Kipblog - Kenya's Topical Issues

Mungiki & Vigilantes

2009-04-25T05:13:00.005+03:00

The current happenings in Nyeri East and Kirinyaga West districts are shocking and very disturbing. Such watton killing of Kenyan citizens should not be taking place in today's Kenya. It appears as though Kenya has been thrown in the middle of the Gaza Strip or Iraq or in even Afganistan.

TO be precise, what we have is a total breakdown of law and order, this is despite the fact that we have a "duly" elected government in place with a professor of mathematics and longest vice president as the Minister in charge of Internal Security.

The killings have to be condemned in the most severe terms possible. How can vigilantes kill 15 people (innocent or not) with no action been taken against the vigilantes by the authorities?

When we have ordinary citizens take the law in their own hands, it is a precipe for disaster and this is exactly what happened.
The banned and dreaded Mungiki decided to revenge the killings of many of their own. It was rather obvious that this circle of revenge is going to go on until the government decides to stamp it authority in the region by halting all forms of violence.

Kenyans let us pray that this violence subsides immediately and that it does not spread to other areas, because no community is totally isolated from the other.

The people of Kenya should demand a total overhaul of the police and all security apparatus in the Kenya. The security machinery has totally failed and the 29 killings by the mungiki is a testament of the failure of those in-charge of security in the country.

The Sub-Chief, Chief, DCIO, OCPD, DPO, PPO, NSIS and PC should all resign. I dont understand how this people can still be holding their positions when 44 citizens have been killed right under their noses. The Chief must have and was fully aware about all the illegals actions of the mungiki and of the vigilantes.

It is too late to give life back to those that were murdered, but let us pray that the government officials do what they have to do to totally eliminate the Mungiki and also the vigilantes that take the law in their hands. This is the only time that the violence will subside.

Imiano Kipla? - Doris Jepchumba

2009-04-14T09:03:00.014+03:00

After listening to this very beautiful song called "Kipla", please proceed and buy the rest of the Album. Our musicians need to get paid for their hardwork and the entertainment that they give us. Copy and paste the below link to buy the Kipla Album or some songs in that album.

http://kentunes.com/product.php?productid=222&cat=11&page=1

Imiano Kipla imiano babie
Imiano Kipla imiano babie
Mwawo ole imi siachengin Kipla
Mwawo ole imi siachengin Kipla
Oh babieeee-yii

Agot nga ketunis Kipla mapisten babie
Agot nga ketunis Kipla mapisten babie
Achengin Kiplagat agoi tun amei wee!
Achengin Kiplaaa agoi tun amei wee!
Mwawo ole kiwe, si kosup mwaaet
Mwawo ole kiweee, si kosup mwaaeeeet Kiplaaaaaaaaaaaa

Imiano Kipla imiano babie
Imiano Kipla imiano babie
Mwawo ole imi siachengin Kipla
Mwawo ole imi siachengin Kipla
Oh babieeee-yii

Kilen iachaman Kipla, kiwaano chamnyet
Kilen iachaman Kipla, kiwaano chamnyet
Kumaiimuta sinema, kumaiimuta disco
Kumaiimuta sinema, kumaiimuta disco
Achamin Kiplagat, Achamin babie
Achamin Kiplagat, Achamin Kiplaaa
Oh babieeee-yii

Imiano Kipla imiano babie
Imiano Kipla imiano babie
Mwawa ole imi siachengin Kipla
Mwawa ole imi siachengin Kipla
Oh babieeee-yii

Kiawa London, agochingin Kipla
Awe Amerika, kumaimi Kipla
Aweago Europe, aweago Asia
Awegei Afrika kumaimi Kipla
Awe Rift Valley imiano Kipla
Mwawa ole imi siachingin Kipla
Mwawa ole imi siachingin Kipla
Oh babieeee-yii

Imiano Kipla imiano babie
Imiano Kipla imiano babie
Mwawa ole imi siachengin Kipla
Mwawo ole imi siachengin Kipla
Oh babieee-yii

Chamanenyun Kipla, achengin ano Kipla
Kiachengin, kiawa ago Rift Valley Kipla
Awa agoi village, awa achengin engaa
Maimi Kipla
Kiabiruun simet, kele imutato Kipla
Araimiano babiee
Kiawegaa, amwa mama kole kianyorchgei sandet Kipla
Araayewegaa awaalene mama Kipla?
Awaalene? Wegenso Kipla

Omiano biik ap Kalenjin
Obaso agochengwa Kipla
Obaimwa kolo achameiiman
Atinye chamnyet nipaiman
Chamanenyun Kiplaaaaaaaaaaa

Nyoichuchuna Kipla
Chuchuna chuchuna Kipla
Nyoichuchuna Kipla
Njoo unipe busa Kipla
Nyoichuchuna Kipla
Come kiss me kiss me kiss me kiss me
Nyoichuchuna Kipla
Roho yangu ma-baibe
Nyoichuchuna Kipla
Nieleze ulipo roho yangu
Nyoichuchuna Kipla
Mpenzi wangu Kipla
Nyoichuchuna Kipla
Achamin baibeee

@ Doris Jepchumba 2008

http://www.haiya.co.ke/node/2980
Haiya eMagazine
Article by Eudiah Kamonjo, 09/08/2008

When I first saw Chumba on stage this past Friday, I was reminded of Brenda Fassies's fearlessness and energy on stage.Chumba, whose real name is Doris Jepchumba Tanui was launching her very first solo album titled Kipla (short for Kiplagat; a guys name) at the Alliance Franciase.

Chumba is a real soldier by day with the Kenya Army, based at Langata Barracks, Nairobi and is a lead singer/vocalist with Maroon Commandos Band during her free time. She was involved in the bands' latest peace album Kenya Unite.

She has also partcipated and won a hefty cash prize in the October 2006 talent show organised by Nairobi Ibiza club. Her latest challenge was the third edition of the Spotlight on Kenya Music organised by Alliance Frainciase in November where she was a finalist.

The album launch event, which was supposed to begin at 7pm, began two hours later after a lengthy sound check and the organisers wait for quorum. I would attribute the low-turn out to the fact that many African music lovers do not know about her music yet.

Looking too good for a soldier and dressed in a red and black outfit, Chumba was still able to keep her spirits high enough to entertain the crowd and get them on their feet.

I barely understood the Kalenjin songs but I loved her music, her strong soulful voice, self-expression , instrumentals and the various forms of dancing including chakacha and twist complemented the performance. Her back up singers were well-dressed in long-flowing African attire.

Everyone in the crowd seemed to know Kipla; a song in Kalenjin language about her love for Kipla, with people in the crowd whispering that these were indeed real life lyrics about her love.

I later learnt that it was Kipla which made it to the Spotlight on Kenya Music CD compilation.

The guest artist for the evening, song bird Nyota Ndogo did not disappoint and did three of her most popular songs before she hurriedly left the centre. .

The album 'Kipla' by Chumba is being distributed by David Makali's afro-fusion distribution outfit Sound Africa Ltd whose outlets are within the city centre

Where is and Who Owns Migingo Island?

2009-03-25T03:15:00.028+03:00

The Migingo Island tug-of-war between Kenya and Uganda should not be a big issue if we are to follow the British text describing the boundaries between Kenya and Uganda. The 1926 Vertim are shown in the below document.

Where exactly is Migingo Island?

NCCK and Moribundity

2009-03-22T08:17:00.010+03:00

The National Council of Christian of Kenya (NCCK) labelled the President of Kenya - Mwai Kibaki - as being "moribund". In a statement read by the NCCK Secretary General, Cannon Peter Karanja at the Jumuia Conference and Country,Limuru, the Secretary General not only said that Kenyans viewed the President as being "moribund", but also Kenyans had an "ineffective" Prime Minister.

The NCCK was founded in 1918 and is the umbrella organization of the 27 Protestant denominations in Kenya. Protestants are between 56%-63% of the 38 million Kenyans.

When the leaders of the largest religious organization in Kenya refer to the president as Moribund and the prime minister as being in-effective what are the laymen and women supposed to do? Treat the moribund president?

Is it not this same religious leaders that failed to guide the flock before the 2007 elections. Aren't this the same religious leaders that mis-guided their followers by supporting those from their communities.

The conclusion that Kenyans can arrive at is that both our political and religious leaders have failed Kenyans. We need a paradigm shift and replace all those leaders - political and religious - that have failed.

New leaders where are you at? There is a lot of work that needs to be done urgently.

Corruption, Impunity and Kenya

2009-03-18T06:18:00.007+03:00

Sadly Corruption, Impunity and Kenya are now synonymous. You can not mention one without the other popping in a conversation. Right from the dusty villages to the pot-holed roads of Nairobi, both corruption and impunity are alive. If corruption and impunity were worth resources, Kenya would be doing very well. Unfortunately that is not the case, and we have to pay the price.

The manner our political leaders are fighting corruption and impunity leaves a lot to be desired. There is absolutely no political will to finish off official corruption and impunity in our midst. To make matters worse, it is not only the "big fish", and "small fish" that continue to perpetuate this vices, but all kinds of "fishes" that keep corruption and impunity alive and kicking by going on and on and on. This has to stop. Somehow it has to cease.

For some strange reasons President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga are afraid, unable or simply unwilling to tackle this issue head-on. It has taken President Obama's Ambassador to act vide Presidential Proclamation 7750. With that authority, the U.S. Ambassador, Michael Ranneberger has decided to ban a senior government official [read cabinet minister], his/her family and relatives from travelling to the U.S. because that senior government official "engaged in and or benefited from official corruption".

The alleged culprit was saved from being named and shamed by the Ambassador due to the stringent U.S. Privacy laws. We are therefore left to speculate on who that senior government official/cabinet minister could be.

To the right of of this blog is a poll. Listed are names of government officials that may or may not have being banned from the U.S. Make your choice on who you think is most likely to have recently being banned for having "engaged in and or benefited from official corruption" and involved in acts of impunity.

SAY NO TO CORRUPTION
SAY NO TO IMPUNITY

We can get raid of all forms of corruption and impunity. Let it start with you.

Rugby World Cup Sevens: Congratulations Kenyan Team

2009-03-10T07:54:00.018+03:00

If you have not jumped onto the Rugby Sevens bandwagon, you better do so before the wagon gets full.

The Kenyan Rugby Sevens reached the semi-finals in the Sevens Rugby World Cup held in Dubai from March 5th - 7th 2009. Although, Kenya did not win the World Cup, Kenya had never gotten that far in the World Cup. This is the biggest achievements for any Rugby Squad ever since 1963.

Let us congratulate them. They deserve all the accolades that we can accord them. This is a monstrous achievement, considering that the team is composed of amateur players.

The team was coached by former player Benjamin Ayimba and assisted by Felix Ochieng. The team members who put Kenya on the map in the Dubai 2009 Sevens Rugby World Cup were;

1. Humphrey Kayange (Captain)
2. Allan Onyango
3. Victor Oduor
4. Benedict Nyambu
5. Wilson Opondo
6. Lavin Asego
7. Biko Adema
8. Innocent Simiyu (Vice Captain)
9. Collins Injera
10. Sidney Ashioya
11. Gibson Weru Kahuthia
12. Horace Otieno

The officials that accompanied and assisted the team in performing as good as they did were former player and current team manager Oscar Osir , Felix Ochieng (assistant coach), George Odhiambo (physiotherapist), Wanjiku Wairia (nutritionist), Geoffrey Kimani (sprint coach) and Kenya Rugby Football Union (KRFU) chairman, Richard Omwela.

Two youngsters to watch in upcoming IRB Series and in the future are the ever electric Collins Injera and 21 year old Steve Biko Adema. As good as they are now, we are still to see the best of them.

If you have not noticed yet, Kenya is in possession of an advantage over all the other teams - can you guess?

THE FANS.

Fans - Kenyans and otherwise - are always cheering the Virgin Boys. There is something magical about the Kenyan team. Most non-Kenyan fans somehow find themselves cheering and wanting the Kenyan team to win irrespective of the opponents even if it is the host nation.

By virtue of Kenya reaching the semi-finals of the Sevens Rugby world Cup in Dubai, Kenya automatically qualifies for the next world Cup to be held in New Zealand 2011. This is one world cup, that for any nation to win, they have to be good enough to beat the host nation. Will Kenya be ready? Sure hope they do especially in the next World Cup. So "ALL BLACKS", BEWARE ! Kenyans have you on the crosshairs.

In the meantime enjoy the remaining IRB Sevens World Series of the season to held in Hong Kong(27-29 March 2009) , Australia(3-5 April 2009), England(23-24 May 2009) and season finale Scotland(30-31 May 2009).

Good luck to Benja and squad. We will be with you in spirit, in the stands, on TV and online. And you sure have made all Kenyans proud.

Finally and this is a note to the private and public sponsors. When rewarding the team for the achievements do not forget to mention and budget for the technical team too. As I understand the Coach and twelve players contributed Kshs 58,823.53 each from their Kshs 250,000/= cash award to the technical staff who got nothing from the sponsors, so that each one of the 17 team members got Kshs 191,176.46 from Safaricom. What a generous gesture and others should follow suit.

You guys are something else. We admire and adore you.

Kamau Kingara & GPO Oulu Assassinated

2009-03-07T07:33:00.015+03:00

It is extremely saddening to learn of the broad daylight assassination of Oscar Kamau Kingara,37 and "GPO" John Paul Oulu,34 that occurred on Thursday, 5th March 2007 at around 6:30pm. Kingara died at the scene and GPO succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter.

Kamau Kingara a trained lawyer was the founder of Oscar Foundation
and GPO Oulu was a Programme Officer for Oscar Foundation. Oscar Foundation is a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that advocates, documents and provides legal representation on a pro-bono basis to poor victims and/or the families of victims of violence.

The two Human Rights' activists were assassinated close to the University of Nairobi (UoN), along State House Road and Mamlaka Road. According to UoN students that witnessed the double assassination, the activists' car was "boxed-in" by two vehicles - a mini-bus and Pajero. Two smartly dressed then alighted from the "boxing" vehicles and walked briskly to the white Mercedes Benz of Kamau Kingara and driven by GPO Oulu. The assassins proceeded to pumped several rounds into the head of the activists.

The assassinations took place barely hours after the Government Spokesman, Dr. Alfred Mutua had linked the proscribed sect "Mungiki" to Oscar Foundation. The Spokesman verbatim were;

"Mungiki has an NGO by the name of Oscar Foundation which they use to try and get funds from overseas, different countries and also different organizations. It is a front, so that they can be able to carry out their activities that they have being carrying out"

The Spokesman then proceeded to issue an very chilling warning to Oscar Foundation and other organizations when answering a question on whether the Government was going to ban Oscar Foundation for being an arm of Mungiki. Again the actual verbatim;

"About the Oscar Foundation, as you said organizations are formed all the time, the government will take its actions when it gets enough information on what actions that needs to be taken, and so I am not going here to tell you exactly the action needs to be taken, but count on it action will be taken, against any organization that is abetting and supporting illegal activities.

If indeed Oscar Foundation was a front for Mungiki, Oscar Foundation ought have its assets seized, bank accounts frozen, de-registered, declared illegal and banned like Mungiki and other proscribed groups that have terrorised Kenyans and supported the terrorizations of Kenyans. ALL groups/people that perform any illegal activities should never be allowed to exist or operate at all. All LEGAL means should be used to contain such groups and people

All Kenyans's safety are at stake, when illegal means such as EKJ are employed to handle suspects when one is named as suspect by the government. On the same note Kenyans' safety is at stake, when one can be executed by outlawed sects such as Mungiki. The authorities must therefore employ legal means and tactics to handle such illegal acts other than resort to illegal means.

With the current happenings, we are already where "Kenya" and "Law" cannot be used in the same sentence.

All Kenyans need to step up and abide by the laws of the land. Infact the government needs to be at the forefront abiding to the laws of the land. When the government breaks the law to contain to enforce the law, we are headed for doom as a nation.

All those that were victims of mungiki and other such illegal groups, our thoughts are with you and your families. Those that were felled by the state illegally, our thoughts are with you and your families too.

Kingara and GPO the truth shall be known. Not today, not tommorrow, but the truth shall be known - one day.

R.I.P Kamau Kingara and GPO Oulu
ab abusu ad usum non valet consequentia

Uncouth Government Response to UN Findings

2009-02-26T09:41:00.004+03:00

The government's response to UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston's condemnation of police killings confirms the putrid in our very own government. Rather than take that report and use the information therein to surgically extricate the cancerous cells in the security system, the government through its government spokesman refutes the existence of a problem and outright and unashamedly "rejects the findings and recommendations."

Going by his personal history, professional works before joing the government, and demeanor, it is rather obvious that Dr. Alfred Mutua as a person, does not believe in the statement he as government spokesman released on behalf of the government. The spokesman was just doing a job and getting paid. Unfortunately, Dr. Mutua's dismissal of the UN's findings in his official capacity as a government spokesman, amalgamates him to and with people that meted out the injustices. It will be practically impossible for all those widows, children whose husbands and fathers were killed, to stop seeing the government spokesman as the voice of those that mercilessly murdered their loved ones.

Kenyans we have to save ourselves. From whom else? Ourselves. The morally upright and sane Kenyans have to do something ASAP, otherwise we will soon have a country that we would not want our children growing up in. For as long as I can remember, widows, family members, friends and the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) have been saying that there is systematic and government-endorsed killings of Kenyans by government security apparatus, but their feeble and lone voices have not been heard loud enough across the world. Is it not scary to raise your family in such a society, where such voices are not heard when they cry for help. It get even scarier when one is given an outlawed label. that has been and can be exterminated without trace, let alone been taken to court to face the accuser. If we can not do it for ourselves, let us do it at least for our children. There has to be some order and some laws to be followed by those enthroned by law. Let us save Kenya by ensuring at least there is some sense of order, by every lawful means possible, so that we can can nurture a society that has laws and the laws are adhered to. That is how we can save our beloved Kenya.

It is only God-send that the UN has finally been involved - although long overdue. The whole world is and will get to pay attention and give audience to the uncountable number of widows' cries for their husband and KNHCR's messages and countless testimonies of grief. Despite the involvement of UN, it is up to us Kenyans to solve the deliberate acts of unlawfulness. The foreigners will come, play their role - like highlighting the issues - and go back to the comfort of their cities, until and God-forbid another catastrophe occurs. We need to act in a manner that and after the UN is gone, no such illegal and unlawful acts by the government, entity, person or group of people occurs in any minutely way.

The UN Special Rapporteur's findings is common knowledge in Kenya. Those in denials are fooling themselves. We all know that some - not all - of the security apparatus in Kenya operates beyond the scope of written law. But the extent of wrongs by those that graduated from Kiganjo Police Training College, enforces the fact that something is either entirely amiss at Kiganjo Police Training College, or some security personnel once they graduate undergo a metamorphosis that makes them totally ignorant of the confines of law they swore to follow, uphold and protect. Something is certainly messed up somewhere and needs to be fixed pronto!

For those, not very familiar with the government security in Kenya, be warned you cannot mess with them, especially if one is just a "kawaida" guy and worseso, if one has been labelled a "mungiki" adherent. In mid-January 2009, a Police Inspector assassinated a 29 year old man in cold blood. According to the newpapers, the Inspector,"wanted to teach" the University of Sheffield PhD holder "a lesson." To prove that our system needs immediate fixing, the Inspector went ahead to report that he "had just shot bank robber". But unbeknown to him, he had murdered a son to a well-connected politician and a former policeman. The fact that the man who had been killed was a Doctor and was also the son of Uhuru Kenyatta's right hand man uncovered the truth, otherwise the assassinated "bank robber", would have been "just one more thug rightfully killed that did not deserve the luxury of being tried", in a corrupted court system that few Kenyans have any iota of faith in. The closeness of the murdered man to those in power, shed more light to the way the security apparatus in Kenya operates in total disregard to procedures that they need to adhere to.

Lately, there has being a positive trend that is not worth mentioning, but lets give credit where it is due, however little it maybe. There have been some flashes of restraint in the actions of the uniformed police. Not much can be said about the "undercover" department. It looks like the Uniformed Police are experiencing some minute and positive changes, unfortunaley at the current of rate of change, it will take Kenya almost another 50 years before we are 5% of where we ought to be.

By chastising illegals acts of the lawful security apparatus, and calling for the immediate reform of and the security docket in depth is in no-way abetting or condoning the ruthless acts of any unlawful acts by groups such as Mungiki, Warriors, Amachuma, Bagdad Boys, Taliban, Chinkororo, Jeshi la Mzee and their like. What we need is a system that deals with the unlawful in a lawful manner. It is counter-productive, retrogressive and absolutely makes no sense for a government to sponsor and engineer unlawful means to reign in unlawful acts. What example is that for the governed people. When the populace are witness of unlawful acts being used to deal with the unlawful and lawful people of the society, they are bound to ape those very unlawful acts to deal with their adversaries or to achieve their goals.

Dr. Mutua and other people in the corridors of power need to act in appropriate manner by ceasing to propagate, defend and support actions of those that have acted unlawfully. Give our leaders proper counsel so that the right message and decisions are made for the good of the country.

Kenyans need to live by the national anthem. "Amkeni ndugu zetu" and "Haki iwe ngao na mlinzi" are two relevant statements found within our national anthem and prayer. Let us wake up and do our country some justice. We all need to wake up and stop all the wrongs against fellow Kenyans.

The government should set the example by following the law and not by breaking the law, and the very first step that the government needs to do is accept the findings of the UN and follow that by abiding by the recommendations by firing with immediate effect the two most culpable individuals; Police Commissioner Major General Mohamed Hussein Ali and Attorney-General Amos Wako.

We should live and let live, and those that have wronged either the society, the government or others be dealt with in the manner as prescribed by the law of the land and not dealt with in any arbitrarily unlawful manner.

Kipkemboi arap Mungor
Flax, Keiyo South.
26th February 2009

Official Government Response

In this preliminary response, the Government rejects the findings and recommendations made in a press statement made by the UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston.

The Government is concerned that the UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston has made such far reaching conclusions and recommendations on the basis of his Interim report.

The Government is further concerned that such a report has been released without having sought a Government response in accordance to the principles of natural justice, and international practice.

The preliminary report issued today went beyond Prof. Alston’s mandate, and does not encourage dialogue and appears to have been made in bad faith almost impinging on matters of sovereignty especially as it relates to executive prerogative to appoint.

The Government finds it inconceivable that someone who has been in the country for less than ten days can purport to have conducted comprehensive and accurate research on such a serious matter, as to arrive at the recommendations he made.

The Government will issue an effective and compressive response once it receives the full report, which should be submitted as soon as possible by Prof. Alston.

DR. ALFRED N. MUTUA, EBS
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY &
GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN

25 February 2009

2002 Langata Parliamentary Results

2007-11-06T04:59:00.000+03:00

2002 Langata Parliamentary Results

Kibaki's Minister is Snubbed

2007-10-24T04:24:00.000+03:00

Kenya Presidential Polls

2007-08-17T21:03:00.001+03:00

Kenya's Presidential and General Elections are around the corner and after much analysis I see that one of these four politicians will be the next head of state. The four politicians in alphabetical order are Mwai KIBAKI, Musalia MUDAVADI, Kalonzo MUSYOKA and Raila ODINGA.

To the right of this paragraph, I have created a poll to gauge the mood of the Kenyan Online community and I would like you to participate. Can you please make your selection from among the four personalities that you would like to be the next President.

This poll will close on September 1st 2007.

Please pass the word around about this poll to your friends (and foes too.) Copy and email the below url to them;

http://tinyurl.com/2kg349

Thank you in advance for participating.

Common Kalenjin Names

2007-08-16T17:53:00.004+03:00

COMMON BOY NAMES

Kipkorir--born shortly before dawn
Kipkoech--born at dawn
Kimutai--born in mid-morning
Kibet--born at midday
Kiplagat (Kiplangat)--born at sunset
Kipkirui--born shortly after dark
Kipkemboi--born at night
Kipngetich--born when cows are taken to pasture after morning milking
Kiprotich--born when cattle are brought home for evening milking
Kipngeno--born when goats are waking up
Kiprono--born when sheep or goats are brought into the house in the evening
Kipkeino--born when sheep or goats are being milked (i.e. when cows milk is short)
Kiplimo--born among grazing cattle
Kipngeny--born when cattle are at a salt lick
Kipkosgei--born after a long labor, or a long interval between children
Kipchirchir--born in a hurry, after short labor
Kiptanui--fainted, failed to cry or breathe at birth
Kipketer--born on the verandah
Kipchoge--born near the grain storage bin
Kipsang--born outdoors
Kipkurgat--born by the door
Kibitok--born on the fathers side of the hut, not the mothers
Kiptoo--born when visitors are around
Kiptum--born during circumcision ceremonies
Kimaiyo--born when beer is being brewed or drunk
Komen--born when beer is being brewed or drunk
Kipruto--born away from home, on safari
Kipchumba--born near white men, i.e. in a hospital, in a town, on a white-owned farm
Kipkemei--born during a drought
Kiprugut--born during a famine
Kiptalam--born during an infestation of locusts
Kipsigei--born on his own (i.e. the mother had no help)
Cheruiyot (male only)--born when everyone was asleep
Kitur--born after parents had begun to despair of having a child
Kigen--a long-awaited son (usually born after several daughters

COMMON GIRL NAMES

Jepkorir--born shortly before dawn
Jepkoech--born at dawn
Jebichii--
Jemutai--born in mid-morning
Jebet--born at midday
Jelagat (Jeplangat)--born at sunset
Jepkirui--born shortly after dark
Jepkemboi--born at night
Jepngetich--born when cows are taken to pasture after morning milking
Jerotich--born when cattle are brought home for evening milking
Jepngeno--born when goats are waking up
Jerono--born when sheep or goats are brought into the house in the evening
Jepkeino--born when sheep or goats are being milked (i.e. when cows milk is short)
Jeplimo--born among grazing cattle
Jepngeny--born when cattle are at a salt lick
Jepkosgei--born after a long labor, or a long interval between children
Jepchirchir--born in a hurry, after short labor
Jeptanui--fainted, failed to cry or breathe at birth
Jepketer--born on the verandah
Jepchoge--born near the grain storage bin
Jepsang--born outdoors
Jepkurgat--born by the door
Jebitok--born on the fathers side of the hut, not the mothers
Jeptoo--born when visitors are around
Jeptum--born during circumcision ceremonies
Jemaiyo--born when beer is being brewed or drunk
Jeruto--born away from home, on safari
Jepchumba--born near white men, i.e. in a hospital, in a town, on a white-owned farm
Jepkemei--born during a drought
Jeprugut--born during a famine
Jeptalam--born during an infestation of locusts
Jepsigei--born on his own (i.e. the mother had no help)
Cheruiyot (most male name only)--born when everyone was asleep
Jekigen--a long-awaited son (usually born after several daughters

COMMON GIRL AND UNISEX NAMES

Chepkorir--born shortly before dawn
Chepkoech--born at dawn
Chebichii--
Chemutai--born in mid-morning
Chebet--born at midday
Chelagat (Cheplangat)--born at sunset
Chepkirui--born shortly after dark
Chepkemboi--born at night
Chepngetich--born when cows are taken to pasture after morning milking
Cherotich--born when cattle are brought home for evening milking
Chepngeno--born when goats are waking up
Cherono--born when sheep or goats are brought into the house in the evening
Chepkeino--born when sheep or goats are being milked (i.e. when cows milk is short)
Chelimo--born among grazing cattle
Chepngeny--born when cattle are at a salt lick
Chepkosgei--born after a long labor, or a long interval between children
Chepchirchir--born in a hurry, after short labor
Cheptanui--fainted, failed to cry or breathe at birth
Chepketer--born on the verandah
Chepchoge--born near the grain storage bin
Chepsang--born outdoors
Chepkurgat--born by the door
Chebitok--born on the fathers side of the hut, not the mothers
Cheptoo--born when visitors are around
Cheptum--born during circumcision ceremonies
Chemaiyo--born when beer is being brewed or drunk
Cheruto--born away from home, on safari
Chepchumba--born near white men, i.e. in a hospital, in a town, on a white-owned farm
Chepkemei--born during a drought
Cheprugut--born during a famine
Cheptalam--born during an infestation of locusts
Chepsigei--born on his own (i.e. the mother had no help)
Cheruiyot (male only)--born when everyone was asleep
Chepkigen--a long-awaited son (usually born after several daughters

Get Well Soon

2007-08-12T03:18:00.000+03:00

Your friends and family are all thinking and praying for you.
The whole world too is missing you. Get well soon

Disastrous Keiyo District K.C.S.E Results

2007-08-12T00:18:00.001+03:00

The 2006 Form Four K.C.S.E. results for Keiyo District are not at all pleasant from whatever perspective one would like to look at them. For a district fielding only 2,037 candidates in 30 schools, the results should be so much better than what they are. Irrespective of whether one chooses to look at the grades comparatively with other districts results or look at them solely, these results are pitiful and pathetic. Something needs to be done and done immediately by the Keiyo people as their future and more importantly the future of their children is at stake.

Of the 2,028 results that were released by the Ministry of Education and Kenya National Examinations Council, the average score attained by candidates from Keiyo District schools was a disgraceful 5.6306 out of 12. The below Diagram #1 portrays a visual representations of the performances of the 2028 Keiyo candidates that the KNEC released their results, which is unfortunately and very noticeably skewed to the right.
Diagram #1
The statistics as shown in the graph also indicate some sad reality such as, Keiyo District had only 2 candidates with an A stand, 28 Candidates with an A-, 71 candidates with B+, and 116 candidates with B Stand, for a total of 217 candidates that are guaranteed admission into the public universities. These 217 candidates represent a meagerly 10.7% of the 2,028 candidates that had their results released by KNEC. The fate of those not gaining entry to the public university, which is 1,811 or approximately 90% is not too optimistic, and it is our responsibility to absorb them into some gainful livelihood. The below two cumulative graphs one of numbers and the other of percentages indicate the dire need for some change so that we can have more candidates qualify for university depending on the cut-off points. In this case if the cutoff is B-, only the candidates B stand and above are guaranteed admission i.e. 217 or 10.7%

Diagram# 2-Numbers

Diagram #3 Percentages

Further analyzing the Keiyo District results, the top 5 grades i.e. A, A-, B+, B, & B- only account for 368 candidates or 18.1%. Shockingly, the bottom 5 grades i.e. C-, D+, D, D- & E account for 1066 candidates or 52.6% of the candidates. In simple language what this means is that for every 1 candidate that gets B- or above there are 3 candidates that gets a C- or below. The current trend needs to altered or turned around, especially since we are only sitting slightly over 2000 candidates in the whole district. There is a problem with this kind of results. We are sitting so few candidates in a whole district and majority of them are performing inconceivably awfully. This is a major anomaly, which is also contrary to the norm of statistics. Having so few candidates, Keiyo District should be performing so much better than it is.

What this KCSE Keiyo results mirrors, is the broken down educational policies, practice and deteriorated state of the District Educational Board in Keiyo and in Iten - the District headquarters. These appalling results also reflect more of a failure of the Keiyo society, rather than a failure of the students that attend schools in Keiyo. Not to totally absolve the students of blame, the students have a degree of responsibility too, but the students’ failure is more a failure of those administering within the educational system than the students themselves.

Now that a problem has been identified in the education of our children in Keiyo, what corrective measures can we as people hailing and residing in Keiyo take? This is a challenge that can only be resolved by us, the people of Keiyo. If we decide to look at the government for solutions, the government can only go as far. The fact that the government is no longer a KANU government, we should be even more motivated to solve our own problems in our own backyards, than wait for the government to intercede, which is most unlikely.

One solution is to emulate the policies and practice of the top 5 schools in Keiyo namely, Singore’ Girls’, Tambach Boys’, St. Patrick’s - Iten, AIC Kessup Girls’ & Kapkenda Girls’. They perform relatively well compared to other schools in the district and to some extent in the country. These five schools produce much better results in almost the same conditions and environment as others schools in the District. We in Keiyo, also need to look afar and borrow ideas and practices from perennial academic giants such as Alliance, Starehe Boys’, Precious Blood - Riruta, St. Joseph’s Mangu, Kianda Girls’ and Maseno Boys’ to name just but a few. Implementing those ideas and practices from the above named schools and at the same discarding our practices that result in the poor results, Keiyo schools are certainly guaranteed a change for the better.

Another solution, would be for the people from Keiyo that have been blessed economically to invest or pool together and invest in schools with facilities and standards such as Moi High School, Kabarak and Strathmore. With a couple of schools of Kabarak’s caliber, the average grade of Keiyo District would most certainly shoot up and the future of Keiyo’s children would be safe and secure.

There is this Japanese folk tale that I heard the Noble Prize Winner, Hon. Wangari Maathai narrate, about a forest and its inhabitants. There was a forest fire and fortunately all the animals and birds managed to escape unharmed. The forest animals and birds stood by watching the fire destroy their home. Amongst all the forest dwellers, was a hummingbird, which is apparently amongst the smallest of all birds. The hummingbird then asked all other dwellers do something to save their home, but they all refused saying there is nothing much they could so to stop such an enormous fire. The tiny hummingbird then decided to try and extinguish the forest fire alone, by repeatedly flying to the river, drink some water, flying back and pour the droplets onto the fire. The fable goes on to say that the other animals laughed at the hummingbird because the bird was not doing much of a difference in stopping or reducing the forest fire. When the other animals asked they hummingbird what it thought it was doing, the hummingbird simply replied, “I am doing what I can.”

Although, it is true that the humming bird did not succeed in extinguishing the forest fire, the moral of the story is; do what you can when faced with a problem. Right now, there is a fire burning and destroying majority of the education of Keiyo children, so just like the hummingbird “let us do what we can.” It is up to each individual Keiyo to do what he or she can do to stop this devastation. If you hail from Keiyo, it up to each individual Keiyo resident to see how they can contribute to change the course of where majority of our children are headed. However small it may be, any difference is better than no difference.

Bringing this problem to light is my first initiative in tackling this crisis, so that other people from Keiyo can know about it and do what they can. I am also blessed, to have the ability and resources make a career change, and as such I am giving up my accounting career to pursue a career in Education Leadership, with the intention that I can bring a far-reaching and positive change in the education of our children in Keiyo. God willing, I (and others too) can in the near future, get into the education system and engineer change from within the system for the better. It is a mighty task ahead, but as the ancient Chinese proverb says, “A journey of a thousand mile starts with one step.”

Keiyo South.
19/3/2007.

Office of the Attorney General

2007-08-12T00:10:00.000+03:00

The office of the Attorney General has miserably failed majority of Kenyans, despite the fact that this office is headed by an individual with all the qualifications and credentials befitting such an office. For the last decade or so, the performance of this office has continuously plummeted and it is now more apparent than ever that this office is serving the interests of a few preferred and prosperous individuals by its abdication of persecutory powers enshrined in the constitution. This is a heartbreaking disservice to the majority of Kenyans and the only worse thing imaginable to me, is treason against the State.

Functions and duties of the holder of the office of the Attorney General include and are not limited to acting as the principal legal advisor to the government and prosecutions of all crimes against Kenyans and the State. All the other functions and duties of the Attorney General are incorporated under Section 26 of the Kenyan Constitution in Chapter 2, Part III - Executive Powers.

The current holder – Hon. Amos Wako – has been in office as the Attorney General for the last 16 years which in my opinion is way too long for one individual to hold the same public office. In spite of all the academic accolades and the international reputation of Hon. Amos Wako, his performance and execution as an Attorney General is inversely related to his admired accomplishments whilst in private practice. He has fallen way too short and has not made the grade in job performance and it is getting worse each day he persists to hold onto this extremely important office.

In addition to failing to prosecute numerous corruption crimes, countless prosecutions have been thrown out of court due to unpreparedness, laxity, complacency and corruption in part of the staff from the office of the Attorney General. Also millions of tax payer shillings have been paid to private law firms and individuals that have mendaciously consulted with the government legal advisor.

This sub-par performance at the Office of the Attorney General must cease as soon as it is practical if not immediately; otherwise the crooks will continue to be shuffled from government ministry to ministry - uninterruptedly looting the public treasury with impunity. With no consequence from the Attorney General's office forthcoming, envy from those out of the loop will try to get into the loop to perpetuate the culture of this kind of thievery known as "Wakobbery", against the government and the people of Kenya.

Not only do the functions and terms of this office need radical overhaul, Kenya needs a fresh personality as the Attorney General. One amendment I suggest is to remove the unlimited length of time an official can be in office as an Attorney General. Like the Presidency, it should be limited to a maximum of two 5-year terms. The office should also be an elected one or at the very least the Attorney General should be selected by Parliament, and if need be, deselected by Parliament.

In the case of an elective office, lawyers in private and public practice with the desires and ability to perform would be pitted against each other and the electorate would evaluate and decide which candidate deserves the Attorney General's office. Such a process would unlikely result in a lame duck at the Attorney General's office, and if so, for five years only, preventing a replication of the current quagmire of 16 years and counting that Kenya is now in.

Election Projections (according to ODM)

2007-08-09T19:22:00.000+03:00

Here is the the ODM dream in figures that I came across from confidential sources.
This does look at little bit realistic but my opinion is that ODM and Raila are too optimistic. They are undermining their opponent. Kibaki, his golfing election machinery, state house, Central Kenya populus and Central Kenya money is an uphill task for ODM to overcome, but nevertherless I wish them the best. They is no other way other than to challenge Kibaki and his cronies.

It is dreamers that make the world revolve. So if ODM/Raila were dreaming about this then it is upto them to make their dreams come true. It is also apparent that they are planning a political future without Kalonzo Musyoka and his followers. This might be a big gamble. You can never win until you attempt to gamble.

Here is the ODM Dream in numbers courtesy of Mr X.

African Names vs. European Names

2007-05-28T22:22:00.000+03:00

I have a dream. A dream when we – Africans – will address each other the same way our forefathers addressed each other - that is by the African name. To fulfill this dream, I have started the "Drop-Your-Pseudo-Name-Movement." I call upon you as my African or Kenyan brethrens
to practically and fully support this movement.

It is a common known fact that we Africans have been brainwashed into adapting many western and foreign ideas, many a times without question. Some of these adaptations have been for the better, while others for the worse. The common thread has been the African has not been able to choose or select from what is been offered. There as some foreign aspects that we gladly accept and appreciate the introduction to Africa and to her inhabitants. Some obvious examples are science & technology, medicine, architecture,
some religion etc. The list is long and we say thank you to the outsiders, but there are other ideas, practices and objects that have been detrimental to the Africa and the Africans, such as political boundaries, alien names, strange religions, diseases, flora, fauna, greed and by extension capitalism to name just but a few.

The aspect of adapting foreign or alien names is act that Africans have adopted and glorified even more than the "owner" of those names. Africans should get back to their senses and once and for all agree to totally discard those pseudo, alien, colonial, foreign, strange, weird, out of the ordinary, fake and bogus names that we proudly, unashamedly, parade, introduce and sign as our true and legal names - yet down deep in our black African soul we know that those foreign names are not our names. Africans adapting an alien name by is the grandest betrayal by its own African child.

The precedent of ditching pseudo names was set by Pan-Africanists' Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Taaita Towwett to name but a few of the wise men. As we all know Kenyatta's pseudo name was [Johnstone], which he discarded pronto – na hatukufwata nyayo zake! In the most recent times we have people like Mwai Kibaki, who passively associates himself with the pseudo name [Emilio], Masinde Muliro is rarely linked to any pseudo name. In Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni proudly represents the African culture, likewise in Tanzania, the president is known by only African names – Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. These are people we ought to be very proud of.

Locally and especially overseas trained academicians have nothing to do with those repulsive and unappealing pseudo names, for example, Wangari Maathai, Ngugi wa Thiongo astutely abandoned [John], Kivutha Kibwana, Chacha Nyaigoti Chaha, Kipkoeech arap Sambu, Cherono Rotich and many more others do not want to be connected with those pseudo/colonial identifiers.

Some politicians saw the light along time ago, and took that noble road of abandoning or getting rid of the pseudo/colonial identities and use only African names e.g. Musalia Mudavadi, Njoki Ndung'u, Musikari Kombo, Kipruto arap Kirwa, Mutahi Kagwe, Koigi wa Wamwere, Raila Amolo Odinga and Adhu Awiti. Ironically and perplexingly, these politicians are not vocal enough on why they took the right road when it comes to the names. These are the people that should be at the forefront of such a campaign.

There are people too that their names would be music to our ears if they did away with those pseudo names viz. Toroitich arap Moi and Kinuthia(?) ole Saitoti. As you may already know their pseudo names are [Daniel] and [George] respectively. Had the two dropped their pseudo names and we would probably be referring to them by their initials –
TAM for MO1 and KOS for Saitoti

Below are more politicians' names with the pseudo/colonial names in brackets. These
are people we identify with everyday in the newspaper, TV and /or radio. See how gorgeous their names are without the wacky pseudo names in brackets.

[Arthur Moody] Mudeyi Awori
[Sylvester] Wakoli Bafwoli
[Nicholas] Kipyator Kiprono arap Biwott
[Davis] Nakitare
[Francis] Nyamu Kagwima
[Gerald G.] Otieno Kajwang'
Katoo ole Metito
Maina Kamanda
[James] Njenga Karume
[Peter Kenneth] **** None
[Stephen] Kalonzo Musyoka
[William] Samoei arap Ruto
[Noah] Mahalang'anga Wekesa etc..

Fellow Africans, drop that pseudo/colonial name that illegally and unsightly precedes your African name. Also pass the word around about how sweet, charming and beautiful the names of our forefathers are. It is up to each one of us that gets this message to keep the "Drop-Your-Pseudo- Name-Movement." alive by taking these two actions.
1. Drop your pseudo name and for all those that you have rights to e.g. your children &
2. Pass the word convincingly and persuasively around by all means necessary such as verbally, email, radio, print media, letters to the editor and any other creative means.

That is my dream. Aluta Continua!

KANU's 7.1 billion, NARC's 56 billion Scandals; What Next?

2007-05-28T21:56:00.001+03:00

Goldenberg and Anglo-Fleecing; what are we Kenyans doing about it? It is sad where the past and current crop of Kenyan leaders have and are taking Kenya with these scandals. KANU had the Goldenberg Scandal of Ksh 7.1 billion among other issues. The KANU regime will be remembered for bearing the mother of scandals - The Goldenberg. Even worse still is this narcissistic NARC [or NARC-K] government attempting to perfect the act of stealing from the wananchi by getting caught in the 56 billion Anglo-fleecing scandal.

How convenient for the leaders of the day that no single person has been successfully convicted for those alleged crimes; All has come to naught. What Kenya ends with, are purported crimes and suspects but not convicted criminals. Suspects freely running the government like nothing has happened, and other suspects unashamedly using stolen money campaigning to form the next government.

If nothing is done by Kenyans, Kenyans will have to decide which of the suspects can make better leaders, rather than which of the leaders can have the suspects pay for their crimes against the wananchi.

The integrity of the August House has been shattered. It needs to be restored with men of integrity. Can Kenyans do better that this? Definitely.

If you are patriotic Kenyan and love Africa, wake up and do something. Patriotic Kenyans need to determine the destiny of the beloved homeland of Kenya and motherland Africa.

If you are a person of integrity, do not only stand up to vote, stand and be voted as one of the many captains of MV Kenya so that people of integrity can steer MV Kenya to the seas of calm waters, to the sea of prosperity for all, to the seas of justice for all, to the seas that we will be proud of, to the seas of no-more scandals, to the seas that the next generation will be proud of those that came before them. If you cannot captain the ship, there are many other tasks that need to be performed in MV Kenya, so pick a job and perform your justly duty to the best of your ability, so that MV Kenya does not sink any further.

Kenyans do not want to read about any more scandals, scandals with imaginary participants resulting in no criminal convictions.

Kenyans need to act, and the time to act is now!

Save Africa, Save Kenya.