Progressive politicians, a serious let down to Kenyans

In all seriousness, this article's title should be "what if". Since December 4th, all i have been asking myself is a lot of what if's. What if the progressive forces came together like the retrogressive forces? What if the politicians had not watered down the integrity bill and the political parties act? What if Kenyans were not so stuck in the tribal ways? Since the formation of the current grand coalition, Kenyans have been looking forward to a chance to right the wrongs that happened in 2007-08. A chance to show that we are not animals that cant wait to butcher each other. And so as the next election date gets closer you can feel the excitement and the new found hope in the constitution driving kenyans to demand more and better from our ruling class. However, the coalitions created to bit the 4th of december deadline have dried up any hope of having a progressive leadership for the next 5 (May be 10) years. Im sure no kenyan needs me to justify my point, its all been laid out in black and white by the Uhuruto's and Railonzo's for us to see. So i ask, where are the progressive forces in politics? why aren't they forming coalitions to give kenyans an alternative? The answer is simple, they are not as progressive as we all thought and are more concerned about holding on to their political party positions than give kenyans an alternative. Im talking to Martha Karua, Peter Kenneth, James ole Kiyapi, and Raphael Tuju. Surely if the greedy old guards can find a common ground to agree on i dont see why you who in my opinion are our last hope cannot find a common platform through which to rally kenyans. Kenyans are stuck behind their tribal chiefs because no one has given them a better alternative. Which makes me wonder, did you join the presidential race to win or simply prepare the ground for 2017. Suddenly what Mutahi Ngunyi has been saying for months makes sense, that you joined the race to build your profiles ahead of the 2017 election. In that case make it clear so that we get on with the business of voting for the lesser evil. But as you do that, please know that in 2017 Kenyans will remember that when we needed you the most, you all sat tight and protected your own tuff. Prof Kiyapi has come out guns blazing to demonize the coalition building dismissing it as being empty of any ideology. Prof, most of Kenyans agree with you 100% but we also know that you going it alone will not dent the so called evil coalitions even for a bit. What the four of you are doing is dividing the much needed progressive votes that would have otherwise made a statement to the status quo of this country. All said and done, i will vote for one of you and so will many other desperate kenyans. But as we do that, please note that you are making the work of those trying to sway the votes away from the old guard very difficult. If only your love and commitment to see a different kenya would trump your need to be the head of your political parties? What if you all joined one party instead of creating a coalition since we have run out of time for that? Its not too late, i beseech you as a very concerned Kenyan, do something NOW.

Mudavadi is right, we should all take responsibility

Its peak season for Kenyan politics which means that politicians running their mouths just so they can make headlines is nothing new. Kenyans seem to think that Mudavadi is one such politicians and to be honest when i first read the statement, those were my exact sentiments. How dare he blame us for the mess created by politicians? For me this was a true reflection of what they call the "silly" season in politics. But then his "silly" comments got me thinking and sadly im inclined to side with him......... at least to a certain extend. Why you may ask?? People, haven't we for the last four years talked about how a neighbor slashed a fellow neighbor to death. How a businessman well known to everyone in the community was kicked out of his land by the same boys he use to give Kibarua? So my question is, if i took a panga and slashed my neighbor, or at least know a person who did this, how can i now stand and blame William Ruto or Francis Muthaura for the death of that same neighbor. Of course we must have someone take responsibility for enabling or allowing kenyans to murder each other the way we did and thus the Hague process is completely valid. But really, shouldn't we also take some responsibility for the mere fact that since 2007, only one person has been found guilty for killing another during the post election violence and yet we live or still know the people who picked pangas against our very own neighbors? As i write this, the Tana River fire has barely gone out. And yes like the Kenya's we are, we are blaming it all on politicians and of course by doing so the crimes will go unpunished (unless you count the one night sleep over by Godana in a cell as punishment). What about the goons who decided to slash the women and children like animals? Or just because some politician somewhere incited them they are free of any blame? Im sorry if i don't agree with all the Kenyans who are begging for Mudavadi's blood but we as kenyans must also take POLITICAL responsibility for the mess we have made out of this country. Well you know what they say, 'personal is political', we kill our fellow country men/women so that we have power, power to control land, power to vote in our clans man and the list goes on. Politics is all about power, so don't tell me that only your area politicians was driven by the need for self preservation. Enough of blaming it all on politicians, after all they were all in their nice Runda homes as we murdered each other.

ICC case is not the only reason Uhuru cannot be our next president.

As the election date gets closer, the debate on who among the current kenyans running for the highest office in kenya gets more diverse and interesting by the day. At the rate we are going, we might be voting for the lesser evil because clearly there is no messiah coming to save us. And of course as the date gets closer, the candidates seem to get even better at the story telling game. Granted, every Kenyan has the right to run for office, but you would think that the statement between the lines here is that "Every Kenyan of credible character". It is no secret to Kenyans that the biggest source of tension in this country is land. I am however yet to hear any of the candidates speak comprehensively on how their stay in the statehouse will produce a solution to this problem. Even worse, some of the leaders still hold on to ridiculous amount of land at the cost of the Kenyans they supposedly want to redeem from the tribal conflict. Take Uhuru as an example, does anyone really know how much land the Kenyatta family owns for sure? It is no secret that this land was acquired during the first presidents tenure at statehouse. If Uhuru really wanted Kenyans to believe that he has our best interest at heart, wouldnt it be proper for him to start by relinquishing some of the land back to the people. I know that many other Kenyans have acquired land through dubious means but i doubt any of them has reached the Kenyatta family level and they also are not trying to become my next president, so the land commission will hopefully deal with the rest. But Mr. Kenyatta, how is the land commission to function effectively under your watch when you do not choose to lead by example? Where as the ICC case is a major hindrance to Uhuru's candidacy as Kenya's next president, I think he should disqualify himself by the mere fact that Kenya's biggest challenge to achieving peace i.e land ownership, will never be addressed so long as he is the president of this country. I challenge those planning to vote for the man to tell me how he plans to go around this issue.