Ringera and Corruption

One of the tactics to employ when debating is to constantly change the topic, misinterprete questions raised, form your 'own' questions and pretend that those new questions are exactly what your opponents asked and then proceed to answer them. It is a tactic I have used over the years to get the better of anybody in an argument. I am particularly at ease with a careless opponent who thinks there is such a thing a synonmns - two or more words meaning the 'same' thing. That is because I strongly believe in the power of words and have never entertained the thought that two words could ever mean the same thing.

So here we have Ringera. I do not think he has chosen this approach on his own. There must be some amateur behind him. I see traces of mistakes that can only be made by some man trying to learn the ropes as he goes along. For an analysis of their tactics pleasetune in another time.

Ringera was all over the media complaining that he was being accused of being corrupt. He must have known that would be a hard sell because he pinned the charge on the pro-government Daily Nation. Then he listed many cases but left out the names for Mutula Kilonzo to name in parliament this afternoon. That is because Ringera knew that if he named anybody at his press conference, it would both prejudice his case and open him up for private defamation suits by highly resourceful people. So he chose to exploit the freedom guaranteed MPs. I thought that was very mean. However as I shall show, this may well be his biggest mistake. The strange thing with doors is that once open people inside get out and those out get in and in no particular order!

I do not recall anybody ever accusing Ringera of corruption. God forbid! The man earns 2.5 million per month and thanks to his law office partner Kiraitu Murungi, he has a parachute deal that would make those Wall Street upstarts turn red with envy. If one were to start somewhere, then Ringera's judgement would be brought under review:

1. How could a man whose job is to fight corruption not ask Kiraitu Murungi to recuse himself from negotiations and signing of his contract on the grounds that they had worked together as partners in one law firm which they still owned;

2. One of the most important prerequisutes for becoming the Director of Kenya Anti Corruption Commission is a high degree of personal integrity and decorum. Since a large number of people including the majority of parliamentarians have expressed doubts about his commitment to corruption, does Ringera still think he has the integrity the job requires?

Ringera must have thought of all the foregoing and decided he was still qualified. So a decision was made to fight it out. Hence the statement and the further spilling of the beans in parliament by Mutula Kilonzo.

The spilling of beans will be easily dismissed as a poor attempt at blackmail. Already 90% of the MPs and ministers on the list have not been 'vocal' at all and can deny any vested interests.

There is another angle to the whole thing: Most of the MPs and ministers are from Raila Odinga's ODM. That confirms the contention that Ringera has been using KACC as a tool in partisan politics. Missing is the name of Amos Kimunya, George Saitoti and others associated with some of the most recent mega corruption deals. Common with the missing is their closeness to President Kibaki.

There are simple observations one can make:

1. Nobody is on record accusing Ringera of not placing people under investigation. Since no known person made that accusation, I want to assume Ringera has done it himself. In other words it is Ringera who is accusing Ringera of not investigating people. It is the same Ringera who then proceeds to answer his own accusations by causing the names of MPs and ministers to be tabled in parliament by Mutula Kilonzo.

2. It does not matter how many names Ringera tables in parliament. It will not explain the apparent willful incompetence and laziness on his part.

Finally the two committees that have recommended his removal specifically stated that they only addressed the process used to reappoint him and at no time did they discuss or comment on his performance - something they said belongs to the KACC Board.

When RCB is Down

I know whenever RCB goes under. That is because the hits on this site rise. It gives me an idea. Perhaps I should migrate this blog and set up a forum?

The Fox and The Rooster

Anybody heard of the story of the Cock (Rooster) and the Fox? A long time ago, there was a Fox that loved to eat chicken. He could trap hens that strayed from the farms and have a good meal. He had one problem though - The Cock. With its blood red wattle and comb, is looked like it was always carrying a ball of fire. The Fox naturally feared that The Cock could set its fur on fire at will with its ball of fire. So it stayed away and in fact any hens that moved in the company of the Cock were left alone by The Fox. This went on for some time.

Then one day, the Cock realized that every time he ran in to The Fox, it ran away with great fear leaving a trail of smelly excreta and pee in its wake. It was clear to The Cock that The Fox lived in great feat of him. He could not think of any reason why The Fox would be so scared of him. He (The Fox) was a much bigger animal with speed and multiple defence and offence tactics, how could he fear a small bird? He resolved to find out what it was all about and make peace. He also realized that it might actually put an end to the slaughter of the hens which he secretly suspected The Fox to be behind. So when they met the next time, the Cock made sure that the Fox stopped to talk.

Why do you fear me?
I don't, I am usually just in a rush, answered The Fox unconvincingly
For The Cock realized that every time he moved a little towards the Fox, he shook with fear and urinated and excreted in his own pants. He was making a great pretence of being comfortable. Many such meetings were held but always ended when the Cock had to crow. For whenever The Cock was done with the crowing, it would look around and lo! The Fox was gone.
The Cock decided to settle this once and for all by making one last diplomatic move. He invited The Fox to his home as a sign of sincere friendship. After much hesitation, The Fox decided to attend.
He was served pickled mushrooms – to enhance the appetite followed by mulligatawny soup. The Cock then served some light Pasta – to show off evidence of his wide travels. For the main dish were served ngege, ugali, sheep testicles (which The Cock had accidentally trampled over in the bush) with red wine.
The Fox loved the wine and drowned many a portion with glass after glass of wine. The Cock followed suit despite a strong warning from the hens that his body and mind could not tolerate a more than average consumption of alcohol. It did not take long for both Fox and Cock to loosen up.
The Fox gained the courage to ask The Cock a question that had been disturbing him for a long time.
“Friend”, started the Fox, “how do you manage to sleep in your bed without setting fire to the entire bed with your ball of fire?”
The Cock, after finding out what The Fox meant and realizing that he had discovered the source of all that strange behavior on the part of The Fox, could simply not hold his laughter at all. He laughed and laughed until his ribs ached. When he had calmed down, he told The Fox that indeed the wattle and the comb were not made of fire and that they were just red and completely harmless.
“So you mean even if I touch it, I would not burn in an instant?” asked the excited Fox
“Not at all”, answered the now drunk Cock “here, come and touch”
A still timid and apprehensive Fox moved slowly with heavy feet and with great caution extended his hand to touch the Cock’s head. Yes, he confirmed it was not dangerous. Now it was his turn to laugh at himself for his foolishness. It was late evening when he left The Cock’s home and staggered to his cave.
The next day, it was an entire skulk of Foxes that descended on the chicken home. They killed the Cock last. They wanted him to watch.

Nothing Can Hide Idiocy!

Florence Jaoko - Who Are You Kidding?

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) re-published its report on Post Election Violence and gave me one more reason why no Kenyan should go before any kangaroo tribunal set up by Kibaki and his cohorts.

How can I support a list of names issued that has somehow manage to exclude the name of the then Internal Security minister John Njoroge Michuki? The shoot to kill orders issued publicly by this man would attract 'crimes against humanity' or even 'genocide' charges! We know that this man participated in several meetings at state house in which plans to rig elections in favor of Kibaki were discussed. He is reported to have dismissed possible protesters as 'mere jaluos who will run at the site of a gun'

Others who attended the said meetings were:

The Chief of Defence Staff
All the Provincial Commissioners
The Police Commissioner
The Head of the General Sevice Unit
The Head of the Administration Police
A wide range of former military servicemen

We also know why Kibaki travelled all the way to Machakos to visit Gen. Jackson Kimeu Mulinge.

Mwai Kibaki - The Hypocrite

Last week, amid publicity, Mwai Kibaki and an entity unknown in Kenyan law and public administration by the name 'First Family', sacked an ordinary citizen from his job at State House. His offence: Buying more luxury cars for the President, President's wives and children at a time of austerity! For this Kibaki was wildly cheered by his court poets and hangers-on.

When the cheering was over, Kibaki decided to 'secretly' create 13 new provinces and stuffed them with highly over-payed mandarins at the level of directors or some such level. It is to be assumed each of these mandarins will - as usual need three luxury cars. One - a Mercedes - so that the big man keeps speed when riding in presidential motorcades whose minimum speed I am reliably told is 230 Kilometers per hour. Any small Japanese car would never reach those speeds.

The second car - usually a Land rover or Ranger Rover - is for the chieftain to use when 'inspecting projects' in the rural areas.

The third vehicle - usually a Volvo is for the big man's wife or put differently for the provinces 'First Family'. This apart from facilitating the movement of the First Lady of the Province, ensures that children are delivered and collected from schools and kindergartens, attend parties and generally feel comfortable.

A new province will come with new officials. New buildings would have to be put up. I am informed that the cheapest new province will cost 1 billion Kenyan shillings just to set it up and much more to run.

Please do not forget that there are now 210 districts in Kenya. Most of these districts are illegal.

So Kibaki makes the saying 'giving with the right and taking with the left sound strange. It really is 'giving with one finger and grabbing with all fours'.

I have been reliably informed that Kibaki is planning another coup - this time with Uhuru as the beneficiary. Such moves as these convince me the man is serious. I watched Kibaki prepare to rig the 2007 elections. He knew that it will lead to bloodshed. He simply never cared. To this day, Kibaki remains unapologetic about his actions. He has never found it in his heart to look at his age and contemplate the future of his family. Humanity can be very brutal and unforgiving to the offspring of a dictator. The same humanity would bend over backwards to accommodate the child and grand children of a humble and beloved - generations after he passed away. If Kibaki or one of his supporters can show me the prospering son of a former dictator, I would say let Kibaki go on killing Kenyans.

Finally, could anybody tell me what Kibaki hopes to gain from increasing the number of districts and provinces? The word on the ground is that he is out to grab Kalenjin and Masaai territory for his tribe. I am bound to agree based on the past actions by Kibaki and the fact that I can hardly think of any reason why he would be setting up new districts.

For the record, not a single minister has surrendered his / her mercedes since Uhuru Kenyatta issued his anti-big car edict. Journalists who kept vigil at the gates of state house for any news from the unusual cabinet meeting were witness to the greatest opulence ever seen in a poor country. Every minister came in a mercedes. I have yet to hear what Uhuru used.

The Cost of Having a Prime Minister

It is official and in print: The tax payer shall cough out a whooping 33, 000, 000 to refurbish the private homes of Raila Odinga who is also the Prime Minister of Kenya.

If anybody still thinks Kibaki is a fool, that person better think twice.

Here is the big picture:

1. Kibaki has just rejected 5 or more luxury vehicles. The vehicles were not even personal but belonged to the state which then allowed him (Kibaki) to use. He would be required to surrender them on the 29th of December 2012 or upon resignation or death (whichever comes first).

2. Raila has just accepted to have his private home to be refurbished using government money. None of the improvements will belong to the government. He will keep the improvements and reap all the benefits whenever he leaves office. In event another prime minister comes to office, the state would have to spend the same or more money to bring the new person's residencies up to Prime Minister level.

A number of questions arise here:

3. Is Raila aware that real people are dying in Kenya as a result of food shortages? How does this play to the donors and others well-wishers who are being asked to bail out Kenya? Does he need a house in Mombasa as well?

I would have supported a new house being bought for the Prime Minister which would remain state property even when Raila ceases to be PM. May be somebody could have spoken to Moi to allow his former house in Kabarnet Gardens to return to the State for use by the PM. The government could also reposess some of the buildings and plots it once sold to well connected individuals in the 80s and 90s at throw away prices, well, on the same terms as they were sold. Whaever the case, more questions arise:

4. Does Raila and ODM still think they are on the side of wanainchi and Kibaki is not? Is Raila aware that 33 million is what it takes to educate 55 university students with each earning a Bachelors degree?

We have seen some level of wastefullness on the part of Raila that is fast creating a pattern that will be too hard to run away from.