“Across the political spectrum, people looked to Asian Americans…..Japanese and Chinese Americans…..as an example…..for other minority groups to follow: “Look how they ended up! They’re doing just fine. And they did it all without political protests.”

-Ellen Wu, Associate Prof. History/Director of the Asian American Studies – Indiana University Bloomington.

The first quote is a Facebook comment that is emblematic of the current thinking and narrative emanating from deep inside Central/Mount Kenya region – the region’s obsession with isolating Raila Odinga and the Luo community from the (other) communities that have (also) been discriminated against by the authoritarian kleptocracy of Kenya’s four presidencies – including the current one headed by two former crimes-against-humanity suspects.

(And yes, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto ARE former crimes-against-humanity (CAH) suspects so far from repeating a lie, say “Raila will take our hard-earned money” until said lie becomes the “truth”, repeating the CAH truism is intended to remind those with short memories that they did in fact elect accused criminals into the highest offices in the country.)

The storyline that “other” communities are “happy” or “satisfied” with the status quo is a selfish move at self-preservation that other nations like the US have continued to use to moderate its racist and discriminatory behavior while simultaneously using state instruments of power and violence i.e. the FBI and an increasingly militarized police force to delegitimize, isolate and brutalize the one group that has been at the forefront of exposing said racist and discriminatory behavior – African-Americans.

Similarly, the Central/Mt. Kenya wing of Jubilee, no doubt coached by the ultra-right wing-leaning Cambridge Analytics, has embarked on the same ploy:

Like the pre-Civil Rights’ Nixonian America and Kenyan governments of yore, the government of Uhuru Kenyatta has decided to use state instruments of power and violence i.e. law enforcement, paramilitary GSU, national intelligence and military-grade weapons to systematically brutalize the Luo; this the one community that has always challenged the credibility, indeed legitimacy competence and forthrightness of the country’s supposedly national leaders.

And even as the national government, again past and present, sets out to frustrate and murder some of its most patriotic and brilliant minds from the Luo community, they are simultaneously scheming to co-opt, cajole, show-case, bribe and in some cases, threaten leaders from the other communities that have always been distrusting of the central government (pun intended).

Turned on its head are the well-worn tropes such as “destroying”, “stealing” and “rule of law and order” as pronounced by none other than Uhuru Kenyatta – in front of the faithful at a rally in Muranga:

We are not going to watch as protesters stone our police stations or steal from Wanjiku in the name of demos. We are a government of rule of law and order and that must stand.

– President Uhuru Kenyatta

At the same event, Uhuru accused Raila who had traveled to give a lecture at Chatham House in the UK of travelling abroad to “kneel before his foreign masters.”

In saner times, the irony of someone whose entire persona, personality and commercial interests are choreographed genuflections and testaments to his European (British) socialization actually accusing someone else of “kneeling before Europeans” would be treated, first as comic relief, then with the contempt it deserves thereafter.
Unfortunately, that glaring irony and hypocrisy is roundly applauded as it was by the multitude gathered for the event in Kenyatta’s central base.

It is this sycophancy that lends credence to the myth of the “model minority” by tolerating such blatant hypocrisy baked in Uhuru Kenyatta’s comments while overlooking and obscuring, conveniently or otherwise, the reality about whose collective shoulders these “model minorities” have stood on and continued to stand on, this as they pursue fair, free and transparent treatment in their own country!
Also lost along the way is the distinct differences between the treatment afforded the Luo vs. those “not burning their towns”.

All along, moral and ethical relativity is readily dispensed with to ameliorate the use of deadly force against those at the tip of the spear of the fight for fairness and equality and obscure the ethics of hitherto “untenable” actions such as police brutality.

Suddenly, the means justify the end AND the end justify the brutal means because the perpetrators “are protecting the businesses and properties” of those that are “not burning their towns” from the “protesters who stone ‘our’ police stations or steal from ‘Wanjiku’”.

The anxiously violent and ethnicizied authoritarian status quo in Kenya, much like the anxiously violent and racist status quo in pre-Civil Rights’ America, is desperately trying to change the narrative.

Uhuru Kenyatta and Jubilee are trying to shift focus away from the(ir) murderous behavior the world has seen splashed across print, TV and social media towards the “(Luo) protestors who “stone ‘our’ police…..” while simultaneously lathering up the other communities currently aligned against the violent and discriminatory Jubilee Coalition.

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The IBRD report was released ~6 months before the Supreme Court exposed an incompetent and partisan bungling of the general elections by the IEBC; one that set in motion an angry and incoherent reaction from an “entitled” Uhuru Kenyatta and his toadies.

Diarietou Gaye, the bank’s Country Director for Kenya attributed the country’s robust growth to “a stable macroeconomic environment, low oil prices, earlier favorable harvest, rebound in tourism, strong remittance inflows, and an ambitious public investment drive”.

The same report also cautioned that the country faced “…..headwinds…..” that had little to do with the elections and certainly not the current impasse as Jubilants would like the country to believe.

The report identified (a) the drought which led to crop failure, dying herds of livestock, and increased food insecurity, (b) poor rains that increased the cost of the country’s cheapest source of energy – hydroelectric, (c) spillover effect of both the increases in food and energy prices that combined to drive up inflation to a five-year high of 10.3% in March 2017. A net importer of oil, the country also begun to suffer the global price increases of the commodity throughout 2016 into 2017.

Notwithstanding, the foregoing are/were “headwinds” that effective planning and competent oversight (would) typically mitigate.

Kenya, a majority of her people and her leaders are corrupt. As a result, the country has had to face increased cost of borrowing because of its inability to curb the endemic scourge – across all segments of the country.

The economic impact of corruption was recently illustrated by the decision of VR Holdings AB of Sweden to move its planned Malindi power plant to Tanzania – this according to a piece in Business Daily (“Swedish firm moves Sh.235bn Malindi power plan to Tanzania”). A company spokesperson said that VR Holdings switched their focus to Tanzania….(because) Kenya is proving to be a ‘very difficult’ place…..”

“A very difficult place…..”? I will let the diplomat-speak stand on its own – given the principals: The preternaturally cordial and by-the-book Swedes and the ever corrupt and always-ready-to-eat Kenyans.
Added to the foregoing is a reality most jingoistic supporters of the status quo in Kenya are loath to admit: Kenya has not endeared itself to its east and central African neighbors.

Going back to the Nyerere/Kenyatta era shortly after independence, Tanzania, the region’s largest country, has always been wary of what its socialist-leaning founding father called the “dog-eat-dog” capitalistic ethos of Jomo Kenyatta.

Similarly, Rwanda and Uganda became increasingly distrustful of Uhuru Kenyatta’s obsession with mega-projects whose economic viability and cost-benefit-analysis were tenuous at best. This apprehension over the culture of “kitu kidogo” that pervades nearly all business deals Kenya signs was at the back of the minds of the country’s African Union (AU) partners when it came to voting for the next chairman of the continental body.

In a February 2017 piece titled “Details of how Amina Mohamed lost African Union Commission election”, the Standard writes that “some East African countries may have undermined Kenya’s candidate for the position of chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC).” The article quotes South Sudan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia James Morgan as saying that Ms. Mohammed’s fate was sealed in part because of “how Kenya relates with its neighbors…..” with Burundi pointedly saying that “Kenya interferes with her internal affairs by condemning its internal conflict.”

Left unsaid by Mr. Morgan is the hypocrisy of a country less than 10years removed from near-genocidal post-election violence passing judgement on the internal conflict of another!

Finally, echoing what most Kenyans already knew, an unnamed S. African diplomat averred that Amina’s closeness with Mr. Kenyatta “might cloud her judgement as she could use the position to advance Kenya’s rather than Africa’s agenda.

One word: ICC.

Taken together, the narrative that “the ongoing demonstrations by NASA are ‘affecting’ the economy” is a deliberated and desperate attempt at deflecting responsibility from the country’s current leadership – Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto and Jubilee. Their failure to lead and assure the business and investment community of their fidelity to free market and more importantly, fidelity to the process of transparent and accountable democratic principles are more responsible for the skittish economy and business environment than the unarmed and relatively peaceful demonstrators.

All told, business and investors abhor uncertainty and that has been exacerbated by the drawn-out oftentimes vitriolic tone of the on-going race for the presidency.

And the notion that “Raila has not ‘sold’ his vision to Kenyans effectively” is a convenient default of those who have continued to bury their collective heads in the sand and refused to bite the hand that feeds them – President Uhuru Kenyatta – this instead of embracing Raila’s calls for good governance, accountability and an end to impunity.

The only scenario that would worry the business community and investor-class more than the perfect storm described above would be an ethnicized, corrupt, inept, militarized and trigger-happy law enforcement apparatus obviously carrying water for an ethnicized, corrupt and inept government led by an unhinged former crimes-against-humanity duo. Other than the visits to The Hague, the rest has been the case since independence.

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As read somewhere, a country gets the leadership it deserves and deserves the leadership it gets:

Kenyans now have the leadership they deserve – again.
Like Tom Mboya, looks like Raila Amolo Odinga will go down in history as the best president Kenya never had – and fortunately for him, it will not be due to an act of evil or due to lack of effort.

It will be due to Kensanity:
The tendency Kenyans have of electing the same corrupt and incompetent leaders and expecting different results.
“Democracy” is tortuous and capricious.
It is also fluid.

Kenya, like the People’s “Democratic” Republic of Korea (DPRK) or North Korea as it is commonly known, has been ruled by a handful of certified kleptocrats, some who like their counterparts in DPRK, have been accused of horrific crimes.

Similarly, America, arguably the world’s most foremost democracies, had codified in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of its Constitution, a law decorously referred to as the “Three-fifth Compromise”. This was a law that pegged slaves, descendants of Africa, as 3/5 humans!

And Rwanda, the new darling of the west, amended its constitution to allow its post-genocide president Paul Kagame a third seven-year term as its president – which he just won – with ninety-something per cent of the votes! Oh and he is also intolerant of dissension and opposition.

Is it any wonder that Winston Churchill offered that “democracy, is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
Chairman Mr. Wafula Chebukati’s IEBC spoke last week and barring any unforeseen events, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta will be sworn in as Kenya’s president. Fellow crimes-against-humanity suspect (former) William Samoei Ruto will be his deputy and on a side note, it is my estimation that he, Ruto, will have fulfilled his usefulness to the coalition loosely referred to as Mt. Kenya Mafia/Uthamikists.

While it can be said that the race for 2022 begins now, I offer that the fight for Kenya’s independence; for her soul will continue beyond 2022. The country is a flailing and divided amalgam of distrustful less-than-compassionate and selfish balkanized ethnicities all vying, oftentimes violently, to control the national purse string.

Short of throwing up one’s hands, “accepting” incompetence, mediocrity, avarice and “moving on”, there are those still willing to toil along hoping that justice eventually becomes their “shield and defender”. These Kenyans, much like African-Americans, continue to sacrifice their lives for a Kenya they believe does not care for them – this as embodied by how easy it is for the very instruments meant to “shield and defend” them from injustice to be turned against them – as vividly demonstrated this weekend in Kisumu, Kibera, Babadogo etc.

It is this unyielding dedication to public service for the greater good that compels me to join a long line of well-wishers and supporters offering their unsolicited advice to Raila Amolo Odinga:

Mr. Prime Minister, you have fought the good fight, not once, or twice or even three times, but your entire life and the easy, frankly lazy thing to say is that “you’ve lost” – each time. Even as I am fully cognizant of the reality that voting/elections is about “winners” and “losers”, that would be an indolent way of looking at your public CV.

RAO, I will not dwell on the elections of 2007, 2013 or the just-concluded 2017 race. I will leave that to historians and frankly my lack of objectivity – my soft spot for the man we affectionately call “Baba” – will be all too obvious.

What I will focus on is the forward former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga wrote in Babafemi Badejo’s book “Raila Odinga: An Enigma in Kenyan Politics.”:
That “(G)iven the crisis of political leadership in Africa (and I definitely add Kenya), and the burning quest for alternative political leadership on the continent, Raila Odinga…provides an interesting case study …and food for serious thought on both issues.”

Amolo:
Take a bow from a grateful global audience; this even as I acknowledge the dregs of “Railaphobia” that persists among some pockets of an ungrateful nation: It is true, a prophet is not without honor save in his own country but be that as it may Mr. PM, take time off from the country’s socio-political stage and rejuvenate your soul, your spirit and tend to your well-being and that of Mama Ida.
You have earned it.
You deserve it.

You’ve done your part, ironically, bequeathing an ungracious nation a system of governance, that while far from perfect, has given hitherto marginalized communities seats at the national table. And no, the journey is far from done – as amply demonstrated by events of the last five years.
It is also this reality that informs my hope that upon your return, you will write another book, this time delving into the darkness that was these last elections. I understand that as a former PM, you are sworn to secrecy on some state matters but on things you are able to reveal,
TOBOA!

Tell Kenyans why you sacrificed yourself and your family your entire adult life.

Explain to those who have open ears AND open minds why you chose to be the official and unofficial watchdog against those who continue to look for opportunities to rape the national treasury.
Tell Kenyans and the rest of the world why you risked life and limb to nurture the churlish polity that was Kenya circa 2002 – and continued to do so year in year out.

What happened to Chris Msando?
What of Jacob Juma?

What are your thoughts on the way forward, not necessarily as the Opposition, but in response to the statement or aspiration “The Kenya We ALL Want is________”?

What of implementation of the changes recommended by the TJRC and Kriegler Commissions?

Unlike the self-described “light of Kenya” who set the country along its current ruinous path of greed and self-engorgement, your life sir, illuminated the way for many in a country that continues to drunkenly stumble its way towards true devolution, multi-partyism and democratic & incorruptible space.

And far from the narrative propagated by some quarters, those who support the ideals upon which you have based your life have never deified you.
Your supporters understand that like all humans, you have foibles – plenty of them if I may add – but unlike those who only talk about patriotism, sacrifice and public service, your life has embodied it.

The time you ran afoul of the law was not because you were accused of crimes-against-humanity. You were never in court to answer questions about how you acquired seven-figure balances in foreign bank accounts or sprawling properties in faraway lands.

You were not in trouble for committing crimes against humans who looked to you for leadership.

You were in court to answer charges that you were part of a group that wanted to overthrow the corrupt and despotic government of the current president’s political mentor Daniel Arap Moi – something you eventually did in 2002 when you famously thundered “Kibaki Tosha”.

The fact is, it has never been about you or your family. Mr. PM, use your post-2017 General Election time to share that truism – that it doesn’t have to be your “turn to eat”.

That teaching and engaging the many eager and willing public servants will benefit the greater society and like the saying goes, a rising tide will lift all ships! A free and equitable Kenya will be more stable and secure which in turn will allow citizens to actualize themselves in any way they so choose.
I look forward to your work with the UN to “analyze the results of the (2017) ballot” that in my opinion has been panned as much as it has been embraced. And while at it, can you agitate for an independent non-Kenyan investigative body reopen the shoddy investigations into the assassinations of Tom Mboya, JM Kariuki and Robert Ouko?

But first Mr. Prime Minister, take some time off to heal yourself and replenish your spirits because the rudderless country still needs your extensive experience and wisdom and gravitas.

Follow this blog on Twitter @OmindesWords

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Mr. Raila Odinga made the announcement while addressing a political rally in Kibera this past Sunday, April 2.
Unsurprisingly, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chair Wafula Chebukati pushed back and called the decision “illegal” while adding that it’s the commission’s sole purview to “tally, collate, announce and declare the results of an election.”

NASA’s announcement is an interesting strategy that may also have unintended consequences including plunging the country into chaos; certainly into a constitutional crisis if the vote is close or perceptions abound that it is rigged. The latter concern takes on an urgency when viewed against the background of legislative machinations that begun in late 2016 and gave the Interior Department’s CS Joseph Nkaissery exclusive power to decide who has access to the national population register. The population register, for those who don’t know, determines the raw vote numbers ergo how elections are won/lost.

Additionally, Jubilee, from President Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and the man in charge of internal security Mr. Nkaissery’s, have all ratcheted up the tough talk and saber-rattling as illustrated by the name-calling and warnings that they’ll “nyorosha” opponents, the loading up on law enforcement materiel including additional police and NYS personnel, anti-riot gear including personnel carriers – and this just includes the items that have been publicized!

The fact is, NASA’s concerns should not be summarily dismissed given the IEBC’s history of incompetent handling of past elections and if preparation for the upcoming 2017 August 8th elections is anything to go by, then I wouldn’t be comfortable sitting back and heeding spokesman Manoah Esipisu’s call to “support the body” nor his ridiculous claim that “anyone who casts doubts on the work of the IEBC cannot claim to be a champion of the new Constitution.
While wrought with danger, I fully support NASA’s constitutional right to ask for and ensure “the announcement of results at three levels – the polling station, constituency and national”. It is their prerogative and their role as the opposition – to hold the government’s feet to the proverbial fire. Along with that support is a call, make that plea to agitate for that constitutional right in a respectful and peaceful way.

Jubilee for its part should consider NASA’s move to have parallel tallying center/s, a warning shot across the bow. It puts the onus on them to ensure a free, fair and transparent elections. The question is:
Does Jubilee plan on honoring the spirit of the Constitution or does it intend to “win” the elections by any means necessary?

Follow this blog on Twitter @OmindesWords

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That was the take of one of the world’s richest man — on the importance of college. While Mr. Zuckerberg went on to plug the value and importance of college, there was no mistaking that Facebook’s CEO fully recognized that some people can become wildly successful without graduating from college or even high school including the millennial who is worth $58bn — that is fifty-eight billion with a “b” dollars; money whose source is fully traceable!

Meanwhile in Kenya, Mombasa County Governor Hassan Joho and Nairobi Senator Mike “Sonko” Mbuvi are being upbraided because they are not the “college-educated” paragons of society Kenyans expect their political leaders to be; at least based on images of their educational records making the rounds on social media — Twitter to be exact.

The 4th Form papers of President Kenyatta’s nemesis Hassan Joho are supposedly fake according to that benchmark of unquestionable service and moral rectitude the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC). Yes, that same KNEC that for the first time in its history this past October, oversaw examinations that were supposedly “clean” and free from corruption.

“Sonko”, for his part got an “E” in Mathematics during his ’92 certificate of examinations exams. Defending the failing grade, the Nairobi Senator claimed that lots of students failed Math that year:

“Watu wangu getting an E in maths in 1992 haikuwa mbaya kulikuwa na mass failures.”

And late last month (February 27th), the Daily Nation offered “evidence” of the “graduation” of Gov. Joho’s foil — from the respected liberal arts institution Amherst College. The newspaper offered a scanned copy of the institution’s commencement program bearing President Kenyatta’s name, circled, as proof that he had “graduated with a degree in political science and economics”.

In the US, it is common knowledge that just because someone’s name appears on an institution’s commencement/graduation program does not mean they received their degree i.e. graduated. It simply means that they filed paperwork to walk or participate in the ceremony — for a host of reasons. The student still needs to go through a degree checklist — successfully — AND settle any outstanding debts including tuition, parking tickets, room&board, overdue library books etc. Only then will the institution confer a degree to the student. For the record, I am yet to see confirmation from Amherst that it awarded Uhuru Kenyatta a degree in political science and economics.

There is interesting congruency between the educational backgrounds of Mr. Kenyatta and Mr. Joho albeit spun differently: Both have copies of some “evidence” of their educational history floating somewhere in cyberspace and anecdotes from “classmates” of their physical presence in some classes. However, one “graduated” while the other is fighting off “claims that he forged his certificate to get admission” into college.

Mewonders why?

The timing of these revelations, especially of Joho’s papers, coming in the wake of the KRA’s decision to freeze his assets portend an ominous trend to say the least.

Nigerian Author Chinua Achebe writes that “a frog does not hope around in broad daylight unless its life is in danger.”

I will not pussy-foot around the issue:

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho is the target of a coordinated smear and character assassination campaign by the Jubilee Government. What makes the attacks scary and extremely Nixonian is the government’s use of its instruments of violence (military and para-military), regulatory oversight (KNEC) and compliance (KRA) against the governor.

The same government that could not provide suspect Uhuru Kenyatta’s bank records (not to mention phone records) to the International Criminal Court simply flipped a switch and Joho’s bank accounts were frozen. And a week later, the same inept group of bureaucrats who until the other day could not conduct a clean examination to save their lives miraculously checked and cross-checked multiple references and records and concluded that “Joho Hassan Ali did not register nor sat for the year 1992 KCSE examination….”

Simply astonishing and proof that Jubilee can indeed rise to the occasion and expedite adjudication of corruption cases if it so wants to. Or can they?

Unfortunately, there was a minor yet telling detail on the “VERFICATION AND CONFIRMATION OF EXAMINATION RESULTS” letter issued by the KNEC making the rounds on social media.

Memo to Jubilee’s Operations Research — Please Read Carefully

If, as head of an agency appointed by the incumbent government, you are going to write an official letter, retrospectively, questioning the educational qualifications, indeed intellect of a public figure who also happens to be a member of the opposition and a thorn in the side of the incumbent government, make sure that the letter is pristine before making it public.

The purported official letter casting aspersions at the educational qualifications of the opposition member should not have any typos or grammatical errors. It shouldn’t have punctuation, stylistic or use of tense errors.

Gov Joho “did not register nor SAT for…..”?

Shouldn’t it be “…..did not register nor SIT for…..”?

The comedy of error continues when one tries to make sense of the claim that Gov. Joho allegedly forged his Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) Certificate; one that shows Cs, Ds, and Es instead of the desirous As and Bs!

My reading of the tea leaves:

In classic Trumpian fashion albeit without the 3AM Twitter rants, Jubilee is deliberately and strategically using shoddily forged and manufactured documentation along with state instruments of power and control to intimidate and frustrate Gov. Hassan Joho — arguably the second-most powerful and articulate voice in the Opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) Party.

Even more telling is the fact that Jubilee has not pursued others who have been accused of having fake academic papers with the same zeal they’ve done going after Gov. Joho; the same Joho the same government cleared to vie for the governorship of Mombasa four years ago.

The glaring hypocrisy aside, let’s not kid ourselves. Hassan Joho is collateral damage in Jubilee’s ultimate goal: Election Day Victory.

The faux outrage over grades, certificates and degrees are all slights of hands to mask and obfuscate Jubilee’s skullduggery at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) with August 8, 2017 less than one hundred and thirty-four days away.

The post About Scanned Commencement Programs, Forged Graduation Certificates and Failing Grades. Or Is It? appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

In the exchange the colleague asked, as justification for Kenyatta’s thin-skinned reactions to various county officials, “what would happen to me were I to approach POTUS the way Joho approached Uhuru”.

It was an interesting analogy only that it was also a false equivalence – a logical fallacy where two opposing arguments appear to be (logically) equivalent (in quantity and quality of evidence) but are not because one side has more and better evidence.

For one, I am not a governor of a state so were POTUS to visit the state where I reside, I wouldn’t be anywhere near him unless by accident.

For an apples-to-apples comparison, I offered as an example of presidential comportment, Barack Obama’s reaction to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s disrespectful behavior towards him when Air Force One touched down in Phoenix (back in Jan 2012). As the hosting governor, Ms. Brewer “welcomed” Mr. Obama to Arizona but allowed her partisanship to manifest itself in her reaction towards the visiting POTUS.

I told my colleague that “rather than call the US Army/Marines to place Gov. Brewer under ‘office arrest’, POTUS simply walked away leaving her standing on the airport tarmac in the hot desert sun – fuming.”

After that, my colleague demurred any further response to the Obama/Brewer saga and as he has done severally, pivoted to a friendlier topic.

Their partisan differences aside – Obama is a Democrat and Brewer is a Republican – The White House coordinated Obama’s visit with Phoenix (state capital of Arizona) and kept the Republican governor in the loop. By respecting the chain of command (as constitutionally mandated AND reflected in the relationship between the federal government and state government) Gov. Brewer’s behavior was widely-panned across the aisle because she had allowed her personal (and partisan) bias to manifest itself in the way she engaged the ultimate symbol of national unity – President Obama.

Had my colleague respected and embraced the fact that Gov. Joho is the chief executive of Mombasa even as President Kenyatta is chief executive of the country, he would have acknowledged that State House Nairobi had violated basic protocol by failing to co-ordinate the visit with State House Mombasa.

My take:

The pervading sense of entitlement or “uthamaki” (has) allowed President Kenyatta and his supporters such as my colleague to behave as if Kenya, its military and her natural resources belong to a select few i.e. “ya mama yao” and constitutional niceties be damned!

To wit, understanding the constitution, the various branches of national and county government and how the officials occupying those offices are supposed to interact with each other dovetail with the choices the voters make – at the ballot box – and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Either my colleague knew the chain of command between State House Nairobi and State House Mombasa and chose to ignore it or did not know said relationship between the two hence was spewing partisan ignorance and hubris. Both scenarios point to one thing:

Understanding how government works or “Civic Education”, especially in a nascent democracy is extremely important and vital in assuring that citizens knowledgably participate in their own governance instead of defaulting to the banal AND extremely dangerous (sense of) entitlement reflected in constructs such as “uthamaki” and “giniwasekao”.

The ignorance and hubris reflected in the latter, “giniwasekao” loosely translated to mean “we’ve already taken this thing” proved even more costly because it bred an apathy that allowed supporters of Raila Odinga to incorrectly assume that their candidate had “already won” the 2012 General Elections against the crimes-against-humanity duo of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto.

What befell CORD/Raila in 2012 is what befell the Democrats/Hillary in 2016; this regardless of the many narratives their respective supporters want to point to. Allegations that the elections had been “rigged” or “storen” by Jubilee-leaning IEBC workers or hacked by the Russians, swung by terrified and disaffected racist, misogynistic and xenophobic disaffected white male voters in Hillary’s case pale in comparison to the hubris and apathy of either party’ respective voters.

Instead of internalizing the simple and practical reality that elections are about hard numbers a la tyranny of numbers and executing on the basics of voter registration and election-day turnout, RAO’s supporters took their collective eyes off the ball and failed to (a) get their national ID, (b) register to vote, (c) canvass the precincts to make sure that others had executed on (a) through (c) and even more importantly, (d), turn out to vote!

Likewise, HRC’s campaign believed its internal polling that showed them “winning” and/or being competitive in traditional GOP strongholds. In the process, the campaign overlooked campaigning i.e. selling their ideas and even more important, election day turn in Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan – all states Obama won in 2012.

In the US, Democrats are already planning for 2018.

In Kenya, the countdown to August 2017 is on.

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