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Kibaki wakes up…finally.

I’m sure you’ve all read about the sackings by now. I’m reading the political tea leaves like everyone else so I have nothing much to add to this. By the way, after recently moaning about poor standards of journalism in the major newspapers, I’m really feeling Macharia Gaitho, his analysis on the Cabinet sackings is spot on. Big debate now is whether he’ll start with a clean slate or whether some reviled characters (Murungi and Murungaru heading the list) will make it back. Wako’s position is apparently next. If I was the ‘baks I’d start by trimming the Cabinet drastically to less about 11 positions (fewer bozos to worry about). Of course, nothing else will dominate conversations in Nairobi for the next two weeks…and as much as we’d all like to move on, get set for non-stop politiking until 2007.

An aside: the Orange side is already getting delusional, I think this was a vote against the Wako draft and the government etc. but not exactly a mandate for the Orange team to “head” the review process…if they start getting to carried away, they will meet the electorate’s wrath, just like everybody else. And then…I’m also very perturbed by the glaring absence of women on the Orange team (Kilimo aside and she didn’t even feature in KICC the other day). If Yes, signified the old boys network, Orange is nothing more than the boys network. Why does this worry me? For more than just reasons of representation…it is a fact that some members on the Orange team campaigned strongly against Wako on the basis that women will be allowed to “take all the land” and other inaccuracies that do not augur well for the role of women in Kenya and in Kenyan politics, still to early to make a call but I hope my concerns are unwarranted.

I’m back on the road tomorrow for the next few weeks…still not over the travel bug that bit me after I left the U.S. Blog updates might be spotty over the next few days.

13 comments to Kibaki wakes up…finally.

  • martin

    Greetings,
    As always your blogs are greatly appreciated.
    Am the dude who asked some help on ways to get scholarship for my cousin.I drive semi trucks and can be on the roads for weeks thus the sudden unceremonial dissappearance.For some reason i lost your email which i was going to pass to my cousin.here is her brothers email …muntubinmuntu@yahoo.com. he will give you all details.She is at KU currently doing comp science.

    happy thanksgiving.(.ops an american culture..)but the spirit is one au sio.
    mato.

  • Shiro

    I like your analysis that Kibaki has finally woken up! It is something he should have done before,THE FIRST TO GO SHOULD BE KILIMJO , it is a bit annoying about her campaign that women inheritance is a taboo . SHE IS THE SAME WOMAN WHO CAMPAIGNS AGAINST FGM as if it is not a taboo for them not to be. HONESTLY she is disgusting everytime she opens her mouth.
    The only reason she is a minister is to show gender equality and at first she fooled me as a good woman with all her campaigns against FGM . She was fooled.
    The Kiraitus might not go but for MURUNGARU he MUST GO!

  • Alejandro Snr.

    Just as long as we don’t get another geriatric SWAT team, we may actually have a chance at having a functional government. Even if it’s just for another year.

  • adongo ogony

    Lets stop sugarcoating the Kibaki defeat. The man did not just wake up. Kibaki has been very much awake aggressively robbing the nation to finance his pet constitution.

    Not sure how exactly I was sugarcoating the defeat. The fact is this is the first time that he is acted decisively in a long time. Rumor has it that the man has not been known to have fired anyone in his life.

    Now you people want to pretend the old man is going to be some kind of saviuor for the nation. This is hogwash.

    Again, not sure how you came to this conclusion.

    Also I think we should take a break from the high chair of lecturing the ODM about what their mandate is. Political power and the struggle for a new constitution are not mutually exclusive.

    The ODM came together on the basis of killing the Wako draft…people voted on this basis and many other things but this was NOT an election. No high chair here either, I’m a concerned Kenyan citizen.

    The elites who were pouring scorn and redicule on the ODM and the masses whom they always think are stupid are the least qualified to come now to lecture us on what to do. As Kenyans we welcome your contributions, but spare us the condenscending attitude.

    ???

    I agree with you the ODM is too male dominated and they have to be confronted with that.

    Finally something we both agree on. :-) What’s been their response so far?

    Here is what I think about the new ” awaken Kibaki”

    http://jukwaa.proboards58.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1132773399

    Good read!

  • Hi, Guys first time here but could not help to just glossy over your commentary. It is amazing that you guys think that it was not amandate on Kibaki’s government. what is the illetracy rate in Kenya? I am pretty sure not a lot of people read the proposed constitution and therefore the logical conclusion would be that it was there disatisfaction with Kibaki that led to the resounding NO. I was in Kenya not to long ago and the mood of the country was pretty much anti Kibaki. Do you guys seriously think that this Old guys have done anything good for Kenya. We need some young guys to run that country, that is why early next year am going to start and organization for young educated KENYANS i hope you guys can join me.
    check this out
    http://raymauz.blogspot.com

  • Ory,

    I’m wondering if we need to focus not simply on the “big” issues, government, ministers, the constitution, but also on some really intense grassroots activism, way before 2007.

    We do…unfortunately, the people who should be at the forefront of this in Kenya, civil society, are still in post-2002 elections shock….very effective in organizing against Moi’s dictatorship, but been asleep since then.

    The teacher in me keeps imagining a project that combines intense lobbying with mps and local leaders, and pressure put on such leaders from constituents. (Lost my topic sentence.)

    The teacher part: devise a simple survey that has three questions: what did x mp promise? what has x mp accomplished for you? rate x mp out of 10.

    Perhaps impractical, but something similar *might* put pressure on politicians to stop bickering while, at the same time, recognize successful local strategies, hopefully as paradigms for other areas.

    Actually quite practical…M (Thinker) had proposed something along the same lines…every voter should be forced to give three reasons why they are voting for a particular MP before they vote…that is unlikely to happen, but I think your idea of getting people to start questioning just what “public servants” are doing is something that is much needed.

  • Love your new website, and as always thanks for your analyses. I was shocked at first by the cabinet sackings, it sounded quite drastic, but it’s a chance for a clean slate. Also, the focus/emphasis on economic reforms should have been the gvt’s focus all along.

  • JKE

    Talking about the efficiency of Kenyan Ministries – is it a different Kenya compared to last week? No ministers, no assistants and still everything goes the same way it always does. (?)

    Interesting to note that the day Kibaki sacked his folks, we got a new gov. here in Germany. First thing I’ll do is to write a letter to our new female chancellor, telling her to improve her handicap on the course so she can pull in some advice from Mwai.

    Nothing much different expect even more politiking (plus the public coffers are getting a bit of a break for a few days)…as M says, it’s the PS’s who do most of the work anyway . Not sure if Merkel wants to be seeking advice from Kibaki, especially since she has an unwieldy coalition to manage…

  • M

    @ JKE – If you want a good laugh for free just watch Mwai Kibaki purporting to play golf! It is apparent that his best days on the green are considerably behind him and then some. Hitting the ball is a pleasant surprise to observers!

    Personally, I don’t see the use of the cabinet seeing as the PSes do all the work…

  • M,

    admittedly it was many years ago when I last saw him, but it seemed to me he best enjoyed golf post-game, getting ridiculously inebriated

  • The first step should be for him to forget about the second term.As long as his eyes are fixed on the second term he will always remain a captive of both the Mt Kenya and orange mafioso. Two years is sufficient for him to bring change in Kenya. Another group he must ditch is the Muthaiga Mafia. But then Kibaki has always been predictable. I hope he proves us wrong this time.

  • […] r concern regarding the absence of women in the campaigning and the fact that some members ‘of the Orange team campaigned strongly against the [draft constitution] on the basis that women will be allo […]

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