You’ve crossed your diplomatic line, Sir!

Commentary & Analysis

Story by: OMAR ALI

Apart from the October 2007 incident with Dr Newton Kulundu, when the US envoy, Michael Ranneberger, was totally pissed-off by Minister Kulundu’ s remarks, and thus his refusal to shake hands with the Minister, the diplomat has not displayed any sort of the typical “mzungu” arrogance. And, by many estimates, he appears to be well intentioned on his mission and attitude toward Kenyans and the country. From his background, work ethics and his political exposure that borders on actually invading diplomatic pseudo boundaries, Ranneberger doesn’t come out as arrogant.

He does not even imitate the obnoxious counterpart hero of the United Kingdom Empire. Reference to the outgoing UK High Commissioner Adam Wood and his notorious predecessor Edward Clay. With an impressive professional background where he was ‘a Coordinator for Cuban Affairs, between 1995 – 99, Ranneberger assisted in leading the US Government’s policy to promote a peaceful democratic transition in the communist Cuba. In part this was achieved by intensifying support for human rights activists and the development of independent civil society.
The United States Government through the embassy functions headed by Ranneberger came through and handy when it provided the Office of the Prime Minister with the Sh30 million to assist in the establishment of the new office. The much needed funds came from the backdrop when it emerged that the Grand Coalition Government has little money to spend in this aspect. It was a very good gesture where the diplomat is not only seen to be talking the talk only but also walking the walk. It has since emerged that Ranneberger is one of the foreign envoys who are being accused of meddling with internal politics of the host country.

For reasons best known to these envoys, they are opposed to the formation of the organized Grand Official Opposition in Parliament. It is one thing for the Grand Coalition Cabinet to be opposed to an organized Grand Official Opposition in Parliament. However, it is completely a different drama when foreigners, (yes, foreigners) are in synch with the Cabinet in opposing the same. It is against this backdrop that it is clearly seen that Ranneberger has crossed his “diplomatic assignment” line when he is seen to have taken and has become the “ring leader” of the foreign envoys opposed to the grand opposition in the National Assembly. I say ring leader because it was reported that Ranneberger (and the ambassador did not deny the reports) has invited 10 MPs to his residence to “plead” with them not be part of the Opposition in Parliament.
This act raises many questions, such as, why go to such an extent of lobbying individuals lawmakers not to form the Opposition. The question of the day is why foreign envoys are so opposed to the formation of an organized Official Opposition in Parliament? What is it in for these foreign missions that are opposed to such an outfit?

Perhaps, Ranneberger needs to be reminded of the wise words of one of the United States’ famous founding fathers, James Madison, on the question of checks and balances that the organized opposition aims to do. In Federalist paper number 51, Madison wrote: “The great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consist in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachment of others…Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”

Without organized Official Opposition, the Executive branch of the Government will remain all powerful where they would do whatever they want with impunity. It doesn’t matter if the Executive is a coalition government or a single-party government. It is even worse for a country that has recently been accused of grand-impunity.

What I don’t get it is that, this Opposition is not going to be made by a certain tribe or a section of the country; it will be comprise of legislators from all over the country just like the GCG itself. The current GCG is made up of various political parties and so would be the Grand Opposition in Parliament. The GCG is made up of the PNU (and its various affiliates, ODM Kenya, NARC –Kenya, KANU, Safina, et al) and on the other side is the Orange Democratic Movement and its affiliate’s parties, NARC, PICK et al). For havens sake, the legislators will come from the same political parties that form the GCG who intend to form the Opposition in Parliament hence the name, Grand Opposition.

Although I have my own reservations when it comes to the “ring leaders” of the Grand Opposition, namely, Ababu Namwamba, Kiema Kilonzo and Mithika Linturi, because it is very clear that the three individuals and others are bitter for not having been appointed to the Cabinet. But boldly speaking, Ranneberger and his colleagues should keep off Kenya internal affairs.
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http://www.kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=5&articleId=749

Updated on: Sunday, June 01, 2008

Mutula, when will you wake up to face reality?

Commentary & Analysis

Story by: OMAR ALI


There is one Minister who is lately being seen to be operating through the media in performing his ministerial duties. The Minister is none other than Mutula Kilonzo heading the newly created Nairobi Metropolitan Development docket. My take is that the Mbooni MP is either trying to give an impression to the public through the media that his ministry is not one of those perceived to be “minor cabinet dockets” created to appease certain political quarters.

Perhaps, he thinks by operating through the media he will be seen to be hard working as opposed to be sleeping on the job. His latest theatrics is a picture where he is in a chopper on the sky touring Nairobi and suggesting that the City should start utilizing helicopters landing spaces, helipads, to ease traffic congestion in the City. While I agree with the Minister that the President should perhaps use helicopters to travel to and from the airport when he is travelling and or arriving from overseas trips as opposed to travelling by land to and from the airport and or the State House.

It is true that when the President travels police have to clear the roads hours before he passes through the designated roads, causingQA unnecessary snarl-ups that could be avoided if the he took a chopper. Other countries such as the United States, the President utilizes the chopper when he travels to and from the airport and when he goes to or returns from the nearby Camp David presidential retreat outside Washington DC.

But Kilonzo is going too far be suggesting that all buildings, especially the world-class hotels should have such helipads facility to enable direct landing of visitors from the airport. Kilonzo may be a multi-millionaire, thanks to the exclusive no bid Government contracts from the former Daniel arap Moi’s Kanu government, but I must remind him that Kenya is a poor country. With the escalating high prices of oil, using helicopters is going to be an expensive exercise.

In one of his visions, the Ministry needs Sh34 billion for the strategic plan to be realized. Neither the Minister nor the Prime Minister has stated whether the country has the funds or not to implement the strategic plan. Telling us he wants to do this and that does not mean it is done or he has done it. The one time presidential lawyer ought to be aware that ministerial work is not solely done through the press. He needs to be realistic and stop living in a fantasy world. omarahmedali@gmail.com
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http://www.kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=5&articleId=1263
Updated on: Sunday, June 01, 2008 Story

2012 race is reality we cannot ignore

Commentary & Analysis

Story by: OMAR ALI

To avoid the succession talk as is being advised by various political leaders is like denying prostitution exists, say in the United States. Whether one wants to acknowledge or not, the race for the 2012 General Election started as soon as the Grand Coalition Government was put in place.

Like in many other democracies, political campaigns are constant processes that never end. It is some sort of vicious circle, when one ends another starts immediately. As would be expected, the next presidential race will most likely pit Orange Democratic Movement Prime Minister Raila Odinga against Party of National Unity/Orange Democratic Movement of Kenya alliance’s choice, who will most likely be Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka.

The only person who could seriously threaten the V-P from clinching the alliance’s presidential ticket is Interanal Security Minsiter, Prof George Saitoti. Although the media keeps on mentioning Martha Karua and Uhuru Kenyatta as possible serious contenders for the 2012 State House race, the fact of the matter is that they have no prayer.

This is just the media’s wishful thinking. While it looks excellent for the two Central province’s legislators’ public relations campaign to have them floated as serious presidential contenders, in reality the duo are well aware that another Central province politician to elected to the presidency will take years.
Uhuru had his chance when he had the backing of the then President, Daniel arap Moi’s full Government machinery and Kanu backing and failed to be elected to the highest office.

Uhuru and Karua, do not have a national constituency to speak of or write home about. Other than the backing of their populous Kikuyu and to a large extent Mount Kenya communities’ bloc, the party Uhuru continues to lead, Kanu, is not the same as it used to be nor is it the same as people used to recognize it in the days of his father and Moi.

For one, the party failed to secure a single parliamentary seat in the expansive Rift Valley, a region once considered the party’s bedrock. History tell us that the Kikuyu and or Mt Kenya bloc votes cannot single handedly win the presidency —President Mwai Kibaki’s second try for the presidency in 1997 received the entire Mt Kenya/Kikuyu bloc votes but was unable to unseat Moi.
As for Karua, although considered one of the toughest and non-nonsense Ministers and an able lawyer to boot, she has no national brand appeal to succeed in the run for the presidency. Although she has many admirers, she comes out as a very arrogant individual who knows it all and is elitist. The ODM machine backing Raila would want to come back in 2012 with a bang like a basketball team playing in a home court crowd after coming from a controversial loss. Unlike PNU alliance ODM would probably not conduct nomination exercise, as a respect to Raila. It is hard to think that there would be any politician who would dare come out to seek the party ticket.
President Kibak’s allied and friendly parties can ignore the Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi suggestion, that their bus needs a good driver, at their own peril. As suggested by Murungi, the best driver for their bus is none other than Kalonzo, who stands to be the ace card with the best chance to unite all President Mwai Kibaki’s friendly and allied political parties. Murungi was right on point when he started the Kibaki succession process and by suggesting that the Kibaki allied faction of the Grand Coalition Government rally behind Kalonzo.

Unless Kibaki literally hands over the presidency to a fellow Kikuyu before the expiry of his tenure, which is highly unlikely, the next president of Kenya is likely not going to hail from the Kikuyu community notwithstanding the community’s numerical strength. Boldly speaking, the best bet for the PNU alliance presidential candidate is Kalonzo.

Adeniji response to Wetangula baffling

By entering into a war of words with our Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula, the Chief Mediator Prof Oluyemi Adeniji, clearly seems to be an unsuitable person to head the mediation talks task, his multilateral diplomacy experience notwithstanding. Certainly, many people are now wondering what kind of a diplomat Prof Adeniji is.

This is not defending or agreeing with Wetangula when he suggested that the Eminent African Personalities team should leave the country, but even if we assume that the Sirisia MP erred in giving the controversial suggestion, certainly it should not have triggered Adeniji to call a press conference to start a war of words with the local politicians. In response to our Foreign Minister’s remarks, Adeniji, a one time Nigerian Foreign minister himself, was quoted by the press to have noted: “I’m not a refugee. I haven’t come to Kenya to seek political asylum, nor am I an economic refugee.
In fact, I have another job waiting for me…. we have homes to go.” Why is it that Wetangula remarks triggered Oluyemi to be so bitter and took the remarks very personal? Those were definitely not the words to be uttered by a respected diplomat, who is supposedly going to assist in the healing process through meditation talks. Surprisingly, the Nigerian is behaving as if he is a Kenyan politician sympathetic to one side of the political divide.

I say so because Wetangula couldn’t have been straight forward in his suggestion to the members of the Eminent African Personalities team. He simply told them they should leave the country since they had finished their work. He went on to add that Prof Adeniji and members of the Eminent African Personalities team had finished their brief and should leave. And that the team should let Kenyans handle the remaining portion of the brokered deal.

To be fair to Wetangula even if one doesn’t agree with his suggestion, where in the world did Wetangula mention anything close to “political asylum, economic refugee or lack of homes on the part of the Eminent Persons and to Chief Adeniji in particular?” Perhaps, the Nigerian needs to come clean why he took the matter very personal as if Wetangula was attacking him personally as opposed to the “institution.” It has since emerged that the mediation talks would be on a need basis and not on daily basis.

Hence, Adeniji could pack and go to the job he claimed was waiting for him in Nigeria or elsewhere.

Amnesty calls misplaced

here have been amnesty calls for the post-election violence perpetrators by a section of the ODM faction of the ruling Grand Coalition Government. While addressing the ODM joint NEC and PG caucus Prime Minister Raila Odinga noted: “I wish to state that support for the Grand Coalition Government must not be based on blind faith or coercion.

That is why I have supported calls for the release of all Kenyans who were arrested during the post-election conflict merely for peacefully demonstrating their opposition to the fraudulent Electoral Commission of Kenya’s declaration of presidential results.” The rhetoric statement will continue to earn the ODM strongman political support but is sending wrong signals to future political hooliganism.

The call for blanket amnesty to executors of the post-election violence (under police arrest) by a section of ODM led by Raila is a disingenuous one and it sends wrong signals to political thuggery in the country. Those arrested were not merely demonstrating to express their anger on a fraudulent election as ODM leadership would like the public to believe. Instead these individuals committed serious crimes like murder, rape, arson and robbery with violence. Just like they did not feel any mercy for their victims, the law should not show any mercy or leniency whatsoever.

Lest we quickly forget, more than 1,000 innocent lives were lost, more than 350,000 Kenyans were displaced and they continue to remain refugees in their own country and property worth over Sh 30 billion destroyed. This is not the work of what the PM referred to as those in custody were “merely for peacefully demonstrating their opposition to the fraudulent Electoral Commission of Kenya’s declaration of presidential results”.

These people committed heinous crimes.The law must follow its rightful course and the perpetrators should not be pardoned.

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http://www.kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=5&articleId=117

Raila must be seen to be fair

It is an open secret that in his so called ‘dressing down’ the Transport Minister Chirau Mwakwere, by comparing Mombasa port 14 days to 48 hours it takes Dubai port to unload a container from the ships, the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga was playing populist politics. On the face value, the Mombasa-Dubai comparison seems as if the Kenya Ports Authority is underperforming hence both the corporation together with the minister in-charge need to be whipped in public. But in reality 14 days is within the average for containers to be offloaded from ships in many major ports worldwide.

The public flog was disingenuous because apart from Dubai, the premier didn’t tell his audience how long it takes other competing ports such as Durban, Dar es Salaam, Cape Town, Singapore, to do that chore. Unless of course ‘the dressing down’ was solely meant to embarrass the Matuga MP in front of his peers. In addition, it was done because of the presence of the media covering the event where the prime minister was playing his well known populist styled politics to the unsuspecting public.

Majority of Kenyans might not be aware that Dubai Port Authority, famously known as ‘Dubai Port World’ is the most efficient and cost-effective port in the entire world, second to none. Not long ago, DP World acquired the famous Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., better known as ‘P & O Group’ for $6.8 billion, in cash, that created the world's third-largest port operator, with 51 terminals in 30 countries.

With such worldwide presence through its subsidiary (P & O), DP World is so proficient and capable such that to even imagine competing with them is more like ‘kushindana na ndovu kunya’. DP Word secured a multi-billion dollar contract to manage all United States major ports, but because of public outcry the deal was controversially blocked by the US Congress. The public outcry was necessitated because Americans did not feel comfortable to have “a Muslim owned company” managing their ports.

Now let’s ask ourselves, how in the world can Mombasa port compete with DP World, when well funded developed world’s ports such as Los Angeles, Durban, Singapore and many others cannot even come close? Populists’ politics will not move this country forward but backwards.

Raila claims that he is doing his constitutional authority of supervising and coordinating ministries, would he have the same guts to query why there is less crime (if any) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia compared to the City of Nairobi? Will he tell George Saitoti to perhaps visit Riyadh and see for himself how peaceful the oil rich kingdom is? Or is the prime minister going to be selective as to which minister he will decide to whip publicly just to embarrass them while keeps others scared to criticize or start a fight with. How about ODM held ministries, will they be sacred cows et al

The National Accord notwithstanding the Right Honorable premier should not confuse his office to that of an executive premiership because it is not. There could never be an executive presidency sharing the executive arm of the government with a prime minister.

The Lang’ata MP needs to be serious and fair when performing his constitutional co-ordination and supervisory functions. The premier must not only be fair in his duties but must be seen to be fair in all his dealongs.

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Many people must be finding it odd to see Prime Minister Raila Odinga, a product of opposition politics, be vehemently opposed to an organized opposition in the legislature. It is reported that Raila has led a spirited onslaught to resist this move by the backbenchers’. What has happened? What a shame!

Organized opposition in the National Assembly should not necessarily be rooted on confrontational politics as Kenyans have been accustomed to. We don’t need political scientists to tell Kenyans that a vibrant opposition is needed to keep the coalition Government on its toes.

Loyal Raila sycophants erroneously allege that those seeking organized grand opposition in parliament are doing so in an attempt to undermine Raila and the Office of the Prime Minister in tandem. Why is everything about Raila … protecting Raila, shielding his office of the prime minister?

The Lang’ata MP has the audacity to tell some of his Orange Democratic Movement legislators and others from different parties, who support the formation of the parliamentary opposition to resign and seek fresh mandate from the electorate. I am happy to see that finally the Speaker of National Assembly Mr. Kenneth Marende has realized the need for the organized opposition. The speaker even went further to note that MPs were free become an opposition force in the House without seeking a fresh mandate. That is the leadership that Kenyans have been expecting from the new Speaker.

This columnist applauds the three junior ministers who on Wednesday broke ranks with their cabinet colleagues and backed the move on the formation of the opposition. The three courageous assistant ministers are, Aden Sugow, Bifwoli Wakoli and Aden Duale respectively for Public Service, Lands and Livestock.

Kenyans don’t need Albert Einstein to tell them that the rationale that saw he the united first grand coalition government cabinet meeting closing ranks to overrule the formation of the opposition is that they (cabinet members) do not want to be kept on their toes by organized opposition in parliament. They want to enjoy a free ride.

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Comments in this commentary are made ‘Without Prejudice’. Although the matter is now in the hands Justice George Dulu of the High Court and it is perhaps prejudicial to discuss, I however find the order to deport Mr Canobbio Pietro interesting in two ways.
First, if Mr. Pietro is a naturalized Kenyan as he claims through his lawyer, one of the country’s top notch lawyers, why did he find the need to hide from the law enforcement officers who were trying to execute the deportation order? One would have thought that as a naturalized Kenyan citizen, what Pietro needed to do was to prove his legal status by showing the immigration officers, his naturalization certificate and that would have been end of the story.
One would assume that unless the individual has something to hide, why would he need to hire one of the most expressive lawyers in the country and go to court to prove his legal status. It doesn’t matter if the individual has invested heavily in the country and is a director of several companies in the country or not. If he is a citizen then he should enjoy all the benefits of being a Kenyan, and if anyone isn’t then they shouldn’t. It is as simple as that.
Otherwise it is going to be very expensive for every naturalized Kenyan to have to go to court through paying the services of a lawyer to just prove their legal status once their status is questioned or when and if there is an erroneous deportation order.
On the part of the government, I ask, why didn’t the State Minister for Immigration and Registrations of Persons or his permanent secretary and other junior ministry employees check the facts before issuing the deportation order. If it happens that Mr. Pietro is saying the truth, then the Immigration Commissioner needs to resign and if he doesn’t then needs to be relieved of his duties.

Spare Kenyans politcal sycophancy

While addressing this years Labour Day celebrations President Mwai Kibaki personally cleared the air when he stated that the Grand Coalition Government is united and that there is no feud between him and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The president noted: “We agreed with Raila to form one Government, and we are working together in one Government. Those saying we have two Governments are spreading fitina.” That was great news for Kenyans. Grand Coalition Government critics and pessimists should now shut up and give the GCG a chance to deliver to the people.

Sadly though at the same venue, the COTU Secretary General Mr. Francis Atwoli having nothing of importance to talk about regarding labour and industrial relations for the Kenyan workers chose instead to lash out a campaign for someone to be given the Transport portfolio amongst other absurd utterances. . At a time when Kenyans need solutions for a better future for themselves and their children, the question is was Atwoli sent by someone to say such a ridiculous proposition? His statement of asking President Kibaki to return John Michuki to the Transport docket amplifies a preposterous proposition.

Coming out of the political upheaval where there are hundreds of thousands of displaced citizens, workers want some help in stabilizing their lives and securing a better future for themselves and their children and not politicking. And that’s what Atwoli as the head of the country’s premier trade organization should be addressing and stop talking politics. Historically Atwoli is known for his outrageous and ludicrous utterances but this time around he has reached yet another peak on his idiocy.

As a secretary general of umbrella trade union organization Atwoli one would assume that the man is at the very minimum expected to understand the workings of a government. Any reasonable thinking Kenyan understands that it’s the Traffic Police Unit that is bestowed with the responsibilities of maintaining traffic order on the roads and not the minister for Transport. Nairobi has myriad problems and as such the rationale of establishing the new Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development is meant to address those problems facing this East African largest metropolitan.

According to minister for Nairobi Metropolitan Development Mutula Kilonzo his docket is faced with a daunting task of transforming the city into a metropolis’. One of the tasks is to find ways of fixing the city’s transport system, water supply, waste disposal, public utilities, slum upgrading and enforcement of zoning regulations among other functions. No doubt the new ministry will have to liaise with many ministries such as that of Local Government, Transport, and Public Health & Sanitation, Water & irrigation to name but three in addressing the problems facing Nairobians. Blaming the minister for Transport for the transport woes in Nairobi make many people suspect as to the motive behind such unwarranted remarks.

One can infer that Atwoli is still bitter that Transport Chirau Mwakwere did not re-appoint his (Atwoli) tribesman, Mr. Brown Ondego, to the Kenya Ports Authority managing director’s position when his term ended fours years ago. Or is it that the Transport docket is so important that a Coastal person should not head it.

Kenyans know very well that when the Environment and Mineral Resources minister Michuki headed the key OP Provincial Administration and National Security docket (where he was in charge of the Traffic Police Unit) failed to enforce the very traffic laws he was praised to have initiated while at Transport. Although never credited, it was Chris Murungaru (then OP Provincial Administration and National Security) who accorded then Transport Minister Michuki the crucial traffic police enforcement support to vigorously implement transport laws.

But when the time came, Michuki refused not reciprocate to Murungaru or to the incumbent Transport minister. Why, many suspect because Michuki wanted to remain to have been the one who was the most effective one and tried to make his predecessors be seen I the eyes of the public to be ineffective. If Michuki was so great in managing the Transport portfolio then I am sure President Kibaki would have appreciated this and re-appointed him to the docket when he named his seventeen-member cabinet; which saw the Kangema MP removed from the OP Provincial Administration and National Security to the then Roads and Public Works ministry. When the second round of appointments came when the president formed the grand coalition cabinet, the head of state appointed Michuki the minister for Environment and Mineral Resources.

Boldly speaking Mr. Atwoli should spare Kenyans his nonsensical theatrics and concentrate with the job at hand of handling the plight of Kenyans workers and stop being an errand boy for someone.

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VP can do better

It was wise for the former Vice President Moody Awori to turn down the appointment to chair a committee set up by his successor to look into the grievances of the striking prison warders. I must add that it is good news to the country that the warders have since resumed their duties and look forward to have their grievances addressed.

Truth be told when Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka named the eight–member committee to look into the grievances of the striking prison warders I wondered if Mr. Musyoka was really serious in tackling this matter or if he was he just playing politics.

I say this because the vice president seemed lost when he appointed his predecessor to chair the committee. In addition the vice president named the immediate former Commissioner of Prisons Abraham Kimakil in the same committee. I ask again, is Kalonzo serious in tackling the issue.

It did not make sense to have the two gentlemen in the committee because Awori and Kimakil were right in the middle of the correctional system as the two top officials and they failed those prison warders when they had the powers and authority to assist them. One wonders what would have changed for the warders to all of a sudden start to trust the two gentlemen when they accused them for presiding over the current rot in prisons during their tenure at the helm. It has since emerged that, “Mr Kamakil’s tenure was the worst for us and it was marred with corruption allegations and promotions that were based on nepotism.”
One wonders was the VP truly sincere when he pleaded with the Thika Prison warders saying: “I want the officers to call off their intended strike and give me a little more time to address their problems." Mr. Kalonzo needs to go to work and address the problems facing the prison warders.

If as claimed by Moody Awori is true, that the Prison Department already has a strategic plan, a programme on housing, and a scheme of service and all that was left was the implementation of the same, why then didn’t Kalonzo Musyoka check this out before going public in naming a committee. Apart from being the president’s principal assistant Kalonzo has in addition a ministerial responsibility that he needs to attend to.

With a new permanent secretary in the Home Affairs ministry who would approach the issue with a fresh mind, the problems facing the warders need to be addressed sooner rather than later. There is no need for committees and commissions if a strategic plan is in place and all that remaining is its implementation.
omarahmedali@gmail.com