The beauty of Kenya

Seek leadership positions says Lucy Kibaki

by PPS.

First Lady Lucy Kibaki has advised women to aggressively seek for leadership positions to influence policy formulation and governance in their countries.

The First Lady made the remarks today during the official opening of the Forum of Ministers of Women Affairs Conference from the Great Lakes region at Serena Beach Hotel, Mombasa.

Mrs Kibaki told the forum that women must persistently and patiently push men to create room for adequate women representation at all levels of leadership.

“You must work for them. Positions will not come on a silver platter. Do not tire in seeking influential positions of governance. What a man can do a woman can do better,” asserted the First Lady.

The First Lady told Kenyan women not to be merely contented with the Presidential directive that 30 per cent of all appointments in the public sector be reserved for them.

Mrs Kibaki also hinted that men should expect a surprise in the next general election because it will be a political turning point for country’s political process.

During the occasion she cited lack of accurate information regarding gender issues as a critical impediment to formulation of effective policies to advance women welfare.

Ends…

Jimmy for President.

Somewhere in 2o22.

"Ladies and gentleman please welcome the president of the republic of Kenya Jimmy Kibaki.

Ati Kii?

Jimmy? Jimmy who?

Yes you heard right Jimmy Kibaki son of the former president of Kenya Mwai Emilio Kibaki and Lucy Muthoni.

Of course the path towards him aspiring to be a President one day has been launched with him teaming up with one Kiema Kilonzo and Tony Gachoka, (he is the guy who sold off his fathers property and left his sisters crying) in what they calling youthful leaders to lauch a vision for the youth.

I could not help but laugh it off as the smug looking Jimmy who is already being groomed to take over from his father in Othaya said that the youth in this country require a vehicle to champion their interests.

This is what I heard, " I Jimmy has come of age and I need to be your leader now. You know my old man is getting tired and my family, that of Uhuru, Moi and Jaramogi need a friend in state house. They need someone who can take care of their interests and I think that I am best placed to do it"

For me the so called vehicle for youth development is just another plot to keep the control of the country under wrap and key."

What does Jimmy know about being a Kenyan youth? how many days has he ever sotad because his dad did not have fair to take him to school.

Does he know of something called hustling?

Has he ever heard that there is something called tarmacking and that there are people who have gone through college and are yet to secure a job?

Jimmy should come out clear and declare his political interests point blank rather than hide under the disguise of a hogwash of a youth initiative.

Unlimited wants, Scarce resources

As a young student in high school, the lesson on unlimited wants and scarce resource never made sense. After all it was just another lesson crafted by curriculum developers to fill the time that students spent in high school.

This lesson just flew into my mind the other day as I was digesting news that one of my uncles had died. Anyway I would not have attended the burial had it not been the close relationship between his children and myself, my sisters and brothers.

The late man who has mentored thousands of students in his career as a teacher, also mentored me as a young boy who used to visit his house.

It is there that I learnt that a man can plan for a whole month and does'nt have to live by the day. This is because at home we would only know that it was end month when my father came home drunk.

The rest of the days were lived as they came. It was in his house that I learnt that toilet soap, salt and sugar and other basic necessities are bought at the beginning of the month and not any when it gets finished.

Anyway, enough of him and back to story of the unlimited wants and scarce resources.

I am on now on my way home to the white highlands. And what I know is that expectation is high, their son is coming all way from the Coast. Right now I know that someone somewhere must be preparing a litany of unfulfilled wants.

Someone must be preparing to ask me for his shoes, I know there is someone who will tell me that they need a new phone as the one they have does not work. Someone will like my sweater and ask me to leave it to him. And every time I leave it when I come back it is usually reported as having being lost.

And then my concern is that there is someone in high school whose fees have to be paid. The maize needs fertilizer and we need cows here and this and that other unmet need.

For me, I know that economic recession is real. I do not have the money to meet all these needs. I do not have savings that will take care of all my uncles, my aunts and any other person who has a claim in me.

God I cannot meet their unlimited needs. Talk of unlimited wants and scarce resources.

Yet someone is most likely to say I am mean, otherwise how do you explain of a guy who comes all the way from the Coast and does not have money to philanthropise.

Damn. I am coming to bury Mwalimu Josphat Gathiru Kungu and not to do philanthropy.

Its a slap in the wrist for Cholmondley

Thomas Cholmondley can now while away his small time in prison for the next four months after a Nairobi court found him guilty of manslaughter.

Judge Muga Apondi said that he was giving him the sentence of eight months ( Night and day constitute two days in prison) to enable him reflect on his life and the cause of his action.

Judge Apondi almost came close to giving the son of famed aristocrat and dairy farmer Lord Delamere a walk free from the courts after he conceded that the accused had done all he could to save the life of his victim stonemason Robert Njoya.

However the much publicised case was somewhat an anticlimax for the residents of Naivasha who expected full justice for the man who has killed two of their residents within a span of two years.

Observers say that even though the judge had made an independent decision he was under undue pressure to ensure that the Lord's son was given a light sentence.

The case was the first to be aired live on local and international media since the first day the judge made a ruling and found Thomas guilty. Submissions and sentencing were also relayed live.

Will he kill another one?

Close the borders to the Madman

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a feared man in Uganda. Well he has been regarded as a liberator but in recent times the tag of a despot has refused to leave him.

One of the things that Museveni has done is that he has ensured that Uganda is "njugukaranga" eat it from the pocket. In pursuit of these he has made sure that all positions of power in the Ugandan goverment are for his kin to keep. Brother wife, daughter are all officials in his government.

Yet Museveni is not satisfied with all these trappings and every country that neighbours Uganda has had to suffer Museveni's expansionist tendencies.

Paul Kagame in Rwanda has his story to tell. Salva Kiir Mayardit has something to say. The story is the same with Pierre Nkuruziza in Burundi and Laurel Kabira in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But his recent outburst has been with Kenya over a small village belle called Migingo in the lake Victoria apparently over fish resources.

He says that the Island belongs to Kenya and the waters around it belong to Uganda and according to Museveni those "Mad Jaluos" uprooting the railway in Kibera are mad.

I dare ask Museveni "how?"

He has even threatened Kenyans, "I want to go there and tell them ah... that they are the ones who will suffer over Migingo," he was quoted saying.

But even though Museveni thinks he can bully everbody in the region, diplomatic and international relation experts say he would lose more if he were to enter into war into Kenya.

This is because Uganda relies more on Kenya than the other way round. Uganda depends on Kenya for the transport of its product from the port of Mombasa, oil, and other raw materials.

The best way to treat Museveni and his insolence is to just close the Malaba border and Museveni will come down kneeling, begging for mercy and give it to its rightful owners.

However our very own president Mwai Kibaki is fast ng'orotaring and doesn't think Migingo is an issue.

Kibaki where art though?

Will you rise up to the occasion?

You want to be desperate, its your choice

I was thinking the other day how many times that I have been on a leadership position and have suffered from various forms of intrigues and machinations from fellows in the team or without the team.

I remember there is this one time when I was so frustrated by the acts of one of our senior members in an organisation, that I even wrote a resignation letter.

But, even before I could deliver the letter I had some inspiration that told me desperation is a choice. If I quit then, it would mean that what I had set out to accomplish would fail and fail gloriously.

So instead of delivering the letter I decided that I needed to go on and ensure that the ideals I stood for would be accomplished.

Which brings me to another near death experience I had in Nairobi. I had just come from my rural town in Elburgon and I was so broke, you could say that I was worse than had a church mouse.

I had hoped to travel from Elburgon to Mombasa in a day but I missed the 1PM bus and since I had no money I had to laze about in the city upto to the time when night buses leave for Mombasa.

And so one thing that I did was to ensure that I avoided my friends like a plague. I did not even bother to call them and as I walked in the streets I was like "God help me so that I do not meet any of them."

And true to the word I did not meet any. I lazed at Uhuru park for hours and when it was time to go back to the bus, I was so forlorn and crestfallen that my hands were dipped in the pockets, just wondering about how desperate I was.

It is until I missed by a whisker being hit by a vehicle that I strecthed myself, removed my hands from my pockets and decided to walk tall.

Afterall I had life, I was not sick and I had a choice to either decide to be desperate or not. For me I chose to look forward and never again fall into the traps of desperation.