Kenyan Pundit

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.

Tried to blog yesterday, but all the cyber-cafes in my neighborhood were closed. Trying to grab a matatu home before it gets dark so this is rushed.

- First, I will echo everyone who has commended Kenyans for voting peacefully and continuing the trend towards maturity as a democracy…it was funny reading all the international news coverage that had the words “predicted violence” in the first sentence. Wonder how many editorials there will be commenting on the peaceful exercise of democracy and the great job done by the Electoral Commission of Kenya under difficult circumstances?

- Mood on the ground as far as I can tell is that people are happy with the Orange Victory for a whole bunch of reasons that point to how little this had to do with the draft constitution at the end of the day. Some of the reasons: for those who took time to read the document, it was obvious that parts of the draft were cobbled together and inconsistent, not to mention parts of Bomas that were dropped (especially devolution and reduced exec powers); people felt that the draft was being forced down their throats by an illegitimate process and wanted politicians to listen to them rather than speak at them; people felt that if we have waited for fifteen years then they were prepared to wait longer rather than live with a flawed document; this was a vote against the government and an expression of dissatisfaction with the status quo (inevitable since the government itself turned the whole process into a vote of confidence); Kibaki’s lame attempt at influence-peddling and bribery, especially towards the end of the process signaled a return to the days of sycophany which Kenyans didn’t appreciate; the arrogance of the Banana side as exemplified by the President’s infamous pumbavu remark (seen on a placard yesterday, “Nani pumbavu sasa?”) and the fact that having expressed a particular position he wouldn’t go out and meet the people face to face in support of his position; this was a vote driven by fear of the return of Kikuyu hegemony in government (no coincidence that the only province to vote Yes was Central)… Lots more reasons have been expressed in editorials in the Nation (a guy called Macharia has a particularly good one) and the Standard. More thoughts on the outcome and post-referendum scenarios to follow.

- Randomness: Java House cafe on Mama Ngina was boarded (as in with mbaos) up since Saturday, but Dorman’s right across the street was open for business all through the weekend (and gained a new customer in the process). Wonder why one business owner was more paranoid than the other…

- SMS I received this morning, ” Tunasikitika kutangaza kifo cha ndizi, mtoto kubafu wa Kibaki, kutokana na Orange. Mazishi ni hapo KICC wakati wowote. Roho haki na ipotee milele.”

- AOB: Orange victory came on the eve of the first anniversary of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine (or so some guy on Nation TV claims, haven’t had time to verify).

So, D-day is finally here. This has been democracy in action…all the ugliness of the campaign process aside. I didn’t get to vote, much to my disappointment, because I was still in the U.S when the voter registration period ended. I was an official observer though, so I did get a “taste” of the voting experience. I covered polling stations in Kasarani and Embakasi constituencies and I am now back at the office fielding calls/getting reports from our observers who are all over the country. Some quick observations about the day so far…

- I was impressed to see a lot of young people voting…particularly people in their twenties. Perhaps this is just a reflection of Nairobi’s demographics.

- Too early to tell which way the vote is swinging. One “No” agent in Kasarani claimed that “watu wengi wananyonya machungwa (lots of people are sucking on oranges)” though.

- Kenyans take their right to vote very seriously. No wonder the MPs were so quick to shoot down the recall clause during Bomas. There was a sense of civic pride and even jollity at the polling stations where I was present. For majority of Kenyans, this is the only time for their voices and opinions to be heard no matter what their background or social status is…it’s ironic that a process that has been so divisive relies on a mechanism that puts everyone on equal ground. After experiencing how voters in the U.S. have to be practically begged to show up at the polls, it has been refreshing to see people value their right to express themselves at the polls. I spoke to one guy who couldn’t vote because he had lost his I.D. during the registration process…he was so disappointed about not being able to vote and said he felt so left out.

- The polling stations I visited were all in primary schools (e.g. Roysambu Primary, Kayole Primary, Baba Dogo Primary, Thika Road. Primary). Folks, the state of these schools (all in lower income parts of Nairobi) was terrible and depressing. I don’t think any of these schools had been painted, let alone thoroughly cleaned, since they were built. The classrooms are dreadful enough when they are empty, I can’t imagine how much worse it is when school is in session and particularly now that government schools are overcrowded due to the free primary education program. The gap between the haves and the haves-nots is entrenched from the very beginning of one’s life as a Kenyan…very sad.

- The areas I visited were what I’d consider to be the “real” Nairobi. I’d not been to some of these places in years…it was shocking to see what unrestricted and unmanaged construction has resulted in…a true concrete jungle (will try and post pics tomorrow). I don’t recall seeing a green patch of grass ANYWHERE within the residential areas. No open spaces where kids could play, hardly any color apart from commercial billboards, just block after block of shifty looking apartments that look like they took a week to put up.

- I did see something that put a smile on my face though, remember those home-made cars (I forget the sheng word for them) we used to make in the estates especially during Safari Rally…now in my days, you used to endesha them with a contraption made of wires and blada…at Kayole I saw an improvement…black plastic bags tied to the cars that enable the cars to be propelled by the wind…I wish I could have taken some pics, it was pretty neat.

- There are reports that voter turnout was low in Naivasha because workers in the flower farms were not given time off by the employers…I hope someone is investigating this.

- There are also reports of low voter turnout in places where pre-referendum tensions were high. Also reports (unverified as of yet) of Yes people bribing voters with cash in Western Province.

That’s it for now…

EDIT: Another view from the ground.

- Did you know that the number of matatus on the road has increased by 54% since the introduction of the infamous Michuki rules…so much for those who predicted that the industry would grind to a halt.

- Should human rights activists be banned from running for political office - what the hell is up with Murungi and Mirugi Kariuki?

So Minister of Health, Charity Ngilu, was recently the first Cabinet Minister to seek treatment in a public hospital. She was widely commended for taking “this bold step” and sending the signal that public funds should not be wasted on sending our politicians overseas for treatment (maybe an exception for brain surgery?), particularly when a majority of Kenyans have no alternative but to seek treatment at a public hospital. So was this a step in the right direction, or nothing more than a publicity stunt? A chat with my HIV+ neighbor who recently spent a month in Kenyatta’s infectious diseases ward suggests that Ngilu’s claim that Kenyans should feel comfortable with seeking treatment at Kenyatta is laughable…Kenyatta hospital is still very much the hospital of last resort - unless you are admitted to the private wing, where those who can afford at and other “bold” Ministers are admitted. Get this, my neighbor is actually doing MUCH better since she left Kenyatta and added 3kgs in less than a week. She says she was desperate to leave the place because she was convinced she would die there. One of my other neighbors who went to visit her says she literally fell sick after witnessing the conditions there.

Some of the horror stories:

- Patients still share a bed, at least in the ward where she was admitted - we are talking about people who are mostly suffering from later stage opportunistic infections. There was an older female patient who couldn’t control her bowel movements so no one would share a bed with her. The nurses put her on the floor (cement and it has been very cold in Nairobi). She died the next day.

- The nurses were nowhere to be seen - you were essentially on your own.

- In the one month she was there, they were at least 3-4 deaths a week - most caused by sheer neglect/inattention. One woman died while sitting up waiting for the nurse to appear.

- Diet was rice and beans or ugali and some form of greens. Day in day out. Meanwhile our government is busy throwing a bash worth a million Kshs for someone who didn’t even bother to show up.

Folks, my neighbor’s story is just a microsm of the struggle that is life in Kenya today for most Kenyans. Everyday, I’m in Nairobi I am confronted with two realities - one where a few people are doing well (both legit and illegit) and other where most people are struggling to survive and are forced to live an undignified life despite working hard…something will have to give one day, there are just too many people with nothing to lose no matter what the scenario is (banana, orange, democracy, autocracy, etc.) and that to me is very disturbing.

- I’ve ranted about Jeffrey Sachs and his grandiose ideas before, but watching him wax poetically on poverty and Africa on CNN the other day got me all riled up again. Why does this man (and his ideas) have more access to MY government than I do? Can someone please point me to a ONE (or even) two of his success stories?

- The two best Kenchic joints in Nairobi (in my humble opinion) - the one near Tacos (I have to make concerted efforts to avoid landing there EACH and every time I’m in town) and the one near Ambassador hotel.

- So Kenyans are very neat people, when walking around town I rarely see anyone with clothes “that look like they’ve been chewed by a cow” (to quote my mother).

- These guys were featured on a weekly TV show on the local arts scene about a week or two ago. They rock…definitely the pulse of Kenya’s urban youth.

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