Thursday 7 February 2008

Someone is seeing sense

Maybe Tweedledum (Kibaki) and Tweedledee (Raila) cannot agree on anything other than not to agree on anything, but there is a glimmer of hope.

Kenyan business people held a meeting because as well as the ordinary Kenya being slaughtered in the street, these people are suffering.

OK, losing your income when you are worth millions is not suffering in the accepted sense of the word, but, without these businesses earning income, there can be no Kenya. These businesses employ ordinary Kenyans. A lot of these businesses rely on tourists, who have been scared away by the violence.

These businesses are closing because they have no workers. The workers are scared to go to work, or have been displaced and cannot go to work.

And, without businesses, there is no tax to be levied. No tax, no government.

I hope and pray that these business people of Kenya can make Tweedledum and Tweedledee see some sense and get on with whatever they have to do to get Kenya up and running again.

Tuesday 5 February 2008

They Have Agreed on Something

Well, well, well. I didn't think I would be posting the above headline.
And it is not that they have agreed to disagree [well, maybe they have, but not in public].

Government and ODM mediators [yes both sides!] have agreed on major steps aimed at resolving the political crisis caused by the disputed Presidential election.

It looks like they have agreed to:

  • set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission

  • encourage the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights investigation team and to ensure freedom of expression, press and peaceful assembly.

Now, the government has lifted the ban on live news coverage, which has been in place since the announcement of the Presidential results.

Today, the mediation team is going to tackle the political issues including how to resolve the disputed Presidential election results, constitutional and other legal reforms. This could be more difficult to resolve, methinks.

We shall see.

Sunday 3 February 2008

And Still It Goes On ...

Kofi Annan has had his say, Ban too. But Kibaki is, according to Raila, still using rhetoric to instill hatred and create violence.

OK, Raila, but your answers don't exactly make the rampaging youth of Kenya sit down and think about what they are doing.

The ordinary Kikuyu may have voted for Kibaki. That is his right. That is democracy.

But, the ordinary Kikuyu did not rig the election. That was carries out by an elite, the only people who may benefit from such an act. The people who don't give a damn about ordinary Kenyans hacking and burning each other to death.

These are the people who really benefited from Kenyatta and latterly Kibaki. The don't want to lose their grip on the Kenyan economy, on the country's earnings, as most of it goes to them.

Now I hear that violence has flared up in Kisii, up to now a peaceful town with 300+ refugees. It seems that the policeman who assassinated David Too comes from Kisii.

However, I have spoken this morning to my friend in Kisii and he says that he was not aware of any troubles. Then the Internet connection went dead. Am I worried? Too damn right I am.