Why TNA, ODM two horse race will lock out reform in Kenya

By Murimi Mwangi

The two-horse-race cliché has dominated the presidential campaigns. The ODM team has already bestowed the reform tag on their horse and is rubbishing the G7 horse as a wagon of conformists of impunity.

However, this reformism-conformism gimmick is a lyric that the public must ignore since riders of both horses have a history of being merchants of impunity and none of them qualifies the title of a true reformist.    

For starters, Uhuru Kenyatta has over history dirtied himself with the muck of impunity due to his relationship with all the post independent governments. He was a Moi project in 2002, despite being a political naïve then. It is widely believed that Uhuru never joined politics to serve the interest of the wide citizenry but to protect members of the elite class that had illegally amassed wealth during the Kenyatta and Moi regimes.

The unprecedented merger of KANU and other pro-Kibaki parties in 2007 into PNU was a deliberate attempt by Uhuru to remain politically relevant after his untenable loss to Kibaki in 2002. He did this with the hope of in inheriting the kikuyu chiefdom from Kibaki, which he has dully achieved despite having serious crimes against humanity in The Hague!

His rival horse rider, Raila Odinga’s credentials of reformism are pegged on his 7 years detention by president Moi, his vigorous campaign against the insubstantial 2005 constitution and eventually his efforts in acquisition of the new constitution. Ironically, Uhuru also rejected the 2005 draft and campaigned for the 2010 constitution alongside Raila. So why does Raila qualify to be a reformist for the same things that the alleged impunity-conformist also did?

Raila has also been acclaimed for his momentous role in bringing the lakeside nation into the Narc coalition of 2002 that trounced the 24 years of the despotic Kanu regime.

However, Miguna Miguna, in his memoir peeling back the mask claims that prior to Raila’s  historical pronouncement, ‘Kibaki Tosha’, he was just from signing an MOU endorsing Nyachae’s presidential bid. This is a clear indicator of a wavering politician; an allegation that has also been confirmed by his former head of protocol Tony Gachoka.

Raila’s campaign strategy in the 2007 election to date still encapsulates serious suspicion. Muted allegations that he conducted the campaign based on a concealed agenda of 41 tribes against 1 (that fuelled the 2008 chaos), is a serious negatron of his alleged reformism.

Additionally, his occasional doublespeak on national matters also portrays a leader without a clear stand. In parliament he says MRC is a prescribed gang but at the Coast he has the guts to say that the armed hooligans wrecking havoc there can come to a round table with him and discuss peace!

At one time he says that ICC suspects should be locked up in Kamiti Maximum prison, but later on we hear he is in serious coalition talks with Ruto, one of the ICC suspects.

Paradoxically, both Uhuru and Raila claim that they would fast track the full implementation of the constitution upon election.  However, for Uhuru to be given the green light to even contest the presidency a flawed integrity bill mutilating chapter 6 of the constitution has to be effected- that tells a lot about what would be his style of constitution implementation.

Raila’s promise of speedily implementing the constitution also sounds ridiculous. On one hand he wants to forge an alliance with Ruto, yet that can’t happen unless the integrity Bill is blemished to allow Ruto into the arena. Additionally, how will Raila Marshall his government to implement the constitution if he brings aboard Ruto who captained the rejection of the draft by the Kalenjin nation?

A true reformist is an indefatigable leader that not only stands by a single voice but who also walks their talk.

However, none of the two horses prognosticated as key contenders for the presidency pass the test of reformism! Perhaps we should select among the rest who have been discarded as insignificant by the polls.

The writer is a communication and media student at Maseno university wilsonmurimi@yahoo.com 

Capital flight: Africa losing out stashed illicit funds

Dr Dereje Alemayehu the Christian Aid Country Representative for East Africa and chair for Tax Justice Network-Africa

More resources are being flown out of Africa than Aid coming in which translates for every $1(Sh81) for development Aid, $10(Sh810) is illegally taken from the continent in capital flight, a Tax Justice Network official has said.

Capital flight which also accounts for tax loss to countries origin as stashed loot is permanently put beyond the reach of domestic authorities also makes resources and capital being flown out of these countries to be untaxed an un-accounted for.

“Poor countries (like African ones) are deprived of the badly needed tax revenues on income earned from multinationals and assets which are illegally held offshore which is often fueled by low tax collection capacity, corruption, weak (law) enforcement mechanism” Dr Dereje Alemayehu the Christian Aid Country Representative for East Africa and chair for Tax Justice Network-Africa said.

Alemayehu says that capital flight is usually driven corrupt citizens stashing away their loot and by multi-nationals with several country branches by falsifying invoices by inflating or undervaluing prices to increase cost and diminish tax liability, and parent company selling to each other in countries goods and services at inflated prices to inflate cost for tax evasion.

He adds that ‘round-tripping’ where local businesses send money offshore and bring it back disguised as foreign investment to get preferential tax treatment is also a main cause of capital flight.

“Round tripping is done from tax havens like Miami, Switzerland, London, Cayman Islands with a case in question being Mauritania with has only 76,000 citizens but boosts of 82,000 registered companies mostly done on over the internet” Alemayehu says.

According to the recent Global Financial Integrity (GFI) 2009 report on capital flight the vice in Africa is growing faster than any other region in the world at 22.3% which accounts for $333,778.51m with the world figure standing at US$1.55tn.

Alemayehu adds that in the same year GFI released the report his organization Christian Aid did a research of capital flight in ‘mis-pricing’ within multinationals between 2005-2007 where Kenya lost £32m of taxes with Nigeria losing £502m while globally the loss was £190.8bn.

His statement comes after the country’s Swiss ambassador Jacques Pitteloud is reported to have said that Kenya won’t recover US$857 million (Sh72bn) stashed in Switzerland until it shows the money was looted and obtained illegally by those who obtained it.

Pitteloud who was responding to The Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland Central Bank, report on the country’s banking sector that revealed Kenyans have stashed away the money in the country, and added that it will be upon the country judicial to ascertain if the individuals named are corrupt first.

According to the report EAC countries have at least US$1.3bn(Sh105.3bn) in Switzerland with Kenya leading the pack followed by Tanzania $178m( ), Uganda ($159m), Rwanda ($29.7m) and Burundi ($16.7m).

This report comes amid fear that money from the country’s mega scandals like Goldenberg, Anglo-leasing, Triton saga amongst others are stashed in the country.

Alemayehu says African countries worst affected by capital flight like Kenya should fight corruption and have a political commitment to end the vice by redesigning tax policies to enable maximization revenue collection by stamping out loopholes like tax incentives.

“(By having) regional and continental tax cooperation and policy harmonization to avoid race to the bottom tax competition, and safeguard African interest in international taxation dialogue” he says.

To root out the vice internationally he also recommends a multilateral agreement to expand and deepen tax information exchange by disclosure of ownership information and coordinated counter-measures against culprits.

On capital flight within multi-nationals operating in different countries he says there should be transparency between their internal trading and “there should be an obligation for each multinationals company to report financial details for every country in which it operates”.

Alemayehu was speaking at the African Center for Media Excellence Center (ACME) in Kampala Uganda during a Thomas Reuters Financial and Economic training.

© Manuel Odeny, 2012

Kisumu mayor and police should act on rogue touts

I urge Kisumu mayor and traffic police commander to close the illegal bus stops around Kisumu Boys' High and Kisumu Girls' High. Touts have abandoned the bus stages designed for them and opt to pick and drop passengers at the Kisumu Boys' and Kisumu Girls' gate.

Tout operate on a commission basis extorting extra money from passengers to increase their cut. They know they are on the wrong but they seem not to care. Furthermore, a lot of time is spent haggling on the commission wasting travelers' time.

Published on Sunday March 14, 2010 by Sunday Nation/Kenya

Kibaki and Raila Tussle: When two Elephants Fight…….

 
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Koffi Annan claps as Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga shake hands after the disputed 2007 elections

It was a fabulous valentine for me. 2010 lovers’ day was a fantastic day. My investing of time and money to a cause to aid an orphanage with destitute children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS was paying of.

As the Maseno University organizing secretary of the Red Cross society I was putting the final touches of preparation. That is when the SMS alert from VOA alerted me.

The first was about Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki telling 8 key government officials to stand aside for investigation of missing funds of free primary education and the lost maize.

The second proclaimed that agriculture minister William Ruto and education minister (no Prof.) Sam Ongeri. This was to pave way for what Raila termed as ‘free and transparent investigation’. Whatever that means

When I broke the news to my fellow volunteers there was jubilation. The country was pissed off by corrupt government and failed persecution of kingpins.

We hugged happily and lauded the move. That was until three hours later when the state house revoked the move.

Within a short period the country was caught in a frenzy of speculation. The two principals locked horns and the effect was crazy on Kenyans.

Journalists, bloggers, tweeters and facebook were a buzz with what was happening. That is except yours truly The Burning Splint.

I was trying to grapple with reality and seize the story through the media. I lost track. It was the time again as it has been for he last 27 years for a piece of article called constitution to be interpreted,

With politicians most willing to hear themselve talk, the constitution will be interpreted in anyway that suit their interests at the expense of Kenyans.

An African adage goes that when two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers.

When some idiots in a name of Electoral Commission of Kenya (now disbanded) could not count the votes the countries went in fire. In the name of two elephants, Raila and Kibaki is, over 1,500 Kenyans lost their lives. A score of others are still in IDP camps.

Raila silently advised Caroli Omondi and Mohammed Isahakia key officers in Prime Minister Office involved in the maize scandal to step aside. Feeling invisible Raila quoted the national accord and the constitution as giving him power to supervise ministe

And then before you can say PriceWaterHouseCoopers report he flew to Japan.

It took the intervention of outsiders to bring semblance of peace in the country. By making the country go back to where it was: sitting tight and look for calmness as the thieves fleece the country.

They take food from the poor mans mouth. Two academicians not worth to be called professor in charge of ministry of education can’t account for lost money. As donors are pulling out the government promise to look for taxpayers’ money to repay them without accounting for the lost money.

These are some episodes which give me the heart not to go for the voter’s card.

Book Review: The State of Africa: A history of Fifty Years of Independence by Martin Meredith

TITLE: The State of Africa: A history of fifty years of Independence.
AUTHOR: Martin Meredith
PAGES: 752
PUBLISHERS: Free Press, London (2006)
GENRE: History

Martin Meredith book is conceive and offer insightful knowledge on the historical development of Africa as a continent, before the settlement of European colonialist, through the struggle of independence, the emerging of nations and the state of Africa, as a continent, in the world map.

As Times journalist who did corresponding in Africa, an auto-biographer and a writer, Meredith has written an outstanding book. A masterpiece. Albeit if his use of facts is anything to go by, the author went to greater length to glean for facts and figures from respected authors and sources. The authoritative bibliography speaks for itself.

The book’s magnitude in understanding the contemporary state of the African continent-from whichever facet you see it- is echoed by Bob Geldof. The Irish pop singer who has been involved greatly with charity work in the continent (notably the fund raising record Do they know it’s Christmas’ for 1984 Ethiopian famine victims), says “you can’t even contemplate about the contemporary state of Africa without first having a look at why Africa as a continent is where it is.”

The State of Africa starts with the ancient African kingdoms before the scramble and partition of the continent by European colonialists lead by Germany’s Otto von Bismarck in the Berlin conference. With little knowledge the colonialist least cared as they curved out states transcending across ancient lands separating kingdoms, tribal lands and merging other which never existed before.

Notable are the Bakongo of Congo, Ashanti of Ghana and King Moshoeshoe of Tswana. The Britons got their protectorates to Great Britain, the French assimilated minor French provinces in Africa; the Belgians were content to reap Zaire to enrich king Leopold II, together with the Portuguese, Spaniards and Italians.

The seed of discord was thus implanted.

The Europeans forcefully struggled and settled in Africa. As Christianity and western education spread in the Africa, an elite class emerged and fought for independence. The old guard- African leaders who inherited power from colonialists- brought the birth of nations amid glimmer of hope riding the crest of expectations about the future of Africa.

The European colonialists retreated- hastily like in Algerian independence struggle- to leave the leadership to Africans. The old guards experimented with ideologies. Some countries picked up economically shortly before the coups, the cold war effects and the lingering neo-colonialism.

Martin Meredith writes of the effects of the East and West power struggle effects on the continent. In their ism-schism of capitalism and communism the elephants- USA and USSR- descended on the African grass for the struggle of world supremacy.

The cold war, Otiose to Africa, was triggered by emergence of sovereign states which could topple the scales at world scene. At its peak in ‘60s US supported Mobutu Sese Seko to plunder Zaire and aided in usurping Liberia’s resources. American firestone controlling rubber plantations helped prop semi-illiterate Samwel Doe.

On the other hand Russia, in association with Cuba, propped Major Mengistu Haile Mariam red terror in Ethiopia and thwarted west influence in Angola against rebel leader Jonas Savimbi in a blood bath.

The struggle of Anglo-phone and Franco-phone effects on the continent in former colonies is tackled. With otiose cultural misgivings Britain and France flex their muscles to neo-colonize their former colonies with devastating effects.

French propped and later turned against Jean Bedel Bokassa of Central African Republic because he was a French soldier during the WWII. In a bid to suppress the spread of Anglo-phone influence in central Africa, French propped and maintained a genocide regime in Rwanda against the Tutsi and moderate Hutus.

The effect was the 1994 Rwandan genocide which spread towards DRC and Northern Uganda causing the fall of two ‘Anglo-phone’ leaders, viz. Mobutu Sese Seko and Milton Obote.

In the story “In the name of prophet” The State of Africa has extensively covered the Egyptian revolution against the monarchy of King Farrouk and it culmination to pan-Arab fever that culminated to 1965-67 Arab-Israel war. Muarmar Gadaffi’s taciturn involvement in internal affairs of Chad and the bloody diamond fields of Liberia and Sierra Leone war by training guerrillas.

The root cause of Nigerian conflict on Biafra war is caused partly by the murder of Chief Abiola is elaborately written. In addition, the assassination of Patrice Lumumba by Belgians and The CIA, and the culmination of the Zaire’s war is written with historical flair.

My gripe with the book is the casting of France. Meredith, a Briton, espouses the idea of treating the French as villains in expense of the Britons. It aligns with the Hollywood blockbuster Godzilla with a story of a French illegal nuclear testing gone haywire.

The effect, a giant dinosaur, creates havoc in New York City. The French in the movie are down casted and stereotyped like the Arabs and Russians.

Meredith treats British colonies, especially South Africa and Sudan with velvet gloves.

In “A degree in violence”, a story of Robert Mugabe (need I say a villain); little is said of suffering of Zimbabweans under the apartheid rule, And Mugabe’s house arrests and the death of his infant son. Likewise the impact and magnitude of apartheid rule in South Africa is sidelined.

In addition the book places the onset of Darfur war after the introduction of sharia laws. This is far from Blaine Harden, once a Washington Post bureau chief Nairobi, book Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent placing the problem on British rule. Harden, an American, writes that by the failure to effectively colonize the Muslim North the Britons segregated the Christian South.

The segregation brought two distinct cultures. At independence the ‘suit’ wearing Christian South considered the northern Muslims with suspicion. The Arabs had sold them as slaves.

The passing of sharia laws just exploded a simmering volcano and turned the fissures into a mountain of a problem.

Insightful
Martin Meredith’s book gives insight into understanding the winding politics and events in Africa easily. You will understand why French President Nicolas Sarkozy personally attended, and got booed at Omar Bongo Ondimba’s funeral for interfering with Gabon’s internal affairs. Paul Kagame’s gripe with the France over the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

The book should miss in the shelf if you need to know how Charles Taylor ended up at ICC in The Hague and why Omar el-Bashir is wary of ICC indictment and southern Sudan supporting him though the Janjaweed militia kills with impunity.

The reader will be conversant with how Somalia warlord Aideed drove Americans and UN officials out of Mogadishu in ‘Black Hawk Down’

Will the New Kenyan Constitution Devolved Government?

During last year campaign ODM, ODM-K and PNU promise to Kenyans for Majimbo system if they come to power came as no surprise to me. The promise is yet to be fulfilled. Majimbo is the Kenyan coined for federal system of government where autonomous states with their own laws are joined together by a federal state with federal law containing all states. The proponents of Majimboism argue the system will increase the effectiveness of the government.

The orange parties opted for the Majimbo card to quell Kibaki’s strategy of dishing out districts.

Will the doodle making of districts by government quell the urge of new districts? The zeal of creating ‘North-West-East-South’ districts is astounding. At other places constituencies are split in districts like the former Migori to Uriri, Rongo, Nyatike and Migori which are constituencies.

Most Kenyans see Majimbo system as the only way to get to the national cake. With 43 tribes in Kenya and only two in power since independence 40 years ago there is a yearning for power. During Kenyatta’s, Moi’s and Kibaki’s regime their tribes flocked the government and civil jobs. Since independence some areas have been marginalized like North Eastern from central government, can Majimboism rectify this?

The need for self government is high in the country. Each tribe wants a seclusion of power no matter in what distinct form if the fever for new districts, division, and even constituency is anything to go by. The demand is ethically oriented. At last elections many tribes used their votes as blackmail. The Abagusii went further as to request a province (imagine the cheek). Will this thirst for power be quenched by Majimboism? So far are the local governments helpful in any means? Of cause the answer is no what with the high level kleptocracy in the councils.

Always the central government seems far from the subjects.

Imagine a resident of Mandera near the Ethiopian border moving all the way to Garissa to seek his PC of North Eastern province. In addition, the Eastern province capital Embu is not strategically positioned to serve the expense area. The distance covered by Marsabit and Moyale citizens to Embu is always too expensive. Interestingly an Ukambani resident of the province seeking redress with his provincial government is forced to pass Nairobi’s PC and board a matatu in a journey to Embu.

With such little presence of government citizens always feel neglected.

The shortcoming always causes security risk. The Sabaot Land Defence Forces (SDLF) lead by Matakwei in Mount Elgon thrived because the provincial government from Rift Valley was far. Weapons were easily acquired from neighboring Uganda. Lamu with separatist cells is nearer to Garissa than its provincial headquarter in Mombasa in Coast province. Al-Qaeda and Fazul has invaded Kenya with links to Ras Kamboni in Somali through Lamu.

The new constitution cooking at the review committee is highly anticipated. Since the rise of multiparty politics in the early ‘90s the urge, acquisitive, of either to change the constitution as a whole or in part has been high.

Across citizenry, political elites, journalist and civil organizations the undercurrent is the new constitution for a better Kenya. Kenyans want, and need the new constitution to change (so is the notion) the underlying problem in the society.

Through rallies politicians have drum to common wanainchi about the post election violence, impunity for law breakers and corruption to be erased by the new constitution. To them the new laws will be an antidote against the suffering populace.

The talks are the Kenyan test-tube idea making. Politicians always think of conflicting ideas in their expensive offices and spew them at rallies. After a few emotional clapping they are airlifted to the next rally to discuss their ideas shallowly.

Majimboism can cause tribalism and divide the country. During the recent election violence the slogan of returning foreigners to their lands was evident. Majimboism can cause unrest and coup attempts leading to secession from the central government like in Eritrea and Ethiopia, Anjouon islands in Comoros islands which have been rocked with constant coup attempts.

John le Carre The Constant Gardener

In Constant.

TITLE: The Constant Gardener
AUTHOR: John le Carre
PUBLISHER: Hodder and Stoughton, 2007
PAGES: 570
GENRE: Fiction
REVIEWER: Manuel Odeny

John le Carre novel was turned to the big screen to an Oscar nominated film by Focus Feature starring British awards winner Ralph Fienness and Golden Globe winner Rachel Weiz. The cast, like the story is set in Kenya. Kenyan actors were included on the cast.

Tessa Abbot the wife of a junior officer, Sandy Justin, at the British High Commission in Nairobi Kenya is killed in Lokichoggio near Lake Turkana on their way to Leakey archeological excavation site. A heart wretching and frightening story unfolds in a bid to find the murderers. Preliminary report points to a crime of passion.

With a wife he barely had time to love, Justin set out to uncover a dangerous conspiracy where god-profit is worshipped above humanity.

When a pharmaceutical firm wants to introduce a TB drug, Dypraxa to the market they use human guinea pigs. the firm in collaboration with the corrupt government of Kenya under Daniel arap Moi and his Gestapo uses a village in Ukambani as their laboratory.

It is only when a woman and her infant baby disappear at Uhuru hospital (Kenyatta National Hospital?) where they share a ward with Tessa Abbott that the greed of the pharmaceutical company is unearthed.

With his wife's murder Sandy Justin follows the trial to bring out the unflinching greed, heart wretching deceit and numb nerve quest for hallowed god-profit.

Although with about twenty articles under his belly this is the first le Carre novel i have read. The writer has got a twist with his pen in bring out what is happening in the real world. From Kibera slums in Nairobi, Lokichoggio and Lake Turkana in northern Kenya through the British government bureaucratic dung-hole to Kenyan government corruption is all fact crowned with fictitious characters to bring the dark side of de-regulated capitalism.

The author is experienced in gripping the reader in suspense, but the thought of a junior oficer bringing down an entire corrupt system from Kenya, to Britain and across German, Canada and Italy through Switzerland is a little bit overzealous if for the standard of thrillers.

But the over zealousness is what bring novels out to blockbuster movies like Bourne Series birth from Robert Ludlum and A Time to Kill by John Grisham.

It is at the beginning of chapter 11 that le Carre gives an intellectual statement:

John le Carre

"Out of the finely steered gossip of Whitehall and Westminster; out of parroted television sound bites and misleading images; out of otiose minds of journalist whose duty to enquire extend no further than the nearest deadline and the nearest free lunch a chapter of events was add to the sum of minor human history"

The statement calls for a thesis in scholarly journalism.