mekatilili said:
then I guess this is the point I should thank my lucky stars! The constitution was promulgated and if you have any qualms with its provisions feel free to share your ideas with Kenyans and change it. Let us see how many people share your desire to limit the rights of your fellow citizens!
3.14. (1) A person is a citizen by birth if on the day of the person'sbirth, whether or not the person is born in Kenya, either the mother orfather of the person is a citizen.
The egalitarian view you have of the United States is a testament of your naivety. The main difference is we pay taxes and expect the government to deliver! The snaking highways and gleaming skyscrapers might blind you but the United States is an unequal country. Anyone that has been to the inner streets of Chicago, the states of Mississippi, Michigan and virtually every backstreet hidden by our skylines has seen the impact of the USA CORPORATION will attest to this. We work hard to get what we want and that is the opportunity that should be afforded to every single Kenyan in the mother country.
To respond to you first i think it is good to present real case scenarios so that you understand better what I am trying to convey. I do not have an eglitarian view of the United states, matter of fact I am always interested in their milestones in terms of political, military, scientific, and economic advances. I just have an issue with their foreign policy and how they run it. It is not a hidden fact that US foreign policy has left nasty influences in the past in countries where they have indulged and imposed their policies. The situation is even nastier when the US openly seeks 'suitable' functionaries in foreign or partner govts that they can work with "efficiently" to continue the imposition of their foreign policy. I have time and again given examples in my presentation of very skewed democracies which are credited as real democracies. India is such a democracy. Of late there has been an uproar there on gender abuses, human rights activists and civil societies had to line up a street in Delhi for authorities to prosecute those that committed rape. if there is anything that infringes on the rights of the people, I always thought a democratic regime would be the first to react in 'protection' to its people.
So the US will shut-up on the issue of gender abuses in delhi because Delhi is naturally a concomitant regime to its demands. But when the same attrocities are done in non-friendly regime like zimbabwe and civil societies are in a frenzy, then we hear various tyes of terminolgy emerge for instance, sanctions, enhanced embargoes, ICC. Wouldn't be an issue of integrity that US disassociate themselves from the governments or even cut food supplies and stop feeding India if such things as gender violations can shamelessly happen to citizens and fail to respond. So the big money question is where do the principles of democracy come in. Do these principles just remain personal decorations as defined by westernized democrats.
You are irked by those in the diaspora but remember our contribution to Kenya is far reaching! We contribute $3 billion to the economy through remittances alone and our investments in different sectors of the economy should not be understated. The Kenyan government is well aware of this, the numerous investment conferences and meetings with the government's top officials is the best indicator. Many Kenyans or Tanzanians in the diaspora who take care of the families back home will tell you that there exists a bond between them and the mother countries and you cannot wish this away.
Lastly, let me break the news to you. I will vote in the upcoming elections!
This type of branding makes me think less of you. If I was to vote on the basis of tribe I would be chanting the bearded one's name. The rest of what you wrote on this issue should be rubbished.
Kabaridi, I still believe you have a good head on your shoulders, engage me. Do you believe a president Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy William Ruto will cooperate with the ICC? Is Kenya not a signatory to the Rome Statute? Should Kenya be used as a shield by ICC indictees?
Kenyans have a right to elect their president but the USA, EU and the community of nations have a right to choose who they will work with. Uhuru and Ruto know the gravity of their cases and intend to use Kenya as a shield and the reaction from the community of nation is warranted.
We brought the ICC skunk home so we have to deal with the issue head on, effectively and conclusively. Indeed kenya is a signatory of the rome statues, called to light by the two-rutos in jubilee, and thereby no one can get the blame of calling the ICC apart from themselves. This being concious in many people's mind they have to deal with it. having said that. let me bring to your attn. that this does not mean ICC has a full-time job in kenya. Politicans or leaders seeking high office should be of high moral standing and avoid being rubble rousers and war-mongers, because the ICC offers immunity to those it prefers to do so. Remember we have a reformed judiciary that can descredit any candidate on grounds of being perpatrators of violence! The IEBC has its own mandate and jurisdiction to cover as defined and approved by the letter. In as far as the contrasting philosophies of leadership in kenya is concerned, the standards for prosecution has been raised succefully for both ends and defined. So henceforth, any mischief or trickery has to meet a standard of prosecution!
They are many that have scoffed at the community of nations and insisted that the West cannot exist without Kenya and I will have you know that was the prevailing sentiment in oil rich Iran and mineral rich Zimbabwe! After all, there is Tanzania to the South that is willing and ready to take up the mantle.
I will discourse on you on this matter, because the biggest priorty of any elected government is its people, because it is the people of that nation that elect any government and not the envoys or the diplomats. It is the people that understand their needs, more than the diplomats. However, a neutral government will always stay-in-touch and co-operate fully with its development partners, not with strings attached or on a patriachal basis
Vision 2030, what have you done to ensure that this becomes a success? This is a blue print that I stand by, have put my money into and have defended on this forums in the face of the attacks from the usual suspects. It is true the vision is for all Kenyans and that is what I have been stating all along. The vision will not materialize if we allow those that have fleeced this country to use their wealth to set up Kenyans against each other and claim universal support on the basis of tribe.
In regards to the application of the vision-2030, the buck stops with our leaders, to invest their time less in politics and enforce its application. Are you asking that we select good leaders? Well it will depends on the current generation of leaders to accept responsibility for what they say or do while holding office. Whether The issue started at independence, all-governments in kenya have not been people inclusive. The only government that has tried to be people inclusive is the coalition government that has been led by Kibaki and raila, that were seeking support for the referundum. whether the move was heavily inclined towards the fulfilment of their personal ambitions that does not matter now, because we have the new document. P S note I am not willing to discredit the kibaki-raila led government, given the document was heavily contested against by a certain faction whose elements are now dispersed into various political camps.
The good-thing about the coalition thing is that the constant pressure by ODM troops in parliamnet, has shown that the government could act on certain opportunities even though some have fallen by the way-side. Question is what if the coalition government worked constructively, it could have achieved to capitalize on creating and delivering more opportunities. The weaknessess you and I witnessed with the coalition government and so with the coalition partners was actually troop mobilization; so each coalition principal had the power to influence their troops against or in support of certain legislation! So you and I can logically conclude that this aspect has been the key barrier in creating legislation that would be sufficient to even set up a revocation scheme on land as recommended by KNHRC recommendations and report by ndungu on land.
The son of Jomo Kenyatta with over half a million acres of land in his family's name intends to protect the status quo, use the office of the presidency to shield himself from the ICC and has deployed his foot soldiers to frustrate anyone that is standing in his way ask SK Macharia and the Keroches.
The issue of Jomo's son is now come a matter of national politics so i will give my opinion as regards the Issue. I would rather that many other reports that have been in the past shelved for instance the kroll report, ndungu commission on land, and reports from golden-berg are investigated fully. Nothing should be left un-turned. I have not any info regarding what the kenyatta empire owns including the 'prince' himself, so if we are to rely on any articles from print and news media, we will do it disdainfully not wanting to dignify any writers writing out of malice.