of ignition"  With each question, Mr. Ford would pick up his telephone and ask someone the same question and relay the answer to the panel, he could answer none of the questions asked, without help.  Exasperated, the panelists felt they had made their point, and as they rose to storm out. As they shuffled their papers and feet, Mr. Ford calmly pointed out, that he did not need to KNOW anything, as long as he had hired the people who DO know, to do the job, he was fine.  As they say, the rest is history.  Cars now are commonly mass produced everywhere, and he made his money.

What am I saying?  African Innovators and Intellectuals need each other, it is a symbiotic relationship, mutually beneficial.  Intellectual thinks, and the Innovator builds.  Add another group here called Investors.  If we use the money we already have in circulation, and help those with the ideas to find people with the skills to convert the ideas from blue print to reality, then we will have hit the jack pot.  What Government participation was involved in the innovation that is M-Pesa?  Time has come for us to stop hiding behind our excuses and own up.  Look at our education system, book smarts is given preference, nay, pre-eminence over the arts, talent and "blue collar skills".  The people who may not excel in book smarts but can do magic when given a screw driver and some wires, those are the guys we should be building up, with as much gusto as the guys who make up the formulae.

As a Kenyan intellectual, I stand guilty as charged in http://mindofmalaka.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/you-lazy-intellectual-african-scum/. I want my intellectual property protected.  I want for every thought, every contribution, I want the monetary value clearly spelled out, otherwise I am reluctant to get involved.  Sometimes I even hold off sharing a simple solution staring at me simply because I think my idea will be "stolen" and someone else will reap the whilrwind.  Infact I not only want it, I usually demand it, and very uncompromisingly so.  Our society now is very "Haki Yetu" oriented.  Haki Yetu means "Our Right!"and is usually accompanied by varying degrees of toddler temper tantrums displays, depending on the group chanting it in the street.

Time has come for us to put common good ahead of private gain.  We must protect our intellectual property, I agree, but can we move from only using the big money ideas to help our own families, and move to doing what we can wherever we can.  As we are doing this, then the one big money maker will land and sort out our money issues.  What happened to Job Satisfaction? Bragging Rights? Distinction and Recognition?

It seems, African Intellectuals, much like American Gangster Rappers, have fallen into the trap of "Get Rich or Die Trying"  Problem is quite literally, many are dying, as we are busy trying.

Let's make 2012 sing us a better song, 2011 was off-key!

Kenya has had one tragedy after another, there is no day that passes by without a new report of fatal road accidents, massive deaths from fires started at leaking fuel pipelines.  The latest has been the KCPE results fall out.  Children committing suicide because they have "failed" their end of primary school examinations.  Teachers who also do likewise, since they perceive they have failed as teachers.  Principals and teachers being chased away from schools with sticks and stones, irate parents shutting down schools.  I read in a local daily, that there was a suggestion to turn the worst performing school's facilities into a brick making business, since clearly it cannot be used as an institution of learning.

There is talk of changing the education system.  My opinion is, we must realise, when people feel the need to end their lives, it is very rarely because of one event.  Usually, the event is the final straw that breaks the camel's back.  The cost of living is so high, most of us are wound up as tight as a guitar string.  Many of the comforts we occasionally enjoyed have long been forgotten, and now even what we considered bare necessity, we have to do without.  Many families are down to one meal a day dinner.  Many now use charcoal because LPG and Electricity prices are unbelievable.  The festive season has just ended, characterised by high prices of everything, the fuel, the food, the fun, everything cost twice as much, and many did not bother to celebrate at all, they simply sat it out.

Add on top of this the threat from the Al Shabaab.  No fireworks, no street parties, because we could be bombed any time.  There are families that had Christmas without their daddies, because they are in Somalia in Operation Linda Nchi.  Now the year has begun, and we are all waiting to hear the decision from the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC on the fate of the "Ocampo 6" as they are now famously known.

This is an election year, parties are being formed every morning, and then there is the new Political Parties Act, (that is a whole topic on its own I tell you) that has changed the ball game completely.  Everyone is scrambling to hold party elections to remove politicians from office.  The politicians don't seem to get it, they cannot "own" or "run" parties legally anymore.  Their mistake my gain, since I belong to a newly registered party too, and all our ducks so far seem to be in a row.

We need to pray for this land.  We need a newness, a freshness, so that all we hope to achieve in the implementation of the Constitution as far as Institutional Strengthening is concerned, is actually achieved.  I voted No during the Referendum in 2010, but I have since realised, I had more interest in seeing real change than some so-called "Reformists"  who do things more out of personal gain and political expediency than real genuine love for this land.

This is the year folks, we sink or swim.  Unless we get fed up with all the man-made tragedies and disasters around us, we shall keep having the same issues plaguing us over and over again.  Let us take stock, stand up and be counted.

Tribute to the Late Prof. Wangari Muta Maathai: I will be a Humming Bird.

"In degrading the environment, we degrade ourselves" - Prof. Wangari Maathai


This morning I woke up to find the news of the passing of the First African Woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize being aired on Network Africa, the BBC World Service Breakfast show.  I was stunned, and at the same time, I was filled with a sense of gratitude that I lived in the lifetime of such a great woman.  One day I shall tell Nicole that the main difference between Prof. Maathai and other mortal women was one, she dared to break barriers.

She dared to earn a PhD.  She dared to stand up to her husband, who divorced her for being "unable to control her", but she fought him for the right to keep his surname setting a precedent in use till today!  She dared to stand for Presidency.  She dared to ignore the dangers and perils of defying the Moi Regime, and therefore managed to save Karura Forest & Uhuru Park, among many other projects some of which I'm sure I shall never hear off.  She was a Member of Parliament, an Assistant Minister, but she received news of her Nobel Prize win whilst in wearing gumboots working in a garden.  She was an extraordinary woman, and she definitely left her mark not just in Kenya, but around the world.

I have spent the day looking at her pictures with Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey and other world leaders.  I listened to the radio as Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf gave her tribute to her friend and colleague.  I listened as Gladwell Otieno, reminisced on the Late Maathai comparing her with her own late mother, the legendary Wambui Otieno-Mbugua.  All these have helped me understand, what a resource and a treasure the Professor was, and also made me alive to the fact, that one never knows what he has until he has lost it.

She wanted to be our President.  What if we gave her that chance?  Let her steal that First Democratically Elected Female President in Africa from her friend.  She was in government, but was made an Assistant Minister.  If she was our Commander in Chief, would we have had the Maize Scandal?  The arguments about GMO?  The Free Primary School Education Scandal?  Would it have been business as usual for Kenya Pipeline, Kenya Power and others who endanger people's lives everyday, just as long as the bottom line remains healthy.  What if the people of Tetu had elected her, what would have been the legacy she would have left on the Constituency?  Even without ever being elected, she has done so much for the whole Nation, what if we gave her mandate and backing?

We have taken so much of our time in politics barking up the wrong tree, and wondering why the country is in the quagmire it is.  It is because the same old names keep being recycled in the August House and in State House.  At the end of the day, we are doing the same thing and wondering why the results are not different.  I keep telling guys, I have exorcised the spirit of politician past from my psyche, and no one in this current or former parliament is getting my vote, no matter who he or she is.  None of them have earned that privilege from me.  Time has come for us to look at the alternatives.  Those who have proved themselves in their little corner, those are the ones who deserve our vote.  And if  you are out there, and you know you have integrity and purpose and God has given you ability to lead incorruptibly, please stand up, we need GOOD men and women to challenge those who have so spitefully used us through the years.

I leave you with a clip from Prof. Wangari Maathai, and I too like her, choose to be a Humming Bird.  What about you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGMW6YWjMxw&feature=share

Joy B. Mdivo

One-third, two-thirds what is the difference?

I have had a very interesting and eye opening experience today.  In Kenya, there is the case currently in Court about the nominations to the brand new never been seen before in Kenya Supreme Court.  For the benefit of those who do not know what this is, let me break this down for you.  We passed a new Constitution last year that stipulated in it that the composition of all elective and appointive bodies will have to have no more than two thirds of one gender.  The Supreme Court nominations have Two Women and Five Men.  Has the requirement to not have more than two thirds of one gender been met?

The Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya Chapter (FIDA-Kenya) has led a group of several womens organisations to challenge this balance as failing to meet the Constitutional provisions.  The Chief Justice has appointed some reputable Human rights lawyers to defend the Judicial Service Commission in the matter.  Till now, I was a casual observer to this circus, since as you can tell from my earlier posts, my beef with the JSC was on a different tangent, but today they are not lucky, I am on their back again!

Let us do the math.  Two thirds of 7 will give you 4.67 people.  One third will give you 2.33.  Now we know there are no .33 people (duh!) so how do we resolve the impasse?  Article 81(2) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 reads as follows.


81. The electoral system shall comply with the following principles––
(b) not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender;


This means any number less than or equal to two thirds is within the Constitutional confines.  It therefore follows, any such overflow, must be rounded down to ensure the threshold is met.  This means therefore if you have 4.67 rounded off to 5 people, 5 is more than the two thirds MAXIMUM and therefore it cannot be Constitutional. Meaning, .67 takes it over and above and therefore is unconstitutional.  The only solution is to round it off to 4 so that the number of the opposite gender comes up to 3 meeting the threshold of NOT MORE THAN two thirds.

The argument has been on women attaining the one third threshold, but that premise is misleading.  The constitution gives the maximum, and it cannot be exceeded even by one person.  Not getting it yet?  Let me try it another way.  Having 5 members of one gender in a 7 member Court translates to 71.43% of the court being represented by one gender.  Having 2 members of one gender in a 7 member Court translates to 28.57%.  Two thirds would be 66.67%, meaning the current composition of the Supreme Court is 4.76% OVER  the allowed constitutional maximum. This may seem like a small difference but just think of it this way.  We are to have a National Assembly with 350 members.  If it were to be 4.76% off, instead of having 233.33 members of one gender topping the two thirds maximum, you would have 16.6 more members, making the new number 250.  That is 17 members over the limit, but the same 4.76%

I know either you have a eureka moment, or you are shaking your head wondering what I am on about.  The moral of this whole story is this.  The Supreme Court appointments may look like the are off not even by a whole person, so why the big deal.  Think of a protractor, where you measure one degree from another is a single convergent point, but as the lines elongate, it becomes apparent that a degree from another travel very different paths and if you meet them after one kilometre, they will be so far apart.  A builder puts a plumbline to determine whether a wall is straight, because even the smallest deviation, could see the whole structure collapse.  If we are implementing this constitution, lets do it right, otherwise, in future the mess will be bigger than we could have imagined, and may be too late for us to fix.  God bless y'all, as usual, the big children need me to pick them up or the school will fine me 500/= for late pick-up. (seriously, they fine us if we pick the children up late!!)

A prophet has no honour in his home town.

This week the Parliamentarians and other Constitutional Office Holders received a salvo from the Taxman.  Pay your taxes in arrears or we send you auctioneers!!  During the pre-referendum era, many politicians tried to encourage the Church leaders to enter an MoU with the Principals to ensure our objections are taken care of once the Constitution is passed.  This is because, they too were objecting to the passing of the Constitution, because they would be taxed.  They had a famous meeting where the President assured them that they would not be taxed until the next time round when elections are held.  Now the Tax-man is calling, and the Principals are quiet.  As the elders said it, "Wametulia kama maji ya mtungi!"

The immediate former Chief Justice is the one who swore the President into office at dusk.  The Chief Justice demoted the then Registrar Christine Meoli and sent her back to the Trenches of the Court Corridors.  He embarked on building himself a glorious court in Milimani, only now for Willy Mutunga to occupy it!  The Ocampo 6 each played a role in the getting into power of the two Principals.  Now they are facing the music alone, with their Principals safely here one dosing away in State House and the other strategising on how to get into power next year!

I'm sorry if I come across today as being cocky, and sounding very "I-told-you-so" like, it is just that sometimes, one has to be reminded, hopefully they will learn from it.  My son is very Curious George cheeky. (If you don't know Curious George, search YouTube to see him in action.)  Every time there was a black out and we would light candles, my son would always keep us busy trying to keep him from the flickering flame.  One day there was a black out so we lit a candle.  He was drawn to the flame.  I kept saying to him, "don't touch, it is hot hot hot" he would back off whilst I was looking at him.  When he thought I was looking away, he put his little finger into the flame.  Well, he got burnt.  I looked back at him.  He had folded his burnt finger into his little fist, and had bit his lower lip and tears were welling up in his eyes.  When I asked what was wrong, he could not even talk, simply shook his head.  Finally he burst into wails and ran into my arms holding his little finger up.  I kissed and made it better, and he calmed down.  Suffice it to say, to date, I have not stopped using candles, but I have never had to tell him to not put his finger in the candle, he knows what it means.

Whenever you warn someone of impending danger, sometimes they do not heed the warning, simply because they know you too well.  They have seen you in your failings and your sufferings, there is no way to convince them that there is any authority behind your warning.  I must admit, one must test every word, lest you be misguided into doing something very foolish.  However, I am now very proud of the stand the Church took.  Since this Constitution was passed, things have been unfolding and the reaction is sometimes shock and disbelief.  One of my life's mantras is "Those who fail to learn from history are duty bound to repeat it."  Whenever we raise objections or make noise, it is because we have looked at other people who had the same glorious promises being made to us made to them.  Now in hindsight, they wish they had left it alone.  The only consolation is it may be a shock to others, but for me, I simply sip my tea and look at it from a distance.  One day, they may learn to listen to my voice.

Again, time to run pick the babies, sorry, big children (the Teacher said to not call them babies so I have to retrain my head to call them children!!)  Have a blessed time y'all

If I had known then what I know now.

Its been a while since I blogged, mainly because I have been engaged in the Nation Building process.  When I was in school the loud mouth I was, I did a lot of public speaking.  One poem I did was "Building the Nation"  It was the story of a driver who's Principal (everyone is using this word these days to mean Boss!) was a Permanent Secretary who drove to all these nice places he could not enter, lovely restaurants he could not eat from and when he was done driving the wonderful vehicle, had none to take him home.  I have been trying to do my bit to make Kenya what I believe it can be, with limited success, but unending unwavering psyche on my part.

I went to County Hall together with other Christian Professionals to articulate our position on the nominations for the office of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice.  Suffice it to say, our opposition to the nominations was not very popular.  In fact, I observed the time taken in cross examining presenters of a differing view was quite long. What bothered me was also the quality of the questions.  Sample this: -
"You object to Dr. Mutunga wearing an earring, and yet your Bishops wear long dresses and large necklaces?"
"You people think Abortion is not right, so whose life is more important, the Mother's or the Child's?"
"Even God tells us in the Bible if God be God serve Him and if Baal be god then serve him, what is wrong if we choose to serve Baal?  In fact, didn't your God also order Hosea to marry a prostitute?"

Now, this coming from Parliamentarians who have been given a presentation on ideology, activism and other concerns we had about the nominees, the tangent it took was very curious.  It seemed like the hangover from the August Referrendum.  The questions had nothing at all to do with what sent us to County Hall.  That was me and building the nation.

I have it firmly set in my mind, that going to parliament turns your brain to mush.  But I also have it firmly set in my mind, that I shall try my best to either get in their myself, or send men and women whose pedigree I well know.  I am fed up with the over-fed over-rich idiots whose arrogance to any view is nauseating.  I am also very fed up with sycophantic bootlickers who only pander to the whims and beckoning of their puppet masters.  I am well and truly fed up with the so-called Christians in parliament, who obviously sleep all through the sermons, only glean from it that which they can misuse.

As a devout practising Christian, I have been accused many times of being intolerant, prejudiced and bigoted.  What I have discovered and the conclusion I have arrived at, is those who level those accusations against me the loudest are themselves more bigoted, more prejudiced and more intolerant than I ever could be.  How else do you explain that not one question that came out of the panel drew from our numerous presentations, but instead focused on passing judgement against the Church as having no "moral authority" to comment on the matters at hand.

I have to go pick the children from school now.  Parting Shot:  Watch out if you are standing lest you too fall. A hand saw cannot cut one way, it must go forwards and be pulled backwards for it to cut.  What does this mean?  If you look at me and think I am misguided, look in the mirror, because the only one misguided is you.

A Chief Justice indeed, but which justice is really chief in Kenyan society?

There is such a ruckus over the selection of the Chief Justice and his deputy.  The nominated Deputy CJ, went to court to try and gag the Law Society of Kenya from issuing political statements, now she is touted as being reformist Number 1!  The Chief Justice nominee, turning up with a stud in his ear that he was instructed by his ancestors to wear.  I wonder what other instructions he receives from his ancestors, and if it is they he always obeys, since he claims any attempt to have his remove it will see him relinquish the post of CJ.

We have been treated to a comedy of horrors, interviews that were more like Gestapo Interrogations than anything.  Humiliation and Embarrassment of the highest order of distinguished men and women in our legal fraternity.  And all for what?  To end up with a Chief Justice who wears a single stud on his left ear, and says if he has to remove it for him to be Chief Justice, well we can keep the job because that stud is too important to him.  Shocking, how much premium he places on the fact that he is to lead a whole arm of government.  If put on the scale, the CJ's job weighs less than a stud!  Yet there are men and women who have devoted their whole career to the dispensation of justice, and yet alas, they were found wanting! (The gospel according to the JSC)

I know, I can rant and rave about it, but one thing I have decided to do, is let this madness run its course.  It seems Kenyans are obsessed with making the wrong decisions under the guise of taking a new direction.  The more incredulous the choice, the more radical and forward thinking it is!  Well, those who don't learn from history are duty bound to repeat it, so I guess the shouts of "ouch!" from other jurisdictions went unheard and unheeded here.  The are labelling all voices of caution or dissent as being "anti-reformist" or being the forces that are corrupt and are afraid of their old ways being exposed.  It is preposterous!  However, one thing I have learned, justice is crucial, for every society.  Play games with it, and what you risk losing is more than you gain of it.  Just a stud?  I wonder what else will be fine by us in our compromise to try exorcise the spirit of "Moism" from our systems.

We have a new Constitution.  Most of the provisions will be given life either in parliament or in the courts.  The new set up of the county assemblies and the bi-cameral parliament will take quite a while to be established.  So guess who will be in charge of giving life and meaning and interpretation to the Constitution? With an Activist Chief Justice, and an Activist cum Reformist Deputy, its only a matter of time before Judicial Activism takes over.  The Chief Justice, who will be the head of the Judicial Service Commission, will be in charge of deciding who is in the Supreme Court, the law making court.  Have you seen some of those looking for Supreme Court Positions?  Njoki Susanna Ndungu, she who has never practised law in the court corridors, and is reknowned for her activism.  Hon Martha Koome, former FIDA Kenya stalwart.  The Supreme Court has a total of 7 judges, if four are guaranteed activists, what hope do we have that we have not just ushered an era where those 7 unelected judges will decide the fate of this land.  It will be a sad day for Kenya, when Judges will decide what law governs Kenyans, rather than parliament, our chosen representatives, but that day is indeed coming.

All I can do now is pray, which is what I am doing for Kenya.  I give up any earthly wisdom on how Kenya's issues can be resolved, and I leave it to God to decide.  Did we leave it too long?  Is all lost?  I leave it at the Potter's Hand, we are but clay.

Ocampo 6 at the Hague, finally

The Ocampo 6 as they have come to be infamously known have finally gone off to The Hague to stand trial.  I know the outcome may not be what most Kenyans expect, being a former magistrate, I know not all cases are cut and dry, and proving a case takes more than "everybody knows he did it!".  Some may come out of the Hague smelling distinctly of lavender, whilst others may be stripped of their designer perfume to release the honk underneath.

Whatever the outcome, one thing I am grateful for is the genius given to Judge Waki in including the Hague option.  True, as a dissenting opinion from the Pre-Trial Chamber pointed out, Kenya's case is not one that warrants the ICC, but the fact that it is there means Kenya's usual trial and error system will be spared the pressure of trying these ones.  None of their kind have ever been found on the wrong here before, let us see if someone at the Hague will say what we Kenyans have been hoping to say all along. 
"You just can't do this to someone and get away with it, you have to be held accountable."
"You may not have held the gun or the machete, but you spurred someone else on to do it, you are just as culpable."
"It doesn't matter that you have a flag on your car or that your dad was our founding father, answer the questions asked."

Finally, it is not "our people" being persecuted, it is individual names on charge sheets, in the dock.  Whatever happens, how ever it ends, as far as I'm concerned, its ended here.  Never again shall we go back.  Now, Kenya's Judiciary needs to style up to be spared the shame of having someone else do a job that you are completely capable of doing.  We do not doubt that you CAN do it, what we don't know is if you WILL do it, so its easier to outsource. 

Ocampo 6 (and all your 40 bridesmaids who have nothing better than to come wipe your sniffing noses and your trembling hands) all the best.  My prayer is that God's will for you will be done.