I Wish They Were Briton Biggies

Source: Daily Nation Oct 22, 222.

Kenya’s fake democracy Part 1

 President William Ruto holds a sword received from former Commander in Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces Uhuru Kenyatta at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, on September 13, 2022. As it turns out, Mr Ruto retained control of the right and centre-right chunk of the state.

 

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

 

What you need to know:

• Raila underestimated the implacable foes of the right and centre-right forces within the state.

• The forces of the right and centre-right grouped within the state under then DP Ruto made sure that Mr Kenyatta wouldn’t successfully realise his desire of moving power from its traditional bastions.

• Most senior officials in the right and the centre-right faction that Mr Kenyatta had elevated to the highest echelons betrayed him and rigged the election against Mr Odinga and Azimio la Umoja.

Africans – and Kenyans may sit atop the list – suffer from the self-bigotry of small expectations. It’s a form of self-hatred and pity. Many, if not most, of us are tormented by the curse of fatalism. There’s an innate belief that things will go bad, even when the heavens seem to beckon.

        When things are going well, we still expect the other shoe to drop, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. This phenomenon of fatalism isn’t limited to Africans alone but is found all over the Black World. It’s an existential condition. I posit here that time and again, fatalism has wilted the will of most Kenyans so much so that they’ve come to accept our fake democracy.
        As a materialist, I have no doubt it’s not our consciousness that determines our existence, but our social existence that determines our consciousness. The Ubuntu philosophy coined by Prof John Mbiti, the renowned African scholar of theology, clearly stated that “I am because we are.”
        That is to say, we don’t live in atomic isolation, but in the community that moulds us. If we live in harsh or treacherous terrain, we shall be wily survivalists not anchored in any firm principles. That’s because our survival will be our north star.
If we live in plenty, we are spoilt for choice, allowing us to be deliberative about our existence. We are who we are not by choice, but by circumstance.
Four traumas
Fatalism plays an outsize role in the African mind because of the four traumas that have afflicted us. The first was the trauma of enslavement by Arabs and white Europeans and Americans.
The second trauma was that of colonialism in which we suffered under the boot of the white man in some cases for four centuries.
The third was the trauma of post-colonialism in which African-led states and elites cannibalised us in cahoots with the West and the East in the era of the Cold War.
The fourth is the current trauma of globalisation in which we’ve been left further behind in what’s now known as the Fourth World. We aren’t even part of the Third World anymore. We are traumatised people. Our own humanity has been deeply compromised. We can’t proceed as though we haven’t been deeply violated. If we do, we will not recover the innocence of our lost humanity.
        Typically, people who are traumatised internalise the trauma and train the guns on each other in a circular firing squad. That’s what we have been doing in Kenya since 1963. We play a zero-sum game against each other. The most poignant example of our self-cannibalisation happens in every electoral cycle.
        In our case, the right and centre-right have been very good at keeping state power out of the hands of the left and the centre-left. The latter has never held power in Kenya.
Hook or crook
In Kenya, the right and centre-right have “won” elections by hook or crook – usually by crook. In only two elections – 1963 and 2002 – where the right and centre-right and the left and centre-left came together were elections deemed “free and fair”.
        Even in those affairs, the levers of power were held by the right and centre right. In 2007, the right and centre-right stole the elections. In 2013, the same group manipulated the elections to their advantage. In 2017, the same thing happened but Chief Justice David Maraga led the Supreme Court in annulling the result. The left and centre-left boycotted the repeat elections because of the failure of the state to reform the electoral infrastructure.
        After the 2017 elections, then Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta did something remarkable. He decided that the stranglehold of power by the right and centre-right Kikuyu/Kalenjin and right/centre-right diarchy must be broken. This was the most progressive decision of the entire 10-year reign by Mr Kenyatta.
        He tried to correct the historical mistake of his father and their predecessors. I believe he wanted to give other communities a stake in the republic. To do so, he tried to bring together the right and the centre-right with the left and centre-left represented by himself and ODM’s Raila Odinga.
Underestimation
I believe he underestimated the implacable foes of this idea by the right and centre-right forces within the state. The forces of the right and centre-right grouped within the state under then Deputy President William Ruto made sure that Mr Kenyatta wouldn’t successfully realise his desire of moving power from its traditional bastions in the right and centre-right of the state.
As it turns out, Mr Ruto retained control of the right and centre-right chunk of the state.
        That was the larger and more lethal faction of the state. Most senior officials in the right and the centre-right faction that Mr Kenyatta had elevated to the highest echelons betrayed him and rigged the election against Mr Odinga and Azimio la Umoja.
The truth will eventually come out.
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.

THE IRONY OF GLOBAL WARMING

Does Africa have Professors of Economics? A Rejoinder to President Museveni

 

Dear Gen. Yoweri Museveni, President for Life,

Allow me to briefly answer your question that asks: Does Africa have Professors of Economics? Yep. It’s plenty some even jobless. They’re not just Profs of economics but competent ones that some western countries can grab under brain drain, which their maladroit and myopia rulers purposely created thanks to pointless fear and hatred of/against people who spent years in school to become who they’re as opposed to politicians who bribe, rig elections, or start bush wars to get in power?

Gen., Museveni, allow me to humbly ask you a simple question? Does Africa have leaders or rulers? Additionally, do African Presidents have brains and eyes? Why am I asking all this? I simply wonder. how a President like yourself who’s been in power for close four decades fails to know if Africa’s the Profs of economics. How many’ve you created or empowered for the decades you’ve been in power? Gen. Museveni, don’t you know that, in Africa, experts don’t make decision but politicians­­­­––––who are not qualified––––do? Do you know why Presidents, Ministers, and MPs enjoy humungous emoluments and salaries while Doctors, Professors, and other Experts of their fields receive peanuts? In Africa, including Uganda, politics bullies and exploits other fields. Interestingly, whereas the Profs of Economics you’re asking if exist in Africa are professionals, politicians are neither professionals nor patriotic.

Ones of the things you suggest would help to develop is the love of Africa or Pan-Africanism and being patriotic. Do you know that those professionals are more patriotic than politicians who vend their countries for their personal gains? Another thing you suggested––––that’s flying in your face––––is democracy! Do you know what democracy means really Gen. Museveni? How much democracy not domocracy or the freedom of jabbering, is there in Uganda to begin with? Do Uganda and Africa in general have democracy or domo-crazy like the one you’re applying in formulating your question to divert attention from the quandary Uganda’s in? Did you mean domocracy when you suggested democracy?

Apart from the above ‘nuggets of wisdom’ if indeed, they’re, you suggest the “building an independent, integrated and self-sustaining national economy.” Is that feasible, and if yes, can you show us how you built it in Uganda in the first place? How can Africa build an integrated and self-sustaining economy amidst bad governance, stinking corruption, nauseating criminality, cult personality, dictatorship, greed, myopia, nepotism, and the likes mostly committed by its rulers? Did you mean self-serving economy for politicians when you said self-sustained national economy?  You also said, Africa needs to build independent economy.  How can it amidst dependency that our current rulers seem to be at home with?  Can a begging Africa do so really? Can extravagant, self-serving and thuggish rules build such an economy practically?

            Gen. Museveni, allow me to introduce you to my coming book on Africa’s Internalised Internal colonization, which suggests that Africa must decolonise itself for it to develop. It’ll be published by Mwanaka Publishers, Zimbabwe soon. In the said book, I answer your major question that Africa’s lagging economically because it is colonised by black colonialists (Presidents). I strongly argue that Africans, especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are ready to unite but their rulers are the biggest obstacle of all. If you ask Congolese, Burundians, Kenyans, Rwandans, South Sudanese and Tanzanians that form the EAC if they’d like their colonial-created countries to unite even tomorrow, the answer will be soundly in the affirmative. Again, if you ask their rulers, the answer will soundly be in the negative. Why? Because they don’t want to let go their narrow interests such as enjoying power and its trappings and the discretion they enjoy and use to exploit and fleece poor citizenry.

            Gen. Museveni, the last dose. Why, as the President, have you the power to appoint even your wife or promoting your son without being reprimanded? Again, if a doctor appoints his/her wife/husband a helper, it’ll be called nepotism and s/he’ll need to explain.

            In sum, Africa unite or perish. That’s the title of my book that’s published by Langaa, Cameroon in 2015 in which, I hypothesise how Africa can develop and help other countries using its humungous resources. Please find it and read it if it pleases you.

Source: African Executive today.

Ruzuku iwe kwa huduma za kijamii, si kwenye siasa

Kwanza, nikiri. Sikuwa najua kuwa ima kaya yetu ni tajiri au fujaji. Sikujua kuwa kumbe kila mwaka walipa kodi wetu kapuku wanakamuliwa kugharimia siasa kana kwamba tunakula na kunywa siasa! Kumbe kuna wakati viinchi vyenye ujambazi wa wazi wa kisiasa kama majirani zetu vinasevu njuluku lukuki? Hii stori ukimwambia jamaa kama M7 anakucheka na kuanguka kwa kicheko. Kamwambie na yule rafiki yake Tolu, atazimia kwa mshangao. Sina ugomvi na ulaji wa kisiasa. Si afadhali uupate baada ya kusota kwenye debe baada ya kuwahadaa wapika kura ya kula kuliko kupewa kila mwaka bila kufanya lolote. Hawa waliopendekezwa kuruzukiwa, tunawaruzuku kwa lipi na nini? Nadhani hata chama twawala hakipaswi kuruzukiwa. Wafanye kazi wapate kula badala ya kula wapika kula. Niliposikia hili pendekezo, nilijiuliza kama ambavyo Bi. Mkubwa mwenye kaya alijiuliza. “Vingine nilikuwa nasema ilo kweli? Lakini ni maoni ya kikosi kazi.” au urabu tu, manjonjo na njaro?

         Pili, mie ni mpenzi wa demokrasia japo si mlevi wake. Pili, mie si mwanasiasa bali kapuku, mchambuzi, msomi, na mtunzi. Tatu, huwa siamini katika ndoto bali uhalisia. Naona yule anaanza kuumka na kulaani. Tuliza bori rafiki yangu. Najua. Nitakachoandika hapa kitawakera na kuwakwaza wengi hasa wale ambao ulaji wao unategemea longolongo na madudu kama hayo.
Nije kwenye hoja yenyewe. Juzi, nilisoma mapendekezo ya kikosi kazi kisicho kazi hata hivyo kuwa vyama vya siasa vipewe asilimia 10 ya ruzuku inayotengwa kila mwaka kama riziki, sorry, ruzuku. Tunatenga hii njuluku kwa utajiri gani? Kwanini isitengwe na kupewa wakulima wetu badala ya wapiga soga? Kutenga asilimia kumi ni jambo jema japo halina wema kama hatatuangalia yafuatayo:
Mosi, je kwanini hiyo njuluku isipelekwe mahospitalini na mashuleni kwanza? Je ina maana siasa ni mali kuliko elimu na siha zetu? Je inakuwaje tunataka kuwekeza sana katika longolongo badala ya mambo ya muhimu zaidi kama afya na ujuzi?
        Tatu, je hitajio la kwanza na muhimu kwa wabongo ni demokrasia aka siasa au mambo mengine wezeshi kama vile miundombinu? Ningekuwa nimeshauliwa au nasikilizwa, ningesema, vyama vya siasa vingoje kidogo japo tuhakikishe kila hospitali na zahanati zina madawa ya kutosha, wafanyakazi wa kutosha, mishahara mizuri na marupurupu mengine. Niviasa vyama kula pini kwanza ili kuhakikisha shule zetu zote zina madawati, walimu, vitabu, na nyumba za walimu vya kutosha mbali na maslahi yanayoingia akilini kwa walimu.
        Nne, kabla ya kumwaga neema na ulaji kwa wanasiasia, ningehamishia hilo dau kwenye barabara za vijijini na wilayani ambako ndiko uhai na uzalishaji wa taifa vipo. Huko ndiko madiko diko tunayopwakia kila uchao na mazao ya kibiashara yanayotuingizia uchache wa kigeni yanazalishwa. Nani anaweza kula sera au siasa na kelele za majukwaani au kwenye majumba ya ibada? Nani anautafuta ufalme wa mbinguni ilhali amezama kwenye ujinga na umaskini vya kunuka? Nani huyo asiye na busara anayetaka kuvisha uso kabla ya makalio? Hebu tuelimishane jamanini msijedhani tunatukana au kutetea utopolo na ukandamizaji. Basi kama hiyo pesa imekosa la kuifanyia hadi kuiruzuku na kuwazawadia wana siasia basi itumike kuwapekelekea maji au umeme hawa wahenyekaji ambao jasho na nguvu yao ndivyo vimekuwa injini za taifa tangu kupata uhuru wa bendera. Kama maji yameshindikana, basi tumia fedha hiyo lau kupambana na ukosefu wa ajira kwa kujenga mazingira wenzeshi ya kutengeneza ajira binafsi au za kuajiriwa kwa vijana wetu wanaopoteza muda madarasani na kuishi kuwa machinga wakati wakati wanasiasia na matapeli wengine wakiotesha vitambi kutokana na kuruzukiwa wasipostahiki au kuvuna ambako hawakupanda kwa kupiga domo na kulilisha domo.
        Tano, tujiulize. Hii njuluku inayopendekezwa kuwapa wapiga siasa inatoka kwenye kodi ya makapuku wanaozidi kuhenyeshwa na ugumu wa maisha uliyoikabili dunia hata wale wenye nazo au? Je ni haki kuwaacha walipa kodi wengi vijijini bila hata vijibarabara vya changarawe na kuwaruzuku wanasiasa?
        Leo sichongi sana. Tukubaliane tena kuelewana. Kwa usawa huu, kwa yeyote mwenye akili timamu, siyo wakati wa kuruzukiana kwa kupiga mikelele. Tunatapanya uchache––––tena mwingi utokanao na kubomubomu­­­­––––kwa utajiri upi zaidi ya udhalili tunaouonea fahari kiasi cha wengi kutucheka na kudhani ima tu hamnazo au tuna maradhi ya kichwa? Kuna haja ya kuweka vipaumbele kwenye mambo ya lazima na maana badala ya kuendelea na mazoea yale yale. Wapika kula na walipa kodi wetu hawali siasa. Wanahitaji huduma bora. Wanahitaji barabara, hospitali, shule na zahanati bora na siyo uboreshaji wa ulaji wa wanasiasa ambao hata sera bora hawana.  Msinielewe vibaya. Wangekuwa na sera bora tungekuwa kaya kapuku kama tulivo. Tieni akilini na kufikiri na kufanya maamuzi magumu. Tuonane wakati mwingine na mwinginewe.

Chanzo: Jamhuri leo.

Is It Religion or Criminality?

 

Kama Ulikua Ukisikiliza Nyimbo Hizi, Basi Jua Siku Zinakwenda

 

Remembering Jomo’s Cabinet

Jomo Kenyatta with his cabinet on January 22, 1965. The cabinet Mzee Kenyatta formed in 1963 included such giants as Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Thomas Joseph Mboya, Joseph Murumbi, Julius Kiano, Mbiyu Koinange, Njoroge Mungai, Ngala Mwendwa, and Ramogi Achieng Oneko.
     Professor at SUNY Buffalo Law School and Chair of the KHRC.
What you need to know:

• Jomo had one, or two, dimwits in that Cabinet, but this land has never seen such a stellar Cabinet since.

• No Cabinet has come closer in terms of heft since then in spite of the lofty requirements of the 2010 Constitution.

• In fact, with every successive government, the quality and character of the Cabinet have gone south. 

Many things – some bad, others odious – have been said about Kenya’s first president, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. The Burning Spear, as he came to be known, didn’t brook any nonsense. He was a renowned pan-Africanist, and scholar of some repute, for an African of his time.His book Facing Mount Kenya, is still a classic. But it’s not his academic prowess about which I write today.
        I want to reflect on the institution of the Cabinet, the most important body of personages in the Executive. The Cabinet is the “government”. The men – and increasingly women – who bestride it are the nation’s most important political leaders. They are the face of Kenya whether or not they reflect its diversity. 
        Let’s dig deeper. I write not to laud, or pillory, anyone. But it’s that time of the political cycle when nominees for Cabinet are sent up to the Legislature for vetting. This is especially the case in the wake of the 2010 Constitution. This week, Kenyans have been treated to a parade of one nominee after another on the National Assembly’s “chopping” board.
        We are told they are being “grilled.” Reminds me of pork, or nyama choma. But that’s where the hyperbole ends. That’s because the outcome is pre-determined, and in a hung Parliament – where one party has performed a legislative coup – there’s no mystery where this will end. The whole damned lot will be jammed into the throats of poor Kenyans.
        I want to take you back to another time, at the dawn of Kenya’s independence when Mzee Kenyatta picked his own Cabinet. Then, unlike now, he had untrammelled power to make anyone – even a thief or murderer – a minister. But he didn’t.
        I admit he had one, or two, dimwits in that Cabinet, but this land has never seen such a stellar Cabinet since. OK admit that he failed miserably on gender – a historical blight of the time – but he chose historic figures. No Cabinet has come closer in terms of heft since then in spite of the lofty requirements of the 2010 Constitution.
        In fact, with every successive government, the quality and character of the Cabinet have gone south.  Let me awaken your noggin in case you are one of those who hate history. The cabinet Mzee Kenyatta formed in 1963 included such giants as Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Thomas Joseph Mboya, Joseph Murumbi, Julius Kiano, Mbiyu Koinange, Njoroge Mungai, Ngala Mwendwa, and Ramogi Achieng Oneko.
        Others of repute were Jackson Angaine, Dawson Mwanyumba, Lawrence Sagini, James Gichuru, Bruce McKenzie, Joseph Otiende, and Njoroge Mungai. I admit the list was a little heavy on Gema and left out many Kenyan identities. It became more inclusive with later additions, reshuffles, and changes.
        But one thing was clear. These were men of substance. Some later fell off the moral wagon, but that’s a story for another day. But giants they were. I can say this of Mzee Kenyatta’s first cabinet. None was a known murderer – accused, or convicted. None was an open ethnic baiter and bigot.
        None was a known thief, although that came later. To my knowledge, none was an accused rapist. On the contrary, a few of them were pioneers. Mboya was a brilliant trade unionist who spoke several languages including Kikamba and Gikuyu. Odinga was an iconic liberation hero. Mwendwa, though born with a silver spoon in his mouth, was an impressive leader and nationalist.
    Koinange and Kiano were among the first Kenyans to obtain PhDs. Mungai went to Stanford for medical school. These are no mean feats for the 1950s and 1960s. In contrast, look at later Cabinets by Mzee Kenyatta’s successors. Most of them barely register on the political Richter scale. Like the biblical prophets, such people aren’t born anymore. But such reasoning is a copout.
           What’s true is that the dregs of our society now rise to the top faster than the speed of light. Here’s a hint. How many of the current nominees are mired in scandal or outright illegalities? How many can pass the test of Chapter Six of the Constitution on Leadership and Integrity? How many have serious criminal cases in court?
        Unthinkable. Where a British PM and minister resign, the latter for using a private email address for state business, a rape accusation is nothing in Kenya.  We will get a Cabinet of moral dwarfs, school dropouts, and outright thieves. That’s a fact, not fiction.
        Many don’t read anymore, others are barely literate. They can’t tell you the last time they read even a single chapter in a serious book that’s not a romance novel, or a motivational screed. And yet these are the people who are supposed to bring Kenya out of its most severe economic crisis since 1963. God save us all. One thing is clear – they are all fat cats.
        Some literally – from a net worth of Sh4 billion for the wealthiest to Sh100 million for the “poorest”.
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.

On memories of Mwalimu Nyerere; his vision on education and self-reliance

 

THE  following  news  item  appeared  on  the  front  page   of   THE  DAILY  NEWS  on   Wednesday,  October  12th,  2022:-

“As  part of  the  efforts  to  fulfill  Mwalimu  (Julius) Nyerere’s  vision  on  education  for  self-reliance,  the  government  is  mulling  over   reviewing  the  education  curricula,  towards  obtaining  skilled  and  competent  graduates  who  can  contribute  in  the  socio-economic  development  of  the  country”.
        The   said  item   quotes  the  Permanent  Secretary  in  the  Ministry  of  Education,  Science  and  Technology,  Dr Francis  Michael,   as  having  said   that  “time  has  come  for  the  country  to  shift  from  creating  graduates  who  are  only  job-seekers,  to  skilled  and  competent  individuals;   which  is  a  fulfillment  of  the  late  Mwalimu  Nyerere’s  vision  in  promoting  its  socio-economic  development.”
Nyerere’s vision on education for self-reliance.
Mwalimu  Nyerere’s  vision  on  ‘education  for  self-reliance’  was  first  given  expression  in  the  TANU’s  policy  document  titled   “The  Arusha  Declaration  on  Socialism  and  Self-reliance”,  which  was  promulgated  on  5th  February,  1967.  This  was  during  the  first  decade  of   the  country’s  independence,     which   has  been  characterized   as    the  ‘period  of  vibrancy’;   in  terms  of ‘resolution,  action,  and  bold  attempts  at  innovation’
In   the  present  day  political  environment,  the  Arusha  Declaration’s  policy  of  Ujamaa   is  hardly  ever  mentioned;  and,  as  a  consequence  thereof,    it  is  very  little  remembered,  or  perhaps  not  at  all!    It  is  therefore    most  refreshing,   that  the  Ministry  has  decided  to  pay   new   attention  to  one  of  the  important  aspects  of  the  Arusha  Declaration,  namely,   the  genesis  of   this  philosophy,  or   concept,   of   ‘Education  for  Self-Reliance’.
        Mwalimu  Nyerere’s   philosophies,   ideas,   and/or  theories,  were  not  simply  impromptu  pronouncements  made  by  the  Head  of  State  and  Government.   They   were the result  of  his  deep   personal   beliefs  and  convictions.    It  has  been  said  that  people  are  more  the  products,  rather  than  the  creators,   of  history.    Nyerere   must,  presumably,  have  thought  and  acted  the  way  he  did,   essentially  because  of,  or  in  reference  to,  the  historical  circumstances  of  his  time  during  that   “period  of  vibrancy”  mentioned  above.   For  example,  the  speed  with  which  the  events  occurred   was  indicative  of   how   the  wrongs  wrought by  colonialism  were  to  be  corrected  in  a  demonstrable  hurr                 Indeed,  the  government   Three-Year  Development  Plan  (1961 – 4),  which  was  put  in  place  immediately  after  the  achievement  of  the  country’s  independence,   recorded  no  less  than  six  practical  decisions  affecting  the  Education  sector  alone.  They  included  :-  The  racial  integration  of  the  school  system;  the  rapid    expansion  of  Secondary  education,  by  establishing  more  schools  and  increasing  student  enrolment;    the  expansion  of  teacher  teaching  programmes;    and  the  termination  of  parent  payable   school  fees;    among   others.
        These were  Mwalimu  Nyerere’s  initial  tasks  after  the  achievement  of  independence;  which  centered   primarily   on   “building   a  new  country  which  is  distinctly  different  from  that  which  we  inherited  from  the  colonialist”.    The  tasks involved ,  were,   of  course,  were  very  many,  varied,    and  extensive.    He  therefore   had   to  decide  on  the  priorities,   on  the  basis  of  which   these   all  important  tasks   were  to  be  implemented.    The  education  sector  was   one  of  the  areas   that  were  given  high  priority.
The development of Mwalimu  Nyerere’s  ideas,   or  philosophy
        The  fact  that  this  major  policy   was   formulated  by  the  ruling   party  TANU,  rather  than  by   the  government ,  is  a   manifest  demonstration  of    President  Nyerere’s  unique  leadership  style;   one  of  whose  prominent   characteristics   was  his  inclination  to  use  the  ruling  party  platforms  for  making  all  major  policy   decisions.    But  he  used  these   platform  only  as  a  vehicle  for  conveying  his  ideas  to  the  public;  for   he  was   always   the  initiator  of  the  ideas  that  required  decision.   He  utilized    his  vast  intellectual  capacity  to  do   all   the  initial  thinking  on  the  relevant  issues;  and   then  used  his   rare  ‘power  of  persuasion’,    to  convince  his   colleagues  (or  the  majority  thereof),  in  the  meetings   of  the  relevant   party  organs,  to  accept  his  ideas.
        And  this  is  precisely   what  also   happened  also    in  relation  to  the  Arusha  Declaration  policies.   The   party’s   policy-making  Organ  was,  and  still  is,  the  National  Executive  Committee  (NEC);  which  consists  of  elected  representatives  of  the  ordinary  members  of  the  party. He  had  earlier   made  use  of  this   NEC  platform,  in  the  making  of  the  major  constitutional  reforms  and  development,  first  from  ‘Dominion’  status   to  the  ‘Republican’  Constitution  in  1962;  and  again  from  the  ‘Multi – party’   to  the  ‘single  party’  constitution  in  1963.                                                                                   
            However,   the  adoption  of  the  Arusha  Declaration   Ujamaa  policy   was  not  an easy  ride;  because   there   were   some   among  the  delegates  to  that  particular  NEC  meeting,  who  had  their    personal  doubts  about   Ujamaa’s   efficacy;   and  these   included   the  party’s  Secretay  General   himself,  Oscar  Kambona;   who,  only   a  few  moths  later,   fled  the  country  in  disgust,   and  went  to  live  in  exile  in  London.   These  initial  difficulties  must  have  contributed  to  the  subsequent  failure  in  implementing   this   Ujamaa  policy.                                                                                
It  must  be  honestly    admitted,   that  the  Ujamaa   component   of  the  Arusha  Declaration   eventually   ended   in   what  Kenyan’  Professor  Ali  Mazrui   protectively   described    as                              a  “brave  failure”.  But   it  still   was  a  failure.                                                                                              However,   since  the  ‘Ujamaa’  doctrine  is  a  distinctly  separate  component  of  the  Arusha  Decraation;  it  deserves  a  separate  presentation,   in  order  for  it   to   be  given    its  deserved  proper  treatment.     Thus,   in  this  presentation,    we  will  focus  only  on  the  ‘Education  for                 self-reliance’  aspect   of  the  Arusha  Declaration.
The  aspect  of  ‘Eduation  for  Self-Reliance’.
The   general  topic   of   ‘Self-Reliance’   is,   in  fact,   what  occupies  the  largest  part  of  the  Arusha  Declaration   policy    document,  of  which   the  aspect  of   ‘Education  for  Self  Reliance’  is  only  a   subtopic.    Mwalimu  Nyerere  himself  found  time  to  write  and  publish  a  book   bearing  that  title  (Government  Printer,  Dar es Salaam,  1967).   In  that  publication,  Mwalimu   says  the  following :-   “Our  education  must inculcate  a  sense  of  commitment  to  the  total  community,  and  help  the  students  to  accept  the  values  that  are  appropriate  to   our   future,  and  not  to  our  colonial  past”.                                       
            By   this,   he  meant  that  our  education  must  be  consistent  with,  and  complementary  to,    the    ambitions  of  a  society   aspiring  to  a  socialist  mode  of  existence,  characterized  by  respect  for  human  dignity,  equality,  participation  in  cooperative  endeavours,  and,  above  all,  commitment  to  hard,  productive  work.  In  his  own  words,  he  said  this:-                                                                                                                “Our  schools  must  become  communities   that  actually  practice  the  precept  of  self  reliance.  The  teachers ,  the  other   school  workers,  and  the  students,   must  be  members  of  a  social  unit   in  the  same  way  as  the   members   of   an  Ujamaa  village  are  expected  to  be,  namely,   a  social  unit   consisting   of  “people  who  live   together  and  work  together,   for  the  benefit  of  all”.   (This   was  the   formal  definition  of  an  Ujamaa  village).                                                                          
            All  schools,  but  especially   secondary  schools  and  other  institutions  of  higher  education,   must  contribute  to  their  own  upkeep.  In  addition  to  being  educational  communities,   they  must  also  be  economic  communities.    Each  school  should  have,  as  an  integral  part  of  it,   a  farm   which  provides  the  food   eaten  by  the  school  community,  and  makes  some  contribution  to  the  total  national  income” .                             This  sounds  more  like  a  ‘tall  story’’  (something  that  is   difficult  to  believe  because  what  it  describes  seems  exaggerated  and  not  likely  to  be  true).  But  it  was,  actually, so   scripted;  and  a   handful  of  Secondary  schools   did  manage  to  embark   on  model  and  manageable  farms, or  other  viable  projects;  but  more   often,   with   direct  or  indirect  high-level  official  facilitation.
           At  the  Primary  education  level,   the  principal  actors  were  the  teachers  and  the pupils  themselves   in  the  relevant  schools.   Virtually  all  primary  schools  engaged  themselves  in  economic  ‘self-reliance’  activities  of  one  kind  or  another.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  these  were  agricultural  projects,    with  pupils  occupied  in   tilling  the  land,  and  looking  visibly  occupied.  While  the  assigned   teachers  helped  in  the  areas  of   project  conceptualization,   project  planning   and  organization.     But   the  pupils   were   the major  role  players   in  the  actual  project  execution.                    
        The  implementation  of  this  policy   appears  to  have  produced   the  desired   positive   results;  specifically  because    the   ethos   of  ‘education  for  self-reliance’   positively  affected   many   people’s  attitudes,  as  a  result  of  the    intensive  sensitization  that  was  carried  out   through  the  teaching  of  a  new  school  subject  called   ‘political  education’ ,   which  focused  primarily  on  inculcating    the  tenets  of  socialist  culture,  particularly  the  obligations  which  a  school  has  towards  the  larger  community.                                                              
Among  the  practical  steps  taken  in  the  implementation   of  the  education  for  self-reliance  policy,  were  a  review  and  revision  of  the  school  curricula,  syllabuses,  and  text  books;  the  development  and  production  of  new  text  books;  the  re-design  and  expansion  of  of  the  evaluation  scope  concerning  pupil  progress  and  promotion.
   A  lasting,  indelible    imprint.
Mwalimu  Nyerere’s    philosophy   of  ‘Education  for  Self-Reliance’,   remains  as  an  indelible,   lasting  imprint   of  his  innovative  thinking  and  actions.   In  his  address  to  the  National   symposium   organized  in  September 1988  by  the  Tanzania  Professional  Teachers  Association  (CHAKIWATA)   to  evaluate  “Twenty  years  of  Education  for  Self-Reliance”;   Mwalimu   Nyerere  is  on  record  as  having  said  this:- “except  for  two  typographical  errors,  he  would  not  change  a  word  in  the  text  of  that  policy  statement,  if  he  were  called  upon  to  re-write  it”.
The   situation  at  the  level  of  University  education.
There  were obvious  limits  to  the  application  of  the  education  for  self-reliance  policy  at  the  university  education  level,  that  were  dictated  by  the  ‘Charter’,  and  philosophy,   of  University  institutions,  which  spell  out  the  goals  for  which  such  institutions  are established,  and  about  what  they  can  and  cannot  do.                                                                      
            The  University  of  Dar es Salaam,  in  particular,  was  established  for  the  basic  objective  of  training  minds  and  producing  the  high-level  manpower  requirements    for  the  many  occupational  fields  in  the  national  economy.    It  was  very  difficult   for  the  University   to  combine   its  curricular  obligations  with  such  extra-curricular  productive  activities.  
            The  reality  is  that University  education  could  not  be  made  genuinely  self-reliant,  mainly   because  they   lack   the   essential    pedagogical  tools   that  are  needed   in  order  to  create  an   effective  institution  capable  of  contributing  fully  to  national  life,  in  the  context  of  the ‘Education  for  Self-reliance’   policy. His  earlier  writings,  which  were   produced  even  long  before  independence,  such  as  his  ‘Uhuru wa  Wanawake’   essay  (which  he  wrote  while  he  was a  student  at  Makerere);  and  his  other  essay  titled   ‘African  Socialism’,    which  he  submitted  to  the  Tanganyika  Standard;  give  us  the  impression  that  he   was  already  developing  what  was  to  become  his  vision  for  the  country  after  independence.                                              

  It  would  appear  that  Mwalimu  Nyerere  was  developing   a  “rallying  system”  of  ideas,  or  ideology,  which  would  give  meaning  to  the  nationalist  struggle  for  independence;  as  well  as  giving  a  ‘sense  of  purpose  and   direction’   for  the  new   independent   nation.    It  is  these   philosophical   ideas   which   he   concretized  in  the  document  titled  “ Arusha  Declaration,  TANU’s  policy  ion  socialism  and  Self- Reliance  ”,   which  provides  minute  details   on  TANU’s  pathfinder  policy   on  socialism  and  Self-reliance.  ‘Education  for  self-reliance’    is    an  aspect   of  that  policy;    which  we   have  chosen  as  the  subject  matter  of  today’s  presentation.

           But  there  is  also  a  negative  side,  which  is  that   many   of   the   schools   implemented    these   projects   haphazardly.  As  a  result,   their   ‘self-reliance’  activities  remained   largely   marginal,  extra-curricular  digressions;    commanding  no  professional  respectability,  or  academic  recognition   within  the  overall  educational  system,   which  continued  to  respond  to  the  immediate  demands  of  school  tests  and  examinations,  before  anything  else.

piomsekwa@gmail.com   /  0754767576.

Source: Daily News today.

Letter to Muhoozi Keinerugaba, Tweet Even More Please

Muhoozi, before saying something, I must remind Ugandans the best day the country has ever had. On 24^th April 1974, Uganda and the world were blessed with and received one of the most powerful sons of presidents in the world, you. This is the time you (he who avenge or revenges) came to this earth to save some of earthlings from the ennui of a long-time ruler who happens to be one of your makers. It is the time your great mother gave birth to you, the great son of president who wields as much power as his father, the son who needs more power. Indeed, your arrival wasn’t a habitual occasion. It wasn’t like the birth of small men and women who come from poor and weak families. Yours was the birth of a saviour of some sort, especially for those who don’t believe that the more things change the more they remain the same. You know what I mean. Still, you’re a saviour for the status quo so to speak as far as Ugandan politics is concerned.

            Dear Muhoozi, a few weeks ago, you, as the most power son of the most powerful man you unveiled what Ugandans need to make do with.. Yep, you started to bite at the power that your dad’s been eating on for long. Because of your significance and that what you want everybody to know and made do with you fired a tweet Kenya threatening to take and occupy it within two weeks. No joke. You’re not joking. Did you mean business or you’re just looking the way take a bite on power and come out of the political closet.  This, for me, shows your significance as the son of the most powerful man in Uganda as the most powerful son of the president over the insignificance of the rest that can be taken for a ride. The twosome of–––without forgetting your mother––––are the most powerful people Uganda’s ever had. Let Ugandans know that your trinity’s unshakably intact and unique since you’ve made Uganda what it’s today, rich for them and poor for the rest.  Let them know that you still have a lot to offer, and Ugandans must wait for more surprises from this trinity.

            Dear good General, underscoring your greatness and significance, I propose that next time you tweet, all Uganda’s media must support you by subscribing to your tweeter account I propose that your tweets must be made breaking news in all Ugandan media. I know those who don’t like you, dear good general, will wag tongues thinking I’m trying to get a mileage out of this assertion, or I might have been paid to say this. Nope, what I’m saying is as simple as the tweets themselves. I know those who don’t know the importance of the first family, you, the mother general, and the father general, wrongly think that their lives––––that are adversely impinged on with uncertainties your tweets cause. Go figure. Guys, who are you in Uganda? Who bewitched or cheated you not to get it?

            Dear General, when the story of your tweets and threats to Kenya surfaced in the media, a friend sent me an email complaining about the uncertainties they’d cause. Also, he’s concern about the EAC, which’s never delivered anything. I scolded him to stop being selfish, evil, and naïve since things have changed. Christians believe Jesus died for their sins though they’re told everybody to carry one’s cross. To the contrary, politicians believe that citizens must die for them and their sins. Methinks this is the genesis for many African rulers to live larger than life while their taxpayers live in penury. I told the guy to consider other related things such as the disturbances democracy’s been causing in many African countries that tried it and ended up abusing it through vote rigging and tampering with constitutions to extend their time in office.
            Dear General, methinks Ugandans––––whether they like it or not­­­­–––should brace themselves to see you becoming their leader shall anything happen to your father. This is simple to decipher. When I consider your gruff rise in the army, you can easily know what I mean. Also, if you interrogate the reason[s] behind your father’s clinging unto power, you’ll be on the same page with me. More so, if you consider the powers your mom has behind the curtains, you’ll agree with my hypothesis. To give those who pretend to deny the truth, I want them to ask themselves as to why your tweets are leaving everybody shocked? Is the system testing the waters? Is it preparing Ugandans psychologically for what’s in the card in the upper echelons of power wherein manipulations are one of bread and butter of its mainstay? Why have you become such important this time around? Let’s get as serious as a seal instead of trying to screw over this rear up of your display. What do you aim to achieve if not more power?

            Dear General, in sum, let me wish you a very spiffy tweeting mission. The Swahili sage’s it that clouds are the signs of rains. Therefore, what you’re seeing with regards to your centrality is but the beginning if not the tip of the iceberg. Tweeting threatening the neighbour is one leg in the waters. The sage’s it that if you can’t beat them, join them. Whether they like you or not, they need to understand Uganda’s power dynamics, especially after your dad came to power and altered everything to his advantage. If he were able to prop up you so quickly that way in the military, how can he fail to do so in the office of the president? Once again, Dear General, you seem to brace yourself for big things. Big things come to big people. That’s my titbits of sagacity. Ring-a-ding-ding, nothing but.

Source: Daily Monitor today.

Why Vladimir Putin’s end is nigh

             

   

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

President Vladimir Putin of Russia may be physically diminutive by Slavic standards, but his political ambitions are gargantuan would say there’s no daylight between him and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. Narcissists to the core, both men are perfect facsimiles of one another.
They are Napoleonic in ego and braggadocio. None has the moral authority to rule over even an insect, yet both superintend nuclear power states.
        One, the resident of the Kremlin, can destroy the earth several times in minutes. And yet, it’s their outsize machismo that will be their undoing. Methinks the Moscow citizen will go first before his Pyongyang counterpart.
A certain date with cruel destiny – sooner than later – awaits. Let’s dig deeper. 
        Russians sit on a bed of rich literary and artistic culture. Theirs is one of the globe’s most remarkable civilisations. They’ve built and collapsed empires. They’ve raised great armies and weaponry. They are technological pioneers. They built one of two great superpowers of the 20th century. The other, more dominant, was the United States.
        The ideological bankruptcy of the Soviet Union, an empire, and the economic and military might of America, finally did in the Soviet Union. International capitalism and democratic values sucked the Soviet Union dry, leaving an empty husk, a dead carcass.
The fake Marxist socialism and state dominance of the economy put the Soviet Union asunder. But something more resilient – culture – was at work.
Culture
All cultures – political, social, literary, social, and economic – have a genetic fingerprint. While I don’t essentialise culture, I believe you can identify it when you see it.
Culture is like pornography. You know it when you see it. Culture even has sounds and smells. Of course, it’s dynamic and mutates, or even completely transforms.
        But you know the culture you are seeing – and smelling – when you come face to face, or nose to nose, with it. What’s my point? Slavic cultures in general have tended to be authoritarian and state-centred.
They have a certain inflexibility and lack a general gene of tolerance. They lie on a crucible of raw power, uber-masculinity, and heteropatriarchy. I don’t know why.
        To be sure, Slavic cultures are not the only ones that suffer these deficits. All cultures do, but my study of history shows that these drawbacks are more pronounced there. Mr Putin is a product of that ecosystem. Historically, Russian rulers haven’t been gentle. Mr Putin has been true to form.
Recreate Sovet Union
A KGB agent to the bone – the embodiment of imperial hegemony – Mr Putin’s singular purpose in life has been to recreate the dominant Soviet Union. His preoccupation has been to give Russia a longer phallus so that it can piss further than any other global power, especially the United States.
His idea of political dominance is testosterone-driven. That’s why he took Crimea. Because he could. That’s “manhood”.
        It was this pigheadedness that drove the spy to invade Ukraine. But if Mr Putin is the master of psychological warfare, then he’s no Garry Kasparov, the Russian chess grandmaster. The chess genius only made moves when he was certain of a victorious outcome. No hollow chest-thumping, or false bravado.
        You can gamble, but make sure the odds of a win are virtually assured. Don’t play Russian roulette. Unfortunately, Mr Putin has committed all these cardinal sins of warfare.
He mistakenly thought Ukraine was Crimea. For the record, Ukraine was the second most powerful republic after Russia in the Soviet Union.  The resilience of its people and fighting forces are a marvel to behold. It’s truly astonishing.
        With boundless morale and superior Western, especially American, intelligence and technology, the Ukrainians have made minced meat of the large and lethargic Russian forces.
Many Russians have simply abandoned post and fled in cowardice, tail between the legs.
        They have taken heavy casualties. The war is to Russia what Vietnam was to America. The Russian military has been exposed as lazy, fat, and even dumb. Their fighting skills are near zero. In my view, the Russian military is near collapse. Clearly, Mr Putin doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.
        Nato has outfoxed him. American and European sanctions have decimated the Russian economy. Mr Putin is now a deer caught in the headlights. Does he know when “to fold them?” The greatest threat to Mr Putin’s stranglehold on power isn’t external. It’s right there in the Kremlin. Billionaire Russians don’t enjoy Russia. They love frolicking in the West and sending their kids to school there. Now their yachts can’t leave Russian waters. The military is humiliated.
        And for what? It’s the business elite and the military that will end Mr Putin’s reign. He can’t – and won’t – survive Ukraine.ed his misadventures so long as he didn’t destroy the economy, vanquish his own military, and upset the elite. The GDP of New York was always bigger than Russia’s, and it’s even larger today. Mr Putin’s end is nigh. He will go by whatever means necessary.
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, Oct., 17, 2022.