Ruto’s words reveal he’s a misogynist

Deputy President William Ruto during a Kenya Kwanza campaign rally at Kithimu trading centre in Embu county on July 1, 2022.               

                  Professor at SUNY Buffalo Law School and Chair of the KHRC.

What you need to know:

• There’s no way to describe Mr Ruto other than a misogynist. He’s a hater of girls and women.

• Given his proclivity to slap men, one wonders how many girls and women he’s administered the slap.

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I disagree. Some book covers scream at you, and should therefore be judged accordingly. Often, I have found the same rule useful when faced with the human species. If a fellow comes at you staggering and swaying, what are you supposed to conclude?
We, of course, must remember never to profile people by identity, except conduct that’s outside the social bandwidth shouldn’t be overlooked.
        I say so because of the increasingly bizarre – and unbecoming – conduct and outbursts by Deputy President William Ruto. As we approach the final electoral lap, Mr Ruto’s wailing has reached a fever pitch. It’s got so bad that Mr Ruto is effortlessly spitting out the most offensive epithets against opponents. His vituperative attacks on the side opposite don’t speak of a man who should carry the mantle of the state on August 9.
        The presidency is the most powerful office in all the land. It wields enormous – and deadly – power. This is by decree of the Constitution, even if those powers are hemmed in by the Bill of Rights and other guardrails. But the presidency is also a bully pulpit, from whence the moral power of the office flows. All the people who live in Kenya – citizens and non-citizens alike – look to the presidency for hope and direction of the country.
Cost of democracy
Thus when a likely occupant of State House behaves in a manner to suggest that he’s either struggling mentally, or has a proclivity for cruelty, then we all need to disqualify him, or her, from the winner’s circle. The presidency isn’t anyone’s birthright. It’s the most hallowed of privileges granted of grace by those who hold the highest office in the land – citizens. Democracy isn’t free. It is, in fact, very expensive. Part of the cost of democracy is the education of the citizenry so it can distinguish between putative dictators and democrats, between dangerous demagogues and patriots. That’s why people must vote with their heads, not their hearts.
        Where am I going with this? It’s the duty of intellectuals to speak truth to power.
That’s why societies expend vast resources educating a single human being beyond the first degree of college, known as a bachelor’s degree. There’s a presumption that anyone who has more than a basic degree has the potential to be an intellectual. That’s why Kenyan politicians buy fake master’s and PhD degrees. But I digress, though for good reason. If one isn’t a fake intellectual, it befuddles me how he, or she, can stand in the village square and root for Mr Ruto.
        The man shouldn’t be let anywhere near State House. Let me extrapolate. I was utterly shocked recently when I heard Mr Ruto call Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa a woman.
Mr Ruto’s attack – which he meant to be an insult – happened in Mr Wamalwa’s backyard.
Unbelievably, he told the Bukusu that he couldn’t slap Mr Wamalwa because Mr Wamalwa was a woman. My jaw dropped to the floor. Kenya is a patriarchal society and so Mr Ruto thought nothing of letting fly his inner misogyny, which he wears like a badge of honour.
        Never mind that one of his lesser lieutenants – Senator Moses Wetang’ula – is also a Bukusu.
Mr Ruto – in a widely viewed video – once taunted Mr Wetang’ula for reporting to the police that he was battered by his wife. The implication was clear. Only men should batter women, and any man who is battered by a woman isn’t a man at all. Yet the other day Mr Ruto rushed to produce a women’s charter for United Democratic Alliance after Azimio’s Raila Odinga named Senior Counsel Martha Karua his running mate. I haven’t seen a better definition of hypocrisy.
Gender equality
The country will recall the advice Mr Ruto gave to his daughter on her wedding day a year ago.
Unbelievably, he told her she wasn’t her husband’s equal, and that she must always – always – submit herself to him. I was dumbfounded. What happened to gender equality? Isn’t our Constitution clear on this matter?
What is Mr Ruto telling Kenyan girls and women?
Allow me to remind Mr Ruto – if he cares to know – that his own mother, wife, and daughters – are women. Were it not for his mother, Mr Ruto wouldn’t have been. To turn round and demean, mock, and humiliate women – by using their gender as an epithet – shows a man who lacks basic civilisational moral code and structure. There’s no way to describe Mr Ruto other than a misogynist. He’s a hater of girls and women. Given his proclivity to slap men, one wonders how many girls and women he’s administered the slap. The man is clearly slap-happy. His anger appears uncontrollable. Let’s ask again, how can we elect him?
Makau Mutua is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professor at Buffalo Law School, The State University of New York. @makaumutua

Source: Sunday Nation tomorrow

Kenya Should Say No to Post-Election Violence

We all are aware that there is bad blood and hubbubs between and among leading contenders for the Kenyan presidency. Currently, Ruto, the staunch opponent of the handshake and Odinga, the party to the handshake that stabilised Kenya, are the major contenders whose perverse fans and followers, if they aren’t well guided and tamed, pose the danger of replicating violence that may claim many innocent lives and destroy property worth billions.
        Essentially, the toxic ethnopolitics and the greed for power that some of competitors have displayed must apprise, caution and lead us to taking decisive and stern actions/measures as a nation and as a people. Who’s to address and arrest this looming danger in the first place? Kenyans are. Neighbours are. The world is. Thus, nobody should pretend that things are normal while the danger posed is ginormous so to speak. The East African Community (EAC) to which Kenya is a member should forcefully step in forthwith.
        Have Kenyans and the world easily forgotten the conundrum, imbroglio, and sufferings Kenya's post-election violence occasioned to many innocuous Kenyans, who, as of now, are still in the IDP camps? Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on me. The saying goes. What else are we waiting as the reminder of the PEV wherein toxic ethnicity, toxic politics of ‘it is our turn to eat’ and the dangers they pose? He who’s bitten twice in the same hole must blame nobody except oneself. This can’t be Kenya that I know and aspire to see. This isn’t Kenya at all. Nunca mais. Never. Never again. Kenya’s preciously and pricelessly more important than egoïstic politicians.
         We need not to be cuckolded by those who, through their megamouths, preach peace during the day and war at night. We know them by faces, names and whatnots. Let’s refuse to be turned into political guinea pigs. Prevention is better than cure. From where I sit, what’s in the offing’s more perilous than anybody can imagine, especially with the politics of desperation and opportunism some of Kenya politicians have shamelessly displayed.
        There’s a famous Latin saying that si vis pacem, para bellum loosely translated, if you want peace, prepare for war. Again, what’s the type of this war? In this matter and for this matter, this war must be nonaggressive in that the authorities must thwart those behind any carnage before the bigger dangers occur. Educate the people about the dangers toxic ethnicity poses. Educate them about the role they can play either in assuaging or exacerbating the dangers. The authorities need to keep tabs on all who are now preaching hatred, made-up victimhood and mendacities.
        Currently, there are two narratives to this non-existing dynasties-and-hustler-nation gambit. If you critically examine the two, one of them is a ludicrous goof. How, for example, can a multibillionaire whose riches are suspicious, lead the ‘hustler’ nation?
        Kenyans deserve better. No more post-election violence. It is time for Kenyans to have conversations about answerability and amity. It is time for them to doubt and interrogate every narrative that power seekers are giving them. Instead of banking on cynicism and parochialism that revolve around toxic ethnicity and toxic politics, Kenyans need to start revisiting all causes of the past PEV before it revisits them harshly and unpreparedly once again.
Let’s say solidly together as we beat swords into ploughshares. Nunca mais. Never. Never again.

Source: African Executive today.

Barua kwa Rais juu ya kutunza miundombinu

Wakati akfiungua barabara ya Afrika Mashariki (Arusha bypass) jijini Arusha, Mheshimwa Rais ulisikika ukilalamika kuwa wananchi wanaharibu miundo mbinu. Ulikaririwa ukisema “niwaombe sana ndugu zangu kufuata taratibu zilizowekwa ili tuendelee kutunza miundombinu yetu, iendelee kutukuzia uchumi wetu.” Mhe. Rais, hapa hakuna cha kuomba wala kubembeleza bali kutoa amri, tena kali na kavu kavu kweli kweli ili kufikisha onyo kali na ujumbe. Kama utafanya hivyo, wote wataelewa kuwa sasa hakuna mchezo wala utani amini nakwambia. Rejea namna kaka la nguvu, mtangulizi wako Hayati John Magufuli alivyozoea kutoa amri na vitisho bila kujali vingetafsiriwa vipi na wabaya wake. Na kweli, alifanikuwa kuitia nchi adabu kwa muda mfupi alioongoza kutokana na staili yake ya utawala. Hakuogopa kulaumiwa wala kuona aibu. Kama wao hawapendi wala kuonea huruma miundombinu yetu ambao ni yao au kuonea aibu vitendo vyao, kuna haja gani ya kuwaonea aibu au huruma? Hapa ni jino kwa jino, nipe nikupe, piga nipige, fanya nifanya, anza nimalize. Bila kuwa wakali, tutaendelea kupoteza fedha na muda wakati dawa yake ni rahisi.

            Mhe. Rais, japo sitaki umuige kwa ku-copy na ku-paste, nina kila sababu tena nuzuhu kukujuza kuwa, wakati mwingine mambo hayendi. Tulishaambwa na wahenga kuwa mti hauendi ila kwa nyenzo. Kadhia ya uharibufu wa miundombinu ni mti wako halahala na macho. Lazima tuonesha kuudhiwa na kadhia hii bila kujali kama wanaoitenda ni watu wetu wa karibu au mbali. Mfano, inapoharibiwa miundo mbinu, lazima tuwe na uwajibikaji wa pamoja kulingana nani wanawajibika na miundombinu husika.

            Mhe. Rais ili kuondokana na kadhia hii ya kujitakia, kama jamii na taifa, tunapaswa, kwanza, kutunga sheria za kushughulikia hujuma hizi kama hazipo. Kama hatuna sheria za kushughulikia uarifu huu, tutakuwa tumechelewa sana. Kimsingi, sioni aibu kusema wazi kuwa, kwa kuendelea kushindwa kukomesha kadhia hii, serikali na wananchi kwa ujumla tunakuwa washiriki katika kuitenda. Hivyo, tuna hatia ya pamoja.

 Pili, Mhe. Rais, kama sheria zipo au zitatungwa, tunapaswa kuzisimamia vilivyo bila cha mswalie Mtume wala nini. Hapa lazima tutunge sheria kali zenye kutoa adhabu kali kwa waharifu na hata wanajamii ambao ni washirika katika uharifu huu. Tuwajulishe wananchi kuwa kunyamazia au kuficha waharifu ni kujifanya mshrika wa uharifu huu ambao ni kinyume cha sheria. Hii ndiyo kazi yako na serikali yako. Una uhalali wote wa kufanya hivi. Najua, kama utaamua, unaweza na vitendo hivi vitageuka historia kama ilivyokuwa wakati wa awamu ya tano ambapo nchi ilinyooka na kusahau ujinga na upumbavu kama huu.

            Tatu, Mhe. Rais, tuhakikishe tunaweka mifumo ya kisasa ya kusimamia miundombinu yetu. kwani, hili ni jasho letu hasa walipakodi maskini wa taifa letu tunaowakamua na kutaka kuwaletea maendeleo. Kama tunavyolinda mabenki hata majumba yetu, lazima tutumie teknolojia na fedha kulinda miundombinu yetu. Lazima tuonyeshe kuwa tunajali na kujua tunachofanya kama jamii ya watu na taifa lenye kujitambua na kuwa na ari ya kujiletea maendeleo. Hapa lazima tuunde kikosi kazi kuhakikisha miundombinu yetu inakuwa salama. Ikibidi, tupunguze utitiri wa walinzi wa wakubwa zetu uende kwenye kulinda miundombinu yetu. Pia, tuweke utaratibu wa kuwawajibisha watendaji wa umma kama vile wakuu wa wilaya na mikoa ambao miundombinu itaharibiwa kwenye maeneo yao. Nao watajua nani wa kumwajibisha katika hili.

            Nne, Mhe. Rais,lazima tuelimishe watu wetu faida za hizo barabara, madaraja, reli, viwanja vya ndege nakadhalika. Lazima wananchi waelimishwe kuwa wao ndiyo walinzi na wenye miundombinu husika na siyo mali ya serikali kwani, serikali haina umbo zaidi ya kuwa wao. Ninapendekeza kutoa faini kwa wakazi wa maeneo ambapo miundombinu itahujumiwa kwa sababu zozote zile bila huruma. Badala ya TV zetu na vyombo vingine vya habari kutangaza ulevi na mambo mengine, vitoa matangazo kwa umma na elimu juu ya umuhimu wa miundombinu na umuhimu wake pia. Elimu ni nyenzo kubwa sana katika kufanikisha jambo lolote. Wananchi wetu wakielimika juu ya umuhimu wa miundombinu, watakuwa ndiyo walinzi nambari wani wa kuilinda na kuiendeleza. Lazima wajue kuwa miundombinu hii ni yao na inawawezesha kupata ajira, kufanya biashara, kusafiri kwa urahisi mbali kuwaletea maendeleo ya pamoja kwa kujenga mazingira safi ya kiuchumi.

            Mhe. Rais, naomba nisikuchoshe. Japo ni muda mrefu tangu tuwasiliane, nafurahi kurejea na mawazo mapya ambayo najua utayafanyia kazi kama ambavyo umeyafanyia mengine kimya kimya. Kusema ukweli, hatuna wala huna haja ya kubembeleza waharifu bali kuwashukia kama mwewe na kuwapatiliza. Tumekupa rungu la Urais ili ufanye hivyo. Ukitaka kumuua nyani usimwangalie usoni. Kila la heri.

Chanzo: Raia Mwema leo.

Can I Call This Collective Racism or What?

 I don't want to add any histrionics or spices to this discouraging, revealing, and shocking story about racism. Please click the link to view, analyze and assess it by yourself. Those in Africa who still blindly and wrongly believe in White saviours, please think deeply and twice.  Inatisha. Haya majitu ni mabaguzi sina mfano. This is US the leader and teacher of human rights globally. Seriously? Again, why do they hate us this way? Is it our fault of the makers of them and us, if, indeed is the same?

IS STATE CAPTURE RUTO'S INVENTION OR DESPERATION?

By Nkwazi Mhango

If we face it judiciously, between Kenyan outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta and his ever-tainted Deputy President, William Ruto, who deservedly deserves to probe another? One of Ruto’s recently quoted as saying “within 30 days, a quasi-judicial public inquiry to establish the extent of cronyism and state capture in the nation and make recommendations.” When did the state capture happen or start if we take Ruto’s allegations seriously? Can Ruto and his lieutenants elucidate more or substantiate their allegations if they want to be taken seriously. Are they just politicking or deflecting attention from serious issues that seem to deny them political mileage?

            To show that the man means serious business, one of Ruto’s lieutenants Ndindi Nyoro was recently quoted as saying “State capture has strangled our economy. The problem is that the President and his allies have over the last 10 years made policies and decisions to benefit his enterprise. Just like the Guptas in South Africa, everything has been choreographed to benefit the private businesses of those in power.” Let’s peel your eyes. Has there been any state capture in Kenya under Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto’s Presidency dubbed UhuRuto? Is the appraisal of the so-called state capture in Kenya with South African one lucidly factual or fictional? Is there something Ruto and his standbys know that others don’t? Nyoro’s allegations are heavy and can’t be taken lightly. Does Nyoro truly know who Kenyatta’s allies? Doesn’t he know that for the period he mentions, Ruto, Nyoro’s boss, was Kenyatta’s ally number one? Is Nyoro aware of the danger-cum-infliction his utterance will cause his boss? Will Kenyatta allow this to happen? Did Nyoro and even Ruto envisage how hard will Kenyatta hit back? Did they underscore the fact that Kenyatta isn’t on the ballot and doesn’t seek any elected office? Who’s likely to lose big here between the duos?

Let’s probe more. Is it fair and reasonable to blame the pig instead of those who scratch its pig, especially when the jig is up? Does Nyoro know the ramifications of what he nattered? Nyoro, who actually speaks for his boss needs to understand that their take to probe Kenyatta and their creation of state capture will infuriate an already injured bull to do them more harm. If they’ve underestimated his gravitas in Kenya’s politics, they’d be told to prepare themselves for an historical duel. They need to understand that Kenyatta knows Ruto more than they do. Ruto knows this too well. I wonder why he’s pretending not to know or remember this. The first question one needs to ask and ponder on is: is Ruto clean? Nyoro talks about Kenyatta’s government to choreography things to benefit ‘those in power.” Who are in power? Isn’t Ruto in power for almost ten years? Hasn’t Ruto benefited from power by amassing inexplicable and unexplainable wealth? Has Nyoro forgotten that his boss was a kuku seller and the son of a pauper who’s currently swimming in mystifying and quick wealth?

If we’re to go by the words of Nyoro that there’s state capture in Kenya, why did they keep mum about it? Similarly, why are they barking now if indeed they mean good for Kenya? Where were Ruto and his sympathisers? Was it reasonable to sit on such a sensitive matter, why? Are Kenyans aware of state capture? If yes, why didn’t they take action? If no, why? For the sake of argument, let’s say that there was state capture in Kenya. Was really Kenyan government captured, by who, how and since when? Nyoro mentions the Guptas. Can he kindly mention those behind his state capture so that Kenyans and the world might know and deal with them for this heinous crime against the Kenyan people?

Let’s lob these allegations. Are they the ploy Ruto wants to use as a trap to force his archenemy, former PM Raila Odinga to start naming names of those whom his government­­­––––shall he be elected President­­­––––will prosecute? Who’s the target here if at all Kenyatta won’t be on the ballot? It’s obvious that it’s Odinga who happens to enjoy Kenyatta’s support. Is Ruto desperate to know how he’ll be dealt with or treated after losing? Does he mean serious business?

As notes already, state capture allegations are heavy and serious. Ruto and co need to come forth and tell us the whole story so that the Kenyan public even the world can judiciously decide. Again, if Ruto and co. are found to be just lying or deflecting attention from serious matters, what’d Kenyan people do to them as a punishment? Are they ready to come forth and be counted? I’m anxiously waiting to know the truth however bitter or horrid is.

Dini zinapogeuka janga (V)

Katika muendekezi wa makala hii, leo nitajikita kwenye masuala ya kiusalama binafsi na kitaifa. Nitatolea mfano kinachoendelea nchini Jamhuri ya Afrika ya Kati (CAR) mbako makundi pinzani ya kikristo na kiislamu yamewagawa wananchi kiasi cha kuuana wao kwa wao na kukaribia kuisambaratisha nchi kama siyo mataifa ya nje kuingilia kati. Mamia wameuawa huku maelfu wakilazimika kukimbia makazi na shughuli zao. Dini hizi mbili zimewaaminisha wafuasi wake kuwa ni maadui na si ndugu. Ni ajabu kuwa Waafrika––––ambao ndiyo wanaongoza kwa kupokea na kupwakia dini za wenzao––––tunajua ni lini tumekuwa wakristo au waislam lakini hatujui ni lini tulikuwa Waafrika. Kwa wenzetu mfano waarabu, uarabu wao huja kwanza na udini ufuata baadaye. Hebu jaribu kusikia mataifa na viongozi wa kiarabu wanapokutana au kufanya jambo. Utasikia wakitambulisha kwa uarabu wao kwanza. Hata majina ya nchi zao kadhalika. Hebu angalia mfano the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia au the United Arab Emirates au Syrian Arab Republic kwa uchache. Ukiondoa nchi kama Afrika ya Kati na Afrika ya Kusini ambazo zinatumia neno Afrika, si nchi nyingi za Kiafrika zinatumia uafrika. Hata hizo hapo juu zinautumia uafrika kijiografia lakini siyo kiufuasi au ushufaa na utambuliko wao.

Je dini zinaathiri usalama binafsi na kitaifa vipi? Mfano wa CAR hapo juu uko wazi. Wananchi wanapochukiana, kushukiana hata kuuana wanahatarisha usalama wa nani kama siyo wao na taifa lao? Wananchi wanapogoma kufikiri pamoja matokeo yake ni nini zaidi ya kuhujumiana kiasi cha kujidhoofisha kama jamii na taifa? Mfano mzuri unaweza kutolewa kwenye makundi ya kigaidi yaliyoko Afrika. Kila kundi linaloibuka, lina jina la Kiarabu na si la Kiafrika. Hii maana yake ni nin? Ni kwamba watu kama hawa ni hatari kwa taifa kwa sababu:

a)     wamejikana kiasi cha kuweza kutumika hata kuhujumu wenzao na mataifa yao.

b)     ni rahisi kutumiwa na maadui wa taifa hata kwa mambo yasiyo ya msingi kama kupigania au kufia imani mbali na kuwa makuwadi wa wale wanaowaabudia kama ambavyo imejionyesha kwenye nchi zinazosumbuliwa na ugaidi.

c)     wengi wao wana ajenda za siri za kisiasa zilizojificha nyuma ya dini. Hawa hawana tofauti na wachungaji wa kujipachika wanaishia kwenye siasa baada ya kutumia dini kupata umaarufu na ufuasi ambao huugeuza kuwa mtaji binafsi kisiasa.

Mbali na ugaidi, kuna chuki ya kupandikizwa chuki na kudharauliana. Nadhani ni Waafrika peke yao wenye tabia ya kuchukiana na kutothaminiana. Ni Waafrika pekee wenye tabia ya kujichukia na kuchukia mila zao kwa vile dini zimewafundisha na kuwaaminisha hivyo kwa miongo mingi bila ya wao kuhoji. Mfano, kwanini ni Waafrika tu waliokubali kubadilishwa majina yao tofauti na wengine? Ukienda kwenye nchi za kiarabu, utakuta waarabu wakristo wana majina yao ya kiarabu ambayo hayana tofauti na yale ya kiarabu tunayoyaita ya kiislam kwa Afrika. Mfano, ni aliyekuwa waziri wa mambo ya nchi za nje wakati wa utawala wa Saddam Hussein Tariq Aziz ambaye alikuwa muumini wa kanisa la kikatoliki na kikaldayo na bado akabeba jina ambalo kwa Waswahili wangelichukulia kama la kiislam bila kujua kuwa kumbe majina tuliyobandikwa ni aina fulani ya ukoloni wa kimila na dharau dhidi ya utambuliko na mila zetu ambavyo ni vitu muhimu kwa binadamu.

Tusisiteze kuwa utambuliko ni muhimu sana kwa binadamu kuliko hata wanyama. Hebu fikiri. Simba angekuwa anajua kuwa anaitwa simba halafu ghafla ukamuita fisi au mbwa angejesikiaje? Hapa Kanada huwa nashangaa kusikia wanyama wakiitwa majina ya binadamu na hakuna anayedai. Juzi tulipeleka vijana wetu kujiburudisha kwenye kuendesha vigari vidogo kama vya mashindano. Tulipokelewa na paka jike aitwaye Peter au Petro. Huku majina mengi hayana hata ujinsia. Si ajabu kusikia mwanamke akiitwa Alison, Hilary, Kennedy, Stanley na mengine. Kwa wanaume kuitwa majina kama Elizabeth Maria na mengine inawezekana mbali na ubin wa kike kwa Wakikuyu kule Kenya pale baba mtoto anapomkataa mtoto na kwa waarabu kadhalika.

Nafasi haitoshi. Nimalizie kwa kusema kuwa ni hatari pale baadhi ya dini zinaposema wazi kuwa ndugu wa muumini wao ni muumini wao. Je hili nalo ni jipya na la maana la kumfundisha mtu? Je nani anahitaji kufundishwa ndugu zake ni nani wakati ni wale aliozaliwa nao kwanza na pili wale waliomzunguka? Inakuwaje uwe na ndugu msiyezaliwa pamoja wala kufanana huku ukimgeuza uliyezaliwa naye adui eti kwa vile mna dini tofauti? Nadhani hata kuku, pamoja na kuwa na ubongo usiojaa kijiko, anawajua ndugu zake. Kwa ufupi dini zimetuandaa na kutufanya tuwe tayari kuteketezana, kuhujumiana hata kuuana kwa sababu za tofauti za kiimani. Hapa ndipo dini zinapogeuka janga jipya Afrika.

Chanzo: Raia Mwema jana.

Muziki wa wiki toka Kenya kwa Waluhya aka mulembe

 Mbe Lulobo mambo ya fedha na siasa

Happy Birthday Utata Thabo Mbeki

Utata Thabo Mbeki,

ndikunqwenelela usuku lokuzalwa.

Happy Birthday

Bon anniversaire

Olusuku olumnandi lokuzalwa

TANZANIA’s 30 YEARS VOYAGE ON THE MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY FLAGSHIP.

The word  “voyage”,  ordinarily  means   “a long  journey  by  sea”;  in  which  the  travelers  are  likely  to  encounter  some  unexpected  problems,  that  may  be  caused  by   bad  or  rough  weather.    Similarly,   in  our  30  years  of  implementing  the  multi-party  political  system,  we   too  have  encountered  certain  ‘rough weather’  problems;   and  particularly,  the  initial  “apprehensions”   that  were  largely  based  on  what  is  known  as  “fear  of  the  unknown”,  primarily   because  of  the  novelty  of  the  idea  itself.
        In   his  inaugural  speech  to  the  first  de  jure  multi-party  Parliament  in  November  1995,   the  late  President  Benjamin  Mkapa  said  the  following   immortal  words:-“ In  making  the  transition  to  multi-party  politics,  we  were  harbouring   some   strong  doubts  and  apprehensions,  that   such  change  would  probably  lead  to  a  resurgence  of  the  divisive  tribal  and/or   religious   sentiments  among  our  people,   thereby  undermining   our  cherished  national   cohesion  and  unity   which  we  have  worked  so  hard  to  develop  and  nurture.  But,  thanks  to  the  political  maturity  of  our  people,  these  fears  never  materialized”.  
        President  Mkapa  was,  no  doubt,  referring   to  the findings  of  the  Nyalali  commission   which,   in  its  Report,  had  disclosed  that   80%  of  all  the  people  who  had  expressed  their  views  and  opinions  to  that  commission   on  the  question  whether,  or  not,  our  country  should  adopt  the  multi-party  system,   had  actually  rejected   the  idea  of  re-introducing  multi-party politics  in  Tanzania.    And   this,  presumably,    had  been  influenced  by  the  apprehensions  based  on  this  “fear  of  the  unknown”. I  was  a  member   of  that  commission,  and  I  still  have   very  vivid  memories  of  those  events.  
        The   fears  regarding  Zanzibar’s  stability  under  multi-party  politics. Some  of  these  apprehensions   and  fears  were  in  relation  to   Zanzibar’s  stability   under  multi-party  politics.   It  was  genuinely   feared,   that  a  return  to  multi-party  politics  would  probably  ‘take   Zanzibar  back  to  the   undesirable    divisive  politics   which  had  bedevilled  that  country   during  the  whole  of  the   period  before  the  1964  glorious  revolution’. This  fear  was  clearly  manifested  in  the   ‘terms  of  reference’  that  were  given  to  the  Nyalali  Commission,  no. (vii)  of  which  directed  the  commission: “To  give  special  consideration  to  the  expected  impact  on  Zanzibar,  which  may  result  from  changing  the  present  political  system,  considering  its  unpleasant  electoral  history,  and  the  culture  of  the  people  of  Zanzibar”.           

        We,  of  course,   gave  due  consideration  to  this  particular  reference;   but   we  nevertheless  recommended  that  Zanzibar  should  adopt  the  multi-party  system,  along  with  Tanzania  Mainland;  which  the  ruling  party  CCM  gracefully  accepted. Hence,  with  such  ‘fears  and  apprehensions’  dominating  the  minds  of  such  a  large  majority  of  the  people,   this  voyage  had,  inevitably,  a  pretty  difficult,  and  uneasy  start. But,  presumably  due  to  the  “political  maturity”  of  our  people  that  was  asserted  by  President  Mkapa;   what  had  been  so  widely  feared,  never  actually  materialized. 

The   rough  weather  that  we  have  encountered.
“Multi-party  democracy”  essentially  means  ‘electoral  democracy’;  simply  because  ‘competitive  free  elections’   are  the  vital  pillars  of  a  properly  functioning   democratic  system.   And  it  is  primarily  in  this  area  of  elections,  that  our  voyage  has  encountered  the  problems  of  “bad  weather”;  which,  in  this  context,  refers  to   the  serious  challenges  that  have  occurred  over  the  period  under  discussion.  
The  basic  challenge :  the  lack  of  the  multiparty  culture.   
 Many  of  the  countries  which  inherited  the  British  Parliamentary  system,   appear  to  have  been  faced  with  a  variety  of  different   problems   upon  their  transition  to  multi-party  politics;  which  can  be  attributed  to  the  ‘lack  of  the  multi-party  culture’.  Information  that  was  put  together  by   the  Commonwealth  Parliamentary  Association,  and  published  in  its  Journal   “The  Parliamentarian”  in   separate  issues  during  the  years  2000,  2002,  and  2003;  reveals  the  following   negative  outcomes  regarding  the  impact  of   this  new  system   on  the  politics  of  some  of  its  member  countries ;  where  it  is  reported  therein  as  follows :-                                                    

 (i) Papua  New  Guinea (PNG).                                                          “Party  politics   in  PNG  have  generally  been  based  on  personalities,  rather  than  policies,  In  this  ‘big  man’  style  of  politics,  voters  are  more  likely  to  be  won  by  family  and  clan  affiliations,  than  through  well  developed  party  policies”.  
(ii)  Grenada.                                                                                          “The  Caribbean  people  have  long  had  a  reputation  for  passionate  partisan  debate,   in  the  adversarial  form  of  Parliamentary  democracy  inherited  from  Westminster;  and always  playing  by  the  rules,  namely,   the  winners  took  office,  and  the  losers  continued  the  debate  from  the  opposition  benches   inside  Parliament,  while  preparing  for  the  next  election.   But  today,  such  debates  are  being  continued  not  in  Parliament,  but  in  street  demonstrations. Our  acceptance   of  the  Parliamentary  system  is  being  seriously  eroded”.                           (iii)  Lesotho.                                                                                         “Political  activity  in  Lesotho  has  been  partisan  in  form, and  exclusionary  in  character.  Society  has  been  balkanized  into new  groupings  which  call  themselves  political  parties,  dedicated  to  vying  for,  and  excluding  one  another  from,  control  of  state  power.  Political  parties  in  Lesotho  are  emerged  in  mutual  disdain  and  repugnance  that  members  of  the  different  political  parties  feel  for  each  other;   and  this  attitude  has  created  a  basis  for  political  instability  that  has  become  a  permanent  feature  of  politics  in  the  country”.                                                    (iv)  Kenya.                                                                                            “The  re-introduction  of  political  pluralism  was  one  of  the  greatest  developments  in  Kenya  since  independence.  But it  now  appears  that  political  parties  have  turned  into  a  liability,  not  only  stifling  democracy,  but  also  impeding  the  transformation  of  Kenya  into  a  modern  society.  Virtually  all  political  parties  have  sacrificed   healthy  competition  and  internal  democracy,  at  the  altar  of  individual  aggrandizement”.
The   specific  challenges   relating   to  elections.
 (i)   The  strategy  of  ‘crying  foul’.                                                      One  of  such  challenges , was  the  emergence  of   a  strange  feeling,  or  strategy,   among  some  of  the   political   who  participate  in  the  elections;   which  may  be  expressed  thus:-   “If  you  participate  in  an  election   you  must  win.  If  you  don’t  win,  you  have  been  cheated!”. Due  to  the  absence  of  the  requisite  political  culture,  “crying  foul”  has  become  a  fairly  common  strategy  to  be  adopted  by  the  losers  in  elections ;  which  is  then  followed  by  the  losing  party  engaging  itself  in   variety  of  acts  of  commission  and/or  omission   leading  to  breaches  of  the  peace.   But  this  is  the  surest  way  of  creating   violence;   since  the  winning  government  party  will  most  likely  respond  by  using  state  power  to  restore  peace.                                             

            And  this   is  what  actually  occurred  in  Zanzibar   following  the  first  multi-party  election  of  1995;  when  the  opposition  CUF  refused  to  accept  the  results  of  the   Zanzibar  Presidential  election,  and  announced  a  policy  of  total  non-cooperation  with  the  newly  elected  government ;  and  went  on  to    engaged  themselves  in  serious  acts  of  civil  disobedience.  This  forced  the  government  to  respond  by  arresting  some  of  the  CUF  leaders,  who  were   charged  with  the    offence  of  treason.   These  events  created  a  serious   political  impasse  which  lasted  for  the  whole  of  the  remaining  five-year  constitutional   leadership  period.                                                     (ii)  Unsubstantiated  election  complaints.                                          Such  as  the  joint  election  petition  which  was  filed  immediately  following  the  first  multi-party  general  election  of  1995.  This  petition  was  filed  by  a  combined  team of  Opposition  political  parties   that  included   NCCR-MAGEUZI;   CUF;  CHADEMA; UDP;  UMD;   TADEA;  PONA;   NLD;   and  NAREA.  It  is  cited  in  the  Tanzania  Law  Reports  as   the  case  of  Augustine  Lyatonga  Mrema  and  others  v  Attorney  General  and  others, (1996);  which  was  challenging  the  validity  of  that  election,  and  seeking  its  nullification.   The  case  was  heard  by a  panel  of  three  judges  of  the  High  Court,  who  unanimously  held  that  the  case  had  no  merit,  and  dismissed  it  with  costs.                      

I  realize,  of  course,  that  there  were   other  genuine  election  complaints,   which  were  sustained  by  the   High  Court  (which  is  the  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  in  the  matter  of  election  petitions).   I  have  in mind  the  successful   ‘Kigoma  Urban’  constituency  by-election  petition  which  had  been  filed  by  CHADEMA,  challenging   the  winner  CCM  on  several  grounds  that  (allegedly)   constituted  a  breach  of  the  election  law,  and  the  associated  rules  and  regulations  issued  by  the  National  Electoral  Commission.                                                                     (iii)   ‘Post-election  violence’.                                                    

Such  as  that which  occurred  in  January  2001,  following  the  Opposition  CUF  party’s  rejection  of  the  2000  Zanzibar  Presidential  election  results;   following  which  a  tragedy  occurred  in  Pemba,  when  CUF  organized  a   demonstration,  ostensibly  to  protest  the  results  thereof;  but  which  turned  violent,    when   the  protesters  beheaded  a  policeman  who was  on  duty  in  the  path  of  the  demonstrators,  and  then  set  off  to  attack  a  police  station,  where   the   small  police  contingent  opened   fire  on  the  demonstrators,  reportedly   causing  the  death  of  22  persons.          

(iv)   Other  challenges :  the  legal   deficiencies.                   

There  are  two  glaring  deficiencies  in  this  category,  which  have   caused   many   legitimate  complaints.  They  are  the  unreasonable   provisions  in   the  constitution,  which  outlaw  (a) any  court  action  in  cases   challenging   Union  or  Zanzibar  Presidential  election  results;  and  (b) the  participation  of  private  candidates  in  our  elections. There  must  have  been  ‘good  and  cogent’  reasons  for  including  these    provisions  at  the  material  time;   but  times  have  now   changed,  and   it  can  be   reasonably  argued,  that  such  restrictions  could  be  removed  without  causing  any  material  harm to  society.  

 (v)  The   role  of  Parliament. 
The  “rules  of  competition”  of  multi-party  politics,   require  that  when  the  parliamentary   elections  are  concluded,  political  competition  transfers  directly   to  the  floor  of  Parliament;  where  such  competition  continues  to  take  place  between  “the  winners  who  took   office  occupying  the  government  benches;   and  the  losers  operating  from   the  opposition  benches;   while  preparing  for  the next  election”. The  lack  of  recognition  of  this  role  by   the  stakeholders  constitutes  another  serious  challenge. Parliament  must  be  seen  by  all   the  stakeholders  in  the  multi-part  political  dispensation,   that  it  is  indeed relevant,   and  responsive  to  their  needs.     

            This   perhaps  needs  a  little  more  elaboration,   especially   in   the  special  circumstances  of  Tanzania,  where,  in  all   Parliamentary  elections  which  have  been  held  during  the  period  under  discussion,  (commencing  with  the  1995  first  multi-party  general  election,  when  the  ruling  party  scored  80.17%   of  the  total  number  of  parliamentary  seats),   the  Opposition  parties   have  consistently  obtained  less  than  a  third  of  the  Parliamentary  seats  available  at  the  relevant  time.     This  situation   has  led  some  detractors  to   suggest  that  our  multi-party  Parliament  “cannot  be  effective  because  it  is  so  overwhelmingly  dominated  by  MPs  of  the  ruling  party  CCM”. However,   such  assertions  are  inherently  mischievous;   because  they  overlook  the  plain  fact  that   all  election  results  are   the  tangible  expressions  of  the  wishes  of  the  electorate. I  referred  above  to  the  problem  of  “unsubstantiated election  complaints”.    I had  in  mind  the  kind   of  complaints   which,  even  the  complainants  themselves  appear  to  feel  that  they  lack  merit,  and  therefore  cannot  succeed;  such  as  the  wild  assertions    that  their  votes  “were  stolen” .  It  is  my  humble  submission   that  votes  cannot  be  stolen,  simply  because  the  voting   system  is   so   closely  supervised,  at  every  stage,  either  by  the   competing  candidates  themselves;  or  their  chosen  and   trusted  representatives.   Any  attempt  to  ‘steal  votes’  cannot  succeed. 
 Our  Parliament  was  carefully  designed  to  be  effective.
I  had  the  good  fortune  of  being  the  Speaker  who  supervised  our  Parliament’s   transition  to  the  multi-party   system;  and  can  remember  the  great  amount  of  efforts  that   we  invested  in  crafting  the   ‘Standing   Rules  and  Orders’  which  would properly   guide  the  operations  of  Parliament  under  the  multi-party  dispensation   in  order  to  make   it  ‘ appear  to  be’  genuinely  “efficient  and   effective”  to  all   the  stakeholders.   And,   I  sincerely  believe,  we  succeeded.  
piomsekwa@gmail.com   /0754767576.

Source: Daily News and Cde Msekwa yesterday.

Mgogoro wa Mwasonga Kisarawe kunani na nani?

                                                        Mkuu wa Wilaya Kisarawe Nixon Simon

Hivi karibuni vyombo vya habari vilifichua na kuripoti kashfa inayozidi kupanda kasi ambapo wakazi wa Mwasonga, Kisarawe wakilalamikia hujuma wanayofanyiwa kwa kisingizio cha uwekezaji. Wanadai kuwa eneo lao limegundulika kuwa na madini ya mchanga ambayo yameishapata mwekezaji bila kumtaja ni nani. Je mwekezaji au Wawekezaji ni nani na kwanini wanataka au kuruhusiwa kuwadhulumu, kuwaibia au kuwaumiza wananchi? Je hii siyo kashfa ambayo inaweza kuepukika au kushughulikiwa kwa wakati na kwa haki kabla ya kuwaumiza wananchi? Je taifa linapata faida gani kwa kuruhusu au kushuhudia wananchi wake wakiumizwa na mafisadi na walafi wachache?

            Wananchi wanadai kuwa walikubaliana na mwekezaji awalipe shilingi 20,000 kwa mita moja ya mraba. Hata hivyo, wanadai mwekezaji amewageuka na kutaka kuwalipa shs. 3,000 kwa mita ya mraba badala ya shilingi 20,000. Je kunani hapa? Hii siyo dhuluma ya mchana kweupe? Kwanini walikubaliana kulipa 20,000 halafu ghafla wanageuka? Je huyu ni mwekezaji au mchukuaji? Mfano, Milka Kaoneka alikaririwa akisema kuwa alijenga nyumba yake kwa shilingi 75,000, 000 miaka kumi iliyopita. Mwekezaji eti anataka kumlipa shilingi 54,000,000. Je nani atalipia hiyo hasara ya shilingi milioni 21? Je thamani ya nyumba hiyo, baada ya miaka kumi tangu kujengwa ukiachia mbali bei ya ardhi, bado ni ile ile au imepanda? Je inawezekana Kaoneka akajenga nyumba kama hiyo kwa bei hiyo hiyo kwa sasa ambapo kila kitu kimepanda bei? Je kwanini wahanga nao wasidai walipwe zaidi kama mwekezaji ameona ana haki ya kupunguza bei au wakaamua kuachana naye na kuendelea kuishi kwenye nyumba zao? Kwanini wakubwa wetu wanashindwa kuona kitu kidogo na rahisi kama hiki? Kunani? Je ni watanzania wangapi wanakumbwa na kadhia kama hizi hasa wale wa mikoani ambako hakuna vyombo vingi vya habari kuzifichua?
            Je nini kimetokea hadi kiasi kilichokubaliwa kipunguzwe hadi 3,000? Kuna haja ya wahusika kuandaa maelezo ya kina na yanayoingia akilini kabla ya umma kufikia hitimisho kuwa ima kuna dhuluma au rushwa imetembezwa kwenye kashfa na hujuma hii. Je serikali yenye macho mia na mkono mrefu haijui kashfa hii? Kama inajua, kwanini haiingilii kati? Na kama haijui ni kwanini na vyombo vyake na watendaji wake ni vya nini? Je inakuwaje Mkuu wa Wilaya ya Kisarawe yupo na anaaacha mtama huu umwagwe kwenye kuku wengi?  Inakuwaje anajiachia na kuwaachia wananchi wamlalamikie Mheshimiwa Rais kana kwamba yeye hana mamlaka ya kuingilia kati kulinda haki za wananchi? Je kunani Mkuu wa Wilaya amekaa kimya? Je ameshindwa? Je amepuuzia au kudharau? Je ananufaika vipi na kashfa hii? Je kazi yake ni nini kama anashindwa kutatua mgogoro mdogo kama huu hadi wananchi wake wamlilie Rais ambaye ana mambo mengi ya kufanya kitaifa? Je huyu bado anafaa kuendelea kuwa ofisini huku akishindwa kutatua matatizo ya wananchi wake?
            Hata hivyo, ushahidi wa kimazingira––––kama maelezo ya wahanga yatafanyiwa kazi vilivyo–––unaonyesha kuwa serikali inajua. Maana wanasema kuwa walipodai haki yao, mmojawapo wa viongozi ambaye hawakumtaja jina aliwaambia kuwa watake wasitake watalipwa pesa hiyo kwa vile haya ni maagizo toka toka juu. Huko juu ni wapi na nani wapo huko na wanafanya nini? Je juu ni Wilayani, Mkoani au Taifa na kwanini maelekezo yatoke juu kana kwamba huko juu ndiye mwekezaji? Je huko juu ni wawakilishi wa mwekezaji na kwanini? Kama wahusika wanaolipwa mishahara kwa kazi kama hizi wameshindwa kuwatetea wananchi, je nani atawatetea?
        Kinachoendelea Mwasonga ni ushahidi tosha kuwa baadhi ya watendaji wetu wamo ofisini ima kutumikia matumbo yao au mafisadi wachache na wale wanaoitwa wawekezaji wasiojali hata haki na uhai wa wananchi tena maskini. Kwa anayejua maana ya uwekezaji, anayepaswa kubembeleza siyo mwenye ardhi bali yule anayetaka kumuondoa akawejeze. Pia, ifahamike kuwa wahusika wanapaswa kufahamu na kutambua kuwa mwekezaji haji pale kucheza bali kutengeneza fedha. Hii ni haki yake. Lakini hana wala si  haki ya kufanya hivyo kwa kuwaumiza wengine hata kama ni wadogo kama ilivyo kwenye kadhia hii. Je serikali kweli inashindwa kuingilia kwa wakati ili kuhakikisha haki za wananchi wake zinalindwa? Je kwanini serikali inakubali kuweka nguo zake za ndani hadharani?
        Mradi husika hapo juu unaitwa shirikishi. Je nani anamshirikisha nani, vipi na kwa vigezo vipi? Inakuwaje kwenye mradi shirikishi upande mmoja unakuwa na nguvu kuliko upande mwingine. Huu ni ushirikishaji au ushirikishwaji gani? Je hawa wanaotaka kuwadhulumu na kuwaibia wananchi watafanyaje kama wananchi wataamua kutumia wingi wao na kujichukulia sheria mkononi kuhakikisha haki, mali na maisha yao havichezewi? Je, hili likitokea, nani wa kulaumiwa baina ya mwekezaji, wahusika walioshindwa kufanya kazi zao barabara na kwa weledi na wananchi? Maana, katika ya Tanzania iko wazi kuwa kila mwananchi ana haki ya kupigania na kusimamia haki yake kama haki yake kisheria. Katiba Sura ya Pili 9 (c) inasema “kwamba shughuli za Serikali zinatekelezwa kwa njia ambazo zitahakikisha kwamba utajiri wa Taifa unaendelezwa, unahifadhiwa na unatumiwa kwa manufaa ya wananchi wote kwa jumla na pia kuzuia mtu kumnyonya mtu mwingine.” Je hawa wanaoshindwa kuzuia mwekezaji kuwahujumu wananchi hawaoni kuwa wanavunja katiba ukiachia mbali kukiuka viapo vyao vya uaminifu kwa nchi na watu wake na serikali yake? Je hawa wanapaswa kuendelea kuwa kwenye utumishi wa umma wakati wameshindwa wazi wazi?
        Tuhitimishe kwa kumtaka Mheshiwa Rais kama ambavyo wahanga wameomba aingilie ili haki zao zilindwe na haki kutendeka. Pia, tunashauri Mheshimiwa Rais au mamlaka husika kuwawajibisha na kuwaadhibu walioko nyuma ya kadhia hii inayoichafua serikali na kuitia aibu.
Wakati tukishauri Rais aingelie, inabidi tujiulize. Je Rais atafanya mangapi? Walio chini yake na wahusika kazi zao ni zipi? Kashfa ya Mwasonga ishughulikiwe mara moja ili kurejesha imani kwa serikali na kuleta uwajibikaji na utendaji haki katika ofisi za umma.

Chanzo: Raia Mwema leo

We Wish Everybody Wonderful Mandela Day today

Ruto’s diary after the August 9 elections

                      By Makau Mutua Professor at SUNY Buffalo Law School and Chair of the KHRC.

What you need to know:

• Given the state of the race today, I believe Deputy President William Ruto will be among those for whom August 9 will be akin to Armageddon.

• If Mr Ruto loses – as I believe he will – he’ll be disconnected from the official money, power, and resource supply for the first time in a quarter century.
• Mr Ruto will suffer withdrawal symptoms like a ganja addict suddenly cut off from his dealer.

There will be a lot of broken hearts on August 9 this year.
It will be doom and gloom for some, a bonanza and renaissance for others. But some hearts will be more severely broken than others. Given the state of the race today, I believe Deputy President William Ruto will be among those for whom August 9 will be akin to Armageddon.    
        A day of utter devastation. Please don’t ask me why because you know the reason. But if I must tell you, it’s because Mr Ruto’s loss will be heavier than the side opposite.
You can even see it in his eyes, demeanour and speech. He believes a loss – which will doubtlessly be his lot – is akin to physical death. This brings me to the subject matter of this column. Let’s imagine Mr Ruto’s diary after August 9.
To do so, we need to fully appreciate his daily routines and life since 1997 when at the age of 31 he was elected MP for Eldoret North.
        He has been in government in one capacity, or another, either as MP or a member of the Executive. Today, he sits atop the state as the second most powerful official, a position he’s husbanded for the past decade. That’s a total of 25 years, or a quarter century, that Mr Ruto has suckled at the breast of the state uninterrupted. Mr Ruto is addicted to the state’s largesse. He’s hooked on it.
State largesse
Wait a minute. Let’s unpack the state largesse, or rather, its bosom. The state is that institution that the taxpayer funds, but on which officials live large. In the upper echelons of the state, anything goes. It’s like picking a free mango from the many mango trees by the roadside in Kitui.
            It’s yours for the taking – only that with the state you must be an official, and presumably of a certain station.
At the level of the deputy president, you virtually have the carte blanche to cut your own check. Free housing, food, hordes of security personnel, a fleet of high-end vehicles, including aerial vehicles, and boundless wands of cash. You pay for nothing.
There’s more, which is much more important. In Kenya, when you are at the level of a deputy president, you have a licence to loot, if you are so inclined.
        And loot with impunity. The National Treasury is your piggy bank, your personal wallet. Every government contract is at your disposal. You can demand a cut, or an inflated cost, by placing a two-minute call. Money is often delivered to your doorstep in sacks every evening. This doesn’t just apply to the Office of the Deputy President (and I am not talking about Mr Ruto here).
         It virtually encompasses all senior state officials from judges to MPs and apparatchiks in the Executive, independent commissions, and the civil service. It’s an orgy of wanton looting. On August 9, if Mr Ruto loses – as I believe he will – he will be cut off from the feeding trough. He’ll be disconnected from the official money, power, and resource supply for the first time in a quarter century. I mean severed from the country’s “juice”. Some of us have never worked in such an environment, and so we’ve always been on our own.
We don’t know the taste of free taxpayer shillings. We only know what we’ve earned the old-fashioned way – by the sweat of our brow.
        On August 9, Mr Ruto – an obscenely wealthy man – will have to start paying for some of his comforts. For starters, he will be kicked out of his Karen government house. His security detail will be reduced. A large number of his fleet of cars will go back to the government. He will be placed under fixed retirement income as determined by law for ex-Deputy Presidents. He won’t have the power to interrupt official government business to demand a favour or a cut.
The official money supply will dry up. He has massive investments and so he may not feel the pinch.
        Still, he will personally pick up the tab. But his days will be punctuated by fewer servants, waitpersons and sycophants.
No more salutes, or fawning admirers. It will be a lonely life. In other words, he will be cut off from the daily routines he’s always known for decades. 
Withdrawal symptoms 
Mr Ruto will suffer withdrawal symptoms like a ganja addict suddenly cut off from his dealer.
It’s true Mr Ruto’s UDA, of which he’s party leader, will have officials elected to the Senate, governors, MPs and MCAs. This will be an army for him. But he will be a general without a sword. The elected officials will often defy him or constructively dump UDA and work with Azimio. Mr Ruto will be like Samson – with the body but without the hair. His power will be gone since there’s no Leader of Opposition for him to occupy. His daily calendar – diary – will be at the mercy of others. 
Makau Mutua is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professor at Buffalo Law School, The State University of New York. @makaumutua.

Source: Sunday Nation, tomorrow.

Taifa linapaswa kuambiwa siyo kuombewa tu

Na Nkwazi Mhango, Kanada
Hivi karibuni Askofu wa Kanisa la Anglikana Dayosisi ya Victoria, Zephania Ntuza aliogoza ibada ya ‘kuliombea’ taifa ili liondokane na uhalifu kama mauaji yanayozidi kulipotiwa na vyombo vya habari mbali mbali nchini na hata nje ya nchi. Ntuza alikaririwa akisema “siyo sifa kuona matukio ya mauaji yakiripotiwa katika jamii huo siyo utamaduni wetu watanzania na watu tunaomwamini Mungu. Ni wakati sasa jamii inatakiwa kufunga kwa maombi kwa ajili ya kukemea mauaji hayo.” Japo sina ugomvi na imani katika kufunga na kuomba, sina imani na imani na maombi tu kama njia mujarabu ya kupambana na tatizo. Pia, sijui kama kuna taifa lenye utamaduni wa kuuana japo ukombozi katika Ukristo unatokana na mauaji ya mtu asiye na hatia.
Pamoja na nia nzuri ya Askofu, lazima tukubaliane kuwa kuomba hakutasaidia chochote zaidi ya kujipa matumaini yasiyokuwepo kama hatutachukua hatua kivitendo. Tumepewa akili na viungo vingine ili kuvitumia kutatua matatizo yetu badala ya kungoja Mungu au miujiza yake kutatua matatizo yetu. Mungu alijua kuwa tunahitaji akili, maarifa na viungo vya kutendea kazi badala ya kujifungia kwenye kumuomba. Atupe nini zaidi ya akili? Aingilie nini wakati hatujipi fursa ya kujaribu kutatua matatizo tuliyosababisha wenyewe kwa kutumia akili kama jamii ya Watu japo tumeanza kuwa hatarishi kuliko hata hayawani? Dini zimekuwepo hasa hizi nyemelezi za kigeni tangu ulipoingia ukoloni. Je zimefanya nini zaidi ya kutujaza imani huku tukiendelea kuwa maskini mbali na Waafrika kuwa binadamu wa kiwango cha chini mbele ya rangi nyingine kiasi cha kubaguliwa na kuchukiwa tu kwa sababu ya rangi yetu?
Kuomba si jambo baya. Hata hivyo, huwezi kuomba baada ya kufanya uzembe mahali fulani na Mungu akasikia maombi yako. Si mjinga kiasi hiki wala hajipingi. Ameishakupa akili na talanta mbali mbali. Usipozitumia, hata ukikesha ukifunga, kusali na kuomba hatakusikia wala kukusaidia. Sana sana atakuadhibu kwa kosa la uzembe na kutotumia akili vilivyo. Msomaji wangu aitwaye Mtwangio aliwahi kunipa kisa kimoja kuhusiana na kuomba. Anasema kuwa katika kinyang'anyiro cha mashindano ya kombe la dunia la mpira wa miguu ya mwaka 1982 yaliyofanyika Uhispania ambapo nchi ya Poland iliyashiriki, viongozi wa timu hiyo na wachezaji wake waliamua kwenda kumuona Papa John Paul II, Mpoland mwenzao ili awaombee kwa Mwenyezi Mungu walitwae kombe hilo la dunia katika mashindano hayo. Papa aliwajibu kwamba "katika mpira wa miguu Mwenyezi Mungu hapendelei timu yoyote. Je hapa busara ni nini? Kiufupi ni kwamba licha walichoomba kutowezekana na kutokuwa na sababu zaidi ya ufundi uwanjani, aliwataka watumie akili.
Kwa sasa, nchi za kiafrika zina utitiri wa matapeli wa kiroho waliochipachika vyeo vikubwa na vitukufu wakati ni wezi wa kawaida walioshindwa utukutu na ubunifu kupambana katika maisha na kuamua kuwaibia wajinga na watu waliokata tamaa ambao nao wamekataa kufikiri na kutafuta majibu ya matatizo yao. Yapo mambo unaweza kumuomba Mungu kwa wale wanaoamini. Ni yale ambavyo binadamu huna uwezo navyo mfano kitakachokutokea kesho, majanga ya kimaumbile na mambo mengine ambayo yako juu ya uwezo wako. Hili la uhalifu lipo chini ya uwezo wetu kama taifa na jamii ya watu kama tutafuata kanuni za kupambana na kadhia hizi kisayansi na si kiimani kama Ntuza na wengine kama yeye wanavyotaka kutuaminisha.
Tunaweza kukubali kuomba. Je lisipopatikana jibu––––ambalo sina wasi wasi halitapatikana––––tutafanya nini? Je tatizo litakuwa liko pale linatungojea tundelee na ubabaishaji huu? Mbona Tanzania kila Jumapili (kwa wakristo) na kila siku (kwa waislam na waumini wa dini za asili) linaombewa sana tu? Nadhani hapa tuna tatizo la kisaikolojia.  Tangu niishi hapa Kanada karibia miaka 20, sioni wazungu wakitumia sala kutatua matatizo yao. Kuna miji kama vile St. John’s NL makanisa mengi yamefungwa kwa kukosa waumini huku mengine yakitumiwa na wazinzi usiku majira ya joto kufanyia ufuska. Kwa wenzetu hili si tatizo. Taifa lao ni tajiri tu na shida yao siyo ukosefu wa usalama. Kwa muda niliokaa mji ule, nilishuhudia watu wakilala bila kufunga milango tena bila wasi wasi wowote. Unadhani hawa wazungu ni malaika? Hapana, wana uhakika wa kula. Serikali yao, badala ya kuomba, iliondoa matatizo ya umaskini na ujinga ambavyo ndivyo vyanzo vya ushirikina na uuaji tunavyoshuhudia nchini. Wakanada sasa wameshiba kiasi cha kukufuru wakihanganaishwa na ‘haki’ za hovyo kama vile ushonga, usagaji, uvutaji bangi na mengine kama hayo.
Tumalize kwa kusema kuwa taifa letu linahitaji kuambiwa ukweli na si kuombewa. Liache kutumia ndoto za alinacha kutatua matatizo. Kufanya hivi ni kuishiwa na kuendelea kukuza matatizo bila sababu zaidi ya uzembe na vipaumbele. Haya hayahitaji kuwa na shahada ya uzamivu katika mipango wala kupambana na jinai.

Pili, hawa wanaoamini katika maombi inapaswa waelezwe wazi kuwa tumpewa serikali ili isimamie sheria kujitatulia matatizo yetu kama yote kuanzia ya kibinafsi hata ya kijamii. Je serikali, ambayo inazidiwa na wauaji wachache inatimiza wajibu wake wa kutekeleza sheria? Hapa tatizo liko wapi? Mbona wakati wa awamu ya tano upuuzi huu uligeuka historia? Je ni wapi Jeshi letu la polisi limezembea au serikali kuwa legelege? Je tunahitaji kuiombea serikali na jeshi la polisi au kuwaambia kuwa kuna vitu vinaenda ndivyo sivyo? Tutaombea mangapi? Ukitokea ufisadi ambapo tunashuhudia mafisadi wakiachiwa huru au kufutiwa kesi hivi hivi tuombe kweli au kulalamika? Zikitokea ajali za barabarani zitokanazo na uzembe tuombe! Ukitokea ukame baada ya kukata miti sana tuombe! Mimba za utotoni zikizidi tokana na kuporomoka maadili, tamaa, ujinga, umaskini, ufisadi na upuuzi mwingine tuombe!

Chanzo: Raia Mwema Juzi

Is the Beginning of the end of the Sudanese Junta Approaching?

By Nkwazi Mhango

No doubt. Every end of something is the beginning of another thing and vice versa. The military junta in Sudan is fraught and vulnerable after making many pointless mistakes in its desperation to survive to no avail though.  That’s why its head, Abdul Fattah Burhan said that it intends to let civilians negotiate how to run a transitional government if his promise actually comes off or make any sense. He knows all Sudanese people are all in the demand for a civilian rule. We all remember how unceremoniously Sudanese long-time dictator; Omar Bashir’s pulled down after people persisted in the streets. We also know how his henchmen in Abdul Fattah Burhan and chief genocidaire of Darfur, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo who together myopically cheated the people and stole people’s revolution up until now.  Had the duo allowed the opposition to form the government, maybe, just maybe, would be safe and their future safeguarded under symbiotic existence if not under the marriage of convenience. If the top brass were smart, it’d have used its centrality in its role of supporting the ousting of Bashir to leverage the opposition with which would team up and form the government in which the military would retain the role of protecting it.

Again, what’s been ongoing in the streets of numerous Sudanese cities speaks to the fact that the beginning of the end of this carbuncular junta is quickly approaching. Although the junta’s clung on power since its illegal takeover, by and by, various forces will bring the outfit like the one it replaced after betraying its former head, Bashir. Thus, the following reasons either together or any of them will soon necessitate the death/end of the junta in Sudan.

Firstly, the global precarious economic and political situation resulting from the war in Ukraine that’s exacerbated living costs globally.  If rich and stable countries have already felt the heat, what of dependent, poor, and wobbly country like Sudan? Given that the junta’s ugly in its actions and manners, even Gulf backers are likely to abandon it at its hour of need so that it can fall as the only way of saving Sudan from becoming a failed state. I wonder why the pâtés of the junta have failed to see such an obvious reeling reality in the first place.

Secondly, the truth that Bashir’s regime was unexpectedly pulled down just because of the price of bread and other necessities, which’s been astronomically raising thence. Methinks. Sudanese are facing a worse situation than it’s under Bashir. If Bashir––––who’s as shrewd as the mighty greater rabbit-eared bandicoot failed––––what can his stooges do better than and differently from him?

Thirdly, the resilience of Sudanese people, which’s necessitated by the hardship they’ve endured for many years after––––South Sudan whose oil used to maintain dictatorship––––seceded although this move became counterproductive. What adds salt to injuries is the fact that the current ham-fisted regime spends much money on trying to silence the voices of the people instead of channelling the same money to assuage the hardships Sudanese people’s been facing wantonly.

Fourthly, apart from the hardships Sudanese have been facing without any respite, the brutality of the regime’s unleashed on demonstrators seems to have hardened them to fight even more resiliently something that has telling effects on the future of the regime. Because of such wanton brutality something has to give. This means the regime will commit more brutality something that’ll add to the already pent-up anger.

Fifthly, the incompetence of the regime will add more perils the regime whose vulnerability’s obvious so as to become careless and desperate for any means that can keep it afloat. The heads of this regime, first, have neither political agenda nor experience. Theirs are the agenda for plundering the country and clinging to power to avoid being arraigned by the ICC for the genocide they committed in Darfur under Bashir.

Sixthly, if there’s a hard nut to crack for the junta’s nothing but Bashir’s remnants that aren’t satisfied with what’s happening or those who were excluded from power, especially his party. Such a people feel it isn’t only vulnerable from the regime but also from the reality that they now have nobody or vehicle to assure it of its future security underscoring that many committed many crimes against Sudan and Sudanese in general.

Seventhly, Sudan hasn’t only hardened but also organised and resilient opposition whose following’s growing by days. The opposition has already created the vulnerability for the regime that’d like to see it quashed or compromised. Knowing the true colour of the junta, the opposition has refused to share the same divan with it.

Eighthly, another reason that’ll keep Sudanese organised against the military cabal are the human losses and injuries they’ve already suffered. Those who lost their beloved ones or suffered injuries inflicted by the military have nothing to lose except to fight even harder to see to it that the junta’s pulled down so that justice can be done for them and their beloved ones. They’d like to see the top brass behind bars like Bashir.

In sum, Sudanese junta soon will crumble down. Although it’s survived for almost a year, soon it’ll face the reality. Had its heads had the sense of reading the signs of time, it is time for them to ponder on leaving before being forced to do so unexpectedly.

Source: African Executive Magazine tomorrow.