No one knows this better than Anthony Weiner the Democratic Party congressman who was forced to resign after weeks of a scandal involving the inappropriate photos he had been sharing of himself on the social networks platform of Twitter were leaked to the public.The 46 year old married Congressman who had been labelled as a rising star had been denying that he had sent the photos for weeks but finally caved in and admitted to his lack of judgement and resigned ,full details leading to hi resignation can be found here.
While Kenyan politicians have not been involved in such scintillating scandals such as those that seem to envelope US politicians whose most recent victim was Weiner,we do have scandals of our own that involve integrity and honesty of the men we elect to the August house and to other public offices.
The most recent scandal to hit the Kenyan press has been the misappropriation and blatant theft of billions of Kenya shillings meant for free primary education.It has been said senior officers in the Ministry of Education wired huge amounts of money that up to now run into 4.2 billion shillings into accounts of non existent schools.The scandals have not elicited much public response which makes me wonder if Kenyans despite the new constitution and having a new CJ are not too tolerant of wrong doing among public officials.So far the Minister in charge of Education and his PS have so far denied any wrong doing and are staying put in their offices.
Last year in March,there was a scandal involving the same Ministry and the PS then one Professor Karega Mutahi who was transferred to the Ministry of Local government and we carried on with business as usual.Now just a few days ago the Minister of Finance Uhuru Kenyatta released an audit report carried out by the government that confirmed what Professor Sam Ongeri had been denying since last year,that indeed billions had been spirited away by people in his Ministry.Details of the scandal can be read here and here.
This makes we wonder whether our politicians and senior public servants ever care about their reputations and the character assassination that follows public scandals.Abraham Lincoln a man greatly honored by Americans for fighting for the emancipation of slaves once said "character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow.The shadow is what we think of it;the tree is the real thing.".
You will never hear a Kenyan politician or public servant resign for any scandal whatsoever and most wait to be hounded out of office through public outcry or by Presidential decree.These men and women would rather hung their characters and reputations out to dry than admit lapse of judgement or ignorance for any misdemeanours they may be caught in.
It does not make sense however to have your name dragged into disrepute,be caught up in mudslinging and put your family through emotional suffering just because your pride does not allow you to admit you lapsed in your responsibilities and duties.Too often i have heard members of the Kenyan parliament lament how their families and children are being ostracized when they are mentioned in scandals and to me it sounds like they are just begging for sympathy.
Just a few days ago the new Kenyan Chief Justice was being disparaged by members of the clergy for his adornment of an earring,his sexuality and marital status and not for one moment did he blink.Our members of parliament never allow such kind of scrutiny on one of their own and are quick to amend or vote down motions in parliament that would otherwise allow closer scrutiny of misconduct.
It is time Kenyans stopped being so accommodating and complacent when it comes to wrongdoing and being economical with the truth that public servants and elected members of parliament are so fond of.We should start demanding the same high standard of integrity,honesty and character that we have asked of the recently appointed members of the supreme court and the Chief Justice and his Deputy.If we do not do this we shall continue seeing the same theft and misuse of money meant to ensure this country's children do not face bleak future.Hospitals,dispensaries and other public institutions that are in dire need of funding will continue to lack basic equipment to save lives or to function and the vision 2030 will continue being nothing other than a pipe dream.
We need to see more Ministers resigning not at the behest of the President but because their have a conscience and know the wrong doing they have been party to or ignored in their Ministries .We do not have to see them being hounded out of office because of public outcry but because they know they failed at the responsibilities and functions the 40 million Kenyans have entrusted them with.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Why the Catholic Church needs to face the abuse scandals from the pulpit.
In my life having gone through Catholic schools i met priests who were great people and lived by their vows but then there were also those who broke all the rules and gave priesthood a bad name.The Catholic church for a while now has been reeling under the accusations of sexual abuse of minors by some of its priests in Europe and North America.The scandals began receiving public attention in the 1980's but the church hierarchy as it is structured in the affected dioceses never reported the matter of these priests but just transferred them to other locations.Wikipedia provides a detailed article on the scandals here.
Kenya has got its own share of these scandals when we have had Father Kizito Sesana's name dragged into the mud over his misconduct with boys and young men and reports of the battles he has been fighting here and here.
Both times there has been no concrete evidence found to charge him and he has fought of his accusers by saying that they are more interested in the millions involved in the projects he runs through Koinoinia Kenya.
The hierarchy of the Catholic church in Kenya has chosen to keep quiet over the scandals.Their stand is similar to the position taken by the Vatican when the sex scandal emerged,they were swept under the carpet with the fervent prayer sent to heaven that they would just disappear,but they did not.Over the years the allegations against some of its priests have increased and the young victims of these priests who are now grown men have chosen to speak up.
When Father Kizito used to write articles in the Sunday Nation and were serialized under the title Fr Kizito's dairy, i read them voraciously and they were great and inspired my faith then in many ways.When the first scandal hit the press in 2009 i wanted to cry for this man who had inspired me not only with his writing but who i admired for the noble vocation he had taken.
It is very easy to hate on religious people who fall of the high pedestal we have placed them on and the reason for this is because a majority of people look up to them because they represent an institution that is meant to uphold morality in the society.That is why when Fr Kizito's alleged scandals first hit the headlines,a lot of furore and debate ensued on whether his accusers were legitimate or they were after the millions in his projects.
After following the scandals the Vatican has been battling over alleged abuse by the men of the cloth i think it is time that the church in Kenya investigated itself.It is time the church hierarchy asked itself,what if there are priests abusing their high office here ,how do we handle it?
Reuters had an article on how the scandals have affected the church in Germany with thousands leaving the church and it can be read here. Much of this has been caused by the dismal handling of the matter by church which has not been stemmed by the apology offered by the Pope which elicited mixed reactions.An article by the New York Times on the apology to Irish Catholics can be read here .
Maybe it is time the church stopped the fire fighting approach it has taken to reports of abuse by its clergy.The systemic issuing of apologies that is directed at only the affected countries needs to stop,instead the church needs to make its stand on sexual abuse by men of the cloth known,it needs to publicly state that it will not be condoned or tolerated and that the abusers will face the full force of the law.
Sermons made by priests from all the catholic church pulpits need to remind the faithful that the church does not and will not hide sex abuse scandals.The faithful who give of their time,money and energy in church activities need to hear that the church will not hide the crimes or wish them away but will make sure the perpetrators who break the law and their victims have their day in court.
Each of the one billion Catholic faithful who make up at least 50%of the global Christian population need to hear that the church will act and is protecting them from the wolves who come adorned in priestly robes.They need to hear that the church is listening to the voices and the cries of those who have been abused by these men .The church needs to shout from the pulpit that sexual misconduct of its priests cannot be condoned ,every catholic from the remotest village church in Turkana to the Basilicas in Rome needs to hear that.Only by doing so will the church get some of its credibility back.
Kenya has got its own share of these scandals when we have had Father Kizito Sesana's name dragged into the mud over his misconduct with boys and young men and reports of the battles he has been fighting here and here.
Both times there has been no concrete evidence found to charge him and he has fought of his accusers by saying that they are more interested in the millions involved in the projects he runs through Koinoinia Kenya.
The hierarchy of the Catholic church in Kenya has chosen to keep quiet over the scandals.Their stand is similar to the position taken by the Vatican when the sex scandal emerged,they were swept under the carpet with the fervent prayer sent to heaven that they would just disappear,but they did not.Over the years the allegations against some of its priests have increased and the young victims of these priests who are now grown men have chosen to speak up.
When Father Kizito used to write articles in the Sunday Nation and were serialized under the title Fr Kizito's dairy, i read them voraciously and they were great and inspired my faith then in many ways.When the first scandal hit the press in 2009 i wanted to cry for this man who had inspired me not only with his writing but who i admired for the noble vocation he had taken.
It is very easy to hate on religious people who fall of the high pedestal we have placed them on and the reason for this is because a majority of people look up to them because they represent an institution that is meant to uphold morality in the society.That is why when Fr Kizito's alleged scandals first hit the headlines,a lot of furore and debate ensued on whether his accusers were legitimate or they were after the millions in his projects.
After following the scandals the Vatican has been battling over alleged abuse by the men of the cloth i think it is time that the church in Kenya investigated itself.It is time the church hierarchy asked itself,what if there are priests abusing their high office here ,how do we handle it?
Reuters had an article on how the scandals have affected the church in Germany with thousands leaving the church and it can be read here. Much of this has been caused by the dismal handling of the matter by church which has not been stemmed by the apology offered by the Pope which elicited mixed reactions.An article by the New York Times on the apology to Irish Catholics can be read here .
Maybe it is time the church stopped the fire fighting approach it has taken to reports of abuse by its clergy.The systemic issuing of apologies that is directed at only the affected countries needs to stop,instead the church needs to make its stand on sexual abuse by men of the cloth known,it needs to publicly state that it will not be condoned or tolerated and that the abusers will face the full force of the law.
Sermons made by priests from all the catholic church pulpits need to remind the faithful that the church does not and will not hide sex abuse scandals.The faithful who give of their time,money and energy in church activities need to hear that the church will not hide the crimes or wish them away but will make sure the perpetrators who break the law and their victims have their day in court.
Each of the one billion Catholic faithful who make up at least 50%of the global Christian population need to hear that the church will act and is protecting them from the wolves who come adorned in priestly robes.They need to hear that the church is listening to the voices and the cries of those who have been abused by these men .The church needs to shout from the pulpit that sexual misconduct of its priests cannot be condoned ,every catholic from the remotest village church in Turkana to the Basilicas in Rome needs to hear that.Only by doing so will the church get some of its credibility back.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
WHY KENYANS ARE STILL DYING OF HUNGER
Kenya is an interesting country to live in,while some Kenyans acquire the latest tech gizmo's and fuel guzzlers,almost 2 million Kenyans in the arid and semi arid areas in Samburu are dying of hunger.All the signs were there last year but as usual we were to busy trying to make it big to notice the bumper harvest we had last year which if we had employed measures to store the extra bags of maize,wheat farmers harvested and the tonnes of milk that even had us experience a milk glut and which saw gallons go down the drain at the state owned Kenya Co operative Creameries,we would not be seeing the national shame that drought and hunger have now become.
In September of last year,the meteorological department issued a warning that 2011 would be a hard year for us because we would have less rain therefore planning should have begun then.But as usual warnings here are never taken seriously till we see the scrawny Samburu residents on national TV with even reports of death now coming in.Just a few days into June there are already reports of five people in Samburu who have died of hunger,full details of the crisis can be read here.
On the 8th of June ,we had the budget read ,things like wheat ,maize and rice were zero rated and this is meant to cushion hungry Kenyans who are already paying through the nose for basic food commodities.In Kenya fuel determines what you are going to pay for your packet of milk or for a 2 kilo packet of cornflour.At the moment global prices have been on the rise and so the ordinary Kenyan has had to dig deeper into their pocket to feed themselves and their families.Maize(cornflour),wheat flour and rice are staples in most Kenyan households and the direction their prices take whether north or south determine whether a child will go to bed well fed or sleep hungry.
It puzzles me that in an era where we have all manner of warning systems,where information is at our finger tips we still have the same problem we had back in the 80's when the internet,mobile phones and satellites that track global weather pattern were non existent.Why are we failing our people,when they all die of hunger who are our leaders going to be leading ?
Maybe a time will come when no single Kenyan dies of hunger,where children,men and women will not have to boil wild berries to assuage the pangs of hunger,where planning for crisis will be a habit and not an afterthought and where we will not watch food go to waste while the rest of the country starves.I pray for a time where every Kenyan child will go to bed with a full stomach and not with the sickening knowledge that when dawn comes the biting stabs of an empty tummy will have them staring into space with no hope for the future.
In September of last year,the meteorological department issued a warning that 2011 would be a hard year for us because we would have less rain therefore planning should have begun then.But as usual warnings here are never taken seriously till we see the scrawny Samburu residents on national TV with even reports of death now coming in.Just a few days into June there are already reports of five people in Samburu who have died of hunger,full details of the crisis can be read here.
On the 8th of June ,we had the budget read ,things like wheat ,maize and rice were zero rated and this is meant to cushion hungry Kenyans who are already paying through the nose for basic food commodities.In Kenya fuel determines what you are going to pay for your packet of milk or for a 2 kilo packet of cornflour.At the moment global prices have been on the rise and so the ordinary Kenyan has had to dig deeper into their pocket to feed themselves and their families.Maize(cornflour),wheat flour and rice are staples in most Kenyan households and the direction their prices take whether north or south determine whether a child will go to bed well fed or sleep hungry.
It puzzles me that in an era where we have all manner of warning systems,where information is at our finger tips we still have the same problem we had back in the 80's when the internet,mobile phones and satellites that track global weather pattern were non existent.Why are we failing our people,when they all die of hunger who are our leaders going to be leading ?
Maybe a time will come when no single Kenyan dies of hunger,where children,men and women will not have to boil wild berries to assuage the pangs of hunger,where planning for crisis will be a habit and not an afterthought and where we will not watch food go to waste while the rest of the country starves.I pray for a time where every Kenyan child will go to bed with a full stomach and not with the sickening knowledge that when dawn comes the biting stabs of an empty tummy will have them staring into space with no hope for the future.
Friday, June 10, 2011
WHY AFRICA'S VOTE FOR HEAD OF IMF DOES NOT MATTER
Christine Lagarde and Agustin Carstens have been on a tour of some countries which by the sheer strength of their economies may just be the deal breakers in the search for the next Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.The position was left vacant after the previous holder Dominique Strauss Khan was charged with sexual assault and other charges committed against a hotel maid in an upmarket New York Hotel.
When i hear talk about the IMF all i seem to remember are the Structural Adjustment Programs(SAP'S) they gave as conditions for Aid to the Kenyan government back in the 90's which went on to cause a lot of grief among Kenyans.Now the tide has changed and Kenya and most other African countries are no longer at the mercy of the IMF.They have a very willing partner in China who lends without too many questions or conditions.
Looking at the wooing that is going on for votes by the two candidate it is a no brainer to conclude that African countries do not carry that much weight in the vote.That is why they do not feature in the itinerary that has been mapped out by the two contestants.The countries that contribute a bulk of the money.This is mainly because funding for the body by member countries is based on quotas that are determined by that countrys' strength on the world economy.The system used for funding the IMF can be read here.African countries do not have much economic clout on the global stage and that could be the reason that the two candidates have not paid much attention to them.Another factor that could be influencing the choice of countries the two are visiting to pitch their suitabilities for the job are that countries in much of Europe like Greece,Ireland,Portugal are in need of bail out from the IMF.
In voting for the next managing director for the IMF job,a candidate needs to garner votes from the members with the highest percentage of contributions because these are the ones who have the greatest say in decision making.African countries are largely borrowers in these financial arrangement and more often than not have been saddled with loans with so many conditions ,that African countries end up being forever mired in debt for generations to come.
According to an article by rainbow warrior on how voting is done it is literally a matter of how much your influence is worth in gold that will determine who gets the top job.Africa with its meager resources can in noway have a say in who heads the organization,the decision is in the hands of the US and much of the G8 and G20 countries.Africa and the rest of the developing countries who make up the IMF membership can only ever hope to have one of their own heading the financial body if they can garner financial clout that can stand up to the US and Europe and that is going to take years.
Meanwhile as we wait to hear who gets the job though i think it is a no brainer that it will be Lagarde with Carstens as deputy in order to appease the BRICS countries,it is time the next MD changed tact on the way the IMF views Africa.Much of the time it has received a lot of flak from African intellectuals for forcing conditions down the throats of begging countries and imposing plans that have done nothing but harm the recipients of the countries they have been channeled to.This is because some of the money is targeted at projects that hardly ever benefit citizens and the conditions imposed for the loans end up wrecking the lives of the very same people they are meant to help.
Focus by the new head should now be on well thought out and researched policies that can benefit the people in the developing countries while also making sure the funds are used for their intended purposes.With China now joining the list of options available for loans and grants IMF needs to drop the list of conditions it imposes for their loan,what should be focused on is monitoring of these funds to make sure they are being put to their intended purposes.
African countries also need to play a a part in ensuring that they reform their policies to include more transparency in the way they utilize their funds,elect leaders with integrity and knowledge to push their economies to compete in a world where bail outs have become the norm rather than the exception.Countries are facing tougher times on the world economic stage and previously countries we never thought would need bail outs are now in urgent need of financial help,it is now up to African countries which have so many resources are able to manage their resources in such a manner that they reap economic benefits for themselves and their citizens.
When i hear talk about the IMF all i seem to remember are the Structural Adjustment Programs(SAP'S) they gave as conditions for Aid to the Kenyan government back in the 90's which went on to cause a lot of grief among Kenyans.Now the tide has changed and Kenya and most other African countries are no longer at the mercy of the IMF.They have a very willing partner in China who lends without too many questions or conditions.
Looking at the wooing that is going on for votes by the two candidate it is a no brainer to conclude that African countries do not carry that much weight in the vote.That is why they do not feature in the itinerary that has been mapped out by the two contestants.The countries that contribute a bulk of the money.This is mainly because funding for the body by member countries is based on quotas that are determined by that countrys' strength on the world economy.The system used for funding the IMF can be read here.African countries do not have much economic clout on the global stage and that could be the reason that the two candidates have not paid much attention to them.Another factor that could be influencing the choice of countries the two are visiting to pitch their suitabilities for the job are that countries in much of Europe like Greece,Ireland,Portugal are in need of bail out from the IMF.
In voting for the next managing director for the IMF job,a candidate needs to garner votes from the members with the highest percentage of contributions because these are the ones who have the greatest say in decision making.African countries are largely borrowers in these financial arrangement and more often than not have been saddled with loans with so many conditions ,that African countries end up being forever mired in debt for generations to come.
According to an article by rainbow warrior on how voting is done it is literally a matter of how much your influence is worth in gold that will determine who gets the top job.Africa with its meager resources can in noway have a say in who heads the organization,the decision is in the hands of the US and much of the G8 and G20 countries.Africa and the rest of the developing countries who make up the IMF membership can only ever hope to have one of their own heading the financial body if they can garner financial clout that can stand up to the US and Europe and that is going to take years.
Meanwhile as we wait to hear who gets the job though i think it is a no brainer that it will be Lagarde with Carstens as deputy in order to appease the BRICS countries,it is time the next MD changed tact on the way the IMF views Africa.Much of the time it has received a lot of flak from African intellectuals for forcing conditions down the throats of begging countries and imposing plans that have done nothing but harm the recipients of the countries they have been channeled to.This is because some of the money is targeted at projects that hardly ever benefit citizens and the conditions imposed for the loans end up wrecking the lives of the very same people they are meant to help.
Focus by the new head should now be on well thought out and researched policies that can benefit the people in the developing countries while also making sure the funds are used for their intended purposes.With China now joining the list of options available for loans and grants IMF needs to drop the list of conditions it imposes for their loan,what should be focused on is monitoring of these funds to make sure they are being put to their intended purposes.
African countries also need to play a a part in ensuring that they reform their policies to include more transparency in the way they utilize their funds,elect leaders with integrity and knowledge to push their economies to compete in a world where bail outs have become the norm rather than the exception.Countries are facing tougher times on the world economic stage and previously countries we never thought would need bail outs are now in urgent need of financial help,it is now up to African countries which have so many resources are able to manage their resources in such a manner that they reap economic benefits for themselves and their citizens.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
SAVING THE MAASAI MARA
Scientists and environmentalists have reported on a weed threatening the the Mara ecosystem,the plant known has already gained notoriety in Australia,India and Ethiopia as it inhibits growth of other plants.With an ecosystem already facing human encroachment,pollution and disease action needs to be taken fast to weed it out before what is arguable Kenya's biggest wildlife sanctuary becomes obsolete.The full report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature can be read here.
The UK guardian carried an article on the weed as early as March of this year and by then they were already efforts by the Kenya Wildlife Service which is the government body charged with the management of game reserves and national parks and CABI(Center for Agricultural Bioscience International) to control the weed.The news only hit local media channels this year when KTN carried a report on the weed in its prime time news this past week.
Seeing that devolved government stars functioning after we hold our election on the 14th of August next year,Narok county needs to look for ways in which the local community and all stake holders not just donors can weed the plant out.Whether it is by involving the local communities in physically pulling it out as suggested by some scientists let everything be done to ensure that the weed does not encroach on animals grazing ground.It is said to spread very fast and it is my hope the government is aware of this and doing all it can by providing support to the people of Narok to care for this park that plays host to the seventh wonder of the world every June.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
BRINGING THE SANITY BACK ON KENYAN ROADS
According to the WHO 1.3 million people are killed on roads every year worldwide while 50 million pole sustain injuries ,90% of these victims are in developing countries. The UN General assembly declared 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety.While road fatalities have largely been seen to decline or stabilize in developed countries they remain a major cause of death in developing countries and the WHO estimates that if left unchecked could see deaths rise to 2.3 million by the year 2030.An article written on the launch can be read here on the WHO site.
With Kenya now focusing on improving its road network with better roads we can only expect things to get worse if not better.Most Kenyan drivers are always rushing off at break neck speeds from point A to point B.Even on roads where there is heavy pedestrian traffic or on major highways where there are designated livestock crossing areas or pedestrian crossings motorists are still pressing on their gas pedals to get the most speed out of the automobiles that have probably been bought with a loan that has not even been fully paid.They do this with total disregard for other motorists,pedestrians or even cyclists who have a right to use the very same roads.
More Kenyans especially on Fridays and over the weekend stagger into their cars with in their inebriated states and hope and pray they get home without hitting anyone or anything,God forbid if they should slump over their steering wheels especially if they are speeding on the newly constructed highway that may have no markings because we all know where there are going to end up-on the cold slab of a morgue.Their faces and bodies so disfigured by the impact of their crush that their relatives hardly recognize them and their precious vehicles reduced to mangled wrecks.
Over the holidays especially Christmas and Easter all hell breaks loose because all Kneyans are headed to the country to spend time with their loved ones.However some do not even get home as they meet their ends when some other deranged road user in a similar rush hits them or they roll several times because they lost control of their vehicle.
Our laws which are meant to deter such behavior do not seem to be doing enough to deter people who break the rules.In my opinion a man or woman who causes the death of another while driving is no better than a person who commits premediated murder.We whould have these peole face the stiffest penalities under the law and be forced to do some form of commuity service in schools and colleges to discourage future motorists to be more careful on our roads by discouraging bad driving habits.
Without these tough meausre we will continue seeing the increaisng number of fatalities that do not seem to be abating any time soon.We also need the traffic department to be incorruptile in the issuance of driving permits,if you do not pass the test go and resit it till you get it..Constant appraisal should also be done for drivers maybe every 5 years and if one gets a clean pass 3 times then one can be excused from further tests.It seems peole forget all the etiquette of driving the minute they get their licence and it is time we reminded peole of the tough consequences that will be meted out incase one flouts the rules.
Drunk driving needs to attract a very stiff sentence too because these inebirated drivers have caused enough grief to Kenyan families.Too bad that the alcoblow that was meant to measure the inebriation of drivers became a cropper and nothing has replaced it.I really admire the tough stance taken by the US where a drunk driver spend time in the coolers till the next day when they are sober and they can drive home.Maybe we also need to name and shame high profile personalities who are caught driving under the influence,this would definitely discourage future offenders.
According to the action planned for the decade to improve on Road Safety by the UN are that member states with the help of the international community need to commit to developing and implemenitng legislation to reduce on risk factors such as limiting speed,reducing drunk driving and increasing use of seatbelts,child restraints and motorcycle helmets.
If the legislative arm of government implemented and enforced the Michuki rules which were similar to the UN recommendations on improving raod safety we would Be on the way to reduicng the number of Kenyans losing their lives daily on our roads.The then Minister for Transport Honorable Jospeh Michuki was light years ahead of the UN declaration but since he was moved to the Minitry of Environment all his good intetions seem to have been forgotten by his predecessor and the Traffic department .
However for this to work drivers,pedestrians and the general public as a whole need to remember that road safety starts with each and every one of us.Any time one gets behind the wheel of a vehicle or is out walking on the roads,they need to remember being safe starts with an individual.We need to observe road signs,be mindful of other road users,avoid driving when inebriated and stay within safe speed limits such that one is able to control their vehicle incase anything happens that requires quick action.
Let us keep our roads safe!
THE SAD STORY OF THE KENYAN POLICEMAN
This past weekend i started writing an article on the life of the Kenyan policeman then quickly got rid of it because i thought it was not good enough.Since yesterday though i have changed my mind after seeing two episodes of a crime series being ran by the Kenya Television Network on the life of the Kenyan Policeman that is titled In the line of Fire.
The series started off on a very sad note yesterday when the crew of two decided to follow a patrol team on the streets of Nairobi at about 11 pm,it started off tragically.A few minutes into the patrol along Luthuli avenue they heard gun shots, a policeman had been felled by some thugs who bumped into him on his patrol and shot the father of three dead.He would be going home in a coffin and his children were robbed of a father,his wife was now a widow.
It is reported that at least 145 policemen die every year in the course of duty that is more than 10 every month,and translates to at least two if not three every week.A lot of the time a dead policeman is just a statistic and we hardly ever give much thought to the fact that he has left behind a family, a wife,parents or even siblings.The Kenya policeman has been so dehumanized that the citizens he protects and the state he works for hardly ever hold him in high regard less s when he is dead.
The basic pay of a Kenyan policeman includes a house allowance of 1600 Kenya shillings,health insurance of 495 shillings and a basic pay of 18000 Kenya shillings.With the dollar exchange rate at an average of 82 Kenya shillings,the average Kenyan policeman earns just $219.51.
This is barely enough to cover basic needs in todays harsh economic times and may be one of the main reasons policemen engage in extra activities to supplement their meagre pay.The police force has been villified for so long for being a corrupt entity yet meausre such a improving their terms of employement would go a long way towards detering them from taking bribes and greatly improve our security.Measures such as allocating enough resources every fiscal year that would gotowards improving housing,ensuring each person in the force gets health insurance,providing bullet proof vests and providing lighter fire arms,getting them trained on basic investigative kills,organizing team building activities would greatly improve the forces working conditions and boosting morale
It has not helped that the police have not done much to redeem the tainted image most Kenyans have of them by taking on serious reforms.Maybe it is time Mathew Iteere became more vocal in pleading,whether by shouting from the roof tops,banging the tables or plain lobbying to demand for more money to be allocated to the force,something needs to be done and very fast.
The series started off on a very sad note yesterday when the crew of two decided to follow a patrol team on the streets of Nairobi at about 11 pm,it started off tragically.A few minutes into the patrol along Luthuli avenue they heard gun shots, a policeman had been felled by some thugs who bumped into him on his patrol and shot the father of three dead.He would be going home in a coffin and his children were robbed of a father,his wife was now a widow.
It is reported that at least 145 policemen die every year in the course of duty that is more than 10 every month,and translates to at least two if not three every week.A lot of the time a dead policeman is just a statistic and we hardly ever give much thought to the fact that he has left behind a family, a wife,parents or even siblings.The Kenya policeman has been so dehumanized that the citizens he protects and the state he works for hardly ever hold him in high regard less s when he is dead.
The basic pay of a Kenyan policeman includes a house allowance of 1600 Kenya shillings,health insurance of 495 shillings and a basic pay of 18000 Kenya shillings.With the dollar exchange rate at an average of 82 Kenya shillings,the average Kenyan policeman earns just $219.51.
This is barely enough to cover basic needs in todays harsh economic times and may be one of the main reasons policemen engage in extra activities to supplement their meagre pay.The police force has been villified for so long for being a corrupt entity yet meausre such a improving their terms of employement would go a long way towards detering them from taking bribes and greatly improve our security.Measures such as allocating enough resources every fiscal year that would gotowards improving housing,ensuring each person in the force gets health insurance,providing bullet proof vests and providing lighter fire arms,getting them trained on basic investigative kills,organizing team building activities would greatly improve the forces working conditions and boosting morale
It has not helped that the police have not done much to redeem the tainted image most Kenyans have of them by taking on serious reforms.Maybe it is time Mathew Iteere became more vocal in pleading,whether by shouting from the roof tops,banging the tables or plain lobbying to demand for more money to be allocated to the force,something needs to be done and very fast.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
2012 ELECTIONS:REDEFINING KENYAN LEADERSHIP
After seeing the thorough scrutiny that the three people nominated for the posts of Chief Justice,Deputy Chief Justice and Director of Public Prosecution i think it is time we subjected anyone seeking elective post in this great republic through the same wringers.
They nominees were asked to list their assets,their salaries,the money in their bank accounts everything they can claim as theirs was laid bare to the public.Dr Mutunga when starting his interview quoted a proverb from his Kamba community that says"When you go to the circumscisers you go naked" ,we need the same kind of openness from all prospective candidates in the devolved government.
The public had even been asked to present memorandums to the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee(CIOC) on the suitability of the nominated candidates and we got a chance to listen to the people supporting their nominations and those who were against.As Kenyans we need to ask ourselves if we vetted all our parliamentarians and anyone seeking elective post in the government in this manner,where would we be?definitely miles ahead of Thailand and other emerging economies.Reason for this would be because we would be voting for ideals and virtues and not based on whims,tribal alliances ,prejudice or lack of knowledge.
Charles Onyango Obbo has written a great article in the Daily Nation on why Kenya needs more mad men to drive this country forward and at some point he says "the mad ones are the ones who shake trees,destroy the old order,and seek brave new worlds which everyone thinks only mad people can."
It is time Kenyans went mad come next elections,time for us to shake up the way we have been doing things,time for a new order,time for leaders driven by ideals and noble aspirations ,time for selfless leaders,it is time for change.
Seeing that both the Judicial Service Commission and the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee approached their mandates bare knuckled and mercilessly,as an electorate we need to take our cue from them and subject all aspirants from the constituency,county to the Presidential seat to the same treatment.
The momentum we seem to be gaining in charting new ground as to how people are appointed to high in this country should not be lost.It for one second we lapse ,will be back to where we have been for the last 48 years, scraping at the bottom of the barrel and wondering what went wrong.
The Kenyan civil society,Law Society of Kenya,the Church and ordinary citizens need to start asking themselves about the kind of leadership we want in the country.The bar has been set already by the CIOC and the JSC.Are we ready as an electorate to subject our leaders to the same scrutiny?Are we ready to admit there there can no longer be any "sacred cows" and that anyone seeking leadership in this country needs to declare their wealth upto the last coin as to how much they have in their bank account?Are we ready to ask about previous criminal records they hold and whether they have faced any convictions?
It is only when we are able to answer these and other pertinent questions about our leaders that we can be sure we will be able to achieve the grand vision 2030 that is just 18 years away.This is because though we may have systems and laws in place, organizations are run by men and women and implementation of these laws is done by people.Only individuals with the highest standard of integrity and with the nations interest at heart can ensure that we achieve the ideals and goals our freedom fighters envisaged at independence.
My suggestion would be for Kenyan media houses, seeing that we have just about an year to go to the elections need to see how they can make this scrutiny part of their programming .This can be by promoting debates on national issues and getting rid of all the movies and endless soaps being played out everyday on our screens.It only takes one media house setting the pace by calling all interested presidential aspirants to a forum where issues and not politicking is discussed this can be the way towards generating debate based on issue and not mere rumors and propaganda.
During the interviews for the judicial jobs i was so enthralled by the way they were being carried out i hardly left my seat.As much as i cringed every time Ahmednassir threw a curve ball at the judges which i ranted about here,i must now admit i really do admire the forthright,honest and pointed approach he took to issues of honesty,integrity and capability of these candidates to handle the responsibilities of the job they were being interviewed for.
The ball is now on the citizenry,our media and all stakeholders to see how we can maintain this pace without slacking,its time for all of us to go "mad'.
They nominees were asked to list their assets,their salaries,the money in their bank accounts everything they can claim as theirs was laid bare to the public.Dr Mutunga when starting his interview quoted a proverb from his Kamba community that says"When you go to the circumscisers you go naked" ,we need the same kind of openness from all prospective candidates in the devolved government.
The public had even been asked to present memorandums to the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee(CIOC) on the suitability of the nominated candidates and we got a chance to listen to the people supporting their nominations and those who were against.As Kenyans we need to ask ourselves if we vetted all our parliamentarians and anyone seeking elective post in the government in this manner,where would we be?definitely miles ahead of Thailand and other emerging economies.Reason for this would be because we would be voting for ideals and virtues and not based on whims,tribal alliances ,prejudice or lack of knowledge.
Charles Onyango Obbo has written a great article in the Daily Nation on why Kenya needs more mad men to drive this country forward and at some point he says "the mad ones are the ones who shake trees,destroy the old order,and seek brave new worlds which everyone thinks only mad people can."
It is time Kenyans went mad come next elections,time for us to shake up the way we have been doing things,time for a new order,time for leaders driven by ideals and noble aspirations ,time for selfless leaders,it is time for change.
Seeing that both the Judicial Service Commission and the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee approached their mandates bare knuckled and mercilessly,as an electorate we need to take our cue from them and subject all aspirants from the constituency,county to the Presidential seat to the same treatment.
The momentum we seem to be gaining in charting new ground as to how people are appointed to high in this country should not be lost.It for one second we lapse ,will be back to where we have been for the last 48 years, scraping at the bottom of the barrel and wondering what went wrong.
The Kenyan civil society,Law Society of Kenya,the Church and ordinary citizens need to start asking themselves about the kind of leadership we want in the country.The bar has been set already by the CIOC and the JSC.Are we ready as an electorate to subject our leaders to the same scrutiny?Are we ready to admit there there can no longer be any "sacred cows" and that anyone seeking leadership in this country needs to declare their wealth upto the last coin as to how much they have in their bank account?Are we ready to ask about previous criminal records they hold and whether they have faced any convictions?
It is only when we are able to answer these and other pertinent questions about our leaders that we can be sure we will be able to achieve the grand vision 2030 that is just 18 years away.This is because though we may have systems and laws in place, organizations are run by men and women and implementation of these laws is done by people.Only individuals with the highest standard of integrity and with the nations interest at heart can ensure that we achieve the ideals and goals our freedom fighters envisaged at independence.
My suggestion would be for Kenyan media houses, seeing that we have just about an year to go to the elections need to see how they can make this scrutiny part of their programming .This can be by promoting debates on national issues and getting rid of all the movies and endless soaps being played out everyday on our screens.It only takes one media house setting the pace by calling all interested presidential aspirants to a forum where issues and not politicking is discussed this can be the way towards generating debate based on issue and not mere rumors and propaganda.
During the interviews for the judicial jobs i was so enthralled by the way they were being carried out i hardly left my seat.As much as i cringed every time Ahmednassir threw a curve ball at the judges which i ranted about here,i must now admit i really do admire the forthright,honest and pointed approach he took to issues of honesty,integrity and capability of these candidates to handle the responsibilities of the job they were being interviewed for.
The ball is now on the citizenry,our media and all stakeholders to see how we can maintain this pace without slacking,its time for all of us to go "mad'.
Monday, June 6, 2011
CHRISTINE LAGARDE :Top favourite for the IMF job
The post i wrote about Ms Lagarde's likelihood of heading the IMF has generated the highest number of page views ever on my blog .In a bid to satisfy the curiosity about the woman who has been labeled France's golden girl i am adding another post on what she has been upto since she announced her candidacy for the job as well as links to articles on her campaign tour .
Not a lot has been written about this woman who was voted one of the best performing Ministers in the European Union and it is only after her recent announcement that she would be running for the top job at the International Monetary Fund that there has been a flurry of activity in trying to understand what drives her,what her policies maybe,about her background and generally it seems people curiosity about her is insatiable.
The previous post which can be read here was written even before Christine Lagarde had declared her candidacy for the position of the Managing Director of the Financial body and now that nominations from the 187 member countries close on June 10,she is a leading favorite with Mexican's Central Bank Governor Agustin's Carstens a close second.
The American educated Lagarde who headed the law firm Baker and McKenzie in Chicago has received backing from most of Europe and the US.Carstens who was a former deputy managing director of the IMF is hoping that countries from the emerging market economies will support his candidacy.He was quoted in an article on Bloomberg.com ass finding it strange that Europe had already endorsed Lagarde for the job even before nominations had closed and all candidates were known.The article can be read here and includes Carstens call for merit to be used to gauge candidates qualified to head the 60 year old financial institution founded after World War Two.
Currently Lagarde is in India to drum up support for her candidacy and it has been said she will also visit some African countries to seek support from them.Lagarde started her campaign in Brazil and her reason for doing so as reported in the Businessweek was because it is an emerging market ,the largest in Latin America and it carries a lot of weight on the international scene.She has also been quoted as saying she will seek to have a bigger role by developing countries at the IMF and is expected to visit some African countries on her campaign tour.
Odds are that she may get the job though she faces a possible inquiry into a settlement that was awarded to a business tycoon Bernard Tapie who had accused French bank Credit Lyonnais for misleading him when he sold his Addidas shares in 1993.The case that had dragged on for years was finally referred by Lagarde to an arbitration panel that saw the businessman walk away with a 285 million Euro settlement.The full details of the alleged scandal can be read here.
Not a lot has been written about this woman who was voted one of the best performing Ministers in the European Union and it is only after her recent announcement that she would be running for the top job at the International Monetary Fund that there has been a flurry of activity in trying to understand what drives her,what her policies maybe,about her background and generally it seems people curiosity about her is insatiable.
The previous post which can be read here was written even before Christine Lagarde had declared her candidacy for the position of the Managing Director of the Financial body and now that nominations from the 187 member countries close on June 10,she is a leading favorite with Mexican's Central Bank Governor Agustin's Carstens a close second.
The American educated Lagarde who headed the law firm Baker and McKenzie in Chicago has received backing from most of Europe and the US.Carstens who was a former deputy managing director of the IMF is hoping that countries from the emerging market economies will support his candidacy.He was quoted in an article on Bloomberg.com ass finding it strange that Europe had already endorsed Lagarde for the job even before nominations had closed and all candidates were known.The article can be read here and includes Carstens call for merit to be used to gauge candidates qualified to head the 60 year old financial institution founded after World War Two.
Currently Lagarde is in India to drum up support for her candidacy and it has been said she will also visit some African countries to seek support from them.Lagarde started her campaign in Brazil and her reason for doing so as reported in the Businessweek was because it is an emerging market ,the largest in Latin America and it carries a lot of weight on the international scene.She has also been quoted as saying she will seek to have a bigger role by developing countries at the IMF and is expected to visit some African countries on her campaign tour.
Odds are that she may get the job though she faces a possible inquiry into a settlement that was awarded to a business tycoon Bernard Tapie who had accused French bank Credit Lyonnais for misleading him when he sold his Addidas shares in 1993.The case that had dragged on for years was finally referred by Lagarde to an arbitration panel that saw the businessman walk away with a 285 million Euro settlement.The full details of the alleged scandal can be read here.
OF DOGS AND FRIENDSHIP
Let me start off with the story of my two dogs Bobby and Shaggy whom i got from my sister in law when they were just puppies.....they came in February of last year when we had just moved houses and with a new compound i thought oh heck we need a dog to complete the picture.We had a huge compound,lots of fresh air and space around and with a daughter who was just about to turn four into a few months i thought she could learn from the experience of having a pet to take care of.
So i got the two puppies,they were the cutest little things you ever saw,large brown eyes,lots of furs,one was brown and i decided to call him Bobby Brown and the other with the black shaggy fur i call Shaggy of course.Now the first day they ran all over the place we couldn't get them on a leash and they only came to the house late in the evening to eat,and this little things could gobble food like crazy.I made them rice,pasta,ugali practically everything and i made sure they ate three times a day-i did not want them to starve.
I have never been fond of dogs and on more than one occasion i have taken to the hills whenever dogs showed a sign of being too friendly.We used to live in a residential estate in Nairobi where a couple of guys had dogs and i would ensure i avoided those gates like the plague lest this monsters jumped at me.One day my mum sent me to the shops with my little sister and being the responsible girl that I am, I made sure I held her hand as we walked,we took a short cut since she could not walk far and silly me I forgot the particular route chosen had a vicious dog that though chained used to let out the loudest bark whenever anyone passed by.So there i am with my 3 year old sister walking happily along and just as we passed by that orange gate i heard the loudest bark that i had ever heard in my 7 year life on this planet.I took off and left my little sister behind(sorry Lena)she tells me she is still traumatized to date.Thankfully for me i overcame my fears and so here i was with two dogs!
The dogs followed me everywhere maybe because i was the one feeding them or maybe because they sensed my good vibes but we became fast friends after a few initial hiccups where i would run to the house when they became too playful and i thought they were running after me.The first few days i must confess i cooked for them and found out they especially loved pasta and hated ugali.So we would buy for them food from a restaurant that specialized in nyama choma and they must have been the happiest dogs on that side of the Rift Valley.
We would let the dogs out of their chains at night and Shaggy especially loved running after cars,i guess She was dazzled by their bright lights at night.That day She went and never came back and it was only at 10am when she hadn't showed up for breakfast that we went looking for her.She was found by the side of the road gone to doggy heaven when some motorist hit her,i could not bring myself to look at her and when on being told about it,i just lost it and cried my heart out.
This month marks an year since it all happened and since then Bobby has grown and became a mother of four puppies last year. Sometimes though i find myself missing Shaggy,and i hope there is a doggy heaven up there in the clouds where she is eating tonnes of pasta,meat sauce and chasing butterflies.She was such a faithful dog and followed me everywhere,we were literally joined at the hip.Dogs have to be the most faithful friends humans can have and i like to think of myself like that.Dogs have saved the lives of their masters,protected their human owners,are relied on to detect bombs or drugs that there is even a dog industry in much of Europe and Northern America that literally makes millions of dollars out of this pet industry.There i everything from dog outfits to doggy hotels to doggy adornments and even dog spas on offer,that is how much people love their dogs.
On most days when i ask myself what kind of a friend i am,i like to think that i am like Shaggy,faithful,loyal and someone you can depend on.I may have moments when i run off after the bright lights chasing some adventure or other and go silent but in the final end i think i am someone who is as faithful as a dog.I have had friends like that over the years,people i have known since i was in primary and whom we became fast friends but there are also those i have met in my later years who have just been as good and to all of them i say i hope in me you see a friend who watches your backs,cheers you on,listens and thinks you are the best thing after Baileys......(just kidding)
In memory of Shaggy here are some great stories about the worlds most faithful dogs.
So i got the two puppies,they were the cutest little things you ever saw,large brown eyes,lots of furs,one was brown and i decided to call him Bobby Brown and the other with the black shaggy fur i call Shaggy of course.Now the first day they ran all over the place we couldn't get them on a leash and they only came to the house late in the evening to eat,and this little things could gobble food like crazy.I made them rice,pasta,ugali practically everything and i made sure they ate three times a day-i did not want them to starve.
I have never been fond of dogs and on more than one occasion i have taken to the hills whenever dogs showed a sign of being too friendly.We used to live in a residential estate in Nairobi where a couple of guys had dogs and i would ensure i avoided those gates like the plague lest this monsters jumped at me.One day my mum sent me to the shops with my little sister and being the responsible girl that I am, I made sure I held her hand as we walked,we took a short cut since she could not walk far and silly me I forgot the particular route chosen had a vicious dog that though chained used to let out the loudest bark whenever anyone passed by.So there i am with my 3 year old sister walking happily along and just as we passed by that orange gate i heard the loudest bark that i had ever heard in my 7 year life on this planet.I took off and left my little sister behind(sorry Lena)she tells me she is still traumatized to date.Thankfully for me i overcame my fears and so here i was with two dogs!
The dogs followed me everywhere maybe because i was the one feeding them or maybe because they sensed my good vibes but we became fast friends after a few initial hiccups where i would run to the house when they became too playful and i thought they were running after me.The first few days i must confess i cooked for them and found out they especially loved pasta and hated ugali.So we would buy for them food from a restaurant that specialized in nyama choma and they must have been the happiest dogs on that side of the Rift Valley.
We would let the dogs out of their chains at night and Shaggy especially loved running after cars,i guess She was dazzled by their bright lights at night.That day She went and never came back and it was only at 10am when she hadn't showed up for breakfast that we went looking for her.She was found by the side of the road gone to doggy heaven when some motorist hit her,i could not bring myself to look at her and when on being told about it,i just lost it and cried my heart out.
This month marks an year since it all happened and since then Bobby has grown and became a mother of four puppies last year. Sometimes though i find myself missing Shaggy,and i hope there is a doggy heaven up there in the clouds where she is eating tonnes of pasta,meat sauce and chasing butterflies.She was such a faithful dog and followed me everywhere,we were literally joined at the hip.Dogs have to be the most faithful friends humans can have and i like to think of myself like that.Dogs have saved the lives of their masters,protected their human owners,are relied on to detect bombs or drugs that there is even a dog industry in much of Europe and Northern America that literally makes millions of dollars out of this pet industry.There i everything from dog outfits to doggy hotels to doggy adornments and even dog spas on offer,that is how much people love their dogs.
On most days when i ask myself what kind of a friend i am,i like to think that i am like Shaggy,faithful,loyal and someone you can depend on.I may have moments when i run off after the bright lights chasing some adventure or other and go silent but in the final end i think i am someone who is as faithful as a dog.I have had friends like that over the years,people i have known since i was in primary and whom we became fast friends but there are also those i have met in my later years who have just been as good and to all of them i say i hope in me you see a friend who watches your backs,cheers you on,listens and thinks you are the best thing after Baileys......(just kidding)
In memory of Shaggy here are some great stories about the worlds most faithful dogs.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
PRAYERS FOR SALE AND OTHER UNCHRIST LIKE BEHAVIOUR
Being the hard working Kenyan that i am i woke up very early Saturday morning wondering what i would write about because this past week i had writers block for a couple of days .I stared at the ceiling,re-read the weeks papers,started reading a book by Coelho again,watched CNN then finally decided to check what was on the local channels,maybe my inspiration would come from there.
Most of them had nothing interesting,it was either cartoons or they were playing music then i turned to the national broadcaster (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)KBC and i found this preacher.It was a televangelist with a shiny black suit,the quintessential pastoral voice that almost all Kenyan pastors have and he was asking people watching to send money to a number that was posted on the screen for prayers.Viewers were told any amount would suffice but he was smart enough to start the figure off from 200 Kenya shillings going upwards.There was even a promise that God would definitely answer the prayers,as if he had privileged access to the good lord's ears.In simple words the pastor was selling prayers!
When Martin Luther launched the Protestant reform in 1517 the selling of indulgences by the Catholic Church was one of the contentious points.It seems some of these televangelists and shepherds of the flock have conveniently forgotten this part of history and are repeating the same mistakes that forever split Christianity.
One of my favorite online publications is the religious section of the Huffington post,everything from whether hell exists to what Jesus would have thought about the Palestine conflict are discussed here.Muslim writers,Buddhists,Catholic priests,writers all discuss everything and anything under the sun. The most comments however are usually reserved for the Christian articles and the most active commentators are either atheists or agnostics who for one reason or another have been disillusioned by Christianity.
Why the disillusionment?In Kenya i maybe in the minority but i have begun to question the direction the church is taking by selling prayers,how do you sell something that for all its intents and purposes is meant to be sacred?We seem to have lost the reverence for the divine and have brazenly commercialized religion and it is no surprise ,just visit any Kenyan town,residential estate or village and there is likely to be a church promising all manner of things from its megaphones with no care whatsoever for its neighbors.It has become such serious business much that in Kenya i bet the number of churches and sects that get registered is equal to that of new business.Just look at any of the local channels over the weekend and you have an offering of at least 10 televangelist all promising wealth,health and success if you support them by "planting a seed"which is an euphemism for sending money to support their spread of the gospel.
Two weeks ago there was an article written in the Sunday Nation asking whether you would buy your pastor a car which you can read here.Personally i would not because i have seen first hand the kind of mismanagement and apparent lack of disregard for common sense in some fundraisers churches have.Every so often a church will be seeking to build a bigger,grander structure than its neighbors,putting up a multi purpose hall,buying its pastors a bigger and better car ,yet most of its congregation is weighed down by debt and the rising inflation.
This blatant request for money is what led me to ask myself what Jesus would do if he was sited on the couch with me that day,watching this preacher asking for money just so he could pray for them?What would he also make of the recent happenings in the church of a certain famous Kenyan pastor whose followers chased the driver of a bulldozer in Nairobi city with stones because their church which is built illegally on council land was being brought down-that was not very Christ like behavior.Ho about the numerous fights over leadership positions in some churches that we have witnessed over the years or the apparent mismanagement of either church money or tax payers money by people who on Sundays turn into Bible thumping Christians shouting Hallelujah and speaking in tongues?
Listening even to what passes for sermons nowadays all i hear are promises of success ,good health,bigger houses and cars and Christs core message has been lost in all the din the pastors are making.How about being kinder,helping out the homeless,feeding the hungry,not taking bribes,honest work and visiting those in prison or hospitals who have no one to come and see them?who is telling Christians about that?
Mahatma Gandhi is famous for saying that “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Most of them had nothing interesting,it was either cartoons or they were playing music then i turned to the national broadcaster (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)KBC and i found this preacher.It was a televangelist with a shiny black suit,the quintessential pastoral voice that almost all Kenyan pastors have and he was asking people watching to send money to a number that was posted on the screen for prayers.Viewers were told any amount would suffice but he was smart enough to start the figure off from 200 Kenya shillings going upwards.There was even a promise that God would definitely answer the prayers,as if he had privileged access to the good lord's ears.In simple words the pastor was selling prayers!
When Martin Luther launched the Protestant reform in 1517 the selling of indulgences by the Catholic Church was one of the contentious points.It seems some of these televangelists and shepherds of the flock have conveniently forgotten this part of history and are repeating the same mistakes that forever split Christianity.
One of my favorite online publications is the religious section of the Huffington post,everything from whether hell exists to what Jesus would have thought about the Palestine conflict are discussed here.Muslim writers,Buddhists,Catholic priests,writers all discuss everything and anything under the sun. The most comments however are usually reserved for the Christian articles and the most active commentators are either atheists or agnostics who for one reason or another have been disillusioned by Christianity.
Why the disillusionment?In Kenya i maybe in the minority but i have begun to question the direction the church is taking by selling prayers,how do you sell something that for all its intents and purposes is meant to be sacred?We seem to have lost the reverence for the divine and have brazenly commercialized religion and it is no surprise ,just visit any Kenyan town,residential estate or village and there is likely to be a church promising all manner of things from its megaphones with no care whatsoever for its neighbors.It has become such serious business much that in Kenya i bet the number of churches and sects that get registered is equal to that of new business.Just look at any of the local channels over the weekend and you have an offering of at least 10 televangelist all promising wealth,health and success if you support them by "planting a seed"which is an euphemism for sending money to support their spread of the gospel.
Two weeks ago there was an article written in the Sunday Nation asking whether you would buy your pastor a car which you can read here.Personally i would not because i have seen first hand the kind of mismanagement and apparent lack of disregard for common sense in some fundraisers churches have.Every so often a church will be seeking to build a bigger,grander structure than its neighbors,putting up a multi purpose hall,buying its pastors a bigger and better car ,yet most of its congregation is weighed down by debt and the rising inflation.
This blatant request for money is what led me to ask myself what Jesus would do if he was sited on the couch with me that day,watching this preacher asking for money just so he could pray for them?What would he also make of the recent happenings in the church of a certain famous Kenyan pastor whose followers chased the driver of a bulldozer in Nairobi city with stones because their church which is built illegally on council land was being brought down-that was not very Christ like behavior.Ho about the numerous fights over leadership positions in some churches that we have witnessed over the years or the apparent mismanagement of either church money or tax payers money by people who on Sundays turn into Bible thumping Christians shouting Hallelujah and speaking in tongues?
Listening even to what passes for sermons nowadays all i hear are promises of success ,good health,bigger houses and cars and Christs core message has been lost in all the din the pastors are making.How about being kinder,helping out the homeless,feeding the hungry,not taking bribes,honest work and visiting those in prison or hospitals who have no one to come and see them?who is telling Christians about that?
Mahatma Gandhi is famous for saying that “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Thursday, June 2, 2011
SPRINGER MORALITY-Leave Judgement to God.
"I am not any bit better than any of the people who have appeared on my show"-Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer is famous for many things and especially more so for his show that brings all sorts of people to square it out verbally and physically over infidelity and a whole lot of other issues Americans are famous for.
He had a half hour interview on the Piers Morgan show today and among the things he said i found his views on the recent scandals rocking American politics really indicative of the attitude we ought to adopt in regards to the ongoing debate over the CJ and Deputy CJ position.This was in relation to a scandal involving a Democrat and a lewd photo he supposedly sent over twitter that you can read about here.
In his opinion people are all hypocrites and we pretend to have a holier than thou attitude when it comes to other people.As human beings we suffer from failings , we are not perfect and after all we aren't God.
Jerry Springer actually said that if Americans wanted someone who had never sinned to take office,then we may as well wait for Jesus who is the only man according to Christian religion who had no stain on his character.The people raising red flags over his earring,his questionable religious beliefs,his martial status,everything that is being thrown into the face of this man cannot claim to be saints.At one point or another in our lives we have all been fallen angels who have picked ourselves up and trudged on with our lives.
It baffles me that the church which claims to be following in Jesus footsteps is castigating a man so publicly.This man is someones father,son,brother and he was someone's husband at some point.Dragging his name in the mud the way a certain section of the Kenyan political class and the church has done is saddening.In my mind the church and in fact all places of worship are the places where all kinds of social,cultural and ethnic barriers should be non existent,it is a place of refuge after all.
If we take a look at the people who followed Jesus in his ministry,there were all manner of rag tag individuals,from tax payers who were among the most detested of people at the time,to people of questionable character.Unless the Bible left out some parts of the story Jesus never ever turned anyone away.Even after Jesus was betrayed by the man who held the purse strings of his ministry,we never hear him ever speaking against the man.
Two thousand years after this the church is behaving in the same way the Pharisees did at Jesus time.They have saddled Christians with so many rules and interpretations of the gospel their congregations heads have been left in a spin.The simple message of loving God with all your heart,mind and soul and loving your neighbor as yourself has all but been forgotten.
When the Judicial Service Commission interviewed all applicants for the post of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice,i am sure they were not looking for the Messiah but for someone with the guts and balls(pun intended) to drive the much needed overhaul of the Kenyan Judiciary.The fact that the appointees to these posts adorn jewelery or are studying the rights of homosexuals,gays and lesbians is besides the point.Aren't these LGBT humans too?
I am not any bit better than they are,and i do not claim to hold any moral authority to pass judgment or castigate anyone for their stand on the issue but let us remember we aren't God.Let us leave judgment to him alone.
Jerry Springer is famous for many things and especially more so for his show that brings all sorts of people to square it out verbally and physically over infidelity and a whole lot of other issues Americans are famous for.
He had a half hour interview on the Piers Morgan show today and among the things he said i found his views on the recent scandals rocking American politics really indicative of the attitude we ought to adopt in regards to the ongoing debate over the CJ and Deputy CJ position.This was in relation to a scandal involving a Democrat and a lewd photo he supposedly sent over twitter that you can read about here.
In his opinion people are all hypocrites and we pretend to have a holier than thou attitude when it comes to other people.As human beings we suffer from failings , we are not perfect and after all we aren't God.
Jerry Springer actually said that if Americans wanted someone who had never sinned to take office,then we may as well wait for Jesus who is the only man according to Christian religion who had no stain on his character.The people raising red flags over his earring,his questionable religious beliefs,his martial status,everything that is being thrown into the face of this man cannot claim to be saints.At one point or another in our lives we have all been fallen angels who have picked ourselves up and trudged on with our lives.
It baffles me that the church which claims to be following in Jesus footsteps is castigating a man so publicly.This man is someones father,son,brother and he was someone's husband at some point.Dragging his name in the mud the way a certain section of the Kenyan political class and the church has done is saddening.In my mind the church and in fact all places of worship are the places where all kinds of social,cultural and ethnic barriers should be non existent,it is a place of refuge after all.
If we take a look at the people who followed Jesus in his ministry,there were all manner of rag tag individuals,from tax payers who were among the most detested of people at the time,to people of questionable character.Unless the Bible left out some parts of the story Jesus never ever turned anyone away.Even after Jesus was betrayed by the man who held the purse strings of his ministry,we never hear him ever speaking against the man.
Two thousand years after this the church is behaving in the same way the Pharisees did at Jesus time.They have saddled Christians with so many rules and interpretations of the gospel their congregations heads have been left in a spin.The simple message of loving God with all your heart,mind and soul and loving your neighbor as yourself has all but been forgotten.
When the Judicial Service Commission interviewed all applicants for the post of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice,i am sure they were not looking for the Messiah but for someone with the guts and balls(pun intended) to drive the much needed overhaul of the Kenyan Judiciary.The fact that the appointees to these posts adorn jewelery or are studying the rights of homosexuals,gays and lesbians is besides the point.Aren't these LGBT humans too?
I am not any bit better than they are,and i do not claim to hold any moral authority to pass judgment or castigate anyone for their stand on the issue but let us remember we aren't God.Let us leave judgment to him alone.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
WHY YOUR CHILD SHOULD NOT BE USING A CELL PHONE.
The World Health Organization(WHO) announced they had categorized cell phone radiation as a "possible carcinogenic hazard."Other agents categorized in this way include lead,engine exhaust, and chloroform.An article on this warning can be read here
Apparently cell phone manufacturers also place warnings in the little pamphlets that we buy our hones with and we never read.The warning states that a phone should be used at least at a distance of an inch away from the body,in this case your ear.It means that using the ear pieces that come with most of our phones,using hands free or speaker phone or texting would greatly reduce your exposure to possible radiation.
Of more interest though are the possible risks children and young adults are being exposed to as they are getting to use these nifty gadgets at a very early age.Three years ago an article in the online edition of the UK publication The Independent,a study done in Sweden claimed that children and young teens using mobile phones increased their risk of brain cancer five fold.The risk is because these children are still growing and developing therefore their skulls are thinner ,heads smaller therefore radiation penetrates deeper.You can read the full article here
What this means for any parent is that buying that phone for your seven year old or teenage son as a birthday present may not be such a good idea after all.Though mobile phone use is still in its infancy and research into effects of mobile phone radiation has not been extensive,it would be advisable to be cautious.
Apparently cell phone manufacturers also place warnings in the little pamphlets that we buy our hones with and we never read.The warning states that a phone should be used at least at a distance of an inch away from the body,in this case your ear.It means that using the ear pieces that come with most of our phones,using hands free or speaker phone or texting would greatly reduce your exposure to possible radiation.
Of more interest though are the possible risks children and young adults are being exposed to as they are getting to use these nifty gadgets at a very early age.Three years ago an article in the online edition of the UK publication The Independent,a study done in Sweden claimed that children and young teens using mobile phones increased their risk of brain cancer five fold.The risk is because these children are still growing and developing therefore their skulls are thinner ,heads smaller therefore radiation penetrates deeper.You can read the full article here
What this means for any parent is that buying that phone for your seven year old or teenage son as a birthday present may not be such a good idea after all.Though mobile phone use is still in its infancy and research into effects of mobile phone radiation has not been extensive,it would be advisable to be cautious.
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