THANK YOU KTN & THE STANDARD GROUP!

I wish to thank the Standard Group and the Kenya Television Network for the well researched and insightful documentary you aired last week concerning the nomenclature and origins of the Mungiki sect. The documentary was an eye opener to many people who do not know the social, economic and political origins of the group. Your documentary was an eye to many viewers who only associate the sect with violence without the knowledge that below the labyrinth there are underlying economic, political and socio-cultural issues which persuade many young people to join the sect. The documentary was also a wake up call to the political leadership of this country that the use of force alone will not solve the myriad problems that the youth of this country are facing. Unless the leaders pass good laws and formulate policies to create a system that promotes inter-generational equity and ensures equality and justice across the social strata, then this country will continue to experience insecurity occasioned by organised criminal gangs. Organised criminal syndicates and militia groups are scrumptious to the hordes of youth who have no access to gainful employment or economic resources. Kudos KTN for the good work!

MUTAHI NGUNYI IS WRONG: HON. RAILA ODINGA HAS NOT ABANDONED THE PEOPLE

Mutahi Ngunyi is clearly wrong for accusing the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon Eng. Raila Odinga of abandoning the quest for social change. When Dr. Babafemi Adesina Badejo wrote that the Rt. Hon. Eng. Raila Odinga is an enigma in Kenyan politics, there was swift laudatory reaction and obvious indignation from different quarters. This is perhaps because many, including distinguished political scientists and commentators missed the point altogether. Highly publicised events involving Hon. Raila in the past few days prove Mutahi wrong and confirm Dr. Badejo’s assertion that the Hon. Raila Odinga is indeed and remains a political mystery to many in Kenya.

After the Madaraka day celebrations on June 1, Hon. Odinga avoided political chit chat and abandoned the well manicured lawns of Statehouse for the serrated benches at the City Stadium. He joined football fans to watch the Madaraka Day Cup contest between Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards. He joined the fans again on June 7 and 14 at Nyayo Stadium to watch the World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations qualifier matches between Harambee Stars and Guinea and Zimbabwe respectively. Forget that the Prime Minister had several weeks ago referred to football fans as hooligans; he can and will always get away with such things.

While addressing the African Economic Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Prime Minister termed as criminal, President Robert Mugabe’s stranglehold on power which has caused hyper inflation in Zimbabwe. His statement reverberated with the feelings of most ordinary people in Africa; something which many African political leaders cannot dare express to avoid rubbing comrade Bob the wrong way. Though Hon. Raila later clarified that those were his personal sentiments to avoid a diplomatic row with Harare, the message had already sunk home. On June 9, he was at it again. While President Kibaki joined the business mandarins and financial capital moguls to launch the trading of Safaricom shares at the Nairobi Stock Exchange, Hon. Raila chose to take a humble meal of fish and ugali at a downtown joint patronised by ordinary folk. Whether by design or coincidence, his act clearly stole the show from the major event of the day in Sub-Saharan Africa, the launch of trading in Safaricom shares. The president could have said or done one or two things to mollify thousands of small time local investors who feel disenchanted by the manner in which Safaricom shares were allotted, leaving them indebted, but that did not happen. It is a matter better left to the mandarins of influence who control the president’s itinerary, and not lesser mortals like me.

Hon. Raila appeals to the innate instincts of the common folk. He has over time proved that he is a master in the art of socio-political imagery and symbolism. When my former college-mate and Assistant Minister for Health, Hon Danson Buya Mungatana mimics Raila’s “political football” antics to make fun at political rallies he misses the point. My other college-mate and MP for Budalangi, Hon Ababu Namwamba misses the point too when he takes on Raila in his quest for a grand opposition coalition. That Raila chooses to ignore rather than shoot them down in flames only serves to emphasize their political dwarfism and magnify his political mystique in Kenya.

Like the ancient sages of Rome Raila knows when to go to the people and when to let the people come to him. He knows when, how and where to touch base and connect with the ordinary people. It is a fate few of his political contemporaries can match. Because of his flair to interconnect with ordinary folk, Hon. Raila has the ability to excite the masses, turn simple functions into memorable events and elicit a near-cult following. It is this skill that gives him the leverage to tread where angels fear to tread and take serious political risks. In politics, just as in war, you win some battles and lose others. Choosing the battles to fight and those to avoid is a mark of skill and ingenuity on the part of a general. Withdrawal too is tactic of war, and a good general knows which battles to fight and when to make a tactical retreat. Contrary to Ngunyi’s assertion, the Right Hon. Raila Odinga has not abandoned the fight for social reform; he has merely made a tactical withdrawal for the moment. It is my guess that even if he abandoned ODM for another outfit like he did in succession with NDP, KANU, LDP, NARC and ODM-K, Raila would still be assured of his intact following.

BUDGET SPEECH: THE SIDESHOWS BY KENYA POLICE

In December 2007, which is just 6 (six) months ago, our leaders and politicians, including the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister were all over the country mingling and interconnecting with the common folk (wananchi) in search of votes. Mwananchi was king then and all of them needed his nod to get power. Tables have turned now and mwananchi is no longer the much sought after kingmaker. Our leaders have now become venerable and perhaps invincible too. Whenever they assemble in parliament (August House), mwananchi has to be kept away from them, using the most vicious method. Armed police on horse back or in riot gear and others manning menacing police canines (dogs) are used to close Parliament Road, Harambee Avenue and all other adjacent roads and lanes creating a real mess. The area is normally closed to ordinary human and vehicular traffic and becomes reminiscent of a mini-combat zone. All this is done to create a false sense of security for our HONOURABLE leaders. Judging by their comments, it is obvious that ordinary citizens do not get amused with these frolics by the police.

Anybody who has basic training in the protection of terrestrial installations and corporeal entities knows that isolation of a probable target creates more insecurity than security. An isolated target is easier to hit and exterminate. Isolating politicians from the masses does not make them any safer, if anything, the seclusion accentuates the social crevice between the two groups and becomes a source of contempt in the long run. It is never in the interest of any political leadership to extract contempt from its following. It is for this reason that somebody needs to tell the Commissioner of Police that it is wrong to close Parliament and Harambee roads and their adjacent lanes to human and vehicular traffic just because the President or the Prime Minister is in the vicinity or because parliament is in session. These leaders need the mwananchi more than he needs them and 5 (five) years is not such a long time!

MATATU CHAOS IN NAIROBI: TRAFFIC POLICE ARE TO BLAME FOR LAXITY

For some time now, residents of the Eastlands section of Nairobi have endured sporadic transport hitches occasioned by matatu operators protesting against the City Council of Nairobi (Omnibus Stations) Amendment By-laws, 2008. The rules enacted by the City Council and approved by the Right Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, then Minister for Local Government were intended to decongest the Central Business District (CBD) by restricting matatus operating in East-lands to the Muthurwa Bus Terminus. In March 2004, Hon. John Michuki, then Minister for Transport, enacted the famous Michuki rules to enforce mandatory installation of speed governors and safety belts in Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) in a bid to enhance safety and instil order into the chaotic public transport sector.

It is noteworthy that three (3) months after the promulgation of the Michuki Rules, road accidents declined nationally by 74% while accidents involving urban transport buses fell by a whooping 93%. This is no longer the case and every passenger or motorist will attest that only a few matatu operators are complying with the Michuki Rules. Consequently, disorder has crept back into the sector and new rules notwithstanding, public transport in the country is still bedevilled with incessant turmoil. The problem lies in enforcement rather than propriety of the law.

Legislative organs do not formulate law in vain and law is obeyed not because it has some mystic powers behind it, but because it is backed by the coercive machinery of the state. Uniformity, clarity and certainty are also a hallmark of any good regulatory legislation. For some unknown reason, not every matatu operating in Eastlands adheres to the designated route or terminates at Muthurwa. It is this selective application of the City Council By-laws and Michuki Rules that has created two factions in the public transport sector in the City.

The Traffic Department of the Kenya police is conferred with the power to enforce these and other traffic laws. This is where there is a structural weakness in the management of the public transport sector. The Police have repeatedly featured in the top ten bracket of the Transparency International Bribery Index mainly due to corruption in the Traffic Department. Owing to this high level of corruption, lethargic indifference, selective application of the law and outright incompetence of the traffic police, the fairly lucrative public transport industry has over the years been invaded by cartels that have little regard for law and order, safety, comfort and the business interests of their clientele. These operators have over time become reckless merchants of death; licensed to kill and maim their own customers.

In a research carried out by the UK Transport Research Laboratory (TRRL) Kenya ranked the 5th highest number of accidents per licensed vehicles out of 29 selected countries worldwide. The exchequer, the general public and private business pay heavy costs for the hospitalisation, treatment and rehabilitation of accident victims. They also bear the price of material damage to motor vehicles, mobile plant equipment, damaged merchandise and lost man hours. This is without counting the cost of fuel wasted in incessant traffic jams and the ever rising premiums of underwriting the high risks associated with public transport. This is all due to selective application and laxity in the enforcement of traffic laws.

It is high time the government adopted a scientific approach and implemented the recommendations of research and expert audit reports to find a lasting solution to the recurrent problems in the public transport sector. Experts recommend the creation of a composite structure where the general public, investors, industrial manufacturers, private motorists, insurers, the traffic police and other regulators as well as all other stakeholders are represented in the formulation, promulgation and enforcement of new traffic laws.