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!!)
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Friday, 24 June 2011
Well well, what do we have here!!
If you are a fan of TV, then you have heard this line several times, "Well, well, what do we have here!!" It usually means someone has been caught at the wrong time in wrong place, or he is red-handed, or he was trying to escape the villain and now he is cornered with no escape. My reference is the red-handedness. In my May blog I indicated all we needed is two more activist Judges in the Supreme Court and the Liberals have it in the bag, a Supreme Court of Judicial Activists. Well well, what do we have here!
With the nomination of both Njoki Ndungu aka Susanna and Smokin (what) Wanjala, the Liberals have it. Why do I make these wild accusations? As previously indicated, Ms. Ndungu has a good head on her shoulders, which she has used in scholastic, political, and activist use to good effect. She is a regular columnist in a few papers (this now has to stop, she is a Judge and a gag order surely follows with that) She sponsored the Sexual Offences Act, whose provisions cause so much disquiet among men that before it was passed many provisions, most notably the one for castration for sexual offenders, was removed. She was in the Urgent Action Forum held in Naivasha in June 2007 in which the strategy to decriminalise sexual relations was laid out, a forum our new Chief Justice was famously quoted as saying "This kind of rubbish (religion) makes him very mad!" Here is the link, read it for yourself. http://www.urgentactionfund-africa.or.ke/pdfs/Sex%20Matters.pdf She also organised ladies who work in pubs and bars as well as sexual workers to have a forum where they spoke about legalising prostitution and registering sex workers to offer them more protection. This to me clearly demonstrates to me, that she is NOT a centralist as some commentators in the main stream media would have us believe, but she is indeed quite Left Handed, meaning Liberal. What I can expect from her therefore is another one for Team Mutunga.
As for Dr. Smokin, he was Deputy Chair for one Judge (Rtd) Aaron Ringeera at the KACC, who whas adjudged of having done such a poor job that despite his very strong judicial career, and well documented sound jurisprudential reasoning, was not even shortlisted for the interviews. As his immediate deputy, I therefore am still wondering, how Rigeera came out blackened and charred and somehow Smokin smells not of smoke but of lavender!!! This seems to me, that this particular appointment was done as a huge favour to someone, because the same disqualification that applied to Ringeera should have applied to Wanjala and Sichale! People to whom huge favours are owed usually collect when the stakes are high enough. Since this show is being run entirely by "Reformers" I can only conclude that the one who will collect will be one of these.
Where does that leave us? It means it does not matter how conservative or level headed Judges Ojwang', Ibrahim and Tunoi are, they can dissent until they are blue in the face, they can write 50pages or reasoning explaining their dissent, but in the Supreme Court they all sit and they all decide and where the scale falls is how it is decided. In a sure 4 versus 3 (if at all) balance, I now await the circus to begin. From later this year when the cases start flooding in,they will be the light that will shine so we are able to see the true colours out of the prism of this "New Dawn" in Judiciary. As a law making court, any such decisions, however contrary to the rest of us are binding even on Parliament to change the law to line up with the Court's constitutional interpretation. Even bad law is still law and until another Supreme Court sits on the same issue to reverse it, we shall all have to be duly obliged to the Honourable Justices.
Phew!
This has been too long. But I had to get it off my chest. It is a long road we have to travel. Hope you have buckled in for the ride. Keep praying, Keep believing, a better Kenya is so possible!
With the nomination of both Njoki Ndungu aka Susanna and Smokin (what) Wanjala, the Liberals have it. Why do I make these wild accusations? As previously indicated, Ms. Ndungu has a good head on her shoulders, which she has used in scholastic, political, and activist use to good effect. She is a regular columnist in a few papers (this now has to stop, she is a Judge and a gag order surely follows with that) She sponsored the Sexual Offences Act, whose provisions cause so much disquiet among men that before it was passed many provisions, most notably the one for castration for sexual offenders, was removed. She was in the Urgent Action Forum held in Naivasha in June 2007 in which the strategy to decriminalise sexual relations was laid out, a forum our new Chief Justice was famously quoted as saying "This kind of rubbish (religion) makes him very mad!" Here is the link, read it for yourself. http://www.urgentactionfund-africa.or.ke/pdfs/Sex%20Matters.pdf She also organised ladies who work in pubs and bars as well as sexual workers to have a forum where they spoke about legalising prostitution and registering sex workers to offer them more protection. This to me clearly demonstrates to me, that she is NOT a centralist as some commentators in the main stream media would have us believe, but she is indeed quite Left Handed, meaning Liberal. What I can expect from her therefore is another one for Team Mutunga.
As for Dr. Smokin, he was Deputy Chair for one Judge (Rtd) Aaron Ringeera at the KACC, who whas adjudged of having done such a poor job that despite his very strong judicial career, and well documented sound jurisprudential reasoning, was not even shortlisted for the interviews. As his immediate deputy, I therefore am still wondering, how Rigeera came out blackened and charred and somehow Smokin smells not of smoke but of lavender!!! This seems to me, that this particular appointment was done as a huge favour to someone, because the same disqualification that applied to Ringeera should have applied to Wanjala and Sichale! People to whom huge favours are owed usually collect when the stakes are high enough. Since this show is being run entirely by "Reformers" I can only conclude that the one who will collect will be one of these.
Where does that leave us? It means it does not matter how conservative or level headed Judges Ojwang', Ibrahim and Tunoi are, they can dissent until they are blue in the face, they can write 50pages or reasoning explaining their dissent, but in the Supreme Court they all sit and they all decide and where the scale falls is how it is decided. In a sure 4 versus 3 (if at all) balance, I now await the circus to begin. From later this year when the cases start flooding in,they will be the light that will shine so we are able to see the true colours out of the prism of this "New Dawn" in Judiciary. As a law making court, any such decisions, however contrary to the rest of us are binding even on Parliament to change the law to line up with the Court's constitutional interpretation. Even bad law is still law and until another Supreme Court sits on the same issue to reverse it, we shall all have to be duly obliged to the Honourable Justices.
Phew!
This has been too long. But I had to get it off my chest. It is a long road we have to travel. Hope you have buckled in for the ride. Keep praying, Keep believing, a better Kenya is so possible!
Thursday, 23 June 2011
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
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Its cold outside but I'm warm inside
One really rainy day in Mombasa I was on my way to work. I had no car those days, I was still in Government employ. I walked out of the house when it was still dry, by the time I got to the bus stop, it was drizzling. I thought of heading back home to look for something to shelter me from the rain, but by then it was really raining heavily. I stood under a tree at the bus stop waiting for the rain to percolate through the leaves to start pounding me as well. Then I thought to myself what a miserable day I would have if my clothes were damp, so I decided to pray. I asked God to keep me dry. He loves me and He wants the best for me. I gave thanks for the rain and asked Him to not stop the rain, but since I needed to go to work and I needed to be dry, for Him to keep me dry, and I said Amen.
It was one of those few EUREKA moments when I have had total child-like faith. I believed even in the torrential downpour, I would remain tinder dry. The percolation through the trees sure occurred, but I had a circle of about 1.5metres in diametre around me completely dry! Even the soil was totally dry. I stood at the bus stop for about25 minutes before a nissan matatu (public minivan) finally arrived. The driver stopped the vehicle and the conductor opened the door to let me in. Not even the transfer into the matatu got a drop on me. The conductor who let me in, in the short time he had his door open, got quite wet, yet I entered his matatu as dry as if they picked me up from my drive way. He looked at me so strange, as did the passangers who I found in the matatu, since they were all wet and a bit frazzled, and I was not.
This was a miracle just for that day. Just to remind me He does feel concern for my every detail. In life, it may be stormy all around. You may not have a reason to be hopeful. A crash may seem inevitable, a soaking in the cards for sure. However, it does not have to be. Interrogate yourself, what do you hope for in life? Are you getting it? Can you do anything different? I recommend faith. It is a crutch all of us could use. Besides, it does not leave you with a hangover!
Monday, 9 May 2011
Its been a while
I have left off blogging for a while, trying other pursuits, but I think I really love writing, bottom line. I must give blogging a second chance, since I realise I spend too much on Facebook and now increasingly more time on twitter.
I have had two weeks or so to ponder and think about what life really is to me. I must admit, there are still many gaping holes, but I so love the fact that I have God to lean on. I think my Christianity is the ultimate crutch. This life is way too hard. I come to a place I feel I am where I want to be. I have a job that satisfies me, making decent money, living in a nice enough house for what I need, in a good enough neighbourhood for my station in life. I have material blessings.
Spiritually too, I feel I am making head way in my faith, I am learning more about God and His ways. I am recapturing lost love and renewing old vows, while making new discoveries on how much impact I can have for God. My husband and I seem to understand more on what God would have us do in His Kingdom, though some areas still need light to be shed. The children are grasping the concept of a God we cannot see who is always present with us.
However, even with all these, I still find myself, wondering, will I ever achieve full understanding? I am doing so much better than most, but still my brow is creased and my mind is racing searching for answers. I guess as long as I am alive, I shall never fully understand. The secret I think lies in reaching a point where you make up your mind, that even if you do not understand, you do not mind. I don't have to know everything, I do not have to understand everything, I do not have to open any door or to make any allowances for anything that I cannot grasp. Simply because, as the cliche' goes, what you don't know won't hurt you. Quite literally, if God has kept it hidden from me, then I don't really need to know.
I have had two weeks or so to ponder and think about what life really is to me. I must admit, there are still many gaping holes, but I so love the fact that I have God to lean on. I think my Christianity is the ultimate crutch. This life is way too hard. I come to a place I feel I am where I want to be. I have a job that satisfies me, making decent money, living in a nice enough house for what I need, in a good enough neighbourhood for my station in life. I have material blessings.
Spiritually too, I feel I am making head way in my faith, I am learning more about God and His ways. I am recapturing lost love and renewing old vows, while making new discoveries on how much impact I can have for God. My husband and I seem to understand more on what God would have us do in His Kingdom, though some areas still need light to be shed. The children are grasping the concept of a God we cannot see who is always present with us.
However, even with all these, I still find myself, wondering, will I ever achieve full understanding? I am doing so much better than most, but still my brow is creased and my mind is racing searching for answers. I guess as long as I am alive, I shall never fully understand. The secret I think lies in reaching a point where you make up your mind, that even if you do not understand, you do not mind. I don't have to know everything, I do not have to understand everything, I do not have to open any door or to make any allowances for anything that I cannot grasp. Simply because, as the cliche' goes, what you don't know won't hurt you. Quite literally, if God has kept it hidden from me, then I don't really need to know.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
I am new here, but here we go!
Hello world!
I have always wanted to start blogging, and today I decided let me take the plunge! You know, in Swahili there is a saying, "Ushauyavulia maji, basi yaoge!" loosely translated means, once you have taken off your clothes intending to take a bath, you may as well go ahead and take a bath! Meaning to do a blog and actually doing one are two distinctly different things, and I'm glad after years of standing infront of the bathwater with my clothes off, I have finally taken the loofah and soaped it!
I am here, I am happy, I am blessed and I shall be seeing and saying more in the future. God bless everyone, and have a fabulous day!
I have always wanted to start blogging, and today I decided let me take the plunge! You know, in Swahili there is a saying, "Ushauyavulia maji, basi yaoge!" loosely translated means, once you have taken off your clothes intending to take a bath, you may as well go ahead and take a bath! Meaning to do a blog and actually doing one are two distinctly different things, and I'm glad after years of standing infront of the bathwater with my clothes off, I have finally taken the loofah and soaped it!
I am here, I am happy, I am blessed and I shall be seeing and saying more in the future. God bless everyone, and have a fabulous day!
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