Kenya Stockholm Blog

Vumbi in action

 

Special July Lilla Wien Bar and Restaurant Present’s
the best Afro-Group in Sweden and Scandinavia:
Maestro Vumbi Dekula and Sammy Kasule.
Date:17-18 July 2009 (Friday-Saturday) from 21-01
Address:Swedenborgsgatan 20, Södra Station Pendeltåg

Welcome and dance with us “Soukous Mashariki na Kati”.

We are saddened to announce the death of Robinson Awuor Onyango of All Nations SDA Church &The Arlington TX Kenyan Community. The Late Robinson Awuor lost his long battle with cancer and passed away on July 1st 2009. He expressed his will to have his body laid to rest at Nyawita, Gongo Location in Rangwe constituency (Homa-Bay District) – Kenya. His body is at D & D Johnson Funeral Home, Fort-Worth TX.             

FUNERAL FUNDRAISER FOR THE LATE ROBINSON AWUOR ONYANGO

Saturday, July 18th 2009, 8.00pm

The Funeral organizing committee, All Nations SDA Church & his family invite relatives, friends, church members & well wishers to a funeral fund raiser to cater for the funeral related expenses and to enable his burial in Gongo, Kenya. The Fundraiser will be held this saturday:

DATE: Sat, July 18th, 2009, from 8.00pm.

VENUE: All Nations SDA Church, 3618 Roosevelt Dr , Arlington TX 76016

We also invite you to his memorial service which will be held on Sunday, July 19th,2009 @ 4.00pm at the same location: All Nations SDA Church. We look forward to your moral & financial support.

Please remember his family in your prayers during this time of grief.

For further information, please contact:

Rev. N Opado  214-632-9970  
Eld. Sam Omullo  214-243-8908   
Eld. George Osano  817-690-6749
Elly Nyaidho 972-223-0623     
Eld. Steve Aseno   214-883-7716   
Dr. Jane K’Onditoi 682-553-4728
Jane Ondiegi 682-365-9798    
Dr. Paul Amimo817-691-3237       
Eld.Edward Nyansimera817-233-1451
Wycliff Ikobe 817-903-5970   
Sam K’Onditi   817-344-0047        
Phill Ogada 972-971-4182
Dr. C. Thuita 903-561-2449    
Benson Amaya 682-472-3042        
Robert maisori  817-495-5103 7600
Risper Abrams 469-360-0009 
Peter Isoe 817-343-8675                
Sam Ogaga  214-927-4969
Joshua Okallo   214-296-7603 
Eunice Ogana  817-692-5408        
Jared Oyoo 972-815-9535

Directions to Fundraiser & Funeral Service: From Hwy 360S to I-20 west going towards Fort-worth. Exit Bowen, turn right. Proceed about ½ mile, make a right on Roosevelt, about 2nd turn to the left arrive at All Nations SDA Church. From Fort Worth, take I-20 East, exit Bowen. Turn left and proceed as above.

Translated from Swedish and edited by Okoth Osewe:

I still don’t believe that the person you call John Masumbuko (because that is not his real name) could do this to me. After fooling around with me for about one year, he has messed my life and then gone public with information about myself and what he did to me without considering how heartbroken I am. Since he is trying to communicate through this blog, I will do the same to tell my side of the story and to expose him.

Ex Swedish GF says Masumbuko is a player who manipulated her romantic emotions, destroyed her life and went to celebrate in public after leaving her pregnant

Masumbuko is a bad person who should not be given any attention whatsoever. He is a constant liar and I am very unhappy with myself for having been fooled for too long and having been too naive. However, I don’t regret anything because I fell in love with someone I thought was responsible and truthful. I am carrying his baby but now, I don’t care what happens to him because he is not even fit to be a father.

At 28, he told me that he has never fallen in “real love” before (even though he said he had met two girls) and that I was the first girl who had melted his heart with “true love”. Obviously, I didn’t believe him but he started doing some things which slowly brought me along. I have met boys and I know all these games about “babie I love you”, “you are so beautiful” and so on therefore I wasn’t going to fall for this cheap crap. There is something however that was different with Masumbuko.

He was black and I was curious because I have never been with a black guy before. This curiosity is common among white girls and my friends were really jealous when I fixed him. He is a very handsome guy and any girl can fall for him at first sight. He is stylish and well polished, something I liked so much about him. I was always comfortable with him anywhere we went. Most importantly, he is very good in bed. I had never gone through that kind of experience before and this too, hooked me up.

He brought to me another level of sexual experience that has never been known to me. Although I now hate him, I am not ashamed of giving him credit where necessary because this was the situation. These combinations came with promises that he would never leave me and that he wanted to be with me for the rest of his life. I had fallen in love before but I can say that he treated me differently.

Everything he did told me that he was “Mr. Right”. I got him a cleaning job through my uncle who runs a cleaning company and this made it possible for him to open a bank account. To thank me, he gave me his Visa card, saying that he trusted me 100% with his money. We would sit down and budget his pay and mine together and all seemed very fine. He gave the impression of a very open person. That was after he insisted that we could never play sex until we went for an HIV test because he wanted to be sure that he was not getting involved with an infected person. We both tested negative and that day, we had sex the whole night. He later told me that he hoped I wasn’t interested in him because of sex and I felt guilty because of my curiosity.

Soon after we started dating on a regular basis, he surprised me when one day, he went down on his knees in my flat and prayed to God for having blessed him by giving him such a beautiful and wonderful woman like me. He said that it was God who had arranged his trip to Sweden because God had a plan for both of us. He moved in soon after to live with me.

He said that he has been longing to have a girl exactly like me and urged God not to allow anybody to bring any barrier between us. I don’t believe in religion but I liked the prayers because it was me who was being prayed for under intimate circumstances. He is not religious either and sometimes I failed to understand why he would suddenly start praying for very small things.

He would, for example, pray for God for having kept us alive and safe during the day so that we would be together after he came from work. When I expressed surprise, he would tell me about the millions of people who had died that day, giving examples of Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan etc. He would say that even in Sweden, people were dying and point out to everyday murders reported in the media to prove that anybody could die and that it is God who had kept us safe. There was no reason to argue with him because these prayers were harmless.

He was doing this when he knew he was married and when he knew he had a child he had abandoned in Kenya. I was very foolish to have believed him although I now think that I became “easy going” because while he knew what he wanted, I was completely unaware about his intentions.

As a human being, he has been very good. He is a very quiet person and talks very slowly. At home, he has been helping me with almost everything. He does the dishes, works the laundry, goes shopping, vacuum cleans the house every week, cooks food while he is very good in fixing the computer when it breaks down. I didn’t have to call friends to help me anymore. He has been very kind to me and he brought me up in the relationship to a level where I believed almost everything he said. What I didn’t know is that it was all games being played out with my emotions. This is what makes me very bitter.

I rarely told him that I needed something in the night because he would go out and fetch it if it was possible. One night at 11 O’clock, I told him that I was feeling like a Coca Cola and he took the night train and came back with a can of Cola an hour later because he loved me so much. This was Masumbuko, the player and it has taken a break-up for me to understand that he was playing with me.

Masumbuko’s “Second Prayer Answered”
He cheated me that he was a student at Stockholm University when he was actually a refugee. When I discovered his refugee card issued by Swedish Immigration authorities and confronted him, we talked about it and sorted the matter out. I forgave him and he promised to be truthful. I believed him when he produced some papers to show that he was a member of a human rights organization whose members were being killed by Kenyan secret police. He said that he cheated me that he was a student because he wanted to be sure that I don’t work for Swedish secret police who may have been trying to spy on him in order to dismiss his application. For him, it was just a matter of time before he told me about his refugee problems and that my discovery was slightly ahead of time.

After he convinced me that he was a student and I believed him, he worked his way and knew some university students. He took me to student parties and behaved as though he was part of the student community. That was before he moved in. When I recently asked some of his student friends what he studies, they said Masumbuko told them that he studies Economics although they did not bother to ask for any proof because what they wanted was his company.

On many occasions when I requested him that we meet other Kenyans so that I could get to know his Kenyan friends, he told me that he doesn’t know many Kenyans in Stockholm. One day in a pub, a guy came in who happened to know him and they spoke a language which I didn’t understand. The guy had a cup with a Kenyan flag on it so I could see that he was from Kenya. It’s him who taught me how the Kenyan flag looks like because I didn’t know. But when I later asked him who the guy was, he said that the guy is a thief who could duplicate my house keys without my knowledge, track me down and steal my things when I am at work. He warned me not to talk to the guy if I met him because he was a very good sweet talker. I believed him.

I was again surprised when we met another Kenyan at a reggae club (Mama Africa) and when I asked him about the guy, he said that the guy is a criminal who has been dealing in drugs and that he has been in prison four times. I never used to attend reggae clubs but he introduced me to it and it was good because the sight of other inter-racial couples at the club made me feel at ease.

Masumbuko warned me that the police follow the Kenyan guy everyday and that they note all his contacts so I should avoid him. He said that the guy was at the club to sell drugs and that he had been taught the habit by other drug peddlers. He gave me the impression that Kenyans are not good people otherwise how comes the only ones we met were bad boys? Now, I am questioning everything he ever told me.

Then, he told me about his brother he was educating in Kenya because his father had died in a road accident. He has been sending money to Kenya constantly and I have been very supportive. Recently, I discovered that the money he sends is to maintain his wife and child in Kenya, not for some school fees he talked about. I was devastated and felt used and stepped on like a door mat.

When I read the article at KSB, I got my shock. That his father is not dead and that all the good emails where his relatives talk good about me were written by him and sent through fake emails. He is not ashamed to tell the world how he fooled me. This is very cruel and I don’t understand how someone can do such a thing and then be happy to tell people about it. I don’t want to say that Africans are bad people because Swedish people also do bad things. But this is a very bad example of Kenyan people.

Then he told me that some times, he gets very worried that I would leave him. He drove me to tears by promising that he would commit suicide if I ever quit the relationship. We locked up our small fingers together and he gave me what he called a “forever kiss”. I couldn’t stand the thought of him killing himself and the thinking that he could kill himself because of me made me sick and worried some times. He kept on trying to persuade me to give him a guarantee that I would never break up the relationship. I did not know what to say so I asked him what he wanted. He delayed with the answer for almost a week and when I asked him why, he said that he was afraid he would shock me.

That was after we came from the immigration for questioning about our marriage. Eventually, he said that he wanted me to give him a baby as evidence that we were forever bound. I didn’t think much about it because I was myself “head over heels” in love and we had just become married so I accepted. I stopped using pills and shortly, I became pregnant. I joked with him that in Sweden, when a woman is pregnant, the man is supposed to wash her feet and he did it every day although the pregnancy was just a few weeks old. It was fun.

The day I broke the news that I was pregnant, he played it so well that we both cried with joy. He introduced a new Swahili word to the pregnancy (umebamba) which he used almost on a daily basis. On the prayer front, “God had answered his second major prayer” in the relationship. We went and borrowed a big bible from the Library at Sveavägen and put our hands on it as he prayed for 30 minutes for God to give us a happy future together. The only thing that kept convincing me that he was not a religious fanatic is his habit of drinking whisky. I now feel very stupid, foolish and simple minded. He took control of my emotions to play with them. It hurts to say the least.

I am very saddened that the baby thing was just another game. My parents are not racists. They don’t agree with the policy of open immigration and it is not true that when we visited my parents, my mother refused to shake Masumbuko’s hands. He is looking for sympathy and support. Masumbuko has destroyed my life and I am very sad that someone could do this and then tell the world about it.

Lotta Karlsson

Reading through Masubuko’s story obliged me to affirm that it’s not only Nigger-bulls who hijack spouses when the other partner is away. Though uncommon, there is a worse breed known as the hungry Swedish women thirsting for Nigger-bulls.

Once Black always Black

When I finished my first full marathon, I felt a deep sense of contentment. It was not just a simple act of training but proof that I had survived, that I had learnt valuable lessons and that I was re-discovering my own improved brand of happiness and satisfaction. That I had gone through all the phases of a bitter betrayal and I survived.

At 30, the last thing I expected was to find myself separated and living with my family in Nairobi. Just 5 years before, my heart was bursting with, what I thought, was unwavering love of my new found African fiancée. Like many women with high expectations and low patience threshold, I had entertained a simplistic view of marriage. I thought that love is all we needed to build a home together, bear children and live happily ever after. I was mistaken.

The reality was that we were starkly unprepared for the battle that would ensue – the bleak moments of silence, the subtle put-downs, the mounting irritations and the monstrous realization that just because I had taken a flight to Stockholm to live with him – my love – he would not suddenly metamorphosize into a strong and emotionally honest man I had dreamed of.

I didn’t escape the common phobia in Sweden-that I was a “paper searching girl”, just an opportunist and not a human being searching for love and affection. Irritably, this situation came from a man who had taken me from the hands of my parents, with all promises of love.

After several years together, trust was created. Like every other `Paperless’ person, I yearned for freedom: Freedom of speech, finance and movement. I had to return to Kenya to wait for my papers so I packed my luggage happily, hopping to join him in a short while after my paper problem was fixed so that we could live together happily ever after.

The weekend before leaving, I invited my `best-friend’ for a picnic at a near-by beach. She turned up in the company of a white Swedish friend and her daughter. After feasting, bathing in water and sand, I invited them for dinner at home. Little did I know that I had just hosted my competitor who would ruin my romantic future for ever. The emails and text messages that followed proved that my African X had fallen for the Swedish woman instantly. After a confrontation, they both promised to behave. I trusted them.

The promise was broken immediately I stepped out of Sweden. With all the freedom and space, he gathered all words and guts to convince the white woman that I left after a break up.

Like Osewe’s story on Masumbuko, this white woman had tasted Nigga-goodies before and she couldn’t avoid the temptation. Telling her to keep off was like telling a two year old kid to keep off from a jar full of cookies. She dug even deeper and it worked well. In fact, the least I expected was to be switched with a white Swedish woman. This was because my would be hubby talked ill of Swedish women and so, for me, the abrupt turn of events was very ironical.

Suddenly, it emerged that my “best friend”, whom I had invited for dinner, was to visit her family in Kenya that December together with her white Swedish woman friend and my X. Feeling a sense of pain and embarrassment that I could not bear, I took a stunning decision to run away from my problems.

I bought a ticket and landed in Botswana in the safe, loving and kind hearts of my brothers. But my problem was not yet over. I was haunted repeatedly, day in day out. Worse still, I dared not speak about my pain to anyone. Honestly, the thought of opening up froze my blood. I never wanted any one to carry my pain. They all knew how much I loved this guy. I knew that it could have been too painful for them too.

Bitter lessons and challenges of a new beginning
Being unable to talk about my situation was an addition to my problems because they kept enquiring about his welfare. I lived in a skin and skeleton love and it pained me a lot. What followed can make up a hilarious and poignant movie which could feature the white woman grazing happily in what, I had assumed, was destined to be my life time garden of bliss.

Separation, just like divorce, is an ugly word in the victim’s vocabulary. It smacks of failure, bitterness, broken promises and lack of effort. On the ladder of disenchantment, it pushes you up another rung and in moments of despair, separation or divorce invites you to doubt almost everything about yourself. It brings with it a wave of loneliness, a faint but constant sense of panic and the feeling that had you been a more supportive/stronger/sexier partner complete with `papers’, things might have acted out different.

Making a mistake is one thing and admitting the mistake to yourself is another. As I did my morning runs, I constantly told and re-told myself that no matter how bitter the betrayal, there are always positive lessons to be learnt. I worked hard in digging out the positives. It turned out to be a blessing to me and to my community.

My therapy of choice was not the usual one. I didn’t dissolve into another relationship but instead, I bought a real nice jogging kit and turned my legs and thighs into running machines. I made a promise to myself that no matter how many mistakes I make in trying to become a runner, an amateur in this case, I would celebrate my failures as potential triumph and my triumphs as something to be lauded.

Not surprisingly, and as a novice marathoner, I made all classic and bad choices. I ran without stretching, ran too fast, burned out quickly and bought second hand shoes that were not compatible with my feet. But, as I got used to muscle cramps and went through other experiences, I saw my new found hobby as a challenge than as a failed experiment.

I took advice from experienced runners like Paul Target and made weekly rehearsals. I learnt the difference between “tempo running”, “cross-training” and “interval running”. Slowly, but surely, my whole self corresponded with my desire to run. I sweat out all my past and began a new and interesting chapter of life. Looking back, I truly thank God for the turn of events. Honestly, I had jumped down a cliff that was too steep to climb back to the top.

Finishing my first marathon was a big achievement. I knew for sure that though I was no longer engaged romantically, I was still intact. I was no longer in denial but in recovery and that I was no longer ignorant about how important it is to nurture budding desires with a little extra care. I understood how important it is to follow inner-self instinct to the end. How important it is to let closing doors close without a bang and how to let others open other doors softly and silently.

I learnt how important it is to respect and practice self love. I learned to love myself unconditionally and to never let anyone come between myself and my ambitions. I had denied myself too much love. I just gave it all and got very little if not, nothing. I learned to smile, just a smile, even if my whole self was breaking down.

I realized that the most important element in life is to dream and never to stop dreaming until the dream is born to become reality. I leant that in life, there is no such thing as a high hurdle that you cannot jump over if at all you are willing to jump. Life will always bring forth your desires. But, the big challenge is how high you are willing to jump outside your known comfort zone. My X was so unapologetic because for him, he never promised me a garden of roses when he took me from my parent’s hands but thank God because I have moved on.

Shiku Steve

From St James to cool you down over the week-end:

KSB appointment at Scandic Anglais in Stockholm

Kenya-Stockholm millionaire girl, Barbz, has taken contact with KSB and said that she is fine and doing well. Speaking to KSB, she said that she was shocked to learn that stories were circulating in Kenya-Stockholm that she had gone missing.

“I have been holidaying in Spain and I don’t understand why people are spreading rumours that I have gone missing”, she said. “Some Kenyans are just crazy”, she added.

“Before I left for Spain, I had been partying with friends at Stureplan when I had time. I have been available to my close friends and I don’t understand all this talk”, she pointed out.

She said that she had lost both her phones and changed numbers making it difficult for all her contacts to reach her.

“People lose phones all the time and this is what happened to me”, she said. She was surprised that some Kenyans were making wild claims about her and expressed disappointment with Kenya-Stockholm rumor mongers.

“If I owe anybody money, why can’t they come out in the open with their identities and the amount I owe them?”, she wondered.

Some commentators at KSB have been gossiping that Barbz may have gone underground because she is in debt. Others had claimed that she had no fixed abode, claims she dismissed as “cheap talk” spread by “idlers”.

“I have even been attending grill parties with friends. I am not the kind of person to go underground for whatever reason”, she said. It looks like Barbz may have fallen victim to Kenya-Stockholm “Celebrity gossip”.

Rosemary, a contact, called KSB and claimed that some Kenyans are not happy that Barbz appears to be having a lot of cash.

“I know people who have been hanging around Barbz trying to impress on her to help them with their financial problems and if they don’t get what they want, they go out with rumours”,  she said. “We should actually be celebrating that we have a Kenyan millionaire in Stockholm”, she quipped.

She gave the example of a Kenyan lady who got 3,000 kr from her although she had asked for 30,000 kr to sort out her bills at Kronofogden (The State-owned debt collection agency). Rosemary was upset that when the lady failed to get the whole amount she had requested, “She went around claiming that Barbz was stingy. She was not even grateful that no one in Stockholm can just throw you three thousand crowns for free”, she said. She appeared very defensive of Barbz.

Appointment at Scandic Anglais
There are some celebrities within the Kenya-Stockholm community and people have a tendency of watching what they do to generate gossip. KSB will soon be giving brief profiles of these Kenya-Stockholmers so keep tuned.

There is a rumour spreading that celebrity St James is planning to move to London once he launches his new album in about 2 weeks time but KSB will soon know. Our spies last spotted him boarding a limo at Skanstull in Stockholm city.

We also know that Rapper Billy Boy has just returned from Kenya where he set up the “Kenyan branch” of his group G-Ruff. A KSB agent in Kenya said that the Kenya-Stockholm celeb was all over the radio although he escaped from the Media at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to avoid Papparazis who wanted a shot of his long standing Swedish girlfriend.

In the meantime, Barbz has given KSB an appointment next week at Scandic Anglais (a Five Star Hotel at Stureplan) “for a chit chat”. Many Kenyans in Stockholm cannot afford to socialize at the Hotel because their status as “economically disadvantaged earthlings” does not allow them to do so. They prefer Vasa where consumables are cheap and where every Odiangabuk can afford a drink.

When you propose a drink at a joint where the cost of “one for the road” could potentially climb to over 30 kr, “The Eco-disadvantaged” begin ku-show wasiwasi on the face. They could say something like “Eh Mamen! Hapo ni expe maze… niko gesi bwana juzi nilituma chapa home you know and blahh blahh blahhh” as the mood begins to get gloomy.

You rescue the situation by saying (on a very serious note) that “But we can go to Vasa. Why waste money at such an expensive place? You know two beers there could provide a meal for a whole family in Kenya for a week. It’s very good that you are sending cash home Mamen…”. As the smile returns to the ka-face, the poor chap will most likely say “Hiyo ni kweli kabisa Bwana Osewe” as you make an about-turn towards Vasa. “Ume jua lazima tukuwe realistic”, he may add. “Exactly”, you nod as you cross the road leading to Vasa.

For now, we wait for the Barbz’s appointment next week to find out what she has been up to. The last time KSB had an appointment with her, her friends who were also sharing the moment, blocked me two times from pulling out my wallet to sort out my bill when the waiter swung around.

A chorus of “please… please…” urging me to return my wallet in my pocket as soon as possible rent the air. Others stood half way on their seats with their hands stretched in a way that suggested that they would physically try to return my wallet into my pocket if I did not get the message. Barbz did not say anything.

Okoth Osewe

This is to say that I have read your article about me. While I appreciate your efforts to inform the public about my situation, I wish to point out that your information was a bit exaggerated.

I know the people who provided you with the information and the strange thing is that they are the very people who conned me out of my money. Because friends in Stockholm have also contacted me, I would like you to correct the following.

I am not stranded in Kenya. I am having some financial difficulties after my return ticket expired. I am pursuing legal action for the people who stole my money so the matter will be coming to the courts soon.

I have not been fund raising as you say. The fund raising you were told about were held to help other Kenyans who invited me to help. There are people who cannot send their kids to school while others cannot get medical attention. I have been raising money to help these people, not for my ticket.

I did go to the bank using police escort but it was only once when I went to withdraw a lot of money for a business transaction. There is a lot of crime in Kenya and I didn’t want to be robbed. Pepole do this all the time in Kenya so there is nothing special about it.

I don’t walk with body guards or do the things you talked about. I have some boys around me all the time but they are not bodyguards. They help me go around town because I have not been in Kenya for a long time. They dress smartly in suits because I am a businessman and I meet important people. It is therefore important that the people I walk around with are smart.

The red carpet idea was not my idea. It only happened once when I went to help a friend raise money for his father for treatment. I don’t carry a red carpet in my car. The people thought that I deserved a red carpet because I was using my money to help people. Politicians use stolen money and they don’t even help.

I haven’t hired any Prados to move around because that would be a waste of money. I must admit that I have come to respect your ability to get information.

I am not coming back to Sweden. Although I lost some money, I am still on my feet and able to survive. It is true that some of my property was sold but not everything was lost. I had not put all my property in the bank loan security because I am not thick.

I had my own financial problems with the Swedish authorities but I am working on them. I am very disappointed that after people conned me here, they rushed to KSB with wrong details to portray me as a failure who was stranded in Kenya. I am not stranded. I am doing well and will welcome any Mwananchi from Stockholm for a cold one.

Ni Mimi

The date for the Mega African Grill that was supposed to take place on August 1st under the auspices of the “Network for African Unity” has been switched to Saturday July 25th to avoid a “clash of African Nyama Choma” events.

Sollentuna Nyama Choma Poster

According to Samson Mande, a founding member of the Network, the group learnt that on August 1st (when the grill was scheduled at the Open Garden in Sollentuna) members of the East African community and friends had also scheduled the annual “Grand Nyama Choma” bonanza that will be hosted by Sound of Blackness, a situation that precipitated the date switch by the Network Africa group.

The Grand Nyama Choma event has been running since 1998 when it was set in motion by the defunct Kenya United Welfare Association (KUWA).

The new development will, most likely, provide a sigh of relief to many Nyama Choma addicts of African orientation because of one single reason. Both Sound of Blackness and Network for African Unity have a history of proper organization of events packed with thrilling action and an enthusiast would not want to miss events organized by either of the two groups especially of the Nyama Choma type.

In any case, organizing two huge African grill parties in Stockholm at the same time carries with it the possibility of splitting both attention and crowds, a negative vibe that is not in the interest of African unity in Stockholm. In fact, both Network for African Unity and Sound of Blackness have spread their wings within the same clientele so if both have functions on the same day, the instinct of preference may act negatively on both sides of the Entertainment divide to reduce the socialization index whose peak-point relies greatly on numerical factors.

The Network for African Unity grill, set for Sollentuna, will be held at the “Open Garden” between 14.00-21.00 hrs. Apart from the Nyama Choma, compact entertainment will be provided by a leading African dance group – Chapeux De Guinee and the Kenyan Maestro, Albert Taabu plus Crew.

The presence of live African band to entertain the crowd promises to spice up the occasion and increase temperatures as fans loosen up on the floor to enjoy themselves.

Vumbi Dekula and Sammy Kasule, two prolific Artists based in Stockholm, need no introduction, having made names for themselves long time ago in Africa when I was growing up. I still remember Kasule’s hit single, “Maria Wandaka” which once took the East African music industry by storm. The Kenyan radio DJs could not stop playing this number, not just because of the rhythms but also because of the passionate message Kasule wrapped in the lyrics for his wife. I wish I had more time to go into details.

I am bringing up this history because both Vumbi and Kasule are the big attractions at the Live dance on July 25th so make your date by arranging items on your calendar accordingly.

Sometimes I am just amazed at the talent available within the Stockholm-African community. “Lover Dee” from Uganda is another star in his own right and for followers of the African music scene, he too, needs no introduction. The last time I watched him and his ensemble, he was curtain raising at Debasen before a crowd of over 500 which had descended in town to watch and dance to the beats of “Magic System”. Lover Dee will be at Sollentuna so if you have never seen him in action, take your cue.

The grill garden will be free and as a bonus, Queen Shibba will also be there to give her fans a dose of fun. The revelers will then wind up the evening to get to the dance floor for an all night disco which kicks off at 22 hrs until sun-rise. An important aspect of the situation is that if you want to go through the journey for the night, you have to take it easy at the grill otherwise you will begin to crawl on your knees by midnight because it is a marathon of a Party.

Once the situation changes from grill party to disco dance, guests will be confronted by both DJ Jimmy and DJ Mike who will be sending the message through huge speakers that could stop your heart “MJ style” in case you have a pace-setter installed so be careful. At only 70kr, guests will be treated to non-stop dancing from 22.00 to 06.00 hrs.

According to the organizers, Nyama Choma and entry to the dance floor will be free for Network members, a good reason to pay up the 100kr membership fee. Membership fee will be payable at the venue. For non members, Nyama Choma will cost 50kr while activities will also include children’s play packages so don’t leave your kids behind. Bring them so that they can have fun too!

Okoth Osewe

Barbz, the young and stylish Kenya-Stockholm millionaire girl, has gone missing and there is a lot of worries that she may have been kidnapped by a group of Nigerians and taken to unknown destination.

According to a friend who called KSB in a moment of panic, Barbz has not been seen for the last one week and all efforts to trace her have gone cold heightening fears that something nasty may have happened to her.

Attempts by KSB to trace her for the past one week have also been fruitless because we have been unable to go through all her three lines in the file. Sms messages are not going through either. A close friend who was contacted by KSB confirmed that she has not seen Barbz “for a long time”.

At the time she disappeared, Barbz had received a message from her Lawyer in Kenya about a 10 million pound residential house in London which was allegedly left to her by her late hubby who died in Kenya.

Friends were certain that she may not have travelled to London to pursue the property because details are with her Lawyer in Kenya who had just broken the news to her. Others have speculated that she may have gone into hiding because of a pending court case in which a Stockholm Pastor is involved.

KSB is still trying to trace her using other channels. We appeal to Barbz to get in touch to allay fears about her personal security.

Okoth Osewe

Ms Karen Ngina Jönsson, a Kenyan resident in Stockholm, has lost her Mom back home. All Kenyans, friends and well wishers are invited to an “Open House” at Ymsenvägen 9 6tr at Åsta daily from 16.00 hrs until Thursday 16th (next week).

Karen will leave for Kenya on Friday the 17th July to attend her mother’s funeral. KSB sends deep condolences to the bereaved family of Karen following the demise of her mother. We hope that the family will find the courage to go through this difficult moment of deep shock and sorrow.

Death continues to take away loved ones of Kenyans in Stockholm and now, the family of Karen has been robbed of a loving family member.

May Karen and family continue to live up to the expectations of her late Mom as this is the best legacy to show to a departed soul. We are with the family during this time of mourning. Further info: 0704575209; 08-50866655.

Okoth Osewe

MISSION STATEMENT:

A new political formation called the “Kenya Red Alliance (KRA)” has been set up by a group of Kenyans at home and in Diaspora to address the growing and critical question of the “Kenyan revolution” which KRA initiative takers believe, is the only way to rescue the country from deep political, economic and social crisis after more than 45 years of dictatorship and authoritarianism by three subsequent regimes.

Experiments with capitalism have led to starvation and death in Kenya

Today, the rapidly deteriorating situation in Kenya has led to starvation of millions of citizens, total collapse of social infrastructure, mass poverty, spiraling crime especially among the youth, personal insecurity, mass unemployment, looting of the economy by political gangsters, extra-judicial executions of innocent civilians by organized agents of State terror, banning of books and a host of catastrophic failures that are increasingly leading to the categorization of Kenya by the International community as a “failed State”.

The formation of KRA comes after six months of meticulous deliberations by “like-minded” Kenyans at home and in Diaspora who believe that fourty five years of experimentation with a deformed capitalist system of government headed by wealth grabbers is not working for the people of Kenya but serving the collective interests of a tiny class of thieves and robbers. This class continues to use the system to steal wealth produced by toiling workers and peasants and, in the process, leaving the suffering masses without the most basic of human necessities. Once again, a powerful smell of revolution is in the air.

While KRA initiative takers agree with millions of Kenyans who believe that politicians have let down workers, peasants, students and the army of unemployed youth, their position is that the rotten political system called capitalism that enables politicians to steal tax Payers’ money through illegal salary increments of MPs, institutionalized corruption, tax evasion by the rich, lavish lifestyles for the ruling class as Kenyans starve and an entrenched policy of external dependencies and internal exploitation by domestic and International wealth grabbers is directly responsible for the misery millions of Kenyans have and continue to undergo with devastating consequences.

KRA’s initiative takers believe that the system of capitalism has failed globally and that it will never work in Kenya because this rotten system (that pits the rich against the poor) has outlived its usefulness thereby making it incapable of moving society forward. Under the circumstances, it is the view of KRA initiative takers that the system needs to be abolished while corrupt and opportunistic politicians presiding over it should be forced out of power by a revolutionary movement or Party through available democratic channels.

The defeat of collaborators running the corrupt government on behalf of themselves will pave the way for a new beginning by a new generation of leaders and thinkers armed with a workable political alternative that can effectively end mass poverty, perpetual starvation, wanton deprivation, looting of resources and untold human suffering of millions of Kenyans.

KRA’s initiative takers believe that reclaiming the country will not be possible without a clear understanding of both the main issues that needs to be addressed and the political tasks ahead of KRA as a serious revolutionary outfit. While the core issue is to defeat the system, the fundamental objective is to erect a just and democratic government that will ensure equitable distribution of the country’s vast resources among the people of Kenya who are seeking to address the crisis of leadership in the country.

From the standpoint of KRA, there is no solution to the stalemate apart from revolution and the big questions on KRA’s table includes a general agreement about the definition of revolution within the Kenyan context, the kind of revolution needed in our country at this point in time, the immediate agenda of this revolution, how it should be organized and the people who are best equipped to lead the struggle for genuine political change, economic transformation and social justice in Kenya. KRA’s initiative takers believe that there can never be “Business as usual” as long as there are Kenyans going without food, clothing and shelter.

It is the view of KRA that Kenya is ripe for revolution but that there is currently no Movement or Party armed with the right ideas, strategies and tactics to lead the revolutionary struggle as the masses of the people cry for revolutionary change to defeat an entrenched class of looters who have been facing no serious or organized challenge as they run the country like a huge business empire where they are answerable to nobody but themselves.

Today, millions of Kenyans are convinced that the country is sinking but, unfortunately, there is a lot of hopelessness about what needs to be done. Although there is talk of reform from the opportunist wing of the democratic Movement led by sections of the wealthy ruling class and segments of the civil society, there is no indication that these reforms will ever put food on the table for the starving Kenyans, create jobs for idle youth, avail medicine in hospitals or create shelter for millions of homeless citizens in our country.

KRA believes that the political vacuum that exists in Kenya will never be filled without the element of revolution coming into play and it is because of this belief that KRA has been formed. The emergence of the Alliance is the product of convergence of individuals, groups and organizations which have, in the past, put forward a revolutionary agenda for Kenya but whose initiatives have been hampered by lack of sufficient revolutionary consciousness among the oppressed and subjugated masses in Kenya.

Continued below…

KRA’s Mission Statement Continued…

The positive aspect is that political consciousness in Kenya has, over the past decade, undergone rapid and tremendous growth as a result of systematic capitalist decay in Kenya and collapse of the system internationally. This development has created a volatile situation that has sustained sporadic social explosions that, in turn, desperately calls for a revolutionary outfit like KRA to give hope in a hopeless situation and to direct the struggle against the rich which has held the poor hostage in their own country.

Kenyan MPs living lavishly while citizens starve to death

The intention of KRA’s initiative takers is not to pursue a rigid line of struggle or opt for a sectarian line of politics closed to open debate and stuck with dogma. The intention is to gather all individuals and forces who believe that the country is ripe for revolution, honestly access the gains of the Kenya democratic movement since the betrayal of the Mau Mau following the “Colonial revolution”, expose the ravages of neo-colonialism and imperialist domination of our country over the past decades and to chart out a clear and workable revolutionary solution that has evaded several progressive Movements whose leaderships believed in the concept of liberation within the framework of a rotten system that has been entering into one crisis after another both locally and internationally. The country is in decay because the system has literally grinded to a halt.

There is no doubt that protracted struggles by “Post-independence  Movements” led by very courageous compatriots have led to massive democratic gains in Kenya. Huge sacrifices in terms of life and blood have been made by thousands of Kenyans for the sake of our country’s freedom and emancipation. The democratic gains Kenyans enjoy today were not won accidentally or without a fight. They came about as a result of commitment to the liberation struggle by Kenyan freedom fighters who struggled tirelessly under impossible conditions to realize these gains following the colonization of Kenya and the emergence of the Kenyatta, Moi and, lately, Kibaki dictatorships under the neo-colonial arrangement supervised by imperialist powers.

However, the democratic gains over the past decades have, at the same time, been overshadowed by a “permanent status quo” characterized by the country’s resources and wealth producing institutions having been left on the hands of multi-national companies and local bourgeoisie whose agents constitute the corrupt ruling classes which have and continue to control the Kenya State machine to perpetuate both their personal interests and the interests of their imperialist masters. The problem in Kenya is not about the constitution but wealth distribution. It is about the struggle between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have nots, the exploiter and the exploited.

In other words, the general stand-still of Kenya’s political, economic and social progress is a result of decades of control of the country’s wealth and resources by foreign agents working in cahoots with local stooges in control of the State machine which they utilize to contain the struggle against the system as reform politics is put forward to dupe the masses that the solution to the crisis is reform and not revolution.

KRA initiative takers believe that constitutional and other reforms are a step in the right direction but that the Constitution is a piece of paper that will never put food on the table. Kenyans are not starving because of a defective Constitution but because of looting of the country’s resources by thieves in control of a rich man’s system of government which needs to be vanquished to open the way for sharing of the national cake currently in the custody of a committee of wealth grabbers calling themselves “government”.

From the Kenyan experience, there is ample evidence that the rich and powerful will never institute political changes in the interest of the poor but in their own personal interests and to further their own endless wealth-grabbing agendas. KRA seeks to break the gridlock where Movements and politicians have entered into politics with reform agendas to sustain the status quo, not to overturn the very system that is at the center of the suffering of millions of Kenyans who have been living under dehumanizing conditions since the days of flag independence in 1963.

Our position is that while political reforms are vital and important for the country’s democratization process, the system of capitalism under which millions of Kenyans are and continue to suffer “is rotten beyond reform” and consequently, “ripe for overthrow”. Any sane Kenyan who does not understand this fundamental point is politically unconscious.

It is a fact that the reform process has been stuck because of competing interests of various capitalist factions within the coalition’s ruling classes whose members continue to loot the economy, grab land and execute Kenyans using security forces under their firm control.

Initiative takers of KRA believe that the emergence of the Alliance at this critical point in the history of our country is a bold step towards creating the “subjective factor” currently missing in Kenya to help speed up the revolutionary process that will liberate our country from neo-colonialism, imperialist control and capitalist class rule that has, over the years, guaranteed mass poverty, mass unemployment and “hell on earth” for millions of Kenyans already starving to death.

We take this opportunity to appeal to Kenyans who may be interested in the Alliance to take contact for further discussions and coordination for purposes of emancipating our country.

Okoth Osewe
Interim Secretary
Kenya Red Alliance (KRA)

kenyaredalliance(at)mapambano.com