Kenyan Idiot

The world cup has enthralled and monopolised both my time and my sleep and all though I have born witness to every game so far and will continue to do so until the final whistle is blown on July the 11th I am not completely oblivious to the goings on around the country. So this will serve as a quick catch before I resume my place at the sofa in front of the box that will transport me to SA. In the few weeks since I last stroked the keys of this keyboard, and sat before this blank page to compose my thoughts. Three grenades have exploded at Uhuru Park. It was a Sunday like any other and the politicians of the No campaign thought it a good idea to hold a campaign at the park to air their on all that is wrong with the document. It was going well until an explosion somewhere in the crowd brought the proceedings to a halt; this happened twice more killing 5 people and injuring 79. It seemed all too unreal to me as I caught up with the news, as if something out of an action movie... but thi...

The constitution is still this weeks talking point as a new poll conducted by Synovate. According to the poll the yes camp is still leading but are losing ground to a continually resurgent no campaign, and as leaders continue to criss- cross the country in search of all important votes spanners are constantly thrown into the works to greet them. Last week that spanner came in the form of Kadhis’ courts. The furore began when three judges declared the clause in the constitution on Kadhis’ courts un constitutional. In the landmark ruling, the judges sitting as a Constitutional Court, said the decision to include the kadhi courts in the country's supreme law was an illegality that favoured one religion over others. The two opposing Green and Red camps immediately leapt into action, with the Greens (otherwise known as those in the Yes corner) quick to assure the public that the judgement would not halt the referendum, while their Red counterparts (consisting of members of the clergy...

I for one did not think things could get any more bizarre than they were I was proven very wrong this past week as the famous party of three was back in our faces, pointing the finger of god at us and declaring, in all seriousness – yes they were serious - that they were seeing red and saying no to the proposed constitution - to be voted on by the public come August 4th – and that they were each vying for parliamentary seats come 2012. They added that Hellon shall be vying for the Rongo seat, Easther will try her luck in Ratchwonyo and in perhaps the most bewildering and austentatious political move in a long time Quincy Timberlake announced bold and undaunted that he would be running for a seat in Langata the Prime Ministers constituency. Now if you still don’t know why these three sat down, thought about then decided to name their political party after an organ in the uterus of a pregnant mammal, well Joseph Hellon, says that the country is in a ‘gestation period’. Their tag line is...

ERROR: Mistake, Something not done correctly OR to be wrong in conduct or judgment. This week the weather was atrocious and it gave us something to moan about other than politics and just when we thought that would be the only bothersome topic we were all forced to re think, sit up and take notice of the ‘storm in a teacup’ that brewed all too suddenly, as once forgotten errors came back to haunt the government and most especially the AG. As the proposed constitution hit the AG’s desk for editing, he promised only to add full stops, commas and to correct any grammatical errors, and all seemed well, that is until the 47 page document left his desk and went into Gitonga Rukwaro’s hands for publishing. The document was then released to the public as a pull out in their daily papers. All was well and civic education was soon to begin – someone once said that when things are too good to be true then it probably is – but were to be awoken form the lull by the ghost of errors past come b...

This week the VP was up to his old tricks again, doing his now infamous jig this time the party trick was on show to those in the yes and no factions of the referendum and although the guests were not mesmerised by his skills they seemed to indulge him as he fiddled between the camps somewhat restless and anxious. It all began with his support of the referendum last week when Kalonzo said in Kingungi as he escorted President Kibaki to Nakuru that there was still room for negotiations. Later that day he changed his stand after the President insisted that the draft would go to the referendum without amendments. He then agreed to amend and extend the time of the draft a proposition put forward by Higher education Minister William Ruto. But all was still not well for the man from Mwingi as he changed his mind once more and seconding the resolution not to amend the draft headed off to Muranga to sing the documents praises. It seems though that no one told the VP to be weary of the powe...

This past week was chock full of the kind of intrigue that a top rated soap opera or political drama can only dream of, with the constitutional debate heating up and the lines between the ‘Yeses’ and the ‘No’s being drawn firmly in the sand political loyalty would count more than ever before. The week started off as any other, then Wednesday swung around and the political air became hotter than a Mombasa mid day. It all began when the President and Prime Minister put their heads together in consultation and reshuffled their cabinet. As with any reshuffle someone had to ‘demoted’, this time around that (un)lucky- though he would have us believe otherwise- someone was William Samoei Arap Ruto whose once friendly and cordial relationship with the PM took on a sour note a few months ago when the latter attempted – unsuccessfully – to suspend the then Agriculture and Education ministers on grounds of corruption. This act has only served to intensify the rocky relationships. Rutos demotion f...

From No, to Yes and back to sitting on the fence, we’ve seen it all this past week as our leaders continue to treat the new draft constitution like a sport with each MP picking a team and scoring a goal for their prospective side either within the confines of parliament or out and about surrounded by the masses of prospective voters. Each valiantly championing his/her side in the hope of spurring them to an outright victory, each eager to gain more fans as he/she criss-crosses the country and speaks to his ever listening and increasingly judgemental fans. However as in any sport there is bound to be those players that desert their teams in a moment of enlightenment and in anticipation of better things, this past week Najib Balala minister for tourism was the defector who chose to migrate from the No camp to that of those in support of the draft. In an attempt to quell the tempers of their brothers of the cloth the President and Prime Minister sat down in negotiations with church lead...