A PUBLICATION OF MARS GROUP KENYA

Civil Society Leaders in Pursuit of Democracy and Accountability Assassination Attempt On Civil Society Leaders. It was an assassination attempt on the life of Mwalimu Mati, Ouma Odera and Okoiti Omtatah. There was also a brutal attack on Ann Njogu and Hon. Charity Ngilu Minister of Health who was roughed up when she went to Ann Njogu’s rescue . All five leaders were removed from central police station without the knowledge of their families, colleagues and friends in an attempt to assassinate them. The police alerted the media that they had released the civil society leaders when in fact they had not. They put them in police cars and drove them towards an unknown destination. The police car carrying Mwalimu Mati, Ouma Odera and Okoiti Omtatah then went off at high speed, breaking the traffic rules, then drove on the wrong side of the road crashing into an oncoming matatu head on and injuring the civil society leaders who had been caged in the back of the vehicle without safety belts. We are informed that they have suffered serious injuries especially on their heads. We are now absolutely certain that this attempt on their lives had nothing to do with the protest march on Parliament and in fact the attempt on their lives was because of civil society exposing grand corruption and especially the recent exposure by Mars Group Kenya and the civil society on the helicopters overhaul deal and more specifically the new Ken Ren fertilizer deal which is provided for in the current budget for a fertilizer factory (Ken Ren) that was never built. The 4.4 Billion shillings fertilizer deal was entered into in the 1970's when Mwai Kibaki was then Minister of Finance. 30 years later Kenyans have been committed to pay this 4.4 Billion shillings for a factory that was never built. A provision for the first installment of 265 million shillings has been passed to be paid by Kenyans in the current budget needless to reiterate that there has been no factory built. Does this sound like an Anglo Leasing type Deal? This time one that involves the President. The War against corruption is not an individual fight, it is the fight of all Kenyans of integrity who say that it is now time for Kenyans to change the way they are governed. It is “No to Grand Corruption” and the answer should always be “No! No! No! No!”. Kenyans are ready to continue demonstrating against blatant theft of their very hard earned money. We stand in solidarity with Mwalimu Mati, Ouma Odera, Okoiti Omtatah, Ann Njogu and Cyprian Nyamwamu and wish them a quick recovery. The leaders are admitted at the Aga Khan Hospital and the hospital is under policemen siege. There are no indications whatsoever on whether or not there will be charges tomorrow and Kenyans are asked to observe whether or not this blatant abuse of power will continue by denying them their rights. Kenyans must be weary of this rapid return to the dark days of the KANU – Moi dictatorship. The responsibility on any further attempt on the lives of Mwalimu Mati, Ouma Odera, Okoiti Omtatah, Ann Njogu and Cyprian Nyamwamu lies squarely on the hands of President Kibaki’s Administration. We are further concerned that even lawyers defending the leaders have come under police attack contrary to the countries constitution and laws that protect counsel from police harassment. Mr Leonard Njogu, one of the lawyers representing the leaders was arrested and is still in police custody for undefined reasons. As for the fifth arrested Protester Cyprian Nyamwamu, all we know is that he was taken to Muthangari Police Station and at this time pray for his safety. Further Details on the Anglo Leasing type Ken Ren Deal which has come back to haunt us 30 years later can be read at :- www.marsgroupkenya.org Mars Group Kenya Watching out for you.

PUBLISHED BY THE MARSGROUP KENYA

Civil Society Leaders in Pursuit of Democracy and Accountability August 7, 2007 A joint statement of the Civil Society in Kenya and former Members of the Kenya National Assembly THE PLAN TO STOP KENYA’S ROGUE PARLIAMENT’S GRATUITY THEFT AND ITS ASSAULT ON PRESS FREEDOM Last week, our network of Kenyan Civil society organisations, former members of Parliament and Kenyans of goodwill exercised their inalienable rights, given to each one of them by sections 79 and 80 of the Constitution of Kenya, to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. They were exercising their rights under the Constitution of Kenya in order to try and prevent the planned theft of Ksh 1.4 billion of taxpayers funds by MPS colluding with the Minister for Finance. In the process fifteen members of our Network were arrested, assaulted, harassed and involved in a road accident that was caused by wayward police officers that nearly killed not only our three members Mwalimu Mati, Ouma Odera and Okoiti Omtatah but also the police officers themselves. From that week of action; The arrested members of our network were released on orders of the high court and others on cash bail awaiting prosecution by the same police force that acted illegally in curtailing the rights of Kenyans to assemble.; We have since developed a strategy to defeat these retrogressive acts of the police force. Our network secured an important ruling Anne Njogu v Republic which restated the Constitution of Kenya’s prohibition on detention of arrested persons beyond 24 hours in non-capital cases We raised massive awareness on the gratuity theft that MPs are planning. 96.2 percent of the people of Kenya condemned the greed by MPs. We exposed the rot, corruption and torture going on in Kenyan police cells. We have since unveiled a proactive strategy to ensure that Human rights are secured within a rule of just laws framework. Having won the battle of the police cells, we now are back to the just war that we set out to win in the first place. We unequivocally oppose the proposed payment of gratuity to current Members of Parliament in Kenya. We object to this greedy plan. It is criminal that 222 MPs in the 9th Parliament are conspiring to award themselves an amount equivalent to the annual disbursement under the famous Youth Fund; which was intended to raise 79.1% of the population of Kenya who are youth out of poverty. 222 MPS want to award themselves an amount equivalent to what they gave to 21,248,984 Kenyan youth at a time when a Member of Parliament earns in a month what a worker in industrial area works for 10 years to earn! Raw greed indeed! Lazy parliament We also say that the payment of gratuities to MPs in the 9th Parliament is unwarranted first and foremost because they are under-performers who are already paid much more than almost all parliamentarians in the world. This Parliament has distinguished itself by being the only Parliament since Independence which has had no constitutional input – neither adding nor taking away a single comma or full stop to our Constitution. It has done this despite having the people’s explicit mandate given on December 27th 2002 when Kenyans voted for them to change our Constitution to enhance freedoms of the individual and to entrench equity and good governance. Instead they have allowed the Government to embark on a plan to roll back our Constitutional rights in a slow campaign of mass arrests, police brutality and even shootings. Parliament has failed to defend our collective Constitutional rights therefore to life and limb. Even as we speak, the Commissioner of the Kenya Police Force, Brigadier Ali, is trying to mislead Kenyans that unless he is notified, it is illegal for Kenyans to meet each other and speak with one voice. This is nonsense. And what he is doing should be stopped. The 9th Parliament has failed to provide leadership in constitutional reform and has actually served to obstruct whatever progressive acts have emanated from outside the House. It has suffered from such a degree of lack of quorum that in 2007 the budget has on several occasions been debated by less than 10 MPs and billions of shillings passed completely un-scrutinised by our so called representatives. Only a handful of MPs were present when the unconstitutional Media Bill was passed – which means that as their right to freedom of expression and a free press was being assaulted by the Government, Kenyans were totally unrepresented. And now Kenyans are being asked to give all MPs 6 million shillings each for costing us our freedom, and allowing the Government another step to its goal of dictatorship. Collusion with the executive MPs in the 9th Parliament seem to think they are above the law. Only last October the Attorney General said that 65 MPs (one out of every four) could have been charged for mileage fraud, and decided to “temper justice with mercy and forbear prosecution.” It seems that the reason they raised President Mwai Kibaki pay perk was to “bribe him” to offer them this loot and look to the other side as Minister Kimunya signs out billions to help them campaign and ensure that they perpetually rule over Kenya in this style. It is even more disturbing to recall that these MPs shall nevertheless receive pension after quitting parliament! Further its membership has by and large abandoned the political parties on which they were elected and thereby betrayed both voters and the spirit of pluralism. Parliament is currently engaged in a fraudulent act, namely the unconstitutional abuse of its legislative power for the direct personal benefit of 222 MPs. Among the intended beneficiaries of this fraudulent and unconstitutional abuse of office are the President and his cabinet, and the Leader of the Official Opposition. It is clear that there is a conspiracy between MPs and the Executive against the people of Kenya whose taxes are being illegally voted for a very private purpose. MPs are in a situation of conflict of interest and are unable to exercise objectivity on the matter of their personal financial interests. Despite public outrage at three previous attempts to tax Kenyans for selfish reasons, the 9th Parliament is hell bent to vote as a bloc against the national interest. The evidence of conspiracy and fraud is obvious. For instance, the budget which was only read last month did not provide for any gratuity for MPS. Rather the amount MPs intend to vote themselves, were disguised as salaries and benefits for an additional 70 MPs. We are concerned that the current crop of MPs are engaged in a blatant attempt to appropriate to themselves millions of shillings each in campaign funds ahead of the general election that is less than 4 months away. Baby sitting grand corruption in government The 9th Parliament wants us to give them an undeserved gratuity of 1.4 billion shillings, even as it has failed to check Government corruption and has done nothing to resolve such corruption cases as: Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing which sucked up over 200 billion combined and their predecessor scandals such as Ken Ren Fertiliser which cost Ksh 4.4 billion with over 265 million passed by this same 9th Parliament in the Budget for the Consolidated Fund Services (Vote No. R 50 External Debt Redemption Vote Head 164) The Media Bill is only the latest of this government’s draconian laws The 9th Parliament has also passed controversial Bills that have in effect taken Kenya back to constitutional and legally sanctioned tyranny. The passage of the amendments to the Statistics Act to stifle research and dissemination of research findings; the NGO Act to control NGOs; amendments to the Communications Act to curb the operations of a nascent and growing media in Kenya and now the passage of a draconian Media Bill to stifle the development of free press in the country all tell of a Parliament that is hell bent to help the executive fight and oppress the people of Kenya! The Government stands warned that we shall not submit to the return of dictatorship willingly. The media bill is dictatorial. It does not have any place in Kenya. We know that Kenyans cherish their freedom of speech and expression no less than any other rights given to us by the Constitution. We also know that they will defend these rights and guard them jealously. In this regard, we state that the Media Bill is unconstitutional and unenforceable. We call on Parliament and the Government of Kenya to first address matters of national importance, interest and value to Kenyans such as the fact that 46% (17 million) Kenyans live in absolute poverty earning less than Kshs. 68 per day according to the Government of Kenya’s own poverty estimates. This means that over 17 million Kenyans live in unacceptable poverty which manifests itself in the form of – No employment or employment as wage slaves Homelessness Landlessness, and Hopelessness We recall that the MPs of this 9th Parliament have already disregarded the views of Kenyans and shamelessly ignored the poverty of Kenyans and enhanced their salaries to about Ksh 1 million per month. This is over 2 times what was paid to MPS during the entire 8th Parliament’s five year term (1997-2002). Plan of action Our coalition of citizens and organisations and corporate entities opposed to the excesses, indiscretions and abdications of duty by the 9th Parliament therefore announce the following plan of action; We shall on Wednesday August 8th 2007 March on Parliament to present a petition to the Parliament of Kenya, as we are entitled to under the Constitution of Kenya and the Standing Orders of Parliament. We trust we shall be able to present this petition and that at least one Member of Parliament is ready and willing to receive our petition. We shall be joined in our procession by concerned citizens. The petition will demand that Members of Parliament drop the intention of stealing from the citizens of Kenya who they claim to represent. We call upon all Kenyans of good will to turn up at Parliament buildings tomorrow Wednesday August 8th 2007 to speak directly to your MPs against this evil plan. For Kenyans out of Nairobi, we urge each one of you to hang a grey ribbon or cloth on your doors as a sign of calling on your MP to act in the interest of Kenyans and abandon greed. We plan to take certain actions to move President Kibaki and Finance Minister Kimunya into action to drop the Miscellaneous Bill providing for this deplorable gratuity. We have planned to mobilize the country to ask President Kibaki not to sign the Media Bill passed by Parliament last week because it is unconstitutional. We are united with the media fraternity to see to it that the Bill is not assented to law by the president. That any legal provision for gratuity should be applied to the 10th Parliament. At this stage Kenyans attention is also drawn to the miserable situation of many decent and honest Kenyans who have served in the past 8 Parliaments since 1963. That some exist on pensions amounting to Ksh 3,000 per month is a national disgrace. We are sure that Kenyans would prefer that Parliament focus on addressing the plight of these forgotten heroes before taking care of an already pampered and ungrateful lot. We have operationalized various agencies and networks to take appropriate action to seek justice for all those who were illegally detained in police cells. This plan shall also see that focus is turned on the police force which has refused to reform and respect the rights and freedoms of Kenyans. We call on all Kenyans of goodwill to support the civil society and former parliamentarians as we peacefully protest this national scandal. We request our Religious Leaders to act for the poor by using their moral authority to condemn Parliament’s greed and to speak directly to Parliament and the President to end the abuse of our constitutional freedom. We also make a final appeal to each individual MP to vote with his or her own conscience. Is it 6 million shillings now at all costs? The poor are watching you and pleading with you not to take for yourselves what should be theirs. In any case has the 9th Parliament not taken enough for itself already? We will watch and tally the vote. The Parliament of Kenya, each and every single member therein, should take notice that Kenyans ultimately reserve their democratic rights which are not limited to the vote. KENYANS HAVE RIGHTS – KENYANS MUST ENFORCE THEM ISSUED AT NAIROBI THIS 7TH DAY OF AUGUST 2007 BY THE UNDERSIGNED PERSONS

UNMASKING THE TRUTH: WHO THE REAL RAILAPHOBICS ARE?A GEOFFREY MAKEKE AND SERO DEPASCO ANALYSIS

UNMASKING THE TRUTH: WHO FEARS RAILA? BY SERO DEPASCO Habari za Geoffrey I agree with you, Kenyans have been blinded for way too Long and that's why Tribalism is still a very big factor in Kenyan Politics and society as a whole. We all know that Were it not for Tribalism Raila would have been an obvious choice in the next general elections, but we live in a society where Tribalism adn Nepotism is rampant and is the prder of the day. It's people like you and I who can bring an end to such rudimentary backward behavior which as we now has no place in Todays World. How are we going to ba able to Compete with the rest of the world if every descion we make is based on Tribalism. The Previous and Current Goverment have know htat Tribalism would polarize the Country and that gives them a chance to maintain Status Quo. We live in a society where we respect and even fear people just because they have money, even if we know that this money they now have was achieved in very unscrupulous manner. Some times we suffer and our lives negatively impacted because this same guy we now respect greatly missallocated funds that were to be used to Complete projects that would improve out lives e.g Completion of a feeder Road that would positively affect they rest of us in the community. Our mothers would be able to bring their produce to the local market to sale for some capital. Now this so called Man we now so dearly respect misallocated the Fund hence absence of the Road translating to no Capital in hte Community. We should start by giving respect and Honor to whom it's due. For the last 20 years we know the folks who have done everything so we the regular people can enjoy the space we currently have in the country. Kibaki was in government when JM, Tom Mboya, Robert Ouko amongst others were assassinated for speaking for us. Look at the Kenyan Political Landscape or goverment, where are the people who fought and are fighting for our second liberation? Where are all those University Student leaders of yester years, were they not silence by the Goverments and powers that be, where are they Now?? their fight has made if possible for us to speak now, we must give these guys the highest accolades for the fight adn we must not let them Down at this Crucial junture. I support Raila and his ODM movement where real change will come to the Country. The New Constitution with 100 day we were promised say alot on how we have been taken for a Ride once again Come December we can bring an end to this Non sense. In my opinion spoilers like Kalonzo should be thrown away to the Dogs for good. BY GEOFFREY MAKEKE geoffrey omedo wrote: The development of the Kenyan state has to override tribal jingoism perpetrated to a large extent by a conservative clique of yesterday’s cliché and elite. That Hon. Raila’s money was rejected in a Karatina Hotel seems to expose the real group afraid of a Raila presidency, not in a tribal way but rather in a capitalist way. I have always argued that Railas candidacy is one for paupers and the oppressed. His popularity is not as a result of his friendship with the rich, but rather his closeness to the heart of the nation, the people on the ground. The invisible and countless Johns, Janes, Margarets who aspire for a better country. The people who aspire to reduce political state control and manipulation, the people who wish to be honoured as being truly Kenyan and whose wish is to see a country devoid of the blatant misuse and abuse perpetrated by the ruling elite. The people who pray for full equality safeguarded by a complete constitutional order, a representative regional balance in running of the affairs of the country, and in general, a real reason to celebrate their being Kenyan. These are the drivers for a Raila presidency. The threat of a Raila Presidency cannot be felt in the masses whose sole pre-occupation is a means of sustained livelihood. Theirs is not a struggle waged for huge conglomerates of business empires that have been corruptly built over the years. Theirs is not a fear of protecting the wealth corruptly amassed over the years by the highly connected political operatives of a post-colonial Kenya. The major struggle for the rural peasantry who have learnt to appreciate the real worth of Hon. Raila is the struggle for survival. To them insecurity, poverty, corruption, disease, illiteracy remain huge impediments to their daily development. To them reports of an improved economy do not reverberate any signs of hope, but are just distant belches of a greedy elite. Which would bring us to the question? Why would a business turn away a prospective customer with all the means to pay for the service of which he is constitutionally guaranteed to receive? Does it mean that some Kenyan currency is illegal? When did the driving factor in business change from the quest for profits to a platform for sustaining political support? This scenario draws amazing parallels to the apartheid era in South Africa and the fights for civil rights of the black community in America. But in an interesting way, it clearly puts the faces to the grotesque class of the financially affluent elites scared stiff of a Raila presidency, the railaphobics. This act alone shows the motivation of this breed of Kenyans, whose sole pre-occcupation is to sustain status quo. They cannot fathom a person of complete reform credentials like Raila assuming power because they understand that the economic shortcuts that they have been taking since independence will have been dealt a fatal blow. They are shivering to their very bone, right now and using all their riches to paint him as the devil incarnate. Even Moi, a key ally of this group is scared stiff and has recently taken to courting with Kibaki to block the changes aspired by the Kenyan society. The Kalonzos of this world are simply pawns in a game of the rich, and will remain to be so. The Railaphobics beware! Your time is up and the time for truth is nigh. The country needs to begin afresh, and it will overcome. Attempts by Moi and Kibaki to win the forthcoming elections in boardrooms will come to nought. The masses will be waiting for the ballot, and they will read all you railaphobics the riot act. Kenya cannot continue being a country run by the treacherous, selfish and conceited rich. Superiority of tribe in numerical numbers does not justify a tyrannical dispensation by the majority. The people will support Raila because he is the best historical tool to break the appendages of Kenyattas regime, whom Moi pampered for his political survival. Kibaki is currently babysitting them, and the hotel owner in Karatina has exposed them to Kenyans. The clock is ticking!!!!!! Geoffrey Makeke KYVA

POOR PEOPLE'S PRESIDENT BY GEORGE NYONGESA

Poor People's President Very thoughtful correlation of Raila and the masses by Geofrey. You are very right the undoing of Raila is that the rich see him as Poor People's President. Raila represents a person who is anti-exploitation system set up by white collar thieves. Can you imagine if an Asian in industrial area had a dream that Raila has been inaugurated as 4th President of Kenya, he would jump off the bed in huff, because that is a nightmare. And there are so many Asians in Kenya, some are black skinned as you and I. See the Kenyan ruling class are the employers in this country. What do you think they feel like when they think of Raila becoming the president? They see someone who represents a problem, why because, Kenyan employers exploit employees but the employees do not have avenues for seeking retribution. So Raila represent who can institute a bill that will have to increase minimum wage and that is a nightmare to some people. You can imagine how the whites used to feel at the thought of Dedan Kimathi becoming the President of Kenya, for sure, nightmare. On that note I would also like to challenge Raila supporters to grow up and stop behaving like small kids, getting excited at the thought of mummy bringing home sweets and there you go berserk and scare away some of Raila's admirers and sympathisers. We are wired differently and some of us our make up doesnot allow to go helter skelter like a well fed calf. Some Kenyans may not be screaming on the roof top as it is habit of some of you but they are genuine supporters of Raila and they're busy influencing votes for Raila without necessarily you knowing that. Friends, however much you love Raila, politics is a game of numbers and those outside are the ones that need to be caughted carefully and persuasively not by your self-styled Raila 'damu' attitude. At the risk of behaving like the behavior I am against I have written that

SERO DEPASCO AND RABET MATAARI ON KALONZO

Rabet Maatari Your Kalonzo Musyoka analysis is very correct. For somebody who has been in Siasa for so long, he should be keenly aware of the fact that winning the presidency is not about being a back stabber and using the same old antics (like promising Kenyans free secondary school education, knowing that this was the one thing that would positively touch virtually every single Kenyan voter, especially because so many have failed to go to secondary school for lack of fees). Neither is it about cutting a new image (joining a street demonstration for the first time ever in his political career. We all know that he Kalonzo has always behaved sheepishly and nothing to Stand for. His Idea and conclusion to Defect for Raila Led ODM K and joing LPK was the counter the thought that he has never led any political or civic Party during his entire 20 plus years in active politics, he thought by Being a leader of LPK qwells this Question. Electing a president is the people’s prerogative and a leader must merit the top seat. Is Kalonzo qualified for president? HELL NO This is not for me to judge, but going by the people’s wishes, it is clear the man stands NO chance to beat president Raila or Kibaki if he stands alone as the opposition candidate. Real change can only come when the pain of having something in our lives not working exceeds the pain of making a change, or when the rewards of change exceeds the rewards of resistance. We have come a long way to realize change do not require resolutions we cannot keep or the guilt that follows our failure, but the intense awareness that accompanies self-confrontation. We fear self-confrontation, often choosing self-righteousness to shield us from the one thing that can move us forward; - self confrontation. Bwana Kalonzo Self-righteousness does not bring change, self-confrontation does!! Kenyans do not need the likes of Kalonzo. We need a president who can confront major issues without fear. A decisive decision-maker. We need new ideas, not old Kanu re-cycled tired strategy, which is the only thing we can expect from Musyoka who as we all know is still remains very close to former president Daniel arap Moi, the man who invented him from nowhere, Bwana moi has refused to let go of politics for obvious reasons. My honest conclusion? In a Kalonzo presidency we can only expect more of the same. Where president Kibaki has been a fence-seater, President Kalonzo would be even more so.Then somewhere along the way his true colors would have to emerge even more, his defection from ODM and his steal the show anitics are only splinters of his true self. His arrogance and deamenour are all but self telling. SERO DEPASCO RESPONSE TO MATAARI Rabet Maatari wrote: Over the past few months ODM-Kenya Presidential candidate Kalonzo Musyoka has exposed his soft underbelly in political strategy this albeit declaring that he is a "strategist" and "Revolutionary" . Time and again his serious lack of political acumen has been exhibited by his monstrous blunders made in an effort to "steal the show" from his main rival in the Orange Democratic Movement Raila Odinga. Having realized earlier on that the only person that stood between him and the opposition outfit's leadership mantle was Raila, Kalonzo by design and not coincidence chose to portray his stand on issues as completely opposite of his rival's. A brief trip down memory lane will point to instances where Kalonzo has conspired to out manoeuver and "steal the show" from "Agwambo" as Raila's supporters adoringly refer to him, but come out bruised and weaker. From their heydays in LDP, Kalonzo always insisted on taking positions on issues that would project him in the public domain as the alternate center of power in LDP. There was tussle of whether the flag bearer of LDP was to be picked by consensus, delegates or direct voting by members of the party. While Raila favored the delegates method, Kalonzo chose direct voting by members after learning of Tinga's preference and knowing all too well that that his stand would look more democratic. This was done despite the reality being that a direct vote in the nominations would cost a colossal amount of money which LDP did not have. Besides this there was all the issue of identifying the bona fide members of LDP. On moving to ODM, Kalonzo again deliberately opted for a stand of always taking a different view to that of Raila. When the issue of the mode of choosing the ODM Presidential Candidate came up in the Navaisha plenary Kalonzo shifted from his direct vote preference to delegates system but here again he took a diametrically opposite position from Raila. While Raila was for delegates chosen from the constituency level, Kalonzo insisted on having delegates from the sub-location level. When this become a cropper he then insisted that the delegates would only be chosen from the constituency level if their number was increased from Raila's suggested 1000 to 2000. All the while Kalonzo was making these demands, he was in Nairobi to keep an appointment of a TV interview while all party members including all Presidential Candidates were busy holding deliberations in the Navaisha plenary. Ostensibly Kalonzo was issuing his demands via his mobile phone to his group of supporters at the meeting. Then there was the London trip debacle. All ODM-Kenya Presidential candidates except Raila and Joseph Nyaga failed to make the trip which had been heralded as a "bonding session". Four candidates, Uhuru Kenyatta, Julia Ojiambo, Nazlin Umar and Kalonzo skipped the excursion in solidarity with William Ruto another candidate who reports said had been denied entry into the UK owing corruption cases against him in the Kenyan courts. Two others, Musalia Mudavadi and Najib Balala had originally planned not to travel. On this occasion Kalonzo triumphantly declared he had decided not to travel as a show of support for his "brother" Ruto. His second reason for opting out of the trip was because his intelligence network had reliably informed him that the trip was to be used to clandestinely endorse Raila as the ODM-Kenya flag bearer in this year's election. Clearly his explanation was an attempt to paint Raila as the lone ranger in the movement. When the Lang'ata MP was preparing to launch his vision in May, Kalonzo sensing the euphoria Raila's event was creating rushed to a Nairobi hotel and unveiled his "tax proposals" to the nation a day before Raila's gala event. Again the motive here was to steal the thunder from Raila who by this time had eclipsed Kalonzo in terms of popularity in opinion polls. Kalonzo then ridiculously took a swipe at media houses accusing them of giving undue and unwarranted coverage to Raila. When Uhuru, Ruto, Ojiambo and Nazlin all declared that they would not be submitting their presidential nomination papers back to the Anyang' Nyong'o led ODM-K secretariat but to a properly constituted ODM-K elections board Kalonzo swiftly joined the their bandwagon. He even displayed a copy of a million shillings cheque for the nomination fee while picking up his nomination papers from the secretariat and gleefully declared that money was not the issue. He then refused to hand the cheque to Nyong'o. This stunt was primarily not only geared at seeking cheap publicity, but also taking a swipe at Nyong'o who reportedly is a Raila supporter. He was also intent on quashing the perception that his campaign lacks financial support as opposed to Raila's. Hot on the heels came the fiasco surrounding the leaked report by the Fred Gumo led ODM-K council of elders which had controversially favored the candidacies of Musalia or Kalonzo. This led to a flurry of meetings of interest groupings within ODM-K which culminated in Rift Valley MP's and Ruto asking Raila to step down in favor of either Musalia or Kalonzo. Kalonzo then seized the opportunity to declare that he and Ruto were like minded and speaking as one when it came to matters pertaining to finding an agreeable ODM-K flag bearer. He quickly then shifted his goal posts declaring that consensus was indeed the best method of choosing the ODM-K presidential candidate and that the delegates or his earlier preferred direct vote where susceptible to infiltration by Government agents and sympathizers. His current stand was of course informed on the misguided perception that Raila ambitions had been "dented" by the leaked report and he Kalonzo was clearly the man of the moment. It is common knowledge of how Raila aptly handled the leaked report and took his quest directly to the people to the chargin of Kalonzo. On the eve of the controversial Mombasa ODM-K rally, Kalonzo was again at his best with his "steal the show" antics. He secured an interview with a local daily in which he poked fun at Raila's second liberation credential's. He then famously claimed that his major contribution to Kenya's democratization process was coining the phrase the "Rainbow coalition" and that the first meeting of the Rainbow coalition was held in his room whatever that meant. One wonders whether this interview was the catalyst that led to him being booed and heckled at the Mombasa rally. Clearly losing major ground to his rival Raila as the Steadman and Infotrak opinion polls suggested, Kalonzo unrelenting and seeking to recover pulled a move he seemingly believed to be deft but which turned out to be daft. After short consultations with Julia Ojiambo's Labour Party of Kenya he announced his defection to LPK from LDP two parties that were members of ODM-K. It is instructive to note that his defection was motivated by his desire to get out under the suffocating influence of Raila in LDP. He then proceeded to instruct the registered officials of ODM-K led by his supporter Daniel Maanzo who were holding the party in trust to take over the operations of the party from the recognized interim officials led by Henry Kosgei. But Raila and co successfully managed to cast his act as a defection from ODM-K arguing that LPK had contravened the ODM-K constitution by advertising in the newspapers for parliamentary and civic aspirants willing to stand for elections on it's party ticket. Kalonzo's "masterstroke" act evidently ended up not having the desired domino effect of gaining him more supporters but instead only a handful of members from his ethnic group jumped ship with him. And last week when the then Kosgei led faction of ODM-K called a NEC meeting in Nairobi, Kalonzo initially reacted by saying the Maanzo faction would instead be holding the legitimate NEC meeting in Machakos before being reported as saying that he would indeed be attending the NEC meeting in Nairobi. But to political pundits surprise, Kalonzo called a press conference on the morning of the NEC meeting in which he wasted no time in castigating the Kosgei led faction and declaring the soon to be held NEC and it's resolutions null and void. He then retreated to his Machakos ethnic backyard for a rally with his supporters who all again consisted of members of his ethnic group. The Nairobi NEC meeting of course resulted in Raila and his group acquiring the first registered ODM party from Lawyer Mugambi Imanyara. In shock and left with an empty shell in the form of ODM-K, all Kalonzo could manage was to call Raila a coward and traitor. And now while Raila and his group have moved on, Kalonzo is still up to his "steal the show antics" and has reportedly declared that his ODM-K will hold it's Presidential nomination a day before ODM holds it's nomination on September 1st. This according to him will prevent ODM from stealing ODM-K delegates. Talk of stealing. One can't stop but think why delegates of Kalonzo's ODM-K would want to be associated with ODM if they are truly ODM-K delegates. Furthermore, shouldn't it be as clear as day and night the distinction between the two parties with one (ODM) presenting itself as an individual membership party and the other (ODM-K) being a coalition of parties? From this chronicle, it is evident that Kalonzo is devoid of any originality as far as political agenda setting and strategy is concerned and should stop passing himself as a Political Strategist Instead his energies should be spent on building team skills and political alliances with grassroots leaders countrywide. This he should start by venturing out of his Kamba backyard and not retreating to it when caught between a rock and a hard place. He should also invest in a different PR team as his current team is doing great injustice to him with their contribution to his Presidential campaign. By Rabet Maatari.

RAILA EJECTION AND THE LESSON TO KENYAN VOTERS

The ejection of ODM presidential hopeful Raila Odinga and his entourage from a hotel owned by a relative of president Kibaki was a primitive act that should not only be condemned but has no place in the modern civilization. It must be noted that whatever the reason was such an action reflected on how polarized our country is along tribal lines. we can remember Raila himself proved that he was not a tribalism when he declared ‘Kibaki tussah’ in 2002.But now its coming to a point where some people in this country believe that the seat of the president is their preserve and whoever else seeks it is an enemy who doesn’t deserve any hospitality even if he is paying for it. It is shame if at all Raila’s ejection was as a result of a tall order from a senior family member of Hon. Mwai Kibaki as its being speculated. Such primitive characters have not had an opportunity to learn consequences of such primitive actions. Many will remember, the Nazi holocaust, racial hatred, the infamous Rwanda genocide which resulted from hatred between Tutsis and Hutus and the scenario where celebrated author and lecturer Prof.Ngugi wa Thiong’o was ejected from an hotel in California purportedly meant for whites only .Those ignorant of history and ignorant of global political trends do not know repercussions of such actions. Its time for Kenyans as elections approach to teach such people a lesson through the ballot. It doesn’t matter whether such people win or not but a statement should be made by us denying them our votes and rethinking on any other alternative. If president Kibaki supporters and relatives can show such manners to his opponents, then they stand warned that even their candidate since they have decided to own him should not campaign outside Nyeri or Central province in that matter. Such actions easily convince me that Kenyans need to wake up (Amkeni Wakenya). I have been watching so many things going on in the Kibaki camp for the last few months, and this proves how tribalistic some of these people are. It will be as you have witnessed in the last five years that when they say they have a government of national unity, only a few political leaders from other communities benefit while other great opportunities such as high profile appointments and government tenders go to one specific community. It is a sad affair. Our earlier intentions to support Kibaki should be re considered basing on the fact that many things have happened since. Its time for political realignment and we must only go where we are respected and recognized. Not where we are going to rubberstamp other peoples fortunes. We have less than 100 days to election and that means we need to make a decision that makes sense to us and our interests, especially the young people both in western province and other parts of the country. If Kibaki team will be such a group, well if not we will certainly decide. We should not be as cheap like our leaders of national stature who are benefiting at our expense and promising Kibaki that they will mobilize us to vote for him. It is a known fact that our political leaders in western were well contented when Kibaki cancelled debts for coffee farmers and tea farmers but when he came to western province he dilly dallied about the plight of the sugar cane and maize farmers. Then the leaders celebrated. Its corruption, tribalism and compromise of a few minority to manipulate the poor uninformed majority. It must also be noted that when Kibaki went to western province to create districts and start foundations for markets, some lobby group of made up of people from his province came and launched some outfit in Kakamega and declared that all western province is for Kibaki.they hereby stand warned that should they risk to go back to kakamega, whoever they should blame is only themselves. That is the trend they have created including appointing a person of central province to be a coordinator for western province. We are certainly against this kind of behavior and we promise to use any necessary force to deal with them should they ever attempt to continue with these actions. They have taken us for granted because our political leaders like Kombo and Kituyi and moody have decided to auction luhyas on the stake. How could the president come to western province, leave without addressing the sugar cane issue and these guys are still singing that the Kibaki has a development record? Does it make sense if he gives everything to central province and we celebrate by getting the left over, just like what the field Negro (slaves) used to eat after being beaten from morning to night. Am informed that a Mr.Njoroge is the coordinator for western for a Kibaki campaign group. As I write this am hereby informing all you guys who support Kibaki and belong to this yahoo group and you come from western to refuse that kind of arrangement. All our networks in western province should share this information. Let us not rubberstamp the benefits the ministers have gained at our expense. We wanted to learn them and we actually discovered what they are. We will call you for a meeting soon to deliberate on this. We will only support whoever will show value to us and also have space for us. This decision comes after a series of deliberations and evidence that the people campaigning for Kibaki are nothing but a bunch of self centered bunch of tribalists.we have a vision to save the future of our people and not through Mwai Kibaki…we will tell you who. Forward this message to other contacts both in Kenya and outside. We will call a meeting soon over this…our initial support of Kibaki was important because without which we wouldn’t have known some of the evils these people commit. It will be time to spill the beans. While Kituyi, Kombo, and Awori, Kirwa trade with Kibaki they get compromised and pretend to be representing us. Young people wake up and save our country from scavengers, both old and others living amongst us, don’t be used as rubberstamps .Let them campaign in their villages since they think they can go far on their own. Because we are trying to save Kenya as they struggle to rape her. FWAMBA NC FWAMBA