Here is why Kenyan’s often pay more

We often pay more because of dishonesty

Right now everybody is wondering when the political tension in this country will simmer. It has taken like forever for us to get it over and done with! However, it doesn’t seem to go away. We are back to where we were last year, “IEBC Must Go!”

IEBC commisioners

Back then, the commission was led by Isaac Hassan.  The chairperson is currently Mr. Chabukati, and yet, after pushing for reforms late last year, the August 8 polls were nevertheless rigged. What could be the problem; is it the candidates, the commission or the system?

Come to think of it; we always pay more for virtually everything. Our elections are the most expensive in the East African region, if not the continent, yet we are not the most populous nation and our elections are not the best either. Our SGR is the most expensive in the region, but it is neither the longest nor the best!

Polls and Money

IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba at an interview with Capital FM

For the August 8, polls, our electoral agency paid the Dubai-based Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing Company Sh2.5 billion tender to print ballot papers. This figure is more than twice the price paid by our closest neighbors Tanzania and Uganda, which both had their elections in the recent past.

While we spent an average of slightly over Sh20 per piece, our neighbors paid somewhat less than Kshs. 9. 50. However, the  August 8 price is lower than the $3 billion the Isaac Hassan led commission paid to the British Printing firm Smith & Ouzman for the 2013 polls. The tender to the British printer later mutated into the infamous Chickengate Scandal, and the company’s directors are since serving their jail terms in the UK. Back at home, the people who implicated in the scandal are free citizen, save for the former Commission CEO Mr. Oswago who is facing charges.

The new look of the 1000 shillings note

The IEBC chief executive officer Ezra Chiloba, however, downplayed the price difference. In an interview with Capital FM radio, he said the country was getting value for its money.

“If you look at the type of ballot papers that we have, it’s closer almost to our currency. Also, the price being determined by the size; the size being determined by the number of candidates. So the prices will vary. You cannot just say that we are paying much more than other countries. Kenya is not Tanzania. Kenya is not Uganda, “he explained.

The new look of the 50 shillings note

The October rerun surrounded by uncertainties has already cost us close to Shs. 12 billion. The information is still scanty, but we understand that that the French firm offering IT Services OT Mopho has already pocketed Shs.2.5 billion.

Are you are still wondering why the IEBC indicted personnel won’t step aside in the sight of glaring inefficiency? It is all about money! The commission controls a lot of money, and there is interest from all quarters. Chiloba would rather die than leave that office. At least not now that he still enjoys the government’s unreserved support!

The New Currency

The new look of the 100 shillings note

Our country lost close to Shs. 2.5 billion in a currency printing fiasco. The Bonny Khalwale led Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that investigated the multi-billion shillings scandal discovered that the Bank Governor Njuguna Ndung’u opted for the higher rates that the government used to pay in 2002.

As we speak, the printing of a new-look currency in line with the constitutional requirement, according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), is set to cost the country Sh18 billion. The current CBK Governor Peter Njoroge said the blueprints are already available.

The Constitution rejects the use of images of the country’s presidents or images of any individuals on currency. Article 231(4) of the constitution states that notes and coins issued by the CBK may bear images that depict of symbolizing an aspect of Kenya but shall not bear any individual’s portrait

The demonetization was expected to begin last month, but the CBK had to shelve the idea because of the prolonged electioneering period.

 

The new look of the 500 shillings note

“It is not advisable to issue new currencies towards an election. It can cause disruption and poor acceptance of the new currency,” alluded Dr. Njoroge.

There has been a feeling that some people have naturally been misled to think this country is theirs while others are guests. Therefore, the move which now requires notes and coins to only bear images that depict or symbolize an aspect of Kenya bores well with communities whose sons or daughters have never ascended to the presidency.

The new look of the 200 shillings note

But back to our story, in Kenya, every project has always come at an extra cost. It is only a matter of time before we discover a scandal in the printing of the new currency.

The most expensive second tire SGR

Kenya paid $3.8 billion (Sh380.4 billion) for SGR with diesel-powered locomotives upgradable into electric in future. Besides, the government spent Sh11.7 billion on land acquisition. Our SGR is slightly over 470 kilometers long. The diesel-powered engine speeds are 120 km/hr for passenger train and 80 km/h for freight.

SGR Freight

SGR Passenger

At the cost of $3.4 billion, Ethiopia built an electric SGR. The 750 km Ethiopia-Djibouti line was unveiled in Oct 2016. It now links Addis Ababa to the Red Sea port city of Djibouti. The train travels at 120 km/hr, cutting down the time taken between the two points from three days by road to about 12 hours.

Tanzania has just launched its electric railway project, designed to support a maximum speed of 160km per hour for passenger trains and 120km per hour for freight. The SGR is expected to be operational in about 30 months. The project will cost $1.92 billion, which is almost half the price our country paid for the second tire SGR. The 422-kilometre line, covering the distance from Morogoro to Makutupora, both in central Tanzania, is tipped to transport 17 million tonnes of cargo each year.

There are many other cases out there; you are just yet to identify them. But we Kenyans always pay more for everything. And it is a straightforward reason, corruption!

Final word

In my opinion, we are the most dishonest people, perhaps in Africa, if not world over. We pretend to be religious, but when it comes to politics, we repudiate to our ethnical backgrounds. Though we won’t openly say it, most of us believe, an evil committed by our tribesman is no evil if it benefits my tribe.  The sooner we change this narrative, the sooner we’ll start to live in harmony and develop our nation.

Advertisements

VUMILIA ROHO YANGU

Siku za NASA ni nyakati hizi,
Wenye imani wamewekwa kando
Imani yao ijaribiwe
Bwana naomba utusaidie

Vumilia roho yangu
Teargas, risasi na vifo yamekuwa moto
Yanayochoma imani yetu
Bwana tunaomba utusaidie

Uhuru naye amekazana, Kuharibu tuliyojenga
Tunatoka kwako, Jubilee hapana
Ndani ya NASA tuko salama
Bwana naomba utusaidie

Yesu nifiche nisionekane
Maovu ya Jubilee niyaepuke
Bwana naomba unisaidie

Mungiki in the Guise of the Nairobi Business Committee

The Nairobi Business Association Must Disown the ‘Businessmen’

A group in the City, calling itself the Nairobi Business Community and reminiscent to the infamous National Youth Alliance, has made it its business to disrupt any form of demonstrations within the CBD.

The group first came out on September 26th, vowing to protect businesses against protesters in the impending demos announced by the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition.  They were not your typical businessmen. As one journalist remarked, you would think they were in town for a reggae show! Even if we disregarded their looks, their austere faces left more to wonder than desire, and the social media was awash with hilarious jokes about the ‘businessmen.’

The Nairobi Business Community at past presser

But back to the basics, security is the primary duty of the government, through the police service. As enshrined in the bill of rights, chapter four of the constitution of Kenya (CoK)), in article 29, every Kenyan has a right to security.

In layman, the easiest justification of a government is to protect its citizens from violence against each other and foreign foes. According to Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, the world becomes an unrelentingly insecure without the government to ensure the safety of law and order. It has been proven that when a government relaxes on this duty, the country becomes fragile, and chaos erupts everywhere as the citizens resort despotic options to sort their differences.

From where we sit, we all know too well that the Nairobi Business Community group is the once dreaded Gikuyu sect, the Mungiki. As we speak, the sect has been left to come out and do pressers, and carry out their rituals on live National TV. As a nation, it is evident that we forget very fast! Isn’t this the same Mungiki that ran havoc in most parts of the country, particularly central Kenya? The big question is why the Nairobi Central Business District Association (NCBDA) is yet to disown the group or is the association the employer of this sect?

You can all remember Mr. Gitau Njuguna, spokesman for the National Youth Alliance, the political wing of the Mungiki sect. The young man was gunned down by unknown assailants in downtown Nairobi on November 5, 2009. His death was just one of the various assassinations of the members of the sect that ensued in that year

I suppose the group had become too powerful for its handlers. The handlers then chose to annihilate it. Young men, be advised that the people currently using you to drive their political agenda, are the same individuals who will orchestrate your extinction from the face of the earth to cover their footprints. To them, you are expendable.

My unsolicited advice to the NCBDA is to come out and disown this group as quick as yesterday. The said community will soon start extorting money from your businesses in the City in the guise of protection fee.

As for the ‘businessmen,’ kindly learn from our nation’s history. It is only a matter of time before it unravels on you. When that time comes, you’ll remember I told you so!

The One Birthday Gift I must Give Kenyatta

The One Birthday Gift I must Give Uhuru Kenyatta

As we prepare to go to another round of the presidential election, weeks after the Supreme Court annulled the Aug 8 polls, I wanted to appreciate the role you’ve played in what many the world consider as a successful life and political career. Virtually every voter in this country knows of the wisdom and influence you have shared in the fight to nurture democracy and to foster development in this country.

Opposition Chief, Rt, Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga at a previous rallly

First, I thank God that I was born in time to have the opportunity to witness you do great things for this country. I’m grateful that I’m one of your many loyal foot soldiers. While you may not personally know me, I appreciate the faith and confidence you’ve had in me. I must say being your follower is sometimes not easy, given the discrimination, stereotypes and the heavy responsibilities that come with it.

 

Mathare 4A Slums as captured in 2004

Born and raised in the slums, I began following politics at a tender age. I was about 10 when I learnt about you. My father had gone missing. My uncles and other relatives looked for him virtually everywhere. He would two weeks later resurface with the news that the police had arrested him on Saba Saba Day. He had bruises on the face, knees and he could barely walk. I would later learn that he was among the group of people arrested for allegedly participating in an illegal demonstration, agitating for minimum electoral reforms ahead of the 1997 elections. Back then, nothing made sense to me. I often wondered why someone would confront a police who had a rungu. But now that I’m participating on such demos, the second time in less than a year,  I understand it too well.

I started to follow you in 2005 religiously. Back then, I was just a form three student at Ruaraka High School. The country was on a quest to acquire a new constitution. It had spent millions of shillings to develop a people driven constitution, the BOMAS draft, but which the President Kibaki’s regime shelved for its watered version, the WAKO draft. You teamed up with some national leaders to oppose the new draft. It is this group that formed the Orange Democratic Movement, which later morphed into the party that I’m now a proud member.

While I didn’t vote in the 2005 referendum, I couldn’t wait to be part of the decision. I remember how, together with my colleagues in school, I was a proponent of the NO campaign. Most of us were not even voters then, but we were too conscious of the happenings our country. And when the NO vote won, I knew ODM, led by you, was the best side to deliver us the new laws.

After acquiring my ID card in 2007 and subsequently a voter’s card, I needed not to be told the right leader for my beloved country. I knew the person that could deliver us from the culture of corruption and impunity that had inundated the country.

Of course, to me, you are the human right defender, as you often stand by the people. Just to jog your memory, in 2004, as the Minister of Roads, Housing, and Public works, you made a landmark decision that benefited thousands of residents of Mathare 4A, a German-funded project that had been hijacked by the cartels. You intervened and declared that the old houses be rented at Kshs. 200 and the new semi-permanent houses at Kshs. 400. The project had been charging as much as Kshs. 2,000 per month failure to which would lead to eviction and confiscation of household stuff. 

Since then, the decision has been used to politically against you. Your opponents warn landlords that you would interfere with their businesses if you become the president. What even inspires more confidence is that this has not deterred you a little bit from coming out strongly against the landlords exploiting their tenants.

As a leader, I’ve never known you to trade your belief for votes as other leaders do.  Neither are you known to back down. The only one time you backed down was back in 2008, just after the 2007 elections that were followed by violence. You settled for the Prime Minister position, against the wish of the people and your supporters. Once again, you put your ambition on the line for the greater good of this country. By doing this, you taught me the value of sacrifice as a leader.

In 2010, thanks to you and the international pressure, our country promulgated a new constitution. You were still not the president, yet you rewarded my trust in you.

Courtesy of the new constitutional dispensation, we have two levels of government, with three independent arms, the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. The Parliament and the Judiciary have been empowered to make decisions without the undue influence of the executive.

However, it must not go without mentioning that the current crop of leaders, particularly the members of parliament (MPs), is not conscious of the fact that things have changed. They no longer have to be bootlickers of the presidency to bring development to their constituents. We now have counties that foresee infrastructural development in our localities. I’ve not seen the legislative arm of our government take full advantage of this privilege, though. Instead, the national assembly, and to some extent, the Senate, has become a lapdog of the executive. I hope most of these MPs will realize the duty before them in due time.

If I choose to go that line, I may right forever. Back to you, I understand we are going for another run of the presidential elections. There’s no doubt you have my vote and those of the people I can influence. I want you to understand that while many people from the president’s backyard despise you, there are those who are sober enough not to buy into the primitive propaganda fed to them and they will, therefore, vote for you.

As the fifth president of Kenya, because I believe you will win, don’t lose your path. Remember the foot soldiers that stood with you without questioning your judgment. Don’t forget about the children that were orphaned, the women that were widowed and the soldiers that sustained grievous injuries in the journey to this success. Just as Chief Justice David Maraga alluded, our greatness shall only be determined by our fidelity to the constitution, and you will be the one to lead us to this greatness.

As the adage goes, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear,” well, I’ve been geared up, and you have been my teacher all this while. I want you to know that no matter the outcome of the presidential rerun, the seeds of the excellent leadership you planted in me and the silent majorities will go a long way to help this country.

Again, I thank God that I was born and raised to see you lead this struggle, and Kenyans are indebted to you making our nation a better place than it was years ago.  And for that, please be the gift that I give Uhuru Kenyatta come Oct 26, if indeed it will be the presidential rerun date!

Sincerely,

Walter Oduor (aka Spunner)

Babu Owino vs. Moses Kuria

Babu Owino when he appeared at Mlimani Court on Wednesday

The mistreatment of NASA supporters is not limited to the ordinary Mwananchi. It is extended even to the political and elite class. I understand you already know the misfortunes that have bedeviled the Embakasi East MP, Paul Ongili (aka BabuOwino).

The police arrested the youthful legislature on Monday; he has been in the prison cell since then, albeit being momentarily freed on Wednesday evening on a cash bail of Kshs. 500,000, with two surety of similar an amount. He could not leave the courtroom, as he was rearrested to face fresh charges of assault. One wonders why the charges were not combined and read at once when the prosecutor arraigned him in court.

The manner in which it the arrest was made is also suspicious and is obviously meant to intimidate him and his family, and the NASA coalition. His arrests led to a violent protest at the Mlimani Law Courts forcing the officers to use tear gas.

The Gatundu South MP Hon. Moses Kuris

While all these were happening, Moses Kuria was going about his duties normally. He is even on record daring the police to arrest him. While he may have been arrested and charged in the courts for the statement he made, the officers treated him with respect.
But Kuria is a serial hatemonger. He at one time called for the assassination of Raila Odinga. We can’t also count the number of times he has asked for the circumcision of the members of the Luo community.

The manner in which the State has handled the two legislatures is an indicator of what an unjust community Kenya has become under Uhuruto.
In a statement, the NASA and ODM leader Raila Odinga warned that the country is heading into anarchy where malicious prosecution, banditry and torture tactics take centre stage. Like me, he wondered why the State failed to consolidate the charges in its case against the former chairman of University of Nairobi student organization.

Baby Gloves off as Police Face NASA Protesters

On Monday, Kenya’s opposition the National Super Alliance made real its threat to start anti-IEBC demos in an attempt to push the electoral body officials, who bungled the Aug 8 elections, out of office.

The move came in the wake of other subsequent protests by the Jubilee supporters against the Supreme Court’s decision to annul Uhuru’s reelection. What has drawn my attention is the manner in which the police had treated the two groups, which reminded me of a story of an illegitimate son.

A Jubilee supporter protests outside the Supreme Court, Nairobi, on September 19, 2017 over the ruling that annulled Uhuru Kenyatta’s election victory. PHOTO COURTESY OF NATION MEDIA GROUP

The vile Moses Kuria

The Gatundu South MP Hon. Moses Kuris

Gatundu South MP Hon.Moses Kuria is known to be a vile man. Late last month, he launched a manhunt for the over 70,000 people in Kiambu who voted for Raila Amollo Odinga, who he called a demon.

The following day, young men under Kuria’s instruction, took advantage of a statement made by the NASA flagbearer that the children will not die if the exams were postponed to allow the elections to take place.

The rowdy youths made Kuria’s threat real. They moved from bus to bus in Githurai demanding IDs, in what I term as ethnic profiling. They robbed passengers, burned tires on the Thika Super Highway. It took hours for the police to respond, and when they did, they did it humanely.

Tight security in CBD as NASA protesters stage anti-iebc protests Read more: https://www.tuko.co.ke/252957-tight-security-cbd-nasa-protesters-Tight security in CBD as NASA protesters stage anti-iebc protests (photos) Read more: https://www.tuko.co.ke/252957-tight-security-cbd-nasa-protesters-stage-anti-iebc-protests-photos.html#252957

The Judicial Service Commission, in a statement read by its chairman, Chief Justice David Maraga, took notice of this reluctance. It claimed that the Inspector General of Police Mr. Boinet and the Nairobi Police Commander failed to respond to calls from the Chief Justice when the Jubilee youths were trying to pull down the Supreme Court gate on the eve of the court’s delivery of the presidential petition final judgment.

Indeed, the Jubilee group caused chaos and mayhem along Wabera Street, City Hall Way, and its environs for the better part of that day. No bullet, tear gas nor police vehicle were spotted until late in the evening when NASA supporters decided to counter the group.

“Perhaps the police have changed,” paused a friend as we watched the Jubilee demos on TV.

“The post-August election brutality put them on the spot so they could be taking a low profile,” he deduced.

Indeed, you would think the police have changed because even in the wake of another string of violent protest in Kiambu County over the utterances of the Embakassi East MP Babu Owino, no bullet, teargas or police vehicle was spotted. However, the protestors blocked the busy Thika super higher way, burning tires demanding his arrest.

Police Brutality on NASA Protesters

While I may have been quick to judge the cops, they didn’t disappoint. The NASA supporters, who turned out in their hundreds for the demos, including very older adults, were met with brutal force.

 

NASA supporters march to IEBC headquarters

A video captured by the mainstream media shows police officers descending with clobbers on a man in a white shirt. The man is, of course, armless, as he is unharmed and has lifted all his hands as a sign of surrender. The interesting video captures another officer hurling a stone at the demonstrators to disperse them.

Two protestors sustained serious bullet wounds, and the Kenya Red Cross rushed them to the Kenyatta National Hospital for treatment.

 

Peaceful Demos in Kisumu

While those who back police brutality argue that the NASA supporters are violent, nothing could be far from the truth. Similar NASA protests were conducted in Kisumu, but this time, there was no a single police on sight, but the protest remained peaceful.

The protestors expressed their frustrations using placards, screamed, made comical plays and sung songs intended to taunt IEBC CEO Ezra Chilloba and his team.

The demonstrators later assembled at one point and got addressed by their new governor Peter Anyang Nyong’o. No bloodshed, no looting took place, or any other form of chaos reported.

If the Kisumu demos are anything to go by, it is then obvious that it is the police officer that provokes the NASA demonstrators. And if this is so, do the Kenyan Police know that they should serve all Kenyans equally without prejudice? Or do they even know that their slogan is “UtumishiKwaWote?”

It is Uhuru’s turn to Protest (VIDEO)

 

Clement Ayungo at the Mlimani Court in November

Last year November, my friend, the former chairman of the National Youth Council Clement Ayungo was a wanted man. Ayungo, who also served as a Youth Enterprise Fund board member, became the subject of the police manhunt for allegedly uttering statements that mount to treason.

These revelations came in the wake of a video clip shared on social media. The video captured him saying he is the leader of Raila Defense Force and he would lead protests if the NASA leader Raila Odinga is rigged out in the August 8 elections.

Ayungo was asked to surrender to any police station. And when he did, he was hounded like a criminal. If you didn’t know what was happening, you would think the officers had captured a terrorist . He was forced into a Subaru Forester and sandwiched by two officers, one either side.

However, my crystal ball tells me that this is not why the officers charged Jim Clement. It is saying that it was Uhuru’s turn to protest that caused the stir. (Watch the video) It is now ten months since Ayungo made that statement and Jubilee are on the streets protesting about their “stolen victory.”

A Jubilee supporter protests outside the Supreme Court, Nairobi, on September 19, 2017 over the ruling that annulled Uhuru Kenyatta’s election victory. PHOTO COURTESY OF NATION MEDIA GROUP

The case made it impossible for Chair, as supporters commonly call Ayungo, to vie in Ruaraka constituency. The Directorate of Criminal Investigation didn’t clear him claiming he had a pending felony case. Now prophesy has come to pass!

(Drop your number for the raw video)