GRIEF AND CONSTERNATION STRIKE YET AGAIN.

Our country is struck with consternation and an avalanche of grief. The pain is immeasurable; there are not enough words of comfort. But amid all this grief and trepidation, it is my sincere hope that the state intelligentsia will get to the bottom of this harrowing incident and arrest the wily fellows behind this ugly blot in the history of our nation. Clearly the perpetrators of this heinous act designed it to have psychological effects that would reach far beyond the immediate victims attack. It was meant to frighten, intimidate and draw a wedge between the wider electorate and especially the Christians and Muslims. Curiously, some individuals in the No Team have remotely been alluding to the emergence of religious intolerance should the draft constitution be passed in its current form. Is this chilling incident a fulfillment of their “prophecy?” Could it be that these latter day prophets of doom elected to use a more dramatic, spectacular, bloody and destructive act of violence to engender the much hyped religious war? If I someone asked me whether what was witnessed at Uhuru Park was a subterfuge by the No Camp, my answer would of course be in the affirmative for the simple reason that the political wing of the No camp has been desperate to obtain the sympathy, leverage and influence in the August plebiscite. The temptation to such subterfuge is great among the political wing of the No Team since they have all along been foisting religious intolerance since this is the only way that can make them succeed in swaying public opinion against the draft constitution. After several unsuccessful attempts at perpetuating hate speech coupled with empty rhetoric on religious intolerance among the Christians and the Muslims, desperation seems to have taken toll on them, and with this desperation, these people must have resorted to desperate measures. Such desperate measures may include the bombing subterfuge at the Uhuru Park rally in a bid to turn back the constitutional clock. As for the clergy, they must examine the mediocrity and narrowness in a section of the politicians that purport to walk with them. All they want is to use Christianity as a veil to achieving their selfish goals. This opposition of appearance versus reality only proves that these wily political veterans are very dangerous and are more than capable of thriving on such subterfuge. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.co./tomefrancis

FAITH BASED INSTITUTIONS BRAZENLY PARADING INSTRUMENTS OF BLACKMAIL AGAINST ACADEMICIANS.

It appears that the leadership of the Catholic Church is increasingly rating religious devotion higher than professionalism when contracting lecturers. These academicians have their opinions censored by the leadership of the catholic church and they can even be sacked if their political and religious opinions contradict those of the leadership of the Catholic Church. This is so because recently a lecturer was dismissed from his job at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa for penning articles in a local daily that were inconsistent with the stance of the leadership of the Catholic Church on matters relating to the current draft constitution. His dismissal serves to reinforce the fact that the leadership of the Catholic Church has lost objectivity and has in fact, resorted to brazenly parading its 'instruments of blackmail arranged to intensify pressure on the people who work in all its institutions to accede to its outrageous demands of opposing the draft constitution. This unfortunate stance negates the principal of academic freedom that deems it absolutely necessary that academicians have to investigate their respective fields of knowledge and express their views without fear of restraint or dismissal from office. This is because the open and free inquiry within an academician`s field of study is essential to the pursuit of knowledge and to the performance of his or her proper educational function. This then implies that ones tenure of office is dependent largely on ones competence in his or her field and on his or her acceptance of certain standards of professional integrity rather than on extraneous considerations such as political or religious beliefs or affiliations. Yet this inspiring hatred against academicians is not confined to the Catholic Church. There are many other people who have silently suffered religious discrimination perpetuated by faith based institutions throughout the country. If a lucky Kenyan manages to get a job in such an institution despite his or her beliefs, their problems may not be over. Faith based institutions can decide levels of promotion on the basis of the beliefs of academicians, meaning that there can be a de facto ban on senior posts for those of the "wrong" beliefs even though they wield superb credentials. Perhaps worst of all, employees can be dismissed for conduct which is "incompatible with the precepts, or with the upholding of the tenets" of the employing faith based institutions. It is up to the governing body of that faith based institution to define their "precepts" and what forms of conduct are "incompatible" with it. The mind boggles to imagine what forms of conduct could be considered cause for reprimand or dismissal. It is hard to know the extent to which employees are punished for "incompatible" conduct since academicians are unlikely to want to publicize the fact they have been reprimanded and would even find it hard to take a case to a court of law because currently we have very weak legislation protecting employees against such atrocities. This simply means that employees in faith based institutions can be appointed, disciplined, paid, promoted and dismissed according to their beliefs, with very little or no legal protections at all. The question that must be asked is why the government has failed to justify the religious discrimination visited upon its people? Why is the government not doing anything to tackle this shocking anomaly? Why must faith based institutions preoccupy themselves in shrill opposition to people`s rights and liberties and be allowed to go unpunished? For the sake of the public it is vital that the government listens and does all it can to stop rogue faith based institutions from discriminating their employees on the basis of religion. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

A WELL ORGANISED SECRETARIAT WILL BOOST THE YES VOTE

On Friday, the Synovate group released a poll indicating that the yes side had lost seven points since the last opinion poll was conducted. Being part and parcel of the national yes campaign team, I can authoritatively point out the reasons as to why we have had our side fluctuate from 64 percent approval in the previous poll to the recently announced 57 percent. There is no doubt that both the president and the prime minister have shown their undying support of the document. This is possibly the reason why majority of Kenyans are in support of the document. The political goodwill from the president and the prime minister might be one of the main factors that will help us in mobilizing the vote that will eventually have us succeed in what has been so elusive in the last two decades. However there are a number of loopholes in the campaign that if they are addressed urgently, Kenyans will get an opportunity to know the importance of passing the proposed constitution overwhelmingly. The make or break point for the yes campaign lies heavily on the role that will be played by the yes campaign secretariat before and during the referendum campaigns. It’s easy too to attribute the maintained lead to a section of the leadership of the secretariat and still attribute the fluctuation to a section of the secretariat leadership. The secretariat leadership has raised the issue of lack of funds whenever confronted with a question on why the campaigns are being done haphazardly. It’s however unjustifiable since both the PNU side and the ODM side of the coalition are facing the same predicament in respect to lack of availability of funds. Lack of funds is not a justification for being disorganized. With these challenges, the ODM side of the secretariat appears to have stronger leadership organized, well structured and ready for the campaigns, while the PNU side seems to lack leadership at the secretariat. unlike ms Janet Ong’era who is hands on and in charge of running affairs procedurally, Prof Peter Kagwanja who happens to lead the PNU side seems to understand more on political theory than organizing real political exercises like the referendum we are heading towards. there is no doubt that most of the people appointed to the secretariat are competent enough to execute the duties concerning the referendum campaigns, but under Prof Kagwanja’s leadership, it will be hard to maximize the potential of reaching out to the; yes’ prospective voters .Prof kagwanja is an accomplished scholar with great research works to his name. However his current task seems to be greater than or out of the scope of his understanding and thus it might be difficult for him to deliver. The PNU side of the secretariat appears disorderly and Prof Kagwanja himself is rarely in the office. One outcome of such disorganization came when the ODM side organized a youth press conference where PNU affiliate parties were poorly represented. It emerged that Prof Kagwanja was either unaware or had failed to get in touch with PNU affiliate youth leaders for the function. The few of us who attended the press conference were ambushed at the last minute and by the time we were joining the press conference, we had no idea of what the statement contained. It’s alleged that Prof Kagwanja is now silently planning to plant people of his own choice to head different departments, ignoring the names of political party leaders seconded by respective party leaderships of respective PNU affiliate parties. It’s no secret that it will be foolhardy to campaign without putting the youth vote a serious priority. It’s obvious that the youth vote will decide the margin by which the proposed constitution will be approved by Kenyans. Having been out of the country for a while, Prof Kagwanja has been absent from the Kenyan political scene and may not be in a good position to tap the right political manpower for the purpose of the referendum. The referendum campaign needs to be run by someone who is well acquainted with the Kenyan political affairs in the recent past and in present. The ODM side appeared to have noted this fact in advance and that is why they appointed someone who apart from other qualities understands Kenyan politics. In most cases Prof Kagwanja is always having meetings out of the office or too busy that very significant matters are either left unattended to or handled by his ODM co-director. There is no doubt that soon, there will be complains, as it has been before that ODM is running away with the yes campaign and yet the truth of the matter is that we have a politically incompetent person leading the PNU side of the secretariat. I am optimistic that YES will win, but in a referendum like the august 4th one, it’s important to marshal enough support from the majority of Kenyans as targeted by the political leadership of the yes campaign. The 10 million vote target is attainable, but the target might be elusive if the secretariat directorship on the PNU side is not changed. Fwamba NC Fwamba The writer is NEC member of New Ford Kenya, New Ford Kenya is a PNU affiliate party in the grand coalition government The ideas expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect the party position

POLLSTERS ATTRACT ODIUM USUALLY RESERVED FOR FALSE PROPHETS.

If credibility is defined as believability, then at the moment, credibility is the most of the worries that the pollsters must content with. Pollsters have attracted the odium usually reserved for prophets. Each faction contesting the up coming constitutional referendum believes it has what it takes to effect the biggest surprise of the election that will confound pollsters and pundits alike by winning the referendum by margins far much bigger than the pollsters` current estimates. Much as I wish to dismiss such sentiments, I think that it is imprudent that we do not succumb to the dark impulses that lurk in the works of the pollsters lest we fall in the worst possible faux pas. Experience has over time shown that polls unwittingly or otherwise overestimate or underestimate the strength of the parties contesting in an election. Take the 1948 and 1992 elections of the United States of America as examples. Pollsters either greatly underestimated or overestimated the candidates` margins of victory. It is such inaccuracies in estimation that made people begin to cast shadows on the credibility of opinion polls. To begin with the sampling procedures as well as inconsistent sample sizes have led to variations in results. Secondly, even if the basic poll data are valid, analyses of the data is at times too casual and quite superficial. In some instances, the raw data are simply presented as the public's “opinion” without deep and careful analysis to probe nuance and possible bias. Bias may be manifested in the manner in which the pollster constructs questions to measure the respondent`s responses. It will for instance be unsurprising if the percentage of the public in favor of “forbidding” hate speech were found to be lower than the percentage in favor of “not allowing” hate speech. From the foregoing, a pollster`s question can significantly alter an individual`s measured response. In addition, results may be correct at the time they are collected, but as we all know, a day in politics is such a long time. Estimates are unlikely to be inconclusive since the vote can shift at the last moment. The most stinging criticism is however leveled at the polls` appropriateness level. Such polls have been known to influence voters to favor a faction that seems to be enjoying a notable popularity at the time. The information that a certain faction is far ahead in the polls may discourage voters from voting at all or encourage them to vote for that particular faction that is enjoying a roller-coaster courtesy of the pollster thus affecting the results of the election. It is for this reason that I agree with those who are of the opinion that legislation be put in place to bar opinion polls from being conducted two months to the election date. This will ensure a free and fair election. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

SHENG ASCENDANCY: TEACHERS HAVE NO MAGIC WAND.

My attention has been drawn to Kennedy Buhere`s article (The Standard Newspaper 31st May 2010, P16) titled “Teachers to blame for poor language grasp.” I find Buhere`s stance on teachers of the English language maddeningly unfunny. It is loathsome for an opinion leader of his stature to behave like the “Bully Pulpit Preacher”, who elects to use mere rhetoric to shine a spotlight on an issue of national interest. Buhere alleges that “lay” teachers of the English language have given up the fight against the ascendancy of Sheng among students. His is a misnomer. The truth is that teachers have put in place the language policy that seeks to encourage the use of the English language as the official language of communication not only within but outside school as well. Apparently, his is a case of misconstruing the teachers` hue and cry over the ascendancy of Sheng among the youth to mean that teachers have given up the fight against minimizing the effects of Sheng in formal education. All that teachers are simply looking forward to is a broad, proactive societal role to protect the interests of the youths in this nation. Parents must for instance take a more proactive strategy in guiding and counseling the youths. It goes without saying that society has given the youth so much latitude. Consequently the youths have become heavy consumers of popular culture, values that come from advertising, the entertainment industry, the media, and icons of style. These values are distinguished from those espoused by more traditional, political, educational or religious institutions. The effect of all these is manifested in their medium of communication which, as Buhere opines, is uniquely different from the mainstream society. Things are made even worse by the fact that parents and guardians, flawed by their lack of understanding of their role, elect to make Sheng their occupation whenever they indulge in tête-à-tête with their children. This is a clear pointer to the fact that the parents` philosophy is not aligned with the schools` philosophy. In such instances, teachers are discouraged from actively disabusing the minds of the youths from their error of idolizing Sheng. From the foregoing, Sheng is a social problem whose panacea does not lie in the hands of teachers alone. It is the society more than teachers that reserves most of the responsibility for the English language debacle. It is therefore incumbent upon Buhere to desist from his great game of straws and understand once and for all that teachers have no magic wand to wave. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION SEEKS TO FOSTER EQUITY IN A CHRISTIAN DOMINATED SOCIETY.

Thomas Hood (1799-1845) once said that “He lies like a hedgehog rolled up the wrong way, tormenting himself with his prickles.” Nothing could prove the import of Hood`s words than the on going debate on the draft constitution. You do not need to be schooled in matters law to realize that a section of the political and religious leaders have in an unceasing effort resorted to surreptitious interference of the constitution making process by desperately using very high profile propaganda to instill fear among Christians. Moral principles have lost their distinctiveness and absolute right and wrong are a matter of what the biased clergy and the filthy wealthy individuals say. You have heard them opine that the draft constitution is fundamentally flawed on the count of the inclusion of the Kadhis courts. Yet, even with their “extraordinary vision” these leaders have failed to see how the majority Christian religion will sufficiently be served with the draft constitution. Moreover, suffice to say that a larger proportion of the laws in our penal code as well as the appointments in the judiciary are, today, tilted in favour of Christians. By not acceding to the equal potential of all religions the Christian clergy (and the politicians hiding in their cloaks) will be justifying their intolerance and dominance. Simply put; they will be projecting an attitude that sanctions and encourages prejudice against other religions. It is thus imprudent of them to be obsessed with an invidious discrimination that is in itself an engine of oppression and subjugation of other religions as a means of maintaining or enhancing their power as Christians. In realization of the disadvantages that other religions (and especially Islam) are faced with in our society the draft constitution has put in place article 27 (6). This clause talks about the state legislating other measures, including affirmative action programmes and policies designed to redress any disadvantage suffered by individuals or groups because of past discrimination. I see absolutely nothing wrong with such a provision being anchored in the constitution. There are other provisions dealing with positive discrimination which are anchored in the draft constitution. For instance, women are such beneficiaries. The inclusion of affirmative action for women in the draft constitution has not ruffled anybody`s feathers. Similarly, Kadhis` courts have their existence in the draft constitution vide this positive discrimination. Like John Locke, we must forever allow “reason to be our last judge and guide in everything. Where reason does not guide our formation, our opinions are but the effects of chance and hazard, of a mind floating at all adventures, without choice, and without direction.” And this is dangerous trend because Christians will definitely in the long run inflict a lot of damage to themselves. For instance, if other religious faiths demanded for the expunging of all Christian family laws from our penal code as well as all forms of discriminatory Christian religious practices in all our public institutions and especially in our judiciary, I have no doubt whatsoever that Christians will become the biggest losers here. It is for this reason that I believe that as Christians we can comfortably leave the Kadhi courts in the draft constitution without compromising our faith in any way. Kadhi courts are only a remedial religious-based preference whose existence in the constitution seeks to foster religious equity in our largely Christian dominated society. I beseech our Christian clergy to desist from religious disputes and especially those which are conducted in the eye of the public. Experience teaches us that such disputes are useless; they lead more to hatred than to enlightenment. We must never be seen to celebrate a court ruling that is likely to dismember the pillars that hold this nation together. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

THE CLERGY IS OBSESSED WITH INVIDIOUS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST OTHER RELIGIONS.

Over the last few weeks Kenyans have experienced a surreptitious interference of the constitution making process by a section of the political and religious leaders who have in an unceasing effort resorted to using very high profile propaganda to instill fear among Christians. They have opined that the draft constitution is fundamentally flawed on the count of the inclusion of the Kadhis courts. Yet, even with their “extraordinary vision” these leaders have failed to see how the majority Christian religion and other minority religions are served with the current constitution. Suffice to say that a larger proportion of the laws in our current constitution are Christian friendly. The same can be said of our penal code as well as in the appointments in the judiciary. All these things are tilted in favour of Christians. By not acceding to the equal potential of all religions Christians will be justifying their intolerance and dominance. Simply put; they will be projecting an attitude that sanctions and encourages prejudice against other religions. It is thus imprudent of them to be obsessed with an invidious discrimination that is in itself an engine of oppression and subjugation of other religions as a means of maintaining or enhancing their power as Christians. Positive discrimination is thus a matter of both empirical belief and moral faith. It is instrumental to note that other religious faiths have not complained about Sunday, Easter holiday nor the Christmas holiday. They have not even complained about the judicial system whose laws gel with the Christian family laws. Neither have they complained about the standard practice involving the singing of Christian hymns, reading of the bible verses nor the saying of Christian prayers in public schools across the country. Besides, we must not forget the fact that Christian Religious Education is taught in public schools courtesy of the tax payers (including those who profess different religious faiths). If other religious faiths demanded for the removal of all the faith based provisions in the current constitution as well as the draft constitution and the expunging of Christian family laws from our penal code, Christians will be treated to a rude awakening. If other religious institutions demanded an end to all discriminatory religious practices in all our public institutions and especially in our judiciary, I have no doubt whatsoever that Christians will become the biggest losers here. It is for this reason that I believe that as Christians we can comfortably leave the Kadhi courts in the draft constitution without compromising our faith in any way. Kadhi courts are only a remedial religious-based preference whose existence in the constitution seeks to foster religious equity in our largely Christian dominated society. From the foregoing, I hold it that last week`s ruling by the constitutional court was mischievous and was out to dismember the pillars that hold this nation together. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

ONGERI`S SLIPSHOD LANGUAGE ON TEACHERS IS UNCALLED FOR.

Recently, the Minister for Basic Education opined that teachers are a languorous lot who are only too quick at demanding for pay rise than in redirecting their energies in improving performance in schools. He then went ahead to demand that they must post eighty percent improvement in performance to reciprocate the government`s gesture in implementing the Collective Bargain Agreement. It is for this reason that I am impelled to discount the totalitarian tendencies and rising mediocrities perpetuated by the minister against the teaching fraternity. His penchant for extended digressions and slipshod language on issues affecting the teaching fraternity is uncalled for. In fact, he risks being seen as superfluous. Suffice to say that nobody disputes the fact that good performance in national examinations is one of the principle outcomes of schooling. However, relying on students’ performance in national examinations as a measure of teachers’ performance (or lack of it) gives a very false impression on teachers` performance. This is because examination performance is depended on so many factors some of which are beyond the control of teachers. It is therefore critical that the minister looks at the schooling programme as a whole and not lambast teachers based on selective reading of the often inaccurate periodic monitoring and evaluation reports prepared by his ministry officials. To begin with the ministry of basic education has continually held irrational thoughts that schools across the country are inherently at the same level of infrastructural development and that students have the same entry behavior hence examination results across the country must always be very much alike. The entry behavior aside, we are also too aware of the fact that there are many students with superior abilities but who pursue their studies in ill equipped schools and who do not achieve the measure that their abilities warrant because of poor infrastructure in such schools. Moreover, I am sure that the minister is cognizant of the fact that what ails performance in the education sector is its poor planning (or lack of it), meager resources and corruption. It goes without saying that the schooling programme is reeling under heavy corruption, a problem which the minister is only too aware of. It is therefore important that the minister understands that he is absolutely wrong in entirely relating poor performance to teaching or school leadership. Though performance in examinations is an important aspect of all educational systems, it cannot on its own be a reliable indicator in gauging teachers’ performance. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

THE THREE JUDGE BENCH HAVE MUCH IN COMMON WITH THE TROJAN PRINCE (PARIS).

Jean-Jacques-Rousseau (1712 - 1778) once said that “The general will is always straight, but the judgment that guides it is not always enlightened”. In trying to underscore the import of the above adage, one can draw some parallel from the “Judgment of Paris”, a Greek mythology whose impact on literature has been incalculably great. Its major characters, though shrouded in the distant past, exhibit personality flaws and strengths that are as real for people today as when the work first appeared. The myth revolves around a Trojan prince (Paris), who was called on to judge which was the most attractive of the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Offered the bribes of power by Hera, success in battle by Athena, or the most beautiful woman in the world by Aphrodite, he chose the last. Aphrodite then helped him abduct Helen, so causing the Trojan War and earning the hatred of both Hera and Athena for the Trojans. First, the moral story of this myth is that people (including judges like Paris) are corruptible. This is because the intellect is always at a high risk of being fooled by the heart. In such circumstances, many men and women of good standing find themselves succumbing to material temptations. Secondly, a judge whose moral standing is questionable may unwittingly make a ruling which commits the entire nation on pain of logical inconsistency so much so that hatred and animosity drives a wedge between neighbors. In Kenya we have our own Trojan Prince in the name of the constitutional court whose ruling on the constitutionality of the Kadhis court has aroused considerable indignation and anger both in equal measures. Unfortunately though, this ruling is likely to engender religious intolerance which is a recipe for disaster in our fragile country that has barely healed form the 2008 Post Election Violence. Like Hera and Athena our Muslim brothers and sisters are crying foul for what they consider a cold neutrality of the three judge bench. The Yes Team also reads mischief in the whole saga. They see this ruling as a ploy to derail the review process. In their estimation, this particular judgment is politically motivated and it is thus far removed from impartiality. Some people have even opined that the court`s judgment is a pointer to the fear that has gripped the entire bench should the proposed draft constitution be promulgated. The fear is informed by the fact that there is a provision in the draft that requires a section of the judiciary to resign six months after the promulgation of the constitution for a thorough judicial purge. There is a real danger that like Paris, the prince, the members of the bench may have eloped with the No Team. The ruling could just be one among the many in the “No Team`s bag of tricks”. But even with the on going intrigues, the Yes Team should not despair. They must Like Abraham Lincoln, continually remind the electorate that “The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it has any evil in it; but whether it has more of evil, than of good. There are few things wholly evil, or wholly good. Almost every thing, especially of governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded.” TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

TSC MUST RESCIND THIS UNFORTUNATE UNILATERAL EDUCATIONAL DISARMAMENT.

The teaching profession can only be added quality if teachers are given a sense of empowerment and responsibility. It is therefore everyone`s expectation that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has to encourage teachers to embrace further education and training. But this is not what is presently happening. Apparently many of the failures and problems in the teaching profession can be traced to inefficient and unresponsive systems of teacher management. To begin with, TSC does not value the enhancement of quality among teachers. It is absurd for an employer who ought to demand quality above everything else be the one issuing an unorthodox decree that seeks to bar teachers from quality enhancement. This is clearly perpetuation of a pure misnomer. It is such attitude from TSC that has over time removed glamour from this once highly respected profession. Consequently the teaching profession suffers from image crisis. Fewer and fewer people want to be associated with the teaching profession in primary and secondary schools. A visit to our public and private universities indicates that teaching as a career has hit an all time low. Very few students are taking teaching as a career. This trend portends disaster for our Nation. The educational foundations of our society are presently are undoubtedly being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrities perpetuated by the TSC. Among other things, TSC has unilaterally barred teachers from taking study leaves to pursue further studies on grounds of teacher shortages in schools. Through this unfortunate pronouncement TSC seeks to dismantle essential support systems which enable teachers bring quality back to class. TSC has, in effect, committed an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament. Unfortunately if this mediocrity is allowed to go on our very future as a Nation and a people will be threatened. Yet TSC`s stance of being a permanent stumbling block to teachers professional growth does not come as a surprise at all given its penchant for disregarding quality in the teaching profession. Instead, its number one concern has been to heavily reward employees of the TSC at the expense of teachers. For instance, a clerical officer employed by TSC will earn Kshs 30, 000 while a primary school teacher with more years of education will earn a paltry Kshs 13,000. The disparity in terms of salaries between TSC employees and teachers keeps on increasing across the different job groups. It appears as though TSC has advised the government to ensure that teachers' salaries do not keep pace with either inflation or the salaries of most other professionals, as a way of retaining teachers in the teaching profession. Not only are starting salaries low but they fail to grow fast enough to be competitive. Consequently, teachers are demoralized not only by low salaries but also by loss of status, bureaucratic pressures, a negative public image and a lack of recognition and rewards. As a way of getting themselves out of this prison of some sorts, many teachers want to pursue further education as a means to enhancing their pay package. Unfortunately, a masters degree holder is given a paltry two increments which is hardly the teacher`s worth. Those who wish to go beyond the masters level will be hit by the realization that currently TSC has not thought of retaining teachers who have attained the doctorate degree. These highly educated and experienced teachers have to look for greener pastures elsewhere. Perhaps the decision by TSC to bar teachers from taking study leave is as a realization that the number of teachers quitting TSC for greener pastures is on a steady rise. TSC has in the meantime to contend with teacher shortages. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

THE CLERGY HAVE SUCCUMBED TO THE INTRICATE TEMPTATIONS OF THE WORLD OF POLITICS.

The clergy have increasingly been made a butt of many cynical jokes. This is because the faithful have developed a cynical distrust of them. And it is quite easy to understand the anger and frustration from the faithful. Big money allegedly from the “clergy’ is threatening to corrode our democracy. But it is not only the money from the clergy (which is actually a lingering misnomer for the church). We also have undue influence from the filthy wealthy cabal who in communion with the clergy are pulling their massive resources together to debilitate the process for essential reforms in this country. Judging by their countrywide campaigns which are awash with all sorts of posters, leaflets and other political rally appurtenances, we have no doubt that colossal sums of money are involved. And, it cannot just be the contributions made by the Christian faithful. There must be undisclosed sources from which these colossal sums of money come from. And since the source(s) is a highly guarded secret, this can only be the kind of money whose aim is to pervert democracy. We all know that it can only be a perversion of democracy for a section of the clergy and politicians to rely on massive financial resources rather than prayer and ideology to influence the referendum outcome. This perversion has been made possible by the very fact that at the moment there is very weak legislation that prohibits political groupings and individuals from sourcing and spending unregulated funds in a political campaign. Is it not time that the conscientious public demanded full disclosures of all contributions and disbursements that have so far gone to the No camp? If indeed it is the money from the faithful, is its use not inconsistent with the purpose for which it was given? We need to know whether the faithful were consulted by the clergy before their tithes were injected into this muddy referendum campaign exercise. This is because no clergy on any pretext whatsoever can elect to use the church resources for purposes other than that which they are meant for. By using the faithful’s money in a political campaign, the clergy have succumbed to their appetites and lost their spirit among the singularly intricate temptations of the world of politics. By the end of the referendum campaign, the clergy will have to deal with the fact that they will increasingly be seen by the faithful as having become a misnomer and a cover for socio-political stagnation. As for the Yes Team, I wish to remind them that commitment and consensus in strategy are prerequisites for a successful campaign. They must try to counter the floodgate of lies perpetuated by the naysayers. They must also deal decisively with those in their midst who have concealed their inner self behind the glib mask of duplicity. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

By Benedict Wachira: Magoha must go…………….my experiences.

Today, Police are all over the University. The administration police have surrounded Kikuyu campus. The GSU are baying for innocent students’ blood, across the Kabetes. A combination of anti-riot, AP, and GSU police have cordoned off the statehouse road, and all they are waiting for is the whistle, the whistle to allow then to maim, maim male students. The whistle that allows them to rape, rape female students. And the whistle that will allow them to kill, kill anybody who runs away from them. The media, the Kenyan media, has decided to give the situation of national importance a total black out, or give a one sided story, on the turn of events. The media is trying to make this issue of national importance, to look like a simple politico-goonship story. The media wants to make the students look like barbarians, and that all they want is to stone cars and cause disruptions. The media is part of the problem. It all began in 2006. April, 2006. A group of former expelled students came to the University, they came as “revolutionaries” who had been kicked out because of fighting for students rights. They came and made promises, they came and excited students, they came and played with students’ emotions, but all they wanted to do was to fuck the students up. Unknown to the University Comrades, Magoha had made a deal with these returned expellees, a deal to help him steal money, a deal to help him stay on his seat for longer, and a deal, to feed them with the cramps that fell. In 2006, April, 2006, Magoha and his accomplices succeeded very well, and took almost all the executive posts. Come 2007, May, 4th, 2007, Magoha wanted more, he wanted a tribally balanced SONU. He wanted arse-lickers, who could do whatever he wanted. And he had prepared well for it. Very well indeed. In the course of 2006, he instigated for the changing of the SONU constitution, so that the outgoing office, would serve as the incoming electoral commission, this he did by: And I quote him “massaging the backs of the then student leaders.” Bribing through stealing from the students’ fund no longer had the common name of corruption, no, it now had been given a new name: Massage. Come May 4th, 2007 Susan Chege, won the chairperson’s seat with a landslide majority. But Magoha could not allow that. He wanted the chairperson’s seat to go to a person who understood how “The system works,” not a novice whom he could not trust. Furthermore, he wanted a tribally balanced SONU, and given that there was no Luo vying for the SecGen’s post, he had to get a Luo for the chairman’s post. This was against the wish of the majority of Luo students, who didn’t like Adinda, Magoha’s candidate, due to his poor performance as a sports secretary the previous year. Those who had tried to stop the rigging were instead beaten up by the riggers, and the University security. Not only was Adinda, a person who had been booed and dismissed all through his campaigns given the seat, but so was a whole lot of others students vying for other seats. We mobilized students to oppose those fake results and tension was all over the university. Even two former student leaders, the late Oulu GPO and Fwamba NC, could not just sit aside and watch, they came to our aid. The University students wanted to take to the streets, but we told them to wait. To wait until we tried out the other channels. We went to all the offices that one could think of, from the ministry of justice, to the ministry of education, from well known lawyers, to river road lawyers, we did letters to the University Council and we finally met the VC himself. All he did was plead with us, not to cause chaos in the University. He instead blamed the constitution. But what he seemingly could not remember was that HIS constitution (new) was never passed by an AGM, and it was thus ILLEGAL. All we wanted was a repeat election of the elections, with neutral electoral commissioners. The talks failed and we settled for our last option: Leading the students to the streets with two agenda only. 1. Magoha must go. 2. Yote yawezekana bila SONU. It was the only option that we had been left with, everybody else, the government, the Council, the Judiciary had given us a blind ear. Oblivious to some of us, Magoha had already begun clandestine talks with some of the people we were together with, and by the date of the demo, only three people had remained. Demoralized and disoriented. How did this happen? Was the only question in our minds. Magoha had proved that he was not only a master tribalist, but a master in the world of bribing. Some of the fellows had been given money, lots of money, others had been given imaginary posts, and others were merely threatened. (Here I can’t help but remember how I had a very progressive meeting with one Mr.Kibore, on how he would mobilize guys from Upper Kabete, drop with them in Chiromo, and head on to main campus. then 20minutes later, I meet Dann Mwangi, who shows me an sms from Kibore, who was already campaigning for the speaker’s post! A post that he had been assured of by Magoha himself!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,of which needless to say, he never got. ) *Interestingly, the same rigging tactics that were used by Magoha’s men, were the same rigging tactics that Kibaki used in the presidential elections later that year (lack of ballot papers in some areas, changing of results at the summation halls, the use of security persons to protect the riggmasters etc etc) But this was just the beginning of of Magoha’s successes. That year, millions of shillings were stolen, by the SONU leaders in conjunction with Magoha’s administration. By the way, the SONU leaders had given the stealing a nicer name: Jackpotting. Adinda had no decency whatsoever. His lowest point being when he led his goons to beat and maim around 60 Biomedical students, who had sought the University’s intervention for the recognition of their degree, by the Kenya Biomedics registration Board. Instead of the goons, who had used metal pipes and whips to beat up the peaceful and innocent young women and men from Upper Kabete being suspended and facing disciplinary action, it was the victims who were suspended, and some even expelled from the university. It was hence quite clear, who was behind all this. After a year of stealing, stealing and more stealing the elections were here again. This time round, I decided that I was not going to vie for the Secretary General’s post, but not under the conditions that were there. Comrade Amuke and I (and later joined by Onchari) formed the reformist movement. And our call was >>no reforms no elections<>No reforms no elections/SONU must go campaign<>No reforms, no elections/SONU must go

HON. WILLIAM RUTO MUST ANCHOR CAMPAIGN ON DRAFT CONSTITUTION IN THE BREAST OF HONESTY.

If the words of Mario Vargas Llosa (1936- ) are anything to go by, then real politics has indeed very little to do with ideas, values, and imagination. It has everything to do with maneuvers, intrigues, plots, paranoia’s, betrayals and a great deal of calculation. It has no little cynicism. In sum it is a kind of con game. In Kenya, one only needs to confirm the truth of this assertion by just paying a little attention to the goings on in the current constitutional making exercise. The referendum campaign is so crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions. In fact, it would be an understatement to say that there is a certain class of politicians whose mendacity is simply unparalleled. Take for instance Honorable William Ruto`s rhetoric that the electorate can reject the draft constitution in the 2010 August 4th plebiscite and enact another one in a span of three months. Ruto knows too well that he is perpetuating a blatant falsehood. Perhaps it would do Ruto a lot of good were he to stretch his memory a little bit further to 2002. The NARC government then promised the people of Kenya that it would promulgate a new constitution in 90 days. It took the NARC government three solid years to come up with a draft constitution and even then vested interests saw the draft rejected at the referendum. When the Wako draft was rejected at the plebiscite, the government did not invite people to gloss over the rejected draft constitution with a view to removing the clauses that they disagreed upon so that another referendum could be held immediately thereafter. The entire process had to begin afresh. It has taken another five solid years (two of which are under the grand coalition government) not forgetting that the process has consumed not less than 9 billion of the hard earned tax payers` money for the government to go through another constitutional making process. Like 2005, the country will have to wait for at least two years for political temperatures to subside before taking another stab at the process. And even after that we have to wait for a complete economic recovery before embarking on the process again. This obviously mean that the country will have to head into the 2012 general elections under the current flawed constitution that led to the 2007 post election violence. Honestly speaking, many Kenyans of goodwill shudder at the prospects of the country heading into another election without a constitution that has proper checks and balances. It is because of this that I beseech him for once to anchor his campaign in the breast of honesty. For the sake of the citizenry of this country, let him think for once that he could be wrong. Currently, we are at the brink of enacting a new constitution and it were better if those who feel that there certain clauses they disagree with were to wait for its promulgation then immediately after embark on amendments. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter/tomefrancis.com

DRAFT CONSTITUTION NOT FOR WHIMSICAL ANTICS AND FRANTIC SLAPSTICK COMEDY.

Even as the state intelligentsia (in a bid to avoid being seen as sharing in the guilt) fumbles with the investigations to unearth the bizarre faceless minions behind the inclusion of the two noxious words (national security) in the bill of rights, a number of persons—both public officials and private citizens have expressed fear of the existence of a very dangerous conspiracy aimed at cutting a swath through the efforts at enacting a new constitution. It is emerging that the motivation behind the naysayers campaign is not because the draft constitution is fundamentally flawed as they would want the unsuspecting public to believe. (For if it was then they would not need a conspiracy to make the electorate reject it.) Their rejection of the draft constitution is informed purely by their collective phobia for a possible Raila presidency. It is quite disheartening for politicians to let a very sensitive and costly constitution making exercise degenerate into an exercise for settling personal scores. Granted, Prime Minister (Raila Odinga) is one the most tumultuous and controversial figures in the political history of this nation. His fiery speeches have made him a well-known and popular figure throughout Kenya and the world. His single-minded pursuit of better governance has won him loyal admirers and implacable political enemies. It is precisely because of his growing political presence and his critical stance on governance that has made many political figures shudder at the prospects of his presidency. Today, many of the anti Raila crusaders are the former YK92 operatives. It is instructive to note that at the time when the KANU apologists were snoozing courtesy of KANU`s political furs, Raila was a “political criminal” who was incarcerated because of his political convictions. Despite the incarceration, his hopes for a better Kenya were never dashed. He always drew inspiration from the fact that the world over, the history of human progress is at the same time the history of every new idea heralding the approach of a brighter dawn, and in Kenya, the brighter dawn was always considered illegal, outside of the law by the inimical KANU apologists that presided over the withering away of our state. With the Kibaki succession politics gaining momentum, the move by the YK92 operatives alongside other KANU apologists to begin coalescing with a view to becoming power brokers is not unexpected. They willfully believe that the draft constitution, with its clear checks and balances, will make it virtually impossible for anyone to stand in the way of the democratic will of the people of Kenya. To them, a Raila presidency will mean that historical injustices will certainly be addressed. The panacea in containing a possible Raila presidency lies in their incessant opposition to institutional reforms as well as in becoming stumbling blocks in the country`s efforts to enact a new constitution. In so doing, they hope to have a carte blanche to rig the 2012 presidential elections and then invoke the national security clause (which is in the current constitution) to kill, beat up, and silence those who will be patriotic enough to stand up against this treachery. The question that is increasingly being asked by Kenyans of goodwill is whether whimsical antics and frantic slapstick comedy ought to be sufficient grounds for the rejection of long sought after draft constitution? The draft constitution cannot be and will never be the theatre of the absurd. I take it that you will be sincere enough and honest enough and brave enough to render a verdict according to your convictions, beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt. Suffice to say that each one of us is an atom in the incessant human struggle towards the light that shines in the darkness—the ideal of economic, political and spiritual liberation of mankind! TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

WE MUST ALL SAY NO TO SPIRITUAL MONSTROCITIES.

The three- hour “Uhuru Park Show” hosted by a section of the clergy and which boasted of a batch of like minded politicians attempted to create the impression that its audience is growing substantially. They may have nearly succeeded in doing so were it not for the fact that these men and women of the cloak forgot that such a function was likely to carry with it a pack of unintentional goals. One such unintentional goal (and which had far reaching ramifications) was in letting the all important prayer become a footnote in the whole exercise. This function, complete with all the paraphernalia of a political rally only helped portray the fact that the "maverickness” of a section of the clergy had definitely hit an all-time high. You see, they not only used the guise of prayer to unofficially launch the no campaign, but they also went ahead to choose their campaign symbol contrary to the rules and regulations of the IIEC. In choosing the symbol of a whistle and instructing the naysayers to blow themselves out of breath wherever they are, the clergy were indirectly telling all and sundry that they are not only defiant of the regulations as laid down by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) on noise pollution but that they were also telling the larger public that they are more than willing to be insensitive to the public`s desire for a noise free environment. Not even God likes noise. Definitely, the electorate is sure to refuse to be subjected to noise pollution by the whistle blowing naysayers and this may breed a fertile ground for unnecessary confrontation. Such antics signal the clergy`s intention to create not only a rapaciously chaotic but also inefficient and irrelevant protracted referendum campaign. Moreover, whistle blowing will only help portray the clergy`s stance as nothing more than a whimsical kaleidoscope of confused signals. It is such behavior that has made the electorate learn not to stop questioning the moral legitimacy of the clergy`s mawkishness on many other socially sensitive issues. Not even in the primordial society were people held captive in the miraculous whimsy of the supernatural. After all, God, in his own wisdom, deemed it absolutely necessary to abundantly bless man with scientific knowledge so that he (man) can put it to good use to save mankind. By insisting on subjecting mankind to oppressive weight of blind faith, the clergy are actively participating in their own relegation to the dusty cabinet of spiritual monstrosities. In the words of Thomas Browne (1605-1682) “If there be any among those common objects of hatred I do condemn and laugh at, it is that great enemy of reason, virtue, and religion, the multitude; that numerous piece of monstrosity, which, taken asunder, seem men, and the reasonable creatures of God, but, confused together, make but one great beast, and a monstrosity more prodigious than Hydra.” Indeed, the clergy must think it necessary to subject certain dogmas to a critique of reason if they are to command the respect of humanity. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

THE WHIMSICALITY OF WANTING TO INFUSE MORALITY IN THE DRAFT CONSTITUTION.

Any controversial national debate on the future of our country must always begin with the question of legality only then can we proceed to the question of morality.This two-step approach is what we mean when we say that our government operates under a rule of law. Some people seem to forget easily that the question of legality (which so often resolves itself into a question of constitutionality) is both fundamental and paramount on any given issue. It is perplexing as well as perturbing that they have failed to go back to the basics and remind themselves that all great political issues eventually resolve themselves into legal issues. And since the Constitution is the fundamental and paramount law of the land, all debates on great national policy issues must begin and end with the Kenyan Constitution. When some of them opine that the rejection of the draft constitution will mean going back to the current constitution which outlaws abortion I think they are obviously tethered on confusion's tail end. Suffice to say that what the current constitution has done is to leave the operationalization of the clause on abortion in the province of legislation. Indeed, the provisions in the penal code are no different from what is in the draft constitution. Are the naysayers saying that they are ready to live with the penal code that has the same provisions like the draft Constitution but reject the latter? On this alone, can they be honest enough to tell us the motivation behind them yielding to the temptation to oppose the draft constitution. In this regard, I am afraid that they are truly caught up in the whimsical to the extent that they have totally failed to focus on the constitutional issue. Or may be, as it has been said, they are salivating at the prospects of swimming in the American Dollars whose sole intention is to debilitate the constitution making process in the country. With regard to the Kadhis courts, I wish to remind the clergy (and those politicians hiding behind them) that they are no more catholic, pentecostal or believers in the African Traditional Religion than the rest of us. I have never, as a Christian, felt my rights infringed upon by the existence of the Kadhis courts in the constitution. If, however, at a latter date, they prove detrimental to my faith, then I will cross the bridge at that juncture. I am acutely aware that the draft constitution provides a window through which those aggrieved can amend it, so why all this fuss? Unless, of course, we do not subscribe to the biblical teaching that we are all equal in the eyes of God (with or without an earthly constitution). And while the clergy are at it, a section of the politicians in the “Yes camp” are busy instilling fear in the electorate that we need all the naysayers on our side lest they defeat the constitutional referendum. Others like Augustino Neto (Saturday Standard, 1st May 2010) are imputing that the referendum may meet its Water Loo when the minority abstain from voting hence denying the referendum the quorum necessary for it to be valid. Evidently, this witty piece of writing is aimed at inciting the naysayers into abstention. I wish to remind them that if we needed to have everybody on the yes side, then the import of a referendum will be lost. In any case, the referendum laws, in many countries do not provide for quorums. Save for those that put the threshold as low as 40%, the issue of threshold is deliberately left out in many countries. Still, many other people are of the opinion that just as it is unconstitutional to make voting compulsory so is the threshold requirement unconstitutional. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.comtter.com/tomefrancis

CAN THE MINORITY DEFEAT THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM VIDE ABSTENTION?

It is important to note that the question of constitutionality of the promulgation of a new constitution consists of both the procedural and the substantive aspects. The procedural aspect consists of the minimum requirements laid down by the constitution for the promulgation of a new constitution. On the other hand the substantial aspect consists of the basic concerns of necessity, beneficialness, and practicability. In other words, when we put this debate into the ordinary man`s language, there are two issues that we must grapple with: the procedural issue of constitutionality; and the substantive issue of policy. Of much concern is the substantive issue and especially with regard to the necessary quorum in the national referendum. In view of the above Mr. Augustino Neto (Saturday Standard, 1st May 2010) touched on both the procedural and the substantial. On the substantive, he noted with a lot of concern the absence of the referendum law (which can only be introduced by ordinary legislation). The import of threshold is such that it gives the majority of eligible voters the impression that if that minimum requirement is not achieved, their opinion is not taken into account and therefore the referendum exercise is null and void. Individual countries are therefore expected to come up with clear, unequivocal, and straightforward legislation to guide their national referendums. It is also important to note that countries have to decide whether a referendum on a single issue has the same weight with that of the promulgation of a new constitution and therefore both have to be subjected to the same threshold or whether the latter should have a slightly lower threshold. It is worth noting that in many countries, the requirement for the latter is slightly lower. This is deliberately so because many people fear that a higher threshold can block the whole process. They opine that when a higher quorum is provided for, the result of the referendum can be predetermined vide deliberate abstentions. This is obviously a move which is against the constitutional purpose of the referendum. Indeed, it is very possible that the naysayers can call for a countrywide boycott in the hope of defeating a constitutional referendum by abstention despite being in a minority. Respective countries must therefore have the foresight to prevent such a scenario. I would for instance be frightened at the prospects of parliament passing a legislation that would require a 60% turnout of eligible voters and a 50% plus one as the minimum requirement for the promulgation of a constitution. But unlike Augustino Neto, I may be comfortable with a legislation that states that “a referendum’s decision “shall be considered effective and binding if at least 40% of the total number of eligible voters participate in the vote and if 50% plus one of them voted in favour of the decision. (It is instrumental to note that eligible voters herein refer only to registered voters and not anybody who has attained the age of 18 years.). This is because I do not anticipate voter turn-out to hit an all time low of 40% even with the ongoing debilitation by the naysayers kingpins. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

THE CLERGY`S WALKOUT AND SUBSEQUENT VOW ON OBSTRUCTIONISM IS UNCALLED FOR.

The government's willingness to seek consensus with the clergy on the draft constitution has finally been rewarded by the latter`s abandonment of the discussions. I say “rewarded” because the electorate now knows that the clergy was never in the first place interested in consensus talks. That is why from the very onset, the clergy ensured that the discussions were intermittently bogged down in procedural wrangling. And as largely anticipated, after pulling out of the talks, they have vowed not to relent in their obstructionism of the country`s efforts in the promulgation of a new constitution. Clearly, their actions are a testament to the fact that seeking consensus with a person so much consumed in conservatism and dogmatism can only be an exercise in futility. You see, since time immemorial the clergy has always been intolerant to emerging fountains of knowledge to the extent that many people fervently wished that the good Lord should deport the lock-step clergy to Hell for not listening and sometimes preaching and praying in “strange” tongues. As early as the seventeenth century, some liberated clergy got the drift. They too started questioning the place of dogmas in the Christian church. The conservatives viewed as dissenters. But to the so many people who understood and embraced their preaching and teaching on nature, morality and theology, they were latitudinarians (derived from the words attitude and latitude). This is because they saw the import of allowing some freedom in attitude, beliefs, behavior and interpretation in religious matters. They sought to reconcile fundamental Christian ethics with the new rationality of Renaissance philosophy, science, and humanism. Because of the extent of their liberalism they were often condemned as atheists. Many of us would have hoped that history would have provided the clergy with such important lessons. However, it looks like the vital historical lessons have never been learnt. It is painful today to see many of the clergy still clenched in the rigor mortis of dogmas. Their views on science are still antagonistic. They forget that in God`s own wisdom, human beings were abundantly blessed with knowledge with which to make human life more comfortable. Fortunately, such clergy are increasingly being isolated because no longer are the faithful a faith -fool lot. Unlike in the yonder days, where dogmas where formulated (especially during the time of doctrinal controversy) in order to clarify the orthodox teaching in the face of emerging challenges, today’s world is sufficiently informed as to decide what is best in the interest of humanity. Like Horace (65-8BC), we wish to remind the clergy that much as they wish to drive out nature with a pitchfork, nature will constantly be running back. The best we can do is to take advantage of our God given knowledge to be able to live harmoniously with nature. Even though I am extremely disappointed with a section of the clergy whose school of thought is far removed from the realities of today’s world, I am however cognizant of the fact that the law does not grant me the license with which to express my inner most feelings. In this regard, I have decided that I be sufficiently philanthropic as to reward them (clergy) with a pacifier. They could suck on it until the referendum exercise is dispensed with. In so doing, they will at least keep their mouths closed. In return they will immensely benefit from their silence. This is because they will have an ample time to re-work on their perception. I want to believe that they are not oblivious to the fact that the public has increasingly viewed them as purveyors of nothing more than crooked religious voodoo. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis

Reflections: a letter to Kirimi who went missing and suddenly life is not the same again

Reflections: a letter to Kirimi who went missing and suddenly life is not the same again ''ITS INEVITABLE-THE CHICKEN WILL ALWAYS COME HOME TO ROOST''

THE YES TEAM MUST BE WARY OF THE JOHNNY-COME-LATELIES.

Despite the research findings by Synovate Research that seem to suggest that the No Team is currently drenched in torrential political rain accompanied with political crashing, the Yes Team cannot afford to sit on its laurels. If anything, this research finding should signal the beginning of a series of protracted campaigns to discount the heavy dose of misinformation purveyed by the No Team to ensure that draft constitution wins overwhelming support especially from the doubtful pockets of the expansive Rift Valley Province. With focus and clear strategy, it will be unsurprising for the draft constitution to receive unprecedented backing from the electorates in say Eldoret North constituency. The Yes Team must strive to bring everybody on board, but in so doing, the Yes Team must be wary of the Johnny-come-latelies and the active portfolio strategists who are forced by circumstances to invest where political conditions seem favorable to them. This is because such elements are more often than not to bring in to the Yes Team shades of opinion that are unhealthy. For starters, some have already began suggesting that in order to bring everybody on board, there is need for the Yes Team to purge the draft constitution of its contentious clauses to make it more suitable for a pluralistic democracy. They opine that an addendum is the only way out of the seeming intractable constitutional difficulty. Prima facie, an addendum appears like some god send opportunity to solve this intractable constitutional difficulty. However, a closer look at it reveals that engaging in such an exercise is akin to an additive inverse. This is because one man`s meat is another man`s poison. In other words, there are those of us with quite a number of contentious issues in the constitution. The fact that we have kept our cool should not be misconstrued to mean that we are completely satisfied with the provisions in the draft constitution. This then means that were we to isolate the contentious issues then almost every article and clause in the draft constitution will be forced to become an addendum. In my opinion, we have reached the ne plus ultra. From the foregoing, any move to re-open the draft will therefore serve the interest of those unwilling to promulgate a new constitution. Suffice to say that we must at this stage elect to deal with actualities. We must therefore not be willing victims to either those suffering from accelerated political depreciation or those suffering from political acceleration stress. Already, Moi; the self professed political professor (emeritus) opines that the country is better served with the current constitution and that we only need minimum constitutional amendments to make it even better. How on earth can one seek consensus with such a person? Like Moi, key political players from the expansive Rift Valley Province are cunningly hiding under the churches’ cloak to achieve their selfish political desires. They have elected to use freedom of speech not so much to express their wants but to conceal them. As for the grand coalition government, it must not shy away from saying that the draft constitution is a government project. It is. It became a project of the coalition government (read as the people of Kenya) the day it (the coalition Government) pledged to the citizenry that it will deliver a new constitution. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis