TAXATION: MPs AND JUDGES HAVE GOT IT ALL WRONG!

"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
-Benjamin Franklin, 1789.-

Parliament is supposed to be the embodiment of the sovereign will of the people and the personification of their collective legislative wisdom. Whereas there is a general consensus amongst ordinary people that everybody, including Members of Parliament and other Constitutional office holders should pay tax, our MPs and Judges of the High Court think otherwise. MPs have chosen to arm-twist the Minister of Finance into dropping proposals to tax their hefty salaries and allowances while Judges have sought presidential intervention to prevent the taxman from “pinching” their purses. These actions by MPs and Justices are contradictory to the collective desire of the citizenry and incompatible with modern theories on public finance and tax revenue administration.

Taxation is premised on the exercise of sovereign legislative authority. Elected representatives lay down the general policy and legal framework for taxation in all democratic societies in line with the celebrated maxim of “no taxation without representation”. They also provide a general guide on the tariff rates to be charged against each tax head. Judges interpret the law and resolve disputes that arise between the citizens and government over the imposition of taxes, duties, levies or the grant of subsidies. Members of Parliament and Judges should therefore lead the way in paying income tax if they expect ordinary citizens to voluntarily comply with the law.

Paying taxes is the highest form of corporate social responsibility for any citizen; corporate or otherwise. Taxes are levied for the common good of the society. Since time immemorial, nation states have levied and collected taxes to finance public expenditure and provide services such as security, education, health and infrastructure. Modern states still use Oliver Wendell’s old adage that “taxation is the cost of civilization” to justify personal income and corporate tax.

Some pundits have speciously argued that the MPs’ action amounts to Parliamentary dictatorship. This is logically absurd since our MPs were elected through a democratic process. The actions by MPs and Judges amount to a gross abuse of legislative and judicial privilege respectively. MPs and Judges are sending a message that they cannot be trusted vanguards of our political sovereignty, economic freedom, equality and justice. They are providing ammunition to tax evaders who are likely to rationalize tax fraud by citing the examples set by MPs and Judges. Reduced voluntary compliance with taxation laws will ultimately affect the government’s ability to finance its obligations, lead to domestic borrowing and soar up interest rates which will in turn diminish the borrowing power of ordinary people and businesses resulting in reduced capital investments and meager economic growth.

Uniform application of taxation laws is intended to spread wealth and create a more just and equitable society. Members of the 10th Parliament and Judges are however telling Kenyans that it is okay for 300 individuals to live in abundant opulence sustained by already overburdened taxpayers while the majority of the citizenry wallow in abject poverty. Their actions demonstrate a collective determination to preserve and entrench a politico-economic system that promotes social inequality and injustice. This is immoral and unacceptable in a civilized society. MPs and judges should pay tax, period!

OBAMA IS A CITIZEN OF THE WORLD

The election of Illinois Senator Barrack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America heralds a new chapter in the political history of the world. It is the ultimate indication that the racial relations in the world have gone full circle and that any talented individual irrespective of his colour or race can actualize their highest aspirations.

Senator Obama is a citizen of the world. Born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and an American mother, reared in Indonesia and Hawaii, Obama is the exemplification of the world as one global village. He is the personification of the innate desires, hopes, aspirations and expectation of Africans and all other coloured peoples in the world. His success is their triumph against long held mythical beliefs of intellectual differentiation across racial groups. Never before in the history of mankind has such an onerous responsibility been placed on the shoulders of one man. Senator Obama has proved that he is capable of changing the world and the American have demonstrated their faith and trust in his capacity by electing him into the White House. We salute the American people for taking their place of pride in history. Congratulations America! You have shown your greatness by changing the course of world history; by choosing direction over complexion. God bless America, God bless Americans, God bless Obama, and God bless the world.

JUDGES SHOULD SIGN PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS

Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Justice Minister Martha Karua insist that judges and magistrates should sign performance contracts whereas the Chief Justice Evans Gicheru and other senior members of the bench contend that such a move will undermine judicial independence in Kenya.

The spirited opposition to performance contracting by the Chief Justice and his colleagues displays a lack of conceptual understanding of the process. A Performance Contract is basically an agreement involving the government and a state entity which outlines the broad objectives for that entity, lays down goals for quantifying productivity and offers incentives for accomplishing these targets. Judicial independence is a legal dictum to warrant that the decisions of the judiciary are impartial and not subject to manipulation by the other arms of government or by private and political interests.

Judicial independence which is hinged on the security of tenure of service enables judicial officers to exercises unfettered discretion in determining cases and resolving disputes. In Kenya, this independence is guaranteed by the Constitution which gives judges of the High Court and the Court of Appeal security of tenure and confers the Judicial Service Commission with the mandate of superintending over the affairs of the judiciary. Even with this autonomy judges are still required by law to exercise their discretion reasonably, adhere to certain rules and proclaim judgements that reflect fidelity to the law. Besides, not every judicial officer is involved in the hearing and determination of cases. Some are fully engaged in the management of the administrative and clerical wing of the department.

The Kenyan judiciary has stood still for decades and failed to reform and embrace modernity. The judicial process and the criminal justice system are still highly steeped in primordial procedural practices which hurt and deny poor unrepresented litigants access to substantive justice. Inadequate staff and lack of financial resources have often been cited as the reasons for the incessant delays in determining legal disputes and disposing of cases. Laxity, ineptitude and lack of integrity play a significant role too. This is the main reason why the judiciary ought to embrace performance contracting. International best practice shows that governments and global agencies are currently implementing performance contracting to enhance performance of civil servants and entrench good governance and accountability. Goal setting is an important evaluation tool for determining resource allocation and assessing skill gaps in an organisation.

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) should set down the mission, broad objectives and the strategies for achieving the mission of the judiciary. It is upon these broad objectives that judges and magistrates will set their key result areas (KRAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) upon which they will be evaluated. The initial goals and targets for each individual officer can be set on the basis of historical data regarding past performance. The KRAs and KPIs can be structured in relation to integrity, training, sitting hours, number of cases to be heard and determined by each officer, the number of judgements and rulings delivered and timely resolution of administrative issues. This can easily be done without fettering the discretion of judges and magistrates to determine cases on their own merits. Since judicial officers will set the criteria for their own appraisal by peers, it is difficult to discern how performance contracting will interfere with the exercise of judicial discretion. Judicial independence should not be used as an excuse for inefficiency and ineptitude.

MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION IN KENYA: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION HAS FAILED.

The recent violent strikes in public secondary schools have brought into sharp focus the role of the Ministry of Education in the management of the public education system in Kenya.

Management is the art of getting people together to accomplish desired goals through planning, organizing, sourcing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Education Management focuses attention on strategies for keeping education resources current, up to date, and accessible. It is ensuring that people have the most recent and suitable education to do their work.

The Education Act, 1968 defines a manager as any person or body of persons responsible for the management and conduct of a school, and includes a Board. The Act, read together with the Teachers Service Commission Act, Cap. 212, confers extensive powers on the Minister of Education over the management and regulation of education in Kenya. The two acts give the minister extensive latitude to delegate his powers to local authorities, District Education Boards or Boards of Governors.

Tertiary institutions and public secondary schools are administered by Boards of Governors appointed by the Minister whereas Primary schools are managed by School Committees appointed by local authorities. The boards and committees are responsible for the hire and remuneration of support and subordinate staff in public schools. The boards also act as the custodians and trustees of the movable and immovable property of their respective schools. The principals and headmasters of these institutions serve as the secretaries and executive officers to the boards of governors or school committees as the case may be.

The Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005 has granted teachers the power to control the tendering and procurement process in public schools. The Teachers Service Commission Act allows the Teachers Service Commission to delegate its powers relating to the hiring, control and discipline of teachers to Boards of Governors inter alia. The disbursement and utilisation of government funds under the Free Primary Education (FPE) and Free Secondary Education (FSE) programmes is subject to the provisions of the Government Financial Management Act, 2004. The boards of governors are mandated by the Education Act to audit and regulate expenditure by the administration to ensure that all the income received by the school is applied for the promotion of the objects of the school. These statutes presume that members of the Boards of Governors and teachers are knowledgeable in Law, Human Resources Management, Supply Chain Management, Accounting and Project management. That is where the main problem in the management in public schools lies.

The Ministry of Education continues to employ archaic techniques in the administration of education institutions. The tools for the management and evaluation of public education institutions have remained static for a long time despite the rapid technological, socio-cultural and economic changes in the country. Management organs such as Boards of Governors are constituted so as to include representatives of the communities served by the school, persons representing any voluntary body which was the founder of the school or its successor, and any other persons or representatives of bodies or organizations that, in the opinion of the Minister, should be included. There is no set criteria enumerating the skills a person should possess to qualify for appointment into a board. Service in School Boards is not remunerated and consequently most professionals opt to stay away from it. The result is that most public schools are managed by old and unenergetic retirees, semi-literate businesspeople or other semi-skilled non-professionals. This has created a managerial gap in most public schools in rural Kenya. The old managers cannot cope up with the rapid social, technological, economic and cultural changes in our country. The managers are more often than not erudite in elementary law and cannot readily grasp the provisions of the Education Act or the basic concepts in management of public finance, human resource management and organizational management. The Education Act is also inexplicably lenient on imprudent school boards. Suspension and forced resignation are the only penalties the minister can impose on an errant board.

School boards composed of members who do not possess managerial skills; expertise and experience are a major source of discontent among students and parents. Parents typically oppose a school administration if they perceive it to be incompetent, opaque or unaccountable. Students on the other hand engage in insidious conduct to protest against such managers. Initially it was possible to “cover-up” such managerial ineptitudes through authoritarian leadership. Before the enactment of the Children’s Act, 2001, school heads would use actual or threats of corporal punishment to forestall complaints from students. This explains why the protests have become more pronounced and dangerous since the use of corporal punishment in schools was abolished and replaced with guidance and counselling.

Apart from appointing representatives to the board, religious organisations which sponsored or founded most public schools in Kenya, play a peripheral role in managing the schools. They should get more involved since they can play a complimentary role in guiding and counselling adolescent students. Religious leaders exercise both temporal and spiritual authority and can exert moral pressure on delinquent students to infuse behavioural change.

Whereas parents are very quick to blame the school administration when things go wrong in a school, they also shy away from making a conscious effort and practical contribution to the management of the institutions. They are content to play the perfunctory roles of paying school fees, electing Parents Teachers Association (PTA) representatives and attending annual general meetings once a year. Parents should get actively involved and support the school administration in matters of enforcing discipline

There is a dire need to change the training curriculum for teachers to include new subjects which will equip teachers with elementary working knowledge in Accounting, Planning, Financial Management and Project Management. The Ministry of Education should also develop a criterion for the appointment of members of boards of governors and create a common Project Monitoring and Evaluation Tool for managers of public schools. It is important for the government, parents, school managers and educationists to review the current system of managing public institutions to attract more professionals and allow full and equitable participation by all the stakeholders.

Twitter: @DeCaptainCFE

AN OPEN LETTER TO HON. MARTHA WANGARI KARUA, EGH, M.P.

My heroine, the indefatigable Minister for Justice, Constitutional Affairs and National Cohesion, Hon. Martha Wangari Karua wants to be president and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kenya. Is hers a serious bid for the presidency or just another gush of hot air? I am unable to refrain from offering her my 50 cent worth of advice because I fear to mourn the loss of a promising political leader.

Waziri, you have an inalienable democratic right to aspire and vie for any public office in Kenya. Having represented the people of Gichugu in parliament for the last 16 years and held high profile jobs in the government and political parties, you have the right credentials to aspire to the position of Commander-in Chief. As the current chairperson of NARC-Kenya, you have a head start as the primus-inter-pares among the leaders aspiring to inherit President Mwai Kibaki’s perceived political mantle in the PNU coalition.

Defying State House on the subject of dissolving PNU constituent parties has bolstered and reaffirmed your image and characteristic aura of political independence. You should completely ignore President Kibaki on this matter and pay little attention to the busy bodies in PNU. The president is not a political animal and is unlikely to play any major role in the 2012 elections. President Kibaki is not and has never been a serious political party ideologue or mobiliser. You and his other friends hurriedly cobbled up PNU just to save him from being party-less in September last year. It is his disdain for party politics that led to the collapse of the original NARC, rendered his DP a moribund outfit and created the House of Babel that is PNU. Not even the president’s sudden interest in and ascension to the leadership of PNU can salvage the coalition. The president has no vehicle for political mobilisation or a grassroots machinery of his own; and hence no political fortune or mantle to bequeath to anybody. If anything, the entire Mt. Kenya region is littered with political orphans of his former parties with no evident possible heir of note in sight. Politicians who are hinging their survival on President Kibaki after 2012 are simply suffering a bout of collective amnesia and busy writing their political epitaphs.

Waziri, charity (even in politics) begins at home. Avoid attacking the Deputy Premier Hon. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Security Minister, Hon George Muthengi Saitoti. Doing so does not endear you to a lot of people in southern Kikuyu land. If anything your thinly veiled attacks against the duo is slowly rekindling the old wounds and fault lines (the fabled Chania River divide) between the north and southern Kikuyu. Take this matter seriously since you do not have any serious cheer-leaders outside Kirinyaga District and as we speak, NARC- Kenya has lost the support of most sitting MPs in the larger Nyeri, Laikipia and Nyandarua Districts. Your only saving grace here is that your defiance against the president and the “big-moneyed elitist minority” wheeler dealers resonates well with the majority of the young people in Mt. Kenya region who are tired of the old order and the current status quo. Get a young energetic party ideologue to harness the political support of the youth and you will pull the rug under your detractors in Central Kenya.

Outside Central Kenya, some people view you as a rouble rousing, inveterate kikuyu chauvinist. You need to re-brand and modify this image through your most visible allies Hon. MPs Dr. Mohamed Kuti, Danson Buya Mungatana (my former college mate), Katoo Ole Metito, Asman Kamama Abongotum and Robinson Njeru Githae. Spend much more time creating grassroots machinery for NARC-Kenya. The party needs serious, credible, and clearly visible grounds-men. You need to organise and open well managed party branches in every constituency to create alternative centres of power, disorganise and scatter sitting MPs and set a foothold in every corner of Kenya.

Whereas you have impeccable credentials in the fight for democracy, civil and political liberties, you have not championed the fight for social, economic and judicial reforms in similar fashion. Poor and unrepresented litigants rarely access substantive justice in Kenya while the rich and powerful easily get reprieve from the courts. Judicial officers often refuse to see “real justice” through the miasma of primordial technicalities of procedure which the rich readily exploit. Our criminal justice system now seems to be a haven for criminals who get cleared after committing serious crimes such as murder, rape and robbery with violence. We have not heard your voice on the issue of murder suspects walking scot-free due to procedural technicalities. You must radically reform this system that only seems to perceive “justice” through the lenses of the villains and not the victims. You understand the quid pro quo doctrine well and four years is a long time; stand for the majority.

Waziri, use the constitutional reform and the gender equity agenda to your advantage. Nothing would endear you more to Kenyans than the attainment of genuine constitutional and legal reforms under your watch. Women constitute 52% of the productive population in Kenya but have been disfranchised from full participation in the political, social and economic development due to historical disadvantages. After close to 5 (five) decades of misrule by lethargic and corrupt male dominated regimes that have entrenched poverty, social and gender inequity, it will be not difficult to package and sell the idea of a principled, untainted, compassionate, and trustworthy woman leader to Kenyans.

DESTROY THE MAU, WIN ELECTIONS AND KILL THE PASTROLISTS!!

Listening to the dissonant voices coming from Rift Valley politicians on the question of the Mau Complex, one discerns a perfunctory lackadaisical reaction to a highly important national issue. The conservation of the Mau is not a sectional issue or a mere inter-communal conflict over land and water. The Mau Complex is arguably the most significant water tower in East Africa. It is the source of the Mara River from whence the world famous Masai Mara National Game Reserve derives its name. The Mara River which straddles several game parks and reserves across two states supports the most extensive ecosystem in the region, supplying water and other vital resources, offering a lifeline to thousands of pastoralists downstream and draining into Lake Victoria. Mau is therefore as important to Kenya just as it is to Tanzania and Uganda. The annual wild beast migration cannot be without the Mau. Every player in the tourism industry knows that the regional circuit cannot be complete without the Masai Mara and it riverine ecosystem. Ravage the Mau, and you will have killed pastoralism, tourism, irrigation, horticulture, hydro-power generation, investment ad infintum. I witnessed firsthand the effects of destruction when I visited Makalia Water Falls in Lake Nakuru National Park in April. A lifeless dry ford has now replaced the resplendent leafy fall I had seen in June 2004.
Whereas William Ronkorua Ole Ntimama and his compatriots Nkoidila Ole Lankas and Gideon Ole Konchella argue that they want to protect the Mau to save the pastoralists from extinction, Isaac Arap Ruto, Benjamin Langat and Magerer Langat claim that the former are driven by the desire for “political” rather than environmental conservation. Though Ntimama and his colleagues may be the wrong persons, sending the right message at the right time, Ruto’s assertion is the logic of absurdity only fit for the political gutter. Ntimama’s war dance does little justice either to the cause he is advancing for “his people”, but perhaps Ruto and his associates have a better, fancier solution.
Conservation and sustainable development are the very essence of inter-generational equity; the desire for self preservation and perpetuation, espoused by every society with a strand, claim or pretension to modernity. When resources are abundant different communities and societies share them in peace. When they are scarce, communities skirmish or go to war over them. For centuries now, peoples, nations and nationalities have devised competing strategies of war, assembled large armies and fought wars to protect or enforce territorial claims over vital resources. Any modern society must have in place a system for self preservation and perpetuation. Strangling the pastoralist communities in the Mara downstream is akin to self administered genocide against a part of our society. I know of no other greater justification for war than an actual threat of historical obliteration against a community. Further destruction of the Mau might provoke an inter-communal conflict in South Rift which will make the internecine communal conflicts over livestock and pasture in Northern Kenya look like child play. This will be the ultimate cost of bad and myopic leadership.
Legal compensation is now being hoisted as the only basis for negotiating a safe “political” exit out of the Mau quagmire. Procedure is the handmaiden of justice. If the initial excision and entry into the Mau was illegal and un-procedural ab initio, why should eviction be legal and procedural? No political platitudes, legal shenanigans or adhesion to ghosts of archaic medieval norms on the sanctity of title can justify the prelude of a slow but inevitable environmental genocide by one community against another. The perceptible message coming from the Kalenjin leaders is, “lets us keep our peasants (voters [sic]) in the forest, destroy the Mau and win elections, the pastoralists can go to hell”. Such reckless political grandstanding can destroy an entire community.
The Mau must be protected at any cost for posterity. It does no matter who has to lose or win elections; all unwanted settlers must get out of the forest now. Only the fauna and flora are fit to live there!

VIOLENT STRIKES IN KENYAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Allow me to comment about the numerous violent strikes in secondary schools. I have served as a member of the Board of Governors in Public Secondary Schools since I was 27 years old. I was appointed a member of the Board for Giathugu Secondary School, Nyeri in 1999. In 2006 I was also appointed a member of the Board for Mweru Secondary School also in Nyeri. I am currently the Chairman of the Board for Mweru. Both schools have boarding facilities but have so far been spared the agony of violent strikes that are currently facing many schools.

My take on this matter is that 70% per cent of indiscipline in schools is a reflection of poor and irresponsible parenting. I have sat in many disciplinary sessions in both schools and amazingly noted that most parents support their teenage children even in clear cases where the children are involved in criminal conduct such as theft, drug trafficking and usage, assault or arson.

It is also very disheartening to note that many intellectuals, business leaders, managers and professionals have ignored, refused and neglected to participate in the management of public education institutions. Service in School Boards is not remunerated and consequently many people choose to stay away from it. I guess it is more pleasurable to spend time in bars and other social places, rather than giving service to the society. The result is that many public schools managed by old and unenergetic retirees, semi-literate businesspeople and other non-professionals. This has created a managerial gap in most schools since many of those old managers cannot cope up with the rapid social, technological, economic and cultural changes in our country. This is paradoxical since the recent changes in the Education Act and the newly enacted Public Procurement and Disposal Act require schools to be managed by person with a fairly good understanding of Public Finance and Institutional Management. School Boards with members who do not possess managerial skills, expertise and experience are a major source of discontent among students and parents. Parents usually oppose a school administration if they perceive it to be incompetent, opaque or unaccountable. Students on the other hand will engage in insidious conduct to protest against such managers. The protests have become more pronounced and dangerous since the use of corporal punishment in schools was abolished.

Parents are very quick to blame the school administration when things go wrong in a school, yet they shy away from making a conscious effort and practical contribution to the management of the institutions. If anything, boarding schools have become the euphemism for abdication of parental responsibility. They have become the place to abandon teenage children as parents pursue other more important interests such as accumulation of wealth. In my experience in the management of public schools, I have noted that parents regard teenage children as desired and necessary but ephemerally disposable "irritants". A boarding school is regarded as the best place to send recalcitrant teenage children to give parents space and time to chase other important things. This warped parental attitude is a major cause of indiscipline in schools since many irresponsible parents will do anything including bribing and use of threats to ensure that their children remain in boarding schools and away from home at any cost. Such parents seldom support the school administration in matters of enforcing discipline.

It is important for the government, parents, school managers and educationists to review the current system of managing public institutions to allow all the stakeholders to take up their fair share of responsibility. I also appeal to more professionals, business leaders, intellectuals and managers to be altruistic and agree to assume responsibility and spend their valuable time in running public schools. Let us all participate in building a better future generation.

Twitter: @DeCaptainCFE

SABA SABA: 18 YEARS AFTER KENYANS HAVE LITTLE TO CELEBRATE.

On 7th July 1990 Kenyans responded to a call made by politicians Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia and went to Kamukunji to press for constitutional, political-legal, social and economic reforms. Their rallying point was the demand for Kenya’s return to political pluralism, transparency and political accountability in the management of public affairs after decades of oppression and bad governance by the then intransigent KANU regime which had emasculated the civil and political rights of the ordinary people, denied press freedoms and failed to embrace social and economic reforms to cushion the majority poor from the effects of the World Bank and IMF driven Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). More than 20 (twenty) people died in the process and a few days later Matiba, Rubia, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and their lawyers John Khaminwa, Mohammed Ibrahim and Gitobu Imanyara were detained.

Although the last 18 years have witnessed key political milestones in our country, the ideals which Kenyans struggled and died for in 1990 are still a mirage. Kenya returned to political pluralism in December 1991 following the repeal of section 2A of the constitution. Multi-party elections were subsequently held in December 1992 and President Daniel Arap Moi and KANU triumphed against a fractious opposition. The same fete was repeated in 1997 but the opposition managed to secure an almost equal number Parliamentary seats with KANU at the backdrop of minimum constitutional and electoral law reforms enacted through the IPPG initiative. The opposition did not manage to force a paradigm shift in the management of public affairs since they remained divided and were almost always easily outmanoeuvred by Moi and KANU. By 2002 the opposition had a learnt their lesson. A united opposition christened the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) comprising of the National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK) then led by President Mwai Kibaki and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) then led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga easily routed out and trounced KANU and Moi’s anointed heir Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta at the polls. NARC was elected on the platform of reform and Kenyans had high hopes that the coalition was the final catalyst for the social, political and economic reforms they had sought since 1990.

Apart from expanded political space and press freedoms, Kenyans have nothing to celebrate about Saba Saba. A serious attempt to entrench constitutional and legal reforms in 2005 became a cropper owing to political disagreements. Our statute books are rife with countless laws that confer state beauracrats with excessive administrative power. These beauracrats are no accountable to the people and often act at the behest of the whimsical interests of their appointing authority, cartels of financial racketeers and wielders of political influence. Bad archaic laws have created a beauracratic aristocracy which has grossly enriched itself at the expense of the majority poor. It is these beauracrats who commit innumerable sins of omission and commission and cause incredible suffering to ordinary citizens. As a result Kenya has an anachronistic political system in which the real power of the state lies in the beauracracy rather than in the elected representatives of the people. It is not uncommon to hear Cabinet Ministers lament that the government has failed to protect or help their constituents! The recent sale of the Grand Regency in contravention of the Public Procurement and Disposal and the Privatization Acts is a good example of beauracratic excesses.

Kenyans now live under the siege of common and organised crime. High levels of unemployment, social inequality and inter-generational inequity have seen the emergence of vicious militant groups such as the Mungiki, Sungu Sungu, Taliban and more recently the Sabaot Land Defence Forces (SLDF). Food security remains a pipe dream and just recently the media showed people in some parts of Kenya eating rats to survive. The judicial process and the criminal justice system are still highly steeped in archaic procedural practices which hurt and deny the poor access to justice. Quality health and education remain the preserve of the rich who can afford the fees charged by private institutions. The hastily implemented free Universal Primary Education (UPE) does not guarantee quality education for the children of the poor since it lacks appropriate ancillary structures. The newly implemented free Universal Secondary Education is likely to meet the same fate.

The culture of impunity continues to thrive. The rich and political elite still ride roughshod over the poor. Millions of Kenyans cannot afford decent housing or access cleaning drinking water whilst our leaders use colloquial language to oppose the taxation of their hefty incomes and allowances. Many Kenyans have and continue to die in the name of politically instigated ethnic clashes since 1991 and the Attorney General, Amos Wako is yet to put to account any single notable politician. Land, a basic factor of production which is at the core of these communal clashes remains an emotive issue simply because it is not easily and readily available to ordinary people. It has been reduced into a market commodity by an exploitative small minority that hoards it for commercial speculation rather than production for the common good of the people. The collapse of two stockbrokerages with millions of funds belonging to thousands of small-time investors at the Nairobi Stock Exchange and the massive pilfering of funds from poor people through fraudulent pyramid schemes are repulsive crimes against Kenyans. That the perpetrators of these scams are likely to go Scot free and continue to lavish in ill-gotten wealth is a clear demonstration of unbridled impunity in Kenya.

Without genuine constitutional and legal reforms, Kenyans will not get a political structure that produces transformational and compassionate leadership which does not seek power for the sake of power or for personal aggrandisement and the perpetuation of elitist minority interests. Only such leadership can formulate policies to create a system that promotes inter-generational equity and ensures equality and justice across the social strata. Then and only then will Kenyans have achieved the true vision of saba saba!

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.

KENYAN IDPs ARE ENTITLED TO HUMANITARIAN RELIEF, NOT COMPENSATION.

Whereas government officials have ruled out compensation to the victims of the post-election that rocked Kenya in January and February this year, the issue refuses to fade away. But are they right? The cardinal responsibility of protecting the life and property of the citizens rests with the state. Consequently, the state enjoys the monopoly of the use of force of violence and is vested with the power and authority to procure and manufacture arms and other articles of war. Under International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, states are obligated to compensate victims of their own breaches under Article 148 of the Geneva Convention and the Protocols additional thereto. The claimant must however demonstrate that his loss was occasioned by an act or omission attributable to the state under international law and which is a transgression of an international responsibility by the state.

The issue of compensation or restitution for refugees and IDPs is even more complex where people get displaced or lose their property due to religious, ethnic or political violence. This usually occurs when armed groups defy the rule of law, engage in extensive violence and make it impractical for the state to defend the rights of its citizens. Most of the victims of the post-election violence in Kenya fall under this category. They are victims of a well orchestrated, highly choreographed political adventurism by wayward leaders who exploited ethnic apprehensions as a basis for political mobilisation and competition. The IDPs cannot accuse the organs of the state of any direct violation of an international or municipal law obligation, on which a legal action can be founded against the state under the law of torts (civil law). They may also not be in a position to identify with certainty the person(s) who occasioned loss to them.

Whereas the IDPs may not have a legal basis to seek compensation or restitution under the law of torts, they are nevertheless entitled to state protection under International Humanitarian Law. The government of Kenya is under an international obligation to ensure that they are resettled back to their properties. The state also has a responsibility to assist them to reintegrate back to society, improve their living conditions, resist evictions and affirm their civil and political rights.

The state has been careful with the choice of words and has so far only offered to grant them relief on humanitarian basis through the Government Financial Management (Humanitarian Fund for Mitigation of Effects and Resettlement of Victims of Post-Election Violence) Regulations, 2008. These rules which were enacted by the Hon. Amos Kimunya, the Minister of Finance, pursuant to section 26 of the Government Financial Management Act, 2004, were not even necessary in the first place. The state’s responsibility to assist victims of natural and human disasters is not premised on legalise alone, but rather on a higher norm, the law of basic morality. No law can be applied to force people to contribute towards the relief efforts or to stifle the right of refugees and IDPs to humanitarian relief. Any such law is bereft of basic moral content and lacks the force of legitimacy to elicit voluntary compliance from the citizens. People willingly contribute towards relief efforts due to a compulsive desire to help others which is an inherent instinct for self preservation in every human being. Humanitarian relief as opposed to legal compensation is the better phrase for the support that IDPs are seeking from the government. The media should use the correct phrase to avoid creating unnecessary tension.

SENATOR OBAMA’S GOOD FORTUNES ARE A BLESSING FOR KENYA & AFRICA

Barring any surprises or the intervention of a force majeure (or an act of God), Illinois Senator Barack Hussein Obama is likely to become the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party in the United States of America. Apart from escalating his chances of becoming the 44th president of the United States, Obama’s win is of great significance to the people of Kenya and Africa, if not the entire race of the people with relations to African ancestry.

His win will not just bolster the image of the Kenyans and Africans in the world but may also emancipate an entire race from the greatly hyped but seriously flawed myth of Africanity. The depiction of the African people has suffered greatly in the last two decades. Claims of endemic corruption, incompetence and outright intellectual incapacity have seen the African people discriminated against and treated as less human in many parts of the world. The rest of the world has perfected the art of associating Africa and its people with natural and human catastrophes such as war, drought, famine and disease. Just recently, James Watson, an eminent scientist and Nobel Laureate, made claims that the average African person has less intelligence than his contemporaries of other racial groups. This myth of Africanity is also perpetuated by the media, artists, filmmakers, historians, writers, scientists and foreign politicians through literary works and publications that paint Africans as inferior people who are inherently corrupt and inept. In the 1990s many African nations were forced to implement Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) to perk up up their economies which were reeling under massive foreign debt. The Structural adjustment policies and other conditionalities driven by two of the Bretton Woods institutions, the IMF and the World Bank, saw the replacement of many senior Africans in the civil service and state enterprises with foreign (expatriate) managers. These policies which were renamed the Poverty Reduction Strategies in 2002 hence also served to entrench the myth of Africanity. As a result, the African political and professional leadership suffered and continues to suffer from a crisis of confidence and credibility.

Senator Obama’s win will help to shatter this myth of Africanity. Obama's relationship with Africa is present and palpable. It has no connection with the nostalgic past history of slavery and forced migration. His African relatives are alive and well known in Kenya. His African ancestry is not doubtful and is not in issue.

It is therefore very important for Kenya, Africa and the entire world that Obama wins the Democratic Party presidential primaries. His win will be the clearest evidence that inter-racial relations in the world have gone the full cycle. It will be prove that any talented individual can achieve their highest aspirations in the world, racial background notwithstanding.

In the short term, an Obama win will turn the focus of attention to Kenya which might result in increased visits by foreigners and tourists. This may just be the anecdote for the faltering tourism sector which was almost ruined by the post-election violence which rocked the country early this year after the announcement of disputed presidential poll results in December 2007. Players in the Kenyan tourism sector should be watching Obama’s campaign with baited breath.

MUNGIKI HAS LEGITIMATE HISTORICAL, POLITICAL & SOCIO-ECONOMIC GRIEVANCES.

Hardly a day passes without the mention of mungiki in the mainstream print and electronic media. Journalists, political and social commentators have attempted to analyse the causes and possible anecdote to the problems posed by mungiki. Their analyses are usually superficial and the solutions they propose simplistic.

The historical origins of mungiki are intricate and complex just as the sect itself. The problem of mungiki is traceable to the land tenure reforms initiated by the British colonists in the 1950s. In 1955, the colonial government published the “Plan to Intensify African Agriculture in Kenya”. The overt aim of this plan was the creation of landed African gentry that would participate in intensive and large-scale agriculture to boost the colonial economy and solve the problems of political instability and unrest. According to Professor Yash Pal Ghai, the covert aim was to produce a stable and conservative middle class to provide a bulwark against African nationalism and the radical policies accompanying it. Individualisation of land tenure was used to blunt African demands for land redistribution.

The political pay-off of this plan became evident during the Mau Mau revolt of 1952 to 1956. During this period the translation of peasant agriculture through cash crop production and land tenure reform were used to create a landed African gentry (Middle Class) in Central Kenya. This group had a stake in the existing colonial arrangement and acted as a bulwark against revolutionary tendencies. By 1956, the colonial government had put most parts of Central Kenya under individualised tenure without a supporting legislative framework. In 1954, the colonial government had passed the Forfeiture of Lands Ordinance, (No. 11 of 1954), which empowered it to confiscate any land of “…persons leading or organising armed or violent resistance against the forces of law and order”. This was supposed to ensure that those who had joined the armed struggle were disinherited and de-franchised to deter those who were like-minded. The adjudication, consolidation and registration of land without a legal framework was deliberate and concerted to reward loyalists and collaborators and punish agitators and rebels. In 1956, the colonial government promulgated the Native Land Tenure Rules with the sole aim of legalising and legitimising the compulsory acquisitions and illegal forfeitures carried under the Forfeiture of Lands Ordinance, 1954. The rules registered African holdings under absolute title and discouraged co-ownership. In 1959, the colonial government enacted several pieces of legislation including the Native Lands (Special Areas) Registration Ordinance, 1959 to protect the tenure of land that had been expropriated from the rebels and conferred on the loyalists. A mechanism of controlling land transactions in the newly adjudicated; consolidated and registered areas was also introduced.

These land tenure reforms led to a great deal of structural re-organisation in the African society in Central Kenya. The process was carried out when many people were absent either in detention or fighting in the forest. The situation was also compounded by a deliberate policy directive by the colonial government to out-rightly deny children of Mau Mau fighters and sympathisers access to education. The tenure reforms only served the political aims of the colonial government at the expense of many illiterate and ignorant peasants who lost their land to the loyalists and home guards; their relatives or other educated peasants. Many people who were previously accommodated under the African customary tenure system lost their land. After independence, the Native Lands (Special Areas) Registration Ordinance of 1959 was re-enacted into the Registered Land Act, Cap. 63, Laws of Kenya to give the final seal of approval to the massive dispossessions that had occurred in the entire Mt. Kenya region. Many poor people found themselves landless, homeless and without a means of livelihood. They were reduced to providers of cheap labour to the colonial settlers who opted to remain in Kenya as well as the new African landlords.

Thus just before they left Kenya in 1963, the British had managed to create a landed conservative and conformist gentry in Central Kenya. This group was mainly composed of collaborators and home guards to whom the departing colonialists bequeathed the super structure of the state beauracracy such as the provincial administration, local councils, police, mainstream churches and subordinate courts. This group abused its privileged position to appropriate the most arable land and the choicest areas of the emerging urban centres in Central Kenya and other parts of the country. The group also created a patronage system which excluded the common populace in Central Kenya from politics, business and appointments in the public service. Most of them joined the public service as provincial administrators, lay magistrates and clerical officers. They also took over political leadership and the running of mainstream churches and local authorities. These collaborators and their offspring have always benefited from this historical advantage that was granted to them by the colonial regime. They own large tracts of agricultural land and prime commercial properties in urban areas whereas the majority of the poor who participated in the struggle for independence are clutched up into small economically unviable agricultural holdings. The poor majority are forced by their circumstances to become perpetual farm labourers or sell their small holdings and migrate to other parts of the country in search of livelihood. Their progeny are bound in a vicious of poverty which is inherited and passed on from one generation to another and constitute the bulk of the youthful members of mungiki.

The continued hold on political power by the former collaborators and their offspring in Central Kenya has only helped to perpetuate and entrench social inequities unknown to many people outside the region. This is the reality of the social-economic inequalities that prevail in most parts of Central Kenya. It is this social order that mungiki has been seeking to upset, first through religion and culture, and now violently.

The government is clearly divided on the issue of mungiki. The Prime Minister, Right Hon. Engineer Raila Amolo Odinga, EGH, MP is advocating for structured dialogue with the sect whereas some members of the cabinet have openly supported the use of force to decimate mungiki. Just what is the right anecdote to this problem?

At its inception the mungiki sect was basically a communal outfit whose main agenda was the economic emancipation of Kikuyu families that had been forcibly evicted from their homes in Rift Valley Province owing to the political tensions of the late 1980s. Its initial disciples were young people who had lost land; their only means of livelihood in parts of Laikipia and Nakuru Districts. Their families could not go back to their ancestral homes having sold their small holdings and left Mt. Kenya region in pursuit of economic fortunes in the expansive Rift Valley Province. The sect has now graduated from a social cultural religious outfit into a formidable political force in Nairobi, Central Province and parts of Eastern and Rift Valley Provinces. The sect espouses pseudo-communist ideals clothed in socio-cultural epithets of communal justice and equity. This is why it continues to appeal to many landless, homeless and jobless youth. Its members sometimes use violence and threats of use of force to eke out a living by extorting money from farmers and traders in Central Kenya, Nairobi and parts of Rift Valley and Eastern Provinces. I have argued elsewhere that this is criminal and should be dealt with as such.

Anybody calling for the use of force to annihilate mungiki is prescribing a simplistic solution to what is now a complex social problem in the country. Mungiki easily appeals to the landless, homeless and jobless youth. The political class has perpetually taken advantage of their privileged positions to exploit members of the sect and sometimes employ them to provide security for parliamentary and civic candidates during elections. These politicians who also use mungiki to perform unpleasant tasks have never bothered to address the root cause of the social, economic and political grievances of its members.

To suggest that mungiki should be wiped out through the use of force of arms is to imply that the state can use its instruments of force to wipe out the entire stratum of the poor, displaced landless and homeless people in Nairobi, Eastern, Rift Valley and Central Provinces. This position is irrational and untenable under Customary International Law which postulates the raison de etre for the modern nation state. It does not matter how many young people are killed by the police in the name of fighting mungiki; the sect will no die as long as its ideals continue to appeal to the poor and the downtrodden. I have argued in the past that the traditional crime intelligence efforts do not seem to be bearing any fruits with the sect. If anything, indiscriminate extra-judicial killing of members of mungiki have only served to increase the level of complacency, tolerance and sympathy towards the sect by members of the general populace in Nairobi, Rift Valley, Central and Eastern Provinces. The security agencies must therefore adopt new approaches to detect, apprehend and prevent the crimes perpetrated by the sect.

The political class must now demonstrate a genuine desire to address the land question in Kenya as well as the attendant social and economic inequities in the country. The Rt. Hon. Eng. Raila Odinga should create a politico-legal framework to engage mungiki in structured dialogue. He must be ready to tackle and upset the prevailing socio-political and economic order in Nairobi, Central Kenya, Eastern and Rift Valley Provinces. This might include a proposal for radical Constitutional and legal reforms to cater for land redistribution in some parts of the country. The Hon. Prime Minister will need all the energy and the goodwill he can muster to confront the current political, religious and business leadership in these regions who have historically benefited from this highly flawed socio-political and economic order.

COMPLETE HOUSEWIVES FOR SOLDIERS- RESPONSE TO KWAMCHETSI MAKHOKHA

Hi Makhokha,

Your piece in the Saturday Nation of April 26, 2008 refers. Let me first make you know what an "Army Housewife" is.

Makhoha you and Dipesh Pabari are just trying to be cheeky. "Housewife" may not really make sense to an ordinary civilian and does not carry the meaning you and Dipesh are insinuating. It is an important asset to a soldier in the battlefield and is one of the mandatory items for a full battle order. It is actually an assortment of items ordinarily used by housewives to repair and stitch worn out clothes and garments. It is a small cloth bag containing needles and threads to help soldiers do their own sewing. The name originated in England and is rooted in the English culture and depicts the traditional role of an English housewife. It is important for a soldier who is likely to be away from home for long. So; stop being cheeky. I have attached a picture to help you understand what an "Army Housewife" is.

What bothers me most Mr. Makhokha is the level of ignorance you have displayed in this matter. You have used very many words (235 to be exact) to bring triviality into prominence. I think your piece is a gross abuse of editorial privilege.

I am a writer myself and I have a number of editorials in the Nation and the Standard in my name. I always get baffled by the level of deliberate misinformation which most of you in the 4th Estate take our people through. I am not sure if you spent any time looking for a plausible explanation of the kind of item that the MOD had described as a "house wife". If you had cared to call any serving or retired officer or soldier, you would not only have gotten the simple explanation but you would not have used 235 words to make a fool of yourself. You used good newspaper space to make news of a very petty matter. If you had just taken a few minutes to desk research (i.e. google) you would also have gotten the answer. Your piece clearly depicts a person who has never read anything about war or military history. And many Kenyan media people don't read if the misinformation I read regarding matters legal and military is anything to go by. And that is probably why professionals who research on factual matters rarely get publication space.

I want to imagine in your favour that you just wanted to make fun and create laughter. You did not pull that through because on Friday, the Standard had published an explanation of what the item is all about. To Officers and Soldiers, your piece is not any funny. Just what level of intelligence do you think is required before enlistment? Do you really know what it means to have both the mental and physical aptitude to serve in the Armed forces? Are you suggesting that Military Officers and Soldiers would need help in social blending and etiquette? I can assure you Makhoha, that you are very wrong on this one. Pay a visit to any Officers' Mess and you surely will revise your erroneous impression.

The saving grace is that you are not alone in this pettiness. When I was doing my time offering legal advice to officers and soldiers in the Kenya Air Force & Kenya Army, I used to hear snide remarks from senior officers regarding some professions but brushed them off.
Now I know why generals said that to advance in some professions, one has to major in pettiness.

KENYANS SHOULD REJECT POLITICAL & ELECTORAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The problems that afflict women in this country range from gender based violence, poverty, discrimination, illiteracy to food insecurity inter alia. Women candidates have so far borne the brunt of electoral violence which has reared its ugly head once again this year. Violence has so far claimed the life of one female parliamentary aspirant and left scores of others nursing serious injuries. This is without counting hundreds of women who have been killed or displaced by politically instigated ethnic clashes in Mt. Elgon, Kuresoi, Molo and Tana River Districts. Everywhere in Kenya women have been victims of violence. In every election year, they are and often have been raped, mutilated, murdered, verbally abused and forced into prostitution and other social vice.

To stop violence against women, our society needs to look at itself and challenge those values and beliefs that reinforce male violence. Most gender based violence is inextricably linked to male power, privilege and control. In many African communities, gender based violence has long been tolerated, letting the perpetrators go unpunished, their crime tacitly condoned. Violence against women derives essentially from the lower status accorded to women in the family and society. It is further abetted by ignorance, lack of laws to prohibit violence and inadequate efforts by the state and public officials to enforce existing laws. Based on the anachronistic view that a wife is the property of her husband and that therefore he may do with her whatever he deems fit, legal systems in some African countries have even recognised the husband’s right to chastise or even kill the wife. Such cultural beliefs and traditions only help to perpetuate the idea of male dominance and are not conducive to progress. Where they stand in the path of development, every progressive society should discard them.

Women constitute about 52% of the adult population in Kenya. The government needs to address the problem of gender based violence during elections because women’s participation in the development process especially in politics, economics, health, education and environmental protection is crucial. When women are faced with violence, their ability to participate fully in these and other aspects of development is hampered. In 1985 Kenya hosted the World Conference on Women which raised the issue of violence against woman as a matter of international concern. It also called for legal measures to prevent gender violence and the setting up of a national machinery to deal with the issue. Many Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were thereafter formed by women to address the issue of gender violence. They have and continue to highlight numerous cases of violence against women and the girl child and call for governmental action. In 1994 the Attorney General established a committee to review all laws relating to the status of women in Kenya. In spite of these efforts and historical advantages, Kenya is yet to establish a national body to address gender violence and has continued to lag behind its East African neighbours in ensuring gender parity in public affairs. Although this election has the highest number of women candidates, their impact may not be felt owing to electoral violence. The nomination process was extremely unfair to female aspirants. All the major political parties failed women by declining to condemn or deny party tickets to candidates who perpetrated gender based violence. The Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) and the Kenya Police should deal resolutely with cases of electoral violence against woman. The ECK cannot continue to hide behind the excuse that it lacks the coercive machinery to avert political violence whereas the law gives it explicit power to disqualify candidates who sponsor violence. The police should urgently create a special desk to receive complaints, investigate and dispose of cases of electoral violence directed against women. Voters too must reject candidates who promote partake in gender based violence. A society that disfranchises more than half of its productive membership from participation in its political, social and economic development is a threat to itself. Kenyans cannot afford to take this risk.

PROTECTING BUSINESSES AGAINST CASH FRAUDS

Cash larceny is the commonest type of fraud simply because cash is easy to steal and hard to trace. The situation is even more critical for entities with decentralised business units spread far and wide away from the centre of operations. Employees may be tempted to steal money collected from customers without recording the transaction, collect revenue using two sets of receipt books or even issue official receipts and pocket the money. Like all other frauds, cash pilfering occurs where an employee has an opportunity, motive and rationale for fraud. To eliminate or minimise cash frauds, a manager should close every possible window of opportunity. Leaving a window open with cash lying around is tempting even to the most pious including angels. The simplistic way of avoiding cash frauds is to eliminate use of cash in transactions. This is however not practical in an economy where most businesses and people are accustomed to “real money” (cash) instead of cheques and credit cards. Managers should post well paid and trained staff, know all their sources revenue and ensure that cash received at far-off branches is recorded and accounted for using official, serialised and sequential cash receipts. Surprise cash counts and impromptu audits should be conducted periodically. Generic manual receipts should be avoided and use of sequentially numbered receipts should be reviewed regularly. Reconciliation of bank deposits by decentralised locations should be done promptly. If there is no bank in the proximity, the manager should ensure that regular, secure and timely cash repatriation is done using established couriers and a record of each transaction sent to headquarters. A single person should never be left in charge of billing, cash receipting, adjustment and accounting in a decentralised location. Angry, lowly-paid, in-disciplined and poorly trained staff should never be put in charge of far-flung branches. They are likely to steal to get even with the organisation. Without proper financial records, fraud can only be detected as matter of chance and there is no practical method of quantifying the loss in the event of theft. Records make it easier to detect fraud, quantify loss and take action against the perpetrator. Documents are the best type of real evidence for any subsequent prosecution or administrative action against a delinquent employee. Documents leave a trail, tell a story and are dependable. Unlike individual witnesses, documents do not forget or lie and cannot be persuaded or confused.

PRESIDENT KIBAKI IS RIGHT; HON. MUTAHI KAGWE HAS DONE WELL IN MUKURWE-INI.

In a rare political gesture, President Mwai Kibaki over the weekend complimented the Member of Parliament MP for Mukurwe-ini and Minister for Information and Communications, Hon. Mutahi Kagwe. Some sections of the media reported that the president had endorsed the minister as his point-man in the Central Kenya and campaigned for his re-election at the exclusion of other aspirants. This is a misconception. Before the president spoke a number of local leaders including the immediate former MP, Muhika Mutahi had addressed the public and extolled the development record of the minister. They publicly announced that they had withdrawn from the race and were supporting the minister’s re-election due to his exemplary development record. And they are right. Since his election as the MP for Mukurwe-ini, Hon. Mutahi Kagwe has mobilised professionals, intellectuals and opinion leaders from all parts of the constituency and harnessed their energies to uplift the living standards of the local people. He is a very rare breed in politics. He is a visionary who works with all leaders including his opponents for the benefit of the people. During his tenure as MP for Mukurwe-ini, the residents have seen the revival of stalled water projects, educational institutions, health centres, rural electrification, construction of modern rural markets, administrative and security posts and grading of access roads. He has actively supported farmers in the coffee, dairy and horticultural sectors. Mukurwe-ini, which was considered a hardship area by people of the greater Nyeri has now become a beehive of economic activity and will soon have its first industry for the production of animal feeds. In contrast with other constituencies, the minister has been very accountable in the use of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). To avoid wrangles, he left the management of the fund in the hands of the local leaders. The accounts of the CDF are published in the Constituency Website for all to see. Residents are able to participate and question the manner in which the money is spent. At the national level Hon. Mutahi’s tenure as Minister for Information and Communications has seen the extension of broadcasting services to the residents of outlying districts such as Turkana and Lamu. His Ministry has other visionary and ambitious projects such as the expansion of digital villages into the rural areas and training of entrepreneurs. President Kibaki must be pleased by the work of his minister and that is why he urged the residents of Mukurwe-ini to appreciate and reward the good work of their industrious MP.

IS KIBAKI A TRIBALIST? THINK AGAIN

It appears that the media are following Kikuyus everywere. Even if a Kikuyu gets appointed to the position of Director of Public Toilets, they will criticise it as further evidence of tribalism. It is as if Kikuyus are not Kenyans. Send this to all peace loving Kenyans. Let us shame those who are preaching tribalism and spreading hatred and ethnic genocide against some communities in our our country Kenya. I hope the Weekly Citizen will have the guts to publish this one. Prove that your editorial policy is not guided or driven by a tribal agenda aimed at raising genocidal feelings towards a section of the Kenyan Society.

Kibaki's government is far from Kenyatta as those who were there will attest. It is also radically different from Moi's. I was surprised to find that some of the leading institutions are not being run by Kikuyus, given all the reports about Kikuyu domination. NSSF, Kenya Airways, Defence, Police, Kenya Ports Authority, University of Nairobi, Kenya Polytechnic, Public Prosecutions, Kenya Wildlife Serivice, KARI, TSC, etc.

The appointment of Prof. Ndungu has been used to show that non-Kikuyus have been sidelined and have not been appointed to any important position in the government and its institutions. Nothing could be further from the truth as the list below shows clearly.

Note: the so called GEMA people are not included and not all the parastals, directorates and departments are represented here. Also not included are lots and lots of Chairmen appointed by the President.

Judge for yourselves.

Managing Directors/Chief Executives of Government firms
Hosea Sitienei, MD, Kenya Seed Corporation
Ongong’a Achieng , MD , Kenya Tourist Board
Martin Oduor-Otieno, MD, Kenya Commercial Bank
Titus Naikuni , MD , Kenya Airways
Kioko Mang’eli , MD , Kenya Bureau of Standards
Evans Kidero, MD, Mumias Sugar Co
Mr. Steven G. Smith,MD, Eveready Limited
Mr. V.D. Saboo, Executive Director, Panafrican Paper Mills, Webuye
Mr. Joseph Lithimbi, General Manager of Associated Vehicle Assemblers, Mombasa
Mr. Wasiu Bayo Ligali, Chief Executive Officer , Unilever Kenya
O.P. Narang, MD, Agro-chemical Food Company
Davy Koech, Director/CEO, Kenya Medical Research Institute
Victor Kidiwa, MD, Development Bank of Kenya
Mr Matanda Wabuyele, CEO, Kenya Export Promotion Council
Susan Kikwai, Managing Director, Kenya Investment Authority
Philp Kisia , MD , Kenyatta International Conference Centre
I.B Mogaka, Executive Secretary, ICDC
Albert. O. Gumo, CEO, Export Processing Zones Authority
George Okungu, MD, Kenya Pipeline Company
Obondo Kajumbi, MD, Kenya Tourism Development Corporation
Rachel Lumbasyo, Managing Trustee, NSSF
Julius Nyabundi, MD, Chemilil Sugar Company
William Kirwa, MD, Agricultural Development Corporation
Wilson Songa, MD, Horticultural Crops Development Authority
Ambrose Otieno, MD, South Nyanza Sugar Company
Nicholas Keya , MD , Kenya Sugar Research Foundation
Josphat Okoyo, MD, Nzoia Sugar Company
Tirop Kosgey , MD , National Cereals and Produce Board
Abdalla Mwaruwa , MD , Kenya Ports Authority
Martin O. Owiti, MD, Pyrethrum Board of Kenya
Francis Oyugi Okuku, MD, Kenya Wine Agencies
Emanuel Charo Birya, MD, East African Portland Cement Factory
James Abok Odera, MD, National Housing Corporation
Juma Lugogo, MD, Coast Development Authority
Bartholomew W. K. Wanyama, MD, Lake Basin Development Authority
John Omutia Murunga, MD, Kerio Valley Development Authority
Francis M. Nkako, MD, Uaso Nyiro South Development Authority
Abdulrazaq A. Ali, MD, Uaso Nyiro North Development Authority

Vice-Chancellors of Public Universities
Prof. G.A.O. Magoha, Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi
Prof. James Kiprop Tuikoek, Vice-Chancellor, Egerton University
PROF. RICHARD K. MIBEY, VICE CHACELLOR, MOI UNIVERSITY
Frederick N. Onyango, Vice-Chancellor, Maseno University
Prof. B.C.C. Wangila, Vice-Chancellor, Masinde Muliro University

Principals of Public Middle-Level Colleges and National Polytechnics
Dr Timothy King’ondu, Director, Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC)
Mr.Charles Imbali, Principal, Kenya Technical Teachers College
Mr G M Muthwale, Principal , Kenya Polytechnic
Mr. C.K. Lagat, Principal, Eldoret Polytechnic
Mr Francis Imbo Awuor, Principal, Kisumu Polytechnic,
Mr.Matu Nguli, Principal, Kenya Institute of Mass Communication
Mr C T Owour, Principal, Mombasa Polytechnic
Philemon Mwisaka, Principal, Kenya Utalii College

Permanent Secretaries
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of State for Public Service: MR. TITUS M. NDAMBUKI, H.S.C.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of State for Special Programmes: MRS. RACHEL A. ARUNGAH
Permanent Secretary, Immigration and Registration of Persons: MR. EMMANUEL M. KISOMBE
Permanent Secretary, Public Service Reform and Development Secretariat: MS. JOYCE NYAMWEYA
Private Secretary/Comptroller of State Houses: MR. HYSLOP IPU
Principal Administrative Secretary, Cabinet Office: MR. FRANCIS K. MUSYIMI
Public Communications Secretary/Government Spokesman: DR. ALFRED N. MUTUA
Inspector –General, Inspectorate of State Corporations: MR. PETER B. ONDIEKI
Permanent Secretary, Office of the President, AMB. NANCY C. KIRUI
Permanent Secretary, Office of the Vice-President: MRS. ALICE KEMUNTO MAYAKA
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government: MR. SOLOMON S. BOIT
Investment Secretary, Ministry of Finance: MRS. ESTHER KOIMET
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health: (DR.) HEZRON O. NYANGITO
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Roads and Public Works: AMB. MOHAMED MAALIM MAHAMUD
Education Secretary: (PROF.) GEORGE IMBANGA GODIA
Permanent Secretary, Science and Technology: (PROF). CRISPUS MAKAU KIAMBA
Permanent Secretary, Livestock Development: (DR). JACOB OLE MIARON
Permanent Secretary, Justice & Constitutional Affairs: MS. DOROTHY N. ANGOTE
Permanent Secretary, East African Community: AMB. (DR.) HUKKA WARIO
Permanent Secretary, Gender Sports, Culture and Social Services: RACHEL B. DZOMBO (MRS.)
Permanent Secretary, Info rmation and Communications: (DR.) BITANGE NDEMO
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water: ENG. MAHBOUB M. MAALIM
Permanent Secretary for Regional Development: ENG. DAVID STOWER
Permanent Secretary for Trade and Industry: MR. DAVID S.O. NALO
Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife: MRS. REBECCA M. NABUTOLA
Permanent Secretary for Lands: MR. KOMBO MWERO,
Permanent Secretary for Housing: MR. TIROP KOSGEY
Permanent Secretary for Environment: (PROF.) JAMES OLE KIYIAPI
Permanent Secretary for Labour and Human Resources: MR. MARK K. BOR
Permanent Secretary, Cooperative Development and Mark eting: MR. PATRICK S. KHAEMBA
Permanent Secretary: (DR.) EDWARD SAMBILI
Secretary, Public Service Commission of Kenya : MRS. BERNADETTE M. NZIOKI

Directors of Government Departments:
Director of National Youth Service: MR. JAPHETH K. MWANIA
Director of Medical Services: (DR.) JAMES W. NYIKAL
Chief of Protocol: AMB. BRUCE M. MADETE
Director of Kenya Wildlife Service: DR. JULIUS K. KIPNGETICH
Commissioner of Lands: MRS. JUDITH MARILYN OKUNGU
Director of Housing: (DR.) JULIUS M. MALOMBE
Director of Public Prosecutions: MR. KERIAKO TOBIKO
Director of E-Government: DR. SYLVANUS JUMA OKECH
David Isoe, Director, Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) Coordinating Board
Johnson Kazungu, Director, Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute
P.K. Konuche, Director, Kenya Forestry Research Institute
Idle Omar Farah, Director, National Museum of Kenya
Avington Muusya Mwinzi, Director, Kenya National Environment Management Authority
Dr. Ephraim A. Mukisira, Director, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
C.J. Kedera, Director, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service
G.K. Kingoria, Director, National Council of Science and Technology
Philemon Arodi Abong’o, Director, Kenya Sports Stadia Management Board

Defence
Chief of General Staff: GENERAL JEREMIAH MUTINDA KIANGA
Commander, Kenya Air Force: MAJOR GENERAL HAROLD MWAKIO TANGAI,
Commander, Kenya Navy: MAJOR GENERAL SAMSON JEFWA. MWATHETHE

Police
Commissioner of Police: MAJOR GENERAL MOHAMED HUSSEIN ALI
Commandant, Anti-Stock Theft Unit: MR. NICHOLAS NYAKWAMA OMBATI
Commandant, Traffic Police: Mr. Daudi J. Kyalo
Commandant, Kenya Police College : MR. BERNARD K. KEMEY
Commandant , Kenya Railways Police: Mr. Francis Changwany
Commandant, Central Province : MR. PETER M.LEIYAN
Commandant, Rift Valley Police: EVERRET WASIGE
Commandant, Nyanza Police: GRACE SYOMBUA KAINDI
Commandant, Western Province Police: Mr. ABDUL MAKA MZEE
Commandant, Eastern Province Police: JONATHAN KIPKURUI KOSKEI
Commissioner of Prisons: MR. GILBERT MIDHUNE OMONDI

Speaker of the National Assembly
Speaker: THE HON. K.F.X. OLE KAPARO, E.G.H.

Head of Government Specialized Agency
Samuel Kivuitu, Executive Chairman, National Electoral Commission
Priscilla Komora, Controller and Auditor-General , Kenya National Audit Office
JIbrahim Hussein, Executive Chairman, Teachers Service Commission
Prof. Everett Standa, Secretary, Commission for Higher Education

Judiciary;
Judges of Court of Appeal
Hon. Mr. Justice E. O'Kubasu
Hon. Mr. Justice R.S.C. Omolo
Hon. Mr. Justice S.E.O. Bosire
Hon. Mr. Justice P.K. Tunoi
Hon. Mr. Justice Philip Waki
Hon. Mr. Justice J.W. Onyango Otieno
Hon. Mr. Justice William Deverell

Judges of the High Court (Puisne Judges)
Hon. Mr. Justice John. M. Khamoni
Hon. Lady Justice J. Aluoch
Hon. Mr. Justice John. A. Osiemo
Hon. Mr. Justice John. W. Mwera
Hon. Lady Justice M. A. Anga'awa
Hon. Lady Justice J. W. Lesiit
Hon. Mr. Justice Muga Apondi
Hon. Lady Justice H. M. Okwengu
Hon. Lady Justice R. P. V. Wendo
Hon. Justice Kaburu Banui
Hon. Mr. Justice B.K. arap Tanui
Hon. Mr. Justice William Ouko
Hon. Lady Justice K.H. Rawal
Hon. Mr. Justice A. R. M. Visram
Hon. Mr. Justice D. A. Onyacha
Hon. Mr. Justice N. R. O Ombija
Hon. Mr. Justice J. K. Sergon
Hon. Lady Justice J. N. Khaminwa
Hon. Prof. Justice O. K. Mutungi
Hon. Mr. Justice B. K. Kubo
Hon. Mr. Justice M. K. Ibrahim
Hon. Prof. Justice J. B. Ojwang
Hon. Mr. Justice David K. Maraga
Hon. Mr. Justice George M. A. Dulu
Hon. Lady Justice Mary M. Kasango
Hon. Mr. Justice Daniel K. Musinga
Hon. Mr. Justice Isaac Lenaola
Hon. Mr. Justice J. A. Emukule
Hon. Mr. Justice F. Azangalala
Hon. Mr. Justice F. A. Ochieng
Hon. Mr. Justice S. A. Makhandia
Hon. Mr. Justice M. A. Warsame
Hon. Lady Justice Ruth Sitati

Central Bank of Kenya
Deputy Governor: Mrs. Jacinta Wanjala Mwatela, Appointed May 12, 2005
Mr. Jones Makau Nzomo, Director of Finance and Resource Pl ann ing Department
Mr. Aggrey Jonathan K. Bett, Director, Banking Department
Mr. Nicholas Bartuiyot Tirop Arap Korir, Director, Economics Department
Mr. Jackson M. Kitili, Director,Monetary Operations & Debt Management Department
Mr. Edwin Luke Ogola, Director,Currency Operations & Branch Administration Department
Mr. Cheloti Kakai, Director, Director, Deposit Protection Fund Board
Mr. Charles Onami Maranga, Director of Administration & Human Resources

Chairmen
Hassan Ole Kamwaro, Chairman of the Transport Licensing Board
James Simani, Public Complaints Committee
Titus Mbathi, KENGEN
Leonard Mwangola, Kenya Revenue Authority

Kenya Revenue Authority

Mr. Mumo Matemu, Commissioner for Support Services
Mr. Fidelis Mullei, Commissioner for Domestic Taxes Department
Mr. Simeon Ole Kirgotty, Commissioner/ Registrar of Motor Vehicles


Chancellors of Universities
Prof. Bethwel Ogot, Moi University
Prof. Ali Mazrui, JKUCAT
Dr. Wamalwa, Maseno University
Dr. Philip Mule, Kenyatta University
Eng. Hon. Samuel K. Arap Ng’eny, Masinde Muliro University
Dr. Mohammed Isahakia, Vice-Chairman, Masinde Muliro University

KENYA AMBASSADORS
1. ADDIS ABABA -H.E. MR. FRANKLIN ESIPILA
2. CAIRO -H.E. DANIEL OCHIENG MACDWALLO
3. DAR-ES-SALAAM- H.E. MR. BOAZ K. MBAYA
4. GABORONE- H.E. MR. CHARLES ALBERT MBAKA
5. HARARE-H.E. JOHN ABDUBA
6. KAMPALA -H.E. MR. JAPHETH RATEMO GETUGI
7. KHARTOUM-H.E. COL. (RTD.) ELIJAH MALEKYA MATIBO
8. KIGALI -H.E. MR. ALEX A. KETTER
9. KINSHASA -H.E. MR. KARUCHU SYLVESTER M. GAKUMU
10. ABUJA- H.E. MR. DANIEL MEPUKORI KOIKAI
11. LUSAKA- H.E. MR. LAZARUS O. AMAYO
12. UNEP- H.E. MR. WELLINGTON P. GODO
13. HABITAT-H.E. MR. SOLOMON KARANJA
14. SOMALIA -H.E. MR. MOHAMED ABDI AFFEY
15. PRETORIA -H.E. MRS. TABITHA JEPTOO SEII
16. WINDHOEK-H.E. MS. ROSE BOIT
17. BEIJING -H.E. MRS. RUTH SERETI SOLITEI
18. CANBERRA -H.E. MR. JOHN LEPI LANYASUNYA
19. ISLAMABAD -H.E. MRS. MISHI MASIKA MWATSAHU
20. KUALA LUMPUR -H.E. MR. DAVID GACHOKI NJOKA
21. NEW DELHI -H.E. MR. FRANCIS BAYA
22. TOKYO -H.E. MR. DENNIS AWORI
23. BRUSSELS -H.E. MR. MARX GAD NJUGUNA KAHENDE
24. BERLIN -H.E. MR. HARRY MUTUMA KATHURIMA
25. GENEVA- H.E. PROF. MARIA NZOMO
26. HAGUE-H.E. MS. KALIMI MUGAMBI MWORIA
27. LONDON -H.E. MR. JOSEPH K. MUCHEMI
28. MOSCOW -H.E. DR. SOSPETER MAGITA MACHAGE
29. PARIS-H.E. MS. RAYCHELLE AWUOR OMAMO
30. ROME -H.E. MRS. ANNE BELINDA NYIKULI
31. STOCKHOLM -H.E. MRS. PURITY WAKIURU MUHINDI
32. VIENNA -H.E. MR. JULIUS KIPLAGAT KANDIE
33. NEW YORK- H.E. ZACHARY D. MUBURI -MUITA
34. OTTAWA- H.E. PROF. JUDITH M. BAHEMUKA
35. WASHINGTON- H.E. PETER NICHOLAS RATENG’ OGEGO
36. ABU DHABI- H.E. BISHAR ABDIRAHMAN HUSSEIN
37. RIYADH -H.E. MR. ABUBAKAR ABDI OGLE
38. TEHRAN- H.E. MR. ALI ABBAS
39. TEL AVIV- H.E. MS. FELISTAS VUNORO KHAYUMBI
40. KENYA CONSULATE , LOS ANGELES- MS. MARY NYAMBURA KAMAU
41. LIBYA -H.E. MR. EPHRAIM WAWERU NGARE
42. BRAZIL- H.E. MR. PIUS NAMACHANJA
43. THAILAND -H.E. DR. RICHARD TITUS EKAI
44. JUBA- P. K. ANGORE

Ministers
VICE-PRESIDENT AND MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: THE HON. DR. ARTHUR MOODY AWORI,
Minister of State, Ministry of State for National Heritage: THE HON. SULEIMAN R. SHAKOMBO,
Minister of State, Ministry of State for Youth Affairs: THE HON. DR. MOHAMMED A. KUTI,
Minister for Local Government: THE HON. MUSIKARI N. KOMBO
Minister for Health: THE HON. CHARITY KALUKI NGILU,
Minister for Roads and Public Works: THE HON. SIMEON NYACHAE
Minister for Science and Technology: THE HON. (DR). NOAH M. WEKESA
Minister of State for Public Service: THE HON. MOSES AKARANGA, E.G.H
Minister of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons: THE HON. GIDEON S. KONCHELAH
Minister for Agriculture: THE HON. KIPRUTO RONO ARAP KIRWA
Minister for Livestock Development: THE HON. JOSEPH KONZOLLO MUNYAO
Minister, Foreign Affairs: THE HON. RAPHAEL TUJU
Minister, East African Community: THE HON. JOHN KIPSANG ARAP KOECH
Minister for Transport: THE HON. (AMB. ) CHIRAU ALI MWAKWERE
Minister for Water Development: THE HON. JOHN MUTUA KATUKU
Minister for Regional Development Authorities: THE HON. MOHAMED ABDI MOHAMUD
Minister for Trade and Industry: THE HON. (DR.) MUKHISA KITUYI
Minister for Tourism and Wildlife: THE HON. MORRIS M. DZORO
Minister for Lands (ag): THE HON. (PROF.) KIVUTHA KIBWANA
Minister for Housing: THE HON. PETER SOITA SHITANDA
Minister for Environment: THE HON. (PROF.) KIVUTHA KIBWANA
Minister for Labour and Human Resources: THE HON. (DR.) NEWTON KULUNDU
Minister for Pl ann ing and National Development: THE HON. HENRY O. OBWOCHA
Attorney-General: THE HON. S. AMOS WAKO,

Assistant Ministers
Assistant Minister for Provincial Administration: THE HON. JOSEPH KAHINDI KINGI, M.P.
Assistant Minister for Public Service: THE HON. BONIFACE MGANGA, M.P.
Assistant Minister, Ministry of State for Defence: THE HON. STEPHEN K. TARUS, M.P.
Assistant Minister, Immigration and Registration of Persons: THE HON. ANANIAH MWABOZA
Assistant Minister, Ministry of State for Special Programmes: THE HON. WARIO ALI, M.P.
Assistant Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs: THE HON. SAMUEL MOROTO,
Assistant Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs: THE HON. HUSSEIN MAALIM MOHAMMED,
Assistant Minister, Ministry of State for Youth Affairs: THE HON. KATOO J. OLE METITO,
Assistant Minister for Urban Authorities: THE HON. ISAACK A. SHAABAN
Assistant Minister for Medical Services: THE HON. (DR.) WILFRED G. MACHAGE
Assistant Minister for Public Health: THE HON. (DR.) ENOCK W. KIBUNGUCHY
Assistant Minister for Public Works: THE HON. HUSSEIN T. SASURA,
Assistant Minister, Science and Technology: THE HON. UKUR KANACHO YATANI
Assistant Minister for Research and Extension Services: THE HON. PETER KAINDI
Assistant Minister for Livestock Development: THE HON. STEPHEN OLE NTUTU, M.P.
Assistant Minister for Fisheries Development: THE HON. MOHAMED ABU CHIABA
Assistant Minister, Justice and Constitutional Affairs: THE HON. DANSON B. MUNGATANA,
Assistant Minister for International Affairs: THE HON. MOSES WETANGULA,
Assistant Minister, East African Community: THE HON. ((DR.) BONI KHALWALE
Assistant Minister for Gender and Social Services: THE HON. MRS. ALICEN J.R. CHELAITE
Assistant Minister for Sports: THE HON. JOEL O. ONYANCHAH
Assistant Minister for Communications: THE HON. DAVID WERE
Assistant Minister for Water Services: THE HON. MAJOR (Rtd.) ADEN A. SUGOW
Assistant Minister for Water Resources Management: THE HON. RAPHAEL WANJALA
Assistant Minister for Trade: THE HON. ABDIRAHMAN ALI HASSAN
Assistant Minister for Wildlife: THE HON. RICHARD KALEMBE NDILE
Assistant Minister for Lands: THE HON. ASMAN A. KAMAMA
Assistant Minister for Labour Relations: THE HON. SAMMY P. LESHORE,
Assistant Minister for Manpower Management: THE HON. ADELINA N. MWAU
Assistant Minister for Pl ann ing: THE HON. DAVID EKWEE ETHURO
Assistant Minister for National Development: THE HON. JOHN B. SERUT

This is what ODM-Kenya diehards would not have us see. The name of the game is trying to win votes using fear and disinformation, apparently the focus of the campaign being illiterate Kenyans. Kenyans are in dire need of a party that has a roadmap for building Kenya and uplifting it's citizens. Unfortunately both Narc and ODM lack in these aspects.
The furture does indeed seem bleak.

Twitter: @DeCaptainCFE